Hello, Readers! I don't really have anything to say, so please enjoy!
~CSP2708~
*Dylan_Walts*
| Chapter 11 |
| "To The Hunters" |
Hercules was enraged. It wasn't something that I'd expected to see - ever - but it still seemed more likely than Ladon without bad breath, so I wasn't all that surprised. I mean, who could blame the guy? Sure, he hadn't gotten to keep the apples, but that was only fair, since he wasn't even the one to retrieve them, nor come up with the plan to do so in the first place. If anything, Zoe should have been the one to keep the apples, but I digress.
He marched straight over to Zoe, who, oblivious to his mood, looked generally hopeful. There was something innocent about the smile on her face, something ignorant in the sparkle in her eye, that led me to believe that she truly was just a child trapped in the garden of her father and sisters, all alone. Hercules was well within ten feet of her before she noticed his expression - one of immense frustration - and she frowned. Her eyebrows furrowed in genuine confused as if she just couldn't comprehend why he was upset., he'd gotten the apples, right? He'd tricked her father and escaped the sky? He'd completed his task? Why could he possibly be upset?
I hid behind a nearby tree, shrouded in tall grass as I eavesdropped. Zoe would not appreciate me cutting in to save her like a damsel in distress - before the time was right, of course. She already didn't like my accusations against Hercules, but I knew from her future self that this would not be a pretty break and that she'd need someone to lean on after being betrayed and abandoned by the only man she trusted - one who she betrayed her family for. Also, I wanted to see how it would play out while being ready to intervene if necessary.
"Thou lied to me, pretty one," he said, his tone the same as those of the most gruesome monsters I'd faced - the ones who could speak, anyway. It was low and cold, a gravelly sort of growl that sent shivers down my spine.
"What dost thou mean?"
"Thou knew that Athena would purloin those apples from me! Thou knew! That is why thou toldst me thy father was the only way! If I did not acquire them myself, I would not be allowed to keep them!" he accused, pointing a finger at her - a finger that could probably have the power to bench press an elephant, but instead was used to threaten a young girl.
"Athena?" Zoe seemed to have missed most of what he said. "The Lady Athena was here?"
Hercules growled. "Yes! Art thou not listening to me? Is it not getting through thy thick skull? She came and took the apples away from me! She said I was unworthy of them! That I did not earn them!"
Zoe took a step back, now, finally feeling the aggression coming off him in waves. "I did not know. Thou canst blame me for a goddess' actions. Thou completed thy task, is that not so?"
"Yes! It is so! I completed my task, but the apples were taken from me, unrightfully!"
Zoe glared now. "I do not see what is thy problem. Thou completed thy task, and yet, thou art discontented."
Just at that moment, Hercules looked like he was going to hit her - like he was going to raise his hand to strike her across the face, but he didn't. Thank the gods that he didn't, because I would not have made it there in time, and with his unparalleled strength, I feared he may kill her, unwittingly. Instead, he turned away, inhaling noisily through his nose.
Then, he turned back. "I will take my leave now. To complete my twelfth and final task. Then, I shall finally be rid of Hera's foul discontempt."
Just as he turned, Zoe grabbed his arm. "And where will we go?"
He pulled away, his face flashing with such malice that Zoe took a step back. "Thou shalt not be going. Thou shalt stay here to rot, where thy kind belongs! Thou art not any further use to me."
"Please! Thou mustn't leave without me! Thou promised to take me to see the world - away from this wretched place! Thy promises cannot lie!"
"Thine pour naive soul!" he burst out with dark laughter. "I never intended to take you away, pretty one. Thou were a means to an end, nothing more than a pawn in my game."
"But... my family! They will know of my deceit! What shall I do then? They shall disown me!"
"That is none of my concern, pretty one."
Zoe got angry then. Angier than I'd ever seen her before. It was like her heart had been ripped from her chest - metaphorically, it had already - and her reservations had flown out the window. She looked ready to kill. "Thou lied to me! Thou promised to take me away, filling my head with grandeur! I know what thou art, now! Thou art a wretched, foul-hearted swine! Thou art dishonoured by thy filth and hatred!"
One moment, she was leaning close to his face, yelling so loudly that spittle flew onto his cheeks, but then, she was on the ground, several feet away. I'd almost missed the sound of his face connecting with her cheek - it had all happened so fast. It wasn't like in the movies where everything slowed down. Instead, I saw everything sped up like someone had been fast forwarding, and just kept going, leaving me to fumble for a remote I'd never be able to reach.
I was just about ready to burst from my hiding place when Hercules turned away from the girl on the ground, who was clutching the quickly-purpling mark on the right side of her face. He took one last look at her, twirled the sword imbued with her power - Anaklusmos, which he had no right to wield - and left.
I was astonished. Truly. Not by Hercules display of blatant disrespect, nor his cruel demeanour and disregard for her feelings. No. That would never surprise me. It was his use of violence and the situation in which Soe had gotten herself into. How could he have just... used her like that? When I was younger - far younger - I'd always looked up to him as a hero. It was only after I'd met Zoe that I'd looked closer to the myths circling around him. I'd read about his triumphs, always exaggerated, and his failures - few and far between as they were. This moment, not even recorded in the records, was truly one of the darkest of his, that I knew for sure.
No wonder Zoe had nursed her hatred for men for over two millennia. Hercules was the worst, most vile human being I'd ever seen since my garbage step-father, Gabe Ugliano.
Hercules disappeared over the hill on his way down the mountain without a care in the world. He'd completed his task; that was all he cared about. Only the mild setback of not being allowed to retain his grasp over the golden apples had discouraged him, and I didn't doubt that he'd already wiped his encounter with Zoe from his mind. Surely, when he told the story, he'd leave her own of the story completely, and boast about how he'd tricked the mighty Atlas to retrieve the apples for him. He'd regale his worshipping fans with the tale of his effortless escape and perfect plan.
Zoe just stared after his retreating figure until long after he vanished. It was like she could still see him, his image burned into her memory, and if she stared long enough, the real man would be burned, too. If only that was how hatred worked. Alas, even the purest, most brutal form of hatred did not destroy one's enemies without due action. And Zoe could not do such a thing, for she was a Hesperide, and Hesperides could not leave the confines of the garden - not without an escort - so Hercules was now beyond her reach. Now and forevermore.
I, once again, was ready to step in to comfort her, but it seemed that the universe - or perhaps just the Fates - were against me, as her sisters suddenly appeared, glaring down at her.
They'd seen everything, it seemed because they knew what she had done. They ripped at her clothes, tugged at her hair, shouted brutal hate down upon their once-sister. She deserved it, after all. She'd betrayed them. Betrayed her family for a complete stranger, and now she was paying for it. She was left with nothing, and when her sisters finally left her, shivering and weeping on the cold, hard ground, she knew that she'd made the biggest mistake of her life.
I knew how to change that.
I finally emerged, quiet as a mouse as I approached the sobbing girl. I kneeled down next to her, but she seemed to be too wrapped up in her sorrow, as she did not notice me, even as I laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Hey," I said softly.
She looked up and glared, immediately recognizing me, though there were tears in her onyx-black eyes. "What dost thou want? Canst thou not see my pain?" Her voice was raw - as I expected. The deep hatred for men was settling in behind her eyes - I could see it. I was probably the last person she wanted to see because I'd been the one to tell her that Hercules was a bad guy and she hadn't believed me.
"Art thou not the man who warned me of Hercule's deceit?" she suddenly asked. "How didst thou know?"
Knowing I couldn't tell her the truth, and that even if I did she wouldn't believe me, I just smiled and held out my hand. When she took it, hesitantly, I stood, lifting her out of the mud. "I can't tell you; I'm sorry."
Her eyes narrowed, and she was drawing into herself again, though less so than she had with Hercules. "Thou speaks strangely. Why is that?"
"I can't tell you that either. But, regarding your other question... I just know his type. How people like him act, and I knew that he wouldn't keep his word. Hercules is a bad person with a bad past, and can't be trusted."
"And how do I know that I can trust thou?" she accused.
"You can't, and I don't know what I can say to make you think otherwise. Just know that I'm nothing like Hercules or his kind." I almost growled when I said this.
"Then say that I do trust thou. What canst thou do for me? I have no place to go. My family has cast me out. I am without a home and without my honour."
Then, I smiled. This was my chance to make things right. "I know just the place. Come with me."
***
"Where art thou taking me?" she asked as I took her down the mountain. I led her along with a light hand on her upper arm, neither dragging nor pushing her - just guiding. I'd been praying to Artemis all the way down the mountain, hoping that she'd come to take this new Huntress for her own.
I paused for a moment - both in walking and praying - and told her, "Zoe, I can take you to a place where you will never feel like an outsider. You will never be treated as Hercules has treated you, and this new family with never leave you."
There was suddenly a glimmer of hope in her eyes as she looked at me. Though, there was also fear. I knew what she was thinking: could I possibly be lying to her? Was I just like Hercules underneath, and instead of leading her to her salvation, could I be leading her to her doom?
No. I wasn't. I had to convince her otherwise. Not all of us were the same wretched men as he was. We weren't all tricksters, charlatans, or cheats.
A sad smile tugged at the corners of my lips. "I'm just a man on a journey, and I couldn't just stand by and let him treat you that way," I replied simply. "People who act like Hercules don't deserve the good in the world. They must earn their triumphs, not deal underhanded blows to those around them for glory. Everyone should be treated with the respect they deserve - that's what I believe."
As the sun slowly sank beyond the horizon, I saw the moon - lit brightly in the sky - and smiled. "She's coming."
"Who is coming?"
Turning my head, I just barely flashed her my grin but remained silent. She would find out soon enough.
Just then, the night sky shimmered. The moon glowed with more intensity than ever before, and a young - approximately twelve-year-old - girl in a silver tiara appeared from the wood. An entourage of girls ran alongside her, all dressed in silver tunics and silver pants, with silver bows and silver quivers of silver arrows. Hoods of rich grey and white fur adorned their heads.
They approached, stopping maybe twenty feet away. Eyes of all colours observed us cautiously, but my attention was only focused on the harsh yellowish-silver orbs staring back at me. She seemed to be studying me as if evaluating whether or not I was worthy of answering. Her eyes soon shifted to Zoe, who - when the girls had appeared - shuffled behind me slightly.
Zoe stared right back at the girls, dark eyes full of caution, but also vivid curiosity. I could almost feel the distrust coming off her in waves, its foul, bitter smell only sweetened by a ray of hope.
I began to lead her forward, to meet them in the middle.
One step.
Two.
Three.
On the fourth step, they all sprung into action, and all arrows were suddenly pointed at us - well... me.
I said, "This young maiden wishes to join you, my lady. She seeks sanctuary, and I immediately thought that you and your Hunters could provide for her what she is looking for."
Artemis stared at me intensely. A long hard moment passed before her eyes suddenly widened, then narrows. She opened her mouth, lips wrapping around a word that I hadn't been expecting. She cried, "You!" with such realization in her voice that I knew I was a goner.
***
Word Count: 2396
Posted: Saturday, April 13th, 2019
~CSP2708~
*Dylan_Walts*