“Come on A, just one war? That’s all we’re asking sis, please?” I knew it pained them to say please but that did not stop me from saying no, again. My father, Ares, walked over to us (walked may not be the right word perhaps floated) took one look at my brothers, Fear and Terror, before turning to me with a look as if I was a pegasus in a field of horses. Ares spoke to me mentally, but I knew my brothers could hear, ‘You just love to shame me, don’t you Ayx? You could never be like Phobos or Demios because you know it would make me happy and you would never want your father happy.’ These conversations were a daily occurrence and they just set about to make me more disobedient. All my brothers and father had wanted since I was two and beat them all in a sword fight, was for me to fight with them at that time my mother stopped them because, and I quote, “Fighting would make Ayx ugly” no child of Aphrodite could be ugly, especially a girl. That was when I decided that I would leave them all, there was just little more reason for it till this day.
“I'm going-,” I yelled to the large empty home before whispering to myself "As if anyone cares" My human self was my only escape from my family. Time had changed since I last left mount Olympus but the transformation was as easy as ever. The sun was warm on my skin and my camouflage a worn leather jacket, jeans and a t-shirt, I looked down to see myself sitting on a motorcycle and I laughed, a strangely childlike noise, at the slogan on my shirt 'Really? "Strangers have the best candy"?' I thought as I revved my bike gliding off into the distance
Dad just doesn't like that I'm nice, aren't parents meant encourage you to be caring, sweet and never say a bad word. I’m sure I must have the oddest family in the entire world by hey who can compete with gods. I think that the thing dad has a problem with is that I'm the best fighter, I mean he's fine with Harmonia being nice but me, nope can't happen. All my life it’s been drilled into me "Don't be nice, fight with you brothers" Each day always has me telling Ares "No I'm not going to start a war with you." Actually I think that Aphrodite is worse she’s always telling me to wear dresses, do my hair and gossip about boys. Sometimes I swear my mother is thirteen years old. Either her or the boys, Phobos and Demios they were always coming up with ways to scare me but it wasn't working, until this century. They decided that if nothing they tried worked that something in the mortal realm would then came the cars, technology and still nothing worked then came the... clowns. Not sure why I had seen the horror of war and I was afraid of clowns? Really? My disbelief didn't stop them from torturing me whenever possible. The statues suddenly were painted, the paintings themselves were disfigured. My personal favourite, I think I would have been proud of them if they weren’t doing it to scare me, has to be when the called a party and managed to get everyone, I mean everyone, dressed as clowns. It sure is a day when you see the Greek gods dressed as clowns.
After all that my transference into human life away from my family was simple. As a goddess I had my temples, my hide-aways, unknown to my siblings and parents. The hide-a-way was closer, Athens was a large place in any time, and it was fully stocked with anything necessary to live, the near by nymphs promised to keep me hidden but as anyone would, I got lonely.
I changed my camouflage, raven black hair, grey eyes, tank top and short shorts, and got onto my bike. The trip into the city was fast, my speeding helped, and soon I was at a club called Hell Entwined. The club was a popular place but being Aphrodite’s daughter seemed to help getting in quick, inside my eyes were drawn to a group of girls in the center of the room, it seemed I was not the only one many were staring at them, the main girl, a white blonde, very pale sort of girl, reminded me of my mother but was almost more beautiful but for this girls sake I would never say that out loud, the others were quite regular except one, a tall brunette, her long hair and green almost tunic style dress made her nymph like.
A man came up to me, very drunk, and just started talking, I told him I had to do something, he kept talking the only thing that worked was when, in the middle of his speech about robots (or monkeys or both), I interrupted, “I’m really very sorry but I just spotted my friend and I really have to go.” I quickly went over to the girls in the middle and hugged the blonde as if she was an old friend, she stiffened, surprised and I whispered, “Sorry but this guy kept following me and I didn’t know what to do.” She brushed it off with a laugh, “I’m Cherry,” she said it as if it was her real name, “and that’s fine I get it. Dance with us?” “X and sure.” Cherry looked confused momentarily, “X?” I laughed, “Its my name.” She had a look of amazement on her face as she said, “Oh, I get it.”
Dancing was something new to me, sure we had parties back home but they were normal, except when Dionysus went a little over board with the wine and madness, and this music seemed to pulse not glide like Apollo’s. From the looks of everyone else it was simple, let your body flow with the pulsing music; I closed my eyes and let the sensations over take me. The slow steady rhythm, the lyrics that flowed like a stream and that under lying beat had my body moving in intricate shapes and patterns unknown to me. The song was over to fast and I opened my eyes to see majority of the club staring at me, I ducked my face beneath my hair, embarrassed, as Cherry and the girls walked over. “Where did you learn to do that?” the nymph like girl asked, the rest nodding in agreement “I’ve never danced before in my life.” I stated still a little ashamed of my display, Cherry came to the front “How the hell not? James is right, that was amazing!” I nodded “James?” “Oh yeah introductions. Everyone this is X, X this is Bonde,” Cherry pointed to the nymph, ” We call her James, for obvious reasons. That’s Eliza, Em, Rach and that guy in the corner surrounded by jackets that’s Tyson. Drinks anyone?” Everyone wandered over to the bar. There I learnt that the girls were all nineteen, the age I clamed to be, and they all got very chatty when drunk. I think I know more about those girls than I know about myself.
My ride ‘home’ was longer due to a detour; my temples are few and far between but I found one. All gods and goddesses have their ‘thing’- for my mother its love, for my father its war- I do not so my temples became a place for the ‘unknowns’, those who felt they don’t have a place in the world. That was how I always felt and this day was no different. Sitting in front of my statue brought back memories, training with Athena to learn strategy, battling with my brothers, sitting for hours on end a garden with Harmonia. Life seemed somewhat simpler when I had problems now that I did not, well I didn’t know what to do with myself.
I was broken out of my trance by a clash, which caused me to remember that a) I was still in visible human form and b) I was out of the nymph’s range of protection. ‘Note to self, always tell nymphs when going clubbing’ I thought as I saw the god before me “Well, well little war I see your not that hard to find.” “Nice to know people are looking for me Hermes. But why did they send you?” I pointed in turns upwards then at the messenger god himself, he shrugged “Don’t worry, little war, no one cares your gone. Big war just got himself into some trouble but you know your dad, he’ll get out of it. Hey all is normal, Big Guy blames this war on you, as usual.” That was my cue to shrug, Zeus always liked to blame ‘the newbie’ for every little war my father and siblings started, I was used to it. “Was there a reason you flew down or did you just want to tell me the good news, Messenger man?” “A little of everything, niece, I was bored and everyone was complaining that they couldn’t find you so I went, hey what the heck lets find me a little war.”
We talked for hours, sometimes about the trouble we got up to playing pranks on everyone, others about my idiot brothers and what they’ve been up to. Hermes always was my favorite uncle, he’d take me out and distract everyone while I stole something for him and unlike with others he all ways took to blame. My messenger man always helped me get back at Fear and Terror when the played another clown joke. Everyone else treated me like a child, a baby; to them I was worse than a human. Not having a ‘thing’ meant I didn’t have the special powers so to them all I was worthless, but not Hermes or Athena they thought if they taught me I could have some kind of worth.
The rest of that evening was a blur except when his snakes told him that ‘The Big Guy’ needed him to take a message somewhere or something like that as he went to leave I ran to him “I’ll miss you, my messenger man.” I said clinging to Hermes in a hug, he chuckled “I’ll miss you too, little war.” He ruffled my hair and I grinned at him before he flew back to Mt Olympus. The only thought running through my head, as the wind flapped around me on my ride back was that I felt lonelier now than before. I’m so sorry I’ve been gone.
That was the first chapter of my friend teagan's book that I'm writing for her birthday. Give me some feedback if you want more.
LILI-ROZE
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