The Avatars -- Chapter 9: Unexpected
"Fancy meeting you here," Notus remarked, trying not to laugh at her expression. "I wasn't aware that you were acquainted with the nymphs."
"Likewise," Lehana retorted through gritted teeth. "I was under the impression that you were a boorish man who liked to spy on half-naked women. Actually, the description remains quite accurate."
He raised his eyebrows and drawled in response, "Well, I thought you were an uneducated woodcutter's daughter with a penchant for violence. If memory serves me correctly, however, weren't you entirely naked instead of merely half-naked?"
Her cheeks were suffused with a slow, dangerous heat, and she saw red as her hand smacked across his cheek with a resounding crack.
Everyone in the clearing looked up (except those who were too inebriated to do so), and Dryope ran over to them in alarm. Notus, who had never been slapped so hard in his life, was staring at Lehana wordlessly. "Honestly! I leave you alone for two minutes, thinking you'll get along nicely, and you've insulted her already?!"
Notus turned to her as mediator, clearly expecting her to take his side. "Is it my fault," he managed around his swelling cheek, "that the woman clouts me for stating the truth? It seems I was correct about the violent tendencies."
"Really, Le–Lita? Is that the truth?" Dryope inquired in her light voice, looking between them bemusedly.
In the long, awkward silence that followed while Lehana was formulating her reply, Notus turned to her with a somewhat pained smile on his face (and for good reason). "Well, in truth, the error was mostly mine – far be it for me to insult a beautiful woman, Lady Lita. If I have given offense, please accept my abject apologies."
Lehana was still combating the shock of slap, the stinging of her hand, and the surprise that Notus had saved her from utter humiliation, was forced to surrender when both pairs of huge blue eyes fixed on her. "I admit my behavior was not very admirable either, Lord Notus. Let us put it behind us and start anew."
"Agreed – if it can be Notus, without the ‘lord.'"
Completely unaware of the shockwaves she had just sent through the immortal and mortal worlds by introducing the volatile pair, Dryope excused herself again, drafting the reluctant Panopea to keep an eye on them.
"Fine," Lehana said stiffly, fixing a polite smile on her face. The man was appalling. He started the conversation by reminding her of a very embarrassing event, was obviously charming and well-liked by everyone present excepting, notably, herself, and had just now decided that they should address each other more intimately? She eyed him suspiciously, thinking to herself, ‘I hate smooth men. They're all talk, no brains, and honor? I've seen vultures with more honor than him.'
"So, since you obviously are not a woodcutter's daughter" her eyebrows lowered menacingly "don't tell me you're the daughter of some almighty god who will now flay me alive?" Notus asked with a brave attempt at a smile.
‘No, actually, I'm just Zeus's avatar, not his daughter.'
She shot him her coldest look. "I'm an Amazon," she said, shaking her glossy waves of hair over her shoulders, having no idea that she had just caused the blood in his body had suddenly rushed to some very uncomfortable places. It was a day for Lehana to be herself – brashly, boldly, unapologetically herself, and no matter what, this pigheaded man was not going to ruin it for me.
"Ah. Er...if you don't mind me asking, I've always wanted to know – is it true that you kill every man you come across?"
~~~~~*~~~~~
"Where are you going, Mehalia?"
She spun around, her pulse quickening automatically when she heard that mellifluous voice. When it was addressing her, it was still as silvery as the pealing of tiny bells but filled with unmasked contempt. Mehalia made a small curtsey, allowing the resentment to simmer in her eyes only when they were hidden under lowered lashes. "To Thessaly, my lady, to answer a summons for aid."
Aphrodite's pale blue eyes narrowed. "What kind of aid?"
"I'm sure I don't know," Mehalia replied carelessly, "but since there's been a drought in that region for the past two months, I suspect the matter is related to the lack of rainfall."
The goddess lost interest immediately. "Very well."
"By your leave, Aphrodite," Mehalia mumbled as she brushed past her mistress.
As her nostrils flared unbecomingly, Aphrodite said, "One moment, Mehalia. Be sure to return by nightfall – you'll be having a visitor, tonight. Surely you haven't forgotten?"
Mehalia started, all too aware of the other woman's needling tone. Of course. She had promised a week ago to entertain Himeros, the god of desire and one of Eros's attendants. Like the longing that was his area of expertise, he could be cruel and difficult to satisfy.
"I won't be late," she promised softly, and her mistress nodded her satisfaction. Victory, for today, belonged to her.
Once Mehalia had gone, she glanced out the window, seeing in her mind's eye the airy castle on Aeolia where Boreas resided. Perhaps today, she thought, there might be more than one triumph for her to savor.
~~~~~*~~~~~
For the twentieth time that afternoon, Boreas wondered what he was doing roasting in the sunny field and getting grass stains on his clothing. He gritted his teeth – where was she? Had she forgotten? Had she promised to meet him here without any intention of meeting him, now laughing with another man? He rose swiftly, determined not to let her make a fool out of him.
Suddenly, like a mirage in the desert, she was streaking towards him like a golden ray of sunshine. "Kunzite! Thank you for waiting. I was afraid you might have left already – I'm so sorry – but I was detained," she gasped out in short bursts of speech.
He stood there silently, regarding her so coldly that she felt a momentary flash of fear.
"Kunzite? Is – is something wrong?"
"No, nothing." Before he knew it, the incriminating words were out of his mouth. "I was afraid you might have forgotten."
Her smile grew to blinding brilliance, and Boreas felt himself falling more deeply under her spell, a sparkling golden net studded with sapphires the color of her eyes. The goddess of love was nothing in comparison to her, nothing at all...
Shortly thereafter, they unpacked an impressive array of food – Boreas's share from the palace chef and Mehalia's begged from Lehana before she had gone to socialize with the nymphs. The tall brunette had been eager to go and eager to have Mehalia accompany her, but she had excused herself somewhat vaguely, claiming that someone needed to remain on Olympus in case their services were needed: no one had been able to keep track of Rhoswen's whereabouts lately, Kassia was visiting Hestia, and Ayla off on an errand for Athena. She didn't know why, but she felt the need to keep her meeting with Kunzite a secret. Their acquaintance was so brief, the assignation made so suddenly...and Lehana was not a champion of men.
"So, tell me about yourself," he said abruptly, drawing her out of her reverie.
Mehalia choked on her pastry, which was stuffed with almond cream and topped with powdered sugar. "There isn't that much to tell. What would you like to know?" she smiled winningly.
"Well, what do you do, day in and day out?" he prompted. "Besides teach lost strangers the dance steps, of course."
She laughed gaily. "Oh, most of the year, I stay with my aunt who lives at the foot of Mount Olympus. You could say I'm a sort of liaison between the gods and the mortals," she improvised hastily. The latter part was true, the former was not.
Boreas raised his eyebrows and made a noncommital noise. Not as naive and ignorant of the gods' workings as he'd thought. "Impressive. You are acquainted with the gods, then?"
She flushed slightly, speaking in an embarrassed tone, "Oh no, I'm afraid I exaggerated a bit, you see. I mostly deal with the servants who work there."
"Oh, I see." He didn't really but refrained from further questioning.
"And you? How do you spend your days?"
It was his turn to be caught off-guard. "Well...I... What I do some of the time is train young men to fight."
‘Heroes,' he corrected himself, ‘like Achilles and Ajax and Heracles...'
Her eyes widened. "Really? Soldiers?"
"You could say that." They all went to war eventually, either for the profit or their loyalty to a king. Despite his training, not all of them came back.
"You must live in a grand palace, then, with a noble king."
"Why do you say that?"
She tapped a finger against her lips. "Well, for one thing, you dress very nicely. It would cost anyone here half a year's pay for the cloth of that tunic alone, if I'm not mistaken. Then again, we don't buy much of our cloth; we raise sheep and weave our clothing. Your speech reveals that you are educated, and your taste in food is quite refined."
"And the noble king?" Boreas asked.
Again, she laughed. "That was merely an assumption. You don't seem like the type of man to serve someone you don't respect for long."
He was surprised into silence for a moment. "My king is very young, warm-hearted and eager to please. Because of these qualities, he is often called upon to prove himself to other less merciful and older...kings. As a result, he expects only the best not only from his councillors but also himself."
"You speak of him as if you know him very well."
"We grew up together," was his response. He thought of the other three men they had grown up with and felt a headache coming on. Aeolus immersed himself in his duties when he wasn't off wandering the grounds, Notus had yet to have a serious relationship with a woman he cared about, Eurus was being more mysterious than ever about his whereabouts, and Zephyr... Well, Zephyr was going to be married shortly hereafter; the formal announcement would be made at Zeus and Hera's upcoming ball. None of them could imagine Zephyr married, especially to Michiru.
~~~~~*~~~~~
Ayla waited for the huge double-doors of the palace to open with some trepidation, although she had been very interested a few moments ago in the mechanism involved with lowering and raising the drawbridge. It was quite simple, really, she appraised, focusing her thoughts on a mental diagram of the pulleys to take her mind off things. She even thought there might be room for improvement, if she had the time and the opportunity to–
"Lady Ayla?"
She glanced up, seeming for all the world like a startled doe on the verge of bolting. Instead of the elderly, gray-haired steward she was familiar with, a youth with coal-black hair and startling, sapphire-blue eyes was looking down at her. Perhaps he was the steward's apprentice. ‘My, he's tall,' she thought nervously. "Yes..."
"Welcome to Aeolia," Aeolus smiled. "How may I help you today?"
Ayla drew herself up, trying to feel less intimidated by his height and his very good looks. "Thank you, I'm on an errand for the Lady Athena. I was wondering if it might be possible for me to peruse your library and borrow some of your scrolls? If you would prefer that they remain in the castle, I would be more than happy to look over them here."
Aeolus offered his arm to her, proceeding to escort her to the library. He was rather proud of himself, having compiled it with Zephyrus's help. It had taken both of them several years of hard work and dedication to finish the job.
She took his arm, all the while trying to remember where she had seen him before. She was sure she had seen if not met him...but where?
"No, I have no problem with lending you and Lady Athena the scrolls, as long as they are returned. Knowledge is meant to be shared."
"Thank you for your generosity. You know, it's interesting, Lady Athena says that quite often herself...about how everyone should partake in wisdom, I mean...your highness!" Ayla cried belatedly, stopping stock-still in the hall to stare at him in alarm.
He smiled sheepishly. "Ah – yes. I've heard her say that myself," he replied as she curtsied deeply.
"King Aeolus – I am so sorry not to have recognized you earlier," she apologized.
"It's all right. We haven't really met each other before, have we? I only knew your name because my steward helpfully supplied it just before you arrived."
Shyly, Ayla said, "No, we've never met before, my lord, but I've seen your likeness in marble on Mount Olympus."
Aeolus threw back his head and laughed. "You must be very observant indeed. I must confess, I have yet to see the piece myself, but my friend Zephyr assures me it is a terrible likeness."
She remained silent, unsure if she had given offense. To put her at ease, he inquired about her interests. When notified that Athena's avatar would be visiting his palace (all her previous visits, all to the library, he had been too busy to see to her comfort personally), he had been intensely curious to see what she would be like. "Well, before I became an avatar, my dream was to be a healer. Of course, women healers are very rare – mostly they only serve as midwives. Currently, I study medicine independently, although Lord Hermes has been very encouraging."
Aeolus glanced down at the top of her head. "You study with Hermes?"
"A bit."
"You should watch out, then. He's tricky, that one."
She smiled faintly. "Yes, I know." She was no stranger to Hermes's mercurial ways.
He nodded. "I recommend that you consult Chiron, lord among centaurs. He is knowledgeable about medicinal herbs and such, as you may know."
Ayla turned her head in surprise. "Yes, I'm acquainted with Chiron. Do you know him well?"
"Oh, I suppose. I have a little interest in medicine myself."
"Really? That's fascinating. I've never known a king, immortal or mortal, who studied medicine."
Again, he gave her that charming, white-toothed smile. "I'm an unconventional king, I admit. Ah, here we are," he announced, pulling open one of the large, gold-plated double-doors himself for her. "Please, take as much time as you'd like," he invited, "you won't be disturbed, I assure you."
"Thank you very much, my lord."
"Any time. Enjoy."
As the doors swung shut, Ayla wandered among shelves, hunting first for the scrolls Athena had directed her to bring back and then allowing herself to pull out the ones she desired to look at. Taking them to a table in a little alcove by an open window, she read happily for an hour, undisturbed except by the cheerful little breeze issuing forth from the window until a long-haired shadow fell across the page...
"Good afternoon," Zephyrus greeted, a sardonic smile on his face. "My, my, Ami – you do turn up in the strangest places, don't you?"
~~~~~*~~~~~
AN: Yay, cliffhanger! :) I hope you're enjoying Avatars...despite the bad pun I threw in a few paragraphs ago ^.~ Not that much happened in this chapter (one of the guys finally met an undisguised avatar), but the next should provide a bit more action. We'll re-convene with Mako & Neph, Minako & Kunz, and also Serenity... Comments, questions, or concerns?
~Ice
The Avatars
