Chapter 21: Resistance
Josephine and Persephone stood
beside each other at the commencement of the fourth Trial. The number of
participants was visibly lower—only Josephine, Persephone, Jase, and a few
other Champion’s remained. When they started, there were over a thousand
competitors, and within the past few weeks it slowly decayed to around fifteen.
Instead of being in the Arena, they stood on the beach of Siren’s Cove,
surrounded by Mer, humans, and Gods alike.
Zeus sat at his podium which rested
a few yards behind them, “Welcome to the Fourth Trial!” His voice seemed
cheerful, but Josephine couldn’t help but realize that the God was looking
straight at her. He asked Josephine to drop out of the competition, which
obviously she didn’t do. Thankfully, if Medusa held up her end of the bargain,
she’d be able to retrieve the sword from the Mer and return it to Poseidon—in
exchange for her freedom after the Trials… before Zeus gets a chance to
scold her.
Josephine had some guesses on what
this particular Trial would entail since they stood in front of Siren infested
waters. She glanced at Persephone, who was intently listening to Zeus along
with all the other competitors. A feeling of guilt hit her, as she forgot about
what happened in the Underworld with Jase. She knew that she’d have to tell
Persephone eventually.
Speaking of the devil…Jase was standing just a couple people away,
mingling with one of the daughters of Athena. Josephine scowled at him,
watching as he ran a strong veiny hand through his black ruffled hair. What
a prick.
Zeus continued his welcoming
speech, “This is one of my favorite Trials. Trial number four is the Trial of
instincts—how well can you keep yourself from temptation? Can the contestants
resist the urge to follow the Sirens deep into the depths of Poseidon’s
unforgiving sea? We’ll find out!”
Josephine shivered. The onlookers
exploded into a million chants. Persephone shifted her footing.
“Listen closely,” Zeus said, the
crowd calming from the eruption of cheers, “Each contestant will need to stay
underwater for three minutes. While there, they will encounter Sirens. Whoever
comes back up before the three minutes are up, continues to the second to last
Trial. Contestants, you are prohibited from hurting or killing the Sirens. They
are a protected species here on Olympus. Please, and thank you. You all may
enter the water.”
Josephine stepped forward with
Persephone and the others, her painted toes just barely touching the spreading
waves. Persephone grabbed Josephine by the hand in attempt to calm them both.
Josephine didn’t dare look in Jase’s direction. She didn’t need a
distraction—this Trial seemed difficult enough as it was. If they couldn’t kill
or hurt the Sirens, how were they going to survive? Theseus didn’t
prepare her for this.
Persephone dove in first, a
long-nailed hand grabbing the Goddess’ arm and pulling her under. Josephine
watched in horror before she forced herself to dive in next.
A freezing grip wrapped around her
wrist, and she was pulled down as well—the muffled and waterlogged screams of
the other contestants vibrating throughout the depths. She was being pulled
deeper, and deeper until little air pockets escaped from her lips. Nothing
could prepare her for what she saw next: a long, serpent-like tail, which
shifted in darkness of the water. It moved around her, slithering past her
face. She started to hear the most beautiful and melancholic song she’d ever heard,
and her eyes closed.
She wasn’t sure how many minutes
she’d already been underwater, but it seemed like eternity. The song continued
to get louder, but she didn’t dare open her eyes. She had to fight against
it—fight against sleep and temptation. Her ears started to ache from the pressure,
and she was running out of oxygen fast. No ounce of power rippled through her;
the water neutralized the fire that burned in her core.
She kicked her feet in attempt to
rise to the surface, but the song held her as if it was an animal tranquilizer.
As if she was no longer in control of her own body. As if she was a puppet,
being controlled by the melodies.
Josephine didn’t give up. She kept
kicking and kicking, her ankles and thighs growing weaker with each movement of
her legs against the current. She pushed through very temptation, every desire
that she knew was being implanted in her brain. By the time she reached the
surface she was more than tired.
She swam back to the beach,
ignoring the cheers and chants from the stands as she coughed and rolled onto
the sand. Snot and saltwater escaped from her nose as a familiar hand helped
her to her feet. Her eyes opened to Jase’s smile beaming in her face, “Second
place. Not bad.”
Josephine pushed him away from her
and wiped the sand off her now soaking wet combat clothes. Jase scoffed in
response and backed away.
They were the only two that seemed
to have made it through the Trial…so far. Josephine wasn’t sure how many
minutes or seconds were left on the clock, but she hoped that Persephone wasn’t
currently being eaten alive by the monsters below the depths. If anyone was
going to make it, though, it’d be Persephone. Josephine watched in fear and
anxiety as other competitors popped their heads out of the water and butterfly
stroked to the shore.
“Twenty seconds,” Zeus reminded,
his head leaning on the side of his pedestal. He looked rather impatient and
unimpressed.
Finally, Persephone’s hand reached
up to grab air. A wave pushed her closer to the shore, and the goddess rolled
onto the sand within a matter of seconds. Josephine rushed to her, finding Persephone’s
face purple from lack of oxygen. She had a disgusted and terrified look on her
face as if she’d seen a ghost.
Josephine lifted her friend up and
pushed lightly on her stomach to get some of the seawater out of Persephone’s
system. The goddess coughed and coughed, the color in her face slowly returning
with every breath she took.
“You okay?” Josephine asked as
Persephone stood and rested her upper body on her knees.
“I’m okay,” Persephone responded,
but Josephine wasn’t sure if the Goddess was speaking to her. It seemed more
like Persephone was telling herself that she was okay. Josephine would
ask Persephone later about what she’d experienced down there. For now,
Josephine needed to focus on looking for the Mer that Medusa promised she’d
send with the relic. Zeus would mingle with others for about an hour after the
Trial, leaving her with an ample amount of time to sneak away and meet with her
delivery person. The real question haunted her: will Medusa live up to her
bargain?
“I’ll meet you back at the Hall?”
Josephine asked, ignoring the blank stares from Jase across the beach.
“Of course,” Persephone studied her
friend, “are you not coming back with me?”
“Not now,” Josephine sighed, acting
as if she had a whole list of errands that she needed to run. Which, now that
she thought about it—didn’t sound like such a practical lie. She was in soaking
wet clothing, and Persephone knew that she would never step out in public
looking like that. Out of the corner of her eye, Josephine noticed that
Zeus was busy walking and talking with one of the commonfolk, leaving the
contestants to linger amongst themselves. Some contestants had already started
to head back to the Hall—some crying from the loss of their lost friends,
others smiling in victory and ready to face the next Trial. The Siren Trial was
the shortest Trial of them all. Josephine knew that this was just the light
that fueled the fire, and there’d be more coming. More betrayal, more death,
more everything.
~
The Mer dropped off the Trident as
promised. The relic was large, but light in weight at the same time. Josephine
could tell that the handle was made of pure gold, which accentuate the carving
and imprints that were scribbled into the intricate leather grip. She felt
wrong for even holding it; to have that much power in one object was
frightening to her—and she wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible.
They’d made the switch when the Mer
woman met her on the west side of Siren’s Cove. Josephine was waiting, perched
on a large rock as the endless waves crashed beneath her resting feet. The last
thing she expected was an elderly woman to approach her, holding a sheathed
object on her slightly arched back. The Mer woman dropped the relic at
Josephine’s feet and dove into the water, disappearing with merely a splash.
~
“Hand me that,” Persephone nudged
Josephine in the ribs, reaching for the croissant that she’d had been devouring.
“No, it’s mine,” Josephine growled
through a mouth full of bread, “Get your own.”
“Stop being like that.”
“No.”
“Ugh,” Persephone groaned and sat
back in her chair, observing the dancing civilians and divine entities around
them. The annual Trial Feast was tonight, and Josephine begged Persephone to
come with her in hopes that they’d see Poseidon.
Josephine told Persephone about her
excursion to Medusa’s Exile, as well as her visit to Zeus’ Throne Room when
they were getting ready in Josephine’s dorm. Persephone turned around when
Josephine first mentioned it, angrier that she didn’t speak of it sooner than
anything. Josephine, of course, apologized. She left out her interaction with
Jase in the Underworld. She decided that it wasn’t the night for drama. Josephine
did mention, though, how she didn’t plan to hold up her end of the bargain with
Medusa. There was no way she could help the Gorgon escape, unless she somehow
convinced Poseidon to let her go free. Her plan tonight was to find the Sea
God, return the relic after the feast, and beg him to help her out of this mess
with Zeus.
She’d also never seen Josephine so
happy—so willing—to get dressed up. It was a rare occasion that the Goddess
decided to look so elegant, despite her rare beauty and high cheekbones. She
was dressed in an all-black lace gown that hugged her hips in all the right
places, and her curly brown hair was tied up in a modest bun to show off her chiseled
collarbone. Josephine chose the complete opposite look from her friend, and
instead dressed in a flowy green cocktail dress that showed a shit ton of leg.
A silver diamond encrusted band wrapped around her right thigh, and her hair
was braided into three separate strands that landed just above her waist.
There was a scarce amount of
contestants that actually showed, including the daughters of Athena and the
son’s of Apollo. They all stayed in their respective tables, eyeing other
contestants as they walked by in hopes of scaring them off. Josephine and
Persephone stayed hidden; sat at a secluded table in the upper corner of the
ballroom.
“Josephine, look,” Persephone
nodded her head towards the door. In walked in the Sea God, dressed in a light
blue tuxedo—his long black hair tied back behind his head. Josephine never
noticed how tall he really was, as the first time she’d seen him he was sitting
in his seat in Zeus’ Throne Room.
His date was a local sea nymph by
the name of Everly. She was beautiful, with light blue skin and eyes that
resembled the seafoam found in her date’s oceans. Everly was a known suitor in
Olympus—having had affairs with multiple Gods like Josephine’s father and Dionysus.
It seemed like this month; she’d taken interest in Poseidon. Poseidon headed straight for the bar, leaving
his date to mingle with some of her friends that she’d found in the crowd of
dancers.
“It’s time,” Josephine murmured,
grabbing her friend’s hand as they strode towards the Sea God.
They barely made it to the bar
before the ceiling caved in, and starlight struck the middle of the ballroom like
lightning.
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