Title: "You are my weakness" Chapter 7: "Aphrodite"
Author: too_beauty
Feedback: yes, please any kind of them will help me to improve my writing or leave it forever.
Pairing: Alexander & Hephaestion/ a bunch of gods and goddesses.
Rating: PG
Category: Historical AU so some personages will appear to serve the purpose of this story.
Disclaimer: I don't know the people involved; A&H belonged to themselves and to History, if not Hephaestion would be still among us, living under my "protection".
No beta so all mistakes are mine.
The underworld was normally a quiet place, in fact, very quiet as its inhabitants were dead; so the shouts were easily listened from the very same gates of the House of Death.
A furious Aphrodite, in all her glory, was followed by her faithful husband Hephaestus, limping all the way along the corridor, trying to guess where his beautiful wife was heading for.
- "Calm down, my love, everything will be solved" the ugly god said.
- "Calm down, calm down ?!That stupid old woman cut his thread of life, HIS, Hephaestus, and you, YOU , she said pointing at him, "you forged those scissors!!! " the goddess said.
- "I'm sorry, for the hundredth times, I am sorry, my dear."
- "But HE is my most perfect creation, he is MY Hephaestion, he was born with all the possible virtues and very few defects. Helios lent me some of his sunset rays to create his hair; Poseidon renounced to two of his bluest waves for his amazing eyes; Hera gifted me the most perfect blood red rose of her garden to give him soft red lips; Zeus himself built his spectacular frame; Apollo added his manly beauty and I finally feel his heart with love and life. " she sighed after remembering that amazing moment.
- "I know, my love, I won't forge any other scissors in my life" the poor Hephaestus said with sorrow in his voice.
- "That's fine, come with me, my blind husband, let's find that old woman and see what we can do"
The beautiful goddess arrived to the place where the three Moirai were gathered, they were laughing madly, dressed in their black gowns and their heads covered by dirty black hoods.
"Atropos, what have you done?" Aphrodite asked.
"Aphrodite and Hephaestus, what are you doing down here, visiting our dark home?" she asked
"What am I doing? YOU cut MY Hephaestion's thread of life before his time!! He still has more years to live next to his beloved Alexander." She explained
"How do you now? Are you a seer now?" she asked curiously while her two sisters looked at them in astonishment.
"No, but Zeus gifted me a pond of future."
"A pond of future? What is that? I have never heard of that before." The old woman asked.
"When I was creating Hephaestion, Zeus was on his own creating another man, rival to Achilles in beauty and intelligence, because he missed his golden hero a lot. Zeus was present at Hephaestion's birth as well as the gentle Hera who saw for his easy entrance to the world. When Zeus saw Hephaestion's beauty, he decided that he should be accompanied in life by his finest man, who turned out to be Alexander of Macedon.
With the pond of future, a magic water which I keep in a gold vase, I could follow their lives" the goddess explained.
"But have you seen their future? " Atropos asked.
"I only took a glimpse once, some years ago, Hephaestion was in love with Alexander but he didn't know if he was worth of the prince's love, he offered me a sacrifice and begged me for a quick answer, that night I went to him in his sleep to soothe him, and since then I have looked after their sanity".
"But I can't do anything" Atropos said almost crying.
"We must find the way to bring him back to life because if we don't, our Macedonian Prince will follow him soon and I suppose you don't want to face Queen Olympia's wrath; she will avenge his death and we all will suffer, even though she is a mere mortal ".
"I have an idea" said Clotho, the sister who spanned the threads of life, "let's have a look at the woven of that thread " she said while walking to the secret place where she kept all the threads. After some minutes, she exclaimed:
"Well well well, I found something important, when Zeus was building his frame, he pinched his finger and a drop of his blood entered Hephaestion's body and as our almighty Zeus is immortal, in the case of Hephaestion, this drop will give him his life back but just only once" the moira said.
"Oh! I knew we could find out light to get out of this darkness" the goddess said happily.
In that moment, Hades was walking with a goblet in his right hand but he stopped at seeing the beautiful goddess.
"What are you doing, gorgeous, fed up of the light and your awful husband; oh Hephaestus, you are also here" he said with a smirk.
Aphrodite always had tried to understand why Hades could be so cheerful looking after the underworld.
"You look happier than ever" Aphrodite pointed out.
"Oh, yes, a gorgeous young man is coming soon and I've great plans for him; he is rather unique" he said moving his eyebrows up and down.
"Oh no! leave that goblet, you won't give him that drink" Aphrodite warned him.
"He must drink it so I could erase his memories"
"No, he is coming back to life soon, right in this moment; don't dare to defy me or Hephaestus will not forge you anything else." Aphrodite threatened him.
"That's fine but you haven't told me how you'd do it" Hades said curiously.
"Clotho, tell us how and soon " pleaded the goddess.
"Yes, go back where Hephaestion is lying and ask his family to hug him tightly, the correct embrace will bring him back to life but you have until Helios touches the summit of the mountain; if nothing happens, the opportunity will be lost" she explained.
"How will you transmit this to his family? Hades asked."
"Hypnos can help, he will cover Hephaestion's family with a dreamy atmosphere and I'll speak to them in their dream " and saying that she left running to the light, but first, she kissed her ugly husband and no matter what people said, she loved him.
Everything was as planned, all the family tried but nothing happened. They got desperate, the sun was near the summit when Amyntoros went to the garden and saw a person knelt in the corner of his garden, under Hephaestion's window, crying his eyes out.
The old general realized that he was his son's lover; he looked so broken, so hurt and he felt pity for him; the old man could see that he was also suffering and that he had come to solve things out, according to the doctor's retelling.
"Alexander, get on your feet and come here fast" Amyntoros said in a commanding voice.
"Yes, Sire" the young Prince replied, cleaning his teary face.
"You are allowed to go and hug Hephaestion one last time, but do it well, Alexander, it is your only chance to redeem yourself."
Alexander entered the room but he stood frozen at the door, his beloved Phai was there, still, laying on his bed, his skin was pale , like marble, his lips were slightly pink, but the most shocking image was seeing his bare chest still, without any movement and his eyes, gates to his soul, closed. The prince knelt beside his bed and brushed a tress of his auburn hair which was over his forehead; he caressed his thin cheeks and kissed the cold lips with reverence. Alexander sat on his cot, facing his beloved and put his head over Hephaestion's chest, surrounding his limp body with his strong arms.
"Wake up, my love, don't leave me alone in this darkness" he whispered against his chest.
"You can't do this to me, Phai, you promised we would grow old together" the prince was really getting anxious in his speak.
"You are a liar, you are selfish, you took the quickest solution to this problem" by this time, Alexander was really angry with his dead lover and he was shacking the corpse; but suddenly, pain hit the prince and he hugged his Phai tenderly while whispering:
"I'm so sorry, I love you so much, please come back to me " and he tightened his embrace while whispering like a mantra: I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU …
A deep intake of air crossed the silent chamber while a weak voice whispered:
- "Xander?"