A God's Mercy (Apollo x OC)

Chapter 25

As Melantriche spread one last glob of pitch over the basket she felt the curious eyes of Karana boring into her. She glanced up. "What?" Her eyes narrowed.

"You're in a remarkably good mood." Melantriche shrugged, taking in a sweet breath of fresh air. It was hard to wipe the smile off her face. And why should she? It was a lovely day. The birds were singing, the dew was shining, and... a certain someone was in love. Despite the horrible soreness in her loins, she could easily ignore it somehow. That was probably the "punishment" he'd had in store for her, but it didn't change the fact that she felt more happy than she'd been in a long while. Even now, her head buzzed with exciting thoughts: Apollo loved her.
Well, maybe not love. He was much more callous than she'd ever imagined him to be, but he clearly had an interest in her, and she was living here now in a dwelling of his. That had to speak of something, right? And of course, she loved him. She loved him for more than anything in her entire life. If he asked her to dedicate her life to him than she would, without any hesitation at all. An image of his naked body flashed behind her eyelids and she had to resist the urge to squeal. Well, she would! "Afterglow." Karana said absentmindedly. Melantriche focused on the tall stacks of baskets surrounding her. Unlike yesterday's incident, she was filled with so much energy now that she had finished almost as many as Karana. She was secretly pleased with herself. These baskets would be used in service to Apollo, so she absolutely had to make the most of them. She wasn't nearly as experienced as Karana, but perhaps one day, she would be.
Karana was the woman from the day before, she found. She'd come only a short while after Melantriche awoke to an empty bed, limped her way across the room and eased herself back into her clothes. She was bloody, sore, and very sticky but she felt so lighthearted she greeted Karana with a broad grin when she walked through the door. Today she brought more baskets and was clearly jilted when she saw her new cheery demeanor. At least she was concerned. Today she was teaching Melantriche how to make waterproof containers. Melantriche herself had never used hot pitch before, and now she knew why. They wore sheets on their arms to avoid getting burned as they cooked the pitch in a big pot, and they had to be careful when spreading it over the baskets because it could burn the material. Also, it was smelly and gunky, hard to spread. It would be worth it, though, when Apollo saw how hardworking Melantriche could be.

In the afternoon they finished with a scorched pot and many waterproof baskets. Karana said they would be hung up to dry, and then they would take all the dishes down to the river to wash. Melantriche jumped up to carry one of the stacks, at which Karana frowned. "You're limping."

"I've got it." She replied cheerily, more focused on if it was a preference of Apollo's on baskets over jars. She hoped with all her heart that she would see him soon. Karana only sighed deeply, rolling her eyes as they carried all the materials off the porch. The palace was surrounded by a forest and then, beyond that was the lake which surrounded the temple. The water was clear blue and the wide stretch of it met the sky, so much that if not fo the other lands that sat on both sides of the island, Melantriche would have been sure it was the ocean. Not that she would actually know what the ocean looked like until now.
     There were other girls here too, all of them ethereally beautiful. Melantriche knew as soon as she met gazed with them that they weren't human. A few of them buzzed around the flowery brushes. Most of them were dark-skinned like some of the servants back in her old home. Some of them stopped to stare at her too. Then Karana grabbed her arm.

     "Meliae." She muttered, hurrying them along. "Don't talk to them. They're relentlessly annoying."

"Ok." Thoughts swam in Melantriche's head on how she ever survived in Athens. Stuffy house, scraggly green-brown bushes in the gardens. The fields that led to Brauron weren't nearly as green as these ones. None of the grass was patched or overgrown, and it was all so soft under her toes. There were more plants than she had ever seen in her whole life. The fragrant smell carried on the wind was intoxicating. She was no gardener—far from it—but she could see very clearly that her lord had an eye for aesthetics. It only just occurred to her then that she might be going out everyday from then on. The idea nearly made her leap for joy, only the pot was really heavy, and if they dropped it Karana would bend her ear off.