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I shift uncomfortably at this entire situation.
Ov notices this.
Uncle states plainly, “I may be a god, but I'm nothing like The Thirteen.”
“The Thirteen?”
“How do humans know so little about the gods?” I flinch at his harsh words. “Oh dear, I mean no offense to you. It was an observation.”
“It's taboo to talk about the gods in our world. Apollo is the one that’s the slightest of exceptions in my town with the Pythian Priestesses who are dedicated to honoring Apollo and Persephone.” No matter what, the immortal’s names were hardly stated. There have been old fears that stating the name of a divine would bring them to you. My family never gave much credence to this… Although, admittedly, this didn’t serve me well when taking into consideration that I'm now in Caelum. “Now, what did you mean by The Thirteen?”
“Oh yes, how could I have forgotten,” muttered Ov. “I’m referring to the thirteen Olympians. The Olympians include Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Athena, Ares, Hephestus, Aphrodite, Hermes, Dionysus, Demeter, Artemis, and Apollo.”
“But I thought Hades lived in the Underworld. Wouldn’t that mean he’s not an Olympian?” I ask genuinely curious.
Ov snorts. “That must be some mortal rumor. You see, The Thirteen regularly hold court on Mount Olympus which is at the center of our four courts. But when referring to our world as a collective, we’re Olympus. Hence, even Hades is still an Olympian.”
Nodding, I add, “That makes sense.”
Suddenly Ganymede rushes into the garden, Creaking the gate to the garden closed. “Lord Ov!” His eyes flash with a bit of fear. Looking bewildered and out of breath. “The guards are knocking on Lady Pandora’s door. They’re talking about breaking down the door.”
Dang it.
My eyes whip over to Uncle Ov looking for any direction on what to do.
Sighing with an air of annoyance, Uncle Ov replies, “Fine. I'll send her back through the servant staircases. Hopefully then we can avoid a confrontation.” He winks at me.
“What can I say, confrontations find me,” I laugh.
Ov stands up and gestures to the far back wall of the garden. The path feels long and winding.
Standing in front of the ivy-covered walls, I ask, “This looks like a wall…”
The man smiles, “You found your way here using a seemingly average wall.”
Valid point.
He pulls back the curtain of ivy. Instead of a fully brick facade, an iron gate stands latch.
Turning to Ov, I unlocked the gate. “Thank you for the tea and company.”
After all, I have more questions.
“Let's do this again sometime. Perhaps next time I'll bring my dog, Kuon.” Uncle shouts from behind me. I nod as I latch the gate behind me. Rushing to my room. “Feel free to come back to these gardens any time.”
This pathway connects to the one that I used to get down here. I'm thankful to know where I'm in this labyrinth of a castle. Rushing up the stairs, I get to my door. Pressing my ear to the wall, I listen for signs that they broke down the door.
No voices.
Just heavy knocking.
Flying open the hidden door, I shut it behind me. Double checking that it closed cleanly. I relent, “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm coming.”
I unlock the door to my suite to a frustrated looking Athena. “Finally. Why didn’t you answer for my first hundred knocks?” She shot me a challenging look. Opening my mouth, she gestures to me to be silent. “It was a rhetorical question. Now come on. Your presence is requested for dinner.”
“Why didn’t you let yourself in like last time?” I ask earnestly.
Athena glares. “With the plague, magic is a finite resource. Hearing the sploosh and then silence, I was scared for your safety. Judging by your wild hair, I assume you were sleeping and I'll not waste my magic on that.”
