The Forsaken Deity

Chapter 3: The New Olympus

AWKWARD, that was what she felt the very moment Ares did what he did.

Stick creased her brows when Ares enveloped her in a tight hug. She didn't know what Ares was rooting from but she needed this hug, she needed someone to support her even just for today. She had already lived a life of isolation for almost eighteen years, no one supported her and she longed for something like this. Even just for once, she wanted to spoil herself a little.

His masculine scent lingered on her nose as she inhaled and filled her lungs with the air she needed. A faint smile appeared on her face but she instantly covered it with a make-believe frown when Ares finally set her free. She wasn't used to it, letting a man see her reactions.

"W-what was that for?" she articulated. Ares gave her an ill-fitted laugh. At this point in his life, he felt a bit tongue-tied for doing a sweet deed to a person he never knew too well. The hug came by a surprise to him, he just found himself hugging the woman in front of her. He, as the God of War wasn't really this kind of person, people even called him rude and it surprised him that he was capable of doing such sweetness.

He was never sweet. In fact, this was a first... Stick was his first.

The rumour about him and Aphrodite having an affair was a faux because in reality, he never liked the Goddess of Beauty. He hated the woman's obsessionon possessing the beauty she had.

Maybe, it's because of the sudden relief I felt when Astrid told me that she's going to help me. Maybe, it's just like that. Yes, that's it... nothing more, nothing special.

"Nothing," he replied with utmost hypocrisy. Stick nodded but she wouldn't dare believe in his response because his face told a different story. There was something bothering him and she wanted to know what it was.

"So..." Stick scratched her head and looked at the ceiling of her apartment before she spoke again. "...what's next?" She felt herself hyperventilating when she recalled her father's face. She couldn't bear to imagine the last scenario she had in the dream, it was a nightmare for her. Tears started welling up from her eyes again.

Ares eyed her for a moment. This was what he wanted to happen, he succeeded. But why was that he wasn't fulfilled? Was he wrong for seeking Hades' daughter's help? He was asking an aid from Zeus' enemy and it wasn't big news that they were rivals. Could he really trust this woman who grew up away from her parents?

He mingled with the questions silently but when Stick cleared her throat, he came back to his senses.

"Now that you're ready to help me, we should talk about your past and the incident that happened days ago." There was a moment of silence as soon as Ares finished with his words.

"J-just one question, do you know how my father looks like?" Her eyes were wide-open, she wanted to know everything and she wouldn't let the time passed by without her knowing all the vital things she needed to be aware of.

"I don't really like the idea of viewing on someone's features but I could say that both of you owned the same color of eyes. Both of you have this angst that no one could ever acquire." Ares, after speaking noticed the slight turning up of the corners of Stick's mouth - the deity was smiling and it brought an unusual sensation on him. There was a growing feeling inside of him that yearned to see Stick smile again.

"Does he wear a black cloak?"

"Yes, how do you know?"

"I saw him in my dreams." Her voice was too close to a whisper but it never escaped Ares' ears. Her words caught his attention. How could she saw her Father in a dream?

"I guess we better go to Olympus now," Ares suggested, he wanted to be there as soon as possible and now that Stick was ready, there was no reason on staying on the city anymore.