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Delphia sighed while eating a quick breakfast. She had promised to go see Felix again, but she wasn’t looking forward to it. She’d agreed to do as much as she could to make up for the time she’d been gone and Felix wanted her to try on clothes he’d made. It would be fine if he trusted her to handle it all herself. The second she’d walked in the last few days he had grabbed her and pulled off her cloak. Once she was changed he’d insist on inspecting it and at times change shoes or some kind of part for her.
“You could just tell him you don’t like it,” Rhys said. She jumped and looked up at the smirking god of love. A part of her hated that he’d gotten better about covering his steps, he could sneak up on her.
“It’s fine, it’s only a few more days…” she sighed again. Rhys’s eyes changed to a lavender that she knew too well. Of course he was worried. “Really it’s fine. I know he’s just excited. He had made so much while I was gone, even if there was a chance I wouldn’t come back.”
“You’re too nice little sister, just tell him if it’s too much. He’s not as cold as he acts.”
Delphia nodded before climbing to her feet. She sent Rhys a wave and started towards Felix’s room. She could have asked Rhys to take her, but she wanted to prolong the time before she started getting handled again. They were all so hurt to see the things she bottled up before, she could put up with their excitement. Felix just wanted her to feel special. At least she wanted it to be that.
The door covered in all manner of gems and precious metals appeared too soon. She was tempted to just turn around and hide in her room. Send a message to Felix that she felt sick, but they could continue once she’d improved. That thought was pushed far away as soon as she considered the panic her falling ill would cause. Biting back a groan she walked up to the human sized door and knocked.
“Come in,” Felix’s deep voice called out. After all this time it was weird how sophisticated he sounded. If she’d heard him speak in a town she’d never realize he was a god. At least if he could learn to speak quieter. She pushed open the door and forced a smile onto her face.
“Good morning Felix,” she said with a small bow. She just couldn’t lose that habit after all this time. He offered her a small smile.
“Good morning Little Gem.”
That was all the warning she got before fingers longer than her were wrapping around her. She had to remind herself that the gods were kind. None of them would hurt her and if she spoke up they’d change. She just didn’t need to speak up, she could handle this. The large fingers brushed over her as he moved her into a palm.
Delphia knew what was coming, but couldn’t bring herself to play into it. Fingers that made her things disappear pinched her cloak and started to pull it off. She bit her lip, but relented before he could notice reluctance. Next she watched her feet disappear as he slipped off her shoes. She squeaked when the fingers returned and pinched the long pants she wore under her usual tunic.
“Is there a problem?” he asked. He almost sounded bored. A part of her wanted to shake her head and pretend it was fine. He would pull off her pants, but she’d be left with her tunic. Staring at the fingers pinched around her leg caused a reaction she didn’t expect. Tears fell and the fingers were pulled away as she was brought close to his golden eyes. “Little gem?”
“W-what are you doing?” she managed. She felt awful as his face dropped. Felix was kind despite the way he did things. He wasn’t trying to be mean or make her feel awful. She knew she was right about that… mostly.
“I wanted to ensure the pants I’ve worked on are still proper sizes so I was taking them to compare. You leave them in the house each time.”
A normal explanation for him. He wasn’t thinking like there was anything wrong with it. He needed it for what he’d made and that was it. More tears started falling and she rushed to wipe them away, it was harder without her cloak. Felix just didn’t know how it looked to her. He didn’t know what it seemed like because she was the only human he knew. He wasn’t doing this on purpose.
His huge thumb forced its way between her arms and her face. He gently held her arms down before using a cloth he pulled from thin air to dry her tears. She shouldn’t be crying; he just wanted to do things quickly. Felix was kind. He was kind and cared about her. She was a person to him… right?
“Little gem, what’s wrong?” he asked. His voice was so much quieter than usual. He sounded different, less confident. It wasn’t the Felix she knew and it made her tears worse. He was worried about her, or was he just upset she was doing this? She shook her head, she couldn’t say anything. “Please, tell me what’s wrong Delpha.”
“It’s nothing,” she whispered. He used the tip of his pinky to force her to look at him. He looked close to tears himself. She squeezed her eyes shut and readied herself. She promised to tell them so she would tell him. “F-fine it’s just…”
“Just?” Delphia wasn’t getting out of this. She just needed to come out with it. Once she said it they could move on. Felix was kind, he saw her as a person… unless he didn’t and she was overthinking the opinion of a god again. She took a deep breath before forcing open her eyes.
“I’m not a doll, you know? Stop treating me like one.”
Delphia forced herself to keep staring into the golden eyes of the god of prosperity. He could have anything he wanted in an instant. He chose to spend time making things for her and she was saying this. She was trying hard not to shake while he seemed to take in her words. His face darkened after a few minutes of their stare off and it took all her strength not to look away.
He pulled the hand making her face him away and released her arms from the hold of his thumb. He moved quickly making her head spin to set her on the table before dropping her cloak and shoes in front of her. She didn’t know what to say or do now that he seemed almost angry at her. She just wanted to make up for running away from the people who cared about her.
“I am aware you are not a doll. I had not realized I’d been treating you as such. You do not owe me anymore of your time,” his voice sounded strange. She didn’t like the pain that seemed to be hiding beneath his words. “Please go.”
“Felix I,” she tried. He turned away from her before she could try saying anything.
“Leave.” She bit her lip, she should leave. Bothering a god she upset was a death sentence, but that’s not what this was. Felix was important to her, he was family just like the others. She couldn’t walk away when he was so upset, especially when she caused it.
“No.”
He jumped and for a moment she was sure he would turn on her. The kindness the gods showed her had limits. She tried to prepare herself for the way he would act, but the clink of something against the floor took her attention. She could just barely see large gems landing on the floor in front of Felix. Each god had a number of abilities, more than she could know, and this one seemed almost cruel to the god of prosperity.
“Felix… are you crying?” she asked. He stiffened, but continued to face away from her. “Do your tears turn into gems?”
He stayed silent still. Delphia heard more of the gems hit the floor and she felt awful. She could just imagine the way people would try to hurt him to gain from his pain. She looked up at him, the bits of doubt and fear wiped away. Felix was kind, but acted cold and disinterested. He was in pain because of her and she wouldn’t stand that.
“That must be horribly painful and lonely. Your pain turns into something most find beautiful, so many would ignore the cause to focus on the result,” she murmured. It was the truth. She could only imagine the things he’d expected to happen with how much he hides how he feels.
“Little gem I do not deserve your kindness, please go,” his voice cracked as he spoke. Felix was sensitive and kind. She wouldn’t abandon him now.
“No, not when I made you upset. I’m sorry Felix, let’s just go back to trying on the clothes. I really appreciate all the work you put into all of this.”
“Delphia, you do not have to force yourself. I realize I do not know how best to… interact with humans. I do not intend to repeat the past…” Delphia had a feeling this was about something more than just her words. Felix was always kind, even in the past he hadn’t done anything to be mean or cruel. She gathered all her courage and glared up at him.
“Look at me Felix.” She hadn’t spoken up like this before. He seemed shocked by her voice, but still turned to her. He looked at her with wide eyes, tears rolling down his face turning into gems as soon as they left his skin. “What mistakes do you mean?”
Felix’s face had lost all of his façade. He seemed much more afraid of her than she’d ever seen him. He came closer to her falling to his knees. He hadn’t covered his weight before falling causing her to stumble back on the table. He grimaced, but he still leaned forward looming over her. A few small tears fell from his face hitting the table near her. She jumped, but kept her eyes locked on his.
“I do not think the past I’m thinking of is worth explaining. Please you do not need to stay,” Felix whispered. She stepped forward until she could barely reach his face. She stood on the tips of her toes, fingers barely brushing against Felix’s beige skin.
“I think it is… Felix I hadn’t meant to be so upset. I want to do this, I want to spend time with you. What do you think was happening from this?”
“Little gem… I realize I had pushed you away before and I seem to be doing it again… I fear I will only be worse as time goes on.”
“You’ve only been kind Felix. You wanted to give me what I would need and just hadn’t dealt with humans before. How would you get worse?”
“Little gem.. Delphia, what do you know of my predecessor?”
“I don’t know anything other than you aren’t the ones I’d been warned about for so long.”
He sighed and his breath felt strange on her skin. She didn’t normally have her arms bare when near the gods like this. She still had her fingers against his face when she felt the feeling of a vision come across her. She didn’t want that now, they were talking. She needed to deal with this. She felt her body go limp and those huge warm fingers were catching her. She stared at the worried gold as her vision faded.
She didn’t know what was going on. She’d been enjoying a party when suddenly the world was shaking and everything went dark. She was on something hard, this wasn’t her bed. She was getting annoyed at anyone who would dare to do something like this to her. She owned everyone around her; they’d regret this. She’d get more from the gods because of the sacrifices she’d make to them.
A laugh that shook her to her core forced her eyes open. A form almost too large to comprehend was looking over her. The glowing golden eyes were terrifying. The one staring at her had clearly lived a life of luxury. She had never seen someone so big before. She started to scramble back bumping into something huge, soft, and warm. She looked back slowly seeing huge pudgy fingers behind her.
“Awake mortal?” the voice shook her to her core. She didn’t want to face those eyes again. The finger she stared at moved. She didn’t have time to act before two of the massive digits surrounded her. She was held tightly and brought up to the glowing golden eyes. She swallowed hard as the hunger in them grew. “You were quite a fun one to play with.”
“Please! Let me go!” she shouted. Her voice sounded so quiet after hearing the behemoth before her. “I can give you anything you want. I can give you others. I’m more valuable alive!”
There was more laughter as the hand holding her moved. The thick fingers were pressing so hard she could barely breathe. The monster started to roll her in their fingers. She wanted to wake up from this horrible nightmare. She should be home in her soft bed and surrounded by the aftermath of her latest escapade. She was worth more than becoming a monster’s toy.
“No little mortal. I grew bored of you. You’re mine now and I have plenty of ideas in mind for you,” the beast’s voice made her feel like her ears would bleed. She watched in fear as they licked their lips while the glowing eyes grew hungrier. “Perhaps you should have realized all my gifts would come at a cost…”
No she couldn’t be here. The god of prosperity favored her. He showered her with gifts. She’d been spared so many times. She had heard the stories, but it wouldn’t happen to her. She’d been so sure. Her vision was starting to go dark. The monster had tightened his fingers. She just wanted this horrible nightmare to end, no matter what it meant.
Delphia sat up gasping for breath. She swore she could still feel the crushing weight of those fingers against her. She was sitting somewhere warm and soft. She felt panic overcome her as she looked up and came face to face with the god of prosperity. Golden eyes staring down at her had her scrambling back. The warm surface curved to keep her steady and she realized in a panic that it was his hand.
“Delphia, little gem, what happened? Was that a vision?” he asked. The voice was nothing like the one she heard. Softer with kindness hidden in the words. She was safe, she wasn’t with that monster. She grabbed onto the closest finger and started to cry.
“You’re nothing like that Felix, you’ll never be like that,” she cried. The warm fingers curled around her. Felix brought her close to his chest and she felt calmed by his heartbeat.
“Thank you little gem.” She could hear in his voice he’d started to cry again. She gripped his clothes as the sound of gems hitting the floor echoed around her. She didn’t want to know why Felix knew of that past. She knew there was no chance he could ever be someone like that.
“I’ll tell you anytime you need to hear it, Felix. I know it’s true, your eyes could never look like that.”