The lost world : Drown

I found myself in the depths again. Unlike the grim welcome I was met with before, I was greeted with Venus' warm embrace. Or so I thought.

"You punk!" she exclaimed as she balled her fist and hit my head. Truly, I was glad to see her, glad to take a break from the outside world again. I smiled lightly while moving slightly backward to avoid her nagging.

Just then other figures appeared. They seemed to be her sisters. Majestic they were, but none as magnificent as Venus, their arrays cheapened by her brilliance. They say beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, but when something is beautiful enough, it cannot be denied. Venus was one of those such cases.

"Muna, I would like you to meet some people. These are my two sisters. Mercury, and Marse. I'll leave the three of you to get to know each other"

She ran of, looking a little less enthusiastic. I was still looking at her, when one of them spoke. I was unsure of their ranking, or if they were older than Venus. Something was clear at that moment. Mercury for one was very happy to see me. Enthusiastic even.

According to Ariana, it always been a rule of thumb that whenever that someone acts nice to you, they want something in return. I grew a lot wiser during my time with her. It was like she was filling in for my real parents, giving me all the care that was not rendered to me all this while.

"Hi Muna! Venus is going to be busy for a while, so you'll be in our care. Come, we'll show you around the place! I'm guessing you couldn't see much of the good sides last time, so we'll show you the real good spots" Mercury said.

Again, I was extremely lucky that I saw Venus first, and she did not take advantage of me. I'm glad that in the short time we met, she spoke to me about maturity.

Mercury took me around the depths, showing me their living space. We met around the massive cave before, where they held meetings, and I happened to appear when they were holding one. The cave was the first space they were able to carve out as it was a huge mountain. Despite having castles, almost countless people and homes fit for kings, hey left the old cave as a remembrance to when they were first kicked out. Throughout the tour, Marse kept to herself, not a enthusiastic as Mercury, only talking when it was absolutely required and looking slightly stressed.

"Oh looks like father calls, Marse keep him company till I come back. I'll be back!" 

We spent what seemed like hours just sitting there. Mercury left us in the play area, where most of the mountains and rocky structures where. It was strange, but they enjoyed showcasing their strength, blasting miles of rocks to pieces. 

After a long silence, she exhaled as as a stressed or tired person would, got up with her hand on her waist and examined me, from my feet all the way to my face, where she paused for a bit. She then spoke.

"You, what is your name?"

"Muna" I replied, trying to seem as calm as I could be.

"Please leave, and dont come back"

I broke character, looking at her with the most confused expression that I had ever put on.

"Wh-What?" 

"Go. You know how to leave right? You humans like when people do this right?"

She got on her knees, bowing her head on the floor.

"Please leave. I'm begging you"

I coughed a with a tone lower than what a real cough should sound like, making it sound faker than it would have been. I was conflicted. A part of me wanted to know why her sisters, were looking excited to see me, and on the other hand she is begging me to leave. Another part of me was mildly infuriated, as she was expecting me to leave with just this. I put my feelings to side and pondered wisely. "The only reason why she would want me to leave would be the same reason why Venus and Mercury left to go see 'father'. What would that reason be?"

"Do you want something from us, I'll do anything, anything, just stop pestering Venus"

"What is she on about?"

"You have something terribly wrong. First of all why do you want me leave? Can you at least tell me this"

She got up now back to her chair, looking down this time.

"Ever since you came, She's been acting weird--different. She's even bonded her soul with yours, a ritual that only happens between partners. That's weird. And she claims that she did that only to 'watch over you' so of course no one believes her. And its just her. Father's still skeptical because of the last human. Only a few believe that you'll not cause trouble. Everyone else, especially Mercury, doesn't want you here. She's only acting that way because Venus asked her to. If you dont believe me, she was the one that held the vote to get you kicked out before. Why do you think that she left early? Because father calls? That's a lie. She cant stand the sight of you it's obvious. There's been so much trouble since you popped up, Venus and Mercury have been arguing constantly, the elders have been in a state of division on whether to let you here. Even Father has started visibly aging. I overheard Venus almost crying in her room the other day. The only reason that someone hasn't killed you already is because they dont want a tantrum from Venus. They think she likes you. That's why I'm asking you, just leave"

"She was crying for me? They dont want me here? Mercury cant stand the sight of me? I'm the problem?"

Thought like those flooded my head, leaving no space for any other kind.

"You're hopeless anyways. I dont know why Venus cares about you so much. You're pretty much a nobody, just a poorly trained slave"

Those words removed all emotions from within me, with anger remaining, reigning as king. I knew that she was basically a goddess. I knew she was to strong. I knew I cant, and wasn't going to win. Something else I knew though? I knew I wasn't about to take that disrespect, not from a human, not from guardian, not from a god. 

I got up slowly, clenching my jaw to the point it hurt. I could feel my muscles tighten, bulging. I balled my fist so hard that it bled. But this time I felt more in control. I saw her get up, a little bit shocked. Just then Venus and Mercury popped up.

"Me, you. If I beat you, you bow down five times, and I'll stay"

"And if you lose?" she said confidently.

"I leave. For good"