#Chapter4
Jevelene kept the flower pot on her worktable. Her grandmother looked at her while sitting on her bed, /"What happened? You look sad,/" She asked.
/"Yes, it's because I am sad,/" Jevelene looked at the flower pot.
/"And why is that so? What happened to you know,/"
/"I just...prepared a flower pot for Ariel but he did not accept it and I think I made him uncomfortable by doing something unnecessary./"
/"Why would a demigod accept flowers from someone like you? They only accept gifts from nuns or priests,/"
/"I see,/" She looked down, /"I might have offended him. I'll apologise tomorrow,/"
/"I don't see the reason why he decided to associate himself with someone like you. Not just do you look bad but you are also useless and powerless! You bear no magic!/"
/"I do, I am a demigod/"
/"You are no demigod, women can't be demigods!/"
/"But father said I am–/"
/"He obviously lied to you to make you feel good about yourself. Look at yourself and then look at Ariel, you are nowhere near, stop comparing yourself to divine beings, you wretch! Never touch him or we'd face the wrath of gods upon us that will bring nothing but destruction!/"
/"Yes, grandma.../" She bowed, /"I think someone is... at the shop, I'll go take a look,/" She ran away towards the shop and ran down on the ground.
'I don't see the reason why he decided to associate himself with someone like you.'
She looked at hands, /"I shouldn't be close to a divine being. Grandma is right, I may not even be a demigod,/" She chuckled.
Next day, she went to get some water at the brook pretty late. It was almost getting dark. She wanted to avoid him. But to her surprise, he was still there, laying on the grass, fast asleep while waiting for her. She quietly walked towards the brook, filled her bucket with water and turned back to leave.
/"Hey,/" He said and she stopped without turning back. He slowly got up, /"Where are you off to?/"
/"To home.
You should go back home too, it’s getting dark,/"
/"Home,/" She heard him chuckle, /"I am home,/"
She giggled, /"So, this forest is your home now?/"
/"No, you are,/"
She stopped giggling and looked down while smiling. She looked at her reflection on the water into the bucket. Her smile slowly vanished.
/"Why are you doing this, lord demigod?/"
He laughed, /"Why are you suddenly addressing me like that? Aren't you a demigod too?/"
/"...I always believed that I was one. But, as I grow wiser, I believe how utterly foolish I've been,/"
/"What do you mean?/" He asked.
She slowly turned towards him with her eyes casted downwards,
/"I'm no demigod. I have no sila, no magic, no beauty. I'm just a normal human girl caught between who I am and who I want to be./"
He was quiet. She slowly looked at him. His brown fringes slowly fell on his pink eyelids, his green eyes looked into hers and she quickly looked down again. She heard him sigh /"Jevelene,/"
She looked at him,
/"I don't know about you but I talk to you not because you're a demigod. I couldn't care less if you're mortal or immortal. For me, you're just Jevelene./"
She looked at his feet. He looked at her red hair. It looked silky. He moved his fingers towards her hair. She felt the heat of his palms on her ear. She shuddered and looked up at him.
He smiled as he looked at her hair, /"They feel just like I thought they would, like red linen coming apart,/" He brought his mouth closer to her shoulder and pressed her hair over his lips, /"And falling down gently into a sea of pearls,/"
She dropped the bucket and ran away. She looked at her run and laughed, /"Cute,/"
She entered her hut and closed the door, and pressed her hand over her chest,
'What is this? My heart is beating so fast, I must've ran too much, I'm out of breath,'
Her grandmother was sleeping on her bed, /"Grandma, are you hungry?/" She walked towards her but she didn't reply, /"Grandma?/" She touched her. Her body was cold, /"Grand...ma.../"
'Never touch him or we'd face the wrath of gods upon us that will bring nothing but destruction!'
She fell on her knees beside her bed and covered her face back with her blanket. Next day, the villagers arranged for her funeral. Jevelene sat in a corner, /"She ate away her grandmother too!/" One of the women said.
/"All she's brought upon her family since birth is death!/"
/"What a witch!/"
/"WITCH!/"
All the women yelled and slowly the men joined them. Jevelene got up and ran. They all ran after her with stones in their hands.
It was dark, she couldn't see what was ahead of her, she felt stones on her back as she ran barefoot. Finally, a stone hit her on her head and she fell on the ground. Everyone threw stones at her. She covered her face with the arms. Suddenly, the stones turned to flowers. Everyone gasped.
/"THE WITCH IS USING HER WICKED MAGIC! RUN AWAY BEFORE SHE MAKES YOU A BIRD!/" They all ran away. Jevelene slowly got up. Ariel came out from behind one of the trees. He ran towards her, /"Are you okay?/"
'Never touch him or we'd face the wrath of gods upon us that will bring nothing but destruction!'
/"Don't touch me, please don't touch me,/" She begged, /"This much pain...is enough to open my eyes,/"
/"Open your eyes? What are you saying? We need to clean your wounds!/"
/"I will do it myself, lord demigod./"
She slowly got up and walked towards the brook, /"Why are you being so stubborn?/" Ariel asked.
/"I'm not being stubborn, I just don't want to touch you,/" She poured some water on her wounds.
/"WHY? Have I done something wrong, Jevelene? Why are you suddenly like this? TELL ME!/"
/"Why do you act like you don't know?/"
/"Because I don't, so tell me,/"
/"Because...It's because you're a demigod. You're holy, pure and chaste while I–/"
/"I am a slave, Jevelene,/"
She looked at him. He came closer to her and brought his fists before her. She looked at the golden bracelets on his wrists, /"These are my fancy shackles, a proof that I'm a...a catamite,/"
She looked at him and this time, he hid his eyes in embarrassment, /"I'm not chaste or holy or whatever you think I am. You're a normal human girl, and I? I am demigod prostitute.
That's why I didn't accept those flowers. They weren't for me, they were for a version of mine which didn't exist. Guilt would always outrun desire,/"
She looked down at her wounds, /"Ariel,/"
/"Yes?/"
She gave her gold bracelet to him, /"I want you to replace it with something,/"
/"What do you want me to turn it to?/"
/"Waterlilies,/"
/"Are you sure? This is worth more than a thousand water lilies,/"
/"Yes, I am aware,/"
His eyes turned golden and slowly the bracelet reshaped into a waterlily.
/"You can keep it,/" She smiled.
/"Did you hear what I just told you about me?/"
/"Yes,/"
/"Then, why are you giving these to me?/"
/"I don't know about you but I wanted to give these to you because they still remind me of you. Calming, fragrant and beautiful. I think you are beautiful. Not just by what you look like, or by what you say but just by what you are.
I couldn't care less about anything else. All I know is that you are an artwork I could admire forever. But too many words become meaningless, so to put it simply... For me, you're just Ariel./"
He looked into her eyes and then at the flower in his hand. Two warm teardrops fell on the petals of the flower, his hands were shaking. She heard him sob softly, /"Thank you, no one has ever been so nice to me, I'm so happy.../"
She smiled and moved her hands towards him,
'Never touch him or we'd face the wrath of gods upon us that will bring nothing but destruction!'
She patted his head, /"Want to see something magical?/"
/"What is it?/"
/"Come with me,/"
She held his hand and walked down the mountain. Finally, they reached a cliff. He looked ahead at the fields before him, /"Wow.../"
He could see the sunrise before him. Shining on the golden fields of barley, spreading till the horizon. She ran down with her hand in his, running through the fields.
/"AJAX!/" Someone yelled and Ariel turned back. A tall man stood at the cliff with a few guards, /"I've been looking everywhere for you, come, let's go back home!/"
/"Ajax.../" Jevelene looked at Ariel, /"So, that's your real name?/"
Ariel took her hand, /"Jevelene,/"
She felt a strong pull as he turned back, /"Run!/"
-To be continued