In Pursuit of Kronos' Scythe (Completed)

V - Crashes of the Love Interest - Part I

Princess Tharalea

The girl ignored Tharalea's question and concentrated on checking her reflection in the mirror. A bulky piece of luggage sat beside her feet. If there was a person whom Tharalea hated at first sight, it would be this girl. She had long strawberry blonde hair which was plaited into hundreds of thin braids, covered by a navy cap. The boyish cap made her even more attractive. Her eyes were greener than the grass and her skin fairer than the clouds. She wore heavy make-up which didn't match her age, but still, she looked gorgeous. She donned a cut-off blue jacket with shiny badges sewed on it, short blue pants, and blue boots, which made Tharalea very annoyed.

"Oh, I see you're interested in my badges." The girl flashed her shiny badges on Tharalea's face. 

Yeah, Tharalea was interested in shoving the badges down the cocky girl's throat. The girl didn't seem to notice the change of expression on Tharalea's face. She was quite deaf as well as she failed to hear the grinding sound of Tharalea's molars.

She continued to speak in an extraordinary high-pitched tone, "These weren't easy to get, you know. I got this in a beauty contest when I was six, and then this—"

Tharalea made a profound coughing sound. The girl glared at her for being interrupted and unbuttoned her jacket lower, fanning her cheeks to cool her temper. Underneath the jacket, Tharalea noticed she wore a white T-Shirt which showed the curve of her breasts. Tharalea didn't know why she would notice these details. She always scaled a person either by his ability to ride a horse without falling or to parry ten rounds with a sword without panting. 

This girl in front of her would definitely not make a challenging competitor in the arena, but Tharalea couldn't stop her jealousy. Frowning, she read out the funky words printed on the shirt: She Who the Men Kneel Before. Immediately, she disliked this girl who looked much more fabulous than her, who was a princess, and who should look the best. 

The girl adjusted her cap and fluttered her fake eyelashes. Pouting her lips, she walked towards them. "The name Cytherea. I was sent by my foremother to aid your quest."

Piotr asked who Cytherea's mother was. When he heard of Aphrodite's name, the Goddess of Love and Beauty, his jaw kissed the dusty floor. Tharalea sighed. She could understand Piotr's over-reaction towards Cytherea. They, after all, had a complicated background.

Scared that Aphrodite's beauty would cause rivalry among the gods and interrupt peace, Zeus had married off Aphrodite to Hephaestus, whose crippled form wasn't deciphered as a threat. Aphrodite, however, wasn't attracted to Hephaestus' even-tempered and was constantly having affair with Ares, the God of War. What Tharalea didn't comprehend was, how could a goddess, born from a cut genital of Uranus and raised from the sea foam, look so stunning?

Cytherea cleared her throat. "The sun is sinking. I won't mind if you want to stare at my beauty all night long, but that would mean we will have to wait for another day to open the chest." She approached Piotr. "You look more reliable. Do you have the keys?" She pointed to the long keyholes, which intersected with one another, forming a familiar symbol. One had the Mars symbol for man; the other the Venus symbol for woman.

When Piotr stared at her with a blank expression, the girl asked again, "Did Athena give you anything?" Her irritation had scaled ten on the Emotion Meter.

Piotr's brows furrowed. He took out the dead carcass of the centipede; Tharalea did likewise. Athena had said something before they left, Diamond is always hidden within the most unappealing stone. I wish you luck when you are in the library. What did those words mean?

Piotr played with the carcass, thinking of a solution when suddenly it cracked open. A key with the universal masculine symbol lay on his palm. Feeling awed, Tharalea crashed the husk and brought out a key with the feminine symbol. Quickly, they lined the keys on the chest and opened it. A book that seemed to weigh a ton rose from the unadorned chest and floated in front of them, aligned with their eyes. The brown front cover was flipped over on its own accord, and the group was now staring at the first page. Lines of words appeared on the yellowish papyrus paper: You are only allowed to ask one question a time. Think thrice before you act.