By: La Petite Book Girl

Welcome back, book friends! This is a short Greek myth I wrote and it turned out better than I anticipated. I hope you enjoy it!

A long time ago, there was a couple, Ashna and Pesido, who were desperately in love with each other. They had met in battle when Pesido was fighting Hades in the underworld, where Pesido was left terribly wounded. Ashna helped Pesido with things while he was not capable. Ashna soon found a deep affection for the man, as did he. Soon, they got married and built a house together on a vacant island in Greece.

On a dark and horrible day, Pesido was coming home from a day’s work of hunting, just to find Ashna not at home. Pesido looked everywhere, in the bedroom to see if she was taking a nap, in the kitchen to see if she was cooking, in the garden to see if she was tending to the plants, but he could not find her. Pesido was devastated. He sat on the cool, rocky floor of their small but quaint house and wiped his tired and sad eyes.

Not to long after, a beautiful figure appeared before him. It told Pesido that she was the goddess Hera, wife of Zeus. She had witnessed all that had happened, Ashna had been taken by the horrid Psychi, Hades’ slave of the mountains. Pesido gasped in horror and wondered how he had let that happen. Psychi was a creature who lured people to the mountains with her pretty voice and appearance, then she tortured her victims slowly by sucking their souls by her voice and leaving them to die in the mountions. The only way to reverse the curse is if the victim’s true love comes to rescue them. As Pesido thought about this in his head, he looked up to thank Hera, but she was gone.

Pesido knew exactly why Psychi had taken the love of his life. Pesido had once been in battle with Hades and killed all but seven of his slaves with his trusty bow and his spear. Hades had a grudge on Pesido ever since that day. Pesido believed this incident was all his fault. If he hadn’t been in that battle with Hades, none of this would have happened. Pesido got up from his spot on the floor, grabbed his bow and arrows, his spear, and his ever so precious locket that Ashna had made from a very beautiful looking stone she had found outside their house, when they had just moved in. In case anything ever happened to her, she filled the locket with her very own tears, so Pesido would always have a part of her to carry with him. Pesido also filled a sack with enough food and drinks to last a few weeks. He had no idea where to go, how long this journey would take, or how dangerous it would be. All he knew was that he had to get Ashna back.

Pesido traveled through deserts and oceans, valleys and seas, until he finally needed a break. He set up camp by a nearby lake and lay on the bumpy rocks, looking at the twinkling stars. Pesido had eaten most of his food, and had to ration them. He took out his bow and shot a bird. He gathered firewood and and tried start a fire, but the wood was to wet from the rain that poured down. Pesido shivered when a cold gust of wind smacked him in the face. Soon, the rain let out and Pesido was able to fall into a restless sleep over a pile leaves.

Something was chasing him. It growled loudly. Louder, until he couldn’t believe anything can be louder. He was proven wrong in a matter of seconds. It sprinted faster and faster. It looked like a slimey human that was much taller. It did not have eyes and he had two slits on his face as a nose. He could see that It was carrying something thin. Looking closer he saw it was Ashna about to be devoured.

Pesido woke up from this terrible nightmare with a thick line of sweat on his forehead and a growling stomach. He knew he had to get to Ashna fast or she would face the same fate. He used the dead bird he shot yesterday and the now dry firewood to cook the bird. It didn’t taste very pleasant, but at this point, anything he could eat was heaven in a bite. He eventually found a freshwater spring a little while away from the camp. He picked a big leaf and filled it with the water. He gulped down the water until he felt as if he drank the whole spring. After finishing a hearty breakfast, Pesido set off for another day’s journey.

About halfway through the day, Pesido met a unexpected, familiar face. It was Mems. Mems also used to work for Hades as Persephone’s servant. He was forced into brutal battle when Pesido killed most of the slaves. Mems sneaked away and started living under a bridge in the middle of nowhere and telling people things that were often untrue. Often is the key word. Mems could see the future but sometimes decided to tell false information. Sometimes is the key word. As Pesido approached the bridge, he tried to ignore Mems, but he knew there was no hope.
“Pesido! Good to see you! I was hoping you would come because I see you have a grim future ahead. Poor Ashna.” exclaimed Memes. “Thanks, Memes. Yes, Ashna has been kidnapped by your former boss. If you’ll excuse me, I better be on my way.” stated Pesido, wanting out of this conversation. “Pesido, do not follow the normal route to the mountains. There is a dangerous poppy field along the trail. Be careful to not step on any poppies or you will meet your doom.”
“Thanks, Mems. I will take your advice.” lied Pesido. Then, he said his goodbyes and walked away.

Mems hated Pesido, it was true. It was Pesido who made him be the slave of Persephone. It was Pesido who made him run away. The only reason he told him the truth was because he was in love with Ashna. He would love to be the reason that she survives the terrible incident, known as Psychi.

Pesido knew Mems hated him, so he ignored his advice. He figured that it was a trick and if he went the other route, that is where he would meet his doom. So, he traveled along the original trail. It rained for a day, here and there. He especially benefited from the rain; he could not find a pool of freshwater anywhere. Also, it served as his bath, since there is no bathroom in the wild. He had run out of food too, so he hunted for birds and tried to spot a deer. He was really getting tired of the usual quail that he had been eating for the past week, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. (If he could fit in three meals.)

Soon, he approached the poppy field and hopped deliberately so he wouldn’t step on any of the flowers, just on case. About halfway through the field, (It was a remarkably long field) he could feel how close Ashna was, he didn’t care about the poppies. He stepped on every single one, just to prove Mems wrong. Then, a huge army of angry, hungry pests (bees, bears, foxs, felines, bugs) were chasing him. With his trusty bow and arrow and spear he killed them one by one, until a black bear came up from behind him and mauled at his body, plucking off limbs, one by one. The locket came open, and the tears mixed with blood. Pesido’s dying wish was that Ashna would somehow live.

In the mountains, when Psychi was just about to suck Ashna’s soul, a swarm of angry gods and goddesses, (good ones, not evil) including, Zeus, Athena, Poseidon, and Hera came and knocked out Psychi. Then, they choked her with all their powers blocking her throat. She had a long and painful death, just as she deserved.
After they were done with Psychi, they came to Ashna and asked her what her one wish and question was.
“One wish and question?” asked Ashna, confused.
“Because of all the trauma you have gone through, we, the gods, will grant you one wish and answer one question for you.” replied Hera, sweetly.
“Okay. My one question is…” Ashna thought about this for a second. “Why are you here?”
“Good question!” said Zeus. “The tears inside the locket you gave Pesido were filled with true love, and when it broke, when he was fighting, it granted his last wish, for you to be safe.”
“His LAST wish?” exclaimed Ashna.
“Sorry, we can only answer one question. Now, what is your wish?” replied the gods.
“To go to him!” replied Ashna on the verge of tears, but filled with hope.
“Very well.”
And she floated into thin air.

As she traveled through the air, she kept on mumbling to herself, “He’ll be okay. It’s going to okay. He’ll be okay.” It took her about half an hour to reach her destination.

When Ashna reached the poppy field, all she saw was blood. Everywhere. All the poppies were gone. She searched the ground for a bit and then saw him. There was Pesido, lying lifeless on the ground. She fell to the ground by him and choked out loud, sad sobs. She saw the locket and tucked it away in her pocket. It was supposed to be the last piece if her Pesido had, not the last piece of him Ashna had. She lay there beside his body, crying. A few minutes later, all she could feel was rage. The blood everywhere came together to form deep crimson wings on her back. Her hair turned to fire, which dried away any tears she had. She got up and buried his body in the ground surrounding it with remaining bones and leaves. She kissed the ground where she had buried him one last time and turned away from this life forever. The sweet, loving Ashna, who helped Pesido when he was wounded, turned into one of the most hated villains on the planet, Orgi.

Au Revoir,

La Petite Book Girl