Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Imagined Reality ❯ Imagination in Reality ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

How can you get into the mind of someone who does not even exist? That's a very good question. I was asked that for the first time only about a year ago. My answer? Well, at the time I didn't have one. It was a good question back then too. How does one get into the mind of someone who is not considered to be real, or at least not in the realm of mortals?

A question that should be asked first is what is real, or what defines existence? That is yet another excellent question. I suggest that you ask a philosopher or scientist. I am neither of the two and I highly doubt that I ever will be. That is simply not my forte. What I can do, though, is tell you tales, many wonderful tales of kings and queens and knights in shining armour and runaway gypsies and superheroes and lions and tiger and bears….oh my. I'm getting a little excited here, but thinking of all the games I've played and the adventures I've been on, I can't help but reminisce. It's all I have to lean on at the moment, at least until I am called for.

You ask what would I be called for? My, aren't we full of questions today. It's good, though, to have such a natural curiosity. Many people lose that after childhood and most of them never regain it. The same thing happens with imagination, lack of prejudice, stress-free days, and the ability to eat anything in the world and not put on a single pound. Oh yes, I have seen it many times, you can bet anything on that.

I have seen and experienced many things. I have experienced love, hate, death, birth, joy, suffering, good, evil, fear, compassion, excitement, disappointment…I don't think there is anything that I have not experienced.

Who am I? I am whoever you want me to be. Isn't it obvious? No? I am myself; my own being, yet highly malleable and adaptable. Perhaps I should tell you a few of my stories so that you can figure out for yourself who I am. After all, your curiosity still seems to be in tact, and now maybe I will be able to revive all those other aspects you lost after childhood. Well, perhaps not the ability to eat anything and retain that perfect body shape, but all the others I should be able to do.

I warn you now that what I say must not be repeated to any other mortal being. I might just decide to erase your memory after this, if I am in the mood. There are many secrets in the universe that are waiting to be uncovered, and they will be when the time is right. At the moment, though, it is not the right time to reveal this mystery. I only wish to entertain you at the moment to help me combat my boredom.

I suppose that I should tell my tale from the beginning, since that is usually the best place to start. My first memory dates back to the day when I met Sophia. Sophia was a sweet, beautiful child, a darling girl who I fell in love with as soon as I saw her. She became my little sister, someone I wanted, no, needed to protect. Why? Because she needed me.

"Who are you?" Those were her first words to me. She was sitting on the ground hugging her knees, her back to a wall. Tears were streaming down her face causing and her eyes were puffy and red. She was only six years old but the pain and sorrow that shone from her eyes made her look ten years older.

"Whoever you want me to be," I replied softly as I sat down next to her and placed my arm around her shoulders. She stared up at me for a while, her blue eyes brimming with curiosity and fascination.

A smile suddenly lit her face and she wrapped her arms around my waist. "You can be Helen," she whispered, "the most beautiful sister ever on the earth." A smile touched my lips as I held the child in my arms. I ran my fingers through her long dark hair and whispered words of comfort to her. She was my first child, my first master, my creator.

Sophia lived in the city of Troy in a time of peace. She was the daughter of one of the servants in one of the wealthy estates. Greece was, at the time, flourishing and the general populace was content. Why did Sophia need me then? She was only six, and six year olds have different problems than adults do. She needed a friend, someone to look up to, and so I came to her. On the day that we met, she took me on a tour of the home she lived in. We walked up the stone stairs and entered a beautiful foyer. Everything was so clean bright. She took my hand and led me through the various rooms.

"That's where the Master and Mistress sleep," she pointed out as we passed a well furnished room, "and that is where their son sleeps. He's nice." I gazed in amazement at the splendour around me. I had never seen such beauty; everything was new to me. I was, after all, only a few hours old, and my mind was limited to the knowledge Sophia had thus far given me. Our tour led us to a small secluded area in one of the gardens where Sophia plopped down beneath a large olive tree. I sat down beside her, running my fingers along the trunk of the mighty tree.

"We should play a game!" Sophia exclaimed.

"What game would you like to play?" I asked her, not sure what she had in mind.

She tapped her chin gently, staring up into the high leaves. "We could pretend that you are a princess and I am a goddess, and I have to give you to someone to marry."

I couldn't help but smile as I stood up and gave her a curtsey. "Mistress, I am at your services."

Sophia giggled as she bounced up and started walking around, her head held high and her steps even and small. "We must find you a husband, but who?" She walked up to a bush and started circling it. "Hmm…no, he is far too old for you."

I giggled. "I thank you for taking that into consideration."

Sophia smiled. "As Aphrodite, I must make sure that you can love him. Now how about this one?" she walked over to another small shrub and grinned.

"Hmm, he seems a little short, don’t you think?" I asked as I walked over.

Sophia considered this for a moment before nodding. "Then how about this man? He is a King, a king named…..Menelaus! Yes, King Menelaus. Is he to your liking?"

I gazed at the tree Sophia had presented to me. "If you think that it will work, oh great Aphrodite, then I will be happy with this choice."

Sophia clapped her hands. "Very well it is settled then. This is your husband, King Menelaus. He is a strong warrior, and he is the king of…. of Sparta." She grinned, obviously pleased with her work. I watched as from the tree stepped a man who was a head taller than I with broad shoulders. His light brown hair fell around his face and his green eyes sparkled with amusement. He was richly dressed and clean shaven but did not look arrogant or proud. He did have a fierce sort of beauty around him though. "Do you like him?" Sophia asked.

I nodded and curtsied. "My Lord, it is a pleasure to meet a might King such as yourself."

Menelaus bowed. "I would say the same about you, my Lady." His voice was deep and rich, his words smooth and clear. Yes, I would most definitely like him.

"I will marry you two now," Sophia declared, "since I am the goddess of love. Come and kneel before me."

Menelaus came and held his arm out for me, which I took. He led me over to where Sophia was standing and we both kneeled. I could feel the muscles of his arm rippling beneath his skin and shivered. Well, Sophia had created him as a warrior. It only made sense that he would be well built and strong. Our 'Aphrodite' cleared her throat and placed her hand on our joined arms. "As Goddess of love, I declare you two married. May you be happy and live long. "Menelaus, you may kiss your bride." On the word kiss she burst into giggles and her voice went high. I laughed. She was, after all, only a six year old Aphrodite. I heard Menelaus chuckle beside me and I glanced at him. He captured my chin between his thumb and pointer finger to tilt my face towards his and gave me a quick, chaste kiss. His lips met mine for only a brief moment, but that moment was enough to send Sophia into another round of hysterical giggles.

"You two kissed!" she shrieked out as she lay on the ground laughing.

"Well, great goddess Aphrodite, you did tell me to kiss my new wife," Menelaus pointed out. He laid his free hand on my arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. I took in a sharp breath. This was all so new to me, I didn't know how to react.

"Well, it is time now, King Menelaus, for you to travel to Sparta and prepare for the arrival of your new wife," Sophia said as seriously as she could.

Menelaus let go of my arm and bowed deeply. "It looks like I must depart for now. Until we meet again, my Lady, farewell."

"I look forward to our next meeting," I replied. He smiled and winked at me again. With that he walked away and out of the garden.

In the matter of a few hours I had been created, met a man, been married, and was soon to be preparing for a great voyage. Isn't the mind of a child wonderful?

Sophia smiled up at me as I watched the man, who was now my husband, leaving. "I made sure he was nice," Sophia said proudly, "and smart and wise. You'll like him."

"I do like him," I told her truthfully. With the way things were going I was looking forward to seeing what her mind would come up with next.

"Do you think you love him?" she asked gently.

"Love whom?" Both of us spun around at the unexpected male voice. Standing not ten feet from us was a young man who could not have been more than twenty four years old with jet black hair and sky blue eyes, high cheek bones and dimples. I felt my heart skip a beat. "Sophia, you know you're too young to be thinking about love," he added in in his silky smooth voice.

Sophia smiled. "I know that, I'm not the one who's going to be in love," she explained.

"Oh, then who is?" the young man asked.

"Helen is," Sophia stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "She's standing right there. As Aphrodite, I needed to find a husband for her, and I did, but now she has to fall in love with him."

The young man looked right at me, his piercing blue eyes surveying me from head to toe. I glanced at Sophia in a panic. "Is this Helen?" he asked.

Sophia smiled. "I should introduce you two. Paris, this is Helen. She's my new best friend. She's the most beautiful woman in the world, don't you think?" I could see him look me up and down again and a hot blush rose to my cheeks. I twirled my hair around my finger nervously and stared at anything besides his mesmerizing eyes. I couldn't explain why I felt so odd. He had a grin on his face that was arrogant but he didn't seem to be the kind of man who thought himself high and mighty. Perhaps he simply knew how incredibly handsome he was, and his smile merely displayed that confidence.

"Of course she is," Paris, replied. I blushed even harder and nearly pulled out the hair I was twisting on my finger.

Sophia started laughing. "Look, you made her blush!" I shot Sophia a glare but said nothing. She calmed down and pointed to Paris. "Helen, this is Paris. He's the son of Master and Mistress. He comes and plays with me sometimes."

Paris cocked an eyebrow but said nothing to Sophia. Instead he looked at me again and gave a slight bow. "Helen, it is a pleasure to meet a beauty such as yourself. I am honoured."

I bowed my head, quite certain that my face was redder than an apple. "The pleasure it all mine," I murmured before bringing my eyes up to meet his. He smiled, showing a row of perfectly white teeth. I could feel my heart speeding up and forced myself to tear my gaze away from the demi-god before me.

"Paris, will you play with us?" Sophia asked.

"Of course I will," he replied, kneeling on one knee before her. "But just for a little while, all right?"

Sophia nodded excitedly. "All right. Now remember, I am Aphrodite, and Helen is the wife of King Menelaus of Sparta."

"Ahh, so Helen is a queen," Paris said, glancing towards me again.

"Uh-huh," Sophia replied, "and you will be a Prince of Troy!"

Paris straitened his back. "A prince? I think I like that."

Sophia squealed with excitement and bounced over to a bench. "Ok Paris, let's pretend that your hearding sheep and one of them wanders away and comes to this cave where I am."

Paris raised his eyebrows. "Now why would I be herding sheep if I am a prince of Troy?"

"'Cause you were taken away from your family as a baby because your sister prophesied you would be the destruction of Troy," Sophia explained. "A Shepard found you and raised you, so now you're out with your sheep."

Paris chuckled but gave no more protests. He picked up a stick from the ground and started walking around with it as though it were a crook for sheep. "Now where could that sheep be?" he asked out loud as he started walking around. "I was sure I saw it going somewhere over here." He walked around the three that was behind the bench where Sophia was sitting, grinning from ear to ear. I sat myself down and watched. "Ahh, there is a cave. I think I heard a bleating coming from within. Perhaps my lost sheep is in there." He walked closer to Sophia, glancing around as though he were still searching.

"Greetings, mortal," Sophia exclaimed. Paris fell to his knees before her, supporting his weight on the stick.

"Who are you oh beautiful goddess?" he asked in stunned amazement. I had to admit he was getting into his role quite well.

"I am Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty. I have a problem though, mortal," she replied.

"Is there anything I can do to be of assistance?" he asked humble, bowing low.

"Me, Hera and Athena are having a disagreement. We cannot decide who is the most beautiful of us three. You must make the choice for us. If you choose Hera, she offers you great power. If you choose Athena, she offers you infinite wisdom, and if you choose me, I offer you….the most beautiful woman in the world."

I gasped. She had to be kidding. Had I not just been married to Menelaus? Why, then, was she promising me to another man now? Paris looked like he was deep in thought before he finally looked up at Sophia. "It is your beauty, of lovely Aphrodite, that has captured me. Despite this being a rather difficult choice since all three of you are so beautiful, I must choose you, Aphrodite. You are the fairest."

Sophia smiled and glanced to either side of her. I could see the slightest glimmer of two figures but they disappeared right away. "You have my gratitude and the wrath of Hera and Athena. You will have the most beautiful woman as yours."

Paris stood and bowed. "I thank you," he said smoothly, then turned and looked at me. "I am very grateful." He took a step toward me and held out his hand as though he were placing it against a glass wall. "You will be mine," he whispered.

I shivered. His eyes were so hypnotizing and his words filled with such passion, it made me weak in the knees. Slowly he lowered his hand and looked back at Sophia who was trying hard not to laugh. "Did you not say, though, that she is the wife of King Menelaus already?"

Sophia nodded. "That's what makes this more interesting," she replied.

"I suppose it does. I must go now though, so we will have to continue this later."

"Aww, do you really have to go?" Sophia whined.

"I'm afraid so," Paris replied, placing his hand gently on her head.

"Oh fine, I'll play with Helen for now then," Sophia replied with a pout.

"Have fun," Paris said, and with that he started to walk away. He walked by me, his arm brushing against mine. I shuddered and hoped my knees would not give out. "Until next time," I heard him whisper, and then he left.

Sophia stared at me. "You're in love with Paris," she whispered in a way that almost conveyed disbelief.

I shook my head. "N-no, I don't," I argued, but we both knew the truth.

"This is the funnest game I've played!" Sophia exclaimed.

"Sophia, it's time for lunch!" A woman's voice called from the building.

Sophia sighed. "Coming mama," she called out, then looked at me. "I have to go now, but I'll be back later, ok?"

I nodded and watched her dash in the direction of the house. As soon as she was out of sight I walked over to the olive tree and sank to the ground, leaning against the trunk. I fingered the golden locks falling from my head and sighed. I felt so confused, so lost. Did I love Paris? Could I? I didn't know. Menelaus and I, we were Sophia's creations, but Paris, Paris was real just like Sophia.

I close my eyes and leaned my head back. I still had much to learn about the world. And this was only day one.