CHAPTER 2--PREPARATIONS
I want to give a shout out to Puzenena who is my first reader and listed my story as a favorite. P.S. Hephaestus is also one of my favorites.
It was a busy day at Mt. Olympus.
That night would be the celebration of the titans release from Tartarus and the daemons were busy with the tasks assigned to them. They were scattered everywhere, hurrying to finish up the work. The nymphs were decorating the trees and rivers surrounding the place while at the back of Zeus and Hera's shared palace, The feasting and banquet gods were going in and out of the kitchen, carrying jars of wine while Dionysus monitored them.
The kitchen was big and full of nymphs and the preparation of the food was supervised by Hestia. The stoves were full of cooking wares, pots were boiling with soup, and loaves of bread were being baked at the hearth while plates were being taken out and the table at the middle was brimming with food. Fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, poultry, bread, honey, wine and cheese, and the gods' main ingredient, ambrosia and nectar was added to everything as without affecting taste it greatly enhanced flavor and nutrition value while healing injuries and restoring youth and vitality.
Hestia was in a very happy mood for she was doing what she loved best, cooking. Her brother Zeus said to leave the cooking to the nymphs and other minor goddesses but she wasn't going to miss this for the whole world. The goddess was very kind and loving, which is to be expected from the goddess of family. She was also very generous and indulged the godlings, relatively young gods who subconsciously chose to remain in a perpetually prepubescent form.
She looked at every dish being cooked, made sure that all was delicious, and chanted mixed in ambrosia to preserve the feast. She wanted the event to be a success and with her food it might even turn out to be better than she thought, for her father, uncles and cousins were being released from Tartarus and they really needed to make peace, and not have a re-enactment of the Titanomachy...
She cringed at the memory.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Dionysus. "Aunty."
"Huh? Oh! Dionysus, what is it?" asked Hestia.
"Where will we put the other jars? It seems that if we put in more, the kitchen would be crowded." answered Dionysus. He pointed at the place where the jars were.
"Oh, yes. put the others in the storage rooms."
He nodded. "Thank you my lady. Oh, and I think your food is amazing."
Hestia smiled. "Oh! My dear, thank you."
The great hall and courtyard was adorned with decorations and round tables and chairs encircled the place. Apollo and the music gods were practicing the songs they were going to play while the graces were choreographing a dance to the tune but were having a hard time due to two certain goddesses.
At the center of the grand hall Aphrodite was trying her best to calm her sisters Athena and Artemis who were having an argument.
She was exasperated.
This was the fourth time they were arguing this week, and she had to separate them all the time, once; holding them apart so they wouldn't come to blows.
"You slut."
"Well look at this. The sun is calling a fire hot."
"I'm sure you and Orion started more than a fire."
Athena and Artemis were fellow virgin goddesses and supposedly best friends, but lately they had developed a rivalry, which was threatening to escalate into a war. It was unknown why they started arguing, some saying it was because Zeus favored one over the other, others saying that had only ever pretended to be friends, while a small few believed one had finally become a victim of love...
Ares approached Aphrodite his fiancée. "What is the fight about this time."
"They're doubting each other's claim of virginity."
Ares was shocked. "Did you just... make that up?"
"Nope, they just reached a new low. I'm surprised myself."
"Is it true?"
"Is what true?"
"That they're not virgins?"
"How am I supposed to know that?"
"You are the goddess of sexual love."
"If our powers worked that way, Hera would have had the perfect marriage."
Aphrodite was right. The gods powers were awesome and vast and may have come with some required secondary benefits--e.g. Poseidon being able to breathe in water and withstand deep sea pressure--but they still had limits. For example; Zeus was not immune to other lightning bolts from fellow sky gods, Cronus could travel back in time but not affect the outcome et cetera et cetera.
Their bickering suddenly grew noisier and disturbed Apollo and the muses which caused him stop and separate them himself.
"Would you two just stop it, Hercules' and Ares get along better than you."
"She started it". They both said at the same time.
"I don't care who started it, just stop for Olympus' sake, and pretend to like each other for the duration of the night, and after that, you can go back to hating each other."
"Fine." They both said.
Ares and Aphrodite had stopped paying attention and were discussing the details of their upcoming wedding when Zeus and Hera came into the hall.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and greeted two of the leaders of the gods.
They greeted back in response. Zeus asked Apollo how the music was. "Beautiful father, we had a disturbance, but we managed to finish everything and now we are ready."
Zeus was pleased as Hera left his side to talk to the engaged gods.
"My son, have you finally decided on a date for your wedding?"
"Yes, it's-"
Before he could even finish; a sea-green blur entered the hall, bringing with it a smell of sea water. It immediately stopped revealing Triton; Poseidon's heir and messenger of the sea. He had wavy blonde hair and green eyes with a well defined jaw and a smile revealing pearly white teeth. His skin was completely tanned from spending nearly all his time on the surface of the ocean. His body was streamlined and well developed, with visible muscles and toned legs. And his only clothing were black pants He ran over to Hera and Zeus to greet them with a hug.
"Hi, uncle and aunt."
"Hello, Triton." Hera said, speaking for both herself and her husband. "What message do you bring from the deep?"
"None ma'am. My father sent me here so I could accompany Hermes to the underworld to escort the titans to Olympus."
Zeus finally spoke up. "Well, he's already gone but you can find him on the isle of the Hesperides if you are fast enough."
"Oh please, I'm the fastest god in the universe."
"Don't be presumptuous and put yourself above an Olympian, cousin. There are dire consequences for that way of thinking." Ares said.
Triton chuckled. "Hermes may be an Olympian, but unless he is as great as Poseidon, his title has no meaning to me."
Saying that, he took out his magical conch shell and blew on it; and in one blue flash was gone.
Okay, chapter 2 is done and the next chapter is going to be focusing on Hephaestus, Hermes and Triton bringing the Titans to Olympus.