New World

Chapter 1

Paelen was bored. He wandered the gardens of Olympus looking for his best friends: Emily and Joel. The rose bushes he once adored seemed less colourful than before, the fountain looked less grand and the birds' songs were no longer the sweet melodic tune they once were. Paelen glanced at the cherry blossom tree near the maze. His throat tightened has he remembered bringing Lorin here and how she loved collecting the petals from the ground and making them dance around their heads. Paelen looked back to the ground. This was over. There was no going back.

He walked for a short while until he found Emily and Joel. They were sitting in a tree, Joel making Emily laugh. Paelen would have been jealous a few months earlier, but he was happy for them. They deserved each other. Paelen ducked behind a bush, and watched from a distance, waiting for the perfect opportunity to make a dramatic entrance. He watched as Emily grabbed Joel's tunic and pulled him in for a kiss. Okay. Maybe this wasn't a good time. Paelen silently left them to it.

Paelen ordered his sandals to Jupiter's palace. There was bound to be someone there. Damn, he'd even settle for Cupid, he would at least be able to have fun teasing him. He felt the little wings flutter beneath his feet as he was lightly taken off the ground.

Paelen landed neatly on the ground before the palace of Jupiter. There was a small gathering of Olympians, overviewing the reconstruction of Olympus: Jupiter, Neptune, Vulcan and Minerva. Paelen went to greet them, but Minerva said, rather gruffly, "Not now, Paelen. Can you not see we are busy?"

"I was not going to do anything! I was only saying hello!" Paelen raised his hands in defence.

Jupiter sighed "We have a lot of work to do. You can help with the reconstruction, if you are bored."

Paelen was no builder. He would probably do more damage to the buildings than good. He left the other Olympians to their work. The Olympians still treated Paelen like a thief, though Paelen's thieving days were long behind him (although he did enjoy seeing Cupid's reactions whenever he stole his hair products). He felt utterly useless in Olympus. With Emily and Joel being so emotionally attached to each other, he felt excluded. Pegasus went wherever Emily was, so Paelen was unable to hang out with him either. All the other Olympians were busy with some job or another, apart from him. 

He looked at the sky. His best memories came from missions he had on earth with Emily, Joel and Pegasus, where he felt like he had reason to live, where he had friends. Then an idea struck him. He quickly ran to his room and grabbed a rucksack he had got from earth a while ago. He ordered his sandals back to Jupiter's palace, and landed behind a wall. He swiftly and silently crept into the palace and made his way towards the kitchens. He looked in. Nymphs were running around the place getting ready for a feast. Paelen took a deep breath and started to stretch his body. It felt like a hundred harpies clawing at his bones. When he was thin and snake-like, he slithered into the kitchen and grabbed as many ambrosia cakes as he could to fill his rucksack.

When his food trip was successful, he flew to a deserted point in the maze, where he knew no one would come snooping around. He put the ambrosia cakes and put them in the bag. Not having the self control to resist eating one, he stuffed one in his mouth and savoured the sweet taste. 

Paelen looked to his sandals and ordered "Take me up." The sandals obeyed and lifted him into the air. When he was high enough to observe the beautiful landscape of Olympus, he ordered the sandals to stop. The setting sun cast a rich orange light across the lands, making dark shadows curl among trees and buildings. Paelen bit his lip. Is this what Lorin would have wanted? It didn't matter, Paelen thought, she is no longer here.

With a small whisper, Paelen said, "Goodbye Joel. Goodbye Emily. Sandals, take me to earth."