-1All Because Two People Fell In Love
The year was 2007. In this day and age, not many people still believed in the Greek Gods. Most of them aren't even heard of, and the rest have been lost in the name of mythology. But due to a certain prophecy, Avery Goldstein has always believed. This prophecy said, "The son of a mortal will free Hades of his most prized possession." Avery had found this out from a 'fortune teller' at a carnival, and had loved the fact she was included in a prophecy. But as you can imagine, Hades wasn't too thrilled.
Ever since she was little, around thirteen or fourteen, when she heard the prophecy, she has been paying tribute to Persephone, Aphrodite, Cupid, and Zeus ever since. She's now twenty-three and still has yet to find the one who would give her this child. Though Avery knew it was wrong, she would call on Hades to speed up the process. It had taken a while to get to Hades' throne room, but due to mythology stories, she knew exactly what to do to get there.
Hades was sitting on his throne when Avery entered the room. "My, my... What are you doing here?" he asked in an emotionless tone as he raised a brow. Avery didn't need to tell him; this god knew exactly why she was here.
"I need your help..." Avery paused. "To fulfill a prophecy."
"A prophecy, might I add, I don't want to happen. So tell me," Hades said standing, Avery backing up a few steps, "why should I help you?"
Avery's jaw clattered with fear. She was terrified and wasn't sure what to say. But she had come this far and was determined not to back down. So, Avery clenched her jaw and fist, gathering all the courage she could muster. "When my prophesized son is born, you can have my soul. And when he dies..." Avery took a deep breath before continuing. "You can have his." That last bit was hard for her to say and it had taken all the strength she had.
An evil grin spread across the god's face. Hades approached her, and Avery wanted to back away, but she couldn't move. "I'll find two men for you. One will be the right man for you, and one will not. It'll be up to you to choose the right one." Hades stuck out his hand. "Deal?" At first Avery didn't move. But a moment later she brought up her hand, hesitated, and shook his. Hades let out an evil laugh as a blinding violet light came from their hands. It was to show they had a binding agreement.
When Avery got home that night, she went straight to bed, wishing she hadn't signed away the soul of the son she hadn't even conceived yet. It wasn't long after she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
-:-:-:-:-:-
Hades sat in his throne room as two men - no, Gods - walked in. They were both very handsome, and when they approached, he grinned. "Why isn't it my two favorite nephews!" Hades exclaimed. One man, the blonde, was smiling. But the man with black hair just looked at Hades suspiciously.
"Why did you summon us? We have better things to do than help you," the black haired man said. Hades just gave a laugh.
"Ares, I think this time you'll want to. That's why I called you and Thanatos here."
"What's the job?" the blonde, Thanatos, asked.
"How would you two like a little friendly competition? See, there's this girl who is prophesized to ruin my life. And I told her I'd find her the right man. But I didn't specify. I could have meant the right guy to fix her plumbing. But instead, I want you two to play with her head and heart. Do terrible things but at the same time make her think you're the guy from the prophecy. You two up for it?"
Ares and Thanatos looked at each other and back to Hades. "Hell yeah!" they exclaimed in unison. Once again, an evil smirk was placed on Hades' lips.
"Good." A pause. "Here's what we're gonna do..."
DING DONG!
Avery rolled over and looked at the clock. It was two p.m. and standing outside were Thanatos and Ares. Thanatos had a box of chocolates with some extra pheromones in it, and Ares had some love potion perfume. The woman looked out the window, and her eyes widened. They were here already?! Avery jumped up, getting herself as pretty as she could in less than five minutes. Once she was done she answered the door and gave a little smile. "Sorry it took so long, I was just picking up around the house."
It was love at first sight. For Ares, at least. He thought the dark haired woman standing in front of him was absolutely gorgeous. Her black hair and violet eyes really stood out on her fair complexion. Ares might even go so far as to say she was more beautiful than Aphrodite. She was about five foot four inches, a little short, but average height for an Asian like her. Her body was petite, like an Asian woman. And all of a sudden, Ares didn't want to go through with this plan. He wanted to just chuck the love potion and let this wonderful woman fall in love with him for who he was, not because some potion fooled her into thinking she was in love.
A few moments rolled by and Avery realized the two were standing out in the cold. "Oh! Sorry! Where are my manners? Come on in." Avery stepped away from the door way so the two men could come in. Ares and Thanatos stepped in. Thanatos gave her the chocolates, but Ares hid the perfume in his jacket.
"I'm Aren, and this is Theodore," Ares said. The two had been given strict instructions not to let her know who they really were, so they decided on mortal names and wore mortal clothes, to pass as normal. Ares took Avery's hand and kissed it, giving a charming smile. Avery blushed a little.
"Nice to meet you both," Avery said smiling. Thanatos had a raised a brow at Ares, wondering what on Earth he was doing. This wasn't the plan. He was supposed to give her love potion, not actually charm her. Or... was Ares turning it into a real competition? Thanatos was convinced it was the second one, and decided to step it up a bit. Ares stepped back, and Thanatos stepped in.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, my dear. And might I add you look positively lovely this afternoon." Avery blushed again, and Ares glared. Ares was in love with this woman, and here Thanatos was moving in on her! How dare he do such a thing? Oh yeah. Hades asked him to. Ares grumbled inward to himself, regretting that he agreed to do this for the evil god. But then again he was glad, for if he hadn't agreed, he wouldn't have met Avery. He was having conflicting thoughts and feelings towards his uncle right now, but one thing was for sure. He wouldn't let anyone ruin Avery's life. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be easy. He knew that Thanatos would keep going at her, because this was all a game to him, and if Aphrodite ever found out... she would literally make Avery's life a living hell. So, Ares decided he wouldn't tell Aphrodite. Not only would Avery's life be ruined, but so would his own immortal life. Aphrodite would never forgive him for falling in love with a mortal woman, and think she was more gorgeous than herself.
The young woman bit her lip as she looked at the two. How would she go about deciding who to pick between two men (two very handsome men) she didn't even know, to be her husband? Well, she had to start somewhere, so why not their occupations? Aren was apparently an Admiral in the United States Naval Forces, and Theodore was, believe it or not, an executioner at a prison in Texas. Both very interesting jobs, in Avery's mind. As the day went on, Avery asked them questions and they both gave answers any girl would want to hear. When the day was over, Avery was convinced Hades had come through and that one of these men was Mr. Right. To help her decide, she decided they would all go on a date tonight, each spending individual time with her.
That night they went to a local, classy club. Kind of like a jazz club. All the ladies wore fancy dresses and men wore suits. She spent time with Theodore a.k.a. Thanatos first. "So. Now that we have some alone time. Tell me… how do you know Hades?" Avery had been avoiding the subject of the wretched god all day, but she knew she couldn't do it forever. Thanatos' mind raced for an answer. Good thing he was a quick thinker.
"Actually, I ran into Hades while at my job. He was trying to make a deal with one of the inmates. I told him he had to go when the inmate he was visiting attempted to kill me, and Hades for some very odd reason, saved me. So I said to him if he ever needed me call on me, and we'll call it even."
"So this is just you two calling it even?"
"No. This I did for no charge," Thanatos said with a small wink, lifting his glass to her. "To new friends," he said. Avery smiled and clinked her glass with his, drinking to what he had said. After a little more of small talk about music and books, she said she was ready to have a talk with Aren. Thanatos stood up, gave a little bow to her, and walked away and greeted Ares. "I don't think this'll be as hard as it seemed. She seems a little… gullible. Desperate, I think is the word I want." Ares glared at his cousin.
"Don't you dare say such a thing. Avery isn't a toy to be played with." Ares gazed at her lovingly. "She's a goddess among mortals to be respected, and worshiped…" It took a moment for what Ares had said to sink in into Thanatos' head. His eyes widened in shock as he turned to his cousin.
"You're in love?" he asked disgusted. "With this mortal?" For a moment, Thanatos stood there shocked. But a second later he had an evil grin on his face. "Oh, Aphrodite is just going to love this!" In one fluid movement, Ares had turned around, set his drink down, and had Thanatos by the throat with one arm against the wall.
"You dare tell Aphrodite and I swear on my mother's immortality you will regret it for the rest of your immortal life," Ares threatened. Instead of like earlier, his voice was no longer smooth and soothing. It was dark and husky. Thanatos gave a large gulp of the saliva building in his mouth and nodded to Ares' words. He may be the God of Death, but he knew that Ares would never break a threat like that. Especially when he swore on Hera's immortality. The War God dropped Thanatos and walked over to Avery who was standing there shocked at what she had just seen. She hadn't heard a word, but seeing one of the men lift the other up with ease and toss him aside was a little unnerving. "Sorry, about that," Ares said. "We do stuff like that all the time. Cousins. We grew up in the same neighborhood."
That made a little more sense to Avery. The rest of the evening they sat and talked about various things. Religion, super beings, music, poetry, animals, hunting, food, practically everything. And then came that time again. How did this wonderful man know Hades? Apparently, Aren had gotten him out of a tough spot with the God of War (go figure), and Hades owed him one. And last night he gave Aren a proposal to meet the possible girl of his dreams, and Aren agreed.
"Not to sound too forward… but Hades was right. I think you are the girl of my dreams." Avery couldn't help but give a wide smile and blush. This had definitely been the best night of her life, and she thought she had chosen which man was the right one. But unfortunately, something would happen to keep her from choosing.
You see, Thanatos is quite unhappy about this threat Ares made. Because of this, he found away around what Ares had said. He called on Hermes and gave him a note to give to Aphrodite. And when Aphrodite received this note, she was furious. Ares, she considered was hers. And here comes this mortal woman, filling his head with foolish ideas of love. So, to make sure the two wouldn't be together, Aphrodite gave Thanatos the same love potion she had given Ares.
"Use this," she said, "on the woman and make sure you are the first one she sees. She will instantly fall in love with you, and though at first Ares will persist in trying to make her fall in love with him, he will eventually give up and come back to me, and then you'll win Hades' little game." Thanatos took the perfume and smiled.
"Thanks," he said simply, and left back for Earth.
The next morning, when the three were having breakfast (of course Ares was in the bathroom at this moment), Thanatos gave her the perfume. "Oh, thank you!" She was feeling a little awkward, as she had decided to choose Aren when the time came. Avery spritzed it on and smiled. It was a beautiful smell. At first she felt a little light-headed, but when she looked to Thanatos everything became clear. What on Earth was she thinking? How could she choose Ares over Theodore? That just wasn't right.
When Ares returned, he noticed something strange about her. She seemed... off. Usually when the three were together, she would give equal time to each one, but now... it was like Ares wasn't even there. Strange. That's when it hit him. Thanatos had found a way around his threat and somehow got the information to Aphrodite that Ares was in love with Avery. In return, she had given him love potion. All in her crazy scheme to keep him to herself. What a selfish goddess. Ares had to devise a plan to win Avery back. First, by getting rid of that love potion. And who better to go to than Hera?
As Ares left to see Hera, Hades was below, hearing of how Ares was in love with the target. This was royally screwing with Hades' plans. So, as a counter, Hades went to see Zeus. "Brother, Ares has betrayed me," Hades said. Zeus straightened in his seat. "He promised he would rid of someone for me, but instead he has fallen in love with this mortal! This woman is destined to have a child that will take my most prized possession. A possession, my brother, that you gave to me."
Zeus was taking him seriously. He loved to help people in love, but he could make an exception. This woman's future child was going to defy his word? Preposterous! "I will help you, Hades."
"Mother! Mother!" Ares shouted through-out the throne room on Olympus. Hera appeared soon after his cries.
"What is the matter, Ares?" Hera asked, looking concerned.
"I have fallen in love!" he proclaimed.
"That is great news, why are you distressed?"
"Hades is determined to ruin her life, and has sent Death as a suitor. And not only that, Thanatos has given her a love potion and she no longer loves me!" Ares exclaimed before collapsing on the throne. Hera seemed to give this a great deal of thought. After a few minutes, Hera pulled out...
"Lipstick?" Ares said, looking at it with an un-amazed look. "Lipstick is going to help me win her back?" Hera rolled her eyes at her son.
"This lipstick contains an herb that will undo the effects of Thanatos' potion. not to sound cliché, but you'll have to kiss her; be your love true and she will snap out of it instantly. Be your feelings false... and she will continue on thinking she's in love with Thanatos."
Ares snatched the lipstick in an instant. "Then it is a good thing my love is true!"
With lipstick in hand, Ares returned to Earth. But he didn't go straight back to Avery with it. He was going to give it a little time before he confronted her. Why? So he could have time to think about how he would approach her. Should he go up to her an force the lipstick on her? No. That would definitely lose any trust she had in him. Maybe he should give it to her as a gift? Surely she would accept it then. It was Greek tradition to accept gifts when offered. Despite her being Asian, she would abide by those traditions, right? Ares hoped so.
The entire week he was contemplating on how to approach her, Thanatos and Aphrodite were playing tricks on the girl. Thanatos would stand her up, and claim he never made those arrangements. He would allow her to become but an inch from death before jumping in to save her. Whenever Ares tried to go to see her, Zeus would create obstacles and reasons why he couldn't. But on the last day in the week, Ares wouldn't let a thing stop him.
Avery was sitting on her porch on the swing, apparently waiting for Thanatos to show, though he never would. Instead Ares appeared before her. "Aren!" Avery said, getting up to hug him. "I was beginning to wonder where you were." Ares smiled and pulled out a box in wrapping paper with a little bow.
"I felt bad about not giving you a present the day we met, so I went to get one for you. I'm not used to shopping for women, so I wasn't quite sure what to get. However, I do hope you like it." Avery ripped open the present and looked to the lipstick and gave a smile. It was a perfect shade for her. She gave him another hug.
"I love it." Avery opened the lipstick tube and put it on. "How's it look?" she asked, smiling. As an answer for this comment, Ares kissed her. The woman was surprised when his lips touched hers, and in moments it was over. At first she felt nothing happen, but then she became dizzy as she had when given the love potion. Seconds later, she was back to normal. "W-what's going on?" she stuttered. She could remember everything that had happened, but didn't know why she had acted that way. Ares took a breath, and decided to tell her the truth.
"Thanatos gave you a love potion."
Avery stared at him blankly.
"Theodore's real name is Thanatos. He's the God of Death."
"And who are you?" It was obvious she didn't quite believe him.
"Ares, God of War." Avery was staring at him disbelievingly, and so he explained. "Hades didn't specify in the deal what the right guy was for because he didn't want you to have the child that would steal away Persephone. And since he didn't specify, he called on Thanatos and I to mess with your head."
"So why are you telling me all of this?" asked Avery. She still wasn't sure whether she should believe him or not, but his story did make sense. Except why he was telling her.
"Because I didn't lie about thinking you were the girl of my dreams. If I wasn't in love with you, you would still be under the effects of Thanatos' love potion." Avery bit her lip. Ares loved her? A mortal woman who was destined to die at child birth because of her stupid deal with Hades?
"I…" she hesitated. "I love you too." Ares couldn't help but let his usual, cocky smile return to his lips. He let his lips meet hers again, but this time she returned the kiss.
Two weeks later, though Avery already knew her choice, she had gone to Hades. She had prolonged it because she had had no desire to meet with the dark god. "I've made my decision," she said to him. Hades sat up in his seat, curious to hear which of the two Gods she had chosen. "And the one that I have chosen, is Ares." Hades smiled and sat back. The prophecy could never come true now! Ares was not mortal. But, a deal was a deal. She would wed Ares and Hades would never have to worry about her being troublesome to him ever again.
"Alright. You and Ares will be married at dusk. I wish you two, very happy long lives together." Either way he really didn't care. All that mattered was she stay out of his life from now on.
The wedding had been a beautiful ceremony. It was held on Mount Olympus, where many of the Gods celebrated. Aphrodite, however, was one of the less thrilled Gods. But there was nothing she could do. Ares wanted to, and Hades had promised, meaning not a single thing could stop this marriage. But that wouldn't stop her from trying to break up the marriage once the wedding was over and done with.
But no matter how hard she tried over the next few years, Ares would not be unfaithful to Avery. And all their hard work to keep their marriage together paid off. Avery was pregnant. Nothing could make the couple happier, but also nothing could make them sadder. For Avery could feel in her bone that this was the child foretold about in that prophecy. So over the next nine months, Avery and Ares spent every waking moment together. Unfortunately, the day they had been dreading and hoping for had come. After Calcifer was born, Avery was fading fast. But alas, she was gone.
After her death, Ares took his son to his mother, begging her to bestow immortality among the child. She agreed, and did so without hesitation. In the Underworld, Hades had just spoken with the Fates. Apparently the prophecy didn't mean both parents had to be mortal, and he was beating himself up over his stupid mistake. Rather, he was beating his minions up and throwing flames at walls and such. Finally, Hermes came down to tell him the 'good' news. Calcifer was given immortality. It was over. Persephone would be gone within a matter of years.
The funny thing is, if Hades hadn't set up Ares to mess with Avery's life, the prophecy child never would have been born.