Pear-shaped Hope
Shadow and Trimorphe purred at one another from across the lawn. The agile snow leopard had woken from her early morning slumber with a spike of energy and was now playfully chasing the black entity around the gardens. Shadow needed the exercise, so I let her annoy him for as long as she wanted. Give or take a few more minutes and Tri would retreat back to her favourite spot beside the courtyard pool.
I tried again to focus on my reading for the day- I held my advanced Illusionary magic class' lesson plan in my hand, but for the life of me I couldn't will myself to pay any attention to what I'd written two days ago.
I sighed and my forefinger nudged up to smooth out the crease in between my brows. Why did my daughter have to be so damn altruistic?
Perhaps Thanatos and I were too hard on her, but honestly, the mere thought of her there- on earth... No. She could visit and go on missions, but to go up there to 'save' a doomed society? Forget it. My daughter will not have that burden like I did- to help an unwilling and unstable community.
Although...
I suppose for me it did result in some of the best years of my life. I suppose if I hadn't taken that plunge to sacrifice myself for the greater good of the kingdom and deal with Ares and Alexus' treacherous ways then I wouldn't be where I was today. But it wasn't easy. Theia was hard-working and capable, but was she strong enough emotionally to deal with that pain? Perhaps she was- even more than me. But no. No, no. She can't go.
Besides, she had work to do here, in her future empire. It was vast and there were many inhabitants who needed her. I knew my daughter- she liked to be needed, but the problems on earth weren't easy to resolve, and trying to fix them won't bring anything but pain and tragedy. That's just the way things were.
Right?
"Aurora!"
A violent shout jumped up from the stone stairs in the corner. It was Thanatos' loud cry that had shaken me from my daydreaming and I bolted upright in my garden chair. "Over here!" I waved my hand as I spotted him and Opis searching the gardens to find where I was sitting.
We locked eyes and I immediately knew that there was something horribly wrong. Thanatos rushed over towards me; a small note flapping wildly in the wind as he stormed ahead with anger in his eyes. Opis scurried after him, but the old man could barely hold up; his wooden cane was tapping comically against the stone pathway and his eyes wide and wild.
"They're gone!"
"Excuse me?" I shook my head and stood up quickly as Thanatos approached me. Tri and Shadow had stopped playing and were now standing beside me, looking back and forth between my husband and I with big eyes.
"They're all gone!" Thanatos lifted the piece of paper and held it up for me to read.
I quickly realised that it was a letter- it was addressed to me.
'Mama...
I am deeply sorry for doing this and I know you will be cross with me, whatever I say here, but I just need you to know that I'm not doing this to spite you or to prove something. That may I have been the reason in the beginning, but now, after I thought it through, I can't live with myself knowing that I could've done something to help those people.
Please don't try to stop me.
I know you're scared and I know you're angry, but deep down, you also know that I'm right.
Do you remember when I was young and you used to tell me stories of how you could never sit still whenever papa went off to do a really dangerous task? Well, I think I'm more like you than you realise...
Wish me luck. I love you and papa with all of my heart.
P.S. If by any chance the twins aren't there either and they're gone too- I had nothing to do with it, I swear!'
My only reaction was to give a half-hearted, shocked little scoff. My head shook to the side and then to the other and then I lifted my head up to stare into Thanatos' livid eyes.
"I'm bringing them back-" He turned around to dart towards the gates, but I grabbed his wrist. "Wait!"
"Aurora!" He scoffed and snarled when I turned him back; "Our daughter and our two sons are on earth, trying to- gods! I don't even know what they're trying to do! This is ridiculous they need to come right back and-"
"Hey!" I shouted and Thanatos' mouth locked shut. Opis finally reached us and with bated breath said; "I...phew... I think Aurora is right, Thanatos."
"She hasn't even said anything yet?"
Opis whacked Thanatos with his cane; "Let her speak then!"
I shot them both a warning glance and pursed my lips with annoyance. I hated this! I hated it when my children were in the middle of disputes like this. It wasn't right and it wasn't fair.
Just a few minutes ago, all I could think of was how wrong and sorrowful Theia's mission to go up to earth would be, but... Oh, dammit. She did have a way with words, didn't she?
"I don't agree with what she did. I don't." I said again, just to emphasise to Thanatos that I agreed with his anger and frustration. But I wasn't done. "But..."
"But?" Thanatos' crimson eyes lit up with surprise. "What do you mean but?"
"But I think we've done enough." I said finally. I grabbed his hand and looked between the two men. "We did what we thought was right- we told her of the danger and we told her that it wasn't easy, nor was it a fair world, but I know for a fact that we raised them- all three of them- with good values, good morals and good hearts. Thanatos," I squeezed his hand and sighed, shaking my head; "We did all we could. I won't go 'fetch' them just to have them end up hating us for it in the long run."
"Aurora, what if they get hurt? What if-"
"What if, what if..." I shrugged; "We both had parents who wanted us to be able to make independent and informed decisions. Except Nyx, but that's not the point." I whispered and reeled back to the matter at hand. "We've all gotten hurt at some point in our lives and we dealt with it. Maybe it's time we let our children 'deal' with their own decisions for once, instead of ours."
Thanatos sighed and ran a hand over his eyes. He looked exhausted. Theia's safety and happiness were a rather big issue for him recently. He couldn't fathom why his only daughter wanted to leave. "I do understand what you're saying; I do, but..." He hesitated and then, with the shake of his head and a defeated groan, he finally said; "Alright; fine. Let them go. But I swear to Gaia and all the gods that if one hair is touched on her head-"
"Yes, yes..." Opis nodded quickly and pulled Thanatos back towards the stairway. The old man looked relieved that Thanatos hadn't blown up with a fit of rage. "You will destroy earth and all civilisation on it. It's not even nine in the morning and you're already dooming mortals to eternal damnation. Can we at least get some coffee first? Goodness."
Thanatos grumbled and put an arm around the old man to help him walk. He shot me a look over his shoulder; "I hope you're right about this."
"When am I ever wrong?" I smirked and Thanatos narrowed his eyes- he was still very unsure.
"I'll send you the list later..."
I crossed my arms over my chest and narrowed my eyes at him. "Hilarious. Look," I knew there was still a chance that Thanatos might quickly slip away and go track down our children, but I still had one last trick up my sleeve. "If it'll make you feel any better about all of this, I think I know someone who'll make you see the bigger picture."
"Who?" He asked, his tone suspicious.
I smiled softly and waved them away to the kitchen. I could tell Opis was hungry. The old man needed to eat. "We'll meet later. Just..." My smile faded and my eyes searched my husband's; "I think we're doing the right thing here."
Thanatos didn't answer; he merely nodded and turned to the front, leaving me to ponder if what I'd decided on the spur of the moment was indeed clever.
Was this Theia's 'Granite rebellion' or was I being far too ignorant? I knew Thanatos' concerns weren't silly or far-fetched, and I shared them too, but... If only it wasn't earth. If only my children didn't have to go to earth.
I was wrong before to be so predisposed towards the whole idea, but earth only help depressing memories now. It wasn't fair though- to rub those feelings off on my own children, whom I taught never to be prejudice towards anything.
Deep down, I hoped that this decision was right, but as a mother who was prone to overthink things, I immediately felt sick to my stomach.
Theia's POV
"We're almost there." I shouted over the loud jungle sounds.
The thick, lush jungle was buzzing with live- howler monkeys were swinging far up along the tree branches, insects were flying around and making odd noises here and there, birds were chattering loudly and the distinct heavy flow of water was growing more and more apparent as we marched on.
Malreus and I were leading from the front, the twins directly behind us, while the rest of the gang were struggling in the back. Narray and Triton were annoyed with the thick vines and branches in their way and Narray had taken to show Triton how to cut through the mess instead of just using their hands to part the leaves from their way.
Morpheus and Asclepius were right in the back, both severely frustrated with the heat. Ash had a cloth wrapped around his head to prevent his sweat from dripping into his eyes and his mouth was pulled up into a sour pout. "That's what you said ten minutes ago."
"Stop complaining!" Narray shouted and sliced a thick branch from her pathway.
"Look who's talking..." Ash commented softly and Morpheus rolled his eyes at our two friends. Morph was being very quiet- I wanted to ask him if everything was okay, but there were to many of the others around and we hadn't taken a break yet. I would wait until we could speak in private.
"How much further, really?" Claudeus asked me from the behind and I turned around to answer; "To be honest; I don't know."
"Wait- what?" Ash shouted in anger and grumbled; "I thought you said you knew where the meeting point was?"
The meeting point I'd mentioned to all of them was a place where Simos and I had agreed to gather after I'd told him that there was a small possibility that I would indeed come. He'd told me about a river, outside Leibysos, where it was private and where we could discuss our plans.
I'd told Malreus about the plan of action first, after we leapt through the portal to earth- he wasn't very happy to hear that Simos was involved and now, my best friend was in a stormy mood.
"He just told me to follow the river to where it formed a lake and a waterfall. I figured the louder it gets, the closer we are?" I shrugged.
Casseus slanted his eyes at me, while the others grumbled under their breath; "I hope you're right, sis."
"Hey," I snarled at him and Claudeus; "You two dragged everyone with- if you can't handle a little hike, then maybe it's better to go home now before the real shit starts."
The twins rolled their eyes, but nodded and decided to shut up for the rest of the trip. Asclepius, however, did not.
"I hate the jungle, I hate the dirt, I hate the heat, I hate this stupid earth and I hate all of you for making me do this!"
"Wow." Malreus said sarcastically from the very front; "You can barely tell he's a spoiled brat."
"Excuse-"
"Shh!" I hushed my cousin before he could retaliate and held up my hand in the air to signal to all of them to be quiet.
"Did she just shush me?" Ash crossed his arms and pointed a finger at me, his question directed at Morpheus. Morph shrugged and I shushed them both again. They glared at me.
"Do you hear that?" I whispered and the others leaned in to intently listen if they could hear anything.
"Uh... No?" Triton answered me and looked around to see if anyone did happen to hear anything.
"Exactly." I yelled; "The river isn't as loud anymore! We're heading the wrong way."
"Oh, fantastic." Asclepius smiled falsely and shook his head; "So I'm leaving." Narray grabbed his arm before he could turn around; "And where on earth would you go, princie?"
"Uh... Home." Asclepius pulled a 'hello! Think!' face and added; "Duh."
"You're not leaving, Ash." Triton pulled him back and wrapped an arm around his second cousin. "We're all in this thing together, whether you like it or-"
"I do not like it. I don't." Asclepius flicked his tongue, but with a lament sigh, he gave up; "But fine. I'll stay to help you all."
"Well, we technically don't need your help." Claudeus chuckled lamely and Asclepius lifted an eyebrow, "Oh, really?" He smirked; "So I'm the only one who noticed the footsteps?"
"Footsteps?" Triton asked and the rest of us immediately recognised the soft, stealthy beat of a pair of footsteps quietly making their way towards us.
Everyone turned around in a flash and faced the direction from which it was coming from. We drew our weapons and held them up; our muscles locked and ready to strike.
I could see the sweat droplets on my forearm as I held my dual daggers in front of me, waiting for the footsteps to come closer.
Until finally-
"If you're trying to be stealthy," I knew that voice. "Shouting at the top of your lungs won't help very much."
Simos emerged from the thick bushes right in front of me and I dropped my daggers to my side with a happy sigh; "You found us."
"Wonderful." Malreus was still clutching his sword in his hand, but he'd dropped it to his side.
Simos' happy smile faded when his eyes shifted from mine to Malreus' and then to Narray's and finally- to everyone else. He stammered a bit; "W-what? Wait a minute! I said two people, Theia! Two!" He lifted his hands up and his eyes widened with shock; "Not a whole tour group!"
"This is the guy?" Casseus lifted his blonde eyebrow at Simos and crossed his arms; "He doesn't look like a mercenary."
"Hmm... Not dumb enough." Claudeus added with a wry tone.
Simos scoffed and looked at me with expectant eyes. I smiled sheepishly and stepped in front of them both. "Sorry- don't take them seriously. They're my brothers." I turned around to glare at the twins; "And they should know when to shut their mouth."
The twins eyed me with small smiles and innocent eyes. I narrowed mine and turned back to Simos. "And this wasn't exactly my idea- the twins sort of convinced everyone to join."
"No one convinced me." Triton said with a smirk. "So where's this 'evil tyrant' and how do we kill him?"
"No, no, no!" Simos shouted and waved his hands in the air; "Listen to me and listen to me very carefully. I have spent the last six years trying to get into the deepest most corrupt parts of a vile inner circle that is controlling the entire earth through fear and intimidation to do their bidding. I am not about to let eight, spoiled brats ruin my chances at success at breaking them from the inside!"
The jungle died down and all of us went quiet.
All but one.
Malreus crossed his arms and glared at Simos; "How overly dramatic."
"Oh, you're here too?" Simos snarled at Malreus; "Great. I'm so excited I asked for help."
"Okay, okay..." I held up my hands and tried to diffuse the situation. "Look, Simos, I am sorry about this- I know it's not what you planned, but we're still doing what suggested- only two of us will infiltrate the ranks and the rest have to find another way to help. That's it."
"Dibs infiltration!" Triton shouted and bolted up his hand, but Simos narrowed his eyes and shook his head; "No. Theia and Narray will do it."
"Me?" Narray's eyes widened and she scoffed loudly; "No way in hell. I am not playing any games with any mad king. I have better things to do."
"Like what?" Asclepius asked and Narray shyly replied with; "That's none of your business..."
"I'm going with Theia." Malreus said with finality and no one dared disagree with him- well, no one but Simos.
"You?" Simos glowered at the prince of the Underworld. Malreus glowered right back. "Is that a problem?"
"No, not at all. It's great. Just... great." Simos inhaled a deep breath and closed his eyes in reserved anger.
This was not going so well.
I tried to brighten up the situation with a wide smile and cheerful tone; "So good, we have some basics down; let's go set up camp for the day and discuss the rest? Alright?"
Everyone moaned and groaned.
"Great!" I smiled happily and began to walk ahead towards the area where Simos had came from.
"Hang on..." Simos grabbed my hand when I passed and with a warmer tone asked; "Who are these people anyway?"
"Oh, right." I smiled and pointed to the twins first; "Those two are my brothers- Claudeus and Casseus."
"Oh, good." Simos gulped nervously; "So then did your father agree to this eventually?"
"No." I smiled at him; "He's definitely fuming."
"Ah." Simos looked very pale. "That is... not the best news. Okay. I might die."
I pointed to the sea prince; "That is Triton- Poseidon's eldest. You know Narray. That is Morpheus; Hypnos' eldest and finally," My finger landed on my cousin, trying very hard to look like he was fed-up with anything jungle-related. "That is Asclepius."
"What?" Simos' head swung to the side and he gave me an incredulous look; "You brought the fucking future emperor! Why?"
"Actually, we did." Casseus pointed to himself and Claudeus with a smile; "We thought he needed to go for a walk."
"I am not amused." Asclepius said with a hint of annoyance, but mostly his voice was dead-pain and flat.
Before Simos could reply and tell us all that this was a horrible idea, I interrupted with a quick tug on his arm. "And this-" I pointed to his handsome face; "Is Simos everybody."
Everyone muttered a faint 'hello' or 'how are you', meanwhile Simos just stood there contemplating if this was all worth the effort.
I squeezed his hand and shot him a reassuring look. Simos' eyes widened at the sudden affectionate display and he stared down at me with an odd look. I hoped we could be good friends- I think he needed a friend.
"Okay." Simos nodded, but his voice was strange. He cleared his throat and tightened his hold on my hand. "Let's head to the clearing by the lake- we can talk there."
"A lake?" Triton and the rest of the boys' eyes lit up with excitement. He dodged past Narray and headed straight for the path where Simos had appeared from. Casseus, Claudeus and Asclepius rushed after him, their grins wide and full of newfound energy.
Narray rolled her eyes and sighed; "Let me just make sure they don't get lost."
"Just follow the path and take the left track when you get to the crossroad." Simos said to her, not even bothering to call back the boys- he knew they'd never listen to him.
Narray left the four of us alone. Morpheus looked between the two older men, but decided to stay out of their glaring contest. Malreus walked up to us and took my other hand in his. He tugged me along with him to the path and I followed, thinking nothing of it.
Simos narrowed his eyes at the back of Malreus' head and dropped my hand when it was a step away from his side.
For the twentieth time that same day, I couldn't help but wonder why I always manged to get myself into these situations...
What do you think is in store for our heroine? And what's Simos' plan?
Malreus' edit-