Chapter Twelve: It Isn't Finished
By Natali K. A.
Artemis and Aphrodite stood side by side, watching Lily stare sightlessly at one of the walls in her room.
"I can't believe it," Aphrodite said, voice barely above a whisper. "How… How-But James…"
Aphrodite shrugged, beautiful crystal tears sliding down her ebony cheeks. She cried for Lily, the girl she couldn't help. The girl she had failed.
"There's got to be something we can do, Artemis!" Aphrodite shrieked wildly, realizing that she had officially given up and labeled it hopeless. "You can't leave her there to rot and whither away! We can't leave James to deal with it on his own-he won't be able to! We can save them both instead of kill them both. We just need to think, to plan, to-"
"Aphrodite," she cut in. "It's finished. We overestimated Victor. And now it's done. We underestimated love, and now it's ruined. We thought we were invincible, and we aren't."
Aphrodite glared at her, wishing she could rip her limb from limb and show her exactly what it was to be a nymph. "You are a disgrace to all Nymphs. May the seven Muses kill you. Good day to you, I will be saving the arses of those that you could not, Artemis. Go blow bubbles or something since that seems to be the only thing you're capable of doing."
Artemis sighed as Aphrodite left her, still watching Lily sorrowfully. This would do wonders to destroy her confidence.
"Hmm. I wonder," she muttered, brows knitting. If she could… Would Lily…? Dare she hope? She turned on her heel and strode for her wardrobe, pulling out the outfit she always wore to visit the Muses.
Only this time, she'd see one in specific, and nothing would stand in her way.
*~*
"Melpomene," Artemis called out to the Muse of Tragedy, hoping she was not with the Others. One could only just hope.
"Yes, Artemis?" Melpomene asked lazily, popping a grape into Her mouth. Her quarters were resplendent with black and blood red-the colors of mourning and death: tragedy. "I'm surprised that you're here. Not totally, but somewhat. You usually call together a meeting."
"I wanted to speak with just You."
"I know. What makes you think I can help you with your little predicament?"
"You're a Muse," Artemis replied, as if it wasn't completely obvious. "You're the One who inspires Tragedy into the minds and souls of human beings. No tragic thought runs through a person's head, no tragic event happens without You."
Melpomene nodded. "Yes, you're very correct. That is My realm. But what would you like me to do exactly? I can hardly reverse things that have happened."
"Forgive me while I call You a liar. You know very well that You can."
Melpomene smiled coldly. "You're right. I can. But I won't. Yet I don't think you needed to hear it straight from My lips-that goes without saying. It's heinous to ask a Muse to reverse an act they think was justified."
"Naturally. I only come here for Your knowledge. What is it exactly that Victor has done that he's been able to rob Lily of her Careo-Virga powers? And why hasn't Lily fallen in love with James? I've seen the future and they're perfectly content."
"The future changes."
"It shouldn't have to."
"Things happen."
"I'm here to make sure that they don't. I have been given a commission and I will do what I have been sent to do."
Melpomene contemplated Artemis for a moment before rising from Her black throne. She came to stand right in front of Artemis. "Her powers aren't gone-she's only too weak to use them. He has a defense up around his castle and no one can perform magic from the inside unless they're disgustingly powerful and in full control of their magic. For instance, you or I would have no problem whatsoever.
"As for why Lily went in the first place-why she isn't in love with James-that's simply because she doesn't believe she is. The mind is a very mighty thing and can overcome nearly any obstacle or at least aid in it."
"And that leaves me where?"
"Out of My better graces. You can figure it out on your own. Go bug one of the Others if you'd like, but we are done. Be gone."
Artemis did Her bidding, but did not visit another Muse. She had nothing else to ask any of them-or not anything they'd be willing to tell her anyhow.
*~*
James sat in the same spot he'd sat when Lily had left them. He hadn't moved since. But he was amazingly aware of everything around him.
Like Aphrodite looking at him sympathetically.
"James, I don't know why-"
"She doesn't love me."
"Some people need time."
"I've known for years that I'm in love with her and even after I've given her the world, she doesn't love me."
Aphrodite blew out her breath. "I can't read her mind, James. It's hard for her to place her trust in men, whether you can accept it or not. I don't think she was leading you on or toying with your heart. She just wasn't ready. You can't ask for anything more."
"We didn't have any bloody time," he whispered, feeling the tears well up in his eyes again. "She would have loved me, I know it. It's not fair. There's not anything I can do to save her, you know. The deal was totally legit, even if it wasn't with her permission. Because she's her father's daughter she's bound to the agreement."
"I'm working on it. I haven't given up-I won't give up," she promised. "But you can't either or my efforts are for naught."
"It's difficult."
"It's life. Welcome to the real world." Aphrodite placed a hand on his shoulder, muttering a few words in a language he didn't recognize. Within seconds, his eyes were closed and he was asleep. She pressed him down so his was prone and a blanket materialized out of the air.
"Sleep, James. There's nothing you can do now."
"Aphrodite. I spoke with Melpomene."
"I thought you'd thought this finished, Artemis?" Aphrodite said bitterly.
"I'm stubborn. What do you want from me? Are you going to cooperate or shall we work on our own and give them a lesser chance of being happy again?"
"Fine. What did She tell you?"
*~*
Lily, still sitting on the floor in her room, began to feel nauseous as she heard the door begin to unlock and open.
He was here.
"The Master requests your presence at dinner. There are clothes in your wardrobe." Marshall began to close the door. "I shall await you out here in the hall to escort you."
She didn't budge. She'd be damned if she changed for Victor. But now her mind was working again, as if she'd just drunk five cups of coffee. And she was plotting.
There had to be some way out. She couldn't be stuck her until the last day of her life, surrounded by her fifty or so children. She wouldn't hear of it. She would just have to figure out where the front door was, and that would involve exploring.
She rose and went to the door. "Marshall, I should like a tour of my new home. Dinner can wait a few minutes. I want to be shown everything of import."
Marshall nodded, heading in the same direction she'd come from earlier that day.
But after dinner, Lily still had no way of getting out. And she was even more depressed than she had been when Victor told her it was impossible to kill herself.
Thankfully, the ugly foul thing didn't come to her that night, but he had made a promise during dinner that he would come the following night.
That had been enough to make her throw up right on the floor next to her chair. She refused to eat. If she was lucky, she'd faint from dehydration and hunger before then and wouldn't have to remember what the experience felt like.
*~*
Mel, Sirius, Jenny, and Remus all sat at the kitchen table in silence.
"There's something they didn't tell us," Mel said. "And James is under some sort of sleeping spell, according to Mr. Lupin there, our resident Healer."
The other three turned to look at Remus for his opinion.
"He won't wake up but he's definitely not dead. There's a certain aura about it that you can tell it was a spell cast on him, but I can't for the life of me imagine who did," he said, shrugged. "But he seems to be perfectly fine. I prefer that to before when he looked like a zombie. Whoever did it did him a favor and deserves a chocolate biscuit."
"It's been nearly fifteen hours since she left," Jenny whispered. "But we can't figure out where she went to so we can save her. He's not even listed."
"It's protected magically of course. Just because he's a squib doesn't mean that someone he knows isn't," Sirius explained. "I think we need to call in Dumbledore."
"But what can Dumbledore do?" Mel asked with a shaky sigh. "There's nothing anyone can do."
*~*
Lily ran the letter opener along her wrist, trying to cut herself. All she felt was pain, but the skin refused to break. It was fucking annoying.
Her mind kept wandering to the night she and James had first love. And why she was here.
Why didn't she love him? What was wrong with her? Was this just the way things were supposed to be? Was she just forever doomed to die like this?
He was a mistake, she decided. She should have killed herself while she'd had the chance, as she'd said she would. If only Dumbledore hadn't stuck his big, crooked nose in her business and sent her to the white house.
He was her first and last mistake.
Lily would have cried some more, if only she'd had tears left to cry. But her tears ducts were all dried up for the time being, and she could only continue to try to slice open her skin.
…But why couldn't she love him?
*~*
In his dreams, James kept thinking of his secret, the secret he'd never told Lily. About Aphrodite, how they were meant to be, how she would love him-it wasn't her choice really.
Why hadn't he told her when he'd had the chance? Now it was too late.
And his heart cried for her, cried like it'd never cried with great wracking sobs that would make even the coldest grown man cry.
He felt five and useless and weak. Why was it that the one person you always seemed to want to help was always helpless?
*~*
A/N: Yay!!! I want a cookie!!! I'm on time!!! W00t w00t!!! Yes, It's a little shorter than usual, just for the sole reason I have a bit of writer's block and nothing else to write about.
So review, my lovelies, and tell me how beautiful your Cuban princess is.
Thank you to all my reviewers, and to the one whose name I used: lol I promise I only looked up Gaelic names and that was the one that fit my description. But cool, isn't it? And if you could tell me how to pronounce it, that would be great. It's a very pretty looking name, however.
Natali K. A.
This was made for me by my evil Cali twin, Amanda, and I'm not sure it'll show up, but it's just too cool to leave out!
"http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b162/PotterChick958/whitehousespic.jpg"
Alright, yeah, you have to go to the site. But tell me it's not freaking awesome!!!!
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