Hincour Peak
Editing in Progress…
Chapter 56
After, the sound of the door slamming shut behind him. The silence that lingering in the room was deafening. Astus took a long breather. His legs took him to the center of the room, to where the bed was. He pressed his nose on the bed and inhaled deeply. What entered through his lungs was the scent of the freshly washed damask material. His hands trailed smoothly across the neatly laid bed.
Even in her absence, the serfs were careful to keep her room clean. After, they wouldn't want to have the consequence of upsetting the god of lightning and thunder. He opened his eyes and analyzed the room. Even though it was Hecca's room, his wife had hardly ever used it. It was her room by name. But she would always in his room, on his bed and in his arms. This room only housed her belongings like clothes, jewelries, shoes, and even paintings.
No!
Her paintings were everywhere on Hincour's peak. He thought, remembering her paintings, stared at the ones in her room. There were some of the beautiful landscapes that are of the Hincour's forest, some arches of the hincour's peak. But most of the paintings were of him. These paintings varied in sizes. They went from a full body portrait painting to half body painting to just bust.
Some were painted with him in a distracted position. He stood up to walk towards it. He traced his fingers across the wooden canvas that held one of his pictorial paintings.
In the painting, he was standing in the middle of an open blue sea. His golden eyes glistened with remembrance at the sight of the picture. It was a vacation retreat that Hecca had pushed heavily for.
Just the two of them.
They had gone to Pantheon Island near Aqualithia. With permission from Diysus, of course. The Island, hidden closely behind Aqualithia, it wasn't very well-known to most gods, so he wondered how Hecca knew about it.
The island was like an exotic paradise. Astus vividly remembered praising Diysus for the beautiful island. The lush gardens of the island were filled with beautiful flowers and sweet-smelling plants. The gentle sound of waves lapping against the shore and the melodic singing songs of the birds, expressively melodic and charming.
Plus, giving the fact that Hecca was the goddess of peace, tranquility, and Serenity. It very much calmed all the troubled thoughts that Astus may have had prior to the vacation.
She was his peace.
Tranquility.
Serenity.
And also his paradise bosom.
They both had spent their vacation days strolling through the garden, hand in hand, whilst admiring the beauty that surrounded them. Astus and Hecca would, from time to time, take a moment to watch as the playful Lynths danced around their crystal-clear ponds.
Astus fingers traced the Lynths that were of the tiny frame in his painting. He remembered times during the vacation when Hecca would also join the lynths in their water ballet dance.
He remembered it to be majestic and ethereal. Like that, he would sit right in front of her and give her his undivided attention as he watched his lover dance until her heart was full.
It was all his.
Hey dance
Her light movement against the island sand floors.
He would remember her flustered face when she would catch his attention on her. But that wouldn't stop her from dancing— that wouldn't stop her from making him fall in love with her even more. There was no amount of peace that would rival what he felt that day. One blissful, cool evening during the vacation, Astus had surprised Hecca by summoning a brilliant moonbeam that gently descended on them. The moonbeam wrapped round the couple as Astus would tread with care as their feet danced underneath the stars. Their movement was in sync and in complete harmony. With every step they took, Astus found himself falling deeper and deeper in love with her.
After what felt like a beautiful eternity, the dance came to an end, and Astus and Hecca found themselves standing before a magnificent tree.
Its branches adorned with golden leaves that shimmered in the moonlight. The laid under the tree and it was there Astus made love to Hecca.
Astus brought forcefully pulled himself from his memory as he pressed his forehead against the painting board. He missed her; he missed her to the point it actually hurt.
Astus moved back to the bed, walking like a controlled undead. He fell face flat on the bed as its bedsheet soaked in his silence tears and sorrow. His mind trailed to Sephtis.
His brother was a fool. Unlike Diysus, who knew the joy of having a mate. Sephtis didn't, and that was why he was vehemently searching for her. Not to love her, but to kill her.
Why?
Why would he want to do such abominable acts towards a person who was made to heal him and elevate his pain? Here he was wallowing in his tears and misery at his lost mate, while his brother was aiming to kill him.
"She would be better off with someone than death". He muttered to himself as he placed his arm over his head.
Better off with someone…
Better off with someone…
Better off with m…e?
If Sephtis could not appreciate the mate he had, then why should he sit still and watch him kill her? He could very much take her as his. After all, there was no law that ban that prevents other gods from taking the mates of another god.
It wasn't like he was forcefully taking her. If Sephtis plans on killing her, he would not entertain her presence, there by treating her terribly. She would therefore hate him and want nothing to do with him, and it would be then that he would take her as his.
It would be a very mutual agreement between them. Him giving her all the love and affection she didn't get from Sephtis. He plans to shower and flourish her with the love that Sephtis never gave her, while she heals his heart from this aching pain of Hecca's.
Astus smiled to himself at his plan. He was sure he could love and cherish her more than Sephtis could. After all, one could only give love to another after knowing what it feels.
🌗
At Shidal.
Finally arriving at Shidal, the home of the siblings' destiny and fate. Bunasis paused on her steps as she looked around with acute interest." You know it's being a while that I have come here," she told her brother.
Bunasis looked up at the brother. They had worn the same set of clothes they had back in their home, but the difference was that Zahohr had a scarf tied around his red eyes. He wears it everywhere he goes and only takes it off in their house. He has no problem wearing it out if it would make other people around him comfortable, but in their house, he would not inconvenience himself for another person's comfort.
Therefore, anyone who didn't like him should not bother about coming to their home, as the scarf is always off.
Zahohr shoved his hands into his pocket as he watched the plains of the land come alive with the cool air that flew by.
"I barely leave home so I have no reason to come here," He shrugged with very little interest. "But a few outings with you won't hurt at all"
He smiled at his sister, which she happily returned.
"Alright, let go make our presence noticed." She said. Zahohr nodded as they walked towards the only house in Shidal.
"Oona? Hobris?" She called out, pushing the door open. "Should you do that? Aren't you meant to knock or something" Zahohr asked, feeling weird at his sister's sudden lack of manners?
Bunasis shook her head. "They are seers. What if we arrived when they were diving?"
Zahohr's lips formed an 'O'. He nodded, understanding what his sister had said.
Soon they heard a trickling sound. "Oona? Hobris?" She called. Unlike seeing Sephtis, the siblings were exactly the most thrilled. But they weren't put off by it, so it wasn't obvious to Zahohr and Bunasis.
"To what do we owe this surprise visit?" Hobris asked? As Oona began serving tea and biscuit.
The nectar was for Sephtis visit, and Sephtis visit alone.
But they didn't need to know that.
"We were hoping to get your help about something with Sephtis" Once the name Sephtis rolled off Bunasis, the seer siblings lifted their eyes with worry as they rushed towards Bunasis, bombarding her with lots of questions. But the primary subject of the question was, "Did something happen to Sephtis?"
Their sudden reaction caught Bunasis by surprise, but she could calm down for a moment to reply to them, "Nothing happened to him, it just that we need your help or wisdom for his sake"
The sibling let out a sigh of relief as they moved back to their seats, "We thought something had happened to him, Hobris replied, placing his hands over his chest as if to subdue his racing heart.
Their reaction seemed more of an overkill than anything to Zahohr, but he chucked it up to their personality, since he was not exactly open to them or the other gods.
"So, what do you need from us?" Oona asked, hitting the nail by its head.
"As you know, Sephtis has a mate out there whom his is looking for," Bunasis started. The siblings nodded.
"Yes, we know, he came here the day of the meeting—" Oona started
"That's why we arrived together," and Hobris completed.
"Yes, well, we need your wisdom," She said cautiously as she trailed her eyes to the crystal ball in between the siblings, "We need your wisdom or guidance to change his path"
"No, we can't do that," They both replied simultaneously and without hesitation.
Lexicon
Lynths are also known nymphs