Dark Hour

Part 5

I spun around, spraying sand in my wake. I saw the path and started to make way for it but a hand suddenly latched onto my wrist. I felt myself being dragged against something warm and soft and I tried to look up but a familiar voice whispered in my ear. "Close your eyes."

And I immediately knew it was Apollo. I trusted him enough to shut my eyes and the moment I did a sudden wave of dizziness pounded my skull and the last thing I saw was Apollo's brown eyes watching me as he placed me on a feather down bed. . .

My eyes flew open. I looked around at the scenery, I was in the middle of a rose gold bed with and ivory coloured silk draped over the top of it. I sat up and blew out a breath, I guessed that this was Apollo's house, all fancy and shiny. I didn't really expect this, but, in a sense I was okay with this form of money, it just seemed so like Apollo even though I barely knew anything about him. I got up and stared at the ceiling in wonder, there was drawings in silver on the glass roof. I couldn't see what the drawing was from here but I tried to remember to ask Apollo about it.

As I walked out onto the balcony , I stared in shock. I was looking over something that shouldn't exist. There were trees with silver and golden leaves, that couldn't be possible. I squinted past two silver leafed trees and saw the smallest flash of light. I was so entranced by the dazzling beauty of it all that I didn't hear Apollo come up behind me.

"Nice jumpsuit." He said casually.

I jumped in surprise and immediately looked down at my clothes, I inhaled in astonishment. My regular everyday jeans, T-shirt, boots and coat had been swapped for faded blood red (long pants) jumpsuit and a pair of dainty, pink shoes that fit my slim feet perfectly.

"Did, did you change my," I gulped. "My clothes?" I asked with horror.

Apollo chuckled. "Goodness no, I had my dear sister to do it."

I relaxed a little bit, I wasn't comfortable with the fact that my clothes has been changed by a random female, but, I still felt better knowing that it hadn't been Apollo to undress me and then redress me.

I decided to change the subject. "What's her name?" Kind of.

"Her name is Hera."

I snorted. "So you both have Greek immortal names, I know that Hera was the wife and sister of Zeus, she was the Goddess of marriage and fertility. . ." I trailed off trying to remember what Apollo was the God of. "I can't remember what Apollo was the God of though, can you tell me?"

Apollo smiled and I took that as a yes. "Apollo stands for music, poetic inspiration, archery, prophecy, medicine, pastoral life, and the Sun."

I nodded and for some reason every time I looked at him after that moment, I looked at Apollo in a different light. In this light, he is lonely and in need of a friend. I felt like I could relate to him on another level completely.

"What does your name mean?" He asked, breaking my thoughts.

"My name, Ares?" I asked with incredulity, he wanted to know what my name meant? How polite. "Well, my name means war, Ares was the son of Zeus of Hera." I thought about my history/Astronomy lesson five years ago. "His name in Roman times was Mars, and is also a Zodiac, Ares the ram." I recalled fervently. My zodiac was Leo, king of all the stars.

Apollo's eyes gleamed. "Very good."

I started, he knew? That was mean. I pouted. What was the point in asking a question that you already know the answer to? I walked back inside and made myself busy with fluffing up the pillows I'd slept on.

"What's wrong, I can tell that something is wrong here. . ." Apollo trailed off as he watched me pull my shoes off and sit cross legged in the middle of the bed. I looked at him, seconds away from crying.

"Why?" I asked, my voice breaking. "What have I done to deserve this?" I didn't expect him to understand. He didn't seem to have any major parental figures. Although maybe he was an orphan too. Maybe, we had more in common than I thought.

Apollo's features melted into concern and he flitted to my side. He stared at me with his hypnotising brown eyes and waited for me to cry. I wrapped my arms around him, not caring if I got his expensive looking shirt wet. Apollo rubbed my back until I'd stopped. I leaned back from him and realised that I probably looked a mess.

"I'm sorry." I whispered. "I don't know what came over me?" The uncertainty in my voice made it a question.

"Stress?" He asked quietly.

I shrugged. "I just haven't done anything with anyone since I found out I was an orphan four years ago."

Apollo looked at me sadly. "You haven't had any friends because you didn't have any parents?" He asked softly.

I looked at my hands and felt tears dribble down my face. My wet lashes brushed my cheek bones and I looked up at him through them. I saw him look away, his eyes shut.

"That's not why I've never interacted with anyone." I muttered.

He looked up, his eyes bright. "Then why?"

I looked at him, the tension between us was flawed.

"Because, for some reason, everything seems to remind me of them. I always get nightmares of water, but, the raging ocean calms me. . ."

Apollo looked up at the glass-art ceiling. "So what was your reaction to calm water?"

I shuddered, the dream I'd had so many nights ago was suddenly there, in the middle of my mind. I remembered the deadly still water, waiting for me to make just one move, and then be in its depths.

"Ares?" Apollo's anxious voice made me jump in surprise and I looked over at him. Apollo had a goofy sort of face that had me extremely perplexed.

"Do you want to go somewhere?"

I leaned forward. "What kind of somewhere?"

He smiled and wrapped his arms around me. I shivered, surprised by how warm he was. But he's human, isn't he? I thought.

"Are you ready?" Apollo whispered, his arms tightening their hold, making me feel a lot safer than I should've felt around a boy I barely knew.

"I'm ready." I whispered.

I shut my eyes as a sudden gust of wind blew over my face and I felt it to be cold, colder than I'd ever felt before. I leaned into Apollo's arms just be sure that he was still there, he was. I squeezed my eyes shut and I got small stabs of pain all throughout the back of my head. I opened my mouth to scream but couldn't, the wind was too strong.

Then, all of a sudden, it stopped, the wind just died down and I opened my eyes, blinking numerous times. Where was I? I looked around and gasped in delight, right in front of me was a waterfall, several metres high that spilled out in front of me in a rippling pool. I could see the bottom of the pool, the pure white sand mixed with the aquamarine blue was penetrating to the eye.

"Where are we?" I breathed, looking up into Apollo's luminous eyes. I watched him sit down on a large boulder and throw skipping stones across the shimmering water. As I watched him, I came to a theory that I would remember forever;

if you looked past his bewitching beauty, underneath was a lonely boy, with no friends, one distant sister and no parents.

Just like me.

I scooted next to him and leaned against his shoulder, both of us admiring the heavenly scene.