APOLLO

‘’We found the servant girl my king’’A voice echoed from afar. I cannot believe that I got drunk with mortal wine. The sun was rising again as two people were trying to drag me somewhere as if I were someone simple.

‘’Here she is.’’

And my eyes looked up to my supposed brother. He once again looked down on me with his fingers tracing his beard.

‘’She was on the floor drunk, what shall we do with her?’’

And for a few minutes, there was silence.

‘’Briing, her to my room.’’

By bringing me to his room he meant by his soldiers tossing me down to the floor and simply walking away.

There was his wife again with a sweet smile, trying to help me to stand. For someone who just saw sliders tossing a servant girl down to her husband’s room, she seemed so calm.

But the door opened again and Perseus appeared with a wide smile.

‘’I am so sorry’’I said, trying to make a pitchy voice but Perseus laughed. No, he giggled.

My eyes snapped as I looked back and found Andromeda passed on the ground.

‘’Now do not be coy with me’’He said with another familiar annoying voice as the king now joined Hermes who was holding two jars of wine. ‘’I am saving your life’’His face moved up and down before he smirked.’’Lovely dress by the way.’’

I narrowed and grabbed one of his jars. My brother seemed to enjoy it as he drew out one of his coins and with a single flip we were both now in the woods, sitting on one of the trees.

‘’Oh I always knew that you were light headed but this?’’Hermes said and started drinking fast.

‘’How long was I out?’’I asked him.

He let out a hum.’’A day I believe, I tried to hide you in one of the closed rooms.’’

‘’And why there and not bring me to the forest?’’

‘’Well’’Hermes shrugged and took one more sip.’’You seemed tired.’’There was no smile as he moved closer to me. ‘’Now spill it about our beautiful prophet?’’

I snorted as I tried to drink from the jar.’’What about her? She is going to do something foolish.’’

Like dying from the poison. The woman seemed to not care about her own pathetic life.

And then Hermes spoke about other news. What Perseus decided.

And I started laughing with sweet wine falling to my lips.’’A challenge to kill my child?’’

Hermes nodded and moved closer to me.’’Yes and the winner takes everything, the loser leaves.’’

My lips parted with amusement as I could imagine that both of the people competing would be dead from my child’s poison and teeth.

‘’Aren’t you scared about your precious oracle?’’Hermes asked me and I shook my head.

‘’I simply do not care so much about her as I did before'' I admitted to him and suddenly I could see eyes forming all over his body. When they vanished he hummed.’’Very well, I suppose you are going to let her in the hands of the Fates.’’

I nodded. As much as I pushed her to this position it was enough for her end to come. I could still see it.

‘’Does that mean I can have my fun with her now?’’ Hermes’ sharp words pierced my chest and looked at his grinning face with a sudden rage.

‘’Oh come now brother’’He stood up and waited for his wings to start flying far from me.’’You have seen her, haven’t you?’’

And I replied by turning to a bird, moving faster than him on her temple.

I could see that she was once again on her pillar, reading with a surprisingly dizzy look. Her lips were dressed in deep red and her eye was a trembling candlelight. But she was muttering words on the tablets. About poison, once again, myths and honest truths about me and my family.

And then, when her mind went numb, her lips started moving but her voice was nowhere to be found. But I knew that she was speaking. No, she was singing. The woman was singing and I could not listen to anything.

She tried to stand up with her eyes closed but in the end, she almost fell down.

I transformed back and grabbed her by the waist.

‘’I got you’’I whispered gently only to smell her heavy breath. Oh, she was drunk too. Perfect, that could mean she could not see me.

‘’No, I need to keep going’’She hummed and her steps became movements of a slow dance. But after that, I tossed her to the bed once more.

‘’Now, my oracle do not be like that’’I whispered once again only to see that she was asleep. Checking her arm, I could see the poison was running slowly but it was not retreating. Five moons…maybe she would survive until then.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

‘’Oh, it seems that you still care’’Hermes laughed outside the window. ‘’Pity, I wanted to know her better.’’

And I replied with a stare at him. And he kept laughing. If he wanted he would. He let me win the race from the forest here. He was far stronger now. But he also knew the consequences of testing me.

‘’This woman is mine to deal with,’’ I said, standing up to my height as my finger was locked to one of her curls. ‘’This entire thing is mine to deal with, you have no part in it.’’

‘’I wouldn’t dream of it.’’He chuckled.

‘’Oh’’I smirked.’’ Don’t lie now, brother. You are missing the chaos.’’

And his smile disappeared once more.

In the end, he flipped the coin and vanished, showing that he had given up. And now I was alone with her once more. And it seemed that the woman had still wine inside the jar.

The sun fell on my skin as I opened my eyes slowly to smell the aroma of flowers as if I was sleeping right in a garden. But when my vision became clear, I noticed I was dressed as Paris. And next to me, there was the woman, sleeping with a drool falling from her rosy lips and her heavy curls covering her harsh face. Her soft arm was touching my shoulder and I could feel the sudden cold breeze making my own spine rise up. And then, she squeezed her face before she opened her eyes, slowly and she faced me. Only for me to realize at that moment that I was sleeping next to her. I fell asleep in her bed. And her dress was all loose down. I could see each detail she could have possibly been hiding.

She kept looking at me with a cold face and I tried to lie to her.

‘’It is a dream’’I whispered softly.

She nodded and closed her eyes again. I could not believe that she bought it. But as soon as I tried to get out of her bed she grabbed my long curls.

‘’What’’Her voice had a rasp.’’Are you doing here?’’

I replied with a smile.’’Oh, my sweet oracle how much I missed you.’’

Her face flushed as she pulled my hair harder. ‘’I asked you one thing.’’

I looked down at her body and then avoided it fast.

‘’Your…’’ I mumbled, feeling a wave of heat rising in my body. ‘’Your chest.’’ I let out a heavy breath. I could not believe this. Me, getting embarrassed from seeing her bare body exposed.

She let my hair away and checked herself under the dress. After that, she let out a heavy breath of relief as she moved her dress up.’’Thank the Gods.’’

‘’Oh come now’’I crossed my arms and looked at her with a flirty grin.’’Men and women from around the world would have died for a moment we shared last night.’’

‘’Sure’’The woman narrowed with a fake grin and stood up, trying to clench her arm. So I stood up and let my fingers rest on hers.

‘’About last day…’’

‘’We will keep it a secret.’’Her eyes turned on me.’’ Alright?’’

Why did she want to keep her certain death a secret? Was she that selfish she wouldn’t warn her own people?

At the end, I simply nodded at her and the door opened with Adamantious staring at both of us. I was ready to smile at him but instead, I was welcomed with a punch in my face. I got punched by a mortal.

‘’Why is he here?’’Asked the brute woman. Meanwhile, I couldn't feel my own jaw.

‘’He is our new member you forgot?’’

‘’He is not’’ He growled and then more voices came up.

‘’Tell him to come for breakfast’’It was the shy girl. I was ready to speak but this time the little girl appeared in front of me.

The woman was ready to speak but the girl grabbed my dress and slowly tried to drag me away from them.

‘’They always fight so it’s better to leave them alone.

‘’We do not’’Both of them shouted in sync. I held my laughter as I tried to follow the little girl.

Eating with my family was always an affair that I tried to avoid. I could not listen to Hera complaining each time about ‘Father’s’ affairs, Athena arguing with Ares, or even Dionysus trying to make everyone drunk by sneaking wine to the water. I could not simply bear it.

But the oracle’s friends, even if they seemed to me a lousy bunch, were eating with enjoyment. Unlike the big and long table made of silver which I was used to, I found a small wooden table. The breakfast on Olympus was filled with every kind of divine dish anyone could imagine. Fresh meat, fish, shining fruits and ambrosia to be accompanied with. On this table, there were a few fruits such as figs, honey, and bread. And based on what Myrto said they were all offering from people.

‘’We haven’t eaten together since the last time. And that was a moon,’’ she whined to the woman. ‘’And I didn’t see any people on the road so please.’’

In the end, she gave up and came with us to the room.

I found a glimpse of Myrto and the boy who would exchange secret glances before the two of them would shive figs into their mouths. The two younger children seemed to be happy as they were playing with the food. The other girl Thais was speaking to me once again with the brute staring at me.

I pouted and I turned to him.’’Is there a problem?’’

‘’Stop flirting with my sister’’He ordered and looked back at the woman with a surprised shock. And then a smirk.’’I would never guess someone as pretty as you were related to him’’

There was a soft blush painting her cheeks as she tried to take a bite from her fig. I smirked at her and turned to the brute.’’Or would you like me to flirt with you?’’

The brute replied harshly as he moved back away, making me see the woman nibbling her bread that was lushed with golden honey. Her lips seemed to stick together with the food dropping down to the table.

I looked away and found the little girl now standing next to me but her eyes were stuck to the ground and her hands behind her back. I tried to smile at her as she slowly revealed a small fig. ‘’F…For…you’’She stuttered.

I winced at her and thanked her as I took the fig from her slowly and took a small bite, feeling the sweetness all over my teeth. And then I stared at the woman once more who was still fighting with her food.

But that was not the only thing that I noticed. She was so quiet. She was inside a room filled with people and felt as if walls were built all around her. For none to talk to her or even look at her.

The woman was alone, surrounded by everyone.

I jumped to the table next to her and everyone shouted. Her eye found me and blinked slowly.

‘’So, what will you do about Python?’’I asked her with a smile.

She frowned. ‘’What do you mean.’’

All alone. She would need a friend to trust.

‘’I can help you my oracle, tell me what to do.’’