My eyes are red and puffy after hours of crying from my interaction with Eros. The incident keeps replaying in my head, making me feel sick. I still don’t understand how my powers went out of control. When I look into someone’s past, I always ask permission. It establishes trust and I don’t want to see something I am not meant to see.
I take a shaky breath and stand up from the bench in front of the OA. I couldn’t even bring myself up to my room, I was so upset about what happened. The only way I would feel better would be to apologize to him. So, I walk in the direction I last saw him.
The sun has almost finished setting in the sky and I still can’t find him. I sigh, turning to head back to the OA. I would just have to find him tomorrow and explain myself then.
Suddenly, a hand reaches out and grabs my wrists. It pulls me into the darkness of the alley. I try to scream, but the person covers my mouth and holds me tightly against them. The person continues to drag me further back until I can’t see the street light anymore. I am thrown to the pavement and I take the chance to look up at my attacker. It is an older man with dark hair. He is wearing black pants and a black hoodie. The scene would have been scary for a mortal, but luckily I have my…dagger. I frantically search my pockets looking for my dagger, but I can’t find it.
“What is a girl like you doing out at this late hour?” the man smirks, stepping closer to me. He picks me up by my arm and I smell his breath. He smells like onions and garlic. I hold my breath, trying not to barf.
Suddenly, the man is ripped away from me and I see Eros, who has him now pinned up against the wall.
“Who the fuck are you?!” Eros growls. “Are you the one who has been following her?”
“I may have seen her walk by a few times. Who wouldn’t want to say hello to that beautiful creature,” the man chuckles, holding onto Eros’ arms.
“That beautiful creature is the goddess of history.”
“And I am the King of France,” the man chokes up a laugh.
“I almost pity your naivete, but let me introduce myself. I’m Eros, son of the God of War, and to say you crossed the wrong woman is an understatement.”
Eros hurls the man farther down the alleyway. He lands in a pile of trash and I hold my breath.
“Are you the one who’s been following her?” Eros asks him.
The man’s eyes widen and he tries to scramble onto his feet.
“Yes. Yes, I have been,” the man admits. Eros closes the distance between himself and the man in a blur, pulling out his bow and arrows. I turn my head, not wanting to watch.
“Why?” I hear Eros ask.
“W-who wouldn’t want to follow a p-pretty t-thing like that? I mean look at her. All I wanted was to do was talk,” the man stutters. I hear something hit a trash bag.
“Did you ask to meet her?”
“N-no. N-no! I was going to ask her today. See if she wanted to get dinner sometime.”
I hear something hit the trash bag again and I open my eyes to look. Two arrows were sticking out of the trash bags, close enough to the man’s head. I stand up and hide behind Eros.
“You will forget you ever saw her, should you pass her on the street, you will go elsewhere. If you so much as breathe in her direction, my next arrow won’t miss. Is that understood?”
The man nods anxiously. “Of course. I will not look at her again.”
“Now run, before I show you how much of my father I inherited,” Eros says. The man runs off and I watch as Eros puts his bow and arrows away. The arrows in the trash bag magically float their way back to him.
“Thanks…” I say letting out a shaky breath.
“Are you alright?” he asks me. I roll up my sleeves to look at my arms. Purple bruises have formed on my upper arm from when Eros grabbed me earlier. Other than that, I see nothing.
“I-I think so. I don’t see any damage from him.” I say, looking up at him. He looks down at me and picks me up in his arms without saying a word.
The walk home is silent. I can’t help but feel anxious the entire way. Finally, we reach my floor and I unlock the door.
“I’m so fucking sorry. This is all my fault,” he breaks the silence.
I tilt my head in confusion. I was definitely not expecting him to apologize. After all, I was the one who couldn’t control my powers in the first place.
“How is it your fault? If I was able to control myself I wouldn’t have…” I don’t finish my thought. He places me down on the couch and kneels by my side.
“Fuck, you mean it really was on accident?” He clears his throat lightly. “Earlier, I mean.”
“Yes, I always ask permission first before looking into someone’s past. I don’t know what happened back there.”
“I…I shouldn’t have left you alone, Aren. I’m so sorry.” He sighs. “Did you recognize him?”
“No. I didn’t.” I take a deep breath. “I don’t think he is the person from my letters, either.”
“What?!” He flinches back. “You think that was just some random person assaulting you?”
“Most likely.” I nod.
“Fuck! Alright, you are not staying here.”
“What do you mean?” I ask him.
“They know where you live, you’re going to stay with your sister.” He stands up. “Get what you need.”
“I think I will be okay, Eros. You scared him. I don’t think he will come back anytime soon.” I stand up as well.
“This is not a discussion, get your things,” he warns.
My mouth opens to speak, but I decide against it. I have seen him mad twice today and I don’t think a third time would be the greatest idea. I rush into the other room and grab a bag, filling it with my things. My fox, Duck, is sitting in the corner of my room. I clap my hands together and he comes running up to me, jumping into my arms.
“We are going to go somewhere else for a bit, little one,” I tell Duck. He nibbles my fingers as I return to the room I left Eros in.
“I am ready,” I tell him as he hangs up the phone.
He takes my arm tightly and teleports us to Urania’s place. My head feels a little dizzy after teleporting, so it takes a few seconds to focus. Once I feel less dizzy, I look around and notice that she isn’t home.
“I just wanted to say thank you,” I say.
“Thank you?” He glances at me. “It’s my fault you were attacked.”
“And it was my fault that I couldn’t control my powers and I saw your past…”
Eros looks around.
“Please don’t tell anyone. No one knows, not even Din,” he pleads.
“I won’t and if you need someone to talk to…” I pause. “I am always around.”
A small smile appears on his lips. “So you can see everything, huh?”
“Yeah. I can when I look into someone’s eyes.”
“Then…then do you mind if I ask you something?” His eyes go stark for a moment.
“What is it?” I nod, curious.
“Is there something I could have done differently? To…to make her love me?” He looks down at the floor.
I am taken back by the question. I am not good at handling my emotions, let alone other people’s feelings.
“I am no expert on love. From what I saw, you were good to her. I wish I could help you see how wonderful you were to her. You deserve someone who will love you as much as you love them.”
He looks up at me, our eyes connecting. “I shouldn’t have asked, it was a long time ago. I don’t suppose you could forget I asked?”
“Already forgotten and your secret is safe with me,” I smile at him reassuringly.
He presses his forehead against mine for a moment. The action turning my cheeks red.
“I’m going to stay until Shadow comes home. I really don’t think you should be alone right now.”
“Thank you,” I say. “I would prefer someone to stay with me until she comes home.”
We spent the next few hours talking about things. Once we get the message from Urania that she was almost home, we say our goodbyes. Instantly after he left, I could tell something was off. My heart is beating a little too quickly and it feels like butterflies are fluttering in my stomach. I curse at myself. Bloody heart.
Clio is portrayed by Alice Callisto. Alice Callisto is a pen-name she goes by to share her fiction writing with the world. Callisto is also a streamer who loves to play games like Skyrim to Call of Duty. She is a big fan of ancient history and enjoys learning new things. Callisto has been writing since the age of sixteen on various different platforms, but only started taking it seriously recently. She is currently working on a project for #NaNoWriMo which involves dragons. Follow her on Twitch and Twitter to make her day.
- Forgotten Gods: Broken Glass - June 30, 2021
- Forgotten Gods: Something’s Not Right - June 13, 2021
- Forgotten Gods: The Heist - May 21, 2021