Marlene sighed as she looked out the window. Growing up living under Zeus' palace had seemed normal enough as a child, but as Marlene grew to adulthood, she had come to realize how strange the experience really was. Marlene was surrounded by the gods of her world, and her perception of them had been shaped by her mother's. Zeus may have thought he was in charge, but no one went against Fate. The power of the gods was definitely great, but Marlene knew her mother always had the final word. It was rather odd to encounter Zeus after her mother had overruled him. He reminded Marlene of a sulking child on those occasions. So where most mortals cowered, Marlene looked on with a bit more realism. She was Moira's daughter and no mortal or god crossed Fate, or Fate's daughter for that matter.
That was part of what made her father's suggestion so difficult. Marlene genuinely loved who she was. The echo of the future was frustrating at times, but it also brought her so much joy. And being able to speak with her mother in that moment just ahead of now was so much easier than speaking. It was clearer and conveyed so much more than any language could ever hope to. She loved the little blessings of Fortune she could impart. And there seemed to Marlene a sense of compassion in her ability to curse. It gave a person a chance to change, her curses were a warning of what her mother could inflict permanently. But most of all, those powers felt as much a part of her as her right hand did. Marlene could not imagine her life without them. If only her mother would give her some insight into her destiny, some hint as to what she should do.
Marlene chuckled and looked up as her mother appeared in her chair. Her timing was always perfect.
"You are needed." Her mother's voice sounded.
"For?"
"You are aware of the conflict between Athens and Minos; it is time for it to end."
Marlene sighed. The conflict was ridiculous in her opinion, and Zeus was no help, egging on his halfling son, Minos, the King of Crete. Minos' heir, Andrgeous, had died in Athens, and no one besides her mother really knew what happened. But that didn't stop Zeus from sweeping in and inflicting a tax along with a yearly sacrifice of fourteen Athenian youths, feeding them to the Minotaur that lived in a maze under King Minos' palace.
"What is my role?"
"To undermine the Minotaur."
Marlene stared at her mother, "Excuse me?" She said aloud.
"It is required of you."
"Is this my destiny? To die at the hands of the Minotaur?"
"I love you, Marlene, I do not wish to send you to your death."
"So I kill the beast?" Marlene was incredulous.
"You must find your destiny, and you can not run from it."
"You're avoiding the question!" Marlene frustratedly switched back to speaking aloud. "You know I could say no? I could choose to be human and marry Giannis and be done with this!"
"I never said that you couldn't," Her mother nodded. "And do not pretend that choice is as easy as you claim. Are you willing to gamble your happiness?"
"Why should I care what happens between Athens and Crete?" Marlene sidestepped the question. She knew her mother was right, her happiness was as tied up in her powers as her isolation was. "It's not as though I'm involved!"
"You are not without compassion, I have raised you better." Moira sighed, her blue eyes holding Marlene's.
"Marlene, I am asking you to trust me."
"I'm your daughter, your only child," Marlene pleaded. "Can you not give me more than the cryptic ramblings reserved for the masses?"
Moira stood and a cloak appeared in her hands. "No man or beast may remove this cloak from you. It is a tapestry that I wove for you. It holds within it the key to your destiny."
Marlene stared at her mother as she took the cloak with trembling hands. With a deep breath, she unfurled the cloak and her heart fell at what she saw.
"It is blank, Mother."
Moira nodded, "It will reveal itself to you at the proper time."
Marlene sighed as she looked with disappointment at the cloak. She didn't want to do this, she wasn't a hero, she was the daughter of Fate. She wasn't Athena's daughter. What hope did she have against the Minotaur? But her mother had just given her what appeared to be an advantage. Perhaps her destiny was simply to start the process? Perhaps that's what her mother meant with her plea to trust her? Marlene sighed.
"When do I leave?"
Moira smiled, "Tomorrow. I will arrange for you to ride with Helios as he pulls the Sun south toward Athens."
Marlene wrapped the soft cloak around her shoulders. "I better say goodbye to Father. I'll be back by sunset."
Moira stepped forward and wrapped Marlene in a tight hug. "Please never doubt that I love you." She whispered aloud.
Marlene bit back the threatening tears and nodded. "I love you too, Mother."
"I don't like it, Marlene." Vassilis shook his head. "Your mother has no business putting you in such danger."
"Father, she asked me to trust her." Marlene pressed her palm to her forehead. "I don't think I'm going to my death, I don't think Mother would do that."
"Marlene, I don't want you going. You have an escape right here." He took her hand from across the table. "Choose to be human. Marry Giannis. Make your life easier."
Marlene sighed, "I don't know, Father."
"Marlene, please. I know what it's like to be in an unequal relationship. I loved your mother, and we tried to make it work, but it was too hard. It was too uneven. Remove that lodestone from your shoulders and allow your life some happiness."
"Did Mother tell you?" Marlene looked out the window. "Did she tell you your relationship wasn't going to last?"
Vassilis sighed, "She didn't. And I like to think it was because she did love me. I like to think she wanted to be wrong." He shook his head and ran a hand over his face. "Save yourself from your powers, Marlene. Give them up for your peace of mind. Give them up in exchange for a simpler life. A life where your foresight doesn't haunt you. A life where you can have an equal partner."
"You never found another companion," Marlene held her father's gaze.
Vassilis swallowed hard, "It was doomed from the start, but I have never found anyone who could compare to your mother. I take comfort that she hasn't moved on either." He shook his head. "Avoid our heartache, Marlene. Become human, marry an equal, and be happy."
Marlene looked down at her hands. "I'm going to at least start this."
Vassilis heaved a great sigh and hung his head. Then he stood and retrieved a bag from under a brick in the floor. "This is everything I have; combined with your mother's name it should be enough to bribe your way out and pay passage on a ship back home." He pressed the bag into her hands. "Come home to me, daughter, you are all I have left."
Marlene stood and tightly embraced her father, "I promise!" She choked back tears. "I promise I will return!"
He held her tightly before insisting that he walk her back to Mt. Olympus. Moira stood outside Zeus' palace, her black hair blowing like a banner behind her, her blue eyes glowing in the twilight.
"Vassilis," she smiled at Marlene's father. "It's good to see you."
"Moira," he returned her smile. "Have you been well?"
"As well as Fate allows," she nodded.
Vassilis took a deep breath, "Will she come home to us?"
"Changed, in ways that will be hard to accept," Moira answered cryptically.
Vassilis blanched, "Moira, she's all I have left."
And then much to Marlene's surprise, her mother took the two strides that separated them and hugged her father tightly. Vassilis instantly pulled her into him, and for a moment, Marlene saw what could have been. What sort of life she might have had if her father hadn't been human or her mother the Woman of Fate. And she realized her father had a point. Marlene did not want to live a tragic love story. She wanted a chance at happiness, a chance to love and be loved, a chance at what her parents could not have.
They pulled apart after a moment and Marlene could tell words had passed between them. But her father pulled her to him and held her close. "I love you, Marlene. With all my heart I love you."
Marlene swallowed hard, "I love you too, Father. And I promise I'll come back."
Vassilis gave her one final squeeze before releasing her. "Get some rest," he sighed, "and come home soon."
Marlene nodded and after a kiss upon her forehead, and one final longing look at her mother, Vassilis turned and headed back to Dion. Marlene watched him go until he was out of sight.
When Marlene turned to her mother, there were unshed tears standing in her eyes.
"It is a lonely work," she sighed and took Marlene's hand in hers before starting for their home.