A/N: Trigger/Warning.
For the constant pursuer of pleasures, Dionysus' parties mustn't be missed. He throws the most lavish gatherings whether on Olympus or on earthly grounds. And while he did so excellently with celebrations for the other gods, those that were fashioned for his name were most opulent, excessive… ecstatic. Tonight was no different. He had postponed a random festivity since the tragedy in the constructions, since hearing about the Queen's confinement just after that, and three weeks later this was finally happening.
Even before sunset, the merriments were in full swing. Gems were laid at the bottom of the pools, festive with colors, vivid amber and aquamarine; smooth, glittering opals, rubies and jades. They run from end to end of an open courtyard, lined with massive marble statues in memory of both heroes and monsters, and serving as centerpieces of intricately patterned fountains. The maenads were painted with gold and silver, nipples pierced, dressed in nothing but beads. They served and danced to the beat of drums, or plucked the kithara while a few satyrs flirted in between playing the reeds or playing fire.
It had been hours late when Mars appeared from a less conspicuous entrance, stalling as soon as his nose was hit by the sharp miasma of wine, sweat, and drunken breaths. His eyes, more golden around firelight, scanned the place or what became of it before the alcohol had taken its toll. Laughter mixed with an already deafening music, while maenads gyrated in a sensuous dance, or sprawled in the lap of some lustful god being drip fed with the juices of a grapefruit.
Enyalius tailed behind, half his face masked to conceal the ruined eye, and then Hermes, hovering as he upended a second cup. Heads turned to their direction, eyes swept down their forms and lips glistened, already undressing them in the mind.
"Brought along your blade?" the General asked with a tone louder than usual. Mars gave an incredulous look, silently screaming why a blade would be needed in such an affair. Only then did he notice that Enyalius was fully armed, cape and greaves and all that iron, which piqued his own senses for a looming trouble. He did remember blood could be drawn in unexpected hours within Bacchanalias in Rome, and Dionysus, though a ray of sunshine, wasn't far from committing atrocious fun. A wonder flitted his mind, could someone pregnant be here in the unexpected rush of chaos… Mars shook his head.
The crowd grew dense as they moved in closer preferably by the buffet. A few intoxicated pairs crashed their way in search for a room, a concealed pillar or simply a nearby bush to release some steam. Hermes was doing well with the company, picking goat cheese and olives from the serving girls and making appointments in lewd glances. They reached the banquet, still filled to the brim. The gilded bowls served stuffed goose and smoked boar, fish in garlic and butter, crisped pastry, jam, seeds and legumes, and fruits. He heard a whispered jest somewhere, this could be the last feast Olympus may witness and thus should not be missed, as ominous as it sounds.
"Ahh, what honor, welcome, welcome— Mars, brotherrr— oh!"
Dionysus cackled as he picked himself up from tripping over a hulking pair of goat legs lying carelessly on the carpets. He wore a royal blue robe over a silken skirt, laced in silver and bedecked in rare stones. He had more rings than fingers and could have owned more bangles than Queens ever had. On his head was an insanely tall headpiece filled with beads and flashy feathers. He held the crown whilst hunching over the passed out satyr.
"Is this… Spyro, no," Dionysus' face beamed a deeper red, grinning, "Alekos! Too early to keel, you woodland man-slut!" He hooked his slippered toes on the satyr's armpit and turned him over, revealing an immense, bulbous erection that sent a twitch to Mars' eye. While Enyalius merely bit off an apple, he raised a brow at Hermes, who almost turned green with the mouthful of pork sausage he was chewing.
"Look at that pillar!" Dionysus wheezed, ruining his makeup, "I could build a palace with that thing! Oi, Aliki! Chara! Carry this stud off and take care of that, before these boys complain what tiny weenies they have."
From the crowd appeared two tall giggling she-satyrs, all bouncing busts and thighs, and hung a gurgling Alekos' arms to their shoulders before pulling him away. Dionysus was wiping his tears as he faced his new guests, who may or may not have just lost half their appetite. "So! How can I be of service? Hm? I have everything for you tonight, and I mean everything everything," the host rubbed his hands, purple eyes alight and impish, bangles tinkling. Enyalius left the apple between his teeth, bagged a pear, and resumed biting off with two taps on Mars' back.
"M'leaving him behind," the General threw the apple core and moved for the exit. Mars' ship sank— "What!? No! Where are you even going?"
"Night guard on the site, King's command, he's waiting." Without further words and not allowing time for challenge, Enyalius was already lost in the crowd. From his right he watched Hermes feign an apologetic look while a few maenads pulled him by the hand. Bastards.
Hissing an inhale, Mars swiftly turned before him to find a glass chalice suddenly between his eyes, containing honey-colored beverage which bubbled from the bottom. Dionysus twirled the cup and a sweet minty smell rose from the liquid.
"To welcome you," Mars smirked, "First time guests are always treated the best brews. And you, my friend, are lucky to have this newest fermentation. All yours: Half Aegean, half Cretan, half Macedonian."
Mars' eyes traveled from Dionysus' grin to the wine, to the grin again— "That's three halves, Dionysus."
"Oh," the Wine god bit his lip, "It has rice. Does that count? Give in, Mars, come on. It's as if we hadn't had fond memories in Rome…"
It took seconds before Mars was able to close his mouth. "That sounded weird," he rolled his eyes as Dionysus led his fingers to the handle. Having no easier choice and to rid himself off the bother, Mars let Dionysus watch him empty the glass and cringe at the spirited taste.
"That wasn't hard, was it?" Dionysus pinched Mars' cheek, "Now expect yourself to have the best night of your life." When the clangor of tin platters turned everyone's heads to a distant table, Dionysus bid his farewells with a promise to get back to him. Mars just wished he wouldn't.
As soon as the host joined the bustle did Mars feel the familiar tap in his shoulder. Enyalius was back.
"Fancy to go?" the General asked, he was answered with an exasperated glare.
"A bit too late for an exit invitation, don't you think?"
Enyalius shrugged his shoulders, "Suit yourself, Roman. Word to the wise though, never touch anything Dionysus claims to be a new concoction. Good?"
Like ice water poured over him, Mars could plainly stare. He could still taste the honey-colored wine, its thick minty flavor, and wondered if it helped if he tried to gag it out. Enyalius cocked his head, the masked side of his face catching light from the lanterns.
"You… haven't drank any of it yet, have you?"
"No. Nah," Mars laughed nervously. How they'd surely jeer at him if he admitted. As men would. He regretted ever giving in that easy, "Are you ridiculous?"
Thus Enyalius left again without another word as the revelers settled back from the earlier distraction. And the Roman resolved to keep his senses awake, knowing anytime soon there could be something that'd kick in within his veins. Spiked drinks weren't usual back in Rome, in the palace at least, and though he had a knack for good alcohol there's something unsettling with getting buzzed by Olympian— rather Dionesian— brew. He perched himself in a corner; somehow it was his pride to brag to Enyalius or Hermes how he'd be turning out undefiled by a simple drink until the end of this night.
Another hour must have passed, and then it hit as smoke from incense dispersed in the air.
No matter how Mars willed to stay alert, he could not control spiraling into a void. It began with echoes and a haze. Suddenly the music was not so awful. It rather had this calming effect which made him see a bit more of the colors amplified around him and appreciate the life that circled the place. His throat had quickly dried and next he was downing another cup of whichever was this time offered.
He basked in the noise, the laughter and the pleasured screams, once in a while humming, lips curling in a smile and already lost in thought. Everywhere there was dancing, bathing in the wines, coupling in groups. He felt a pair of hands on the back of his shoulders but had not the strength to look behind. Soft fingers began kneading the sides of his neck and he closed his eyes as they worked down his spine.
He could not remember ever facing her, but in that instant he was staring at a woman's breasts beneath strings of jewels and a gauzy shawl. He looked away only to be pulled back with the same ring-studded fingers now spread over his jaws. Without commanding his hand, he'd already found it lain above her stomach. It was unusually flat, and firm, and in that touch he felt his neck prickle.
You shouldn't be here, he knew he said this but couldn't hear himself, drowned in the music. He took her hand— Come. He mouthed again without raising his drowsy eyes to her face, come, I'll take you back to your chambers.
She hadn't budged, and Mars found himself planted on the ground whilst his legs numbed beneath him. And her hands, wretched clammy things, made their way back to his face. He melted in them, melted in other pairs of hands roaming his body. He neither welcomed nor repulsed the attention, the long painted nails raking his skin, pulling the knot of his hair and tousling the sunset strands. Tongues slithered down his neck and the woman from before glided her fingers across down his chin. Beautiful, she said. The voices echoed back and forth, calling him pretty names, smelling of incense and poison.
Their lips met. His was stiff and hers were warm with the strong, lingering taste of retsina. Mars closed his eyes and let her tongue slide between his lips. The drums beat their way deeper into his mind and he floated in the abyss of undisclosed desires. She led his hands above her ass and like clockwork he smoothed up the curving small of her back. He met her lips with fervor, fisted her damp hair; twirled the curls between his fingers.
He didn't know why, but it pleased him to see the dark, coarse strands matted over his hand.
Losing balance, Mars thud down a pile of cushions over a carpet. She straddled him and piece by piece his upper garments loosed. Her mouth found purchase in the sliver of his chest, the tip of her tongue tracing circles down the rigid muscles of his abdomen while another maenad forced a mouthful of wine from hers to his. The liquid trickled down his neck, his chest, and again another licked it off him with a pierced tongue. His hands were tugged to body parts and paths he'd not imagined treading; they filled his touch with warm, supple mounds and damp inner thighs or the inside of a mouth… while he stared up blankly, pupils dilating at the dying light of gems and torches while the orgy was at a peak. He almost laughed, that little part of him which still made sense of the event, thinking the many bastards and demigods which this single night will bear. When he felt his trousers loosen, he looked down to whatever monstrosity was happening there. The crown of her head loomed, her thick dark hair spread around her. He reached down to her in the unconscious search of confirmation. At his urging, she raised her face.
Like a crack of light that struck him, his blood raced a bizarre speed. It pulsed against his temples while she stared at him with large hazel eyes that begged to please.
Hazel… Mars began to chase his breaths. When her hand eased beneath his breeches, he thrashed from reclining and startled the girls. They stared as he desperately shook his head to an almost snapping neck and rose to his feet, not without bucking a knee at least twice. He trod through sprawled bodies which were either passed out or busily positioned with their pleasures— mouths on mouths, on swollen cunts and cocks, or reddened buttocks. Hands continued to reach out for him, men, women, horned creatures, calling him, kissing him throwing themselves over him. Though lost in direction, he walked and walked only to eject himself off that suffocating place, windpipe throttling and head pounding like hell.
His adrenaline was definitely running wild and muscles tingling. If he cannot release into a crazed motion he feels he might explode.
By then he began scampering. Three weeks ago saw every bone in his body crushed by some freak reptile, and he was warned against exerting too much but the wind on his face served comfort. Thus in those wee hours when the moon was still full, he sprinted from gate to gate and garden to garden regardless of whose territory, ran up serpentine stairs and on occasion jumped from roofs and private balconies only to satisfy the maddening rush in his body without having to possibly father a bastard. But a voice in a corner mocked— was that the reason really?
Mars gnarled, squeezing his eyes shut. Enyalius was right about that blade because right now he wanted to hack at anything, even the air if it went down to it. His body was burning. He could literally feel his guts boil, guts and groin to be exact. Just what in this deranged universe did Dionysus do to him?
Or was it because the whore's eyes weren't gra—
"FUCK!"
The walls nearby could have crumbled if he were on human soil. He pressed the heels of his palms on his own eyes and harshly rubbed, before whimpering a repetition of curses as he walked back and forth. One of his fists landed on the pillar beside him.
"Isn't it too early to have a ruined day?"
Mars opened an eye to the presence not far, to pale Athena, cloaked in a decent, albeit oversized, robe; arms around herself and peering at him curiously. Moonlight fell to only a side of hers but the floral patterns in the nightgown sparkled. The Roman's face fell.
"Dozen— fucking— hells," Mars groaned, rolled his eyes and pressed his forehead on the cool pillar, "Great. Great. Now I even see shit." He mumbled more indecipherable sentences, thinking he only needed to stay this way for next few seconds, and this infuriating high would ebb. And then he could flay Enyalius for warning him too late.
Opening his eyes again he saw the apparition in exactly the same place, blinking at him and mayhaps hiding her horrified reaction well. They settled in a staring match for the next minute, and little by little Mars' world began to piss itself. He straightened and squinted at her— "Athena…? Is that– is that you?"
The Queen pursed her lips. "Well I… uh, do feel like shit, so perhaps yes?"
Hail Jupiter's cock. Mars froze. Just why can't the ground swallow him and be done with it? Looking around, he recognized the back of this pavilion, the familiar row of columns, shades of gold and blue tiles. A queen's quarters.
He sighed, color rising to his already warm face.
"I– I'm… sorry Athena– er, Queen," he pressed the bridge of his nose, refusing to meet her eyes… those gray eyes which are currently reflecting the moon's disc, those gray eyes… indeed. "I didn't mean to land here. It was idiotic of me, so if you'd please excuse me–"
"There's a fountain in the front gardens," Athena was half-smiling and ready to lead the way, "Water. It helps soothe the wine's magic."
Mars blinked speedily to allow a quicker process of her words, "What— how did you know…"
The Queen purposely tilted her gaze at the pillar beside him, letting him see the deep cracks which reached the ceiling, unconsciously made by his fist. He fretted even worse and Athena chuckled, "Let's say I've lived with Dionysus long enough to know. This makes it even easier to pick out who had just consumed his… sorcery… well, for the first time." Because he looked like a shipwreck, if she wanted to be exact. Clothes unruly, soaked in sweat, and desperate to rid of whatever torture-conjuring ingredient her little brother had given.
Mars's hands plunged into the water and he hungrily lapped whatever they could contain. He dunked his head in next, the force threatening to break the fountain itself. Water violently sloshed off the edges and sent fireflies afloat from the lawngrass. A comforted groan escaped his lips as he whipped his head up and shook, water whisking from the edges of his hair. He squeezed droplets from his face and it flowed down his undershirt to pool around his boots. As the wet cloth stuck beneath his shoulders, Athena faintly smiled seeing red marks surface from his neck to chest. Mars shifted away upon noticing her attention.
"The maenads scared you off?" she teased. But why wouldn't they? This was Mars, famed foreign dreamboat, head turner. The horde would have itched to get their hands on him and now sent the poor thing scrambling with his sanity merely intact. "I'm sorry. You must've been left alone. I'll talk to Hermes next to keep an eye on such affairs especially with the satyrs are loose. Those parties could really get… wild."
Mars shivered, but surely not from the earlier intimacies. The more important questions had carelessly slipped off his mind and he was glad to change the topic. "And you?" he asked, combing back his hair with his fingers, "What were you out here for?"
"Air," Athena slowly rolled her shoulders and Mars turned away from seeing even that littlest inch of skin in her nape. "Grown sick of the cramps. Thought it must have been the sitting all day. So there I was before hearing someone cursing the air so passionately."
Mars scoffed in disguise of his embarrassment. Athena went on, however, "But truly, what could have happened back there that disturbed you so? I need to know, you are a guest and—"
No you don't. "It's alright. I am fine. I'm fine. Nothing that requires attention, really. Just that I–" A film of night clouds unveiled more of the sky around them. And gods did his words easily vanish. For she was suddenly one with the moonlight, fireflies drifting about her, the breeze creating halos with loose strands of her hair. He said this before and he will say it again. There would never be words to paint Athena. In his mind, she is war as she is peace. It was breathtaking as it was heartbreaking, and in that very moment he wished, how he wished…
she was his.
"Mars…"
He awakened to her worried voice, and only then felt the salt and warmth in the brims of his eyes.
"Mars are you…" Athena gasped, stepping close, "Crying?"
He stepped back from her approach, afraid of his own self-distrust. "No," he whispered, wiping his cheek with the back of his hand, mixing the tears with the fountain water that remained there. "The wine," he chuckled to mask the breaking voice, "...a lingering effect, is all."
It cleared the worry on her face, to his relief. Athena held her belly and faintly grinned. "Dionysus," she sighed, "he is a master of his art, a dangerous one, to be accurate. There's more to his blight self than meets the eye, and by 'more' I meant… a winner of his own games. And I love him, nonetheless."
Mars nodded to convey he understood, and out of nowhere— "I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry, Athena," his jaws hurt from but a few sad words, "I know you've no plans to talk about what happened, how I've placed you in danger that day–"
"Mars—"
"And what you've heard that night," he turned to the fountain before them, "was unforgivable." They watched water spurt from the mouth of a marble dolphin which appeared to twist around a magnificent copy of Poseidon's trident. "I heard of your… confinement. Know I tried to get through to talk to you but—"
There are beasts outside my door. Athena played with her thumbs. She thought of those weeks and guilt had sprouted as she had not the time to think of how Mars must be doing, as she was busy waiting for her husband to swing by her isolation.
"I'm sorry. I truly am," Mars faced her though with eyes downcast, "And I promise to never speak of this again, to you and to anyone else."
They let the trickling water fill the vacant stillness. The pouring from a distant rain cloud over some city, the toads and crickets, the shuffling of leaves in the canopy as breeze wafted past them. "It will pass," said Athena, "Like a phase. I understand back home, you have been through a recent… rejection." Idiot. She almost bit her tongue. She was never the best run-to with matters of the heart, and certainly not with ones who had just confessed to her, in front of her husband, nonetheless. Their gazes met and he was both warmed and marred by the innocence hers held.
And what would you know about its passing? He wanted to ask her, when it seemed half of Olympus wanted her for themselves despite her marriage to the god most adored as equally despised. And yet she remained untarnished by a lover's touch. So what would she know about it, the quelling of an infatuation before it hardens to fervor?
Despite his thoughts, Mars smiled. Pretensions were easier after all.
"Minerva," he sighed, "Her name is Minerva. Apparently she developed… well, other priorities. And how could I have complained? She learned to live her life without me. I wasn't always home after all. She gave me a warhorse. A decade from battling, I gave her a ring. Only to leave again for Greece."
I've lived my life around Ares, this time it was Athena's thoughts that went dense, and we had been the worst.
"Word on the street is she's quite an eyeful," the Queen prodded.
"If that street is named Nike, you shouldn't be too gullible," he protested, "that girl should learn to meter down her appreciation on literally everything, you know. I've tested her, gave her an awful orange and she comes around saying it was one of the best tasting stuff." That alone drew laughter from Athena. "You must really miss her," he continued as her chuckling faded, immediately regretting as her expression turned wistful. How could he have easily forgotten she had just lost a ward during the drakon's siege.
The unintentional reference to Eirene made Athena recall why she'd been out here just moments before hearing the curses from the back of the building. She was dreaming of the girl, and in that dream they were back to that damned mountain where ash and sulfur filled the air. But in the dream they were reversed. Eirene held her Queen to her scrawny chest, her tears falling unto Athena's face as she laid limp in her ward's arms. I'm alright, she was telling the girl, I'm not hurt, love. But Eirene could not hear her. And in an instant the mountain disappeared and they now lie in a pool of viscous, steaming blood. Athena had woken before she'd even felt horrified in the dream, all the more making it visceral as her belly hardened and stung.
From the balcony, she could pick out the muffled drumbeats which were surely coming from Dionysus' reception from the other side of the mountain. She drank her tea, and walked over Eunomea and Dike snoring softly over scrolls and feather pillows, blanketing them before moving past the double doors to catch a few whiffs of cool breeze.
"Athena?"
The Queen could not recall how Mars had suddenly appeared close. He held her by the elbow.
"Are you alright? You turned pale," he inquired. Athena shook her head to awaken herself further. Her legs felt like giving away. She must have stood so long.
"I— I'm going back," she forced a smile and fanned herself, "The girls might wonder where I am; I wouldn't want to cause such worry. Rest well, Mars, I'll see you on the morrow." Athena turned her back to him even before catching his response and how his eyes slowly swept down her as she dragged her legs.
"A-Athena… no. No-no-no-no…"
The Queen glanced to where she made a few heavy strides, back to Mars who was staring at the ground and bearing an expression worse than when she found him… to the trail of blood smeared by the hem of her robe, sullying the grass and stone tiles with ugly lines of crimson.
Oh. Athena drowsily blinked, already floating between truth and nightmare, wanting to humor Mars with his own words which were cleaving through her evanescing consciousness. He would laugh at it, she knew. He loved to laugh at witty jokes where she's truly horrible at such. So Mars, she would've have said before the black spots fluttered over her vision, her body hit the cold floor while her head landed to what seemed like the palm of a hand—
…you must be seeing real shit now.
A/N: Hope all is okay with you (prior to reading this chapter, at least). The next chapter is last for Part II. Thank you so much for sticking to this point. I have had the pleasure of responding to your reviews on the reviews section itself.
About Enyalius - Thank you to those who are noticing him. This is unexpected because he's meant to be a minor character but with the good reception he's having (along being on the list of the shipping spree lmao!), I'll do my best to give him as much scenes and roles as I can without having to change major turns in the story.
By the way, I post some fanfic stuff on Tumblr (athenaresfiction). I also tend be more active there by sharing previews for incoming chapters and related stuff, and may be able to answer you directly through the asks. :)
See you soon! I'll do my best to type a few sentences as much as I can. Still into my dissertation which I can hopefully pass by next year.
