#knifelike

plotted starter for @knife-like ( annamarie & luke )

annamarie had succeeded in doing where elizabeth failed - saving luke - body and soul. she wants to be angry - downright fuming at the daughter of thanatos but the feels aren't there. she'd gone against the fates and saved him. the daughter of death was certainly right about prophecies being full of shit - elizabeth will certainly give her that.

she's going to end up creating worn paths in the floors of the hades' cabin with all her pacing back and forth. the daughter of hades is biting her thumb nail as she paces - her mind racing a million different thoughts - a million different scenarios of how this meeting could go. yes - she believed in luke's campaign for the demigods. they deserve better. she'd sworn that on the sacred waters of the styx. she still believed in his cause - moreso she didn't trust the olympians to keep their word for longer than percy jackson's lifetime. time could only see the longevity of that oath.

she'd grieved luke's apparent death. she had felt his string cut. how had annamarie saved him? how had thanatos not stepped in to prevent his daughter from messing with the fragile balance of life and death? the answer comes to her in the realization that hades and thanatos weren't that different as fathers. they wanted their children to be happy and luke makes annamarie happy.

she pauses her pacing when the door of the hades' cabin opens and elizabeth suddenly felt like she couldn't breathe at the sight of the two together again. the witch stays in her place across the cabin, almost afraid to move. "i'm not mad at you, annamarie. i'm not going to snap at you. we all need to have a long talk together."

the beauty pouted, knowing her god was teasing her. they were so close, it would only take a swift motion to capture his lips in a damning kiss — but aurora was stubborn. " it would, " the beauty sighed out, " but here you are, dragging your feet instead of kissing me . . . " aurora said with dramatics, rolling her eyes and beginning to turn away from the sun god, hands clasped behind her back as she attempted to look as forlorn as possible.

she didn't heed the words, instead continuing to gather the fallen crimson petals into the small basket she held. " i don't believe that, " the mortal mused, " they're still beautiful, even if they've fallen. even if they may wilt, wither away someday. " aurora held up one of the soft petals, her violet gaze admiring it for a moment before she placed it in the basket with the others.

" i suppose that's like myself, isn't it? " the beauty turned to smile at styx, " mortal, destined to wilt and wither away — but until i do, i still hold beauty in my lowest moment. " clearly so, for her lowest moment had also been the very moment apollo graced her with his presence.

aurora could understand that better then some, and she wondered if delphi knew it. the princess nodded her head in agreement, sitting down on the stone bench beside the girl. " i was the same at your age, " the beauty started, laying her hands in her lap. " when i was younger, i wasn't allowed outside palace walls — it was suffocating, " she imagined, in a way, it had been akin to being trapped on the isle. nowhere to go, nothing but dreams to be had.

" sometimes, when i complained — or snuck out, " she added with a small smirk, " someone would ask me where i wanted to go, what i wanted to do and see . . . i never had a good answer. " generic ones were always her fallback. the ocean, somewhere warmer, somewhere colder — whatever answer she thought of in the moment. the woman turned to look at the girl, giving her a soft smile. " it's okay to not know the answer. perhaps there isn't one. "

stay? the mortal looked surprised by the god’s words — stay, with him? here? on olympus? aurora looked around them, at the grandeur and spectacle that was made of the gods, for the gods; not for a mere mortal like her to live in, to reap the pleasures of . . . but their touch on her arm, the way he combed his fingers through her curls and the softness of his voice made it such an impossible choice.

impossible, because she couldn't refuse. what did she have to go back to, anyway? her parents thought her dead, she would never be able to return to delphi and she'd have to start life all over again nearly. here, she could be unbothered by strife, unconcerned with being safe — because she would be under apollo's protection, always.

the mortal was silent for a moment, closing her eyes and smiling. it was easy to accept that everything she knew, the life she had before she had stepped foot on olympus was over. she owed her life to apollo now, even if they insisted otherwise. " do you really think you need ask? " the beauty murmured softly, " always, apollo, i'll stay for you, with you, always. "

with apollo out for the evening, aurora took the opportunity to be alone, something that didn't happen terribly often. she sighed, enjoying the brisk air of twilight and the sunset before her. unfortunately, it did anything but make her heart light. the mortal was thinking about her parents, how they were now and if they missed her — but then the crushing feeling of remembering why she sat on olympus to begin with hit her. they had given her up, gave her away for slaughter — sent her to her death.

of course, that wasn’t how it happened. apollo did not take her life, but brought her to live at his side and for that aurora was eternally grateful — but it didn’t soften the blow of being disposable. warm tears fell steadily down her rosy cheeks, staining the muted blue dress she wore. 

the beauty’s head turned when she heard her god’s voice, and quickly — she wiped at the tears, trying to make it as thought they never happened. “ i’m sorry, “ aurora said softly, albeit a little shaky. it felt like her default, to apologize for her actions — much like she always did when her parents scolded her. not that apollo was scolding her, but the last thing aurora cared to do was upset the god that so graciously let her live.

it seemed like such an easy question. any mortal would choose life, wouldn't they? all mortals feared death, and that included aurora — but she did not fear it for herself. she never had. aurora had been all too willing to die for her family, for her city, before apollo had stopped her. she wondered why styx asked her such a question, but it did not stop her from answering them.

" my mortal life? " the beauty questioned, then shook her head. " no, goddess, i do not. my mortal life is meaningless, even now. " then, aurora pursed her lips, letting her words hang in the air. her sacrifice to apollo was the only thing her life had accumulated to, the only thing her beauty had been good for and the only thing delphi had deemed her useful for.

she looked down to the ground between them. her next thought was not said out of selfishness, no matter how many mortals would say the same for their own gains.

" now, an immortal life? that, i would choose. i would choose it not for me, but for him. to save their heart from ache. " aurora feared the day she was gone, for the ache apollo would have in her absence. they would move on, someday, that aurora believed — but there would still be pain before.

his words enticed a melodious giggle out of the beauty, her lithe fingers gently tracing the shape of his own fingers. this? there was no time in her life she ever could hope to be at this point — wrapped in the arms of the god of the sun, feeling their warmth and their soft touch on her skin as a spring breeze gently shifted her golden curls and his darker ones.

" i prayed and hoped for love, yes, but i never in my wildest moments could have imagined that love would come from you, my sun. " aurora smiled, " seems awful presumptuous, to think i so beautiful that a god would love me. " though, aurora knew there was some truth to the words, not because apollo did love her — but because the city of delphi had deemed her beautiful enough for him.

she turned in his arms, settling her violet gaze on his features as her fingers now came up to trace his bottom lip lazily. " but yes, this is exactly the point in time i prayed, hoped, cried and ached to be. "