"You're...Hades. The King of the Underworld."
Alina Knight is an upcoming ballet soloist with the American Ballet Theatre. Her only focus is ballet and persevering through the extreme mental and physical tolls ballet has. After her big debut as ABT'...
"I'm just kidding," he said, and then pointed to the horizon line. "The sunset is earlier in Olympus. Therefore, parties are earlier."
Alina hadn't noticed but the sun was setting, and it was only five o'clock. The beautiful white clouds that hung beneath the mountain turned a light pink.
Ups! Ten obraz nie jest zgodny z naszymi wytycznymi. Aby kontynuować, spróbuj go usunąć lub użyć innego.
"It's beautiful," she murmured, staring at the fluffy rose colored waves.
"Just wait till a little later, it gets even better."
The palace was getting closer, and with it, the sounds of an already throughly started party arose as well. The air was moist and warm, making her hair curl slightly and her cheeks flush. Each step they took nearing Aphrodite's palace the colors in the clouds seemed to become darker and richer, creating purples and blues swirled in the sky. The palace itself was made from an opalescent stone; almost as if it were the pearl that Aphrodite had risen from itself. Large balconies full of people hung off the sides.
"Wow," said Alina as they stopped in front of the open gates.
The entrance itself was lined with gardens along a marble stone walkway, which glowed in the soft hue of the sunset.
Despite the warm temperature, Alina found herself crossing her arms over her chest, self conscious about her dress. She was still holding Apollo's arm and drew closer to him as they entered the party.
There was no host waiting at the front door. In fact, there wasn't even a front door, just a beautiful archway that lead into a dazzling large room. The room itself was made of the same opal stone as the exterior. Golden light seeped in through the opposite wall from which they came from--because there was no wall. Alina tried not to shiver at the fact that the room had no wall between the party and the edge of the mountain ledge. But the way the sunset made the opalescent stone room glow from the inside... Alina could see why Aphrodite had made it that way.
The room was overwhelmingly crowded with guests. Everything looked out of a fantasy or a dream. Each of the guests moved with inhuman grace and held as much elegance as high royalty. Not surprisingly, women were just as skimpily dressed as Alina, though the males were dress in attire similar to Apollo's. Everyone was spectacularly beautiful, even if some had an odd trait like light blue skin or a lion's tail. Alina tried not to stare at them too much by averting her eyes to the floor.
Soft music played in the background of chatter and melodic laughter, the music a strange mix between an ancient and futuristic melody. The entire scene was otherworldly. Even though the party was relatively normal with people, music, and drinks, there was an element that made Alina feel utterly out of place. Bellydancers in rose and gold attire danced on small tables. Silk drapes hung from the golden ceiling, creating a sultry and alluring aesthetic.
She felt like an alien on another planet, and it didn't help that some of the guests would turn and observe Alina as she and Apollo walked through the crowd. Alina, to her relief, hadn't seen Hera or Ares in the faces of the crowd, nor did she recognize anyone.
