I was sitting on the steps of a building surrounded by white columns just simply watching all the people move around in the market.
    “Attie,” I heard a little voice call. I turned to spy a little boy around five or six with messy black hair and bright blue eyes. “What are you doing, Attie?” He sat down beside me and grabbed my hand.
    “Just watching people in the market,” I answered. We sat for a minute in silence.
    “This is boring,” the boy murmured. I sat there silently ignoring the comment. The boy saw this, and he retaliated by placing a slobbery kiss on my cheek.
    “Eww, that’s gross, Ar,” I whined. I wiped the spit off and wiped it on his arm. Ar just chuckled and pulled on my hair a little bit. “It’s not funny,” I grumbled, but it did nothing to make Ar stop. I was so mad that I stood up with my fists clenched and my eyes narrowed. “I challenge you to a duel, Ares,” I growled.
    “Oh, really,” he challenged.
    “Yes.”
    “Fine.” We ran through the crowd to get to the area where we had left our wooden swords earlier. We rushed towards our own weapon and faced each other. “Name your terms, Attie,” Ares stated as we circled each other.
    “No other weapons but our swords. Loser has to be winner’s slave for one day.”
    “Deal,” he smirked before I attacked. Unfortunately, Ares saw this and blocked me. We were both equally matched in strength and wit, and the duel seemed like it was going to end in a stalemate. I turned my back for one second, when I heard a sword hit the ground. I almost shouted in victory, when I was knocked down to the ground. Fingers started to dig into my side, and I screeched in laughter.
    “No, no, this isn’t fair! You’re cheating,” I yelled. However, Ares didn’t stop at me shrieks.
    “Say you surrender,” Ares growled playfully.
    “Never,” was my response. We rolled around on the ground with Ares never ceasing tickling me. “I surrender! I surrender! Stop! Stop!’
    “Aha,” Ares shouted with his arms raised high in the air, “Victory is mine!”
    “Cause you cheated, Ar.” Ares just stuck his tongue out at me and continued his victory dance. Fed up with his smugness, I dove at him hoping to knock him down. I was successful, and we spun around in the dirt.
    “Your dress is all dirty now, Attie,” Ares commented once we stopped. I just shrugged my shoulders. I laid my head on his chest as we both stared at the sky. “What did you think of Uncle Hades’s wedding today,” Ares asked me.
    “I thought it was beautiful. Aunt Persephone looked so happy.”
    “You think your wedding is gonna be like that?”
    “I’m not getting married, Ar,” I stated.
    “Why not?”
    “I don’t want a man to tell me what to do. I’m gonna be free and independent.” Ares sat up and looked at me.
    “I won’t get married, either.”
    “Yes, you will. Men are suppose to get married.”
    “So are women,” Ares retorted.
    “Ok, then,” I said. I grabbed Ares’ forearm and he mirrored my action. “Let’s make a vow to each other. We will never take a spouse.” 
    “I promise it.” We both smiled at each other as we felt the invisible bond between us form.
    “I’m glad you’re my best friend, Ares,” I confessed when I begun to hear and annoying ringing sound.
    I slowly opened my eyes to see my phone buzzing around on the bedside table. “Hello?” I was able to croak out once I answered the phone.
    “Cora! Finally! Where are you? We have that big presentation for Carter & Mitchell in an hour,” my assistant, Cindy, told me. I looked over at my alarm clock to see that it was seven in the morning and my alarm hadn’t woken me up.
    “Shit! Alright, I’ll be there as soon as possible. Just try to stall them as much as possible,” I told her.
    “Fine, just try to get here as fast as you can. I don’t know if I can give you more than an extra ten minutes.”
    “Got it. See ya soon, bye.”
    “Bye.” Once I hung up, I flew out of bed, took a quick shower, and put on the suit that I had luckily ironed the day before. Running down out of my apartment, I grabbed a taxi and was soon on my way there.
    Unfortunately, New York traffic is unpredictable and decide to ruin my day. I arrive an hour and thirty minutes after Cindy called me. I rushed up to my office to see my boss, Mr. Moore, with a frown sitting in my chair.
    “Ms. Asker,” Mr. Moore greeted me in a low voice.
    “Good morning, Mr. Moore,” I replied back with a cheery tone. Mr. Moore slowly got up from my chair as I placed my coat and briefcase in the normal places as if it was a normal day.
    “Ms. Asker, would you mind telling me why Carter & Mitchell walked out on us this morning?”
    “I have no idea, Sir.” Mr. Moore apparently was not in the mood for my shenanigans today.
    “Dammit, Cora, that is the third client this month that you have lost! Now you get your head out of the clouds or you get out of this building.” I nodded my head in understanding before pulling a few papers out of my briefcase.
    “I know, Mr. Moore, but I was able to get Initech and Virtucon to sign a one-year contract with us. All you need to do is look over them and approve them,” I confessed.
    “Initech and Virtucon? That’s impossible. Darcy has been trying for years to get them,” Mr. Moore told me as he scanned the contracts.
    “I was able to sway them with a few of my tricks.” He checked the contracts for a few moments before standing up and heading towards the door with the papers in hand.
    “Well, just don’t let this happen again, Ms. Asker,” he said and with that, he was gone. I had barely sat down, when Cindy came rushing in.
    “How’d you do that?” she asked in an stunned tone.
    “Were you listening by the door again?”
    “Yes,” she sheepishly confessed, “but how do you do that? He was all set on firing you, and you manage to keep your job and get two new deals.”
    “It’s all strategy,” I chuckled, “I had those deals for two weeks now just waiting for the right moment to spring them on him.” Cindy just shook her head, and we shared a knowing smile.
    The rest of the day went off without a problem, and I was actually able to leave early. Cindy and I walked to a nearby coffee shop like we did everyday after work. “So why were you late to work today?” Cindy questioned me. 
    “Didn’t hear my alarm go off.”
    “Mhm,” she murmured with a sip of her coffee. “Must have had some good dreams this month. This is the seventh time I have woken you up,” she commented.
    “Just this one, and it’s always the same. I’m six, and I’m hanging out with a little boy named Ares,” I confessed.
    “Ares? Like god of war Ares?”
    “That’s what I call him,” I murmured as a lazy smile found its way onto my face. Cindy just gave me a knowing smile as she took another sip of her coffee.
    After we both finished our coffees, we went out separate ways home. I had decided to walk home instead of taking a taxi because it was such a beautiful day. I had no idea that such a small decision would change my life forever. As I had mention before it was a beautiful day, and I decide to let my hair down in its loose curls from my bun, and I stopped in a glass window to see my gray eyes sparkle with excitement. Walking down the street, I didn’t give much thought about who I was passing. Sure, I gave a friendly smile but never more than a fleeting thought..
    “Attie?” I heard someone call. I spun around trying to figure out who was calling me. “Attie! Attie,” a tall, blonde-hair man shouted as he ran towards me. I tried to scan through my memory of where I had met this man. Like a statue, I watched this man continued to run towards me. He looked so happy and refused to break eye contact with me. That was until he ran into a street pole. That broke the spell I was under as I sprinted towards the man.
    “Oh my goodness! Are you ok? Can you hear me?” I questioned. He groaned and rubbed his forehead.
    “I am fine, Athena,” he assured me.
    “I think you have me confused with someone else. My name is Cora,” I told him. He opened his blue eyes for me to see them filled with confusion. He muttered something to himself before studying me again. I looked around to see we were right in front of a coffee shop. “Here, let me get you something to drink and make sure you’re ok,” I told him as I helped him up off the ground and into the little shop. I sat the man down at one of the tables and ordered us two hot chocolates. Once I paid for the hot chocolates, I moved back towards the table to see the man still staring at me as if his life depended on it.
    “There you go,” I said as I handed him his drink, “how is your head feeling?”
    “Quite fine now. I’m still trying to figure out how you’re not Athena. You share her likeness and respond to her name of Attie,” the man shared with me before taking a big gulp of the steaming liquid.
    “I don’t know, maybe we’re related somehow,” I offered.
    “That still doesn’t answer my question about the name.” I offered my hand for him to shake.
    “Cora Atika Asker at your service. All my friends call me Attie.” He cautiously shook my hand with a wide smile.
    “Thor.”
    “Nice to meet you, Thor.” Thor let loose a boisterous laugh.
    “I believe this joke has gone far enough. Have you been talking with Hermes or Loki,” he laughed.
    “Thor, I have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t know anybody named Hermes or Loki.” That sobered him up. “I’m just Cora Asker. A twenty-five year old orphan that works for an advertising company and have never really stepped a foot out of New York City,” I explained. His face said that he couldn’t believe what I was saying.
    “You don’t remember anything?”
    “I guess not,” I stated.
    “You don’t remember me? Loki? Hermes? Sif? Sigyn? Odin?” Each name he listed off, I gave a slight shake of my head. “What about Ares?” I immediately froze at that name. “You do remember Ares, don’t you?”
    “No,” I shook my head, “I just keep having dreams about a little boy that shares that name. That’s just pure coincidence though,” I defended. Thor’s face broke into a big grin at my statement.
    “Of course, of course. What is your earliest memory of your life, Cora?” I sat there and thought back as far as I could remember.
    “I guess it would be when I was eighteen, and I left the orphanage. I remember I felt so alone, and I didn’t have anyone to go to,” I said, lost in my memory. Thor’s smile grew wider.
    “Don’t you remember anything from when you were a child? Such as six or seven?” I shook my head. “And doesn’t that seem a bit odd?”
    “Yeah…” I trailed off. “That doesn’t mean anything, Thor,” I defended, but I didn’t sound very convincing. 
    “Are you trying to persuade me or yourself?” Thor questioned. I could feel a headache coming on. I put my head in my hands and closed my eyes hoping that this headache would pass quickly.
    “Thor!” I heard myself call. “Take this stupid blindfold off.”
    “Oh come on, Attie, it’s part of the surprise,” I heard a male’s voice comfort.
    “Don’t even start, Ares. You’re on the top of my list along with Thor.”
    “Now, Attie, be a good sport,” Thor’s voice said. I could hear myself grumbling as I continued walking forward.
    “How much longer,” I whined.
    “Oh stop it,” Ares commanded.
    “My feet hurt,” I grumbled.
    “Climb on,” Thor offered as I timidly climbed on his back.
    “Who knew the goddess of war could whine so much,” Ares commented. I stuck my tongue out in response in the direction I heard Ares’ voice. A few minutes past in silence besides the sounds of footsteps. Suddenly, Thor stopped and stood straight up. I took that as a cue that we were here and gently slid down off of Thor. “Alright,” Ares’ voice breathed in my ear, “in one, two, three.” The blindfold fell away, and I saw a younger version of Thor.
    “Happy birthday, Athena!”
    My eyes flew open to see Thor.
    “Cora,” Thor called to me. His eyes looked at my face with concern.
    “I remember you,” I whispered.
    “Could you repeat that?”
    “I remember you,” I said once I found my voice, “or I at least have a memory of you.” If Thor’s smile had gotten any bigger, his face would have split in half.
    “What memory?”
    “Um, I guess it was one of my birthdays. You and Ares had blindfolded me, and you guys were making me walk somewhere. I kept complaining until you carried me the rest of the way,” I described. Thor scooped me up and swung me around. “Thor, you put me down this second!”
    “Oh, Athena, this is wonderful news. Come on, we must go at once,” he begun rambling off as he dragged me out of the shop and down the street.
    “Thor, where are you taking me?” I shouted. However, he didn’t hear me. He just continued dragging me to who knows where. We turned down a random alley when Thor finally stopped.
    “Let’s get you home,” he stated. He pulled a small hammer from his pocket. He said a few words that were foreign to me that soon made the hammer grow larger.
    “Wait, your name is Thor and you have a hammer? No fuckin’ way,” I muttered. Thor ignored my comment and wrapped his arm around my waist.
    “Hold on tight,” he whispered in my ear, and with that, we started to fly up into the air.

 

2: Chapter 2

“Thor, I want to be put down. Now!” I heard Thor chuckle at my command.
    “We will be there soon enough,” he comforted. My eyes just squeezed tighter. I felt like I was going to vomit, when my feet finally stood on something solid. I peeked my eyes open to close them again as a wave of dizziness hit me. Thor seemed to notice that I still held him tightly in my grasp and questioned, “Are you alright, Athena?”
    “Everything is spinning,” I answered, “and my name is Cora.” I slowly opened my eyes to one of the most beautiful sights. Large palaces made entirely out of gold stood before me. People dressed in rich clothing walked along the streets with smiling faces. “Wow,” I gasped.
    “Come on, Athena. Let’s get you ready,” Thor told me as he led me forward.
    “Ready for what?” Thor didn’t answer me; he just kept pushing me towards a building. We stopped just in the entry way of the building as Thor pulled a woman closer to us.
    “Tell Hemrod to deliver the news that Athena has returned,” he told the woman who immediately ran off.
    “Thor, what is going on here?” He didn’t have time to answer me before I was engulfed in a hug.
    “Oh, Athena, is it really you?” All I could see was a full head of brown hair, but the feminine voice sounded familiar.
    “Sif,” Thor chuckled, “don’t suffocate her before she gets to see her family.” Sif’s arms released their hold on me. I took a step back to fully take in her appearance. Sif was dressed in armor with her long brown hair tied back. Her blue eyes shined with excitement but soon faded as she looked at my face.
    “Athena?” Thor whispered something into Sif’s ear at her disappointed tone. He joy died at what he said, but she kept a smile on her face. “Come on, Athena. Let’s get you into one of your old dresses,” Sif told me as she lead me down a hallway into a room. “I have one of your old dresses around here somewhere,” she murmured more to herself than me as she looked through a little dresser. “Ah here it is.” Sif pulled out a royal blue classic Greek dress with open sleeves with gold embellishments.
    “It’s beautiful,” I commented as I ran my hand over the soft fabric.
    “You wore at mine and Thor’s wedding.” I looked at Sif to see her with a soft smile on her face. She shook her head and looked at me. “Come on. Let’s get this on you.” I quickly undressed, and Sif helped me carefully get into the dress. “There we go, just as beautiful when you first wore it.”
    “I guess I’ll take your word for it,” I told her as I realized there was no mirror in the room.
    “Would you let me do your hair?” Sif asked shyly.
    “Sure,” I told her. I sat down on the bed as Sif ordered someone in the hallway to go get some little blue flowers. 
    “I always loved your hair, Athena. It’s always so soft and beautiful,” Sif rambled. She carefully brushed it and pinned it back out of my face minus my side bangs. Once she was done, the person arrived with the flowers, and Sif weaved them through my curls. “There. Now you are perfect,” Sif announced.
    “Thank you, Sif,” I replied sheepishly. She just hugged me before dragging me back to the entry way where Thor was standing. 
    “Why, you look stunning, Athena,” Thor complimented once he saw me, “that dress looks familiar.”
    “She wore it at our wedding, Sweetheart,” Sif reminded him. Thor nodded once, kissed her lips, and grabbed my hand.
    “Ready?”
    “Are we flying again,” I asked cautiously.
    “Yes, it is the fastest way,” Thor answered. I could feel all the blood leave my face.
    “Oh, wait just a moment,” Sif instructed as she raced back down the hallway. She reappeared a few minutes later with a royal blue cloak in her hand. “It can get a little chilly traveling through the air,” she explained as she fastened the cloak around my neck. I clasped her hand in mine as I thanked her. “Any time. Come and visit me, and I’ll answer any questions you have.” I nodded my head once before wrapping my arms as best as I could around Thor’s waist.
    “Alright, go ahead,” I grumbled as I closed my eyes.
    “It will only be a moment or two,” Thor tried to comfort. I once again felt myself being lifted up into the air. The air rushing through my ears was the only sound I could hear for a few moments. When my feet touched the ground again, I could hear nothing but silence. I slowly opened my eyes to see hundreds of smiling faces with all their eyes staring at me.
    “Welcome home, Athena,” the shouted all together. I had no idea who these people were so I huddled closer to Thor. No one seemed to notice my fear as the crowd became a mass of conversations. A tall man with long white hair and beard approached Thor and I. A smile grew on his face when he spotted me before he pulled me into a hug.
    “My daughter has finally returned,” he announced in a booming voice.
    “Um, Zeus,” Thor interrupted. Zeus’s sky blue eyes fell from me to Thor.
    “Thank you, Thor, for finding my daughter and returning her home.”
    “Sir, there is something I should tell you,” Thor once again started to explain. Zeus finally released me and gave Thor all his attention. I ran behind Thor, trying to put as much distance between Zeus and I.
    “Athena, why don’t you go greet some of your friends,” Zeus suggested. I shook my head and gripped Thor’s shoulders tighter.
    “Zeus, please,” Thor pleaded. Zeus stared at me for another second before looking at Thor.
    “Very well. Go on.”
    “When I found Athena, she did not remember me. It seems that she has lost her memory.” Zeus’s face fell.
    “What do you mean she has lost her memory?”
    “Exactly as I told you, Sir. She has lost her memory and does not remember her life before she lived on Earth.”
    “My poor Athena,” Zeus murmured. “How did you get her to come with you?”
    “She has a single memory of me.” Zeus now looked directly at me.
    “Do you remember me?”
    “I’m afraid not,” I answered in a quiet voice.
    “I am you father,” he stated with a sad tone. All my old hatred flared. I use to be so angry at my parents for abandoning me. I looking at Zeus and saw the sadness and guilt that he felt for losing me. Looking into his eyes, my hatred faded away into happiness. I couldn’t help but rush forward and engulf him in a hug as tears started to stream down my face. Zeus seemed shocked at my reaction but put his arms around me nonetheless. “What has troubled you, Child?” I knew at that moment, I couldn’t answer if I wanted him to understand. After a few deep breaths, I responded.
    “I always felt alone because I couldn’t find my family. I remember feeling so alone leaving the orphanage. Then once I got money, I had someone try to find my family, but he couldn’t find anything. I felt so hopeless, and I just felt that my parents must have hated me,” I explained. 
    “Oh my dear daughter, you are very much loved.” The tears begun to flow again. Zeus simply stood there silently comforting me. I eventually was able to pull myself together. I spun around to see Thor awkwardly rocking back and forth.
    “Thank you, Thor,” I whispered as I also gave him a hug.
    “You are not going to deny that he is your father?” he asked jokingly.
    “No, somehow I just know that it is the truth.”
    “I will check on you tomorrow,” Thor told me with a kiss on my cheek and then he was off. 
    “Would you like to meet your friends and family?” Zeus asked. I cautiously nodded my head. Zeus wrapped his arm around my waist and lead me forward into the crowd. The first woman had her blonde hair piled on top of her hair and was dressed in pink dress similar to mine. She didn’t seem to notice us as we approached her. “Hera,” he simply called. She spun around and took me in.
    “Oh, Athena, I’m so happy you’re home,” she told me as I was pulled into another hug. I awkwardly stood there as this strange woman hugged me. When she finally let go of me, I took a huge step back. Her expression showed her confusion at my actions. “Have I done something wrong, my daughter?”
    “You’re my mother,” I questioned. Hera now turned her attention towards Zeus.
    “It seems that our daughter has lost her memory,” Zeus explained. Hera looked shock but composed herself.
    “Well we are very glad you are back.” I nodded my head and gave her one more glance as Zeus steered me into another direction. Word of my memory loss spread like wildfire. My mind was practical swimming from the names of the people I had been introduced to. Hebe, Poseidon, Artemis, Isis, Hephaestus, all these names meant nothing to me except gods and goddesses from history books. There seemed to be thousands of people gathered in this one place. We had been meeting people for what seemed like hours, and I was getting frustrated with all the unfamiliar faces. I was trying to remember them as hard as I could, but I still came up blank.
    “Ah and here is Aphrodite,” Zeus’s booming voice drew me out of my thoughts. The woman in front of me gave me a dazzling smile. She was absolutely gorgeous with her golden blonde hair to her waist, her bright blue eyes, and her porcelain skin.
    “It’s so nice to see you back home,” she greeted with a handshake, her voice ringing like bells.
    “Thank you,” I replied not making a comment about the “back home” thing. For some reason, I felt that she hated me.
    “Oh and just call me Venus. Aphrodite is such a mouthful,” she told me with a wave of her hand. I nodded as we stood in awkward silence as Zeus has wandered off somewhere.
    “Attie! Attie,” I heard someone call. For a moment, I thought it was Thor, but I realized that it was a different voice. I turned around to the crowd slowly parting as someone came running. Soon, I could see a man in classic Greek armor. He had jet black hair and crystal blue eyes that seemed familiar. He finally stopped right in front of me and breathed, “Athena.” It suddenly clicked why he looked familiar; he had been in my dreams.
    “Ares?” A big smile grew on his face before he started to swing me around in a circle.
    “You remember,” he shouted. I couldn’t help but laugh at his actions. Ares finally slowed down and placed me back on my feet. Our foreheads were touching as we tried to catch our breath. “You remember,” Ares breathed again.
    “No,” I told him and his face fell, “but, I remember you.” A soft smile returned.
    “I heard the news from Thor. He said you lost your memory, but you had some memories. I was afraid you had forgotten me,” he confessed.
    “Nope, I didn’t forget you. You were actually in my first memory I remembered.” His smile grew wider. He looked around at the crowd, and then looked back at me.
    “How about we get out of here?”
    “Please,” I begged. Ares grabbed my hand and dragged me through the enormous crowd to a Pegasus. “A Pegasus?” I questioned. 
    “It’s yours,” he told me as I stroked down the Pegasus’s nose.
    “What?”
    “She is yours. I’ve only been taking care of her until you returned.”
    “What’s her name?”
    “Isis.” I continued to stroke the Pegasus down her head. “Would you like to ride her?” I turned to face Ares, biting my lip.
    “I’ve never ridden a horse before.”
    “Very well.” He hoisted himself up easily and offered his hand to me. He swung me up and on the Pegasus with ease and we were off. My arms tightened around Ares’s waist as I buried my face into his back.
    “Ares, put us down,” I yelled. Ares just ignored me and continued onto our destination. A few minutes later, we landed.
    “I need you to release me if you wish to get off,” Ares whispered as I still held onto him. I quickly removed my arms and sat up straight. We were in the middle of a meadow surrounded by trees. Ares hopped down and lowered me down as well before the Pegasus wandered off in the woods.
    “Is she going to be alright,” I whispered.
    “She’ll be fine. Nothing in these woods would harm her,” he comforted. I looked at my surroundings. The trees seemed alive and were whispering something I couldn’t understand. The wind blew softly and mad the grass sway. 
    “Where are we?”
“We’re in a forest. I don’t remember the exact name, but we use to come here all the time together. It was our little hideout,” Ares explained. Flower petals came floating on the wind. They circled me before floating away. “The nymphs have welcomed you back.”
    “Nymphs?”
    “The nature spirits. They are know by many names, but we have always called them nymphs.” I gave a quick nod before laying on my back to look at the clouds. Ares slowly joined me and grabbed my hand.
    “Are you alright?” he questioned, concerned.
    “I’m fine just over-whelmed. I don’t remember anybody really and there is apparently a lot of people that I know.”
    “You will do fine,” he whispered to me. A few minutes pasted in comfortable silence as I just felt the sun on my skin. “Athena, may I ask you a few questions?” I turned on my side to look at him.
    “Go ahead.”
    “Thor said that you said you’re name wasn’t Athena, but you answered to Attie. Why?”
    “I thought my name was Cora Atika Asker. Everybody has called me Attie because of my middle name.” Ares now turned towards me. 
    “How do you know that I’m Ares?” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before answering with my eyes closed.
    “I’ve been having this dream which I guess now is a memory. I’m sitting at a temple watching the people in the market. A young voice called out my nickname and I turn to see a little boy about five or six. He has messy black hair and these bright blue eyes. We sit there for a few minutes before he places this slobbery kiss on my cheek. I was so upset that I challenged him to a duel and called him by his full name which was Ares. We ran off and dueled with wooden swords, and the little boy won. Then we just laid down and watched the clouds pass by. We started talking and we made a vow to never get married. I knew you were Ares because I recognized your eyes.” The silence was deafening. I didn’t know what Ares reaction was, so I slowly opened my eyes to look at his face. 
    His blue eyes bore straight into my soul, and I found it hard to breathe. His expression was serious, but it was filled with love and pain at the same time. I felt like I couldn’t move, but, honestly, I didn’t want to. Our hands had a magnetic pull towards one another until our foreheads touched.
    “Is that the only memory you have of me?” I carefully nodded my head. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, before his eyes stared into mine. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I couldn’t find myself being close enough to him.
    “Hey, Lovebirds, there you are,” a voice rang from above. We broke apart and looked up to see a figure up in the sky.
    “Hermes, that’s not funny,” Ares shouted at the figure. Hermes floated down to flutter near the ground.
    “Well, hello there, Athena,” he greeted me.
    “Hello, Hermes.” The man before me had a head full of curly, blonde hair along with blue eyes that had a mischievous glint. He flashed me a smile that I couldn’t help but return.
    “What were you two doing in the woods all alone? People might get ideas about that,” Hermes teased. Ares came up behind him to slap him on the back of the head.
    “I was getting a little overwhelmed with everything, so Ares was sweet enough to take me here so that I could take a break.” Hermes turned to Ares. I couldn’t see what he was doing, but it must have irritated Ares because his face was quickly turning red.
    “Enough,” he commanded.
    “Hermes, behave,” I chided to see Hermes face me with an innocent smile.
    “Who? Me?”
    “Oh, yes, you. I may not remember you personally, but I did study some mythology, you trickster.” Hermes snapped his fingers and shook his head in defeat.
    “You got me.”
    “Now, why don’t you tell us the reason you are here?” Ares questioned.
    “You mean I can’t drop in on some old friends to say hello?” By Ares’s face, I guessed that Hermes didn’t do that very often. “Fine, Zeus wanted Athena back home. He thought she might have wandered off and got lost.”
    “I guess we should be heading back then,” I told Ares. He nodded and grabbed my hand and lead me through the woods with Hermes following close behind. “Are we looking for Isis?” I questioned. 
    “No, we aren’t that far away from the city,” Ares answered.
    “Then why did we take the Pegasus?” Ares flashed me a smile.
    “I thought it would be more fun.”
    “And we wouldn’t want to ruin your beautiful dress,” Hermes added. Both men snorted at Hermes’s comment. I raised an eyebrow at them, but neither one commented. The trees were thinning out until the city came fully into view. Ares had let go of my hand and seem to just stand there. For some reason, I knew exactly where I was going. My feet led me right up to a large temple-like building. “Athena,” I heard Hermes call. 
    “I’m right here.” Ares and Hermes came running around a corner.
    “How did you get here, ‘Thena?” Hermes asked. He seemed genuinely confused at my actions.
    “I don’t know. My feet led me here.” Hermes and Ares shared a delighted look.
    “This is your house. Well Ares’s and your’s house,” Hermes explained.
    “Don’t forget Apollo and Artemis,” Ares added while throwing a glare at Hermes.
    “So we all live here?”
    “Yes, come on. I’ll take you to your room so you can get ready for bed.”
    “Bye, Hermes,” I said before I followed Ares into the house. It looked exactly like the pictures of how the temple would look like in ancient Greece. Art was everywhere and it seemed to add to the beauty of the home. I followed Ares closely in order to keep from getting lost. He led me to a dark wood door that had owls carved into it.
    “This is your room. Goodnight, sweet dreams,” Ares told me, pulling me into his arms.
    “Goodnight, Ares.” I lifted myself onto my tiptoes to place a kiss on his cheek before turning around to face the door. Ares’s arms tightened around me and seemed to refuse to let go.
    “Good night, indeed,” he whispered into my ear after placing a kiss on the side of my forehead. Ares’s arms released me before disappearing out of sight. I took a deep breath before entering the room of my old life.
    The room was draped in blue silk fabric that hung from the ceiling and gave it an Arabian theme. Owls were scattered around the room of different materials. A bay window on the far wall gave me a magnificent view of the city. A desk was placed on my left filled with scrolls that looked like they belonged in a museum. The bed was close by the window that you still see the city while laying down. I quickly undressed and crawled under the blankets place on the bed before falling asleep.

 

3: Chapter 3

I woke up with the sun shining on my face and a soft hooting. I rolled over and opened my eyes to see a small brown and white owl staring at me. That definitely woke me up. I immediately sat up and backed away from the little owl. It didn’t seem to be fazed by my fear and hopped closer. Cautiously, my fingers grazed the feathers on the owl’s head. It gave a soft hoot and flew up onto my shoulder and nuzzled my neck. I couldn’t help but giggle before getting up and starting my day. I went to a little dresser and started rumming through it. A lot of the clothes seemed fancy, and I refused to wear them. Luckily, I found a tunic that was a dirty white and came to mid-thigh with a sash around the middle. I thought it was simply enough and threw it on. My little owl friend flew from it’s perch somewhere in the room and took it’s place on my shoulder. I went down the hallway to the common room that I had spotted yesterday. Artemis, whom I met the other day, was putting down plates of food on the table before grabbing a plate for herself.
    “Good morning, Artemis,” I greeted.
    “Good morning, Athena,” she returned with a smile. Her eyes landed on the little owl. “There you are, Callia. I wondered where you went last night.”
    “Callia,” I tried on my tongue, and I had to admit that it sounded pretty. “So that’s your name, little one,” I whispered to Callia.
    “Do you remember Callia?” Artemis questioned. I shook my head guiltily. “It’s ok, Athena, you’ll remember soon enough. Callia was an owlet that I found abandoned on a hunt. I brought her home, and it was love at first sight between you two. You raised her, and she hasn’t left your side since.” I smiled at her story and brought my hand up to pet Callia’s head. I sat down after grabbing a plate. Time passed in silence as I ate breakfast and fed my little owl pieces of toast.
    “Do you know what speices of owl she is?” I asked randomly. 
    Artemis gave me a puzzled look and answered, “I believe the humans would call her a Northern Saw-whet owl.” I nodded my head at the information before going back to feeding Callia. Footsteps came down the far hallway for a blond curly-haired man to come out. I could easily see he had blue eyes, and his skin seemed to have this glow about it. My mind instantly supplied a name for this man: Apollo.
    “Morning, Apollo,” I yelled. Both Artemis and Apollo looked at me with expressions of shock. 
    “Athena, you haven’t seen Apollo since your return,” Artemis stated.
    I blushed and lowered my head before muttering, “I know. Somehow, I just knew who he was.”  I looked up to see Apollo looking smug while Artemis wore a scowl on her face.
    “See? I’m special enough to be remembered,” Apollo teased his sister.
    “She just remembered your name, Apollo. Don’t let it go to your big head. She actually has a memory of me,” Ares’s voice rang out. Callia flew off of the chair at the sound of Ares and flew off to where the voice came from. Ares looked amused at Callia’s actions and chuckled. “Well, hello to you too, Cal. I see you found your mother this morning.” Callia blinked at him before flying back to me where I huddled her to my chest. Apollo was now pouting as he ate and glared at Ares. Ares seemed to not notice and plopped down next to me.  “Good, you’re already awake. We have a long morning ahead of us,” Ares told me. I raised my eyebrow at his statement.
    “Oh really? Tell me then, what will we be doing?”
    “Training,” was his simple response before he dug into his plate. I gave him a smile before turning back to my “child”.  Breakfast went on in laughter, jokes, and teasing comments. After breakfast, Ares helped me find my sandals and helped me tie them because they came all the way up my calf. We walked through the marketplace, and I couldn’t help but stare at everything. The marketplace was full of color and so much going on that I was constantly turning my head. Ares, luckily, kept ahold of my hand or else I would have gotten lost. When we arrived at the arena, flashes of memories popped up in my head, but they didn’t last long enough for me to know what they were about. I was pulled into the big round room from my dream.
    “I know this place,” I exclaimed, “I saw it in my dream!” Ares laughed at my comment but made no comment of his own. I looked at the hole in the ceiling and watched the clouds as I spun around slowly in a circle. My attention was solely focused on the sky until something ran into my arm hard. I shouted out in pain and cupped where I was injured.
    “Be alert,” Ares stated.
    “So you throw…” I trailed off to see a wooden sword at my feet, “a toy sword at me?”
    “The old you would have caught it.”
    “The old me knew you pretty much since birth.” Ares stayed silent and flashed me a cheeky smile. “Warn a girl next time.” Ares gave a single nod. He still had the cheeky smile on his face, and I just knew he was up to something. He circled me slowly, never showing his back. I narrowed my eyes and followed his every move. I blinked and Ares had thrown a wooden shield at me. Instincts took over, and I ducked just barely missing the shield. I stood up after a moment feeling my face bright red. “Are you trying to kill me,” I yelled.
    “I was seeing if your reflexes still worked,” he coolly responded. 
    “I challenge you to a duel, Ares,” I shouted back not even thinking, it seemed like second nature. A wicked smile crawled onto Ares’s face as I grabbed the sword laying at my feel and the shield that had bounced off the wall and was close by.
    “I accept,” he said with a wicked tone.
    “Begin,” I shouted and made my attack. Ares knew me like the back of his hand and blocked all my advances. Luckily for me, my body seemed to know all of Ares’s moves and blocked him. While we faught, I kept looking at his moves. He kept going for the obvious kill shot, trying to hit my head, my neck, or my chest. I looked down at his legs for a second and noticed that most of his weight was on his front leg. He swung his sword that I blocked with my shield and seized my chance. I ducked and hit his leg. He fell with a thug onto his stomach. He rolled onto his back preparing to get back up, but I placed my sword at his throat preventing him.
    “I win,” I announced. I turned to return my sword and shield back to their proper place. However, I had forgotten one of the most important rules of warfare: never turn your back on your enemy. I was pulled backwards to the ground as Ares laid on top of me.
    “I win,” he whispered.
    “You cheated. I won fair and square,” I breathed. My head began to pound and I closed my eyes tightly, willing the pain to fade.
    I was standing again, and it seemed that I was duelling Ares. It was much more fierce that the one I just encountered, but my limbs seemed to have a mind of their own. With a few quick movements, Ares’s wooden sword went flying across the arena and my sword was pointed at his heart.
    “I win,” I teased as I lowered my weapon to my side. Ares just smirked and lunged at me. I had the breath knocked out of me and groaned at feeling Ares’s full weight on top of me. “Get off of me you fat oaf,” I growled.
    “I’m fat, am I?”
    “Yes,” I replied with a smile, still trying to push him off.
    “Oh, you’re going to pay for that.” Sounds of laughter rang throughout the arena as Ares’s fingers dug into my sides. After a few minutes of tickle torture, Ares’s fingers stilled.
    “That… was not…nice,” I gasped out.
    “I was just showing my love, Attie,” he responded in a sweet tone. I just rolled my eyes at him in disbelief. “You know you love me, Attie.”
    “Hmm, that I do.” I felt myself lose my breath again as I stared into his crystal eyes.
    My eyes flew up as I gasped for breath. Ares looked the same as he did in my memory except his face filled with concern.
    “Attie, what’s wrong?” I shook my head trying to say that nothing was wrong, but Ares didn’t seem to get this message. He sat both of us up and ran circle on my back in a soothing motion. “What happened?” he questioned. I was about to answer when I felt another headache coming on.
    Thousands of people surrounded me. I was in full armor with a real sword and shield. Shouts of anger and pain surrounded me as well as the  clanging of metal against metal. I ignored these and continued to plow through men towards something.
    The battle lasted for hours before it finally stopped. Each side scanned the piles of bodies for any of the wounded that could be saved. Groans of the dying flew away with the wind, letting the men sleep somewhat peacefully. I, however, could not sleep. I got out of my tent and approached a tent a few miles away on the enemy side. Breaking off a branch of a lone olive tree, I sent the branch with Callia ahead of me. I entered the enemy tent to see Ares holding the branch clearly puzzled.
    “Athena,” he gasped at the sight of me.
    “Hello, Ares.” He stumbled up to pull out the chair across from him; we both sat down at the same time. Time passed in silence with us both not being able to look at each other.
    “Just get on with it, Attie. Say what you need to,” he commanded.
    “How can you allow this, Ares?” I yelled.
    “What do you mean?” he said sounding shocked.
    “This war! How can you defend Paris? I thought you were an honest man!” Now Ares’s famous temper began to show.
    “I am an honest man! Paris and the Trojans have an honest reason for this war.”
    “What reason is that?”
    “Love!” I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at his answer.
    “Helen is married!”
    “And doesn’t everyone deserve a chance at true love?”
    “Ares, she is married! We both know you do not challenge Hera. Love does not matter here!”
    “Love is one of the most important things in this world.” We had both lowered our voices from screams, but our voices still had bite to them.
    “Is that why you are on her side?”
    “Oh, Attie, stop this. You know that is not why.”
    “Then tell me,” I challenged.
    “Because love is something to be fought over.” I scoffed at his statement.
    “What do you know about love, Ares? You have never been in love.” His voice got so low I almost couldn’t hear him.
    “You don’t know that.”
    I turned on my heel and on my way out of the tent, I said, “I know this: you will not win this war.”
    Once I had opened my eyes and had returned to reality, my body felt like I had ran a marathon. I couldn’t catch my breath, and  I felt like if I closed my eyes, I would pass out.
    “Athena, you need to take deep breaths,” Ares said in my ear. I tried to take the deep breaths, and my breathing eventually steaded, but I still felt lightheaded. “What happened, Attie?”
    “I got some memories.” Ares face changed from concern to excitement.
    “What memories?”
    “One of us duelling and the other was us arguing about the Trojan war.”
    “The Trojan war,” Ares laughed, “ I remember that. You were right. The Trojans fell thanks to your idea of that wooden horse.” I laughed along with Ares until it died down.
    “I think I have done enough training for today,” I commented as I got up.
    “I have to agree; let’s go home.” Ares slung his arm over my shoulder and lead me out in case my legs fell out from underneath me. I was ready for a nap and felt sluggish. I could hear Artemis and Apollo teasing each other from outside our home. Although I felt exhausted, another headache made it way to my mind.
    My brain felt sluggish as if I had just woken up as I walked down the hallway from my room. I could hear Artemis and Apollo bickering once again. I wondered how I had let Ares convince me into moving in with the twins. I was all prepared to walk into the common room and stop the madness that was occurring way too early in the morning. I was not prepared to be bombarded with pillows. I looked at both faces of shock trying to see what my next move was. I let them suffer for moment before letting my mouth turn into a smirk and retaliated. Our pillow fight was filled with shrieks and screams that if it wasn’t for the laughter people might think we were killing each other.
    “What in Tartarus is going on here?” The three of us all turned to see a sleepy Ares blinking his eyes, trying to figure out if what he was seeing was true. I threw a pillow with deadly accuracy at his face. 
    “A pillow fight,” I responded, “want to join?” A devious glint that I had seen many times came into his eyes. With a quick throw, Ares had returned my pillow in the same fashion I had given it to him.
    “Athena! Pallas Athena, you answer me right now!” My eyes fluttered open to see my three roommates hovering over me. “Athena, are you ok?” Artemis asked, her hands cupping my face to see if I had a fever. 
    “Um, yeah, I guess. What just happened?”
    “You fainted. We’ve been trying to wake you for over three minutes. You sure you’re ok,” Apollo questioned now. I pulled myself up to see that I had been moved to the couch. I tried to stand, but I was immediately pushed back down.
    “I think it’s best if you rest for now,” the twins stated together.
    “I was just going to give Hermes a message. I wanted to visit Sif.”
    “Got it,” Apollo said before rushing off.
    “Come on, Attie,” Ares said as he pulled me to lie my head in his lap, “you should relax before you go see Sif.”
    “You want anything?”
    “A glass of water and a book would be nice.” Artemis came back a few seconds later with a cool glass of water and a book on some historic wars. The words flew out of my mouth before I couldn’t even think about them. “Thanks, Di,” I told her. A bright smile graced Artemis’s face before she walked away. I took a long drink from the glass before beginning to lose myself in history.

 

4: Chapter 4

“Attie, it’s time to wake up if you want to visit Sif,” a voice called. My eyes

fluttered open to see the sun setting. Ares helped me up sluggishly.

“Alright, I’m up.” I stretched my arms trying to loosen them up.

“Sif is going to see Thor to come get you,” Artemis informed me. I looked around 

and noticed that Apollo was missing.

“Where is Apollo?”

“Maybe you could tell us that, Attie,” Ares suggested, “you always seemed to 

know where he wandered off to.” I searched my brain fro any memories but came up 

blank. I shrugged my shoulders in response. Thor decided to appear at that moment with 

a hearty laugh.

“Greetings, friends! Are you ready to leave, Athena?” I nodded and gave Ares a 

kiss on his cheek before grabbing Thor’s hand. “You have picked a wonderful day to 

visit,” Thor told me before we were lifted off of the ground.

I could hear music and laughter before we even landed. I opened my eyes to see

lanterns hanging across streets and people singing and dancing everywhere. Thor gently

lead me through the crowd with his hand on my back. I was almost tempted to pull away 

and join the festival, but I knew that if I did, I wouldn’t find Thor for hours. I continued 

to be lead up to a building right in the middle of the festival. I spotted Sif on the front 

steps and waved. She waved back and pulled me up with her once I was close enough. 

“Can we go someplace quiet for a little bit?” I asked. She nodded and pulled me 

further up the stairs into the building. Once the door shut, everything was very quiet with

a little bit of the sound outside making its way inside.

“I got your message earlier,” she explained, “what did you want to talk about?”

“Well, I got some memories today.”

“Really? What memories?”

“They weren’t really important. However, I do have a question for you.” her 

smile grew and she nodded vigorously. “Were Ares and I ever a couple?” Sif seemed to 

be puzzled and carefully thought before speaking.

“Not that I know of. Is there something you want to tell me?”

“Oh no, no, no,” I defended, “ I just thought we might have been something by 

the way he acts.”

Sif gave me a gentle smile before responding, “As long as I have know you, 

Attie, you and Ares have always acted like that.” I nodded, biting my lips out of nerves

and frustration. I was no closer to the answer I needed. “Now, come on. There is a 

festival, and we shouldn’t ignore it.” I decided that Sif was right, so with a smile, I 

followed her back to the first few steps.

“Why, hello there,” a voice said nearby.

“Why, hello, Loki,” Sif greeted. The man had dark hair along with bright green 

eyes almost like emeralds.

“Athena, I didn’t know you would be attending.”

“Um, I didn’t. I came to talk to Sif, and I decide to enjoy the festival as well.” 

Loki’s smug smile grew, and I detected a devious look that looked very similar to 

Hermes’s.

“Good. Let’s join in the next dance, shall we?” Before I could give my refusal, 

Loki had whisked me away from Sif. He took me down into the square and maneuvered

me into the proper dance position.

“Loki, I don’t know this dance,” I whispered as we waited for the music to begun.

“I know,” he replied smartly.

“I’m going to look like an idiot,” I hissed.

“You’ll be fine.” I huffed and then tensed as the instruments began to play. The 

music flowed in a familiar melody, and I found my body moving just like others. I felt 

myself relax and just enjoy the dance. Loki continuously tried to keep me giggling by 

making silly faces and spinning me around.

I was breathless by the end, but I couldn’t seem to decide if it was from the dance 

or the laughing. Loki and I didn’t stop. We simply continued to dance and dance until I 

was sure I was going to have blisters on my feet.

“Oh, Loki, I think my feet are going to fall off.” Loki just answered with a smile 

but steered me into the direction of some nearby stairs. He disappeared for a few minutes 

before appearing with two mugs of beer. He handed me one, but I didn’t take a drink 

from it. “I don’t drink, Loki.” Loki snorted.

“Athena not drinking at a festival, that’s very hard to believe.”

“I don’t drink,” I repeated.

“Just try it. I promise that you will like it.” I took a tiny sip of the beer for an 

explosion of the taste of apple cider. I eyed Loki before gulping down some more.

“There’s my girl,” he cheered and lightly slapped me on the back. The rest of the night 

was burry, passing in bright colors, laughter, and dancing.

5: Chapter 5

I woke up with my head pounding in a dark room. I laid still trying to stop the 

pounding, but nothing helped. A door opened, and I closed my eyes to the bright light.

“You’re still in bed? It’s time to get up,” Sif’s voice echoed, increasing the 

pounding.

“Not so loud,” I groaned. More bright light suddenly flooded in from a window. I 

rolled over into my pillow and muttered, “Someone should turn off the sun.”

“Come on, Attie. It’s not going to get any better if you lie in bed all day.” I 

refused to move from my position. “I have food.” My stomach growled as my head 

popped up. Sif was sitting at the end of the bed with a tray of food on her lap. I grabbed a 

muffin from the tray and began to nibble. “How on Asgard did you get your hands on 

some ale, Attie?”

“The devil,” I murmured. Sif just smiled, knowing exactly who I was referring to 

and just shook her head.

After breakfast, Sif was able to get me presentable and had Thor fly me back 

home. The next couple of weeks passed quickly. I would have breakfast with my 

roommates, train with Ares, and read some of the scrolls in my bedroom every day. 

Sometimes Ares or Artemis and sometimes even Apollo would take me around the city 

to help me learn everything again. However, I didn’t get any memories over those weeks.

On the morning at the beginning of the third week, I was woken up to someone 

beating on my door, startling both Callia and I. 

“Athena, wake up! I need to get you ready,” Venus shouted at me through my 

“Venus, she needs her rest! I think she should just stay in bed today,” Ares 

fussed. With a groan, I opened the door and glared at the duo before me.

“Great, you’re up! Now let’s get you some breakfast and get you ready,” Venus 

greeted with a bright smile.

“For what?” I asked. I didn’t get a response except for Venus dragging me further 

into my room. Ares followed us with a tray of fruit and a few muffins.  “What am I 

getting ready for, Venus?” Venus still ignored me and began to work on my hair. I 

looked at Ares and raised my eyebrow. He mouthed “Egyptians” to me that meant 

nothing to me. I decided to look at Venus for any clues.

Venus’s hair was straight and she had a lot of eyeliner on. Her dress was a soft 

white and reminded me of the dresses I had seen pictures of from Ancient Egypt. I then 

turned to Ares to see he wasn’t wearing his traditional armor. Instead, he wore a white 

cloth around his waist that went down to his knees. His outfit also looked as if it had 

come from Ancient Egypt. Venus seemed to notice that I was starring at Ares.

“Put that tray down and get out of here. It’s girl time, and boys are not allowed,” 

she commanded. Ares completely ignored her and looked to me to see if I wanted him to 

go. I knew it would only cause more tension this morning if he stay, so I made a hand 

motion to wave him out. Venus continued to straighten my hair and began to prat on 

about things I didn’t care about at all.

By the time she was done, I had a headache, and I just wanted to crawl back into 

bed. Instead, I was forced into a golden dress without sleeves and had a necklace placed 

around my throat that had a scarab beetle.

“There! Now, let’s go,” Venus shouted before nearly pulling my arm out of its 

socket to drag me out of the door. She began dragging me out of the house when 

someone grabbed my other arm.

“Venus, slow down,” Ares shouted. They both began to try to pull towards them. 

“Alright, someone let go of me because I am not a tug of war toy,” I commanded.

Both gods glared at each other before Venus released her claim on me. 

“Fine, Ares, but don’t make her late.” She stormed out of the house in a fury.

“For the goddess of love, she sure doesn’t show it,” I commented which caused 

Ares to snort.

“She’s just mad that I took away her life-sized Barbie doll,” he told me. We 

calmly left the house and began walking in the general direction people were headed.

“So what exactly are we doing?”

“We’re going to see the Egyptians,” Ares answered.

“Who are the Egyptians?” Ares just smirked in response and held on tighter to my 

arm. A crowd had already formed when we arrived. Ares pushed through leading me 

behind until we were in front. Once I was able to actually see the people in front of me, 

my mouth fell open. The ancient gods of Egypt were standing in front of me in all their 

glory. Some of them even had their animal heads. “Ares, those, those,” I stuttered out. 

Ares just chuckled at my reaction.

“They are the oldest beings alive. We all came from them,” Ares explained.

“But they can’t be real. I mean they would have to be thousands of years old.”

“You’re not that young yourself,” Ares retorted. I was unable to process what was 

going on. I had only know these beings as pictures in books. “They came to see you,” 

Ares whispered, bringing me back to the present.

“Me?” He just smiled and nodded.

“Ah, there is our Athena,” a deep voice announced. I turned to face Horus’s hawk 

eyes starring directly at me. My mind told me that I was to step forward, but my feet 

were glued to stone where I stood. Ares elbowed me in the back, forcing me forward. I 

now stood along facing the Egyptians. “There is my granddaughter,” Horus greeted

before my head began to ache.

“Pappoús, Pappoús,” I heard myself called.

“I’m right here,” Horus said. I ran toward his voice to see Horus kneeling down 

with his arms open wide. I immediately ran into his arms for him to spin me around as 

we laughed. “There is my special granddaughter. Where have you been?”

“Uncle Thoth showed me all his scrolls and was showing me how to write,” I 

eagerly told him.

“Sounds like you had an interesting day,” he commented. I nodded my head 

vigorously. He chuckled and sat me in his lap to look over the desert landscape.

“Are you alright, Child?” Horus’s voice echoed.

“You will have to excuse Athena, Horus,” Ares answered for me, “she has lost a 

great deal of her memory.” A look of sympathy passed over the gods’ faces.

“Very well then. We shall see you at the reunion,” Horus stated. With a blink of 

his eye, they were all gone. Stunned, I turned around and around trying to figure where 

they had gone.

“Athena, they have left,” Ares told me as he led me out of the square.

“But how’d they do that?” I questioned. Ares chuckled before turning back

around to the platform.

“See that platform? It contains ancient magic that we use to transport.” I ran my 

fingers around the carvings in the stone as Ares explained.

“Does everybody have one of these?”

“Yes. If you look, the city is built around it.”

“How’d you find this?” I questioned once more.

“Honestly? I have no idea. It happened before we were born and no one really 

talks about it. We always assumed that it came from the ones before the Egyptians.”

“When you assume you make an ass out of you and me,” I murmured. Ares 

turned his head to me with a shocked look.

“What was that?”

“Sorry, it’s a saying from…Earth, I guess.” The air around us grew 

uncomfortable.

“How are you dealing with this, Attie?” Ares asked, trying to break the tension.

“Alright, I guess.”

“I know it isn’t good to keep things bottled up, Attie. You taught me that.” I 

couldn’t help but give Ares a smile.

“Is that why you seem less of a hot-head in the Greek myths?”

“Hey, we agreed to never talk about those! Those are usually completely wrong,” 

he defended.

“Lost memory, remember,” I told him, tapping my head with a smile. It grew 

quiet again before Ares spoke.

“Really, Athena. I want to help you through this. It can’t be easy.” 

“It’s…different. It feels like I’m a person trying to live another one’s life. And 

then sometimes it feels like two different people are trying to combine inside of me. I just 

wish there was something that I could do to get my memory back and feel like myself 

again. Only…I don’t know which self I want to be,” I said, slowly letting my voice turn 

into a whisper at the end.

“Oh, Attie,” Ares whispered as he pulled me into his arms, “I’m sorry this has 

happened to you, and I promise I will punish the one that did this to you. Just know that 

no matter your memories, we all will love you.”