Disclaimers, etc.: see chapter one.
Lethe's Saga II:
Phoenix Rising
By Eugena
Chapter Six: The Cover of Skin
Six years before Xena slept in the ice, summertime at Thrace:
She knew that Ares had not been a god to throw celebrations, but today was an exception. His priests had lined the front half of the temple, completing the necessary daily duties and insuring that no uninvited guests entered. His priestesses were busy preparing food and getting ready to serve the guests.
The halls in the rear of the temple were lined and decorated in shades of blues, oranges
and yellow, courtesy of Psyche and Aphrodite. Xena herself was adorning a regal emerald gown, fit for her title of princess. The priestesses attended to her as Ares chatted with his son, Cupid, and awaited the arrival of his other children.
Priestesses parted a path in the halls for more newcomers. Xena knew that no warlords had been invited, so she was curious to see whom or what had caused the change. As she moved closer, she caught a glimpse of pink and pearl fabric that became more detailed as the person came forward. She saw two more shadows, one to each side of the first.
"Hello, Xena," the unmistakably cheery voice of Aphrodite greeted her.
Ares turned around and smiled to his sister and former lover.
Xena frowned slightly, knowing she did not have a bond with Ares as Aphrodite, evidence of this attached to either hand of the goddess of love. On the right stood a tall man, favoring his mother, and on the left stood an equally tall man as the mirror image of his father.
The one on the right came to her and bowed: "Beloved of my father, I greet thee."
She nodded, "Hello, Phobos."
The other man also came to her and bowed.
"Deimos."
Together they went to greet their father. Aphrodite was now behind them.
"Aphrodite," Xena greeted quickly.
She watched the men bow to their father then embrace their brother Cupid. Aphrodite kissed Ares in greeting.
"Where is Harmonia?" Ares asked, disappointed.
"She'll be right along," she assured him, "Psyche will be coming with her," she mentioned to Cupid.
Ares sat down in the center one of three chairs. He gestured an offer for Xena to sit beside him. She sat in the chair to his right then Aphrodite sat in the one to his left. The brothers conversed with the three, but Xena was still preoccupied with Harmonia. She had never had a chance to meet her, or if she did, it was only an opportunity for a passing glance.
Several minutes passed before the waves parted again. A woman who looked in her mid-twenties with sandy brown hair and Ares' brown eyes strolled excitedly into the room, carrying a small sculpture. Psyche followed in behind her. With her presence, the temple became calmer than it already had been. Xena felt at peace. Ares stood, and Psyche paused while the other continued forward.
"Of all my children, my heart leaps for the sight of you, my daughter."
"Father, mother, brothers," she greeted, "I am elated to see you all."
As she approached her father, she held the sculpture out to him. Xena could see that it was a bronze depiction of a dog standing by a stag. "I made this for you, father," the woman said, offering it to him.
Ares graciously accepted the present and embraced his daughter: "Harmonia, I have missed you so."
"Xena?" Gabrielle asked confused.
"A memory, Gabrielle. Harmonia is here. I can feel it. It is such a warm feeling, her presence."
"Who is Harmonia?"
"Ares' daughter with Aphrodite. She's the only daughter that I know him to have. She must be at the temple. Let's go there."
"What about Eve?"
"The temple would be the best place to meet, if the city is this desolate. If she is here, she would be in there."
Helena brought Deimos and Phobos outside of the temple grounds. Here they saw the deserted remains of a city that used to be overrun by barbarians, a place infamous for achieving the disdain of the Olympians.
"There is no one here," Deimos said to his surprise.
"Mostly travelers these days. The time of the Thrace you knew has come and gone; only the temple remains."
"Still I feel…" he paused, unsure of how to express his emotion, "harmony. Harmonia, she is here!"
Helena nodded, "Your mother made me promise to tell no one but her family."
"Does my father know?"
"No," she answered softly.
"He must be so worried. If he knew she was here, he would have visited."
"The last time I talked to your mother, she had not seen him."
"This worries me," he fretted.
Phobos agreed, "Yes, I think we should begin looking for our father after we find Harmonia."
"She won't be too hard to find for you," Helena noted, "she's a god. Only other gods can see her and those she chooses to reveal herself to, but Aphrodite warned her against the latter."
"I am surprised no gods have come here seeking vengeance."
"They may have," she admitted, "but not to my knowledge."
"Then we should find Harmonia before someone else does."
Ares and Aphrodite slowly faded into view in front of his temple. Ares had already checked Amphibolis, Potedia and other parts of the now Roman occupied Greece. Aphrodite had finally resolved it in herself to tell him the truth about where their beloved daughter now stayed. Together, they hoped that Helena and the few other still attended the temple and could tell them were Harmonia was living.
As they stepped across the threshold, a cool chill came over Ares, one he had seldom felt before. On the floor, motionless, he found his priest, Amphied, and priestess Amber. Not far from them, Aphrodite saw Kaori and Della. Helena was not among them.
"What's happening here?" Aphrodite asked him.
Ares bent down to Amphied, still feeling his pulse. "He's not dead. He's just – I don't know." Ares saw that the bodies made a gradual path to the altar, and he came before it.
"So glad you could make it," a dark voice said before revealing herself.
Ares and Aphrodite both looked worriedly to the hooded figure. He asked, "What did you do to my servants?"
"You are right, god of war, they are not dead, but they are not conscious."
"Who are you?" Aphrodite inquired, "What could you want with an old priest and a few priestesses?"
"I am surprised that you don't recognize me, at least you, Ares. You have forgotten me."
"I never met you; I don't know who you are."
"Did you forget your nephew so easily, Ares? You hated him until the moment he died."
A melancholy memory returned to Ares' mind. He remembered holding his once-annoying nephew and mourning: "He did not deserve this."
As the reaction in his face changed, the visitor remarked, "So, you remember. You caused him to die, you and your designs on Xena. Her friend's evil spawn caused it all! You should have been chained in Tartarus for it all, left as a plaything for the Titans!"
Ares cringed. No one ever mentioned the Titans without implying a true threat. "So why have you come, nameless intruder? To punish me this far after my actions?"
"I have a name," the figure replied darkly.
"Surely, as you mention Strife, you are not he. And he had no children."
"You know that for a fact, do you? I suppose I don't get the P.R. for an actual being?"
The siblings did not answer, so it continued: "As for my purpose, Ares, I have come to make a sacrifice unto you."
The figure raised its arms, now suspending in the air two golden spheres, one over each hand. Its eyes began to glow golden amber. Another ball grew slowly from on top of the altar.
Xena and Gabrielle entered the quiet temple. They looked around, but found no sign of attendants.
"It's abandoned, Xena" Gabrielle said.
Xena slowly began to walk down the halls, preoccupied with old memories. A figure appeared before her, laughing that she did not see it. "If I don't reveal myself to her," it spoke solely to itself, "then she will say I won unfairly." The figure sighed nonchalantly and unveiled itself.
Gabrielle gasped. Xena looked at it threateningly. The figure pushed back its hood.
"Come now, Xena," she chided, "you could never intimidate me."
"And just who are you?" she demanded.
"Who are you? I can tell you that one. You've killed so many that you can no longer even count them. Did you think you'd get to wait unit Tartarus to be punished?"
"I'm not afraid of death or the afterlife."
"Death? I never said you had to die. But, believe me, you fear the afterlife; I see it in your heart. You think you can just be sent for punishment and 'that's ok,' that you justify that you deserve it? Deserve?" she scoffed, "I know your fate. Your fate is with me."
"Who are you?" Gabrielle demanded, "Xena always repents for her wrong."
"Silly child. Now, if I were to capture you first, Xena would pretend that she surrendered to me, that I could not really defeat her." The being was unimpressed.
"Let's bring it on," Xena threatened.
The figure brought forth her right hand, palm facing out, and a liquid yellow energy poured forth into Xena.
"You're a god," Gabrielle gasped.
"I have only defeated her with her wrongs. Now I shall do the same to you."
"What have I done?"
"Have you seen the Underworld lately?"
"Xena," the cry bubbled over his lips like blood from a wound. He ran to the altar but could not remove her. "The least you could do is show your face!" By now, he saw Eve in the sphere to the figure's left and Gabrielle on the right.
"You didn't seem interested to meet my acquaintance, although you already know me." The figure complied with his last request.
"Persephone?" Aphrodite asked, shocked.
"Persephone lent me her form in her grief. She drowned herself in me! Knowing that
she could never again see her husband."
"Lethe," Aphrodite revealed, "the River of Forgetfulness."
"The River of Forgetfulness is Strife's child?" Ares asked his sister.
"Daughter, actually," Lethe corrected.
"Never knew Strife had it in him," he commented.
"Well, that's a pun. With me, you 'forget' strife. You forget everything."
"So you are punishing Xena, Gabrielle and Eve by making them forget?"
"I am the River Lethe. I hold many memories."
Helena, Deimos and Phobos searched throughout the abandoned streets of Thrace. Each of them was searching for a figure that few others had seen: a figure they hoped no one had seen. Finally stepping into the ether, away from mortal cries, Phobos sought his sister. "Harmonia? Harmonia?" Deimos soon joined him, leaving Helena feeling alone. The second brother paused in his search to gain the aid of their brother: "Cupid, we are looking for Harmonia. Please help us."
Neither brother had seen that one for years, even since before they had last seen Harmonia. At their request, the final brother appeared. Phobos turned to him, having been too deep in his pursuit for Harmonia to realize Deimos had summoned him. "Brother."
"Brother."
Deimos came up behind them. "Harmonia is here; at least I hope she still is."
"I will help you find her," he vowed.
"I am here," a feminine voice answered.
"Harmonia," they greeted her, searching out her form.
"I waited until you were here, Cupid. I hate that we all live apart."
"As do I," Phobos agreed. Deimos silently did also in his heart. Cupid had not noticed; his life filled with aiding his mother, and now his new wife and child.
"I have not been here alone," she stated.
"What do you mean? I do not understand," Cupid told her.
"Perhaps Helena knows," Deimos suggested, "she is outside the ether."
The Children of War and Love left the ether and presented themselves before Helena.
"I am relieved to know you are safe," Helena told Harmonia.
"I thank you for your help."
"Do you know why Persepine would come here?" Harmonia asked the priestess.
"Persephone?" Helena asked, confused, "Persephone is dead. Yet, you say you saw her?"
"I saw her," Harmonia clarified, "she was hiding, but I could still see her."
"Did you see anyone else?"
"Just a mortal girl," she passed the comment off, "I offered her food."
"Strange that someone looking like Persephone would be here," Helena noted, "maybe Amphied would know about this person," she suggested.
"We should return to the temple anyway," Deimos reiterated, "I am determined to see this family reunited."