Hot day in Paris [P, Essay]

It was quite a sunny day in the capital of France. Not a single cloud could be seen in the sky, as the sun shone over the beautiful city of Paris. One would think of it as a perfect time to relax and take a walk in the park, if it wasn’t for one small detail: it was immensely hot. The bikini-dressed weather-woman on national television informed the viewers that the current temperature was at 35 degrees Celsius, set to peak at 39 in the early afternoon. This is one of the reasons the streets of Paris were almost empty. The people were grouped into two different kinds. The first one decided to stay home, squeezing their air-conditioning system tightly and supplying themselves with unimaginable amounts of refreshing drinks. The other group knew it was much more effective to search for refreshment in the, somewhat, soothing waters of many pools and small beaches set around the city. This left the cafés in the city quite empty, apart from the ones grouped on the edge of the city’s river Seine. It was hot indeed.

Isabelle Beaulieu sat in a comfy chair of one of the cafés near the Louvre Museum. The place was close enough to the river to have that watery scent and occasional gusts of fresh air ease the immense heat, yet far enough so it was rather empty. In fact, it seemed as if all of the other tables were empty. “Such a shame” the young girl thought as she took another sip of the ice-cold lemonade from a nicely decorated glass in front of her. She really loved this place, and it was a shame to see it at this state. She smiled at the waiter who was standing at the bar, obviously not too excited about the lack of public as well. He smiled back, they always did. Bella didn’t know why all the people disliked the heat. When it was cold, everyone complained, and now that it was warm nothing seemed to change. People were really hard to please, on some demands.

The girl wiggled the toes on her right foot, signalizing the boy in front of her that he had hit the right spot. He looked at her for a second and smiled, before looking down and continued rubbing the girl’s feet which were positioned in his lap. Some guys really liked acting as foot cushions on which she could rest her tired little feet. That was rather convenient. “Jacques honey, could you lift that parasol just a tad higher, my left shoulder is dangerously close to being exposed to the sun” Isabelle said in her sweet voice, as a muscular shirtless guy who was standing behind her agreed and did what she asked. The girl smiled as she turned around and patted him on the tummy, saying mild words of thanks. From time to time one had to reward the boys for being so kind. Not that they had much choice really, but they have still shown some effort. Isabelle leaned back into her chair, taking another sip of the lemonade as soft gushes of wind touched her face. The refreshing wind came from another two guys, standing at her sides and swinging tropical-styled fans up and down. Yes, this was rather refreshing. Bella closed her eyes as the tingling taste of lemonade hit her. She really had no idea why other people disliked this kind of weather.

Isabelle leaned herself forward a bit, as the guy with a fan from the girl’s right side approached her and knelt down. He took a golden bottle of sunscreen from a big beach bag on the floor and poured some of the colorless liquid into his hand. The girl closed her eyes and sighed as the cold hands touched her shoulders and started massaging the cream into her skin. Sure, she was still protected from the sun by the parasol, but it was best to be sure. She despised sunburns, as it was one of the things that made the skin look vaguely unattractive. Back in her days, the sun was far less dangerous and one could enjoy the wonders of sunbathing as much as they wanted. It was much harder nowadays, as people have somehow managed to destroy the Ozone layer, so that now the bad rays of the sun were proposing a harm to the people’s skin. It was rather inconvenient indeed.

The liquid’s coolness soon faded and the girl could feel immense heat coming from her right side, as no fans were creating wind from there anymore. She took another sip of lemonade, less than half of the glass remaining, to try and cool herself down while the guy finished making sure she is protected. A few moments later the pressure on her back stopped, as the boy walked back to his original position and started moving the fan up and down again, creating the much needed wind. Isabelle smiled as she took a few green grapes from a bowl that was on the table next to her, and slowly placed them into her mouth. The sweet yet sour taste filled her mouth, as the girl smiled and closed her eyes. Eating grapes while being served, this reminded her of home. Perhaps she could go there again one day, see what is left of that old hill of Olympus she used to call her home. Memories, sweet memories.

"You control these mortals well! Perhaps you could assist me in my recent short comings?” an unknown voice woke the girl up from her thinking and made her open her eyes. She looked in front of her, searching for a cause of that weird voice, and she soon found it. Standing before her was a young boy, dressed in a weird looking green outfit. Talk about a lack of fashion sense. Bella knew that some people had a weird taste, but to dress like that was somewhat repulsive. She raised herself in her chair slightly so that she could see the figure a bit better, as a guy massaging her feet was partially standing in her way… or kneeling, what ever. "You see I was wrongfully sent here by Odin's orders and would like to use your Bifrost to return to my own home. Direct me to where you're keeping your bridge so I may cross." the boy continued, not even waiting for her reaction. And what was he talking about anyway? The name Odin sounded somewhat familiar but nothing else rang a bell in the girl’s head.

“I have no idea what you may be talking about youngling” she said uninterestingly as she took another small piece of grape and put it into her mouth, “I know of no Odin, and have no clue what an Bifrost is whatsoever.” Bella turned towards the guy who was massaging her feet a few moments and sent him a small mental note before continuing, “I don’t own a bridge, but this guy does a great bridge pose if you are interested.” As the girl spoke the guy laid down on his back, before raising his arms and using them to support his weight as he contracted his knees and pushed his hips forward, making a perfect bridge position that the girl had learned in yoga-lesions. It was some weird exercising thing of the newer century, but she found it to be quite relaxing. The guy soon sat back down and smiled, as the girl said “Try crossing over that” before letting out a small laugh and leaning back again, positioning herself in her chair. Who ever this new guy was, he would have to learn to explain what he needs far better if he wanted her help.

The little boy surely didn’t like Bella mocking him, as his following actions weren’t the most polite ones. Acting like true child, the boy pointed his finger at the girl and began another speech. "You dare speak to a god with such words?! I served directly under King Loki himself! You speak to me with respect, woman! Surely you must know of the bridge between worlds! How else would you mortals cross the galaxies to-..." he said, stopping in the middle of the sentence and giving the girl just enough time to try and figure out what he was talking about. Loki was another name that sounded awkwardly familiar to the girl, but just as in the previous case she just couldn’t put a finger on where she had heard it before. What really got the girl’s attention was the fact that the boy called himself God. How could it be possible that someone like him could have such power. Was he teasing her? Or perhaps the old fools in Olympus took some new recruits in lately. He sure wasn’t one of her kind, not one that she knew of anyway.

"Yea that's it. You all are too remedial to even understand how to create such a bridge between worlds. It all makes sense as to why I haven't seen a mortal before this day! So you don't know of the gate, then. Your intelligence must be above the rest of these mortals if you can control them on a whim. I'm interested to know how you do it. My experiences come through fear, while yours seem to stem from another source. Perhaps... lust?" the boy continued, crossing his arms over his chest and nodding slightly as he spoke. Isabelle got slightly upset and raised an eyebrow at the boy when he dared calling her remedial, but he soon made up for it noting that she was probably smarter than the others. Being the smartest of the stupid ones wasn’t a compliment, and the girl wondered what gave him the right to call her that. She let out a small laugh and raised herself in her seat a bit once more as the boy suggested a way he thought she was using to control the guys who were standing around her. Lust… well, he wasn’t too far from the truth.

"Perhaps this is a form of Sorcery I'll be able to learn one day. I'd be lying if I said I didn't covet it for myself… Though, I wouldn't want to rule solely men. My name is… Mischief. What is yours, if you don't mind me asking?" the boy continued once more, looking at the girl as he put his hand to his side and smiled at her. It wasn’t a regular smile tho, not the one the girl was used to, no, this one was filled with something evil and crazy. “My name is Venus, and I would not be completely honest if I said it was a pleasure to meet you youngling” Bella said as she got up from her chair, placing her hands to her sides, almost mimicking the boy’s stance. She wasn't going to give out her full name just yet, but her other one should be enough for the boy. From this angle he looked even shorter than before, compared to her at least. “Now, what is that nonsense about you being a God? If you really were one I would know, considering I am one as well. Did that old fool Zeus hire you to clean his part of Olympus so you now think you have the right to call yourself a God?” she asked. Her voice got slightly louder when she was talking about a place she used to call home, so she tried calming down in her next question, “Pardon me. And who are those people you are talking about? Please tell me more, little boy.” Bella smiled towards the young boy in a way that only she knew. It was important for her to get some sort of information on what was going on in the world. She had been locked away for too long, she had little idea of what was happening around her. Perhaps this boy could help after all. He seemed to know… stuff.

"I am not one of the foolish gods your people used to worship. They were just a phase. I hear these days the humans worship other gods instead.” the young boy said, not fully answering the girl’s question. However, Bella had to agree with him on one term. She saw people around her pray to new gods, some with rather weird names, the ones she had never heard about before. Another thing is that she hadn’t heard anyone mention her, or any of her relatives from Olympus. Even when she asked some librarians about it they gave her a book about Ancient Greece. It seemed that they have been replaced with new Gods. She didn’t really understand what their powers were, but they didn’t seem to be as powerful as her and others from way-back-when. It was insulting at first, but now she was beginning to slowly get used to it. Had much less responsibility this way, and not like any of her powers have been decreased. However, she missed being called to help by young maidens in order to solve their love issues, that was somewhat fun.

That is when something extremely strange happened. The boy approached one of her servants and put his foot on the man’s back. Almost instantly the boy’s face and body started changing, and when they stopped he looked exactly like her “foot-holder” guy. "Unlike your Gods that hide in the clouds, forgotten by most of humanity, I'm the here and now. And my power, compared to theirs, is very real." the guy said, looking at her, as Bella still tried to process what had just happened. It has been some time since she saw anything like that, and it reminded her of good old days. He did have a point actually, wherever they were, her companions were not doing anything worth mentioning. She couldn’t complain, as she wasn’t exactly working her behind off, trying to bring back the reign of the Greek Gods. But this little guy was, and that’s why he had to be admired.

The boy gave Bella a weird look before starting to circle around her as a green light appeared between his hands. The light soon got shape, as a small model of what seemed to be a large castle. "This is where I reside. Or at least… used too. A Kingdom beyond this world. A kingdom where gods reside." he said before she even had time to ask questions. The replica was rather small, but it still looked stunning, a place of true grace. It slightly reminded Bella of Olympus. Nostalgia hit her right in the face, as she remembered her beautiful palace, full with beautiful sculptures, and waterfalls in which she could disappear when someone was annoying her.

"I must say your power is pretty impressive. Have you ever wished to rule more than just the foolish men around you? These mortals have turned their back on their true gods. We're what they should inspire to be! Every woman should wish to have your beauty. Every man should wish to wed a woman, such as yourself. You could be a queen amongst these people. Everyone bending to your whim. Isn't that better than playing with these fools? The potential you have is astounding. Together, we could do anything!" the guy kept talking as the model slowly faded away, along with his “stolen” appearance. He was now the same little boy in weird suit from before. This was the first time that the girl thought that the boy might be older than he portrayed. There was no way he could learn to flatter a girl like that in his short life-span. Perhaps he was just trying to use her, but then again everything was better than where she was now.

“I agree with you young chap!” Bella said as she got out of her chair and stood up again, “People these days are way too irresponsible. They have dropped the true virtues that they had when we were ruling over them.” She slowly walked towards the boy and put her hand around his immature shoulder. She needed more excitement in her life, and perhaps she could do some good along the way. Sure, it would bring additional benefits to herself as well, but that was just a bonus. “I am going to help you little guy” she said with a smile, “Together we will restore the balance, and put the mortals back in their place.” This way they could finally restore the old glory of the Olympians, her people who were not forgotten and treated as nothing by a myth. "But we might need more people to help us in this quest. We have a big job ahead of us." As she spoke, the four guys who were serving her all got up and turned their attention to the two. Perhaps she could make her own little army, see how Ares felt in wars. That would be fun.

"I'm most likely older than you! I'm no child!" the boy said, pouting just like a try baby. If he wanted her to stop calling him youngling the guy would have to start acting like a grown up too. Besides, she had no idea why he thought he could be older than her. Even if he was a god he belonged to a newer group of deities or something like that, while she was one of the original gods. “Sure you are, little champ!” she said with a big smile before letting out another small laugh. It was fun, annoying the boy, and him pouting like that just made her enjoy it even more.

"I'll handle getting more people to help with our cause. You don't have to worry about that. Though, I've decided to set up base in the states. There's a certain something that needs to happen for us to reclaim the balance, and it all starts in DC. The fastest way to get there would be by air... But I haven't reclaimed all my abilities to be able to fly there so easily..." the boy finally responded to the girl’s previous statement. Bella was almost sure she would be much more successful in making more people want to join them, but she didn’t want to say anything. It was quite obvious that the little guy came with a big ego, and as much fun as it would be, hurting that ego wouldn’t be beneficiary for her at the moment. On the other hand she had no idea of the ‘States’ he was talking about, but that was another thing she was willing to keep silent about, especially after the boy calling her dumb a few moments ago.

"Is there any such way to travel such long distances in a small margin of time? I'm not familiar with the current form of transportation here. Back where I'm from, it consisted of flight and teleportation… I don't believe this "Earth" is that advanced to allow such gifts." he continued. Yes, the Earth has improved a lot since she was in her prime. Now the people have all kinds of weird flying machines used to transport from one place to another. “We could always take a plane. Not like you know what that is, but I assume we could get to that place of yours in eight hours tops, as I reckon it’s pretty far away…” The girl had never been on a plane since she took this new body, but it did seem like an interesting way of traveling. The commercials on TV sure made it look that way.

[end - Join the topic in DC named "Meanwhile..?" mi amor <3 Takes place after our travels together]

"Ah yes, I was just about to say that! Lead me to one of these..'planes' so we can be off!" the boy said, snapping his fingers in front of the girl. Bella actually had no idea how to get to the place where the planes were, but that wasn't a problem. She could always stop a car and tell the driver to take the two to them. It wasn't that big of a deal.


"Once this is over, and I become King of this world. Surely you'll be by my side as queen, correct?" he continued, putting his hand over the girl's shoulders, barely reaching them actually. "Maybe when you grow up, mon petit!" she said with a smile, patting the boy's head before starting to walk slowly out of the cafe and towards the street. It was kinda sad to leave her new 'friends', but she could always get new ones. "Right this way."

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