Ariadnê had no idea what went wrong.
One moment she was playing kickball with the body of Αἴας sending him this and that way through the air. And then in the next, she was crouching on the ground, eyes unseeing as she looked at the body before her.
Somehow Helénē had gotten through the gates and passed her family. The girl was determined to return to her Husband, never minding that Ariadnê had promised to return her during the exchange of prisoners after she had beaten Ahkilles into the ground and yet—
She had turned to see Helénē facing off the son of Thetis and she had been doing an admirable job of keeping him back. It had been easy to see that she was trying to press forward to get to her Husband while Ahkilles was trying to pass her to get to Hektōr.
Odyseús held Menelaos back, not wanting their alliance to be seen as fractured as it truly was. Unfortunately, Ariadnê had years of history lessons to know that already. And she, like Menelaos, was furious with Odyseús' audacity to keep the lovers apart when it was the entire reason for the war.
And when Ahkilles struck Helénē, piercing her lower belly, and loosening her limbs, screams equaled in rage and volume coated the land. The Spartan Queen's body let out a charge of lightning as her replying strike went astray, her gleaming sword being thrust out of her hand.
Ahkilles hurled his bronze and the spear sped from his hand and not in vain, striking Helénē where the ribs pressed on the beating heart.
She fell as an oak, a poplar or lofty pine falls in the mountains, downed by the shipwrights with sharp axes as timbers for a ship. Down she tumbled, and lay stretched out at her stolen horses' feet, groaning and clutching the blood-stained dust before her chariot.
There, struggling with death, the queen of the Sparta, straddled by Ahkilles, called out to her dear cousin: "Ariadnê, my friend, warrior of warriors, now you must wield the spear and battle bravely; now if you truly have fight in you, let dread war be your aim. Hold your ground with courage."
The resounding blast that came from Ariadnê nearly tore down the walls of Ilion, killing dozens of men as they were thrown back to land harshly on their necks and breaking them in half.
Grief clutched her heart, and she rushed forward quickly, calling forth the water from the air and pressing it to her wound.
No, she wouldn't die. She couldn't die.
Ariadnê didn't even flinch when flickers of electricity danced alongside the edges. A cry of horror sounded not too far from her, but she didn't look up at the sound of the rushing feet or even when Menelaos fell to her side to place his hands oh-so gently on the cheeks of his wife.
"Helénē. Helénē. Please, no. Please, gods, no. I can't do this again."
Menealos didn't seem to hear the words spewing from the princess of the sea as he brushed the hairs away from his wife's face. He didn't even blink when another pair of hands joined the Trojan Queen, and amber like liquid was poured into her mouth. He wouldn't… he couldn't lose her. But if he did, he wanted the last thing for her to see was him as loving as he ever been and not raging for revenge that he was sure to have after he ripped Ahkilles' heart out with his teeth.
The Queen of Sparta smiled prettily at them both, blood pooling out of her mouth in rose-goldish color as it mixed with the nectar. "It's okay."
"The nectar won't fix all of this, Ari," Will muttered in english. "We need to get her away."
But Ariadnê didn't seem to hear him because— well, if they were being honest, Ariadnê wasn't really seeing Helénē at the moment.
"You foolish girl," Ariadnê cried. Helénē raised a bloody hand to the other's face. Ariadnê cradled it gently. "Why? Please."
Helénē smiled with blood-stained teeth, "Because– Because people see Helénē."
"We always have, and we always will, agapi mu," Menealos stated, lips pressed to her knuckles. There were tears in his eyes. How could he face their daughter after this?
The heavens opened and rain began to fall, drawn to the emotions that clung to the daughter of the sea king. "She was a hero," Ariadnê snarled before she choked on her tears. "A hero."
Ariadnê stood on shaky feet, turning to look around her. "Where is Ahkilles? I'll rip him apart limb from limb!"
The people parted like the red sea, and her gaze locked onto him like a target. "Will, get them out of here. Now."
Ahkilles was attempting to use their distraction as a chance to get to Hektōr. Sadly, for him, Ariadnê will make sure he never gets the chance.
She was moving before she even knew it. Feet darting across the terrain leaving dust in her wake, he barely ducked in time when she lunged at him. She rolled with the movement, immediately coming back up straight and her leg was sailing through the air before she even had time to blink.
"Move aside," Ahkilles stated with a slight grimace. "I do not want to fight you."
"That's just too damn bad," she growled, fingers flexed unnoticeably as Ahkilleus readied his sword.
"You speak big for such a small thing," the man replied as he looked her over for openings. He found none as she approached him as if nothing could stop her… not even the gods themselves.
"When you cross the doors of death and make way to the House of Háidēs," she snarled. "I want you to remember who slain you. I am Ariadnê of no one but myself . And you cannot keep a goddess chained."
The earth and sky grumbled as they lunged for each other. His head ducked as her right leg soar through the air, missing him by mere centimeters. She twirled away as his hands sought to grasp her, spinning on her foot so that her back was never to him.
The terrain became uneven with each step she took. Cracks appeared in the ground as she fought against him harder. His sword sliced at her neck, cutting through easily. A victorious smirk crossed his face before it slipped as her skin solidified.
Her left arm went up when he attempted to strike her with his own kick and were she a weaker person then it may have shattered the bone from the strength behind it. But she was not weak, and neither was Ahkilles; the strength they held was unparalleled by any that were not children of the Kronidês nor was a child of Aphrodítē.
Her arm wrapped around his leg locking him place while bringing her own leg up to kick. Ahkilles dodged, forcing her to let go of him as she twisted through the air. Once she landed back on her feet, the two of them faced each other once more.
She growled, lunging forward in a spinning kick. Ahkilles grabbed her ankle, yanking her to the ground. She rolled with the motion before standing back on her two feet, sweeping her leg out to force him in the air.
She backed up a bit, letting Ahkilles come to her.
His fist moved past her face as she narrowly dodged, but he was the one that had to take a step back once she brought her fist up and blew the dirt in his face. He jumped further back as she aimed a punch at him; eyes widening as a crater was left in the wake. He tried to summon the power of the sea to him, yet she snatched the control back effortlessly.
He aimed a punch at her jaw. She ducked, punching him in the stomach. He skidded backwards from the sheer force of it. He growled battle lust igniting in him. He never faced an opponent as strong as she.
Ahkilles ducked under the kick aimed for him grabbing her leg and throwing her to the ground. She rolled with the landing springing up quickly and lunging for his throat. The wind whistled loudly around the two of them.
The gods were on the edge of their thrones watching the two completely demolish the earth. Her rage was almost palpable in the air.
She was the sea.
She was the storm.
She was Daddy's Little Princess.
And may the sea have mercy on all those that harm her.
Few people understood the depth of her wrath because Helénē reminded her very much of Silena and Lee.
Ariadnê charged him once more, colliding with him like a raging bull. A gouge was left in the earth as the two of them went tumbling alongside the ground as the earth welcomed them into the shadows of death and the storm cried for blood. Angry snarls tumbled from their mouths as they clawed at each other like wild beasts.
The rain gained hands moving to chain each of the male's limbs to the ground while covering her tears from view. One wrapped around his waist and another around his legs. Two grabbed his arms while one held his head in place.
Ahkilles roared as his skin burned from the intensity of her gaze. He hadn't felt this kind of fear ever in his life. It was her eyes… He saw his future… his death in all her eyes as the pupils blazed a brilliant gold.
Her hands wrapped around his throat.
He would say that her hold was almost gentle if it weren't for the way her fingers gouged dents into his skin.
(Hidden from sight, Apóllōn stood behind her arm halfway through her chest funneling his strength and power into her body.)
The world stood in silence as she brutally ruthlessly murdered one of the greatest warriors to ever exist. Lighting danced around them moving in sync with the screams that echoed through the air. Ahkilles seized on the ground, body twitching every which way to in a bid to get away from her. Blood pooled from his mouth as the grasp around his head faded away leaving it to sluggishly loll on the ground.
The man was choking on his screams that faded into pitiful whimpers, but she didn't stop.
She didn't stop.
Hermês appeared at her side, uncaring of how many rules he had broken. The storm passed right over him as if he was a ghost in its presence. He gently pulled her off the warrior's body. She tried to resist as he wrapped her into a hug. She froze before she slumped against him in grief. Heart wrenching sobs escaped from her as nature silenced itself around her.
The two vanished in the wind.
WORD COUNT: 1,811
WORDS TO KNOW:
agapi mu - my love