Chapter 56

~ Macaria and Melinoe ~

H/P/H/P

Macaria grew up into an almost exact copy of her mother. Soft, auburn hair, slim body, and emerald eyes—no one could deny that she was the queen's daughter. Much alike to her mother, she was prone to bawling. As a child, she was curious and energetic; her questions seemed to be never-ending, but she herself was not annoying. It was but childish curiosity.

Her favorite activities revolved around what her mother usually did: tending to lives. She would ask how she could make a sapling grow to a tree, why the floras between two worlds were different, and her mother explained as best as she could. The young princess sought knowledge from books and scrolls, devouring them, for while the gods were powerful, they were not without flaws. They were knowledgeable only in a subject they were most familiar with.

It was natural that she was fascinated by lives and death. The sight of the dead did not frighten her. Instead it captivated her. In her mind was myriad of questions. She wondered why mortals died and for what purpose did they live. She watched them with her big, emerald eyes. Her mama told her that it was mortals' duty to live, to worship the gods, and be judged for their lives. Those who were deemed worthy were sent to Elysium, and the rest would go either to Tartarus or Asphodel.

As she grew older, she noticed how different her dada was. He wasn't the most talkative person. He always looked at her with a strange glint in his eyes, though she did not know what it was. She never bothered him with questions, knowing that he would not answer them. To her, he was a strange man. He preferred to be alone most of the time and rarely spent his time with his family. She did not miss him. They had never had a fun talk. He would always be the one to end their conversation. But Melinoe said he was caring, though…

She tried. She tried so hard for him to notice her, but her dada did not seem to care. She helped her mama grew strawberries in a small pot and she showed him the fruits of her effort. He did not smile or praise her, merely patting her head, and she wondered where did she do wrong. With that, she ceased to gain his affection. He was too passive for her, unlike her mama who would praise her.

Oh, her grandmother Rhea. She was so beautiful. Her multicolored hair mesmerized her. It was as if it was composed of soft gold and light brown, and many more! And her eyes were the blues of blue. So clear they reminded her of the ocean or the clear sky. She was oh so kind to her, always giving her cookies or sweets whenever she came to visit. She was a good listener, too. But she wondered how on earth her breasts could be so big… With those lumps of meat, didn't she ever get tired of walking?

Lately she was… fascinated by the God of Death. Ever since she was but a babe he had watched over her. He was kind but did not hesitate to show his stern self when one was in fault. He was handsome, with his short, black hair and hazel eyes. There was a dimple on his left cheek whenever he was smiling and that what captivated Macaria the most. She loved his dimple. She loved seeing him smile.

They often met in the garden. They would talk for hours until either of them excused themselves. She liked him because he was a good listener and had hundred of stories about the mortals. Although she did not know why he liked to be with her, he seemed to be enjoying her presence.

She met Nyx before. The woman was deathly pale with purple eyes that were so dark they looked black. Although she was motherly and pampered her and her sister so much, there was something… sinister about her. She did not know why, but the elder goddess frightened her. Her aura perhaps?

She also met Cerberus. The guard dog was aloof around her, always sleeping. Never once did he wag his tail. Worse, he was not the type to enjoy hugging. It took her only three seconds to hug him before he snarled and shrugged her arms. Strangely enough, the dog looked like a bear from her fauna books. Not to mention his strange tongues, too. He also had fairly straight hind legs for a dog. Everything about him was strange.

~-0o-o0-~

One day she asked her mama how she and her dada met. It surprised her that she looked distant. Smiling sadly at her, her mama offered her the truth or the fabricated one. She chose the former. Without sugar-coating the truth, her mama told her the real version of her marriage. The truth shocked her to the core. How could he?

And that day, Macaria, at the age of seventeen, learned the word 'rape'.

She had no fond memories of her dada. With the revelation of her parents' marriage, however, she began to hate him. She tried her best to anger her dada, but to her surprise he merely shook his head and told her to go away. She had been thinking of revenge nonstop ever since. But her efforts hadn't had any result.

Then one day she declared something at her dada.

"I want a boyfriend."

His expression darkened in an instant. He growled low in his throat, "…you will not have one."

"But teenagers around my age have had boyfriends already."

That was true. She secretly went to the world above, spying the mortals. Their lives fascinated her, just like how Thanatos piqued her interest. She was ravenous about them. Her mind just hadn't had enough. She had to know everything about them. Love, too, was not an exception.

Her dada slammed his dead report on the table, making her flinch, "No, you will not. I will never, ever permit it," suddenly he turned towards one end of the bedroom and yelled, "Purrsephone, quit being a butthole and stop chewing on the rug!"

"I will get one and I will!"

"No and no! No boyfriend, no date, no marriage! You will become my priestess in my temple! Yes, you will be my priestess when you are older!"

"But, Dada, you don't even have a temple!" she protested.

"That's the point! You will be my first and last priestess until the day you die! Forever a virgin, untouched! I mean it! No boyfriend! Ever!"

…and she wept on that spot.

"Dada, you are so mean…!" she cried, falling on her bottom. Her dada seemed not to care, resuming his task as if he was deaf to her predicament. She bawled until her mama entered the bedroom with a soft gasp.

~-0o-o0-~

Her dada was a jerk (another word she learned from her mama). He did not love her. She knew the strange glint in his eyes meant. He hated her. He loathed her presence. He did not want children. He did not care about her well-being. It was not her fault! Why would her parents bother having children knowing that her dada would hate her with all his might?

"Your father… he may not be the best husband or father, but he cares about us," her mama said, caressing her hair lovingly. "He cares, but in his own way. He is still learning about how to love just like normal people. Will you give him the chance, sweetpie?"

No way.

Her dada did not love her.

He would never, ever love her.

He loathed her!

Taking a stroll in the private garden, she caught sight of her dada with Thanatos. He had his hand on the death god's neck, pinning him to a tree. She covered her mouth, disbelief marred her beautiful face. She had to save Thanatos!

"…you've been awfully close to my daughter these days…" her dada's hateful voice stopped her from running.

"…I-I swear we were just talking! Having a pleasant conversation!"

"…my daughter is too pure, too kind for the likes of you scum. If you touch or even kiss her, I will not hesitate to drown you in the Styx. Do you understand?"

She could not believe what she just heard. He… he loved her? Her dada cared about her?

No, it must've been an illusion.

She retreated to her own room, yet feeling warmer in her chest than usual.

~-0o-o0-~

Macaria's fraternal twin, Melinoe, grew up as a quiet child. While Macaria was full of life and cheerful, Melinoe was reserved and shy. Just like her dada, she rarely talked. Her intelligent dark-blue eyes saw the world in guarded curiosity. She would ask people politely, very careful not to hurt their feelings, a trait from her mother.

Although they were twin, a product of the union of the King and Queen of the Underworld, Melinoe resembled Rhea more than she resembled Persephone. Her eyes were clear blue and she almost had the same vibe as Rhea, one that screamed 'kind'. And indeed Melinoe was. She was truly kind, a heavenly gift from the Fates.

As siblings they were friendly with each other, but with Macaria being overflowed with excess energy, she tended to push Melinoe around, asking her to play whatever games she happened to be interested in. Melinoe, ever compliant, would always agree to her twin sister even though she was not really in the mood. Since she was not talkative, Macaria would always dominate the conversation throughout the play. Melinoe did not seem to mind, though.

She wasn't the type to talk about herself, thus she was close to her father who prefer things quiet. Melinoe found him kind. He rarely talked but he pampered her with gifts, mostly delicious sweets. Her mama was kind, but she felt more at peace with her father as if they belonged together. But Macaria said her father was mean…

She liked Macaria, but she wished she could stay still. She had never seen anyone so… energetic before. Most of the servants were young, but they were not that full of life. Her twin sister looked like she was made of unlimited energy—always giggling, always running, always laughing. Wasn't she tired?

Melinoe leaped from her train of thoughts as soon as she stepped in a familiar area. She spotted Cerberus sleeping under a big tree, curling like a boulder. With light steps, Melinoe approached the resting beast, who stirred awake at her footsteps.

"Hello," she greeted quietly and whined when Cerberus ignored her and closed his eyes. Getting Cerberus to acknowledge her was the toughest feat she had yet to overcome. The giant was a tough, ignorant foe. He listened to no one but her father and that was more than enough to set Melinoe's determination aflame.

She took a step forward, elated at the thought of caressing his thick fur. Extending her hands toward him, she murmured, "Excuse me…"

But Cerberus noticed her intention and growled. Startled, Melinoe withdrew her hands and leaped backwards. She had angered the beast…

"Melinoe?"

She turned around to find her father. "What are you doing here?"

Biting her lower lip, Melinoe pointed a finger at Cerberus, who was now acting all giddy seeing his owner.

"I don't see what is wrong with him?"

"He growled at me," she whined.

He sighed, "Did you try to hug him?"

She nodded.

Her father shook his head and then patted her head gently. "Silly girl. You should've asked me before. He isn't as bad as he usually is when I'm around."

Melinoe nodded and hugged his father, wondering why Macaria hated this man so much…

~-0o-o0-~

One night she whispered to his father of how much fun it was to frighten others. He said nothing, merely watched her with unbridled surprise. It didn't cross his mind to hear such thing from his daughter. He thought she was joking, but seeing how determined she was, he let her do as she pleased. He observed her scaring the servants from afar and mused how suited she was to her role.

Her lifetime goal was to scare her father, the dreaded King of the Underworld. However, her effort was still fruitless. Her father was a formidable foe. Until now, she had never managed to scare him off. He'd always know where she was hiding and feigned surprise. To Melinoe, that was certainly not fun.

As she grew older, Melinoe began to take an interest in alchemy and Hecate was more than happy to make the younger goddess her apprentice. Little did Melinoe know that Hecate was guarding a secret. In truth, she was looking for a test subject as well as a slave to do her bidding. Melinoe, as kind as she ever was, was more than happy to help her aunt.

She never once complained about being treated like a servant—carrying a pot, cleaning Hecate's mess, storing the potions, rearranging shelves. While Hecate had the tendency to act like a madman, she did give the young goddess a good tutelage. Melinoe wasn't as good as Hecate, but she knew how to brew potions, preferably one that was beneficial to her noble goal.

Her dedication to scare off people caused others to ridicule her passion, but she did not care. Deathless as she was, she still had a long road ahead of her. She was determined to at least scare everyone, be that Olympians or not, once. She wandered the mortal realms, looking for anyone to scare. Along the road, she took the ghost of deceased mortals with her and avoided dogs altogether, except Cerberus, for they knew of her whereabouts. Now they kept their mouth shut.

And so she became the goddess of ghost.