The Messiah [1]

30: Athena

Athena couldn't stop staring, knowing the features were reflective of her own. The nose they'd both received from their mother; the lips from their father. Dimitri's was a face she'd never thought to see again, so she took the moment to observe.

He was hooked up to several machines - his pale green eyes hazy as he stared at her. Tubes ran everywhere, needles shoved into veins that looked abused beyond repair. Taped down sensors covered all skin that wasn't hidden by the blanket, giving Athena ghost itches. Stepping closer, she reached out to smooth back a piece of hair that had fallen in his face. Dimitri shifted restlessly under her hand, the cover slipping from his feverish skin.

Athena watched in horror as webs of scars were revealed - intricate patterns that detailed years of pain. Lacerations were rampant, and the king's sigil was branded onto Dimitri's chest - a whorl of burnt, dead skin in the center. Tears gathered in her eyes, and for once Athena didn't try to stop them. She was crying for the parents she'd lost and the brother who'd been taken from her. The tears pattered softly onto Dimitri's exposed skin, like so many stars falling from a girl who didn't know if she would survive this. The pain was so fresh Athena almost couldn't handle it. She'd lost Dimitri once, and she didn't think she could live through it again. He shifted, drawing Athena's attention back to his hallowed face.

Eyes bright like burning emeralds watched her, the fever briefly broken. But nothing of the boy who had protected her remained; Athena only saw fear dawn as he continued to look at her.

"Athena?" Dimitri whispered, brow furrowing in confusion as he reached one feeble hand toward her. "Are you real?"

"Oh, Dimitri." Athena cried, pulling his hand close as she fell to her knees beside his cot.

Face to face Athena watched as Dimitri's eyes widened, flickering to their intertwined hands as if she was an aberration - a monster suddenly come to life within the confines of this small room. For a moment his hand was limp within her, but after a second Dimitri returned the pressure. Hope unfurled in Athena's heart like wings, so fierce it nearly left her unconscious.

Though years had passed, Athena remembered with vivid clarity the day her brother had been stolen from her; and she vowed it would never happen again.

Φ

"Mama!" Athena giggled, racing forward until she could fist her small hand in the fabric of her mother's skirt.

Clarissa stood in her garden, bent over at the waist and picking at carrots with an expert eye. Lush vegetables surrounded them, and Athena smiled at the instant riot of colors and smells that nearly overwhelmed her. The garden was one of her favorite places to be when she wasn't chasing after Dimitri, begging him to take her for walks through the intricate forest that surrounded their home.

"Hm?" Clarissa hummed, absentmindedly patting Athena's face and smearing it with dirt.

Athena giggled again, clutching her mother closer. The warm summer breeze ruffled the hem of Athena's yellow sundress, sending chills up her legs and raising goosebumps. The temperature was winding down, and in the distance loomed foreboding clouds that would arrive by nightfall.

"Dimitri won't come out of the forest!" Athena huffed, releasing her mother so she could cross her spindly arms over her chest. "And he said I couldn't follow him! He's been acting weird all day."

Clarissa hummed in response, attention drifting from her daughter over to a head of cabbage that looked to be wilting. Athena let out a dramatic sigh, knowing it would take a truly spectacular act to pull her mother's attention back. Possibly another stunt off the roof.