(A/N : I DO NOT OWN the original "Incarnations of Immortality" series,
Piers Anthony made that one. I do however own : Petra, Jacob, David, and
many of the personalities behind the other Lesser Incarnations. I plan on
this being the first in a series, so if you can think of anything that
might have its own Incarnation, let me know and I will see if I can write a
novel or novella about it ^_^ On with the story!)
Chapter One
She sang a few bars of a song, barely above a hum, and it took effect on the targeted couple almost immediately. -My powers may not be the best,- she though as she watched the couple, -but they certainly are effective.-
She watched as Jan and Zeke, according to their name tags, exchanged newly acquired loving glances. Jan quietly giggled as she arranged cakes in the bakery section as Zeke restocked the bread shelf nearby.
"I'm glad you two are *finally* together," Petra said quietly to herself as she navigated her way to the magic aisle. "It took me *ages* to find the song that actually worked!" She shook her head and stood examining the magics.
They were 99 cent store quality packets of powdered spells and charms. They were the kind that rarely, if ever, worked acting more as a placebo unless the one invoking it had the ability to coax out the dormant magic quality. They were worth looking at anyway. It gave Petra time to ponder whether her magic was marketable.
-You know,- she started thinking of the new couple, -it doesn't usually take a specific song to get a pair together. I wonder why that couple did. Hmm.- She shrugged it off, and examined the packet she was holding. "Instant Love With the Person of Your Choice!" it proclaimed.
She snorted tersely. She threw back the offending packet and quickly wrapped up her shopping.
An hour later, she lay sprawled across her ancient thrift store sofa in her beloved section of the Kilvarough slums. It was somewhere between he ghettos of Molly Malone, and the large houses of the well-to-do, one of which she *knew* had a pair of live griffins guarding it.
"I envy the person that gets to live in that mansion," she would almost shout every time she passed it. She thought of those griffins and hit the back of the old couch, just to watch he immense cloud of dust spring from it and momentarily cloud the room before escaping through a permanently cracked-open window.
She sighed, knowing that the only way she could ever live in a house like that would be to become their live-in maid. Something had to change soon, or she'd lose what little mind she had left. Cleaning the floors of the local head shop was *not* her idea of a career. For a while she'd hoped that a handsome rich weirdo would come in and sweep her off her feet.
-It isn't like I'm not pretty enough, - she thought, laying on the couch ith her arm over her eyes.- Average height, light build, golden hair. Granted, it ouldn't hurt for me to be a C cup, but that shoulnd't matter *that* much.- She sighed again, moving her arm and looking at the turn-dial T.V. from the same era as her houndstooth-pattern sofa.
She stood up and walked over to the pabbit-eared T.V. set and clicked it on. -I even have blue eyes!- she thought indignantly. -Ok, chill out, it doesn't matter.- She flipped chnnels and found one of a few shows that her T.V. could actually get and sprawled herself back out on the couch.
This was her life, simple, casual, but usually alone. The twelve boyfriend's she'd had in the past three years were never really there for *her* as herself, just *her* as a nice pair of eyes, legs, and . . . well, you know the *other* pair that men use for a girlfriend-gauge. (A/N : Aren't * I * lady-like, lol.) They'd all wanted a turn in the sack, some had even been willing to pay. Poor as she was, she wasn't tacky, and so each one had to be let go in turn.
Ever since her first boyfriend whe she was sixteen, her love life had been cursed. At least that how it felt to Petra. At the same time she broke up with her first boyfriend, she noticed that singing could get people together. So, like most things, her ability came with a price. She practiced, and soon found that she could see which couples were meant to be together, and would sing while concetrating on them. Perhaps it sprung from her own lonliness. She'd never had it investigated, nor had she really told anyone about it. She had cultured it, fine tuned it, and soon found that she could help start long lasting relationships. Petra had never tried her magic on herself, since most self-made magics didn't work on their owners.
Petra was 23, and had been living in this apartment for two years. She was there for another year, with over a hundred succeseful couples under her belt and as many broken hearts for herself.
"Happy birthday to me," she sang flatly, blowing out the candles on the small, round, chocolate cake. She had three candles, one for past, present, and future. She abandoned the rest of the song, picking up a fork and eating the cake with a small bit of depression, already scoffing her ritual birthday wish. "What a happy birthday this is. Still stuck with this job, this hideous - but comfy - couch, an ancient T.V. set, and now the worlds *biggest* spider is landing on my floor," she said the last part with fear, pulling her feet onto the couch. "If you're staying, I hope you're prepared to pay half the rent," she joked, trying to lighten her mood. Then she *really* got scared.
The spider was growing, its eight eyes coalescing into two, it's eight legs fusing, forming two legs and two arms. It turned into a middle aged woman, with a lined, wizend, and kind face, and honey-ish hair pulled in a tight bun. Her white shirt and grey skirt looked comfortable, nice, but not pretty, and she had a formidable look in her eyes. "I don't think *that* will be necessary, dear," she smiled warmly in answer to Petra's joke.
"Okay, I don't mean to be rude, but *what* are you?" Petra asked incredulously. "Are you real or did that guy at the bakery spike my cake?"
The woman chuckled. "My dear Petra, I'm as real as that hideous creation you're sitting on, and much more important." Petra opened her mouth to ask a question, but was silenced when the woman said "I am an aspect of the Incarnation of Fate." Her form changed to a voloupious young Asian woman, who said in her own voice "I am Clotho, who spins the Thread of Life." The form changed to the middle-aged woman, who said "I am Lachesis, I measure the Thread of Life." Between her fingertips were strange glowing threads. The form changed again, this time into an old colored woman with a pair of scissors, who said "I am Atropos, I cut the Thread of Life." The Fate reverted to Lachesis. "People are most often more comfortable with this form on a first meeting."
"I'm . . . pleased to meet the three of you. Why are you in my apartment, of all places?" She ate more of her cake, not quite sure what to believe and finding solace in chocolate.
"Gaea, the Incarnation of Nature, and Eros, the Incarnation of Love, have had their eyes on you for a while. Your success with other couples has impressed them both, and as the current Eros is growing tired of the past century of his work, they were wondering if I might come and offer you the job." Lachesis informed her. After finishing, she looked about the dingy apartment.
"Why didn't Eros or Gaea come and see me themselves? Why send you?" Petra finished her cake and looked at the empty cardboard it had been sitting on.
"It will be up to me to help you make the changeover and figure out what to do with your Life-Thread should you choose to accept the position. You could decline if you like, but I don't see much point. Besides, an Eros who is tired of the office does not fill it well." Lachesis tilted her heaad slightly in inquiry of the girl's descision.
"What would happen if I decline?" Petra walked to the kitchenette, throwing the cardboard in the trashcan and washing off her fork. She leaned against the counter, thinking, as she toweled off the fork and put it in its drawer.
"Then we wait for the next possible officeholder, although there will not be another with the same potential for success for another lifetime. Love, true love, will be sporratic depending on the mood of the disenchanted Eros until a successor can be found." Lachesis looked at Petra with a piercing gaze. "Not a very good future, certainly. But there will be challenges to be overcome. Anything worth doing has its own problems."
"Yeah, I've noticed that," Petra sighed, coming back to the old couch. "I'll miss this place if I go." Lachesis stood calmly, quietly, while petra looked around the small aprtment, drinking in its simplicity. "Will I need to bring anything?" she asked.
"Only if you truly need it," Lachesis told her in a motherly fashion. "Otherwise, all things can be found in Purgatory, where you will be living with Gaea should you accept."
"I accept. love is a very important thing," Petra told Lachesis, making the older woman nod. "There's one thing that I want to take with me," She said, going into the closed off room that was her small bedroom with a matrees on the floor. She took a soft, blue-grey teddy bear from her bedclothes, and came back. "It was a present from my grandparents. I've had it as long as I can remember, and i couldn't stand just leaving it here."
"I know dear, I know." Lachesis smiled and held out her hand. "We'll use my webbing to get to Purgatory. Gaea and Eros will interview you on the outskirts of their domain, and you will most likely become Eros." She led Petra's hand to the strong, silky thread and turned back into the large spider.
"Wait a second, I'm not suited for climbing a thread all the way to Purgatory! Isn't there a more practical way for me to get there?" Petra looked at the barely visible thread in her hand, then at the large spider.
The spider laughed with Lachesis' voice. "I shall contact Death. He has a much more universal mode of transportation." Fate and her thread were gone before Petra could ask about Death.
"Oh, this one's gonna be *fun* to meet," Petra muttered to herself sarcastically. "I hope Death's pleasant." She realised how stupid that sounded when someone came walking in her door. "Hey! How'd you get in? I *know* I locked that door."
It was a man, taller than her but not greatly so. He chuckled and looked her in the eye. "I was summoned out of my work to come and take you to Purgatory."
She was mildly phased when she saw the skull of Death staring at her. "Thanks, Death." She looked at him a moment longer. "I hope I'm not causing you too much trouble, and because I have to say it, the fact that you can't blink is *really* creepy."
He chuckled again, turning and leading her out. "You're not causing me much trouble." He showed her to a pale white stallion with polished steel hooves. "You're the first perdon to comment on my eye-sockets." He chuckled again. "Mortis, meet the soon-to-be Eros."
The stallion neighed and kicked his hoof in greeting. "He is pleased to meet you," Death translated. Mortis nickered, and Death said, "He says he is certain you will get the office."
"Thank you Mortis," Petra said, shyly stroking his mane.
"Have you ever ridden a horse before?" Death asked, preparing to mount.
"I've never *seen* a horse before, let alone ridden one. I could figure it out, though," she offered.
"No need to." It looked to her like he pressed a button on the far side of the saddle, and the horse suddenly turned into a bone-pale Sedan. "Climb on in," he told her, walking to get in the drivers side.
Petra's mouth hung open as she got into the luxurious car. "What a horse!" Petra said stunned. She reached out to feel the upholstery on the seat and the leather n the dash. "Ooh, this is one of those lands yachts I've always wished to ride in."
"One of the perks of the office," Death told her, relaxing and letting he car-horse get itself ready to start the drive to Purgatory. "Mortis is the greatest tool that comes with the office. Death must be able to reach his clients, no matter where they are, and Mortis enables that."
"If it weren't the office of Death, I'd say it was a pretty cushy job." Petra watched clounds roll past her window as they ascended.
"Wise," was his only answer. She decided to change the subject.
"What does Purgatory look like, anyway?"
"It depends on which incarnation you're visiting, or becoming. Gaea and the lesser Incarnations that work for and with her live in a woodland- type area. Fate lives in a house of webs." Petra shuddered. "War lives in a great red palace, I live in a mortuary-type house, and Chronos lives in a white house that looks like it's made of marble."
"I'm glad I don't have to live in Fate's house. Spiders and *anything* to do with them creep me out." Petra laughed shakily, and they flew through a cloud layer and landed, or parked, on a grassy plain in front of a large office looking building.
"This is the main Purgatory office," Death told her as Mortis turned back into a horse. "Gaea's palace is that way," he told her pointing to the right of the office building. "She and Eros are waiting for you there, acording to Mortis." He waved to her, she waved back, nd he hit a button on his strange, black, slick-metal watch an flew through the ground.
"This place is very . . . odd. Yeah, odd," she confirmed, starting towards Gaea's realm of Purgatory. "Who *ever* would've thought that I'd be in, er, on, Purgatory being interviewed for the office of Eros? Not me, that's for certain. I wonder how much Mags would freak out. if we still spoke, that is. She was a good friend when she felt like it." She passed the white marble mansion that she decided must be Chronos' house. "I wonder how *his* office works? I know 'Chronos' means time, or something like that. I wonder if Chronos and I will get along. More importantly, will Gaea like me enough to let me be the new Eros." She looked at the teddy bear she'd had a death grip on since she met Death. -Ha ha,- she thought.
The ground became more uneven as she proceeded, dirt, rocks, and a few patches of grass. hen the grass took over, and she was surrounded by more trees than she'd ever seen in her entire life. All kinds of trees, making a beautiful canopy above her head and leaving only patches of the clear blue sky coming through.
"Gaea," she called softly. "Gaea, are you . . . available?" She thought about asking 'Are you here', but decided that Gaea was anywhere that anything natural grew.
"Yes," something called/whispered rom in front of her. It sounded like a gentle breeze through foliage, a babbling brook, the ocean crashing against the rocks, and a bird singing in the dawn all at once. "Come deeper into the forest, Eros and I await you," the beautiful voice of Gaea spoke again.
Petra nodded, and started walking through the trees. They came closer together as she went, and the ground became more harsh and forbidding. So she sang. She sang one of the mellow songs that she so loved, and the ground became more friendly. She sang her way through the Forest of Gaea as she started reffering to it for twenty minutes, and came upon a great towerin castle of flora. Spires that reached to the sky, blooming with all colors of flowers. She came to the living tree door and knocked. It swung open, and she was admitted into a large foyer that led to a beautiful parlor of the same living trees, shrubs, and flower bushes.
"So glad you could make it," Gaea's natural-melodic voice cooed gently as she set down a cup of tea. She was clad in a roving mist, giving slight views of various patches of her body as she moved. Her hair had a mossy-green tinge, and her eyes looked like crystal clear waters. "I, as I'm sure you've already noticed, am Gaea, and this is Eros." She gestured to a man sitting in a foliage chair much like her own. He had short brown hair, and a certain roundness to his body and features. He looked pleasant enough, but with a certain boredom to his eyes. He was wearing a forest green suit and matching green dress shoes. Apparently, all things connected with Gaea were shades of green.
"It's so nice to meet you both," Petra said bowing, feeling very awkward and out of place. "Have we started the interview yet?"
Gaea laughed and Eros chuckled. "The interview has concluded," Gaea told her. "You are fit for the office of Eros, Incarnation of Love. Eros, lead her to her new quarters."
Eros rose, setting down his teacup on the tree coffee table and led Petra out the back of the castle. "The office of Eros comes with its own small house," he told her. "It's nothing like Gaea's castle, but it is comfortable." He took her to a large house made of living trees and flowers. It was so much larger than her own apartment had been that it took her a moment to adjust to the fact that it would be *hers*. Then as she entered, she remembered the conversation with Gaea.
"How did the interview conclude?" Petra asked Eros. "How did the interview commence? If you don't mind letting me know before we proceed."
He smiled slightly at her. "Your interview commenced whe you called out to Gaea and heard her, and concluded when you successfully came through the forest to the Castle. Gaea's defences are very tight, and only an Incarnation, lesser Incarnation, or in your case an Incaration candidate can get in. In the case of a canidate, they become a lesser Incarnation under Gaea by getting to her Castle. Otherwise, they go bck totheir prior existence. Now, if you and your friend will follow me," he smirked, indicating herself and her teddy bear to enter.
She blushed slightly, hugging her teddy close to her and walking behind Eros. "It's all very straightforward : kitchen, bedrooms, half-baths (although the only things in there are sinks, bathtubs and showers), parlor, den. There's a television set in the den that shows you news pertaining to yourself."
She brightened at all the things that would now be hers. "You mean it?" Eros nodded, and Petra squealed like a girl at a concert. "First I'm going to put Teddy in my room," she told him for no real reason, rushing off to the largest bedroom.
When she came back from oggling the (to her) massive bedroom she was rushing to the den whe Eros grabbed her upper arm. "There *are* some fomalities before you *actually* inhabit the office," he told her calmly.
"Oh, oh of course there would be," Petra said, smacking her forehed with her hand. "What do we do to transfer the office?"
He held his hands up by his chest, palms facing her. "Take my hands." She nodded, solemnly taking his hands. He closed his eyes and she followed suit, and she felt a great surge of power surge through her arms and nestled near her heart and in her eyes. They looked at each other, each knowing that something new was happening to each.
Petra's blue eyes had taken on a mysterious glow. They now looked like moonlit pools of crystal water, while his eyes now looked like an average brown. "Thank you so much, Eros," she said, her voice now resonating slightly with the new power.
"*You* are Eros now. I am once again David." His eyes sparkled with the joy of being himself again, while Petra's eyes sparkled with he joy of being someone powerful and necessarry. "I am so gad that you passed the interview, now I can return to Earth and blend in, no obligations to help the mortals, just be one of them. Good luck in your new office, and I hope that your grace period goes well enough for you to keep it." He kissed her cheek and strode out, making his way towards whatever transportation had been arranged for him.
"Grace period," she asked herself quietly. She shrugged and decided to find whatever clothing went wih the office before asking Gaea any more questions. The closet in the master bedroom had several gauze gowns tinted ever so slightly green with sandals to match. She slipped one on, thinking that it looked Greko-Roman as she put on the sandals and modled for Teddy.
She gigled and padded to the den, flopping onto the couch and clicking on the t.v. with its remote. "A new Eros has taken office," a newscaster woman said, "but has yet to *actually* perform any of the duties that go with it. She seemes to be relaxed about this situation and slightly niave as to the task before her."
"Up to date," Petra muttered to herself. "Very boring, but up to date." She clicked off the television and walked out, deciding that perhaps she should ask about her responsibilities. Would Petra be interacting with the oother Incarnations much? David had mentioned something about being among the mortals without having to be responsible, implying that she had to wander around Earth.
She entered the Castle of Gaea and found her in her parlor, playing the most beautiful music petra had ever heard on a half-size, obiously magic, harp. Her beautiful, strange, and somehow sad voice sang the melody to harp's harmony. Petra stood entranced until the song concluded several minutes later. Gaea turned and looked to her newest charge as she liked to think of them.
"Eros, so good to see you're ready to start." She set down the harp and waked to Petra, her mist-dress dissapating and collecting in a suggestive way. She gently straightened the dress on Petra.
"About that, what exactly do I do? I know it has something to do with love, so I assume it would be something Cupid-like. I must warn you now, I'm no good with a bow and arrow." Petra flattened the skirt against her thighs, suddenlt longing for a T-shirt and jeans.
Gaea laughed. "No no, Eros. Nothing like that. You will help ouples get started together in the same way you did on Earth. Sing, and love will blossom around the selected couple. If you sing from you heart with love, the couple will be always successful. If from sadness or sorrow, the couple's love will end in sadness and sorrow."
"Intense," she stated simply, shoving her hands in her pockets. She looked sown to see herself in a pale green T-shirt and forest green jeans. "What happened to my dress?!" She jumped slightly, a look of fear and confusion on her face.
"Purgatory clothing changes to suit your mood," she smiled, "if you'll pardon the pun. And most of the jobs of the Incarnations are intense. It is most likely that you will meet the other Incarnaions, or at least six of the seven major Incarnations, over the course of your work. You've already met three, and will be working with me quite often as we are, once again pardon the pun, in the same field. Since you will pend much of your time on Earth, it is most likely that you will meet the Inacrnation of Evil. Do not speak His name, even here, for that is His beacon. He might try to put you in his pocket, as it were. However, another reason you were selected to be interviewed was your strong sense of right and wrong. Forgive me for leaing you to all those filed loves, but you needed to be tested." She wafted away towards her chair. "I need to start the monsoon season in India shortly. Anything you feel you need to say, say it quickly."
"What about Chronos? Something about his house . . . called to me, I guess." Petra looked questioningly at Gaea, putting her hands back in her jeans pockets.
Gaea smiled, looking somewhat like a tiger watching a gazelle. "He becomes very close to you, although you do not truly work together. In his timeline, today you are leaving office. He lives life backwards to all of us, although beyond that I know little or nothing except for he fact that in his house, time follows his timeline, so you leave before you arrive. I would suggest going to see him tomorrow evening, for he will be very . . . emotional."
"Emotional how?" Petra questioned.
"You shall see. Attend to your office now, and I will attend to mine." Gaea readied the harp and Petra walked out before the enchanting melody started.
Petra walked back to the hoouse that Eros was assigned to. She searched the den for something that might help her get to and from earth and travel around the surface. She found some sheet music on a coffee table. It said "Song of Travel" in elaborate caligraphy across the top. There was also a piano on the far side of the room, where she stood the music, finding the notes and figuring out the words. She was relatively sure she had he song right and memorised, so she sang it at her full volume. The world around her shifted, like turning a page in a picture book, and she found herself on Earth, near a couple sitting at a cafe` and having dificulties getting comfortable.
She thought of a beautiful love song that seemed to work most often. She neared the couple, subtly singing the enchanting love song. As the song unfolded, their inhibitions were thrown aside, and by the time it had finished, they were conversing avidly. Petra couldn't understand what they saying, for they were speaking in a language she didn't recognize. She sang the Song of Travel again, and the page turned to a grocery store.
-This is just *vaguely* familiar,- she thought, grinning. She saw a man and a woman exchanging glances in the aisle. She sang again and he asked for her phone number and a date. -Back in the USA,- she thought as she listened to the budding relationship.
For several hours, she sang the Song of Travel and it took her where she was needed. Surprisingly enough to her, Petra's voice wasn't tired after six hours of singing off and on. She focused on going back to her house in Purgatory for a glass of water and sang the Song of Travel again. She found herself in the main room of her house. "Yes!" she quietly congratuletd herself, making her way to the kitchen. She fished around the cupboards fo a minute, getting a glass and filling it with tapwwater before going to the den. She sat on the couch and turned on the T.V., curious as to what the news said.
"The new Eros has, in the past six hours, personally pushed *twenty eight* new couples in the direction of a lasting relationship. This contends with her predeccessor's record of *twenty four* within his first six hours. The question now being, will she be able to keep this up for the whole of her breaking-in period." The newswoman rearranged her papers while Petra left the room to get more water. "In other news," she said as Petra sat back down, "Chronos is quote-unquote 'torn up' about the (in his timeline) current Eros' impending retirement. Although he *is* at his mansion, he refused to give us a statement."
Petra clicked off the T.V. "How weird," she mumbled to herself before finishing her second glass of water. "Gaea did say that we become, er, became, um, whatever I mean, close. I wonder *how* close, exactly." She shrugged lightly. "I guess I'll just find out tomorrow."
Chapter One
She sang a few bars of a song, barely above a hum, and it took effect on the targeted couple almost immediately. -My powers may not be the best,- she though as she watched the couple, -but they certainly are effective.-
She watched as Jan and Zeke, according to their name tags, exchanged newly acquired loving glances. Jan quietly giggled as she arranged cakes in the bakery section as Zeke restocked the bread shelf nearby.
"I'm glad you two are *finally* together," Petra said quietly to herself as she navigated her way to the magic aisle. "It took me *ages* to find the song that actually worked!" She shook her head and stood examining the magics.
They were 99 cent store quality packets of powdered spells and charms. They were the kind that rarely, if ever, worked acting more as a placebo unless the one invoking it had the ability to coax out the dormant magic quality. They were worth looking at anyway. It gave Petra time to ponder whether her magic was marketable.
-You know,- she started thinking of the new couple, -it doesn't usually take a specific song to get a pair together. I wonder why that couple did. Hmm.- She shrugged it off, and examined the packet she was holding. "Instant Love With the Person of Your Choice!" it proclaimed.
She snorted tersely. She threw back the offending packet and quickly wrapped up her shopping.
An hour later, she lay sprawled across her ancient thrift store sofa in her beloved section of the Kilvarough slums. It was somewhere between he ghettos of Molly Malone, and the large houses of the well-to-do, one of which she *knew* had a pair of live griffins guarding it.
"I envy the person that gets to live in that mansion," she would almost shout every time she passed it. She thought of those griffins and hit the back of the old couch, just to watch he immense cloud of dust spring from it and momentarily cloud the room before escaping through a permanently cracked-open window.
She sighed, knowing that the only way she could ever live in a house like that would be to become their live-in maid. Something had to change soon, or she'd lose what little mind she had left. Cleaning the floors of the local head shop was *not* her idea of a career. For a while she'd hoped that a handsome rich weirdo would come in and sweep her off her feet.
-It isn't like I'm not pretty enough, - she thought, laying on the couch ith her arm over her eyes.- Average height, light build, golden hair. Granted, it ouldn't hurt for me to be a C cup, but that shoulnd't matter *that* much.- She sighed again, moving her arm and looking at the turn-dial T.V. from the same era as her houndstooth-pattern sofa.
She stood up and walked over to the pabbit-eared T.V. set and clicked it on. -I even have blue eyes!- she thought indignantly. -Ok, chill out, it doesn't matter.- She flipped chnnels and found one of a few shows that her T.V. could actually get and sprawled herself back out on the couch.
This was her life, simple, casual, but usually alone. The twelve boyfriend's she'd had in the past three years were never really there for *her* as herself, just *her* as a nice pair of eyes, legs, and . . . well, you know the *other* pair that men use for a girlfriend-gauge. (A/N : Aren't * I * lady-like, lol.) They'd all wanted a turn in the sack, some had even been willing to pay. Poor as she was, she wasn't tacky, and so each one had to be let go in turn.
Ever since her first boyfriend whe she was sixteen, her love life had been cursed. At least that how it felt to Petra. At the same time she broke up with her first boyfriend, she noticed that singing could get people together. So, like most things, her ability came with a price. She practiced, and soon found that she could see which couples were meant to be together, and would sing while concetrating on them. Perhaps it sprung from her own lonliness. She'd never had it investigated, nor had she really told anyone about it. She had cultured it, fine tuned it, and soon found that she could help start long lasting relationships. Petra had never tried her magic on herself, since most self-made magics didn't work on their owners.
Petra was 23, and had been living in this apartment for two years. She was there for another year, with over a hundred succeseful couples under her belt and as many broken hearts for herself.
"Happy birthday to me," she sang flatly, blowing out the candles on the small, round, chocolate cake. She had three candles, one for past, present, and future. She abandoned the rest of the song, picking up a fork and eating the cake with a small bit of depression, already scoffing her ritual birthday wish. "What a happy birthday this is. Still stuck with this job, this hideous - but comfy - couch, an ancient T.V. set, and now the worlds *biggest* spider is landing on my floor," she said the last part with fear, pulling her feet onto the couch. "If you're staying, I hope you're prepared to pay half the rent," she joked, trying to lighten her mood. Then she *really* got scared.
The spider was growing, its eight eyes coalescing into two, it's eight legs fusing, forming two legs and two arms. It turned into a middle aged woman, with a lined, wizend, and kind face, and honey-ish hair pulled in a tight bun. Her white shirt and grey skirt looked comfortable, nice, but not pretty, and she had a formidable look in her eyes. "I don't think *that* will be necessary, dear," she smiled warmly in answer to Petra's joke.
"Okay, I don't mean to be rude, but *what* are you?" Petra asked incredulously. "Are you real or did that guy at the bakery spike my cake?"
The woman chuckled. "My dear Petra, I'm as real as that hideous creation you're sitting on, and much more important." Petra opened her mouth to ask a question, but was silenced when the woman said "I am an aspect of the Incarnation of Fate." Her form changed to a voloupious young Asian woman, who said in her own voice "I am Clotho, who spins the Thread of Life." The form changed to the middle-aged woman, who said "I am Lachesis, I measure the Thread of Life." Between her fingertips were strange glowing threads. The form changed again, this time into an old colored woman with a pair of scissors, who said "I am Atropos, I cut the Thread of Life." The Fate reverted to Lachesis. "People are most often more comfortable with this form on a first meeting."
"I'm . . . pleased to meet the three of you. Why are you in my apartment, of all places?" She ate more of her cake, not quite sure what to believe and finding solace in chocolate.
"Gaea, the Incarnation of Nature, and Eros, the Incarnation of Love, have had their eyes on you for a while. Your success with other couples has impressed them both, and as the current Eros is growing tired of the past century of his work, they were wondering if I might come and offer you the job." Lachesis informed her. After finishing, she looked about the dingy apartment.
"Why didn't Eros or Gaea come and see me themselves? Why send you?" Petra finished her cake and looked at the empty cardboard it had been sitting on.
"It will be up to me to help you make the changeover and figure out what to do with your Life-Thread should you choose to accept the position. You could decline if you like, but I don't see much point. Besides, an Eros who is tired of the office does not fill it well." Lachesis tilted her heaad slightly in inquiry of the girl's descision.
"What would happen if I decline?" Petra walked to the kitchenette, throwing the cardboard in the trashcan and washing off her fork. She leaned against the counter, thinking, as she toweled off the fork and put it in its drawer.
"Then we wait for the next possible officeholder, although there will not be another with the same potential for success for another lifetime. Love, true love, will be sporratic depending on the mood of the disenchanted Eros until a successor can be found." Lachesis looked at Petra with a piercing gaze. "Not a very good future, certainly. But there will be challenges to be overcome. Anything worth doing has its own problems."
"Yeah, I've noticed that," Petra sighed, coming back to the old couch. "I'll miss this place if I go." Lachesis stood calmly, quietly, while petra looked around the small aprtment, drinking in its simplicity. "Will I need to bring anything?" she asked.
"Only if you truly need it," Lachesis told her in a motherly fashion. "Otherwise, all things can be found in Purgatory, where you will be living with Gaea should you accept."
"I accept. love is a very important thing," Petra told Lachesis, making the older woman nod. "There's one thing that I want to take with me," She said, going into the closed off room that was her small bedroom with a matrees on the floor. She took a soft, blue-grey teddy bear from her bedclothes, and came back. "It was a present from my grandparents. I've had it as long as I can remember, and i couldn't stand just leaving it here."
"I know dear, I know." Lachesis smiled and held out her hand. "We'll use my webbing to get to Purgatory. Gaea and Eros will interview you on the outskirts of their domain, and you will most likely become Eros." She led Petra's hand to the strong, silky thread and turned back into the large spider.
"Wait a second, I'm not suited for climbing a thread all the way to Purgatory! Isn't there a more practical way for me to get there?" Petra looked at the barely visible thread in her hand, then at the large spider.
The spider laughed with Lachesis' voice. "I shall contact Death. He has a much more universal mode of transportation." Fate and her thread were gone before Petra could ask about Death.
"Oh, this one's gonna be *fun* to meet," Petra muttered to herself sarcastically. "I hope Death's pleasant." She realised how stupid that sounded when someone came walking in her door. "Hey! How'd you get in? I *know* I locked that door."
It was a man, taller than her but not greatly so. He chuckled and looked her in the eye. "I was summoned out of my work to come and take you to Purgatory."
She was mildly phased when she saw the skull of Death staring at her. "Thanks, Death." She looked at him a moment longer. "I hope I'm not causing you too much trouble, and because I have to say it, the fact that you can't blink is *really* creepy."
He chuckled again, turning and leading her out. "You're not causing me much trouble." He showed her to a pale white stallion with polished steel hooves. "You're the first perdon to comment on my eye-sockets." He chuckled again. "Mortis, meet the soon-to-be Eros."
The stallion neighed and kicked his hoof in greeting. "He is pleased to meet you," Death translated. Mortis nickered, and Death said, "He says he is certain you will get the office."
"Thank you Mortis," Petra said, shyly stroking his mane.
"Have you ever ridden a horse before?" Death asked, preparing to mount.
"I've never *seen* a horse before, let alone ridden one. I could figure it out, though," she offered.
"No need to." It looked to her like he pressed a button on the far side of the saddle, and the horse suddenly turned into a bone-pale Sedan. "Climb on in," he told her, walking to get in the drivers side.
Petra's mouth hung open as she got into the luxurious car. "What a horse!" Petra said stunned. She reached out to feel the upholstery on the seat and the leather n the dash. "Ooh, this is one of those lands yachts I've always wished to ride in."
"One of the perks of the office," Death told her, relaxing and letting he car-horse get itself ready to start the drive to Purgatory. "Mortis is the greatest tool that comes with the office. Death must be able to reach his clients, no matter where they are, and Mortis enables that."
"If it weren't the office of Death, I'd say it was a pretty cushy job." Petra watched clounds roll past her window as they ascended.
"Wise," was his only answer. She decided to change the subject.
"What does Purgatory look like, anyway?"
"It depends on which incarnation you're visiting, or becoming. Gaea and the lesser Incarnations that work for and with her live in a woodland- type area. Fate lives in a house of webs." Petra shuddered. "War lives in a great red palace, I live in a mortuary-type house, and Chronos lives in a white house that looks like it's made of marble."
"I'm glad I don't have to live in Fate's house. Spiders and *anything* to do with them creep me out." Petra laughed shakily, and they flew through a cloud layer and landed, or parked, on a grassy plain in front of a large office looking building.
"This is the main Purgatory office," Death told her as Mortis turned back into a horse. "Gaea's palace is that way," he told her pointing to the right of the office building. "She and Eros are waiting for you there, acording to Mortis." He waved to her, she waved back, nd he hit a button on his strange, black, slick-metal watch an flew through the ground.
"This place is very . . . odd. Yeah, odd," she confirmed, starting towards Gaea's realm of Purgatory. "Who *ever* would've thought that I'd be in, er, on, Purgatory being interviewed for the office of Eros? Not me, that's for certain. I wonder how much Mags would freak out. if we still spoke, that is. She was a good friend when she felt like it." She passed the white marble mansion that she decided must be Chronos' house. "I wonder how *his* office works? I know 'Chronos' means time, or something like that. I wonder if Chronos and I will get along. More importantly, will Gaea like me enough to let me be the new Eros." She looked at the teddy bear she'd had a death grip on since she met Death. -Ha ha,- she thought.
The ground became more uneven as she proceeded, dirt, rocks, and a few patches of grass. hen the grass took over, and she was surrounded by more trees than she'd ever seen in her entire life. All kinds of trees, making a beautiful canopy above her head and leaving only patches of the clear blue sky coming through.
"Gaea," she called softly. "Gaea, are you . . . available?" She thought about asking 'Are you here', but decided that Gaea was anywhere that anything natural grew.
"Yes," something called/whispered rom in front of her. It sounded like a gentle breeze through foliage, a babbling brook, the ocean crashing against the rocks, and a bird singing in the dawn all at once. "Come deeper into the forest, Eros and I await you," the beautiful voice of Gaea spoke again.
Petra nodded, and started walking through the trees. They came closer together as she went, and the ground became more harsh and forbidding. So she sang. She sang one of the mellow songs that she so loved, and the ground became more friendly. She sang her way through the Forest of Gaea as she started reffering to it for twenty minutes, and came upon a great towerin castle of flora. Spires that reached to the sky, blooming with all colors of flowers. She came to the living tree door and knocked. It swung open, and she was admitted into a large foyer that led to a beautiful parlor of the same living trees, shrubs, and flower bushes.
"So glad you could make it," Gaea's natural-melodic voice cooed gently as she set down a cup of tea. She was clad in a roving mist, giving slight views of various patches of her body as she moved. Her hair had a mossy-green tinge, and her eyes looked like crystal clear waters. "I, as I'm sure you've already noticed, am Gaea, and this is Eros." She gestured to a man sitting in a foliage chair much like her own. He had short brown hair, and a certain roundness to his body and features. He looked pleasant enough, but with a certain boredom to his eyes. He was wearing a forest green suit and matching green dress shoes. Apparently, all things connected with Gaea were shades of green.
"It's so nice to meet you both," Petra said bowing, feeling very awkward and out of place. "Have we started the interview yet?"
Gaea laughed and Eros chuckled. "The interview has concluded," Gaea told her. "You are fit for the office of Eros, Incarnation of Love. Eros, lead her to her new quarters."
Eros rose, setting down his teacup on the tree coffee table and led Petra out the back of the castle. "The office of Eros comes with its own small house," he told her. "It's nothing like Gaea's castle, but it is comfortable." He took her to a large house made of living trees and flowers. It was so much larger than her own apartment had been that it took her a moment to adjust to the fact that it would be *hers*. Then as she entered, she remembered the conversation with Gaea.
"How did the interview conclude?" Petra asked Eros. "How did the interview commence? If you don't mind letting me know before we proceed."
He smiled slightly at her. "Your interview commenced whe you called out to Gaea and heard her, and concluded when you successfully came through the forest to the Castle. Gaea's defences are very tight, and only an Incarnation, lesser Incarnation, or in your case an Incaration candidate can get in. In the case of a canidate, they become a lesser Incarnation under Gaea by getting to her Castle. Otherwise, they go bck totheir prior existence. Now, if you and your friend will follow me," he smirked, indicating herself and her teddy bear to enter.
She blushed slightly, hugging her teddy close to her and walking behind Eros. "It's all very straightforward : kitchen, bedrooms, half-baths (although the only things in there are sinks, bathtubs and showers), parlor, den. There's a television set in the den that shows you news pertaining to yourself."
She brightened at all the things that would now be hers. "You mean it?" Eros nodded, and Petra squealed like a girl at a concert. "First I'm going to put Teddy in my room," she told him for no real reason, rushing off to the largest bedroom.
When she came back from oggling the (to her) massive bedroom she was rushing to the den whe Eros grabbed her upper arm. "There *are* some fomalities before you *actually* inhabit the office," he told her calmly.
"Oh, oh of course there would be," Petra said, smacking her forehed with her hand. "What do we do to transfer the office?"
He held his hands up by his chest, palms facing her. "Take my hands." She nodded, solemnly taking his hands. He closed his eyes and she followed suit, and she felt a great surge of power surge through her arms and nestled near her heart and in her eyes. They looked at each other, each knowing that something new was happening to each.
Petra's blue eyes had taken on a mysterious glow. They now looked like moonlit pools of crystal water, while his eyes now looked like an average brown. "Thank you so much, Eros," she said, her voice now resonating slightly with the new power.
"*You* are Eros now. I am once again David." His eyes sparkled with the joy of being himself again, while Petra's eyes sparkled with he joy of being someone powerful and necessarry. "I am so gad that you passed the interview, now I can return to Earth and blend in, no obligations to help the mortals, just be one of them. Good luck in your new office, and I hope that your grace period goes well enough for you to keep it." He kissed her cheek and strode out, making his way towards whatever transportation had been arranged for him.
"Grace period," she asked herself quietly. She shrugged and decided to find whatever clothing went wih the office before asking Gaea any more questions. The closet in the master bedroom had several gauze gowns tinted ever so slightly green with sandals to match. She slipped one on, thinking that it looked Greko-Roman as she put on the sandals and modled for Teddy.
She gigled and padded to the den, flopping onto the couch and clicking on the t.v. with its remote. "A new Eros has taken office," a newscaster woman said, "but has yet to *actually* perform any of the duties that go with it. She seemes to be relaxed about this situation and slightly niave as to the task before her."
"Up to date," Petra muttered to herself. "Very boring, but up to date." She clicked off the television and walked out, deciding that perhaps she should ask about her responsibilities. Would Petra be interacting with the oother Incarnations much? David had mentioned something about being among the mortals without having to be responsible, implying that she had to wander around Earth.
She entered the Castle of Gaea and found her in her parlor, playing the most beautiful music petra had ever heard on a half-size, obiously magic, harp. Her beautiful, strange, and somehow sad voice sang the melody to harp's harmony. Petra stood entranced until the song concluded several minutes later. Gaea turned and looked to her newest charge as she liked to think of them.
"Eros, so good to see you're ready to start." She set down the harp and waked to Petra, her mist-dress dissapating and collecting in a suggestive way. She gently straightened the dress on Petra.
"About that, what exactly do I do? I know it has something to do with love, so I assume it would be something Cupid-like. I must warn you now, I'm no good with a bow and arrow." Petra flattened the skirt against her thighs, suddenlt longing for a T-shirt and jeans.
Gaea laughed. "No no, Eros. Nothing like that. You will help ouples get started together in the same way you did on Earth. Sing, and love will blossom around the selected couple. If you sing from you heart with love, the couple will be always successful. If from sadness or sorrow, the couple's love will end in sadness and sorrow."
"Intense," she stated simply, shoving her hands in her pockets. She looked sown to see herself in a pale green T-shirt and forest green jeans. "What happened to my dress?!" She jumped slightly, a look of fear and confusion on her face.
"Purgatory clothing changes to suit your mood," she smiled, "if you'll pardon the pun. And most of the jobs of the Incarnations are intense. It is most likely that you will meet the other Incarnaions, or at least six of the seven major Incarnations, over the course of your work. You've already met three, and will be working with me quite often as we are, once again pardon the pun, in the same field. Since you will pend much of your time on Earth, it is most likely that you will meet the Inacrnation of Evil. Do not speak His name, even here, for that is His beacon. He might try to put you in his pocket, as it were. However, another reason you were selected to be interviewed was your strong sense of right and wrong. Forgive me for leaing you to all those filed loves, but you needed to be tested." She wafted away towards her chair. "I need to start the monsoon season in India shortly. Anything you feel you need to say, say it quickly."
"What about Chronos? Something about his house . . . called to me, I guess." Petra looked questioningly at Gaea, putting her hands back in her jeans pockets.
Gaea smiled, looking somewhat like a tiger watching a gazelle. "He becomes very close to you, although you do not truly work together. In his timeline, today you are leaving office. He lives life backwards to all of us, although beyond that I know little or nothing except for he fact that in his house, time follows his timeline, so you leave before you arrive. I would suggest going to see him tomorrow evening, for he will be very . . . emotional."
"Emotional how?" Petra questioned.
"You shall see. Attend to your office now, and I will attend to mine." Gaea readied the harp and Petra walked out before the enchanting melody started.
Petra walked back to the hoouse that Eros was assigned to. She searched the den for something that might help her get to and from earth and travel around the surface. She found some sheet music on a coffee table. It said "Song of Travel" in elaborate caligraphy across the top. There was also a piano on the far side of the room, where she stood the music, finding the notes and figuring out the words. She was relatively sure she had he song right and memorised, so she sang it at her full volume. The world around her shifted, like turning a page in a picture book, and she found herself on Earth, near a couple sitting at a cafe` and having dificulties getting comfortable.
She thought of a beautiful love song that seemed to work most often. She neared the couple, subtly singing the enchanting love song. As the song unfolded, their inhibitions were thrown aside, and by the time it had finished, they were conversing avidly. Petra couldn't understand what they saying, for they were speaking in a language she didn't recognize. She sang the Song of Travel again, and the page turned to a grocery store.
-This is just *vaguely* familiar,- she thought, grinning. She saw a man and a woman exchanging glances in the aisle. She sang again and he asked for her phone number and a date. -Back in the USA,- she thought as she listened to the budding relationship.
For several hours, she sang the Song of Travel and it took her where she was needed. Surprisingly enough to her, Petra's voice wasn't tired after six hours of singing off and on. She focused on going back to her house in Purgatory for a glass of water and sang the Song of Travel again. She found herself in the main room of her house. "Yes!" she quietly congratuletd herself, making her way to the kitchen. She fished around the cupboards fo a minute, getting a glass and filling it with tapwwater before going to the den. She sat on the couch and turned on the T.V., curious as to what the news said.
"The new Eros has, in the past six hours, personally pushed *twenty eight* new couples in the direction of a lasting relationship. This contends with her predeccessor's record of *twenty four* within his first six hours. The question now being, will she be able to keep this up for the whole of her breaking-in period." The newswoman rearranged her papers while Petra left the room to get more water. "In other news," she said as Petra sat back down, "Chronos is quote-unquote 'torn up' about the (in his timeline) current Eros' impending retirement. Although he *is* at his mansion, he refused to give us a statement."
Petra clicked off the T.V. "How weird," she mumbled to herself before finishing her second glass of water. "Gaea did say that we become, er, became, um, whatever I mean, close. I wonder *how* close, exactly." She shrugged lightly. "I guess I'll just find out tomorrow."