Thread: Chained Memories: Night Four (Mythology related, mild language, mild sexual conduct)

Night Four

I woke with my head against Helios’s chest as he continued to sleep. My pulse was racing and my mind was moving faster.
There was one thing in my mind that was the center of all of my thoughts.
I had slept with Helios.
The thought was shocking and I was instantly worrying. What if I ended up pregnant? What would happen to me?
I hadn’t thought about it at the time, hadn’t even considered the effects of lying with him. What it would entitle.
Now…I could have a daughter I needed to protect.
“Good morning Pandora,” Helios said, a lazy smile on his lips. When he saw the fear in my eyes he sat up. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I said weakly. It was an epic fail of trying to convince him. “Nothing, I promise.”
I forced a smiled and kissed him gently.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said with the forced smile. “I’m just wondering about Calleah.”
“We can go see her if you’d like,” he replied quickly. “If you want to.”
“Won’t that be dangerous?” I asked, slightly shocked. “For me to be out in the open like that? And what happened with Secrets?”
“Secrets is inside of you,” he said gently. “You’ve nothing to fear. I was able to force it inside before it could run.”
I nodded and he kissed my forehead.
“I’m afraid we have to go,” he said with a sigh. “I think the others will start to worry if we’re not back. Can’t have them running in here can we?”
I laughed and slipped out of the bed, pausing when I saw the tattered remains of our clothes on the floor.
“Um…Helios?”
“Way ahead of you.”
He handed me the essentials along with another dress that was like the sky blue and blood red one.
This one was a lavender purple. There was a tiara with it as well with a dark iris-purple stone in the center.
“Thank you.”
I stole a glance at Helios as he dressed before following suit. We were dressed and walking away from the hospital room within minutes.
Helios’s arm never left my waist until we joined everyone. I stayed glued to his side even after that out of simple fear of the Gods and Goddesses watching me.
I found Hephaestus and Nemesis among them and three others I couldn’t place.
Two males wearing the same Russian uniform as Helios and a female wearing a dress like me only in pink and missing the crown.
Hephaestus wore a similar uniform and Nemesis wore a black dress—the same one fabricated in Secrets’ lie.
The two males looked identical with shoulder-length brown hair and flashing violet eyes.
The female, on the other hand, had clear, red eyes and waist-length blonde hair.
“Who are they?” I asked as Helios and I sat. “The two men and the woman?”
“The woman is Aphrodite,” he explained softly. “The twins are Boreas and Ares.”
“That’s an unlikely match of twins,” I said slowly. “Are they really twins?”
He nodded and whispered, “Fraternal.”
I gave a replying nod and food was set out in front of us by little humans with wings.
“What are those?” I asked as they left.
He bit back a laugh.
“Those are Charybdis,” he explained. “They were created by Pygmalion in a failed attempt to make a beautiful statue.
“He threw them into the waters by Sicily and the Gods brought them to life to use as servants. When the Gods did, huge whirlpools resulted.
“The people of Sicily personify the Charybdis as being a female monster.”
I nodded. My thoughts returned unwillingly to my current question—was I pregnant?
The thoughts tormented my mind until we departed after lunch and we free to roam the mountains.
Helios was a perfect gentleman as we explored the cliffs and climbed through tunnels. I was glad he didn’t hold back my adventurous nature by worrying about my dress though halfway through I ripped off the bottom.
We stayed in a cave filled with runes and hundreds of glimmering stones until nightfall when Helios took me back to my mirror room.
“Goodnight,” he said, kissing me gently. “I’ll see you in the morning?”
“Yes,” I said smiling, knowing the blush was evident on my cheeks. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
I hugged him tightly before pressing my lips to his cheek.
“I love you,” he whispered, hugging me just as tightly.
I kissed him again and whispered, “I know. I love you more,” before he kissed my forehead and walked off.
I walked into the room and fell on a pillow, curling up with a smile on my face, before drifting off.
My dreams were the most peaceful I’d had since before I knew the truth about who I was.

The next morning I was dressed in another gown and tiara only they were white—a moonstone was in the tiara.
We took little time finishing our preparations for leaving though Hephaestus thought it better if we’d have stayed.
Draco carried our load of clothing and food with ease. About six miles outside of a town, Helios had went and bought me a pair of jeans and a t-shirt from a convenience store. His already wore his new clothing.
With about half a leg of our journey to go, Draco landed us in a meadow before taking off to find somewhere to rest.
I was fine…until I saw the blood.
“Helios,” I whispered uneasily. “Do you see it? Or am I losing my mind?”
“It’s my blood,” he said quietly. “This is the first meadow we stopped at.”
I nodded and I made us another bed while Helios gathered both food and water.
By nightfall we had food, water, and a fire blazing. It was starting to become a natural thing though only…
I trailed off, mid-thought.
“Helios,” I said staring at the apple he had handed me. “How long have we been traveling?”
He paused, thinking before letting out a sigh.
“Nearly…a month,” he said carefully, gauging my expression. “Three weeks and four days.
“You slept at Hephaestus’s for nearly a week minus the three days you were awake and the rest was spent in the skies or, for instance, here.”
He motioned to the ground and I knew he meant the meadows we had frequented.
I leaned against him, tired and slightly—oddly—jetlagged.
He took me to bed and, before long, I was fast asleep. The heat of his body kept me warm through the cool, end-of-summer night.

“Thank God!” I groaned, dropping onto my bed. “I am so glad to be home!”
I rolled over and stretched, feeling Helios’s eyes on me all the while.
“Do you want to lie down?” I asked with a smile. “It’s been a while since you’ve seen a decent bed.”
“I saw a bed,” he said, grinning. “I saw the hospital bed and the beds you made us.”
I felt a blush coat my cheeks and I rolled over, embarrassed.
“PANDOR JENNEANE AVALON!!!!”
I jumped, shocked at the voice that had screamed my name. Who it was shocked me even more.
“Epimetheus?” I croaked. “What are you doing here this early in the morning?”
“Worrying about you!” he screamed, infuriated. “Where have you been?!”
In the Carpathian Mountains, I said mentally.
“That’s…um…kind of hard to explain…”
“And what are you doing with him in your room at this hour?!”
“Who are you?” I demanded. “My Mother?! And, you’re wrong. Helios was just being a gentleman, making sure I got home safely.”
“He could’ve stopped at the door!” Epimetheus growled. “All teenage men have in their heads is one thing and that’s—”
“Shut up,” I screamed. “You should know seeing as you tried to sleep with me three years ago! And, unlike you, when I refused Helios he didn’t drop me and go to Florida!”
I balled my hands into fists, ignoring the pain from my nails as the ripped crescents into my skin.
“Pandora I—”
“Get out,” I said, trying to control myself.
“But Pandora—”
“Out, Epimetheus!” I hissed, turning my back to him. “Before I hurt you.”
He sighed and then I heard his footsteps fading away before the downstairs door shut.
“Are you alright?”
Helios was by my side, examining my bloodied hands carefully.
“You showed good control,” he noted. “If you hadn’t spoken I would’ve ripped that young man’s head off of his shoulders.”
“Have at it,” I hissed, going to the bathroom and washing my hands. “He could get hit by a truck right now and I wouldn’t care.
“I hate him.”
“You don’t mean that,” he said, taking my hands from out under the spray to dry them. “You’re just upset. You’re not thinking clearly.”
I leaned into him, inhaling his dark scent, letting it soothe and relax me.
“Don’t let me hurt anyone,” I whispered. “If I go crazy…don’t let me harm anyone.”
“I won’t,” he said, wrapping his arms around me in a soothing hug. “You know I never would.”
“Thank you…”
I tilted my head up and kissed him gently. He was the first to pull away.
“You need a shower,” he noted. “Well, I think you’d want one anyway. I like this earthy scent.”
He twisted my hair around his fingers and breathed deeply.
I pulled away and reached for a towel beneath the sink, grabbing two instead of one.
“You’re welcome to join me,” I said playfully.
“Don’t tempt me,” he said with a sad smile. “We can’t have you pregnant.”
I froze.
“I knew what you were thinking about after you slept with me,” he said with that same sad smile. “But don’t worry, you’re not pregnant.”
Some of the tension eased from me and I looked at him oddly.
“It’s your job to get me pregnant, isn’t it?” I asked, slightly confused. “That’s what you told me anyway. Why would it be an issue if I was pregnant now?”
“Because” he said, pausing. “If you are with child now then there’s a high tolerance that you’ll lose her with all the frequent attacks.
“And we couldn’t protect her seeing as my house is destroyed and it’s the only place that the evils couldn’t penetrate.”
“Why was that?”
“I had but a sealing spell on it so only a selected few could see it, let alone enter it.”
I nodded.
“Now take a bath,” he said, closing the door behind him.
I paused for a moment before setting towel back beneath the sink and turning on the shower. When I stepped beneath the spray I let out a moan of pleasure.
I took my time, allowing all of the muscles in my back to unknot before rinsing my hair with four different shampoos and conditioners and then soaping my body down.
When I stepped out and turned off the shower I toweled off and paused, realizing I hadn’t brought clothes in with me.
I waited, weighing the pros and cons of leaving with only a towel on. Then I felt stupid.
Helios had seen me wearing nothing. He’s watched me change. For crying out loud, we’d had sex!
I pushed open the door without a second thought…and ran right into Epimetheus.
We both paused, unsure what to say.
“What are you doing?” I asked finally.
“I was coming back to…to apologize for…for…for…” He trailed off, trying to look away but obviously fixated on my chest.
“Do you mind?”
He shook his head and looked at me.
“Sorry,” he said looking into my eyes. “I didn’t mean to get all angry and stuff. But, when I heard that the school collapsed and you were missing…”
He shrugged.
I nodded.
“Can you leave now?” I asked, tiredly. “I’d like to go change and go to bed.”
“Of course,” he said, jumping out of my way. “Goodnight.”
I padded off once I heard the downstairs door shut signaling his leave.
Helios gawked at me when I strolled in wearing nothing but a towel.
“What?” I asked, pulling out the essentials, a tank top, and a pair of baggy sweat pants from my dresser. “It’s not like you’ve never seen me naked before.
“And wasn’t it you who said I should get use to changing in front of you?”
He nodded.
“And do you remember what happened last time as well?” he pointed out.
“Don’t be smart,” I said pulling on the sweats. “I have a guest room if you want to use it. Or you could stay in here with me.”
“I’ll stay in here,” he said dismissively. “In case an evil attacks.”
I nodded, pulling the tank on a adjusting it carefully, smoothing it out before sitting on the bed.
“Then, I guess, with you as my guardian angel, I can sleep in peace,” I teased.
He laughed before climbing into the bed and wrapping me in his warm embrace.
“Goodnight,” he whispered.
I kissed him gently before whispering, “Goodnight,” and letting the darkness claim me.

“Oh—My—God!!!”
Calleah ran into me and we fell to the ground. Her arms were wrapped tightly around me.
Helios his nearby, wanting Calleah to have the illusion of it being just the two of us thought I was very aware of his presence.
“Where have you been?!” she gasped, hugging me tightly. “You disappeared after that thing attacked the school.
“I got knocked out when it attacked and then woke up in a hospital room. I asked about you and said there was no one else with me.
“Then I find out no one’s seen you and I was told a bunch of people sent out search teams for missing people. You were one of them.
“But you’re okay,” she said, pulling back. “You’re perfectly safe.”
Tears fell down her cheeks and I held her gently.
“I’m okay,” I cooed. “I’m alright, I’m here. Not a scratch on me see?”
“I thought…you were dead,” she sobbed, looping her arms around my neck. “I thought I…that you…oh God, Pandora…”
“Calm down,” I whispered, patting her head. “It’s alright. I’m alright.”
When she calmed down I took her inside and took two bottles of water from her fridge and two aspirins from a nearly empty bottle.
“Here,” I said, sitting and handing the bottle and pills to Calleah. “This should help with the headache.”
She gratefully to the items and downed the aspirin before looking at me carefully.
“So,” she started quietly. “If you haven’t been missing…where were you?”
Traveling halfway across the world and hiding in the mountains from evils, I thought sarcastically.
“I was in bad condition,” I said using the story Helios and I had fabricated. “Both Helios and I, and a few others, were sent to Columbus—to a hospital there—because of our critical conditions.
“We took longer to…recuperate.”
“Then why didn’t anyone tell me when I asked around?”
I shrugged.
“Not everyone knew,” I said as honestly as I could. “No one knew really. Only the people who found us.”
“How are Helios and the others? Are they okay?”
I nodded.
“They’ve all got a few bumps and bruises steal healing,” I said with a smile. “But no one was badly hurt. Helios is back as well and maybe one or two of the others.”
“So everyone’s okay,” she said with a sigh. “That’s good.”
We spent the next few hours getting back into the normal grove of talking about the random things in life like…well, like toothpaste.
Three hours later, I left a smiling Calleah and walked into an opened-armed Helios.
“Hey there,” I said with a warm smile. “Sorry to make you wait so long.”
“No,” he said, stroking my back. “You spent time with your friend. She’s smiling now, you know.”
“I know,” I said with a small, sad smile. “I just wish I could be as naïve as her sometimes.”
“And you haven’t been at this for more than a month,” he said in an attempt to lighten things up.
I gave him a push as we walked away.
“What’s going to happen now?” I asked quietly, holding onto his arm as we walked to my house. “What’s going to happen to us? To you? And to me?”
He wrapped his arms around me tightly, trying to comfort me.
“Now,” he said gently. “We find the remaining evils.”
“And after that,” I asked. We’d come to a dead stop. “What happens if we capture all the evils? What happens to me? And to you?”
He looked at me, at a loss of words. But I knew what he was thinking. That hadn’t happened before. For one reason.
Pandora had never lived.
Pandora was never able to capture all the evils in one lifetime. And, when she died, they’d escape and the escapade would start all over again.
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly. “Let’s just…Let’s just go home.”
“No,” he said, rooting in spot. “I have somewhere. I want to show you. Up for a swim?”

“Are you serious?” I asked staring down at the murky water. “You brought me to Lake Alma to swim? It’s disgusting.”
“We’re taking a boat out to the island,” he explained. The bridge had been condemned the past summer. “From there, we’ll swim.”
“But that’s quite a ways down before the bottom,” I said uneasily. “I’m a good swimmer but I don’t think I should push my limits.”
“Can you hold your breath for a while?”
“Sure, why?”
“Because it’s a push to get down far enough to see the opening.”
“Opening?”
He smiled and put a finger to my lips.
“You’ll just have to find out,” he said as he helped me into the boat.
The boat was a small, measly, wooden boat that was definitely strong but noticeably old.
It was one that looked as if it should be in an exhibit in a museum.
I didn’t think about it as I surveyed the waters.
It was late, meaning the water was cold. But, it also meant few people.
With the transfer from summer to fall people were swimming as much as they could before it got too cold.
Even at this hour—which was nearly seven o’clock—there were still a few stragglers left.
By the time we reached the island, they had left and we were alone at the Lake.
Helios anchored the boat to a nearby tree and stripped down to a pair of black swimmers as I stripped to a silver one piece that crossed to make an X across my shoulder blades.
“Ready?” he asked as I set my clothes a fair distance from the water. “It’s going to be cold.”
“Don’t I know it,” I said shivering, hugging myself. “If I get sick it’s on you.”
“Pandora dying of a cold,” he said with a shudder. “To think it was that easy.”
“Isn’t one of the evils Disease?” I commented.
He narrowed his eyes and glared at me. I gave him a playful smile. He sighed.
“Let’s go,” he sighed. “But I’d lay money on the fact I could beat you.”
I looked at him, poised to dive.
“How much you want to bet on that little wager?” I said with a sly smile.
“I’ll bet a kiss,” he laughed.
“I’ll bet…” I paused. What would I bet? “I’ll bet the bed tonight.”
“You’re on,” he smiled. “On your marks, get set…GO!”
I dived, perfectly speeding through the water before realizing I hadn’t the faintest idea where I was going.
So, I swam lower and lower at a more leisurely pace, searching for an opening. Then I saw it.
It was a large opening underneath the island. I swam and followed it up until I hit the sand, dragging myself out as I gasped for air.
“Cheater!” I coughed seeing Helios’s smiling face as I stood. “I didn’t know…where I was going!”
“You didn’t realize that beforehand?” he laughed. “Sometimes Pandora…”
“Shut up.”
I rung out my hair, ignoring both the scent of the Lake and Helios’s laughter.
“So,” he said, still laughing. “Do I get my payment now or later?”
“Payment?” I said, pausing. “I’ll show you payment!”
I tackled him to the ground, pinning him, before kissing him fiercely. I hadn’t kissed him like that since the night in the hospital room.
“There’s your payment,” I said, helping to his feet. “And I can’t believe I could get you on the ground.”
“That’s saying I didn’t let you,” he said playfully. “Now, let’s get you to the Room.”
I didn’t ask questions as he led me through various hallways and twists and turns I would never remember later.
He paused outside of a room with a simple wooden door.
“I can’t go any farther,” Helios with a sigh. “I’m sorry. It’s my job to bring you here.
“And once inside, you can’t tell me of anything you see. Absolutely nothing you see can be spoken.
“Do you understand?”
I nodded.
“Go ahead.”
I kissed him gently before opening the door slightly. When I cast a glance back at him he urged me forward and I obeyed, shutting the door behind me.
What I saw the moment I entered the room was dazzling.
Against the wall in front of me was a giant mirror. Pillows were everywhere, all various colors and sizes.
But, the most noticeable thing was the crystal ball made of ice setting in an ice-formed holder.
The rest of the room was icy as well but the floor was made of mirror.
It reminded me of my room in the Carpathian Mountains.
Touch the time orb, someone said from inside of me. An evil I am not, Pandora. I am a guardian of what is to happen and what has occurred.
Touch the orb and all will be told.
I walked over to the orb, touching it gently before I was blown back into pillows, my vision dazed for a moment.
“Speak your name,” a voice echoed around the room.
“Pandora Avalon,” I said hesitantly.
“What is the year Pandora Avalon?”
“Two thousand and ten,” I replied.
“The names of the Pandora and husband before you, if you will,” the voice boomed.
“Jennifer and Galen Avalon,” I said carefully. “Died November 6, 1999.”
The mirror in front of me worked like a movie screen as it flared to life showing my mother holding me at birth.
“Your past,” the voice boomed.
I watched the screen as my mother held my sleeping baby form, rocking me, tears evident in her eyes.
My father had left apparently and my mother was alone in the room.
“Jennifer,” a familiar voice said.
My mother looked up to the window where a teen-looking Helios sat. He wore a muscle shirt with no sleeves and a pair of baggy denims.
“Helios,” she said, never pausing in my rocking. “I take it you’re here to see your daughter?”
“I wanted to make sure you were okay,” he confessed, looking at me. “She looks a lot like you.”
“Even more like you in the personality,” she whispered smiling. “It’s mostly you in the personality.”
“You can tell this early?”
“I’m her mother,” she laughed. “It took one look to tell she was like you. With your playfulness.”
Her voice died down and she stopped rocking me as she looked up at Helios.
“Do you want to hold her?”
Helios froze, obviously unsure of what to do before he finally took me in his arms, gently rocking me.
“Her name is Pandora,” My mom whispered.
Helios smiled and I opened my eyes though I didn’t cry. I merely looked at Helios and, somehow, knew he was my father.
“She’s special,” he said immediately. “I think she could be the one.”
“Really?” my mother asked, eyes wide. “Are you sure? Is it really her?”
“I think so,” he said hugging my tiny form tightly before handing me back to my mother. “She’ll be strong, just like you. I know it.”
The screen blinked off briefly before flaring to life again.
“Your present,” the voice said, echoing.
I watched as the screen revealed an image of me and Calleah running through a field. I could instantly place it.
This was the first attack by the evils—by Jealousy—at the school.
“Where isss sssheee,” Jealousy hissed. “Where isss Pandoraaaa? Sssheee plansss to keep usss locked up in that damn boxxx.”
“She’s not here!” Helios, though I didn’t know it at the time, yelled fiercely. “She ran. She’s no longer here!”
“Whaaaat?” Jealousy screamed. “Sssheee mussst be!”
Draco shot down through the sky and ripped Helios from Jealousy—his body just a blur of color.
“Draco!” Helios cried. “I told you to stay away! What if someone sees you?!”
“Master Helius,” Draco snorted. “You can’t carry this burden on your own. Where is the girl?”
“Gone, hopefully,” Helios said. “Now to deal with the task at hand—Jealousy.”
“Sssheee isss here!” Jealousy hissed happily. “Sssheee isss here with usss now—in the woodsss!”
“No,” Helios whispered. “Pandora run!!!”
I watched in horror as Jealousy plucked me effortless from the woods and tossed me into the air like a play-toy.
The other me screamed and wrapped her arms around her waist, as I watched my body start to fall.
“DRACO!”
Helios’s dragon was another streak of color in the picture, Helios atop its back, as it caught me mid-fall.
“It’s alright Pandora,” Helios whispered. “You’re safe.”
“Nooooo!!!!” Jealousy screamed. “That girl!!! Sssheee mussst die! Deatttthhh! Deatttthhh to sssheee!!!”
“Draco!”
Jealousy roared and Draco took off. Its giant hand started to fall onto us and a surge of self-pride infused me as the video continued.
Its giant hand was coming down on us and I saw that there wasn’t enough time for Draco to get out of the way.
“GET DOWN!!!” I screamed.
A blue electrical surge shot from me and enveloped the Shadow, forcing Jealousy towards me.
I looked up as by body took in Jealousy before I slumped against Helios, unconscious.
The picture blanked again and I stood to get up. The rattling voice yelled at me when I did so.
“You are not done!” the voice roared. “One is left. Your future.”
I sat back down as the screen flared to life.
When I saw the first seen…I screamed.
The picture was of me…bathed in blood. Some was mine but most was someone else’s.
In my hand was a bloodied knife. At my feet were a variety of people. Accea, Calleah, and Helios were among them.
There were many whose faces I couldn’t give names. Many who I could tell if they were even male or female.
Behind me stood a variety of evils. At a minimum there were ten. I could identify Jealousy, Greed, Lies, Lust, and Secrets.
Their ghostly figures applauding me, shadowy background to my bloodied body.
“Pandora,” Helios whispered weakly. “Don’t let them do this to you. You’re stronger.”
“You betrayed me,” I said emotionlessly. My dragon tattoo flared a never-ending black. “You lied to me. You’re no better than the evils.”
I was like a shell and I froze remembering what had happened to the first Pandora.
I stiffened even more, unable to look away, as I lifted the knife and brought it down on Helios, ending his final resistance, his final strands of life.
The phantom evils laughed gleefully as they danced, the human’s only hopes of life shattered in an instant.
I turned and faced the evils, my body not caring as one of them lifted me.
“Do you wish to die?” it asked.
“I no longer wish,” I said coldly. “I no longer dream. What is the use when there’s nothing to live for?”
The evil laughed and dropped me onto the large pile of my victims.
A ring of fire ignited us and I noticed for the first time a number of Gods and Goddesses that were strewn around the humans.
We were all engulfed in flames and I closed my eyes as we burned.
“What’s the use,” I whispered, before the screen went black.
“Know you know,” the voice boomed. “The past, the present, and your future. Speak of this to no one.”
The voice disappeared but I hadn’t noticed. The moment I killed Helios, I had lost my ability to feel, my body had went numb, though I felt tears fall down my cheeks.
I walked out of the room with the new knowledge and caused Helios to half attack me.
“Are you alright?” he gasped, brushing away my tears. “Did something happen?”
“I’m sorry,” I managed. “I’m so…so…sorry. I can’t believe…what I’m going…to do.”
“Pandora?”
“I’m going to kill you Helios,” I cried out, leaning into him for support. “I’m going to kill everyone. I’m going to side with the evils!
“The world’s going to end and I’m going to kill all those people!”
“Pandora,” he said, holding me up. “It’s alright. You’re okay. Calm down. You can change your future.”
“I watched you,” I sobbed. “You tried to convince me that I was stronger than that. My tattoo was black and I was saying that you’d betrayed me, lied to me—that you weren’t any better than the evils!
“Then I lifted the knife and brought it down and I…I…”
I broke off into another choked sob.
“I know I shouldn’t tell you this,” I whispered, still crying. “But I can’t…I can’t let that happen. I can’t kill all of those people!”
I shook, my fear overcoming me, and I knew that, this time, it was no joke. No evil had fabricated this. There were no lies here.
What I saw…it would happen.
Helios took me from the cave and swam, holding onto me, from the cave to the boat. Even as I dressed, his gaze never left me.
When we left, the sun was completely gone and the moon was high in the sky.
Neither of us spoke until we reached my house. He was the first to break the silence.
“Are you alright?” he whispered, looking at me carefully.
I just nodded stiffly.
“Thank you,” I said, nearly inaudibly. “For taking me there, I mean. It’s better I know what’s going to happen. But…what’s going to happen now that I told you?”
“We’ll be punished in some way,” he said with a shrug. “It’s never that big.”
I nodded again.
We entered the house and I bypassed the kitchen—too sick to eat—and headed straight to the bathroom.
Helios started to head towards the bedroom and I caught his sleeve.
“Don’t leave me,” I whispered. “If you leave…you might disappear.”
His startled face warmed and he smiled before nodding and following me to the bathroom.
I showered, keeping my eyes open, as I washed the scent of Lake Alma from me.
When I stepped out of the shower and turned off the spray, Helios handed me a towel and turned around being a perfect gentleman.
That night, there were no peaceful dreams to fall into.

“NO!!!” I screamed, shooting up from the bed.
I was bathed in a cold sweat and I was shaking. My abrupt cry and movement had woken Helios and he held onto me, trying to calm me.
“It was only a dream,” he whispered. “It was only a dream. It wasn’t real.”
“It’s going to happen,” I sobbed, trying to push back the bloody pictures. “I’m going to kill them. And I don’t know why!”
My body shook and I saw my tattoo. It was a perfect silvery-white.
“What happens?” I wondered aloud. “What pushes me so far to make me go over the edge?”
“I wish I knew,” he said quietly. “I wish I knew…”
I didn’t sleep after that.
Though, even though I didn’t sleep the images were still there.
I couldn’t see Calleah without breaking into tears and when I kissed Helios, the pictured roared to life once more.
Before long, school was back in session and I was trying to fall back into the normal routine though ever spot of red made me shudder.
The school had returned in November after a month and a half of absence.
The repairs had been made but we were still not allowed into D hallway—the most damaged place in the school.
Not having CAD or Spanish hadn’t bothered me. Instead, we were drafted to Study Hall.
It was the second day back when Mr. Keats spoke up for the first time.
“I expect many of your projects to be nearly completed students,” he said lazily. “Especially yours, Miss Avalon.”
Sorry Mr. Keats, I said mentally. I didn’t do it. I was too busy being chased around by evils and living the story to do it.
Instead of saying anything, I simply nodded.
He left us to work on our projects and I was thankful. I was able to talk to Helios about what was happening to me and not sound crazy.
If anyone overheard they would think I was talking about the project. Maybe a Pandora’s Box project wasn’t such a bad idea.
“Are you feeling alright?” Helios asked, eyes full of worry. “You look pale.”
I shook my head and smiled.
“Just tired,” I said gently. “Don’t worry about it. Now…the project?”
“You’re seriously going to ask anything about this when you’re living it?” He shook his head. “Pandora…”
“Just so you know, everything that’s happened in the past six weeks isn’t viable evidence to the project,” I pointed out. “If I tried to tell it to Mr. Keats, he’d think I’m crazy.
“What am I going to tell him anyway? ‘Oh, Mr. Keats, Pandora is being reborn throughout the centuries and I’m her.
“‘The past six weeks I’ve spent running from the evils that the original Pandora released. Not to mention, I’ve got five of them inside me and I’m going to side with them and kill everyone!’
“I don’t think that get me an A.”
“You could simply tell him that Pandora was thought to be the first woman in Greek Mythology.
“She was crafted by Hephaestus and the Gods filled her with a variety of things. Then Hermes took her down to Earth and Epimetheus foolishly married her.
“Zeus had gifted a jar or, normally, a box filled with all the evils that plagued mankind to her.
“Pandora was told not to open it but her curiosity got the better of her and she did, releasing all the evils and keeping only hope inside.”
“Bravo, Mr. Pendragon,” Mr. Keats said approvingly. “This is what a model student is like. He knows all of Pandora’s story right down to the man she married.”
The class gave a short round of applause before returning to their projects.
“Show-off,” I teased as the bell rang.
The rest of the day was quick, even the one hour Study Hall Helios and I had endured. We survived by passing notes.
When Helios and I walked out of the building together, Accea came up to us and started talking.
“Oh Helios!” she gasped, hugging him tightly. “I tried your phone but it kept going to voice mail! Then I tried your house and it was saying was disconnected. What happened?”
Helios replied but I my attention was focused one Accea. Accea whose lips were a whole lot closer to Helios’s than they needed to be.
“Excuse me,” I said tugging Helios away from her. “But I’d appreciate it if you’d keep your slutty paws off of my boyfriend.”
Accea froze her attention turning to me.
“What did you just say?”
“I told you to keep your slutty paws off of my boyfriend,” I said icily. “And you don’t want me to say it again.”
“Helios!” she moaned, clinging onto him. “Did you hear what she said to me?! Did you hear it?! She called me a slut! How could you date someone like that?! She’s nothing!”
“I told you to get away from him!” I hissed, pulling Accea back by her hair. “And not to touch him.”
She snarled a curse and swung, trying to punch me.
I dodged and quickly knocked her out. Fighting the evils had taught me a thing or two. A teenage girl was nothing compared to them.
“Was it necessary?” Helios sighed. “To knock her out?”
I blinked, staring down at Accea. The images returned and I crumbled, pulling her unconscious body into my arms.
“Oh God,” I whispered. “It’s already starting. The killing. It starts with this and then comes the blood.”
I pulled my hand back and screamed; my hand was covered in blood.
Accea had cut her arm when she fell and I had blood all over me now.
My vision swam and Helios caught me before I could hit the ground.
The last thing I saw was the black flash of my tattoo.

I opened my eyes to a very familiar site.
“Chains again?” I yelled tiredly. “Really?”
Apparently, we were back in the Carpathian Mountains. And I was in another of the dresses I’d had here.
This was one was a light green with a dark, jade green jewel in the tiara.
“We had to update the tattoo,” someone said by my thigh. “The dragon wasn’t strong enough.”
Surrounding the bottom left corner was the head of a howling wolf.
“Who are you?” I asked, looking at the man dressed in a Russian uniform in front of me. “What am I doing here again?”
“The dragon, or strength spell, wasn’t strong enough,” the man said, “so we had to add protectiveness.”
I nodded, glancing down at the new silvery-white wolf detailed on my thigh.
“And you are?”
“Asclepius,” the black-haired, silver-eyed man said without hesitation. “I am the God of medicine. Helios brought you here after Jealousy took hold of you.”
I nodded again as Asclepius gathered what must have been his tattooing kit and left through the mirror door.
Helios entered a short time after Asclepius left.
“You’re awake.”
“Yes.”
“About the chains,” he said after a moment. “I’m sorry…I tried to talk Hephaestus out of it, if it counts.”
“I’m not angry at you,” I sighed. “You did what you had to do.”
Another short silence enveloped us before I finally spoke up.
“Accea,” I whispered slowly. “About her…is she alright? I didn’t hurt her did I?”
He shook his head.
“She just hurt her arm,” he said quietly. “She thinks she fell. I convinced her that she fell and hit her head.”
“That’s…good.”
Helios unchained me and I curled into one of the pillows.
“Promise me you won’t let me hurt anyone,” I whispered.
“I already—”
“Again, please,” I interjected. “For my own sanity, please tell me you’ll keep me from hurting anyone.”
“I won’t let you hurt anyone,” he sighed, pulling me to him.
“How could you love me?” I whispered.
“What?”
“How could you love me?” I repeated. “Accea was right. I’m nothing. How could you love me after that? After what I did?”
“Pandora,” he said, forcing me to look at him. “I’ve always loved you, despite your flaws. Your flaws have been my favorite things about you.
“They remind me to be careful, that you’re not a Goddess—that you don’t try to be perfect like everyone else.
“How can I prove to you that I’ve always loved you? That despite every claim you have against yourself that I have always cared for you?”
“Helios…”
I trailed off, unsure of what to say. Yes, I knew he loved me. That I had no doubt of.
It was me. It was me trying to find the flaws. Me worrying too much about the unimportant things.
So, instead of speaking, I looped my arms around his neck and kissed him, letting go of all my worries.
“Pandora,” he said pulling away. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop—”
“Then don’t,” I whispered, taking the tiara off and gently setting it on a pillow farther away from us. “If you can’t, what’s the problem?
“You may be a God but you’re also a male.”
“But if you get pregnant—”
“Then I’ll take care of her,” I said carefully. “We’ll have to hide out for nine months. So what? We’ve been doing it for a month and a half already.”
I pulled Helios down to me.
“I love you,” I said calmly. “And I plan to prove it to you. Again, and again, and again.”
His lips met mine then and I knew he had won.
That was the first night that, since I’d found out what I was destined to do, my dreams didn’t hold the bloodied images and Helios’s haunting words.


Please reply. I apologize in advance for any incorrect phrasing or wording. ****It is copied directly from the microsoft word document so font variations have been canceled out****