𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙻𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙳𝚊𝚛𝚔 𝙱𝚎𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚍

Not Everything Is As it Seems pt 1

♪Aphrodite♪
-Honey Gentry

Later that night, Eden got ready to journey beyond the gate. She kept my dagger with her, strapped to her thigh under her dress, just in case. Who knew what could be beyond that gate.

   She waited until the sun was completely set before opening her door, looking both ways, and then making her way towards the gate carefully, and slowly.

   Successfully close to the target, about to turn the corner leading straight there she noticed something new. Guards. There wasn't anything she could do to get them away from their spot, she was sure, but she wasn't going to just give up there. She needed to get past that gate. She needed to know what Azrial's aim was. Why Everything isn't as it seems.

   She knew she wanted to do it, she knew she needed to. But she didn't know how she could.

   She observed the guards carefully, there was no sign of them having weapons, but they'd surely tell her father what she was up to. That, somehow sounded worse then getting stabbed. Not that she would know, but she'd imagine it's painful to be stabbed at least

   She started looking for smaller details that could help her get past this. That's when she noticed there weren't eye holes in their helmets... what good were those helmets doing them then? Could they even see her if she walked right in front of them? Even if they did she could play it off as if suevcouldn't sleep and was taking a walk? She decided that was her best bet for now. Because it was now or never.

   She walked towards the gate, getting closer and closer until she was right there. Right in front of the gate. And neither of the guards said a word, or moved a muscle.

  Just then, a rush of either bravery, or stupidity washed over her; and she knocked the helmet off the suit or armor with one tap, there were never guards, just the illusion of guards.

   Now for the harder part, she cracked the gate slightly and slid through the opened bars, waiting with her dagger out. But nothing happened. There was no protection, just a large staircase down to a door, well that, and a woman facing the door. The woman is definitely more important here.

   It wasn't any random woman, Eden knew her, and well. It was Aphrodite.

   Aphrodite turned around and walked up the stairs to Eden, but she looked different then when i'd last seen her. She used to look like my childhood friend that got tired of me, I never knew why, but now, her features were darker, her eyes had started going from a brown to a hazel, and the sandy hair turned dark dark brown. Her eyes were sharper too, way sharper.

   "You look different." Eden said quickly, not thinking to say hello first.

   "Well what's different?" She asks curiously, sitting down on a stair gracefully, "Describe to me."

   Eden put together words to describe what she was seeing, which she found suddenly difficult.

   "Everything's darker.. even your aura, your eyes started to tint red; you have- darker hair, paler skin."

   She smiled, and there, something else, her smile had changed most of all.

   "I knew it!" She gushed, suddenly very excited, "Ok, I have a job I want you to take for me, I'll arrange it with your father but you're never to tell him anything about it, got it?"

   Eden found this to be a really weird request. She'd never had a job, or work. She'd never even thought to ask about it, and no one had thought to ask her.

   "Look I-"

  "Was expecting Azrial?"

   Eden froze, nodding slowly. She didn't expect Aphrodite to say that, she didn't understand how she even knew that Eden had met Azrial.

   "I know, don't worry, everything will fall into place. Now agree not to talk to your father about it."  Aphrodite smiled eagerly.

   "Fine" Eden sighed, hoping this will be a chance for all her questions to get answers, "I won't tell."

   "Good, now get some sleep, I'll come get you in 2 days for your new job." She said sweetly, turning around and leaving, with a lot more pep in her step.

   Edens head was immediately flooded with new questions. How did she know about Azrial? What was she so excited about? What kind of job does she want Eden for anyways?

   She slipped out of the gates just as she had slipped in, and began walking back home. Her mind still thinking at a mile a minute.

   "I'm not insane! Someone's out Hermes!" Zeus's voice boomed.

   Eden ran to her door, and went inside closing it as quietly as possible, but she listened the best she could. What can she say? Curiosity almost always got the better of her, and she'd let it.

   "It was probably just wind! Who uses fake guards anyways? That's your own fault." Hermès sighed

   "What if someone got out Hermes. Hell would break loose if a dead person was caught wandering around New York City."

   The voices faded away, continuing on about the gates. Eden definitely should have put the head back on, but in her defense, it just wasn't something she was really thinking about at the time.

    Something bigger then her little mix up, dead people can just leave? So why don't they? Do they want to be dead? Do they not know they can? Can Eden just leave? Is that what that door was at the bottom of the stairs? If she were to go through it would she land in whatever New York city was? Was it really that easy?

   With all the sudden unfamiliarity, she really missed when life was boring, and the only questions she had were what book she was going to read next. Perhaps she could find a new way of thinking about it. There's only so many books to read, but there's endless adventures to be explored.