The S.S. Olympus -under refurbishment

Chapter V: Allea Iacta Est

The bright light of hundreds of shining orbs assaulted Cornelia's eyes as she came back to consciousness. She blinked with lethargic deliberation and rubbed her eyes in an attempt to clear the sleepy gunk from her eyes and the strange nightmare from her mind. When her vision cleared, she expected to find herself in her bed, safe at home. The smell of fresh meats wafting in for breakfast. It had to have been a dream, but when her eyes adjusted, that was not what she saw.

All around her were floating symbols. Various luminous shades of red, yellow, blue, green, and white tinted the lithographs. She watched the specters do a steady rhythmic dance across the air. As the conflicting sensations of fascination and fear raced through her veins, the lights closest to her sped up in their sound and intensity. "What is this place?" she took a deep breath and pinched her arm she felt the sharp pain of her nails piercing her skin. "Is this real?" Had the gods that had come to her aid had taken her back, to what they called the Olympus?

"Hello?" she whispered, her voice cracking. "Is anyone there?" Only strange music answered her.

Her joints were sore, and her legs had that uncomfortable feeling of too much use. She groaned as she attempted to move them, "how far did I run yesterday?" She asked herself in mild amusement at her difficulty. She took a deep breath and heaved herself up. Her blanket fell, revealing the linen wrapping around her breasts. She squeaked and brought the white sheeting her chest. Her eyes went to the blood-soaked rags that were folded neatly on a waist-level surface near her and blushed. "someone or something undressed me." The thought of that much vulnerability while unconscious sent a shiver up her spine. "To be fair, there was not much left of that stola." She muttered with a sigh, speaking to no one in particular.

She shifted in the hope of taking in more of the strange room around her. Her mouth was stuck open, and her eyes wide. "Your palace is beautiful," Cornelia whispered aloud. She did not know how to speak to gods, or if they were even listening, but she would attempt to be polite.

She had to assume it was a palace anyway, one with the most extravagant decorations she had ever seen. Magic lights moved and changed color all around her. The bed she was on was simple but felt luxurious, and made of materials she did not recognize. It was a white pad that covered the surface of a smooth white structure underneath. It was not made of straw or feathers, but something entirely new.

The sound of a foreign stringed instrument filled the room with a joyful melody, and the singer was the most skilled she had ever heard. Certainly a far cry from the open theaters and public performers she knew. Cornelia's foot tapped to the beat, and her heart raced with excitement, "of course, the gods had the best musicians." She turned to get a good look at them but was surprised to find nothing. She turned her head in every direction, trying to find the source of the song, but found the room lacking. "How is this possible?"

Strange lights danced in the air around her, Cornelia stretched out a finger to touch them, but her hand went straight through it. She pulled it back and examined her fingers; nothing remained. She tried again, and again her hand went through the lights as if there was nothing there at all. Of all the terrifying things she had encountered, this was not one of them. She bounced giddily and spun to take in more of her surroundings. She felt her brow furrow as she tried to ascertain when or how long ago that was, or how much of it was real. "Am I dreaming?"

A man's laughter filled the room. It was a beautiful lilting sound. "Good morning little wood nymph, how are you feeling?" The golden man's voice carried across the room. The melody in which he spoke made her smile. His teeth were unrealistically perfect and white, his cheeks had a cherubic blush, and his eyes danced with laughter.

Cornelia curled her legs up against her chest and smiled at him. Her mouth seized by a sudden bout of 'shyness.' He flashed another dazzling smile in her direct, "Do you feel well enough to take a walk?"

Cornelia nodded, but then pointed to the rags that sat on the table. The man they called Apollo nodded and moved across the room. There was a large metallic box embedded into the wall. Cornelia squinted her eyes in curiosity as she watched him. His fingers danced across the lights on the metal box, and then the whole thing flashed with a bright white light. She scrambled backward, and he laughed at her again. In his hands were folded white clothes. He left them next to her and gave her a courteous nod, "I will be just outside. Feel free to come out when you are ready."

She nodded, and the golden man slipped out through doors that moved sideways. They did not swing in out or in, and they shone as if they were made of metal, but moved with the deft swishing sound of a summer wind. Cornelia shifted her feet beneath her and dropped to the floor.

She stroked the white fabric and then held it to her chest with a smile. The material was gentle on her skin and light to the touch. She let it fall out, and it was not a tunic, toga, or stola. It was something entirely different. It fell to the floor as one complete unit with sleeves for her legs and arms. "What a curious garment," she mumbled to herself and slipped one foot then another into the bottom sleeves and then one arm in either regular sleeve.

She felt the garment hug to her body; it sealed itself without so much as a lift of her finger. The once loose fabric suctioned close to her body. It left nothing to the imagination, not even the crest of her breasts or smooth plane of her stomach. She was so surprised that she yelped and slipped on the slick metallic floor. Her body teetered off-balance, and she came crashing down with an unwelcome and intense pain striking her tailbone.

"Are you okay?" Apollo's concerned voice sounded through a small square box next to the exit.

She pushed herself up, rubbing her lower back, "Fine, thanks!" She called back and used the lip of the bed to pull herself the rest of the way off of the floor. In the same spot where he had placed the strange clothing, was also a comb with more bristles than anything she had ever seen before in her life. She picked it up and took a clump of her tangled hair and inhaled, "this is going to hurt." She pulled the brush through her hair and waited for the painful tug of a tangle, but it never came. She held it out in front of her face and studied it more. It did not seem remarkable in any way other than its bristles. So she shrugged and tried again. This time she pulled it through the full length of her matted caramel-colored hair. It stroked through each piece smoothly, leaving her hair soft and smooth to the touch, "what wonderous things these gods have."

She placed the strange comb down on the bed and moved toward the same 'door,' that Apollo had used. She reached out a tenuous hand, not entirely sure how to work the smooth metal surface. It instantly parted, leaving a grinning golden man just on the outside. "You clean up well!"

She rubbed her arms and nodded, "where are we going?"

He gave her an encouraging look, "We have to discuss, you."

"Me?" She raised an eyebrow, "surely gods have more important things to 'discuss' than me."

He perked up at her, calling him a god and gave her a debonair smile, "Not presently. You discovering us and our quarry in the woods is quite the main event around here, and as much as I enjoy being called a god, it is not necessary. It will go straight to my head."

Artemis moved next to her, "I will show you to your quarters."

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Thank you for reading!

fun fact-- Romans were the first to domesticate chickens. As such, they were the first to create flan which is coated in caramel. When using that description I wanted to make sure she would think in terms of "caramel."