Apollo picked up his wife cradled in his arms, and mumbled sweet words of love and encouragement as he walked her along the beach towards their cabin. 

“It’s a miracle that you swam ashore here instead of any of the other beaches. No, don’t talk, my gypsy queen, my love, save your strength. I am just so damn happy that you’re safe and home again.  I’ve missed you more than any words can say.”  

The emotion in his voice threatened to spill over from his eyes.  The Prince of Wolves kept talking gently to his wife, smiling down at her face and soft caresses with his fingers to relax her.  That must have been a scary ordeal, being shipwrecked in the middle of such a fierce storm and gosh knows what else happened before she became beached.  There are predators out in the big blue sea who would love to feast on a tender mermaid.  He talked about the cottage and the pretty flowers that they had planted together, now in full vibrant bloom.  He talked about his new hobby fishing and how much fun it was. By the time they’d got to their cottage, Apollo was all talked out.  He didn’t know what else to say and so there was silence … and a flood of family memories entered the lapse of words.

After laying Es on the couch and getting her comfortable with pillows and a blanket, Apollo went into the kitchen to brew a cup of herbal tea for her. As he waited, he thought about all the times they’d made love beneath the stars and the moon. He thought about the day she became pregnant with their son and how happy he was … and still is.  His handsome son is the pride and joy of his heart, growing up to be quite the stud (like his father), and his beautiful daughter, Brailey the baby girl of their family, (and the brat); Apollo was blessed to have two healthy children and a phenomenal wife.   He considered himself the utmost luckiest man in the whole entire world and beyond the cosmos. 

Looking around at the objects in the kitchen while waiting for the water to boil, Apollo realized that everything decorative in the kitchen was placed there by Esmeralda’s hand. Of course the kitchen was her personal space, where she got the most creative in cooking their food.  Apollo smiled, now thinking of her most deliciously famed casserole dish.  It was good to have Es home again.  The high pitched whine of the teapot brought him back to the here and now.  

Carrying the teacup and its hot beverage back into the parlor, Apollo set it down on an end table and sat himself down next to his wife, resting peacefully.  He’d noticed a few small bruises on her body but it seemed like her condition wasn’t worse than that.  She had no visible cuts or broken bones. Being more than human; part mermaid, part vampire; he knew that she would heal in time.  The fatigue of such an ordeal was great, she needed only to rest. He did not wake her for her tea, because it was too hot and would cool by the time she awakened.  

“Sleep my love, my one and only.  Rest peacefully now, you are safe”, Apollo crooned as he lightly stroked her still damp hair. Her hair felt chilled to the touch.  Warmth, she needs warmth, he turned to look at the cold stone mantel a brief second before jumping up to quickly stock the fireplace with wood and to light a fire within.   It had been a long time since Apollo needed to tend to anyone, his two children were all grown up and starting their own individual lives, although they still visited him often and sought his guidance as a Dad.  Esmeralda … he hurried back to her and sat down to hold her hand as she slept.  He would be there when she awoke.

The Island of Atlantis was quiet … the quietude was thick in its absolute silence.  His father had gone off to fight a battle somewhere and his mother stayed home alone in her great big castle with only her memories to keep her sane.  Apollo would visit her weekly but she seemed to be doing ok.  He remembered how she liked her solitude and did not want to be much of a bother to her, only checking up on her.   With Esmeralda gone off to take care of her ailing father, his brother busy with wife and a new baby, Apollo decided to get a hobby… something fun to do when there was nothing else to do.   He bought a fishing pole and a tackle box, some lures and bobber, sinkers, a spool of fishing line, a net and a filet knife.  The first two days he was disappointed by the stormy weather and stayed home indoors but looked over his gear and self-instructed how to set up his pole.  He would be ready when the weather got nicer out. Alone in his modest cottage, he sat on the front porch and watched the lightning and thunder sizzle across the sky.

Walking along the edge of the beach with his new fishing pole slung over a shoulder and his tackle box with all his gear swinging gently in time to his long legged stride, Apollo looks around with a lazy smile at the scenic view.  Fishing sure is a relaxing sport and if he catches anything big enough worth eating, he’ll be well fed and happy.  He stopped at an ideal location and set up his fishing pole with a red spinner, cast it out into the ocean and reeled it back in.  His mind was relaxed, not thinking of anything in particular but always Esmeralda was never too far from his wandering thoughts.  He wasn’t paying much attention to the fishing experience, casting and reeling as if on autopilot until he felt a nibble and then he got focused on bringing the catch in.  This went on for about an hour and he had 2 fat trout strung on a thin line of rope so they can stay alive immersed in the water and not swim away.  Off in the distance, he mindlessly watched what seemed to be flotsam debris bob along with the rolling surf.  At first he saw it but it didn’t register in his brain what he was seeing.

 Another chunk of debris floated in sight and slowly his brain started to wonder what it was.  It had to be a debris from a small ship, he reasoned but without immediate worry.  “That looks like a mast pole”, he said to himself as a long cylinder shape stabbed the wave and a torn piece of sail with its rigging trailing after.  Now with his curiosity piqued, Apollo reeled in his fishing line and set the pole down on the beach.  Further down the beach was a breakwater barrier that extended out to the entrance of the harbor.  Apollo jogged over to that and followed it along, out 300 feet to look closer at the floating jetsam.   It was definitely broken parts of a ship. His blood ran cold as he glanced further down the beach towards the lighthouse. Had a ship crashed on those rocks? “Oh gawd”, Apollo started running back to the beach and ran to the lighthouse.  But before he got there, he saw an even more blood chilling sight; a human, possibly female, laying unconscious on the beach.  He pushed his legs to run faster and slid to his knees next to the woman.

She was lying on her face, so her identity was not yet known but there was a distinct familiarity in the body shape.  His heart was up in his throat as Apollo gently turned the unconscious woman over.

“Es!!”, he sobbed with unrestrained emotion, not believing his eyes and hoping she was still alive, but fearing that she was not. He held her limp body with an arm while smoothing back her wet hair with the other hand.  His hand sought the warm breath of her mouth and nose and he lowered his face to hers as if to kiss.  Apollo was a different kind of demon vampire.  He did not feast on blood, but rather, on souls.  The vitality of countless souls kept him young and healthy.   Now he would give some of that ethereal energy to his wife, exchanged by a gentle kiss.  A shinning beam of immortal power came out his mouth and went into hers.  Apollo would age 15 years as the process of transfer depleted his vitality.  His face filled out, developing a slight trace of wrinkles, as if a middle aged man. His hair naturally platinum blonde became streaked white with age.  He no longer had the flawless beauty of youthfulness but was nevertheless still handsome enough … for a middle aged man.

“Es … Es … wake up”, he cried out in distress with hot tears streaming down his face. 

The tickling of the wind upon his bare skin heightened the erotic thoughts toying in his mind.  Esmeralda was breathtakingly gorgeous in her sheer robe, looking more like a goddess than a vampire hybrid. The shimmering golden fabric clung to her curves and accentuated her femininity. His heart beat so fast and so hard that he thought it would literally burst out of his chest.  His legs trembled as he worshiped her neck with kisses, trailing over the graceful curve of her jawline to find her ruby lips with a deeply intense passion.  He felt unrestricted here in the mountain wilderness.  Apollo whispered her name as his hands caressed over the smooth fabric and began bunching it up to expose her legs.  As his fingers worked, he collected the fabric just above her finely shaped rump.  Pressing closer in a tight hug, he peered over her shoulder at the fleshy mounds of her rump and sighed out with content, smiling to himself.  

“You sure do got a nice ass baby.”, he chimed in a husky voice, “A smoldering hot looking bum.”

Somewhere above and behind him, Apollo heard the sound of a loose rock falling.   He paid it no mind but kept it in the background of his thoughts.  Whoever was peeping at them could do nothing more than watch at their higher altitude.  There was no easy direct way down the cliff without hiking around to the path which he rather doubted they would dare do.   Either way, he was prepared to make their welcoming very unwelcomed.  Right now, he had a golden goddess at his mercy and he intended to make her moan and plead for more.  His hands moved down to gently knead the roundness of her bum, enjoying the soft feel of her cheeks in his hands.   His male organ pressed horizontally against her, rolling between their bodies as he ravished her again with kisses.

The sun had disappeared behind the mountain, leaving them in the coolness of the approaching evening.  Apollo reached for a blanket and gave it a quick one handed shake to lay out upon the ground.  Without breaking free of his wife in all her seductiveness, he coaxed her to lounge down beside him upon the blanket, near but not too close to the heat of the campfire.  It cast its flickering light upon her golden gown, which he promptly lifted the remaining fabric up and off, over her head.  Now he feasted his eyes on the splendid form of her naked body. 

“Take me, my darling”, he spoke tenderly, “Take me to the place that only you can; to a place of heavenly ecstasy between your thighs.”   

To entice her into fulfilling his need, Apollo teased that delightful place with the tips of his probing fingers.  Again his erectness pressed against her soft smooth flesh as he lifted over a leg to capture her lower half in an entanglement of limbs.  He resumed the kissing as his other hand roamed freely upon her supple breasts and the contours of her belly.  Meanwhile he continued to finger her soft petals below until she was aching to feel him deep inside her.   Whoever was on the cliff watching, no longer mattered.  It was just him and his gypsy queen under the canvas of stars.  

His hand clasped comfortably onto hers in this moment of silence.  Apollo looked back up over his shoulder at the mountain they still yet had to climb.  He gave Es a smile, “I’d like to reach the halfway point before evening approaches.  We can set up a tent and make camp for the night, continuing on at early dawn.”

Having this private ‘alone-time’ together gave Apollo a deep feeling of intimacy.   He wasn’t a normal chatterbox with most people.  Es gave him the security of trust, so in this moment, he felt more relaxed to speak his mind.  As they discussed family matters, her words were comfort and nurturing to his soul.  He stared at her with a half smile on his face, thinking how intelligent and gorgeous she was, the mother of his children, strong minded with a gentle heart.  His hand caressed along the small of her back and lost himself in the contentment of a happy marriage.  He could see immense pride shining in her eyes when she spoke of their son.   The only one minor regret he had was that Es hadn’t been quite as mothering to Nyla, their first born daughter.  Not to discount Es’s efforts to be closely bonded, for their young adventurous daughter was always roaming around on her own, discovering a life purpose.   Perhaps daughters were more self-sufficient than sons, no blame on anyone. 

Jumping to a different topic of conversation, his wife had dived into the picnic basket, stimulating Apollo’s stomach to gurgle.  He nodded in agreement and laughed, “Nope, we sure don’t want to upset the cooks.”

He hungrily wolfed down the boar sandwich and thought about having a drink to wash it down.  With a slight quirk of naughtiness, he made sure that his wandering hand tiptoed down and across her smoothly shaped buttocks before it reached the basket of goodies on the other side and fished around. His eyes captured hers and held a lingering gaze.  No words were needed at this time; his eyes spoke volumes of his love and devoted adoration for her.   Tilting his head just a bit, Apollo gave her a momentary kiss and a wink.   He retracted his arm with the flask of water and took a hearty swig of it.  The lapse of silence between them was comfortable, each lost in their own thoughts, but not too far astray from each others.

Frequently, as Apollo absorbed the serenity of the moment, he glanced over to Es and smiled.  He wiped the water off his mouth and returned the flask to the basket.  He spoke softly and slowly, broaching a subject that perhaps would be emotional for her to talk about, “I met your dad at our reception and your brother too.  They seemed like they both approve of me as your husband … but since you brought her up first, tell me more about your mother, Mirena  … what was she like?   I bet she was gorgeous like you, and smart, and resourceful.  Go ahead if you want to tell me more, and if you rather not, then that’s ok too.   I was only curious to get a better understanding of who she was, as a mother to you.”

Apollo smiled at his wife’s enthusiasm and made comment of what little he knew of the buffalo species, “In the Americas they are called bison and were hunted to near extinction … not by the native Indians but by the white man who settled there from overseas.  Here in Europe they are called wisent, and were also hunted to near extinction for their warm hides … and their horns were popular between the 14th to 19th centuries for drinking mead and ale in.   I believe it was the Vikings who made the drinking horn a ceremonious activity, but I could be mistaken on that.”

Following his eyes along the pointed direction of her arm and hand, Apollo could distinctly see the small white calf roaming among the darker coated adults.  Indeed the albino bison was a rarity among its kind and no doubt worshiped as an omen or living spirit among the superstitious societies of humans.  Apollo did not know how to answer her question but it seemed to be not a rhetorical one, for the gulf of silence that blanketed them was comfortable and soothing to the soul.  He simply nodded in response, admiring the unique little calf.  The intimacy of the next moment that filled the silence spoke volumes where words were not needed. 

He felt the tingling warmth of her kiss upon his smoothly shaven cheek and the tickle of her breath. Indeed their son had grown up quickly in his metabolic immortality but Apollo had cherished caring for him as an infant and would always keep those memories as happy times.   For now, he was grateful to be snuggling close to his gypsy queen and hearing her musical voice soothing upon his ears. They currently had no worries to stress upon.  It was days like this that he wanted to store in his memories so that in future days he can think back and smile.    Apollo suddenly had a great idea.  He returned the affection of a kiss upon her lips and gazed into her gorgeous eyes, “We should name that white calf after our son.  It can be his spirit animal to watch over and protect. “

Apollo mused quietly aloud, “I think the problem with today’s youthful society is that most of them are lost and have no purpose in their lives.  The olden ways of paganism had rituals to ensure that the transition between child and adult gave them value and worth in the world.  Modern society and new fangled religions have disconnected people from each other. Young adults are thrown into the world without a clue to what they want out of life.   I feel strongly that Adonis being entrusted to the survival of this baby albino calf would benefit him.  It would give him courage and a sense of purpose.  I would like to hear your thoughts on this, my love, whether for or against. “