The Deviant Path to Olympus

Chapter 21

Pandora's body ached as she dragged her limbs across the ground and out of the caverns. Her bones were shaking. Her skin trickled as wind blew across her face. She should've been dead. If she weren't a deviant, the explosion from that blade easily would've killed her.

"I swear by Poseidon I'll make that woman pay."

She reached the stretchmark of the hill. She trudged upward to reach her cottage. It was daytime. Her body was mangled. Beneath her cloak only the battered remains of her body were intact. Regardless, she pulled herself upward to reach her home.

It was smoldering. Green embers were rising up as she came into view of her old home. A gravemarker stood at its center. She knew exactly who it was for and it disgusted her. Two people approached from behind her. It was Caster and Pollux. "Servants," she huffed out at them, "heal me."

Pollux crouched down in front of her. Their eyes met while she stared up at him. "And why would we do that?"

Pandora gritted her teeth. Something was wrong. They would never risk crossing her in her time of need. "I'll reward you," Pandora hissed. "I saved your lives once, now save mine."

"You killed our parents," Caster said nonchalantly from behind. "Did you think we'd forget?"

"They condemned you to the Persians."

"You killed them, they tried freeing us from you." Caster kicked her feet across Pandora's head. "Whatever gratitude you think we owe you, forget it. Because no matter how glad we are to be in Greece rather than Persia, we will never forgive you after what you did to our mother."

Pandora spat out purple blood. She clutched at the crystal around her neck. Theoretically, she should have complete control over their bodies. But she guessed that their newfound defiance stemmed from them breaking out of her control.

"What happened to your seals?" Pandora said rubbing at her jaw.

"Funny story," Pollux raised his head. "An Aethiopian girl came by last night, said she was looking for deviants. She found us. And rather than kill us, she freed us."

"Impossible. The seals I set are designed to kill you if they're removed."

"We know," they said at the same time. The twins glanced at each other, disappointed that they could still speak in sync out of the bad habit Pandora disciplined them with.

Pollux continued, "she simply added a seal on top of your seal. We're still bound to the city, as you last commanded, but we no longer have to obey any more of your orders."

"She was quite nice," Caster rested a hand on her cheek. "She gave us a title; Twilight guardians of Athens. We're still bound to Athens, but from this day forth, it'll be as its protectors, not as killers."

"I saved you!" Pandora yelled, "I saved you from your blood ties and I saved you from the Asha Order! You owe me!"

"We know," they said together again. Pollux stood up and turned away, "which is why we won't kill you. Our new seal stops us from killing people, so think of us leaving you here as our last gift to you. We won't torture you, but we won't save you either. From now on, you'll have no one but yourself."

They left her alone at the hilltop, bloodied and humiliated.

XXX

To her, adopting the title Pandora was like being reborn. There was the 'before' and 'after'. Going by Pandora was her way of denying everything she once was.

Her past life, her titles, and her family always consumed her mind when she was at her lowest points. She could remind herself that they were just passing thoughts as she lived, but they were still there nonetheless.