The Warrior of the Friend Zone and the Oblivious Huntress

I Only Wanted a 'Congratulations'

I guess everyone knows when I first started like, liking Atlanta Kestrelson, but I just wanted to tell you all how I felt when I first met her. That's right, the love of my life's family name is the same as smallest bird of prey in the world... well, the first half of it is 'kestrel', while the rest of it is the suffix, '-son'. My full name is Archibald Khilles, but all of my friends just call me Archie. I know it's just like the great Achilles, no relation... or so I thought.

Back to the story of when I first met Atlanta. It all began on a spring morning when I was taken to Olympus High School, literally a high school run by the Greek gods and goddesses.

Of course, I did not buy the whole thing, nor did I believe that I was a descendant of the great 'Achilles'. Sure I had a bad heel and needed arch support for it, but that did not prove anything in or of itself. It might have been a condition I had, but I just remained skeptical about the whole thing... actually, I did not even know that Achilles even had any children, never mind a descendant in me.

I guess the only reason I really had to doubt being a descendant of Achilles was having not encountered any of the dangers that this Cronus guy presented by the time the Olympian gods came for me. I just wanted to go home when I finally made it to the school, I was so frustrated with whatever it was that was going on.

Of course, the gods were not ready to let me go just yet... or anytime in the next several months for that matter. I was taken to be tested by Ares, the god of war. I know... of all the gods to be my mentor during this time in my life, it just had to be one of the meaner gods under the rule of Hera, as in the wife of the immortal god, Zeus.

To make matters even worse for me, the god of war was not exactly the most supportive mentor in their line of business, and Ares did not really like to make it all that easy for ordinary mortals. I suppose I was just lucky that I was anything but an ordinary mortal, or so the gods seemed to think of me.

I will say that the way I handled the god of war's obstacle course on the track made a slight believer out of me in my DNA coming from the line of Achilles, but it did not make me believe it enough to think it was all that true. I was a bit disappointed in the way Ares graded my performance during his test on the obstacle course.

Ares, the god of war and savagery: I've seen better.

That was it? That was the only thing the god of war had to say about the performance of someone he was supposed to be mentoring as a protégé? If Ares thought that I did not believe that I was descended from Achilles, I really did not believe the way the god of war had graded my skills in battle.

Yours Truly: No way. Who?

I pushed my head up while I asked Ares who could possibly have done better than me in his eyes, and his answer was...

Ares, the god of war and savagery: Me!

Of course, he thought he had done better in something like it. Talk about stuck-up. Of course, Ares, himself, was not the only answer that the god of war gave me about who had previously done better than me on that obstacle course, oh no; because only a second afterwards the god of the savagery in war then added the name of none other than...

Ares, the god of war and savagery (continued): And Achilles, your ancestor!

I know Ares was the god of war and savagery among the Greeks, but I just scoffed at it anyway, because I was pretty certain that he still knew...

Yours Truly: You know I don't buy that.

Ares then stopped in his tracks while walking away from me, only to tell me...

Ares, the god of war and savagery: You know, as a young man, Achilles often let himself be ruled by his anger and mistrust. He later regretted it. Don't make the same mistake, Archie.