Josephine
Hera's Arena - Mount Olympus
In collaboration with: @WeepingWisteria
The arena was quieter than before. This time, some people were angry, as if they lost the bet they'd placed minutes before the Trial. Hera seemed displeased, face scrunched into a pout as she fixed her crown. The Queen of Olympus shushed the angry crowd before finally speaking, "I know, I know," she began, "it didn't go quite how we planned. We...underestimated how many teams would make it today. But, we do have an interesting Trial coming up tomorrow, and you can place new bets then!"
Josephine rolled her eyes. Is this a game for them? Do they really find joy watching us die, one by one? Her seafoam eyes squinted at Apollo's bright sun that shone unforgivably onto her already sweating skin. Gods, she wished she wasn't here. She wished for hapiness, safety, and most importantly: a freaking washroom.
Hera continued, "The winners are..." she went off naming the survivors, one by one, "...Cyra and Josephine."
Jospehine allowed a smirk to crawl across her face, watching as onlookers glared at the both of them in disgust. Damn right, they won.
"I thank you all for coming, and I hope you stop by the gift shop on your way out. There's some esqusite keychains of some of the fallen members, created by yours truly! Celebrate your win tonight, if you won, and have a lovely day!"
Keychains?
Josephine made a confused face and glanced at Cyra, who was rolling their eyes like it was a minor annoyance. They muttered something under their breath that sounded like "fucking... basic... sick..."
"Tell me about it," Josephine grumbled, moving along in the line of prisoners as the guards escorted the group back to the Dungeons.
Josephine decided to test the waters, poking one of the guards next to her in the rib as they walked, "Hey," she whispered. The guard just glanced at her, scoffing. He didn't answer, so Josephine continued, "Let me take a shower, and I'll pay you 100 million gold marks, courtesy of Aphrodite herself."
The guard's eyebrows lifted, but he continued to look forward as the line shuffled into the staircase, leading down into the dark abyss that was now her home, "Keep it moving, sweet cheeks."
Josephine scoffed right back at him, and shook her head, "Men are so stupid. Who turns an offer like that down?"
"Someone who values their life," they reached Cyra and Josephine's cell, the guard unlocked it with the key and pushed the gate open, "Now get in."
"So mean," Josephine walked inside, and plopped down on her bed, Cyra following. Before she fully crossed the threshold, the guard grabbed her head and smashed it against the bars. Cyra stumbled forward, before turning around, teeth bared. The guard just slammed the door in her face.
"Now, now. Don't do something you regret. Prisoners in the pit can't participate." He locked the door and walked away, chuckling.
Cyra stood at the door, fists clenching and unclenching.
"You just let them talk to you like that?" Josephine asked, "Why didn't you say anything?"
Cyra let out a humorless. "Why do you think he did that?"
"Because he's fucking insane, like most followers of Hera are," Josephine raised an eyebrow.
"Because I've said a lot of things." Cyra rubbed the side of their head, as if they were checking for injuries. "It's too late to start trouble. Fucking bitch knows that."
"Hm," Josephine sat back to lean against the wall, picking the spare dirt off of her clothes, "Well, next time he does that I'm going to burn his hand off. Not because... I like you or anything, but because I stand up for what I think is right."
"Then you're more stupid than I thought."
"Fine, then I won't. I'll just let him keep doing that until that hard ass skull of yours breaks," Josephine shrugged, "Fine with me."
Cyra scoffed. "Fine then. Like he could fucking do that anyways. He thinks that drinking water is a bicep workout."
"Seemed like it worked out for him just fine a few seconds ago," Josephine pondered the thought, "Hm. Maybe I should start lifting water glasses. Maybe then, I could break the fuck out of here. Have you even tried?"
Cyra looked at her, finally sitting on their cot. "How long do you think I've been here?"
"Since your...trial with my mother." Josephine responded, studying her nails. Gods, they were fucked. She needed one of her mother's nail techs immediately.
"And how long ago was the last trial?"
"I couldn't tell you,"Josephine said.
"About three months after my trial."
"And you...missed it or something?"
"You arrived the day of. How would I have missed it?"
Josephine looked up from her nails and dropped her hand, "Get to the point."
Cyra had an intense look on his face, like he was saying things he didn't want to but were too important to avoid. "I was disqualified. Because I was in the pit. The same place you'll end up if you do something stupid."
"What if I want to do something stupid? I'd rather die in the pit than have my face torn off by some godly monster," Josephine shrugged again, "I didn't even want to be in these Trials. I was sentenced at birth to be here. I knew when I turned a certain age... well, let's just say, I knew I was going to die sooner or later. I'm not playing into the pawn of their games, unlike you. I'd rather die, knowing that I'm standing my ground, than suffer one more second in that area."
Cyra stood up. "You're so fucking stupid! You don't understand anything. For someone who's spent their entire life training for this, you sure don't know what the fuck it means. You want to know what the pit is? it's a hole. Just a hole in the dirt, too small to stand up in, and they bury you. They put a slab of metal over the opening, padlock it down, and you're stuck there. There's no bathroom. The only meals you get are what you catch when they open the bars and spill it through. You want to die there? You want to die in the fucking muck rather than fight?"
Josephine listened, and her eyes softened. She didn't. She didn't want to die, especially that way. But she can't let Cyra know that, "What makes you think we're even going to win? Out of all the prisoners here, from Delphi and beyond, you think we actually have a chance?"
"I don't care if we do. All I know was the trial was designed to kill as many as possible. Every person who lives is an embarrassment for Hera. You talk about fighting the design? Rebel against the gods? Then win, and show them that their puny little trials are shit. Because they're placing bets out there that we die."
"My mother told me something before I left," Josephine's voice lowered, and she glanced outside the cell to make sure nobody was listening before she spoke. Her voice was now a mere whisper, "she spoke to Heracles. He said the only way to win is to follow your heart, whatever that means."
"And is your heart really saying to give up now?"
Josephine hesitated, but let her eyes connect with Cyra's. She ignored the question, "Listen. I'm sorry about what I said to you earlier. I didn't... I wasn't sure what I was talking about. If we're being honest, I'm fucking scared. So... I don't know. My heart is telling me to run, to hide, to get the fuck out of here."
Cyra leaned in. "Then tell it to shut the fuck up until it gets a grip."
Josephine's eyes teared up, and she laid down in her cot, turning so that her face was against the wall so Cyra couldn't see her cry. She didn't respond, too stuck in the midst of all these emotions. Instead, she simply said, "I'm going to take a nap."
"Sure." She could hear Cyra's bed creaking, and, if she listened hard, a barely there, "Sleep well."
~
Today, Hera was in a better mood. Instead of the gold she wore the previous day, she was dressed in all white: the epitome of the goddess of Marriage. And that, she was.
Hera's crown shifted slighty to right as she announced the next Trial, "Ladies and Gentleman, Gods and Mortals," Josephine glanced at Cyra, but her gaze reconnected with Hera as the Queen continued, "This is my personal favorite. I'm sure you all have heard of Hydra, the unforgiving multi-headed Serpent that terrorizes any fishermen or god that sails through it's waters. Once again, there will be duplicates of this monster. This time, though, to make up for yesterday's anger, I offer a proposal. The team that got the most amount of votes to lose the last Trial, will only have 30 minutes to defeat the Hydra, whereas the others will have a full hour."
"What?" Josephine audibly spoke, but shut her gaped mouth as Hera's eyes drifted directly to hers, "Cyra and Josephine, you will be the underdogs tonight...again, I suppose?"
"We look forward to seeing your face when we beat it in 15 minutes, Hera!"
Hera's grin turned into a massive evil smile, "Oh, my dear. How brave of you! To stick up for yourself and your partner," she leaned forward on the pedestal, eyes squinting in a challenge, "how about this. Since you're so sure about your..ability to complete this trial so quickly, I'll offer another proposition. If you complete this Trial in 15 minutes, like you said, I will reward you greatly. Unless, of course... you think you can't do it."
Cyra just matched their sneer. "Challenge. Fucking. Accepted."
Some of the other prisoners chuckled, as if they were already eliminating them. Josephine nudged Cyra in the torso, "What the hell are you doing?"
"Aren't you the one who wanted to be all tough and challenge the gods? Stand up for yoursel?"
"Yes, but--" Josephine started to speak, but Hera cut her off.
"Wonderful!" Hera placed her hands together, her voice still serene and mighty, "Looks like we have our first challenge! I was expecting this to happen sooner or later, but isn't this just lovely?!"
The crowd bursted into a million cheers, and they started chanting 'Hera!', 'Hera!', 'Hera!'.
Josephine gulped. Cyra was fucking insane. There was no way they could beat the Hydra in fifteen minutes.
Cyra nudged her shoulder. "Just listen to me and we'll kill this thing in ten."
"You better be right," Josephine grumbled.
Hera dismissed them, "Take them to the Marshes of Lerna. Give them one weapon of their choice."
The Guards nodded and grabbed Josephine and Cyra by their arms, leading them back into the hallways of the arena.Statistics: Posted by Leya — Mon Mar 11, 2024 2:11 am
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