13. Goddesses and princesses

"He's driving me mad!" Aphrodite complained to Hemera as they were sitting down together at the latter's veranda. Moving around the soft and colourful pillows a bit, she made herself a bit more comfortable, golden tassels gleaning mutedly in the ambience of the shadow from the high and rampant Norfolk pines.
"Who?" Hemera asked as she poured cider from the amphora into their goblets. Aphrodite regarded Hemera's eyes; they were emerald green and filled with laughter as well as yellow specks like nuggets of gold in a brook.
"Ares of course," she replied in a fit of pique. "Ares – he seems to think he's Gaia's gift to women or something."

"Haha," Hemera laughed and put the amphora down. "Ares is sexy and good looking – and he so knows it. But I wouldn't worry that much about him if I was you, Aphrie. Soon enough there's another war going on in some other corner of the world and he'd be dashing off to that one, forgetting everything else. Including that he might've felt he missed out on you."
"And when that war is over?"
"Don't let it be a problem, dear! Ares has a short memory when it comes to these things, he'll forgotten it all when he comes back from that war. Besides I think he's still trying to keep a working relation with Nike, so he won't bother you that much. At least not when she's around."

"Nike, huh," Aphrodite snorted as she sipped of her drink. "What is it with these men, thinking they can have several women going at the time? I feel sick of myself after the short flip from Apollo to Hermes."
"I understand the sentiment," Hemera replied. "But correct me if I'm wrong, but there hasn't been anyone since Hermes?"
"I... yes. I mean no. There's been no one. I've been 'chaste' if you might call it that. And that's mostly because Hermes seems to be busy and Apollo pretends I don't exist anymore."
"He does?"
"You bet. I just came by him this morning, in the downstairs hall room of the main palace after meeting with Hera. He sat by one of those little tables together with Helios, they were calculating solar influx and rain and growth and fate knows what – things I don't grasp. Math has never been my thing after all. I stopped and said 'Hi' and while Helios was almost flirty I could tell that Apollo was doing all in his might to just pretend I was another errant-running nymph or godlet. But try as he might, I could tell that my décolletage was on his mind."

Unexpectedly Hemera started to laugh at that. She had the most wonderful, pearly laughter which was ringing out from the veranda and Aphrodite twisted uncomfortably.
"What's so funny, Hemmy?"
"Oh Apollo! He's probably all depressed at the thought of you now."
"Why would he be that?"
"Apollo is a versatile god indeed. He's outstanding at his music and his weather abilities. He's a great archer and good at medicine and he's well spoken. And what more, once he killed a beast snake which not even Ares wanted to take on. The Python, you might've heard of it."
"Yes, the one which tried to kill the Oracle in Delphi."

"Yes, it assaulted her and along comes Apollo both to finish it off and to heal the Oracle – the poor woman was on the brink of death when our man fixed her, flushed all the lethal poison out of her system. And still..."
"Still what? What has all this to do with me, Hemmy?"
"It has to do with you in that sense that even if Apollo is talented with so many things; he does fear that he can't get a long term relation with a woman to work. Either he runs after those who are not the slightest interested. Like Daphne."
"Wasn't it she who hid in a laurel tree for days and days?"
"Indeed it was. Or Apollo gets a girl, has her for a couple of weeks or months or whatever and then he dumps her."
"Why?"
"Probably because he fears that SHE is going to dump HIM before he does the same to her. He probably can't stand the thought of a woman turning him down after a try at a relation with him. Apollo so wants to excel in all and everything and he can't stand seeing gods like Ares and Poseidon having more luck on the 'girl front' than him. Not to mention Hermes, now that's one feisty rascal!"
"Um... makes sense. You should've been the Goddess of Love, dear, why didn't I see that myself?"

"Probably because I've been here a bit longer, and having had the time to catch these things," Hemera explained. "On top of that, the things going on related to usselves are the hardest ones to see. I admit I dawdle in love and matching from time to time, but it's not my major subject. I'm more into weather and skies and such. Fluffy little clouds. Besides, there was Helios. He can be very bossy sometimes. If he catches Apollo looking at girls or girl-parts while working, he'd probably chew the younger god off quite a bit. I know what it's like being chewed off by Helios, you don't want to be on the receiving end of that, dear!"
"Yeah. And he's interested in me too," Aphrodite shrugged. "Helios that is. And I admit, he's handsome and seems steady and reliable, but for some reason he doesn't feel like my type."
"No, you want one of them Zeus kids," Hemera grinned and watched Aphrodite's cheeks go alarmingly red.

"I'm not sure," the younger goddess sucked in air through her teeth as she lied. Or perhaps it wasn't a lie. She wasn't certain. Unquestionable, both Hermes and Apollo had been nice pastimes in bed but Aphrodite wasn't interested in a longer relation. Not so soon after arriving to Olympos. Feeling she hardly knew the ways here yet, she wanted to stay back for a while and watch how things worked, to avoid making the same mistakes as her precursors. Stumbling over some indeterminate protocol she didn't comprehend. Like this goddess Lyssia apparently had. Most importantly, Aphrodite knew she had to learn to crawl before she could walk and right now she needed to concentrate upon understanding her new profession, not preoccupying herself with a chasing down men, no matter how much they intrigued her.

Hemera tilted her head, taking Aphrodite's silence for a kind of acceptation and then she shrugged.
"Go ahead if you like them, they are nice enough. But remember this; they all are very much like their father."
"In what sense," Aphrodite sipped from her glass; Zeus was an interesting character after all.
"They don't stay faithful. Well perhaps Hephaestos the blacksmith does. Then again I think he's married to his work."
"Hmmm – I think I've yet to see him. He doesn't go out very much does he?"
"No. But you did shake his hand the day before yesterday."
"So many faces, I don't remember them all."
"Big muscleman. Even brawnier than Ares. Dark blond hair, same eyes as Ares. Rings a bell?"
"I – think so..." Aphrodite replied. She had a vague recollection of a man who had been handing her a little box with...

"Yes, yes, yes, it was HIM! He gave me those earrings. Sapphires. Said to go with my eyes." Aphrodite tittered. "Oh, he was cute – in a kind of odd way. Shy."
"See, you do remember!"
"I thought... I had expected... Mortals hold him for ugly."
"Mortals hold a lot of us for a lot of strange things. Don't bother with that."
"Oh, yeah I've heard a few things. About how Athena came to be and such. How can anyone in her right mind believe such a story?"

Both women laughed and then Aphrodite finished her cup, refilling it and complimenting the other goddess on the beverage.
"Now, cut the digress," she went on. "What's with these gods not being faithful?"
"Why do you think none of them are married?"
"Ehm – no good matchmaker around," Aphrodite grinned.
"Partly yes. But the women tires. All of them have been close several times, but then they run out and screw – and screw up."

Aphrodite laughed at Hemera's double entendre before she got serious again.
"You know why?" she asked Hemera.
"Zeus got lucky with Hera. She calls him names and throws pottery at him but she sure loves him in spite."
"I can tell. Those eyes, the way they burn when she looks at him. And he loves her too. Perhaps even more."
"Yes, hard to imagine, isn't it. Such love is hard to come by."
"Tell me about it!" Aphrodite made a dramatic pause before going on. "So I forget these sons of Zeus if I want real love. Or at least I scrutinize their motifs thoroughly before I go ahead with any of them."
"Or you just have fun with them," Hemera's eyes glittered and Aphrodite could tell that this was exactly what this goddess had been doing from time to time as well. Then she remembered something else.

"Helios and Poseidon are unmarried as well."
"Yes, but that's more like a coincidence I reckon. Besides I suspect..." Here Hemera leaned close to Aphrodite as if making sure no one overheard, although there was no one in the vicinity, not even a dryad. "...I suspect that Helios has a very secret crush on Athena."
"Oh, poor sod!" Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "Athena seems so chaste. It wouldn't surprise me if she was still a virgin."
"Don't ask me," Hemera shrugged. "She has never said anything. If you ask her about some bloke she'll just flash a secretive smile your way. On the other hand the woman is 400 years old and of the kind who pokes her nose in everything which seems the slightest interesting, from chaos magic to mortal political parties. So it would surprise me a lot if she has never been with a man. Whatever that's so not my business. Poseidon now – well his taste in women is weird to say the least. Under the sea there are a lot of bizarre creatures. Semi-sentient, outlandish things we might as well call monsters. And some of those females have found their way to the sea-god's bed. Scylla's and Sirens and such."

"Ewww," Aphrodite made a disgusted face. Suddenly the thought of flirting down Poseidon didn't seem that alluring anymore. "Why?"
"It might be a kink. But it can also be a way to show his power. To show that he doesn't fear these beings. He's so unafraid of them that he might actually bed them. To prove his power over them. To prove that he is the Lord."
"Prove? To whom? To them?"
"Yes. And to other sea-gods like Nereus and Oceanus. And to Zeus."
"To Zeus? But isn't Zeus..."
"Zeus is his superior, yes. But while the charismatic thundergod might win every popularity contest there is over the grumpy sea god, there are those who claim that Poseidon is actually the strongest, the more powerful of the two. Whatever, while he likes to shake his trident now and then, he doesn't really dare to challenge Zeus for real, because he know that the moment he does, Zeus will have all the rest rallying behind him. Hera, his kids, Hestia, Demeter, Helios, Selene, me and my sister – you name it! Besides, Poseidon isn't up to Zeus's job. And I guess he knows it as well as Zeus does."

"He's not?"
"Nope! He's too tempered. And I can't picture him focusing on all the millions of details Zeus deals with all day long. In fact – when push comes to show – I believe no one really wants Zeus's job."
"You think so?" Aphrodite asked while the other goddess emptied the last droplets of cider into her glass.
"I do. Remember this! Zeus always has a hard work finding a replacement when he and Hera want to go on their yearly holiday. He always ends up bribing Apollo or Athena with something. Now, we're going to need more of this... you want more?"
"No I'm fine, thanks."
"But I'm refilling it in spite!"
"Then I guess I'll have someone."

Hemera murmured some magic formulae and soon the amphora was filled again and while she poured their glasses once again, she went on:
"So what does the Queen want you to do?"

*o*o*

"I want you to take a look at Tiryns," Hera said. Nodding her head, Aphrodite regarded the mortals in the sight pool.
"It's their king, right?"
"Yes. Chrysodemos. He's been ruling Tiryns now for five years, from the time when his father Chrysandros fell off a horse and broke his neck. Chrysodemos is intelligent and smart although a bit impulsive and short-minded. Whatsoever, his reign is brittle. Nations around him believe that they can easily overtake Tiryns and assimilate the kingdom into their own. And to prevent that from happening, Tiryns is going to need an ally."
"Politics is not my strongest side," Aphrodite sighed.
"You'll learn, dearest," Hera affirmed. "For now on I've been working on these transnational analyses. To cut a long story short, Chrysodemos needs a queen. From a neighboring country. A strong one. Both lady and country that is. I've been looking at several princesses. There's some in Sparta and one in Cecropia. I was hoping – you could help me see who to become the best match together with young Chrysodemos."

Aphrodite regarded the 30something in the sight pool, he was fencing with a younger man, parrying and reposting, the blades flashing in the sunlight as they circled around each other, kicking up sand as they went. He was good looking, no doubt about it, with those jet back curls without almost any traces of gray and sparkling just about grayish blue eyes. Add to that a fit body, rippled with muscles and an almost Zeus-like self-assurance in his way of carrying himself, and it wasn't hard to guess that the world would be full with women who'd gladly throw their hearts at him. Yet it did take two to dance and the princess to win Chrysodemos' heart would have to have the right traits. And those were Aphrodite's job find out.

"Show me the princesses," she asked of Hera. "Start with the Spartans!" She knew that forging a blood alliance with Sparta would unquestionably rid Tiryns of some of the treats. Sparta – blessed by Ares, and with some of the finest warriors in the Hellas. Other nations would think again when it came to trying anything against them or their allies.

Hera made a move with her hand across the sight pool and the picture of Chrysodemos faded and made room for a trio of young women in a garden. Two of them were tending some roses, merrily chatting away about some nonsense things. Men and parties it seemed. The third was sitting a bit away, preoccupied with a read and didn't seem to care the slightest about the other two.
"Delia, Sephira and Embla. Princesses of Sparta. I'd say the two up front, Delia and Sephira would be the natural contenders for our king's heart. But I wouldn't rule out the latter. Embla might seem a bore, but I'd consider her a challenge for Chrysodemos. An intellectual companion and a shrewd sounding board. She'd make a good queen – if Chrysodemos could be made to appreciate her."

"I'll have to – read the king a bit better before I can discern that," Aphrodite admitted. "I just saw him there fencing, and he was so focused upon his blade and his opponent that it was hard to get a read of him – and of his taste in women. I'll have to see if Embla of Sparta could be something for him. Or if he'd rather go for one of the other two."
"Wait," Hera cut her off. "There are more princesses."

Once again she moved her hand across the pool and yet another time a group of young women appeared in the pool – on horseback this time. Although this time it was only one of them who was a princess.
"Allida. Of Thebes. Just like our Artemis she loves to be out in the woodlands, riding and hunting."
"So I'm picking an Athena or an Artemis for Chrysodemos," Aphrodite giggled and Hera smiled back.
"Something like that, yes. But there's more!"
"As long as there's no Styx among them!"

Hera laughed at the pun about the spooky river goddess of the underworld before she got serious again and showed the last two princesses. Lina of Crete, did Aphrodite immediately sort away because she was way too much in love with the son of a local nobleman and finally there was Airanna of Cecropia. The latter was perhaps a tad too young; on the other hand she seemed very lovely and mature for her age. She was playing with a dog, throwing a ball made out of leather rags at the animal which ran after it and retrieved it. The collie was a happy flur of golden furs, paws and a constantly wagging tail who danced around Arianna pleading with her to throw the ball again. Twice the princess made a faux move and the dog dashed after a ball which wasn't there and the second time it turned its accusive black eyes at the princess, who laughed and ruffled its fur.
"Candra, Candra!" she giggled, the name off the animal rolling of her lips like the finest of wines, so filled with endearment that it almost ached in Aphrodite's heart. "You're such a dumb doggie, aren't you? And I love you for that."

This time Airanna threw the ball for real and Candra ran away for her toy, with that ever-happy body language one just see in dogs and little children.
"Cecropia or Sparta, Sparta or Cecropia," Aphrodite pondered. "Or perhaps Thebes. I'll have a closer look at the personality of the king and then I'll come back to you tomorrow with my verdict."
"Good," the Queen of the Gods nodded her head. "And remember, then starts the hard work – to pair off Chrysodemos with the woman we've chosen."
"Hera," Aphrodite prompted. "Trust me. I've done this before, you know. If I consider two mortals to have the chance to be together, I can make that happen. Ultimately it's just about helping them seeing what's already there."

"I'm curious," Hera admitted as she put the sight-bowl away, making the water disintegrate in the air. "How do you do it?"
"I look into their hearts. I see what reveries they nurture. Often there's some little string there to pull, something which corresponds with the visions of the other one. Before I have them to meet, I prepare them. Sending them dreams in which I hone that little detail. Sharpening and highlighting it until it stands out in all blazing glory. Then I blow that dream out of their conscious mind, sending it to the back of their minds where dreams go with mortals. But still keeping a little grain of memory there. A recollection of all the glory of that dream. An aching feel of loss when they wake up. So when it's finally time, when they are about to meet that other one, I make sure that grain lingers there. That the recollection of that wonderful dream is almost within reach. When they meet their intended one they're reminded of that wonderful dream. On top of that I fire off some hormones in their blood stream to awaken the sexual desire. The latter could work for anyone, but these two things combined is what makes miracles to happen."
"But isn't that like fooling them?" the Queen asked, stapling her fingers, gilded nails glittering.

"Not really," Aphrodite smiled gently. "Hera, I do admit I toy a bit with their feelings, but isn't that better than to force someone into a marriage he or she does not desire. When push comes to show, the mortals live such a brief period of time. And they don't get around much. Not the way we immortals do. So it's hard for them to actually meet that special someone they might call 'soul mate' and 'life comrade'. Then there's all the politics. Society classes and the likes. They've a hard time making things happen to break these boundaries. So most of them have to be content with 'what's there' for them. If I can just make my little bit to better that, then I'm happy about it."

Hera hummed and nodded her head, clearly interested in what Aphrodite had to say.
"Besides," the Goddess of Love went on. "During my many years in the mortal world I learned that love can grove between two people. If they aren't a completely hopeless match of course. But that's what I'm aiming to avoid."
"Good, dearest! Let me know of your findings as soon as you can, and then, let's get down to work."
"I will," Aphrodite affirmed. "So what about those centaurs really?" she then changed subject. "Who wanted them dead?"

"Old demigod named Velzien," Hera answered. "Turned out a centaur had once killed his wife, and that had triggered some peculiar revenge overload with the poor sod, he set out on avenging her by going after the whole specie. It took quite a while until Athena found him, because for her that was such an unexpected outcome. But the man was not right in his head."
"That's the dark part of love," Aphrodite replied solemnly. "The loss, which can break our sanity. Something people like me must learn to deal with too. I've a lot to learn when it comes to these parts," she then admitted, looking firmly into the Queen's brown eyes.
"Yes, and Athena are good at a lot of things, but love and heartbreaks aren't really her best subjects. She just didn't even suspect a heartbroken man to be behind those killings, so she kept looking in the wrong places."
"I'm glad it turned out all right then," the love goddess said as she began gathering her things. "If there ever is a next time I hope I can be able to help out."

Before Hera dismissed Aphrodite she advised:
"Don't let my son bother you. Ares is keen but his mind wanders. He's perhaps a bit immature."
"Hera," Aphrodite responded, surprised by the Queen's able eyes. "He doesn't really bother me. He's just a bit unusually persistent. I'm used to men like that. But I hope it'll wear off."

Hera had to laugh at that. She knew Ares. He might be stubborn but he was like one of those fires in dry papyrus. Burned fast and then faded quickly. If Ares was to love for real, his mother guessed it had to be together with another warrior. Someone who could give him a match on the battle field as well as in bed. With a serious face she told Aphrodite these things.
"I'll remember that, thank you, Hera!" Aphrodite rose and blew the older goddess a kiss before she placed her hand upon the golden door knob, turned it and exited through the large, ornate mahogany door.

*o*o*

That night, when Hera curled up against Zeus' solid and warm form and let his strong arms encircle her, she purred:
"About Aphrodite..."
"Yes, Cheri?"
"I think you made a good choice there."
"You do?"
"Yes, she thinks ahead, she's not in such a hurry with things, she'll rather do them thoroughly. And she has a good heart. With her we'll have the chance to see more love and less war among the mortals."
"Ares won't appreciate of that," Zeus murmured into Hera's soft hair, which smelled of timothy and sandal wood.
"Oh, he! He ought to learn a second profession. Perhaps some love coming his way can be a good thing too."

Don't wish to hard... Zeus thought, but he didn't say anything. He lay awake and watched the stars of the moonless night, since they had pulled off the roof that warm night. A meteor flew across the sky, something for the mortals to wish upon. Soon he felt Hera's body relax against his and her breath deepen. His dear wife was sound asleep.