𝑃𝐻𝑂𝐸𝐵𝑈𝑆. (𝑂𝑓 𝐺𝑜𝑑𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑀𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠)

one - now

Now.

The heat was immeasurable, beating down on the water as if to cause it to boil. Adoria knew that the others would not be anywhere near the surface today, not even to feed. They hated the sun and its heat, preferring the cold darkness of the deep seas. And yet that was the reason Adoria was at the surface in the first place.

They judged her and her adoration for the sun and the warmth that caressed her, unable to understand her love for it. She didn't necessarily blame them, it wasn't something she could so easily explain.

"How is it you stand to be up here in this heat? I feel as though my skin is melting off."

The young girl was surprised to see she had been followed, although it wasn't shocking that it had been Merena. She was a good friend to Adoria, probably the most loyal of all the other sirens, which was saying something because the sirens were a loyal bunch. Say what you'd like about their vicious nature, they had their sisters' backs, even if they believed Adoria to be strange and a little bit of an outcast.

"You know they're going to make fun of you when they find out you've been up here staring into the sun again." Merena added, now opting to float on her back while playing with the ends of her blonde hair.

"I'm not staring into the sun," Adoria argued, "I like that it's warm up here, I wanted to take it in for a while before returning below."

The other siren rolled her eyes, as she did a good very many times around her friend. "The heat is intense today, it doesn't seem to be letting up. I miss the days where it was dark out for weeks and weeks."

"Those were terrible." Adoria snapped.

Merena was not surprised by Adoria's tone of voice, she knew the hatred the dark-haired girl held for the dark times. She rarely sang, nor did she eat as much; the other siren's had thought she was dying at one point, as it was common for dying siren's to lose their song and starve themselves. But then the sun had come back up with a vengeance so strong, it shone like never before. It was a problem for the sirens, who could only then come out in the dark to feed, forcing them to be scarce with their appetites.

Merena decided to change the subject before Adoria could get any more defensive. "Tell me again, why is it you love the sun so much?"

Adoria hesitated before speaking. "The others, they don't like the sun...but there's just something about it, like it shines just for me. I don't know how to explain it. It's just a feeling. Sometimes, when I stay up here long enough, I see visions, of me, but it's not me. Not this me, at least. She's happy, and there's others who care about her."

"We care about you, Adoria." Merena whispered, feeling slightly guilty, as if she had done something to make her friend feel as though she wasn't loved.

"I know you all do," Adoria gave her a weak smile, "but sometimes I feel different. You all feel nothing when you take the lives of the sailing men. I do. The guilt. I know you say I shouldn't, but I do."

And it wasn't the first time, but Merena didn't know what to say to her friend. So she said nothing.

~~~~~~~

"Stop this madness, Apollo." A voice rang out, louder than all the others, from the head of the table. "Do you think Adoria would want this? To see you create destruction in her absence."

The absurdity of that statement made Apollo chuckle. "You obviously didn't know Adoria all that well. So don't try and use her against me, as if her judgment somehow will weaken my anger. The longer she is kept from me, the harsher my vengeance will grow."

The entire room fell silent as Zeus' fist slammed down upon the stone table. "Adoria is gone, Apollo. Dead. It is time you accept that cruel reality and move on. She was just a girl, a passing love, you will most likely forget her name by the end of the millenia-"

"Hades has said it himself, she has not passed through his realm, he has not sensed her presence amongst the dead. That can only mean one thing: your wife and our very formidable queen has her locked away somewhere that I, nor anybody else, can find her. As soon as she gives her back, I will return everything to as it was before. So long as she is given the punishment she so rightfully deserves." The sun god did not forget to stand and sneer in Hera's direction as he spoke. He had a hard time even now looking into the eyes of the woman behind his demise. The night she took Adoria away from him was burned into the back of his mind, like a memory that his brain refused to suppress, no matter how tragic.

Zeus' shoulders finally slumped as he sat back into his large throne-like chair, looking like he too had had enough of Hera's thwarting. "You are right, my son," his attention moved to the queen of the gods herself, "enough is truly enough. Tell the boy where she is, and let us be done with this."

Hera, ever the most cunning, couldn't contain the smirk from rising on her face, "If only I knew where she was. But I know not where the oceans could have taken her. Did they swallow her whole? Did the creatures rip her to pieces as she struggled to pitifully fight back? Was her last thought of you and how you couldn't save her? Do you think she regretted it...loving you?"

It took both Hades and Dionysus to hold Apollo back as tears rimmed his eyes and he fought to get to Hera, if only to rip out her heart as she had ripped out his.

"You are the god of truth, Apollo, so look into my eyes and tell me if I'm lying." Hera's gaze was unnerving, unwavering, emotionless. Somehow his heart shattered even more as she declared only the truth, "I do not know where Adoria is. And even if I did, I would not tell you. Let it be a lesson here today, I don't like to be challenged."

"A lesson?" Aphrodite, who had been silent up until now, had yelled. "A lesson to who? To Zeus!? You let an innocent girl face punishment for the actions of your husband?" The goddess of love, like Apollo, could barely contain her tears.

The rest of the room was thrown back into chaos, screaming and yelling until Apollo's voice boomed Hera's name, holding everyone's attention once again. There was once a time that Apollo has been a playful god, someone with endless wit, who enjoyed watching the antics of his family ensue. He had once been filled with joy. It is truly funny how the most radiant of souls can turn into the darkest at the occurrence of a single heartbreaking moment.

And so it frightened every single one of the gods in the room, even Hera, when he spoke his next words. "You are right. I am the god of truth and justice. And I will make certain that is exactly what I get." A heinous laugh broke from his throat. "You should've kept Adoria somewhere you'd be able to keep an eye on her. Because now that I know you can't get to her either, I will come for your head."

With clenched hands and a hollow heart, Apollo disappeared from the hall, leaving behind thirteen very worried looking Olympians.