Olympus was nothing like Thea had imagined. Disney had ruined her concept of what it should look like. She expected clouds and pillars in the sky atop a large mountain. Instead, she found herself standing in a beautiful field, wildflowers blooming everywhere with no buildings or pillars in sight.

 She stepped out of Hermes’ embrace. "Are you sure we're on Olympus? I thought it was meant to be a mountain?"

"Olympus isn't just a mountain, Thea. It's a realm. This is where the Gods live."

"But there are no temples or anything..."

"Temples are for worshippers, not Gods. We do have homes but many of the Gods prefer to live outdoors. We find the confinement of modernised buildings suffocating. Apollo's one of those Gods."

"Apollo?" Thea looked around.

"Yes, the God of the Sun." Hermes voice grew louder as if speaking to someone else. "He is hiding so he can check you out."

A voice behind Thea made her jump. "Aw come on, Hermes, why do you always ruin my fun? Don't you think he's a spoilsport, lovely Lissandre?"

Thea spun around, wondering who the velvet voice belonged to. A large man stood behind her and when Thea thought large, she meant built of muscle. Hermes was muscular but he was leaner than this guy. His blonde hair was pulled back from his face in a small ponytail, blue eyes twinkling in the light. His skin was tanned from days in the sun and he obviously had no qualms about his appearance, wearing a chiton which hung from his waist and covered his very powerful looking thighs.

Thea recalled Hermes mentioning that Apollo liked pretty faces and the leer on his face confirmed his identity.

"My name is Thea," she said warily. "Judging from the leer on your face you must be Apollo."

His smile faltered. He looked past her to Hermes. "Have you been talking about me Hermes?"

"Only that you like pretty faces. I'd daresay she's figured you out already."

Apollo looked back to Thea, face resigned."Then I guess you won't be falling for my charms."

Thea shrugged. "Sorry, but I think that's a definite no."

Sighing, Apollo leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek before she could protest. "Such a shame. You were always a conquest I wished to make. it would seem even this time round I'm doomed to failure."

Not sure what to say, Thea simply said, "Sorry."

"Don't apologise, my lovely. Who knows? In time you may change your mind."

Thea took a step back, concerned at the determination that flared in his eyes. Her back hit Hermes’ chest and his hands came up to rest on her shoulders. "Stop scaring her, Apollo, she's been traumatised enough in the last few days. She doesn't remember anything about us so she's unfamiliar with your...charms."

Apollo looked surprised. "Really? Nothing at all?"

"No, that's why I bought her here. I need help explaining who she is." Thea could hear the impatience in Hermes voice as his breath fanned the back of her neck.

"Ah, grew impatient, didn't you?" Apollo grinned and slung his arm around Thea's shoulder, pulling her away from Hermes. "Our Hermes isn't known for his patience. Of course when it comes to you he never did have much to begin with."

Thea let Apollo drag her away."Yes, I already know he hates me."

Hermes jaw tensed and he looked away. Apollo chuckled. "Hate is an understatement, my lovely. He loathed her, extensively. You and Aphrodite did quite a number on him."

Thea was still surprised she was once so close with the Gods. "I was friends with all of you?"

"I would never be friends with a lowly creature such as yourself!" Hermes growled, interrupting their conversation.

Thea spun and glared at him, hurt bubbling in her chest. "I wouldn't be friends with a cold hearted bastard such as yourself either!"

Thea thought back to Aphrodite; was she the friend Lissandre had mentioned? Thea turned back to Apollo. "What did Lissandre do?"

Thea made sure to press Lissandre's name. She was sick of being accused of Lissandre's crimes.

"That's not why we're here!" Hermes scowled, taking a step forward.

Thea looked over at Hermes and she could feel the anger rolling off him. She remembered the pain in his face back in the forest and she felt guilty again. She didn't know why but she didn't want to upset him. He may hate her but he had saved her twice and she did kind of owe him.

"Sorry, you're right. I won't bring it up again."

A flicker of surprise flashed in Hermes eyes before he turned away. She glanced at Apollo. "So, what can you tell me about Lissandre?"

Apollo led her to a small bush in the centre of the field. White, bell-shaped flowers hung from its branches, and Apollo helped her sit down beneath it. He took a seat beside her and Thea tried to shift away as his leg brushed hers. "First of all, what do you know about our history?"

"Uh, not much," she admitted. "I know Cronos ate his children and I thought Zeus sent him to Tartarus but Hermes tells me otherwise."

"Hermes is on the mark with that one. I think we should go back to the beginning though, so you have a clear understanding."

Thea nodded. "Alright, where do we start?"

"Let's start with Cronos. He is known as a Titan, born of our great mother Gaia and Uranus. He was a power-hungry creature, always desperate to please our mother. Gaia grew worried for her children as Uranus became more corrupt, and one day she asked her children to help her remove Uranus from power. All the children were too scared of their father to go against him. All but one."

"Cronos?" Thea guessed.

Apollo traced his finger up her arm and Thea squirmed. "That's correct, my lovely. He -"

Apollo was cut off as Hermes grabbed Thea's arm, yanking her away from Apollo, and he sat between them. Thea smiled gratefully at Hermes but he refused to meet her gaze. She would never admit it but she was glad Hermes was there, even if he was determined to hate her.

"As I was saying-" Apollo glared at Hermes. "- Cronos helped Gaia to remove Uranus from power, trapping him in the dark holes of Tartarus. With Uranus gone, Cronos came into power and fathered many of the Gods people know today.

“Cronos was paranoid though. He feared his power being stolen by the next generation of Gods and in his fear, he would eat his children as they were born so they could not rise against him."

"Disgusting," Thea muttered. She'd seen an old painting on the internet and that had been enough to upset her stomach.

"Yes, well, the children did not die as they were consumed but rather lived inside him. Cronos was a God of Time and he halted their aging process. I was told he was quite large by the time he'd consumed the Gods. Instead of growing out, though, he grew larger, nearing giant proportions."

"He can do that?"

"Yes, he can," Hermes interrupted. "Cronos can speed and slow the aging process and not just amongst mortals but ourselves as well. Zeus and Poseidon are both victims of his power."

"Anyway," Apollo went on, clearly annoyed at Hermes interruption. "Cronos' wife, Rhea, feared for her children and so when Zeus was born she replaced his body with that of rock, and folded it in a blanket tricking Cronos. Cronos  did not suspect a thing and swallowed the rock whole without looking to see if it was truly a child."

"So what happened to Zeus?" Thea asked.

"Zeus was raised away from Cronos' eye until he was of an age where he was powerful enough to rise against him. By then, the other Gods were rallying against Cronos, tired of his controlling nature.

“However no god was powerful enough to face him. Cronos, though not a god, was a powerful being. He'd had years to strengthen his hold of Olympus and with the other Titans backing him, there was little chance of victory."

"So what happened? How do I come into all this?"

Apollo tried to lean over Hermes to get closer to Thea, but Hermes shoved him back by putting his hand in his face. Apollo rubbed his face, scowling. "Gaia watched the increasing divide between the Titans and the Gods and grew worried. She saw a lot of Uranus in her son and feared he was on the same path as his father.

“She didn't like her children fighting. She loved each of them dearly but she couldn't allow their feuding to destroy the planet. She couldn't kill Cronos either.  So she met with the remaining Elder Gods; Eros, the God of Love, Nyx, the Goddess of the Night, and Pontus, the God of the Sea.

“The Elder Gods agreed to create a new soul - one combined with a piece from each of their souls -a child who would be powerful enough to defeat Cronos. In the Great War, once she had come of age, she would use her power to send Cronos to Tartarus."

Fascinated, Thea leaned over Hermes only to have him yank her back in annoyance."How did she send him to Tartarus?"

Hermes answered, "She was able to open Tartarus using the abilities given to her by Nyx and she sent Cronos there, trapping him for all eternity. We don't know how Lissandre trapped him there but she knew what she was doing."

Something was still bugging Thea though. "But Lissandre was mortal., Wouldn't she have been in more danger than the Gods?"

"Yes and no," Hermes continued. "Lissandre had the Gods behind her, offering protection. She also had great knowledge of her powers and could use them to defend herself as well as attack. As I mentioned before, with powers such as hers, it was decided by the Elder Gods that she would be made mortal so she could never overthrow the Gods and grow a greed for power like Cronos and Uranus."

"And if she did, she would only live a short life," Thea thought aloud.

"Correct."

Thea nodded. It was slowly starting to make sense. "So before I ask about my abilities, what about the other Titans who stood behind Cronos? What happened to them?"

Apollo shoved Hermes’ face out of the way. "Many of the Titans were sent to Tartarus with him. Those who remain free switched allegiances near the end of the war. It would seem that they have never truly been on our side, however. They’ve simply been biding their time for a chance to help their leader escape."

"So it was the Titans who helped Cronos escape?"

Apollo nodded. "It would appear so. Many of the Titans have disappeared since his escape."

Thea thought back to that awful night in the alley. "Those two men I met, were they...?"

Hermes nodded. "They were Titans. Prometheus and Epimetheus; they're brothers. I've always been wary of them - their loyalty never felt true and now we know why."

"So I set a Titan on fire?" Thea whispered, looking at her hand.

"Are you serious?" Apollo laughed. "Who did you scorch?"

"Prometheus," Hermes answered.

Apollo slapped his thigh. "This is brilliant! Oh what I would have done to be there."

"It was quite satisfying to watch," Hermes grinned.

"Anyway!" Thea said loudly, interrupting them. "What about my powers?"

"Ah yes, your powers," Apollo grunted, getting back to the topic on hand. "Basically, you can control the four elements; earth, air , water and fire."

"Get out of town," Thea laughed. "You can't be serious? All four of them?"

"All four of them!" Hermes snapped.

Thea glared at him. He didn't have to snap. She was trying to remain open minded and it was hard to wrap her head around the fact she had control of the four elements of nature.

Apollo looked at Hermes strangely, wry amusement lighting his eyes. "Yes, the four elements. Gaia blessed you with earth and nature -"

Thea remembered her dream. "In my dream, flowers bloomed where Lissandre walked."

Hermes rolled his eyes. "They only do that because she made them. She was always one for showing off."

"Oh." Thea had thought it was pretty cool.  "So what about the others?"

Apollo continued. "Pontus gifted you with water, Nyx gave you air and Eros bestowed fire upon you."

"Okay," Thea said slowly. "How do I learn to control these abilities and I guess, more importantly, how long do I have to master them?"

Apollo stood up and walked around Hermes, sitting on Thea's other side, blatantly ignoring Hermes death glare."Cronos escaped nearly three months ago. He will be weak but our estimates give us a few more months before he returns to power. He remains somewhere in the mortal realm. We don't know why he hasn't come back to the Realm of the Gods but he must have a reason. We believe he may be trying to take control of the mortal realm."

"Shit," Thea breathed.

"Exactly, so the sooner you remember how to harness your abilities, the better." Hermes moved over and dragged Thea with him, away from Apollo. "Apollo can manipulate fire to a degree so he shall be teaching you."

Apollo's leer returned and Thea smiled faintly. "Great."

"Poseidon can teach you how to use water and Persephone is our best bet for earth and nature. Unfortunately we'll have to go to the Underworld to see her as she's currently residing there."

Thea was lost again. "What?"

"Persephone was tricked into staying in the Underworld for six months of the year. She is married to Hades."

"Oh, well that sucks I guess."

Apollo shrugged. "You'd think so but she doesn't seem bothered by it when you see her. She's very good at acclimating to her environment."

"I see." They were missing one element. "Who's going to teach me to use air then?"

Hermes face broke into a sinister smile and Thea's heart sank.

 This was going to suck.

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A/N: Don't forget to let me know what you think ^_^