Melinoe continued to walk through the thorny forest and finally arrived at the boundary's forest, As she entered the boundary's forest, she was struck by the vibrant blue leaves and lush blue grass that stretched as far as the eye could see.
"Finally, I'm free from the forest of Doom," she sighed, collapsing onto the soft grass beneath a towering tree. "It's just a boundary and yet it's brimming with Celestial Force and feels amazing and the air isn't thick and dense like how it does back at home,I wonder how Mount Lyrota and Mount Olympia feels like"
She lay down, closing her eyes, and let the peaceful atmosphere wash over her. However, her serenity was short-lived, as the sound of thudding footsteps echoed through the forest and with each step it took, it became louder
Melinoe sat up, her golden eyes scanning the horizon for the source of the disturbance. A giant beast, covered in black fur and piercing red eyes, came into view. It let out a mighty roar as it approached, its gaze fixed intently on Melinoe. Yet, she remained calm, her expression serene.
As the beast drew closer, its crimson eyes locked onto hers, and it leaned down, its hot breath washing over her. But instead of attacking, it gently licked her face, as if trying to soothe her. Melinoe giggled as she pushed the beast away with a gentle hand. "Trying to make amends for disturbing my peace, huh?" she said, her voice calm and affectionate.
The Beast growled Asif talking to her and Melinoe responded like she could understand what it was trying to say
"I know,I know, I missed you as well" she gave a warm smile, " If you we're alittle smaller I would have taken you home the moment I saw you " She smiled as she thought back to the first time she saw the beast
**********
"This is the second time I'm coming here and it just the same as the first time I came" Melinoe muttered to herself and she walked through the forest, and her garment bag hanging from one side of her shoulders to the her waistline, wearing a black Cloak that flowed to the ground and the hood covering her face, hiding the details of her body
She continued to walk calmly as she heard the sad growl of a beast and the voice of different people ahead, she hid behind a tree and took a peek at what was happening
" Put it in chains, we'll be rewarded if we can bring back such a rare beast " a winged soldier Said and the other soldier stretched their hands and white light emitted from it as chains began to appear on the wounded beasts, slowly covering his black furred body and the beast was already weakend by the poison magic of the winged soldier
' oh no, I have to do something' she thought to herself as she put her hand on her bag and brought out a white wand with blackish markings on it.
She waved it towards the soldiers and they felt like they were put in a loop and with a blast from the wand, she knocked out the soldier and rushed to the side of the beast
Upon seeing her it growled trying to let out a roar but too weak to. She put her wand back in her bag and removed the hood as she tried to calm the beast, gesturing her hands
" It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you,I want to help you" She said, her golden orbs reflecting kindness and care and the beasts, not sensing any ill intent from her began to calm down
She brought out her wand and waved it at he beast, making the chains that were on it disintegrating and the wounds on the beast closing up
" There, you're fine now,I suggest you run before they regain consciousness," She said as she turned to leave the Beast..it gave a soft growl and she looked at it understanding what it was saying
" You want to go with me?"She asked and it replied with another growl
" I would love to take you with me but seeing your size ,my father will see you immediately and I'll be in trouble for coming here and he might kill you as well" She explained and. The beast gave a sad growl
" How about I take you to a safe spot close to the thorny forest and I'll leave a charm on you so whenever I'm here you'll know and come find me" She smiled and the beast growled as it wagged it tail
" That's settles it " She said and it gave her a soft lick and she giggled
" Do you have a name" She asked and it growled
" Alright then..since you don't have one I'll give you a name, I'll call you Leo" She smiled
**********
The Beast laid next to Melinoe and she continuously ran her hands through it's soft fur
" Leo, for millennials the underworld has always been a place ignored and looked down upon and feared, that is why the gods locked us in" Melinoe said with sadness in her eyes
" I just hope a time will come when my people and I can be free and get to enjoy the overflowing Celestial Force and not be regarded as outcasts,then you and I can finally be together always" She said with a reassuring warm smile
The Beast remained quiet as it listened to Melinoe talk and rubbed it's head on her body.
Their peaceful moment were interrupted by the sound of footsteps and voices being heard
"Scan the area" one of the voices commanded
Melinoe got up and so did Leo and they both hid
" We received word that demons have been making suspicious movement and this area is close to the forest of Doom so search carefully and report anything suspicious to me" the voice commanded and the rest replied in unison " yes Captain"
" I have to go back Leo,run away from here,the charm I put on will keep you safe" Melinoe whispered to Leo
The beast understood and placed it's head on hers and ran towards the other side of the boundary
Melinoe quietly and quickly ran from where the soldiers were when one caught sight of her
" Captain,there's something over here" one of them alerted and they chased after her, noticing this, ran as fast she could towards the thorny forest and they chased after her
" Don't let it get away" one of them shouted
' oh no,if I get caught, they wouldn't do anything to harm me since I'm Hades daughter but my father will definitely harm me' she thought to herself as she continued to run and she brought out her wand and waved it towards the ground making a thick fog surround the area she was in, Making it hard for her to be seen
" We've lost sight of it and we couldn't tell if it was a demon or another god" one of them said to the Captain
" Seeing as it was able to create such fog, it has powers but it's not celestial or divine power and since it ran, it's knows it shouldn't be here, I'll report back to Lord Ares " The Captain, Deran said as he instructed his men to head back
Melinoe continued to run through the thorny Forest and finally reached the Underworld, exhausted, she leaned against a tree to catch her breath.
"That was close," she whispered to herself as she continued to catch her breath
"Close indeed, but not close enough, Melinoe," a calm, eerie voice said from behind.
Melinoe's eyes widened in shock as she recognized the voice and turned to see a beautiful lady dressed in a red corset gown that flowed on the ground. "Lady Lilith, what are you doing here?"
Lilith's response sent a chill down Melinoe's spine. "You have a lot to explain, young lady."
Melinoe's thoughts raced with dread. "Oh no..."