Race to Mount Olympus

c h a p t e r * t w o

As Lilly regains consciousness, it's her smell that first comes back. The smell of coffee and breakfast brought her mind into focus and she could then hear two distinct voices arguing in the room.

"Do you even understand what you did," a deep, male voice scolds, "What the hell were you thinking? I told you to back off."

"I was going to fix it," defends a softer voice.

Lilly knows without a doubt that the softer voice belongs to Darcy. She's had to apologize  a time or two in the small amount of time they've lived together.

"There was no way to fix it!"

"Says you!"

Lilly couldn't focus on the conversation much because as soon as she realized she could hear them, her head started to pound. A groan escapes her lips by mistake and there's nothing she can do now to stop her captors from knowing she's awake. When her eyes finally open, it's not them that she can see.
It's a sideways view of a colorful landscape painting, one that just couldn't be real. The lake is lavender and the grass that met the shore is almost blue. And the mountain's grey beyond it gets lighter and lighter the taller it is.. It's mountain top is hidden behind the clouds.

"She's awake," Darcy states.

"Obviously," Her companion growls, "Let me handle this."

When Lilly is more alert, her eyes drift from the heavenly landscape, around the rest of the room, and finally to the two approaching her. Her eyes narrow pointedly at them trying to decipher their con, but she's too distracted by the searing pain in her back and the throbbing one in her head.

Her eyes shut as she cries in pain. Her hands reach and clutch onto the bed sheet beneath her until the hurting dissipates.

"It's temporary, the pain will wear off," Darcy's partner in crime promises. When the pain subsides enough, she opens her eyes to glare at the man making empty promises and to no surprise, it's the same man from before who had the audacity to be ordering Darcy around.

Tall.

Broad shoulders.

Smart, green eyes.

She'd recognize him in any line-up that's for sure. There's a pang in her chest as she admires his features. It's a void, followed by a longing.

Lilly wants more than anything to be able to move; to get up and run away. But her muscles are too weak and the pain is paralyzing. "W-who are you? What the hell do you want?"

Darcy comes to her bedside and kneels down, with concern in her eyes. The man mutters something in warning, but she ignores it and just grabs her roommates hands. "I know you're confused and I know you're in pain. But this will all be over soon. We're going to figure this out."

While she strokes her hand, an overwhelming darkness comes over Lilly and she falls back asleep. Darcy and her companion sigh in relief as the inevitable is postponed a little longer.

"I said let me handle it."

"Oh, because you were doing such a good job," She glared up at her brother, "Eros, you were scaring her. Besides, not much can get done with her awake and asking questions just like you said."

"We can't keep her unconscious forever," He argued and then glanced at the girl. By the look of the tension in her muscles and the furrow of her eyebrows, she's not at peace. "Especially by your doing, you bring only nightmares."

Darcy stands to her defense, "And what are you supposed to bring? Love, desire? May I remind you why we're in this mess."

His eyes hold a flash of anger in them. He's quick to speak, "I'm not the one who stole the arrows."

She's about to respond when Lilly tosses in her sleep suddenly startling her. There was so much chaos unfolding and if they didn't stop it now, Fate herself would unravel.

"Putting the blame aside," Darcy sighs, "What do we do? Did the arrow even work?"

He looks at her in disbelief, "Of course the arrow worked. It takes time and she's been asleep for most of it."

"This has got to have happened before," She runs her fingers through her hair and the blond transforms into the darkest shade of black, "We're not God, we're not perfect."

"No, we're not," He closes his eyes, "This has happened but not for a very long time. It was before."

She sighs, "Yeah, I think I remember. Was there any way of reversing it. Has it ever been done?"

Eros didn't respond. He knows there are ways of reversing it but it will cause the greatest heartbreak for a mere mortal to experience, for any being for that matter. It requires a soul having been joined together being ripped apart.

"Eros," She pleads, "What do we do?"

"I don't know," He admits, "But we've got to figure it out before-"

There's a whistle in the distance that calls to them. Eros and Darcy freeze in place knowing who it is. The white walls liquidate and in their place is the beautiful, luxurious home of Aphrodite.

The two guilty parties catch each other's gaze knowing they've been caught.

"Oh no."