Hairdye & Vengeance & War Gods, Oh My! (Epilogue)

Ironically it ended where it began -- in the stables. Calipso strode in and smirked inwardly to see Diana leap to her feet, trying to pretend she wasn't just napping in an empty stall. When the gypsy saw Cal, she scowled and sank down again, wrapping her arms around her knees sulkily.

"Oh. I thought it was Ares."

"If I were Ares, I'd already have zapped you into next week. You know if he catches you napping, he'll tack years onto your already lengthy sentence," Calipso crotched down beside her friend and sprawled comfortably across a mound of clean hay, shifting until she found good spot. She laid her head back and heaved a contented sigh. Her hand stole out and found a long piece of straw which she chewed on while studying Diana reflectively.You know if he catches you napping, he'll tack years onto your already lengthy sentence," Calipso crotched down beside her friend and sprawled comfortably across a mound of clean hay, shifting until she found good spot. She laid her head back and heaved a sigh of contentment. A hand stole out and found a long piece of straw which she chewed on reflectively while studying Diana in silence.You know if he catches you napping, he'll tack years onto your already lengthy sentence," Calipso crotched down beside her friend and sprawled comfortably across a mound of clean hay, shifting until she found good spot. She laid her head back and heaved a sigh of contentment. A hand stole out and found a long piece of straw which she chewed on reflectively while studying Diana in silence.

"Di, I can't figure you out. You are either the single bravest or the single stupidest woman I've ever met."

Diana shot her a look. "Come again?"

"Why do you do it Diana? You know Ares always catches you. Why do you keep deliberately getting in trouble with him?"

For a long time there was no response. Calipso waited quietly. She had expected a flippant answer or for Diana to brush the question off. But she didn't. She seemed to be taking the question a lot more seriously than Cal expected her to.

Finally Di looked Calipso directly in the eyes. Her words were clipped and shaky. She really didn't sound like the gypsy Calipso knew at all. "Cal, do you remember how it was when we were kids? When a boy saw a girl that he liked, he'd pretend like it was no big deal. He didn't want to come right out and say that he liked her. That'd be embarrassing, especially if she didn't feel the same way. So he'd pick a fight with her instead. It was a discreet way to get her to notice him, plus he'd be singled out for her attention over all the other boys. If she reacted to him, he'd know the chemistry was mutual."

Calipso looked shocked. If she was following the direction of Diana's thoughts correctly, then this was a turn of events she'd never expected.

"So Di, are you saying -- you are doing the same thing with -- Ares?"

Diana looked embarrassed. She bit her lip before replying, acting edgy, not at all normal. "Basically -- yeah." Her voice became wistful. "Maybe I just wanted to be special to Ares. Maybe I wanted him to notice me. Maybe I wanted to stand out from all his other priestesses." She laughed bitterly and Calipso swore she heard a tinge of regret in the laughter. "And I did -- didn't I? Oh yeah. No doubt about it. He noticed me alright."

"But Di -- that's height of irony coming from you. Everyone knows you kick and fuss like crazy if Ares even comes into your breathing space. How can you turn right around and claim that you are interested after years of prevarication that you're not?"

"Because I know Ares too well to ever let myself get involved with him. I'll admit there is a side of me that understands him, is even attracted to his darkness. I'm a warrior through and through Cal; I have to confess that kind of power --the kind that Ares could give me-- is tempting. It's intoxicating to even imagine what it'd be like. I'd rule like a goddess, practically undefeatable." Diana stood upright, her spine stiffening with resolve. Her tone grew quiet, sober. "But that kind of power is corrupting and the price would be my soul. I may desire it Cal, but I know I'm not strong enough to handle it." She looked out the stable window and spoke soft and sad, "I'm not strong enough to handle him! But there are times Cal, times when I can feel his lonely soul aching. It cries out to me through the aether. And those are the times when it's impossible for me not to love him."

Calipso sighed and stood as well. She came up behind her friend and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Then what is it you do want from him, Di?"

"I'm not sure." Diana stared at nothing, her mind whirling with confusion. Her feelings were Ares ran deep, but it was unclear to her what exactly they were. At times it was hard to know whether she loved him or hated him. He mystified her, amused her, tormented her, frustrated her -- how could one define a relationship like that? He drove her crazy most of the time, but there were days when she wanted to reach for him and never, never let go. It was a mercurial emotion and it changed daily. It was a love as confusing and mysterious as Ares himself.

"I guess I just want his attention," she concluded finally. She turned back to Calipso and saw the concern mirrored in her friend's blue eyes. Diana smiled and wrapped her arms around the hind, hugging her gently. "Aw Cal, you are an awesome friend, but you don't have to worry about me. I've handled my feelings for Ares for eight years now -- I'll be just fine. The best thing is just not to let him ever find out the truth."

Calipso smiled, hugging her friend back. "If you say so Di. But I'd be careful about provoking Ares more than you need to. You are one of my closest friends. I'd hate for you to end up caught by a trap of your own making."

Di laughed as she released her. "If you are such a good friend, would you give me a hand in here? Only two stalls left to go."

"Yeah ok. But only because you get in trouble more regularly than Strife changes his underwear and this might be the last time I ever see you."

Di winced, deciding not to ask how Cal knew that tidbit of information and tossed her a pitchfork instead. "First one to finish their stall gets a free drink next time we are in Athens."

"You're on."

"Hey, I wouldn't be getting too confident now. You forget I've had tons of practice at this."

Calipso smirked. "And you forget that I am a goddess, Di." She waved a hand and the stall was whistling clean within the blink of an eye. Diana gasped.

"Hey! That's cheating!"

"No it isn't Di. You didn't specify how the stall was to be cleaned. You just said finish the stall and it's finished. Now pay up."

"Ohhh no! I don't think so. You're the so-called goddess here; you can conjure up the money for drinks."

"It's the principle of the thing. I won, so don't be a sore loser. Pay up."

"Cal, you can just kiss my gavel. I'm not giving you a dinar."

The two left the stables, still arguing. Once they were gone, a shadow, etched in leathery black, separated itself from the darkness in the back of the stable. He stroked his goatee and smiled, a dark glitter in his fathomless, ageless eyes.

"So you want my attention, Diana? I think that can be arranged."

Finis (for now) . . .