Where am I? The last thing that I remember is…..oh no. The last thing that I remember is falling to the ground, lifeless. My eyes were wide open to find that the sun was just about to rise and that I was laying on a king size bed with white cotton sheets and dark gold comforter. As I sat up on the bed my limbs felt like putty, I almost fell, face-first on the floor when I tried to get up. I would have, had I not used the bedpost for support. I walked very slowly, trying not to fall and went into the bathroom. What I saw amazed me, everything looked golden. Everything inside that eight by ten room sparkled and my mouth just hung open for a second. After a few seconds I went back into the bedroom, I didn’t even know where I was. Then I saw a white sun dress on the bed, it wasn’t there before. At least, I hadn’t seen it before. There was a note by the dress on the bed. It said,
Enjoy!

That was all that it said. After a few minutes I returned to the bathroom to take a shower. The warm water relaxed me a bit. But I kept thinking, Where am I? How did I get here? Where is William? After I got out of the shower I heard a voice, it was a man’s voice and was soft and as cool as silk. It told me that my every caprice would be tended to, that I had no need to worry and that I should just spend the day outside and enjoy the fresh air. The voice sounded kind but a sixth sense told me that I should be careful. After all I didn’t know where I was. Well, maybe if I did go outside I could find out where I am. The voice gave me directions and I had to walk down a hall filled with portraits of angels and mythical monsters being slain by knights. There was one that seemed to stand out to me. It was of an angel in hell, or at least what the painter assumed that it would look like. The place was dark, there were sorrowful spirits everywhere and the only light was the one radiating from the angel. The angel had the most beautiful light brown hair and was breath taking. On either side of her there was one person, or should I say monster. They both had horns and reminded me of the devil. Only, when she touched the one on her left, he turned in to an angel with golden hair, kind blue eyes and pure white wings. Although when she touched the one on her right he turned into a monster with horns, a bloody maw, dark red and black wings and dark red eyes that resembled fire. The portrait was in a golden frame and it looked like it sparkled in the light.
“I see that you found the portrait of the angel that punished the evil and saves those wrongly place in Inferno.” I turned around to find a young man. Well he could be in his early twenties. He had kind light blue eyes, golden brown hair and a kind straight-toothed smile. He was wearing a white t-shirt with a red collar and short red sleeves. He was also wearing a pair of dark Levis jeans and blue and black Air walks.
“I am so sorry. I didn’t know how I got here. I kind of just woke up here. Again I am so sorry for trespassing sir.”
“It is fine. You are welcome any time, you and William.” As soon as he said his name, my mind kept replaying the image of William, dead by my side.
“Um, William is….” I didn’t want to say anything, because it would just be too painful. To have my best friend gone, taken away from me by his own brother.
“He is not gone.” He looked at me as if he pitied me. Do I look that miserable? Why wouldn’t I be, though? I lost a very dear person in my life.
“I think that you should go outside. There might be something that you might not have expected.” He smiled at me, it was a teasing smile. I walked towards the front doorway that the voice told me about. But before I opened it, I glanced back at the guy. He wasn’t there, but I heard his voice.
“Enjoy yourself Cynthia!” How did he know my name and how did he know William? I walked out the door and saw that this place was like a field filled with flowers and trees that each bore a different type of fruit. There were also two fountains on either side of the stairs that led to the front door. They were made of white marble and had two cherubs. I breathed in the fresh air and the fragrance that filled my lungs was so sweet that my mouth started to water. I kept on walking until I saw a fork in the road a few feet away from the huge estate. There was a sign, on the right it said Paradiso and on the left it said Inferno. Is this a joke? Is someone messing with me? I walked towards the left but my feet wouldn’t move. Then a mysterious voice said,
“Those that are pure of heart are not allowed in the land ruled by Evil, Hatred and Despair.” I stepped back and then I took the other path. On either sides of the road were roses and daffodils, all in a straight line. I walked until I came across a crystal clear lake ringed with pine trees and you could see the peaks of mountains surrounding the lake. The sun was almost at its peak and it beat down hard. I’m glad I wore a dress instead of a blouse and jeans. I walked closer towards the lake and I saw a figure sitting by its edge. The person seemed to be intently taking in the scenery. I walked towards the person and tapped on their shoulder. The person turned around to face me and my mind went on overdrive.
“Cynthia! I was hoping it was you! I am so glad that you came here with me!” How could he be here? I thought that I saw him fall to the ground, lifeless? William held me but I just went rigid. He let go of me and looked at me as if perplexed.
“Are you alright love?” He asked, his voice was full of worry.
“I’m fine. I just didn’t expect to see you. I thought….” I couldn’t even finish the sentence, I was just too happy. My eyes were filled to the brim with tears and he held me again.
“Why are you sad?” he whispered in my ear and gently stroked my hair.
“I’m not sad. I’m just happy that you aren’t dead.”
“Gods do not die Cynthia.”
“Then how come I saw you die?” he looked at me as if I was a bit out of it.
“Oh, now I see what happened.” He said more to himself than to me.
“Well could you explain it to me, because I don’t?”
“Not now, later. I just want to be with you right now.” he held me in his arms and I closed my eyes. I stopped thinking and just enjoyed having him here with me again. After what seemed like hours we were taking a walk by the lake. I looked at him every few seconds, just to make sure that I wasn’t dreaming.
“Whose house is this? Who else lives here besides that guy that I ran into?”
“I see that you met Eros.” He looked at me in a way that I didn’t understand. His gaze was soft yet possessive and perplexed at the same time. What could he be thinking?
“Isn’t Eros the Roman name for the god of love, Cupid?” Now his expression changed and he looked at me as if thinking, did she really just ask that?
“Yes it is. Have you not read the story of Cupid and Psyche?” He asked, seeming polite but I saw a sort of teasing smile for a split second before he composed himself.
“Yes I have. It is a very good story, but how?” He smiled at me.
“Well, my father is a good friend of his. I am sure that you would know why.”
“Yeah, your dad helped Cupid by telling Psyche’s father about the winged “monster” that was waiting on the mountain to make her his wife.”
“Exactly, now do you mind explaining why you almost went to Inferno?” He sounded a bit mad, but also curious and very worried.
“I don’t know. I thought that it was just a joke.”
“Well, it is most certainly not a joke. Thank goodness that you were not allowed in, or else I might not have seen you ever again.” Now he just sounded serious. He didn’t glare at me or look mad but he did seem upset about the whole thing. I just sighed and asked if he wanted to go back to the mansion.
“Not yet, I would like to spend some time with you alone before we head back. That is if you do not mind?”
“I don’t mind, but not too long.” He smiled sweetly at me. I could hardly contain how much I missed him. I mean I thought that he was dead, when he was actually here.
“Of course, just a while more.” We kept on walking until we walked the perimeter of the woods and were back at the lake. About an hour seemed to pass but as we walked back towards Eros’s home I saw the sun descending in the sky.


She seems worried about something, I wonder what?
“Are you ok?” I asked, she looked at me and forced a smile.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I just didn’t think that we spent so much time here.” I just smiled.
“Time moves faster here than it does anywhere else. An hour for you would be a little less than a day here. Although sometimes a day here could feel like an eternity.” She moved closer to me and I wrapped my arm around her shoulder. I have missed you for a long time. Then I felt weird, I felt happy but also sad at the same time. Why would I feel sad? Then just thirsty, so much so that my mouth started to ache. Why do I feel so… I could hear a thumping noise, it sounded like a heartbeat. It mimicked my own. By the time that we entered the house, night had fallen and the moon was shining and filling the doorway with silver light.
“Where have you two been?” a woman asked. She was about twenty-two at the least. She had straight raven black hair, light blue eyes as clear as a crystal lake and fair skin. Most people would think her more beautiful that the goddess of love herself and I would have to admit that she is somewhat pretty. I looked at Cynthia and almost laughed out loud. Her face was awestruck.
“Cynthia, this is Eros’s wife, Psyche.” Psyche looked at me and smiled.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” Cynthia looked at me.
“Hello Cynthia. William has told us so much about you.” Psyche said and then hugged Cynthia.
“Hello Psyche. I seem to have run into your husband earlier today.” Cynthia said.
“I know. He saw you admiring the painting “Angelo Della Giustizia”. It is very beautiful and dates all the way back to 120 B.C.”
“It is very beautiful. Who painted it?” Cynthia asked then looked at me from the corner of her eye.
“Do you know where Eros is? He said that he would show me a sword that he made.” I asked Psyche.
“He is in the garden and he does not like to be disturbed when he is tending to his white roses.”
“Of course, I will see him later then.”
“Oh and Cynthia, I am sorry that you were a bit shocked when you woke up here.”
“It’s fine.” Then Psyche left and Cynthia and I were alone. We walked into the hallway and I stopped where the painting that caught Cynthia's eye was.
“This painting is very beautiful.” I said as I looked at it.
“It is. Although I wonder who painted it?” She looked at the painting as if studying it to see if she could find a signature. Some artists signed their artwork with their full names, last name, first name or just initials. Other times they used pseudonyms.
“How come on the bottom of the portrait it says ‘Orsacchiotto’?” she asked.
“A lot of artists and writers use pseudonyms.” I said.
“But why would someone use that as their pseudonym?”
“William…Cynthia, dinner time.” A voice said from some other place in the room. We walked into a white dining room. It was filled with different paintings of fruit and angels and things of the sort. Psyche and Eros were sitting side by side on an eight chair dining table. I took my seat next to Cynthia and looked at Eros. He just smiled at me. Then he cleared his throat.
“So Cynthia, I see that you found William. You seemed very worried about him earlier this morning.”
“I was, but now I’m just happy to have him here with me, alive and well.” Then I heard Eros cough.
“Well that is good. Did you find out who painted that portrait that you liked so much?”
“No I didn’t, although the signature said Orsacchiotto. Do you know who that could be?” He practically choked on his wine.
“Are you alright?” I asked, he just kept coughing for a little while longer.
“Yes, I am fine. Which reminds me, do you remember everything?” he looked at Cynthia and I just went silent.
“I don’t know.” she looked at everyone and we were all quiet.
“Well, do you know that William used to call you his little angel because, to him you were as beautiful as an angel? But also, because you were kind, generous and….well the list goes on and on.” She just blushed a little bit. I had called her my angel before. But, I did not think that she knew the exact reason why.
“He called me that before, but I didn’t know the reason why.”
“Well, when you were a little girl about two years old, because he spent so much time with you, you would always smile when he was near you. You grew so fond of him and were with him every second from when the sun rose till it set. Anyway, you used to call him ‘Teddy Bear’ because you used to sleep in his arms when you were born.”
“He knew me since I was born?” she looked at me but I did not return the glance. I was thinking about how to tell her what was on my mind.
“Yes, even though his ‘father’ did not like it that he spent so much time with you.”
“His foster father?” Cynthia asked.
“Yes, he was not a nice man, but you could not help but feel some respect for him.” It was the first thing that I said since dinner started. Everyone else just looked at me.
“How could you respect someone that didn’t care about you at all?” Cynthia asked.
“Even though he was not my father, he did raise me, sort of.”
“I think that it would be a good idea to go to bed now. William could you escort Cynthia back to her room please?” Eros said, he did not look at me as he said that.
“Of course, this way Cynthia.” I led her past the hall of paintings, we walked through a dimly lit living room and walked through another hallway. Her room was two doors down from mine. I opened the door for her and followed her in, just to wish her goodnight. She was looking at the digital clock on the bedside table and it showed that it was seven thirty.
“I hope that you had a good time.” I said, my voice was polite but detached. I was thinking about something so I did not listen when she said something.
“Excuse me?”
“I just wanted to know if you could stay for a while longer, I want to talk to someone because I have no idea how I got here.” She was sitting on the bed and I was standing by the door.
“Of course, you should know how you got here. But, I had better tell you that I have only made an assumption.”
“That’s fine. As long as I get some type of explanation.” I walked over to her and sat down at the very edge of the foot of the bed. She looked at me expectantly.
“I guess that, the reason you ended up here instead of dying is because I did not die. Do you remember when you had that dream about me in the underworld and that I made a deal with Hades that I would die as soon as you did?” She looked at me and I saw a flicker of hate for an instant.
“Yes, although I cannot believe that you would do that.” I just sighed before continuing.
“Well, I was a wreck, physically and emotionally. That is why I did that. Anyway, I did not think about what would happen if I died. But since I cannot die I would end up here, so when I did think about it, which was too late, I did not think that it would end up too badly, but I was not certain.” Cynthia just looked at me and smiled.
“Well, at least I am with you, that’s what matters.” I looked at her and slowly, without thinking I leaned in and kissed her. It was very brief and chaste, and then I pulled away and just looked at her. I wanted to see if I had upset her and would apologize if I did. But, instead of anger, I saw something in her eyes that I had never seen before. Then, in the next instant, her hands were tangled in my hair and we were kissing. But it did not last long, a few seconds at the most because I pulled myself away from her and walked towards the door.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.” Cynthia said and I turned to look at her.
“I am sorry too. I guess we both got a bit carried away.”
“We should be more careful.” We both looked away and then I walked back to sit next to Cynthia, at the very edge of the bed.
“You should go to bed now.” I said.
“But, I’m not tired yet. Do you want to talk?”
“I have a better idea. Could I sing something to you and could you give me your honest opinion?”
“I am a bit biased, but ok.” I just smiled. I was a bit shy so there was silence for a moment.
“Ok….I am not used to this so…”
“How about you tell me how it starts.” I handed her a piece of parchment. She took it from my hand and read it. I looked away and whispered to myself.
“Sonno, sonno Angelo mio, Chiudere gli occhi e rilassare la mente, Si trovano la testa ed inizia a sognare, Di arcobaleni e el cose dulce, Sonno, sonno angelo mio, Sogno di stelle danzanti nei cielo, Non scia fino al mattino, Essere a proprio agio per qualche ore di piu, Non gettare o turno stasera, Per saro qui alle prime luci del mattino, Ora andate a letto e risposare la testa, Buona notte, Buona notte angelo mio.” As soon as I had finished that, I saw that she was lying on the bed and asleep. The piece of paper was still in her hand. I guess that she heard me. I walked towards the room and was about to go, but then I turned around and whispered,
“Buona notte amour.” I walked towards my room but I felt a chill slowly creep up my spine from where my hand touched the doorknob. As soon as I opened the door I saw my room in shambles, the bed was ripped to shreds, the desk by the bed was clawed and there was a trail of red tracks that led to the mirror. They were the shape or rather form of a paw. I felt bile form inside of me because my eyes scanned the mirror and three words were written,
You are next!


I walked over to the mirror and ran my finger over the words. They left a big red smudge on my finger but I wiped it off with the sleeve of my shirt. I scanned the area to see if I could find clues about what animal could have done this, but I already had an idea.






***

The next morning, Cynthia woke up from a deep sleep. She remembered William singing her to sleep and how happy she felt having him back with her. I wonder how long it’s been since I came here. After taking a shower and changing into a pink blouse and black jeans I walked out of the room and down the stairs towards the hall of paintings. When I stopped at the painting, “Angelo Della Giustizia” I thought, Why would he paint this? It’s so beautiful but how could he think of something like this?
“Cynthia, could you accompany me to the dining room please?” I heard William say, he was right behind me and I jumped because I didn’t hear him approach.
“Sure, good morning by the way.”
“Good morning Cynthia. How was your night?”
“I’ve never slept more peacefully. Your singing relaxed me, thank you.”
“You are welcome. I apologize if you had to get mixed into all of this.” He opened his arms, gesturing towards this place. Why does he always have to apologize for everything that happened to me since I met him?
“Its fine, it would have happened eventually. We cannot pick who our parents are, right?” He just smiled. Then his gaze dropped for a second and then looked up at me again.
“I want to warn you that I went a bit overboard, I apologize.” Why is he apologizing? Went overboard on what?
“You apologize far too much William Knight.”
“I have a lot to apologize for.” He started walking towards the dining room, but I just stayed in the hall for a moment longer. I looked at my right hand to see that my ring was gone. How could it be gone? I didn’t take it off since William gave it to me! How could I be so careless and lose something that someone very dear gave to me!! I caught up to William, he was about three yards away so it was easy to catch up. I looked at him but his face held no emotion. It was as if dying had left him without emotions. He said that he had made a deal with Hades. Was this part of the deal? Did he have to give up his emotions, or major emotions?
“William what exactly did you have to give up so that Hades would accept the deal?” he didn’t answer, he seemed to be preoccupied with something else.
“William?”
“Yes?” He didn’t even look at me, his voice seemed monotonous and he just kept walking.
“What did you have to give up for Hades to give in to the deal?” He looked at me but his face seemed scary, now that I had a good look at him, he looked like he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in a long time.
“Could you please ask me again later? I would like to have more time to explain.”
“Sure, of course. Are you alright, because you look so tired?”
“I can assure you that I am fine, Cynthia.” We walked towards the dining room in silence and then I felt a hand cover my eyes. Well, it was just in front of my eyes, not on my eyes.
“William?”
“I am sorry, but I just do not want you to see what is behind this door yet.” He took his hand away from my eyes and I looked at him.
“You could have told me to close my eyes. What’s so important?”
“You will see soon enough.” He opened the door just a crack and walked into the room for an instant.
“Cynthia, are your eyes closed?”
“Yes, can I come in?”
“I do not know, may you?” I thought that I heard him laugh after he said that.
“Do I have to close my eyes?” I asked.
“Yes.” He open the door and then I walked in, my eyes were closed.
“Can I open my eyes now?” I felt someone right behind me.
“Go ahead.” As soon as I opened my eyes I was amazed. The entire dining room was covered in balloons, a huge golden banner hung from either side of the room. It said,
Happy 19th Birthday Cynthia!

It was written in silver. There was also a stack of birthday presents on a table, it wasn’t hard to miss because the table was half the size of the room. There was also a cake that was so beautiful. It was a green, two tier cake with different types of flowers. The bottom of the first tier looked like a desert, but then it started to look like a garden. The first and second tiers were connected with a staircase that had little flowers etched into it. It looked so beautiful. Then, on the top tier there was a fountain that sprung up water in the shape of the words happy birthday. Then, the most amazing thing happened. Flowers were blooming from the rose buds in pots around the room.
“This is so beautiful! Who backed the cake?” I asked. I looked around the room to see Psyche and Eros by the door and William was right next to me. Eros and Psyche were looking at me and smiling.
“William baked it.” They both said. Then they walked over to the table filled with presents and grabbed two and handed them to me. Psyche handed me a large rectangular box that was actually kind of heavy and wrapped in green paper. She looked at me and smiled.
“Thank you. You shouldn’t have, I mean you hardly even know me.”
“I know enough. William has told us a lot about you. In fact, it was hard for him to not talk about you for more than a few minutes.” They both smiled and William just blushed. I opened it and it was a book, a compilation of Greek, Norse, and other myths and legends.
“Thank you. I love reading about myths.” I said, smiling at both of them, then Eros handed me a long, thin rectangular box, wrapped in black paper with a black paper rose. I unwrapped it, and opened the box. Inside was a single white rose.
“Someone told me that you like flowers.” Eros was talking to me but looking at William from the corner of his eye.
“Thank you. Well he was right, I do like flowers.” I said and smiled. Then the rose started to glow a white light and then I heard a voice say,
You will be tested. In the course of the moon’s full cycle, all of your questions will be answered and you will be tied to the one that has your heart. But be cautious, because there are those that would want you dead. Pick your allies well and do not be rash.

I just stared at the rose, it stopped glowing and I looked around to find that everyone was just looking at it.
“Did any of you hear what it said?” I asked. They all just nodded.
“Did you do that Eros?” I asked.
“No I did not.” He said, sounding offended. Psyche and William just looked from the rose to me.
“Well, let’s not think about that now. This is supposed to be a happy day, to celebrate Cynthia turning nineteen.” Psyche said. She looked at everyone.
“Psyche is right. It would be good to just be happy today. It is a very special day today.” William said, he looked like he was trying to keep calm but he wasn’t doing a good job. You could see that he was not at ease.
“Maybe it would be a good idea to eat some cake.” Eros suggested, he even grabbed a knife and handed it to me. He seemed nervous as well. What did it mean? In a month all of my questions would be answered? I will be tied to the one that has my heart? What tests would I have to go through? What did I get myself into?
“Cynthia…I would like to apologize again because I got you into this. It seems that I make a mess of things everywhere that I go.” William said in a soft and melancholy voice. I looked at him and smiled.
“You apologize far too much William.” Then I hugged him, and after a moment I let go and looked up at him. He was just looking at me, there was no smile on his face or a sparkle in his eye. His face was expressionless and that scared me. I am so going to talk to you later. I want answers. Then, all of a sudden he smiled. But it wasn’t the smile that he always gave me. That smile was warm and it touched his eyes, this one was polite and he just twitched the corners of his mouth up.
“Cynthia would you rather cut your cake or open the rest of your presents?” Psyche asked.
“I don’t know. Who are the rest of the presents from?” I asked.
“Oh, they are from some of the other gods and goddesses on Olympus. Many of them have been watching you.” Eros said, he said the last sentence with a huge smile on his face. I heard William cough and Eros’s smile disappeared.
“Who exactly has been keeping an eye on me?” I asked.
“Well, Artemis of course, then Apollo, Zeus, Hephaestus, Athena. She thinks that you are a very bright young woman. There is also Hades but you can guess why.” Psyche told me. Everyone was looking at me again, giving me their undivided attention.
“Well, William did make a deal with Hades, so I am not surprised that he would be keeping an eye on me. Although, why would Artemis be keeping an eye on me? Besides the fact that Cynthia is another name by which she is called.” I said.
“Have you ever tried your hand at archery?” William asked me.
“No I haven’t, why do you ask?”
“Artemis was well known for her skills with a bow and arrow. So I just thought that she gave you that ability when you were born. Because, sometimes the gods bestow abilities on only special children of the gods, those with a great purpose in life.”
“Well then I doubt that I have any special abilities.” I said.
“You should give it a shot, you never know what you are capable of unless you try.” William suggested with a smile.
“Maybe later, right now I think that I would like to cut the cake, that is if everyone else wants to.” Everyone was in agreement. The cake was made of chocolate bread with chocolate chips inside and banana filled middle. It was moist and very good. After a few minutes everyone was done eating and I sat down on a chair to open the presents. Artemis gave me a bow and a Quiver full of endless fire arrows, Hades gave me a cloak that resembled his so much so that it scared me. Apollo sent me a note that said that I could drive his car whenever I wanted, along with a key to his car. Hephaestus, the god of forges gave me a sword made of silver with a gold, amber-encrusted hilt. Athena probably talked to Hephaestus because the goddess of knowledge gave me a Silver shield and ruby encrusted helm. Along with a gold pen and a note that read: Remember that the pen is mightier than the sword. I hesitated when I opened Zeus’s gift.
“I am a bit afraid of what he sent me.” I told everyone, they all just laughed.
“Cynthia, Zeus would not send you anything dangerous…” Psyche leaned close and whispered in my ear. “He wouldn’t want William to get mad at him. William is very protective of you and easily provoked.” That made me giggle.
“I heard that. But it is true.” William admitted with another laugh. I slowly opened the lid of the box and saw that it was a whistle. It was bronze and looked more like a dog whistle.
I wonder what would happen if I blew on it? I blew on the whistle and a bird came flying through an opened window. It was the same dark brown hawk that brought me those letters from William and that Maenad. But Zeus’s animal is the eagle. Why would he send me a hawk? It looked at me and a small note was tied to one of its talons. I was surprised because when I untied the note, the bird didn’t go flying off. The note said that his name was Daedalus, also that he was my daemon and he was supposed to protect me. But protect me from what it did not say.
“Daedalus, as in the Greek craftsman?” The bird nodded, then looked at the sword and shield that Hephaestus and Athena gave me. He flew over to the sword and picked it up with his talons then brought it to me.
“It seems as if he wants you to learn how to use that sword.” Eros said, they were looking at the bird.
“Well, I don’t know anyone that could be able to teach me.” I was looking at the sword when I heard the sound of metal brushing against metal. William unsheathed a sword from the ones on the wall and walked towards me.
“I would be honored to teach you.” His voice sounded happy, but he didn’t smile.
“We have to talk, but after that I would love to swordfight with you.” his face said that he was confused.
“What exactly do we have to talk about?” he asked.
“What did you give up so that Hades would take you up on your offer?” I asked him, well reminded him.
“That is our cue to go. You two need your privacy.” Eros said and he, Psyche and Daedalus left the room. William grabbed a chair and sat down next to me.
“I want you to understand that my life seemed gray and meaningless. My life before you was sad and I felt like I was more of a zombie than a person. I felt sad and Victor, my foster father, did not do much to help. All that he did was yell and punish me when I made only minute mistakes and his wife was absolutely terrified of him. The only people that were not afraid of him were Hector and Aaron, but that was because they were his favorites. I know that this must sound crazy but, after I met you I actually felt alive. I was happy despite Victor’s remarks about how I would be nothing, that I had no future at all and the punishment that I received when I did not do something the exact way that he wanted it. He drove me crazy but even he could not dampen my joy every time that I came home from visiting you. He would have made Hades seem like a nice and caring man. The point is that my life was hard and you were the only thing that made it worth living. You were the person that kept me grounded and kept me from getting into trouble. Victor and Hector were cruel and would not have cared if I lived or died, Aaron was nicer and I could trust him but only to an extent because even though he was loyal to me he was more loyal to Victor. Victor’s wife Annie was very kind, she was the one that taught me what Victor would not but it was stopped all too soon when Victor found out. He was very mad and when he was mad he…….beat her. He made me so mad sometimes that I just wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine……” He stopped and just looked at me, he wanted to say more but he just stopped.
“But why would you go talk to Hades?” I asked.
“I felt as if someone had pierced a sword clean through me. It would not go away. In fact it just grew more unbearable with every passing day. I did not eat or sleep, all that I did was mope and Apollo did nothing to help. He just told me that it would be better to forget all about you. I did not want to be without you so I went to the underworld to ask Hades if he could end me when your time came to an end.” He said, but he didn’t show any expression.
“Ok, in your own way, that seemed right to you. But what did you have to give up so that Hades would accept?” I asked.
“He made sure not let me forget every moment that I spent with you, not that I would have forgotten, and made me regret my decision ever since I went down there. I always think about what would happen if I had not interfered with your father’s plans but Hades tortured me by not letting me forget about how you would have been forced to wed someone without having a choice. Those thoughts filled my head but I tried to ignore them.”
“Then how come it seemed as if you had no emotions a while ago?” I asked him.
“I am sorry if I seemed like a zombie but I was just thinking of something.”
“What were you thinking about?”
“Do you remember that man that had the skin of a snake? Did he ever talk to you or did you ever see him before the night before your birthday?”
“I saw him the night that you invited me to dinner. Well I saw something golden shimmer when someone was running past my balcony near the edge of the forest. The night before my birthday I just remember hearing a sound like a growl and then a pair of fangs bit me and I passed out. Why do you ask?”
“I ask because that snake seemed to know me. But I did not know it so I am baffled.”
“Maybe you met but you didn’t want to remember it so your subconscious shut it out.” I said and he seemed to be thinking about it.
“Maybe, you could have a valid point. Are you sure that you have not met the man before or dreamt about him?” He asked. I thought hard on what he was asking me.
“Well, I do remember having a dream about you and me taking a walk at night and having a conversation. But then it turned into darkness and a half-snake half-man walked up to me and said that he didn’t want to hurt me right now. He said that he would help your brother destroy you. But that Hector would destroy you by ending me.” I told him. He didn’t say anything for a while. He seemed to be thinking about something else.
“William, can I ask you something?”
“Of course, what would you like to know?” He said.
“Forget about it, I’d rather not ask you that.” He tilted his head to one side and looked at me.
“Is it something so bad that you are afraid to ask me? You can trust me you know.”
“I know, alright. I was just wondering if you have ever killed anyone. I mean I noticed that you had lots of different swords and shields in your house.” He didn’t answer immediately.
“I would say that I have never killed anyone, although I have injured people.” He said, sounding sad all of a sudden.
“Why would you injure people? What reason could you have?” I asked him. I couldn’t believe that he would hurt anyone without having a good reason.
“Please do not hate me but I injured people for you. What I mean is that the tournament that your father had was basically a series of death matches. He informed everyone that was to compete that they had to kill their opponent so that they could move on. I did not approve of killing so I just injured the men that I had to fight. The worst was a broken leg, the least worse would be a cut in the arm or leg.” He explained. Then I heard my phone ring.
“Hello, who’s this?” I asked the person on the phone.
“Cynthia….Cynthia where are you?” My aunt Lucy asked. Her voice was frantic but you could hear a little bit of anger mixed into the sound.
“I am with William. I am at a friend’s house. Why do you ask?”
“You are with him! At this early in the morning?!” She practically yelled at me.
“Yes, but I am fine. So you should not worry about me.” I told her.
“But….but he is with you. When exactly are you going to be back?”
“I don’t know. Probably in a while.” I told her. Then she just hung up on me. William looked at me with a look of understanding.
“Was that your aunt?” he asked me. I just nodded.
“She sounded very mad. Is she angry with me? I mean she sounded as if I had done something wrong.” He sounded sad but only for a second.
“No…she was probably a bit mad about the fact that it is early in the morning over on earth.” I told him.
“Probably, would you like to go back home?” he asked me.
“I would like to say that I would because I don’t want my aunts to worry. But then again I wouldn’t like to because of how my aunt Lucy would react.” He looked at me.
“What do you mean?” he asked me.
“Well, Lucy doesn’t like you. Right after I left your house the day before my birthday I overheard her tell Maria that you were nothing but trouble and that she would make sure that I never saw you ever again.” I told him, my fear making my voice crack.
“She is right and I know that she does not like me. But her hatred towards me would never be able to keep me away from you. She could never say or do anything to make me not want to spend as much time with you as I possibly can. It would hurt far too much.” He declared, his voice was but a whisper and was transparent with sincerity. He said that nothing would ever keep us apart. I stood up and grabbed his hand. He led me towards the front door and opened the door. We walked outside and I saw that snow was falling slowly. It was starting to fall on his jet black hair and melting, making his hair wet and shiny. I impulsively ran my fingers through his hair. It was cold and made a shiver run down my spine and get goose bumps. He placed both of his ice cold hands on either side of my face and just stared at me, holding my gaze for what felt like an eternity.
”Are you cold Cynthia? Would you like to go inside?” He asked me, but I just shook my head.
“Are you sure, because I do not want you to catch a cold.” I slid my arms around his waist and he wrapped his arms around me. I snuggled close to him and he pulled me closer to him.
“I love you.” I whispered against his chest.
“I love you too.” I don’t know how long we stood there, holding each other. But after a while it started to snow heavier and we were forced to go back inside. It felt good thought, the house was warm and it smelled of cookies, coffee and hot chocolate. Then Eros and Psyche walk up to us and smiled.
“Where are you two going?” I asked them, they were walking out the door.
“We are going out for a walk.” Psyche told me. They are going for a walk in this weather?
“But there is a storm outside.” I told them.
“What storm? It is a clear December night.” Eros said, gesturing towards the window. I saw that there was no fierce wind or heavy snow, just a clear night sky with the moon as its only inhabitant.
“Make yourselves at home alright?” They both said and then left. As soon as they left I sat down on the couch and William sat next to me.
“What would you like to do? Would you like to read a book or watch a movie?” William asked me. I looked at him and saw that he was staring at me, curiously.
“I don’t know. How about we watch a movie.” I said, my voice sounding unsure.
“What movie would you like to watch? Would you like anything to drink?” he asked, already standing up.
“Um…I’ll have whatever you’re having, and you can pick the movie if you want.” I told him, he just smiled and nodded. He walked into the kitchen and then, after a few minutes he came back out. He carried two large mugs in one hand and a huge plate of cookies in the other. He places the plate on the small coffee table in front of us and the mugs on either sides of it. He grabbed a movie from the shelf of movies, turned the TV on and crouched down to place the movie into the DVD player. As soon as the movie started to play he walked back to sit next to me. I grabbed my mug and took a sip. The liquid was warm and cool in my mouth and drove my taste buds crazy because it tasted of dark, rich chocolate and mint, it was cool and warm but also chocolaty and creamy. The whipped cream was covering my upper lip and I grabbed a napkin from the table and wiped it off. I rested my back on the couch and he placed one of his hands on mine. I turned my head sideways and looked at him. He looked engrossed in the movie. We were watching the Phantom of the Opera.


With every passing minute, I grew more and more tired. He looked at me, a smile lit his handsome face.
”Are you tired? Would you like me to walk you to your room?” He asked, his voice was worried but also amused.
“No, I am not tired. At least not really tired.” I told him, but then let out an involuntary yawn. I snuggled closer to him and closed my eyes.
“Cynthia, are you alright?” I heard his voice through closed eyelids. It was nothing short of a whisper. Then I felt two strong arms carrying me and walking towards someplace. I wanted to see what was happening but I was too tired to open my eyes. Later I felt the arms release me and they were replaced by a soft mattress and then I felt something stroke my hair. The touch was so light that I scarcely felt it but made me smile all the same.
“Good night Cynthia.” At the sound of my name I half opened my eyes to find William only a few inches from me. I leaned closer and lightly brushed my lips against his.
“Good night.” I told him then I closed my eyes again. Although, I was wide awake when I heard his footsteps fading away and didn’t go to sleep until I couldn’t hear them anymore.

I walked towards my room and opened the door. The flambeaux illuminated the room with a warm glow. I ran my mind through this entire day and just stood there, in the entrance to the room, motionless. Then I walked slowly, hesitantly, towards the huge black chair that was next to my desk, everything was silent, yet every muscle in my body tensed. I walked closer, but as I did so, I felt a gust of wind enter the room and it chilled me to the very marrow of my bone. All of the windows are closed, how could a gust of wind enter? My senses were on alert but I doubted that anyone could have entered the room without my knowledge. As I walked towards the chair, I heard a howl from outside. A wolf was serenading the moon with its deep and sad song. It was easy to tell that the tenor voice was filled with sadness and deep longing, it made me pity the creature. It will not be able to fully enjoy life, not with that hole in its chest. The sound of a footstep snapped me out of my thought. In front of me, smiling evilly at me, stood the goddess of love, Aphrodite. Her hair was a golden blonde, her alabaster skin had a faint golden glow in the light of the torch. She was very slim and she wore a silk, hot pink cocktail dress. Why is she here? She despises me. I just stood there, my expression had turned blasé.
“Why are you here Aphrodite? Did you come to pay your son a visit?” I asked her, only with formal politeness. She sat down on the chair and crossed her legs.
“I came here to talk to you. I wanted to ask you how your life was.” Her voice was casual. I sat down on my bed, at the very edge. My muscles were still tense and I felt like something was off.
“Well, if I could sum my life up in one word, it would be…..interesting. Now, why are you really here?” her smile widened.
“Awww, you want to cut to the chase? I wanted to spend some more time with you.”
“My patience is wearing thin. Why are you here?!” A crease started to form on her forehead, just above the middle of her brow.
“I am here to talk to you about Cynthia. I do not think that you two should be together.” Her voice grew and it sounded rough and mean, like a growl, but it was also as low as a whisper.
“I will not leave her side. I know that you do not approve of her, but I do not care about what you think.” As soon as I said it her face grew as red as a cherry. I could even picture steam coming out of her ears, the image made me chuckle.
“Well….I had hoped that you would leave her willingly. All things considered, I thought that you would have left her by now.”
“What do you mean ‘all things considered’? Will anything bad happen to her?!” I asked, my voice was serious and worried. Why would anyone want to hurt her?
“Someone might want to hurt her to get to you. There are some people that want to make you miserable and they know how to get to you. (Here she just stood up from her chair and walked towards the door.) If I were you, I would leave this place as soon as possible, it is not safe for you, or her here.” She turned the knob, but she did not go through. I had grown stiff, I could not budge an inch.
“Is there anything else that I should know?” I asked, I could tell that my voice was rough.
“Oh, one more thing. There are some gods and goddesses that would want you two to break up, or else they would do it for you.”
“Are you one of them?”
“Well….I do not approve of her, so yes I am.” Then all that I heard was a popping sound and she was gone. I could not sleep for the rest of the night, my mind kept thinking about what would happen if I did not leave Cynthia. There are some gods and goddesses that want us to break up, or else they would so it for us. I will not allow them to keep me apart from my best friend. But I also do not want her to get hurt, or worse. Every time that I convinced myself that I should just leave, I found another reason why I should stay and be with her. Maybe I could make her immortal, then she would never have to die and I would never have to leave her. But then, what if she does not want to live forever? She would be miserable and I would not want that. What if I made myself mortal? That way everyone wins. She would not be able to object, after all it is my life that I would be altering. I would not miss anything that comes with immortality, especially living forever. I would not miss the powers and I would be able to live as a mortal without any problems. I have lived on my own for so long that I can fend for myself. I would also be able to grow older, I would be able to raise a family. I would be happy as a human. Why had I not thought about this before? I will talk about it tomorrow with Cynthia, hopefully she will agree.






***

That morning, I walked from the kitchen, carrying a tray of food, towards Cynthia's room. I opened the door and crept in, on my tiptoes so as not to wake her. I stared at her, she looked more like an angel when she was asleep. She was lying on her back and her face was peaceful and I placed the tray on the bedside table and snapped my fingers. A bouquet of two dozen purple tulips appeared in an instant. The sun was shining from a crack in her window’s curtains. I walked over to her side and she did not seem to hear me, so I sat down on the edge of her bed and waited a few minutes. Then I lightly shook her shoulder and tried to wake her up. When that did not work, I got up, bent my lips to her ear and whispered,
“Wake up my angel, it is morning.” She turned in her bed and murmured,
“It’s too early.” In the pillow, she whined. After a moment she started to get up, propping her elbow on her pillow. She sighed and said,
“Good morning William. How was your night?” she asked me, then looked at the tray of waffles, the bouquets of flowers and was stunned for a moment.
“What’s all this?” she asked, sounding stunned.
“I just thought that you would like to have breakfast in bed, since I did not give you your birthday present yesterday.” I grabbed the tray and placed it in front of her.
“That’s so sweet, but you already gave me a gift. The guitar, thanks again.”
“You’re welcome, I am glad that you liked it. That was just one of your gifts.” She just looked at me, her face held no expression at all. I sat next to her and smiled.
“One of my gifts? You didn’t have to get me anything.” She looked at me and then started eating her waffles. During breakfast, I told Cynthia that I wanted to be human.
“What? Why would you give up your immortality?” she asked, sounding surprised.
“Because I want to live a normal life and I would not be able to if I live forever. Also, I would like to be able to be with you, for as long as I can.” She seemed to start to understand.
“You would be able to be with me, I wouldn’t leave you, and no one would be able to make me. I don’t want you to give up your immortality just so that you can be with me!” she sounded really mad. Why would she be mad? I did not say anything to offend her.
“I do not understand why you are mad at me, I am going to change my life, not yours.”
“But you are affecting my life too. I mean, what if you are attacked or get a disease and there is no cure. Then you wouldn’t be able to come back to me and I will be alone.” I saw a tear start to run down her cheek but I wiped it off with my thumb.
“I am sorry if you are upset with me. I just want to be able to have a life with you.” I said, we were now lying down on the bed and her head was resting on my chest, I was just holding her and stroking her soft and silky brown hair. She looked up at me, her eyes were red.
“But you can, you could give me back my immortality.” She told me, then I heard the door start to open.
“Good morning, I thought that I heard someone in the kitchen earlier.” Psyche was saying, she did not seem to mind that I was in her room this early in the morning. Then again she knew that I was not up to anything wrong and that I respected Cynthia and would never try to take advantage of her. Although I sensed that I had better not test her patience. Immediately, I let go of Cynthia and got off of the bed.
“Oh I am sorry but I just wanted to bring Cynthia breakfast in bed because I did not do anything for her yesterday.” I explained.
“Oh, that is fine,” Psyche said, her voice was sweet but I knew that she wanted me to be careful and that she did not want me to be with Cynthia this early ever again.
“You know that I will not act like a disrespectful pig right? I am above that sort of behavior.” I told her.
“Of course, but that does not mean that I will not be protective of her.” Psyche said her tone was authoritative. Cynthia was just staring at us.
“I am aware of that. Nevertheless, I just want to remind you that I would never act like my brother or any other vile, disgusting person.” At that she did not say anything. I walked out of the room in a bad mood. I know that she cares about Cynthia and would not want to see her hurt in any way, but her tone and thoughts make me think that she does not trust me at all. I walked over to my room and took out my suitcase. I think that it would be better if I just leave. That way Cynthia would be safer. Eros and Psyche could just take care of her and take her back to her aunts. Then I thought of how much it would hurt. Her safety is more important to me that my happiness, it always was and it always will! But what if she is not happy? What if she is miserable and thinks that I abandoned her again? What if I am just thinking what I want to! She would be happier without me, at least I think that she will. But then again, what if she is not? Would I be able to live with myself if I found out that my leaving made her sad? I would not want that, but I also want her to be safe and as far from my brother and that snake man as possible. Maybe I can stay and protect her? But how could I if my brother is a hybrid monster? I am not as strong as he is, then again…..I was always better than him at almost everything. But now his power has grown and he could be able to kill me in an instant. But not if I weakened him, I could kill him easily if I had the right tools. I know how to kill him. Then I heard the low and even beat of a drum or at least it seemed like a drum, coming from the next room. It was hypnotic and I found myself walking out of my room and towards Cynthia's. She seemed to be the only one in the room, it was really quiet so I could hear her breathing in and out slowly. Why would William walk out of the room in such a bad mood? What could Psyche have said to make him so mad? Her voice filled my head and my breath caught. I am hearing her thought? How could that be? That drum, it is not a drum at all it is a heart, her heart. Oh no this cannot be, I will not let this disease kill me!

I was sitting in my room, just thinking. Why would William walk out of the room in such a bad mood? What could Psyche have said to make him so mad? I looked at the tulips and there was a card along with them. It said,
Boun Giornno, cuore di mio cuore
--Orsacchiotto

I smelled the flowers and they smelled so sweet. There was no sound from outside of my door but I felt that someone was behind it. The feeling was so strong that I felt as if the person were waiting for me to open the door for them. Maybe I am just being a bit paranoid. Just to be sure, I walked over to the door and opened it.
“Oh William, are you alright? You seem a bit, um…” I didn’t know what to say, he looked as if he was under some kind of spell, his eyes were vacant and I don’t think that he knew who he was talking to.
“I am fine Cynthia, I just wanted to tell you that I think it would be a good idea if I took you back home, before your aunts put up wanted posters and have a restraining order filed against me. Because they would if they had to, your aunts are very protective of you; well one of them is while the other is not so much.” He told me, his eyes were looking up at the ceiling, not at me.
“Um…I think that it would be a good idea too. I wouldn’t want my aunts to get worried but I doubt that they would file a restraining order against you, they know you and that you would not do anything to hurt me.” I told him, he looked down at me and a smile was now on his face.
“Alright, I will call them and tell them that we are going to be back in a while, a day or two.” A day or two? Where are we?
“Where are we that it would take us a few days to get back home?” I asked him, his expression was amused.
“We are in Rome, well close to Rome anyway. This place is in the clouds, it was created by the gods.” Ok, why does that not surprise me?
“Probably because your father is a god and you are a goddess.”
“I am not, I am mortal and could you please stop going into my mind? It’s an invasion of privacy.” He seemed surprised but still amused at my reaction.
“I apologize but I just cannot help it. I try not to but I cannot stop myself, also because I want to make sure that you are alright.” His tone was bland; there was no emotion at all. His arms were crossed over his chest and he was staring at me.
“Well I am ready, aren’t you?” He just laughed.
“What’s so funny?” he pointed towards a suitcase that had appeared on my bed as if by magic.
“But I didn’t bring anything with me.” All of a sudden Psyche came into the room and smiled at me.
“Hello, why do you have a suitcase in front of you Cynthia?” She asked.
“Well, I thought that it would be best for William and me to leave but then I remembered that I didn’t bring anything with me.”
“Oh don’t be silly Cynthia, these clothes are yours to take with you. They will not fit psyche, you should have noticed that.” That voice said, only this time with sounded more like a woman’s voice rather then a man’s.
“Cynthia, you will need clothes, and these are a bit too small for me, take them as my gift to you.” Psyche said, she was smiling.
“Oh no, I couldn’t.” I tried to refuse but she just wouldn’t take no for an answer. Finally I agreed and saw that the clothes were already packed into the suitcase.
“Well then, if you are ready Cynthia I think that it would be best if we left now.” William said, he was already grabbing my suitcase and his was already in hand.
“Alright, but may I say good bye to Psyche and Eros properly?” I asked.
“Why of course you may.” he said and I saw that he was walking out the door. He seems different, more on edge and as if he were in some kind of pain. Even if he is trying to hide it, I can sense something wrong. Maybe I could help him. After we said our goodbyes William called on Zephyrus, the god of the west wind, to take us back down to earth.








***

As soon as we were on land I noticed that we had been right above a huge mountain, it seemed so tall, the size of Mt. Everest. Since we were at the top of the mountain we had to hike to get down. It took us what seemed like five hours but we eventually got down the mountain. There was a black Ferrari parked on a curb, it looked as if were the newest one. William walked over to the passenger door and held it open for me to get in. I was hesitant because I didn’t know where we were going. As soon as he got in and buckled in he turned on the ignition and started driving. It felt as if we were driving for a long time until we stopped by a building in a town that seemed quaint, I didn’t catch the name though.
“William, where are we exactly?” I asked and he turned to look at me.
“We are in Rome, the capital of Italy.”
“I meant where are we specifically?” I asked but before he could answer a girl about our age came running out of the building towards us and stopped right in front of William’s side of the car. She seemed to be over five feet tall, pale, slim. Here eyes were a black color and her hair was black with dark, blood-red tips. As soon as William and I got out of the car she smiled at both of us, her gaze lingering to look at me for about three seconds. Then she smiled and extended her hand to me.
“Hello my name is Hazel. It’s a pleasure to meet you Cynthia, William has told me so much about you.” Her smile seemed sincere but I couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous. She led us into the building and stopped in front of two huge oak, double door that had carving on the side of people dancing, painting, singing and playing in an orchestra. They are the same color as the wood and were so detailed that they seemed to be miniature people just standing still. I was completely awestruck. Both of them were looking at me and smiling. William took hold of my hand and pushed open the two door and led me inside. It was basically a huge arts center with a stage with a piano, ballet studio, art studio and music room.
“I am a teacher here, I teach dance.” Hazel was saying and I looked at her to see that she walking over to the piano. Her fingers played random keys but they flowed together so well that I had to think that she was playing something that she had written.
“I apologize if I seemed a bit…rude, not rude but jealous.” I wanted her to forgive me because I did feel bad. I mean, it was wrong for me to be so…mean. she seemed nice and I guess that I fantasized that maybe she could have liked William in a way more than friendly way. Her smile just widened and she walked over and hugged me.
“That’s fine, I understand. I would be jealous too if it looked like random girls were flirting with my boyfriend.” She said as soon as she let go of me. Then I heard the double doors open again and a young man was running over to Hazel, he spun her in his arms and finally kissed her.
“Ari, it is good that you are well. How come you do not call ,you do not write?” William was saying. The young man turned around, he had an annoyed expression on his face and that just made me laugh. He turned to me and his hazel eyes grew wide.
“Oh my, this is Cynthia.” He turned to stare at William in disbelief. “Why didn’t you tell me that you finally found her, after all of this time.” Hazel was walking over to William holding that young man’s, Ari’s, hand. Now that I got a good look at him he was pale, had dark black curly hair cut short. He was over six feet tall. Ari was not ripped, he was lean but you could tell that he worked out because his arms were muscular. He reminded me of those guys that you would see in action-adventure movies, the hot guys. Then I heard Hazel giggle.
“I agree with Cynthia on that.” She heard what I thought? Oh great.
“It’s fine. I mean I think the same of William but I only think of him as a friend.” Oh thank goodness that she is not mad. She seems nice.
“How long have you been teaching dance?” I asked because she seemed too young to be teaching at all.
“I have been teaching for about three years, I am actually twenty-five years old.”
“Really, you don’t look twenty-five, trust me. One of my aunts is twenty- four and you look much younger than her.”
“Well thank you, that is the nicest thing that anyone has ever said to me.” She is just saying that to be polite, I thought.
“Hello, my name is Ari. I am Hazel’s boyfriend. I take it that you are William’s girlfriend, Cynthia Simmons.” Ari was saying, his voice was trite.
“Yes I am. How do you know him?” I asked him.
“He has been a friend of mine for years, he is the one that introduced me to Hazel five years ago.” Then I noticed something sparkling on Hazel’s fourth finger on her left hand.
“Oh my, you two are engaged? I am so happy for you two!” I practically yelled and both of them were smiling so much, they looked so happy, it seemed that someone plastered smiles on their faces. But I also felt a sting of jealousy towards both of them, they were so happy together, they could be together without having any problems.
“Oh and by the way, just so that you know, Ari and I are both demons.” I thought that Hazel was just talking to me because William didn’t seem surprised at the news.
“Well, to be perfectly clear, I was born a demon while Hazel was made into a demon.” Ari was saying, but even thought his words were neutral, his facial expression suggested that he wasn’t happy about it. Then Hazel looked at him in a way that said, I would do anything to be with you forever. When he looked at her he smiled and his expression became dreamy, as if he were thinking about another time and another place, it reminded me of the way William looked at me, stealing glances in my direction, when he thought that I wouldn’t notice. His eyes would become unfocused, they would be half closed and he would always have this half smile on his face, like he was in perfect bliss and nothing could shatter his happiness.
“Cynthia, I think that you would be a very good dancer. Have you tried your hand at it yet?” Hazel asked me, her voice brought me back into reality. I was still recovering from my daze-like state when she turned on a boom box at the corner of the studio and soft, low piano music started playing. After a moment it was accompanied by violins and saxophones. I recognized the song as a classic piano piece, arranged to be played with other instruments accompanying it. In my opinion I liked it when it was just a piano piece, it was softer and more relaxing to the ears. This version was louder and caused my ears to ring, it was not ear-piercing but it was not what I was used to hearing, the violin players were using the highest strings and the sax players were hitting high notes.. Well, not really high notes but higher than I think would be necessary for this particular piece. Anyway, Hazel walked over to me and smiled. She pulled me-well dragged was more like it-to be next to William while she stood next to Ari.
“Now, you should face your partner, look them in the eyes.” Hazel was saying, she was facing Ari and held one of his hands in one of hers and placed the other on his shoulder. While Ari placed one of his hands around her waist and lifted the hand that was interlocked with hers in eye level. Then they started twirling around the dance floor in synchronization. It was like watching a princess dancing with her prince, she seemed so happy. After the song was done they both turned to us.
“Now it’s your turn.” They said, their words scared me a bit because I had two left feet. I would probably step on his feet or something and make a total fool of myself. Hazel walked over to me and put a hand on my shoulder.
“Relax, just think about him, think that no one else is here, that you two are alone. It helps if you are nervous, just imagine that you are with a friend and you are just goofing off. Not caring about what anyone says, you are just having a good time dancing.” she told me and I did as she said. I relaxed and thought of just being with him. I closed my eyes and thought that he would laugh when he saw how bad a dancer I was. I imagined seeing him take my hand and hold me as we moved to the music. I could feel him holding me and the music started to play.
“See, you are a wonderful dancer.” I could hear William’s soft and musical voice in my ear. I could imagine that he was smiling.
“I missed dancing with you. It has been centuries since we had our last dance.” I opened my eyes and saw that William and I were standing on the middle of the dance floor and Hazel and Ari were smiling at us.
“That was wonderful, you two are natural dancers.” Hazel was saying and she sounded so happy. Ari just smiled at us, he didn’t say anything at all.
“Well, we have danced before.” William stated but I was at a loss as to what he was talking about. I had never danced with him before, then I remembered the gathering my father had the day before the contest, the day before my life was ruined.
“Well you two are wonderful dancers. How long ago has it been, two thousand years since the last time you two danced together?”
“Yes it has, that was actually the last time that I danced at all, until now.” William was telling Hazel. When he was done he smiled at me and I suddenly felt my heart skip a beat.
“Are you alright Cynthia?” He sounded really worried, but then smiled when I told him that I was fine.
“We should be getting to the airport, I mean your aunts would have a fit if you are not home by dinnertime.” William sounded exasperated and his tone sounded annoyed. Hazel and Ari were both looking at us and smiling.
“If you are in such a hurry then why didn’t you take your jet William?” Ari finally spoke, after about an hour.
“Because I did not think that her aunts would have been so mad at me and I thought that I would be in a better standing with them by now, but they both hate me, or at least Lucia does.” Ari was walking to the front door but grabbed a key and tossed it towards William.
“Might as well get going now before you get her in trouble again.”
“I did not! He did not know a thing about that.” William sounded offended.
“You got away with it, but by the skin of your teeth. If he had been a few seconds faster then he would have caught you and…you would have gotten in a lot of trouble.” Ari had an amused smile on his face and William was also smiling. What are they talking about? We both said goodbye to Hazel and Ari then walked out the door towards the car.
“Where are we going?” I asked after we were on the main highway.
“We are going to the airport.” Hew said, turning to me for a second before facing the road once more.
“I didn’t Know that you had a jet. Why would you buy a jet?” I asked and he pulled the car over to the curb. Why would he stop the car just to answer a simple question? He turned to face me as soon as he cut the engine.
“What do you really want to ask me?” His eyes were hard, then he turned away and tried to calm down because he looked ready to start screaming.
“I apologize if I seemed…out of sorts lately. It is not my intention but I am going through things at the moment. It does not excuse my horrid behavior but I just cannot help it, I am sorry.” I just sighed and rolled my eyes at him, teasing him. He smiled a bit and then turned the car back on, in a few minutes we were at the airport. It was about the size of the one back in London. But it had less planes then the other one. This airport had about ten planes going to different places and each had its own hanger on the far sides of the airport, while the one in London had about twenty and they were always on the runway.
“Do we have to go back to London? I would like to just stay here longer and sightsee.” I was saying but I knew that we had to go back home, I had to go back home or else my aunts wound surely never let me out of the house ever again.
“I would love it if we could just stay here and not have to go back for a long time, I could show you the estate where you grew up, the areas where you liked to play. But then again your family would be really worried about you.” At first he sounded so happy, but as he was talking about going back his voice grew lower and sadder. He just looked down at the ground. I gently stroked his cheek and made him look at me.
“I would love to stay here with you for the rest of my life but that would not be a good idea.” he smiled down at me, grabbed my hand and led me to a hanger that was farthest away from the rest of the planes. It was locked but then William unlocked it by using that key that Ari had given him. The door seemed really heavy and I doubted that he would be able to push it open. But he proved me wrong by grabbing the huge door and opened it as it didn’t weigh a ton. He walked me in and I stopped in my tracks as soon as I saw the huge jet, it was sleek and black as midnight, it was as long as two school buses. We entered the jet to find only a few seats scattered around the area. They were red velvet seats and there was a long red velvet carpet with glass tables. I walked over to a seat at the center of the plane.
“Sit down and relax, the trip will be short.” He said and kissed me lightly on the cheek before walking over to the pilot’s quarters. Now I was by myself with just my thoughts and a suitcase at my feet. He walked over to me, he was carrying a tray, on it was a silver platter and orange juice right beside it.
“I thought that you might be hungry.” He placed the tray on the table and then just looked at me.
“Thank you, are you going to fly the plane by yourself?” I asked and he smiled sweetly at me. He could tell that I was nervous.
“For the first few miles, then I will let the autopilot take over and join you here. I want to spend a few more moments with you before I have to take you back to your aunts.” He told me and then sat down beside me. The seats were so close together that I could just lean my head sideways and rest it against his shoulder.
“Are you tired? You do not seem to be very awake. Maybe you should rest a while.” There was a sound, as if someone had snapped their fingers and a bed appeared at the far corner of the room, it was now moving towards us. It was hovering beside me, not touching the ground at all.
“Please, go to sleep and I will wake you when we are about to arrive.” He coaxed me. I walked over to the bed and sat on it, in a moment it floated over to the other side of the room and William walked over towards me. He was tucking me in as if I were a child and he was the parent. There was a smile on his face, he was amused at the prospect of him being the parent and I the child. I had to smile in return.
“Now I will go check on where we are at the moment and be right back, alright?” I nodded and he just stared at me, all playfulness was gone from his face and eyes. He was serious about something but after a moment he was all smiles again.
“I just remembered something and I was just not myself for a moment, I apologize.” His voice grew sad so I sat up and looked him in the eyes.
“Its fine William. I would not be mad at you, I could never be mad at you.”
“But what about when I told you that I joined that tournament and you stormed off?”
“Could you please stop talking about that contest! That was the past and what happened in the past stays in the past.” As soon as I was finished, he smiled once more and I knew that it wasn’t forced or anything. He was genuinely happy and then I closed my eyes.
“Have a good rest my love.” His voice was a whisper in my ear. I remembered murmuring ‘I love you’ to him then I blacked out.