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- - -
Fire in the sky. A call for help.
Themyscira was burning.
From there it was a rush to get all able Amazons back on their ship. The injured were to be left on Delos to heal, with some Amazons staying to tend to them. Penthiselea in particular had been adamant in staying by Sven's side. The rest of the Varangians would also remain behind - the villagers needed men to help rebuild.
For Thor, however, missing the battle for Themyscira was simply out of the question.
"Are you certain?" Diana asked him. They stood together upon what remained of the dock, just before the ramp leading onto the Amazons' dromon.
"I've never been more certain of anything, Diana." Thor answered with absolute surety. He clenched his dominant hand, as if he'd find Jarnbjorn there. It was a strange feeling for him to be unarmed. Like he was naked.
Beside them, a stream of warriors marched up the ramp. One of them slowed and drew closer. Thor recognized her. The captain, Nubia. The dark-skinned Amazon shared a glance with Diana before turning her attention to Thor.
"Men are forbidden from Themyscira, Odinson. Even if you come to help, you will not be welcomed as a savior." She warned him - though Thor noticed her words carried much less of a bite now.
"I don't expect to be." Thor said. "And I am not seeking praise."
Nubia lifted her chin, scrutinizing the exiled prince for a long moment. Relief, reluctance, and a wilting fire, all swirling within her dark eyes.
"The God of War struck you down once already." She reminded him, not unkindly.
"He will not get another chance." Thor countered with a voice like steel. He clenched his fist again… and again found no weapon to fill it.
No matter, Thor decided. My weapons will be my fists.
Nubia, in that time, weighed her options in silence. Her full lips pressed tight together as her jaw set in thought. Finally, she let loose a heavy breath.
"Very well." The Amazon captain relented, waving Thor and Diana up the ramp. "There will be no more delays. We set sail immediately."
"Thank you, Nubia." Diana said as they fell back into the ranks of the Amazons. As they ascended, Thor felt her hand slip into his own, their fingers linking together.
Thor glanced aside, catching the look in Diana's eyes. Unspoken words in those blue pearls. Grateful words.
The softness she was offering him stabbed at his heart. Diana did not need to thank him. Not after he'd already taken so much. Her body. Her dignity.
Even in exile, Thor was still a prince. He was a man who paid his debts. And he owed Diana much and more.
Shouts rang through the air. Commotion as the crew scrambled about the main deck, rapidly preparing to get under way. Thor found it impressive just how quick they were, how disciplined. Though what struck him above all was that they were not acting under his orders. For the first time in many, many years, Thor Odinson was a passenger, not a captain.
And an unwanted passenger at that, judging from the wary looks being thrown his way. Crowded as the deck was, Thor couldn't help but notice just how much space Nubia's Amazons were giving him. The only one to remain close was Diana herself. Still holding his hand, she offered him a tiny smile.
This time her look invigorated him. A fire flickered in his heart. It burned through his doubts. Most of them, at least.
He clenched his fist yet again, wishing for the feel of Jarnbjorn.
His strength would have to be enough.
- - -
The dromon cut across the water, the striped sails catching the wind, sweeping out in arcs of white and red. Behind them, Delos was shrinking into the horizon.
Diana's stomach was coiled into a knot, tight and heavy. The ship had speed… just not enough. Home was still miles and miles away. They could sail all through the night with perfect wind and they wouldn't even be halfway there come sunrise.
Worry gripped the princess' heart. She thought of her mother and the rest of her sisters still at home, hoping to draw comfort from them. Instead she was plagued with visions of fire and death. What happened on Delos was now happening at home. Why else would they send the Arrow of Artemis across the sky?
Thor's close presence at least brought her some measure of calm.
Diana eyed the Asgardian, once more appreciating the hard, striking features of his face. A man's beauty, she noted. Shocking blue eyes over that solid jaw, his prominent lips surrounded by the thick bristles of her dark, golden beard. Then there was the matter of his size. Taller than her, he was. Taller than any of the Amazons on the ship. Even discounting his towering height, Thor cut a formidable figure. Not even his dark coat of mail could fully conceal the musculature of his powerful body. Unsurprising, Diana felt, considering he was a god.
Amidst this waking nightmare, Thor offered a most welcome sight.
"Thank you for joining us." She said to him, forcing her focus away from the horizon.
Thor shook his head.
"Don't thank me." He told her emphatically. "Not for this."
Diana wanted to hit him in his stupidly handsome face. Instead, she rolled her eyes and scoffed. In the face of Ares' destructive wrath, Thor's guilty conscience had quickly lost its charm.
"I will thank you as I please, however I please." Diana replied sharply. "You've come to fight for my family and my home. You've only known me for days. What sort of man does that?"
"I don't-"
"A good man. You are more noble than you think, Odinson. And I will tell you until you learn this."
Thor ground his teeth. Diana could see the muscles tensing along his throat. He opened his mouth to retort but stopped. The flicker across his brow told her he thought better of it.
Finally, he let out a sigh.
"Thank me when we have defeated Ares." He said.
"I mean to." Diana answered with feeling. She drew closer to him, uncaring of the stares from the other Amazons. "No matter what my mother or anyone thinks."
She squeezed his hand in hers. His touch was warm, firm. Almost enough to make her calm… but her thoughts drifted to home again. It had been some time since the Arrow of Artemis had raced across the evening sky. How much of Themyscira had Ares laid waste to already? How many Amazons had he-
"Your mother is alive."
Thor's deep voice snapped through the storm of thoughts in her head. Diana met his eyes, seeing the care and warmth he had for her. It brought up a lightness in her chest, a not so displeasing feeling. Still, worry remained. Cold roots worming deep into her gut.
"Does Ares strike you as a merciful god?" She took her hand from his, turning towards the sea again. Thor stayed at her side, leaning against the ship's railing.
"No. But from the stories you've told me, Queen Hippolyta is a formidable woman. Not the type to die easily."
Though he'd never met her mother, Thor spoke true of the Amazon queen. His words brought Diana a sliver of relief. She knew well how fierce Hippolyta could be. Her mother was as talented a warrior as any of her subjects.
But would that prowess keep her alive?
A frustrated groan forced up Diana's throat. She slapped her hands down on the wooden railing.
"I just wish this damned ship would sail faster!"
Thor grimaced then, mirroring Diana. "If I still had all my power, I might call a storm for us."
"Perhaps we still can."
It was Nubia who spoke. The elder Amazon did not bother to explain herself, drifting past Diana and Thor as she moved to the center of the deck. Quiet mutterings spread through the crew as their captain came to a stop beneath the main sail. She raised her arms overhead, palms facing the starry sky.
Diana's brow rose in shock. She realized what Nubia was doing even before the words left her mouth.
"Oh, Lord Poseidon, hear my prayer." The Amazon captain called to the heavens. The mutterings from the onlookers ceased, the whole crew falling into a disciplined silence. "Earth-shaker, trident-bearer, master of the roaring sea, I call upon you in this dark hour. Your faithful subjects are in great need. Grant us your favor, oh mighty Poseidon. Bless us with your storm! Bless us with your wind!"
There was a long silence. The only answer was the song of rolling waves, the groaning of their ship as it rocked upon the water.
Diana felt Thor shift on his feet, restless as he was. She knew he wanted to say something, but she held up one hand to quiet him.
Just wait, she told him with her eyes. Just wait.
So they waited. The seconds kept ticking by, stretching on. Nubia still kept her eyes on the sky above. Many other Amazons, too. Even Diana cast her gaze skyward, hoping for an answer.
Just as the quiet started to become unbearable, Diana felt it. A tremor beneath her feet. Faint at first, but growing stronger. It was joined by a sound, a deep, powerful rumbling hanging just at the edge of hearing.
Diana's heart quickened. Among the Amazons on deck, there were murmurs and bustling. They all felt it. They all heard it. Then came a shout, splitting the air.
"There! To the north! Movement in the water!" Cried the lookout. A rush of bodies followed, dozens of Amazon warriors pouring towards the ship's northern flank. Diana and Thor went along with them.
The princess put her eyes on the sea and gasped.
"By the gods…."
The water was foaming, distending, as if something enormous was rising from the depths. A blue glow shone beneath the surface, growing brighter. Then the surface was bulging - the great mass was rising and rising and rising. Yet the water never broke. Only when the mass loomed twenty feet high did Diana realize the truth of it. It wasn't something beneath the sea. It was the sea! The water itself was coming alive!
It took shape, waves crashing together into the form of… something. Still it rose, forty feet tall now. It towered over the dromon's main deck and the sailors below. Some Amazons shouted and cursed while others prayed. Most were too stunned to speak.
Nubia remained at the center of it all, calm, still, and silent. Her expression was serene, fearless even as the living mass of water formed a face of its own.
The blue glow took the shape of two eyes, while the water morphed into the familiar lines of a nose, a brow, a mouth. Solid and masculine. The face of a man. Arms took shape next, broad shoulders, the musculature of a torso.
Yes, definitely a man. A giant just like Ares.
A number of Amazons were still shouting - trying to banish their fear with battle zeal. They shook their spears, ready for another fight. But the sea-giant did not attack. The looming figure waded closer to the ship, peering down with those glowing eyes. Impossibly, its movement brought about no disturbance in the water. The dromon didn't so much as tilt.
"So you have called upon me, Amazon. So do I answer." The sea-giant spoke. His voice was powerful and booming, rattling Diana down to her bones. More than one Amazon flinched at the crack of his words.
Diana could only stare up in awe. She reached out for Thor, touching his arm and finding him tense.
"My lord Poseidon!" Nubia shouted, arms raised once more. "You honor us with your presence! Ares has-"
"Ares has launched an unprovoked attack upon the Amazons!" Thor thundered as he marched across the deck. Diana didn't have the chance to stop him. "He is laying waste to their home. Just as he did to the people of Delos. One of yours, is he not? Is that how the mighty and just Olympians treat their subjects?"
Poseidon, the sea-giant, set his focus upon the Asgardian. Diana held her breath, fearing a repeat of Thor's one-man assault upon the God of War.
"Ares has gone against the will of Zeus." Poseidon announced then. The giant crossed his arms, his watery face shifting into an expression resembling satisfaction. "You will find the God of War has few friends on Olympus now. Fewer even than an Asgardian prince."
Thor was taken aback.
"You know who I am?"
"You have the look. I can smell the godhood on you, boy. And Zeus' circle knew of your presence the moment your ship crossed into our waters. You are a long way from home, Odinson."
As Thor mulled over the revelation, Diana took the chance to step forward. She calmed her nerves as the sea-giant turned those glowing blue eyes upon her.
"Ares claimed that the Amazons betrayed Olympus. He claimed he was delivering us our due punishment." Anger simmered under her skin as each word passed through her lips.
"Did Ares speak lies?" Nubia pressed, sounding equally incensed. It was not comfort Diana felt then, but satisfaction. A part of her was pleased that their fury was shared.
"He did not speak the truth." Poseidon answered. "Perhaps Ares truly believed you Amazons had committed a transgression against the gods, but it was not his place to pass judgement."
"He passes judgement on Themyscira at this very moment, Lord Poseidon." Diana pushed back urgently. "Will you help us stop him?"
The mass of seawater that made up the giant's face shifted again, turning into the expression of a man deep in thought. Poseidon stroked his beard - sending down a shower of mist over the deck as he did. All beneath him were tense, quiet as they awaited the god's answer.
"Olympians may not make war with Olympians. That is the law as decreed by Zeus." Poseidon told them firmly.
Diana's heart sank. Nubia threw up her hands. Thor stomped forth, right to the edge of the deck. Right under Poseidon's gaze.
"So you will do nothing?" Thor challenged.
"I did not say that, Asgardian." Poseidon let out a hmph as he turned his attention back to Nubia. His look was less severe now… as was his tone. "You called upon me in your hour of need, noble Amazon. The Master of the Sea will answer."
The glow from the giant's eyes faded into dark, vanishing from the core of his towering, watery form. It held the shape of a man for only a second longer before starting to come apart. Tons of water suddenly snared by the power of gravity, hurtling back towards the sea. Diana ducked her head as the deck was pelted with salty rain.
Through the heavy shower, Diana heard Thor bite out a curse. When it was over, she glanced his way, seeing her lover shake his arms, his whole body. He, like everyone else, was soaked down to the bone. He swept his hand through his drenched hair, spitting seawater from his mouth.
"Your God of the Sea has fled." He muttered to her.
"Wait." It was Nubia's voice that snapped through. "Do you feel that?"
Diana did feel it. It was faint but very much there. A rumbling beneath their feet. The dromon let out a groan, the whole deck tilting. Nubia went to the railing, peering over the side. Diana followed and saw an oddity that left her stunned. The sea had come alive again, churning and rippling along the hull of the ship.
Then the vessel lurched and Diana almost lost her balance. She clung to the railing as the ship was propelled through the water. Across the deck, voices rose up, shouts of shock and confusion. Then Poseidon's booming voice came again, sounding from everywhere at once.
"I will ferry you to your island, Amazons." The God of the Sea declared. "Though your battle with Ares must be fought alone."
Quieted murmurs turned into scattered cheers. Diana could feel the renewed vigor washing over the crew. For her, Poseidon's promise offered a small bout of relief. Thor, though, did not seem satisfied in the slightest. He said nothing.
It was Nubia who answered for them all.
"We will take it. Thank you, Lord Poseidon." She shouted towards the rolling waves.
"Put an end to Ares' wrath and Zeus might be thanking you."
From there, the God of the Sea spoke only through the living waves surging their ship forward.
Even the wind had come to their aid, snapping the sails out with powerful gusts. Cutting through the water as they were now, Diana thought they might have been the fastest ship to ever sail. Though a dark thought remained stuck in her head - even with their blessing of speed, time was not on their side.
She felt Thor's presence again. He had drawn up close, the look on his dripping face telling her he could sense her fear. Amazons were not supposed to feel fear. They were not supposed to take men as lovers, either.
Diana took in a deep, deep breath and put her eyes where the sky met the sea. Somewhere over the horizon was home. Her mother. The rest of her sisters.
And Ares.
Diana took Thor's hand and squeezed.