The Dangerous Mountain

"Watch out, Your Majesty! There are still two more ahead!" Pelias shouted. The next Cyclops was bigger. They look very angry. The explosion had caught their attention and their blood boiled when they saw their brother die horribly.

"Oh this isn't good, I can only kill one cyclops each week or I'll get in trouble by Hades," Apollo draped his bow and arrows around his waist and galloped towards Erithea and her horse.

"Princess, I'm sorry I had to do this," he said while looking into Erithea's eyes.

He then grabbed the girl's body whose expression now looked surprised. Apollo now carried her behind his back and supported her thighs to make it more balanced.

"Your Majesty, this—" Erithea wanted to protest. She was a princess who always limited her interactions with men. She had never been treated like this with another man before. Even with his own brother or father. Erithea should have been angry, but she blushed instead.

"Pelias! Take the pegasus to a safe place. We will meet at my palace. Remember not to let it die. Your six years' salary won't be enough to buy it!" Apollo shouted at Pelias for giving orders. After his follower gave a nod and a brief bitter smile — Apollo ran off into the denser part of the forest.

Apollo hoped that the Cyclops would give up and no longer pursue him. Because Apollo and Erithea were smaller in stature, it was easy to walk through the narrow tree gaps. The Cyclops were gigantic so their movements were unbalanced and they couldn't force their way through the thick trees.

Yet they were still big monsters with pitiful little brains. So they were still on a rampage walking into the forest and breaking the trees they passed.

"Ah damn, they don't give up easily. But I can't kill them,"

Apollo took Erithea to hide behind a large tree while watching them.

"I—isn't this an emergency situation? You better kill them," Erithea said.

"No, I'm reluctant to deal with more annoying and time-consuming business. Cyclops are monsters with a low population. We gods alone can't just kill them recklessly. Or Hades will question me and ask for compensation. You don't have to worry. Not the first time I've experienced this. We just have to be patient and wait. Then they will leave," Apollo whispered to her.

"Oh, I didn't know Olympus had such a rule,"

"Yeah, annoying isn't it? They are monsters, they should be free to kill. Then Olympus will be a peaceful area without danger," said Apollo.

"But, Olympus won't be special anymore. Everyone can easily come here," said Erithea again.

"You think like Zeus and most other gods. Well, they weren't wrong. But that's why I don't spend too much time at Olympus either," said the blonde god again.

"You have another house?"

"I have nice villas in Athens and Thebes," Apollo smirked at her.

The two cyclops monsters were still raging, swinging their clubs. But often their hands and large weapons got caught in tree branches. They had to pull it tight until it broke. Even though they haven't found Apollo, they already look exhausted.

They growl more quietly as if communicating with each other. Then they looked at Apollo's hiding place. Erithea's heartbeat quickened with fear. But Apollo still looked calm. Erithea was still tightly hugging the handsome man's neck.

Only when the danger that lurked them began to subside, then Erithea thought about her current situation. Wasn't this interaction too intimate for two people who had just met? Indeed, this time there were monsters chasing them. But should she be carried like this?

Erithea felt awkward, her skin flushed from touching Apollo's neck. She also felt the firm grip of Apollo's hands on her legs which made it difficult for her to focus. Plus, the man smelled like refreshing musk. Erithea couldn't help herself, she found the scent very pleasant. Erithea leaned over and inhaled the scent from the back of his neck.

"Umm, Erithea, are you okay?" Apollo asked.

"Huh? What? Ah yes I'm fine!" Erithea sounded panicked. She felt guilty because maybe she had just committed an sexual assault.

"Are you sure? At first glance your breath seems heavy," Apollo asked innocently.

"Cy—the Cyclops is gone. Y—you must put me down, Your Majesty," said Erithea changing the subject.

"You're a princess too, you can just call me Apollo," he said again.

"Eh? No, you're the son of Zeus, a god. How could I—"

"Neither will I put you down and let you walk. You separated from your horse, so I will carry you all the way to my palace,"

"That's too much, you don't have to. I can walk fast and I won't hinder you," Erithea struggled to get down. But Apollo was not willing to let go of her feet.

"How could I let a girl walk on rough and rocky ground like this..do you want to torment me with guilt?" Apollo insisted, frowning a little.

***

Even though they'd been walking for more than an hour, and Apollo hadn't dropped off other than a few times while stretching—the man didn't look the least bit tired.

Become Titans, they could live forever. They also had a physique that was stronger than the average human. If normal men could carry one sack of wheat on their backs, then the average Titan could carry six sacks at a time.

But that didn't mean all Titans take advantage of their physical strengths. Those who rarely do physical activity also become weak. Their bodies, even if they couldn't be fat, may not be athletic enough and pleasing to the eye. Eternal life often made them neglect to exercise and take care of themselves.

But Apollo made sure he was in shape by continuing to hunt and be physically active. Along the way the man told many stories. He hates one-on-one fights or duels that were carried out for the sole reason of manly fighting. But that doesn't mean he's weak. He was still able to hunt big monsters, even though he limited it. Apollo did not consider collecting the strongest hunted animals as a symbol of toughness.

He might not be the strongest fighter among the Titans. But he had already protected his reputation, his followers and his standing for nearly three thousand years. Apollo, who rarely shows his strength, actually makes other parties reluctant to challenge him, let alone be hostile to him.

"This might be a little impolite, but I'm surprised you fought those cyclops alone, when you have Pelias by your side. Aren't you afraid of death?" Erithea asked. Apollo's friendly demeanor made her comfortable and felt she could say anything.

"Dead? Erithea, we are Titans,"

"Still, if we fall off a cliff we will die, or if someone stabs us in the heart," said Erithea again.

"If you live at Olympus, you have to be prepared for things like that. Trust me, from my experience, no one can be trusted forever,"

"You mean?"

"As immortals, it's a consequence we have to accept. Love and affection can fade. Loyalty can easily be replaced with betrayal. Admiration can easily turn into hatred. Ironically it doesn't take hundreds of years for that to happen..we can even see it in just a matter of days or hours. If I depend too much on my followers — what should I do if they betray me? Therefore, being strong and being able to take care of oneself is a must for us gods of Olympus," Apollo explained his thoughts.

"I see, but, does that mean I have to learn self-defense?" Erithea asked innocently.

Apollo laughed.

"Not really, princess Erithea. Many Titans are not very good at fighting but they are experts and deepen their skills. Like Hades or Hephaestus. They are not gods who are famous for having fought on the front lines but no one dared to challenge them," Apollo said again.

"But I don't have any skills, does that mean I will die quickly?" Erithea turned gloomy.

"You have your beauty,"

Erithea blushed slightly. She was often praised as beautiful and so on but she had never been as flattered as she was now. Was that because It was said by the Titan who was praised as the most handsome man among the Titans?

"What if I'm not beautiful? I see, you mean I can use my physique to power like Princess Aphrodite right?"

"You must have other skills, for example, can you sing?"

"Eh? I like singing but I don't want to do it in front of other people. I even doubt if my voice is good," argued Erithea.

"I'll have to hear about it later."

"I won't," Erithea shook her head.

Now they arrived at a lake with clear water that was not overgrown with many plants. The sun shines gently, creating a warm feeling.

"Let's rest here, I think I'll contact my castle. It's safe from monsters here, so we can relax a bit. Oh my goodness, the remains of that Cyclops head blast sticking out everywhere. I'm sorry Erithea, you must be nauseous because you smelled it earlier," Apollo complained while tossing his clothes.

Erithea immediately felt guilty. Quite the opposite. She really liked Apollo's scent. Somehow and why, it calmed her down. But Erithea wouldn't say so or she might end up in jail on charges of sexually assaulting the prince of Olympus.

Apollo entered the lake and washed his body up to his head. He tried to remove the dirt and remains of the cyclops from his skin and clothes. Erithea wanted to curse her own eyes at this moment. Because she couldn't take her eyes off Apollo who stepped out of the lake with his hair and body drenched.

He let the water drip while occasionally wringing the hem of his clothes. Erithea felt no longer innocent because she enjoyed all the masculine curves that became more obvious because of the drenched clothes. How come she had never seen a scene like this in the Northern Forest?

"You don't want to clean yourself up?" she asked.

"Here? It's an open place and I'm a princess," Erithea balked.

"Ha? Do you know the reason why this lake will not be approached by monsters?"

"Why?"

Apollo walked over to her and sat down next to her. Then the man looked into her eyes and smiled.

"Artemis and her followers often bathe here too. They are devoted to nature so they don't care if they have to bathe in the open air. No one dares to approach this place because Artemis will shoot the peeper. So how about it, princess? You want to be a follower of Artemis. Can you take off your clothes and bathe in the open space like them?" Apollo asked with a slight mischievous grin on his face.