A God's Mercy (Apollo x OC)

Chapter 29

     With all the good food Melantriche had plied him with, she noticed now that Eedi had a potbelly. Even so, she was surprised to find when she struggled his grip was like iron on her arm. He was almost as short as she was. He only looked her up and down in amusement, like another morsel about to be eaten. "This won't be so hard if you just lie on your back." He must've taken her for a weak woman, but she'd be damned to Hades if he thought she would allow him to do this to her. She swiftly kicked him in the furry crotch as hard as she could, as if to break it off. Immediately he let go of her and clutched the place, screaming and she took off down the hill. Satyr or not, he was still a weakling if Karana was accurate with all her insults. But her head start wasn't nearly enough this time. Satyrs were probably much faster than humans, so he grabbed her right before she jumped over the edge and they both went tumbling. Some sharp rocks stifled the fall and she tried to crawl away. Raggedly breathing and dizzy, but Eedi had the upper hand. He jumped on top of her, tore her tunic open and slapped her hard when she tried to resist. Blood spurted out of her nose and one her hands found a rock on the ground beneath them, which she threw against the side of his head. He slumped over and she scrambled out from beneath him. She'd hoped it would be enough to knock him out but he still moved, albeit dazed and yelling with pain, screeching at her all the derogatory terms she'd ever heard in her life and much worse. With some effort she limped to her feet and started hopping away. She was sure during the fall she had twisted something. Eedi crawled after her and in her terror, she kicked him in the face. Blood. She was sure now that Eedi didn't only mean to assault her. "Bitch!" He screamed after her. Weeping uncontrollably, she hobbled downward, catching an eyeful of buildings and livestock through the thinning trees. That was her only thought, towards public eye and away from Eedi. Then she'd be safe, but the thought of Ivy made her hesitate. Would everyone side with her, or Melantriche? Perpetrator or not, Ivy was still important, and Melantriche was a nobody here. No matter, she had to get away. She had to. She heard harsh breathing behind her and knew he was back on her tail. She lurched forward faster, wishing that she'd had the sense to grab a bigger rock and kill him.

     "Help!" She shrieked. "Help me! Someone help me!" She felt a force against her back and fell forward, the air beaten out of her. She continued to scream as Eedi jerked her skirt up and he started beating down on her head so that she saw red.

     "Shut up! You bitch! Shut up!" Unable to breathe or to even keep struggling, she knew she was given up for lost. Why wasn't anyone coming? She thought the pasture would be busy during this time of day. She choked on wet sobs feeling breeze against her thighs, and braced herself... but it never came. Instead she felt a jerk and then the pressure against her back disappeared. She gasped for breath, the sound of Eedi begging for his life only a background noise as she teetered between consciousness and unconsciousness. It took some doing to look up at her savior, a familiar looking man with the bluest eyes and the most luxurious hair in the world. If she were well she would've kissed his feet, but instead she just laid there and went,

     "Huh." Another face appeared beside him, Karana's copper one filled with such a strong mixture of worry and anger that she could have rivaled the sun god's quiet rage. She came forward and scooped Melantriche up as if she weighed no more than a baby. Melantriche's head lolled against her shoulder.

     "Cover yourself up. How badly are you hurt?"

     "I fink..." she worked her mouth around, aware of her slurring. "Leg's... broken. Eedi hurt me."

     "No shit. But why?"

     "Ivy. She sh...said..." They were surrounded by people, most trying to crowd them demanding to know what drama had occurred. Karana boomed in her loud voice at all of them to shut their pie holes and get back to work. They made their way into the familiar building that Melantriche had so missed, with the kitchen and her old room. With a rushed grace, Karana settled her down onto the bed. In all her life Melantriche felt like she'd never known such comfort, even with her leg on fire. She wasn't sure if it was because of her damaged head, but the 2 girls seemed to materialize out of nowhere. She'd missed them, too.

     "Get me towels. Warm water, too, and medicine." The girls dashed away. Karana set a stool at the bedside and sat there, holding Melantriche's trembling hand. "Ivy told him to do it?" Melantriche nodded. "You should've come to me."

     "I-I know, but..." the girls returned in a flash with all the necessary materials. Karana wet a towel and started wiping Melantriche's face. They all stood around the bed, looking anxious. The cloth came away completely red, making Melantriche want to vomit.

     "Did Eedi do it? Did he rape you?" Melantriche didn't know why it mattered. They all knew she wasn't a virgin, after all. Nonetheless, she shook her head.

     "N-no, but... he almost did. He was really close." She sniffed and paused. "Lord Apollo saved me, but I don't know why. He doesn't care for me. I... I was scared that even if I escaped, no one would stop him." Karana looked indignant.

     "Of course we would have stopped him. Such things aren't abided on this island!" In an even softer voice, Karana said, "Apollo returned today. The bell was rung but we didn't have any time for a welcoming ceremony because he didn't care. He was irritated, and he was looking for you. He came to me." Melantriche stared.

     "He... was looking for me? But why?" Karana sighed.

     "He said that he was bringing you here, and that he didn't want anyone to harm you. So we all abided, but I guess after the way he ignored you before, people started to think it was just rumors. But he came back finally, and no one knew where you were, he got angry. We all had to abandon our duties to make a search party for you." Melantriche remembered the empty pasture. Apollo had been looking for her. He wanted to see her.

     "Oh my," she mumbled. "what... what will happen now?"

     "Well, I imagine Eedi's going to be punished..." Karana looked around the room. "severely. Ivy, too, if you're telling the truth. Even if she isn't executed, Apollo will banish her. And you can come back and live here with us again."

     "R-really? I can?" She nodded and Melantriche just laid there for a minute. She stroked the covers of the bed with reverence, and then she started crying again. Big hulking sobs wracked her and large tears flowed out of her. Karana wrapped her arms around her with an unnatural gentleness that only made her cry harder.

     "Shhh. It's ok now, you're ok."

     "I was s-scared." She sobbed. "I was so scared. I thought he was gonna kill me." None of them noticed the faintly golden figure in the door watching, or walking away when Melantriche finally cried herself into a deep sleep.