by Melody Rose
“Now, none of that!” Ruby scolded as she waded forward. “The place is wet enough as it is.” The blacksmith looked around hopelessly at the mess. “Are we going to have to redo the smithy every semester while you go to school here?”
I shrugged dramatically. “Maybe.”
Luckily we found out a lot of the building was salvageable. Soldiers from the Nero branch were kind enough to come and help us clean up the place. We did have to put in a replacement order for some of the equipment, but the Olympic Officials assured us that they would get the machines as soon as possible, especially when I relayed the gods’ warning about the Ultimate Weapon.
Unfortunately, I kind of shot myself a little bit in the foot when I dropped that little bomb on them. Because while it did hurry up the rebuilding process for the smithy, it also meant that it refocused the General on his desire for the Ultimate Weapon. My work time in the forge was increased once again, and I had to present weekly check-ins to the General himself, which I wasn’t excited about.
However, we and the rest of the campus quickly recovered from the Love Struck ordeal. The next day, after Eros and Harmonia left, the Olympic Officials had some announcements in the cafeteria which had also been quickly repaired after the fight that broke out there.
The four of us sat at our usual table while Benji complained about how he would never eat another apple as long as he lived when the Olympic Officials paraded in. The twelve of them entered with their usual fanfare and made their way up to their platform, standing in a row with the General at the center.
“Students of the Academy,” the General boomed, “we have had quite the infamous couple of weeks, nothing like our beloved Academy has seen before.”
“That’s one way of putting it,” Darren grumbled under his breath, and I snickered into the ice cream I was still picking at after dinner.
“As a result of some of the recent developments, we have decided to reexamine some of the rules of the Academy.” The General cleared his throat and pulled at the collar of his shirt, suddenly uncomfortable. I instantly wondered what could possibly be making the General, of all people, so uneasy.
“We will be removing the ban on… relations between students and graduated soldiers of the Military,” the General proclaimed, pausing only once as he thought about which word to use when talking about dating relationships between the students.
A sudden smattering of voices erupted in the cafeteria, excited about this new news. Even my friends and I were surprised by the announcement. The three of us noticed at Benji’s gaze immediately darted about the crowd, looking for Zach. The Gi leader caught Benji’s eye and winked in confirmation at my friend. Benji’s neck turned red, but all of us congratulated him at the prospect of getting to be with his lover, for real this time.
My own mind flashed to Ansel, but I couldn’t find him amongst the crowd. The General let the students have their moment of celebration before he held up his hands. The room fell into silence once more.
“There will be new regulations about what is allowed in class and during training times,” the General said, “but those are being ironed out and will be in place for the new semester. Now we would like to move on to another round of drafts for second years.”
The excitement quickly changed to curiosity and intensity amongst the student body. I noticed Violet’s face pale, and her gaze shifted down to her lap. I reached out and grabbed her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Violet sent me a small smile, laced with nervousness.
“First, we would like to acknowledge a student who…” Once again, the General seemed to be searching for the right words, his confidence faltering. “Who, despite everything she has been through these last several weeks, showed resolve and resilience, even in the face of false accusations. We would like to welcome Violet Sakai to the Nero branch.”
The four of us paused for a moment, but then Benji, Darren, and I erupted into tumultuous applause, standing up for our friend. Violet buried her head in her hands, suddenly embarrassed.
“Come up, Violet!” Darren encouraged, pulling at her elbow. “You got drafted.”
The applause continued around us, but Violet still didn’t move. She shook her head, still collapsed in her hands. I bent forward and peeled Violet’s hands away from her face.
“What’s wrong?” I said, my voice loud enough so she could hear me but not enough to share it with everyone else.
“I don’t want to go up there,” Violet said weakly. “In front of everyone again, with all of their eyes on me. I can’t.” Violet was about to bury her head in her hands again, but I stopped her by sliding my hands into hers.
“Come on,” I said, pulling her up. “I’ll go with you.”
“Cheyenne,” Violet protested, but I cut her off.
“You can do this,” I encouraged her, not giving my friend a choice. “You got drafted, and dammit, you’re going to get your sash!”
Violet untangled herself from the bench and walked by my side up to the platform where the Olympic Officials and the leader of Nero branch waited for her. I stopped at the base of the stair and led her up, so she could receive it on her own.
She took in a breath of courage and walked forward, ducking her down so the Nero leader could slip the sash around Violet’s body. I cheered louder than anyone, whistling and whooping as I watched my friend’s face light up, having finally been accepted by the Military Academy of Olympus as one of their own.
Finally, the four of us had found our places at the Academy. Each one of us represented each of the four branches, with Violet in Nero, Darren in Aeras, Benji in Gi, and I in Fotia. While we might have had the sashes that represented our belonging, we first belonged to each other. And we would always have one another.
A tap on my shoulder interrupted my cheering for Violet. I turned to look into Ansel’s deep eyes, which sparkled as he smiled at me. He leaned forward so he could speak in my ear.
“Want to get out of here?”
Oh, gods, did I. But I didn’t want to abandon Violet, especially since she had just achieved something so important.
The Olympic Officials escorted Violet off the platform on the other side, so I tried to catch her eye across the room. She quickly spotted me and waved excitedly, but then saw Ansel at my side. Without having to say a word, my former roommate’s face spread into a sly and knowing smile. She lifted her chin and made her way back to Darren and Benji, which I knew was a sign of her approval.
I laced Ansel’s hand in mine and scurried out of the cafeteria while the General began to announce the next drafted second year.
Ansel and I entered the crisp night air, the sun having already set for the day. He brought me to one of the benches in the quad which was deserted because everyone was in the cafeteria. Or they were supposed to be, at least.
“Cheyenne,” Ansel said as he took my hands in his.
“Oh gods, don’t tell me you’re about to propose,” I said, yanking my hands from his and scooting back on the bench.
“Not marriage at least,” Ansel said with a sheepish smile. “But I do want to propose that we be together. A couple, boyfriend, girlfriend, however you want to define it.”
I chuckled at Ansel’s nervousness, finding it completely endearing and sweet. Ansel’s face fell at my laughter.
“What? Do you not… I mean, if you’re not ready, but I just thought, since the rule had changed that we--”
I cut him off by planting a kiss on his lips, giving the son of Apollo the only answer he needed. I swallowed his words, and we sat there for a moment, melting into one another as our hands roamed the familiar curves of one another’s bodies.
Ansel pulled away. “So yes?” he checked.
I rolled my eyes and then proceeded to kiss him again.
Epilogue
Six Weeks Later
Multicolored sparks danced around me as I moved the metal up and down the grinder. It was a tricky process considering how small the metal already was. I melted all if down
into one small cube until the remnants of the Necklace of Harmonia were nothing more than a hunk of gold.
I wove the piece back and forth on the grinder, thinning it out. There was a steady rhythm to my movements, with the steadiness of a metronome. The gold still refused to talk to me, but I used my knowledge and skills to bend the material to my will.
Though I nearly dropped the piece to the ground when someone tapped me on the shoulder, surprising me.
The metal bobbled in my hands, but I managed to catch it before the fragile substance clattered on the concrete floor. I whirled around, a snarl at the corner of my mouth, ready to bark at whoever had interrupted me.
Ansel stood at my side, though his expression shifted immediately from playful to afraid at the sight of my clear annoyance.
“I shouted your name,” he said defensively, “but you didn’t answer me.”
“I was in the zone,” I grumbled as I shut off the power grinder, descending the smithy into silence.
“Clearly,” Ansel said as he crossed back to the door. “But you need to get out of the zone. We’re going to be late.”
“Crap,” I snapped as I cradled the pieces of the Necklace in my hands. I walked over to the workbench and crouched down. Hastily, my fingers wove around the lock on the safe. I imputed the numbers and then whipped open the door. With a flourish, I dumped the necklace pieces into the safe for later use.
I looked at the scattered pieces, all thinned and coated with rust. They seemed so insignificant and harmless as they sat there in the safe. But I knew the truth behind these pieces of rust encrusted gold. They were dangerous and full of destruction. They had wrecked so many lives and almost ruined my friend’s. As much as I wanted to throw the pieces in the nearest pit, I knew I needed them.
See, as terrible as this necklace was, it was incredibly powerful. It was one of the very few items in mythology that actually had the ability to manipulate the gods.
Most of the time, every dangerous thing in the Greek myths had to do with the gods manipulating the humans or the demigods. But there were selective stories about the gods getting fooled. They were there to remind us that even the gods had weaknesses. They were not invincible.
And here I was, tasked with making another weapon that would weaken the gods. It would be the Ultimate Weapon. So I knew that I needed all the help I could get. Including the help from the Necklace of Harmonia, once dipped in crime and cursed to harm women for eternity.
“Cheyenne,” Ansel pressed. “We’ve got to go.”
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” I said as I shut the safe door, also shutting out my thoughts about the weapon and the potential power behind it. I got to my feet and joined Ansel by the door. I whipped my apron off my head and hung it by the door, then scampered out, hot on Ansel’s heels.
“I don’t know why you are so insistent about all of this,” I said as I jogged to keep up with my long-legged boyfriend. “You were against this whole thing in the beginning.”
“I know,” Ansel said, giving me a quick look over his shoulder. “But after everything, I just think it’s important, you know.”
“Hang on,” I said as I reached out and grabbed the crook of his arm. I swung the soldier around to face me and made him stand still for a moment. “What do you mean by that?”
Ansel released a heavy sigh and stared up at the sky as if what he wanted to say was written up in the clouds. “I mean, I’ve been thinking about what Oliver said. And I think he might have a point.”
I blinked back my surprise. “Did I miss something? Did hell freeze over? Are there pigs flying, and I didn’t notice?”
I moved my head about, dramatically looking for flying pigs when Ansel scoffed and took my chin in his hand. I let his touch still me and offered him an encouraging smile.
“I can learn from other demigods, thank you very much,” Ansel said firmly. He released me, but his grip moved down to take my hands in his. “After watching you these past two years, with all that you have done--”
“That we’ve done,” I corrected, stepping in.
“But you’ve done the most,” he countered. “I wanted everyone to know what you had done. I was so proud of you for using your talents and knowledge to help others. I wanted to brag on you.”
I looked at the ground as a blush crept up to my ears. But Ansel wouldn’t let me look away. He cupped my cheek in his hand and directed my face back up to his, so he could look me directly in the eye.
“When Oliver talked about the stories being the way we immortalized the heroes, I realized that he was right,” Ansel continued. “We need the stories, and we need ways to share them. Drama is just one of the many ways to do that.”
“So, you want to make a play about all of my heroic feats?” I teased.
“You know what I mean,” Ansel said with a sigh. “I think that we should keep the tradition going. Just because it’s not fighting with a weapon, or defeating the enemies directly, we defeat them each time we share the stories of our ancestors.”
“And I think you should tell the General all of that,” I said as I stood up on my tiptoes to give him a quick peck on the cheek. “Word for word.”
“Even about how proud I am of your heroic adventures?” Ansel said, only half-joking as the corners of his eyes crinkled into a smile.
“Sure, why not?” I said with a shrug. I turned so that we were side by side, continuing our walk along the path. “Maybe he’ll give me some respect for once.”
“Cheyenne,” Ansel said, like a scolding parent.
“What?” I countered. “I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.”
Ansel shook his head disappointedly. “I know the two of you don’t get along.”
“That’s the understatement of the century,” I grumbled, but Ansel continued on.
“But you have another two years here,” Ansel warned. “And he’s going to continue as the General whether you like it or not. Hopefully, you both will find a way to get along.”
“I hope for that, too,” I assured my boyfriend. “But I’m afraid I’m the only one. He doesn’t really want to hear what I have to say most of the time.”
“Well,” Ansel said with a squeeze of my hand. “Maybe he’ll listen this time.”
Then the son of Apollo dropped my hand and picked up the pace. I broke into a run to keep up with him, knowing that we were liberal enough with our time already. Together, we sped to the Olympic Offical’s building, where we would meet Violet, Darren, and Benji. A handful of other children of Dionysus would be there as well.
As a group, we approached the twelve Olympic Officials and proposed the reinstatement of Drama classes at the Academy.
We explained the essentials of remembering our history. We delved into the need for stories. We compared the benefits with that of other artistic disciplines like pottery or painting.
“The Greeks created theatre,” I said in my closing argument. “It would be a disservice to our heritage and to our ancestors to reject this art. We owe it to the heroes of the past to tell their stories in as many ways as possible. The knowledge and the skills learned by participating in theatre might not be essential for a soldier, but they are essential for a Grecian demigod.”
We stood in silence for a moment as we reached the conclusion of our presentation. The twelve Olympic Officials looked around the room at each other. Their expressions were completely unreadable, blank like poker players. I could feel Violet jittering with nerves beside me, and I reached out to take her hand. She squeezed it so tight that I thought she might break my knuckles.
Oliver hovered in the corner, barely having said a word during the entire presentation. This was out of character for him, but the teacher agreed that the argument would be more impactful if given by students and soldiers alike, not just the former drama teacher. We hoped our words, our evidence, and our convictions were enough.
From the end of the table, the General cleared his throat. “We will need a moment to consider your propos
ition. Thank you for coming in today, and we will let you know soon, once we have reached a decision.”
“Soon” turned out to be thirty minutes from when we all exited the Olympic Official’s room after we were excused. No one chose to leave. We hunkered down in the lobby, with most of us in constant motion. Whether it was Benji’s jiggling leg, or my pacing, or Oliver’s nail-biting, our nerves were apparent.
Suddenly, the door opened. Like dogs spotting a squirrel, all of our heads snapped towards the door. Jarred, Ruby’s brother and the son of Poseidon, stood in the doorway, a hand on either side of the frame.
“In a vote of twelve to zero, we have decided to reinstate the drama program back into the curriculum of the Academy, effective as early as next semester,” Jarred recited as though he were reading off a prompter.
There was a pause as we all processed the message. Then, as one, we released a chorus of cheers and whoops. Benji and Darren hugged one another while Oliver pulled out a handkerchief and began to dab at his eyes while muttering, “Thank you, thank you” over and over again.
I turned to Ansel, who beamed at me. He reached out his hand, and I didn’t hesitate. I placed mine in his, and it fit perfectly.
“This is another story for the books,” Ansel said, just quiet enough for me to hear in the midst of the hoopla.
“Or one for the stage,” I joked.
Either way, we knew that this moment, along with the others from that semester, would be ones that would be talked about for generations to come.
A Note from the Author
Hello, reader! If you read this far, I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate your time, and I hope that you loved Born in Beauty! If you did, I wanted to let you know that it is very important that you leave a review.
The more reviews, the more likely others will find it, and the more people who do and love it, the more likely I can write a sequel. Also, I won’t lie, it really makes my day to see someone talking about how much they loved my book.