Ares And Mia

Chapter 31

"Use anything you want. This entire place is just for you, okay?" That's what Artemis said to me after leaving. Some part of me wanted to ask her to stay, but the other part wanted solitude. The villa was nice. Cozy, on the side of a cliff. The view was heavenly. Clouds and deep blue waters casting a picturesque background to my lonesome thoughts. Not too far away from the villa, though, was a forest.

It's been several hours since Artemis left and the sun was being swallowed up by the waters below. I sit by the window. I don't plan on getting much sleep tonight.

My fingers rub against the side of my arm, easing some warmth into my skin. I glance toward the kitchen, before a cool breeze forms goosebumps against my skin. "A human!" I jolt, nearly falling off of my chair. A group of nymphs, with peculiar features, crowded around the window. They were all extraordinarily beautiful, with shining hair and soft skin. They held baskets and wore flowy dresses, smiling widely at me. "Do you want to come out with us?"

I blink, before looking at the one who spoke. "C-Can I?" I would be lying if I said I wasn't intimidated by their good looks. They giggled at my response, before one of them, adorned with dreads of vines, pushed the window open wider.

"You haven't eaten since you got here. Things are always more fun under the moonlight." They back away slightly and I stand on the window sill, before jumping out onto the grass. It was soft, tall grass, adorned with wildflowers. The nymphs squealed at my actions, before linking their arms in mine. I smiled softly, grateful that they didn't expect me to speak much.

"Though, we do know that you're planning to go out tomorrow, aren't you?" Another one presumes, her basket of handpicked flowers hanging from her other elbow. That... How did they know? I had packed a backpack the second I got here, there was no way they could've saw... Can nymphs use X-Ray vision?

"Please don't tell Artemis." I plead. "I just... I just need to go somewhere really quick. It'll be quick--"

"Your secret is safe with us. Don't worry. Humans are always so particular about their actions." I smile at them. The group of five nymphs guided me away from the villa and we enter the trees. I could... trust them, right?

Artemis's nymphs... I'm pretty sure they were good beings, weren't they?

"Let's take her to the fields!" One of them squeals, before tugging us in the other direction. We pick up the pace and soon, I could feel the pulse of... static electricity. The hair on the back of my neck stood up and the nymphs giggled.

"Just keep going that way. We'll be here when you want to come back." I give them a wide-eyed look. They were just... Okay, Mia. I turn, before pushing some branches out of the way. I duck under a thick trunk, emerging out into the open. My heart seems to stop.

Stormy, gray clouds covered the previously clear sky, rolling and changing as I watched. They looked like wisps of smoke, churning like the currents of a river. Below, stretching far beyond the eye could see, a field of wildflowers. Daises, cornflowers, poppies, scattered all about the field. There was a sense of chaos, but a sense of peace in the disarray. No hard lines, so bold colors, just...

I exhale.

It was dark, but not dark enough for me to miss the beauty of it. I move, stepping into the grass that went up to my thighs, moving through the bulbs of flowers. My fingers brush against the flowers, tipping their stems lightly. Thunder boomed in the distance, an echoing drumline edging in the horizon. Flashing in the clouds brings my eyes upward and I know--I can feel it in my bones--that everything led to this moment.

I felt powerful.

The cold air sweeping through my clothes didn't break my stance, I could barely feel it. All I could feel was the instability coursing through my veins. The buzzing, the electricity that I knew that I had. Like an hourglass being tipped over and over again, the lightning was unstable, but it's there.