To Save Olympus

Chapter One

Nightmares

The sun shone above the sea as the nimble girl, Ember, skipped out of her chambers and towards the old wood barn. The smell of the fresh hay, the freshly groomed horses and the sound of hooves clopping on the wooden floor made her feel as free as a bird. The white stallion snorted in protest that the orange haired girl had forgotten his precious carrot.

'Come on Pegs, I had to rush or the guards would ask where I was going off to at sunrise,' Ember laughed.

The horse snorted in annoyance.

'I know, I know, I could have just asked mother but she was sleeping and I didn't want to wake her.'

The winged horse scraped the ground with his hoof and snorted at the girl.

'Shoosh, or someone will notice us.' The girl giggled.

The white stallion leant his soft head on Ember's shoulder. Ember ran her fingers down the chain to the small pendant her mother had given her. It was a wedding present from Hephaestus to her mother. It was a silver pendant, with an intricate sapphire in the centre.

Ember liked the sunrise, the quickly rising sun hitting her face and the sound of the morning birds' sweet songs filling the air.

She left the stallion in peace, and skipped back to her chambers.

'Hello princessss,' called a high male voice.  Ember recognized the voice as belonging to her best friend and class-mate, Eric.

'Hey Eric, how's your sister?', asked Ember, pleasantly.

'Still with Malorie, but she's getting better, slowly.'

Eric was a slightly built 17-year-old who gestured wildly when he spoke and over-emphasized s's whenever they occurred. He had walked out one morning at the age of 14, and announced to his father that he liked men. His father was surprised but was preoccupied with his current wife, and hardly noticed.  Eric had made the same announcement at school, although the reaction was more satisfying. The kind and respectful children acknowledged his announcement respectfully, but the rest of the students teased him for years afterwards.

Like Ember and everyone else on Olympus, Eric had divine ancestry.  Eric was a demigod. His mother - she was killed in a human war when Eric was only 3 years old - was a mortal and his father was Hermes, the god of commerce and travel. So, although Eric was a descendant of a god, he was still mortal.

Malorie, - who was caring for Eric's sister - was also mortal and a demigod. Her mother was lost at sea when Malorie was only five years of age. Her father was Apollo, the god of music and healing. Although she looked nothing more than a tawny-haired scrappy girl and went to the same classes at high school as Ember and Eric, Malorie was in fact, the best physician on Olympus. She knew all of the medicines on earth. The blossoms healed minor wounds, and the scarlet roses helped with troubled sleep. The pine, if it was crushed to a pulp, could be used in potions and charms such as Aphrodite's love potion, and Ares' strength potion.  As severe and strange as Eric's sister, Eve's symptoms were, Malorie was the best person to try to treat her.

For the last year Eve had been in a state where she couldn't move, and always had horrific dreams. When she described them, she would shudder and shrivel up into a shaky, coma-like state. Malorie would have to give her potions and slimy substances to allow her to describe her terrible dreams. She dreamt about a war. A war that ended many lives. She told in great detail of the two-headed monsters attacking Olympus and destroying everything in their path. And before she could tell more, the potion would wear off and she would shrink into her shell once more.

The sun had edged up to the brink of noon as Ember and Eric walked slowly to the physician's quarter to see Malorie and Eve. At the top of the magnificent cobblestone tower they would not naturally be able to breathe freely, but the old sorcerer had created a mystic shield to protect the birds and gods from the lack of oxygen atop the high towers.

Malorie's smile greeted them at the door.

'She's much better today. The medicine reduced her nightmares but she still needed the Palm Root Resin to help with her stressed out digestion.' She explained without hesitation.

'Can we see her?' croaked Eric.

'Sure, she's in the study.'

Eric rushed through the apartment and hesitated at the makeshift door, then rushed into the medicinal-smelling room. Eve, looking thin and younger than her 14 years, perched on a small cushion beside the window, smiling. She hadn't smiled in months. The cause of her sudden happiness was the small bluebird sitting in the flowerbox, singing to her. She turned slowly to look at her big brother. She smiled again. Ember and Malorie walked into the room and stood there in shock.

'Are you ok Eve?' Ember asked in a shocked voice.

'I'm fine, thanks,' she giggled. Eric was still in shock. 'Eric, I'm fine, I feel fine.'

The black-haired boy broke from his shocked state and fell towards his sister, to wrap her in his arms.