heliocentric║greek mythology

twelve

I wake to beams of brilliant light wreathing everything in a blanket of white. The cold stone floor bites into my back and reminds me that wherever I am, it is not home.

The light means that this cannot be the Underworld. But where else would Hades take me?

A shade of blue catches my attention and that's when I realize that there's an open ceiling to the sky, a shade of blue that reminds me of Phoebus's eyes.

Phoebus....

Does he know I'm here?

"The maiden rises."

My head jolts up so fast that the world comes rushing in in a sea of black. Once I get my bearings, I start to take in my surroundings.

The circular room is so spacious that it can hardly be considered a room. Sunlight streams in from a gaping hole in the ceiling, creating a circle of light a few feet to my right. I can see the sky through arched windows, which means that we must be very high in elevation.

At various heights around the room, in a perfect circle, are thrones, and on each throne is a god.

So this is why they call it the Olympian Circle.

It's like some kind of Lord of the Flies ritual where they dance in a circle around an animal before killing it. Only, in this instance, I am the prey.

Hephaestus regards me curiously from his wheelchair, as if wondering why they bothered to abduct such a pathetic mortal. Ares leers at me from his blood red throne with a spear in his hand. Demeter frowns at me from her throne of golden wheat. My mother sneers at me from a throne of books.

The highest one has got to be Zeus's. He looks ancient, with white hair that curls around his feet and sunken in eyes that aren't lacking in intensity as they stare at me.

But to his left, is an empty throne. It looks to be made of light itself and produces its own glow.

"Why am I-" I break off, coughing. Almost dainty drops of blood splatter against the ground. "Why did you bring me here?"

Hera's voice is silky as she shoots me a cruel smile. "I believe that you already know."

"Enlighten me," I sneer.

"We want you to call Apollo so that he can complete the Olympian Circle, silly girl."

I glare at her defiantly, my mind racing.

It might be days before Phoebus gets desperate enough about my disappearance to search for me. Or it could be hours. I can't rely on his response time to formulate a plan.

The gods cannot be allowed to destroy centuries of human ingenuity. I am adamant on that. But we mortals have weak wills compared to the gods, don't we?

I don't mind giving myself up for the sake of humanity. But they know that, and I know that it would be too easy for them to simply kill me. I wonder what measures they will resort to to change that.

All mortals will break at some point. Winston Smith though he would suffer through death for his ideals, but mere weeks of torture broke him.

I wonder what my breaking point will be, and when they will find it. Will it take weeks? Months? Will I rot here until I die?

Fear grips me. Not just for myself, but for Phoebus. When he notices my disappearance, will he come here to look for me? And what will happen to him, and to all of us, when he does?

Will there be anyone left to care if he does?

"There is nothing you could do that would make me comply to wiping the store of human knowledge clean. We don't need you anymore. Get over it."