Akhill

Chapter Four: RunWay II

"Meet, Thetis, She is my new retainer in Hera's stead." Mr Rook introduced Theis to his Customers.

"Really Rook, She's a beauty."

"In Hera's stead? Is Her fine?"

"What can she do, I would say I am about to be disappointed. I came to see Hera."

"All would be an answer, engraved soon in memory." Mr Rook said assuring his viewers. He signalled a painted board to be set before him, as he brought out a pile of parchment with ink markings on them, which he handed to Thetis while he set other things ready.

"How long shall I wait, Rook?"

"Abit longer, my dear friends. I await the waking of the wind to set the tone of my journey so." Mr Rook replied as he sat properly and spreads his hand head faced up then breath in the air. He held it in for a while then as the wind blow his way, wver so slightly causing his rich black curl hair to move. "r******w, my sweet." Mr Rook signalled Thetis.

"Today, Oh no a day before, wake me from my deep slumber, raising me from the company, and yes the company of the petals of my tomorrow, painted bleached white, flowing red…" Thetis read on as Mr Rook drank in every syllable and octave of her word, then he moved the brush in mid-air as river flow, just instantly he dipped in the brush tip into the paint first white then red then white, responding to the highs and lows of Thetis voice which seems drawn from the letters on the parchment

"Can my morning be more, silent and my night more whispery, why wait to sing to my history and chant my peace?" Mr Rook continues as tears crawled down his face dropping, splash, splash, splash with the noiseless company of the viewer that was enraptured by the oratory of Thetis and the splash of colours that painted the air and Mr Rook's canvas, creating a chaos of glitchy rainbow. Yet the singularity of words Mr Rook registered in the once blank canvas now told volume inscriptions of poetry that came alive.

Thetis read on, describing with her gesture and varying highs and lows pitch. "Can my life be more in kind than it does in gold, can my being stretch to the sky and the earth let go of her grip but she said why she said why?..." Thetis read on, lines laid in lines, syllables overlapping as the fourth wall again disappeared as Mr Rook and Thetis took their audience on a journey mixed in red and white.

"My story and history came to a halt as I quiz my very existence..." Thetis held the word as she stop and thought. "Why am I, what am I—" She continued, the words came closer and closer to her and the words that escape brought tears to her eye as the thought of many questions almost broke the walls of her thoughts.

"This" she cried. "The history…" her feet failed her, making her kneel "The story!" She shouted. "Is my song to my blood!"

***

What a performance Boy?" Marius applauded.

"Thank you, Mister."

"Where did you learn that." Marius lead the boy out of the bath into a room filled with clothes.

"Mister Old Ken's barn."

"Jack's barn."

"No, no Mister, The room filled with ambrosia."

"That would be the storehouse." Marius sat the boy before the grand style mirror.

"You know Chiron was the strategist during the war before the rain of mad folks."

"Uh, who is—ouch." The old servant groomed the boy's hair.

"Styx? Who is that Mister."

"No who, where?"

***

"My head." Thetis turned on the bed before the opening of her eye. "Where am I?" Thetis pulled herself up. "Why am I? Uh." She held her head eye closed to respond to the prick she felt in her head. "Have I said this before." She looked around thinking 'Deja vu, expecting Mr Kenneth to work in through the door but none came, Instead, she felt a hand hit her. "Lucille, what are you doing here?" She asked rhetorically for Lucille was nowhere close to the shores of waking up. "I am still here, what am I— uh." She held her stomach. "I need to eat." She looked around and found a tray of pie set not far from where she laid "Cheesecake." She moved towards the tray close and helped herself to the pie. "I made this, when?" She chewed while thinking. "Why did I come see Hephaestus?" She quizzed again, wondering what happen in the feral days of yesterday and the morning of today. "What am I—"

"Thetis, please Thetis, Luke would kill me if you are hurt."

"Ease your troubles my dear Luke would do no such thing."

"Please be fine," Lucille spoke repeatedly in her sleep and Thetis responded.

"I don't think I am that special, Lucy." She took another snuck her teeth into pie again. "I doubt I would ever be that special, my friend."

***

"Are you set Thetis?" The voice of the boy whose eye knows no joy said.

"Yes, Ag—"

***

"Lucky Thetis, I see no one needs me as usual." Mr Kenneth went through a small compartment, that was cold inside and pick a carrot then walked out of the house heading to his shade. "I have too much free time than I care to use." He sat on his rocking chair, legs on the tiny stool and hat on his face, ruminating about the war. "I really love does days."

***

"Your feet." Marius squatted fitting the shoes into the boy's leg.

"Uhm, Mister why am I dressed like this."

"Don't be troubled, you will know in time."

"Hope you are not taking back there?"

"There? Where might that—" Marius felt the demeanour of the boy had dropped.

"Of course not, my boy, I would never take you back there." He said. "Wherever that is." He muttered. "Where I am taking you is more special."

"Really, where?"

"In time boy, in time."

"No lying, you said not back there. You can't go back on your word."

"If I go back on my word, I wouldn't have been the butler of this place for so long."

"Uh butter, why are you a butter?"

"It is Butler and Butter and that is a story for another day but one thing." He fitted in the second shoe. "I taught him all he knows about people."

"What? You are more elderly than old Kenneth."

"Uh, god no. He is twenty years older but all he used to care for is tinkering. He understands metal, woods, anything he could craft than human." He wiped the shoe and straightened his cloth. "Lousy dunce, he used to call us Human." Marius dust the boy's cloth with a smile on his face. "You are set."

***

"You are beautiful my queen candidate." Mr Zeus said, smiling at the elegance and classic craftmanship done on the fabric layered on Thetis body. A block gown wth golden taper around the base and the net-like collar, a rich flower folded along her waist with a hat and a net web-like fan to cover her face.

"Exquisite, my queen candidate, I which I don't have to make you prove yourself." Mr Zeus pressed his lips on her chin and walked out of the room covered in multiple kinds of cotton suited for royals and filled with gifts of all sorts which came in after the duet with Mr Zeus while he was Mr Rook.

"Your leg my Lady." Thetis handmaiden continued to make necessary readjustment to her overall dress, preparing her for the enacting ritual of Olympus."You are set, my Lady. If it goes well, you will transcend to were only two; Gaia and Hera have ever gotten since the birth of Olympus in Styx."

"What if I don't want?"

"That my Lady would be you, disdaining the glory every single one of us born of the cage desires."

"But that is why I don't—"

"Shh, my Lady." She placed the mirror before Thetis who thought of the sight, "I am beautiful". Her reflection looks nothing like one born from the cage as she drank in every last bit of detail of her face and still developing curves. The dress was so elegant the words from her mouth was replaced with poetry. "Can your love so much the more it caused the sun to hold its breath, the moon to stay it smile and star fall your way." She read one of the poetry that she found in the parchment of Mr Zeus which she sang in another of there Rook' story.

"You can save us If you are bound on the cage with us."

***

"Lucille, are you awake." She looked at the eye of her drooling friend. Then stood up as gently as she can hold her womb feeling the athletic prowess of the child swimming around the vast rivers of the dark space. "Soon, I shall see ya, ma child." She walked out the room, passed the hall into the kitchen then out into the living room, missing Marius and the boy by an air then out the front door into the ranch, standing at the entrance taking in the air of the ranch as the bright summer sun comforted her caramel dark skin, reflecting the beauty of one blessed by the gods. "How long have I been inside." She stretched her hand out to embrace the air cooling the harshness of the sun. "I wish you were here?" She soliloquized as she continued her journey.

***

"I can keep up, you keep going."

"No, Patroclus, I con lose ya, when I jast found ya."

"If you don't we will both lose our life. I did rather you survive."

"Bet, Patro—"

"Shh, I will die a million times over as long as you survive." A ruffle underfoot as their chaser close in bearing touches, walking through the forest.

"If I am lucky, my seed would live through you. If not —" Patroclus cover the mouth of the feminine figure he spoke with. "There is one way, please don't die." Patroclus, pressed his lips on the head of the figure as he let go running ahead forcing their chasers to run after him. "Why does this always happ—"

***

"Can you stay still? just one more and we can enter in."

"Why Mister?"

"Because the one you are to meet is this room s great." The man knocked then opened, leading the boy in.

"Lady Thetis, are you awake." Marius walked and approached then saw Lucille still at the tip of the bed, mumbling on and on in her sleep, something like Luke this, Luke that or Thetis you, Thetis me and occasionally rambling about children.

"Is she alright Mister."

"Yes, young Mast— Boy." Marius cleared his throat. "Yes and this is Lady Lucille; the friend of someone important to Mr Kenneth."

"Really" He pulled his cloth around its neck. "Can't I remove this?" Marius lifted a brow. "And why would you want to do that."

"I don't feel comfortable, back there that man make us wear something like this when he wants us to fight."

"Fear not Boy, you are not fighting today. My word is my bond."

"But still Mister." Marius lifted Lucille and set her properly on the bed then took his journey out to look for Thetis.

"Why can't I dress normally."

"One because…" The boy walked backwards as silently as he can as Marius rambled on about being presentable.

"Now, I almost died." The boy pulled off the cloth folding it, leaving just his underwear and rounded up his trousers close to his knees while pulling off the shoes setting them close to the entrance of the room Lucille lay then entered the next room and jumped out through the window.

"I see the resemblance," Marius said as he continued his journey out to seek Thetis, picking the cloth left behind by the boy.

***

"Thetis" Lucille jumped out of bed then looked around, checked under the bed ran out the huge room into the field, passing Marius without noticing him. Lucille kept running like one with an invisible compass and arrived straight at the location of Thetis, who stared blankly at the sky, intermediately saying "when?"

"Ugh." Thetis felt a prick in his head.

"Are you, Are you alright." Lucille fidgeting. "Is there anything you need, I can help you—"

Thetis mind processing slowly placed a hand on Lucille's shoulder. "Lucy, what is going on?"

"And why should I— you are the one who is jittery."

"Yes, I am jittery because of you woman."

"Easy lady, you can tell me anything." Thetis so sat a bit high turn to look at the standing Lucille straight in the eye. "Speak to me Lucille what is the matter girl?"

"I don't know missy, my friend is going through something I don't understand and my husband has refused to come around since dawn, a crazy old physician took advantage of me and the boy we came to find is not—"

"The boy, the — what boy?" The memory of the evening before dawn flickered in her mind but it look more like shattered glass glued together in the wrong way.

"The boy." Lucille continued, as tears formed around her eye. "The boy we followed from the old church, the cathedral have you—"

"The—" Thetis placed her hand on one half of her face, as a strange pain washed down that area briefly paralysing it. "What is this?"

"Thetis, are, are you alright." Lucille cried and tried to help Thetis down.

"Yes, I am."

"Are you, are you sure."

"Very my friend."

"Then why the ugh, ah since?"

"What does that mean, it is not ma time for birth yet."

"That is not what I mean."

"Really, I would I know." Thetis Intentionally redirected the discussion but not too long as she jests into the noise of pain in her head.

"What is wrong, Thet, we need the physi— you there." Lucille pointed at the boy running off towards Jacky's barn. "Go get the physician l, run." Lucille filled with emotion didn't know the boy who ran to get the physician was the one they were after.

"Let me," Marius said.

***

"Somebo— Cough*" The room was enveloped in fire, the smoke rising as every warrior if oxygen fell prey to the ravenous fangs of amber red.

"My leg is stuc—" woods fell, pieces of cotton dissolved the burnt stench of man's flesh rose through the broken roof, darkening the tough of the once gloss ceiling marked by the endless layer of painted florals.

"I am going to—"

"What are ya doing, them be innocent with them."

"No all this fool, Saw it refreshing to watch us slay each other. They saw us as disposable animals."

"True, that don mean they all be evi—" A rattle flew out from one of the rooms consumed by fire.

"No one, Not one of them will I forgive."

"Please, Don kill without thought, Some be forced."

"If you can't stand it then leave."

"Bet, we won already. Please stop."

"Argh!" A shriek that echo through the chambers of the rooms and caused cracks through the walls busting every ear making it preys soil themselves. "None of them will live, I vow to kill them all. They must —" The wind rattled in as the smoke changed direction forcing the dust to raise the cry of a time never see through the eye of this folks

"What did we do wrong, you are just a—" The sword-like a hot knife through butter laid the head detached as it dew of red poured

"You see they are rotten to their root. No one of their blood will see the next moon. Leave if your heart is—" The silhouette of two arguing figures surrounded by fire went back and forth and the hit rose so did the passion so hot it burnt through the sword shining red, steaming blood. "I will kill every last one of them." One of the silhouette figures with a masculine voice said, a tear came down his face and his handheld so tight it bleed.

"Bet there seed be innocent."

"I don't care!!! Thet—"

***

"What happened again? Why am I lying here again." She stared at the roof through a blurry vision.

"The boy, Lucille said something about a boy." Thetis tried to stand by her strength failed her. She look around and saw figures at the base of the bed. "Lucille is that you." Thetis tried again and failed again

"Old Hephaestus said you should remain in bed. My Lady." A gentle voice came into the room. "The physician said to make sure you drink this when you awake." Thetis turned to see who spoke and noticed a boy with golden hair placed a tray beside her bed.

"You," Thetis said.

"What are you doing here? Did Hephaestus make you one of his servants?"

"No, Mister Marius gave me a job for misplacing the dress he gave me, so I can buy it back and maybe return my steals."

"Dress?" Thetis thought has the boy poured her the medicine.

"What is your name?" She asked trying to get up to sit.

"Boy."