The initiation

Four days later was it time for Aphrodite's official initiation as an Olympian goddess, an event postponed slightly with the consideration for a few gods and goddesses who had been away. Aphrodite spent those days by going over and over again the little speech she had been preparing. Hemera had pointed out that almost every god and goddess of Olympos would be present that night, even those who didn't regularly visit the mountaintop, like Hades, Leto, Nereus and Rhea. It wasn't every day a new god or goddess became initiated, at least not one who was as promising as people seemed to hold Aphrodite for. Eumonia had hinted at Aphrodite's potential to become the ultimate Goddess of Love, therefore the newbie knew she had to make a good impression. She had to get all those powerful Olympians on her side. Because she was going to need them. She was thrilled at what awaited her, and not just a little bit nervous.

*o*o*

The big day dawned sunny, courtesy of the King of the Gods, who sure didn't want it to rain on the parade of his newest recruit. Zeus held large hopes for Aphrodite. Almost half a millennia had passed since he and his closest friends had formed their pantheon on the top of the mount Olympos - and almost from the very start had they been looking for a talented God or a Goddess of Love. Someone to take care of coupling and match making both among gods and mortals. Someone who saw the qualities in people and could tell who fit together, and who might also give that might push in the right direction which almost always was necessary. Someone who understood the brewing of the hormone cocktail which made people experience hot passion and desire and someone who might as well tie those people together in friendship later. A friendship to last. Relations of that kind were especially hard among the age-less (and equally rest-less) immortals. And finally someone who could separate couples which were not to happen.

Finding such a deity had proven harder than Zeus would ever have thought. There were love gods and goddesses out there all right, since that trait was a side-development of the ever so common fertility gods. However Zeus soon learned that most of these deities seemed either preoccupied with eroticism or too self-centred to be good at understanding other people and discover the perfect match. After his high hopes for Dione, the king of the Gods had been so exasperated when she had declined the offer to come and work at Olympos. Although now it seemed that Dione's daughter Aphrodite was even more capable. The lovely girl was emphatic and had that special something which made men's hormones fizzle. Zeus had to use all his self-discipline to not fall for the goddess himself. But he knew that if he had done so, he might have jeopardized this recruitment, which he had worked so long and so hard to happen. And who knew when a next chance may come? No, he simply couldn't play around with this young lady the way he often took the chance with other goddesses who came his way.

Zeus was relaxing in bed, postponing getting up for a little while, curling and uncurling his toes, stretching every joint. Resting his head in upon his clasped hands he glanced sideways, at Hera, who was still sound asleep, her head buried down in the soft pillow and her hair spread around it like rays of soft silk, only the tip of her nose to be seen. For the millionth time did he wonder what he'd done if he hadn't understood in time that it was supposed to be Hera and him. When they had finally got together it was somehow just a fluke, a stroke of luck. He still remembered that cold and snowy day when she had found her healing an injured cuckoo in the woods down on the mountainside and he still remembered his cheeky comment about wanting to trade places with that bird.

He remembered how Hera had reacted first. Almost irritated that he stormed in and bothered himself with what she was doing. To patch it over he offered her a warm drink up in his house, surprised that she accepted, and then one thing lead to another. Almost too fast had it happened, yet at the same time he hadn't dared to hold back, afraid that this fragile chance would get to naught.

Back then Zeus had more or less ended his short affair with Leto the singer and the undercover agent, without knowing that she was pregnant with his twin children. He had been determined that a King of the Gods was supposed to have a Queen by his side, however Leto made it perfectly clear that while she might enjoy a relation with him, she was uninterested in such a position. So they had parted as friends, but for Zeus it felt like a failure and left him with an empty ache in his soul. He also knew there was no way to get Metis back. Not after what he had done to her, betrayed her in the meanest of ways. Metis had taken their daughter Athena and left, and even though Athena returned to Olympos later and on her own, he had missed all of this daughter's childhood. It had not been easy adjusting to all of a sudden having a grown-up daughter, a warrior with a darn stubborn mind.

And Hera – she hadn't lacked suitors, on the very contrary. There had been both Hyperion and his son Helios, Poseidon, Astraios, Prometheus, Nereus, Kratos, Perses, Iapetos, Oceanos – even that asshole Atlas! And several more, gods who Zeus didn't care to remember at the time. He had tried with her earlier – and been turned down. Hera told him she wasn't interested in becoming 'another name on his already too long list'. Oh, how he had wished back then that there had been a real love deity around. Someone who could've advised both him and Hera about the way to go. Someone who had seen their potential together even when they failed to do so themselves! Someone who had seen that they were soul mates, and that them ruling Olympos together was the best thing that could ever happen. That was why Olympos needed someone like Aphrodite and Zeus held all faith in her ability to deliver.

Stirring in her sleep, Hera made a sound, but she was not fully awake.
"My dear," he toyed with a lock of her dark hair, "we nearly blew it, you and I. Can't even begin to think about how close it was that we never happened. If there had been someone like Aphrodite around back then, we wouldn't have had such a hard time finding each other. And I wouldn't have stumbled over my manhood so many times."
"Aehmmpf... what you've been stumbling with now, hun?" Hera murmured and moved around in bed, reaching for him. As she turned toward him, he leaned down and kissed her lightly.
"Oh, nothing, just talking to myself," he responded as he detached himself from her seeking lips.
"Ah, then at least you've got an interested audience," she smiled, cocoa eyes still lax with sleep. "Make love?"
"Uhmm – yes, I think we've got time for a quickie at least."

He always said that. Then it always became more than 'just a quickie'. Hera was usually the most eager in the mornings, starting the day with some love making was the best thing she knew. Zeus had learned to enjoy it as much as she did over the years, even if he was more of an evening man. This day was no exception, far from it. Then, just as every morning when they were done, he became the first to rise, while she stayed in bed, regarding him as he walked out between the pillars and down to the terrace overlooking the Aegean. There a lowered pool was filled with magically heated water, the perfect steaming temperature for Zeus' morning bath.

The King made a quick stretch before he dived into the water, breaking the surface like an arrow, hardly making a splash, the rising sun catching his flowing platinum blond hair, shining off it a short breath before he disappeared. Hera rolled over to his place in bed, it was still warm and slightly sunken after his form and smelled of him as well. That honey-almond-musky-salty fragrance she knew all the way into her dreams these days. She borrowed his pillow, clutched it, smiled while recalling the sex they just had. It had been great – as usual. Fulfilling. Theirs was a stormy marriage, there was no denying it. On the other hand, Hera knew, she would never have wanted any other man. Not really. Zeus might be a hot tempered womanizer, but it was never lacklustre around him. He was always challenging her, forcing her to think and to act, not simply react. She would probably have been bored to tears by any other man. Zeus might make her mad at times, but he could also make her laugh 'till her belly hurt and inspire her to performances she never would've thought she had in her. All things considered, it was an up and down marriage and Hera wouldn't want to trade it for anything else. Most of the time she wouldn't at least.

Zeus rose from the pool again, a graceful ascension which was a mix between a levitation and a jump, his fit and tanned body wet and glistening in the slanted sunlight, every droplet enhancing his supreme, athletic form, every movement a picture of pure perfection! She watched as he shook his head to get most of the water out from his fair hair, admired every strolling step back to the still dusky bedroom. The smile around his full lips, the glitter in his sky blue eyes. Come what may, he was hers, Hera knew, and she was glad that she had waited along for it to finally happen instead of taking some of the other blokes who had been circling around her like nocturnal insects around a flame.

Hera's first impression of Zeus was of a man so far above her that she wouldn't have a chance to even be seen by him. When she first came across him, he was already the leader of the Divine League, heading the revolt against Cronos and his Titans, quite a bit older than her and surrounded by a large assembly of the most beautiful of goddesses, including his fiancée Metis. While Hera had been an orphanaged goddess with no clue about anything really save for a desire to butcher as many Titans as possible, to avenge a family she had never really known. Gone by the name of 'the little one', she had been one of many hang-arounds to the heroes of the Titanomacy, someone who fought with passion and bravery but never really considered one in the close-knit group around Zeus. One of those who gods who labelled themselves 'sisters and brothers'. In spite of that she followed Zeus' clique to form Olympos, mostly because she had nowhere else to go at the end of the Titan war.

At Olympos had she regarded Zeus from a safe distance while he walked through all the goddesses around, leaving broken hearts and offspring in plentyfolds in his way. Then suddenly, some 100 years after the end of the war, he had stopped by – her. And somehow managed to get her where he wanted in spite of her stubborn resolution to never marry a man who did not respect his woman. But there was that strange feeling in the belly. That fizzling sensation which spread all over her and turned her heart into an oven and her brain into jelly. It was what people called love and wrote songs about. It was the most bothersome, trying, frustrating, annoying – and wonderful feeling ever. Of all the people Zeus was the one to trigger it with her! And it didn't stop there! When the first crazed passion was over, they found a friendship which had lasted, even if it did take more than its fair share of beating over the centuries.

He became her soul-mate, the one who saw right into her and knew every secret her heart yielded. The one who understood her perfectly in and out – just as she saw and understood him. Hera knew what Zeus thought, even before he uttered it, and they often finished each other's sentences. When he had been with another woman, she figured it out no matter how well he tried to hide it and even if it pissed her off down to the bones, he was such a cute dumbass when he tried to make up for it. Then, when he was really sad, tired and worried – she was the one he came to, because he knew that whatever he said, whatever grated at his mind – she would help him through it, together they would find a working solution. Accordingly their marriage had become an all-encompassing partnership both privately and professionally. It was strange, most people shook their heads at their relation, but their bound was strong in spite of everything and therefore their marriage worked.

"Such a pity, this edict of fashion," Hera said while she regarded her husband donning the purple and white togas of his office.
"What?" Zeus turned around and faced his wife, who was remaining in bed, stretching lazily like a cat, the still pinkish morning sun falling in from her right and shining off her cascading jet black hair, making it glow with a lush and healthy look. Making Hera look even more unearthly than usual.
"You have the sexiest ass in the whole immortal nation, and you have to hide it behind large sheets of textile. What a waste really."
"Hera," he grinned, how he loved when she teased him like that. "My ass is not for everyone to see!"

"Oh come on! You're the epitome of 'showing-off'. I can't believe you're covering yourself up."
"Some mystery cannot hurt," he smiled as he walked up and knelt down by the end of the bed. Quick as a viper he bent down and kissed her on those toes sticking out from under the scarlet blanket. "Like what's hiding underneath here!" Jokingly he started to pull off the cover but she protested in the same manner and held on to it, although not hard enough to tear the fabric. He yanked it a bit and then he shook his head and made a tut-tutting sound.
"There's no use playing virgin goddess here, I know you too well ma belle!"
"You do? Well get outta those togas and show me what you know then," she teased.
"Don't tempt me!" he smirked.
"And just why shouldn't I?"

Zeus backed off, well aware of how easily she could make him strip off his outfit and take her up on the offer and then the whole midmorning might as well be spent in bed.
"Hera, dearest! I do after all have my responsibilities as a king of the gods. Things I need to attend to."
"And this, I believe, includes pleasing your queen," Hera teased as she rose her upper body ever so slightly. With a whispering sound the duvet slid down, just to hint at her erect nipples, and the darker shade of the areolas against her milky white skin. Now Zeus cursed under his breath, she was doing it again. Playing him. Pushing just the right buttons. Making him hard for her again. And no matter that the togas hide his erection well, Hera saw the slight shifting in the colouring of his cheeks and ear tips, the minor dilation of his pupils – she knew him all too well for him to fool her.

"Zeus, darling," Hera smiled as she sat up, letting the sheet slid off completely. "I know you are busy, and I won't keep you occupied with mine – or your desires. Go and do what you need, after all I also have things to attend to."
"Sweetie," he smiled. "Tonight is Aphrodite's initiation night. Accordingly I do believe that love will be in the air and everywhere. So trust me, tonight I'll make up for not giving in to you now."
"It's okay," Hera laughed and winked with her sweaping, long lashes, dark brown eyes glittering. "Really! I know you're a horny bull, and I'm not going to tease you over that. Not more than necessary, I mean."
"Horny bull, eh! Don't get me started on bovine allegories, cow-eyed!"

Hera laughed at that and shook her head as she finally rose. She went over and landed a wet kiss on her husband's whiskered cheek before turning around and heading for the bath, swaying just a little bit too much with her hips, but she guessed she couldn't help it. And whatever Zeus was murmuring after her, she didn't bother hearing. Men! They thought they ruled the world, whereas it was always the women leading them in a more or less short leach.

Pondering that, that the Queen of the Gods sat down gracefully on the edge to the pool and then she let herself slid down in the lukewarm water. She guessed it could've been a bit warmer and she used her powers to heat it up until vapors of steam began snaking up from the surface. Aphrodite, yes. That lovely little girl, if she finally was the goddess they had been searching for so long, no one could be happier than Hera. She was considered the goddess of marriage – after all she had invented and refined the institution back in the beginning of the Modern Era, after the end of the Titan war, and these days even mortals got married. So people expected her to do the match making as well. That was an area where Hera felt inadequate. She was better at political maneuvering involving kings, generals, oligarchs and finance tycoons. Money and power that was her game. Not love. Except for when it came to her Zeus of course.

*o*o*

The applause was thunderous when Aphrodite begun walking up to the middle of the great hall where the King and the Queen of the gods were awaiting her together with one of the Muses who was taking notes of the event, writing it down for the posterity. The young goddess swallowed and took a deep breath, doing everything to hide her hard-strung nerves. This was even worse than her 're-birth' back at Cyprus. Was that just two weeks ago by the way? It felt like ages. Simultaneously those days at Olympos had sped by so fast she almost felt like she had to hold on to something to not crash against the hard edge of the future. Yet as she treaded across the gilded floor with its mosaic of small, glittering stones, this very moment made her feel suspended in a nowness which seemed to stretch away forever. And when she glanced upwards, those white pillars seemed to reach endlessly, go on forever, their architraves carrying nothing but stars. Soon enough she realized that this hall was without roof or ceiling, it was open to the sky! Olympos really kept surprising her!

Around her were gods and goddesses, more of them than she had ever seen in a single place before. Fancy-dressed people who were standing in a circle, those in the back levitating to see better, making her feel like being on stage at a great theatre. Colourful, divine light blazed in burners and casting flickering lights and shadows across the assembly and the fires were shining off golden details, jewels and gems on the divine outfits. Out of the corner of her eyes she spotted elegant hairdos and expensive and colourful textiles, still none of these things could compete with the beauty of ever youthful immortals themselves. It was true the things said, that the gods and goddesses here were more attractive than elsewhere. Aphrodite spotted strangers mingling with well-known faces, she discovered her mother, her step-father and sisters and on the opposite side of the circle she saw both Hermes and Eumonia. A bit away were Hemera, Nyx and Hestia. She also saw Ares and Poseidon and off to the side stood Athena with the twins Apollo and Artemis.

No matter that all the rest were gorgeous to behold, she knew she could compete with the most beautiful of them. She felt that in the air and she was aware of the compliments whispered among the amazed spectators. Words about her intricately braided honey-blond hair, her lavender eyes, naturally red lips and illustrious skin, her slender yet curvy body. She caught praises of her flowing reddish orange silk dress with its transparent parts and a plethora of sewn-on leaf gold sequins like stars in the sky. There were also admirations of her gilded sandals and the roses in her hair and most of all the tiara she had got from her mother as a commemoration of this wonderful day. This tiara was ancient, it had belonged to old goddesses who had since long perished against the Titans and it was infused with a magic which made it shine like the sun and the moon. They didn't make things like that anymore. The art was forgotten.

Some gods in turn were gossiping of how she had been with Apollo one night and Hermes the next. And hadn't she been flirting with Ares too? Whatever, Aphrodite couldn't care less about what came from those tongues. Not tonight. She was here to accept an obligation. A position as a Goddess of Love at Olympos. That was not a minor office, not something to shrug off lightly. Consequently it was understandable that there were some envious people out there. Not surprisingly was Ciresia among those. Aphrodite caught a brief glimpse of her old rival just after she entered through the large double doors. Ciresia had been whispering with a skinny woman in a purple dress and raven black hair. However, the large majority of people gathered here seemed to be benign and Aphrodite got encouraging words and thoughts sent her way as she crossed the room, and she knew there was more than one man who wanted to see her without her dress. There were also those who voiced that her one night stands with Apollo and Hermes was something that came with the territory of being a good Goddess of Love.

Stopping about an arm's length from Zeus and Hera, Aphrodite faced the divine couple, smiling before she bowed to each of them.
"Your majesties, mighty Zeus and Hera, illustrious King and Queen of Olympos, I am Aphrodite and I am here today to hear your calling and to accept the offered position as a goddess of Olympos."
"Aphrodite," Zeus let up his voice. "We are delighted to see you here to officially and in front of everyone accepting the position as Olympian Goddess of Love. I hope this vocation will become an advantage for both parts. That you will enjoy your future here and that Olympos will see your inclusion as beneficial. I'm confident it will be so too, your life's history and your heritage indicate as much. Aphrodite, daughter of Dione, granddaughter of Thetys, may your name be revered!"

Then Zeus bowed in her direction and the gathered gods and goddesses clapped and cheered. Thanking Zeus, Aphrodite accepted a wreath of laurel as a symbol of her ascension to her new office before she held the speech, which she had prepared so thoroughly. Oddly enough it sounded short and a bit stumpy in her ears, taken in mind how much time she had thrown in for preparation. Then again, she wasn't a natural speaker like Zeus and she wasn't used to these things at all. All she had ever done earlier had been speeches on mortal weddings. Yet when she was done she received the same kind of merry response as Zeus earlier had. Coy she bowed while she remembered something she had seen mortal youths do once for what felt like eons ago. A quite novel way to hail each other from the distance. She placed a kiss in her right hand and blew upon it, like blowing kisses towards her audience. Obviously the gathered gods and goddesses had never seen anything like it, because the cheered even more and several begun mimicking her gesture, blowing kisses back to her and soon also towards each other.

"Milady," Zeus held out his arm towards her. "Your official welcome dinner awaits you. Allow me to accompany you into the hall!"
"Thank you milord," Aphrodite replied, and returned the smile the King was giving her. Too bad he was off-limits, that man was totally mesmerizing, and in another time, another place she could easily have fallen for him. But he was married to the beautiful Queen Hera, who took up the train behind them together with Poseidon. And if there was something Aphrodite had been warned to NOT do so was it crossing Hera in any way. The queen was gentle and amicable to those who had her good eye, conversely she could be dreadful towards people who had wronged her, something that very often included women who tried to make Zeus stray from her side.

Pushing those thought aside, Aphrodite was very much content with walking side by side with Zeus into the dining hall followed by all the rest of the gods and goddesses. She pondered what delicacies might await them by the long tables which were set under the large chandeliers in the magnificent room. While they passed through the doors Zeus told her that there were three state of the art dining halls in the main palace. This one they were entering now was by far the largest and the most magnificent one, with its retractable roof, pulled aside tonight to show a starry sky. Those chandeliers, which were floating by themselves, were made from brass and coloured glass and bristling with equally coloured flames of divine light. Additionally there was a huge bonfire burning in the middle of the room, set with an orange sheen so that it almost looked like a chemical fire. They crossed the marble floor and rounded large tables set for hundreds of participants, Zeus showing Aphrodite the way up to the table of honor in the middle of the room.

The other two dining halls, Zeus told briefly, were the hall on the second floor where she had already eaten twice and another, smaller room on the top floor which was for more private gatherings, since it only held room for 16 people. Usually the Dodekatheon dined there after their meetings.
"What's the Dodekatheon?" Aphrodite asked as Zeus pulled out her chair. She vaguely remembered that name, but couldn't really place it.
"The Dodekatheon, or Council of Twelve is a group consisting of us five remaining founders of the Pantheon plus seven more. Which means Poseidon, Hestia, Demeter, Hades, Themis, Hera, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Athena, Nyx and I. Although Nyx has been holding the stand-in position for the departured Prometheus for almost two centuries now, and she's not sure she wants to continue, so the position might go to either Helios or Selene, depending on who's the best fit. Also Hades is more or less reluctant to partake, so we're looking for a replacement for him as well."

"Does it have to be twelve?" Aphrodite asked and regarded Zeus.
"It might be ten or fourteen or any number. I guess it's just out of old habit we are sticking to twelve. Earlier on Nereus used to hold Apollo's position, Leto was in Artemis' set, Oceanus in Ares' seat and Athena has taken over her mother Metis' place. But there's nothing for certain saying it HAS to be twelve. Although I've figured it out to be a good number. Plenty enough to exchange ideas in a creative way and get things done and few enough for everyone to listen to the other one and the discussions not taking too much time and becoming too roundabout."
"How do you make decisions then – if you don't agree in spite I mean?"
"We vote."
"But you're twelve, what if it's a draw?"
"Then I, as a king of the gods, have a decisive vote. However most of the time we try to come to a decision which everyone, or at least most of us can agree upon. When it's a tie – or almost a tie, then we know something is wrong because so many are displeased. Then we generally try to find another way."

"Interesting," Aphrodite nodded her head, then they soon forgot that part of the discussion since the nymphs started to arrive, distributing deliciously smelling dishes. Now Aphrodite realized she was starving. She hadn't had the time to let food be on her mind during the day, she had been too preoccupied with making herself ready, memorizing her speech and worrying about goofing up in front of everyone. Now she let the nymphs serve her of the fish, vegetables, sauces, bread, wine and other delicacies as she discussed merrily with Zeus and with Apollo who was sitting to her right. She wasn't sure if she was glad or slightly insulted by the fact that Apollo seemed to have forgotten all about their hot tête-à-tête five nights ago. Or, she mused, was he just a good actor? It was with a slight trepidation she awaited what he would say to her about Hermes as soon as they became alone, which they would doubtlessly be sooner or later.

*o*o*

However it wasn't Apollo who cornered her as soon as the dinner was over. No, it was another son of Zeus – Ares, god of War. And he didn't come to congratulate her. Well he did, but that – Aphrodite quickly understood – was not his main reason for searching her out.
"Goddess of love," he said after having kissed her hand. "When will it be my turn?"
"What do you mean – your turn?"
"Oh, I think you do know, darling."
"No, Ares, please enlighten me!"

"Gladly. Aphrodite, you've been sharing your graces with my other brothers. Naturally I await my turn?"
"Your other brothers? Well Apollo and I, we were together one night. That was more or less a misjudgment from my side. And Hermes..."
"No, I don't think you make 'misjudgments' like that – Goddess of love," he smiled at her and his glittering, dark eyes were making her oddly weak in her joints. "I think you sampled from my brothers out of pure desire. And I feel certain that I can trigger that desire in you as well." Tilting his dark head he had done strange things with her lower regions, and she did all in her might to appear unaffected. Still she wasn't sure she made it.

"Ares, it has never been my intention to wander through all the sons of Zeus, sampling them as if they are - collectivities. It just – well happened. I was disappointed by Apollo's disinterest so I consoled myself with Hermes. Who I had perhaps planned to hit at even before I ended up with Apollo. Besides I have not had Hephaestos, so don't come saying..."
"Hephaestos!" Ares almost laughed out loud at the mention of his younger brother. "You can actually forget about him. I'm willing to bet my best sword now that he's already in bed tonight. Alone. Will be up with the rooster tomorrow, hammering away in his workshop, making some other thingie we haven't realized up 'til then that we cannot live without."
"You might be right about that, Ares," Aphrodite shrugged her shoulders. "But I'm still not going to sleep with you."
"We'll see about that, my dear," the God of War smirked.