A GODDESSES PARADISE (girlxgirlxgirl)

17; West of the mountain

Irene was so baffled, she found it hard to conduct a simple, coherent sentence to ask anything further. All that came out were messed up words and stammers, which of course lit a glint of amusement in Ariadne's playful eyes.

Of course she found it cute when Irene stammered. It's Irene after all.

Irene feels the cool breeze against her skin. Today is a rainy day.

Four weeks since she came here. It's been an eventful week, way more has happened than ever before.

The queen announced during the monthly meeting between the leaders, that Irene would be given citizenship. She can speak their language, she doesn't create any kind of threat, and no other person from her world has shown up since she came here. It seems like Isaac and Irene are the only ones coming. Since Thea is on Irene's side now, she voted for Irene to get a citizenship, and all the other leaders followed hers and Ariadne's example. The queen didn't care much, she never really does, so she granted it and now Irene is free. She has been given the freedom to walk around however she pleases now, isn't that nice?

Irene can now, for the first time, choose where she wants to live. Still undecided, she wanders on the streets of the city, just looking around. Ariadne seems nervous, but she hides it well. The leader is against her moving away from the temple, while Thea wishes that she'd move into her temple. Irene doesn't know what she wants.

Rain pours down, swings around in the wind and hits her skin repeatedly. Nobody is outside. It's cold and wet and dark. The streets are covered in water, it runs down the smooth marble and creates a slippery surface that isn't safe to walk on. The skies are heavy and gray, pressing down and causing headaches. The trees in the city and beyond are bent, the wind forcing them down. The sound of rain hitting the flat roofs and muddy paths echoes in the otherwise silent place. Irene can understand why they would want to stay inside. Her clothes stick uncomfortably to her body, as the cold rain comes down harshly and wets the fabric. Her hands are shivering from the cold and face blushed from the wind.

But all of this is regular to Irene. It's the kind of weather a small fishing village has practically every day. Here the mountains protect them from rainstorms, but back at home there are no high mountains. If anything, the empty streets are a blessing. It gives Irene room to walk, space to think and breathe. Nobody is there to stare her down, and instead she can focus on what's really important. Irene hasn't seen that much of the city yet, only what Ariadne has shown her. So the rainy atmosphere and the emptiness is perfect for someone like her, who wants to explore.

Explore and think. Because there is much to think about. Where does she want to live? Or should she focus on finding Isaac instead? Leave the city and look through the forests and other cities?

Ariadne words were simple.

"There was another one like you, who came here two days earlier"

Irene wonders what Ariadne meant as she walks further. The houses being fewer and fewer, and Irene stars heading for the outskirts the of the city. As the place is surrounded by mountains, her way goes uphill. It's a little dangerous, considering that it's raining. Everything is slippery and wet, the unstable rocks of the mountains are not exactly ideal to step on. But Irene doesn't care. She keeps walking, remembering what Ariadne said.

"Since it was a boy, Thea sent him to where the men live"

It's still weird that men and women are separated here. Irene frowns as she thinks about it. The higher she climbs up the mountain on the west side of the city, the more it rains. Ariadne will not be happy when she comes back to the temple, probably drenched and possibly sick. She didn't even tell the leader that she was heading out, in fact, she hasn't even seen Ariadne since last evening. When she woke up in Ariadne's chambers this morning, she had already left somewhere for work. But Irene isn't too worried about getting sick herself.