Sterling stared at her, trying to come up with a logical explanation for her presence. For her survival. Two hundred years was far beyond the human lifespan, yet she didn't look a day over twenty-seven. Many paths existed to prolong someone's life, his own existence proved that. But he wouldn't wish such longevity on anyone, especially not her.
"How long has it been?" He finally asked.
Lila rolled her eyes. "You know better than anyone that it takes two hundred years for an eclipse to grace the same spot."
"That's not what I meant and you know it. How long has it been since time stopped touching you?"
"Is that what this is about?"
"Lila...."
She scrunched her face in thought, and for a moment she looked exactly as he remembered her during their last meeting. The meeting that had been brought to an abrupt halt when Lucian showed up to take him away, though neither of them had known it then. "Five years after the eclipse," she finally said.
Sterling raised his eyebrows. "How?"
"That's none of your concern!" Lila snapped. "Lucian turned you over to the sun queen and condemned you to the eclipse himself! I had to---" She cut herself off and took a deep breath before continuing. "I had to make sure they wouldn't do anything else. By any means necessary."
Oh.
And just like that, the information clicked together, a neat little section of the puzzle Sterling didn't know he needed to solve. "The sun palace didn't abandon itself, didn't it?"
Lila shrugged. "What's one small act of divine retribution? Lucian didn't just betray you when he turned you over, you know."
"And then what? You wait for one hundred and ninety-five years after your revenge quest for the eclipse to bring me back? What sort of price was worth that?"
Her gaze softened. "Sterling...."
"No." He shook his head. "Whatever deal you cut, whatever path for immortality you've found, you didn't think it through. We never thought any of this through, that was the problem!"
Lila opened her mouth to argue, but he talked right over her.
"That was how neither of us saw Lucian's betrayal coming, when we should have! His loyalties were always to the sun throne, he told me as much! So when the message came that I was too dangerous to be left alive, he didn't even hesitate. Did you know they tried to kill me several times before realizing the only way to be rid of me was the eclipse? And even they knew it wouldn't be a permanent solution!"
Sterling slammed his fist into the desk. It creaked dangerously, but didn't break. "You know what? I don't want to know how you've managed to live this long. Because for two hundred years I stood still while the world changed around me, and now I have to start my life all over again. And you've changed too, Lila. A year changes a person. Two hundred years is no different."
He collapsed into the vacant chair, breathing heavily.
She stared at him for a long moment. "Are you quite finished?" She finally asked.
Sterling nodded. "Are you going to hold me here against my will?"
"No. You can leave if you want. But I want you to know that I expected this. That's why I came back." She heaved a deep sigh, and the weight of the past two hundred years seemed to press on her so greatly she too might collapse. "You're right. I didn't think my bargain through. Not as much as I thought I did. But I don't regret what I've done."
He raised both eyebrows, but didn't interrupt.
"You need an ally," she said quickly, as if saying the words slower would make him less likely to believe them. "Someone who's changed with the world, and knows how different its become. I have changed, yes. But I'm still Lila. And I'm willing to help you, if you'll have me."
Sterling stared at her. He wanted to say no. He should say no.
But her words had merit. Perhaps the two hundred years had done her some good after all.
But he didn't know how she'd gotten her immortality. She'd admitted it was a bargain. Which meant a person or entity had given it to her. Which meant she'd had to do or give something in exchange. Knowing the entities who might bestow such a curse, the possibilities were endless, many of them heinous.
Finally, he spoke. "Who did you bargain with?"
Lila hesitated. "The Aether."
"The Aether?" Sterling shouted, jumping to his feet. "Out of all the entities who can grant immortality, you chose the fucking Aether?!"
"I know you've had your disagreements in the past---"
"Disagreements?! They tried to kill me! Permanently! Twice! Or did you forget all the times I told you to never even go near their area of influence?"
She held up her hands placatingly. "I promise you, the price was nowhere near as terrible as you're thinking."
He glared at her. "It better fucking not be. Don't make me regret this."
She froze, taken aback. "You're accepting my offer?"
Sterling sighed. "Yes. But on one condition: I have unfinished business to attend to, fellow Aons to check in on, entities I need to make sure haven't gotten cocky in my absence. But you're on thin ice. If I think for even a second you might turn me over to the Aether, I won't hesitate to terminate this partnership. Do I make myself clear?"
Lila's eyes widened, but she nodded earnestly. "Yes, of course!"
He slowly sank back into the chair, eyeing her warily. "Now, what in the hells are you doing with an archeological dig?"
What if Skylla was a highblood instead of a lowblood?
A strong wave pushed over the beach as the titan emerged from the water. By many, she was considered a sea monster, capable of unknowable chaos. To herself, she considered herself as more of renegade of the sea, herding up pirates and doing what she saw fit to them. Sure there were people who could stop her- she was only a violet blood after all, but it was sure hard as hell to stop a five hundred foot long sea beast. This Skylla wasn’t too in on farming, instead acting as a much stronger force against outlaws and the like.
Her appearance on land was always a sight to see for folks around. Far from her usual cowgirl attire, she instead walked about in clothes for fitting for swimming. It was a sort of bodysuit, split into two parts. An upper tank-top esc top, and waterproof, tight hugging pants. She never came to the surface for a good reason, barring chasing down pirates who manage to get away. She actually just enjoyed the scenery, the sprawling hills, the moons... Things she didn’t see too often while she was deep under the ocean blue.
She took a deep breath of fresh air, trodding over costal cities and making her way to a nice empty field. She loved the golden fields, a quiet place to rest, away from all distractions.
