A CHEERFUL ENDING FOR THE ISLE OF LEMNOS

All the people in the town gathered round. There were male children, but only the girls carried that repugnant scent, meaning it was hereditary, which was kinda cool, but it sucked for the females. They would always be born stinky, but that's going to change now. "So, Vittoria, what exactly do we do?"

"First, I'm going to try a negation spell on my own to see if I can do anything." She began chanting, and a black magic circle spread across the floor. It appeared on every woman's hand, but it shattered quickly, which I took to mean the attempt failed. Sure enough, I detected the familiar and disgusting scent I've gotten accustomed to here. Something changed about it, though. The smell was fainter now, meaning Vittoria's magic had an effect. "I'm not sure what you did, but it sort of worked, Vittoria. Their collective odor is much weaker now."

Vittoria had her hands on her knees. "Good to know," she huffed. Vittoria was sweatier than a soccer player after an intense match. I asked if she needed a break, but she brushed me off. "I can cast up to three more spells that strong before collapsing, thanks to the strength I gain in the night." She pressed her palms on my chest, and I felt her soft fingers against me. "Um, what are you doing?"

"Don't misunderstand, Yiannis. I'm casting a spell on you that will boost your powers. You can think of it as a powerup, like in Mario. It won't be that strong, but it will be helpful for what we have to do next." She began chanting again, and a magic circle appeared on my hand. I felt some sort of spiritual energy flowing into me, giving me power. "Do these spells of yours have a time limit?"

"The one I placed on you will last for about an hour. The negation spells last indefinitely." Vittoria took my hand. "How do you feel? Any bad side-effects?"

"I feel stronger, thanks to you. I don't feel like I want to puke, or my insides are burning."

"Good. Stand right here for me, will you? I'm going to nest a time spell into a negation spell."

"Wait, you can control time too?"

"To a certain extent," Vittoria wanly smiled. "I only know spells that reverse the flow of time. Unlike you, I can't speed it up or slow it down."

"Wait, reverse time? Even I can't do that! You have to teach me how to use a time spell!"

"Calm down; I'm showing you right now," she giggled. Vittoria wrapped her arms around me. "Do you feel what I'm feeding into your body?"

"You mean that flow of energy?"

"Yeah. Close your eyes, and try to feel something similar to it in the environment." I did as I was told. I felt the wind whistle past my face. I searched the space around me for the magical energy Vittoria was trickling into me. It was everywhere, and there were loads of it all over the place!

"Good," Vittoria said. "You're sensing it too. We call this magical energy anima or the building block of the universe. Every particle is made up of it. Quarks, atoms, and even dark matter were formed with this mystical source of energy. Now, try to draw it from your surroundings."

"Is that even possible?" That would theoretically mean I could physically drag electrons towards me, which may have been possible for a son of Zeus. Then a revelation struck me like lightning.

"Yes, you're beginning to understand," Vittoria stated. "This energy relates to how we use our powers. As you've figured out, the children of Zeus draw this energy from any source of electricity around them, which they can use to zap people. The gods themselves do the same, just on a much more frightening scale. When you alter time, you're using the energy drawn from the surroundings to make time flow faster or slower in a system you choose to affect. I want you to do that right now. Gradually begin to slow down time and feel the energy pull towards you." Vittoria was right. As I made time slow down around me(only me), I felt anima gravitating towards me. In my mind, a clock appeared in my head, which was a first. Usually, I just willed time to slow down.

"Stop. Don't go any further than this. For now, just gather anima," Vittoria whispered in my ear. "I'll begin teaching you how to use the time spell I know. You want to absorb the anima, and will the hands on the clock you're imagining go backward. But first, you need to utter the incantation. I can't repeat it with you as you perform the spell, so try to remember them." She mumbled the words in my ear. "Got it?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "What now?"

"Begin the spell, and say the chant. I'll nest your spell into another negation spell, and hopefully, that will do the trick."

"Alright." I took a deep breath. The words were in Greek, and I sucked at the language, but I tried my best, which turned out to be spectacular. "O, i roí tou chrónou, sas parangélno, stamatíste! O, to simádi tis iméras kai tis nýchtas, sas parangélno, antístrofa!" (If I'm correct, all I did was tell time to move in the other direction.) I felt the anime tug harder on me, and I used all my mental strength to push the hands on the clock in the other direction. I heard Vittoria saying another chant, but I paid no attention to it. I focused solely on making the clock's hands move backward, which was happening now. The minute hand and the hour hand spiraled out of control, and a vision of the past overtook me. I saw the past, the violent murders that transpired on the Isle of Lemnos. I saw the goddess Aphrodite cursing the women for betraying their husbands and giving them their yucky scent. However, when the curse was applied, a black magic circle appeared on all the women's hands, the same circle seen in Vittoria's negation spell. Then my mind went blank, and Vittoria muttered that it was over.

I opened my eyes to find Vittoria on top of me and the both of us on the floor. I propped both of us up, my knees buckling. I was just as sweaty as Vittoria and likely just as worn out. But the bigger question was whether Vittoria's plan worked or not. Were the women cured of their foul smell?

I sniffed the air and opened my mouth in an eager smile to discover that the scent had vanished. Vittoria noticed it too. We got rid of the curse!

The women and little girls were as happy as we were. They erupted into cheer and applause. "It's gone!" One of them exclaimed. "It's finally gone!" Another happily nodded as she sobbed. After the parading, all of them again knelt before me. "All hail Yiannis Cirillo, the son of the Titan Lord! All hail Kronos!"

"Hey now," I protested. "Vittoria was the one who got rid of your curse for you. I just helped out." Vittoria wagged her finger. "Yes, but without your power, this would not have been possible. As expected of you, Lord Yiannis," she knelt with the others. "I told you to stop disobeying me," I laughed. Vittoria got up, smiling. "Yeah, but it's a lot of fun to tease you. Anyway, are you ready?"

"Ready for what?"

"The celebration, silly! With their curse gone, obviously, they'd want to celebrate, and what better way to do so than to honor their benefactor!"

I was nowhere near ready for the party, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It was the first time I had fun on a quest. I danced with women my age and a little older as others sang songs, drummed, and played on a harp. After which, I retired to my room, where Morgan intercepted me. "The Queen wishes to speak with thee privately, Lord Yiannis." Before, she did nothing but glare at me. Now she beamed like I was her boyfriend, and now she smelled like roses. I preferred this new Morgan, but she had one problem. "If you didn't know, I don't like to be called a Lord. Just Yiannis is fine."

"My apologies, Yiannis. I'll accompany you to her Majesty."

Morgan dropped me off at Queen Hypisple's room, which was adjacent to her throne room. I knocked on the door. "Can I come in?"

"Yes," Queen Hypisple replied. "I've been waiting to see you." I opened the door, and my jaw dropped. Hypisple was beautiful, but she was bewitching without that nasty odor. Now she smelled like lavender, and she wore a revealing red dress showcasing her legs and some of her cleavage. "Um, what is it you wanted to talk about?"

"Come closer, and you'll find out," she swayed her finger, grinning. Once I did, she flipped me on her bed and went on top of me. She began kissing me affectionately while caressing my cheek with one hand. Her other hand went inside my pants and gripped me. "Oh my, you're quite big for a boy your age, Lord Yiannis. You're getting very hard, I see," she kissed me again as she stroked my crotch. She was really alluring, and I had to admit it, but I wouldn't have objected to doing "it" with her if she wanted the same. I couldn't take my eyes off her body, going down from her breasts to her legs. Yet, I pulled myself away. "What exactly are you doing?"

"Surely you can tell, Yiannis." She stroked my privates faster, and I felt the urge to kiss her right back and please her. "You are a male hero, are you not? What better way to reward you than with my body? Jason requested the same."

"You mean the Jason who led the Argonauts?" I asked. Hypisple nodded, stroking me even faster, and I was on the verge of losing all self-control as she kissed me again. "Am I not enough, Lord Yiannis? Perhaps you prefer to have more beautiful women simultaneously?"

"No, that's not it at all!" I shook her off and zipped my pants. "You're more than enough, but...there's no need to do that."

"You don't want me?"

I blushed. "It's...not like that. My point is that there's no need to reward me. I didn't help you because I wanted to get laid by you. I helped you because I wanted to see you smile."

"Is that right..." Hypisple got off of me. "You're a peculiar one, yet I want you even more for it," she smiled. "I'm amazed you still had the will to resist. You put your hands on my rear, and I thought you would flip me over and have me."

I felt my face getting hot. "I'm really sorry for that! It's just that...I don't want to do things like that with someone I don't know well or feel strongly about."

"I see. You care more about love than lust," Hypisple remarked. "Which is ironic considering your friend, Brian, and your other accomplices."

"How so?"

"Yiannis, you and I are not the only ones who planned to engage in this type of behavior tonight." I now understood what Vittoria meant by "activities doable only at nighttime," and Hypisple laughed, cupping my face in her hands. "You're very cute when you're nervous. Your face turns an amusing shade of red," she kissed me one last time as she explored my mouth, playing with my tongue. I let her have this one. "Come, Lord Yiannis," Hypisple pulled me up. "I'll walk you to the festivities. I would at least like to dance with you."

"THAT we can do," I sighed. "Also, just call me Yiannis. I hate being treated like I'm special."

"But you are, silly. You have a great destiny."

"My destiny has nothing to do with what I am. I'm Yiannis, just another kid walking by."

"Alright, Yiannis. I'm impressed by your humility and character. Most heroes are arrogant and well, can only have one type of relationship with a woman."

"Well, those are other heroes, not me. Come on, I'd rather dance than talk about this." I took her hand, and we whirled around, laughing under the moon.

After which, I came across Vittoria, who complained that I danced with all the women but her. My response was to revise that, and so I twirled her around as well. I enjoyed dancing with her the most, but the moment was ruined when she asked what the Queen wanted. "Morgan said you were in the Queen's room. Did she want something from you?"

"Um, well...can we not talk about it?"

Vittoria raised an eyebrow. "Why not? And why are your cheeks reddening?"

"Well..."

"Yiannis, what happened?" I was shocked by how stern her voice was. She sounded angry. "Are you going to answer?" Reluctantly, I did.

Vittoria stood still for some time. She frowned at me, and I wondered whether she was assessing the truth of what I said. "I see, so she wanted you to boink her," she sighed.

"Yeah, and I refused," I repeated. "Did I do something wrong? You sound mad about that?"

"No, I'm not mad...about the fact that you rejected her, that is."

"So what's bothering you?"

"Nothing. Let's get back to dancing." We danced until after the music stopped, and I was drained of energy. Vittoria offered a sympathetic smile. "You're tired as well, aren't you?"

"Yeah. Couldn't those spells be less taxing?"

"We used rather powerful spells, so it's understandable as to why we're so worn out. That, and the fact we danced for quite a while. Of course, you also decided to busy yourself to a game of hanky-panky with the Queen."

"Shut up, you. Where's Brian?"

"There's a high chance he's still making love to some random girl. Let's leave him be. He's been a good boy today."

"That he has. Vittoria, could I sleep in your room?"

"What's this about? Do you want to play rumpy-bumpy with me too?"

"Be quiet, woman. It's a safety precaution. I've been worried that Brian might try something behind my back."

"Oh, so you've been losing sleep worrying about me? That's so kind of you!"

"Just answer the question, Vittoria."

"Well, fine. I had planned for the situation regardless, but I'll feel safer with you by my side. Oh, you'll be sleeping on the floor. The bed belongs to me."

"Makes sense," I smiled. "Alright," I yawned. "Off to bed, we go." I brought a sleeping bag into Vittoria's room, immediately curling on the floor and drifting to rest.