Heli slammed his hand on his dresser table. He was both angry and disappointed.
"Why did you upset her?!" he chided, "I guess you've forgotten how sensitive Athena really is!"
"On the bright side, he said he was sorry." Shion chirped.
"But still," said Odette, twirling her long raven black hair, "That was very cruel of William to do."
Just then, Thomas Wang entered Heli's room.
"Indeed it wasn't," he said, "I'm sorry if one of Vincent's apprentices got in the way of your friendship."
"It's fine, really." said Shion.
"Yeah," agreed Heli, "There are a lot of things we don't cooperate on."
William scoffed. "I thought we were mates, Heli," he said, "You were the one I would usually confide in."
"I was!" Heli shouted, "But after today, I can't even speak with you!"
William scowled. "Oh, so you're that angry with me?!"
Heli turned around with fuming eyes. "Oh, damn right I am."
Heli then turned to the door and left. He then walked all the way up to Athena's room.
But when he knocked on the door, Athena didn't reply.
I guess he [William] really hurt her feelings, he thought.
He then walked away. But suddenly, Athena opened the door, revealing herself.
"Was that you, Heli?" she asked. Heli turned around.
"Yeah, it was."
Athena smiled, but then looked down.
Heli sighed.
"I'm sorry about William. He's usually not like that. And there was the part where he told you we were Serpents."
"Yeah, I got that part."
There was a moment of silence.
"It is true, right?" Athena asked.
Heli nodded.
"But there is one secret I must tell you."
"What is it?"
Heli knelt down in front of Athena and whispered in her ear, "I am not a Serpent...I...am an Angel!"
Athena was stunned by Heli's words.
"But how? Decelis Academy never allows Angels! How did you manage to get accepted here?"
"I may or may not have told a whopper and said that I was not an Angel."
Athena crossed her arms.
"I thought Angels were supposed to show honesty?"
"They are," said Heli, "But when I found out that William and Vincent were accepted here, my mother couldn't help but think about me in the academy for Angels. So she lied in my resume so that I could go to school with them, too."
"But it's never the right thing to lie!" said Athena, "People will find out, anyways."
"I know," said Heli, "But if I keep up the secret, no one will say a thing, and I'll still survive in this school in one piece."
*~*~*~*~*~*
It was a Friday. On the weekends, the Decelis students come home from school for the weekend. Athena had a much suitable way to get home.
When no one was looking, she leaped up to the top of the school building, and leaped high into the air. She soon found herself walking in the sky.
And when she began to land unexpectedly, she would find a rooftop and bounce higher in the sky from it.
And then, she was eventually home to <Hearst Castle>.
Athena entered inside the house through the window up to her own room. She then closed it when she heard her mother running up the stairs.
"Is that you, <iubito>?" she asked.
Athena was startled.
"<Da, Mamă>," she replied, "I am!"
Athena rushed to change out of her school uniform. Luckily, she managed to put on her favorite black top and jeans.
Fionna entered inside Athena's bedroom.
"<Cum a fost la școală>?" she asked.
"It went pretty well, if you ask me." Athena responded nervously, "I see you've been tidying up my room ever since I was away for a whole week."
"<Da>," said Fionna, "When you casted off for your first week, it was quite <dezordonat>, so I thought of cleaning up a few edges."
<I wasn't expecting this>, thought Athena, <My mother dearest would somehow never come into my room without approval to just clean it. How foolish. But it was messy, anyway...so I'll give her that.>
Both mother and daughter went downstairs.
"I have good news I really must tell you," said Fionna excitedly, "I have a good friend that is coming for dinner this afternoon! Her name is Hermia and she is bringing her daughter along, too!"
"What is the exciting bit?"
"The exciting bit is that you and her daughter are the same age! So, you will definitely have fun together!"
*~*~*~*~*~*
Athena became drilled after a long morning. The only thing that would only pass time would be leaping all around her room. But even that became tedious.
"If there is going to be some sort of dinner party, then our guests have to be right on time! And never late as well!"
Since the "museum like no other" was closed since Athena and her family were living there, it was extraordinary!
But it made people of the San Simeon valley disquiet. Yet the family had no choice but to live in Hearst Castle until the wretched Krampus was destroyed as well as Odile's egregious plan.
As for Athena, she eventually learned how to be patient. With that, after becoming exhausted from waiting...she fell asleep on the mini sofa.
Suddenly, a faint sound of the door knocking was mysteriously heard. But Athena didn't bother to come downstairs to greet them. She was too busy snooping around on the sofa.
But as well as you know Fionna, she would never take patience!
And so, with that well said, "Athena!" she shouted, "<Invitații noștri sunt aici!>"
Athena, not wanting to put herself on the ground, floated up and landed gracefully on her feet...on the ground.
She casually came from downstairs and into the Assembly room of the castle. The first her eyes were to spot were none other than Odette, Shion, and of course Heli.
<But what are they doing here>, she thought, <I thought it was just two guests?>
This made Athena flustered to the bone. But at the same time, she felt somewhat ecstatic.
She found everyone lounging around in the Assembly room's large sofas. But she didn't care.
Fionna then came close to her daughter.
"This is my daughter Athena, as I'm sure everyone knows." she said.
Athena rolled her eyes.
Heli blushed.
<She is so beautiful...to me even,> he thought.
Athena gave her infamous glare. Odette smiled awkwardly.
"Okay!" she moaned.
Fionna led everyone to the dining room, which in Hearst Castle is called Refectory. The entrée was Butternut soup.
But Athena never showed to care about Fionna's recipe for this splendid dish.
Still, she thoroughly enjoyed it.
"This is such a scrumptious bowl of soup!" exclaimed Hermia, quietly slurping from the spoon.
"It is delicious, isn't it?"
"It is! I have to get the recipe!"
"I'll send you the recipe on my gadget!"
"You mean your <phone>?"
Fionna stammered, "O-oh, yes! My phone!"
Both mothers then laughed nervously.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Athena quickly left the Reference table and went back to the Assembly room. As soon as she found herself alone in the grand room, she felt calm.
But she also felt bored.
Athena saw the long table that was boarding with the outdoor entrance to the Western Terrace and the Neptune Pool.
She climbed up to the edge, ran to the other side of the table, and jumped up high into the air and landed on one side of the room, with her heels clicking against the tiny platform.
She then leaped to the other side of the room. This was her way of playing in a grand room.
There were no loud voices, no balls involved, and it was peaceful. This is how Athena stimmed herself.
Meanwhile, her mother was still in the dining room with the guests. Hermia looked all around and noticed that Athena was missing.
"Where has Athena gone?" she asked.
Fionna looked to the doors that led to the Assembly room.
"I think she might be playing in the Assembly room next to us." she said.
"She still 'plays'?" asked Odette.
"Well, it's not exactly like a game. Think of it as a way of entertaining herself."
Athena leaped all over the room, having a keen time of her life. But then, Odette entered the room unannounced and distracted Athena, who crash-landed on the piano keys. But luckily, she didn't fall or hurt herself.
"You scared me!" Athena chided.
"I'm sorry," said Odette, "I was wondering where you went and I wanted to find you."
"Does my mum need me again?"
"No...but she was wondering where you went, too."
Athena frowned and crossed her arms.
"I never have time to play," she complained, "All I can do is swim outside at the Neptune Pool."
"I see..." said Odette, feeling Athena's empathy, "Do you like swimming?"
"Yes, but after a while, it gets tedious, you know, boring."
"Because it's so quiet?"
"No, it's because I have no one by my side."
"You have Heli!"
"You want him to see me clothless?"
Odette gasped. "You're naked when you swim?!"
Athena scoffed, "Only when it is scorching hot, like right now. I'm not swimming when guests are here!"
"Well, that's a relief."
And then, Athena floated up to the one side of the room. Odette was stunned.
"So you were the one that was making those beautiful leaps and twirls in the air!" she said.
"Yeah, I was!" replied Athena, "At least someone doesn't stereotype me."
Odette suddenly frowned.
"I'm sorry if you were. I guess it just happens."
"It does...just too frequently."
Odette leaped, but then she floated all the way to the top with her back laying against the ceiling! Odette yelped.
Suddenly she pulled herself off of the ceiling, spread her arms out to each side, and landed safely on the ground. She felt terrified.
"Well, that was an experience!" she said with a shaky voice.
Fionna and Hermia entered the Assembly room.
"Are you both alright?" asked Fionna, "Hermia said she heard Odette scream a bit."
"We floated all the way up to the ceiling!" Odette said excitedly.
"You did?" asked Hermia, "Well, then...I'd never! You are gaining powers from our ancestors! How exciting!"
Meanwhile, Heli was surprised.
<We have another Serpent with powers>, he thought, <First Athena, now Odette! What is going on here?>
Fionna cleared her throat.
"So, I hear that Heli is going to perform for us later this early evening." she said.
"He is," said Hermia, "He hasn't played ever since both his mother and father died out."
"I still can't believe that a boy of Athena and Odette's age could lose the most important people in his life! Athena only lost her father."
"That's lucky!"
Meanwhile, Athena was outside at the Western Terrace that connected to the Neptune Pool.
She settled herself down on the steps that were in front of the big fountain in the middle. She noticed the Neptune Pool. She then went closer to it.
She noticed that she had a reflection on the water.
"I haven't swam in a while." she said softly.
Athena looked all around.
"As long as I'm alone and no one comes over unannounced."
And with that, Athena undressed herself completely, and leaped in the water, making a splash.
She let the water soothe her smooth pale white skin, and her black brunette hair.
She floated on her back while she closed her eyes. And then, she knew she had enough stimulation.
She climbed out of the pool, found a towel that was perching on the lounge, and began drying herself off everywhere.
Her hair was the first thing to dry. But she then found out that her hair was already dry. But she ignored it.
She was drying her whole body off when she heard the sound of a violin being tuned. But she didn't care and continued to dry herself.
Suddenly, as she was putting on her dress she had brought out from before when she noticed a familiar figure of a boy that was standing in the middle of the terrace.
Curious, Athena pulled the zipper of the dress and walked closer to the terrace, wrapping her arms around one of the columns that were holding the ceiling of the Neptune Pool lounge tight.
Athena realized that it was Heli with a violin in his hands.
<I knew it was Heli>, she thought, <That explains the beautiful music on Wednesday!>
After Heli tuned the violin, he put it under his arm, resulting in a rest position. Athena blushed.
She hid herself to the other side of the column, giving off a quiet squeal.
Heli was already lost in the moment and didn't see Athena at all. He, too, also thought he was alone.
With that said, he tucked the violin under the chin...and then drew the bow across the strings, making a soft piece at each string.
Athena was in distress and turned away, trying to ignore Heli's unexpected performance. She wanted to wait until it was over. But it wasn't.
Her moping made the song seem longer. She groaned. She had a vigorous thought of the same scene...she grabbed the violin and broke it to pieces! But she couldn't bear to do such a thing to young Heli in the real world.
She, undoubtedly, gained confidence and turned around to watch Heli's fingertips dance on the four fine strings. And the bow swayed up and down.
As the final note entered, Athena felt an uncomfortable breeze from behind her back. She turned around and noticed her big black wings that had sprung out from her back.
She began to panic mentally. But she let it go as she somewhat redeemed herself. Heli held the final high note...Athena swooned to the ground, merely tearing up in the pupils of her eyes.
The note slowly faded away...and so did Athena's swoon as she seemed to smile. She held on tight to her heart as it beated with love.
In awe, she watched Heli gradually lower his bow and violin. And then, he exited the terrace with a slight flaw.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Athena fell asleep on the lounge. But for over an hour or two, no one bothered to wake her up. By then...she opened her eyes.
She was still alone at the Neptune Pool.
All she wanted to do was have someone by her side, now. But since no one asked about her whereabouts, she felt that loneliness.
She turned to her back and suddenly found her wings clinging onto her. But as she stood up, her wings flapped and she bumped herself onto the ceiling of the Neptune Pool lounge.
She then tumbled back to the ground. When she stood up again, her wings flapped and she found herself on the tip of the house, high in the sky, almost. And Athena was terrified!
"How am I going to come down?!" she asked horrifically.
Athena let go of the tip of the house... and fell.
She screamed, and as when she was about to make a painful thud, her wings flapped and landed her safely to the ground, falling with style.
<Strange>, thought Athena, <I had never flown with wings in my life before! How can this be?>
She then went back to the lounge of the pool, folded her wings, and watched them shrink until they were gone.
<I never knew I had this ability. This had never happened to me...not even before the turn of the century!>
Meanwhile, Heli was to perform the violin for Saturday lunch. He surprised everyone with his beautiful melody that he played.
His movements were just so sublime for someone his age.
"Such movements that boy has!" exclaimed Fionna, "How does he do it?"
"You'll have to ask him!"
Heli ended the piece; everyone applauded.
"I must say," said Shion, standing from the piano, "You have the finest fingers than any other violinist I had ever seen."
"You are being too kind." said Heli as his spine made a jig.
Athena entered the room.
"You have missed the whole performance," chided Fionna, "Where have you been?!"
"I fell asleep, and I forgot to come down here."
Hermia suddenly noticed Athena's birthmark that had the shape of a pentagram.
"Is this the star of Lucifer?" she asked.
"It is," replied Fionna, "Isn't it beautiful?"
Hermia sighed in awe. "It is!"