PLEASE GO VOTE IN THE POLL ON MY PROFILE
Note: When I refer to the "Six Elders" I mean Hestia, Hera, Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, and Demeter and I count Hera, Zeus, and Demeter as Olympians. This is not an actual technical distinction in Greek mythology but just part of the way I'm establishing the canon of my world.
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Writing Playlist: Beautiful Girls by Boyce Avenue
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Chapter dedicated to the lovely Nuit Songeur, who has again signed up for my craziness. She makes me a better writer. What can I say? She's just wonderful.
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As always,
PLEASE REVIEW!
Much love, Cat
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Hephaestus steadied her when she stumbled to an awkward stop. "What?" she asked weakly, staring at him in shock. Her heart seemed to be beating too fast all of a sudden.
"Your clothes," he replied, his eyes clouded with concern. "Why did you change your clothes?" he repeated slowly.
Aphrodite removed her hand from his arm. She should say something but she was incapable of gathering the right words at just that moment. She let her arms hang at her sides for a moment as they continued to walk along, then frowned and folded them in front of her, hugging herself.
"I'm sorry to have asked such a difficult question," he said, quietly intruding into her thoughts when she didn't respond.
Aphrodite narrowed her eyes. This time she was pretty sure he was mocking her. She risked a glance up at him and caught a teasing light in his eyes behind the confusion over her behavior. "I… I felt like I needed to change," she answered, striving for an indifferent tone. She hadn't been able to think of a clever response and had reluctantly settled upon simple honesty.
She sensed that had been the wrong response for Hephaestus frowned and didn't reply.
Inexplicably, she felt the need to gain his approval, or at least to have him almost smile at her again. "Do you like the color of the sheets?"
He didn't smile but something in his voice said he wanted to. "Anything but pink is fine."
"Oh, really?" She toyed with the ties of her cloak. "…because I was thinking of getting fuchsia curtains for the bedroom."
Hephaestus tried not to wince. "Isn't that pink?"
"Oh, no," she insisted, "it's a much richer color with undertones of…" She was playing a role to the point of caricature but he seemed not to notice the way she had exaggerated her voice. Did he really think she was as frivolous as all that? But of course, all the gods did. Why should he be any different? "Oh, but of course that would clash with the blue sheets, so I'll have to return those. That will let me get the lovely maroon bedspread I was eyeing… And we should definitely add some nice floral touches. Persephone has this lovely recipe for drying flowers with these special oils from…"
"You aren't serious?" he interjected, clearly horrified despite his attempts to act agreeable.
"No," she replied simply, smiling.
His face crumpled into a mixture of weariness and relief. It softened his features and he looked so adorable that she almost felt sorry for leading him on.
"The weather is odd today," Aphrodite commented. "It's colder than usual."
"Are you here often?"
"Are you?" she countered.
"Not as much as I used to be. I lived in the village when I thought I was a mortal."
"Oh." She felt like he had just revealed something significantly personal though he did nothing to emphasize the point. "I come and visit the temple when I need to clear my head. And I visit Diandra from time to time." As the words left her lips she wondered what had compelled her to volunteer that information.
"We aren't supposed to fraternize with mortals," Hephaestus said flatly, as if quoting one of the Six Elders. Well, really only one of the three non-Olympian Elders, who actually managed to follow the rules for the most part.
"Are you going to report me?" Aphrodite asked dryly.
"No." The corners of his eyes creased. Still no smile.
"This morning…I thought you were going to get some work done," she said as if just remembering.
"I was." He paused. "I did," he corrected himself, "but I had additional business to take care of here."
"Business?" she prompted.
"I sell some of the things I make to local merchants," he explained.
"Why?"
"Force of habit."
She laughed. She hadn't expected such a response and it caught her off guard.
One corner of his mouth lifted. Half of a smile. His eyes warmed and his features softened again.
Her breath hitched and he caught her as she stumbled again. Why was she so clumsy today? "A rock."
He raised an eyebrow.
"I must have tripped over a rock," she reasoned.
He said nothing, but his eyes crinkled at the corners again. "We could still just transport ourselves directly to the base of Olympus," he suggested.
"I'm fine, really, I…" she trailed off. "…unless you want to…?"
He shook his head. "Whatever you wish."
"Well, I always walk to the portal in the mountains," she said. "Force of habit."
He didn't return her smile and as they continued along they walked in silence as his expression grew more and more grim. She couldn't understand what she had done to upset him, but his behavior in turn upset her. Still, she placed her hand in his and allowed him to help her over the boulders and crags in the face of the mountain. When her ankle turned over after she slipped on a patch of mud, he lifted her into his arms and carried her the rest of the short distance to the portal. Glancing around to make sure no one was around, he pressed his hand against the rock. A slab of rock distinguished itself from the rest of the mountain as it trembled and slowly shifted to the side, revealing a shimmering mass of smoke and light. He motioned her inside before following and passing his hand over the entrance to return the rock to its proper position. Shutting their eyes, they visualized their destination and recited the ancient words.
They barely spoke as they parted ways upon reaching their home, so it was a surprise when he banged on the door hours later.
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Hope you liked it. Sorry for the wait, I've been very busy with classes.
As always, PLEASE REVIEW!
Much love, Cat
