The Greek Sacrifice

Chapter Nine

It had been six month since they had been living peacefully on Earth.  They had founded and operated a large bakery in the middle of the village. Chelsea was a quaint little village on the outskirts of Hardrock. They would go to Hardrock every week to purchase supplies for their home as well as their village.
“Which of us will be going into town today?” queried Athena. They all knew why she asked. Athena had met and fell in love with a local called Damien. They all burst out laughing.
“Athena we know you want to go, we understand,” Elodie teased, Athena who was normally so aggressive blushed, her cheeks turned red and the sisters laughed even more.
“I'll come with you Athena, who else wants to go?” Hera asked
“I'll come along as well” said Zoe offered. They got ready and left for town. The others would go to the bakery and start the day’s operations.
Life was really good.  She barely thought of Rhemus anymore but whenever she did, she could only think of Nehram, she refused to think of him. Her heart ached for him. Hera had eventually told her sisters about her betrayal. They were angry at first but then they understood. Only Athena had found a love interest so far. She wondered if she would ever meet someone to make her feel that way again. Suddenly Nehram popped up in her head once again and she quickly tried pushing the thought of him away. She could not understand it. How could she think of him? He had taken everything from her. Yet here she was missing him, actually missing him. They had had intimate conversations before she had escaped, they had become close, before what should have been their marriage. She had only done it to convince him that she was submissive, right? Wasn't that the only reason she got close to him?
She was jolted from her thoughts by Zoe snapping her fingers in front of her face.
“Come on let's go,” Zoe called and they left for town in their old but reliable sedan.
The busy streets of the town was alive as the bright summer sky laughed over it. The water in the portholes shimmered by the glow of the bright, sunshine. The small, green trees on the roadside swayed as the strong breeze hit them. Above a faded zebra crossing, a traffic light frantically changed colors seeming rather like a disco light. A watchman sat comfortably on his dark brown stool under the protection of his shops’ roof. Huge giant buildings stood beside the street, roaring with life as people came in and out of them. The windows displayed their wares. It seemed like the clouds had gotten a sudden fascination to the sun and wrapped themselves around it. The sun's faint glow passed through them, coloring them yellow from white. The warm air carried a sweet scent like a candy shop kept inside an oven. The pattering of old car driving through the town added to the noise, which was now deafening. Taxis came down the road and parked, looking for passengers who were finished with their shopping. A bunch of young kids ran down the sidewalk laughing vigorously.
They were just finished shopping when Hera spotted them. Nehram was dressed in a blue t-shirt, black jeans and black leather boots fitting right in with the crowd. His eyes squinted as his focused gaze traveled up and down the street. Apollo and Ares were with him as well, they were both dressed as humans as well. Who knew how many of them were there. Hera ducked into the closest shop and pulled Zoe and Athena along with her.
“They've found us!” She whispered fiercely. Athena’s eyes widened in shock.
“But how?” she asked
“Who did you see Hera and are you sure?” Zoe asked
“Of course I'm sure, I saw Nehram, Ares and Apollo but I don't know if there are others.”
“How the hell did they find us?” Athena asked once again
“That's not important right now, we need to leave before they really do find us.” Hera declared anxiously. She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead in frustration as they traveled back to Chelsea.
As soon as they got back they went straight to the bakery to tell the others that they were close to being discovered. The smell of chocolate, cinnamon, sugar, vanilla and honey filled the air of the bakery. Different types of breads, cookies and pies were lined out in the display counter that separated the dining area from the kitchen. They had a good amount of persons sitting around the small wooden tables having lunch. Hera didn't pay much attention to them. She beckoned to her sisters. They gathered at the small swung door that led from the dining area into the kitchen.
“We saw Nehram, Apollo and Ares in town today, they have found us or at least they are close to finding us.” Hera informed them.
“Are you serious?” Ereny exploded
“Why can't they just leave us alone, didn't they get what they wanted?” Seleny asked clearly annoyed.
“What are we going to do?” whimpered Agapy
“I don't know what we are going to do, but I do know that I am not going back to Rhemus.”
“You won't need to,” the familiar voice said from behind them. Hera turned and there he stood in all his Greek glory. She swallowed slowly. They had sitting at the table closest to them.
“We did not come here to force you into coming back to Rhemus,” He said quietly. She could feel the anticipation emanating from her sisters as they waited for Nehram to continue.
“Can I speak to you alone?” Nehram asked,  his question directed as Hera. Before she could answer, Athena piped up “She is not going anywhere with you.” Nehram sighed loudly. He looked unsure of himself, which was really really unusual.
“He's here because he is in love with you and cannot seem to function without you,” Ares said nonchalantly. All eyes swung to him, Nehram was clearly annoyed with his brother.
“You were taking too long to get to the point. We came with him just to give support, well at least I did.” He smiled as he looked at Apollo who was now scowling at him. Hera was not paying no attention, her mind and emotions were in turmoil after hearing what Ares had said.
“I am sorry about everything that I have done, I was blinded by rage brought on by my father's death. It's no excuse but I want you all to know that I am sorry.”
“I understand,” said Phoebe, “That is in the past if you really are serious, remember you've tricked us before.”
“I was the one who told them where we were,” Zoe said softly
“What?” Hera asked incredulously, “Why would you do that?”
“Because I want to be with Apollo,”
“So you put us all in jeopardy for your own selfish needs?”
“Really Hera, aren't you being a hypocrite,” she fired back, “Apollo told me how Nehram was behaving and we all saw how you were with him before we left, no one could act that well. Everyone here except the you and Athena knew that I was in contact with Apollo and that Nehram was coming.” Hera took a step back,  surprised etched all over her face. She looked at each of her sisters, they were all smiling.
“What Ares said was true, that is why I came here. I wanted to know if everything that happened between us was real.” Nehram said.
“Look, I need to go,” she pushed herself pass them and went out the door.  She hugged herself tightly as she walked aimlessly through the village. She didn't know where to go but home. Her emotions were raging. Seeing Nehram again had unleashed so many things that she had pushed aside.
“Hera wait!” she heard him call just as she entered the main gate leading to the house.  She didn't stop, she went to sit under the portico.
“I still do not understand why you came here.” Hera said As Nehram came up onto the portico. “I am not going back.”
“Just tell me that it was real, you looked at me with so much love and desire, did you fake that?” He asked his voice sounded pained. She looked away from him.
“What does it matter? I am not going back to Rhemus.” She responded
“Hera just answer,” his eyes pleaded with her. She took a deep breath
“No it was not fake but it doesn't matter because I am not going back to Rhemus" she reiterated. He smiled and took two steps to close the space between then. He pulled her up from the seat. He bent his head and captured her lips in a breath-taking kiss.
“I have wanted to do that for so long,” He breathed, “I told you that I am not here to take you back to Rhemus, I want to live with you here on Earth if you will allow me,” her heart skipped a beat, everything she wanted was being laid out in front of her. She looked up at him, searching his face for any sign of deceit, there was none.
“Yes,” she whispered softly. He pulled her to him and engulfed her in his arms. His arms felt warm and safe. She knew that that everything was going to be fine.