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Kassandra wrapped the scarf around her neck just a little bit tighter and forced herself to continue her trek. Her heart beat heavy in her chest at just how much this land had changed but still managed to stay the same. Every year she made this journey. Every year she made her way up to the cliff above what used to be the Huntress Village.
The first time was purely by accident. She had been busy chasing down some leads on artifacts. The combination of jetlag and the changing landscape of her homeland it took Kassandra a couple of days to realize just where she landed. After she realized she was in Chios she couldn't help but to make the trek up the cliff.
This trip was now something she made sure she did every year, no matter where in the world she was. It both hurt but also brought about a feeling of peace Kassandra hadn’t felt in years. Kassandra pulled herself up on to the top of the cliff and let out a slow breath and looked around. Everything was still untouched by modern human hands. It looked about the same as it all those centuries ago.
She pulled her pack off of her shoulders and pulled the bouquet of flowers out. “It’s been so many years but I still miss you as if it’s only been months since I last held you.” She said, as she knelt down and placed the flowers at the base of the tall Mastic tree that had stood there since Kassandra’s very first visit to Chios.
She took a deep breath and looked up to the sky. “I regret taking so long to come back here.” She whispered softly. “I have many regrets and wishes to be honest.” She chuckled. Kassandra ran a hand through her hair and shook her head. She sat down with her back to the tree and her legs crossed at her ankles.
“I don’t think I ever told you this but I actually went to the temple where he first met. I cursed Artemis to the underworld and back and then I cursed myself for hunting those fucking beasts.” Kassandra said, shaking her head. “I dream about you sometimes. I dream about another life with you. Sometimes it feels so real Daphane that my heart breaks when I wake."
Kassandra took a slow breath through her nose and let her head rest against the trunk of the tree. She counted backwards in to five in greek before letting it out her mouth. "In my dreams Phoibe is alive and with us. She would boast about her parents being the mighty Eagle Bearer and the leader of the Daughters of Artemis." Kassandra said, chuckling sadly.
"I would have fought Artemis and all of Olympus if it meant I could have you. You were the one for me. I still haven't felt that kinship I felt with you with another." She looked down at her hands and traced the scars and lines of her palm. "I wanted you and needed you. Especially when Mater died. Her death almost broke me down to dust." Kassandra said, rubbing her hands together.
"Alexios was there though. He and Barnabas helped me pick up the pieces of myself. I think it hit me then that I would have to watch everyone I love die and I wouldn't know when I would join them. I honestly still don't know when." She wiped the tears that had started to fall. "Every time someone died that was all I could think about. When would I be able to join them. When would I be able to join you."
Kassandra wiped her hand down her face and sniffled a little. She leaned her head back against the tree and closed her eyes, smiling as memories of Daphnae's smile and bright eyes played in her head. Kassandra couldn't quite remember what her voice sounded like or what the first words she spoke to her were but she could remember almost everything else about the huntress.
Realizing that she couldn't remember every detail about those she lost hurt her at first, but she comforted herself with what she could remember. Like the way Alexios would throw his head back and laugh at a joke he found particularly funny or the way Ikaros would almost frown in disapproval if anyone offered him boar meat.
"I'm sorry, I don't think I ever told you that. That day I wasn't the only one that got hurt. I could see it in your eyes that your heart was breaking just like mine was. It was either me or your vow to your goddess." Kassandra said, shaking her head with a frown. "The gods are cruel and selfish and we are just their playthings."
She sat silently a little longer and listened the animals roaming the nearby woods and the stillness that comes before the dawn of a new day. "I love you Daphane. I always have." Kassandra said quietly.
She slowly gets to her feet and stretches out her back and arms. "I'll be back again my love and one day I'll be in the afterlife with you. If Alexios and Stentor are there don't let them give you too much shit." Kassandra laughs, resting her palm against the tree.
She smiles as she looks around the cliff, feeling lighter than she had for weeks. She walks over to the same edge that she had climbed up earlier and stops.
The air around her feels different than it had all night, not exactly buzzing with energy but charged in a subtle way. She turns to look back at her tree and sees a small gray wolf sitting next to the flowers she had placed watching her. Kassandra tilted her head to the side and met the wolf's light amber eyes.
In all of her years coming here none of the local wildlife had ever come this close to her. Kassandra licked her lips and tried not to get too excited. "From Daphane?" She whispered, tilting her head at the wolf.
She smiled as the wolf bowed its head at her deeply before turning to make its way down to the side of the cliff. Kassandra turned back to make her way down back into civilization with a smile on her face.