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It was a humid evening. The golden chariot raced toward the edge of the Earth. The dense foliage kept the heat of the day close to the ground, and all who dwelt there. Beatriz sheathed her sword as she wiped the sweat from her brow. As much as she hated stoping her training for anything, she agreed with one of her sisters that it was indeed getting late. A hot bath wouldn't be so bad either. She began along the path to their village behind her sisters.
With a raised eyebrow, she unsheathed her sword and turned around. He was leaning against a tree with his arms folded across his chest. His raven-colored hair was shorter than she'd remembered, but his boots, black leather pants, and vest, open to show his generous muscle definition, was the same. He had a smile forming at the sides of his mouth. "Stay calm, stay focused," Beatriz reminded herself as her vibrant green eyes came to meet his dark brown ones.
Ares approached and pushed her weapon away with his hand. "I think you can put that away now," he told her. He knew, of course, what she was thinking. That is what made this so much fun for him.
Trying to be as cool as possible she replied, "What are you doing here, Ares?"
With a mock look of hurt on his face he said, "Oh my dear Beatriz. Must I have a reason for everything?"
She trained her sword on him again and smiled coyly. "Yes, you do."
He always thought she had the most beautiful eyes. In the heat of battle they sparkled with such passion, such fire. When he did not reply, she addressed him. "What do you want from me?"
"Want my dear?" Ares said, while circling around her like a pack of hungry wolves. "Why nothing more than...you," he stated as he came to face her again.
She laughed out loud at him. He was always so terribly melodramatic. "Seriously though, Ares, what's all this about?"
He was becoming rather impatient with her questions and being one to never mince words said, "I've seen you work. You're good. Very good. I want you on my side. Come with me and join my army."
Then she understood. How could she overlook the fact he always was looking out for his best interest. It never had anything to do with her in the first place. Disgusted she turned away from him and took a step in the direction of camp. Furious now, Ares hissed at her, "We're not done with this." And in a flash, he was gone. She huffed angrily back at him and continued on her way.
Back at the camp, the Amazon sisters were preparing dinner. The sky was now black and fires roared near all of the set tables. Beatriz didn't feel like eating at the moment, so she went into her hut and fell down upon her mattress thinking about what had just transpired.
She knew her sisters would not be happy to discover she was ever in the company of Ares. He was not particularly a friend of the Amazons. He'd tried other times to infiltrate their ranks and have them join in his battles. They didn't fight just to fight though, they only went into battle when innocent lives were in danger and they could not defend themselves. 'Curious,' she thought to herself, 'it's been quite awhile since he's tried any of his tricks. I wonder why he's so anxious just now...'
Hypnos let the soothing sensation of sleep move all through her tired body. She sighed heavily and began to dream. She dreamed she was on a grassy hill. The wind was blowing hard making the long grass look like waves on the sea. Her hair was blowing in front of her eyes so she quickly removed the distraction from her line of view.
She looked up into the blue sky which was quickly turning a dark grey. Storm clouds were creeping into view. The sound of a crow broke through the rustling of the grass. Another large bird approached the crow hovering on the updraft. The large bird made a hoot and dove at the crow. They fought back and forth making horrible screeching noises when they fell to the ground at her feet. The crow was pecking at the lifeless owl as she stared in amazement.
Beatriz turned quickly to see all of her sisters dressed in their warrior garb. They were going into battle. She followed their lead and quickly drew her sword progressing over the hill. There appeared on the other hill a massive army dressed all in green on horseback.
The Amazons were at the foot of the next hill when she began to question herself. This was not a good technical move. It was always better to have the high ground. Also, the other warriors were on horseback, and well outnumbered the Amazons.
She raced to the front and cried out to the queen but no sound emanated. She tried desperately to get anyone's attention to tell them there had to be a better way to win this battle, but to no avail. Their minds were in a state of war. Just then, the wind picked up even more and carried her with it. She flew high above her sisters, above the ensuing battle. She struggled to break free from the force that was carrying her upward but she remained suspended in air.
The only thing she was able to do was watch the battle now in progress. One by one her sisters were slaughtered. As she witnessed, there were just too many in the other army. Her heart ached for them as she tried to call out. After everyone was lost to the green clad knights, everything became black and very calm.
She looked around and saw nothing but vast darkness. A feeling of impending danger began to creep into the back of her mind. She felt for her sword only to find it gone. Just then she heard an almost taunting voice say "Is this what you are looking for?" as her sword appeared before her eyes. As she reached for it, it withdrew, always out of reach. She tried three times to get it back but on the third time her vision was cleared from the dark nothingness that surrounded her.
Stand there in front of her, holding a sword to her throat was Ares, eyes as dark as the blackness that had just enfolded her. His face held no expression whatsoever. "Ares..." she hissed finding she was now in one of his stoic temples. Candle light revealed a large thrown and a crimson colored rug under their feet. She should have known this was perpetrated by him. He withdrew her sword and tossed it back to her, with a slight smile on his face. He then unsheathed his own.
She lunged at him fiercely. She knew she could never cause him any physical harm but wanted him to know there had to be some kind of reckoning for her dead sisters. The ones he'd murdered. Metal clanged against metal as she let out her frustration. Ares could see the venom she held for him as she pushed him back to the defensive.
Beatriz moved gracefully and intricately, as exhausting as it was. He knew she would never rest because this was a dream. She would not be damaging her body, but her spirit which he knew was much worse, especially for a warrior. This was just too cruel to do to her, even for Ares, which he then admitted to himself.
With a furrowed brow he stated "Alright, that's enough," as he let his sword fall to his side. She too lowered her weapon and took a step back with a look of frustration and confusion. "Since when has the god of war ever declined from a fight?" she asked breathlessly.
"Listen. None of you beloved sisters are dead. None of this is real. I was just trying to make a point," he began. "Well if there is a point, please feel free to come to it," she angrily commented.
Making sure his own anger was in check he continued, "My point was that you need to pick your battles more wisely. You know and I know your wisdom has always been your saving grace. You're letting your emotions take over where your logic should be. Athena gave you that gift when you were little, but you seem to have forgotten that lately."
"You know about that?" she said fully aware of her rage. "But Ares, I don't understand. I thought you always stood for exactly opposite of what you just told me. Logic over emotion? Why are you telling me this? Why me?"
"Because. Because I am just the opposite. Don't you see? We would make a good team. We could have the best of both worlds. With your wisdom in war and my instinct, think of the things we could accomplish. You knew even when you were young that war was an illogical state, but you still joined in the fighting. Why? Because you hoped to add some order to it. You wanted war that made sense. And the only war that makes sense is when the bad is destroyed and the innocence is spared, right? That is why I need you. You could save so many more virtuous lives working with me than you ever could in your little battles with your sisters. I'm asking for your help, but please don't take too long."
Just then Beatriz gasped and shot up out of her bed. She was awake. Breathing hard she swung her legs over the side, trying to shake off the haze. Her sisters were still making noises of preparation for dinner. She stepped outside and stretched a little. The sound of a crow cawing overhead made her stop and frown a little to herself. She had a lot of thinking to do.
Several moons passed as did many battles until Ares came to Beatriz again. It was a cool fall evening. She was sitting alone by the fire when she again sensed a presence. Looking through the flames she saw a tall dark figure approaching. With a jaded look, she returned her gaze to the hot embers. She wondered if that was a genuinely concerned look on his face or if it was just for show.
"Hello, Beatriz," Ares said while walking around to come and kneel next to her. He licked his lips and looked to the ground in contemplation before he continued. She waited for him while peering into the orange glow before her, having the feeling he did not come bearing good news.
With a sigh he started in, "I've come to warn you. Remember that dream you had about your sisters dying by the emerald army? Well, it's going to happen...and soon. It will occur the same way as it did in your vision unless this time you do something about it."
She looked at him hostily. "What could I do? I was forcibly removed from being able to help last time. Why is this any different?"
"You couldn't stop it because you needed to see what would have happened had you continued on with your sisters into battle. That army they fought against? That's Hera's army and they're approaching as we speak. You can't win this one alone though. I need an answer."
"Why would Hera be coming after my sisters? We're no threat to the queen of the gods!" Beatriz smiled a little, appreciating the irony.
"That's true, they're no threat to her. But you are. You have a gift that she doesn't want anyone to have. Surely you must know you can enter people's dreams. Talk to them, manipulate their ideas and thus change the future. Obviously she doesn't want that, so she's coming to kill you and your sisters, if necessary."
Her eyes sparkled with tears at his blunt words. She couldn't allow her sisters to die for her. But the alternative was going along with the god of war. How did she know she could trust him?
Ares apparently knew what she was feeling as he gently picked up her hand and placed it in his own. "I know this isn't easy for you, but you have got to trust me." She blinked hard trying to focus as she again looked into the blaze in front of her.
Sighing, she glanced to the form sitting next to her, her hand still in his. Truly torn she looked into his now patient brown eyes for an answer. His eyes held a look of sincerity and compassion, which she had never seen before from him. Finally she whispered, "Okay." In a flash of blue light they were gone.
Beatriz then became aware they were standing in a large stone room. As she quickly came to realize, it was one of Ares temples. "This will be your room," he stated. There were candles lit everywhere and several large windows with doors and deep red draperies hung from them. Across the room was a large tables and several plush chairs. She wondered who did his decorating. She supposed it was fitting for his audacious personality though. On a wall without a window was a large bed adorned with black silk sheets. At the sight of this, she looked at him.
"Oh. Right. My room is down the hall," he told her. "Now you get some rest. We've got a lot of work to do tomorrow. You've got to learn how to harness all of that energy of yours," and with that he was gone. She threw her cloak down on a nearby chair. Stretching out across the black silk she wondered where to go from here.
The sound of large doors opening to the bedroom chamber awoke Beatriz. She reached for her weapon as she suspiciously watched two women dressed in flowing black gowns enter the room. They were quick to tell her they were present to wait on her. She insisted she didn't need any help, but they said Ares insisted otherwise.
After having bathed and massaged in perfumed oils, they draped upon her beautiful violet fabrics and was sent on her way to meet with the god of war. She felt positively ridiculous standing in the large cold room waiting for him to return. Never in her life had she been treated this way. Some called it luxury, she called it being herded like cattle. Looking down she thought to herself being dressed as a Greek was not so bad really. The material was rather a nice color. It was certainly a change from her war apparel anyway.
Ares materialized before her and a sudden impulse ran through her mind. She wondered if he liked what he saw. She scolded herself for thinking that way. Since when did she feel like she needed his approval? Still she could not banish the thought from her mind, as much as she tried. Feeling self-conscious, she shot him a glare and said, "What are you looking at?"
With an expressionless face she could not read he said, "Nothing. Are you ready to go to work now?"
Before she could answer, he had taken them to a little village still in slumber. Sensing her protest, he answered, "This is your practice ground. Here is were you're going to figure out how to use your powers." Making a motion for her to enter one of the homes, she shook her head feeling apprehensive. He rolled his eyes and zapped her into a little room with a child sleeping in a bed.
Having never really been around children, even when she was young, she had no interest in them and generally saw them as disagreeable. Ares was surprised to see Beatriz crinkle up her nose at the sight of the little boy. "So what exactly am I supposed to do here?" she inquired annoyed.
"I thought you knew," he answered but seeing she just wasn't getting it he continued. "You have to focus. Close your eyes. Now focus on the boy and what he's thinking right now. Do you hear it?" She looked at him skeptically. How was she supposed to actually hear the sleeping boy? "You have to try harder," he said trying to sound as patient as possible.
She once again closed her eyes and he touched her hand to pull her closer to the sleeping child. Violently she jerked her hand away from his own and took several steps back. She hissed at him, "Don't you ever touch me." In a flash they were back outside so not to disturb the boy.
"Now you listen to me," he berated, "I don't know who or what you think you are, but don't you ever talk back to me. I don't need you. I have hundreds of other mortals I could be spending my time with and enjoying it more so unless you want your sisters dead in a few days, you will do what I tell you to do."
Wounded and resentful, she knew she should have said nothing more, but she could not help herself. Stepping closer, she shot back at him, "You do need me. You wouldn't be doing any of this out of the kindness of your heart. We both know that somehow this has all got to benefit you. And furthermore, you may think that you may rule over me, but never will you own me."
Irritated by her tirade he responded, "Stop being so dramatic. You're so busy defending yourself from nonexistent contenders that you're missing the picture. That little boy you saw up there is going to die tomorrow. Now, you can either stand here and yell your nonsensical ravings to anyone that will listen, because I certainly will not anymore, or you can save his life. Your choice."
Beatriz was bitter he'd won the argument, but knew he'd gotten the best of her. She'd have to figure out how to use whatever this thing was he said she had. She nodded and they returned to the room.
Standing over the boy, still undecided as to how she was supposed to accomplish this feat, Ares came close again. As much as she hatted letting him be in control, she allowed him to stand next to her and hold her hand above the little one. She felt as if she was overstepping her boundaries by actually entering peoples dreams without their permission, but she decided she really had no choice at that point.
Closing her eyes, she had the sensation she was floating. Not so much flying as she was just weightless. Everything was very dark and still. She felt an unusual ease and peacefulness. Just then there was a flash of light and she saw the little blonde boy playing with a frog in the forest. She somehow knew he had to be inside his dream. She saw him slip and begin to fall into the stream where he'd been playing when she quickly ran to his aid and scooped him up and placed him back on the bank.
"You shouldn't go near the water by your self, okay? It's not safe," she said to the attentive boy. He nodded and skipped away through the woods. In a flash she was aware of standing in his room again. "We will see how well you did soon," said Ares expressionlessly.
Later in the day, he took Beatriz to the wooded area she'd seen in the dream. Quietly they stood behind a tree waiting for the boy to emerge. Beatriz wondered why this was necessary. If he was going to take her to the boy so she could have helped him right then when he needed it, why did she have to enter his dream? When the boy appeared, Ares shook his head in warning against going to help him, so she waited. The boy approached the water with his pet in hand, then all of a sudden saw the stream, yelled, and ran of in the direction he'd come. Still somewhat puzzled by the boy's response, she turned Ares' way. "Not too bad for a first try, but you're going to need some practice," said Ares dryly.
Beatriz wondered to herself why such a dull compliment as that made her feel a little better about her situation. She decided that if he didn't like her, at least he somewhat would respect her. And if she got nothing else from him, she would cling on to that for all it was worth.
In the deeply frigid air of that next winter, a figure clad in a dark orange hooded robe appeared before Ares' temple in the south. Solemnly, the form moved to the entrance and saw a flock formed at the door. The sorrowful eyes of the traveler met with the lusty, vengeful eyes of the women in discord with one another before the door. Scratching and screaming at each other, they watched as the entity had no trouble entering the doors they had so fervently tried to gain access to in the past.
Striding towards the main thrown room, the robed being was stopped by two of Ares' warlords dressed in armor. "And what do you think you're doing here?" one of the warlords asked, smiling to the other arrogantly. From the downcast hooded form came quietly, "You know what I am doing here."
"Yes, well, maybe today I don't feel like letting you go for a visit," replied the other as they both drew out their swords.
"Yes, well, maybe it isn't your decision to make," came the hushed, deadly voice of Ares as he pushed open the thrown room doors behind them.
"Come on now Ares, we didn't mean anything by it," said the warlord quickly. "I seriously doubt that," replied Ares as he motioned for the robed figure to come in. Swiftly the form came to stand beside him as he shut the doors on the feeble-minded two who claimed to be in Ares' camp.
Once the doors were secured, she pushed back the hood and took a deep sigh of relief. As odd as it still sounded to her, she was glad to be home again from her long journey. "Listen, Beatriz, I'm sorry about that. There's not half a brain between them. You have my permission to take them both down next time," Ares said lightly in an attempt to elevate her mood. With downcast eyes and a nod from her, he continued. "Did you complete your mission then?"
"Yes," she answered promptly. "King Hemron did not send his army into the western quarter. I did have some difficulty though. Not with his warriors but with him. They'd follow anybody's word if they thought it'd keep them alive. I dreamed to the king the story of how his entire kingdom would be overthrown had he sent them west, but somehow he did not care. He's young and power hungry and didn't mind how many men he had to kill first to take the territory. I eventually showed him that his kingdom would be great one day, but he needed an army to defend it, not pick fights and get everyone dead."
"That's my girl," said Ares with a smile, pleased with her positive report. He returned to his thrown, stroking his chin in contemplation. "This will work out rather nicely," he said to himself.
Beatriz stood there staring at the large stone bricks that formed the floor. She had neither the will nor the desire to do anything else but just be. Ares returned from his stupor of thought to see her standing rather oddly in the middle of the hall quietly. "What's the matter? You're usually a whole lot more...enthusiastic than this," he asked.
Beckoning to her softly, she approached him, still withdrawn. "I'm tired, Ares," she started. "Well we can fix that, I'll get somebody to take you to your room," he said standing.
"No that's not what I mean," she stated flatly. Putting a finger under her chin he lifted her gaze to meet his. Her eyes were no longer a vibrant green but dull and weary. If her eyes were the window to the soul, that room on the other side was empty. He stood and made a motion for her to sit as she continued.
"After all I've done and all I've seen, I'm tired. I've witnessed so much death and so many hurting people, no matter how much I try, I'll never be able to help enough. I go around putting out little fires here and there. But where does it end? It doesn't for me. Every time I close my eyes, it's still there. I hear them in my head all the time now. I help people in their dreams, help them understand what the wise thing is to do in their lives, which battles to pick, but when do I get to help myself? I don't want to be selfish, and I know I'm not making much sense, I just...I feel like I'm losing my mind."
Not really knowing how to respond, he pulled her to her feet and said, "Maybe you should go get some rest. You're just tired, that's all. Things will look better in the morning."
She nodded but instead of walking towards her chamber, she walked towards him. Ever so softly she wrapped her arms around him and lightly laid her head on his shoulder. She didn't care anymore if he saw her defenses were down or that she wasn't the strong warrior she'd always shown that she was. She simply stopped caring about all of it in a show of emotions that bled from her whole being. A she began to sob he wrapped his strong arms around her. He stroked her untied blonde hair and felt the slightest twinge of guilt that he'd driven her to this. He admitted to himself that he didn't think she would ever have gotten this far. She was stronger than he'd originally thought. Then a more painful thought came to mind. He couldn't keep her like this. This was no dream world but reality and she deserved a more stable one. He would have to let her go back to her old life.
Shaking off the image, he kissed her on the forehead before releasing her from his embrace. She looked up at him through glossy eyes. Anyone else wouldn't have noticed the ever-so-slight smile that graced her beautiful features, but he did.
She slid away from him and retreated to her room. As he watched her go, he noticed an uncontrollable feeling of loneliness. He decided then he would do everything in his power to keep her with him until the last possible moment.
That next spring Beatriz was able to go out to the pool nearby the temple in the forest. She laid her head back in the deliciously warm water letting her hair float all around. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply breathing in the scent of the forest. Spring flowers were now in bloom and gave off an ambrosial scent. The sound of the waterfall trickling over the rocks was near by.
The serenity of her bath was quickly broken by the sound of a man's scream. Wondering what had happened, she quickly focused on an entity flying over the water above her. Another rogue flew overhead wailing all the way. She decided not to wait around to see what was going on but to head back to the temple. She quickly swam to the other side of the pool and was about to get out when her eyes met with a pair of boots on the land above her. Those boots belonged to none other than her friend Iolus. They had met when they were just children and had remained friends ever since. "Come on. Quick, we've got to get you out of here," he said hastily while averting his eyes and handing her a robe.
"What's going on? What are you doing here?" she inquired as he grabbed her hand and swiftly lead her through the maze of trees. They came upon a clearing and she took her hand back. "Can you please tell me what's going on now?" she asked again as he muttered to himself about how everyone was supposed to meet in this spot.
Now aware that she had been talking, he nervously smiled at her. "Um, yes. Actually, no. I'm sure Herc will be able to explain everything."
"He's here too? Of course, he is. You guys are inseparable," she smiled to herself. It would be nice to see some friendly faces again. "You know, you're pretty lucky to have had us come by when we did." She gave him a rather confused look.
"You can't tell me you had no idea all those bandits were around you. Apparently they had been watching you for, ahem, quite some time," he confessed looking embarrassed. Her eyes opened wide as his found the ground. She really didn't have any idea anyone else was around. That just wasn't like her.
Just then two figures appeared through the thick woodland. One was the smiling face of Hercules who promptly came to embrace and greet her. The other looked vaguely familiar, like she had seen the face before, but not in this context. She looked at him questioningly and he stepped up to introduce himself as Iphicles. "You're Iphicles?" she asked almost dumbfounded as he nodded. His smiling eyes watched her process this information. "So, you're Ares' brother too...Is this a family reunion then or something?" All three of the men looked at each other ominously.
"Not quite," Hercules said, putting an arm around her, leading in the other direction. "There won't be any potato salad," he said jokingly as she smiled and elbowed him in the ribs.
Back at Ares' temple Beatriz and Iolus stood in a large room looking out the window over the dense foliage. The three brothers had been talking for hours and she was becoming rather impatient. She hated being kept in the dark as to what was going on.
Iolus conceded he knew about as much as she did. They figured while they had time, they might as well catch up on what had happened in their lives since last time they'd met.
Iolus did most of the talking. He told her of all the battles Hercules and he had fought in as well as all the places they'd been, villages they saved, and beasts they had slain. She loved listening to his zany stories even if he did ramble on and on. They laughed and enjoyed each other's company very much.
Ares threw one leg over the armrest of his chair and clasped his fingers together across his chest. He had a disinterested look on his face. Hercules and Iphicles glanced at each other and began to laugh. "Care to share what's so funny?" Ares inquired with an arched eyebrow.
They both tried to regain composure as Hercules cleared his throat and said, "We're just glad to see you're still...well."
Iphicles continued with a smile, "Yeah, there was some speculation that you had gone mortal again and died or something, but, apparently not."
Annoyed now, Ares asked, "And why would anyone think I was dead?"
"Because," Hercules stated, "there haven't been any major wars in so long, everyone was beginning to wonder where you went. While we're here, I might as well ask what Beatriz is doing around here. There was almost an 'incident' this morning with some rogues."
"Ah yes, well both of those points are related. She would be the reason there haven't been any decent blood baths lately. In the beginning it worked out to my advantage. She's a Dream Maker you know, going into peoples dreams and telling them when to fight or how to fight, that whole thing," Ares said with a hand gesture. "Of course I showed her how to harness that power and use it to her advantage. One time Hera's army was coming after her sisters and together we actually got her convoy to give up on the Amazons and just go home. Anyway, she was an excellent strategist and with her ability to have battles go the way she wanted to, and me, well being me, we would have contests as to who could plan a better conflict. She always wanted the innocent bystanders to win, which I really had no problem with. She's a bright girl, but after awhile it just got to be boring."
"You mean you lost too much?" Iphicles inquired. Ares shot him a vindictive look. "In any event, she went peace crazy. She completely forgot about being a warrior. About everything she'd learned. Got into everyone's dreams. Made them love each other because it was the 'intelligent' thing to do. I created a monster," Ares over-dramatized, covering his eyes with his hand.
"What's wrong with a peace-loving nation?" Hercules questioned.
"It's too boring for me. Plus, what happens when there is no controversy? What if no one has any opinions they're willing to fight for? People get walked all over that's what happens. Everyone follows and agrees with each other like a bunch of lemmings walking right off a cliff. They don't become more intelligent because they're not fighting, they become less. They've stopped using their brains to think for themselves."
"Well that's an interesting opinion," Hercules said, "but what did you plan to do about it then?"
"What else can I do? I have to get rid of her. With her loosing her edge, I can't let her turn me soft too. It was fun in the beginning, but now it's just getting out of hand. Besides, I don't think she's that interested in doing it anymore anyway," said Ares despondently.
"So you're telling me that you were a vampire and you tried to actually bite Herc?" she asked with a giggle.
"Well, yeah," he replied, "but it all turned out okay. I mean, I'm here aren't I? Speaking of that, nightfall is coming and my stomach is reminding me it is about dinner time."
"Well you're certainly not getting any help here," she replied with a grin.
"Hey now, you watch that!" he said with a coy smirk, "I'll go see if I can locate us some food. You alright here?" She nodded and he went on his way.
She lit a lamp, set it on a nearby table and walked back to one of the large windows. There were no stars, large black clouds covered the sky. With a clap of thunder, a lighting bolt flashed brilliantly against the night sky. She inhaled the smell of impending rain as she pulled her cloak more tightly around her. She always did love the rain. The wind made the leaves rustle and the trees creak beneath her window. On the horizon there was a strange green glow. She wondered why she hadn't noticed it before.
Following the odd thing with her eyes, it became more apparent that it was moving towards her. A surge of pain suddenly rushed all throughout her body as she collapsed to the floor grasping her head. She thought to herself how very unusual it was for her to be fine one moment and be in as much pain as she was the next.
After some time, the aching subsided a little, enough for her to pull her way back up to a standing position. Breathing heavily from the effort, she focused on the green glow that had now grown in size. She had the strangest sensation that it was calling her name. She decided she did not hear it, but rather it was just there, inside her head, which frightened her very much. Still, things like a little green fire should not shake a warrior, or at least the warrior she once was. She knew she had to find out what the thing was to overcome this fear.
Iolus walked in at that very moment, drumstick in hand, to see Beatriz leaping out of the temple window. He dropped what he had been carrying and raced to the place he'd seen her last. He squinted hard to the ground below in hopes of seeing her, but instead saw what appeared to be a greenish fire. He watched it curiously as it descended up into the sky and was gone. He saw nothing but blackness now as the rain began to pour down.
Iolus burst into the throne room with a streak of panic across his face. "Beatriz is gone. I just saw her... right out the window and then she was gone..."
Hercules quickly went to the side of his distraught friend. "Slow down, what happened now?"
"Like I said," Iolus said pointing, "we were talking, I went to go get some food, and when I came back she was flying out the window. When I looked out there was this green glow thing that zipped up into the sky, like this, and then disappeared."
Ares quickly arose from out of his chair, pushing past the both of them yelling "Where!" in his booming voice. He flung open the large black doors as the guards moved aside. Iolus raced ahead of the group to show them to the room where he'd last seen her.
Ares watched with arms folded across his chest in an absolute fury as Hercules investigated the window. He came back to the assembly and said, "Okay. So here's what we know. Iolus left the room, when he came back she was jumping out the window. She then disappeared. There also was a light which we can only assume was involved. Maybe she just wanted to go see what it was."
Iolus protested, "Well that's a heck of a way to do it. Why didn't she just use the front door then?"
"Yeah, probably a little far fetched," replied Hercules while rubbing his hands together in thought. "What would make her want to dive out the window? Ares you mentioned about how she's been acting differently lately, didn't you?"
Looking annoyed Ares said, "Well, not exactly lately. Been going on progressively for quite some time now."
Iolus' eyes got wide as he approached Ares to ask, "What's wrong, what did you do to her?"
"I would like to remind you it was under her own free will that she came with me. It's not my fault she got burned out under the pressure," said Ares defensively.
Hercules could tell Iolus was confused so he explained. "She's got a...gift. She can enter people's dreams. But imagine that, she, a mere mortal, could not handle the responsibilities that usually only the gods have," Hercules stated, every word dripping with sarcasm.
Just then Iolus had a thought. "Wait a minute, I've got it. There was this one time in this village we visited, there was word going around about how Hera's army had gotten beaten. It was speculated that the one to bring her down was you, Ares. It was a newly established town, right around the time the big battle hit, so they didn't have a patron yet to protect them from her or anyone else for that matter. It was right near where that battle happened too. Anyway, the townspeople were all afraid that they were going to be the ones to get punished because she was mad."
"So what your saying is that Hera took over that village when she lost the battle to get back at Ares for him beating her? What does that have to do with Beatriz jumping out the window?" Hercules questioned.
"Well, Herc, both you and I know that she's never been one to just let things go. She wants revenge. She's taken over the vulnerable town to use for new recruits in her army and now she took Bea because she wants to draw Ares to her. She wants to play again but on her own rules. Although I'm sure you've already figured all that out, being the smart one and all," said Iolus with a proud smile.
"Um, sure," said Hercules moving on to the next point. "Anyway, if Iolus here is right, then we have to go to this village and get her back. But I somehow have the feeling it isn't going to be easy."
"Of course it isn't going to be easy," Ares stepped in rolling his eyes. "Now if you are finished here, I have some business I have to attend to," and then he was gone.
"Well, what do we do now?" Iolus wondered. "I guess we have to first go locate where you said this place was at," replied Hercules leaving the room.
Ares wandered around the courtyard looking at all of the dark green leaves on the olive branches. The sun was shining now but the flash of white light was even brighter behind him. He turned to see a stunning female figure before him dressed in all silver. She still held in hand her shield and sword. "What can I do for you today, Ares?" the grey-eyed goddess inquired patiently.
"Athena. So nice to see you. I was just noticing your lovely foliage and was wondering who does your gardening..." Ares said in his most charming tone.
"Alright, stop with the preamble. What do you want? I'm very busy, you know," she said calmly.
"I'm very sure you are, but I need your help," he stated.
Her beautiful voice rang throughout the courtyard as she laughed. "You need my help, Ares? We've already been through this. I trusted you once before and you betrayed us."
"Just hear me out, that's all I ask." She soberly nodded, so he continued. "One of your own, named Beatriz, has been taken by Hera. We're going after her, and seeing as how she's been under your protection, I thought you'd be able to join in the battle."
"Oh poor Beatriz. Yes I remember a time when she was as quick as a whip with her wit, but now all that's pretty much gone. I suppose you had nothing to do with that. No, of course not. I once did hear someone say 'pick your battles wisely' and I don't know if this one is mine. You made her what she is and until she can think clearly again, I'm afraid I can't help her. If it is any consolation, I feel badly for her but moreover for you. You've got a difficult road ahead, Ares," and with a raised eyebrow, she was gone.
With her words still ringing in his ears he felt the rush of insane passion for war which he'd not felt so deeply in a long time. With a hunger for more of this fire he returned back to his palace on Olympus to prepare for battle.
Hercules, Iolus and Iphicles were following the riverbank that led to the town they'd once visited, now renamed Heresia, when Ares appeared before them. Before any of them could speak, there was a cry from the woods to the left of them. Women jumped down out of the trees and surrounded the men quite easily.
The Amazons just as quickly withdrew their weapons when they saw they were among friends, to an extent. "Hercules!" cried one of the women. "What are you doing in his company?" asked another pointing to Ares.
"It's a long story," he replied. "What are you doing here?"
"That is kind of a long story too, actually. We all had dreams about Beatriz being in trouble and we've just felt led to come here. Pretty odd, huh?" answered another of the leather clad warrior women.
"Actually not really," said Iolus all the while noticing Ares impassive expression.
"Now that we're done with all of the greetings, there are more pressing issues at hand. Right over that next hill we are going to meet up with Hera's army. My personal army is going to meet us there as well. I expect you all know what to do," Ares said.
Hercules, Iolus, Iphicles, the Amazons, Ares and his army fought along side each other in an alliance to free Hera's prisoner. Hera's emerald army arose to meet them on top of the rise.
Screams rang through the valley as the tall grass became mangled with blood and lifeless remains.
Covered in crimson, Ares appeared in Hera's temple inside the city walls some time later. The cold room was completely dark except for one window that shown light down on an appropriately placed alter. There laying on the stone was the still body of Beatriz.
Ares fled from the shadows into the light where she was laying dressed in a white gown. He lightly touched her shoulder in an attempt to rouse her but to his horror left a dark stain on her breathtaking form. Quickly he drew back his hand, looking at it disgustingly.
A critical cackle came from the darkness on the other side of the room. He took a step back into the shadows making his eyes used to the dark again. A torrent of hate filled his whole being as he was able to clearly see the ice-cold eyes of his mother staring back at him.
"Oh, yes. That's very good," she whispered to him. "That's what you've been missing. That blind, violent passion. You know you were completely in touch with it before she appeared," Hera said, while walking around the room towards him. "She's come between us you know. And we can't have that. We can't have some mortal separate a mother and her son."
He stared hard into her wicked eyes. There was only bitterness in those vial pools, not love. He'd seen love before in the eyes of the one who was now laying on the cool stone next to him. He'd seen it even after he'd betrayed her and used her for his own purposes. "I'm different now, Hera."
"Well, I can see she's made you more confused anyway," Hera smiled. "You're not sure whether you'd like to destroy me or forgive me. In any event, I brought you here because I need you to see you need to get rid of this vile creature. Come back to what you were, in all your pitiless glory, or are you too afraid perhaps? Yes, I believe that's what it is. You've been hiding behind this girl and her 'reason' for so long, you've forgotten yourself. You've forgotten what it's like to crush human life on a whim simply because you can. No, you, the god of war have lost your touch. Now your mother is going to win that war outside and there's nothing you can do about it."
She watched him transform from a composed demeanor to one where Hera basked in the heat of the rage he was radiating. Stepping away from her, his eyes turned black as he focused on the venom he held for her.
Hera smiled at him once more and said, "I see. Well if you will not kill her, then I will have to do it." She held her hand up high as an energy mass accumulated before her. Just as she was about to bestow her gift, a flash of light intercepted Hera's own and both fires disappeared. Fuming now Hera said, "Oh I see you have made up your mind, have you?" and with that she through an energy mass at him. He had no trouble blocking it with his own. She through another, he ducked out of the way and it hit the wall behind him, making pieces of stone fly everywhere. He was about to throw one of his own making when his felt his arm being touched.
"So do you suppose...this is going to be over...anytime soon?" Iolus asked, between fighting off emerald warriors.
"I have no...idea," Hercules replied as he knocked three to the ground. In an instant a tall woman in silver appeared next to them.
"Let's end this thing, shall we?" said the grey-eyed one with a smile as she joined in the battle.
"Ares," said Beatriz in an uncharacteristically hushed tone, "please stop." Without another thought he obliterated the energy he had aimed at Hera. Beatriz centered herself between the two warring factions. "You both have to stop this. People are dying outside for no reason at all. Ares, don't hate your mother, she has a limited line of sight. Be an example for her. Show her existence is more than irrational, instinctual behavior. And Hera, don't hate him, it's not his fault, he was only looking out for me. I was the one who wanted to save my sisters in the beginning. If anything, I am to blame for all this."
Hera saw the opening and took the opportunity, "Well if you care to take the blame, be my guest." Hera constructed a green glowing energy mass aimed at her, and Ares did the same for Hera seeing what she had planned. Hera threw her light as Ares through his.
Just then Beatriz gracefully stepped between the two and was struck simultaneously. The energy struck throughout her body and she collapsed to the floor in a lifeless heap. Ares looked from Hera to the form before him in shock that he was a part of it. "This is done now," said Ares in his quietly deadly tone. He walked to her and knelt down to pick up her head and hold it in his arms.
Hera took a step towards him and he looked up at her through glossy eyes. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him like this. His eyes seemed to be questioning her why, searching for an answer. She didn't have one for him as she opened and then shut her mouth again. Her work here was done, yet somehow, it didn't feel as good as it should have. Wondering why all of a sudden she had a feeling of what seemed to be remorse, she left the scene.
He pushed the locks away from her silent features and just watched her, not aware of anything else around them. Had he been aware, he would have noticed the glowing entity in the room with them. Athena came to kneel across from him and observed. She smiled because she was surprised to see him acting in this oddly devoted manner. She placed a hand on his shoulder finally to gain his attention. His gaze met hers slowly. "The battle outside is over. We won," Athena mentioned. With a furrowed brow he looked down at Beatriz again. "Well, I'm really not supposed to, but we can fix that too, you know," the goddess stated. She closed her eyes and in an instant of concentration the still figure gasped.
Coughing now, Beatriz looked around her to see Athena next to her right. She mouthed the words "Thank you" with a tired smile and the silver one answered back "You're very welcome." She looked left to see the appreciative eyes of Ares looking down at her. Also surprised to see him like this, she reached up to soothe his distrought face. He pulled that hand up to his lips and kissed her palm. Touched by his sincere show of emotions her eyes too began to get fuzzy. Athena cleared her throat to once again get his attention to say, "She's exhausted, and you must be too. Maybe it would be a good idea to get some rest." Ares agreed and she happily retreated.
He collected her tired body up in his arms and stepped outside. She did not think to protest but instead allowed him to think for the both of them. She let the warm comfort of rest enter her body. Hurrying toward the two came Iolus and Hercules. Hercules explained that the others were waiting for word that Beatriz was alright. He told them to tell the others the objective was achieved.
In Ares' palace on Mount Olympus, he softly laid the sleeping woman in his arms on his large bed. He removed his armor, replacing it with a black silk shirt and black leather pants and slid in next to her. She awoke to the movement close by. She closed the distance between the two as she placed her head against his chest and felt his arms wrap around her. She fell into a deep sleep, the first she'd had in a long time.
Silently, he watched her dream no longer of war, but of beautiful things and her home. Finally, she made waking motions as she stretched languidly and smiled sensing the presence of Ares nearby.
"Good morning," he whispered propping himself up on one arm to look at her.
She smiled again, pulling the covers over her head playfully as she protested, "It's too early."
"Oh no you don't," he barked right back grinning and pulling the sheets from her firm grasp. She giggled as he wrapped his free arm around her waist and slid her up next to him so he could look down upon her.
As she looked up at him, Ares was surprised to see her eyes changed to grey with specks of the green she'd had before. Her eyes were wise well beyond their years. Looking at her jovial face, she radiated with an exuberant glow. Ares recognized these subtle variations were that of Athena's doing. Understanding what he was sensing, she replied back to his inquisitive expression.
"Hera took away my ability when she took me. My last work was dreaming to my sisters what happened. I don't remember much until I had the strangest tingling sensation all throughout my body and then I saw Athena and you hovering above me. Since then I've had such amazing thoughts enter my mind."
"You lost one gift and gained another," Ares reasoned and she nodded.
Wide eyed and contemplative she stated, "It's time for me to go home now." He knew she was right. As much as it pained him to grant her request, he had not forgotten he'd given his word to her some time ago that whatever she needed, he'd to everything in his power to get it for her. And now she needed to be home. His dejected brown eyes came to meet her affectionate ones one last time before they returned back to the forest.
Standing again in the familiar Amazon training area of the woods, Ares reverted to wearing his characteristic black leather and she, her Amazon war garb. He thought to himself how odd it seemed for her to be dressed like that again. Trying to break the uncomfortable silence, Ares spoke first. "Must be nice having two of the gods watching your back, huh?" She beamed at him but sensing his distress, quickly came to him with a furrowed brow.
Ares just as quickly turned away from her and made a motion with his hand to be gone, but she knew him far better than that. Patiently she waited for him to turn back to her and as he did, still wondering why she had not gone, she wrapped her arms around his neck and placed her lips softly on his. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer, releasing a flood of emotions in that passionate kiss. A surge of electricity ran all throughout her body and she shivered making him smile against her lips. Eventually they parted. She reached up to touch his face once more and with a smile, began towards the camp.
He stood for awhile watching her disappear into the woods before he returned to Olympus to ponder when they would meet again.
