Dear Ms Lady Demigod: Twelve Days To Doom

6 5 She is Attracted to Everything Beautiful

Viktor stood on his balcony and looked at the red sky. His red eyes began glowing softly. "The time has come forth." He heard faintly as if someone was screaming at a distance. "Fate has held a goblet for us again and drink we shall, a drink to our victory!" The voice came nearer and nearer, and it became louder and clearer, "In heaven that was stolen from us! Drink we shall, of a right that was denied to us! And gods we shall become again! The portal is breaking apart! And we shall fall into! Fallen as we are, we are not defeated! We shall rise and rise together!"His voice became so loud that was soon yelling in his ear, "LONG LIVE!"

Viktor closed his eyes and turned to Grigory, "Is something wrong?" He asked.
Viktor shook his head, "No, nothing particular,"

Annelece and Happiness looked at the portal and saw Nataniel, with Ariel and Adelaida walking behind him. He carried an ice spear. They both shook, "Nataniel..."
"Wow, he's alive!" Happiness walked towards him. Nataniel walked out of the portal and looked at the red sky, "It's evening," He turned towards Ariel. He walked out with Adelaida and Annelece closed the portal, "Sir Nataniel! That god, you are back! You must be happy now...Adelaida," He smiled.

Adelaida looked away.
 "Where's Jevelene, though? I thought you'd bring her back," Annelece looked behind them.
"She couldn't make it," Nataniel shook his head.
Happiness looked at him, "What? What does that mean? What happened to her?"
"...A demon got her before us...And after that, she couldn't heal..."

"...But she's a demigod," Happiness said, "If you saved her, she would've healed,"
"She didn't. I believe she was not a demigod...She was perhaps mortal,"
Adelaida began sobbing again and Annelece consoled her, "It's okay your highness..." He whispered. She pressed her face on his chest, "I miss brother..."

. . .

Two hours had passed since then. Ariel sat beside a tree bark, looking at the golden water lily which slowly began withering away as the golden started turning to flakes. Ariel held it in his arms, 

"You are what I have now..." Memories played like a stereo, memories that would now haunt him for the rest of his life, "You are my present, Jevelene," He moved his fingers and touched the air, pretending to touch her cheeks. "Not all parts of me are colourful, some are painted in grey and black, some are washed in the red of blood, but..." She almost seemed to come alive, the wind almost turned her to flesh, "With you, I'm golden,"

"I'm not so good at romanticising things with words," He heard her voice reverberating in the empty, snowy forest, "Emotions are fleeting and hard to grasp. But texture, colour, light; they are physical and sturdy and a language I know how to speak."

"Some things are not permanent. This moment right now that we're having, it will never come back, nor will it last forever. That's just how life works, Jevelene. And if you ever lose me, though I'll try you don't, but hypothetically, right? If you lose me, you must learn, not to live without me but to live with the love I left behind."

"If I have to die, you cannot stop it, Ariel,"

"No...

Stay with me," He remembered them laying next to each other, he was looking into her blue eyes and the freckles on her cheeks, "Stay with me...
I need you more than you think,"

Nataniel and the others watched him from afar, "He seems stuck," Happiness said.
"Ariel...I wish I could help you," Nataniel began crying, "I wish I was there for you...Both of you,"
"Do not blame yourself, Sir Nataniel" Annelece patted his back, "What must come, must come,"
"Only bad things keep coming!" Nataniel yelled, "We should've never left home...I miss papa. It's cold, I feel immaculately cold...Mournful..." He looked at Ariel. His skin's golden glow was slowly fading away, "My brother is about to die in front of me...Again..."

Nataniel began sobbing, "I want to go home..."
Adelaida began whimpering beside him.

Happiness looked aside and saw one of the trees slowly bending from its bark. He got alert, "What is that?"
Nataniel looked up and watched the tree turn into a circle. It began glowing golden. He wiped his tears and got up, "Ariel?"
"No, that's not Ariel's golden..." Happiness' face lit up, "I know that shade of golden! MUSIC!" 

Vierne stepped on the grass and emerged out of the light in her blue tunic and silver crown. Her silver armour glowed under the moon, and her deep blue cape reached the ground. Soon, Lict stepped behind her and emerged from the golden light. He held her septor for her and the golden gate closed behind them, the tree went back to standing straight. 

"Lady Gatekeeper!" Annelece recognised her and everyone except Nataniel bowed. Happiness ran towards her and got on one knee, "Greetings, my lady," 
Lict laughed, "Happiness! Oh, it's been ages since I saw you!" 
"Brother!" 
They hugged each other. Everyone looked at them.

"How have you been?" Lict asked.
"Not very good," Happiness shook his head, "Small body, no powers. It's tough,"
"Oh, tell me about it! I had the same fate before meeting milady!"
They giggled and Lict cleared his throat, "Milady," He looked at Vierne, "This is Happiness. The eleventh star of the twelve heavenly stars," 

Vierne smiled, "Hello, Happiness,"
"It is an honour, lady gatekeeper," He smiled as he bowed once again.
Annelece came towards her, "My lady, why would you come to this abdominous place? In the City of the Dead?"
Vierne stopped smiling, "I'm sorry we had to meet in such terrible circumstances. The City of the Dead it may be, but we are all equally doomed,"

. . .

"The fire has run out again!" An old woman growled and went inside a tree's bark. She was bent forward and had wrinkles all over her face. She had draped a huge black cloth over his skinny frame and looked rather displeasing to stare at. She yelled in her high-pitched voice, "Cynth! Cynth!" 
A young girl peeped out of the bark. She looked young, her hair was dishevelled and it had maggots running through them. Her nails were dark and filled with gunk and few of her front teeth were missing, "Yes, mistress,"

"The fire ran out! Go, get some water from the river so I can light it up! I'm so cold! Only the devil knows what happened! This place is freezing suddenly!"
"It might have something to do with that huge explosion a while back,"
"Nobody asked you to use your dingy mind! Now go! Before I beat you with my stick!"

Cynth grabbed a wooden bucket and marched down the stinking valley. It was full of rocks and small volcanoes. Her feet were bare and her clothes were torn. Her eyes were smudged with black ash and her face was dirty with soot. She reached the river of Phlegethon and dropped her bucket, the river was full of water, instead of the volcanic lava. She got on her haunches and touched the water, "It's cold..."

She smiled and jumped into the river, "Hah! So cold!" 
She played into the water and kicked her feet into the vines growing beside it. She touched the vines and squeezed them, quenching her tasteful thirst. She sucked on the juicy fruits and drank the clear water. Once she was full and felt dizzy, she fell into the water and began floating. Looking at the dark sky and more vines that smelt beautiful. Suddenly, she saw red vines. Pretty, they seemed to bloom like a flower. 

She got up and touched them, recognising the texture, "Hair?"
She followed it and reached a naked woman in the water. She lay there unconscious. Her skin was golden, her hair was red. Her face was flushed and her lips looked dry. The vines seemed to stop where she lay. Cynth got up and looked down at her, her black eyes were open wide. 

"...What is this? It's beautiful,"

-To be continued

Cynth 
Dear Ms Lady Demigod