Sugar and Spice is Not So Nice

Chapter 9

I feel my eyes go wide as I close my laptop. I stuff my drawings somewhere safe, and quietly unlock and open my door. I tiptoe downstairs and peek around the corner, so far I see no one. Then, I hear laughter. Laughter out of all things. Usually people don't hear laughter after an ear piercing scream.

I make my way to the kitchen and peek in where I see Kate, my mother and a tall man. His back is facing towards me, but I get a glimpse of his face. He looks around my mother and Kate's age, maybe even older. He has short white hair, a white beard, and blue eyes. That description kind of reminds me of someone, but I can't put a finger on it.

"Ah, there you are Ruby, come in." My mother turns to me and beckons me to come into the kitchen. When I enter I see Kate bent over, scooping up the shattered pieces of the plate.

"Say hello Ruby." My mother says, nodding to the tall man.

I reach out my arm to shake his hand. "Hello Mr...?" I trail of, subtly asking his name.

"Well, most people call me Zeus, but you are the only person who gets to call me father or dad, whichever you prefer." He says and smiles.

"I think we should give them some alone time Kate." My mother says, as they leave the room.

My arm drops back to my side and my jaw practically drops in surprise. Seeing this, he laughs. It was a deep and hearty laugh, but it also held some sadness. I placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eyes.

"It's nice to finally meet you dad." I try the word out on my tongue but it feels so foreign.

"And it's nice to see you again Rusalka." He says.

"My names not Rusalka, its Ruby." I say, confused.

"Your birth name was Rusalka, meaning mermaid/wood sprite its Czech. Your mother came up with it. We had to give you the name Ruby once you were on Earth, its a name they're far more familiar with. Now come here." He says pulling me into a hug.

As we hug, thousands of. memories surface, ones that I didn't even know existed. Ones of my childhood, of my father, even a few of my birth mother. I couldn't stop the tears at this point, and I could feel them flowing down my cheeks, but I didn't bother to stop them. I could tell that my father was crying too by the grip he had on me, but I didn't care or blame him, I wasn't in any better condition.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" I ask, as we start to pull away.

"Of course, anything at all." He replies, wiping a tear away.

"Do you happen to have any cool gear to stop angels from reading your minds?" If it will work on angels, it will probably work on anything.

"It just so happens that I do." He reaches into is pocket and takes out a dragon ear cuff. "Here, put this on.

I take it from his hand, and put it on my right ear. I could feel something click, and I looked to Zeus, silently asking him what it was.

"That was just the sound of it locking into place, now no one is able to remove that ear cuff but you. Keeps you and your thoughts safer from anyone, and anything." He explains.

"Sweet! So, what are you doing on Earth anyway? Shouldn't you be in Heaven or something?" I ask.

Hearing this, he frowns slightly, but quickly hides it."I know who he is Ruby."

"Who he is? Whose 'he'?" There are thousand of guys, how am I supposed to know the exact person he's talking about?

"Blaise. Now, I don't believe he has plans to hurt you, but we both know that his father, Hades, does." He says, with a little bit of sympathy in his eyes. "I know it's practically impossible for me to ask you to stay away from him, so I won't bother with that. "

"Wait.... does Dana and Kate know?" It's feels too strange to call Dana my mother in front of my actual father. I mean, if Zeus is my father, according to the Greeks, then Hera is my mother.

"No, they don't know. That's your choice to tell them who Blaise is, or not to tell him." He replies. "Now, instead of forbidding you to meet and talk to Blaise, we're going to go on a vacation. Dana will come too, in order to avoid suspicion, and I'll meet you there. If you wish, you can tell Blaise that you're going on a vacation, just not where it is." He concludes.

Well, out of all that it seems like a pretty reasonable price. I just had one question. "And where is it that we'll be going exactly?"

"Two places actually. First Mount Olympus to meet some other gods, then you'll be going home." He says.

"Wait, aren't I already home?" I ask.

"Technically yes, but I wish to take you back to the where you were born. I'm going to take you to Heaven Rusalka, your true home." He says smiling.

I always thought I had to die to get to Heaven, but apparently I get a VIP escort, and maybe an all season pass.

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Okay, so originally I want going to update today, but tomorrow I get a snow day, and that made me happy. Then I thought, well, not everyone is getting a snow day, but you guys deserve a treat! So I thought I'd give you this chapter early. Stay warm my ducklings!