Of Gaea

  Of Gaea

  Victoria Escobar

  Copyright © 2013 by Victoria Escobar

  Smashwords Edition

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Edited by AGC Editing and Services

  Cover Art by Art is Life: Cover and Art Design

  Formatted by Donna Dull

  All characters, events and places portrayed in this book are a work of fiction. Any relations to persons, or events living or dead, past or future are purely coincidental.

  Just About Healing

  Coming Soon:

  Of Sparta

  Pariah

  Table of Contents

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  Twenty

  Twenty-one

  Twenty-two

  Twenty-three

  Twenty-four

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgements

  Behind the Scenes

  About the Author

  Ariadne’s problems began with the orgasm incident. That wasn’t really fair. It started with the accident and escalated to the Incident. It wasn’t completely fair to blame one incident for all her problems either, but everyone and everything needed a scapegoat. “The Orgasm Incident”, as she called it, was hers.

  Nothing had been the same since the accident. Everything changed since it left her in a wheelchair. She couldn’t exactly be a track and field star with no working legs to support that rising. That wasn’t logical. She was still an archery master but that was only because Sasha’s father made a custom bow that wasn’t hindered by the wheelchair.

  Sasha and Kleisthenes Horiaras and Nasya Monoceros were her reason for living in the beginning. Without them, she would never have recovered. She really hadn’t wanted to recover, but there was no way to say no to them. Who wanted to sit in a wheelchair for the rest of their life? Who woke up in the morning and said, wow I’m so happy to be a paraplegic?

  The incident started on a normal spring day or as normal as any spring day was in the mountains of Virginia. The rain plummeted in thick, blinding sheets, and Ari waited patiently in the school lobby area for Sasha or Nasya. It was more likely Sasha would arrive first, Nasya was unreliable when it came to early morning.

  Ari sat close to a heater to dry off while she waited. Unfortunately, she had thick, sandy colored Mediterranean hair, and left her with disgustingly riotous curls when wet. Thanks to the slow roll of the wheelchair, her jeans and light sweater just as waterlogged has her hair. If there was a book that pictured a drowned cat, the picture would have been her at that very moment.

  The reason she had to wait at all was because the unfair powers at school had assigned her an upper locker. Even when she had complained, loudly, they wouldn’t switch the locker to a lower one. Now, because she couldn’t reach the lock, let alone get her books out of it, she had to wait on Sasha or Nasya – if she was around – to help.

  They helped her with a lot of things but they never made her feel like a cripple. It was a relief, in a way, that her best friends were still her best friends and didn’t look at her any differently since she’d lost three feet of height.

  Still, since she had trouble sleeping at night, she had been at school earlier than it was safe to be. Sasha and Nasya was the wall between her and the rest of the student body; or rather, the cruel portion of the student body. When Ari heard the telltale heels on the stone floors, she knew it was most definitely a mistake to have arrived early.

  “Ariadne.” The voice drew out the whole of her name in a low feminine purr and though it was silky sweet, the hairs on her arms stood on end.

  She had insisted, repeatedly, on being called Ari not Ariadne. No one ever used the whole of her name, unless she was in trouble or they were being very serious. Except her. The other girl always used the whole of the name, as if drawing it out somehow increased the importance of saying it.

  Students came and went through the lobby, but no one stopped. Ari knew no one would. No one, not even Sasha liked to participate in the verbal assault of her tormentor. Sasha often did have words with her to protect Ari and redirect her attacker away from her. However, Sasha had always been more defensive than offensive.

  Reluctantly Ari turned the wheelchair to face her attacker. The girl facing her was immaculate as always. Even with the rain pouring outside she appeared as if it had never touched her. It probably hadn’t, though Ari didn’t see an umbrella. Damia was never without her full Vanity armor and this rainy day was no different. Her rich black hair was coiled like snakes around her shoulders, and her makeup flawlessly covered the scar Ari knew traced her cheekbone. Her smile was set in a vicious gleam that said she was about to do something greatly amusing to herself. She was a Medusa and Ari was an unwilling Grecian victim.

  Ari inclined her head instead of answering Damia. Silence was her best weapon. If she cowered, Damia would never go away, and if she spoke, it only encouraged Damia to attack. It was a fine line, but it always was with a bully.

  Damia made a show of scanning the area. “I don’t see Sasha. You let your little doggy off the leash? There is a leash law you know. We both know Nassie is probably still in bed snoring; such a slacker that one.”

  “What do you want, Damia?” Ari kept her voice even and level. To admit she dreaded the very thought of confrontation with Damia, would lead to ridicule and that would only lead to much worse in the future.

  “Tut-tut. That’s not very friendly, Ariadne.” Damia pouted and overstressed the syllables in her name, again. She flipped her midnight hair off her shoulders as she sauntered closer.

  Ari couldn’t prevent herself from shrinking away. There was something about Damia that was dark and evil, for lack of a better word.

  “I could say you weren’t very friendly when you smashed your car into my bicycle and crippled my legs, but I won’t.”

  Damia’s mouth formed an “o” of surprise briefly before her wicked smile returned sharper than before. She leaned in to the wheelchair even as Ari leaned away. “Maybe I was wrong, and it’s Sasha that keeps you on the leash. You’re a bit testier than usual. Although, your bark isn’t as vicious as it could be. I can help you work on that if you’d like?”

  “What do you want, Damia?” Ari knew what she wanted from the other girl. She wanted her to go away. She wanted Damia to pretend Ari wasn’t worth her time like she had in grade school. Ari wanted to shout it at her, but it would only encourage her further. Ari had no idea why or how she had become Damia’s favorite victim since high school started, but it was wearying on the soul.

  “Well, I do have a teensy question.” Damia ran a finger down Ari’s arm before pulling away. She only took a few steps before she turned. “What does it feel like not to have to work at anything anymore?” Her face bore a maniacal grin that was no different from the smile an axe murder gives before a kill. “I mean you don’t actually have to do anything anymore do you? Sasha does it for you. Must be nice to have such a loyal puppy.”

  Ari flinched. There was no way to check the action. To know she was crippled and having it rubbed in her face, were two separate things. There was no doubt the latter was a delight for Damia.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Did I touch a nerve? It must be dreadfully hard to
not be able to walk, run, or swim.” She laughed and it sounded like gleeful joy, “It’s not like you’ve ever had sex to be missing any of that. Between us girls, I can assure you you’re not missing too much. I think it would be great to sit down all day and have people look at me with sympathy and pity. It must be great to be lazy all the time.”

  Ari stared blankly at her. Damia was deliberately slinging arrows. For what purpose Ari couldn’t fathom, but she refused to play into Damia’s game.

  “What about you?” Ari retained her calm exterior though her heart stuttered erratically.

  Damia tipped her head and glanced curiously at her. “Meaning?”

  “We shared a hospital room you know. I heard what the doctors told you. You may look okay, but have you told your boyfriend that his touches are meaningless? Have you told him you’ve faked every orgasm for the last six months?” Ari didn’t smile as Damia paled, and she didn’t recoil when the other girl lunged at her in rage.

  “You little snoop. I take back all the nice things I said. Sasha probably keeps you around just for the sex. After all, it’s not like you can run away, can you? You have to sit there and take anything that’s dished out. There’s no such thing as no for you.” The strike Ari was prepared to take never landed.

  Ari recognized the backside of the faded blue jeans that stood suddenly in front of her, and paused a moment to appreciate the lean lines and firm tissue that filled them.

  Sasha stood between Damia and her. Sasha had shoved Damia away at the last moment. From the stunned expression on Damia’s face it hadn’t been gentle, either.

  “That’s enough, Damia.” His voice was mild but there was no mistaking the order his tone. The tense brace of his not inconsiderable over six foot muscular build, reinforced his unspoken threat. “You’ve done enough for today. I’m sure you can find other amusements. How is, what’s his name this week?”

  “Lauren.” Ari provided.

  “Thank you, Ari.” Sasha didn’t turn to face her but she could hear his cryptic smile. “Go play with your toys, Damia. We have no time for you.”

  Ari smiled sadly at him as he intentionally turned his back on Damia. Damia’s face flared in indignant rage, and for a moment Ari was prepared to shout a warning. Damia, however, stomped away, instead of attacking. There would be recourse later Ari was sure, but didn’t dwell too much on it.

  Sasha scanned her face as concern etched lines over his. He was glad he had arrived in time. Damia would have seriously hurt Ari otherwise. As strong as his friend was, he knew that with enough words even Ari’s stoicism would break.

  Usually, Ari never got passed the house without him. However, since the rain was an incessant howl, he was thankful Ghita had found it in herself to give Ari a lift to school. From her frizzed hair and damp jeans, it was clear Ghita hadn’t thought to offer her an umbrella as well.

  Ari studied her best friend as he silently scanned her. When she could stand, she could reach the hollow of his collar bone. She tucked neatly under his chin in the old days. Now perpetually seated, she felt like a dog in some ways. Her level of vision would never be above three feet without craning her neck.

  Sasha’s hair was as wet and curled as riotously as hers, which meant he didn’t have an umbrella with him either. The ombre color of his hair was nearly black at the root and chestnut at the ends. If Ari hadn’t known better she would have sworn it was artificial. She knew though, it naturally faded that way. It was tousled carelessly around his tawny face in a choppy layered style that only he could pull off. His eyes reminded her of blue frost though they were never cold.

  “Do I pass?” Her heart fluttered under his scrutiny forcing her to break the silence. There were things better not thought on while he looked at her like that. Things better not imagined.

  He was like a soldier, silent but never stony and always ready to protect her. The tender look on his face was evidence of that. It was often directed at her, which secretly pleased her. Sometimes she wished it was more than that, but she didn’t have the courage to move passed their innocent friendship.

  He shook his head. “You look like you have bruises with the dark blue color of your eyes and the dark circles around them. You are tired and at a guess, I’d say you’re not sleeping again.”

  “I can’t walk Sasha.” It came out sharper than intended but if anyone had the right to be slightly bitter, she certainly did and he would certainly understand. He always did.

  “I can’t run, I can’t dance.” Her throat closed before she could continue further. Ari closed her eyes and inhaled slowly.

  She would not cry. Not here. Not now. Not in front of him.

  Sasha crouched in front of the wheelchair and took her hands in his. When he looked up at her it took all of her will power to hold back the threatening tears. He never made her feel inferior. He very rarely looked down on her or belittled her, in any circumstance. There was so much pain and sorrow in his eyes that Ari could almost believe he felt the pain she was in.

  “I’m sorry.” He squeezed her hands gently. “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you when I promised you I would. It should be me in that chair not you. I’m sorry.”

  She squeezed his hands back in reassurance. “I wouldn’t wish this on you, maybe on her.” Ari didn’t say her name, but from the way his lips twitched she knew he knew of whom she spoke. Ari gave a forced smile. “Besides, the doctors say that I could get my legs working again. After all, I still do get that annoying tingle in them every once in a while. It means there is still life there, right?”

  “If anyone can find a way, I know you can.” Sasha let go of her hands and stood. “Come on or we’ll both be late.”

  If he hadn’t been bound by a certain set of rules, he would have told her how to make her legs work again. He would have told her everything he knew and helped her out of what he still felt was his mistake. He was slowing dying inside, knowing what she needed to do but not able to provide it to her. He had made a promise though, and he was a man of his word, even though it caused him the agony he had to live with.

  When he stood, Ari saw Nasya standing patiently. Her arms were crossed but it wasn’t a threatening pose. Her eyes were unfocused behind her glasses. She was probably still half asleep.

  Her hair was braided tightly, as always, so Ari couldn’t tell if she had come in through the rain or not. She had never seen Nasya wear pants of any kind in the almost four years they’d known each other.

  Her skirt looked kind of bohemian with its layers and flamboyant colors. She topped it with a black cowl neck dress that should have looked tacky but the layers looked right on her. They always did.

  “I’m sorry I’m late.” Her voice was quiet, but whether from being tired or embarrassed it wasn’t discernible.

  Sasha shook his head. “You’re not at all, we were just on the way to get Ari’s books.”

  Nasya smiled. “May I join you?”

  That was something else that hadn’t changed in their years together. She always asked if she could accompany or sit with them. Ari assumed Nasya would just do without asking – she was after all Sasha’s family – but in four years she never once assumed. Nasya had always asked and for some strange reason, had always been overly formal in her speech.

  Ari waved a hand. “Sure, there’s nothing exciting happening, yet.”

  Nasya shrugged, “The day has just begun. You never know what will happen.”

  “Ready for Advanced Chemistry?” Sasha asked, moving to push her chair himself.

  Ari didn’t stop him. She could never figure out how to tell him he shouldn’t do something. It was her greatest weakness.

  Damia watched from the shadows. She had done everything in her power she could to take Sasha and make him her own. He was the most stubborn of creatures. There was nothing left in the cripple there wasn’t a reason for him to stay with her. Yet, he did. It infuriated her beyond reason.

  She would have to try something else. If she had to sell her soul to get wh
at she wanted, she would. Sasha would be hers in the end.

  Ari moved through the day like any other after that. Autopilot was her greatest friend. Both her mother and Kleisthenes had insisted that normalcy would help her heal. It hadn’t. It only made all that should have been normal lacking and doubled her lack of willingness to get out of bed in the morning.

  Morning classes were always the hardest to get through. Advanced Chemistry wasn’t really important to her. What did the periodic table matter to her?

  Sasha sat two rows in front of her, to her left in front of the windows. Ari studied him as he attentively paid attention. Sasha was the perfect student.

  The light from the window highlighted his hair and danced through the thick wild curls. His shirt could almost be considered a muscle shirt. The contours of his back were clear and vividly outlined by the window. Ari traced his shoulder blades with her eyes to the place where his neck met his shoulder. She briefly fantasized about biting him, right there.

  “Ms. Doumas.”

  The fantasy popped and brought her back to the real world. She shouldn’t have been fantasizing about her best friend in that manner anyway but still to be caught at it… Ari gave her teacher a forced smile. “Yes?”

  “Perhaps you’d like to share with the class what is so fascinating outside the classroom rather than what I am teaching in it?”

  It took Ari a moment to realize he thought she had been looking out the window instead of staring at Sasha. She shrugged. “Freedom.”

  Some of her classmates snickered.

  Sasha smiled to himself as he finished his notes from the blackboard. He missed Ari’s moods. Since the accident she had been flat. It was as if her personality had been sucked away instead of just her legs being crippled. These emotional appearances were getting further and further apart. He could think of no crueler punishment than to watch her slowly fade away.