In Light and Water's Hands

Click, clack—there went the sounds of heels coming from a distance. 

Click, clack, click, clack—there it was again, perhaps, two pairs or more coming nearer and nearer. 

Athena, still clutching onto the red fabric, awoke as she heard the incoming footsteps, paired with voices that were on their way to her. 

Hastily, she rose and covered herself with the makeshift blanket. The pain had manifested again, reminding her of her predicament and the possibility of another torment. She tried to settle the ache, but as she moved a little, her wounds stretched—causing more pain as she moaned while kneeling and balancing on her hands. 

"Ah!" A shriek escaped from her lips. 

"Goodness me! Dear lady, please be still." Athena was stunned by the strangers who were now by the iron bars. "Please do not move, my lady. We are here to help." A matronly woman, who had a face lined with distinct wisdom but was still all bonny and sweet, ordered her as she opened the barrier. 

"We have something for your wounds, my lady!" Another woman added—younger than the other but equally gentle. 

Athena was curious about them. Eyes, though dreary and foggy, pierced on their whole being—gingerly studying as they were fidgeting with the keys and lock of the door. 

They were not a familiar face. The two ladies were strangers, although there was some kind of easiness emanating from their aura. 

Despite being frightened and enfeebled, Athena greeted them with a smile after they had fruitfully opened the door and entered. 

"Good morning, my lady!" The older woman gently greeted her as she kneeled and brushed the tangles away from her face.

"Oh, we are glad you are now awake!" The other one said. 

Lips were tight, but Athena smiled once more in response. Her doe eyes brightened once she saw their face up close. Seeing this, both women cheerily beamed at her, finding her face still beguiling despite the noticeable stress that currently ornate her features. 

"Fear not, your grace." The older woman stated, "We are here with an open heart to help you. Goodness! I lost my manners. My name is Liene."

"And I am called Naida." The younger one followed as she handed a basket to her companion. 

"It—it is nice to—to meet you." Silver-eyed maiden finally uttered. "I ca—cannot express ho—how grateful I am for yo-your kindness." Gradually, tears began to bawl on those orbs. 

Liene and Naida felt flattered. 

"Just doing what is right, your grace." Liene heartily answered as she carefully bundled Athena's long hair and gently cleaned the wounds on her back. "I want you to be still, my lady. I will now tend to your injuries. 

Athena nodded, permitting her to aid on her wounds despite flinching from the needle-like discomfort with every cautious stroke Liene did. 

"May I know i—if someone sent you here?"

"Oh, it is—"

 "Well—" Liene pressed through midway Naida's reply while secretly gesturing her not to say anything more. "We—well, we came here by ourselves." A hint of fear promptly lingered in her tone. 

"Yes, my lady. We came here in hush-hush. We cannot bear to see you degraded by those wicked ones like you were some stray animal. Enyo might have forced us to go and watch you tortured, but there were a number of us who did not heed, knowing what she was doing was against our principles. 

Oh, if you want to eat, we also brought some food here, my lady." Naida said as she grabbed and searched her basket. 

"I—I see. I am glad, knowing there were still kind-hearted folks among these wolves." Her heart soared and beat in great relief after hearing what Naida told her. Her perception of everyone as immoral and lost all touch of compassion was discredited, knowing there were a few who still held on to their belief in what was right. 

After being cleaned and wrapped with a new bandage, the two ladies fed Athena, offering her some bread, slices of meat, and cheese. They also brought her a small jug of wine to help her warm her nerves. 

Athena gobbled everything—not a crumb and drop left of her nourishment. Observing this sight, Liene began to cry, fully absorbed by the sense of pity towards the maiden. Naida also teared up, mumbling words of disbelief and pain. 

"I—I just cannot believe this!" Naida cried as she turned away from the others, fighting back the flooding tears in her eyes.

Naive as a babe in the woods, Athena softly tilted her head—perplexed by the sudden detonation of the two women's emotions. 

"Is there something wrong?" She asked. "Oh, do tell me if I have done something that displeased you."

Naida looked back and wiped the last tear as she walked towards Athena and Liene. She crouched before the downtrodden lady and took her hand as she said, "Oh, no, my lady! You did us no wrong. We—we just could not believe what they have done to you. You were once a graceful goddess. I remembered how serene yet laude you were as you sat by your balcony while staring at the garden."

"It is true! Oh, that is all true!" Liene wailed. "You were one of the regal goddesses, deeply praised even by the king—Zeus himself! Oh, how cruel Eris and Enyo were! Their hearts were black! Black as Nyx's dark sky. Imagine bringing back another Titanomachy as they usurped everyone in Olympus for their selfish desire!"

Athena squeezed Naida's hold and offered one hand to Liene for comfort. "Do not feel any pity. What happened to me is not your doing. I wonder, ho-how did you know of me in Olympus? No mortals were allowed in a divine abode." Her mind lingered on that dubious thought.

Liene and Naida looked at each other, leaving an air of silence.

The older woman took a deep breath and told Athena about who they were once while returning the warmth the fair lady omitted in her hand, "The truth is, my lady, Naida and I were nymphs before all the ruckus happened." Athena's eyes grew in bewilderment as Liene continued, "I served under Eileithyia—assisting births of both goddesses and mortal women."

"And I served for Aphrodite, my lady," Naida informed. 

"Oh, dear! What happened?" Athena's curiosity grew tall like the mountains, trying to understand that the two aged women were once gracious nymphs of the heavenly palace. 

Nymphs, much like the deities, had long lives compared to the mortals. They also possessed an eternal youth, defying time and its gift of gray hairs and withered faces. Indeed, there were traces of the old beauty on their cheeks, but gone was that magical fairness as they now gazed at the world with lined wisdom that elderly mortals could ever possess. 

Liene and Naida could not answer her inquiry, for they, too, knew nothing of the circumstances they went through. They could only recall the civil war and their instantaneous escape. They also remembered that one specific moment of a great flashing light—bursting like a flame that instantly blinded them and sent them into a coma. And when they awoke, those magical beings who had survived were turned into plain human beings. 

"That is how we gained this look and lost our immortality, my lady," Liene concluded. 

Her eyes dwindled, looking down at the red fabric on her lap. Upon hearing their tale, Athena felt useless. She was supposed to protect those who were in need, but instead, she guiltily lost consciousness only to open her eyes and see that she was in a cave while the whole Hellas was begging on its knees. 

Maybe she deserved to be punished—reasonable to carry the weight of the world for her misdeed.

Later on—after a few more short conversations, the three women abruptly paused. A faint clamor and a pair of footsteps came in towards the cell. The two women were trembling in fear—petrified that someone from the vile goddesses' confidants might catch them. 

"Oh, no!" Naida shivered. 

"Oh, dear—" Liene followed, hastily searching the cell from some cranny they could shimmy into. 

Athena also scoured her space for them to hide, but before finding success—

"Naida, Liene?" A coarse voice echoed. "What are you doing here?"

Once the women looked back, a sigh of relief from the former nymphs exhaled. 

"Pantelis!" Naida cheekily greeted. "Thank the fate. It is only you!"

"My heart almost stopped for a moment. I thought you were one of Eris's or Enyo's!" With one hand on her chest, Liene calmed her shaky nerves. 

The old man entered the cell and courteously bowed before Athena. "Good day, my lady. It is good to see you." He saluted. "Now, you two—if it were one of the goddesses' servants was here instead of me, you two will surely face death in an instant! Be always cautious." He then reprimanded the two women. 

"We are sorry, Pantelis. You know how much we yearned to help the poor Pallas Athena from the disgrace she already went through." Liene, while trying to be on her two feet, reasoned with hands pressed together in a plea. 

"I understand your sentiments. Your heart is in the right place. But do be careful—the walls here have sharp ears."

"And what are you doing here?" With two hands on her hips and a teasing arched brow, Naida interrogated. 

"Master Ares requested for the lady's presence." The right hand replied, pointing at Athena, whose ears itched upon hearing her foe's name.