Midas Is King

‘Ares she is not one of us, she’s mortal. Leave her and I will forgive your foolishness,’ Aphrodite’s voices echoes through my chambers in Olympia. I shake my head in disgust, how did I ever think her voice was beautiful? It sounds like nails on a chalk board. Nothing compared to Aella’s, it’s not even in the same league. The sound of her laugh fills my mind, causing me to smile. I can recall the exact hazel-brown colour of her eyes and the honey brown shade of her hair. She is just so beautiful; I need to see her again.

‘Son, Aphrodite tells me you’ve met a mortal girl?’ Zeus demands, stepping into my rooms along with my ‘loving mother’ Hera; they are both perfect for each other, selfish and overbearing. The presence of the royal couple fills the entire area, I have to resist the urge to roll my eyes. They don’t even like me so why should they have a say in my life?

‘Son, she is mortal, she will die, and soon. We forbid you to tell any mere mortal who you are,’ My parents’ voices clamour on in synch with each other, but I’ve already tuned them out. My focus has shifted back to her and I can almost feel her. She is in pain, the illegal thought pops into my head. It’s just that her pain is a beacon to me, calling out for me to help her. I have to help her, she’s suffering from so much, I can literally feel her soul cracking. Without a word to the stuck-up power couple I leave, determined to help her.



I spent the night curled in that same spot. Jack never came back; guess he was off screwing some whore. With some difficulty I manage to stand up; only to wince at the sudden pain. The effort sends a searing feeling through my body and my legs give out, sending me to tumbling towards the floor. Instead of landing on the hard packed dirt, I land in a pair of warm arms and freeze. Opening my eyes slowly, I expect to see my tormentor in front of me but it`s not Jack.

“Ares?” I manage to croak, my voice hoarse from the night before. Every inch of my body is in pain and I wonder how many bruises I have this time. Judging by the look on his face, there’s al lot. “That bad?” I joke, trying to lighten the tension in the room. It falls flat; Ares still has a murderous expression on his face. Without a word, he gently places me down on the bed; and wraps me in a blanket. I frown, not understanding his reason until he picks me up again. It’s easy to tell that he’s using a lot of self-control to be this gentle with me. Especially because it looks like all he wants to do is hunt Jack down and murder him.

That’s the part I don’t understand, I just met him yesterday, why does he care about me at all? I’m nobody special, he could have just left me there and no one would have noticed. Sure Jack would have come back later, probably only to kill me though. I no longer have a family; I haven’t had one in a long time. I shouldn’t even be alive; I don’t deserve to be alive.

“Just stop it,” He spits out through clenched teeth. I look up at him; I know that I didn’t say that out loud. “You are a beautiful creature. You don’t deserve this type of treatment, now please, please, just close your eyes and rest. I will make him pay for this, I swear to you I will.”

For some reason I can’t close my eyes; maybe I’m just afraid, but I can’t close them. He leaves the resorts cabin area and walks further into the resort itself. People leaving their rooms pause to stare at us in blatant confusion, but Ares just ignores them; walking briskly into the reception area, and now it’s my turn to be confused. Why is he bringing me here? I wonder as he carefully places me down onto a sofa.

“Call the police, now.” Ares says coldly, turning to face the lone receptionist at the desk. The man goes to open his mouth and Ares growls at him. I can’t seem to catch their conversation. Everything goes quiet, except for the roaring in my ears as Jack emerges from another room. His arm is around another woman and he’s laughing at something she said.

I gasp, trying to find enough air in the room to breathe but my lungs remain oxygen-less. Jack’s face goes completely red with anger as he locates the source of the gasp, me. Or maybe it’s because Ares is standing over me in a protective manner. My body begins to shake, I can’t stop it, I have no control over my body and I can’t breathe. Wide-eyes, I turn towards Ares’ worried face as my brain shuts down.



“AELLA!” I scream as her eyes roll back into her skull and her body starts to convulse violently in front of me. “Hold her down!” I scream uselessly, trying to prevent any further damage to her body. A few guests rush over to help me, and the damn receptionist finally gives in and calls an ambulance. That’s when Jack reacts.

“You basterd! Get away from my finance!” he howls, launching himself towards me. Letting go of Aella to defend myself, I watch another pair of hands sneak in and help to hold her down. Knowing that I’ve done all I can do for her at the moment I let my fist fly straight into his face. He staggers back, holding his now-bleeding nose, and I smirk in satisfaction. Two men reach out to grab Jack, allowing me to return my attention to Aella’s convulsing body. Falling to my knees, I grab her hand, wishing I could do more to help her. I’m not trained, I can’t save anyone, I cause pain and suffering; I’m no saint. So why do I have an urge to save her, a mere mortal, and protect her at all costs?

“Aella, please, please, don’t leave me, please, oh my little whirlwind, fight this, come back to me, I can’t lose,” I whisper softly, squeezing her hand gently as I stare at the unconscious beauty who has shifted my whole universe. Living without her would be pointless, bleak, a mere shell of life. My life has never been so complete as in those few precious moments together. A sudden commotion drags out of my thought and I look up to see paramedics rushing in. Their voices are vague and elusive; I can’t pinpoint exactly what they’re saying, they just drag me away in order to place her onto a stretcher. As the paramedics clear the area, the police stream in to start their questioning. Wordlessly, I get to my feet and make my way towards the ambulance, but a police officer places a hand on my chest to stop me.

“He beat and raped her,” I state emotionlessly, pointing to Jack, “She will tell you the same thing when she wakes up, if she wakes up.” My voice cracks over the if, I don’t want to consider that possibility. She is my sun, and I don’t think I could live without the sun after so many years of darkness.



‘She’s not yours,’ A voice hisses out angrily through the darkness. It seems malevolent and too loud for my fragile ears. It sounds vaguely of death and the screams of tortured souls.

‘Neither is she yours,’ A familiar voice growls back, I could never forget such a beautiful voice, it sounds like an angel’s. My own personal fallen-angel, here to save me. Warmth floods through my chest as I realize that he is trying to save me.

Struggling against my mind in its dream-like trance, I try to clear the fog so I can see him. After a few long moments the darkness finally lifts, leaving my staring at Ares in all his godly glory, along with another strange cloaked man. His fair is like a flame, moving and crackling, almost as the snakes in Medusa’s hair do. The brightness of his hair allows me to get a glimpse of his cruel uncaring face and I flinch. My gaze wanders back to Ares, who shines like a sun in this inky blackness, I never want to take my eyes off of him. He makes me feel safe, and protected; he’s my saviour, a wolf among the sheep.

‘What do you mean by that,’ Flame boy crackles out, sounding unsure and as out of place as I do in this weird dream. Ares cracks a smile that makes me want to smile as well, his glowing nature is just so natural for him. Not quite unlike the sun.

‘Does she even seem like a mortal Hades? She isn’t like the rest of them,’ Ares questions, as the other man, Hades, turns to examine me. I’m not even sure if they know I can see them, it’s a surreal feeling.

‘She’s a mortal,’ Hades shrugs. Ares’ expression quickly turns violent and an urge to protect and comfort him flashes through me. It’s overwhelming; I can’t help but cross the small gap between us in order to place my hand upon his arm. Instantly his face relaxes, and he turns to gaze at me in astonishment.

‘It’s going to be okay,’ I whisper quietly, struggling a little against the dream-state I seem to be in. It’s like a weight is pressing down on me, trying to get me to be silent and still but it’s not the hard to overcome. What a weird dream, I think shaking my head. From the corner of my eye I can see Hades smirk as confusion flickers across Ares’ face.

‘Mortals aren’t supposed to move. I must tell Zeus that the realms are no longer sturdy,’ Hades remarks, looking directly at me. His stare makes me want to close my eyes and bow, but with Ares by my side I refuse. Fighting the power of his evil I manage to look him dead in the eye. As soon as he realizes that I won’t back down, he turns his head away. I can feel Ares shaking in silent laugher beside me. Turning to face him, it becomes evident that he’s looking at me and giggling. Legitimately giggling. Never thought I’d see the day, I think grimly, a smile tugging at the corners of my lips. Being around him is easy, as easy as breathing and I wouldn’t give him up for anything in the world.

‘Well mortal, seems you have a choice to make. You may accompany me to the peaceful realms, or back to all the pain and suffering of your world,’ The smirk on Hades face bugs me endlessly, he thinks that he already knows my answer, but I refuse to leave Ares. Besides what is life without suffering? It isn’t’, neither is it one without my own personal angel by my side. Ares cracks a smile. Looks as if I spoke my thoughts aloud once more, I really must refrain from doing that, they need to remain private.

‘Fine,’ Hades scowls, glaring at me with a look of pure loathing. I feel as though my skin is on the brink of peeling off due to the rage emanating from him. Soundlessly, Ares steps in between us, as if to shield me form Hades’ presence. An instant wave of cold air washes over me. It feels akin to being plunged into a volcano than being tossed into the Arctic.

‘She has chosen. You gave her a choice and she picked the one you didn’t like. Get over it and send her back. I don’t care what the consequences are, but I know it’s not her time yes. I won’t let you have her...’ Ares voice starts to fade into the dark. A cry escapes my lips as I try to grab him, but he slips though my fingers. My strange dream was ending and for once I didn’t want it to end. I wish to stay her with Ares forever. Emptiness fills my thoughts and I drift off into dreams that make more sense.