Author's Note:
Just a little note to 1101; I didn't know that phones actually couldn't work on jets, but I've just wanted to say that I wrote it as such because I had watched many films where a person could actually use a cell phone while they were on the plane.
But anyway, thank you for telling me. I really appreciate that you did, so I got a clear idea.
Muse of Fanfiction
To my surprise, it was night time when we finally arrived on Greek land.
I questioned Hades about that, and he hurriedly answered that because of different time zones, the time in Athens was seven hours ahead of the time in Maine. So that meant that now, while it was one-thirty in the afternoon in Maine, it was eight-thirty at night here.
It was all a rush as Hades pulled me through a barricaded bridge into Elefthérios Venizélos (aka. the Athens International Airport). The building was, for lack of better description, quite small for an airport, although still quite big in its own way. In a matter of minutes, we had already gone through security check and were now going through immigration.
At the immigration counter, the counter woman looked at the stamps on both our passports. Then, with furrowed eyebrows, she turned to Hades and asked him a question… in Greek.
I knew myself that I had absolutely no knowledge of the Greek language. But to my utmost amazement, I discovered that in my head, I was able to translate whatever Greek words they were saying into English with ease. It was as though I myself understood the exotic language, or I just had Google Translate programmed into my brain.
"Είστε εδώ και αυτή από τον Evans Βιομηχανιών?" she said in a questioning tone, which was spoken in my head as 'Are you and she here by Evans Industries?'
I only became even more surprised and gobsmacked when Hades answered her question entirely in Greek as well.
"Ναι. Είμαστε εδώ για τις ιδιωτικές επιχειρήσεις," he answered her. In my head, he was saying 'Yes. We are here for private business'.
I had to admit; Hades sounded really, really attractive when he spoke Greek. And I mean really attractive. It was as though his hotness increased tenfold from his already-high level of perfect. I was completely amazed by the thought of it.
The counter woman studied the stamps a bit more carefully before saying to Hades, "Αν ναι, τότε και οι δύο από σας έχουν ήδη αποκλειστικά ιδιωτικές μεταφορές," which translated into 'If so, then the both of you already have private transportation reserved'.
Hades' eyebrows lifted in shock. "Αλήθεια? Δεν ήμουν πραγματικά γνωρίζουν αυτό," he exclaimed 'Really? I wasn't actually aware of that' in utter surprise.
I too was in complete surprise. Getting to fly on a super-expensive and luxurious private jet to Greece was already much of a surprise, but having our own transportation awaiting us at the airport only added to the surprise.
The counter woman nodded her head and replied, "James Evans έκανε ο ίδιος τη ρύθμιση, εάν ποτέ κάποιος έπρεπε να χρησιμοποιήσει ένα από τα περάσματά του VIP." In translation; 'James Evans himself made the arrangement if ever anyone were to use one of his VIP passes'.
Then she proceeded to press a small red button of a small microphone stand on her desk, right next to her computer.
"Kristos? Έχω δύο ξεχωριστούς επισκέπτες που θα πρέπει να σας συνοδεύσει στο χώρο στάθμευσης," she said into the microphone. 'Kristos? I have two special visitors that I need you to escort to the parking lot.'
A few minutes later, just as the counter woman finished stamping our passports, a bulky olive-skinned man with short chocolate-coloured hair and jade green eyes and who was a few inches shorter than Hades, approached us. He wore a uniform which immediately indicated that he was a security officer at the airport.
He glanced at me and Hades, but most especially at me. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was awestruck by my face. I could also tell by the way Hades grumbled lowly from deep within his chest and grasped my hand tighter as he did.
Oh, my husband and his protectiveness.
The man, who, I read from his nametag, was called Kristos, then turned to the counter woman and asked, "Είναι αυτά τα άτομα?" 'Are these the guests?' was what he asked.
The counter woman nodded as she handed Hades our passports. She answered, "Ναι. Πάρτε τους στα αυτοκίνητα," In my head, she was saying 'Yes. Take them to the cars'.
Kristos nodded his head and gestured for the both of us to follow him. As we did, we literally glided through the rest of the tedious process of the immigration checkpoint, because we went through the special paths that were only reserved for employees.
Hades and I attracted a lot of attention as we walked at a normal pace behind Kristos. The faces of some looked as though they had just seen the most beautiful thing in the world, which in this case would be me and Hades. Others, though, had expressions that showed that they were green with envy. I couldn't help but smirk at their expressions, and so did Hades. Whereas the rest looked at us curiously, wondering why we were given special treatment and went right ahead of them in getting all the immigration checkpoint stuffs done.
Though I wasn't too affected by the stares on me, it seemed that Hades was. He had one arm wrapped tightly around me, his hand gripping my arm with protectiveness and possessiveness. I rolled my eyes at his gesture, and decided to talk to him to get his mind off the unwanted the attentions.
"You didn't tell me you spoke Greek," I questioned him, a curious smile played on my lips.
He raised an eyebrow in response as a cocky grin appeared. In a low voice, so that Kristos could not hear us, he answered, "I've been speaking Greek since I was still a god. It's actually my first language."
"Really?" I exclaimed in amazement. "So does that mean that Greek is also my first language?" I asked him curiously.
Suddenly, his face turned solemn and he answered, "It used to be."
My own smile dropped then when I realized why he was so sad. I sighed with a hint of sadness and proceeded to wrap my own arm around his waist. Caressing the side of his lean, muscled stomach, I said to him, "I understood everything that you and she were talking about, though. I understood every single word. It was so amazing."
Hades looked at me with curiosity in his black eyes. "How?" he asked me quizzically.
As we continued to walk through the airport, I told him of how, by some unknown power, I had managed to understand the Greek tongue that he, the counter woman and Kristos were speaking. How the words immediately turned into English to me.
"My brain seriously felt like Google Translate," I joked, to which he chuckled wholeheartedly. I laughed as well as I added, "Seriously. No lie."
Shaking his head in mirth with his lips pulled into a big and laughing smile, he answered, "It's not something that came up all of a sudden because of your powers. It was coming from deep within you. Coming from all those memories that are still locked shut inside your mind and which you still cannot remember. But now, I think that your memories are about to finally make an escape."
And then, he lifted the hand that was on my arm to the side of my face. Running his thumb on my cheek, he murmured lowly, "And when you are finally a goddess once again, you will finally remember everything."
Because I was too focused on the wistfulness of his words, I did not realize that we had finally stepped outside until I felt the cold open air breezing right at me. My skin became covered in goose-bumps in an instant and I shivered.
I looked around us and saw the dark night sky that held a few bright stars and a bright moon that bathed everything in its shine. Seeing the moon immediately reminded me of Artemis, and I pondered to myself about how it must have been like for her to bring down and forth the moon during the times of ancient Greece.
But as my teeth were chattering, I noticed that in front of us, parked in a line alongside the pavement, there were many shiny black sedan cars with dark tinted windows. There was a piece of paper stuck underneath the windshield wiper of each car. The paper only contained the printed words 'Guests of James Evans'.
Just how many vehicles did Zeus own, exactly?
Kristos walked over to another security guard that was sitting at a table and eating a sandwich nearby. They exchanged a few words, with the other security guard studying both Hades and I. And then, Hades let go of me for a while to say a few things to the other guard as well. I didn't listen because I was out of earshot.
Finally, we were now able to take one of the cars. The other guard produced a key ring which held one car key and one smart key. Hades thanked the men in Greek before pulling me with him once again.
Once unlocking the door of the fifth sedan car in the line-up, both of us got inside simultaneously and after a minute or so, Hades drove off.
I said nothing as I stared out the shadowed windows. Honestly, I was completely mesmerised by the city of Athens. This was a city of history. This was Athena's patron city, which she won from a contest against Poseidon. It was so totally different from the small town of Heatherton that I had always been raised in, and the excitement sent shivers up and down my spine.
How I wish this wasn't the last few hours of Earth… I thought to myself sadly as I pressed my fingers gently to the window, gazing at all the white-walled buildings that we drove past. How I wished that it didn't have to be like this. If not, Hades and I could go sight-seeing. We could visit these wonderful places on Earth. We could bask in enjoyment and just enjoy ourselves.
Another sigh escaped my lips then.
But who am I to question the Fates? Whatever is going to happen will happen no matter what. And maybe… I shouldn't worry too much. I will be alive to witness the Earth going through a rebirth. Time will restart itself. A new life will begin. That's a good thing… isn't it?
There was suddenly a touch to my hand, and I turned to face Hades, who was looking at me from the corner of his eyes with gentle concern.
"Maybe you should sleep, love," he murmured as he focused on the road ahead of him. "It's going to be a three-hour drive at least. You should have some rest."
I smiled at his concern and shifted my hand so that it was grasping his. I gave a reassuring squeeze as I replied, "I want to look outside first."
He didn't say anything more. He only gave me one last smile, before pulling his hand away to grip the steering wheel once again.
It has certainly been a long time since she had stepped on the land of Greece, her one true home.
She marvelled at how much had changed. Everything was so different now. The city of Athens was like a clash between the old and the new. Scattered around ancient Greek sites, there are modern buildings that fit the era.
But no matter what it looked like now, she would always fondly remember it as a city where she used to control the growth of the lands, filling it with lush greenery, colourful flowers and the famous and enriching bountiful harvest of the crops.
However, there was no time to take a trip down memory lane. Now, she had to get a move on, before it was all too late.
Quickly, she revved up the engine of the last reserved black sedan at the airport and drove off at top speed. The destination that was set on her mind right now was Olympia, and she was heading towards the ruins of a certain temple there.
Hades could not believe it.
A little less than three hours of driving, and they've arrived in Olympia.
Nearby the ruins of the temple of Zeus.
And it was nearly time. He and Persephone had to get a move on now, before everything was too late.
He looked over to Persephone and, like what he had expected, saw that she had fallen asleep. Once again, the sight of his wife sleeping eased him slightly, making him feel as though there was nothing bad going on in the world.
But of course, reality always had to ruin everything.
Slowly, he reached a hand out to gently shake her awake. In an instant, her eyes fluttered open. Her amber orbs gazed at him.
"It's time," he breathed.
We were running through tall grasses and broken stone fragments towards a clearing near a fallen and broken structure that used to be a pillar and just nearby a still-standing pillar. Nearly every part within the area was covered in broken slabs of stone and marble that used to make up the once-great Temple of Zeus that had stood tall and proud at the very same spot in the past.
But I did not focus on that for long. The more closer we got with each step, the clearer I could see a circle of people standing very still at the clearing. There were twelve, and all their eyes were shut as they stood as though they were in a trance.
I could easily recognise most of them in an instant.
Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hestia, Artemis (thank Mount Olympus she was alright after all!), Athena, Apollo, Hermes and Dionysus were those I recognised instantly.
There was a woman that had waist-length platinum blonde hair that was as straight as a stick. And she was so very beautiful that my heart clenched at the sight of her beauty. As a human, I knew very well from seeing all her cover shots on magazines that she was the one and only Valerie Deyn, one of the best supermodels in the world. But as a goddess, she was Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love and Beauty.
Beside her was man with messy blood red hair. He was dressed in a simple green shirt, a pair of grey camo jeans and army boots, as though he had recently been deployed. I knew straight away that would be Rick Drakon, also known as Ares, the God of War, Violence and Bloodshed.
In between Hestia and Poseidon was a burly man with shaggy sandy-blonde hair who was still quite handsome, but his beauty paled very much in comparison to the other gods, making him look average for a god and nearly close to looking like a plain mortal. It was easy to identify him as Henry Burns, or Hephaestus, the God of Fire and Metalworking.
Seeing that nearly all of them were there made my heart overwhelm with many emotions. But when I realized that a certain goddess was not there, my heart was suddenly full of sadness.
Hades continued to pull me towards the circle, where we would take our place amongst the waiting Olympians. Suddenly, Apollo opened his eyes to look at the both of us, and the rest followed suit. They remained silent as they watched us hurry to them intently.
We were close. So very close.
But the minute we were about to enter the circle, I felt something vine-y twine around my ankle, pulling me backwards until I fell face-first on the ground.
I was then horrified of the fact that I was quickly being pulled away from the rest.