Let's revisit Clotho in B.C., and maybe learn a little more about her sister's plan... ;)

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Scene 3: Heart

2020 B.C.

All was going well. As well as possible, at least, in circumstances such as these. Though unhappy in her heart, she was at peace. Pleased with all that she had done, trusting that the choice she had made - to leave the rider's side, to focus on her duties as a daughter and a Fate - was the right one.

On the island she'd last visited, Clotho had sown the seeds of progress, nourished them and watched them grow. By now, those islanders were well on their way on a path toward virtue; the progress was steady and sure, even though inevitably slow.

For this visit to earth, she had decided to land on another isle in the Aegean Sea. This one was a bit closer to the mainland, where she had last seen Rider, she reflected. Her heart had urged her to place her golden thread just slightly closer, and she'd been powerless against it.

But it was still far enough from him, she was sure. Far enough for her to carry on without distraction. Clotho recalled Atropos's observation that she seemed more distracted now than she had ever been before, but... even if that was true, she had accomplished so much more. Her heart was faraway, perhaps forever lost to her. But her heart was not what mattered. With a focused mind and a devoted soul, she could make progress toward the purpose of saving her mother, faithfully adhering to that fateful goal.

And if Rider was happy in the meantime, as her sister had told her, then... all the more reason for Clotho to be at peace with her decision. Whatever feelings he had seemed to have for her, in their passionate final moments together, had probably been no more than mere illusion. Even if a part of her had not believed her sister's words, she knew that this spark of hopeful doubt in her heart was fueled by some blind fire rather than reason. And she had to trust Lachesis. Mistrusting her own sister, on a matter such as this, would just be spiteful and selfish. She had to trust her, had to carry on.

So all was going well, even more so on this island than on the previous one. The people seemed good-natured to begin with, which made them even more amenable to the idea of leading righteous lives. Clotho came to learn that a king by the name of Polydectes had once presided over this humble isle, not long ago, and that he'd been unjust and cruel during his rule. Based on what she overheard, she wasn't sure exactly how his reign had ended, but she somehow got the sense that he was dead - and that the islanders were very glad about it.

Her first day on this isle, Clotho had made a public speech similar to the one that she'd given previously, proclaiming herself to be sent by the gods. In this instance, rather than promising miracles, she had offered to foretell future events as proof that she was indeed a godsent vessel. She was grateful that Lachesis had agreed to help her by disclosing some of her intentions, so that Clotho could use that knowledge in predicting intersections.

And on her second day on this isle, the islanders had witnessed her predictions come to pass: a fisherman crossing paths with an old friend whom he hadn't expected to ever see again; a lonely spinster stumbling into a widower, both longing for a life companion and gladly discovering that they had a great deal in common; and several other serendipitous connections. Thereafter, the townsfolk had readily placed faith in Clotho's word, making every honest effort to abide by her advice.

All was going so well, she mused as she strolled through the island's central marketplace, offering guidance to anyone who asked, smiling with sincerity at everyone she passed. So well, so smoothly...

"Cloe!"

She stopped in her tracks. Recognized the voice straightaway, as well as the leaf-green gaze that met hers when she swiveled in place.

"Cloe," Chrysaor greeted her again, approaching quickly and engulfing her in an embrace. "Thank all the gods I've found you."

At a complete loss for words, Clotho - or Cloe, as it were, though she'd not used the name in any of her subsequent visits to earth - didn't even have the presence of mind to notice that he had thanked the gods when he, like Rider, supposedly did not believe in the divine.

"Have you been all right?" he inquired, withdrawing from the hug and stepping back to look at her, green gaze full of heartfelt concern. "Were you taken, abducted from Cepheus's palace that night?"

Cloe shook her head, collecting her wits and composing herself.

"So you... chose to leave? How did you just disappear?"

She had some questions of her own. "How did you find me here?"

Chrysaor pursed his lips. "I cannot say. Not now, at any rate."

"You cannot say?" Cloe's thoughts ran rampant, in a mad haze of confusion and suspicion. "What does that even..."

"It doesn't matter. Mayhap I'll be allowed to tell you later, but-"

"Allowed?"

"-let's just leave each other to our secrets, for now. Can we do that? By all the gods, I'm just so damn glad that you're safe."

Before she could object, he clasped her in another close embrace.

"And now that I've found you, I'm bringing you back with me."

Cloe pulled herself free from his arms, from the feeling of comfort and warmth for which she'd longed, in all the time since she had left Rider's camp - the only place on earth where she belonged... but a place from which she'd needed to move on. "You're what? I won't-"

"Cloe, listen to me," Chrysaor implored, setting two firm hands on her shoulders. "This is about Rider. He is unhappy, and unwell, and set on a dark, dangerous path that is damning his soul straight to hell."

The words struck Cloe as deeply and as hard as if her eldest sister's shears had plunged straight into her immortal human heart.

"Literally to hell," Chrysaor clarified for emphasis. "This mission that he is pursuing, it - it is sure to be the death of him."

Cloe shook her head, more in dismay than in denial.

"And this, all of this, is because you left him."

She shook her head more fiercely now. "How..."

"I'd have to be blind not to know. I've known him long enough to see inside his heart, and all I see there is the love that he has lost."

"But I thought..."

"You thought what? That he would fare well enough without you, that he could possibly carry on without falling back into the wayward ways on which he'd built his life before you met? Is that why you left? Or was - was it because you didn't feel the same for him?"

Cloe summoned the courage to meet his gaze, then - and the heated mess she saw therein was just too much to comprehend. There was care, sincere and ardent, for his closest friend. But also something else. A faltering shred, a flickering streak, of selfish hope springing within his heart, it seemed...

Yet just as quickly as it had flared up, it was gone, in response to Cloe's silence. She felt everything for Rider and was not about to deny it.

"As I thought," Chrysaor uttered, lowering his eyes as if to hide whatever hope had flashed inside. "I'd never force you to do anything against your will, Cloe, but I reckoned you should know. You mean everything to him. If you want to save Rider from the rising darkness in his heart, before it consumes him and kills him, then we have to go."

If there was any chance of saving him - or even if there wasn't any chance at all, even if she was sure as hell to fail - still Cloe knew it was the only thing to do. She had always known that her heart was not what mattered; but she realized now just how much his heart did matter, to her. It meant everything.

And as for all her questions, all her rage... she knew to save all this for her next visit to the Cave, where she could confront her sister face to face.

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So what do y'all think? What was Lachesis's plan? What's gonna happen? o_O

... We shall learn much more in upcoming scenes! Next scene, we'll check in with Lacey in modern-day Greece...

** And if you liked this one, please don't forget to vote! :) **