Ch.2: "Trouble in Paradise" / Volcanic Paradise Island Arcadia

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell exclaims over Vin's work with animals, telling him about how she supported and protected herself using her abilities with animals for the 6 months between leaving the villa and joining up with Leto.

The great thing about working with animals is, it's really a job you can do just about anywhere. If he wanted to, he could even buy a horse, train it while we're on the road, and sell it. And in terms of building a future together, we could definitely work with each other.

She tells him, "Just so you know, I'm currently a bounty hunter, though I still use my animal charming ability, like you saw up on the volcano. Leto and I travel around a lot hunting down bad guys and monsters and helping people out along the way." She gives him a warm smile.

About that time the wedding begins, and she finds herself beaming as the three couples exchange vows. But somehow, despite what she whispered to Vin upon his arrival at Plambot Mansion, she's glad to not be getting married today. I still think he's the one, but it's just too soon.

After the ceremony, Kell mingles with the guests, stopping to wish each of the couples many happy years together, praise Fabian's dresses, chat with Steph and Shelly about how their honeymoon is going, cheer Chatty Cathy as she dances on the piano keys, playfully ask Phoebe and Sapphire when they're going to tie the knot, and help Debbie to get better acoustics for her violin playing by asking Heph to clear off some space on the top of a bookcase for Debbie to stand on.

When she sees Desma's creation of a triple-layer chocolate volcano cake with a centerpiece of 3 tiny couples blissfully holding hands with their backs turned on an altar with a dead frosting demon with tiny X's for eyes on it and orange flavored jelly flowing artistically down one side and an orange phoenix peeking around the non-lava'd side of the middle layer, she gives her friend two thumbs up. "How you did that with no more notice than you had, I'll never know, but you, my friend, have a gift."

She dances several dances with her friends, dancing at least once with Buck, Wilbur, Heph, Sonja, Leto, Nissa, Hess, Bridgette, Desma, and even once with Fabian and the Doc. But always she comes back to dance with Vin. And when the first slow song plays, she pointedly cuts in on Hanna, though with a smile. "You can have the next dance with him," she assures her.

As she nestles up close to him, she turns her face up to his and asks with a smile, "So tell me, Vin Cobbler...ever have a desire to see the world?"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

"At your side, yes," Vin replies.

As the ceremony comes to a close, Heph tells the three couples there are private cabins on Prude Beach reserved for them. They bid everyone goodbye and wish Vin and Kell a bright future.

As everyone is outside seeing the newlyweds off, the moon is directly above, its silver radiance illuminating the couples' beachside walk to their honeymoon homes.

There is a thud. Kell turns sharply toward Leto. She is looking straight down at a quivering arrow between her feet. There is a note tied to it.

Dear Huntress,

Stay out of the sun. Travel underground or at night. Meet me in Sardis.

~Artemis

 

[Ireth]

Leto

Leto jumps as an arrow zips down to land between her feet, and reads the note with raised eyebrows. She lets out her breath in a low whistle. "Things are just getting more and more interesting."

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

"Sounds pretty intriguing," Kell says. "But don't we still have to pick up the bounty we earned from the lava demon and the chief?"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Buck asks Kell, "We will take care of business, seeing how the party is over. The question is, how are you going to split the bounty?"

Vin approaches Kell. "I'm going to insist that the money goes to you and the five Barbierian women. You saved my friends from being sacrificed, and you saved me. We thought the ceremony would prevent the volcano from erupting, and that much was true... but we didn't know it was our blood that would stop the demon. We thought we were proving our virtue to a god."

Helix thinks to Kell, From what you said about the chief's faceless corpse, I guess he was duped by the demon, too. The demon's face looked like the chief's mask, only way bigger, and all its teeth were like the knife. Maybe the chief was the demon, or the flesh from his face grew into a body for the demon to take a physical form.

Buck seems to agree that a six-way split between Kell, Leto and the van Donks is fair based on Vin's explanation.

Heph says to Leto, "You understand what Artemis is warning you about, don't you?"

Aphrodite crosses her arms and glares at the moon. "She could have taken the time to write another sentence or two. It's not like she has to do any rowing. Her nymphs do all the hard labor." She smirks. "On her little boat for twelve straight hours, just her and half a dozen sweaty nymphs. How can she be a virgin goddess?"

 

[Ireth]

Leto

Leto nods in response to Heph. "Her brother Apollo is the god of the sun, isn't he?" She rolls up the note and tucks it into her purse, then looks thoughtfully at the arrow. Maybe she should keep that too, to prove she got the message. She tucks it into her quiver for safekeeping; there seems to be just enough room for it. She doesn't recall losing one of her arrows after buying herself up to sixty, but it doesn't matter all that much.

At Aphrodite's comment, she smiles. "The same way I can be a virgin when I spend most of my time lately with women, including nymphs and part-nymphs. Some people just don't want to have sex."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Heph says, "He's not a perfect shot like his sister, but the nature of her warning disturbs me. The warning is for you specifically, Leto. You only spoke to me about talking to Apollo. He can't possibly know that. I haven't even told Artemis I was planning to send you to her."

Aphrodite says to Leto, "Come closer, freckle face."

Leto senses she's going to get a nice warm hug, but the goddess won't force anything more than that.

 

[Ireth]

Leto

Leto looks at Heph and shivers a little. That is a good question; what does Apollo know? Why else would Artemis warn her, and only her?

She turns and walks over to Aphrodite, looking up at the goddess with a small smile.

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell silently grinds her teeth at Aphrodite's suggestion that Artemis couldn't be around sweaty nymphs and remain a virgin. She knows Aphrodite is the goddess of erotic love, but somehow the comment strikes her as cynical. And she doesn't understand why the goddess sounds so angry. She also thinks it's the kind of comment that creates an environment that makes nymphs think lusty behavior is acceptable. But she remains silent and hides a smile at Leto's matter-of-fact reply. Aphrodite definitely needs a reminder that not everyone sees intimacy the way she does!

Then she asks, "Is it possible that a spy overheard Leto talking about...talking to Apollo, was it?...and reported it to Artemis?"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Aphrodite draws Leto in, letting the huntress sink into her soft warmth. "You only desire to cuddle? I know some nymphs who would just adore you. If you're ever in Nyse tell me what you want, I'll give you some names. You'd want to clarify up front you're to remain a virgin."

Aphodite lets Leto rest her head on her shoulder. She rubs Leto's back. The feeling is comfortable. Maternal. Oddly familiar coming from a strange woman.

"Let me clarify something to you. Maybe Artemis is a virgin, but not Callisto. I mean she lost her virginity before Zeus got to her. Whatever Artemis and Callisto were doing, they had a good time, maybe better than intended. You see, I know Zeus' dirty little secret. Everyone knows he seduces women by making them want him—though forcing someone to desire you is not the same as fulfilling a desire. I could make you want me, Leto. Sexually. Or make you find me repulsive and make you yearn for a man. I would never. You would cease to be you if I forced desires upon you."

The goddess turns to face Kell.

"You fear Zeus will do that sort of thing to you. He can't. That's his big secret. He can never have a virgin other than his wife. Payback from Hera—her wedding gift to him after he forced himself on her, the Virgin Goddess of Marriage at the time. How it frustrated him when he couldn't have me when I was still pure! He couldn't get it up, and by the time I consummated my marriage he was too humiliated to approach me. He didn't care for me sharing this secret with Artemis and her nymphs. They would bathe together, hold each other, kiss… Artemis' way of having her fun and keeping her father away from her girls. But Artemis wanted to pleasure her favorite, and one night in the bath, she did. It lasted one second. Just long enough for Artemis to realize the danger she put her friend in."

The goddess runs her fingers through Leto's hair.

"Now I'm going to learn your secret, Leto. I'm using a spell I call Pillow Talk. It's a mind reading spell. Every Olympian has one, but mine is fun. I need to give in order to take, and you don't ask for much. Heph doesn't mind us hugging. If anything, he'll be in a very good mood for me after seeing us. I hope I'm not upsetting you with this admission. I mean this as a favor. The sun god doesn't go around raining arrows on people's heads unless you've incurred the wrath of his king. Or… Runa. Oh, isn't that interesting. Is that the barbarian word for 'secret' or something?"

Aphrodite releases Leto. Her playful persona has left her. Her breathing is irregular, and she's taking steps back from Leto.

"You have… powerful… oh! You don't know. No, of course you don't know. That's the whole point, isn't it? This memory could get you killed! You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you? Do you know the significance of this word, Runa? No more mind-reading. It's too dangerous. Tell me what the word Runa​ means to you."

 

[Ireth]

Leto

Leto takes a deep breath as Aphrodite hugs her, and tentatively embraces the goddess in return. She hasn't felt this sort of motherly affection from another since before she left Brynhild behind to travel south.

She listens closely to the words about Zeus, and bites her lip at the comment about what Artemis did to Callisto. Her eyes widen when Aphrodite mentions her name -- rather, the name Brynhild gave her -- and she nods slowly.

"I was given that name by my friend Brynhild, because... because I can't remember anything about my life before I found her. Except that wherever I had been was destroyed." Her breath hitches a little. "I don't know my real name, who my family is, if they're still alive... but they would have come looking for me if they were, wouldn't they?" She swallows and wipes at the tears that spring up in her eyes. "Maybe I left too soon... maybe if I'd stayed, they would have been able to find me."

She looks up at Aphrodite again. "Do you know who I am?"

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell tilts her head to listen. Aphrodite's words suggest that Leto has lost an important part of her memory, and this is the most she's ever heard about her friend's past. What must it be like to not remember an important part of who you are?

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Aphrodite nods, and though tears do not flow easily from her, she looks genuinely saddened as she replies, "But I can't tell you."

She looks at Kell, "It will get her killed. Artemis' warning—I know what Artemis knows. Oh, curse her for being a woman of few words! I don't know why she's implying Apollo knows. Why not tell Leto to stay out of thunderstorms?—or the water! If Apollo knows, don't Zeus and those loyal to him also know?"

Heph says, "It's clear to me Apollo isn't gonna have the talk I was hoping for. I was hoping with he and his twin on different sides, we could talk peace. Now I'm not so sure. Anyway, you ladies need to get to Sardis. Rest here tonight. There's an underground passage in the basement, and it leads to the Hearthland. I'll have Patti check to see if the cavern's still safe after that volcanic eruption. You can stay underground, and head from Ogygia to Sardis after dusk.

Aphrodite says, "You can always come to Nyse first. You could enjoy the baths at night, the spas by day, and… I do want to help you. Don't you think what Zeus can do to a woman is worse than getting shot in the head? I can teach you how to take complete control of your desires. Virgin or not, you would never fear Zeus tricking you into bed after a special session at the villa. I'd help you now, but it would take weeks without the Three Graces."


((Ending Ch.2 soon — choose your path: Sardis or Nyse.))

 

[Ireth]

Leto

Leto nods, trying not to show how upset she is, in a way that she can't put into words. She takes a deep breath and does her best to shove those thoughts away. right now she has to focus on the present and the future. Sardis or Nyse... which one would be better to visit first?

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Seeing that Leto is hurt, Aphrodite says, "You will find out—just not from me. Someone went through great lengths to protect you from your memory, and I have no right to reverse this effort."

 

[Ireth]

Leto

Leto nods and is silent. It's tempting to ask who will tell her of her past, but that too might be beyond Aphrodite's ability.

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell says, "I think it would be good to go into any battle involving immortals being as prepared as we can be. The van Donks will probably be heading toward Nyse, and if they are interested, we could perhaps continue traveling together. My vote would be to go to Nyse."

Plus, I could show Vin where I grew up and I'd just as soon get the conversation I need to have with Aphrodite over. And I have to admit, I'd like to hear what the van Donks learn about their mother.

She looks over at Vin. Vin's not heard about the battle between the Immortals yet. I wonder if he's thinking he's bitten off more than he can chew?

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Aphrodite approaches Kell and says, "Talk to Vivian when you arrive. She was going to reply to you via messenger bird, but since I'm here, I'll tell you myself: she appreciated your letter and has sent birds out telling others that you and Leto earned the right to carry a handbag of her design. I must spend the night with my husband. Afterwards, I'll travel by day and make sure the graces are ready for you by the time you arrive."

 

[tbgg]

Ch.2: "Trouble in Paradise" / Volcanic Paradise Island Arcadia

Kelleia

Kell raises her eyebrow at Aphrodite. She tells the goddess coolly, "Leto and I make decisions together. Vin, too, now that he's decided to join us. I was offering my thoughts, but since I haven't heard my companions' thoughts yet, I don't consider this decision to be made just yet."

She looks at Leto, then at Vin, "What do the two of you think?"

She fumes, 'THIS is why I left the villa. Aphrodite is SO good at finding ways to trample all over the feelings of others.'


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[Ireth]

Leto

Leto is too upset and distracted to think very straight right now. When she's able to cobble some thoughts together, she says, "If Artemis is expecting me to speak with her, I don't think we should keep her waiting. If not for the importance of us staying together, I'd say we split up; some go to Nyse and some to Sardis. But I know better."

Part of her just wants to be alone with her thoughts for a while. And another part really wants a hug.