Cornelia's bare feet moved in whispers next to Apollo's heavily armored steps. The golden god wore something quite different from when she first saw him. The bright leathers were gone and replaced with a loose short dark blue short tunic with a strange light grey graphic on it, and thick blue leg sleeves, she hoped they had a better name for the clothing items.
Cornelia gestured toward his garments. "what are those called?" She asked, knowing full well she sounded imbecilic, but how else would she know and she even felt stupid trying to ascertain them on her own. A quick moment of stupidity was worth saving herself a lifetime of it for the sake of 'embarrassment'. He snorted, then took a moment to regain his composure. Cornelia could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks and regretted the question instantly.
"Clothes?" He asked with more amused gentleness than she deserved.
"Yes, no, I know that part." Cornelia felt her shoulders heave with a frustrated sigh. "I just have not seen anything of their like." She kicked out a leg as an example, "are these sleeves?"
His reassuring smile sent a warm chill down her spine. "Right," he put a hand through his golden hair as he collected his thoughts. Apollo pointed to his 'leg sleeves', "these are called pants. This," he pulled on his blue tunic, "is a t-shirt." He kicked out a foot with growing enthusiasm. "this," He wiggled his foot to draw her attention, "is a sock and a boot."
Cornelia smiled, "yes those are much better names!" She jumped up giddily. "I like them! They are so much easier to move in than Stolas and togas!" She beamed at him as she started stepping to the joyous music that seemed to still be coming from nowhere.
He joined her caught up in her enthusiasm. He put one hand in her right and the other in her left and together she followed him about the room in whatever dance he had seemed to dream up from nowhere.
"Where is that coming from?" She asked through her laughter.
"hmm?" He asked bemused, "where is what coming from?" His voice had a soothing bardic quality to it.
"The music!" She laughed again, "there are no musicians to be found, yet there is music?"
"Oh!" He laughed, "I forget sometimes how behind your people are." She felt the moment deflate around her and stepped back.
"Excuse me?" Cornelia knew the gods could be cruel, she just was not ready for it. Immediately her walls went back up and she shot him a defensive glare, "We are the most advanced civilization on Terra!"
He laughed, "well that is true, but your planet is much younger than many, you are barely out of the bronze age. Usually, we do not bother with indigenous cultures until at least the computer age."
"My what, and the what age?" Cornelia asked ashamed that she did not have a single clue as to what any of those words meant. Especially in consideration that he implied it to be a common word.
"Planet," he groaned choosing to answer only for one of the words, "this is going to take a while." He gave her a baleful stare, " I am sorry, its not an insult, you do not control that sort of thing, it takes time." Cornelia answered him with an indignant expression and he sighed in answer, "Look we are not from here." he gestured around him using the lights and strange sounds as a non-verbal explanation, "we are from a place far away."
"I know," She answered curtly.
"You do?" He asked with an eyebrow raised.
"You are gods," She stated with what she believed was the right amount of awe and confidence. "I know you said not to call you that, but it is what you are."
Eerie laughter erupted behind her, and the man with dazzling sapphire eyes and night-black hair appeared next to her. "Do not say that too many times, he is cocky enough as is." As far as us being 'all-mighty gods' that would be the easiest thing for your primitive mind to understand, but it is not the case."
"Hades do not be rude to our guest," The amazon with green skin stood a few paces ahead of them. "Hurry up you two let's get this over with."
Cornelia had moved past feeling awestruck and was now immensely frustrated. How dare they call me 'primitive'? I am not a barbarian! I am born of the greatest race this world had ever seen! She was so angry she did not even have her normal 'word diarrhea' to contend with in these situations. So non-verbal actions would have to suffice.
She only had to wait seconds before the opportunity presented itself. The hubristic god, they called 'Hades' had chosen that moment to get in front of her, like the mangy ill-mannered dog he is. A mischievous smile crossed her lips. She lifted her foot just high enough to be above Hades' next step and he came crashing down to the floor.
Hades lay there in an undignified pile, the light blue on the sleeves of his black 't-shirt' and emphasized the literally glowing anger in his eyes. The expression on his face made her instantly regretful of every action she had done in her entire history. Every mal spoken word from the time she could remember speaking until this moment. A look that leveled her to her core and sent an ominous shiver up her spine. He's a monster. She thought with a shiver and shifted closer to Apollo.
Apollo's laugh boomed and echoed through the hallway. His emerald eyes twinkled in shared mischief and merriment. He bent forward slapping his knee, "oh I vote she stays, this will be grand!" His luxurious golden curls fell around his face and his perfect and white smile spread his lips as he guffawed. Hades grabbed some non-descript item from his pocket that, of course, Cornelia did not recognize. He chucked it at the golden god narrowly missing his head.
Artemis' lips ticked up in the hint of a smile and Hades glared at Cornelia as he picked himself up off the floor.
"You did deserve that." The Artemis added mater-of-factly. Cornelia noted that unlike her compatriots the warrior goddess' had not taken her free time to change, or if she had she only owned one outfit. Thick vermillion leather armor of a style Cornelia had never seen covered every part of her body. Silver insignia marked a spot on her breast and four grey dots moved up her collar. At her hip was a sliver bow with strange mechanical attachments. Cornelia made a note to herself to learn what all of these things were called, though it would be frustratingly difficult without seeming like a 'barbarian' again.
A door parted in front of them revealing an enormous circular room. Large translucent panels lined the walls, but they showed nothing of the outside. They remained dark. Lights danced on other panels in the room. Much like the one, she woke up in. There were six cushioned seats in a semi-circle in the back of the room. Two on either side of the front and one throne in the direct center of the room. The throne was very much occupied and it turned to reveal the man in the center.
He was older than the others. His storm grey eyes evaluated her. It was like staring straight into a hurricane. It filled her with fear, respect, fascination, and something else. His salt and pepper hair was cut short to his head. His skin looked to be made of the rarest pink marble and smooth and youthful despite the age speckles in his hair. He had a face chiseled like it had been crafted by an artist.
He got up from the chair and she was able to see that he wore a shirt covered by a leather V-shaped shirt that seemed like it was made to look like armor but had no protective qualities at all. He moved toward her and flashed her a warm smile, "Welcome," The smile lit up his eyes and sent a needed breath of relaxation to her core, "Cornelia isn't it?" She nodded frozen in her place. He smiled again and took a step toward her with an outstretched hand, "I am Captain Zeus."
Cornelia knew nothing else, but that she should bow. She prostrated herself before what had to be the king of these gods. He laughed, "no need for that my dear." She felt his hand in hers as he brought her back up. "What brings you to the darkest corner of the woods, my dear. Most humans do not venture this far in."
Cornelia felt her body tremble as she remembered the events that lead her to this moment. The memory of the glowing blue man with electricity that pulsed from his fingers made her send an involuntary glance at the dark and brooding presence in the back of the room. He was working hard not to be involved in the conversation, but be present to hear every word. She took a deep breath and looked back at the king of gods.
The man in the center of the room gave her a reassuring grin, "it's okay we will not hurt you." She looked back at Hades, not entirely believing his words. The man chuckled, "Hades' bark is much worse than his bite I promise."
"He bites?" Cornelia asked in a trembling whisper.
Apollo snorted, "Only if you ask nicely!"
"Apollo!" Artemis slammed his chest with her palm him and he fell flat on his back.
"Damn, sis." He pushed himself up wincing, "was that necessary?"
"Yes." She did not even give him the courtesy of making eye contact as she answered. Her protective stare was on Cornelia and Zeus who was not touching her arm.
The Cornelia could help but smile at that and turned her attention back onto the man who was quickly becoming her favorite. He held her right arm out, "Artemis said you sustained some injuries from before the fight?"
Cornelia grimaced, "yes." An embarrassed flush hit her cheeks. Those were private matters, not a concern of the gods.
Zeus nodded and moved the sleeve up her arm. He whistled when he saw the angry black bruises that marked her arm. "Apollo you can take care of this now, poor thing looks like it still hurts."
Apollo nodded and brought out a small metallic device. The same one he used on her earlier that day. "he moved it against the marks on her arm. In a deliberate and slow motion. The press of the device was cool and it sent a delightful warm sensation down her arm. The marks vanished from beneath her skin and any scars around them as well. She touched her arm marveling at the utter lack of pain or inflammation. It was like he had erased Gastonus from her life in that gentle gesture.
"Do you want to tell us what that was from?" Artemis asked in a firm but gentle tone.
Cornelia shook her head. Despite their kindness, these creatures were strangers and she had barely processed what had happened herself. She had no clue how to explain it to them.
"Okay so that leaves the question," The stormy eyed man said with gentle warmth as he brought her a steaming cup of warm liquid. The smell of citrus and herbs tickled her nose and she took a sip. A light hint of honey touched her lips and she smiled as she held the cup close absorbing its warmth into her hands. "What do we do with you?"
Her attention moved back to him in an instant. Desperation clutched her chest. "This is my only chance, this would be the only way." She knew they were strangers, but the people back home were enemies. She was trapped between the beast she knows and the monsters she did not. The decision was hers and she had no idea what to do. Her mouth spoke while her mind was still working on possibilities. A habit she had not yet been able to break, "I can help."
"You do not even know what a shirt is, how could you possibly hope to help us with anything." Hades scoffed, she ignored him.
"Anything," She gestured around them. "There has to be some sort of job or task you need done. I am strong. I can gather supplies from the woods, or mend clothes?"
The Zeus laughed, "we do not have a need for those things. We have technology that takes care of most of that."
Cornelia's shoulders slumped in defeat, "Please? There has to be something I can do."
Artemis and Apollo stepped forward and in unison, they said, "I have an idea."
Hades groaned, "They are doing the twin thing again!"
Zeus laughed, "how did one of you end up green? I do not understand how that happened." He shook his head, "any way you had some sort of shared idea?"
Apollo went first, "There was a boy there, who witnessed it. She told him a story and sang him a song to help him forget, to change what happened in his mind or in a way make it seem like it never did. With her knowledge of their customs and stories she could do 'damage control' when things get out of hand like they did today."
"Intriguing," Zeus mused and he turned to Artemis, "and what is your idea."
"From what I can tell she cannot go back, it is not safe where she came from." Zeus nodded in agreement. "What I also saw when we first encountered her was someone with raw talent. She has clearly had some fighting experience, but not enough to be fully useful yet. I could train her to use weaponry and she could help us gather the inventory. As you know, sir, we need all the help we can get as the majority of our crew is either dead or scattered to every corner of this planet."
Zeus crossed his arms and leaned back with a smile. "This is why I keep you both around." Zeus said with a triumphant smile, "So, my dear are now our fighting ambassador." He chuckled, "a title never before seen and most likely never seen again. Politicians are usually so incredibly dull."
Cornelia laughed at that one, Rome was very politically active, and she had seen her fair share of drab and useless political speeches, "I would like that." Inside she was exploding with glee. She had a job, women did not get jobs. They certainly did not get to fight or weave stories. She could barely contain herself. She felt her cheeks flush and her eyes must have been as bright as she felt because even Hades smiled at her expression.
She would disappear from the hands of Gastonus into the arms of the gods.
"Artemis will show you to your quarters," Zeus said in dismissal. "I do not trust Apollo to do the job and leave you alone, and Hades might drop you in a ditch."