❝ Novae Terrae: New World ❞

         It was more beautiful than she imagined. New people, new buildings. Aquila had one word to describe the world, Stunning! The tall skyscrapers and busy roads, people chiming with life. Books, maps, and sometimes on the television she had seen these kinds of places. Aquila was gaping at everything in amusement.

Only in her dreams, she had ever traveled so far than that of the iron-clad gates of Johnson manor. Spending half an hour in the garden was such a big deal to her. Besides that, she had been inside the mansion her whole life.

Aquila never understood why they were so protective of her, Eric didn't get to travel a lot either but certainly more than that Aquila.

"Where are we?" she asked in excitement, not being able to take her eyes off the landscape.

Eurus chuckled. "The city of Manhattan."

"We are in North America?" squealed Aquila. "I wasn't allowed to leave my room most of the time,"

"What?"

Aquila nodded. "They said the world is dangerous,"

"They aren't entirely wrong, this world is indeed dangerous, especially for people like you. But still, it's not fair that they didn't let you out --- I mean --- seriously, it's not like there are monsters in Britai--- "

"What do you mean by people like me?" Aquila asked in curiosity. He stopped in his tracks and turned to her slowly.

"Children," he said, but it didn't sound truthful.

"Eric had gone out sometimes, he's younger than me,"

"Maybe they were just extra protective of you,"

"Maybe. Where are we going?" She asked, buzzing with excitement.

"Lord Astraeus' domain," he said, like she was supposed to know where it was located.

"Who is Lord Astraeus? Is he someone from the royal court of Britain? No, I would've known him then," mused Aquila.

"So you know all the Britain royalty?"

"Most of them I presume, no one can be all-knowing,"

Eurus gave her a small smile. "Astraeus is a Titan,"

"As in Greek mythology?"

"The very same,"

"You are joking, right?" She asked with a chuckle.

"Nope," he popped the 'p'

"You must be mistaken, sir, I'm not an atheist. I don't believe in the Olympian gods," said Aquila politely.

He laughed heartily. "By no means, I'm telling you to worship those bastards. In fact, we're talking about Titans, not Olympians. They both are wholly different,"

"Sorry again, sir, but I do not believe in myths,"

This time he sighed. "Sometimes, things aren't always what they seem. They could be hiding in plain sight, yet, you don't see them because the thought of the old gods couldn't have crossed your mind."

"Tell me Aquila, do you find reading English a little hard?"

"No," she wrinkled her tiny nose. "It's my mother tongue."

"It isn't, your mother tongue is Latin."

"I speak French and Italian but not Latin,"

"Hoc intelligere potes?"

"Utique,"

Aquila blinked. Processing the fact that she understood a language she did not know.

"What was that?"

He chuckled. "You can speak Greek too. A regular demigod could only speak Greek but since the Titans have Latin roots you can speak both."

Aquila blankly stared at him.

"What does Greek mythology do with me?"

"You are an offspring of a Titan,"

"Neither my mother nor my father are paranormal creatures, they're wizards indeed but definitely not gods."

"What if they weren't your parents?"

"Pardon?" Aquila asked. A bit panicked.

"You don't look very similar to your father, ever wondered why?"

"I have my mother's gene,"

"Trust me, you have your father's genes. Well, the dominant one at the least."

"You just said I didn't look similar to my father,"

"Asher Johnson isn't your father, Aquila,"

Aquila was perplexedly staring at Eurus. Not believing a word coming out of his mouth.

"You're lying. He is my father. If you are kind enough sir, I would like to return to my home,"

"I am getting you home, don't worry," he looked around and then started walking. Aquila hastily followed him, her little feet doing a lot of work to keep up with his long strides.

He stopped in front of a building with glass doors, it had a board that said 'BR' in pink and blue. He motioned Aquila to get in. It was an air-conditioned room with about a dozen tables across. Eurus immediately settled on a table in the far right.

"So! Which flavour?" He asked her. Aquila blinked.

"Pardon?"

"Which flavor of ice cream do you want?"

"What is an ice cream?"

This time Eurus blinked, his unusually golden brown eyes twinkling with surprise.

"You've never eaten an ice cream?"

"I've never heard of such a thing," Aquila said.

"Sweet scythe of Kronos, how can a child not know about ice cream!" He sighed. "I didn't know they don't sell ice creams in Britain. Or was it your mother who forbade you from eating it? You probably won't know," he muttered to himself.

He went away, ordered two chocolate chip ice creams, and then came back. He pushed one bowl toward Aquila and then motioned her to eat it.

"I'm not supposed to eat anything a stranger gives," Aquila said. She stared wearily at the cold scoops of food in front of her.

"I'm not a stranger, we are even related,"

"How so?"

"How about eating that first?"

"I have to refuse, I'm sorry, Mr Eurus,"

He sighed, slumping into his seat. "You're taking 'its hard to deal with children ' to another level."

"I want to go back home," Aquila pleaded. Even though her curiosity had been killing her to go out a explore the world.

Eurus wordlessly brought his spoon to his mouth and continued eating as if he hadn't heard her.

"If you don't eat the ice cream, I'm going to. I swear on river Styx that I'm neither going to poison you nor kidnap you so please,"

Aquila stared at the ice cream, it was melting. She finally scooped up the brown semi-liquid and brought it to her mouth. As soon as her tongue came into contact with the ice cream, any thought of being poisoned or kidnapped left her mind.

That was the day she discovered the best type of food and what would become her favorite.

"I'm your half-brother, Aquila," he stated.

"You're probably older than my parents," Aquila guessed lazily, smiling politely to let him know he could not fool her.

"Probably," he muttered. "Let's get going if you're done,"

The ice had melted completely and Aquila thought that it was rude to lick off whatever was left so she nodded and got up.

Eurus walked right out, and Aquila followed him.

"You didn't pay?" She questioned him.

"Uh, I'm sort of like a VIP member of this place? I don't need to pay,"

"How does that work?"

"I thought you were more interested in your parentage?"

"I've got no doubts, you're trying to confuse me for a reason I do not know, " Aquila stated.

"You think you got everything figured out, huh, kid?" He smirked. "Wait until life throws curveballs at you, which it will. Very soon,"

"Nice joke, now, where exactly are we going?"

"The kingdom of stars," he said dramatically.

"Am I supposed to know where it is?"

"Nope, but it's quite important to you,"

"How so?"

"You are a daughter of Astraeus, the Titan of astrology, father of stars and constellations,"

"Pardon?"

He inhaled deeply. "Greek mythology, well, is not mythology. The Titans, primordials, gods, Olympians, and heroes all are very much true."

"I don't expect you to accept this right away, but it's but now or never that I'm telling you this. This is a dangerous world, monsters are after you, and so many gods are trying to hunt you. We need to get you to a safe place. You need to make use of your power and potential to safeguard yourself from worldly danger.

"You can meet your family occasionally, but trust me you have a handful of people in Astrelaia that you're sure to love, you'll not miss anything or anyone."

Aquila was speechless.

It was delusional to entertain those kinds of thoughts about being an offspring of a Titan or being hunted.

"Are you alright?" Aquila asked eurus genuinely.

He raised his eyebrows. "Yes, you?"

"No."

He sighed for the umpteenth time. "Please Aquila, I'm a patient man but I'm not a saint. Can we just leave?"

"Are you serious?" She asked quietly.

"Dead serious," he answered. "You can speak Greek and Latin without learning it, you can name constellations and stars without knowing, you have good reflexes and pain tolerance. What other proof can I give you?"

It made sense though, Aquila never felt normal. In fact, she was never treated normally.

With a million thoughts running around wild in her head, Aquila was confused to the point of numbness. She just blankly stared at Eurus.

"Who are you then?"

"Eurus, God of the east wind. Your half brother to be specific,"

"You're older than my mother?"

"Way too old," he shrugged. "Well, if you had enough of strolling around here, we could go to Astrelaia, to meet Father." He said they both had been walking through the busy streets of Manhattan. Seeing so many people in the same place was a such wonder, Aquila hadn't known anyone besides her family and some very rare guests.

Aquila still wanted to roam around despite the mess her life had become, to breathe in the fresh air of another continent. But her curiosity to meet her father kindled far too much.

"I think so." A small smile bloomed on her face.

Aquila once again took Eurus's hand and this time she had no idea what she was about to witness.

Aquila's eyes had to adjust to the darkness. In contrast to the bright sunny American City, Astrelaia was a dark paradise.

The sight in front of her was magnificent. Aquila wasn't sure what she saw at first, there was an elongated bridge connecting the cold ground to a magnificent castle, it was midnight blue, the palace was hauntingly beautiful, and the darkness made Aquila feel like it was where she belonged, once she noticed the sky, she couldn't take her eyes off. It was a stunning night sky, with bright stars shining like diamonds hanging there, Aquila wished she didn't need to blink.

"You're gonna catch flies." Aquila quickly shut her dropped jaw and looked at Eurus in amazement.

"This place is fantastic!"

Eurus chuckled and called. "Vega!"

Suddenly, a girl appeared out of nowhere, she had light purple skin which almost looked white with a hue of lilac. She wore traditional Greek togas, her eyes were a dark, cold blue, and had black wavy waist-length hair, just like Aquila's, it was braided with silver threads, and she wore a circlet which was made of shining metal.

"I'll take it from here, Lord Eurus," said the girl. She looked at Aquila and broke into a wide grin.

"Aww, Aquila, you are so adorable!"

"Thank you," replied Aquila, smiling at the older girl.

"Aquila, I hope you'll get used to your new life, goodbye," Eurus said. "And you can torture Vega with how many ever questions you want to ask,"

He waved, Aquila returned the gesture and he teleported with a flash of light.

"Oh my gods, you're actually here! I never thought I'd see the day! My little sis!"

"Um, you're my half-sister too?"

"Technically we're siblings 'cause I'm just Astraeus' daughter. I was not born the old-fashioned way,"

"Your mother?"

"I don't have one, maybe you can share yours with me, won't you?"

"Well, I don't think mother would be happy to adopt you,"

"Harsh," Vega muttered, she clicked her tongue. "Come on, Dad's been waiting for you."

They crossed the bridge, and below them was endless darkness waiting to consume the one who fell, Aquila was cautious not to go anywhere near the edge. Finally, they reached the other end. Two narrow pathways seemed to go on both sides of the palace. Vega opened the huge double doors and Aquila saw an enormous set of stairs, which seemed to have no visible end.

"Are we gonna go up?" asked Aquila wearily.

Vega nodded. "Yep, the throne room is upstairs, come on now, we have plenty amount of stairs to climb."

They ascended those thousands of stairs, it seemed like forever to up there. Vega breathed sharply in exhaustion. Aquila held the silver-like railing and panted, she then remembered how Vega appeared out of nowhere.

"How did you appear magically when Eurus called you?" she asked.

"I night traveled," she said and a few seconds later her tired face lit up. "I night traveled! it's like teleportation."

"Can't you do it again?" asked Aquila solemnly. Vega smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, I tend to lose my mind in excitement." Vega grabbed Aquila's hand and the next thing she knew she was somewhere else.

The hallway was empty, the black granite floor was reflecting Aquila's little figure. A few dim glowing crystals were floating around, providing light. Another set of doors was in front of Aquila, Vega opened it revealing a pitch-black room, Aquila was hesitant to step but once she did; thousands of little blue crystals lit up, and the room was extended more than she thought. At the very end of the room, there was a single giant throne and a certain titan was seated on it.

Astraeus, Titan of dusk.

Vega marched towards the other end of the room, Aquila followed her closely behind, gazing at her surroundings in astonishment.

Astraeus had the blackest hair ever, his skin was pale as snow, or more like a ghost. The most interesting part was his eyes, they were a cold blue, filled with stars clusters, and galaxies. Aquila couldn't stare at them for a long time as his eyes were emitting intensity.

stood up his full height twenty feet tall or so, he was dressed in dark Greek robes. It seemed like the stars themselves had settled in his robe, a bright flash of light — Aquila squeezed her eyes shut, and when she opened her eyes again, there stood a tall human-sized man, he had the same dark hair and cold blue eyes, but it was less intense. He now was pale as Aquila. He fixed his gaze on her and all she could do was stare blankly at the Titan.

"Aquila," he spoke, from his appearance, which was rather intimidating. Aquila expected him to have a rather harsh and husky voice, but it was surprisingly soft and calm.

"Hello," she said in a small voice, but it was still audible since the room was so silent that Aquila swore she could have heard a pin drop.

Astraeus nodded at Vega and the girl exited the room. He slowly strode towards her and stood a few feet away. Aquila strained her neck to look at him. He was approximately six feet three, noticing Aquila's difficulty he knelt down to her level.

"So..." he began slowly. "I hope you know who I am?"

Aquila nodded. "Eurus told me about you." Astraeus nodded. To think that this man was her father was simply delusional. But for some strange reason, Aquila wasn't scared, she was more comfortable than she had ever been.

"You're probably in shock, I can understand,"

"I'm fine, this place is beautiful by the way,"

"Would you like a tour of Astrelaia?" he asked, Aquila, nodded excitedly.

Aquila's life took a turn so unexpected that day, she would never be able to turn back now. Gods know what future awaits an innocent soul.