A Daughter's Love

Chapter Five.

Evangeline.

He was hurting but the pain that he felt was the cause of his own doing. I felt the fabric of the dress, Pandora had chosen for me slipping through my fingers and met Caleb’s confused, agonized gaze. He wanted answers. He wanted to know where our children were yet I didn’t know where to even begin to explain the events that had occurred. A part of me whished he would sleep until the war has passed despite knowing how cruel and selfish that sounded “Currently we are in the place between life and death” I explained, eyes turning onto the window where the grass of the fields swayed in the light breeze that always seemed constant within those caverns. Caleb was breathing hard, his nostrils flaring and teeth girting behind his closed lips “Our souls have yet to be judged but because you gave into death, the pain of it will linger for as long as you avoid the Krisi river” he will endure burning, suffocating lungs, his muscles will feel bruised whenever he would move from the fall into the fields and he would suffer until he would either move on or the war had been seen through but that could take years “If you choose to enter the river there will be no hope of you ever returning to the land of the living” I explained, remembering what Pandora had said when I washed his body with the same bath water I myself had bathed in. His hand dropped away from his chest, the pain eased by him refraining from moving too much. It was then that I grew sadder, my heart squeezing in my chest when I asked the question that ate at my very mind “Why? Why would you ever surrender to death when-?” the words caught in the back of my throat, words that I didn’t want to speak but that I knew I had to. Caleb froze, his entire body forced to become still due to the raw and painful emotions which were evident in my question “When they needed you to live?” the ‘they’ I was referring to where our children, were Malik and Malia and he knew this. He turned his head away from me as if to try and hide his face from my hurt eyes. I wasn’t without my secrets but how could he surrender so easily when I had fought so violently, so viciously with everything in me just to survive, to get to them? “I fought it but knowing that they would still have you to look after them gave me peace of mind” his pirate accent had faded over the years unlike Nolan who still clung to it like a comforting blanket of the past. I sometimes missed the way Caleb would speak, so gruff and without fear of a filter but time had made him more cautious, more patient to an extent and less dominant. Perhaps it was due to our children being born or the fact that he no longer needed to be as firm with a crew as he always had been? Maybe he had somehow managed to find peace in himself with his past and accepted our new life to being as close to heaven as he would ever be? “Now they have no one” I announced, reaching for the dress to start stepping into it. The front had a large slit that ran down from the chest to just above the navel and a thick band of black was wrapped around my neck like a choker to which the bodice was connected to. The skirt wasn’t big but rather fell elegantly to the floor in thin, breathable shreds of material that felt smooth against my legs whenever I would move. My back was completely exposed with only a need to tie the collar in order for it to stay on my body. It was something Pandora would wear, something that would make her appear even more beautiful than she already was whereas I felt somewhat uncomfortable with being so exposed “I am to meet with Neptune soon” I stated, moving to the cart beside the tub so that I could place the many rings, necklaces and bracelets onto my hands, wrists and around my throat. I didn’t dare glance in Caleb’s direction, knowing that he was against the idea as soon as I had mentioned it “And you’re certain that he wasn’t a part of this?” my spine straightened, my lips setting in a thin line as I balled my hands into fists both in front of me and at my side. How dare he accuse the sea god of having been part of our murder. How dare he even think it. I turned on him, eyes glaring, blazing with anger and fury “He would never do such a thing” I firmly declared, trying to keep my calm for fear of Caleb losing his temper. Caleb scoffed, turning his eyes to the floor in front of where he was sat on the bed, one hand gripping the fabric of his shirt over his heart while the other clung to the mattress at his side “The water is what capsized Ant’s boat and threw me overboard” I understood where he was coming from but Balor had told me why we had been murdered in the first place and the name of the god he had accused was not Neptune but Amun. I shook my head in protest “But it wasn’t the water that prevented us from reaching the surface or me from removing my necklace” Caleb looked at me as if he didn’t believe a word I was saying. After a decade one would think that he would never hear the name ‘Neptune’ ever again yet there we were, arguing over the god that Caleb blamed for the state of depression I had been in for nearly a year, for the pain I had suffered when really it was Amun to blame both then and in that very moment after our murder “It was Amun punishing us for our part in Neptune’s entrapment” Caleb shook his head at my words and moved to stand, grunting as he did but he managed to root himself, hand still gripping at his shirt when he turned to fully face me “In Neptune’s entrapment” he repeated, speaking the name as if it was some form of a curse, one that only Aurella could place upon someone. The witch had crossed my mind many times in the past but none of us had yet to see her since the day she had slaughtered the whale and sent me to the Elysium fields where I would meet with Balor and endure such torture. We had become close during our time together yet something still bothered me regarding Faolan’s resurrection, something unsettling that made my skin crawl every time I would think of it but I pushed the thoughts away to deal with the matters at hand “What is they’re working together then?” my fingernails dug into the flesh of my palms, my arms trembling when I lowered my head to hide my face, my glaring eyes behind a curtain of ivory white hair. I shook my head slowly, hair swaying from side to side “He would never” I said lowly which to Caleb may have sounded unsure which is why he took a staggered step forward, his teeth gritting to try and hide his pain, his own hair messy and tangled, yet to be brushed or put up into a bun “By going through with this, Amun would exact his revenge and Neptune would be granted the ability to see you as often as he’d like-.” I felt my blood growing hotter, my shoulders shaking with a desire to lunge, to attack whoever stood in front of me but the voice in the back of my mind kept repeating that it was Caleb stood before me, the father of my daughter. He was Malia’s father, I couldn’t just attack him even if I wanted to “Both parties would benefit from this and-.” I couldn’t stand it anymore, I couldn’t bite my tongue, couldn’t suppress the need to snap and that is exactly what happened. I raised my head, eyes glaring, narrowed into Caleb’s form like a warning growl, daring him to keep talking, daring him to continue testing me “Neptune would never hurt Malik by taking his mother away from him!” I snarled to which Caleb stiffened. I could see the thought running through his mind, thoughts that I knew he would have ever since having found out that Malik was indeed Neptune’s son. Why had she said Malik and not Malia? Why had she only named one and not both? “He would never hurt his own son” I added, turning away to face the mirror, running my hands through the dried strands, gathering them to pin them up with the use of a gold hairpin that matched the rest of my jewellery. Caleb’s lips parted, jaw dropping as he processed my declaration. I hadn’t wanted to tell him like that but by the time the words had slipped out, there was no turning back “His son?” the confusion and shock in his tone drew my eyes to his reflection in the mirror. He met my gaze with wide golden orbs. I closed mine, letting my arms drop to my sides, hands halting their work on my hair. I sighed, the anger having faded but replaced by guilt and shame “You know what happened on the night before the separation when I returned to the ship and you were waiting for me-.” I lowered my head, not wanting to look at either him or his reflection, my hands moving to grip the glass of the table that was placed beneath it. A stain glass bowl of various fruits sat in the centre of it, candles perched on either side “Everyone knows what happened” I added, thinking back to my night spent with Neptune, his touch, his body pressed firmly into mine, our thundering hearts and gasping breaths. I felt my eyes begin to water with a mixture of pain and adoration. I felt agony because of having kept it all a secret for so long yet I felt love and adoration toward the memories of that very night “So Malia is-?” before Caleb could even finish his question, I whirled around, my hair swaying in synchronization with my abrupt movements. It cut him off before he could ever assume that our daughter wasn’t his, before he could even begin to imply it “Malia is your daughter” I declared, leaving no room for argument. Caleb showed signs of both emotional and physical pain across his features but he tried to hide them, eyes holding no emotion and face set firm. He straightened out his shoulders and lowered his hand to his side “And Malik is Neptune’s son” the paintings on the wall behind him caught my attention since I had been looking for something, anything to draw my eyes away from the wreck I had caused. I was like a painter who had painted a portrait of a beautiful woman but had somehow managed to disfigure her and couldn’t strand to gaze upon my own work because of it “The process is known as superfecundation when two eggs are fertilized by two different men on separate occasions that occur shortly after one other” I explained, remembering what I had read in doctor Dubois’s office late one night, having lied and said that I had a birthing to go to but instead I needed time to research what I had discovered after finding out about Malik’s ability to control water “Malik was conceived on that night and Malia was the product of me trying to distract myself from my own grief” a flicker of remembrance moved across his gaze when he thought back to that night when we had slept together time and time again in my selfish attempt to rid myself of Neptune’s memory, at that time I hadn’t thought something like my children could even be possible “Are you sure about this?” there it was, the glimmer of hope that he still clung to as if waiting for everything I had said to be some kind of sick joke but it wasn’t. The painting on the crystalline wall was of a mansion, one almost as big and grand as a castle befitting a queen and it was titled ‘Arshiya Castle’. The surname was familiar to my ears since I had studied both the names and backgrounds of nobility. It had been the place where Pandora was born and spent most of her human life. She was Pandora Arshiya and somewhere in her blood ran Persian ancestry “Malik can both control and manipulate water” I said eradicating all glimmers of hope that he possibly had. It was cruel but there was no hesitation when it came to war, no secrets that could be kept. Caleb’s jaw set “How long?” he questioned and I knew exactly what he expected of me. I tore my gaze away from the painting and onto him, meeting his gaze with one of my own. I hadn’t felt so powerful, so ready to fight since before the separation, since my battle with Vulcan “It’s been three years” Caleb sank down onto the edge of the bed, suppressing a grunt when he did so, hand moving to once again clutch the place above his heart and lungs. He gasped for air, most likely feeling as though he was drowning. I wanted to go to him, to hold him and comfort him but I knew that if I did he would push me away “I have shown him how to control his abilities, having told him that if anyone was to ever see him use those very abilities that they would be put in danger, they would die and it would be his fault” of all the things I had said, this truth made the blood in Caleb’s veins boil with rage, hand gripping at the edge of the bed, arms and shoulders trembling. Yes, I knew what a monster I was and I accepted it. I knew just how cruel I had been; how much I had effected my son by having forced him to believe what I had said. I gritted my teeth to suppress the tears that were starting to well up in the corners of my eyes and turned away from Caleb to hide this fact “You may not understand and you may hate me as I deserve to be hated-.” I paused when I felt like my voice was about to break and swallowed past the lump in my throat, mustering up enough self-control to finish speaking without giving away any remorse or emotion “But I did it to protect him. If Amun were to ever find out about his godly blood, he would have taken Malik from me-.” one more, one more sentence. That was all I had to do then I could leave, I could finally allow myself to break down away from peering eyes, in solitude, alone to lap at my own wounds of self-hatred and loathing. I could do it. I knew I could “And I would rather die than allow for that to happen” with that I started in the direction of the doorway, about to exit through it when a thought crossed my mind, causing my feet to still in the act of walking. A tear had managed to escape but because my back was to Caleb, he couldn’t possibly know that it had “Please try to remember that even though he may not be your biological child, you still raised him and because of that you are still his father” I left, my feet carrying me down the long crystalline, blue hallways until I found a corner I could hide behind, sinking down onto the floor with tears flowing from my closed eyes. If I could’ve gone back in time I would have done the exact same thing but that didn’t mean my actions were to be without shame or grief or even a sense of regret. I had done it to protect him from Amun who would surely gave torn Malik away from me, insisting that a child of godly blood is to be raised among gods, gods I wouldn’t ever be able to see due to my promise to Gaea during my time alive. That promise would have kept me away from my son, it would have meant giving him up and I couldn’t allow it, I couldn’t lose half of the reason why I dared to live and my children were that very reason. As I sat there, sobbing, broken and afraid, I could only pray to whatever god it was that would listen that one day my son would come to forgive me for what I had done, for the lie I had told and the fear I had implanted within him.   

I managed to compose myself, sliding back up the wall, hands rubbing furiously at my eyes to dry them of their tears. It was then that I proceeded to make my way down the passage ways, heading in the direction Pandora had lead us before. She’d asked assistance from a guard in order to carry an unconscious Caleb to the room she had prepared for us to stay in. The guards there were dressed in different armour from various eras and countries yet they worked as one under her reign, placed there by Balor himself. The hallways opened up to a grand staircase that overlooked a foyer where knights and soldiers stood along the length of the room on either side of me. The staircase was made of the same blue crystal, perfectly cut and forged into the structure of the building with golden railings decorated in crystal skulls, stained glass and precious gems. The floor below was the same blue yet there was an image of a snake in the centre of it, drawn in molten gold with poisonous azalea flowers decorating its twists and turns, reflecting the light of the enormous chandelier that hung overhead, decorated in the same, glass, crystals and gems. Pillars of gold supported the upper floor below, lining the walls behind the guards, all armed with weapons of various shapes and sizes. The gold double doors stood wide open, the fields and river evident beyond its gaping hole but my eyes weren’t studying the scenery, instead they were locked onto a figure that stood below, his appearance having changed so much since the last time I had seen him. His face was clean shaven yet he was still handsome, his hair still short and messy, eyes as vibrant as they were in my memories when they gazed upon me with so much awe and adoration in that moment. His attire was probably the most striking difference, being dressed in a pair of black trousers, polished shoes of the same colour, a grey undershirt and a long black trench coat, the crest of an anchor and a whale having been hand embroidered in silver onto the back of the coat. I had to look twice just to be sure it was the same person. Neptune never wore a shirt or shoes, he, much like I did, he preferred to be less constricted by things as trivial as clothing “Amphitrite” my shoulders stiffened at the sound of his nickname for me, the name he had bestowed upon me during my time as a goddess yet there I stood, aged and scarred, withered while he hadn’t aged a day since we had stood before Amun, requesting that he separate us. I felt my resolve crumbling, my hands reaching for the skirt of my dress before I rushed down the stairs as fast as I could without slipping or falling, bare feet feeling the biting cold of the crystal “Neptune” I breathed his name once I had reached him, throwing my arms around his shoulder, pulling him to me to burry my face into his shoulder. He smelt exactly like he did ten years ago, the same salty damp smell that had brought me so much comfort. He breathed a laugh but returned my hug, arms winding protectively, longingly around me “I have missed you” his voice whispered to me regardless of the guards surrounding us or the woman who stood upon a balcony overhead, observing us, auburn hair braided back. I stared at the open doors behind him, eyes filling with a new round of tears, tears of joy and relief. He sensed my tears and pulled away to wipe them away with his thumbs holding my face in his hands, eyes studying me. I wanted to shrink back, to hide my aged features as if shamed but he merely smiled “You are just as beautiful as I remember” I was shocked, about to pull away from him to stumble back a step when he leaned down to press a swift kiss to my lips. It was so familiar, so cold and refreshing like it had been in my dreams. I grabbed onto the folds of his coat, tugging him closer, eyes shut and savouring him once more. Was he merely a ghost? A figment of my depraved mind? Was he simply an image or was he really there? When he pulled away, hands dropping away from me, my own raised to trace his face, his nose, his lips, eyes, jaw and cheeks “It’s really you” I uttered, the tears of joy escaping my eyes and trailing down my face to my chin without so much as a sob or a choke. He leaned down, pressing his forehead against mine before pulling me in for another hug, holding me close with one hand tangled in my hair and the other wound around my shoulders. He hid his face in my hair and breathed in deeply as if remembering my scent like I had remembered his “I came as soon as Balor sent word” he explained, pulling away as a sign to get started on the conversation at hand. Pandora who loomed overhead, turned her back to us, leaning back against the railing of the balcony with pain and hurt in her eyes from having seen our reunion but she was also happy for having granted someone else the joy she herself could not have “This is Amun’s divine punishment” I said, motioning to the world around me, to the mansion, the guards and the Elysium fields through which the river Krisi ran. Neptune didn’t look effected by this news leading me to believe that Balor had already successfully informed him of Amun’s involvement “And because of it I wish to overthrow him as the ruler of the gods” I announced, to which Pandora stiffened, her head turning to glance down at me from over her shoulder while Neptune’s face grew stunned, filled with question and confusion as to exactly how I was planning to strip a god of his throne “Balor has already chosen to side with me during this upcoming battle or war as he preferred to called it” and it was all due to Pandora’s influence and her own desire to see Amun fall from his mighty post as king. At this bit of information, Neptune dared glance up at her, having been aware of her presence from the very beginning “Now I ask for you to do the same” I could see the way Pandora’s eyes flickered in my direction as if to ask ‘Do you honestly think he could ever resist a request from the woman he loves even if it ends up costing him his life?’ Neptune turned his attention back onto me “And how exactly do you intend for us to depose him?” his use of the word ‘us’ made his answer toward my previous statement as clear as day without him even having to speak the words. Pandora nodded and turned her head away once more to gaze forward to the hallways and painting that lined the upper level. She wore the same dress she had previously worn and her hair was as perfect as it had been half a day prior “Through the aid of my children” Neptune grew silent, his body stiffening. I was certain he had some knowledge of their birth however that was all he knew, no names or faces or even the colour of their eyes. He couldn’t possibly know of their interests, their strengths and capabilities like I did “Are you suggesting that two mortal children will bring about Amun’s fall?” Pandora questioned. There was something about the way she moved and spoke that was different from the last time I had met with her. She appeared more determined, fearless and powerful as if she were a warrior readying for a grand battle, a battle she had been expecting for just over a decade “You forget that my daughter, Malia is the last remaining heir to the Campbell bloodline thus making her the rightful wielder of the Leandros sword-.” Neptune listened intently to my words but he, much like Pandora had found it odd that I had referred to Malia as the last remaining heir when in their minds Caleb and I had two children. Did that not make Malik of Campbell blood as well? “Her skills as a swordsman is beyond even human capabilities and once she is to awaken as a Heart who knows what newfound abilities she may inherit” both listened, both had arguments however they kept it to themselves. There was no explaining what Malia could do even at just ten years old, they had to trust me and one-day witness it for themselves that which I speak of. The crystalline floor shone with the light of the chandelier that hung from the cavern ceiling “Is your son incapable of wielding a sword then?” Pandora asked the question she and Neptune had been contemplating over. I closed my eyes and breathed in deep, knowing that there would be no other choice but for me to tell Neptune of his son, of his child that I had carried, birthed and raised for a decade before being torn away from him by a tyrant of a god “My son does not possess Campbell blood-.” Neptune’s body stiffened and Pandora had a look of shock written clear across her features. I had expected nothing less than utter disbelief or confusion. Before even more questions could be asked, I walked past Neptune in the direction of the double doors but paused with my back to him. It would make things easier not to look at him while I spoke “I became impregnated with twins, each created by a different father, one was born into the Campbell bloodline while the other harboured godly blood” silence, utter silence was what followed my declaration. It had been centuries since the last demi-god had been slaughtered yet there I was claiming that my son was the first of his kind to be born for hundreds of years. I breathed in then turned to meet Neptune’s questioning gaze “Malia is Caleb’s daughter, however Malik is your son” Pandora’s hands shot to the railing, holding on for fear of her losing her balance. The shock radiated around us like the crackling of bone and even the knights expressed their shock through faintly whispering and conversing amongst themselves. Neptune’s eyes widened and his lips parted like he had just been struck across the face “He possesses the ability to both control and manipulate water as you do and I have taught him all I know regarding his power but there are things that only you can teach him-.” my eyes blazed with determination, with truth and pleading. I needed him to do as I asked, to go through with it and have faith in me so that one day I could walk among the world of the living and be reunited with my children again. Caleb and I depended on him “As the father of my son, I ask you-.” I turned to fully face him, my hands balling at my sides when I met his gaze head on with a challenge, with an ocean in their depths that raged like a violent and dangerous storm “Please protect my children until they may one day be strong enough to fight alongside us in this war” all of us, I, Neptune, Pandora, Balor and Caleb would not age in our current states, whether it was due to immortality or to the fact that we were supposedly dead and thus we would have all the time in the world to wait patiently until the day would come that Amun would meet his defeat. The ruler of the gods was the only one who had control over life and was therefore the only being in existence who could restore our souls to the land of the living. This is where the story begins, the tale of a war greater than any other, fought by two siblings and three gods, a war that would prove difficult and agonizing but through that very torment I would watch my children grow and blossom into the warriors that they were born to be. The first ever war of the gods was upon us and the earth as well as the sea and heavens could sense it.