The Light Of Apollo's Love

Chapter 15

Ares froze at those words. Why was she sorry? She was the reason his sister was gone. A simple flower nymph being the reason his sister had been murdered? It made his blood boil. He glared down at her, and she took a step back, hands clasped tightly together in front of her chest. The flowers crumpled in his hand, and as he drew his sword downwards, the branches tangled together, creating a tough barrier between him and her. He could hear the patter of her feet as she ran away and could see her disappear further into the thicket of the woods.

Myrrh refused to look behind her, knowing the branches would only slow him down slightly, and he was much faster than her and more physically capable. She dodged around trees, going left and right to make herself more difficult to catch, the roots of them lifting as she ran past as a way to create space between them and possibly cause Ares to trip. She could feel a stitch forming in her side and her chest tightening, knowing she was running out of energy and breath. Quick footsteps crunched behind her, and she looked up at the tall oak tree nearby. Grasping a branch tightly Myrrh swung herself up and into the tree, groaning slightly as she hoisted herself up into the leaves, quickly climbing and ignoring the occasional scratch she got. She pressed herself back against the trunk of the tree, perching on a branch and staying as quiet as possible while steadying her breath. She heard footsteps stop below and dared not to look down at the drop that would surely kill her if she were to mess up and slip. The steps continued, and she let out a light sigh. She felt a hand clasp around her mouth suddenly, and an arm around her waist, and her breath caught in her throat. Instantly on instinct, she bit down on the hand hard and looked over to see a familiar face, perched right next to her. Hermes tore his hand away, letting out a hiss and looking at the bite mark she had left, before looking back at her.

"I forgot how hard of a bite you have. I suppose it is my fault though, I seemed to have startled you quite a bit," He gave her a silly grin as he whispered, before standing, lifting her into his arms. "Eros told me you might be in trouble, and I know Apollo would owe me quite a bit once again if I had to go visit hades and get your soul back. He still owes me from getting hades off his back from when he pulled your soul from the underworld back to your body and bound it to his." He adjusted her in his arms, making sure to support her legs and back as he hopped over to another branch. She was exhausted from running, and simply rested her head upon his chest, letting out a sigh. He gazed down at her, ruffling her hickory curls with his hand as a smile played on his lips. He was careful as he made his way through the branches, moving from one to the other before he made his way to the ground. He decided on bringing her to Apollo, knowing he would be able to keep her safe better than he could.

Apollo was relaxed on a chaise that he had pulled out to the gardens of Olympus, strumming a gentle tune on his lyre as he lazily gazed at the bluebirds that were feasting on the breadcrumbs, he had tossed out next to him, hearing the occasional joyous chirp as a thank you. He smiled at the thought that Myrrh had loved them so much when he had used them to bring her gifts and in return, he had fed them chunks of bread to the point of some of them becoming quite fat. He heard the patter of quick footsteps and sat up to see Hermes with Myrrh in his arms, and his heart jumped in his chest as every morbid thought went through his head at once. He quickly rose from his seat and took Myrrh in his arms, her dark eyes looking up at him as she gave him a small smile. He ran his thumb over a few of the scratches on her face, the minor wounds quickly mending at his warm touch.

"I feel like turbulence follows you everywhere my love. Who's after you this time?" Apollo ruffled Myrrh's hair as he sighed, wrapping an arm around her waist and holding her at his side as he gave Hermes a beaming grin. "It's been quite a while, Hermes. I hope you haven't been pulling any of your tricks on my lovely lady." Hermes gave a small chuckle and ran his curls through his hands.