ALRIGHT. Lo siento about the speed limit rant... be happy I didn't go off about gun control! XD I kind of just needed to rant about something I can explain away with math, though.
I was going through a few things, moral standards and what not, and I was getting kind of depressed. Probably why my writing was suffering so hard core. *note to self: do not put so much energy into other stuff when you should be writing a novel*
Oh yeah. My novel. I'm still doing that. Yep. I am so happy I did this Abs diet thing... it taught me that I CAN stick with something, even when it's difficult.
And man has this been difficult. XD
But I've been pushing through, and I am that much closer to my 2 week goal... I'm actually only 3K away from the 25K marker.
That's ALMOST HALF WAY, people!
And now that a lot of the boring explanation stuff is out of the way, I can move onto part 3 and the more fun stuff (and the heartbreaking stuff)
SPEAKING of heartbreaking stuffs, I have another excerpt for those that care. What I've failed to do for the past two excerpts is set them up, so I'll do that for this one.
*clears throat*
This excerpt is from part 2. At this point, Vivian and Eric are pretty good friends, and Eric has just confided in Vivian, letting her in on his biggest secret. This secret leaves Vivian with some confusion and a few questions, which spur her on to the most intense and realistic dream she's had to date. That is where we'll start off.
“You won’t get away with this,” the young woman said. I held back, watching. What was she doing? This wasn’t the plan. She couldn’t possibly have hoped to stop Hera on her own. Even with my help, success was minimal at best.
“How terribly cliché,” Aphrodite said, rolling her eyes. “Run along now, you’re trying my patience.”
“Does Hera have any idea what effect this is going to have on everyone? On Earth?”
“You think Hera cares about Zeus’ pathetic little playground? If Earth happens to crumble in her pursuit of Olympus’ throne, then so be it. One less place for her adulteress husband to gallivant.”
“And the people?”
“What about them?” Aphrodite turned with a fierceness the likes of which I’ve never seen. “They’re your people, remember? Not mine.”
“Eros won’t stand for this.” She stood up straighter, an air of pride about her. “And my people are a strong people… they won’t go so quietly.”
“They’ll go how we wish them to go,” Aphrodite said, anger building in her eyes. I wanted to cry out, tell her to be careful, but I did not wish to make my treachery known. I remained quiet… a decision I was soon to regret. “As for Eros, he needn’t know.”
“And when everything goes wrong… when Hera loses control of the realms, you expect me to what? Sit back silently? Not say a word?” Aphrodite closed the distance between them quickly, driving an object into her stomach as she did.
“Yes, Psyche,” she said, releasing the dagger that was now deep in her gut. “I expect you not to say a word.” I became aware of what happened as Psyche fell to her knees. “You stupid girl… did you really think I’d welcome you with open arms after how you insulted me?” Psyche gripped the end of the blade in her stomach and looked up at Aphrodite, fear and disbelief battling on her face. “That I’d pass up any excuse to rid myself of you?”
“NO!” I felt myself yell. I left the comfort of my hiding spot and ran quickly to Psyche’s side. Of course… she was not a goddess or even a true resident of Olympus. She was only a human, and a dagger was all it took.
I’ll never forget the color. I had seen blood before, but something about hers stood out. It was somehow more crimson than what I’d seen, perhaps due to the contrast of her white dress. Aphrodite threw her head back and let loose with a wicked cackle. I looked up at her, a strange feeling overtaking me. I had never seen her act in such a way, snap so quickly. Perhaps that was the madness Hera invoked, perhaps it was how she had always been. But standing in front of me was not the beautiful goddess of love I once knew, but something darker. Her beauty had lost its power, and I finally saw her for what she was. Hera had darkened her heart. It was clear to me that Aphrodite had been completely lost to us, and in order to restore what Olympus was, I would first have to rid it of her.
“Psyche?” I turned in time to see Eros run toward her, before Ares quickly restrained him. “PSYCHE!” He fought against Ares as much as he could and, for a while, it seemed he might win the battle. The god was too strong, however, and he had to settle for voicing his grief. Our eyes locked for a moment, only long enough for me to tell him she was gone, before he let loose with the most painful howl I had ever heard – from god or human – in the length of my existence.
“He knows,” a voice said. “Your son is going to be a problem now.” We all turned in time to see her walk up, crossing her arms. Unlike Aphrodite, Hera had been less than ideal in my eyes for centuries. She was once the beautiful wife of Zeus but, after the incident with Io, had lost her beauty.
“No!” Aphrodite turned to her quickly, falling to her knees and clasping her hands. “Please, Hera, no… let him live. Put him somewhere he can never cause any problems, but let him live, I beg of you!”
“What have you done? What have you done?” Eros continued to fight Ares, regardless of the fact that he had no chance of breaking free. I could do nothing but hold her body in my arms. I had only known Psyche for a short while, but I had never had anything against her. She seemed to be a sweet girl, and had to be made of something special, if she managed to steal the heart of Aphrodite’s son.
“It is clear to me that neither of you places any value on the inhabitants of Earth, or their lives.” Hera looked at me, a smug smile fixed to her face.
“I never did understand your strange fascination with them… all they do is scuttle about that landscape like bugs, infesting its every corner. If I do not cause their destruction, something else will.” She laughed again. “You know them better than any… if they so manage to live long enough to do so, they will simply destroy themselves.” I remained silent. Part of me knew her to be correct… the inhabitants of earth were a violent race, but I believed there was good in them. I wanted them to have the chance to decide for themselves if they would live or die. Still, I knew none of that mattered to Hera. She had made up her mind. She wanted Olympus and would stop at nothing to have it. Instead, I turned my attention to Aphrodite. She remained in front of Hera, hands clasped and begging. I could not understand why, if she loved her son enough to keep him alive, she would love him enough to not kill the woman he loved. Yet there she was, frantically begging Hera to spare him. It didn’t make sense.
“What if we locked them up with the Titans?” Ares finally asked, and Aphrodite threw him a look of gratitude. “They wouldn’t be able to cause any more trouble in there.”
“Yes, yes!” Aphrodite agreed, standing to her feet. “And the Titans wouldn’t dare try to kill them… they’d fear Ze---your wrath, great Hera.”
“I don’t think locking them up will be necessary,” Hera said. “Come on Athena, you know I’m right. You know I’m going to succeed… whose side do you want to be on when this goes down?” I stared at her, conflicted. I couldn’t decide what would be better, standing against Hera, or joining her to make sure Earth was kept safe. Both choices were less than desirable. In the end, Eros made my choice for me.
“I will stop at nothing to see that Hades rules your wretched soul in the days to come,” he spat, and Aphrodite sent him a glare.
“You’d do well to mind your tongue!” She snapped, but he was unwilling to back down. He stared at his mother, nothing but hatred backing his gaze. She almost recoiled from it, probably would have had Ares not had hold of him.
“I agree with the young god,” I finally said. “Your soul shall bath in the river Styx, or so shall mine.”
“A foolish decision,” Hera said. “But your decision none the less. Very well, Ares, take care of them. Be sure the Titans know that this one is the daughter of Zeus.” I was not fond of the look in her eyes.
That was when she locked us away in the darkness. Eros and I, the last hope Olympus had, locked away with the most vile creatures god or goddess had ever laid eyes on. She banished them that night and, despite the circumstances, I had to admit… watching them fall to Earth was somehow captivating. Watching them all fall in their sleep, pushing through the atmosphere… it was beautiful. Even Eros, amidst his heartbreak, watched in awe.
“The poor bastards,” he finally said, his voice devoid of all emotion. “I suspect they’re sitting back in their pitiful lives, captivated by this as we are. They’ll explain it away, they always do. They’ll call it one of their miracles, but they have no idea what it is. They have no clue what’s really happening, or what they’re in for. It could be for the best, though. Their ignorance could blind them to their impending doom until it’s too late.” It was then that I wished I had included him in our plan. He grasped the situation far better than Psyche ever did, and it was possible that his involvement could have prevented her death. “We’re the ones with the worse deal, we’re stuck here. Stuck watching… and even these cowards won’t attempt to put an end to us.” I could hear the angry objections from the darkness, but he was right. They would not touch us. Whether they feared Hera or Aphrodite, or even simply feared us, I wasn’t sure… but they feared something. And thus, Eros had spoken truth. We were stuck watching for eternity, as Hera destroyed what we valued most.
“We could get out,” I tried, but he let out a cold laugh.
“I fear wisdom has left you in your hour of greatest need, Athena.” I did not press it any further. It was clear to me that he not only grasped the situation before us, but knew what it meant for everyone involved.
“I am sorry about Psyche,” I tried, but he shook his head.
“Psyche did what her heart told her was right. It has always been her one and only flaw.” There were light traces of a smile on his face, and she wondered if that was what love did. She was slightly envious of his ability to smile through his pain, but such emotions were below her and she paid it little mind. “Though it seems she may have forgotten that, while she did not age in Olympus, she was still mortal.” He rubbed his chest with his hand, closing his eyes and shaking his head. “I feel somehow empty. Part of me wishes we had been locked away with creatures that had spines,” he spat into the darkness. Again, they objected angrily, spitting and howling at the insult.
“Do something about it then!” I shot back. “If you no longer wish to hear his insults, than silence him or be silent!”
“We do not wish to silence either of you,” a voice said, and I was surprised by the sophisticated nature of it. “Especially not you, Athena.” The spitting and howling died off, as if the voice speaking was one of authority. “I wonder,” he said. “Do you know who you are?”
“I am Athena, daughter of Zeus, goddess of—”
“And who?” I blinked, unsure of what he had asked.
“What?”
“Who is your mother?”
“My… my mother?” I thought for a while. I had never wondered who my mother was – having been birthed into adulthood, I had never had any need for one – but once the question was posed, it began to bother me.
“You are the daughter of the lovely Metis, and thus,” he said, stepping into the small light that was provided, “my granddaughter.”
DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!
Okay so I can't tell you who she is talking to, but OMG ATHENA HAS TITAN BLOOD WHAT?
I think that's seriously the coolest thing about this... Greek mythology has a few things that are well known, and fewer things that have SO MUCH room for interpretation. It's sooo much fun.
Athena meeting her grandfather, for instance, was not planned, but it works out so much better with how the story flows. And honestly, writing out her... geneology(?) was pretty fun. Plus, I like being able to give her a little more depth with the whole she never knew her mother thing. Not pathetically so, of course, but it still adds to the character, imo.
But we aren't here for my opinion, we're here for YOURS! Tell me what you think! Hope you enjoyed the excerpt!
0 comments:
Post a Comment