Chapter 23: Magical
“Whose child he might be?” I asked. Alexis was trying her best to calm the baby as we go back. The cave was pretty dark and humid is cold. So, maybe that is the reason why it’s crying, “Hug him,” I told her.
The baby hushed for a moment, and they looked cute together.
“Stop giggling, Lockser,”
She seems friendlier now, and that’s good. Alexis smiled while tending to the baby, and she was focused on him that she didn’t notice that I was carving their beautiful image inside my head. And then, I thought of what Athena said back then, Alexis wanted a school that demigods could call home.
“Master Alexis,” I mumbled, making her stop in her tracks. Her eyes widened, looking to nowhere and with a hint of hues of pink on her cheeks. Kainis, ang cute n’ya!
“S—she told you?”
“Why are you letting your mother help someone to reach their dreams instead of demanding to help you?” Her gaze became a shallow one. She avoided mine and did her best to run away from me immediately.
Sa tingin ko ay lumagpas ako sa linya ko.
Nang makarating ako sa aming pwesto kanina ay nakikipagusap si Alexis kina Emerald at Alyssa. Hawak na rin ni Alyssa si Riley habang may bobo na bigla na lamang pinulupot ang kanyang maduming kamay sa aking balikat na may isang ngisi ang nakakubra sa kanyang mga labi.
“Ano na namang kabobohan ang sasabihin mo, Jackson?”
He suddenly steps backward slowly with his hand on his chest and acted all surprise and hurt.
“Pag nandilim ang paningin ko sa’yo baka hindi ka na sikatan ng araw,” Makahulugan kong sambit. Bigla na lamang tumikom ang labi ni Jackson at natatawang lumapit muli.
“Natatawa ako kasi pumasok lang kayo ni Alexis sa loob may bitbit na agad s’yang bata. Teka lang, saan ka ba pumasok sa kuweba o sa ibang kuweba?”
“Isa.” Pinatunog ko ang mga kamao ko dahilan upang tumakbo siya sa pwesto ng mga babae at nagtago sa likod ni Alyssa.
I heaved a sigh and made my way towards their direction. Alexis glanced at me and rolled her eyes. Aba, attitude! I sat next to her, she was about to stand up, but I stole her hand, which made her stay. I pursed my lips when I felt her sweat on my palm, and she was nervously eyeing, which made me laugh afterward.
Alexis glared at me as she simultaneously slaps my arms, “I hate you—”
“Aww. It hurts that my own dream is hating me.” It made her shut up. She weakly went back to her place with her face looks like a living tomato, “Quota na ‘yong mukha mo ngayon sa pamumula,” I joked.
Emerald laughed and squeezed both of my cheeks. She stopped when Artemis suddenly groaned, and thankfully Jackson immediately tends to her. Artemis weakly sat and leaned on the cold wall, and she was twitching the pain from her arms.
“Where are we?” She asked.
I quizzically looked around when the cave suddenly emitted a powerful ambiance, the ceiling began to shine as the glow worms began to appear, and they were spreading their specks of magical dust. The entrance of the cave was leisurely being covered with thick vines, which crawls above us. Soon after, the glow worms started to transform into golden butterflies as they slowly surrounded us and gave us their light, magical energy.
My eyes landed on Artemis. Most of the golden butterflies are gathering to her. And the other wave of butterflies transformed into a woman; her eyes were like stormy clouds even though they were warmer and welcoming than the sun, “Greetings, Rule-Breakers,” the woman mumbled.
Silence hung upon us as we waited for the woman to speak once again. She was attracting the butterflies, and now they are surrounding her as if they are their creator.
“What are… you doing here, Psyche?” Artemis weakly asked. The goddess of soul giggled and pointed to her butterflies to once tend to Artemis.
“I’m here to guide you, living souls. The God of the Wild is waiting for his guests,”
We remained still to our place while Artemis was being carried by the butterflies, making us follow them frustratingly. Psyche was in front, and she was smiling ear-to-ear while stealing glances in our direction as if she wanted to tell us something, “Just talk,” Alexis beamed.
“AH! Demigods breaking the rules of their godly parent didn’t cross my mind that will happen,”
“And now you see it. Even Eros disobeyed his mother for you,” Alyssa mumbled as she pouted. Psyche softly laughed and gazed towards Alyssa, “Oh! I thought you are only a group of demigods, my bad. Hindi ko alam na may satyr at human kayong kasama,”
“Our friends on the other group have a fairy and sphinx, and you even forgot to mention a goddess,” Emerald meaningfully uttered. She was gesturing to the goddess that Psyche’s butterflies are carrying, making the goddess of the soul awed in surprise.
And slowly, a mischievous grin curled into her thin lips, “But the question is, are the rule-breakers ready to conquer the wrath of the gods you’ve angered?” And before we could answer her question, we’ve arrived at the end of the cave.
A soft and warm whisper of the wind tickled us, and beneath us was a thin sheet of splattered stars, shining and sparkling to the midnight sky. I was at a loss for words; this was extraordinary. Above us, the horizon is on its darkest scenery, and the thin cream lines drawn to it were absorbing the tiny stars embedded on the floor, and afterward, their sizes will grow and were slowly plummeting back to the ground. Aside from that, the mahogany trees and the ancient ones were five times thicker and more extensive than their usual size. Their leaves were captivating because every time the wind touches them, they are emitting this teal light, and once the wind is calm, they are turning dull.
But among this pleasure in our façade, the most attractive and one of a kind was the crescent moon in the middle. It was glowing the cerulean hue, and it looks softer, but what’s great about it was the ambiance. It was warmer than it should and was more welcoming. The butterflies slowly laid Artemis below the crescent moon; cerulean smokes and glittery dust showered upon her until she was fully covered by it.
“Follow me,” Psyche commanded, “Artemis will be healed soon,”
As we follow Psyche in the direction we do not know of, the butterflies began to scatter around us. As they slowly illuminate the path, we walk in. Another cave welcomed us, but it was different from before. The cave in front was made of various trees, group and hugging each other. And when the leaves closing the entrance slowly detaches to the trees. Psyche entered, which we followed.
A man older than us and looks so fragile welcomed us. His face was made of wood, and his hair was the leaves. There are also branches sprouting in his arms. He must be Pan, the God of the Wild. My sight laid to Alyssa and Jackson, both of them gaped as their eyes widened.
If Alyssa weren’t holding the baby, I think she will squeal and yell all over the place.
“Welcome to the Greenwood Haven, Rule-Breakers,” Pan greeted. We awed when the flower buds attached to the trees began to illuminate the pigment of the pasture as if we are indeed in the garden of the gods, “A child?” He added.
“We found him inside the cave,” I answered. He quizzically looked and drifted his attention to Psyche, “I just arrived,” Psyche uttered.
Alyssa handed the baby over to Pan, and let Pan see the child within his cave, “The Rule-Breakers are bound to face the wrath of the gods, let this child live his fullest in my side,”
After Pan’s declaration of goodness, the two beings who glorifies existence was all over him. And I can’t help but smile while looking at them before I exited the place. And I still can’t believe that this place actually exists in this world, and even with their endless warning to us, I can’t stop thinking that I’m still thankful that I run away from my wedding.
“I’m sorry for acting like a child earlier.” And even without looking. I know that it was Alexis. She sat beside and laid her eyes upon the moon, “I just still can’t believe that she still knows my dream,”
“She’s your mother,”
“And I was the child created by her fascinating mind,”
My eyes drifted to her, and her beautiful eyes were reflecting the brilliance of the Greenwood Haven, “I was a mere product of her mind, an experiment, that she wishes to hide for years.”
“You’re a demigod,”
“Three years ago, I left Mt. Olympus… Because I was able to unravel her secret that she’d been hiding for years. Athena was eager to create the greatest weapon in Divine Continent that the gods fear to come—the child who is bound to slay the gods. But her experiment failed and created me…” Her voice more shallow. It was filled with pain and sadness. I carefully extended my arms to her and pulled her to my chest, “She may be my mother… But I’ve never felt the love she was supposed to give me; that is why I wanted to build a place, which the demigods could call home.”
I slowly held her chin and locked my eyes with her, “And we will make that happen. This is my vow that I will hold for the rest of my life until we made it through,”
I was caught off-guard when tears began to visible in her eyes and were streaming to her cheeks. I smiled upon looking that she clearly changed. She was no longer hiding her pain, unlike before.
“Garet…” Alexis called.
“Hmm?”
She smiled and drifted her attention to the moon, “The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?”
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