*I' M TELLING YOU, I CAN FEEL AMYTIS WILL BE IN FOR A BIG SURPRISE...I'M ANXIOUSLY WAITING FOR YOUR OPINIONS ON DITE'S CHARACTER IN THIS CHAPTER :) WAS IT CONVINCING ENOUGH ?*
A frown on Aphrodite's visage was as rare as a two legged Centaur dragging a chariot. The word itself wasn't even on her vocabulary list come to think of it, given the absolutely devastating effects she knew this particularly primal facial expression could have on any living creature's physiognomy….She usually referred to it as the " F " word….and it was definitely not the regular "F " word mortals currently use whenever they are angry….Which pretty much leads us back to frowning again…So uh, as I was saying, if there was one thing the gorgeous Love Goddess did not do under any circumstances was " to frown ….." …Frowning was an appalling straight path to wrinkles- which in their turn were bound to cause full lunar craters into somebody's skin — and the mere idea of something similar ever happening to her, was giving her brain damaging migraines.….She couldn't even bare think about it ….No , no, no… the image alone was like the worst possible nightmare - one that had the power to shatter her peace of mind for the rest of eternity-so she always bent over backwards to avoid frowning at any cost….
This being said, try picturing right about anyone 's surprise- anyone who knew the first thing about her- while staring at those perfectly painted eyebrows of hers, tangled in what proved to be probably the longest and the most intense frown in human history ….Shock , horror and terror ...
Basically, from the moment the stunning daughter of Zeus realised who exactly had been the man who had so generously saved her brother's life, up to the one in which the impenetrable gates of Babylon came into sight, a glare as final as death seemed to have been craved on her previously perfect forehead, stiffening her furious face into a stone mask resembling the classic bas-reliefs depicting the gruesome head of the Hydra right after the legendary Hercules had managed to separate it from the rest of the body.
The image of that old fairy tale, mystic palace and of the ever green, labyrinthine Gardens of the Queen, only fuelled even more the fire burning inside her guts, gradually building into a volcano of screeching rage that was by now racing through her body like the echoes of a devastating explosion, ready to turn everything to smithereens.
A wave of nausea clawed at the Goddess' throat while – in what must have lasted for a thousand years or so- her stomach contracted violently causing an uncontrollable tremor in her every muscle the instant her brother's memories brought into the spotlight for the first time, the enthralling silhouette of a very familiar redheaded woman, so exquisitely beautiful that when Dite's eyes fluttered open, she had the pallor of an iced vanilla cake. And yet…it was not the flawless perfection of that superbly sculpted physique that had managed to bother the War God's sister to that extent…Oh no…definitely not ….
A reddish welt was left behind by the unbelievable force Aphrodite had put into the slap that covered most of Ares' right cheek-an open handed, thunderous smack meant to bring him back from his casual stroll down memory lane at the speed of light. Well, that, and those ear-splitting, impossible to ignore screams….She was fuming….. There was definitely a certain violence in the air now, that had become close to tangible in the meantime.
" AMYTIS, Ares?! Really ?! Out of all the harlots out there….." she shouted at him, the pain in her chest turning more and more unbearable with each jagged word slashing out of her mouth- shock, hate, outrage and disappointment, all in one, dramatically fighting each other on the liquid surface of her hypnotizing baby blues. As if that weren't enough, her tiny fists began slamming in utter frustration against her brother's hard rock chest, only to open into palms a few seconds later - harmless palms one might think- until they brutally started hitting him again with a rather meticulous precision over the face. She was barely controlling the air that was now rapidly and painfully entering and exiting her lungs.
...And just for the sole purpose of offering an even more shocking perspective on what was happening, let me just tell you that the mighty War God, the Lord of Mayhem and Destruction, didn't lift one finger to defend himself. He didn't even wince- not one single gesture of disapproval at her preposterous outburst….He just stood there- as still as a marble statue- masochistically accepting his sanction, his hands still firmly gripping her tiny waist, as if fearing that without warning, she would do the unthinkable and decide to leave.
" How could you ?!" she broke out, sounding utterly humiliated and hurt . " How could you, Ares?!" she repeated, even louder if possible-when out of pure exhaustion, she finally took a break from the demeaning physical punishment she had been inflicting on him, angrily waiting for an answer that was far from reaching her ears though ….
Desperately pinning the neon pink hem of Aphrodite's otherwise transparent dress with his gaze, the War God didn't dare look at her…..He didn't …..He was way too ashamed to do so….Plus, he couldn't stand the sight of those salty tears that he just knew were by now trailing down his sister's rosy cheeks. Not to mention that he had no idea what so ever about what to actually say to her in the first place….
Truth be told, Amytis had been a huge mistake starting from day one, so, after having broken all rules of morale in order to have her, he was more than ready to face the consequences of having indulged himself into that so called romance. It was high time he paid the price for his temporary madness…..
As Dite tried to get up from his lap and leave though, he almost had a heart attack. The blood turned literally into pure ice in his veins at the possibility of an adamant refusal from her part.
" Sis' please…." he whispered, only making eye contact for a brief second- enough to make him regret it the very following instant ….He had hurt her terribly- just like he knew he would, and it was tearing him apart….." I need your help….."
"My help?!" she snapped, barely restraining herself from savagely ripping the flesh off his body with her perfectly manicured nails. " Are you out of your mind?! Ares, I can't even look at you right now!" she made sure to bluntly inform him- and despite the fact that her hands were now furiously clutching at his leather vest in an attempt to push him against the sofa, she still couldn't hold back the agony in her voice as she said the words…"I hate you !"
" And you have every reason to feel that way , but Dite, I'm begging you….Don't do it for me, do it for Xena….."
"For Xena?! What does the Warrior Babe have to do with this ?"she just had to ask, staring at him in utter disbelief, her eyes squinting a little as a certain scenario- one out of the countless possible ones- crossed her mind…..
" Don't tell me that….."
There was a long pause in which her brother's hopeless gaze met hers and for a moment or two she actually felt sorry for him …..
"Oh, Ares…..!" she breathed out, rolling her eyes at her own weakness . "Just how much does she know ….? " she inquired, silently wondering what in the name of Gaia had he been thinking ….
" Enough….They met a few days ago…in Babylon…"
" In Babylon?! What was Xe doing in Ba….Wait….You took her to Babylon?!" she snarled, her eyes burning with rage, ready to gut him like a pig. As much as she hated blood, this time her every cell was screaming with the need to literally see him bleed.
" It was a bad idea….I know that now…"
No sooner had he finished his line though than Aphrodite was already dematerializing from his arms in a shower of rose petals…..
"Diteeee!"
XXX
In her long, highly active existence in this universe, up to that point, Aphrodite had had the chance to experience every feeling in the vast spectrum of love, and it's safe to say that it was a field that held no secrets for her, not anymore, and that, from the purest, most heart melting forms of affection up to the dark, sadistic ones, she had enjoyed them all, never too bored or too reluctant about trying something new. She was the type that lived to take risks, that only breathed properly when crossing lines and pushing every boundary a step further…But if there had ever been something that she truly couldn't make peace with, now that was betrayal. And betrayal was exactly what her brother had done , all those years- centuries to be more accurate- while carelessly building a relationship with that psychopathic, two faced bitch, behind her back…
A high pitched scream of boundless frustration left her mouth the instant she materialized in her room- somewhere in the back of the temple – and a few worried priestesses barged in at the bizarre sound of expensive ceramic hitting the walls. They immediately fled the place of course once they made eye contact with the usually bubbly and cheerful Love Goddess. This was quite a rare event, but as rare as it was, they knew better than to get her even angrier by asking stupid questions or by offering their services…..A furious Goddess of Love was as dangerous as a volcanic eruption ….It didn't kill you on the spot, but you were as good as dead, anyway…..
About half an hour later, after a few surprising series of an incredibly violent outburst , the still boiling mad daughter of Zeus, threw herself face down on the large, fluffy Queen-sized bed – the only piece of furniture in the room that was still miraculously intact and she started sobbing uncontrollably- first with real tears, and then, when there was not one single drop of salty liquid left, she hysterically started to punch the coral pillow that had absorbed more than ninety percent of the snot, tears and sorrow.
Drama – in its any form- was indeed her cup of tee, no one could state the contrary.
It took her more than what she had cried to finally calm down enough as to accurately evaluate the proportions of the damage…..Her precious collection of Indian vases , those antique statues she had received from Persia- the last time she visited Mao and Daena her dearest friends- not to mention the Egyptian goblets and the Chinese figurines, all gone in a puff of smoke ! Such an unfortunate tragedy! And it all happened because of that …of that….
"Aaaaarghhhhhh!" she yelled again , angrily throwing even the last beautifully crafted gold tray into a wall . It hadn't been enough that the cheap, tavern looking hussy had publicly humiliated her by spilling red wine all over her gorgeous soft peach tulle dress during one of Hera's super duper famous cocktail parties- and implied that her perfectly executed balayage was just a terrible idea given the "frighteningly white colour of her skin " – but she also had to snatch her Stud Muffin away from her !
As for that empty headed toad, he simply went along with it, just like that, no questions asked, no seconds thoughts! He certainly didn't give a crap about her feelings, let alone about their extremely adventurous but special past ….Despite herself, that idea alone made her eyes feel watery and glassy all over gain…After everything they had been through , he cowardly decided to stab her in the back like that …Not to mention that so called incident with Cupie …..Now that was something that she definitely refused to forgive …..
A flood of unpleasant memories related to that unfortunate episode, soon made her even edgier …And yet, pacing restlessly back and forth around the impossibly trashed room appeared to be the best idea she had ever had…Slowly but surely, many events, no matter how insignificant began falling into place …..The slut's relationship with her brother did explain everything, from the odd, abrupt distance he had suddenly chose to put between them - which she had foolishly blamed on boredom and routine- to that little something she could just feel was missing in his relationship with Xena….She had never managed to put her finger on it, but something just didn't click perfectly when it came to those two lovebirds, and it was the weirdest thing in the world given that she was his Chosen and, according to all the scrolls she had read- some as old as time- he was supposed to be like literally unable to breathe without her….- which was again true in most of the cases, but still….As for her little Cupid again, those heart-wrenching moments of desperation she had lived that night ….Ohhh….! The bitch….Playing fair had never been a part of her modus operandi, indeed!
An unnatural, mischievous smile made its way on the Love Goddess's lips….You see, cheating was also part of her expertise, and some say she was some kind of evil genius when it came to stuff like that.
" Payback time is just around the corner….." she announced on a cheerful, melodious voice that had nothing in common though with what she had in store for that woman…..
What the Olympian Gods knew pretty well, but was- for some reason- still an enigma for the rest of the masses- was that a fuming, jealous Love Goddess was as dangerous as a ticking time bomb…
A snap of her fingers later, the devastated room was in perfect order, as if nothing had happened- much ado about nothing, really... A second snap and the curly blonde made sure to once again materialize on the plush sofa, right next to her brother-who had stubbornly refused to leave and had been patiently waiting for her to come back while pensively sipping on his favourite honey flavoured wine …..
" Did you blow off some steam ?" he absently asked, without actually looking at her.
" Most of it…..I'm still upset with you Ar - very upset, may I add…And let's make it clear, I'm only doing this for the Warrior Babe. That's it! After that , I don't ever want to….." she stopped though the moment the War God's infinitely sad eyes met hers…
" Don't you dare give me that look !" she scolded, breaking their gaze before it actually got to her big time …." I need to see the rest of the events in order to be able to help you ….." she coldly let him know, making the God, gulp uncomfortably . "Don't worry…..I already know what a low –life, insensitive scum you are and I love you anyway …" she encouraged, the last part barely above a whisper. " Which doesn't mean that you are forgiven. Not by a long shot, Bro', so don't delude yourself into thinking that we' re ok…."
" Gotcha….."
" Great. You ready ?" she asked , straddling his lap again.
"One step closer to having that slut's head on a silver platter" she mused, right before her aura combined with her brothers' …