Hermes | Book 1

: 06 :

Darkness, Light began to realise, was someone that could protect and harm you at the same; she would give you everything, the good and the bad without holding back and that was as honest as it was painful.

Chapter 6

"GET UP." ASTA'S   mild voice broke through the commercial advertisement that came in between some show they were watching. If they were in Alpha or Beta or where he lived formerly  right now, the entertainment walls would be customised to their taste and desire. There was no such thing as advertisements.

Why would one need to buy anything when they have everything?

Hermes did not get up and instead, chose to look at the red head questioningly.

"We are going somewhere," said Asta with a tone of finality and got up, taking the empty chip bowl with her.

"Where?" Hermes followed her suit and watched as she slowly adjusted her top with one hand and then switched off the program by tapping thrice on the coffee table in front of her.

"Out," she said simply and proceeded to put the bowl into one of the dishwashers.

"Are you taking me back home?" Hermes tried his very best to sound nonchalant but judging by the small pitying smile she adorned as she searched for something on the cupboards, he had failed.

"Not yet," she said and then stretched up to reach what she wanted from the cupboard.

"But you promised," Hermes whined without meaning to. Asta's top rode up with her stretching, slowing a band of pale skin with tendrils of ink peeking through her shirt. Hermes could feel warmth creeping up his neck and colour his cheeks a with very noticeable shade.

He decided that it was because his unintentional whine and not because he saw a bit of bare skin.

He was a God, Hermes reassured himself, nothing fazed him.

Asta was simply a worthless Eta girl. She did not even look that good, her hair was too dark for her sickeningly pale skin and she did not even have a proper expression or good posture.

Also she was too bossy and thought too much of herself. She wasn't worth any of Hermes's time.

Yet ironically, Hermes thought bitterly, she was his sole hope of getting out the wretched place and finding his way back home where he would once again be reinstated to his rightful throne in Olympus.

Asta retrieved a small, worn out, dull grey purse made out of coarse denim from the shelf and finally stood properly; the shirt covering her stomach again, allowing Hermes to finally exhale in relief.

"I did," she admitted. "I did promise you that I would take you back home and swear on my life that I will-"

"Swear on something better," Hermes said cuttingly, "Your life is worth nothing to me."

Asta looked at Hermes with utter stillness, the longest she had ever given him proper eye contact. Hermes flinched in the heat of the burning fire that momentarily lit up the lifeless eyes before it went back to its dead state.

When she finally broke eye contact, Hermes felt like he had become ashes under her gaze and for the second time in his life, he prayed that he would never have to be in the receiving end of that stare again.