8
Athena finally exits the room after much probing. With the clicking of the door, I see my opportunity.
Stripping off my soaked clothes, I rush out into my main sleeping quarters.
Ignoring the pain in my skull, I find a new set of clothes before turning my attention to the hidden passageway.
Skeptically, I take it in. Nothing gives the appearance of it being anything other than a wall.
Could this be a trick of my mind?
Still not sure what was real and what was my dream, I pulled on the sconce, to my surprise, the soft click of the wall as the false door disengaged.
Opening the wall, I peer down into a servant’s passage. One that seems to haven’t been used for some time due to the amount of dust and cobwebs.
Gahhh, I hate spiders. Cringing, I shudder as I inspect the ancient looking webs.
So gross.
“Focus Pandy,” Arista whispers to my mind. “Stay on track.”
“On track… Yes! I’m staying on track,” I mutter to myself as I take Ari’s advice.
Walking around the room, I look for signs of anything being disturbed. Nothing in the suite looked any different than how I remembered it before the bathroom incident.
Peering into the tunnel, I look for signs of Hekate. Drip marks or anything that would make me think that she could’ve passed through here.
But as with my suite, nothing was out of place. I would have seen her footsteps on the dusty floorboards.
Turning, I rummage through my wardrobe for my bag. Then I cross the room once more. Staring outside, I peer through the window, looking for my destination.
This palace is gargantuan. Larger than the town I grew up in. Gardens and grounds galore, all gated by a large wall.
Passing the gardens, I focused on the stone wall that towers above the gardens. The wall is as dark as shadows.
Long dead ivy climbs the wall. Their climbing fingers are a charcoal gray. As though they were set ablaze years ago. Now they stand as a reminder of the once to living plants.
Beyond the wall, it appears that a city surrounds the palace.
Now where will I go in this strange place?
I know that I wouldn’t be able to leave through the front gates. The gates would likely be too heavily guarded for me to leave. Perhaps if I familiarize myself with the servant’s stairways, I could find a way to leave undetected.
As I scan the area, I spot a target. A test for my first venture into the castle. A secluded, quiet garden.
A bit of passive resistance to being captured. Sneaking around his castle, leaving the area that I’m permitted to be in and venture out into the unknown.
What’s better about my plan is that in the gardens, it would likely take the divine even longer to find me. I smile mischievously. I doubt that his royal moodiness goes there often… or at all.
Plus, I crave what little plants grow there.
Being in this stone prison is my own sarcophagus. So close to life, yet I’m sealed away from the world forever more.
The outdoors was my comfort at home.
My bit of sanctuary.
My solace away from a life that was full of hardship.
But even then, no one has ever barred me from the outdoors. Even with what happened to dad in the forest, I still missed being there.
At home, I spent as much time as I could manage outside. Laying in the woods under the pomegranate trees, listening to the woodland creatures go about their day.
Although I’m not sure how similar a palace garden could be to a set of woods. Even from this angle, everything looked clean and orderly. I would miss the chaos of the forest. The unpredictability was always a comfort.
But the gardens will need to do for now.
Memorizing the general area of the gardens, I head to the secret passage.
Slipping into the staircase, I softly click the door shut and I shuffle down the empty spiral staircase. It was dark, dusty, and full of cobwebs.
The ghostly threads brush past my skin as I imagine tiny legs crawling up and down my body. Watching me with those beady eyes.
Ugh!
They are just webs,I tell myself. My mind is playing tricks on me.
After several flights of the narrowest and steepest stairs that I have ever seen, I stop at the foot of the stairs. The narrow staircase spills into a much larger hallway. Nearly five people could fit shoulder to shoulder.
Every so often, there is a door handle along the wall.
Moving on deeper into the hidden world I spy an intersection that goes off to the left and right.
No cobwebs rest in the tall rafters above me.
These sections are used.
Likely used often.
Hushed voices move in my direction from the left. Lunging for the nearest doorway, I crack the door open and peak out into a main hallway. With the voices coming ever closer, I leave the servant staircase, quietly but quickly.
The halls are gaudy. Marble walls, floors and ceilings covered in a solid piece of mirror.
The dimensions are massive. The size of more than five humans tall. Dad used to tell me stories of gods in their divine forms being titanic in height. Towering over mortals like the most ancient of trees.
Then again, I doubt he’d know for certain. No mortal truly knows though because no human could survive seeing them in that form.
Perhaps some of what’s been said about the Olympians isn’t completely out of touch rumors. I shudder at the thought of Apollo storming through the walls at a height which fits the doorway.
Tapestries and statues dot the halls, adding to the already over the top opulent decorations. Clanking of armor slowly became louder and louder. I darted behind an alcove of a statue, whose pedestal alone was half of my height. Crouching behind, I sat as silent as I could muster.
Trudging slowly past the decrepit statue, I hear the guards over my hushed silence.
Peeking out from the side, I observe a man with a well-kept salt and pepper beard. His eyebrows on the other hand, remind me of the fuzziest of caterpillars that fell from trees during the summer.
Mr. Bushy Eyebrow”s voice brought me back into focus. “Did you hear about the mortal in the palace?” His voice is gruff.
“Yes,” replied the much younger guard. Though he appears to still be several years older than me. “I have heard that Apollo has prohibited most of the guards from coming in for several days.”
The older guard laughs loudly. “Apparently we’re well seasoned.”
“Speak for yourself. At least I don’t have a foot in the grave.” The younger guard jests at the older one.
I recoil, waiting for a fierce reply.
None came.
Instead, the older guard chuckled loudly. “Yeah, at least I don’t still have peach fuzz. You know, you must be at least an adult to become a guard.”
“Oi, you”re jealous of my youth and my full head of hair,” he says as he taps the bald bushy eyebrowed man on the head.
Biting my lower lip, I hold back laughter.
The conversation drops off as they turn down a hallway down the way.
Hurriedly, I stand.
Running down the hallway, I look from side to side.
Letting my feet carry me to where I think my destination lays positioned in the castle.
As I round one corner, a tall gate extends just below the giant doorway. Precisely cute to prevent the scraping of iron on stone. A testament to the craftsmanship of the entire palace.
Creaking the gate open, I slip inside. Pulling the door flush behind me.
The garden was cozy. Not as large or as opulent as I would’ve guessed from a palace as regal as Apollo’s home. But right now, I’m just happy to have grass and trees around me.
Kicking off my sandals, I let the green blades coil around my toes.
Finally, I feel a sense of relief for the first time since I was dragged to the land of the Olympians.
Bending over, I grasp my shoes in one hand as I wander along the grass.
Do I want to sit under a tree?
Maybe lie in some dirt?
Gods, it all sounded perfect.
Spying a pond, I grin.
That’s what I’m going to do first.
Sitting at the edge of the water, I watch the fish in their numerous sizes and colors as they swim in every direction.
The garden was not as silent as my room.
It was by no means loud but the whooshing of the trees to the various noises of the birds gave me an overwhelming feeling of comfort.
The comfortable silence of the garden with the chittering of small animals, the rustling leaves, and the sun kissing my skin take me elsewhere.
To a place where I”m free.
A place where I can choose when I want to sit outside for hours.
Stretching out on the perfectly manicured glass, I spent much of my initial time hypervigilant. Listening for the slightest of noise and watching for anyone who’d be less than pleased with me being outside of my prison.
After at least an hour in the garden, I came to the realization that the gardens aren”t frequently used nor even patrolled by the guards.
With my nerves settled, I finally feel I can relax.
Closing my eyes, I let myself drift off under the bright sun.
A stern voice clears his throat. “Who are you?”
Everything felt so perfect, until that too was shattered.
Yep. I probably had that one coming. Tempt fate with a kiss and she”ll deliver you a sucker punch instead.
I freeze.
Hardly daring to move, nonetheless I curse my lack of planning. I”m sitting in the most open space that the garden has to offer.
Maybe he is talking to someone else?
The posh man enters my line of sight. Obviously through with waiting on me. He appears as stern as his voice sounds. His voice is unwavering. “Excuse me, who are you and what are you doing here?” He repeats with a pretentious tone.
“Um… er… well…” I stammer. The man stared intently. His hair was heavily gelled. Making it look like a rock sharp enough to cut anyone who comes close. His beard is much the same.
“Intruder!” Wails the man as he lunges forward snatching my wrist. Pain shooting up my arm.
I shout as I struggle to pull my forearm free. “Ouch! No. Let me go!”
“Guards!” The man continues to shout, “Intruder! Intruder in the garden.”
Damn it.
Gripping my face, his fingers wrap around my jaw. Pulling me to look at him, the man sneers, “This is the Royal Garden. Only open to the royal family and the uppermost government officials. You, my dear, do not belong here. Which housekeeping matron is responsible for you?”
“I”m not a maid. Trust me, I wouldn’t be here in this castle on my own volition.” Grumbling, I kick the man in his shin. Not caring if he was some arrogant deity because he is such a prick. The man had it coming.
The man looked on unphased by my assault on his leg. Much to my chagrin.
“The man drawls, “Come along.” He pulls me toward the gate. The ornately dressed man is distinctly different from the guards. His pompous attitude makes me cringe.
Fine. Your shin didn’t faze you, but I know somewhere that will.
Before I had even thought through my actions, I knee him in the crotch. Now had only my escape been better, it would have been quite enjoyable, but two guards were attacking me moments after the rude man fell to his knees.
Deep chuckles echo from behind me. I duck around, still caught in the grasp of the guards, to look behind me at the source of the noise. “Damn Witch!”
I roll my eyes at the pompous man who is curled up on the grass. Rocking himself forward and backward from the pain.
A shit eating grin crests my face.
Serves him right for grappling me.
From behind, two men throw me to the ground. I see their guard uniforms only slightly before they pressed my face firmly into the grass.
Gaia, when I said I wanted to lie in dirt, this isn’t what I meant.
“I swear to Hades himself that I”ll make your lives a living hell if you don’t release me this instant,” I shout to them.
A cough echoed through the courtyard. Forcing my head upwards, I strain to see the source of the noise.
Half of me was almost expecting Apollo to be standing there with his stupid crooked grin and smug look.
But that wasn’t the case.
Instead, there stands a middle-aged man. If he were in the mortal world, I would have guessed that he’d be in his sixties.
How old he is in this world, I don’t know. He is attractive enough I suppose though I have yet to see an ugly god. He is a large man, with a barrel chest. The god gives me the impression that he smiles a lot and laughs often. Probably with the loudest boisterous laughs that I have ever seen. His long smoke colored beard is ornamented with jewelry.
Like the sun, he exudes a personable and pleasant demeanor. Those eyes fell on me, analyzing with a cool calculating stare. Oddly familiar eyes. For a single second, I wonder if being thrown in jail would be better than being around the Lord of Caelum.
Holding my breath, I freeze.
Hoping that he doesn’t know who I am and that I shouldn’t be here.
But no such luck.
“Aww… So, you must be the mortal selected by my nephew.” Raising a bushy eyebrow, he chuckles as he looks at the garden around him.
Detected