Chapter 1: Azora

I stand by my mother, watching another battle unfold. Her hand rests on my shoulder, not allowing me to enter battle. My sharp wings rest behind me, half-heartedly set ready to strike. I fold my arms over my chest.

"When do we attack?" I ask. Mother raises an eyebrow.

"As much as I despise waiting for men, we must wait for Achilles." I sigh loudly.

"You mean him?" I point with my sword to a man dancing through battle. Mother sighs and lets go of my shoulder. I jump off the cliff we've been standing at and enter battle. Soldiers from both sides avoid me as best as they can, making it easy to get to Achilles.

"You were supposed to meet up with us!" I yell as I grab an enemy soldier by his helmet and slam him into the ground. Achilles laughs.

"Listen! I appreciate your favor! I really do! But look around you!" I pause and look at Achilles. He is a short, muscular man with reddish blonde hair, green eyes, and sun darkened skin. His armor gleams in the sun. I look around and notice that a circle has been formed around us. Fear.

"Humans will naturally fear me..." I mutter. Achilles shakes his head.

"With you around, the battles won't even start."

"Not a problem." I spread my wings. Achilles scrambles away just in time as my wings slam into the ground. The dry ground cracks, forming ditches. Soldiers scream as they fall. Achilles barely maintains his footing as I approach and pick him up like a rag doll. I fly back to Mother and toss him on the ground before her feet.

"Hey! That's not—" Achilles becomes quiet as I drop to one knee before Mother. She places her hand on my head and looks at Achilles.

"Hero, you have become reckless and an easy target." Mother says.

"The stories say she never bows..." Mother lets her hand slide off my head. I stand and glare at the man. His mother had dipped him in the River of Styx and had made him immortal. His heel remains the only mortal weakness. The weakness is painfully obvious by the way he stands. He shifts his weight constantly, mostly remaining on his weakness.

"Azora." Mother commands. I bow and re-enter battle. I target the upcoming heros and strike them down before they can get anywhere. Seeing that there is no more targets, I make my way back to Mother.

"Did you just kill some of our soldiers?" Achilles mutters.

"Did I?" I ask, turning and spotting some of our soldiers dead. Well, orders are orders.

"I am not too keen on any arguments. Azora." Mother looks at me expectantly. I nod and grab Achilles. He struggles as we head to Olympus. He even sinks knives into my hands. My grip never loosens and the wounds heal as fast as they were inflicted.

"Careful!" I yell as I toss the hero up. He lands on the ledge in front of the golden gates to Olympus. Mother and I land with barely a sound. I pick Achilles up by the back of his collar, setting him on his feet. He grumbles under his breath, dusting invisible dust off himself.

"Careful, Achilles. My daughter is not someone to have against you." Mother warns. I could care less what Achilles says. He is bound to die just like Paris, Odysseus, and many other heroes.

"Might as well get this over with." I walk towards the gate where Hermes waits. He smiles at me. Being the only friend I have besides Hades, I allow him to playfully ruffle my hair.

"Ay! Get rid of that long face! And return to your true form!" He says. I shake my head and smile a bit. Fire engulfs me like a snake from head to toe. Once it vanishes, I have changed to my true form. Feathers of different birds have been braided into my long dust brown hair. A quiver of arrows has been strapped to my back. Multiple daggers have been strapped to a leather belt that rests on my hips. A white chiton clothes me.

Hermes smiles. He looks a lot like his mother and less like his father, Zeus. His curly hair seems like a crown around his helmet with wings on the sides. His robes are short enough to allow quick movement. His sandals have wings for fast movement.

"Daughter." Mother calls. I step back and wait for my mother to pass through the gate. Achilles gawks at me as we follow in step behind Mother. Mother usually appears as a younger version of herself to humans. I feel something trail my right arm and turn to glare at Achilles. I smack him upside the had as if he is some child. Why did he touch me like that?

"What as that for?" He hisses. I ignore him. Huge doors open as we make our way to the throne room. Mother glances at me every now and then. When I finally looked at her directly, she just looked away. I bow my head slightly. I can feel Achilles just watching quietly.

We walk into the throne room. Mother ascends into her throne quietly. Zeus clears his throat. Noticing that Achilles is just gawking, I sigh in frustration and knock him onto his knees. Hera smiles at the display. Funny. Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena caused the events to the war to begin with. The kidnapping of Queen Helen of Sparta was the grape on top. Aphrodite is nowhere to be seen. Athena avoids all eye contact. You would think as the goddess of wisdom, she would have some common sense. Guess not.

"Azora?" Zeus asks.

"Not today." I grumble. Zeus nods. Each day, he indirectly asks if I choose to bow to him. The answer remains as no. I refuse to change it.

"The Trojan War's starting to get out of hand. Don't you agree, Achilles?" Achilles looks up.

"Paris still remains as the main target. Reports say Apollo aids him." I say. Zeus nods.

"Alliances with humans are always a mess." I frown.

"Who favors who, though?" Achilles mutters.

"The Olympians view this war as nothing more than a game. It does not matter." I grumble. Mother raises an eyebrow at me. I stare back until she looks away.

"What about you?" Zeus asks. I stay quiet. I hunt both sides.

"Why exactly did you want Achilles here anyway?" Ares asks. He watches me as if he searches for something.

"Right. Azora, you are to personally train this hero. Maybe with his help, the war will end soon." This speech is always repeated. I always despise it. But I nod anyway, knowing that mother agrees.

"Wait! I'm supposed to go with this lunatic? She'll kill me just like all those soldiers—"

"YOU DARE TO CHALLENGE ME, ACHILLES?" Thunder rumbles and lightning flashes.

"Shut up and move." I grumble and shove Achilles towards the exit.

"No!" Achilles slams his hands against my chest and pushes away. I look down at my chest and then at him. He glares at me defiantly. Are all humans this childish? I never talk to them this long.

"Walk!" I growl. Startled, Achilles does as told. He acts as though he drew the short end of the straw. He has a lot to learn just to lose.