Chapter 35

Diana awoke several days later, with only the dim memory of what had happened after she rushed out of Circe's temple after Arthur. Her dark eyelashes fluttered, hesitating as they opened for the first time, half expecting Arthur to be there, just as he had been when she closed her eyes, but instead of his handsome, serene face with ocean blue eyes and a smile as bright as Apollo's chariot. Instead, her sister leaned over her, looking tired and concerned.

"Sister!" Donna's posture changed immediately noticing Diana waking up, instantly signalling for Antiope, the lead healer.

The blonde woman, a near replica of Athena with her waxen hair and compassionate knowledge, but straight sense of duty, came rushing from the shrine to Asclepius, the Greek God of Medicine and healing.

"My Queen, take it easy, do not try to sit," she said softly, trying to urge the queen to remain laying down, in a posture that won't cause any blood drain from her head. "You are still weak, my Queen," she said, coming to her side, standing opposite Donna.

"What happened?" Donna asked her, brushing back her sister's hair, tucking it behind her ear carefully. "The sentries saw Arthur carrying you in from the ocean, he passed out before he was able to tell us anything.

Oh no, she thought, panic registering on her face. There was a half heard memory of his words in the back of her mind, "Please don't leave me," she thought it was, but couldn't be entirely sure. But the way Donna talked, it was as if Arthur wasn't here. Passed out? "Where is he?" she asked, grabbing Donna's forearm and looking at her sister's eyes. It was like looking into a mirror, but one that reflected a more calm version of herself, less panicked and worried about Arthur's where abouts.

"The Atlantian is fine," Antiope said. Relief washed over Diana as she leaned back into the pillows, only to be brought back to her near panicked state when Antiope continued. "Or at least he was when he left four days ago."

"Four days ago?" Diana asked, her brows furrowing together as she sat back up swiftly enough to cause her to feel light headed. Her blue eyes swam in a semi darkness and her lips felt cold. "How long was I out?" she asked, turning to the healer.

"Almost a week, Diana," she said carefully. "Arthur tried to wait, but he was being driven mad by the isolation of the Island and by the thoughts of his kingdom being without a king."

"He stayed here? How long?"

"He came to visit as often as Philipus would let him on the main island," Donna said, holding her sister's hand, looking at the pain in her crystal blue eyes. It was clear to Donna that Diana still had very real, very deep feelings for the Atlantian king. "He had broken ribs that needed to be set and a concussion, we offered to let him stay on Exile as long as he needed to recover, but he refused to stay too long." She fell silent, knowing Diana might feel abandoned by his leaving. "I'm sure he would have stayed longer if not for Atlantis' need," she urged.

Diana shook her head, laying back into the soft pillows, letting her eyes shut. "No, it wasn't Atlantis' need; there is nothing left of Atlantis," her words caused a stunned silence by the women around her. "Civil war has ravaged the once beautiful city of Posedionis, and the other great cities have feared much worse. Every king and queen from the smaller principalities, anyone who could swing a sword or use a weapon, has been challenging Orin for his title." She looked at Antiope and Donna. "He needed to defend his right to rule; he was not blessed with the popular confidence I have been blessed by."

"Are you sure?" Donna asked, still tenderly nurturing her sister.

"Yes, Sister," Diana said. "I saw the royal hall, it was nothing but a single throne, the King's, Gaea knows what happened to Mera's throne," she started, hesitating only when she realized for the first time since meeting Arthur and learning about his relationship with Mera, that she said her name without so much as a twinge of hurt. "There were only a few pillars, no ceiling to speak of left at all.

Antiope brought her hand up to her lips, her big eyes looking even larger as she was told the stories of Atlantis, of the war and horrors and circumstances that Arthur was living in. "Is there any way we can help? There must be thousands of refugees suffering and lingering in the squalor?"

"Only if Orin allows for it," Diana said. "I will not step on another monarch's toes, nor will I force him to accept help he does not want."

The women around her nodded and Diana was left to rest, regain her strength. Philipus came by later, bringing with her wine and fruit, and word that a search party, captained by one of her remaining Furies, the Thanagarian warrior whose loyalty to Diana and the Amazons was unphased by the war, had been sent after Circe. "They recovered these from Circe's temple, Diana," Philipus said, presenting her with her sabre, shield and axe.

Diana nodded, gesturing to them them placed on the table at her side. "I really am sick of this bed already, Philipus," the queen spoke in a matter of fact tone, as she always felt comfortable, even at a young age, talking to Philipus in a candid manner. "When can I go back to the island?"

There had been no talk as to whether the hardship with Circe, and the new dedication by Diana to find the witch and bring her back into Amazon custody, would end her exile, which at this point was self imposed more than decreed by the Gods. Athena had only required a twelve month penance.

"You wish to return to Exile?" Philipus said, sounding almost insulted, and a little concerned for Diana's mental stability. "We, you sister, myself and the senators, we were hoping you would return to us here..."

Diana hadn't thought about that; she had grown comfortable in the silence, and admittedly had revelled in the lack of responsibility the island afforded her. She could spend days philosophizing to herself, pondering the meaning of life, war and the complications of the heart. She could mourn her mother and the life she could have had with Arthur, but in light of the hardships Atlantis was suffering and the attack she just endured, it was clear that she was acting as a self indulgent child by remaining away from Themyscira when they actually wanted her back.

"May I petition a few more nights on the island?" she asked her general, a smile on her lips as she did.

Philipus was a little set back by this; Diana was the Queen, she had complete control and utter say in the political realm of Themyscira, even when she had been Exiled by Aphrodite. Who was Philipus to give her permission to impose solitude on herself or not. "If that is what you wish, you are the queen," she offered, confusion evident in her voice.

"I have grown fond of the quiet," she said as a manner of explanation.

Philipus smiled, reading between the lines. Antiope and Donna had filled her in regarding Diana's severe questioning about Arthur's where abouts, his health when he left their care, and in retelling the horrors she had seen beneath the waves in the once beautiful capitol of Atlantis. It struck Philipus as hopeful that the bond that had grown between Diana and Arthur, nurtured by Aphrodite, then almost destroyed utterly by Ares, survived.

"He did not leave anything behind," Philipus whispered, dropping her voice so that no one around them would hear her or question what was being said to the queen. They had kept Arthur's presence quiet, allowing only those who needed to know into the circle of knowledge, lest the few remaining anti-Atlantian hard liners try to attempt a rebellion while the Queen was subdued. "No notes, no messages. Donna went to check on him that morning and bring food, only to find the bed empty."

"He... he was in our bed?" she asked, a flush coming to her cheeks.

Philipus had to stifle a laugh. "Yes, my Queen," she said, resting an arm on the younger woman's shoulders. "While he was recovering, we knew we could not have him on the main island, so we set him up on your island, as it already had structures and we knew the Gods permitted men, or at least him, there. After all, Aphrodite created it for both of you, remember?" the taunting question caused another flush of blood to Diana's cheeks as she tried to hide her face from the rest of the room, a curtain of hair blocking the view of everyone who wasn't directly face on with her.

"I will return these," Philipus said, picking up the weapons and shield. "To your Mother's shrine. When you are ready, I will make sure you are allowed out and can return to the Island freely."

"Thank you, Philipus," Diana said, the blush slowly working its way from her cheeks as she smiled at the other woman. "As always, you are a true friend."

"Diana, you are not merely my Queen," she said with a broad, caring smile. "Your mother was my Sister, not in blood but in battle and in heart, which makes you my child as much as you were hers. It gives my greatest pleasure to watch you follow her footsteps... And to watch you fall in love, again."

The women embraced and Philipus set off to return the weapons to the shrine in the temple Diana had erected by hand.

For her part, Diana was tired, exhausted from the visitor and the information about Circe and Arthur. Laying back into the pillows, she let her eyes drift shut, sleep coming to the queen quickly, and for once it was blessedly unbound by dreams or nightmares.