Punishment Training and a Great Loss
Sylvia got up early before the sun was up. She managed to sleep a bit, but because what almost happened to her at the festival was still fresh in her mind, she was ready to change her inner self. She opened her closet and took out all the 'too sexy' dresses out and collected the ones she had ripped apart the night before in her anger and sorrow. When she put all of what she wanted to get rid of, Sylvia put it on her makeup also wrote a little note and put it on the pile of sexy dresses so Fotis would know that he needs to get rid of them, in case she won't have the time to do it herself.
Just as she went to lie on her bed again, her door was slowly opened. It was Fotis, who was a bit surprised to see the teenage girl awake so early. "Oh, good morning, milady."
"Morning, Fotis." Sylvia said facing the ceiling.
He entered the room, doing his duties, cleaning the room if necessary, preparing Sylvia's morning bath and preparing breakfast. When he was done with the cleaning part, he saw the pile of his mistress' clothes on her makeup table and read the note. "You're sure you want to get rid of all of these?"
Sylvia just nodded without looking. When Fotis understood, he took the sexy dresses and went out with them out of the room. Fotis then later came back with a few buckets of hot water to prepare Sylvia's bath. When he went out to get the next few buckets, he was wondering why Sylvia couldn't sleep anymore. From the rumers he heard, he wasn't sure "I heard some rumers last night and this morning." He said.
Sylvia looked at him. "What did you hear?"
"Well, I heard that you and lady Pandora took Pegasus to see a Festival."
Sylvia nodded and sighed at the same time. "We did."
"Oh? How so?"
"I wanted to go out with Pandora to Athens as part of my birthday presents to her."
"Really? That's not how I heard it..."
Sylvia was staring at Fotis, clearly she was not in the mood to give any details. Fotis understood and went on preparing the bath. Sylvia went to her closet, undressed from her nightdress and put on a robe. "What other romers did you hear, Fotis?" she asked as she walked out of her closet.
"Well I heard that one of Zeus's personal guards was banished because he was peaking into the women's bathhouse. Not sure if that was the real reason for his banishment. And I also heard that the Flame of Olympus was acting... weird."
"Weird?" Sylvia asked as she entered the bathroom in her robe.
Fotis didn't look at the teenage girl, knowing that she was wearing nothing under her robe. "Ehh.. yes, I heard it was growing and changing even in color."
"How odd." Sylvia said, wondering what could have happened that would make even the flame that even the gods respected to suddenly act so weird like that.
Fotis then put the last bucket of hot water in the bath and put the special minerals in it. When he felt that the water was at the perfect temperature, he left the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Sylvia took off her robe and stepped slowly in the warm bath and lied down in it. She did her best to think of something else then of last night while she washed herself. Her wrists stung a bit, so she kept them in the warm water knowing that the minerals can also heal. Normally she would just use her bath for an half hour, but because it was still early she took her time to stay in the warm bath for a few hours. When she was finished she changed herself in her Olympian clothes and went out of her room. In the living room their were her mothers waiting for her, sitting on the sofa.
Alecto and Calliope stood up when they saw their daughter coming out of her room and Sylvia knew that she was going to hear her punishment. With her arms crossed, Calliope said. "I hope you had a good sleep?"
Sylvia shrugged "A bit. I... guess you're gonna tell what my punishment will be?"
Alecto nodded. "Because of your lack of showing discipline Sylvia, your birth mother found the best thing to work that out with you."
Sylvia gulped, not liking the sound of that. 'Lack of discipline? This can't be good.'
"1 month of non stop training." Calliope explained. "With Hercules."
Sylvia gasped and her eyes widened. 'Oh no! Not Hercules!' She said mentally to herself.
Then Alecto took an empty bag from behind the sofa, which Sylvia recognized as the ones she had packed before for her assignments and tossed it to Sylvia, who cached it. "Hercules doesn't like waiting, so start packing your armor, weapons and some stuff and go to Hercules at the arena immediately."
"But... I haven't had any breakfast yet!" Sylvia complained.
"Well, you should have thought about that before you decided to take Pandora to Athens." Alecto said as she crossed her arms again.
Calliope then said sternly. "Now pack your stuff before we make it into 2 months!"
Sylvia knew that arguing about it would only make it worse and somehow she felt she deserved all this, so she nodded and went back to her room with the empty bag. After 15 minutes, she returned now wearing her armor and blades at her belt. Her bag was now packed with enough stuff for at least 4 weeks. She looked at her mothers 1 more time and they signaled her to go now. Sylvia then gave a sigh and left the house.
After some time, Sylvia arrived at the Arena and saw Hercules training himself against some enemies who didn't stand a chance against the giant demigod. She then remembered when Hercules died a few weeks after the events of her first adventure with Pandora in Sparta, Zeus rewarded him to stay on Olympus for the heroic things he had done. However he remained the same jerk as before, but showed at least some respect to her mother Calliope. Now she had to spend a month training under him. Hercules just smacked the last opponent to pieces when Sylvia said. "Hercules?" That made him nearly punch her with his Nemean Cestus, but she avoided his attack just in time. "Hey!" She yelled with annoyance.
Hercules looked serious to her. "Never sneak on a warrior when he's still in battle mode! You should know that by now, little girl." He said to remind her never to sneak on him or anyone like that. "But I see that your reflexes haven't fallen behind." He said with a smirk. "Now, just because I agreed to train you for an entire month, doesn't mean that you're special. He crossed his arms together. "You're mother wanted some more discipline put in your behavior, and I intend to do so."
Sylvia was already feeling that he was gonna put some hard training on her. "Now first, take of your armor and your blades." He commanded her.
Sylvia looked at him confused but did as he said. She removed her armor and was now only in short trousers and a short shirt. "Now put your armor and your blades in that chest right there." He told her as he pointed to a chest that was behind him.
She put them in and as soon she did, the chest closed instantly. She was shocked and tried to open the chest, but it would not open. "What... Why won't it open?!"
Hercules walked towards her. "Armor is for weaklings. Do you think I wore any fancy armor like yours when I faced the Nemean Lion or the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra? No." Sylvia looked angry at Hercules before he explained. "If you want your stuff back, all you need to do is beat me in a fist fight." Hercules said as he removed his helmet and his large metal gauntlets.
Sylvia hadn't had an unarmed fight for some time but stood battle ready with her tight fists. She charged on him, but he grabbed her and throw her threw the air to the wall of the arena. She growled from the pain and stood up as Hercules was laughing. "You call that an attack? Pathetic."
Now more angry, she tried again, with some punches she tried but were stopped every time by Hercules. He then grabbed her head with his one hand and pushed her to the ground. She kept trying for many hours but failed every time. Sylvia was getting exhausted and fell to her knees. Hercules walked to her and stood right in front of her and smirked. "You wanna try it again?"
She breathed heavily. "I... i can't."
"Because you're too slow and weak, right?" He asked before Sylvia nodded. "That was your first lesson. Don't be overconfident just because you have superhuman strength." Sylvia held her fists tightly, as she knew Hercules was messing with her. "Stand up!" He commanded the teenage girl. She did, but was still heavily breathing. "You're out of breath?" He asked before she nodded. "That's your next lesson; Never stand down in a fight with your enemy, even if you're out of breath." Hercules told her. Sylvia looked at him and he commanded her. "10 rounds around Olympus! GO!"
Sylvia nodded even if she was angry and went out, still out of breath as she ran. 'This is gonna be a long month.' She moaned to herself.
Meanwhile
At Pandora's house there was a different atmosphere. Because of the necessary renovation at Aphrodite's place, she and her two female pleasure servants were forced to use the bathroom at Hephaestus' place for the time being. Both Aphrodite and Hephaestus didn't mind and just ignored each other for most of the time. But today was gonna be different for them both.
The two pleasure women were waiting impatiently at the door to the bathroom where Pandora was using the whole morning now, her father didn't know because he was always busy in his working place. Finally, one of the two had enough and banged on the door. "Hey Pandora! Would you please hurry up, you've been using the bathroom all morning!" As no response came she wanted to nearly bang another few times but then the door was unlocked and Pandora stepped out. "Well, it's about time you..." The one who banged the door said but was surprised to see Pandora... looking different.
She was not only wearing a whole different Olympian outfit, she was humming and dancing through the living room. She then went for a moment back to her room, putting some lipstick. "What's with 'it'?" 1 pleasure woman asked the other.
"I don't know, I've never seen 'it', so... happy before."
When Pandora went out of her bedroom, she was holding a flower from her room and hummed and danced as she smelled it, she almost clashed at Aphrodite but stopped in time. Aphrodite normally got irritated being too close to Pandora but now it was different with her strange new behavior. "Oh, good morning Aphrodite." Pandora said happily as she passed the Goddess of Love.
Aphrodite looked confused. 'That's odd, she never says good morning to me?'
Then Pandora stopped for a minute and faced Aphrodite. "Did my daddy have any breakfast yet?"
"Ehh... no, I don't think so."
Pandora just shrugged and went happily to the kitchen. "That's okay, I'll make something for him then." She said before she hummed again while she made a delicious breakfast for her father.
While Pandora put a lot of soup in a huge bowl, Aphrodite and her servants peeked to the kitchen, watching Pandora and just couldn't make any sense in her behavior. "Something is definitely wrong with... it, my mistress." 1 of her pleasure servants said to Aphrodite.
She nodded. There was something in her that as the Goddess of Love would recognize immediately, but was unsure if it was. 'No... that can't be right? I mean... she is a creation from Hephaestus, neither living nor dead,' She wondered. 'But...could it be?' Aphrodite then used her senses to feel if what she suspects is true. She closed her eyes and focused on Pandora while she was still busy with her father's breakfast. After sensing deep in her heart... Aphrodite saw it! A bond...a strong one to... 'No! Is it...? Love!?' She mentally said to herself, sensing what she thought was impossible in the creation form the Flame of Olympus.
"Both of you, go clean yourselves." Aphrodite whispered to her pleasure servants. "Awww, but I thought you would join us" one said moaning. Aphrodite looked serious to them both. They understood and went straight to the bathroom.
When Pandora was finished, she raised the giant bowl with soup with her magic and went downstairs to her father's working place.
Aphrodite followed her without being seen. 'This doesn't make any sense!' She kept mentally telling herself 'How could this be!? She is just a creation... but still...' She wondered. 'The love bond feels... so real!'
Hephaestus was hammering some new spears when Pandora walked in with the giant soup bowl. "Morning daddy!" She said happily and dreamly. The smith god was always happy to see his daughter, he put his stuff aside and took the bowl from her "You didn't have any breakfast yet, so i made you some."
"Why thank you, Pandora?" He said as he was eating some soup, but noticed that she was more happy than usual. "Say, you're in a good mood this morning."
Pandora just shrugged and said dreamly. "Well it's a beautiful day, why not enjoy it?"
Hephaestus chuckled. "Perhaps you're right." He said while taking a sip of the soup "Hmmm, this tastes really good. Better than you've ever made!"
"Glad you enjoy it daddy. Well, I'm off to the library. Bye, daddy!" She said as she gave her father a kiss in the cheek and went back upstairs. Clearly, Pandora was so much with her mind on Epimetheus that she didn't notice Aphrodite walking downstairs, she was now more like singing as she left the house. Pandora did a pirouette as she left the front door.
Then Aphrodite walked to Hephaestus as he was still eating. "Oh, Aphrodite... ehh, is something wrong?"
Aphrodite was crossing her arms, looking down. "I'm not so sure." Hephaestus was raising an eyebrow. Then Aphrodite faced her 'husband.' "Haven't you noticed that... you're 'daughter' is acting differently than before?"
The smith god then began thinking. "Hmm, now you mentioned it.. she is indeed more happy then I've seen her in a long time."
"And you don't know why?"
Hephaestus shrugged. "Not sure, no."
Aphrodite got a bit irritated that Hephaestus can be so dumb sometimes. "Urgh, Hephaestus!"
"What?"
"I... used my powers to sense what was wrong..."
"And?"
"I think that she... well she..." Aphrodite couldn't find the words, as she was overwhelmed by the revelation that Pandora is capable of loving someone, truly in love.
"What are you talking about, Aphrodite?" Hephaestus still had no idea where Aphrodite was going with this.
"She is in love!"
This got the Smith God totally by surprise. "Pandora is...?"
"I know, it got me so confused! But when I sensed it in her heart... she is! Pandora is in love."
When Hephaestus didn't know what to say, he started to think."Pandora... in love" Then he laughed. "Well, then I'm very curious who this very lucky Olympian boy might be."
"Well, I'm not so sure if it's really an Olympian boy at all, Hephaestus." She said as she crossed her arms.
Hephaestus looked surprised again. "What do you mean?"
"When I sensed the... bond Pandora formed with this boy, I noticed that he isn't an Olympian at all. But a mortal."
"A mortal?" Then Hephaestus was thinking again, scratching his chin. And not long after, it got to him. "Wait, that festival she and Sylvia went to! Do you think she could have met this... boy in Athens?"
"It's the only explanation." She said before Hephaestus then looked at her and smiled. "What?" Aphrodite asked.
"Didn't I tell you so? That Pandora IS a living person?" Aphrodite had lost for words. She just turned and wanted to leave. "You called her Pandora, 2 times while we talked." Aphrodite stopped and froze. "You never called her by her name her whole life." He said while smirking.
Aphrodite rolled her eyes and left. "I don't know what you're talking about!"
When she was gone, the Smith God laughed of joy. "My little Pandora in love!" Then he sighed deeply. "She grows up so fast." Then continued with his work. He even started humming the same song Pandora hummed herself not long before.
Meanwhile
Aphrodite went into the bathroom right when the pleasure women went out. The Goddess of Love was so confused and it irritated her. 'This... this just can't be possible! It just can't! She's created from the Flame of Olympus, she isn't even something to be called born or alive!' She kept mentally saying to herself to remind her that Pandora was never born in a natural way. Then when she went into her bath she was a bit calmed down and tried to face the facts? 'But then again... if Pandora... is capable of love, doesn't that make her a... living person?' She was shocked that she now called Pandora by her real name a third time! Even though it was only in her mind. "What's happening to me? Why do I somehow care for that thi... Pandora now?" She yelled, as it got her irritated again that she now called Pandora by her name again instead of a thing.
Meanwhile, on that same day at dawn
Sylvia was now in her temporary room somewhere in the Arena. The room was small and only had a very small window on the ceiling. She was allowed to have a candle that was on a small table for some light. She was exhausted from the harsh training under Hercules and it seemed tomorrow wouldn't be any better. She laid on the small bed that was on the floor, sweating and hungry. The teenage girl hadn't eaten since morning and all she got from Hercules before she went to her room was a plate of stew, which didn't taste really good. Hercules said that it was real food for warriors and not royal dishes that Sylvia was now used to over the last 8 years. Luckily she had a big bottle of water in the room. When she got up to drink some, her back was paining her. To be honest most of her muscles were paining her. Even her mothers have never trained her as hard as this. She took a few sips from the bottle but didn't drink it all, as she didn't want to be out of water all night. It pained her that she couldn't tell Pandora of where she was off to, as she remembered that Pandora wasn't allowed to see her for a whole month so that meant she wouldn't see her until her punishment training with Hercules was over.
When she put the big bottle back on the ground, she was smelling her shirt, smelling that she was stinky of all the sweating. 'I hope that at least I'm allowed to wash myself or something.'
Then Sylvia heard a familiar voice coming from the window above. "Pssst, Sylvia..." It sounded a lot like... Pandora.
"Huh? Pandora is that you?" She asked as she checked up the ceiling where the small window was.
"Yes, I'm up here." Pandora said as she waved to her best friend.
Sylvia, being happy to see her friend, stood on the table to get closer to the window. "How did you know I was here?"
"Fotis told me that you were sent here by your mothers. I'm sorry for you, Sylvia, a whole month of... this."
Sylvia sighed. "Yeah... but I guess i had it coming."
"Don't say that!" Pandora said to encourage her friend. Then Pandora took something out of her small bag. It was covered in a small rag and once she opened it, it smelled delicious. "I brought you some food. I heard that you haven't eaten at all, so I thought you might be hungry."
It was a small basket of pork slices. Water came from Sylvia's mouth when she took it and ate a whole mouth full. "Thank you, I was starving." She said with a mouth full.
Pandora giggled a bit at her friend's appetite. "No problem, you would have done the same, right?" She asked to know if Sylvia would do the same.
Sylvia swallowed her mouth full and said. "Of course I would! You're my best friend."
While Sylvia enjoyed herself with the pork slices Pandora said to her? "My... daddy knows about Epimetheus."
This got Sylvia by surprise. "Oh, did you tell him?"
"Not exactly." Sylvia went closer to her to hear her story. "It was Aphrodite that discovered it and told my father, so he asked me and told him it was true."
Sylvia took another slice as she asked. "But, how did Aphrodite find out about it?"
Pandora rolled her eyes. "She is the Goddess of Love, Sylvia. She knows anything when it comes to love. But to be honest, she used her power on me to 'be sure.' "
That made Sylvia a bit angry. "Now that's not very nice! That's invading someone's privacy!"
"I know." Pandora said as she agreed. "But for some reason today she... was a bit nicer... no, she's more polite to me than usual after she saw it."
That got Sylvia thinking. Is Aphrodite only being nicer just because she found out about this fling Pandora had for the boy from Athens or is she finally seeing Pandora as a real person?
Pandora went on and became a bit dreamy again. "I don't know what this is... but anytime when I think about him, I cannot get him out of my head. He was so kind to me and caring..."
"And a great kisser." Sylvia attached to her words. Pandora blushed deeply before they both got in a laughter, but tried their best to hold it so they wouldn't be heard by anyone.
Pandora sighed to herself. "Yeah, but I truly felt last night we are not so different." That got a questioning look on Sylvia while her friend went on. "He told me how he felt trapped in the life he was in, not capable of doing what his heart desires and being pushed by everyone around him. I think I... I'm in love."
Sylvia that her best friend had really changed somehow since last night and thought it was so cute for her friend. For the first time she actually found someone that she liked a lot and he liked her back.
Pandora then looked a bit sad. "I wish I could have spent more time with him. But now I can't! What if after a year when I can finally leave Olympus and visit Epimetheus, he may already have a new girl!" She nearly cried of all the thoughts that went through her mind.
Sylvia held her hand. "Hey, don't say such things." Then she ensured her best friend. "Listen, I had over a dozen boyfriends over the last few years and trust me, I have never, never seen a boy so over heels for someone like you. You're an amazing girl to have... and I am sure that nothing in the world can ever replace you."
Pandora smiled as she wiped a tear of her eye. These words from her best friend meant a lot for her. "Really?"
"Yes. A boy running after you like that? I know for sure that he will wait for you and that no one can change his mind"
Pandora really wanted to hug her friend, but because the window was so small that would be impossible, so she just held Sylvia's hand and stroked it.
After some minutes and Sylvia finished her pork slices, she returned the small basket and Pandora put it back in her bag. Then Sylvia wondered. "Say, how did you get on the roof actually?"
Pandora then said "Well, I was in the library today to search for some useful information that I can use to better master my teleportation spell and after some practice, I can teleport now multiple times." Sylvia smiled at the determination of her friend to keep improving herself "But.." Pandora went on. "I now get a big headache when I use it to teleport to a very far distance."
"Well just keep working on it and you won't get a headache anymore." Sylvia said.
Pandora nodded. "I better go now." She said as she stood up. "I'll try to keep visiting you, but it may be difficult."
"It's okay, I understand. I'll see you soon." Sylvia said. Pandora nodded and in a few seconds, she was gone in a flash using her teleportation spell. When Sylvia stepped off the table, she then used a little bit of water to clean her mouth. The last thing she wanted was Hercules discovering her, eating smuggled food. That would surely make his training a lot harder. She had the chills when she thought about it. She lied on her small bed on the floor and slept. Now that her stomach was calmed down, she could now have a good rest.
The following weeks went on for the two teenage girls. Sylvia was trained really hard under Hercules. Doing multiple push-ups with heavy rocks on her back, lifting and throwing heavy blocks, trying to break a Onyxrock with her fists, which hurt a lot, but made her punches really stronger or many rounds around Olympus. Hercules was very strict during every training session of Sylvia and kept pushing her to the limit and even beyond. Sylvia hated it all, but when she started to notice that she became stronger because of it, she was slowly respecting Hercules. That made the Demigod a bit satisfied.
Pandora was most of the time on her mind with Epimetheus. Her fantasy to only be with him made her a bit distracted but she was happier than she had ever been. When Aphrodite told her father that Epimetheus even prayed a lot of times in her temple in Athens and made offerings to just see Pandora again, her heart pounded even faster when she listened to their conversation 'He loves me... he truly loves me!' She said mentally to herself.
Aphrodite was slowly being nicer to Pandora, even saying 'hello' or 'good morning' to her, but a real conversation was something that she didn't want to do... yet. She even had a few good conversations with Hephaestus over the last few weeks. The Goddess of Love knew now that what was going on between Pandora and this Athens boy, Epimetheus was true love, but was still in denial when it came to seeing Pandora as a living person.
The Flame of Olympus was still acting weird since Sylvia and Pandora went to the Athens Festival. Zeus was now starting an investigation to know why the Flame was acting this way. He even asked Hephaestus why the Flame was acting like this, but always the Smith God said nothing, avoiding answers. It started to worry Hephaestus. Over most of her life, the Flame always had remained normal, but he feared that Pandora's love for Epimetheus may have done something to the behavior of the Flame, that now the Flame reacted to her emotions since she has felt love. His daughter was created from the very heart of the Flame, so her soul and the Flame have always been connected to 1 another. They were one; Pandora and the Flame. Hephaestus prayed to himself that Zeus may never find out about his daughter and the Flame.
Then one evening. Hephaestus was finally leaving his working place to spend some time with his daughter. But that was not the only reason. The Smith God was now thinking that because Pandora has been changed so much and now was more like a young woman, he now thought it was time to give his daughter... The Talk. He was nervous, as he never thought he ever had to tell anyone about... sex or romantic relationships... 'Oh man, how am I going to tell it all to her?' He asked himself as he found her in the living room, working on a new spell and... surprisingly he found Aphrodite in the living room too. She was giving her advice of how to hold her energy and her thoughts on it.
Pandora broke her focus on the spell when she saw her giant father coming into the living room. "Oh, hi daddy!" She said happily.
Aphrodite gave a small smile to her 'husband.' "Hi there Pandora... Aphrodite?" He said, surprised to see his ex-wife helping Pandora.
The Goddess of Love gave a little wave and stood up. "I... was helping Pandora with a spell she was working on. I just gave her a bit of advice... uhm, I... was gonna leave but I guess by helping her, I lost track of time. I should be going." Aphrodite said as she walked to the door
"Oh, Aphrodite?" Hephaestus asked. She turned "Yes?"
"Uhh... why don't you stay for dinner?"
Aphrodite was blinking a few times of surprise. "Oh ehh... sorry but I have a lot of work to be done and... I don't want to disturb your time together." She said as an excuse.
"Please Aphrodite." Pandora begged. "Just this one time. And to be honest, I don't have full control over the spell yet so..."
Aphrodite was thinking for a minute. Her mind told her that she should leave now. But another part said that it was just for one evening. She rolled her eyes and answered. "All right. But only this once." Pandora smiled. Hephaestus smiled too, but was also nervous, not only for thinking of Pandora giving her The Talk, but also to be around his ex-wife again.
Hephaestus prepared Pandora's favorite stew. And Aphrodite surprisingly liked it too! Hephaestus said that he had to learn how to himself since he fired all his servants because of Pandora and sent them for other work. But thanks to Fotis's tips, he was getting better at it.
The Smith God looked to Pandora and Aphrodite and smiled to himself. For the first time in so many years he felt... truly happy to have his whole family together.
After dinner, Aphrodite offered to do the dishes. While she was busy, Hephaestus knew that this was maybe the best time. "Ehh... Pandora?"
"Yes daddy?"
"We... ehh... need to talk... about something."
Pandora looked a bit surprised, thinking what it could be all about? "Okay, what is it about?"
Hephaestus scratched his hair and was trying to find the right words. "Well... err... it's about... you know, now that you're getting older and..."
Pandora wasn't sure what this was going to but tried to understand.
"It's well... geez, i never thought this would be so hard." Hephaestus was getting uncomfortable. "When ehh... a girl and a boy are together they ehh... Let's say.. your body changes a lot and... boys too... so.."
"Daddy, I really don't get what you're trying to say." Pandora said.
When Aphrodite was listening in the kitchen, she knew where her ex-husband was trying to say to Pandora. "When they ehh... the man and women they ehh..." Hephaestus was still having difficulty saying it.
But then Aphrodite stepped in and said. "What you're... father is trying to say is... that it is time to know about 'The Birds and Bees' "
Pandora's eyes went wide and started to blush ten colors. She kinda knew someday her father had to explain that to her but didn't know when he wanted to do it, so she never asked him to explain.
When Pandora had her first period two years ago when she was staying at Sylvia's place, her mothers explained to Pandora that it is a natural thing for women to have every month. They also said a bit about where babies really came from but spared her with full details and just left it to her father to explain to her. When Hephaestus heard, he told them he would wait a bit with giving 'The Talk' to his daughter. Sylvia only got her period a year later and was in the meantime a bit jealous because Pandora had it sooner than she did. But easily regretted being jealous when she felt her first period. Pandora, of course forgave her, but honestly didn't notice.
Hephaestus then said. "Ehh... Yeah, that was what I was trying to say." He said while blushing.
Aphrodite knew that he was too nervous to tell her and said to him. "Let me explain it to her."
"Oh... okay" Hephaestus shrugged.
Aphrodite took Pandora to the living room so they would have a girl to girl talk about this. The Goddess of Love could not believe she was the one explaining it to Pandora, but somehow she felt okay with it. She started explaining to the young girl. "You see Pandora... when a man and a women are together they can have this thing called sex. It starts when both of them are getting turned on by... like kissing each other. But also when they touch each other, like when a boy touches the women's breasts, or kissing the neck and even when they touch each other at their 'private parts'. When they are both really turned on, the man's penis will be hard and the woman's vagina will become wet."
Pandora was feeling embarrassed and was blushing even deeper by hearing all this. But Aphrodite kept explaining. "So sex is when a man puts his penis in a woman's vagina, but it can only go easily when a woman vagina is wet. When it is women having sex for the first time, her virginity will break when the penis is put in her vagina, that will pain her a bit and will bleed a bit, but after a while that will be over. The man then moves his penis in and out of the women's vagina and not all the way out. He will keep doing it until he feels this strong and wonderful feeling that gets stronger. When that feeling is really strong he... will cum inside her. But once he cums inside the women, there is a chance she can get pregnant with a baby."
Pandora was overwhelmed by hearing all this. 'So babies are made by having sex? And sex feels good?' She mentally asked herself, while sighing a bit with a hand holding her face.
"There, I think that's all you need to know for now where babies come from." Aphrodite said as she stood up and when she went back into the kitchen to complete the dishes, Pandora asked her while following her.
"Ehh Aphrodite?"
"Yes?"
Pandora helped her with the dishes and whispered so her father wouldn't hear it. "What is cum actually?"
Aphrodite laughed a bit. "Oh that this milky white thing that comes out of the man's penis. It's one of the most important things for making a baby."
Pandora nodded "Oh, I get it." When the women were almost finished, Pandora still had some questions about sex. "Uhmm... are there also other ways to turn on a boy before or during sex?"
Aphrodite nodded while smiling at her. "There are, but I think it's better that me or someone else will explain stuff about that later."
"Like when?" Pandora asked.
Aphrodite sighed and said. "Look, if you want my advice on this, wait with sex until you're married. But that's never stopped anyone from doing it anyway. So if you do do it earlier, then I advise you to be a bit careful."
Pandora understood. Then she remembered the night when she first kissed Epimetheus and felt somehow turned on, even being so into it that she almost wanted even more, not knowing what it was. She blushed deeply now that she knew what that feeling really was.
Once the two women were done with the dishes, Aphrodite stayed a bit longer with them just talking with Pandora or Hephaestus in the living room and even laughed together a bit.
When the sun was down she finally decided to leave but thanked them for staying for dinner. When Hephaestus said goodbye to Aphrodite and left downstairs to be at work again, the Goddess of Love then told Pandora something she thought she was never gonna say to that... 'thing', what she was now seeing slowly as a real person, a normal teenage girl. "If you ever need any more advice when it comes to love... you... you can stop by my place, okay?"
Pandora didn't think that Aphrodite would ever say that and was surprised before smiled and said. "Sure."
Aphrodite nodded. "Right... then ehh... i guess I'll get going then."
"Yeah." She said before she headed to the door. When she walked to the door, she all of the sudden said under her breath. "Goodnight... sweetheart." And closed the front door behind her. 'Did I just..c call her sweetheart?' Aphrodite thought with surprise. She couldn't believe she actually said that, even if it was under her breath. But somehow, she was glad and... happy.
Pandora that night was still dealing with the 'Talk' that was given to her. But now she finally understood. The butterflies in her tummy were overwhelming and she felt a bit hot. 'You know what?' She mentally said to herself before going to sleep. 'If I ever will have my first time, I want it to be with Epimetheus'. And smiled as she closed her eyes.
A few days later
Sylvia was washing herself in her small room in the arena after a whole day of training. All she got was a bucket of warm water and a blanket to wash herself. She was half naked, only wearing her shorts. On her arms and back were several scratches and burn marks from the fighting with several cerberus beasts with her bare hands. They stung when she was washing on those places, but she was now used to the pain.
Sylvia still wasn't allowed to have her armor back nor her swords as long she couldn't defeat Hercules in a fist fight. Today Sylvia almost succeeded, but was tricked at the last moment before she finally could win against the giant Demigod.
Before she was sent to train with Hercules as punishment, she was a warrior that only would do her own way of fighting, but now she was becoming a disciplined soldier. Even her mothers were watching her training today and were pleased with the results.
The teenage warrior princess was nearly done when she heard from the window above. "Hey, Sylvia..." She looked up while holding the blanket on her breasts and saw her friend Pandora. "Oh... sorry, I didn't know you were washing yourself." Pandora said while looking away.
"No, no it's fine Pandora. Girls among each other." Sylvia said to let her best friend know it was okay.
Pandora shrugged "Yeah, I guess so." Then she saw the scratches and burn marks on Sylvia's back and arms. "By the Gods, how did that happen?" she asked while pointing to her wounds.
"This? Oh, I fought a few cerberus beasts, nothing serious." She said as she put on a shirt.
"You fought cerberus beasts?!" Pandora said with shock.
"Yep."
Sylvia said proudly. "8 at least. With only my fists and strength."
Pandora was worried and shook her head. "That Hercules is really taking this too far for you! And... why are you so happy about it?"
Sylvia smiled as she stood up on her table to get closer to the window. "I know what I said before about how strict Hercules is, but now that I've seen how stronger I'm becoming, I guess it wasn't a bad idea at all from my mama Calliope." Then she got closer to Pandora. "Guess what."
Pandora was curious what her best friend was going to say "Well?"
Sylvia then whispered. "I heard my mothers talking and mama Calliope is planning to give us a assignment again once my punishment with Hercules is over."
Pandora cheered when she heard it but kept quiet. "Are you serious?!" Sylvia nodded happily before Pandora nearly danced out of happiness. "Do you know what kind of assignment?"
Sylvia however shook her head. "I'm afraid not. But maybe once we're done... we could visit your Epimetheus in Athena."
Pandora held her hand on her chest and asked happily. "Really?"
"Of course, I know you've been so dreamy and distracted... so why don't we visit him and you can both find a way to keep in contact." Sylvia said with a wink.
The girls kept talking for an hour together. Pandora did bring some food for her friend, but was surprised that she wasn't hungry at all. Sylvia explained that she was now more or less used to the 'warrior's stew' of Hercules and was eating of it more. But nonetheless, Sylvia accepted the food still for she didn't want to disappoint her friend. So while they eat the pieces of roasted goose together, Pandora started by saying. "You know, Aphrodite gave me the 'Talk' a few days ago."
Sylvia looked at her friend, wandering the first seconds what she meant, but then it hit her. "Oh! You mean where babies come from and how they're made?" Pandora nodded. "Oh okay." She then laughed a bit. "I remember when my moms gave me the talk a few years ago. I couldn't sleep that night and i was... Wait a minute" Sylvia stopped telling the story when she heard form Pandora that Aphrodite gave her the 'Talk'! "Did you say Aphrodite gave you the 'Talk'?"
Pandora smiled and explained the situation, how her father tried to give the 'Talk', but failed miserably and Aphrodite took the lead in it for him. That gave them both a laughter of how Hephaestus was trying in his own way to explain it all.
"So... Aphrodite is now being more nicer to you?"
"Yeah, she even wants to help me with this new spell that Hecate assigned me to work on."
"And it works?"
"I didn't have it fully controlled yet, but thanks to Aphrodite's help, I'm getting the hang of it." That made Sylvia happy that after this whole time, Aphrodite is finally starting to be normal with Pandora.
Several days later
Pandora was sleeping deep after she took a huge test today from Hecate with the spell she was assigned to work on. Thank goodness she passed with a great mark, the little girl thanked Aphrodite for all her help. She even gave the Goddess of Love surprisingly a hug and Aphrodite returned it.
That night she was dreaming of Epimetheus, about the moment when she took a walk with him during the party at Vasilios' home in the huge garden. It was at the same moment when she was having her first kiss with Epimetheus, but was slowly becoming different.
In Pandora's dream
Epimetheus sat beside Pandora holding her cheek and wiped the tears away with his thumbs "Pandora... I would never... never hurt you."
She smiled a bit. "I know you won't... but you need to see that you're no outcast to anyone when you're trying to be yourself." She then put her hand on Epimetheus's cheek. "Even with me."
They looked at each other in their eyes. Their hearts pounding harder and faster. The desire to be together was greater than before. He moved his head closer to her...until they were just a few inches away from 1 another. They closed their eyes and their lips connected. Pandora's first kiss. They moved their lips gently, softly against one another. It felt like heaven.
After a minute, they moved slowly apart, their eyes slowly opened. He smiled, Pandora bit on her lower lip. Both desired more. They moved again to 1 another, kissing more passionately. Pandora held his head, pulling him to her. Both lost in the sensation of the kiss as their tongues connected, dancing like a tango. He moved his hand to her breast and slowly touched it.
Pandora moaned as he broke the kiss and let go of her breast. "I... I'm sorry I didn't mean to..."
But she took his hand and put it back on her breast. "It's all right, as long it is only you." Pandora then put her arms around Epimetheus' neck and whispered in his ear. "I want you to take me, Epimetheus."
He blushed very deeply, but was so in the sensation of lust he couldn't hold himself anymore.
He put her down on her back while he kept kissing her with passion, both tongues fighting for dominance. With both his hands, he messaged her breasts. Pandora moaned while taking a few breaths from the kissing. "Oh.. yes... hmmm oh, Epimetheus."
Out of desire, he ripped her dress open, exposing Pandora's chest. But she didn't mind. All she wanted was him. He sucked on her right nipple while twitching her left one with his hand, making her breath faster from the pleasure. "Yes, suck my breast! Ohh yes!"
In the real world
In her bed, Pandora was moaning and breathing fast in her sleep and talked slowly. "Hmmm, ohh... yes." She moaned as her pussy became wetter and her nipples became harder. "By the Gods! Yes!"
Meanwhile, at the same time
The Flame of Olympus was getting brighter, bigger, with different colors of red, pink and white sparking around the room. The soldiers who stayed in the room to guard and warn Zeus of anything went out fast to warn the King of the Gods of what was happening to the Flame.
Back in Pandora's dream
Epimetheus was licking Pandora's clit, while she touched her breasts and rubbed them. "Oh yes! Yes! This feels so great! By the...! Yes!"
He then climbed on top of her and said softly. "I'm gonna put it in now." Pandora looks to him and nods. He undressed his outfit. His Penis hard and big. Pandora was only partly clothed now, with her fingers opening her vagina for him. Looking with desire at him. Wanting him. He slowly put it in deeply and kept going in and out, making her moan loudly. "Ohh yes yes yes! Hmmm Aaahh Aaah yes yes!"
Meanwhile
The Flame became out of control and was now bigger and larger!
Back in the dream
"By the Gods, Pandora, I...! I'm gonna cum!"
"Me too! yes, yes! l-let's... let's cum together!" After more thrusts, they climaxed at the same time, his cum filling her vagina and womb.
Meanwhile, at the same time
The flame bursted out a strong red-pink-white light, for all of Olympus to see. Zeus, who was present at the time close to the chamber, couldn't believe his eyes.
Back with Pandora
She slowly woke from her dream, sweating and breathing hard. For a short while, she saw a bit of the red-pink-white light before it vanished. She mentally said to herself. 'What a beautiful light that was, I wonder where...'
But then she stopped thinking when she noticed she was sweating and... felt herself wet between her legs. Pandora removed the covers to see her panties soaked and her bed wet. 'Oh my! Did i just...? Wait, that dream I had with... Epimetheus.' She thought before she put her hand on her private part. Once she took her hand out, it was wet and slimy. "Eww, what is this?!" Pandora said to herself.
But then she remembered what Aphrodite said about sex and what happens to a women and thought. 'Wow, so this is what some people call a wet dream.' Before she blushed as she thought about what she desired to have with the boy she liked a lot. "Hmm, I better change myself and change my bedsheets." She said while yawning.
The following morning when Aphrodite came with her pleasure servants to use the bathroom for the last time, since the renovation was nearly done, Pandora walked past them with the wet bed sheets to let it be washed. The two pleasure women giggled of the embarrassment of Pandora, but Aphrodite gave them a serious look. They stopped immediately and said sorry to their mistress.
When Pandora came back not long after, Aphrodite sat at the sofa waiting for her. Her servants were not there, clearly using the bathroom now. She put her hand on the sofa to note Pandora to sit by her for a moment, and she did. "Did something happen to your sheets last night?" Aphrodite asked politely.
"Yeah, well... I had... this dream last night... and I... " Pandora said as she tried to explain but was still a bit embarrassed of it.
"Oh... you mean a wet dream?" Pandora blushed a lot but nodded. Aphrodite smiled at her and stroked her leg. "Hey, it's nothing to be ashamed of. It is a very natural thing. It can happen to anyone."
Pandora shrugged. "I guess."
"And just ignore that my servants were laughing at you. They are not worth it." Pandora smiled at her. However there was something that was on her chest that she needed to get out.
Then Aphrodite stood up. "But they are waiting for me, so I'll better join them. We'll talk later, okay?" Pandora nodded as Aphrodite was walking to the bathroom.
"Aphrodite?" Pandora asked her before she opened the bathroom door.
"Yes?"
"Why are you so nice to me?"
Aphrodite didn't know how to say it. One part she wanted to say that she has a chance of heart but another said that she better leave it. However she tried to say something anyway. "Oh i just... well, I was thinking that... "
"My whole life, I have never understood why you hated me so much, Aphrodite. But ever since you've... sensed the 'lovebond' I have for Epimetheus, you're being more nice to me and I still don't understand why you've changed towards me after treating me like a... THING my whole life!" She said as she raised her voice. The Goddess of Love was not expecting that Pandora would say that and lost for words as she walked towards Aphrodite. "Sylvia saw me as a real person from the start, her mothers, too and even my father! But the Gods!? All of Olympus!? Or you...!? You all saw me as nothing as an 'abomination', something that should have been throwed away in the fucking trash!" Pandora started crying. "You are the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite, but you never gave me any love, not even a tiny bit all my life! So tell me why, why do you hate me?!"
"Pandora I..."
"It's only because of this love that I feel, isn't it!? You never saw me as a living thing, but now that you've seen that I AM capable of loving someone you think you can just be polite to me now and forget everything you said to me?!"
Aphrodite now felt how hurt Pandora was, but still didn't find the right words. "But Pandora..."
"Do you even remember what you said to my father, when I borrowed your mirror 8 years ago?! You said to him that just because he created me and took care of me as his daughter, that it doesn't mean you also have to be my mother." Aphrodite remembered well when she said that. "Before any of that, I still had hope that in time you would see that I am a living person, but after you said what you 8 years ago, you broke my heart! I knew from that moment on that even though you're the Goddess of Love, you're incapable to love anyone yourself!"
Aphrodite started to feel the tears coming but hold them back. She almost wanted to say sorry, but again couldn't find the words. Pandora shook her head. "Nothing to say about it, huh!? Fine! Just go take your bath with those sluts of yours, but stay away from me! You hear me!? GO AWAY AND DON'T EVER COME BACK!" Pandora turned away from Aphrodite and left to her room before she slammed the door shut and cried on her bed from all the emotions she just released.
The Goddess of Love pushed herself to the wall. Her heart... broken. A tear fell from her eye. For years she never knew how much she had hurt Pandora, but after hearing her like this, her eyes were finally opened. The door to the bathroom opened and one of her pleasure servants peaked to see her mistress brokenhearted to the wall. She opened the door further, her hair was soaked and she was wearing only a bathrobe. "Mistress, are you all right?" Without looking at her servant, Aphrodite just left the house without saying a word.
Meanwhile
Zeus was growing frustrated at the Flame's behavior. Since last night the Flame was out of control and lightened Olympus, he was growing angry for not finding any answers. He tried to take a moment to himself to calm down. When he went outside of his quarters to get some fresh air, he spotted Aphrodite, sitting on a bench. He found it strange, normally she was always in a happy mood, but now he saw her depressed. He then sat next to her.
"Oh, hello Zeus." She said as she wiped a tear away.
"Is there something wrong, Goddess of Love?" He asked politely.
She gave a sigh and said. "I... had an argument with Pandora."
"An argument? With the... object of Hephaestus?" She nodded to the King of the Gods. "What exactly was this argument about?"
First she didn't like to say it, but felt she could trust her former father-in-law. "It was about how I've treated her in the past and how she felt about it."
"Is that all? Now come on Aphrodite, you shouldn't pay attention to these things of that... thing."
Aphrodite then said in a different tone. "But she is right. I have been a bitch to her all her life... and I deserve all she said to me."
This surprised Zeus. "You... deserved it?"
"I have... tried to be more nice and polite to her ever since I sensed that she has this... love bond for a mortal." Zeus kept listening while Aphrodite went on? "It started a day after she and Sylvia came back from that festival in Athens. I even started to notice how real this love is that she felt for him. I started to doubt that maybe she-"
"Wait just a minute there!" Zeus says while interrupting her. "You mean... Pandora was acting like this when she went to that festival a few weeks ago?"
"Well... yes. It's just so hard to explain. I know that she is only created from the Flame many years ago, but what she felt and how she showed it... it feels all so real."
Zeus then got more suspicious. 'Wait a second, the Flame reacted like this when this 'thing' Pandora was feeling... love? Emotions?' He thought mentally.
Aphrodite looked to her former father-in-law while he was thinking. "Ehh, Zeus? Is there something wrong?"
He shook his head politely? "Oh no, not at all. I was just thinking, that's all." He said lying. He then stood up and said. "I need to go. I have some important stuff to do."
Aphrodite nodded. "Of course." She said before Zeus then left to head to the Flame Chamber. He now finally knew, but had to test something to be sure.
Later that afternoon, Zeus ordered his personal guard to take The Box of Chaos from the secret location and bring it to the Flame Chamber. The guards didn't know why but obeyed their master.
Athena was also present, not knowing what Zeus was planning to do. The Flame itself was now acting like normal with it's blue fires. "Why did you bring the Box here Zeus? I don't understand." Athena asked her father.
"There is something I need to know about the Flame's true nature."
Athena still didn't understand why but watched as the guards pulled the box to the place in the chamber where Zeus told them to. He then walked to the Box, dismissing his guards. Then he raised the Box and walked further to the Flame with it. Athena panicked and said. "No father! The Flame is more powerful than the Box! If you put it in there, it will be destroyed!" But Zeus didn't listen and threw the Box into the Flame. "NOOO!" Athena tried to stop her father, but was too late.
Athena was scared of what power would happen... but nothing happened at all. The Box was still in the Flame, in one piece. The Goddess of Wisdom eyes went wide. "But, but I don't understand. Hephaestus made the Flame of Olympus stronger than the Box of Chaos. He told us thousands of years ago. Why is the Box still in one piece?!" Athena asked all of this to her father, but he gave no response.
Instead his anger rose up, before he then turned and left the room. "Hephaestus has lied to me!"
In Hephaestus' house
Pandora had cried her eyes out. She had been in her room nearly all day, never went out. But she needed to get all these emotions that she has felt for years out. Somehow Pandora was relieved of finally having the courage to say the whole thing to Aphrodite.
When she left her room to get something to eat, she noticed that the front door was open, so was the door to her father's working place. She raised an eyebrow to figure why they were open. Then she heard voices coming from downstairs, she took the stairs down below and heard Zeus talking to her father. Pandora kept hiding to know what it was all about.
"Do you take me for a fool, Hephaestus?!"
The Smith God was surprised by this sudden chance of tone from his father? "No no no, not at all Zeus..."
"Then you better explain to me, why the Box was still in one piece when I put it into the Flame!?"
Hephaestus' eyes went wide. 'Oh no. He knows!' He said mentally, scared of what was going to happen.
"You lied to me, my son! FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS YOU HAVE LIED TO ME!" Then Zeus transformed to the same size as Hephaestus, he grabbed the Smith God and threw him to a wall, causing the house to shake. Pandora was getting scared. She wanted to go out and help her father, but she was afraid... afraid that she was no match for Zeus.
Zeus grabbed Hephaestus so tightly by the throat, he could nearly not breath. Zeus looked fiercely at him. "Tell me, why did you create Pandora in the first place!?" Then he punched Hephaestus hard in the face.
He tried to get up but was kicked right in the stomach. "Please... father, stop!"
"Stop!? Hahahaha! I'm just getting started!" He said as he kept punching and kicking Hephaestus till he bled a lot. "Stop... stop... please."
Zeus grabbed him by the throat again. "Then tell me the truth! Why was the box stronger than the Flame?" But no answer came from him. Furious, he threw Hephaestus to his forge, breaking his ribs, making him cry from the pain. Then Zeus punched him so hard that a few teeth were smacked out. Then he kept punching and kicking again and again till several bones broke. A giant pool of blood was forming around Hephaestus. Pandora cried of fear, sitting in a corner, holding her hands on her ears, begging herself that this torture would just stop.
After an hour Zeus tried a different approach. "If you won't tell me, then you will when I do the same to your beloved Pandora." He said with an evil smirk.
Hephaestus shook his head "No! Please... spare her."
Zeus punched him hard in the ribs, causing a few more to break. Then he grabbed him tightly. "If you want your... 'daughter' to live, THEN TELL ME EVERYTHING!"
Finally, Hephaestus gave in and told Zeus everything. Hephaestus told that he didn't trust his father Zeus from the very beginning of his reign after the Great War and made preparations for when he and the Gods would go rogue. He told him that he didn't create the Flame as a symbol of power, but as a safe place to put the Box of Chaos. Hephaestus admitted that he lied that the temple on Cronos was the safest place to put the Box. He then said that it was Calliope and Alecto's power and bravery that he started to fear that one day the truth would be known about the Box and the Flame, so he made a key to destroy the Flame: Pandora. But when he grew to love her as his daughter, he hoped that she would never have to be used for the Flame so Calliope and Alecto could take the box. "She... is the key... the key to the Flame... please... don't hurt my Pandora."
Zeus, fueled by anger, gave Hephaestus one last punch, knocking him out. Before he then changed to his original form. Pandora ran away back upstairs, but when she opened the door to the living room, Zeus was standing in front of her! She screamed being scared and dropped to the floor. Zeus walked to her. Pandora tried to cast multiple spells to defend herself, but had nearly no effect on Zeus. "Impressive, little thing. But not good enough." With his power he cast lighting to her. She was screaming of the pain, unable to move from it before she lost consciousness.
Zeus then stopped using his thunder powers on her. "I should kill you now that I know the truth of your real existence... but, I am always a man of my word." He then grabbed her by her head. "I'll spare you, Pandora... for now." Before he then put her over his shoulder, dragging her out of the house.
Outside of the house, stood Athena and Zeus' personal guards. The captain walked to his master. "You're orders, my lord?"
Zeus looked at him and ordered. "Lock Hephaestus away in the deepest depth of Hades. That should teach him to doubt my reign." The captain nodded, he and the rest of the soldiers went inside of the house, taking the Smith God into custody.
Zeus walked away with Pandora still unconscious, Athena walked beside the King of the Gods. "What of the girl, Zeus?"
"Better to lock her up in a place where no one will ever reach her."
"You don't mean...?"
"Yes, my child. The Labyrinth. But she will be locked away in the Caverns 1st. Daedules is nearly finished completing the Labyrinth and when he is finished, that thing will moved there and kept in the Labyrinth for all eternity." Then he stopped for a moment and watched his daughter Athena with a serious look. "No one else must know of this. Pandora nor the Flame. Only inform those with my permission that I know are loyal to me, understand?"
Athena nodded reluctantly. "I understand, Zeus."
1 week later
Sylvia was in the arena, fighting Hercules in a fist fight. It was intense but finally after an hour... she avoided an uppercut from her teacher with a high back somersault. While in the air, she saw an opening and with all the strength she gathered she gave the hardest punch she ever gave, right on Hercules cheek. Sylvia landed perfectly while the Demigod fell on his back. She cheered for finally defeating her harsh teacher. Then she heard a clapping coming from one of the sitting places, it was her mothers that clapped for her. Sylvia didn't even know that her mothers were watching her. She smiled at them and made a bow before they mothers giggled a bit.
Calliope nodded to her daughter. "Well, I think that was enough for you." Then the box where Sylvia's swords and armor was opened. Sylvia looked surprised at the box and then back to her mothers. Both nodded. "You have earned the right to carry your armor and swords again, Sylvia."
Happily she ran to the box, took her stuff and put back all of it on her. When she came back to the Arena, Hercules was still dizzy from the heavy punch. He looked at the girl and smirked "Your training is over. Take your stuff and go." Without waiting a single second, she ran back to her small room, packed her stuff in and took her bag. She then ran to where she wanted to go first, her friend Pandora's house.
The little warrior princess was so excited, not only was her punishment finally over, but she and her friend could finally go for the first time in years on an assignment again. "Pandora!" She yelled as she neared her best friends home. "My punishment is over!" She knocked on the door. "Pandora! Come on, we can go..." But as she knocked again, the door went open itself. Confused, she went inside, only to find the whole house empty, like nobody has been inside for days. "That's strange..." She then ran to Pandora's room... empty, everything was still as it was. She then ran downstairs to Hephaestus working place. "Hephaestus!? Pandora!?"
But when she came into the working place, she was shocked and gasped for what she saw. The entire room in ruin, all the things that the Smith God was working on, all over the floor or broken. But what shocked her the most… was all the dried blood.
Sylvia breathed heavily. "By the Gods... he and she couldn't be...? No... No they can't be!"
She ran outside calling for Pandora and even Hephaestus' name. She asked many servants if they had seen her friend, but nobody knew. Sylvia started to panic when Hermes appeared. "My, My. Why are you running all around Olympus like that?"
Annoyed, she said. "I don't have time for your games Hermes, I'm looking for Pandora."
"Pandora? Now that's odd, I thought you guys were always together." He said, pretending he cared, but knew the truth from Zeus and Athena already.
"Do you know where she or Hephaestus are?" She asked.
"Nope, no idea where any of them are." He said while lying.
Sylvia rolled with her eyes and went on looking. After hours of searching and asking other people she went to the only place she hasn't been for years: The throne room. She knew Zeus was having a small meeting today, so maybe he could know where her best friend is. The guards stood in front of the gate, they saw Sylvia running to them.
One guard ordered her. "Halt!" Sylvia stopped in front of them. "What's your business here?" He asked.
Sylvia then said. "I need to speak to Zeus. It's urgent."
He shook his head. "I'm sorry milady, but Zeus has said that he wished not to be disturbed."
"Please! I need to speak to him." She pleaded.
The guards were unsure if they were willing to. But then the other said. "I'll... see if he can see you."
"Thank you." She said while the guard went inside.
After 10 minutes the guard came back and said. "Lord Zeus has some time for you, milady."
Relieved, Sylvia was allowed inside. Once there, she went straight for where all the thrones were gathered, but there was nobody. Confused she looked around, then Zeus appeared from another room. He walked to the girl and said trying to be polite. "I have little time, Sylvia. So please tell me what this is all about."
"Pandora is gone!"
Zeus didn't look surprised. "Is that all? I'm sorry but I don't have time for this." He said while going back, but was stopped by Sylvia in his tracks.
"Hephaestus is gone too! Their whole home was empty... and when I came down below I saw... a pool of blood! Please Zeus I fear that something terrible has happened."
Then Zeus looked a bit serious at her. "Do you think I care about my son, Hephaestus? He has brought it upon himself."
Sylvia couldn't believe that Zeus said something like that about his own son. When Zeus wanted to pass again, he was again stopped by Sylvia. "How can you say that about him!? He is your son for Olympus sake!... wait, you DO know what happened!"
Zeus then crossed his arms. "Yes, I do know what happened."
Sylvia was no fool. She knew exactly what Zeus meant by that. "What did you do? What did you do to him!? AND WHERE IS PANDORA!?"
He looked angry at her and said. "Hephaestus is dead." Sylvia was shocked to hear it from him. "And so is your friend." The warrior princess gasped, holding her hands on her mouth. She shook her head. "My son, Hephaestus wouldn't listen to reason, for better keeping an eye on that... 'thing' Pandora. Ever since your stunt in Athens, I knew that it was far enough. I told him that Pandora should be taken away, to a place to discipline her. He however, refused. So he forced my hand. Your... friend tried to defend Hephaestus... I had no other choice."
Sylvia didn't want to believe it. "No, I don't believe you!"
Zeus then gave an evil smirk. "Well, maybe if you and that 'object' hadn't gone off to have your 'adventures', she would have lived. Yes, partly her death was also you're fault."
He then tried to leave again but was again stopped by Sylvia. "You lie! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER!? WHERE IS SHE!? I SWEAR IF YOU DON'T TELL ME NOW I...!" She almost wanted to say she would kill Zeus if he didn't say it, but knew that would only bring more trouble.
Zeus waited for what Sylvia wanted to say, when a voice was heard. "Sylvia..." it was Athena, who heard everything. Sylvia looked to Athena. She was sad while she said. "I'm afraid it's true. All of it." Sylvia was shaking her head while Athena went on while lying. "I begged my father to not hurt Pandora, but I couldn't stop him. I'm sorry."
Tears came from Sylvia's eyes. Her best friend was gone. Dead. She almost collapsed but held herself. She held her hands on her head, shaking her head. "No... no, no, no, no."
Zeus left without saying a word. Athena tried to comfort Sylvia by holding her arms. "I am... truly sorry for you, Sylvia."
But then the little girl took Athena's hands off her, looking at her. "How could he?" She asked as tears flowed from her eyes before she ran out of the Throne room, crying.
Athena was hurt for seeing the girl like this. She knew what really happened to Pandora, but because of her loyalty to her father, Zeus, she didn't say anything.
Later
The sun was almost set. In Alecto and Calliope's home they became worried. "Why hasn't Sylvia come back yet?" Alecto asked with worry.
"I don't know." Calliope said with the same worry. "You don't think that they went off again, Calliope?"
"No, she has learned her lesson. Maybe she is with Pandora." Calliope answered before she then went with Alecto out to be sure. But when they came to Hephaestus' home, they found it empty and Pandora's room was empty as well. Both were shocked to see Hephaestus' working place.
"By the Gods, what happened here?!" Alecto asked.
Calliope touched the blood on the floor. It was very dry. "This blood is old. Whatever happened here? It looked like it was days ago."
"But what could have caused all this? Could Hephaestus have done this?"
Calliope shook her head. "No. Something or someone attacked him." She said as she was watching, using her senses to know what exactly happened. "It's like... he was tortured or something."
Then Alecto gasped. "Maybe Sylvia saw all this and..."
"Then she must be out looking for Pandora. Come on." Calliope finished for her lover before both went out, searching for Sylvia.
Finally after asking around, one servant said to them. "Your daughter went first to the Throne room, but then later she came out, running away. I think she went to the other side of Olympus."
Calliope and Alecto went on and then a guard said. "Lady Sylvia is near the gardens. My friend told me that she's been there for hours, crying."
The mothers were surprised. Their daughter was crying? That can't be good. Not long after, when the sun was down and the stars were starting to show, Calliope and Alecto arrived at Hera's gardens. After some calling and searching, they found her between two beautiful trees. Sylvia was on the ground, leaning on one of the trees, weeping. Calliope and Alecto came slowly to their daughter.
'What could have caused her to be like this?' Calliope wondered mentally before she sat down beside her daughter, stroking her back. "Sylvia, what happened?"
Sylvia turned to her mother. She sobbed as she said. "Zeus... has done... something terrible to Pandora."
Alecto sat with her to "What do you mean?"
Sylvia took her time to get the right words. "He... he killed her!"
Both mothers eyes went wide, shocked and disbelieved. "What?!"
"How... why would he do something like that!?" Alecto asked.
Sylvia then told what Zeus told her, that at first she refused to believe it, but Athena confirmed it was all true. Calliope couldn't believe the King of the Gods would be so cruel to do something like that. Alecto's eyes got teary, as Pandora was almost like another daughter to them. "It's all my fault... Pandora is dead... and it's all my fault!" Calliope took her daughter in her arms, letting her sob on her shoulder before Alecto joined the hug as well.
Sylvia cried herself to sleep that night. Both mothers were first planning to give her an assignment, but now because Sylvia is mourning over the death of her best friend, they decided it was not a good idea for now. Both mothers were in the living room, sitting on the giant sofa. Calliope held her hands over her face. Alecto shared a few tears. Pandora dead. Hephaestus dead. All of the family was in mourning. But then Calliope stood up angry, for she had a few words to share with the King of the Gods!
Calliope walked with anger towards Zeus' living quarters. Alecto didn't come along as she knew what her lover wanted to say to Zeus and didn't object. As she arrived at the giant home of Zeus, what nearly looked like a castle, she knocked heavily on the door.
Not long after it was opened by one of Zeus' servants. "Lady Calliope." The lady said while making a bow. "What brings you at this hour?"
Without saying a word, Calliope walked right in. "Is Zeus in here?!" She asked furiously. "Ehh, yes of course but he..."
"ZEUS!" She yelled around. For a short while no response came. But then the King of the Gods came to the entrance, only to see the Goddess of War angry and furious.
He tried to pretend like he wasn't sure what this was all about. "Calliope, how unexpected to see you here. Is there something wrong?"
"You fucking bet there is something wrong!" She said as she walked right in front of Zeus. "How could you do something like that!?"
Zeus then crossed his arms and changed his attitude. "I see that your daughter has told you what happened."
"More than that, you murderer!"
Zeus was not pleased with these words from Calliope. "Watch your words, spartan!"
"I've seen you do things that I never did anything to stop, but now you've crossed the line! How could you do something like this?! Torturing you're own son Hephaestus to death!? Killing Pandora!?"
"I gave Hephaestus a simple choice and he refused."
"FOR OLYMPUS SAKE! He was your own goddamn son!"
"ARES WAS MY SON AS WELL, LADY DEATH! Let me remind you that it was you who killed him!"
The Ghost of Sparta stared into Zeus' eyes. "Yes I did, but only for what he has done to me, my parents and so many innocent people. But Hephaestus has never done any of it! He was a good person, a friend to all and a father to Pandora! A young girl Zeus... You killed an innocent little girl who never got the chance to have a life of her own!"
Zeus scowled at that point. "Hah! Hardly that creation from the Flame is something you can call alive nor even real."
"SHE WAS REAL TO ME, TO ALECTO… and to my daughter! And now look what you've done to Sylvia! You broke her heart, her spirit for taking someone that was so important to her! To all of us! A girl that has done so much for the people! For Olympus! And even you! You're no king... you're a monster."
"And what makes you different, Lady Death? You killed so many in your path in life over the years, without mercy."
"I may be a killer, but I'm not a killer like you!"
Zeus' fists tightened as sparks of lightning came from his arms. "Be careful insulting me, Calliope... my patience has its limits."
Calliope tights her fists to, ready to strike. But if she does that, she could spark a war between the Gods and that would result with many people getting killed... or worse. She thought about Alecto and her daughter Sylvia, she can't risk their safety because of this fierce argument between her and the King of Olympus.
Against her better judgement, she loosened her fists and said threateningly. "You're not gonna get away with this Zeus." Before she then turned and walked out of the room. "Trust me, you will pay for this!" Before she slammed the door shut behind her.
Minutes later
Zeus walked back to his bedchamber, where his wife Hera was lying down. She asked, while she still tried to recover from her hangover. "Ugh.. what was that all about, husband?"
"Calliope was very angry for what I 'did' to that... thing Pandora."
"You... didn't tell her the truth, right?"
Zeus shook his head as he also lied down on the bed. "No, but I fear that this incident with my son Hephaestus and that 'object' will cause an uproar among the citizens of Mount Olympus. The people love Calliope and her family for what they have done for them and will likely support them..."
Hera agreed as she rubbed her head. "You may be right about that. A loyal servant told me a few days ago that some are more favorable to have Calliope on the Throne of Olympus than you. If this isn't dealt with, they will cause an uprising."
This worried Zeus. His wife was right, soon or later the servants and guard could cause an uprising, even the mortal world will likely support Calliope sooner or later. Zeus sighed as he then said with evil determination. "Then I think it's better to perform my plan to get rid of the Goddess of War a bit... sooner. But not now... I will deal with her once the Persian army is back at full strength."
As the days went by, Calliope and her family were mostly at home. The mothers did all they could to comfort their daughter, who was now depressed in the mornings. Sylvia now wore the pearl necklace that Pandora made for her for her 10th birthday every day, never taking it off. She even barely left her room. Fotis brought her food to her room, but she barely ate anything which worried him greatly. Every night she cried herself to sleep, blaming herself for what happened. "Pandora... I'm sorry... I'm so, so sorry."
However, what she and her mothers don't know, was that Pandora has been locked deep in the caverns. Locked in a big cage with in the middle a blue fire to give light if she wanted. The guards, who were loyal to Zeus did give her food but it was mostly not even good. They even mocked her by saying: "It's the best food for a freak like you! Hahahahaha!"
And every night she cried herself to sleep, hoping that Sylvia would come for her. "Sylvia... please help me... please, I need you."
Aphrodite knew of the few Gods on Olympus what really happened to Pandora and her ex-husband Hephaestus. She was shocked to hear what Zeus's true motives were. She blamed herself for telling him what Pandora was going through after the festival. If she never told him, then maybe Zeus would have never harmed her... or Hephaestus.
One night she slipped past the guards to see if Pandora was alright. When she saw her, crying herself to sleep. Aphrodite's heart broke, a few tears came from her eyes. She then left, fearing that Pandora or the guards would notice she was there. When she came back to her quarters, her servants were gone for the day so she was alone. Behind a big curtain, there was a portal that she let be made when she was still married to Hephaestus, so he could travel to the Underworld to work. She went through the portal and saw her ex-husband sobbing in a corner of his new made prison.
But the ex-Smith God didn't notice Aphrodite came from the portal. "Pandora... I miss you so much... please, forgive me."
Aphrodite couldn't take it anymore, so she ran back through the portal back to her own quarters on Olympus. Tears flowed from her eyes when she sobbed on her bed.
"What have I done? What have I done? Hephaestus... I'm so... sorry." Then she finally realised deep within her. "Pandora... my sweet Pandora... forgive me... You were right, you were right. I should have been a mother to you a long time ago." The Goddess of Love cried now like she had never done before. "Pandora... my little girl, Pandora."