Chapter 14: The party

On that evening, Apollo and Hermes went to pick me up just after sunset. In his shining blue tunic, Apollo was so beautiful that he almost took my breath away. Hermes wore a dark turquoise dress that matched his eyes' colour; he was really handsome but, in my opinion, nothing compared to Apollo. As for me, Athena had made me a dark green dress, simple but elegant, and I also wore some of my golden jewels.

"You could rival with Aphrodite this evening, Cassandra" Hermes told me, chivalrous, and I blushed slightly.

We went in the hall, where many gods had already arrived. I recognized Artemis, in a dark yellow dress, and Athena in a white one she had surely tailored by herself.

"That god over there is Haephestus, the smith god" Apollo told me, addressing a rather strange god. He was fairly beautiful but nothing compared with the other gods and had short dark brown hair that matched with a short brown beard. He was talking to an astoundingly beautiful goddess; she was blonde, gracious, with big violet eyes under long eyelashes. She had to be Aphrodite.

"And his companion is the one you rival with" Apollo concluded with a soft, detached voice.

"I think I do not rival with her" I answered softly, and Apollo said nothing.

Suddendly, my attention was caught by a woman wearing a long black dress and a black veil on her head; I was not able to see her face at all. I wondered who she could be.

"She is Hestia" Hermes told me, perceiving my curiosity "She is very shy and doesn't like to show her face. But she is the gentlest of all the gods, I can assure you". Hestia turned to us and raised a hand in greeting, then went on walking, her black gown dancing around her.

"Oh-oh. We are in trouble" Hermes murmured. I turned: a tall and muscular god was advancing towards us. He had black hair and dark skin and wore a short, dark red tunic. He could be no one but Ares. "Be ready" Hermes warned me.

"Good evening, Ares"

"Good evening to you. And are you our latest novice?" he asked me.

"Yes, sir.-

"Poor girl. I bet staying with those two has not been very entertaining." He shot a glare towards my companions.

"Actually, everything has been really entertaining… until some moments ago" I answered with a meaningful, cold voice.

He turned, irritated: "Very well. Another crazy one" and he went away.

"I am in good company, so it seems!" I shouted after him, but he didn't turn.

I turned towards my companions and found both of them smiling. "You were cool!" Hermes said appreciatively, and I smiled as well.

I met many other gods that evening: Zeus and Hera, Persephone and Hades (whom I thanked for letting me visit my parents), Hebe, Dyonisos and Ariadne and many others. We went on talking and eating snacks (I especially recall some biscuits made by Hestia, that were the most wonderful thing ever) and sipping wine. They were kind and polite: they asked question about myself and what I liked to do but they never talked about the war or went too personal, and I felt at ease.

I could immediately tell Ariadne had once been human; she was very beautiful with her dark skin and long, black hair tied back in a bun, but she didn't seem to glow like the other gods.

At some point she approached me with a smile and started chatting with her slight Cretan accent:

"Cassandra, what do you think about this place… and about these people?"

"Uhm…" I answered, and she laughed.

"Well, that's a good answer!"

I smiled: "Everyone… well, almost everyone is very kind. But, as you probably can understand, I don't know how to behave with a god!"

"Neither did I. But don't worry, you'll soon feel part of the family. Hera tends to keep you at a distance- not because you're human, just because, you know, she is the queen. Ares lets you think he hates you…"

"He lets me think he hates everyone, actually…" I interrupted, and she laughed again.

"Oh, no, he just hates Apollo, Artemis and Athena… well, especially Athena, actually. You'll see that by yourself. But don't worry about him, he's not that mean after all."

"Better then…" I murmured.

"You know, I understand. At first I felt uneasy too, both because I didn't know what to say to a god and because I thought someone wouldn't have been happy about a human marrying a god. But they accepted me as a sister… and now I feel that I belong here."

She was trying her best to put me at ease and I appreciated that.

"It's… awkward to actually meet you. You see, my teacher was -well, he is- Cretan and he told me many stories about you. At the time I didn't think I would've had a chance to meet you…"

Ariadne laughed: "I suppose he told you about the Minotaur!"

"Of course. That can be scary when you are seven years old!"

"Obviously the story of him being half human and half bull is false…" she went on, more seriously "He was just crazy, Cassandra, very much so. He was very violent, thus my parents decided to lock him away in a wing of the palace – the Labyrinth."

I listened silently. I didn't expect her to open up with me.

"He didn't actually eat people. But once he killed a servant and sometimes he would badly wound the slaves and even us, when we visited. We had to send the prisoners to him because anyone else refused. Once, while I was with him, he almost strangled me… Theseus was our prisoner and he saved me just in time. But… he had to kill him."

Ariadne's voice was now unsteady.

"I'm sorry I brought this out, Ariadne. I didn't mean to…"

"Don't worry, Cassandra" she reassured me, smiling again "You see, the gods are very kind but they don't know what it means to face death or madness. So it's actually good to speak with someone who understands."

After this I felt like telling her something about my family. She was the first person I talked with about my nephew and this was entirely unlike me: I wasn't used to share my thoughts with others, let alone strangers.

Later Ariadne became my first true friend on Olympus.

-o- -o- -o-

At some point Hermes patted my shoulder: "Cassandra, Apollo is going to play"

"To play?" I asked, not understanding.

"Yes, he uses to play the lyre at parties."

I stood and followed him until we were in the centre of the room: Apollo sat on a stool and kept the lyre on his lap, his eyes quiet and focused. I had never heard him play and I was very curious about it.

As soon as we gathered around him, he began. After some time I found out that I couldn't figure exactly where I was or how much time I had been there for; his music was intoxicating, almost forcing my soul out of my body. When he finished I stood there, transfigured, while the crowd cheered.

A moment later, a beautiful, blonde goddess I had never seen before sat next to him. She had very long golden hair and big green eyes and treated Apollo like she was on familiar terms with him.

"She's Calliope, one of the Muses" Hermes murmured in my ear "She and Apollo use to play together often"

And actually Apollo started to play again while Calliope sang along in her wonderful, melodious voice. But even if the sound of the lyre and her voice melted perfectly and it was a pleasure to listen to them, I couldn't help but notice the way they looked at each other and smiled at each other. Obviously there was some intimacy between them and, most to my surprise, this thought didn't leave me indifferent.

At the end of the duet they both stood and we went back to the party.

-O- -O- -O-

At some point I felt I needed some time by myself and searched for Hermes and Apollo to bid them good night. Since they weren't anywhere to be seen in the hall, I went in the gardens.

"I am going to take a holiday, I am leaving tomorrow." Apollo's quiet voice said from somewhere in the garden and I stopped, not wanting to interrupt a conversation. I was about to leave when I heard Ares' voice as well: "Ah, so you are escaping."

"I am not escaping. I merely wish to take a holiday." Apollo's voice was still very calm.

"Whatever. How casual, you need a holiday just after Cassandra's arrival. I still think you are escaping". Ares was being unfair, Apollo was certainly not one to escape.

"What I choose to do is none of your business and besides I do not care for your opinion that much" Apollo's voice was still soft but it clearly had an edge.

"Of course. But I believe Cassandra would agree with me about this. She will think you are a coward, and how could you blame her?".

How dared he? I waited for Apollo's answer but he stayed silent. Boiling with rage, I stepped in.

The three of them looked at me: Ares, with a victorious gleam, Apollo, apparently unperturbed, and Hermes, irritated like I had never seen him.

"Ares, I would like you not to speak in my name." I spat furiously. He didn't answer. I turned towards Hermes and Apollo: "Good night. And enjoy your holiday"

"Thank you, Cassandra.- Apollo answered softly, with the hint of a smile.