Quest of the Half Gods

Chapter 13: Απόλλων

Galatea eyed Apollo warily, "Are you sure?" Apollo looked at her in confusion, "What do you mean am I sure? Of course, I'm sure! Your mother took memories away from me and I want them back! She had no right to take them." Teia clenched her jaw and nodded, "Okay then. Give me a sec." 

She readjusted herself to be sitting cross-legged with her hands resting on her knees, her palms facing the sky. Apollo watched in curiosity as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. He noticed him staring at her expectantly and mimicked her position. Galatea hesitated for a second before placing her hands on top of his.

Apollo found himself looking down at her hands, specifically at the rings on both of her middle fingers, a laurel wreath on one and an arrow on the other. He frowned, they were both symbols of him and his sister. Suddenly, panic took hold of him when he thought about his twin who remained vulnerable in her godly state. How backward is that? He thought to himself. 

"Are you ready?" Teia asked him, snapping him out of his stupor. "Yeah," then he hesitated, "Is it going to hurt?" Galatea raised an eyebrow at him and closed her eyes. Apollo watched her, "Should I close my eyes too?" "No." She snapped, closing her eyes again. Apollo nodded awkwardly and waited. Galatea began humming a song that Apollo didn't recognize, her brow furrowed in concentration. 

Apollo was about to ask her if it was working when suddenly something in the air shifted and Apollo felt as though his soul had been yanked back in time but his body had been left in the present, though he remained seated in the same place as before. He closed his eyes to clear his head and opened them again to see a different scene before him.

He and Galatea seemed to be standing in the throne room of Mount Olympus before it had been redesigned after the second Titan War. The Olympians including Apollo stood around Hecate who was carrying a pale baby with pink cheeks and brown hair. The infant was surrounded by a faint aura of purple, representing her mother and her own godly power. Hecate presented the child to the Olympians and spoke. 

"My child, Galatea." All of the gods smiled except for one, Aphrodite, who looked irritated, as usual. Hecate seemed undisturbed by Aphrodite's countenance and continued, "She has been forsaken by her father, a worthless mortal who could not care for her more, and so, I have taken her in as my own and shall raise her on Mount Olympus to be one of the greatest sorceresses of all time. I have poured a piece of my own immortality into her and have named her the goddess of magical herbs, poisons, spirits, dreams, and nightmares. Do I have any objections?" None of them spoke an objection. 

Zeus stepped forward, "Hecate, as a symbol of our good faith and respect for you, we shall bless this child with gifts representing all of us." Aphrodite opened her mouth but Zeus shot her a warning look, "Won't we?" The goddess pressed her lips into a thin line and nodded. The gods took their turns blessing the child until only Apollo remained. He looked down at the baby and smiled, looking up at Hecate, "Will she always be a child?" Hecate shook her head, "You and I know better than anyone that age does not matter to a god. Were you ever really a child? Have you ever actually been an adult?" Apollo looked back down at the girl, furrowing his brow, "I don't know." Hecate eyed the god before saying, "I would like you to train her in prophecy and music. Some of the strongest spells are done through song." Apollo nodded and placed his hands over the girl's head, closing his eyes, "I give Galatea the blessing of musical skill, prophecy, and proficiency in archery." His hands glowed gold as he spoke. The girl giggled when he removed his hands. He smiled again and walked away.

The scene shifted to the gardens of Olympus where the Nine Muses were playing their instruments around a fountain while nature spirits watched. A twelve-year-old Galatea sat on a bench sketching the scene before her. Apollo frowned and turned to the seventeen-year-old Galatea who stood next to him, her expression unreadable. "How long ago was this?" She didn't look at him as she answered, "Two hundred years ago." Apollo's eyes widened in surprise as he turned back to the scene before them.