A God's Mercy (Apollo x OC)

Chapter 18

"Look, not a lot of people are out anymore." Melantriche pointed to the half-empty street, no longer a gyrating snake but an orange-brown snowed street in twilight, lit dimly by some quiet lamps dappled here and there. "We can get through a lot easier now."

A thick silk canopy of a black night was now thoroughly spread over the dome of the sky. It certainly was late now, wasn't it? Though the moon could no longer be seen, the the ticking clock in Melantriche's body told her what time it was. Her eyes began to droop and she yawned repeatedly for what seemed to be almost every 10 steps forward. Or maybe it was the prolonged excitement of the market taking its toll on her. Probably both. Surely Aglaia was finished talking to the supervisors now. Maybe she was searching for them now—if she hadn't run off with the money. The thought gave Melantriche such a worrying headache. But, she resolved, it wouldn't be such a problem, would it? Even if that were the case, there was no way an old woman like that could get far. Aegeus would surely be able to track her down. But that was all wishful thinking, of course. Surely Aglaia wouldn't do that...

But for now, their sights were set. Melantriche glanced around. It had felt like they were walking about aimlessly. This was a large alley buoyed crookedly above several rows of cobblestone steps. Bleached stained clothes hung on pin lines over their heads, their hems cupping the wind and swaying softly in the hot midnight breeze. A few people passed them. "Where do you think we are?"

Aegeus shrugged. "South side of town. We came from the west."

"Do you think Aglaia will be around there?"

"She will." He replied with complete and utter certainty. His hand clasped the sheathed knife to his side. Melantriche gulped. "Her life will be depending on it."

"Uh..." it's not as if Aglaia were Melantriche's favorite person either, but she never thought of a real punishment if, in fact, Aglaia decided to ditch them. She... couldn't order something so cruel. But if she didn't, she would lose what little respect she had. Melantriche chewed her thumb, her chest feeling slightly heavy. She was so tired...

"Let's just worry about that when we get to it. We... just need to get to the westward side, right?" That shouldn't be so hard. She waved forward. "Lead the way, Aegeus."

He did.

She was barely walking now. Her feet dragged incessantly against the rough, dusty stones. Her body felt like a thick meat prison clamped to her by pins in which that she'd been forced to drag along. She wished she could just shed it and fly away from all this madness. Maybe Aegeus could help her, just use his sword to split her open just as Hephaestus had done for his holy father to birth Athena. But... perhaps some other time. Her neck felt so stiff, so sluggish as she looked this way and that. She thought it might crack. How long had they been walking around now? This road looked almost identical to the last. Somewhere close by, something smelly was burning. There was a mosquito on Melantriche's shoulder. She smacked it but it flew away. She glared at the dim lamplight. Stupid bugs.

The lamp hung loosely against the wall, the clamps looking as if they might give away any minute. The flame was soft and tiny and bright. Somehow looking at it made Melantriche remember that extremely handsome honey seller. An involving heat crept into against her neck and cheeks. He was such a lovely person. She'd never seen a man with such hair... oh, right! She reached an arm over her back, groping for the opening of her pack. She'd saved the combs he gave her there. She felt her fingers grapple a particularly sticky one, and pulled it back. It glowed like amber against the light, liquid gold seeping out into Melantriche's palm. That pleasant fragrance wafted into her nose again, blocking out everything else, including that fowl burning stench. This would be messy... slowly she inched her mouth lower. Crunch! She took a small bite, leaving teeth marks in the spongey yellow wax.

Melantriche munched slowly. It was very chewy on the inside, and incredibly sweet. Probably the sweetest thing she ever tasted. It wasn't hard at all. Actually, it tasted very fresh, as if it had been plucked right out of the hive that very day. Didn't that man say he'd had it for a while? Well, he'd insinuated it. She licked the edges of her lips to keep the liquid from dribbling out. Yes, very sweet. Almost sickeningly so, actually, as if one would swallowed an entire spoonful of sugar. She swallowed. It certainly made you thirsty... she reached again for her jug of water. Thankfully, it was still slightly cool, and sanitized thanks to Aglaia and her badgering. Melantriche took a large swig of it, and it felt refreshing when droplets of it ran down her chin. She glanced up. Aegeus was watching with indiscernible eyes. Melantriche swallowed. She probably looked no better than the street girl, eating out of her hands like a hermit. Silently, after a moment, she split the comb in half. She held a piece of it out.

"Would you like some too? It's good."

He shook his head at her. Oh. An involuntary cough left her and she stared down. Besides the faint chirping of cicadas and the wet chumbling of Melantriche's sticky teeth, it was deathly quiet. She made an inconspicuous look at the space between her and her guard. How awkward. She took a larger bite of the comb. Her mind turned to the honey seller. He said that the westward hives produced more wax. If that was the case, then she'd never want to eat one. Delphi combs seemed waxy enough. Oh, the water had helped, certainly, but the wax was hard to swallow. She could feel it building in the gaps between her teeth. With the sweetness drained from them, they didn't taste that pleasant. Almost... bitter.

A few minutes had passed, though personally to Melantriche, it felt much longer. Really, how long were they going to walk? Their hosts would not be pleased, no doubt, to welcome guests so late into the night. Just thinking about it made Melantriche feel uneasy. She cleared her throat.

"Eh, how—," momentarily, she was startled. The combs made it a bit hard to speak. She had to work hard to pry her jaws apart, thanks to the wax. She stared at the leftover comb in her hand. Only about 3 mouthfuls. Still, maybe it was best that she save the rest for later. Carefully spooning it into her pack, she flamed at the thought of meeting her future in-laws with yellow wax in her teeth. "How much further do we have to go?"

"Just a little farther." Aegeus replied, curtly. Melantriche bit her lip. She wondered what would happen to him when he was done escorting her. He was Father's best guard, so he'd obviously go back to Athens. Still, Melantriche didn't know if she could stand it, being in a new house all on her lonesome. Even if Aegeus was disconcerting—to say the least—to be around, and certainly not a garrulous person, he was her only link to home.
Home. With her soft bed and her pretty clothes and her mother's jewelry. Lyra in women's quarters and with small children running around gaily. Her future was certain there. Now Melantriche didn't know what was going to happen. Father, Lyra... she missed them. Of course, Lyra was probably lying bloody and missing her head on a powdered alter—no! The thought made Melantriche sick. She stifled a sharp breath, her eyes threatening to water. It was her own fault she was dead. But she didn't—she couldn't—

Melantriche bumped her forehead face-first against hard leather. Ow. Rubbing her brow, she glanced up. She was so busy amidst her thoughts she hadn't notice that they had stopped. She leaned sideways to see... a dead end. What...?

She turned around. It was a lot darker here. There were hardly any lamps around, and there was not a person in sight. She frowned. Didn't Aegeus know where he was going or not? He was a guard, wasn't he? She glanced down at her aching feet, and inwardly groaned as she noticed the forming blisters around the straps. She most certainly did not feel like walking anymore.

She felt heavy hands clamp against her shoulders, nearly making her jump. She glanced up slowly. Aegeus stared down at her, his expression so very odd. The sharp lines of his face softened, though it made a cold shiver run down Melantriche's spine. It was quiet for a very long moment, aside from the feeling of Melantriche's heartbeat rapidly picking up.

He said quietly, softly, gently, like the lilting voice of a hunter trying not to scare of his prey, "You're so comely."

And then he bent down and kissed her.

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Bet y'all didn't see that coming. Or maybe you did, idfk. Well, I'm feeling like, super inspired so I'm real happy these updates are coming like gunshots. I guess it's also because I feel bad for leaving you all in lurch for so long, but I have a feeling I'm going to have loads of updates for a little while, even though after the next 2 chapters I'm kind of not sure where this story is going to go, even though I sort of have an outline. Anyways, hope you enjoyed reading, and leave feedback! ;)