Chapter 3: Athena Loss

"No! Ugh ….. Well, there goes dinner.". Athena watched as the deer bounded away through the snowy forest with its little white tail high in the sky. 'Another day hungry I guess.' she thought to herself. Athena started the thirty minute hike through the snow covered forest back to the cabin. For as long as she could remember, it has just been her and her mother out in the woods. 'now that I think about it, I have only ever seen my mother and the occasional hunters that come out into these woods', she thought, 'I've never met anyone else in my life. But it doesn't matter, I prefer it this way.'. As she continued the hike back, she wondered why her mother was always so protective of her. It wasn't like she was in any danger. She was just hunting, and like always, nothing new or exciting ever happened. Just the way her mother liked it. She rounded the corner to find her mother a little ways of in the distance, by the house, pacing. Waiting for her to return home. "I'm back!" Athena shouted to her worried mother. Her mother turned in her direction with a depressed look on her face. Probably because there was no food... again. Her mother shouted back, "No food?". "No!" Athena replied. Her mother replied back, "Come on in once you put away your shoes! I'll be inside waiting!". Amity watched her mother walk inside the house. Athena's mother was a more petite women with short brown hair and green eyes, while Athena was slightly more built and had long brown hair and almost red but brown eyes. As Athena continued to walk back to the house she thought to herself 'Why is she always waiting for me so anxiously to come back? Something seems off today.'. She walked inside to find her mother scavenging the cupboards for something for them to eat. She walked past her and headed towards her bedroom where she plopped down on her bed exhausted. Her mother shouted from the other room "does apples and cheese sound ok?". Athena responded back "yeah, sounds fine. Just give me anything really, I'm starving." Athena could hear her mother in the other room cutting up some apples. Even though Athena and her mother lived mostly secluded lives, her mother would occasionally travel to the nearest town to by groceries. She sat up and walked out to the small little dining\kitchen room and sat at the table. her mother gave her a full apple but didn't grab anything for herself. Amity's mother sat down across from her and leaned back in her chair. "Why aren't you eating?" Athena said with a mouthful of fruit. "You need the food more…" her mother said looking away. Her mother was clearly the smaller type, but you still shouldn't be able to see her ribs. Athena was definitely more well built, but you couldn't see her ribs, that's for sure. Athena said, "I wont eat unless you eat too.", pushing her plate towards her mother. She looked at Athena with a warm fake smile plastered on her face and said, "Thank you sweetie, but I'm not hungry". Clearly lying, Athena stopped eating and stared at her mother, one eyebrow raised in disbelief. Her mother chuckled and said, "Cute, but no.". her mother suddenly looked down with a frown on her face. "What is it mom?" Athena asked. "You know I love you right?" Her mother asked, a more serious tone in her voice now. "Of course! What kind of a question is that?" Athena quickly returned. Her mother looked at her with a sad and worried look in her eyes and went to open her mouth and speak when suddenly there was a knock at the door, ' Bam, Bam !'. "Open up, Hellen! You know why we're here!" Her mother sprung to her feet, grabbed Athena's wrists and whispered in her ears "HIDE!, THE BED, NOW!" And ran to the door. Athena still in some minor shock from what had just happened to unfold in a matter of seconds thought, 'Who is that! We never get visitors! What does she mean!', but she obeyed her mother and ran into her room, sliding under her bed. 'Dam-it! I left my door open', Athena thought to herself, wondering if she should run back out and close. She listened closely and could hear the voice of a man, and by the sounds and vibrations of his footsteps, he was large. "Where is she Hellen? We know you hid a second child. So where is she?" The mysterious man stated. "I..I don't know what you mean?" Her mother fumbled. "Quit with the lies women!" The man growled. "We know. Search the area men!". Athena still under the bed could hear multiple footsteps now. All of them heavy, and could hear some of them speak. 'They must all be men, but why are they here? Who are they? What do they want?', Athena's mind ran wild. She heard some of the men walk around the house and one of them even walked into her room but didn't come in all the way. He looked around and said, "looks like a second room in here, sir,", he paused and walked closer to the bed, "Another bed, two people maybe?". He walked right up to the bed and started moving around the blankets. Athena could feel her heart stop. He was just about to check under the bed when the first man called out "come out here men!". "Yes sir," said the man whose feet were only inches away from her face now. Athena could feel her heart finally start to beat again as the man walked out into the dining room. Athena could see her mother standing sheepishly next to the first man, who was quite intimidating looking and dressed in what she could only assume to be royal guard armor. "leave us alone for a minute, men." The first man said. "yes, sir" the rest of them replied as they walked out of the house, clanking their large metal boots on the way out. As the door closed behind them Athena's mother flinched at the noise. "where is she?" The man said very seriously and coldly. Almost in a growl. Her mother looked at the ground and muttered out, "I…I…". "SPEAK WOMEN!" He shouted at her. She looked up at him and said with all of the courage she could muster, "Go to hell….". He looked at her with his icy blue eyes, and the coldest stare. He said, "You better choose your next words very carefully Hellen... or I'll kill you both." To which she responded, "I'd rather die than tell you where she is you motherf—" ' CING ,… Bump !' Athena looked in horror and disbelief as she saw her mother collapse onto the ground. Blood seeping out of her body. Without thinking she scrambled out from underneath the bed, and ran to her mothers side. She grabbed her mothers face and yelled, "Mom! No! No! No!", with tears pouring down her face onto her mothers limp body. Her mother with all of her strength left in her said, "I'm so… ugh….sorry…..I wish I could explain everything to you more clearly…. ugh... I wish I could turn back time, and fix everything…..I love you Athena… but I'm..." and with that her mothers eyes went blank, and her body completely limp. She was dead. Stabbed strait through her stomach. "NO! Mom please..." Athena stared at her mother's dead body with tears pouring down her face. "There you are. guess all it took was a little blood to bring you out, how fitting." The man said who was still behind her. "well, Athena, was it? Your going to have to come with me sweetheart." He said in a horrible nonchalant voice. Just then something snapped inside of Athena, she didn't know what, and she didn't care. All she felt inside of herself was her blood boiling. Something she had never felt before. She felt something on her back, but she didn't care. She didn't care about anything anymore. She just felt rage and the desire to kill the people that killed her mother. And with that, she stood up and whipped around, facing the man dead on. She looked him dead in the eye. "What the fuck!" The man said with a horrified look on his face, taking a step back. Athena just then realized that all around her was flames! Blood red flames! She looked to her side and notice she also had, wings? Giant white wings that were engulfed in the flames. She looked back at the man who killed her mother and said in the coldest voice imaginable she said "I'm going to kill you, and the last thing you are going to see is my face." The man who was so intimidating just moments ago now seemed so minuscule. But the fear in his face quickly turned to a smirk. "I've finally found you. The Blood Moon Child, the foretold one." Athena lunged at the man so quickly, that he could not react. She grabbed his throat and pinned him up against the wall and screamed "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT! WHAT DO YOU MEAN!". He chuckled and said, "she didn't tell you anything did she? No surprise there. Well it would be a pity to tell you now. Why not wait a little bit longer?". In her rage she threw him across the room and into the table. "wow, you sure have gotten strong haven't you?" He said getting off of what was now a broken pile of wood pieces on the floor, and wincing in pain slightly. She walked over to him, lifting him up onto his feet and said, "Tell me, or I'll kill you!". He chuckled and said, "Go ahead, do it. I know you don't have it in you!". In Athena's state of absolute rage she shrew him again, but this time the man slammed into the door, breaking it, and went flying outside. Athena quickly followed after him on foot. She walked down a couple of front porch steps and through the small layer of snow to follow him. The man was now on his side trying to get up, but was clearly in pain. he had blood dripping down his face, and he might have received a broken bone or two. The other soldiers that the first man had told to leave were now rushing towards them. Athena picked the man up once again and looked him dead in the eye and said, "Are you gonna tell me now?". The man looked back at her wincing in pain and said, "Are you just gonna throw me?". She dropped him to the ground and looked at him. "Fine, have it your way." Athena said. Just then Athena's eyes started to glow a deep red color, and she felt the individual feathers on her wings turn to sharp blades. Athena then said with a look of disgust on her face, curling her lip slightly, "Last chance", and the man looked at her with no fear in his eyes and said, "Just kill me already.". Athena granted his wish happily and took her wing and pierced it straight through him. When she pulled her wing out, the man collapsed to the ground. She turned around to see the other men had just arrived. She turned and looked at them with a look of hatred, and the desire to kill. The men looked at her in absolute horror. There faces where almost as white as the snow they where standing on. She was a monster to them. A monster that had fire engulfing her, wings of pure white, and glowing red eyes. She took a step towards them, but they took a step back. She said to them, "Who are you? What do you want with me? And why did you kill my mother?". The men looked at each other and then back at her. One of the three men stepped forward and said, "We are from the royal guard, but we didn't come her to kill your mother. We came to take you away from her as the king requested all of the children to be if they were born of the blood moon festival seventeen years ago." Then the man took a step back in slight fear and looked away from Athena's gaze. Athena responded, while sounding almost desperate, "But why is he trying to take us away?". The same man replied, "Because one child was foretold to be born with extraordinary powers. That one child was foretold to overthrow the kings themselves!". Athena looked down for a moment, then looked back up at the three men. One of the other men then said in a voice almost too quiet to here, "we think you are that foretold child." And then he took a step back in fear of what Athena would do to him. Athena then said, "what did he mean, the man I killed, when he said 'where is the second child'?". One of the men said, "seventeen years ago we came here and took a child from your mother, but we just recently got some information that said that she had two girls. Not one.". Athena then said, more to herself, "I have a sister…..". Athena still couldn't believe what was happening. Just moments ago she was with her mother, and now her mother is dead, she murdered someone, and she found out she has a sister. Athena looked up and realized that two of the men had drawn their swords and had gotten much closer. Then, seconds after, one of the two men said, "Get her!". And the two of them charged at Athena. In an instant Athena subconsciously reacted. Her wings slammed downward, throwing her in the air, just barely avoiding the two men's swords. She didn't know how she did it, 'my wings are acting like they have a mind of their own!' She thought. Athena landed a couple yards behind where she took of, and she didn't have enough time to react to one of the men throwing something at her. She didn't quite know what it was but it felt like a magical object, she could feel it radiating off of it. Suddenly the small metal, spherical figure in front of her exploded with sparks. " AHHUUGHH! " Athena screamed as the object engulfed her in what looked like lightning. She fell to her knees, hands in the snow, and her wings, the flames, and her glowing eyes seemed to vanish in an instant, falling to dust. She felt human again. Athena heard the third man who didn't get involved in the fight say, "What are you doing! We can't do this to her! She is just a child!". Then one of the other men said, "You know what she is! We have to kill it!". "Kill it! Are you kidding! We can't kill 'it' , and she has a name." Then all the men start going back and forth between each other yelling and bickering with one another. "Its the kings orders! We have to do it!". "No we don't! We can bring her back to them and let them decide! Maybe she can be of some use to them.". "So they can kill her? We can't do that, well only make her more mad! We have to dispose of it here!". Athena, still off to the side and being shocked, thinks to herself, 'Are you kidding me! What is this? Why can't I move? Where are my powers?'. Suddenly Athena notices something. She manages to look up from the ground just a little and sees someone peeking around the side of a tree. 'Who is that?' Athena thinks to herself. Just then, an arrow flies over to one of the man's head and goes straight through. He collapses to the ground, dead. The two remaining men start to panic. One of them says, "what was that! Who shot that!". The man that was hiding behind the tree just a moment ago reviled himself. He was fairly tall, about six foot, brown short hair, and blue eyes. He pulled back his bowstring and aimed for the guards and said, "Let her go.". One of the guards responded saying by saying, "Who are you?". "someone you don't want to mess with." The stranger replied. 'why is he trying to help me? I'm a monster.' Athena thought to herself, still unable to move. The strange man looked away from the guards and at Athena who is still being electrocuted on the ground a little ways behind the guards. One of the guards then says, "I suggest you put the bow down boy, or things might get ugly for you.". Then the strange new man replies, "oh I'm counting on it.", and with that, he draws his bow in an instant and kills another guard. The last remaining guard charges at the man with his sword drawn. The man dodges the guard's sword with ease and whips around behind him. He then puts his bow around the guards neck and chokes him out until he collapses to the ground unconscious. He walks over to Athena, who is still stuck on to the ground, and turns off the strange magical object giving it a tap. No longer being electrocuted, Athena falls backwards on to her butt. She sits still for a moment to regain her breath before looking up at the man. 'He seems friendly enough….' Athena thinks to herself sarcastically. He looks down at her before putting his hand out to help her up. With a smile on his face, he says, "My name is Atreus, whats yours?". Athena looks up at him, still on the ground, and replies, "Athena, my name is Athena." He gives her an even bigger smile and says, "Let me help you up.". Almost to happy with the current situation. As Athena reached her hand up, she noticed that the man who Atreus had choked out was right behind him with a sword! But before Athena could warn Atreus, time seemed to stop. She had a choice. For the first time in her life, she could choose. It felt right in so many wrong ways. She could either stop the guard from impaling Atreus, but she would most likely be the target instead. Or, she could let him die. But she couldn't let that happen, 'I have nothing left to lose anyway, the closest person in my life just died' Athena thought to herself, tears forming in her eyes. Life then seemed to go back to normal speed. Athena yelled, "look out!" And pushed Atreus to her left and her body followed, but the guard predicted this and his blade followed her. Athena now over top of Atreus, her arms pining his arms down at his side, she screamed in pain as the guards blade went strait through her, " AAAUUUGGGHHH! ". She looked down at her stomach and saw the blade had gone strait through her. 'Somehow, it doesn't hurt that bad now. It only hurt for that one second.' Athena thought. She realized that even though it didn't hurt anymore, her body was still reacting to the pain with her eyes pouring. She looked back up at Atreus, who she was still on top of, and his face said it all. He was just as shocked as she was. There was a giant blade sticking strait through her abdomen. Athena wasn't going to let this stop her. She used her knees as leverage to push herself up off the ground and turned around to face the guard, who was still in a slightly dreary phase. She looked at him and grinned as she pulled the sword strait out of her body, wincing in pain slightly. The guard had a look of terror on his face, flabbergasted as to how she managed to get back up so easily after that. The guard said, "What are you? You monster!", Athena replied, now holding the sword in her right hand, "I am your monster!", slashing the sword strait through his neck, de-heading him. His head fell to the ground rolling to Athena's feet. She looked down at what had just happened, realizing the hole through her body, the head at her feet, and all of the dead bodies that surrounded the area. She turned around and looked at Atreus who was still on the ground, looking at her with horror in his eyes. Athena's body couldn't take anymore, her hand weakened, dropping the sword to her side. With her knees buckling, her body collapsed to the side. 'What have I done…..' Athena thought as she drifted off due to the immense strain on her body. She had gone unconscious