We returned to Atlantis, nervous and confused. As much as I knew, these places were so far away that reaching them so quickly was impossible, even if we knew the way. Delos was somewhere in the South Eastern archipelagos of Greece. And Greece was quite far from Atlantis, in Western Europe. You gotta cross the pillars of Heracles, and go past Rome to get there. Atlantis was closer to Iceland than Greece. And I wondered how, despite its position, did the Asgardian gods not take over Atlantis.
Anyway, we reached the palace, where we found all the demigods waiting on the field. Viraj was doing push ups. He saw us, got up, and came to us, "You guys are back quick." he said.
"Yeah!" Riya said, "Hades is pretty nice." Did she just, blush, looking at Viraj?
Again, anyway, I focused on the mission at hand. "We need to speak to Iris, we got a lot of stuff to do."
"Iris is in the archery range, enjoying an archery competition between two Apollo girls." Viraj said. The guy was impressing me on how he had been handling the situation of being the son of the greatest ex-demigod of all time. He was as old as me, and had known his reality since he was six or seven. He had arrived in Atlantis two years ago. And I definitely couldn't blame Riya if she was attracted to Viraj. The guy was super strong, a little too buff for a sixteen year old, and was a sweet person overall, I mean, as sweet as a Delhi boy can be.
We went to the archery range to find Iris. Nadia and Aya were practicing archery there. Iris was sitting there, looking at the girls, amused. When they saw us, they left their places and came to us. "This was fast." Iris said.
"Iris, I met Mom!" I said, with a glee on my face.
"That's great. She's alright?"
"Yes." I said, "But she said things."
So we sat on the range ground, and told Iris everything, literally everything that had happened in the underworld. By the time we finished our story, the Sun went down, and the rest of the demigods arrived, with the Queen. After listening to the story, Iris thought for a moment, and then said, "I have a way." We all looked at her with intent. She went on, "I will open a portal for Tina, Jay and Riya. You three fought the Manticore. So, you should go and get the golden apple from the garden of Hesperides. While, another portal will take Avik, Abhro, and Hiya to Delos. All you gotta do before you go is know what the hyacinth flower looks like."
"Sounds like a good plan, Iris." Dadai said, "But we have never been to Delos. So, I have two questions. How do we find a hyacinth? And what dangers could be there?"
"Nothing much." Iris said, "After his love interest Hyacinthus died to Zephyrus's jealousy, Apollo planted a lot of hyacinths in Delos. Delos is ever so peaceful, though Apollo may get angry when you take his favorite flower, but he can be reasoned with. However," Iris turned to us, "If Hera minds, she holds a grudge. If she appears, treat her respectfully. Just because Tina was there, you didn't need to kneel to Hades. But, kneel to Hera. Don't talk back to her. Specially you, Tina."
"Got it, respect for grandma." Tina said.
"Precisely. And don't let Atlas get into your brain. And finally, take care of Ladon, the dragon."
"Got it too."
"But Iris, what about the last element?" Riya asked.
"Yeah! That's a difficult one, I guess." Iris said, "Getting Psyche to forgive Aphrodite is something almost impossible. So, I suppose, all six of you will be needed. Once you are done separately, use your rings to communicate to me. I'll bring you back. Then, I'll send you to Zephyrus. He'll take you to Psyche. Do whatever you can to convince her. Then come back, because I have no idea when the giants will attack."
"What will you guys do till then?" I asked the demigods.
"We'll train till den, you know what I'm saying?" Rhian said, in an accent I had heard Marlon Wayans speak.
"And prepare." the Queen said, "We will man the boundaries, alert the armies, and keep an eye on things. Gods, I am excited."
"Why so, your Majesty?" Rahul asked.
"For I will get to fight after fourteen long years." Queen Anastasia grinned, "I gotta take my bow and quiver out. Rahul, forge me some arrows."
"With certainty, your Majesty." Rahul replied, and then turned to Hiya, "Hey! Good luck."
Hiya thanked him, and said, "So, lets get going."
"No, no, no need." Iris said, "Rest for the night. Eat, sleep, and get up early tomorrow. Then, leave."
It was seven o'clock, and we were tired. We had gone to Aphrodite's place, then came back and told the tale, then went to Hades, met Mom, and then finally, came back and made a plan. We needed a good night's sleep. We didn't linger anymore, and got up.
Dinner was awesome in those magic plates. Shame, I couldn't carry them in our mission. Apparently, the magic only worked in Atlantis. I had asked for the Hades brisket again this night, while Riya was concentrated on fajitas. Hiya had followed her sister to Mexico and was eating tacos, while my brothers ate fish curry and rice. You can never take the Bengali out of a Bengali. Tina was eating a lamb dish, though. She was all quiet, for the first time. Maybe, she was thinking. Maybe, that's what she did before a mission. How much did I know about her?
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ATN: THE ELEMENTS OF BEAUTY
FantasyYoung dude lands in a mythical place, finds out that he is a demigod, and has to go on a mission assigned from Olympus.