TAMING APOLLO | completed

42. a battle of the gods

G A Y L E

MY CHEEK brushes against grass as my eyes slowly flutter open. The sun rays blare against my skin as I attempt to process where I am and what happened.

Sitting up, I realise I'm in some kind of vacant grass fields in the middle of nowhere. I rub my temples in an attempt to soothe this headache I suddenly have as my eyes scour the area.

Nobody in sight.

My heart pounds against my chest at the familiar feeling of being alone in unfamiliar land as I hop up with a shiver.

I guess it's PTSD... My subconscious chirps in as flashes of those first moments of when I was trapped in my head resurface, another shiver racing down my spine.

Right, so what happened?

A war broke out on Thrace, Hermes came to my 'rescue' which I now realise most definitely wasn't a rescue.

My brow arches as I reflect thoughtfully, rubbing my fingers over my chin. Any idiot can tell that something strange is going on here.

Hermes storms in, claiming that Apollo told him to take me someplace safe and suddenly Ariel attacks him with rage flashing in her eyes.

Either Ariel is really mad about Hermes taking her necklace or Hermes has done something terribly wrong.

My brows furrow at that very thought.

Hermes wouldn't... would he?

For some reason that strange gleam in his eyes just as he grabbed my hand resurfaces in my brain again, further confusing me.

That lying bast--

Before I can finish that thought the sound of a distant scream echoes throughout the empty grass lands, making my head whip back expeditiously.

I recognise two figures in the distance both stood across each other in strange stances.

Determination pumps through my veins as I make my way over, slowly the figures become larger and larger until I can clearly identify the two figures as Hermes and Ariel, both glowering at one another.

"How dare you?" Ariel's voice comes out deeper and more serious than I've ever heard it as she glares daggers at the figure before her.

Hermes scoffs nonchalantly, rolling his eyes at Ariel. "You think you're the rightful heir to the throne? That you can bite into a golden apple and we're all suddenly supposed to view you as our equal? Our leader?" he drawls, venom leaking out from his voice. "I'd rather die than bow down to you, or your wash-out husband."

"Ares is my inferior in every way. If you think I'm just going to sit by and let him--"

"Where were you to claim the throne when Zeus was tearing Mount Olympus apart? When streets ran red with blood?" Ariel spits, disgust the only evident emotion in her eyes. She takes Hermes' lack of a respose as her queue to speak. "That's what I thought... so don't tell me about Ares being your inferior when he was the one risking his life, while you were out somewhere hiding like the coward you are!"

Hermes opens his mouth to speak but Ariel cuts him off once again. "He trusted you. We all trusted you. We welcomed you back onto Olympus with open arms and this is the thanks we get? You think the titans or Zeus will let you become king? You think they won't kill you off once you've played your part?" she scoffs, shaking her head. "You and Aphrodite are insufferable."

"You don't understand." Hermes sighs, angling closer to Ariel who takes a few slow steps back.

"I do understand. I understand that you are a greedy bastard who's about to get what's coming to him." she threatens, holding her palms out as if expecting a blast to come out and smite Hermes. He too, shields himself and braces for impact, screwing his eyes shut.

Unfortunately no power comes out and they both just stand there awkwardly.

Upon realising how foolish they look" Ariel's brows furrow as she pulls her hands back, glancing down at them confusedly.

Hermes peaks through one eye to detect if anything has happened, grinning triumphantly upon realising that he's unharmed. He smirks viciously, turning the tables on Ariel and attempts to blast her away as well.

Again, nothing happens. He frowns.

"No matter, I've been meaning to do this for a long time." Ariel murmurs, hurling a punch in Hermes' direction.

Hermes ducks, instinctively kicking his foot out and tripping Ariel.

Ariel drops onto the ground with a thud, but gets back up almost imediately. Instead of throwing another punch, she bearclaws his chin.

Hermes groans at this succes and pulls her into a headlock, tightening his arm around her neck. Ariel's face starts to turn red but before I can do anything to separate the two of them she knocks her head back, thrashing against Hermes and as his grip loosens, she grabs him by the arm and brings him over her body into the air, crashing him onto the ground with a groan.

Ariel turns to face him, placing a boot onto his chest harshly. She breathes heavily, a look in her eyes that is far from human as she glances down at his body.

"What were you planning to do with Gayle?" When Hermes doesn't answer, she presses her heel deeper into his chest, eliciting a groan rumbling deep from within Hermes' chest.

"I was-- hey, be gentle. How would Ares feel about this?" he mocks with a sinister chuckle, even though there's golden blood streaming out from his nose.

"I'm not in the mood for your games, Hermes... now, tell me!" she presses harder and he coughs, his face bloodied and bruised.

"I was-- I was going to use her as bait to lure Apollo back to Mount Olympus." he confesses. The tension thickens as my heart freezes at the mention of my name. "... but you got in my way and now-- now we're in this place, wherever this is."

Bait?

"Why do you need Apollo on Mount Olympus?"

"I can't tell you that, beautiful. That would ruin the surprise." he chortles innocently, his dimples deepening as he turns his head to me.

I freeze under his glare, completely unable to move as an inexplicable fear washes over my entire body. His smirk deepens when he notices the state I'm in and he winks.

"Tell me your plan." Ariel demands as he turns his gaze back to her.

"No. Can. Do. Amigo." he replies nonchalantly. Ariel kicks her foot off of him, allowing him to clear his throat and cough theatrically.

"Damn you." she mutters, raking her fingers through her flowing brown locks.

She focuses her attention on me, her eyes are still hard and unreadable but she nods to me. "You okay?" she asks and I nod, just as a screech echoes throughout the entire field.

"And that, ladies, is my queue." when I turn my attention back to Hermes, he's stood up, fingers laced around Ariel's necklace. My eyes widen when I realise what he plans to do. "Have fun in nowhere land, see you in my dreams." he winks before tapping on the necklace and disappearing out of sight, leaving both Ariel and I alone in this strange land.

"Damn!" she yells, kicking the dirt. She turns her hazel eyes back to me, shaking her head. "We're stuck here."