Io
What girl can resist a king, especially a king of gods?
Not only master of humans, but also of the beings that created us?
I know it was wrong; I know I was out of place with my love.
But after a life so harsh and cold and cruel, his love, though brief, was a balm on a lifetime of wounds.
So accuse him of being loose with his affections, and cruel with his lovers. Accuse me of being stupid and silly and lost. But do not think to assume that I was a prey.
If anything, I was the predator.
Cold
The world was a cold place when I lived.
If you weren't born on the right day, married on the right day, or died on the right day, your soul was considered dirty, and you were shunned. The seers who told us the correct days to do these things were highly revered.
I was not born on a right day. I was born on a festival day for the god, Hades. This was considered blasphemy, and I was forever shunned. Oh, people would speak with me, but only if absolutely necessary, and only if they couldn't speak to anyone else.
If I were to be walking on one side of the road, people would cross over to the other side. No one wanted to be seen conversing with me unless it was absolutely plain that they had no other choice. Walking behind me was considered another wrong doing, and so I often walked alone. People would go out of their way to avoid me, even if it was inconvenient.
I once fell in love with a shop-keepers son. He was one of the kinder people toward me. He even would smile at me, on occasion, when no one else was around. He would sometimes give me a flower along with my purchases, or give me a candy for free. One time he even carried home my bundles for me when it was dark and late and no one else was out.
I was dizzy with love. Finally, a person who treated me like an equal; a person who wanted to smile at me and walk with me; a person who had a kindness to me.
Oh, how I misinterpreted this boy.
And because of this, he took advantage of me.
Heart Break, Heart Beat
It happened one night as he again carried my many bundles home for me.
Mother was having a party tomorrow, and so needed supplies to make great food for our guests. She never thought to send a servant boy with me to the market. She merely assumed I could handle it all by myself.
She must have assumed I was an ox or some such creature that was strong enough to carry five bundles packed full with heavy food items.
Instead, Sanders, the shop-keeper's son, offered to help me carry the bundles. I staggered along behind him, lugging three of the five bundles, and sweating unattractively.
And the thing is, I'm not unattractive. I have charming features, wide eyes, a pert nose, and skin as white as alabaster. Since mother insists on sending me out to the market almost every day, I go to great pains to cover my skin and keep it fashionably white. I am well-proportioned and have the body of a woman. It's not as though I am disfigured or ugly—merely unfortunate.
We reached the barn a few minutes from my house, and set the bundles down beside it. I was breathing heavily. Sanders was barely sweating. He looked at me, then up at the moon, than back at me, calculating something.
"You are very pretty, Io." He told me, eyes glinting strangely in the light of the half moon.
I blushed. "Thank you, Sanders." He took a step toward me. "Many boys in the village think that by kissing the lips of an unfortunate can cause you to become an unfortunate, too."
The thought of actually kissing someone was dizzying. I ducked my head. "I wouldn't know," I told him, feeling shamed. "I've never kissed anyone, or been kissed."
Our nearness was breath-taking. We were so very close, that I could see the outline of thin lips, the glint of crooked teeth, and the curve of his nose, which dived down toward his lips. I'd never seen a boy this close. I'd thought it normal for their looks to be so unappealing, and for their eyes to glint slyly as Sanders' did that night.
"Would you like your first kiss now, Io?" he asked. Now? Right this instant? Right now I felt gross and sweaty and unprepared for this moment.
"Wait—" I began, but he did not. Instead he lunged forward and mashed his lips onto mine. Disgust riddled through me as he began to pet my lips with his tongue. He then parted my lips roughly apart and shoved his tongue into my mouth. Revulsion spiraled through me as I flailed against him, battering him with my fists and trying to kick him; I had no experience with kissing, but this was not what I had imagined.
"Quit struggling and stay still!" He snapped, shoving me against the wall and pining me there with his body. Where I'd thought he would be strong he was flabby and muscle-less. He was loose and disgusting. I attempted to scream but he cut me off by covering my mouth with one foul hand. "Quiet!"
He then reached for the lacings of the new dress I'd fought mother for. It was pretty; blue with white trimmings and a little white veil to go over my face and protect from the sun. He ripped the veil off from where I'd pinned it back at my bun. He then ripped off my lacings, tearing them. He was going to take me, right here, right now, and I didn't want it, I didn't want him, I didn't want to give up my only treasure that I had.
O Hera, protect me! If this is to happen, let me not have his child! Make me barren! Help, goddess! Help!
In that moment, a brilliant light filled the blackness behind my eyes. I looked over Sanders' straining shoulder, and the vision before me was so wonderful, so breath-taking, that I fainted against the wall.
When I woke, it was to hands, brushing themselves over the lacings and across the back of my hair where the veil had once been. I screamed out loud, shrieking at the touch, sure that Sanders was still there, and that he was coming on to me again.
The voice that shushed me then was not Sanders' reedy voice, but a deep baritone, low and gravelly, and despite my recent experience, it sent shivers of desire rippling through my belly. What was wrong with me?
"Calm yourself Io; that boy shall not bother you again." I longed to open my eyes and see the person the voice belonged to, but for some reason, I couldn't force them open. Nothing in my body worked right now. My arms couldn't move, my hands couldn't grasp, and my legs wouldn't even twitch. I was frozen.
"I can't move!" I whispered, terrified now.
"Oh, right," the voice was slightly amused now. Suddenly my legs and arms worked, and they jerked wildly, as though still trying to fend off Sanders. "Easy does it,"
I clenched my eyes tighter, afraid to look suddenly. What if the man before me was ugly? What if he only had intentions toward me as Sanders had had? Feeling ashamed for my thoughts toward my rescuer, I forced myself to open my eyes.
And I gasped.
Before me was the most handsome man I had ever lain eyes upon. He had deeply golden skin, russet brown hair that fell to his shoulders, and liquid gold eyes. He was broad in the shoulders, and strong in the arms and chest and legs. His face was now furrowed in concern, but I knew that if he smiled at me, I would be weak all over. How I wanted that smile.
"Are you alright?" He asked me, and his voice was like liquid heaven, sliding over my skin and melting into me. My whole body felt fragile.
"Yes, thank you," I told him, surprised I could make a coherent sentence. I struggled to sit up, and his hand slid under my back, and about my arm, helping me to rise. The un-called-for heat that raced through my body was so thorough and noticeable that I ducked my head, suddenly shy and embarrassed. That's when I noticed that my bodice was now half off of me and revealing much more than was polite in any society. I gasped and grasped at the laces, now torn and frayed.
"Well, I was trying to fix those when you came around," The man said, eyes twinkling in golden mischief. Oh glory. He was trying to fix them, not tear them as Sanders had done. Sweet gods. Who was this man that made me feel both strong and weak? Who was he that gave instead of took? What was his name? Where did he come from?
"Who are you?" I whispered, suddenly nervous. Maybe this was a dream, for no man could ever exist that was as perfect as he was. "What is your name?"
He hesitated, unsure. For the first time, doubt flickered in his golden eyes. Then he answered. "My name is—Taurus." His name was fitting, for it meant strong bull in my language. And for me, there was nothing stronger than a man who would protect those weaker.
"A pleasure to meet you, Taurus," I whispered, pleasure flowing through me at the joy of saying his name. "You obviously already know my name. How is that?"
Again he blushed and hesitated. "I've—been watching you for a while now, Io." He watched me? Maybe this should have startled me, but instead I felt unexplainable joy.
I suddenly remembered. "Where's Sanders?" I shrank against the ground, afraid that he might loom up again.
"Gone." Taurus' voice was heavy with disgust. He did not elaborate, merely sat back and pulled me into a sitting position again. We were quiet, and I enjoyed the feeling of his hands in mine, warm. He did not pull away, and I did not think I would have let him, anyway.
No matter how long I wanted this moment of quiet perfection to last, the moon was still gliding toward setting, and soon the sun would be up again. Artemis was tired, and Apollo wakeful soon.
"I do not want to go," I admitted to him, shocked by my own boldness. "I wish to stay here with you, Taurus, and I'm not even really sure why."
The look on his face was so—captivating. The mischief in his face was buckling. "You're not sure why? Are you certain?" Suddenly my own desires, unrealistic and foolish, became too much for me.
"Sanders has greatly overturned how I feel about men, Taurus. Do you think you can help me?" My boldness knew no bounds now.
Taurus paused, considering, weighing something in his mind. He looked at me, and his eyes took me in, all of me. The way his eyes moved along me, through me, into me, was in no way resembling Sanders' eyes.
"I'm not sure that that is wise." Taurus said. "We've only just met and my wi—sister would not appreciate it much, I think."
I blushed, and stood up, fixing my laces quickly, tying off where they had been torn, and patching up the mess. However, the adrenaline I'd felt at Sanders' attack and at Taurus' nearness and intoxicating presence caused my hands to shake so much that the ties were loose and quickly fell apart.
Warm hands, long and strong, were suddenly there, tying off where I could not. His fingers brushed against me, and desire again flooded my veins. He was a stranger! How could he make me feel so strongly?
"Please?" I whispered, staring at his chest, hands moving and splaying against the strong muscles there. How could I want something so much after having just been assaulted?
The warmth of his hand surrounded my chin, and gently tilted it up. Surrender was in his eyes, and how I could cause such a look of desire and want and tenderness, I do not know. He bent to me then, and victory soon gave way to weak wanting.
Where Sanders' lips had been demanding, Taurus' were sweet and giving. Where Sanders' hands had been rough and grabbing, Taurus' were soft and gentle. There was no way to compare them, for Sanders was already so far from my mind that he might not have ever existed.
The way his lips moved against mine, and the way he supported my head with his hand, my waist with another, held me against him gently but firmly, so that I could feel all of his strong body, was captivating. I gave a distracted thought to the fact that I was kissing a practical stranger, but this thought flitted away to be replaced with the fact that he now seemed to be asking my permission to open my mouth. I parted my lips eagerly, wanting him to erase all that Sanders had done to me.
We kissed for maybe a second, maybe the rest of the night. I soon became aware that I was shivering; cold and goose-bumps were blooming all over my skin. He pulled away, and I moaned dismay. "Come back," I whispered, fighting his hands that held me away from him.
"You're cold," he told me, rubbing my arms and back with his large hands.
"So what?" I asked, unhappy with him so far away. He thought for a moment, then led me inside the barn, closing the door to block the coldness out. I looked up at him, startled.
"Go to sleep, Io," He whispered, pressing lips to my forehead. "I shall stay until you awaken again." He tucked me into his arms and curled his body around mine, resting us back against some hay. A blanket, as if out of nowhere, appeared to cover us. I snuggled under the blankets and turned to press my face into his shirt. His smell was so appealing that I almost objected to sleeping. But then he kissed my temple and murmured something, and sleep rose up to cradle me.
Somehow, it was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me.
Zeus
When I woke, Taurus was just leaving. I sat up, suddenly quite alert and terrified at his leaving. "Don't go!" I exclaimed, fighting to get out of the hay and out of the blanket wrapped so securely around me. He looked down at me, and a smile on his face lit it with charismatic wonder. I was right; his smile made my whole body weak.
He closed the door that he had opened and came back to me, easing me back against the hay, kissing my mouth tenderly. He left my lips to trail kisses along my jaw and down my neck. I tilted my head back in the sensation of his lips.
It was then that I remembered my own status in my village. "Wait… wait a moment," I whispered, struggling to get the words from my lips. I did not want to stop, ever, but he had to know. How I could have forgotten, I've no idea, but it was better late than never.
He pulled back, breathing slightly more heavily than before, eyes dilated, gold glinting seductively. "What is it?" He asked hoarsely. I remembered vaguely that he had stopped where Sanders had not.
O Zeus, let me not lose this man with what I am about to tell him!
As I thought the prayer, Taurus' eyes flickered with amusement and he leaned in again to firmly kiss me. It was as if he knew what I'd thought, and sought to reassure me. "You will never lose me." He told me, cradling my body with his arms crossed under my shoulders, hands cupping my head.
"Wait—but just wait a moment," I was breathless, breathing heavily, blood racing hotly through my veins.
"Yes?" He asked, abandoning my mouth to kiss my neck again. Oh sweet gods, thank you for this man! I had never experienced this before! I was deeply distracted by his mouth, but I had to tell him.
"I am not what you think I am—I mean, I'm not a normal person." I spluttered, struggling to find the words.
"Please do not tell me that you're some sort of monster." He murmured against the skin just under my jaw. The vibration of his voice and lips against me sent me into a fit of giggles.
"No," I said, laughing at his touch.
"Do you perhaps have an extra toe? Shall I check?" He asked, sounding very playful.
"NO!" I exclaimed. I was extremely ticklish and his touching my feet would send me into a fit of laughter that would be more torturous than his mouth.
"Alright then," and he ducked under the blanket by my feet and pulled down my knee-high stockings.
"One, two, three… four… five," He counted, his breath warm on my toes as he kissed each respective toe. I tried to stifle my laughter.
"Six… seven… eight, nine… By thunder! You have—you have TEN TOES! You, my lady, are an abnormal human-being!" He was mock indignant as he came back to me, his eyes pretending to be upset. "How could you not tell me that you had ten toes? That is an irregularity that must be addressed. I am now obligated to punish you." He proceeded to tickle my sides. I shrieked with laughter then, unable to hold it in any longer.
"Taurus! TAURUS! Stop, stop, stop— oh please— O ZEUS! Stop it!" As I spoke the god's name, Taurus immediately pulled away and looked at me oddly.
"What—what is it?" I asked breathless again. The laughter faded from me at the look on his face. "Taurus? Did I say something to offend?"
"No, no not at all… um," he cleared his throat and sat back, not looking at me. "You had something you wanted to tell me?"
"What? Oh, yes," Dread filled me again at the reminder, and all playfulness was gone from the barn. I opened my mouth, and suddenly it all poured out in a rush. "Well, you see, it's considered bad luck to be born on any death-day, used to celebrate Lord Hades. I was born on the day celebrating Hades' power, and in my village, that is considered a bad misfortune. I am shunned by my people, and it is considered bad luck to kiss an unfortunate. So, Taurus, I'm afraid you may be subject to some very bad luck, possibly very soon. And I can understand if you don't want to, um, be around me anymore. And you don't have to tell anyone that you kissed me or anything! Your life can go straight back to normal, by all means." It was incredibly hard to say, and when he didn't look at me or say anything, I realized that I had just cost myself his companionship.
"Well then," I struggled to my feet, sinking deeper into the hay as I placed my weight on the floor. "I'll be going on then. Mother should be awake soon and she'll want my help with the feast, the party, we're having today." I gathered up my stockings from where he'd thrown them as he counted my toes not three minutes before, and fled the barn, sobbing.
I was unresponsive the whole day, and merely cooked and cleaned and prepared in silence. Mother did not ask me anything—it's not fitting to ask an unfortunate how they're doing; it's assumed they're always miserable.
As the day passed, I cleaned and cooked like a fury, miserable and single-minded as I worked, unhappy with my life once again. First Sanders, now Taurus; and I'd thought he was different… different than all the people here, since he mustn't live here since no one had noticed him before.
Finally it was time for me to get ready for the party. I didn't want to attend, didn't want to see their stares and whispers and sidelong glances, never actually being spoken to or directly looked at. Suddenly, I was overcome with the feeling that I needed to stand out. I was going to anyway, why not look like I didn't care?
That night I spent a lot of time getting ready. First I drew myself a bath and heated it. Then I oiled myself with sweet scents that made my skin glow like gold. I dusted myself with sparkly powder that had been given to me by my father; the only person who'd treated me normally until he died. I threaded my hair through with tiny braids, woven with flowers and leaves and small tiny pearls. I curled the remaining hair with hot stones heated in the fire place. I pulled on my tunic-dress; purest white, looping over one shoulder and swooping low over my chest, only to hug me tightly all the way down to my knees where my legs were left long and bare. I threaded my sandals high up to where the dress stopped, and slid flowers into the straps. I placed bracelets high up on my arms, piling them down to my wrists. They wrapped about my upper arms and glided together by my wrists. I applied kohl to my eyelids, darkening it all the way around the edge. I dusted my cheeks with gold colored powder, and rubbed my lips with reddening powder.
The image in the mirror was of a girl who was proud and haughty and untouched. That was how I wanted to feel tonight.
The party was just beginning when I came downstairs to the main room. Mother took one look at me and tsked. "Such an outlandish dress Io," She told me, not meeting my eyes as she spoke to my feet.
The people already there were throwing me looks of astonishment and discomfort and I could almost hear their thoughts. There's the unfortunate. Look at her so loud in her dress so impolite to us. Don't make eye-contact, don't speak to her, and don't look at her.
I raised my eyes, determined to stare them down, when I froze. Standing in the doorway, looking pained and shocked, one arm wrapped in a sling about his shoulder, the other held to a piece of wood to keep it straight, one leg supported by a crutch, was Sanders.
The breath froze in my chest. I couldn't draw in air. I couldn't move. Because of this, a woman ran into me with a glass full of reddest wine. I spun just as liquid flew from the goblet, soaking my shoulder and trailing down my arm. The woman met my eyes in surprise, an apology rising to her lips, until she saw who it was, quickly looked down, and sped away, tripping over a footstool as she did.
Whispers filled the room as she left.
"Did you see the unfortunate?"
"Frozen, like a statue!"
"She caused that woman to spill her drink—"
"—And she tripped over that stool!"
"Proof that she's causing us bad luck!"
"Curses on all unfortunates."
Their voices were like knives, plunging into my ears and heart and chest, and then suddenly I could move. I spun and fled from the room, tears gathering in my ears as the sickly sweet smell of the sticky wine washed over me.
I felt sick and disgusted, and my stomach rebelled against the smell of the wine coating my left shoulder and arm. Tears filled my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. Some little bit of me told myself that I would not give them the satisfaction of seeing me cry. However, they might see me throw up if I wasn't careful.
I leaned against the garden wall in a secluded corner of the flower filled yard. Hidden now, I prepared myself for the horrible cry that was edging its way onto me. At that moment, uneven footsteps sounded on the pathway leading to my hiding place, followed periodically by a soft grunting sound.
The man who stood before me was in great pain and vastly furious with me. Sanders.
"What makes you think that you can come to a party and look so—attractive and not anger me?" He bellowed, drunken voice slurring words together. He leaned heavily on his crutch, arm slung over the top, wincing in pain. "No apology for your bad luck you've cursed me with? And I didn't even get to bed you." Hatred dripped from every word.
I gasped in indignation. "If I recall properly, you forced yourself upon me, Sanders! You vile creature! How dare you blame me for your lust and misfortune? Do not think that you can dish this off onto me, for I have a witness—" and I stopped, feeling lost and forlorn as I realized my witness didn't wish to speak to me. Or even be in my presence.
"Yeah? Where's your witness, lovey? Not here, is he? Not here to protect you, is he? Well, we'll just have to make the most of that," He gestured clumsily, and three village boys whom had looked upon me with lust in their eyes as I walked past materialized from the shadows. I wasn't fit for talking to, but for their lust, I was just perfect.
"I'll scream." I threatened, feeling my voice shake with suppressed fear and anger.
"And who would come to the help of an Unfortunate?" His words were harsh and true. I glanced around and realized, as the boys moved toward me, hands stretching out for me, that I'd successfully buried myself in a dead end, in the furthest corner from the house, where no one would come to my aid.
I closed my eyes and sank to my knees, hands limp at my sides. I would not watch them do this to me; I would not give them the satisfaction of seeing the pain in my eyes.
The first boy reached me, hands clenching on my shoulders as he shoved me backwards. I slammed into the wall, where he held me as he reached for the hem of my tunic. I bit my lower lip, and turned my face away, prepared for my fate.
In that moment, a horrible bawling sound came from the entrance to my corner. My eyes snapped open, and I whipped my head toward the sound. My mouth dropped open in shock.
In the entrance way, looming over Sanders, was an enormous, pure white bull. He had horns curving up gracefully from his forehead, and his head was held high as he glowered down at Sanders with one golden eye. A golden eye…
Sanders screamed in horror and attempted to hobble away, but the bull swung his mighty head down and to the side, sweeping the horrible man off his feet and head first into a decorative bush. The three boys around me stumbled back from the bull, and one grabbed me about the waist and held me in front of him. Coward.
"Here," he gasped, breath ragged against my neck, "take her! T-take her and spare us, please!"
And would you have spared her? The question was asked in a strangely familiar gravelly voice, spoken directly into my mind. I gasped at its familiarity, but couldn't place it. The boy holding me dropped me to the ground and cowered in fear against the wall. I closed my eyes, horrified.
A giant weight sank into the ground next to my head. I looked up and saw the vast underside of the bull's white chest hovering over my body. I shrieked, but dared not move for fear of getting crushed. The giant head tilted down, and the golden eyes looked at me worriedly. For some reason, that human look calmed me.
The bull returned to the task of crushing the men before him. He swept one aside as he had Sanders, gored the second, and shoved his massive forehead into the third's chest, crushing him. They died silently, and with no expression on their faces, resigned to their deaths.
I let out a breath of air, and slowly rolled from beneath the bull. I glanced down at myself. The hem of my tunic was torn up one leg, revealing far more thigh that was appropriate; the dress was spattered with mud and with gore from the second man's death. My hair was mussed, and wine was still congealing on my shoulder.
I stood up slowly, painfully, for my body still hurt from being slammed into the wall. I turned to face the bull.
He nudged my arm softly with his head, and licked at the wine on my shoulder with a large pink tongue. I couldn't help it: I giggled.
"Stop that!" I told him, attempting to sound stern. "I'll not let you do that, for I wouldn't let any man lick me neither."
Are you certain of that? The voice was teasing and playful, no longer the voice of the bringer of death it had been for the men who had assaulted me. I blushed and looked away.
"Now I am. Had you asked me yesterday night, well, you might've had a different answer." My blush deepened. Forget about him. I told myself sternly. The bull's eyes were sad. He turned, and bent his forelegs into the grass, and gestured with his large head. Without thinking or contemplating my actions, I climbed onto his back, and hiked my skirt up about my hips in order to fit. The bull gave one impish look at my exposed legs, then gathered himself beneath me, and leapt into the air.
I might have said I was surprised that the bull could fly without wings, (or for that matter, that he could fly at all) but after the night I'd had, I was too tired to care. I fell asleep on his broad, muscled, warm back.
I woke slowly to the rising sun. The ground was warm beneath me, and a circle of heat about my belly was welcoming. A soft shushing sound came from somewhere in front of me, and the graininess on my face was like tiny beads of sunlight; warm and comfortable.
I blinked, and realized the heat below me was sand, and that the shushing sound before me was the ocean. I sat up, bleary-eyed and content, for I loved the ocean. I'd visited it once with my father when he was still alive, and the vastness and beautiful color of it had gratified me.
The band of heat about my belly shifted, tightened, and then suddenly jerked away. I yelped and attempted to roll away from it, only to roll into a body on the sand. A hand grasped my arm, and I looked up into the face of—
"Tauros!" I squeaked, and covered my face with my hands. How I must look! After a night like last night, and sleeping in sand, and riding on a flying bull, and oh, how I must smell! "Oh, this is just a really bad, cruel dream, isn't it?" I asked the palms of my hands, turning my back to him. "Here, wake up to a wonderful beach and then find the man you're in love with but doesn't love you! O, gods!" I groaned, and buried my face in the sand.
"Why me?" I asked the grains of sand, only to sit up and spit out the granules that found their way into my mouth.
"Io, are you all right?" His voice was already achingly familiar, even though I'd only known him for a day and a night. Sweet gods, I must be losing it.
"No, I am not alright! I was attacked by three guys, saved by a giant white cow, flew on that cow's back, came here, and found you! I'm tired, my body hurts from getting slammed into a wall, and now my heart hurts too! So just leave me alone!" I yelled, frustrated and so very infuriated with the world and the gods who gave me such bad luck. Thanks a whole lot, Fortuna!
I bit back the thought quickly, and asked clemency for the thought from the goddess of fortune.
"I'm so sorry, Io. Let me explain." He sounded so forlorn, I almost did.
But then I whirled on him and spat, "No, thank you, Tauros! You showed me what love could really be like, and then the second you found out I wasn't born on a good day, you shun me as my family and my people and my village do. Except when they want to have a good time, apparently… I could probably make some money off of that!" I was so mad that I didn't even give a thought to what I said. I just wanted him to realize how deeply he'd hurt me. Not enough, again.
"That's not why I was quiet, Io if you'll just—"
"NO!" I screamed, throwing myself away from him. "I will not! Where is that cow? I want to go away now; I want to fly on its back forever and never, ever come down. Where is it?"
I am here, Io. I spun at its voice in my head, and sure enough, it stood where Tauros had been lying moments before, golden eyes wide and trusting. "Where—where's Tauros?" I looked around for him, nervous. I glanced at the ocean, some twenty feet away, but no footsteps led down to its shore.
"I am here, Io." I glanced back up, and gaped. Tauros stood exactly where the bull had stood not two seconds before. I squinted at Tauros, and he blinked back, golden eyes calm and sad. Golden eyes.
"Oh, sweet gods," I whispered, and promptly fainted.
My head rested on his lap when I woke up. I felt dizzy and unsure of myself suddenly. I blinked up into his beautiful golden eyes, and suddenly, I realized what this meant. I wrenched myself away from him, spun on my knees, and bowed deeply before him.
"O god, my lord, I did not know you for who you were; forgive my insolence my lord, please. Forgive my ignorance." I felt cold fear strike through my belly as I remembered how I had been with him; we had kissed, we had slept next to one another. I had yelled. At a god. I was in such trouble. I continued to mumble my worries to the sand until warm hands gathered my arms and lifted me from the sand. Lips met mine, warm and sweet, and for a moment, I gave into the sensation of being cradled and being held and of Tauros. But—
"You're not Tauros, are you?" I whispered, pulling away and meeting his gold eyes, before dropping my own. "You are a god. Why do you bother with me?"
"I am a god, this is true," he whispered back, ducking his head to meet my gaze planted solidly against his chest. It was bare, and very distracting. "But I am also very in love with you, and I could not help myself. When you called for my wife's help, I could not help but interfere myself. I have watched you for so long, Io, loving everything about you, from the way you handle yourself with the behavior of your people, to the way you do the laundry. I love you, but I just couldn't tell you the truth about myself. That is why I was silent, Io. Not because I was disgusted, but because I was trying to decide how to tell you."
I could not take in his words, for my brain had frozen when he'd said my wife. "Your—your wife?" My voice was hesitant and very frightened. "I called for Hera's help. That makes you—O, gods! Oh, no! You're—you're Zeus!" I pulled away from him and turned my back, unable to take it all in. I had been so very forward with him, so very disrespectful, to the king of the gods. Who was married! O, sweet gods. "This is bad, this is really bad, this is so very bad! I am in such trouble."
"No, no no no, it's alright, Io! I can make you into a goddess! Or I can keep you hidden, and we can be in love, and it can be okay!" I stared at the sand as he spoke, hands circling my upper arms, then winding just under my breasts, pulling me to his chest. Make me a goddess? Or keep me hidden? That would never work, because ultimately, he was already taken, and with the queen of the gods, no less.
I turned to him, his arms still around me, and buried my face into his strong, bare chest, arms circling about his neck. But oh, how I wanted his love, and him. I wanted to be with him just as much as he told me he wanted to be with me! If he told me he could hide me, than that would be okay. Right?
Wanting to forget everything for a moment, I lifted my face to his, and he kissed me, and for that moment, everything was alright. In fact, it was perfect.
The End
She found us tangled together, sleeping peacefully on the beach.
Her wrath was terrible to behold, her eyes blazing silver with her power as she yanked me away from him. He woke up, shook his head groggily, and then anger entered his face.
"I come to answer a prayer, sent to me for help, and I find the mortal with my husband? On a secluded beach? After what I know you've just done together? HOW COULD YOU!?" Her voice rang through my body and mind with the gentleness of a charging ox. I went limp in her hands, rolling my head and feeling as though my ears would bleed.
"HERA!" Thundered Zeus, standing up, eyes flashing gold with his rage. "PUT HER DOWN—NOW!" He pulled me from her and hid me from view with his arms and body. He cradled me, and I moaned with pain. "Io, Io, Io; I am so sorry, love."
"LOVE?!" Shrieked the goddess, voice piercing his soft words like a knife through a belly; harsh, cold, and devastating.
I shrieked too, and covered my ears with my hands. "Make it stop, Tauros—make it stop!" I wailed, tears streaming down my face. His body grew hot, almost too hot for me to touch, and then he set me down gently, and turned to his enraged wife.
"LEAVE US! LEAVE US NOW, HERA!" A bolt of what appeared to be lightening flashed through my closed eyes, and her wail of fury faded. We were alone now.
He scooped me up and tucked me into his body. I was cold without my clothes, and turned toward him, for he was warm.
"Sweet Io, I am so sorry." He continued to murmur into my hair, rocking me back and forth like a baby.
"She was rather angry, wasn't she?" I asked his chest, voice muffled. His laughter was deep like thunder against my body, though there was no humor in it.
"She will get over it—she'll have to. There's nothing she can do to me that can truly hurt me, love." He tilted my chin up and kissed my mouth with a deep, relieved passion that I responded to immediately. "You've been through a lot these past few days," he whispered against my mouth. A small smile curved my lips.
"Not just the past few days, Zeus," I teased him. "Try my whole life." He chuckled and finally let me go. I stood up, my head not aching as much now that the horrible rage was gone from the beach. My body still shook from the encounter, but I brushed it off. Nothing worse than being ridiculed by a village. Just, you know, in trouble with the queen of gods.
I moved toward my tunic and slipped it on, flipping my hair out of the collar. I turned to say something to Tauros, but at that moment, my entire body felt heavy. My bones felt like lead under my skin.
I tried to speak, but a gurgled Muuuuh, was all I could manage. My legs weakened, and I fell to the sand, bracing myself on my hands. My spine shrieked in silent pain as I felt it lengthening. WHAT IS HAPPENING? The skin on my forehead seemed to split as the bone behind it grew from side to side. I felt suddenly dirty, and like I couldn't get a hold on reality. I tried to clutch at the sand, at something that was real, but found my fingers didn't react any more. In fact, my hooves were ill-suited to holding sand. A pain at the end of my tail bone informed me that it was lengthening, splitting through the skin there. I tilted my head back and bawled at the sky in pain and horror as my legs and arms lengthened, and my feet became hooves.
"NOOOOOOO!" His yell was worse than mine. He raced toward me, and ran his hands over my heavy shoulders, running fingers through coarse white and brown fur. I looked at him, blinking dully through my new, large brown eyes. He ran a hand over one floppy, silky ear, and then his eyes turned to golden lava. He shrieked at the sky a word so powerful that my cow-self couldn't seem to handle it. I collapsed to the sand, unable to go unconscious, but unable to leave.
The True End
So now you know the truth.
Hera turned me into a cow, and Zeus almost killed her. But they are immortal, so this task was not very easy to accomplish. Hera promised to leave me alone as long as he returned to Olympus and never spoke to me again. He complied, but only half way.
In my dreams I am a real woman, and he is with me in my dreams. We spend nights together, as often as he comes, we do.
He also sends Hermes down to me in the garden of flowers and trees and lush green grass where he's hidden me from Hera, to sing me songs or read me stories, or just to keep me company.
I do not regret loving Zeus. I still do, and he still loves me. But he is a king of gods, and has duties to perform. This is why we can only love each other in secret, in the darkness and confusion of dreams.
I have lived thousands of years in my secret garden. I have lived a thousand nights with Zeus.
I am as much to blame for loving him as he is for loving me.
Many people accuse him of using me, and throwing me aside when I changed shape. This is not true.
Many people accuse him of wrongfully seducing me. This is not true.
Many people accuse him of turning me into a cow. You should ask Hera if this is true.
I have loved Zeus for my whole life, and have always wanted to correct the rumors spread so wrongfully. I am glad someone has found me, and has listened to my story.
For sometimes, the real story is far more interesting, and twisted, than the made up ones.