Too close to the Sun

Hello Natos

               "A happy ending..." she whispered. Heliē sat in the garden, surrounded by night bloomers. She had just finished another book, the only thing keeping her from thinking about Icarus. Unfortunately, the distraction was short-lived, and she was left with her thoughts again. At first, it annoyed her, but she slowly learned to accept it. Heliē lay on the bench, staring at the endless sky. The moonbeams showered her with their love. She truly was the goddess of light. Her eyes fluttered slowly, drifting off to sleep.

"Heliē?" someone whispered.

"What do you want, Hercules?" she replied abruptly, destroying the peace.

"C'mon, Heliē, are you still angry with me?"

"Depends on your definition of angry," she uttered, her eyes still closed.

"Look, I'm sorry I said what I said. I shouldn't have done that..." he acknowledged, but Heliē kept her eyes shut.

"C'mon, Heliē, I'm trying here," he pleaded.

"Ugh... okay, stop being a baby," Heliē chuckled and sat up, facing him. "Why do you always like disturbing my peace and quiet? This place was drop-dead silent," she remarked.

"I know, it's nauseating," he conveyed.

Heliē rolled her eyes at him and moved to make space for him to sit. "What are you doing here?" she inquired.

"I came to apologize," he replied.

"Well, you've done that... please leave, I need to read," she stated. Hercules stared at the books stacked up at the end of the bench.

"Are you chasing me away?" he asked with raised brows.

"No," she murmured as her eyes wandered the garden.

"Really? Because I was here when you stacked those books and said 'happy ending,'" he disclosed.

"Were you spying on me?!" she gasped.

"Of course not," Hercules defended. "You're such a terrible liar."

"I learned from the best," he chuckled.

"Well... please leave. I don't want you ruining my plans."

"Okay," he readily agreed.

"Aren't you going to ask what they are?" she chuckled, surprised he had never gone away so willingly before.

"I don't want any problems," he said plainly. "And besides, as long as you aren't goofing off and meeting humans, I'm fine."

"Goofing off?" she echoed angrily.

"Oh no," he whispered.

"Goodbye, Hercules," she uttered with a stern look on her face.

"No, Heliē, I didn't—"

"Bye," she reiterated, leaving him in the garden. "Goofing off... unbelievable," she remarked.

---

Swords clashed every second that passed. Eyes sharp, never letting the other opponent have even a slight opportunity. Every move, every counter, every step had to be carefully calculated and executed, or it could prove fatal for either of them. In an attempt to hit her opponent, she missed her step and was hit almost immediately. Her sword went flying as she hit the ground hard.

"Ready to quit?" he inquired thoughtfully, but she could feel his smirk through his mask.

"You wish," she replied, and within seconds, she was back on her feet. A sword made of flames emitted from her hands. She attacked with full force. Soon enough, her opponent's sword went flying as well, but instead of a sword of flames, his was made of shadows and held various mysteries. Their battle commenced. An eye for an eye, light versus darkness. Their swords clashed with a bang, staring each other dead in the eye, neither willing to retreat. The force from their collision was too strong, landing them in opposite directions. They were tossed hard on the ground.