Chapter Twenty-Eight

What Dreams May Come

Thankfully, the dream did not return and when I fell asleep in Ariston's embrace, it was a dreamless sleep. I awakened in his arms as I have so many times before; there was that strange sense that I had only been asleep for minutes, and the dream was still fresh in my thoughts.

"Good morning, beautiful." Ariston said softly.

I smiled and looked up into his eyes, he gently pushed back a few strands of hair, which had fallen onto my face. I just looked at him for a time.

"Must you attend your duties today?" I asked. He caressed my cheek and nodded.

"Yes. I took a week off to be with you and soon I will be taking a few more days off to go with you to visit your parents. I have to make up for those days." He explained. "I will not always have to work so much. Soon I will have days off to spend with you." He told me with a smile. I smiled, but that was not what was bothering me. Ariston felt my emotions. "It was only a dream." He said again, and that hint of doubt still remained.

"Then why don't I believe you when you say that?" I asked him. "You told me that the Moirae sent me the dream that told me to tell you that I love you." Tears prickled in my eyes. "What if they sent this one as well? What if it is a warning?"

"I would never leave you." He said, sincerity in his voice. "You must know that."

"That was not what the dream was about." I said around the lump in my throat. "It was not your choice to leave me. You were taken from me by something or someone powerful enough to keep you from me." A realization came into his eyes.

"You think it is the Nameless One." He stated.

"What if he is planning to use you to get to me?" I asked Ariston, fear filling me. I finally understood how he felt about the thought of losing me. "If he knows how much I love you then he knows that I would go to the ends of the earth and beyond to find you."

Ariston's face changed from a gentle look to worry; I could feel the fear within him. Fear for me. He looked into my eyes seriously and spoke each word slowly with this newfound fear.

"Mera, listen to me." Ariston begged. "If that is so, if something like that should happen, you must promise me that you will not come after me." I knew he would say that, but at the same time I could hardly believe it. How can you ask that of me?

"No, I will not promise you that!" I said, sitting up and taking his hand in mine while looking down at the god I love. "Would you promise me the same if this were reversed?"

"That is different." Ariston said.

"How so?" I asked. He sat up so we were at eye level.

"I am a god, I can protect myself. You are a Descendant who has had no more than dream training and barely has a handle on her abilities. Those Shadows you witnessed me fighting the night I brought forth the storm were only scouts, they are nothing compared to what is out there." I could see this grave knowledge within his eyes. "For generations, I have watched your family be massacred. Do not make me do the same with the woman I love. It is true that you are the most promising Descendant we have ever seen, and I have no doubt that you will far exceed our expectations… but going after me could get you killed."

I felt how that tormented him, his fear of losing me was a constant nagging, eating away at him. And still, all I could think was how can you ask that of me? I placed my hand on his cheek.

"Ariston, a life without you is not a life at all; that in itself is a death sentence." I told him, my voice filled with the sadness I felt at the thought. How can he not understand? "I will not promise that if you disappear that I will not come after you. I cannot."

He sighed and closed his eyes; he knew I would give no way on this. He opened his eyes and placed his hands on my shoulders gently.

"Then promise me that you will not come alone, that you will bring those of my family who will join you, that you will do everything to stay safe." Ariston begged. I smiled, caressing his cheek as I nodded.

"Now that I will do." I said. He released a sigh.

"Thank you." He said and kissed me; I relished his lips as always, and fear our moments together were numbered made them all the more desperately sweet. My love smiled in that moment, after our kisses ended. "You get your stubbornness from my father by the way." I laughed with what humor I could muster.

"That makes two of us." I told him. He laughed and looked into my eyes, shaking his head.

"I love you, my Mera. Nothing will ever change that." He promised.

"I know, my love. I love you with all my soul." I told him. Looking into his eyes made my bite my lip. "How long until you must go?" I asked.

"I can spare an hour." He said with that smile.

I smiled, my fingers tangling themselves in his curls as we kissed and his arms wrapped around me to bring me closer…

We made that hour count, and took a quick shower in the waterfall in our bathroom before having a quick breakfast; I am still amazed how much he can get done at high speeds.

"Is Ennina on duty today?" I asked Ariston.

"She is not." He answered.

"Do you think she would mind if I paid her a visit? I would like to get to know her." I told him. His face took on a look of concentration, telepathy I knew. He smiled.

"She says she and her husband would be honored to have you to their home and to call her when you are ready." He replied. I smiled.

"Thank you." I said. I was still uneasy about being away from him but I knew he had his duties. We rose from the table and embraced.

"Why don't we go shopping later?" Ariston offered.

"More clothing?" I asked with a laugh.

"Your closet is rather empty… but I was thinking more along the lines of furniture and things for our kitchen and the like." He said.

"I would love to." I told him.

We kissed farewell and he disappeared in golden light. I took a deep breath to steady myself. Gods protect him and return him to me, I prayed.

I went into my massive closet, picking out the first thing I could find. I had far too much on my mind to be picky. I chose a teal ancient Greek style dress of soft pleated cloud silk. It was embroidered with vines under the bust and up the V-neck. Brooches of carved ivory held the dress together at the shoulders. I slipped on the dress then went to look for shoes. I also put on the first pair I laid eyes on, a beautiful pair of ivory colored sandals. I ended up slipping on a ring with a large round sapphire in the center. I brushed my hair and looked at myself in the mirror to make sure I was presentable before going to the living room.

"Ennina." I called her name.

A few moments later the goddess stood before me. She wore an off the shoulder, royal blue colored gown of soft cloud silk/satin, the blue of the cloth brought out the brilliant blue of her eyes. The gown fit her like a glove at the bodice and hips and softly flowed down to the floor from there, it showed off her slim hourglass figure beautifully. The gown had no beading, no embroidery; it was beautiful in its simplicity. A golden pendant hung around her neck on a golden chain, it depicted a tree and the words "Honor Family Duty" were at the top in the language of the gods. On her ring finger was a beautiful large rose pink diamond engagement ring; the casting climbed up the diamonds sides in vines of blue gold; it was stunning. Her wedding band was hidden beneath the massive stone.

I curtsied as was appropriate to show my respect and she noticed at once the dark and fearful mood I was in, her eyes registering what she saw as she gave me a kind smile, holding her hands out a she walked towards me.

"Hello, Mera." She greeted with a warm smile. I smiled as best I could and took her hands.

"Hello, grandmother." I greeted her, then we kissed the others cheek.

"Lets go to my home and we can talk about what troubles you." She told me, I nodded still holding onto her hands as tears filled my eyes. Tears I told myself I would not cry.

I kept myself breathing when the very action seemed impossible.

Ennina became golden light, which then engulfed me, and moments later we arrived. I looked around in wonder at the mountain we were on. To my right was a great stone banister that lined the edge of a cliff that dropped a few thousand feet down. Beyond the forest below I turned to the sea, if I looked to the left there was a mountain that went around then sloped down into the sea. The ocean sparkled a beautiful blue that almost matched the blue sky, and beyond the island we were on there was no land to be seen, just open sea. It was spectacular.

When I turned around the first thing I saw was a palace made of stone that glimmered in the light. There were numerous balconies jutting out from the palace, brightly colored potted flowers hung on the railings. And just then, Cronus rose from between the rows of elegant flowers, his back towards us. He wore dark blue relaxed fit jeans and was tempting fate with the ivory cotton button down he paired it with. The sleeves were rolled up just beneath his elbows; the fabric messed with dirt.

Cronus turned around as he brushed the fertile earth from his hands. He smiled to me as he met my eyes before his attention turned to his wife. The front of his shirt was marked with the tool of his trade. He looked every bit the nature god and son of Gaia he is.

His attention was fully on his wife as he walked up and lovingly kissed her lips. I was in my own place as he greeted me, leading his wife and I to a beautiful little meadow with two curved benches in a half circle. The tall trees partly shaded the little the place but the sunlight shone through still.

"I love the air here, it is so fresh and sweet." I said.

"It is a shame how the mortals have polluted their air; it used to smell like this on Earth as well." She said wistfully.

"I truly wish it would return… grandmother." I told her, hesitating slightly since she appears barely a decade older than myself.

"When we are not at court, you may call us by our names if you wish." Ennina said.

"Thank you, I shall. I must admit that it is a bit odd calling someone grandmother whom does not look anywhere near the age of one." I told her.

She laughed.

"The gift of immortality my dear, I do not look a day over five hundred do I." She said and we all laughed. "Would you like to have a seat?"

"Yes, thank you." I said. I sat on one bench and they sat on the other.

"So you are where the delicious fruit comes from." I said to Cronus. He laughed.

"Indeed I am. I hear from Ariston that you two are soon to be engaged?" Cronus asked with a smile. I smiled and nodded.

"We are," I told him, then looked between them and spoke with apology in my voice. "I apologize, but the reason I called upon you is of the utmost importance and I do not think I can stand another moment of normal conversation." His face took on his own apology.

"Forgive me," He said. "My excitement at seeing my brother truly happy after this grieving he has endured has overwhelmed me."

"And that same happiness will be at stake if what I fear comes to pass." I told him, desperation rising up within my voice.

"Tell us." Cronus said at once, and I explained the dream and the fears I face.

Husband and wife shared a quick glance at each other, before turning to me and with grave knowledge in their eyes. Thankfully, they did not take this lightly.

"Have you told Ariston of this?" Cronus asked, looking back to me.

"I have. He tried to make me promise that I would not come after him if that were to happen." I shook my head. "As if I could promise such a thing. I do not know what is to come, but everything in me tells me that I must be ready. Is this possible?" I asked them, fearing the answer. "Is the Nameless One going to come after me by kidnapping Ariston?"

"He will do everything in his power to keep you from those who seek to protect you from him." Ennina replied, as fear ran cold within me.

Mera, what is wrong? Ariston spoke into my mind.

I am safe. I will explain everything when I see you, I promised. I love you.

I love you, my love, He replied.

I looked back to Ennina.

"You are the goddess of war." I said.

"The goddess of defensive warfare, yes." Ennina said, nodding.

"I need your help. I have to know how to destroy a Shadow." I said.

"The only way to destroy darkness," Ennina began.

"Is with light." I said softly, looking down at my hands, wondering about the power within me. "I know that much, but what I need to know is how."

Ennina nodded her head in understanding then looked at her husband; I knew they were conversing. They looked back to me a moment later.

"The captains in the army will be able to teach you how to fight, and fight well, but they are Descendants or Demigods, not Immortals. They know little of our abilities." Ennina said to me. "Since you share some of my brothers abilities, you need someone to school you in them. Has my brother trained you at all?" She asked. I blushed.

"Some, but we become… easily distracted, so the lessons never seem to last long." I admitted. Not in that felid at least… I shook my head to clear those kinds of thoughts from my mind. Ennina and Cronus both smiled a knowing smile and glanced at each other.

"I know how that can be." Ennina said, her face taking on a golden blush. "If you wish, Cronus and I will train you on the days we have no duties, and on the other days you may train with your unit when you join the army." She offered.

"Truly?" I asked. They nodded. "I would be honored to be trained by you both."

"You should practice with Ariston as well." Cronus suggested.
If you can focus while fighting him then focus will not be a problem." I nodded, understanding exactly what he means. "We are going to do everything we can to keep Ariston safe, and you as well." He promised. I nodded and felt more at ease by the sincerity in his words and eyes.

"Thank you, both of you." I thanked them.

"Would you like to see my orchards? Next to my wife and family they are my pride and joy." Cronus asked.

"I would like that." I said with a smile, feeling more relaxed. We rose and I walked beside Cronus as Ennina walked on his other side, Cronus' arm wrapped securely around her. They reminded me of Ariston and I; they are always touching, for it is as natural as breathing.

"May I ask now when the wedding will be?" Cronus asked. I laughed and nodded.

"There is no official date as of yet, but we are planning for April. Ariston wants to have my father's permission before we make it official. He is going to ask him when we go out to visit my parents for my birthday." I told him.

"You are worried." Cronus stated.

"Is it that obvious?" I asked. He nodded. "I am worried about what my father will think of me getting married at such a young age. Seventeen is hardly normal; even eighteen is very young today." Ennina nodded.

"When I was your age I was married and chasing my daughter Nike around." It was easy to see Ennina's love for her eldest daughter. "It could not be much worse than when father found out about Cronus and I." Ennina assured me/

"How did that happen?" I asked, wondering about their story.

"You cannot feel it yet," She began. "But once you are out of that vessel you will sense it. Everyone and thing has an essence. The essence of Gods is even stronger than that of a mortal. When gods who are soul mates make love for the first time, their essences mix, binding them together. It is easy to feel." She shook her head, her eyes far away.

"As soon as we walked into the throne room that day, my father knew what had happened." Ennina said. "He roared and thunder shook the ground. He felt that he was not only betrayed by his closest friend, but by his own ichor, by his own daughter." Ennina looked to me. "It had nothing to do with the fact that Cronus is older than I am, it was that Cronus was married at the time and I was betrothed to another when we fell in love."

"Love has always had strange timing." Cronus agreed as he smiled to his wife, kissing her lips.

Ariston had not told me that part of their story. She does have two daughters with the Norse King Thor as I recall. After a deep breath, my thoughts returned to my own life.

"My father was over protective when I was dating Aaron… if he finds out what Ariston and I have been up to he is going to kill him." I said. Ennina and Cronus laughed and I blushed.

"At least your father does not have armed gods waiting to pull you apart." Ennina comforted with a smile.

"No, however he does have friends with Winchesters." I commented. She and Cronus laughed again, and I cracked up at the reference I made, not able to help the next words out of my mouth. "I understood that reference."

"You watch too much Supernatural." Ennina stated.

"No such thing." I replied. "Except for the way they portray the gods, the show is epic."

"True." She replied. "I never did much care for the taste of human flesh." I stopped laughing and stared at her, knowing she was not making a joke.

"Tantalus' feast." She said with distain, turning her nose up. "We made sure you never knew true hunger or thirst, therefor you cannot truly understand the brilliance of the punishment Hades' devised."


Cronus' point of view

"You cannot tell her; you know this." My wife reminded me. I ran my hand through my hair in frustration. "We have kept him away from her for eight centuries because she had not known."

"A part of her always knows." I said. "Realization simply takes time. He will tear her life apart if he gets the chance. We must keep that from happening."


Mera's point of view

I spent the rest of the day with Cronus and Ennina. They are amazing. They have this wonderful warmth and kindness about them. It is amazing to see how in love they truly are, even after being married for thousands upon thousands of years. It is clear to see in the way they look at each other; I could almost see the sparks fly when their eyes met. I have no doubt that Ariston and I will be like that, the kind of couple everyone else looks up to and tries to emulate.

Ennina sent me home two hours after noon. I went to Ariston and I's bedroom to put my shoes away in our closet. I found there was this wonderful scent wafting into my nostrils; it stopped me in my tracks, breathing in the heavenly aroma. I followed it through our home, and into our master bath and found Ariston sitting with his eyes closed in the huge steaming bathing pool, that was about 15' by 25' in size. Flowers and flower petals floated in the water, which was where the relaxing scent was born. Ariston opened his tired eyes and shared with me a smile.

"Join me?" He asked, holding an outstretched hand towards me.

He was having a rough day, for I could tell he did not make this bath for me. Truth be told, the range of emotions he went through scared me as much as mine scared him this afternoon; he would only tell me that we would discuss it once we saw each other, and that it had nothing to do with me.

I did not want to bring it up right away. He needed to just be with me first before we spoke of such disturbing matters. I smiled and stripped down, diving into the pool; the water was wonderfully warm. The water got as deep at 8' in some places, I came up and swam towards him where he sat on a built-in bench in the water and sat on his lap. He caressed my cheek as our eyes embraced.

He felt exhausted, a mental exhaustion that went throughout his whole being, but there was also a sense of relief and I knew beyond a doubt it was from my presence. I leaned in and placed a sweet, lingering kiss on his lips.

"Long day?" I asked and he gave a shaky sigh; I leaned in to rest his forehead to mine.

"You have no idea." He said. I smiled.

"Move forward." I said, he gave me a slightly confused look but did as I asked.

I climbed behind him and sat with my torso flush against his back, my legs next to his as I sat on my knees in the chest level water.

I tried to give him a massage, but his muscles did not move. I was going to stop, but I felt how it relaxed him and so I continued. His head leaned back against me, his hand resting on my leg as a moan of relaxation left his lips.

"Tell me about your day." I said. He looked back at me.

"You do not want to hear such things, my love." He said, his voice heavy.

"I do. I want you to share everything with me; the good and the bad. Were you not the one whom said you do not want there to be secrets between us?" I asked.

He sighed and nodded. I felt the heaviness within him as he began,

"There was a woman, a mother of three." He started. "She has had a Shadow within her for some time now. She was strong, she was fighting it and so we focused at others whom are possessed to help them work through it. I decided to check on her today as I do now and again." He put his hand to his head and pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed heavily. "Her two eldest children were already dead by the time I arrived, and she had the knife at her infants neck. The Shadow had taken over and driven her mad and because of that asshole of a husband she had, it was able to do so. Thankfully I was able to save the infant… but as soon as I got the babe out of her arms, she slit her own throat."

I was speechless and horrified. How could anyone do that to their own children?

"I should have watched her more carefully, I should have stopped her. The problem is that there are not nearly enough gods, and the mortals are growing in numbers faster than we are." I felt the guilt within him. "At least the baby is safe and her other children are now in Elysium."

I wrapped my arms around him and held him close, he placed his hand on my arms. I kissed his cheek.

"You did not know that she would do that." I said.

"I am a god. I should have known." He said.

"It was a mistake, my love, you must forgive yourself. You cannot live in guilt, it will tare you apart." I said.

"These are the kind of things I do not want you to see. What I saw today is nothing compared to the things the mortals are capable of, and not to mention the Shadows." He said.

"I do not want to see those kinds of things." I admitted, Ariston looked back at me, his eyes hopeful. "But I must and will do my part to end the tyranny of the Shadows and their master." He sighed and rested his head against my shoulder and I began rubbing his shoulders.

"How was your day with Ennina and Cronus?" He asked a few minutes later. I smiled.

"It was great, I learned so much." I told him. "Did you know that Ennina was the one whom made the apple drop on Sir Isaac Newton's head?" He laughed a little at that.

"Yes, I did." He said. "I am thankful you are more at peace; what did they tell you?" Knowing what we had spoken of.

"That it is possible, while reminding me that I am strong enough to fight it. Ennina and Cronus will train me on the days they have off. I will also join the army and learn what I can from them as well." I told him.

He nodded, understanding it was a moot point to try and argue with me. I rubbed his arms and chest before returning to his shoulders; he relaxed more as I did so.

"I honestly do not know what I did without you." Ariston admitted. I smiled and kissed his cheek.

"I know how you feel." I told him. "We do not have to go to the Agora today if you wish to stay in and rest." He looked at me with a smile.

"No, I made you a promise. And besides, we could use a working kitchen and furniture to sit on. We cannot live in our bed." He said. I laughed.

"Says who?" I asked. He laughed and kissed me.

I smiled and kissed him back. We spent the next hour in the pool just relaxing, my dream and his guilt and worries forgotten for the time.

I put on a beautiful pink, one shouldered dress and a white diamond bracelet and matching earrings. I placed a headband with pink, blue, yellow and white diamonds to keep my hair back.

Ariston wore a simple white suit with a blue button down underneath; I love that kind of shirt on him, yet he can make anything look seductive without trying.

Ariston teleported us to the Agora, then we went into a huge store that had models of many different kinds of rooms about it. There were many other gods and goddesses looking around. One man saw us and came over. He was about a foot shorter than Ariston, with brown hair and hazel eyes.

"My lord." The man said. "Might I speak with you?"

"Of course." Ariston said, then looked to me. "Choose whatever you like, I will be with you soon."

I nodded and kissed him once before walking away. I walked through a kitchen set; it had blue cabinets with stainless steal for hands while the counters were made of a silver marble. Another room was a living room with red walls and dark purple couches and patterned wooden floors.

"May I help you my lady?" I smiled to the woman before me.

"Yes, thank you. My husband-to-be and I are redoing our home." I told her; it was simpler to say my husband-to-be then to say almost engaged or something along those lines.

"How wonderful! I am Aleia." She introduced herself.

"Mera." I introduced myself then looked over to Ariston, he was still taking with that man.

"What room would you like to start with?" She asked.

I too focused on trying to hear what Ariston and that immortal were saying to hear her words. I could not hear the majority of it, however I did catch the words "disappeared", "grateful", "new race" but that was it.

"My lady?" Aliea asked. I turned back to her. "What room would you like start with?"

"The kitchen." I decided. "It needs to be completely redone."

I took the time to work with Ariston and sketch down what we wanted in our home before we left for the Agora. I took out a sketch I had done of it.

"This is what it looks like currently," I took out another drawing and handed it to her. "And we would like for it to look something like this. We want to keep the exposed beams, but that is about it." She took the drawing, looking it over and silently nodding to herself. She met my eyes once again.

"Do you know how you would like the other rooms?" She asked.

I smiled and nodded, opening the sketchbook in my hand. I drew the six bedrooms, and she looked them over, taking a look at a bare room I wanted to start fresh on.

"A nursery perhaps?" She suggested. I smiled and shook my head.

"Not yet." I told her.

I went through the rest of the drawings for the bathrooms and a few other upgrades Ariston and I wanted done to our home, such as adding electricity or the godly equivalent. The dining room would stay the same except for a few changes and the library would stay the same, we both like it the way it is. I made it abundantly clear that the painting of Ariston and his family is to stay in the spot it is currently in.

"How long will this take?" I asked.

"A few hours, a day at most." She quoted.

"For the whole kitchen?" I asked in astonishment. There are couples I have heard of whose relationship barely survived the months long renovation; how can such a feat be accomplished in a day?

"Oh no my lady, a day for the whole house." She assured me. "Once you have what you want in mind, which you clearly do, it is simply a mater of putting it there."

I turned around, feeling Ariston drawing nearer. He was worried about something.

Is everything all right, my love? I thought to him

I will tell you at home, Ariston thought to me.

"Have you chosen the fabrics yet, my love?" He asked with that crooked smile of his as he walked up and put his arm around my shoulders.

"No, I was waiting for you." I replied.

We chose the colors, warm hews for some rooms and cooler shades for the others. Before we left I noticed that Ariston handed something to Aleia and whispered into her ear; she smiled and nodded. I wondered what it was about. We set the renovation date for the following day and went back to our home.

"Who was that man? What did he want?" I asked.

"The man was one of my cousins, Erithious. His niece Numara is out on an assignment and is overdo to check in. It was not a particularly dangerous assignment, simple surveillance, but I promised I would talk to my family about her whereabouts." He said, then sighed. "She would not be the first to disappear, and I fear she may not be the last."

"There is more. You talked with him for half an hour." I said.

"The Nameless One draws closer to his war." Ariston shook his head. "If we win this war, it will mean peace and balance will once again be restored… if we lose, it will mean the end of the human race and millions of gods as well." He paused, gathering his thoughts. "Erithious says that the Nameless One wants to begin a new race, a breed dumber than humans whom will do as he commands without questioning him. They will not cause unrest in any way, shape or form, that way he can be their king without needing to lead them. He wants to take away their free speech and free thought, leaving them with only the ability to move, listen and obey commands. It would be a prison for the souls that would be reborn, those vessels would…"

"It would slowly degrade and destroy the souls until they were no more than the vessels they were carried within." I somehow knew this truth without being told. I also knew that we could not allow this to happen.

"I am worried for the girl." Ariston said. "Shadows have never been known to possess a gentle nature."

"Why not send a search party of gods after her?" I asked.

"Their essences are too strong, the Shadows could either kill the girl or move her before we would have time to get to her. And besides, we cannot risk another god getting infected with a Shadow. One mad man is enough, we cannot handle two." He said.

"Ariston, I could," I began.

"No, I am not sending you in, you are no where near ready." He said firmly. "You did not know this young woman. This fight is everything to her. If she knew of your existence, she would gladly die to keep you safe. If you are going to do this then you must be smart about it and train. You must be prepared long before you ever meet a foe." I nodded. "I am going to do everything I can for her, know that."

I placed my hand on his warm cheek, smiling into his eyes.

"I know that, my love." I told him. "I have no doubt you already are."