Page 31 of Achille's Earth Angel
“Give me a minute to get dressed,” Achilles replied.
***
AFTER THE MEN WEREgone, Ange wandered into the bedroom to check out a box that looked interesting. It looked like a collection of golden artifacts, shields and other things pertaining to warfare. She heard a slight noise at the doorway and looked up to see Epaphras standing there, a scowl on his face.
Grabbing the shield, she stood up, her heart lurching in fear. “What are you doing in my house?”
“I’m looking for Hercules,” he growled. “I need to talk to him.”
Ange was shocked. “Hercules? H-he isn’t here right now, but he should be right back.” She held up the shield when he walked forward. “D-don’t come any closer,” she snarled.
He turned around and paced back the way he came, then paced forward again. “How long will he be? I don’t have much time.”
Ange studied him, sensing he was different this time. He was actually very handsome now that she had time to study him. He had that spoiled pouty look about him though, that Achilles and Hercules had described. Willful was what her dad had always said. He’d accused her of that from time to time. “What do you want with Hercules?”
His reddish colored eyes stared balefully at her. “You’ve caused me no end of trouble and I need him to change Zeus’s mind,” he snapped. “He wants to marry me off to a sea hag named Zephyr and my father isn’t listening to me.”
“If you’d left me alone, this wouldn’t be happening,” she insisted. She glared balefully back at him. “You just had to cause Achilles to lose his immortality, didn’t you? You couldn’t just leave well enough alone.”
“That wasn’t my fault,” he roared, running his hand through his thick brown mane. “Delia started that because she likes an earth male that father has threatened to drown if she won’t stay away from him. So, she distracted him with me.”
The sullen look on his face would have been far more amusing if Angel hadn’t been scared half to death several times over because of him. “Yeah, right. so that’s why you were trying to drag me into the sea and kept coming back after me? How am I supposed to believe you?” she scoffed.
“I wouldn’t have harmed you, I just wanted some kisses, that was all,” he replied sullenly. “I’ve never harmed a mortal in my life.”
“That’s not what I’ve heard.”
His eyes bulged. “I don’t care what you’ve heard, it’s the truth! I just wanted to annoy Hercules and Achilles because they act so high and mighty all the time, like they are above the rules the rest of us have to live under. They are all about kicking ass first and asking questions later.”
Ange started to relax, almost feeling a small bit of sympathy stirring in her breast. “Well, you scared me to death,” she declared. “Especially when you kept coming back.”
He shrugged his shoulders, suddenly looking much younger when he grinned suddenly. “You just smelled so good. I wanted to taste you, that’s all.”
“And what did Gronk want?” asked Ange skeptically, still not trusting the spoiled youth.
He shrugged. “Pretty much the same thing as me, he just wanted to catch your scent.” He looked down at his arms which were beginning to look really dry, the skin starting to flake off. “I have to get back to the sea. Will you please tell Hercules to come to the beach when he gets back? I have to talk to him,” he pleaded, backing out the door.
Ange followed him and watched as he plunged into the sea and then sat down, letting the tide roll over him. “I’ll tell him.” She yelled out to him.
“I’ll wait right here,” he hollered back.
“Angel, what are you doing out here?” Achilles voice from behind her, the alarm evident from his tones.
She whirled to see him and Hercules hurrying towards her. She pointed her thumb back at the sea with a grin. “You have a visitor, Hercules. He wants to talk to you. I told him I’d tell you as soon as you got back.”
Hercules stepped around her. “Epaphras! What are you doing here?” he thundered, racing towards the beach with Achilles right behind him.
“I told you to stay away from Angel,” Achilles roared, charging after Hercules.
“I’m not here to bother the woman,” Epaphras yelped, backing up with both hands out. “I need your help, Hercules, please!”
Ange decided to let the men handle Epaphras and went back into the house to inspect the ancient artifacts. She wondered if Achilles knew how much they would be worth in today’s market. There was one necklace that was particularly beautiful and she wondered if he would let her borrow it for her wedding. She’d been planning her wedding long before she met Achilles and knew just the type of dress she wanted. The necklace was made of blue sapphires shaped in heart settings made of gold. She could see herself in her white Grecian style dress made of smooth satin. A blue silk sash would run beneath the breasts and gather in the material in soft folds. The straps would be gathered into a golden ring on each shoulder. This necklace would be perfect on her bare neckline that would be cut deep, yet still modest enough. She was so caught up in her daydream that time passed far too quickly.
“Angel?”
Bemused, she barely heard her name until Achilles repeated it.
“Angel!”
