"Lady Gaia," I whispered as I bowed.
"Do not bow to me, my dear. You are of the earth, just as I am," she said with a small smile on her face. "Sit."
I did as she asked, sitting on a chair that was near the fire. The heat felt good on my skin, and it only made me think of Apollo. I was so mad at him. There were so many questions bouncing around in my head, but it didn't change the fact that a part of me missed him.
"Thinking of your sun god? Your brother is right, child. He doesn't care for you as you care for him. He is only after you physically. All of the gods are incapable of loving something as humans do. They simply become bored with them, as I am sure you have already realized."
I nodded my head, but it didn't stop the tears stinging my eyes.
"I could make the arguments for my case, dear one, but I can see they would be lost on you. The gods are corrupt and unfit to rule. The time for my other children has come. With my help, they can rule," she explained.
"You do not yet have a corporal form," I said.
"No, but once the sacrifices are made at the Feast of Spes, I will have one. I will rise, and my fury will be unleashed on them as well."
"You have to kill two demigods to do that," I spat at her.
"That is true. Does that make me any worse than Ares? A god who took you without your permission? Or Athena, who punished Arachne? What about Ixion and his wheel? How many situations can you count yourself where the gods have done something selfish? Are my actions any worse than theirs?" She paused to let me answer, but I just met her gaze. "I want to remove them from the throne, Euadne. They do not deserve to sit on it. They are neither just nor kind rulers, and you can attest to that. My sons will replace them, and the world can return to proper order. I promise that as long as the demigods and minors surrender that they will not perish. They are important to world order."
I didn't think the giants would be any better, but she made a good point. How was she any worse than them? She lifted her dirt and rock hand placing in on my arm.
"I can remove your curse, Euadne. I can free you, and all I ask in return is your help."
"My help in what?" I questioned, curious.
"I brought you here so I could show you two things. One, you need to see the fate that they took from you. You need to know how much you lost before I can make my request."
Suddenly, my vision left the campfire and Gaia. It was replaced with my family's estate. I was sitting on the stone bench, in front of the fountain, as a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around me. Tiberius's familiar scent enveloped me, and I felt the familiar touch of his lips at my neck. Tiberius came to sit beside me, his arms clinging to me.
"You look stunning, my love," he whispered into my ear. A giggle, a pleasant sounding one that was unhindered by pain or sadness, escaped from my lips. I felt happy.
"Mommy!" a high pitched wail met my ears. A tiny body threw itself into my arms gripping my shoulder and neck. It was a little boy, maybe three or four years old. He had the same hair as Tiberius, full of messy, silky sandy colored locks. He looked up at me, and I internally gasped. His eyes were my eyes, and they were full of unshed tears.
"Easy with Mommy," Bear said from beside me. His hand grazed my stomach as he placed a loving kiss on my shoulder. "You don't want to hurt your little brother or sister, do you Theon?"
The little boy shook his head, but he did not let go of me.
"What happened, baby boy?" I whispered consolingly. There was a cut on his arm, and Tiberius handed me a rag so I could clean it.
"Dere was a monsder down by de riber," he whispered. "I dried to fighd it like you and daddy fighd monsders." I looked at Tiberius in worry, who nodded his head. He got up and headed towards the river, pulling his sword out along the way. Theo watched him with large eyes as I finished bandaging his arm.
"That's what mommies and daddies are for, Theo. To fight the monsters until you grow up to be big and strong. Then you can fight them," I whispered playfully to him. He buried his head into my shoulder, and I wrapped my arms around him.
"I love you, Theon Maximus."
"I love you, too, Mommy," he muffled against my shoulder. A smile erupted on my face. "Why don't you go get your sword so you and daddy can practice when he gets back?"
Theo nodded and flew out of my arms, just as quickly as he came into them. I felt a flutter in my stomach, and my hands ventured to it wonderingly. I felt the baby kick….
My vision went black and then the fire was in front of my eyes once again. I was crying heavily, the silent tears staining the beautiful dress I was wearing. I placed my head in my hands, misery engulfing me. That is what they took from me? That was the life I could have had?
"They took much from you: a family, true love, and a long a meaningful life. You and your husband could have been heroes, remembered through the ages! But that fate was lost to you the moment Ares crossed the line. The moment they decided to ignore your prayers," Gaia whispered. I just stared at the flames. I felt emptier than I already had, like I was falling in on myself. My heart was a black hole, and it was determined to take everything good with it.
"The second thing you need to see is what you are capable of. They had a perfectly good reason for being worried over what you could do. Neither you nor your brother should have ever been born. The gods have always been fascinated with you family, but you and your brother are the product of three generations of direct descendents. Three is a very powerful number, dear one. Your brother pulled power from Zeus and Poseidon, where you pulled from Hecate and Poseidon. You are the first child of a god to ever have power over the earth. You can control the mist and magic just as well as the goddess of magic herself can. You can do the same things they can do."
"I can't blast someone to oblivion. I can't alter space or time," I stuttered, disbelief in my voice.
"Have you ever tired? You, child, are the very embodiment of all of us. Like Chaos, you have unlimited potential," she whispered as her hand stroked along my shoulders. "Let me show you what you are capable of."
I found myself nodding my head, although a part of me was screaming that she was a liar and I could not trust her. My vision went black once again, and I found myself in front of a familiar landscape, one I had seen in my dreams before.
I was standing in the middle of a field, but it was burned and ruined. Scorch marks dotted the field, and rocks jutted out at random places. Lava bubbled to the surface, causing tiny streams to make their way through the field. Smoke and fire ravaged the land and air, and beings battled all around me. Ares stepped in front of me his sword pulled out, but I was not afraid. He was the one who should be afraid.
He came towards me, but I parried the blow easily. I was inside my body, but at the same time, I felt like I was watching from above. I was just as graceful as any god or titan, just as fierce. Ares faltered, and I took advantage. I watched as I sunk one of my daggers into his chest and his groan of agony that followed. He fell to his knees at my feet, and the look on my face was satisfied. I felt satisfied. I felt vindicated. I reached out my hand, and I pulled Ares's essence from him. I shattered him into a thousand tiny pieces, pulling them into a ball in front of me. I disappeared into the underworld, and scattered the contents into the Lethe.
Let's see how long it would take him to come back from that.
I reappeared in the field, and the lava and rocks began to shift around me. For the first time in my life, I felt powerful and invincible. I felt strong, that there was nothing that could hurt me. I couldn't see the faces of those around me, but I knew they were gazing at me with both awe and fear on their faces.
"Who's next?" I screamed, my voice ragged and full of rage.
Wait, a minute…I wouldn't do that. I couldn't do that. Ares, maybe, he deserved it. But the others? The thoughts pulled me from the vision, and once again I was staring at flames.
I looked at Gaia, who had a smug smirk on her face. How in the world was I capable of that?
"Surprising, is it not? But yes child, you could do that if you wanted to. You could take them. Maybe not all at once, but with my help, you could see them pay for what they have done to you and your family."
I wanted to see them pay. I wanted them to suffer for what they took from me. I wanted revenge. I knew it wasn't right. I felt split. Part of me wanted revenge. Part of me wanted to do the right thing. For the first time since I was cursed, I had options. I had the right to choose my path, whether it was wrong or right, dark or light.
Janus did tell me I would have to choose. I wanted to be fully aware of each path I could take.
"What do you want me to do?" I asked her. She offered her hand out to me, and I took it. She pulled me so I was standing, her gaze devoid of emotion.
"In Athens, there is a way to unlock Olympus. I could defeat the gods without this, but it would be an easier and more decisive victory if I destroyed their roots thoroughly. It would take a god to unlock it, but you, being a child of theirs, should be able to do it. Bring me that key, and I will remove your curse. Bring me that key, and I will ensure that you have your revenge. We can forge a new world," Gaia explained. I looked at her, considering her offer.
"I will need time," I responded. My voice shaking, from fear or uncertainty, I was not sure.
"Of course. I know this is not easy for you, but I trust that you will make the right decision. You have just under two days of freedom left. If you want too long, you will be back under their control. I cannot help you a second time. If I am to free you, it must be while you are under my protection."
"You will destroy all of them?" I asked. "The whole council? All of the main gods and goddesses?"
"Yes, they will be chained in Tartarus until the end of days, reduced to almost nothing. Maybe they will do themselves a favor and cease to exist," she sneered.
I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I looked up into my brother's eyes. I felt Gaia's earthly form crumble back into the ground, and once again, she spoke into my mind.
Take her back, Orion. Euadne, I trust that you will give my offer serious consideration. I will not make another one again.
"How did it go?" he asked me after a minute of silence.
"I don't want to talk about it."
He nodded his head, and just wrapped his arms around me. I slid my own around him, breathing in his scent.
"I'm so glad I got to see you again, Addie. I love you, little sister."
"And I love you," I whispered.
Orion tied the blindfold around my eyes once again and escorted me from the camp. Once we were outside the boundary, he took me back to my beach. He left with a few comforting words and a quick peck on my cheek.
"I'll give you time to think. I have every bit of confidence in you," he said with a smile.
I looked at the setting sun. I had been blocking everyone, god and mortal, out on purpose. Not only was I scared that they would come after me and kill me, I really wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. I did not want anyone's sympathy or pity. I didn't even want an apology. I wanted to forget. I wanted to forget everything that happened. I could deal with it tomorrow.
I knew exactly what I wanted, and I knew where I needed to go to get it.
A/N: Do you hate me? If so, I hope its in a good way. The next chapter I have had written since the beginning of this story, and I hope that you will find it amusing as I do! We need a little more lightness in this story, especially after this chapter!
I also apologize for any typos. I kind of rushed these last two in editing because I had to go into work.
I know there are a lot of people looking at this story. Pleas leave a review or pm to tell me what you think. To those of you who review, you have no idea how much you make my day! My goal is to become a novelist, and I want to improve my writing. So if you have some constructive criticism / complement/ theory/ or just want to chat, feel free to do so!
I have also posted the first one shot, where Artemis finds out about Apollo and Addie! Please take a look and tell me what you think!
Until next time! :D