I FORGOT ABOUT MY LITTLE SISTER

After Helen woke, we had breakfast and continued to move. This time, we walked for hours in silence, unlike before where weird noises were occasionally heard, nor a pack of monsters in our way. It felt too similar to talking a night walk with a cool breeze.

I saw Helen drop her shoulders and light up a little. "It's been peaceful, hasn't it Yi?" 

"Yeah, I hope it stays that way." 

"Mm. I don't feel like fighting. Can we just run away?" 

"If we can, sure. Haven't been able to so far, though. Let's hope we never run into anything." 

And on that note, we run into something. A massive bull.

It was sleeping only some feet away from us. Thankfully, the beast was asleep. Which let me gaze at the beautiful scenery around it without dying.

I was now in some grassland - where the grass was blue yet again(what happened to normal green grass?). The minerals in the walls reflected this color, and there seemed to be an opening above us that let light pass through. And the grassland stretched on forever. Everywhere I looked, I was surrounded by impressive hues of blue. It felt so surreal, and I would have stopped to just take it all in if there wasn't a giant bull grunting nearby.

We tried tiptoeing past the bull, but it just had to wake up midway after Helen stepped on a branch. Ugggggggggggggh.

Elena and I went our separate ways as the bull tried ramming into us. Helen got off of me and immediately whipped out her bow. "Please don't tell me I woke it up."

"You woke it up." I rolled out of the way as the bull charged again and drew my sword. "Hey, sis, can you fight?"

Helen looked up and nodded. "I'm still a little dizzy. Distract the bull for me, ok? I'll try to shoot him in the head as fast as I can."

"Anything for you, little sis."

"Don't disappear again, then."

That was abrupt. I turned around, but Helen was already gone. Her voice...there was nothing but bitterness in it. Did I also sense resentment? 

I used shadow travel to go behind the bull and strike it from the rear. I badly underestimated its agility. The bull parried my sword with one of its horns, and knocked me back.

Confession time. I wasn't good with spells like Elena was, so I didn't use them, except when it came to recovery. My shadow manipulation allows me to make stuff with "darkness," so I didn't need magic to create items. But doing so helped me to control my power, as they felt similar to casting a spell. And stopping time wasn't all it was cracked up to be, at least for me. Hades's powers worked on everyone and everything, but Kronos's didn't - especially not on ultra powerful monsters or gods. That's why Vittoria's been training me on anima utility. Hopefully, that gets me out of this.

The bull charged. I transformed my body into a shadow and watched as the beast rammed into a wall. I hopped on its back and drove my sword deep into its hide. Helen shot a volley of arrows while Elena went to work, impairing the creature's legs. But the bull still had some fight left.

It slammed itself and me into the wall as hard as it could. Hitting the ground knocked the wind out of me. My right arm...I wouldn't be able to use it for a while.

I found the bull staring down at me, but Helen fed it another volley of arrows before it could do anything. The bull went on its knees as Elena finished it off.

I felt the essence of the bull enter me, the energy going towards mending my arm. What a handy sword. That's what, four times it saved me now?

As I was about to sheathe my sword, I saw that the bull's body was still there. Why didn't it disintegrate? I prepared myself, but Elena raised her hand.

"The bull is dead."

"But...its body is still here."

"That's because it's a wild animal, Yiannis, not a monster. Your sword absorbs the essence of all living beings. For monsters, the soul and the body are the same. But for animals...well, I think you can tell."

"I see." I sheathed my sword, relieved. Then I saw Elena kneeling. "What are you doing?"

"The bull's hide...it could be useful. Your chainmail shattered like glass last time."

"Sure, but how tough even is it?

"Tougher than that chainmail, that's for sure."

I knelt next to her, rubbing my hand across the creature's back, impressed I managed to cut through it.

"I've never cut off an animal's skin before. I don't even know what to do after that."

"Well, I'm here," Elena affirmed. "Just do as I say. After we cut it off, I'll need your help tanning it."

I cut off one of the bull's horns for Helen to use, and then the three of us spent hours extracting the beast's flesh from its bones, which took even longer after the horn I gave Helen broke. It's not easy for two people to take the skin off a ten-foot-tall animal.

I carried some of the bull's bones and set a campfire. Then I went back and helped Elena and Helen drag the hide. "This thing's bigger than all three of us. What the hell are we going to do with the leftover skin?"

"We're going to leave it here," Elena groaned. "It'd be ridiculous to take it with us. On the other hand, let's see how much food we can carry. We've been blessed with enough meat to last a month."

Once we got near the campfire, we sat down, exhausted. "How was skinning the hide tougher than fighting it? We should probably cut the meat off before it spoils and gets dirty."

Elena nodded. "Yiannis, I'll tell you where to cut and how much. Helen, do you know how to cook? I'll help you cook the meat."

I had to cut all the skin off the flesh as Helen took the meat and went to the campfire to prepare a meal as I scraped the hair away from the hide. Once I was done, I chopped it up exactly how Elena had told me to and gave that to her.

I let out a gasp. Elena had created a sewing needle and balls of thread out of anima. She smiled when she saw my face. "Shocked?"

"That's amazing. You say you're not much better than me at magic, and I'm not sure if you're just being modest or lying."

"You're more skilled than you give yourself credit for. You've grasped beginner and some intermediate spells rather quickly. Very few are children of Hecate, and for those who aren't, hardly any can use magic."

That took me as a surprise. Mei was the child of Calypso, yet she made a brilliant mage. Well, Calypso herself is a prominent magic user, according to the myths. But then again, all gods were capable of using magic. And how was Elena better at it than me? She was a mortal…not that there was anything wrong with that.

Elena somehow read my mind. "Thinking about how I'm able to use magic?"

I nodded. "And why only children of Hecate can use it. All the gods use some form of magic, right? What about the powers demigods inherit? Aren't they magical - why can't they use magic?"

"Nobody really knows, Yiannis. The gods have guessed it's in their DNA, but a god's body has never been dissected or analyzed before. Hecate can grant the ability to anyone she chooses, though, hence why I can use it."

"Yes, it would explain how you're able to use magic...but your grandfather, Dionysus, wasn't exactly a wizard. So why are you better than me at it?"

"Blood doesn't matter if Hecate shares her powers. And since you haven't been blessed, it's a wonder how you can even use it at all. It would make even less sense if you were better than me at conjuring spells."

"And Hades can only manipulate shadows...Kronos time...Hecate magic...is Hecate the only goddess who's freely able to manipulate anima?"

"An interesting idea. Yes, most of the gods appear to only be apt at controlling anima in restrictive ways. It would make sense their children would be adept at doing similar things, but what's to stop them from learning other techniques? And these are gods after all - their powers are so vast I can imagine them being able to do anything even with the limited abilities they have."

"Maybe the gods could use other forms of magic, but the powers they've been gifted with are the ones they're most skilled at using?"

"I doubt that - the gods would have used them when fighting the giants, for instance. And for you, given you're Hades's son, it's not impossible that your father asked Hecate to bless you."

"Well, this is probably as far as we'll get. We don't know anything else. And you're still working on the clothing. I shouldn't disturb you anymore."

Elena shook her head. "Oh, I don't mind. We haven't talked like this since we bathed together."

I felt my head slightly boil when I remembered what we did there. "Well, this labyrinth's full of surprises. We nearly died last time. But we found some peace here. I'd be more than happy to talk to you about anything."

Elena stopped sewing and beckoned me to sit down. Once I did, she hopped on my lap. "As would I. It's been a while since we've had some time to enjoy life down here."

"Blame the monsters." 

"Yes, and you too. You always collapse after a big battle. I find myself alone or with Helen quite often. Not that I don't enjoy your sister's company."

Hearing my sister's name jolted me. I remembered what she said when we were fighting the bull.

Don't disappear again, then.

Could I really go up to her and promise her that? I doubt it, with the war almost in full swing.

But then, what should I do?

I gently lifted Elena off me. "Sorry, but I need to talk with my sister."

"Is there something wrong?"

"Yeah," I told her how I felt, and if there was anything I could do.

"Yiannis, I don't think it's a good idea to make promises you can't keep."

"I know. But is there anything else? The way she said it...it hurt to hear."

"Maybe it's best that you don't say anything."

"But-"

Elena cut me off. "Helen's become more independent after you left. From what you've said, I don't think she'll be prepared if you suddenly vanish again, but she'll be in a much better place to handle it. If you assure her anything, and nothing goes the way you said, it'll break her further. But if you're still persistent, then ask her how she's doing. Your little sister seems to be keeping a distance. She's hardly talked since we've been here."

I nodded and got up. Elena grabbed my arm. "But I think leaving her until she opens up is best."

"Thanks, Elena. But all I want to know is if my little sis's doing ok. Hopefully, that'll get through to her."

Helen had jabbed the bull's meat onto its own teeth and roasted them over the fire.

"Need any help, sis?"

Helen turned around. "Oh, Yiannis. I'll be fine. Weren't you supposed to cut the hide for Elena?"

"Already did that. I wanted to check up on you. If you don't mind, could we talk?"

The two of us sat side by side on a pile of bones. Helen already began munching on some meat, and I smiled. "Hungry?"

She just kept eating.

"Helen...about what you said earlier..."

At first, Helen looked confused, but then recognition dawned on her face. "I-I wasn't trying to attack you for it! I know it wasn't your fault, and I-"

I patted her head. "I'm not mad. I'm just really worried. I'm always here if you need help. With Anything. I think I know the answer, but I'll ask anyway. Are you doing ok?"

Helen shook her head and hugged me. My shirt soaked up her tears as she talked about how difficult it was after I disappeared. How she had nobody to rely on.

"I thought it wasn't going to be for that long. But as months passed, I was beginning to believe you were dead. And that scared me more than anything. Especially then, when I thought you were going to save the world. When I realized that at any point, I could be so alone."

"Were you worried that the prophecy wasn't going to be fulfilled?"

"No! I didn't care that much about it, and to be honest, it's still in the back of my mind. What I DO care about - what bothered me so much was that I, your hopeless little sister, would have to save the world. And I would have to do it all by myself, without you at my side. I didn't know a world without you. I just-"

"I won't die on you. Ever. This, I can promise you. And when we're together, know that I'm always here for you, Helen."

As the two of us embraced in silence, I shed tears of my own. I should've asked her sooner. I didn't know she was hurting this much all by herself. 

Maybe I can't stay with her, but I can stay alive, and protect her from anyone that tries to harm her, even if I have to scrap my revenge. Helen matters so much more. It was just the two of us after Zeus killed mom and after dad holed himself in his room, trapped in the confines of his own despair. We were all the other had.

And it would stay that way.