ALEKS

“They say that when Zeus was about to hand out the lands among his siblings, Hades immediately declared the Underworld, the Land of Darkness and Justice, as his. It was where he dealt with the gods who fell out of favor with him; the wicked gods.

When he fell into an obsession with the goddess Persephone and he got her to agree to spend a third of the year with him. She did not like the darkness of the underworld however so Hades gifted him the Far Northern part of Hades. A place where Day could penetrate through the powers of Night. A place where weather changes daily; snow storms one day, sunshine the next. A land which flowed with nourishing fruit and refreshing waters. A land of gold and diamonds. A land that was not to be entered. Abattohn.

Old text claims that the few pure souls of humans and gods where rewarded by being allowed into the land of Persephone. They lived peaceful and fruitful lives, they married each other, traded amongst each other, and celebrated Hades as the Supreme God. It is said that he fell for one of the fair human maidens who was born into the land, and from their offspring the Hyades where born. The men blessed with the essence of the gods; his descendants, the Hyades have ruled the Land since Hades descended back to his throne alongside his human consort. The Abattohnians have resided here ever since, hidden from the rest of the world save for the other lands which have been blessed by the Greek gods, making up the Azzurian Empire” Lanthe smiled at me, a teasing sparkle in her eyes. “I’ve been dying to tell that tale.” She laughed merrily, my piteous state apparently forgotten. I was fascinated by the tale and I couldn’t help but wonder about it’s accuracy. Nine years ago I would have dismissed it with a laugh and a scoff the world of supernatural beings nothing but a teenager’s myth to me but now….

Sharp teeth sinking into my neck with little resistance from my skin. A sharp prick of pain and then pleasure. Pleasure that I don’t want to feel. Pleasure that feels wrong. I shook off the memory like I always did when it came by. I was moving on. I was looking forward.

After a delicious lunch of tacos, empanadas and enchiladas, apparently Lenny had told Lanthe I loved Mexican Cuisine so… so much’, Lanthe decided to show me around the property. I was anxious.

I was anxious because Leukas was getting married to someone else, in just three months he would belong to another woman. He would touch her like he used to touch me, someone else would feel the feelings I had felt back then. An unknown woman who did not have the blood of hundreds of people on her hands. A woman who wasn’t broken and desperate to use Leukas or her own children as a crutch. A woman who wasn’t affiliated by so many demons she barely slept or ate most of the time. A woman Leukas deserved.

I was anxious because I hadn’t seen my kids yet and Lanthe had informed me Leukas and Jason were showing them around the city, I couldn’t exactly throw a fit about it since they were their family and I had to get used sharing them, but….it would be hard for me.

My children and the knowledge that I was all they had and their only hope in living securely had kept me from sinking under all the guilt, the fear and the pain I was living through. Their need for me had pushed my demons to the back of my conscience for so long. Now my kids didn’t need me, not really. I could already tell that this family would do anything for the kids. Because they were Hyades, but I wasn’t. I had let the darkness pull me under before and Lander had barely brought me back to the surface. When I inevitably lost my children to the Hyades, would I survive again?

**********

The Hyades estate was even bigger and more elegant from an outside stand-point. It had even more water bodies than I had originally thought; more fountains, waterfalls, streams and ponds. It also had a massive array of vegetation, complete with a thick forest. With everything that was happening, I half expected a unicorn to burst out of the dense woods at the west side of the island. I was almost disappointed when it didn’t. The most dominant of the trees was one species which had a tall green bark, the hugest green leaves I had ever seen and unfamiliar big, blue, orange-like fruit. The ‘Ice-Berries’, Lanthe explained. Apparently they were fruits only ever grown in Abattohn and their main source of trade with the other Azzurian countries. They were apparently nicknamed ‘The Fruit of the Gods, because their sudden growth and the fact that they refused to grow anywhere besides the Hyades’ Island Estate was a mystery to every Azzurian. They were apparently also immensely popular and in demand because they were very nutritious, healthy, delicious and they smelled great. Lanthe explained that the fruit had many antioxidants and could be credited for the amazing skin and agelessness of everyone we’d come across. She said they used it in toothpaste, skin creams, soap, deodorants, alcohols, juices, perfumes and just about everything else. We passed through an orchard which was filled with the trees and a lot of people animatedly harvesting the fruit while chatting and dancing to soft music that wafted through the air. Lanthe’s presence was greeted by curtsies and joyful waves; she was clearly well loved. One of the harvesters washed one of the fruit and handed it to me at Lanthe’s request and I hesitantly bit into the fleshy fruit. A burst of soft, fruity and …. magic burst into my mouth and I moaned. At this rate I would be believing the story of Hyades in no time.

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We spent quite a while walking around the island and we talked. We talked about the Hyades family. She told me that she had two other kids besides Luk, his sister whom I had met when Leukas and I were still friends, his supposed twin Atlas, and Benedikt. She told me about her eighteen-year-old daughter, Kimberlee who was on a short trip with some friends, and Harpah, her eight-year-old daughter who was apparently an exact replica of Elena. They had apparently hit it off immediately. I asked Lanthe about some of the statues I saw, some more unfamiliar trees and fruit, some structures and some more history about the architecture and the amazing technology I saw being handled by the different workers in the island. At some point, Lanthe and I settled onto some garden chairs near the orchard and we watched the orange glow of the setting sun. I had learnt so much about Abattohn already, it was like a dream land. The tap water was incredible fresh with a sweet undertone that worked perfectly; they could make so much money from it. The air was also cleaner and fresher and despite the warm day, the air was cool and clean. Despite all the lovely discoveries, my soul was not at rest.

I was at war with the urge to ask where Leukas took my kids; to beg he bring them back to me and to let me be the one who told them the truth about who he was. I’d told my kids as much truth about their father as much as I could. They knew I held him in high regard. They knew he hadn’t abandoned them. I had gold them that he did not know about their existence because we got lost each other and that one day we would find our way towards each other again. I hadn’t expected it to happen so soon but I’d known that at some point Leukas would know. The truth had a way of coming out.

I was terrified of what Leukas might tell my kids. Elena had always been very vocal about her desire for ‘her very own daddy’. Adrian was less vocal about anything he desired, but I could see the look of longing he threw at the other kids at school during school outings. I saw how he looked at the fathers teaching their kids how to ride. And I knew how much he disliked the strict boundaries I’d enforced between them and the only male figure they had ever known, Lander; he was just my friend and he could not go with Adrian to any father and son school activities. He wasn’t their father and never would be. I understood how much they had missed out; how much they had lost because of my own demons. I couldn’t stand the thought of them finding out that I had purposefully deprived them of their birthrights. I had stolen a father figure from them. I had stolen a childhood void of all the struggles we’d faced with lack of money and family. I didn’t want my children to find out how selfish and terrible their mother was.

When I came out of my thoughts, I realized that Lanthe was watching me closely and I wondered if she could read my mind, ridiculous as the notion was. Was it really so ridiculous though after all I’d seen? All I knew. She smiled at me again, as if acknowledging that I was so uneasy and confused and I had a right to be, before finishing up her glass of Ice-berry juice. It tasted like an explosion of fruit and magic. Lanthe stood afterwards and rubbed her flat stomach.

“You must be tired and a little hungry by now. I obviously overdid it with the tour...” She giggled, a slight blush on her almost luminescent skin. “Let me show you to your accommodation. I won’t lie to you Aleks, you will be here for a while. A lot of politics are going to be involved, a lot of talks and inquiries and….it will take some time before you can leave here again. I thought it would be more comfortable for you if we assigned you your own property. Tomorrow there will be a meeting with the Royal Council that you will be required to attend in order to go through with the process of citizenship and inauguration of the kids and their future.” She trailed off then and let me process that. The future of my children was no longer mine alone to decide for. It was Leukas’ decision to now. And I could imagine since they were royalty, a few other opinions would be thrown around. The truth is, I doubted I would have that much say in their lives again. If they weren’t poisoned against me, I would still be grossly outnumbered in this rich, foreign world.