Waves

A weird warmth spreads through Alessia's body as she slowly blinks open her eyes. The fog filling her head makes it hard to remember what happened.

She was brought some tea, and she took a sip.

That's right! Alessia sits up and realizes someone was holding her hands. She glances to her right and sees Zagreus, who was asleep. Alessia stares at Zagreus, her heart beating faster inside her chest. She can't believe that he's here, holding her hands. She feels a strange sense of comfort being close to him and wonders if he feels the same way.

As she looks closer, she notices how peaceful he looks when he's asleep, his chest rising and falling with each breath. She can't help but feel a pang of something she can't quite describe in her chest. She's always felt drawn to Zagreus, even though she doesn't quite understand why.

Alessia slowly withdraws her hands from Zagreus' grasp, trying not to wake him up. She stares at him for a few more moments before finally getting up from the bed. She needs time to think and process what's happening around her.

She notices she's in a strange place as she leaves the room. The walls are made of stone, and torches and weird designs are on the wall.

What happened? And where is she? Alessia shakes her head, trying to get rid of the fog that is blocking her memories. She takes a few steps forward, trying to get a better look at her surroundings. The room seems to be part of an ancient castle; there are old weapons hanging on the walls, and the furniture looks like it's from a different time. It's then that she realizes she's still wearing the same clothes she was wearing before she blacked out.

Alessia's mind starts to race with questions, and she can feel her anxiety starting to build. She doesn't remember how she ended up here, and the last thing she remembers is taking a sip of tea. She can't shake off the feeling that something terrible has happened to her.

Suddenly, she hears a noise coming from one of the other rooms. She freezes in fear, unsure of what to do next. The noise grows louder, and she can hear footsteps approaching. Alessia looks around for something to protect herself with but finds nothing.

The footsteps stop right outside the door, and Alessia prepares herself for the worst.

"Alessia." Zagreus voice makes her jump and she turns around. He is awake.

Relief washes over Alessia as she sees Zagreus standing in the doorway. She rushes towards him, and he catches her in his arms. She looks up at him, her eyes filling with tears.

"Zagreus, what's going on? Where are we?" she asks, her voice trembling.

Zagreus brushes a strand of hair from her face and looks at her with concern."You should relax some more. I will explain things later."

She shakes her head, "No I'm fine. But something is out there." Alessia points towards the door.

Zagreus chuckes. "Do not worry about the beast that are out there. They are your guards. Ugly they maybe, but they are strong."

Alessia looks at him, confused. "Guards? What do you mean?"

Zagreus takes her hand and leads her towards a nearby window. "Look outside," he says, pointing towards the horizon.

Alessia peers outside and sees a vast, open landscape, with mountains rising in the distance. This isn't the underworld.

She glances back to Zagreus. "Where are we Zagreus? This isn't the underworld." Zagreus looks at her seriously, "No, it is not. This is a different realm altogether, one that is not meant for human eyes."

Alessia's heart thumps in her chest as she takes in his words. "What do you mean? How did we get here?" she asks, her voice quivering.

Zagreus hesitates for a moment before taking a deep breath. "I brought you here," he says, looking at her with intense eyes.

Alessia's eyes widen in surprise. "Why? What for?" she asks, her mind racing with possibilities.

Zagreus takes her hand in his, a serious expression on his face. "Alessia, there are things I need to tell you, things that are difficult to explain. But for now, you must trust me. I brought you here for your protection."

Alessia looks at him, feeling a strange sense of comfort in his words. She knows she should trust him. But she can tell that he doesn't want to tell her everything.

"What about Apollo? My training? Does Donn know where we are?" Alessia blinks up at Zagreus, her mind racing with questions.

What about Cronus? The biggest question she has, but she hesistates to ask. Zagreus takes a deep breath and looks at her sadly. "I'm sorry, Alessia. We had to leave everything behind, for your own safety. Apollo and Donn, they cannot know where we are. And as for Cronus… it's complicated."

Alessia's heart sinks at his words. She had been so close to finishing her training with Apollo, and now it's all gone. But she knows that she can't let her disappointments cloud her judgement.

"What do we do now?" she asks, looking up at Zagreus with determination in her eyes.

Zagreus takes her hand and leads her towards the door. "Now, we survive," he says, a hint of a smile on his lips. "We need to find a way to protect ourselves and figure out what our next move is. But for now, let's focus on staying alive."

Alessia nods, trying to understand everything. The one thing she doesn't understand is what happened to her for her to be brought here?

"What happened to me Zagreus? I did black out and remember someone in my room?"

Zagreus' expression becomes grave. "You were poisoned, Alessia."

Alessia's eyes widen in shock. "Poisoned? Who would do something like that?"

Zagreus avoids Alessia gaze, unsure how to respond.

"Tell me Zagreus!" Alessia demands.

With a sigh, his blue eyes light up in a blaze. "It was my father Hades."

Alessia's heart skips a beat at Zagreus' revelation. "Your father? But why would he poison me?" she asks, feeling a sense of betrayal.

Zagreus takes a deep breath. "He did it to get to me. He knew that I would come after you if you were in danger."

Alessia is stunned by the depth of Hades' cruelty. "That's sick," she says, shaking her head. Why would he come out of hiding to do that to her?

As if reading her mind, Zagreus cups her face. "Don't worry about my father. He has since changed his plan and is no longer running away from Cronus. We will discuss that later."

"Just one thing, is Hades an enemy to us now?" Alessia ask. She can sense something is wrong, and Zagreus's rage is rolling off him in waves. No matter how hard he is trying to hide it. Alessia can sense it. It's deep and raw rage.

Zagreus looks at her with a mixture of anger and sadness. "He was never truly on our side, Alessia. My father is complicated, and his loyalties are always shifting. We cannot trust him." He clenches his fist, trying to hold back his anger.

Not only did his father force Zagreus to move to another realm, but the poison he gave to Alessia was also a spell blocking the powers that Mania gave her. Right now, she is just a normal human with no power.

Zagreus can't tell her that, not yet. He needs to figure out how to remove the spell.

* * *

Author note:

Thanks for reading so far!! Sorry for the slow updates, I was camping with my family and boyfriend. I'm playing catch up now! I hope you continue to enjoy and I appreciate any support, even it's just reading a few words of a chapter. Thank you!!! :)