Desires of Men ~SEQUEL TO THE LIFE I LIVE~

A Glimpse of Happiness

'You used to be so strong.'

Her small room, as cold and unfriendly as it was, seemed to be her only ally in this whole twisted dream. Nothing bad ever happened to her there. The bed was at least a tiny bit comfortable. It didn't hurt her.

'You were always free, independent. Nothing could stop you.' She shook her head.

'I was caught. They took me to prison.'

'But you escaped. They couldn't hold you for long.'

'And look where I ended up. Right back where I started.'

'Yeah, but you used to fight. Now, you're broken. They beat you. How could you let them beat you?'

'I-'

'It's all that pirate crew's fault. They got to your head, changed you. They made you weak.'

'No, you make me weak. Shut up!' She frowned. Why wouldn't that little voice just go away?

"Remain in high spirits, child. You're companions are surely out there searching for you."

Summer sniffed, a new wave of tears beginning to fall. The warrior's kind words of encouragement always helped to calm her down. She curled tighter within herself, wrapped within the small blanket they allowed her.

'Nemesis?'

"Yes?"

Summer didn't know whether the question was relevant, or if the warrior would get angry by her asking, but she continued anyway. 'Did you ever have kids?'

A long silence followed, and Summer decided that the spirit wasn't going to answer. She'd never tried asking her personal questions, and maybe doing so now was overstepping the boundaries of their...situation. A relationship wouldn't exactly describe what they shared.

Finally, she seemed to reawaken. "No, I never produced a child."

'Did you ever want kids?'

A great sadness swept over Summer, and at first she thought it was a really strange mood swing from her stress. Quickly, she realized it was actually Nemesis.

"...Yes."

All of a sudden, her sympathies for the mysterious woman residing in her flared, and her crying was more towards Nemesis' pain. 'That Iapetus guy, you wanted to have a family with him? You loved him.'

"Iapetus...was the one person who I could trust. Gods are not kind or honest. They deceive and lie for their own gain." She paused. This topic brought her great sorrow. "Yes, I wanted to start a family with him, but then I found him with that human girl and nothing was ever the same..."

'Nemesis, I'm not...a god, so I can't really understand but, it doesn't really make sense to have this deep of hatred for someone just for cheating on you...' Summer hesitated again. 'What's the real reason you hate him so much?'

To Summer's surprise, the woman sobbed. She felt the sadness throughout her heart, and suddenly the warrior couldn't seem to hold in all her emotion.

"...I was with child...when I found him with that girl..."

'Did he ever know?' Her concern grew, heart aching for the woman.

"...Yes. I had told him a few days before." A heated anger rolled in waves through Summer. The next thing I know he's throwing me away and finding himself another woman."