An Apple, For Your Eye

Μηδέν

There are olive trees as far as the eye can see, their gentle presence providing a protective grove, free from the wind whips and the burning sun rays that over take the isle of Crete. This place is safe, I am safe. Lifting my face, I take a deep breath filled with the aroma of lemon and the salty sea breeze sweeping off of the Mediterranean Sea.

The sound of small birds flying overhead, singing the song of warning. This isn't right, there is nothing wrong here. The trees stand still, a beacon of hope, of peace. Their branches drifted in the gentle breeze.

A wave of pain rips me from the grove, a scream sounds across the ocean floor. The scream is coming from me. The sand beneath my feet is slowly changing, red droplets drip from my side mixing with the grains of stone and small shells beneath my feet.

Before me stands my foe, her form flickering in and out of the physical realm. Her hair drifts, and moves as freely as the tides behind her scowling face. A look of deep regret is fleeting but I catch it before it disappears into the gloom.

"You, you were not the intended," she snarls, her eyes flooding with endless blackness. There is a stiffness in her stride as she saunters towards me. The gash in my side aches as I continue to lose my life blood, faster than I can hold it back.

"No Eris, I was not," I gasp, the pain far more intense than I had predicted. This was my plan, my choice, I remind myself. I did this, I had to do this. I didn't have any other option. "I would never let you have him." She laughs, a sickening, sticky and cruel laugh. The grin sliding along her face sent a sharp shot of fear down my spine.

"Very well Kallistrate, do tell, why did you decide to take his place?" she asks, that cruel smile remaining on her face. "It is a surprise as he deserved this, as you know well." Her question brings forth one of my own, why did I do this? My brother, I would do anything for my brother regardless of his mistakes. There was no force in this world stronger than my love for my family. This memory brings forth a strength previously unknown that fills my chest.

"I refuse to let you dominate and terrorize my family, Eris. Goddess you may be, but you will never know the true feeling of a family," I growl, the pain increasing tenfold with my declaration. My head spins, staying upright is becoming more difficult the closer I move towards Hades. Another laugh leaves that despicable mouth as she hears my words. She swirls the water behind her revealing two hulking cyclops that were hidden in the darkness of this place.

"Oh sweet Kallistrate, you won't stop me. Foolish human, your fragile body is giving out on you even now. What do you actually expect to do to me? " she cackles, a deep and evil laugh. It fills the small pocket at the sea floor with condescending disregard. I take a deep inhale, it's time to play the only move I have in this game of death.

"It is simple Eris, you cannot kill what is already dead," I whisper. Falling to my knees, the strength is being sapped from my body with each breath I take in this prison of water. A look of confusion crosses her face before it is wiped, mere seconds.

"Kallistrate, don't play with me my dear. There are worse fates than death," she declares, her irritation seeping through her calm façade. My vision blurs, my time is almost upon us. I waver, my body swaying as my consciousness begins to fade.

"Enough!," she shouts, her anger finally getting the best of her. "Tell me, now Kallistrate." A laugh emerges from my own mouth, one of disbelief. It worked.

"Come now Eris, this is a game. If you want more information you need to give me time, you know as well as I that I am not long for this world," I wheeze, my strength has now completely abandoned me as I fall further to the sand below. Eris bares her teeth in a growl as she halts my bleeding, keeping me on the edge of death.

"I have given you time, now answers are what I seek," she says, her confident calm returning to the surface.

"Nikolaos, he is dead Eris," I gasp, although I am no longer bleeding the pain remains. It tears into my body in sharp, piercing movements.

"No Kallistrate, he is not dead or you would not be here taking his place," she declares. "You know as well as I the conditions of your brother's deal." She was not wrong, I did know of the deal Nikolaos made with the Goddess of Discord.