A/ N: These two !!! it's taking place right after Ishtar confronted leviathan. He stormed straight into Ayasha's private room to argue with her. Of course, on the verge of having her true intentions revealed, Ayasha had to play her older brother like a damn fiddle to maintain her lie.
Xxxxx
Since Ayesha received the visit of the black butterfly, she had not been able to rest her mind. It was widely accepted that the black butterflies were messengers of Death and meant that either the person who was visited or one of their relatives would die. Leviathan was supposed to meet and fight Pride, which meant that he had everything against him. Ayasha didn't forget that the Sin was actually the most powerful of them all and could win. He would win and he would get the dagger of Fate and set Elpis free. Ayasha dreaded Elpis because she was powerful and unpredictable. She was like a grain of sand that got stuck in a well-tuned machine and had to be taken out. The blonde goddess couldn't predict that Elpis would be strong enough to scratch her seal, thus making everybody who once knew her, forget about her. Had she predicted it, it wouldn't have induced a rebellion from their brothers and sisters. They remembered everything. They remembered how Elpis was stabbed and how Ishtar seized power by killing their father, Khaos. They remembered that Ayasha was next to him and a few of them remembered her concealed cruelty. She could not have it.
The goddess of knowledge grew frustrated with the stale situation she found herself in. Nothing was improving, nothing was changing. There was some sort of status quo because Pride had not challenged Leviathan yet. It made her walk in circle, growl and trash her private quarters because she couldn't do anything, aside from searching for her dear sister. With the powerful magic in place, keeping her from being noticed by the goddess, locating Elpis' vessel became a very difficult task, which was noticed by Ishtar himself. Hence why he went on Earth to confront Leviathan about his task and hence why he came back angry, maybe even more than usual. She heard him almost break the front door of her quarters as he stormed into it, his eyes injected with blood, his hair electric, his eyes shooting lightning bolts from where he stood. He was even more massive than usual. He growled lowly, expressing his frustration at the conversation he just had with their brother.
« Ayasha. » His voice boomed through the room, forcing her to recoil in order to pretend she was scared of him.
«Brother... To what do I owe your visit? »
« Leviathan. » She furrowed her brows but didn't move from the bed she was sitting on. Isthar was still fuming but he kept himself in check, his hand still holding the handle of his sword. « I have met him today. »
« Why would you do such a thing? » She asked, her voice trembling.
« I needed to have answers as to why it was taking this long. I would like to crush the rebellion and ensure none of our siblings want to contest my legitimacy. He has not found Elpis yet nor did he fight the SIN. »
« I know. It's taking a while because the sin still has to handle issues with his own siblings. He will find the time to fight Leviathan and he will perish, I can assure you. »
« Can you? » His voice boomed again, making the walls of her private quarters shake. « Can you assure me that Elpis would be gone for good and the sins wouldn't be a threat? »
« ... » She looked at him, her green orbs glowing brightly before she sighed deeply and stood up. He was unhinged given the fact he had started to walk in circles again. « Brother mine... » Her voice tried to sound as soft as possible, she made herself smaller, delicate and fragile to appease his eye. She wouldn't fight him, not yet, not when he could very much kill her if he wanted to. Ishtar was more powerful than Ayasha but she was more clever than him. « I know you're upset because Leviathan is quite arrogant. »
« He told me that he should have been king instead of me. He had always wanted the throne but he wasn't as strong as I was. He wasn't as clever as you were. »
« Yes... yes he is beneath us Ishtar and you know it. » She tried to touch his strong arm but her brother shrugged her hand off of him. «Brother? »
« He did say some truth. I believe he knows you eventually better than I do. » -Her face became somber as she listened the god of war speaks.
« What did he tell you? » For the trained ear, Ayasha's frustration could have been picked at this exact moment. She was unable to fake her annoyance at Leviathan trying to thwart her plan and break her manipulation of Ishtar. Fortunately for her, her older brother couldn't notice the nuances in her voice.
« He told me that you are the one pulling the strings. He hinted at me being manipulated. » He drew his sword out of its sheath and pointed it at Ayasha's heart. His eyes were still full of anger and mistrust and threatening her with his sword was one of Ishtar's way to find out the truth. If she was lying, then she would panic and beg for mercy. If she was saying the truth, then she wouldn't be afraid of him. That was his logic. « I have to ask Ayasha when you suggested I killed the All-father, was it because you wanted power? When you asked me to kill Elpis, was it because you were jealous of her? »
Ayasha flinched but quickly faked a disgusted expression to take him further away from the truth. Power was her motivation, ultimate power she couldn't achieve by fighting herself. Her eyes grew wide but she didn't step back or beg for mercy. Instead, she decided to pretend she felt insulted by his words and traced the flat of the blade with her fingers. Her golden locks fell onto her shoulders and supple breasts, barely hidden by the white dress she was wearing and she slowly took a step forward, having the sword poke against the skin of her chest. Ishtar furrowed his brows, confused by her reaction. He dropped his sword and leaned against her vanity with one arm. She took a step forward, taking advantage of the situation to hammer in his head that she was his one true ally.
« Are you going to believe someone who has always been jealous of you, Brother? Leviathan has always sought power. He hates you and wants to set us apart so you would be weakened and without an ally. All I have done was to give you my support. All I have ever done was in order to help you, Brother...I even let you stab Elpis » -She planted that seed inside of him, allowing Ishtar to take the blame for what happened to Elpis while it was her who suggested the idea and orchestrated things to happen that way.-
« I don't know what to do... I don't know who to trust. » Ayasha rubbed his arm with her soft hand and leaned her head against his strong chest. « Ayasha... »
« I am here Brother. I am here... I have always been on your side. Elpis was a threat to all of us with her romance. She refused to see the wrong in her actions and refused to let go of that love. Father adored her, he refused to punish her for her crimes and couldn't understand that you saved us when you cursed her. He couldn't see that. I stood by you, after what you did. » -She insisted again, hammering the idea that it wasn't her fault and he should take the blame alone thus playing with his guilt and making it easier for her to manipulate him-
« Why, Ayasha? I need to understand... Why did you do such a thing? Look at all you've lost because you followed me? » She would have smiled if she could but refrained from doing so. Instead, the goddess of knowledge cupped his cheek and pressed her lips against his.
« I love you. I have always loved you, Brother. Call me a fool for believing in Sitaa's impassionate discourse on Love. Call me a fool for wanting to build a life with you. I do not fear life by your side. I do not fear much by your side...this is why I'm here.... following you whatever you take, helping you when you need me...loving you when no one does. »
She pulled away, feigning being ashamed of her own words before he cupped her cheek and pressed his lips to hers, claiming Ayasha with each kiss he gave her. He grabbed her by the waist and summoned his armor off so she could wrap her arms around his broad shoulders. As he kissed her neck, she looked at the bed and smiled to herself. She won that battle and regardless of the outcome, she would win the war too.
-TBC-
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