DONG! DONG!
The bells at St Ursula's College for Women could be heard in the still autumn air. The warm beams of the sunshine fell upon the long-grass field. Juliet Vespucci was done with her classes at St Ursula's and exits the classroom with her friend Meg McGee. Juliet's long, dark and lush hair cascades down her back to her waist. Her face is small and pretty. Her friend Meg is a short girl with dirty-blond hair and a curvy set of legs and hips.
The young maidens are wearing their college uniforms a buttoned-up shirt with a striped tie, and a plaid skirt that ended at the knees. Under the skirts, they wore black stockings to protect their modesty.
"Meg, would you like to go outside and enjoy the nice weather?" Juliet asks Meg
"Sure thing!" Meg smiles, and her straight, white and perfect teeth shine. "I'll go grab Mary."
Meg runs and grabs Mary who was just finishing with class with Sister Jean. Mary and Meg meet up with Juliet by the door. Mary is a slim and tanned girl with dark hair that is tied up in a neat bun.
"Hello Mary, how was class with Sister Jean?"
"Excellent!" says Mary, as they girls walk outside.
"I really love learning from Sister Jean. She told me I will make a great nun someday."
"That's wonderful," says Meg, "Too bad I won't be joining you. I'm planning on the sacrament of marriage instead of holy orders." Her face breaks into a warm and dreamy smile. Juliet nods happily.
"That is great, Meg. John is a wonderful and saintly man."
"What about you, Juliet?" Mary asks.
"Hmm. I'm not sure yet." She has never had the chance to find a man as good as John. Holy orders seemed like a good fit, but something in Juliet makes her doubt if that would be the right decision. "If I had to choose now, I would probably go for joining the Franciscan Sisters. But I will bide my time."
Juliet's friends pat her on the back.
"Sounds good," Meg says. "God will eventually show you the way."
The girls walk across the campus plaza and towards the fields of wild flowers. The wind is blowing across the fields, making the grass and flowers look like waves upon the sea. Juliet leads the girls into the field. They run across the field and race each other to the top of a nearby hill. Juliet starts off in the lead, but she is quickly outpaced by Mary who beats her to the top. Meg also gets ahead of Juliet and finishes second leaving Juliet third and last place.
The girls catch their breath on the hill and look over the fields.
"Hey let's go pick some flowers to decorate our rooms," suggests Meg.
"Sounds good," Mary agrees.
"Yes, Let's do it," Juliet replies.
Juliet and her friends split up to pick flowers. Juliet strays from her friends and wanders into the trees. By the side of a creek Juliet spies an especially beautiful flower. It is a purple narcissus. The flower shines underneath the shade of the forest canopy.
Juliet walks towards the narcissus and plucks the flower. She raises it to her nose and takes a deep sniff. The smell of jasmine fills her nose. Juliet turns around the to leave the forest and rejoin her friends.
As she makes her way out of the forest, Juliet notices that little light that had been shining through the trees is fading quickly. Once she makes it out of the forest, Juliet looks up and sees that dark storm clouds hover above. The smell of the air is wet and there is a distant rumble. Juliet makes a break for it. She races towards the campus.
"My friends." She suddenly stops and looks around to see where Meg and Mary have gone. They are nowhere to be found.
"Meg! Mary!" She shouts. No answer
"Meg! Mary! Hurry, it is going to rain!" No one hears Juliet yelling.
I can't leave my friends behind. Juliet thinks while waiting for a moment.
"M--"
CRACK! BOOM!!
A bright bolt of lighting lights up the sky and the sound of thunder roars throughout the field.
Juliet screams and falls to her feet. She looks around again to see if her friends are nearby.
"Meg! Mary! We have to go now!" She yells.
"Meg..." BOOM! Another light bolt flies from the storm clouds above and hits a field.
Before Juliet has a chance to scream, she sees another flash of light. She is knocked off her feet. However, instead of hitting the ground she is sent flying through the air. The wind is knocked out of her and she feels lightheaded as she flies through the air.
"Arise."
Juliet can barely hear the faint command. She is cold and feels weighed down. The girl slowly turns her head. Her eyes are still closed as she struggles to awake.
"Arise!" She hears this one more clearly. Juliet's vision is blurry, yet she is beginning to truly wake up. Through her blurry vision, Juliet can see more. There is, what appears to be, someone tall and large standing in front of her. Next to the tall figure is another figure that is a little shorter and very slender.
"Give her time, father. She is just getting used to the altitude," says the slender figure.
Juliet takes a deep breath and closes her eyes for ten seconds. She them opens and now clearly sees who the two figures are. In front of her stand two men. Directly in front of her, the tall man; his chest big and muscular. He is wearing a long robe that covers his groin and legs, but exposes his chest. His hair and beard are the color of clouds, and he has stormy-grey that flicker with the lightning.
Next to him, stands a skinny yet toned man. He is wearing a helmet similar to a First World War helmet that has wings on the sides. He is wearing a white loincloth and has a red cape. In his right hand, he holds a winged staff with two snakes wrapped around it. On his feet he wears a pair of sandals with wings.
"Well, father. Are you ready to bring in the others?" says the winged-footed man.
"Yes, son. Go fetch your brothers and uncle."
The son bows to his father. "At once." He literally disappears in the blink of an eye. Juliet's eyes widen. She closes her eyes and shakes her head. She looks around the room. She is in a chamber made of stone, and is the color of storm clouds. There are chains on the walls. Juliet tries to move, but is unable to; she is bound by chains around her wrists, waist and ankles.
Is this real? What is going on here? Juliet thinks.
The man standing above her nods his head.
"Yes, my dear." The strong man says, "You are not dreaming."
"Wh..what?"
"I can read your thoughts, Juliet." He paces in front of her, "I've been watching you for some time child."
Juliet shakes her head and shivers. "Who are you?"
The strong man laughs and the room shakes. "Hahaha! Oh of course how rude of me not to introduce myself. I'm Zeus."
Juliet stares blankly at Zeus. Her jaw hangs open. "No.... It can't be." Her stomach ties itself into a knot. "You can't be real."
Zeus reaches out and grabs her by the throat. His mighty grip chokes her. She struggles to breathe. The hands of Zeus tickle her throat with static shocks. Juliet tries to scream, but can't do anything except to gag.
Zeus lets go and Juliet gasps for air.
"Do you believe now child?"
Juliet shakes her head. "No. You can't be real. There is only one God."
Zeus laughs. "Oh, come now girl. That is rubbish. Even your holy scriptures don't deny the existence of other gods."
Juliet glares at Zeus. "How dare you?"
"No, really. Just read the Old Testament, the bible makes references to gods other than the God of Abraham. Your bible commands that you may not worship other gods."
Juliet shakes her head.
"Thou shall not have other gods before me." Zeus grins. "See the bible doesn't claim we don't exist. Just that the Hebrews shouldn't have any gods before Yahweh." Zeus paces in front of Juliet.
"No... no. God help me."
Zeus lets out a thundering laugh. "Hahaha! Oh, dear girl. Your god had plenty of time to stop my messenger Hermes from taking you but he didn't even try to save you."
Zeus caresses Juliet's face. She vibrates under Zeus's strong hands.
"Your ancestors were Greeks and Romans. They worshiped us until they abandoned us. Now, I have taken you and will now serve the gods of your ancestors as a slave."