Hermes | Book 1

: 19 :

Whatever it is,
believe this when they say that the darkness and light are immortal;
When you have been in the dark too long the light will stroke you awake and
when the light will blind you, the darkness will hold you till you fall
in peaceful sleep.

Chapter 19

THEY MANAGED to safely find their way back to Julianna's home even though it was well past evening and the occupants of the house were nearly out of their wits with worry.

It didn't help with the situation that they were covered in mud and leaves and that they reeked of rotten vegetation and Godsknowwhatelse.

Asta had assured him, after they safely landed from their suicidal plummets from the cliff that the path they were taking was a shortcut and she had taken it loads of times before. It seemed that the fall they took was taken by people everyday for reaching places.

She looked like she was going to open up the embarrassing and completely humiliating topic of him screaming but Hermes ignored her every attempt like a professional; he had only Asta to thank for his experience in being ignored exceptionally well.

Hermes pacified his wounded ego by firmly believing that if he tried it a few more times (Gods, let it not be anytime soon) he would be as calm as Asta in his next plummet.

As they walked (and occasionally tripped and fell) through the rough and rocky shortcut that would finally take him to shelter (he could never consider it home like Asta) Hermes's mind, still slightly sore and in shock from their overly adventurous fall, replayed Asta's wiry frame fitting perfectly in his arms.

His body still thrummed with the memory of her body pressed against his with the tremendous wind pressure and the feeling of her awkwardly placed elbow digging against his ribs.

He could hear her slightly scratchy voice jaggedly whisper out his name in answer to hers and an unexplainable feeling that followed which squeezed all the air out of his lungs.

But Asta remained her usual quiet self, adding a little bit of fresh conversation here and there when the silence became too stale to take in and then heartily breathed in the silence; their hands somehow remained intertwined and by the time they had reached Julianna's home, Hermes found his wrist a very fashionable navy blue.

Hermes had expected the woman to be a little angry about their prolonged disappearance, but he hadn't expected the disastrous mix of hysterical tears and anxiety mingled with it.

Rhea looked as upset as her mother but thankfully she hadn't reached the level of shedding tears and Ronan simply looked at them from his place in the couch and flashed them a toothy smile and mouthed a good luck, pointing to his mother.

But in the dark endless pools that were Ronan's eyes, Hermes saw faint worry and he knew that the young man was as worried as his family for them. Not necessarily for him, but definitely for Asta.

"What were you thinking Asta?" Julianna screeched from her position on one of those fancy but comfortable  floating chairs near the windows. Her slightly stubby fingers hit the light switch that was nearest to her and the previously soothing dim light turned blinding and bright.

Hermes put a hand in front of his eyes to shield himself from the glare, but still analysed the newly brightened room with interest.

Hunger had blinded his vision enough to make him not notice the cheap but tasteful and elegant furniture of the room and different shades of black, green, brown, white and occasional splashes of yellow and blue made itself right at home throughout the room.