Zelus (Perseus Reimagined) (BXB)

Chapter 38

I've never craved death more than I ever did now.

2016

"AND OVER HERE, FOLKS, IS what we've all heard of before, a centaur," the tour guide ushered towards a pedestal where a centaur statue sits. A magnificent half-horse, half-man creature that kids discover in fairytales. The ancient stone was well preserved in the glass box. However, its head had been damaged just slightly due to time, unable to portray an exact image of its face. "I'm well aware it's not a studying tour, but who can tell me how these beings came to be? You don't have to tell us the entire history, just a summarized version of what you know."

She peers into the crowd and somehow lands on me, even though I am standing behind everyone. When she smiled, I realized my hand was up in the air, volunteering to answer. Everyone followed her gaze, and now all eyes were on me. Fuck the act of impulse that always gets you unnecessary attention. Nevertheless, I hadn't backed down.

"Alright, so," I scratch my head as Alex took a big step away from my side to join the crowd. "It began with King Ixion, owner of the best stallions in the land. He wanted the hands of a beautiful maiden named Dia, daughter of a nobleman, Deioneus. In exchange, he would offer him some of his best stallions. It turned out to be a lie, and the father-in-law had decided to steal the stallions himself, which led the king to murder him in a flaming ditch where he had also thrown Dia in. His subjects turned on him, and it was then Zeus took pity on him and brought the king to Olympus, where he fell back to his old ways and seduced the Goddess Hera. However, she wasn't having it and warned her husband about him. The God of Olympus couldn't believe her, so he molded a cloud in Hera's form to lure the king, who didn't hesitate to join her in bed. The cloud ended up giving birth to a half-horse, half-man being, and that's how centaurs were made. Zeus banished him back to earth, where the king had boasted about his affair with an actual Goddess. This infuriated Zeus. The king's spirit is then sent to the pits of Tartarus where he was strapped on a spinning wheel, serpents bound his hands and feet, as he burns for eternity."

I concluded, and my attention returned to the audience, full awareness that they were staring at me as though my pants had fallen off. I glance down just to be sure. As I lifted my chin, the crowd applauded, and I kept my eyes on Alex, who was whistling and cheering a little too much.

"Incredible," the tour guide got our attention. "You really know your history, huh?"

"It's his favorite subject," Alex responds before I can. "I can't tell you guys how often I'd catch him reading about these myths during our free time."

"Not always," I spoke, but I think no one heard me mutter.

"Well, thank you very much for the detailed discussion," she begins clapping her hands again. "Let's give another round of applause for this young man."

"Thanks," I awkwardly waved and returned to Alex's side, or perhaps behind him, away from the eyes of the public.

I was exhausted an hour ago, but somehow studying the ancient Greeks in the Acropolis Museum rejuvenated me. It's as though I've gotten a quick power nap and could run a mile. Since Alex and I had different tastes in fun, we decided to split the day and have a fair share of activities. The rule is that we have to participate in each other's activities. The day had barely begun, and we'd already left the hotel to explore the town area. The environment was livened by a live band who strummed and blew classical music with their instruments. People crowded the streets, searching for something to fulfill their time. The same thing we're doing. We explored every eye-catching shop lot that sold stuff we didn't need. Though, our hands weren't empty when we left the store.