Another country?!!

The jewel within my palm grew warm as if to proudly tell me it was responsible. And as I violently shook it around while demanding to take me back , the stranger's expression grew troubled."That's a beautiful stone you have there." She comments, slow and clear to make sure I could understand.

I gazed over, and the kind maiden barely stopped herself from stepping back, and it was only then that I really noticed her captivating crown of umber caught in the morning breeze, and her beautiful eyes, like the most precious of stones, that one would dive for in the ocean to possess.

And their gentle gaze seemed to hold every shade of blue and green known to man.

Enchantingly feminine was her bone structure that still showed through baggy clothes of brown and white, and unguarded towards the shameless admirer, she smiled.

And finally, I gave upon the charm, and attempted to salvage the last of a first expression. "Hello, sorry about that. I am Elizabeth." I held out my hand with a civilized smile when fearlessly the beauty approached the pajama wearing psychopath.

"My name is Sakura. Whose your godly parent?"

"Godly parent?" My head habitually tilted to the side, and then suddenly my eyes couldn't wander far from the cinnabar mole bellow her almond eyes, that enhanced her alluring physique.

"You are a demigod!

"You are not a demigod?"

We voiced our thoughts at the same time, and the words were agreed to in silence.

"If you are not one, then how can you see this place?" She asked throwing her last strand of the nearly nonexistence caution in the air.

Suddenly I remembered my suffocating meeting with Demeter, and could still hear her clear voice telling me how mortals couldn't see the gods or their lands.

"I am a descendant of Apollo." I offer as explanation.

"Shiny?" She chirps, her mesmerising eyes twinkling.

"Yeah, the son of sparkles." I laugh, but her smile suddenly disappears.

She lifts her gaze to the heavens with dread freezing her bones, as if expecting the silver snakes of lightening to strike down from cloudless sky.

And only after a minute does she release a sigh, while I had looked around in confusion.

"That's the first time I have seen Lord Zeus not react." White like pearls, her teeth revealed under her soft lips in a smile. "That name suits him perfectly though."

I laughed heartily at the evilness in the dimpled smile even when her voice was a mere whisper, and it seems as if she wasn't Zeus's biggest fan.

"So what brings you here?" Her eyes were bright, and I hardly could concentrate anyplace else.

"Its a long story." I say wanting to avoid the topic for having promised Demeter to never tell anyone of our meeting. "But by any chance would you know about the Oracle?"

"You are on a quest!" With a sudden infectious energy she exclaims.

"....I guess so. Can you help me find the Oracle?"

"Sure." She nods, seeming very happy to be of help. "I know where she lives."

"She?"

"You don't know?" Her brows raise and she wonders to herself. "Come to think of it I have never heard of a descendant of a demigod having the gift of sight. You must be a rare case."

"Yep." I smile secretly happy that I wasn't made to explain further.

"Okay then, lets go. First we need to get out of this park." She starts to walk in a slow pace forward, and after observing my footwork and pace, she adopts mine making her an ideal companion to go on walks with.

"Hey, who is godly parent?" I ask having been deepy curious from back when I came to know that she was demigod.

And if she turned out to be Zeus's child, I was going to have to talk to him personally about the ill effects of population growth on the environment.

"Aphrodite."

I was caught off guard, wide eyed. "Aphrodite?"

"Yeah. Its a funny story, she met my dad when she fell down from the branch of a cheery blossom where she was sleeping, its a bad habit she has. And that's why they named me Sakura which means cherry blossoms in Japanese."

"Wow!" I felt excited to my bones. "I like your mother alot."

"Really? Who do you see my mum as?"

"My mum." I drew my lips along with the bright woman infront of me. "What about you?"

"My mum."

We laughed, but then suddenly I was confused thinking about it more, but she caught on, and clarified.

"I mean, I see her real appearance. Its something she calls the best perk to being the goddess of love, because only those who actually love her can see her real form, that is unless she reveals it herself."

"She must be really beautiful." Our steps had at some point of time taken us out through the main gate onto the roads which was slowly starting to get filled as the sun rose higher.

"Oh, you will be surprised. But by the way, who are you? I mean you talk of my mother like you are close to her, and the more I think about its really strange that Lord Zeus was not offended, and you also seem to know Apollo...Wait don't tell me!"

"Are you a goddess? I am so sorry!!" She said it all at once leaving me staring at her for a few seconds.

"...What? No, no, no. I am not a goddess." I freaked out as much as she did.

"Look at me." I motioned to my outfit with a laptop in hand, and simultaneously a breeze flung my ebony hair up into the air. "I am wearing pajamas with spongebob. What kind of a misunderstanding is that?"

She looked me up, and down, but did not seem convinced. "Are you sure this is not a test?"

"Oh no." I watched her briefly restored calm break again. "Oh my god have I failed? I knew I should have been more careful."

I caught her by the shoulders, and the shook the beautiful woman taller than me by an inch so hard that I feared I broke her neck the way it swung back and forth. "Hear me out, you are wrong...wait you are right about being more careful. Don't just approach people like how you did with me, okay?"

She didn't seem to be able to nod, but said. "Okay." We resumed to walk, like all the other onlookers who had paused to contemplate whether they had break the two us apart.

"But I am not a goddess. I don't even understand the test you are talking about." I said while she reached her hands upto her hair to tie it up into a bun.

"Now listen carefully, my family line was blessed by Apollo due to certain circumstances. That's why I can see the gods, and their lands, and I know a few of the divine folks because I work for Hades."

She paused in her tracks, and her hair unbound under stiff hands. "God of the Underworld?"

"Mm."

"You work for him?" The information startled her more than I expected, and her beautiful eyes were wide when she grabbed onto my wrist. "But you are alive."

Under her warm fingers, she could sense my steady pulse, and couldn't seem to let go till I explained. "Yeah I am alive. Its actually a complicated employment agreement, which I cannot elaborate to you, due to the criteria of my contract." I bluffed.

"I see! Okay! Then you were sent to seek the Oracle under his command?"

"Aa..yeah." I agreed thinking no harm would come of it.

"It must be important then." Her eyes shone with fresh determination. "Follow me, we will take the short cut."

"Thank you." I smiled down at the hand that was dragged me along a few steps before we walked side by side.

I was taking in the unfamiliar surroundings when she abruptly asked after a moment of thought.

"Where you kidnapped?"

"...No. Kind of, but no!"

"So the god is not in love with you?" She immediately asked, and I looked at her as if the question was absolutely absurd.

"I guess he is not. I just thought you having to come work for him was according to the myths like how he kidnapped goddess Persephone."

"He did not kidnap her."

"I know...but wait, Elizabeth look at me." I follwed her command midly feeling an itch in my spine when I met the bewitching set of orbs. "Are you in love with him then?"

"Love?" I voiced outloud.

Next chap will be update tomorrow.