By J. M. Allison
Well, this relic hunt sucked.
“Hurry up, Andy!” Louisa berated. “I don’t want to end up Swiss cheese because you stopped to read every footnote! I can’t hold this position forever!” She balanced on one foot, hands raised, struggling not to fall off the small pedestal and trigger whatever booby trap awaited the unworthy. “Find the release switch!”
I pushed back my panic. I could do this. I just needed to trust myself. Snapping my journal shut, I spun, eyes searching the temple ruins for any inspiration.
The temple contained copious amounts of dirt, cobwebs, a few toppled columns, the pedestal Louisa teetered on, and three twelve-foot statues. The statues had to hold the release key.
The statue of a woman with a spear and armor must represent Athena, the Greek goddess of war and wisdom. The statue in the middle wore an elegant crown and held a scepter. Obviously Hera, queen of the gods. The last statue depicted a woman with a garland of roses cascading over one arm and a single rose clutched to her heart. Fitting for the goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite.
I rushed to the statue of Aphrodite, then poked and prodded at the figure, searching for the release. Nothing.
“Andy!” Louisa’s voice edged on panic. She’d climbed onto the pedestal as a joke, imitating the pose of a damsel in distress and commenting on the stunted intelligence and helplessness of Helen of Troy and the three goddesses reproduced before us. Then the pedestal had shifted, issuing an ominous click.
I frantically inspected the rest of the statue. It felt smooth, carved from a single stone. I scrutinized the garland of roses draped over Aphrodite’s arm. Each rose was depicted with exquisite detail. I quickly jabbed and pushed at every petal and leaf I could reach. Nothing.
I braced my foot against the base of the statue and hefted myself up next to Aphrodite.
“Pardon me,” I mumbled to the goddess and pushed on the rose at her heart. Nothing.
“Andy!” Louisa shrieked and tumbled from the pedestal.
“Nooo!” My scream echoed off the stone walls. My hand reached toward her as if I could stop the inevitable. She’d dared to judge the goddesses in their own temple, and now the goddesses were judging her.
Louisa landed in a heap on the floor and scrambled away from the pedestal.
I waited in terrified silence for the trembling and inevitable collapse of the temple walls upon our heads. Only the sounds of our gasping breaths accompanied the thunderous pounding of my heart.
“Ha!” Louisa stood, brushed dirt from her jeans, and carefully straightened her blouse. “Not every relic is booby-trapped, Andy.” She grinned at me.
I gave a weak smile in return and leapt down to join her. Despite a small smudge on her cheek, she was fine. I reached to brush the dirt away, then stopped myself. “You have some dirt, there,” I mumbled, pointing.
“Thanks!” Smiling, she rubbed one hand over the spot, smearing the dirt instead of eliminating it.
“You—” I paused, “You got it.” Louisa was particular about her appearance. Despite the smeared dirt, she looked resplendent. Even after crawling through the grime and cobwebs, she was still the picture of elegance.
“Paris declared Aphrodite worthy and gave her the golden apple. It made her the fairest of all,” Louisa summarized. She propped her hands on her hips and stalked around the three goddesses. “If I were a goddess protecting what made me the fairest of all, where would I hide it?”
“Well, I didn’t see anything that looked like a lever, button, or hidden compartment on Aphrodite. And there isn’t much here other than the statues.”
“It has to be here,” she insisted, “I can feel it!”
I grinned at her exuberance. We carefully examined the other two statues with no success. I flopped onto the ground at Athena’s feet. Perhaps she would offer some inspiration.
“I wonder…” Louisa trailed off as she walked back over to the pedestal. She knelt beside it and pushed down on the top. The pedestal gave a click just as before, and Louisa twisted the top square stone. It ground against the support stone, generating a rumble that vibrated my bones.
As the top stone slid aside, a golden glow filled the temple. Carefully, Louisa plucked the apple from its resting place and held it aloft. She beamed.
“We found it!” She scrambled up and rushed toward me, treasure in hand. The glow faded as she moved away from the pedestal.
She pressed the apple into my hands. I looked down at the relic then frowned. The apple in my hands looked nothing like the apple described in legend. No inscription, no gold coating. Simply a plain, yellow apple flecked with red tones.
“Maybe it transfers its power and then becomes a normal apple?” I suggested.
Louisa pulled a small makeup compact from her back pocket and flipped it open.
“I don’t understand!” Louisa scowled. She studied her reflection, fingers tracing the small laugh lines and contours of her face. “The apple of Aphrodite grants beauty to the worthy. I don’t understand why it didn’t work.” She slumped next to me, burying her face in her hands.
I moved the apple slowly towards my lips. “At least this relic will taste good.”
Her head snapped up. She grabbed my arm and stared at me with horrified eyes. “You can’t eat a relic!” She glared, but her lips twitched at my antics. “If the price of beauty is intelligence, maybe this is for the best.”
I grinned and tossed the apple over my shoulder. “Exactly! Besides I don’t think it can enhance qualities you’ve already maxed out.” I pushed up to my feet and took her hand. “Come on, it’s not the first relic hunt that didn’t go as planned.”
She hugged my arm and nodded, smiling shyly. Aphrodite’s golden apple forgotten, we sauntered out of the temple content with the treasure we’d discovered.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sweet story! I kept waiting for something to go horribly wrong, which probably would have if he’d eaten the apple!
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Yes, never eat food found hidden in temple ruins. Wise words to live by, if you’re a relic hunter.
Very wise words, indeed! But those foods probably look so tempting sometimes…
Fun story!
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Cute story.
These two are so cute together!