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ATHENA'S ARMOUR

Anne_Effiong
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Synopsis
Athena, a resilient dark-skinned woman, steals to survive and care for her hateful father. When her actions catch up, Aiden, the boss, rescues her. Discovering her father's betrayal, Athena reluctantly leaves Louisiana for Boston with Aiden.   In Boston, Aiden assigns widowed Mrs. Evelyn Chester to oversee Athena’s farm work as punishment. Aiden departs to his city home, leaving Athena to clash with Evelyn. Despite initial resistance, they bond, and Athena gains the freedom to choose her preferred task—gardening.   In Boston, Athena befriends Hazel, a maid working in Aiden’s grandma’s house. Hazel shares insights on surviving on the farm and warns of dire consequences. One rainy night, Athena is drugged and abducted by workers Milo, Theodore, and Callum in the stable.   Returning home, Aiden faces his parents’ inquiries about marrying his betrothed, Princess Aurora. Betrothed since childhood, Aiden, not a believer in love, sees the marriage as a pragmatic union for business and kingdom alliances.   A call from Evelyn alerts Aiden to Athena’s disappearance. He swiftly returns, organizes a search with Hazel’s revelation about a maid orchestrating Athena’s kidnapping for human trafficking. Determined, Aiden mobilizes to rescue Athena, knowing he has three days to reach her captors before they sell her. Athena’s escape attempts prove challenging.   During the second night, the drunken men sleep, except for Callum who assaults Athena. She escapes, and Aiden, discovering her in the woods, carries her home. Bloodied and traumatized, Athena remains silent. Aiden, unable to examine her, entrusts Evelyn with the task.   Aiden takes a week off, moving to the family house on the farm to care for Athena. Despite her silence, he visits regularly, gradually easing her pain. They bond over walks and gardening, and Athena eventually shares the harrowing details of her ordeal.   Reluctantly, Aiden brings Athena to the kingdom under the guise of a maid. Rumors of her pregnancy surface three months later. Aiden confronts his parents when they mock the pregnant maid. Aurora apologizes on his behalf, and he confides In her about his childhood connection with Athena.   Aurora suggests Aiden claim responsibility for her pregnancy to avoid expulsion. He does and his parents agree to keep her in an old tower for safety. Aiden visits daily. Athena, realizing Aiden’s identity, attempts to confront him, leading to a tragic fall. She hides her pain until alone, breaking down.   Rumors of Aiden impregnating a maid jeopardize his contract marriage with Princess Aurora. Aiden, initially silent, is persuaded by Aurora to open up to his parents. Together, they apologize to Athena, clarifying the situation, and Aiden reopens the palace gates.   Athena questions Aiden about hiding his identity; he admits to enjoying the mystery. As she recovers, Aiden shows her the kingdom, bringing life back to her eyes. During a picnic he proposes to her. He decides to confess his love, but she vanishes, leaving him anxious. Aiden, in panic, finds Athena in the royal garden. She rejects pity, but Aiden confesses his enduring love. They marry, ruling Montonui united.
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Chapter 1 - CHAPTER 1: POWER

According to the cosmos, the basic law of the universe is love. Love is the reason our creator sculpted us. Love is the reason a woman spends thousands of currency units buying baby stuff and lots of hours in the emergency room, bleeding to push a life out. Love is the reason an older sibling sacrifices a meal for her younger sibling. Love is why a man and woman compromise what makes them who they are to stick around and grow old together. What love is, is not pain, is not suffering and is definitely not constant anguish or abandonment.

By the time Athena realized this, her luck had already run out.

She had once again made the citizens of Elmwood angry but this time, it was different. This was a special one because this time, she had crossed a line and there was no going back. She couldn't undo it. She had been called a thief on several occasions in the past but they had no solid evidence to prove it even though everyone including herself knew it was true. This time though, it seemed the round table somewhere in the universe had weighed her atrocities and decided they had tolerated her actions enough.

She cried out loud, winced and coughed as she was dragged on the dusty, dirty ground littered with pieces of gravel. She was dragged by her hair when she made the mistake of falling and this mistake came with itself, a slap, being picked up and then, dragged again. The blood from her cut lips tasted like metal and the one that dripped from her banged-up head flowed into her eyes and came down as a homogenous mix with her tears. She looked ahead and saw that they had already gotten to their destination; the parking lot of AB Company, New Orleans branch. She was tossed on the ground and hit her back against the hard tarred floor. She cried out but she was shut up.

"Thief!" Miss Idris yelled. She must have been mad because some time ago, Athena stole some of the jewelry she sold.

"There is no way the cops are letting her off this time. If they do, we will kill her right in front of them", Mister Paul yelled. His anger ran deeper than just the present because a while back, Athena had stolen some food from him.

"I have never met such a wrongly raised young woman, you need to be disciplined", Old man Elliot yelled. "What did I ever do to him?" she asked herself inwardly. Old man Elliot walked, relying on the support of a stick. He did not always have to, but now he did and that was Athena's fault too. Three years ago, she had stolen some meat from him and while chasing her, he had a terrible fall that put his left knee out of commission. He didn't die, but old age prevented his knee from healing completely and ever since, he supported himself with a third leg, his walking stick.

The people threw sand, dragged her hair, and flung other things at her. Athena cried immensely but she did not once beg for mercy and that was because she knew she had done terrible things to these people. On the other hand, these people had never shown her any form of care. They had been wrong as well but the universal law of the cosmos was power. If she possessed some power, she could have helped her father better. If she had power over these people, they would love her. If she had power, her mother might still be alive.

She looks up into the crowd and spots her father; they lock eyes and he holds her gaze for a while. She lifts her hand, begging him to come to her aid, but he forsakes her. He turns his back on his only daughter and walks away from the chaos.  Athena retracts her hands and cries harder from both the heartbreak and physical pain. All she could do was curl up in the form of a turtle and let her back take all the impact of the beating and the things thrown at her.

The volume of the pandemonium increases and security guards finally pay heed to the crowd.

"What is going on?" One of them asked.

"They are going to kill her, please stop them", a middle aged woman says, showing up and looking panicky.

They leave their posts and go closer to the angry mob. It is at this point that they notice through the gaps between people's legs, a young dark skinned woman curled up like a ball while receiving a beating from the angry mob.

"Hey, stop it! What do you people think you are doing? Stop it at once!" one of the guards shouts as they both charge in and try to get to Athena but the people hinder their movement.

"She is a thief; she stole a whole bag full of Osmium from the AB mines in our community. We would have been blamed if we had not caught her just as she tried to flee!" a man in the crowd yells out.

The guards grunt as they try to push the angry mob preventing them from getting to Athena.

"We understand your complaint and so, let us handle the woman ourselves. She will face the full judgment of the law", One of the guards yells.

"She is from our community so, we will handle it ourselves. You rich folk have no idea on the magnitude of our plight and so you best stay out of it", the same man returns.

With some of them holding off the guards, the rest of the angry mob continue to beat and throw things at Athena. She makes the mistake of bringing out her head and she took a direct hit on her temple. She didn't know what hit her head, but its impact was well calculated. She closes her eyes for a second and as she openes them, she sees some of the people on the floor as though something or someone had pushed them down. She blinks again and sees big arms reach out to her. "Are you alright, stay with me", a voice said. It was so reassuring that she begged her eyes to stay open but the impact had done its damage and she lost consciousness shortly afterwards.