The Amazement of the Gods

by Telemna Hyelle

Everyone knows that placing themselves above the Gods is asking for a bolt of lightning to smite you, but what happens when it occurs against your will? The Goddess of Love and Beauty is on the warpath, and the unfortunate mortal maiden in her sights is doomed for sure... that is, of course, until the God of Love himself takes an interest in her.

4. Chapter 3: Whose Locks are Gold

Disclaimer: I still do not own Naruto. However, my awesome friend who works at Hot Topic bought me the Itachi shirt, so at least I have that. :D

From the Muses and far-shooting Apollo

Are singers and guitar-players across the earth

But kings are from Zeus.

Hesiod

Chapter 3: Whose locks are gold, whose oracles are sure, who omens good revealest.

Psyche woke with the sun, feeling strangely comforted and at rest. Of late her dreams had been dim and confused, filled with fear—in them she saw the Gods descending upon her city in all their righteous wrath, bringing destruction in the name of her blasphemy.

But then it seemed that the Lord of the Oneiroi, Morpheus himself, had pity on her. Her fear and anguish had been swept away as if by a breath of wind, and Psyche had dreamt she was cradled in the wings of a mighty bird, safe and secure in the protective shadow.

She was rather disappointed to awake and find the shielding embrace was naught but a dream. She laid back upon her couch and ducked her head into her pillow. Perhaps, if she closed her eyes, she would slip back into that wonderful drea-

"Psyche! Psyche! Did you hear the news from father?"

Her lips twisted into an unhappy pout, but she shook herself. Her sisters were wed to wealthy lords in other cities, and she saw them now rarely. She should be grateful that they were here—after all, blood was more important than a stray, fanciful dream. Still, she thought, she should burn some incense to Morpheus as a thank-you later… perhaps some of the poppy-seeds his ever-restful father so loves?

It was universally acknowledged unwise, after all, to seem unthankful for a gift sent by the Gods.

Languidly Psyche pulled herself up to face her sisters, blinking the last dredges of Hypnos' thrall away from her eyes. "No? What is it, Ami, Kin?"

Kin—her eldest sister, who had long dark hair that Psyche envied guiltily—frowned. "Psyche, we're all adults now. Stop with the childish nicknames!"

The youngest daughter felt a pink flush of embarrassment crawl across her cheeks, and she bowed her head in apology. "O-oh! I'm sorry, Chione. It's just been so long since I've seen you and Ami—Amathea."

"Well, it's alright," the higher-pitched voice of her middle sister, Amathea, chimed in, and Psyche glanced up at her. She, too, had dark hair—so dark and rich, in fact, that it seemed to shine with a faint luster like the purple shade of Tyrian dyes.

They were both quite beautiful—but, according to the populace, not as beautiful as Psyche herself. She wondered if she was a horribly ungrateful person, but she would rather trade all her beauty for that of Chione or Amathea. Then, of course, Psyche realized she was wishing the near-inevitable wrath of the Gods upon one of her sisters, and would feel guilty again.

"So, what did you want to tell me, Chione?" She asked. "What was so important to get you out of bed so early?"

"Well…" Chione drawled, "I know how lonely you are, and how upset and unworthy it makes you feel that no man wishes to take you to wife."

Psyche bit her lip unhappily and nodded, trying to conceal the flash of pain the reminder of her situation brought.

"And," Amathea added, "We, who now know the joys of wedded bliss, grew concerned. After all, we couldn't have our baby sister alone and a maiden, forever unmarried! So we went and spoke to father."

"And?" Psyche asked eagerly. "What did Father say?"

"Father revealed he was concerned as well," Chione said, taking a seat upon the end of Psyche's couch, nudging her baby sister's feet aside to make room. "After all, an unmarried daughter does not reflect well upon the kingdom. So, he agreed to our plan."

"What plan?"

Amathea grinned, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "Father will send a servant to Delphi, to the temple of bright Apollo, and ask the Pythia an important question—who is to be your husband?"

"Then, when the messenger returns," Chione added, "We can arrange the marriage as dictated, for what king would defy a decree from Delphi? Trust us, you'll be married off before the season is done!"

"Truly?" Psyche asked, her heart thumping. Perhaps gracious Hera has heard my prayer, and this is the answer! Maybe, I'll be safely wed and hidden away, and both Argos and I will be spared the wrath of high Olympus.

Of course, it seems to good to be true… no! None of that! I must have hope.

"That's wonderful news," Psyche said at last. "I can't wait to hear the answer."

She stood up then and made her way to the clothes-chest to prepare for her day. Thus, she did not see the glance shared between her elder sisters, nor the malicious smiles that painted their lips like dew upon the grass at dawn.

~0O0~

"Sasuke! Brother Sasuke! You're here!"

Sasuke Eros touched down lightly upon the grass outside the cavern of the Anemoi upon the mountain of Haemus in Thrace. He had spent half his youth here, when he was not frolicking upon the beaches of Kythera with is elder brother, Gaara Himeros. He had never given much thought to its appearance before, but now he found himself scanning the abode of his father and uncles with a critical eye.

I think, he mused, I should like one more secluded, perhaps in a valley guarded by a friendly river, somewhere where gossipy Aurae might not pass by and spread the tale of Psyche's hiding place. I would fill the valley with wildflowers, so she may be surrounded by the blossoms she so loves.

"Big brother!" A small form plummeted out of the sky above the God of Love, but he nimbly skipped to the side and watched in amusement as his attacker smacked into the ground.

"Better luck next time, Shisui."

The would-be-attacker scrambled to his feet, fluffing his black and red feather excitedly. "I'll get you soon, Sasuke! I almost had you that time."

" 'Almost' doesn't mean much, baby brother," Sasuke said, and flicked Shisui on his forehead. "Keep training, and maybe one day you might be almost as good as me."

His little brother rubbed unhappily at his forehead and twisted his lips. "I thought you said that 'almost' doesn't mean much."

Eros smirked and shrugged elegantly. Shisui immediately kicked at Eros' ankle, a strike which was effortlessly dodged. This had the potential to go on for a long time, but Shisui was distracted from his vengeful thoughts by the memory of important news.

A smug grin slipped across his face, and Shisui puffed out his chest and spread his wings slightly to make himself look bigger. "Sasuke Eros, guess what?"

The God of Love quirked a brow at the use of his mortal epithet, but tilted his head languidly. "Why should I guess when you are so obviously eager to tell me?"

"I got a name!" Shisui yelled.

Sasuke's other brow lifted. "I know. I was there when Mother Izumi named you, after all."

"No, no, not a normal name! The mortals! They gave me a name in the mortal tongue!"

Sasuke blinked once, then smiled. "Congratulations, baby brother. What are you called?"

"Shisui Porthos, God of Desire," He declared smugly.

"Shisui Pothos, not Porthos, darling." Another voice said, sweet and fresh as a pomegranate plucked straight from the tree. Sasuke turned to greet his first mother, his father's wife, and Shisui flushed.

"Close enough." He mumbled, and Sasuke snorted.

"Be kind to your brother. Even you were not perfect when you were that age, Sasuke," Izumi chided, her dark eyes glittering with amusement. She was the Messenger of the Gods and Goddess of the Rainbow, who runs upon the vibrant bridge that spans the sky and the sea. The feathers of her delicate wings bore all the colors of her dominion, and her dress shone pure and white. "What brings you here, so suddenly and without warning? Is aught amiss?"

Eros shrugged one shoulder carelessly. "Nothing dire. I merely desire the counsel of my father upon a certain matter."

His first foster mother smiled and stepped to the side. "You are in luck, then, for Itachi returned home just a short while ago and is reclining within. I'll leave you two with some privacy while you talk."

"My thanks, Mother Izumi," Sasuke said with a nod of his head, and slipped past her into the cavern. It was as she had said—his father Zephyrus Itachi was reclining upon his couch, one arm draped carelessly over his eyes. Sasuke Eros, however, had no doubt his father was perfectly awake, and therefore spoke without preamble.

"Father, I am in need of your advice."

Zephyrus did not move, but his deep, smooth voice rang in the cavern, mildly amused. "Rare indeed it is that my proud son comes to me in need of counsel. What is so dire that you seek me out now?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to answer, but the words stuck in his throat. After a moment of struggle, he ground out, "I have fallen prey to my own governance, and I find myself in need of aid."

Zephyrus Itachi was completely still for a long moment. Slowly, his drew his arm away from his eyes and sat upon, his black eyes boring into a near-identical pair. "I suppose, then, that I only have two questions—what sort of aid, and who is the lady?"

"I need a place where I can keep my bride," Sasuke explained, ignoring the intrigued eyebrow lift at his choice of descriptor, "Where she can be safe and hidden from prying eyes."

"And why are you asking me?" Itachi asked.

"You are one of the Anemoi and have traveled all of the expanse of Achaia, who could know it better than you? And are you not my father, who gave me form and taught me the ways of godhood? Who else would I ask for aid?"

"Your Mother Aphrodite would most likely help," Itachi said. "After all, she is rather fond of this sort of thing."

The God of Love chuckled once, his tone dry and sardonic. "Not when the lady is fairer than she."

The West Wind blinked, taken aback, and then smiled once—brief and fleeting. "I see. I have heard the winds speak of a mortal maid, who the foolish humans worship as if she were Aphrodite herself. What a rather interesting predicament you have gotten yourself into, my foolish son."

This time, however, his son refused to be bated, and Zephyrus Itachi sighed in resignation. "Very well. I will do as you say, and prepare a place for you to guard your bride from the wrath of Mei Urania and Karin Pandemos. But the question remains, how will you win and gain the lady you so fancy?"

"That," Sasuke Eros said with a wave of his hand, "I have a plan for already."
~0O0~

The relationship between the God of Love and the God of Light and Music and Prophecy (and other things) was… interesting, to say the least. Sasuke Eros had blessed Apollo multiple times in the God's pursuit of fair maidens, nymph or mortal alike. However, he had also deliberately not blessed him, resulting in desperate nymphs creating various new flora to grace the mountains and hills of Greece.

It was because of this that Eros felt his demands would be accommodated. The God of Light was still reeling from the entire Daphne incident, and would not wish to risk the wrath of the God of Love again.

"Sasuke Eros." The golden voice drawled. "To what do I owe the pleasure, hm?"

"A trade, Deidara," Sasuke replied, stepping into the inner parts of Apollo's palace upon Mount Olympus.

"A trade?"

Deidara Apollo, God of many, many things, twin of Kurotsuchi Artemis and son of Kakashi Zeus, lay reclining upon his couch, idly strumming a golden lyre. His hair was long and golden and his eyes as blue as the noonday sky, and his godly beauty shone forth like an exploding star. His expression, however, was far less beautiful—his shining smile was pinched and wrathful, and his eyes were narrowed dangerously.

Sasuke smirked back, and sweet-voiced Apollo subsided.

"Indeed, a trade," The God of Love said, his voice cool and detached. "I will give you my aid in your next romantic endeavor, provided you speak the words I give you when the messengers of the Chersis, King of Argos, arrive at your temple in Delphi."

Phoebus Deidara arched an eyebrow, long artist's fingers darting over the gilded strings of Minato Hermes' gift. "You are serious, hm?"

"I give you my word," Sasuke intoned, and the God of Light stared into his eyes. After a long moment, Deidara finally nodded, and the faintest tinge of relief stirred in Eros' chest.

"Very well, I will do as you say, so long as you keep up your end of the bargain. Hm." Apollo said, his voice faintly curious. "What is the message you think so important?"

~0O0~

Nearly a month had passed since Chione and Amathea's plan had been set into motion, and with each passing day the anxiety in Psyche's bosom stirred and grew. In her heart she felt as if she was dwelling in borrowed time, and spent more and more time each day in Hera's shrine, praying for aid and protection for Argos.

She had tried to speak to her parents, King Chersis and Queen Metriche, about her concerns, but they had been immediately dismissed. That had made her angry—was she the only one in the whole city with sense enough to see that claiming godhood rarely ended well. Besides! Psyche knew she was unworthy—she was pretty, perhaps, but she was fully mortal. The Gods were the children of mighty Chronos and Great Rhea, who were themselves born of large-bosomed Gaea's womb from her union with wide-spread Ouranos.

Psyche was descended from nothing more than clay and stones, and it was not golden ichor but simple red blood that flowed through her veins. She had no delusions she could compare to the likes of the Gods and Titans.

It was late in the evening, as Psyche quietly knelt before the shrine of Hera, that she heard a commotion outside the megaron. Hastily finishing her supplications, she rose and hurried to the doorway, only to run straight into her mother.

"There you are, lazy child!" Her mother exclaimed, and Psyche winced. As much as she loved her mother, the Queen could be somewhat abrasive at times. "Hurry and come to your father's throne room, for the messenger to Delphi has returned!"

For a moment, Psyche felt as if her heart had stopped, but then it started again, galloping along at a pace far faster than before. Queen Metriche immediately spun and rushed off towards the King's hall, and Psyche hurried after her, nerves clawing up her chest to clasp around her throat.

She slipped into the throne room quietly, drawing the hood of her tattered cloak over her head and her far-too-noticeable pinkish locks. She crept across the back of the room and took her place behind her father's chair, slumping down slightly and leaning against the wall in order to avoid notice.

"What news?" Her father said, his eyes unusually stern. He was growing older—his once vibrant red-gold locks (from which Psyche could claim her own rosy hue) were beginning to be stained with stern grey, and his dark blue eyes were growing dimmer. Still, his lips were usually curled into a smile and wrinkles about his eyes came from laughter instead of worry, for Argos was a city blessed by Hera.

Psyche felt a twinge of guilt, for worrying her father so, and sent up a swift prayer to Phoebus Apollo that the oracle should be favorable.

Then she got a glimpse of the messengers face, and felt hope begin to wither in her chest. His eyes were wide and haunted, and his face was far too pale. When he spoke, his voice was hesitant, and thin and reedy like a child playing the panpipes.

"I went to Delphi, as you instructed, my lord. When I arrived, I was taken to see the Pythia, through whom the God doth speak. She was seated upon a three-legged stool and draped in beautiful robes, her hair was a long and pale plait, the color of misty sunlight, but her eyes were dark as a moonless night. I spoke to her thus, as you commanded me, asking who the gods decree should be husband to your daughter Psyche. And thus spoke the Pythia, voice of Apollo of Oracles who slew the might python,

'Lo! It is proclaiméd! Take her to the stone high above thy town.

Groom she has-no mortal life shall be. Old and strong, mighty Gods-

Weak are they! Here they move, bowing to power ancient, speaking not.' "

The messenger gulped audibly in the deep silence that fell over the hall. "The priests of Apollo spoke to me, translating the Pythia's words as is their duty, and this is what they said the oracle means—A husband has been prepared for the Princess Psyche, and we must take her to the mountain where Zeus took golden-shod Hera as his bride and leave her there, for her husband to take."

After a long moment, the King spoke, his voice strained. "And who is her husband? Did the priests say that?"

The messenger looked down, staring at the stones of the floor. "O-only that her husband is not—not of mankind. It… is a monster, a powerful ancient creature that even the Gods fear."

The silence in the hall was horrible, and Psyche felt as if the very breath was squeezed forth from her lungs. In the awful quiet that filled the room, a sudden breeze like the draft of divine wings rushed through, dousing the lamps and leaving the hall in darkness.

Unseen by all, Sasuke Eros perched high above the thronging mortals, his night-dark eyes focused on one form and one form alone, and he smiled.

~0O0~

~0O0~

Author's Note:

I need sleeeeeeeep.

So, I posted a pre-written chapter for another story a couple hours ago, because it was there, I was having trouble sleeping, and I felt bad about the wait you guys had for this chapter. Of which I had written five sentences in the last month.

I would have had it up sooner, but I have some health problems that pop up every now and then, and they decided to make the last month... unpleasant (nothing too bad, basically just extreme discomfort. Makes it hard to write, however). But after I posted that chapter... I had a brainstorm, and I was having trouble sleeping, and voila! This entire chapter, whipped up in four hours when I realllly should have been sleeping... whoops.

Luckily I get to sleep in today...

Anyway, that's why this chapter is so horrendously late. *Bows* I'm very sorry! I'll do my best not to let it take so long again!

Sadly, production will be a little slower over the next month, because I have a sink-or-swim deadline at the end of this month for my current novel WIP, which will take precedence. I am expecting to pick away the next chapter though at times when the Writer's Block holds sway, so hopefully it won't take too long before the next chapter.

I also really hope this chapter doesn't have any glaring errors... I didn't see anything? *crosses fingers*

Anyway! I'm really proud of this chapter, and especially the Pythia's poem. I tried to write it in dactylic hexameter, which is what the Pythia used when speaking her oracles, but I'm not sure how successful I was? After all, I believe dactylic hexameter works best with Greek, which I do not speak, much less write poetry in. Well, whether or not it's in the proper meter, I still think it looks cool.

(Would have been a lot easier if the Pythia spoke in sonnets, though. Why didn't you speak in sonnets, Pythia?)

Also-Deidara is Apollo! I know almost all Naruto/Greek Mythology crossovers have Naruto as Apollo, but I felt Deidara fit Apollo's vain, rather spiteful nature best, plus the whole 'long blonde hair and artistry' thing Apollo has got goin' on. Now if only Apollo had a habit of dramatically exploding and destroying things... does romantic relationships count? No? Ah well.

In case you were wondering, I decided that Yugito would make a nice Pythia, cause she's an elegant lady that's kinda mysterious. Also, since the Japanese names of the characters are in this story from 'the immortal tongue of the Gods', I had to get a little creative. Thus Kin-Chione, Ami-Amathea, King Kizashi-King Chersis, Queen Mebuki-Queen Metriche. I hope no one is confused.

As always, thanks for your lovely reviews and all the follows and favorites! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the rest, and will continue to enjoy this story as we continue on!

And look forward to next chapter-when our two protagonists meet! Proper Sasuke x Sakura moments at last! Also, Itachi will be showing up and interacting with Sakura, so fun, fun, fun! I hope, at least.

Until next time!