"Antheia."

The whisper came to her through the gloom. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as icy fingers of fog brushed over her exposed skin. After the heat of the campfire, it was like being tossed back into the river once more. The chill of its touch seeped right down to her very bones.

Antheia shivered. Her stomach knotted as she glanced from side to side, unable to make out anything but shadows in the dark. And yet -.

"Who's there?" Antheia demanded. Like being in a cave, her voice spoke back to her, demanding over and over again but growing fainter with every reverberation. "Show yourself to me."

Her angry voice shouted back, fading with each word until the only sound to reach her was her own harsh breathing. Antheia's heart pounded in her chest and her mouth grew dry.

Edging forwards, grit crunched beneath her feet. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides as she moved forwards blindly, her fingers nails biting into the palms of her hands. The sharp pain cleared some of the fog in her mind.

Drawing in a deep breath, her eyes strained against the darkness. It was like all those times before, when she had no one but herself for company, and yet somehow different. It was like a dream and yet unlike any dream she had ever had. Her body had the odd lethargy of sleep and yet, she had never been so alert.

Perhaps the events of the past day had been the dream? Maybe she was still there in the forest, stuck in her own body and isolated from the world. Perhaps time had finally won? There here had been more times than she could count that she had been stuck in a dream - no, nightmare - that there was no waking from. Yet, everything had seemed so real.

It was real.

It had to be.

Antheia shook her head. Fabric rustled as something shifted beside her, the scent of life and death flooding her senses.

Gritting her teeth, Antheia ground out, "Enough games. I demand you answer me."

A harsh cackle flooded through the air, a body emerging through the gloom so close that Antheia stumbled back a step.

The warmth of their rancid breath, an unpleasant mixture of fish and onions, crashed over Antheia's face as they rasped, "Demanding now, are we child?"

Antheia's head snapped back as if she had been struck with a fist. Their barely retrained power crashed over her a moment later like a wave against the rocks. They had been cloaking it before, showing only an ounce of their true strength. She felt it all now. Warm hands caught Antheia's shoulders, steadying her before she could fall. She barely registered them even as her legs shook. Instead, Antheia was consumed by the uncomfortable sensations coursing through her body. The power burned at her nerve endings, sending spasms through her limbs. She could even taste their magic on her tongue.

She grimaced. No, that was just the onion.

Bad breath aside, it was —familiar.

There was a swish of long robes as they stepped away, another taking their place. This one on a tide of floral perfumes.

"We see all." They said, voice strong and soothing even in her disorientation.

A third voice whispered from behind her, so close their lips brushed her ear. It was a warm comforting beacon in the darkness. "All you were."

"All you are."

"All you could be."

Antheia's breath stuttered in her chest. Could it truly be?

"We see you." They finished the words together, a discordant melody that rang uncomfortably in her ear. Still, the taste of their terrifying gifts was so familiar it was like coming home. Coming home to find out your three equally terrifying aunts were visiting for the summer.

Antheia blinked, her hands uncurling as she shook her head. "Moirai."

The elder voice cackled before descending into a deep rasping cough. "Took you long enough, little goddess."

The gloom seeped away to reveal acres of earth around them, the ground and skies barren but the three of them.  Dressed head to toe in embroidered robes, they cut an unforgettable sight. Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos were unchanged despite the years that had passed. They were just as eerie as they had been during her childhood. Their iris glowed a bright purple, lit from within with an otherworldly light.

Jutting up her chin, Antheia muttered, "Are the dramatics truly necessary?"

The younger of the three sniffed, tilting her head so that her long dark hair swayed down her back. "You should have some respect for your elders. Besides, what's a little game between friends?"

Antheia resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She could only imagine what games they would play with her lifeline if she did. The Moirai, or the three fates as they were named by the mortals, had been frequent visitors to Olympus in her youth. Zeus consulted them like the mortals consulted oracles, desperate for guidance in a strange world. Yet, even familiarity did not make their presence any easier to bear. Under the focus of all three, it was like she had been cleaved down to her immortal soul and left open to their unnerving stare.

Perhaps they had? After all, they spun the threads of life and determined its end. Were they looking at her own thread and watching it fray as her life meandered towards its end?

Antheia swallowed and turned her head only to come face to face with Clotho, her dainty feet dancing over the dirt and her face untouched by the ravages of time. She would have been just another extraordinarily beautiful woman if not for her eyes. Her eyes always gave it away. They spoke of something ancient. They allowed just a glimpse of the incredible power contained within the innocuous packaging. 

"I thought you were all gone." Antheia said finally, her eyes flitting from Clotho, to Lachesis, before finally settling on Atropos as they circled her. It was like being surrounded by vultures waiting for their next meal. "I thought I was alone."

"It is true, life moves in cycles."

"Things come."

"Things live."

"Things go."

"But we stand outside the cycle. Walking alongside but never a part of."

Antheia frowned, her arms wrapping around her waist at the thought. Was their fate worse than hers? To always watch but never be a part of anything.

"- you are not the last."

"Wait." Antheias's breath hitched in her chest. "I'm not alone? Who else lives? Where can I find them?"

"So many questions."

"But not the time for answers."

"Answers will come soon enough."

Antheia stomped her foot. "What use are you then?"

"Patience, daughter of Zeus." The trio replied, their voices overlapping so that they were almost one. "We come with a warning."

Antheia's breath stuttered in her chest. "Warning?"

"Their voice whispers in the ear of mortals." One began only for another of the fates to continue. "You must be ready or another priestess will fall."

"It was them, wasn't it? They caused the massacre." Antheia's stomach lurched at the implication.

"Yes, little goddess."

"Who?"

"We cannot say."

"We cannot get involved."

Antheia's hand snapped out and grasped onto the arm of the nearest fate, her fingers clenching tight. "Stop with the games. Why come to me if you are not going to help?"

"We are helping -."

"You just have not seen it yet."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Antheia asked but already they were fading as something shifted in the air around them. "Wait, I have so many questions."

"Have faith, little goddess."

"You are on the path you need to be on."

"Just be brave enough to walk it."

And then, between one breath and the next, they were gone.

Spinning on her heel, the ground beneath Antheia's feet transformed from barren field to lush grass, wild flowers shooting up around her feet. The fates' magic seeped away taking with it her only hope of answers. Reaching down, Antheia's fingers brushed over the delicate petals.

Bowing her head, she sighed loudly. It appeared her troubles were only just beginning.

**

Antheia lost all track of time. The dream never altered, only a slight breeze coursing through the grass at interval as if to remind her of the passage of time. Yet, she registered it with only a passing care. Instead, her mind played over the Moirai's warning over and overs again.

Who could have betrayed her?

And why?

Her devotees had been peaceful, content to just work the land and provide for their families. They didn't go looking for war. Sure, there were a few bad apples as with every settlement. But, for that to condemn them all?

No. It wasn't about them. Of that she was sure. The desecration of her temple was personal. If only Antheia knew who she had offended so deeply.

As the vivid pictures of the last night in her temple, confronted with blood and gore in every direction, the fire within grew hotter. The stomach churning lurch of guilt warred with the growing need for revenge. It was a new. She had never been a vengeful goddess. She had always left that to Zeus and the other Olympians. But now? Now, she could see the allure.

Antheia opened and closer her fits as she strode amongst the wildflowers.

She would give anything to go back. Anything. But, she had been around divine powers long enough to know that there were just some events which could not be changed.

No matter how much Antheia wished it.

Bird chatter started on the wind. Quietly at first before becoming more distinct as it drifted closer, piercing through the fog of her dreams.

The bird chatter became words, whispers of ghosts following her footsteps.

Antheia had surely drawn them to her, so focused on the what could have beens and what might have beens.

It took longer than she would have liked to understand the words being whispered around her. The knot in her stomach released. They weren't the voices of her past, shouting her failings in an endless loop of grief and negativity. Instead, the voices were young. Gentle. Curious.

"Do you think we should wake her up?"

"Daddy said we should let her sleep."

Antheia's lips curled upwards.

"I want her to wake up. Poke her."

"No, you do it."

Chuckling, Antheia peeled open her eyes only to find several small faces hovering above hers.

"Did you know you snore? I didn't realise princesses snored." Ellie commented bluntly. She peered down at Antheia imperiously, her earlier trip in the river a distant memory.

"She's not a princess." The young boy huffed. "She's a goddess."

Ellie's brows rose in disbelief. "She doesn't look like a goddess." She sniffed. "She should glow."

He huffed and folded his arms over his chest.

"Hello, children." Antheia muttered, pushing herself upright and shaking her head to clear the fog from her head. "And, I will have you know, a goddess does not snore."

"Does too. I recorded it on Daddy's phone."

The young girl held up a small looking glass, only the reflection showed a different version of her.  It was like the scrying pool of the fates. Only worse. Much worse. Ellie tapped a dainty finger on the glass and, almost instantaneously, the imagine began to move as a loud rumble filled the air between them. Zeus almighty but that was worse that the minotaur.

"Make it stop. How do we make it stop?" Antheia questioned, tapping at the device but somehow starting the sound from the beginning once more.

The children only giggled in response, their hands over their clutched tightly over their ears even as they made the grating sound play over and over again. Antheia's cheeks flushed bright red and pushed herself up on her feet.

Folding her arms over her chest, she raised a single eyebrow as she stared down at the miniature humans. When they were undeterred, she drew in a deep breath to command them, gathering what little of her gifts she had recouped.

"Ah, Sleeping Beauty. You're awake." Owain called across the campfire, beaming as he stirred a pot hanging over the fire.

Antheia blinked. "My name is Antheia."

He banged the spoon on the side of the pot before rising gracefully. "Sorry, it was just a joke. You were sleeping like the dead, you were." 

Ellie chose that moment to restart the video, the volume somehow twice as loud as before.

"Enough, Ellie. And I'll have my phone back now." Owain held his hand out and set his stern gaze on his daughter.

Reluctantly, the device was slipped into his waiting hand. Antheia bit her lip and glanced away at the sight of her priestess's pout. She knew all too well the power of a father's disappointment. She had been on the receiving end of a similar look more than once.

"Don't give me that look, Eleanor." Owain said gruffly, slipping his phone into the pocket. "Go and get washed up, dinner is almost ready." He watched as his daughter and her friends strode off before giving a shake of his head. "I don't know where she gets if from."

Antheia's lips curled upwards as she glanced in the direction the children had disappeared to. "She has a strong will."

"She definitely has that." He laughed and ran a hand through his hair. Then, after a moment, his throat worked as he blinked back tears. "God, to think I could have lost her today." He shook his head and drew in a shuddering breath. "I can never repay you."

"No payment is necessary."

He nodded his head, wiping at the tear making its escape down his cheek. "Well, I hope you're read. We have a great feast of slightly burned burgers and very burnt chicken."

His eyes twinkled as he spoke. Antheia frowned. Her hand rested briefly over her fluttering stomach before she continued to brush at her skirts, removing the twigs and debris snagged in the fabric. Unsettled, Antheia plastered on a grin and replied, "Sounds delicious."