Rise of the Guardians

Arlecchino

Chapter 04

She was fiddling in the gardens, and Momus has a very large set of gardens, all flourishing with life, and Marcaria kept pricking herself. "Ow! Ow! Ow!"

She sucked on her thumb with irritation. "It's like being human all over again. I can hear my mother now, 'Marcaria, be gentle with the plants! They need all the love you can give!'"

She started to pluck at the weeds and then screamed as the sight of the unfamiliar bug crawling toward her.

Momus was walking outside, reading as he walked as he liked to move when he did anything, found himself face-planted to the ground as Marcaria hissed at him. "I'm not doing any more gardening unless you get rid of those freaky bugs!"

She picked up the book and flipped through the pages casually, as he put his chin on his hand, elbow resting on the ground. "I can't read this."

"You can't read at all!"

"I recognize English… kind of… these are weird, strange letters."

"It's Latin."

"Isn't that the really hard and unused language?"

"Yes but I can read it. Now give it back and get off me before I bite you in the ass!"

She straddled him. "What do I get if I get off?"

"Apparently, you were not listening. I don't bite you!"

"You don't bite at all."

He threw a hissy fit under her as she jumped off with a snicker.

"Mo, let's head on out in the world!"

"I'm fine, thanks. You go on without me."

"But it's much more fun with you. You know how to get me to get others to laugh."

"Only because of that I keep tripping you."

"It's physical humor. It exists."

"I'm not interested."

"Can you teach me to read?"

"Why?"

"You have a gigantic library and I get tired of looking at the tiny list of picture books you have. Why do you have those?"

"My mother gave me them in case I ever fathered a child."

"Have you?"

Momus gazed at her over the open book, frowning. "I don't know. Don't care, either."

"So you don't want kids?"

"Look, can we stop talking about me? I'm getting uncomfortable." He continued to stare pointedly at her.

"You want me to leave?" She thumbed to the house.

"No."

Again, his stare was getting to her. "I can't read faces."

"I thought you could read mine."

"You have a book covering it, for all I know, you could be plotting my demise."

"I couldn't, even if I wanted to," Momus said cheerfully, still looking over the book. Again, his stare struck her as she grew frustrated.

"Well? WHAT?!"

"You have something on your face."

She touched her good side. "It's not a creepy crawly, is it? Oh, god, is it a spider in my hair?!" Her fingers ran through her hair frantically. "It's much harder to find it when I have my hair in a French braid."

She caught him staring at her, this time the book down as she finally recognized the look. "I like my mask."

"I don't. Take it off."

"No!"

"Fine, then take off the shirt."

"WHAT FOR?"

"If I can't look into your beautiful face, I want to look at your beautiful breasts."

"I have the mauling there!"

"Fine, then. Take off the pants."

She gasped.

"Not for your front, for your ass."

Marcaria was glaring at him.

"You have to give me -something- to look at here."

"And why should I? What do I get out of it?"

"Could get you laid."

"Get me… laid? What's that supposed to mean?"

His eyebrow slowly lifted. "Do you spend ANY time with adults?"

"Can I consider you an adult?"

"Yes, I think you can."

"Then I spend plenty of time with adults."

"So basically I have to spell this out for you," He rested an arm on a bent knee, the book still in his hand. "To get laid is to have sex."

Her entire body turned red.

"Even your ears are red, that's adorable."

"I don't want sex!"

"Really?"

She turned into such a shade of red that he was starting to feel the heat from her.

"Judging from that look, I'd say…"

"Going!" She tore out of there, running into the wheat field as he laid back, watching upside down as she ran furiously away.

"She's cute."

"Mother, always a welcome to see you." He set himself up on his backend.

"How's your pretty little trinket?"

"Fine."

"Zeus has gotten word of her."

Instantly, Momus was on his feet. "He comes near her, I'll kill him."

"You can't stop him if he wants something."

"And if she doesn't want it, he'll force it. I will kill him."

Nyx looked at him. "Might help put him in better order if you apologized."

"I may have been cruel to say what I did but it wasn't a lie, now was it? Tell him to stay away from my trinket or else I will move Heaven and Hell to destroy him."

Momus turned away from his mother angrily. "Stupid old man, thinks he's so great, if he even thinks about it, I'll cut off his junk like he did with his father."

Nyx watched him hurry after Marcaria as she tapped her chin. She didn't bother turning. "What is it, Eris?"

"He's gotten to be no fun when she got around. Why is that mortal here?"

"She isn't a mortal, my dear. And we are the Greek mythology. We fall in love with anything."

"She's so hideous."

"No, she's not." Nyx looked to her daughter. "That's what he likes about her. She's beautiful. So few see it, when they only see the damages but she has a very sweet soul. Most likely why the Man in the Moon rose her to become a Spirit."

"She's still beneath him."

"Is she, now?" Nyx smiled slowly. "We may be Gods but we are born from the written words of mortals. If our legends are erased and or forgotten, we will no longer be. While her life will go on for as long as it exists, unable to leave unless they are ready to ascend to the heavens or back into mortality."

"So I ask, is she beneath him?" Nyx disappeared from Eris's sight as the daughter glowered in general.

"I think she is but…" Eris didn't bother finishing that as she, too, left.

Marcaria was swearing as she had forgotten that it was still winter. "Soooo cold!"

She was tossed a heavy coat. "At least you're wearing pants."

"I was gardening!"

"Was this after or before the scary bug?"

"Before, obviously."

She tied the coat on tightly, avoiding him. "Why'd you come chasing? Not going to say something stupid, are you?"

"I thought it was a compliment."

"I don't prefer the term 'sex', I prefer 'lovemaking'."

"Well, fine then. So you don't want lovemaking?"

"Are you in love with me?"

His smile wiped clean, put on the spot. "I reserve the right to never answer that."

The flash of hurt passed across her face as she turned and stormed off.

"You're not very good with women, are you?"

"Frost, I'm ten times better than you and any other living man save for my fellow Gods. Don't question my ability."

Momus stared down Jack. Jack shrugged. "She obviously likes you, for what reasons I haven't any idea. Hey, is she still mad at me?"

"She's pissed."

"Why?"

"Because her faith in her abilities has been shaking now that you're doing her job, being a Guardian and such."

"You know, the way you say 'Guardian', it's like it doesn't mean anything."

"Not to me, it does. Sorry, Frost, you're not the important one here. If you'll excuse me, I need to go put my foot up my ass again."

Jack winced as Momus left him in the snow. "Match made in…. wherever the Hell that guy comes from. Sheesh."

Marcaria entered Burgess with no problems, looking back to see her foot prints disappear into the snow. "It's kind of creepy when it does that."

She looked up into the skies, the sun falling down. There was the sound of laughter, as some of the town's kids were having a snowball fight. She melded easily into her child form, silent and solemn as she watched them play.

She wished she could join them. She bent down and tried to pick up some snow but it fell through her hand like she was a ghost. She always forgot that while she somewhat existed in reality when she was in this form, that is seen, she was never heard or touched let alone touch anything herself.

She sighed, watching them as she shuffled. She remembered, to this day, how much fun she would have with her siblings. By the time she was risen by the Man in the Moon, her family had scattered across the state and in the end, she could never find some of them. She remembered staying around her mother, who seemed as if she could never get over the loss of her second oldest and in the end, she hadn't. Her father had been stronger but she still saw him weep time to time, when no one else was around. It got to the point that she had left, feeling as if her own presence was making it worse.

So she would peek in time and again on her family. Eventually, the family bloodline thinned and she was lost in time, spending a great deal of it alone, traveling alone. She eventually made her way to America, in the seventeen hundreds and resided there in many places. She stood in the lines of war, bringing soft and hidden laughter in such dark times. There had been many dark times but now, lately, those dark times were either something made to bolster something or she simply couldn't reach anyone anymore with her jokes and pranks.

She looked on, the children laughing as their parents, in the distance from their homes, called to their young ones as everyone said goodbye. Soon, she was left alone, standing and seemingly invisible.

"Prank?"

"Sometimes I wish I could be human again.. It's lonely sometimes, when you're never seen, never heard, never touched. I remember how when I was just a little kid, my mother would sing me to sleep, stroking my hair back as she smiled. Mother wasn't considered pretty by many but she had the most beautiful smile. Everyone said that I inherited it."

She laughed, choking. She turned, melding back into her original form. "Aren't you lonely, Momus? Or do Gods not feel such pain?"

She met his gaze with little problem. She was sad looking, tears still glimmering in her eye.

He sighed and then took off her mask. "Of course we do. We just are too stubborn and stupid to admit it. Look, you're cold, I'm not, let's go."

"You're shivering."

"I am not."

She glared at him.

"Look, let's not talk about who is in denial and who isn't cold. Let's just go home."

She turned pink before she reached for her mask only to have him tuck it into his shirt. "I want that back."

"Hmmmm… no."

She stomped after him as they disappeared into shadows and onto the grass of the lawn.

"Hey, we skipped the wheat."

"Yea, I fixed up the entrance a little for us. Anyone else will still find a brick wall but we won't. Unless you piss me off or something."

She glared at him. "I want my mask back."

"Again. No."

"Pretty please?" She implored, hands clasped, shaking as she looked up at him. He was watching over his shoulder before he smirked.

"All right. For a price."

He turned around, crossing his arms. "A kiss."

She frowned. "On the cheek?"

"No."

"The.. Err…. Hand?"

"Chivalrous but again, no."

She was sweating slightly. "I, uh, never kissed anyone. Not even my betrothed."

"Really?"

"Yea, well, we didn't believe in that… or anything else."

"Like foreplay?"

"Look, can we JUST focus on the damn kiss!?"

"I'm not the one who changed the subject."

"I didn't change anything! Now give me my mask!"

Momus took it out of his shirt and held it high above him. As she was just about five feet, he was over six feet, it seemed like climbing a steep mountain at this point for Marcaria.

She lunged anyways as he danced away, laughing. "Give me! Give me! I want it back!"

"Ah, ah, ah. For a price of a kiss!"

"What kind of kiss?" She asked, frustrated. She perked up. " A peck."

"No."

"Why not!?"

"Don't you want a little passion?"

She flushed at him. "Oh, come on."

"Never even with your betrothed?"

"I didn't love my betrothed!"

"So you love me?"

"I… FINE! A goddamn kiss if it'll shut you up!"

"You mean shut us both up."

Marcaria crossed her arms and then closed her eyes and puckered up.

"You look ridiculous."

She opened an eye. "You want to kiss or not?"

Marcaria's eyes flew open when he cupped her face. "You're so small compared to me. Kind of like that. Gives me more control."

"I can still kick you in the balls, buddy. I'm not incapable of fighting back."

Something flashed in his eyes. "Damn straight. You keep anyone you want off of your person and anything happens, I'll come to your rescue."

In her confusion, he took advantage and kissed her. He knew exactly what he wanted too as in moments, she was left with no air and a great deal of heat in between her legs and a need to fall into his arms.

Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, as much as she could reach him. He pulled back, his own breath trapped in his throat.

"Whoa, dizzy," He set her back on her feet. She looked utterly lost and confused when he stepped back.

"Did… did I do something wrong?"

"No, no." He patted her head.

She glared at him.

"Ahem, sorry. Here," He handed her mask to her.

"Why do you always want it off?"

"Because one cannot see full beauty when it is half-hidden."

Marcaria turned red. "So when do you answer questions when you don't want to?"

"When I'm comfortable with it. I may never be comfortable. Ever."

"Ah. So you'd have sex but not lovemaking? It's my understanding that one is just animal rutting and the other tender emotion."

"I sort of fall in the middle, depending on my mood."

"Do you have a girl friend?"

"Gods do don't girl friends. We take what we want."

Her gaze met his.

"Not that I ever had to do so. Or ever would.." He didn't know what else to say to make her look more at ease.

"What's got you worried that I might be hurt?"

"You really can read me. The Almighty had gotten word of your attention upon me."

"Say it in English. My English."

"He's interested in you and if he wants you, he'll take you."

Her face turned white.

"Yea, see, that's why you're never leaving my side."

"He'd really do that?"

"Yea, he would. A lot of the Gods and even Goddesses would. We kind of have that 'we are superior and deserving of all that we crave' thing."

"That blows chunks!"

"That blows…" Momus looked confused and then shrugged.

"So, why wouldn't you?"

"Why wouldn't I just rape someone?"

"Uh… should've worded that a little nicer," She smiled a little weakly.

"I don't have to rape anyone to sleep with them. I bet if I got a bottle of alcohol in you, you'd be all over me."

"Why would you want me drunk? Don't you want me completely willing?"

Momus grinned. "So you're going to take up the offer?"

"NO!"

He winced as he held his ears. "Ow. That was a joke, laugh."

"That's not funny!"

"So what would it take to get you in bed?"

"It's called courting."

"I don't court."

"What do you do?"

He straightened, posed dramatically, and his entire body alighted, shimmering with the power of a God.

She stared at him. "How is that impressive?"

"Fine." He unzipped his pants.

"Momus, stop that!"

"What else would impress you?"

"Chivalry! Not vulgar actions!"

"Seriously? Isn't that a little boring?"

"Zip up your goddamn pants!" Marcaria hissed.

"No."

She glared as she took the zipper and redid it, feeling it go over something she kind of wish it hadn't. Momus didn't make a sound, just turned pale.

"I'd say sorry but you kind of deserve that."

"Fine." He wheezed, his voice slightly high-pitched. "I'm going to go inside for a while. You better not come in for the rest of the day or else."

"You wouldn't.."

"Zip up my pants, yes, I got that!" Momus hissed.

He turned around awkwardly.

"I'm sort of sorry."

"No, you're not. I will get you back."

"Whenever you want. Just as long as you don't force yourself on me."

"I don't do that!"