Of Isili and Zenaris

“The workshop here is certainly exquisite,” Apollo said as he looked around the blacksmith's shop, eyeing the work on display. His eyes traveled to the famed swords, God Edge and God Eater, swords in existence that made his spine shiver. If he could get those destroyed there would be nothing to stop him in the future, but he could not touch those blades, it was far too dangerous for even the hands of a god to touch. Footsteps brought him out of his thoughts and he smiled endearingly at the young blacksmith. “Zenaris! My boy, hello there.”

“Lord Apollo!” He bowed, shaggy brown hair streaked with gold falling over his handsome face, his blue eyes were turned to the floor. “What can I do for you?”

“I've noticed you have been doing exceptionally well in the trial of blades.”

He straightened, waiting for the reprimand.

“Although you are not of the station to be part of the trials, your prowess with a sword is… well… it's better than any knight I have in my court.”

“That means much coming from you my lord.”

“I know it does. As such, I'd like to give you a new trial.”

“A new trial?”

“Do this… and you will rise above your station as a simple blacksmith, you'll become part of my court.” He smiled.

“What do I need to do?” Zenaris could hardly believe this! He had entered the trial of blades in secret, wanting to prove his worth, to prove that he could rumble with the best of them and be even better.

“There is a creature in a realm known as the underground that will become Queen. She's a dangerous sort and must be dealt with. The woman is named Isili and she is pure darkness, nothing but pure evil could ever come from this monster. I need you to slay her.”

“Slay a monster… yes… I can do that.”

“Good. Prepare and leave for these coordinates by nightfall.” He set the paper down. “Good luck young Zenaris.”

He bowed. “Thank you, my lord.” When Apollo had left, Zenaris picked up the paper and read. Truly this woman must be a threat if my lord comes to me to slay her.

The night came and Zenaris had found himself trekking through the forests of the underground in search of this beastly woman. Alright, I find her, destroy her, bring back her heart and become the best god in the sun court to have ever existed. He grinned to himself, eager to prove he was more than he seemed. He heard humming in the distance and slowly poked his head through the mass of trees. He let his eyes scan the area when they met with her form. He squinted, trying to get a better look at her. Closer... have to get closer. He slowly stalked toward the woman with pale blond hair. He knelt down in the bush and stared at her.

The woman in question sat picking flowers from the field, a crown of them already in her hair as she gathered more to make another one. She stilled in her movements, catching a scent in the air. It was unfamiliar and smelled of smoke and copper. Emerald eyes scanned the field to pinpoint the scent when they stopped at the bush. “I know you're there. You can come out, I won't hurt you.” The pale blue monster smiled softly. “Do you want to make crowns with me?”

His breath hitched when he finally caught full sight of her. She was gorgeous. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life, nothing in the realm of gods could ever compare. Against his better judgment, he made himself known.

“There you are.” She smiled kindly at him as she slid back to give room in the space she was in.

He closed the distance between them and sat in the grass, his eyes glued to her.

“Here, some flowers.” She dumped some gently onto the frock over his lap. “Do you know how to make crowns?”

“Um... no... not like this.”

“I'll show you.” She still looked at him with a smile. “It's like this.” She delicately weaved the flowers together into a circle shape.

Zenaris felt his fingers shaking, his heart racing in his chest. Why am I so nervous? Why is she so beautiful? He finally looked down at the flowers in his lap and tried to mimic her motions, but found himself breaking some of them out of clumsy nervousness.

She found herself giggling a little. “It's ok. It's always hard the first few times.” She slid closer and took his hands. She felt the callouses on his skin and lifted his hand, examining them. “You must work with your hands a lot.”

“Y-yes.”

“Blacksmith?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

She looked up at him and smiled. “You must be good at what you do.”

“How can you tell?”

“It takes a lot of time and practice, hours of working to get hands like these.” She said as she ran her fingers along his palms.

His heart skipped a beat.

“Let's try making another one ok?” She smiled and let go of his hands and went back to show him how to make crowns.

Zenaris and the mystery woman spent the next few hours making flower crowns when he finally managed to make one without blotching it. “Hey, I did it.”

“See! I knew you could do it.” She grinned at him. She heard a clock ringing in the distance and gasped. “Oh no, I've been out too long.” She stood up then. “I'm sorry but I have to go home.”

He stared up at her and reached to take her hand. “I never... caught your name. I'm Zenaris Elio.”

“Isilith Chrysocolla, you can just call me Isili.” She smiled and pulled her hand away before she broke off into a run, disappearing through the thicket of trees.

“No...not that angel...” He sat there for a long while. That woman was not a creature of evil. There must have been a mistake. He stood and paced, conflicted by his duty and loyalty to the throne and the experience he just had with the would-be monster Queen. He had to spend more time with her to determine if she really was a threat. But how could he do it without her knowing? He snapped his fingers as he facepalmed. “You can shapeshift you idiot.” He morphed into a small bird and flew off in the direction the woman had went. He caught sight of her finally and watched how she interacted with the people she encountered. She was kind, greeting the people she passed with a smile.

“Hello! Have a good day. May the moon watch you friend.” A couple of children had made their way to her and offered her flowers, which she gladly accepted and thanked them for. “Go on home to your mothers now.”

“Yes Princess!” They giggled and ran off and Isili watched them with smiles.

She made her way up the stairs and was met with an orange slime woman, dressed in the full-on garb of a Queen. “Mother...” She said sheepishly.

“You were out in the meadows again my dear.” Queen Elidi was an older orange slime with kind eyes and an even kinder smile. Her crown drooped slightly in her hair. She reached to touch her child's cheek, fondness radiating off her.

“Yes mother, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be out so long.” She reached up to fix her mother's crown.

“You smell... different.”

“Oh... um.. I encountered a boy today...”

“A boy?” She looked at her quizzically. “Now Isili, you know you must be careful. You're my only slime child...”

“I know mother... I know. But it was fine. He was so... nice.”

Elidi knew that look, a smile broke out on her face. “It's happened for you at last my dear?”

“W-what?”

“I worried that you'd never find your mate...”

“Mother I... I just met him.”

“So? His scent appeals to you?”

“Yes...” She mumbled softly, face darkening with embarrassment.

“I wish Aura were here to see you, she'd be so happy. I bet your sisters will be ecstatic to know you'd found him at last.”

“Mother... I don't know if I'll ever see him again.”

Elidi gave a smile. “I'm sure you will.” She pet her gently, “come, Hanai is here with little Shyren.”

Isili seemed to light up. “She brought my niece finally!” She ran in leaving Elidi laughing. “Oh Aura if you could see our child now...” She followed her in.
Zenaris had watched the interaction with confusion.She felt something...? What's this about a mate? She's not talking about me, is she? His heart was pounding in his chest. I have to investigate more.

For the next few days, Zenaris spent more and more time watching over Isili and her family, getting to know her and falling even further in love. Apollo is wrong. She's not a monster... she's... she's so much more than that. He had made the decision to confront them. He walked up to the throne where Apollo was surrounded by others in his court. “My lord.” He bowed before him.

“Ah oh... who are you again.” He snapped his fingers as he thought. “Oh yes, the blacksmith wanting to be a god. It's been days boy, did you do as I asked?”

“I...” He shook his head, “no my lord. I did not.”

“Oh? Was she too much for you?”

“No. I just did not see a reason to attack her.”

“No reason? I gave you an order.”

“And it was the wrong order. Isilith is not a creature of evil.”

He stood, eyes narrowed. “You question my judgment?” His voice had gone venomous as he started to go down the stairs from his throne.

Zenaris stood up and stared at him stone-faced. “I do question your judgment, my lord. That woman is not a threat to anyone.”

“That is for me to judge not you.”

“And I think you have poor judgment.” He clenched his jaw.

“How dare you undermine me!” He roared, his eyes blazing with the heat of the sun. “You will regret this boy!”

Zenaris clenched his fists, the heat of his lord on him like the flames of a furnace, it intensified the closer he got to him. He felt his skin burning in the heat.

“You will face punishment for your misdeeds... unless...” A wicked smile came to his face. “Unless you apologize and do as you were asked. Kill the princess and I will forgive you.”

“I refuse.” He grunted, feeling his skin healing just as fast as it was burning off.

Apollo growled and backhanded him to the ground. “Then you will suffer the consequences of defying me!” He paced back and forth in front of him when the perfect punishment came to mind. “You dreamed of being a god once... and now... now I will make you something. Something to fit your crimes!” He laughed. “Yes, this will be fitting. Not only will you be banished from this realm but you will become twisted... a monster yourself.”

“I rather be a monster than a god with no brain.” He was glaring up at him.

Apollo punched him in the gut with a flaming fist, once, twice, before it was a barrage of burning thrusts of his hands, burning him up.

A lone goddess had entered just as the barrage had begun. “Apollo!”

He stopped and turned his eyes toward her. He glared. “Arianhod, stay out of this.”

“I will not. This has gone far enough.” She crossed the distance between them and pushed Apollo out of the way to look at the damage done.

Zenaris was losing consciousness as the change took place.

“That creature is banished from this realm, never to return.” He fixed his cuffs, eyes cold.

“At least allow him to heal and get what he'll need. I beg you Apollo. Show him at least some bit of mercy.”

He growled and turned his back. “One day. Then he must be gone.”

Arianhod nodded. “So be it.” She looked down at the larger man and sighed. “Alright... I need you to start getting up... I can't carry you on my own.”

He grunted as he felt her hands grabbing at his arms, trying to lift him. He stood on wobbly knees and with her help returned to the workshop.

She lay him back and worked to help him heal faster. “I wish I could have warned you sooner...” She whispered as she helped clean off the burns.

“What happens to me doesn't matter... as long as he never touches her.” He mumbled as he felt himself losing grip on consciousness. His eyes moved toward the wall where the swords were displayed. “I'll... protect her.”

In the morning when Arianhod went to check on Zenaris she found him gone, the swords on the wall gone as well. Apollo... you will reap what you've sown... one day.

Isili made her way to the meadow and looked for the blacksmith that had wormed his way into her heart. Worry was knotting in her stomach but she didn't understand why. In the grass, among the flowers was a lump of a person. Two massive swords were lodged in the ground by the body. She tensed and made her way over. “Zenaris?” She knelt down and reached out to him.

When he rolled over, he was missing a face, and his hair was slightly darker, but Isili could not mistake that scent.

She gasped softly as she touched him. “Zenaris...” She leaned in and started kissing everywhere she could. “Please...” She strained. “Please... don't leave me.” She kissed where his mouth would have been and felt the lips form under hers. They opened to say her name. She leaned back and stared down at him. “Zen...”

“Isili...” He reached for her hand.

She took it and squeezed it softly. “Come... I'll take you home, you can rest and get better there.” She managed to stand him up.

He reached for the swords and used them as canes so he wasn't putting his weight on her. He had yet to see what had been done to him, but the fact that Isili had not run from him spoke volumes of the type of woman she was. “Isili...”

“Yes?” She asked as she held onto his arm, trying to guide him.

“How... did you know it was me.”

“Your scent is still the same.”

“My scent...”

“Smoke and copper... with a hint of sage.”

His heart was pounding in his chest. “Is that how you always knew where I was?”

She nodded. “You can change your shape... but you can't change how you smell.” She smiled softly as she managed to get him home to the palace and into the care of the medics. Through his recovery, she never left his side.

It was days later when Zenaris finally managed to form his face again, but it wasn't permanent and would leave after a few hours. He sighed with frustration.

“It's alright Zen.” Isili said softly as she leaned to kiss his cheek. “You don't need a face for me to know what I feel.”

With her so close, he took in her scent. “Isili...?”

“Yes?”

“Have you... always smelled of roses and mint?”

She blushed a little. “Maybe? I don't know what I smell like to other people.”

He reached and tangled his fingers in her hair, his face formed so she could see what he was feeling. “You smell as beautiful as you look.” He pulled her down for a long, loving kiss.