What happens in Thebes stays in Thebes
Upon slipping through the doors to Hera's office, Aphrodite heard someone crying as if her heart was about to shatter. Naturally she hesitated briefly, what if Hera now wanted to be alone with this sad goddess? But the Queen had asked Aphrodite to come, and if she'd changed her mind she would definitely put a privacy ward sign on the door. The meticulous Hera was not the one to neglect such a thing, so Aphrodite figured she could enter. Just in case she knocked gently on the open door, sending Hera a mental picture of her presence.
"Yes, Aphrodite, you may come in," the Queen's gentle reply came instantly. As soon as the Goddess of Love entered the large, airy and these days familiar office, she spotted Iris curled up in the plush, red sofa with red-rimmed eyes and clasping a kerchief. She barely looked up when Aphrodite came forward across marble floor, footfalls softened by thick animal hides and exotic carpets. Hera was sitting next to Iris with her arm around the narrow, bare shoulders, a sombre look upon her face.
"What's wrong?" Aphrodite asked.
Only tear-filled bludder came from Iris so Hera spoke up in her stead.
"Is it okay if I tell Aphrodite, Iris?" she asked. "She might be able to help you, dear." Iris' reply was untellable, but her severe nodding was conceivable enough and the Queen went on. "Iris has been seeing the god Favonius now for a while, however it seems to be over, and it was he who ended it, and in a very brutal way too."
"Oh..." Aphrodite regarded the crying goddess with sympathy as she sat down on a chair opposite of the two other women. "What happened? What went wrong? Was it one single event or a sequence of things going wrong?"
"He just ended it," Iris moaned, sniffing and drying off more tears. "Threw me out on my ass."
"You were living together?" Aphrodite asked, she had to admit she knew very little of Iris' private life. She had only talked briefly with the petite goddess, who was running errands for Hera, bringing messages to and from the Queen, and sometimes for Zeus as well, even if he mostly used Hermes as an emissary. But the two of them had never reached beyond small talk; there hadn't really been an opportunity for that.
"Yeah, well... yeah sorta," Iris stammered and Hera filled in the blanks.
"Iris still has her own place of course, but she'd been living with Favonius now for more than 30 years. A childless relation, however I thought it was only a matter of time. But instead this happens. The bloke throws her out, claiming he was 'tired of the relation and wanted his freedom back'."
"He could've had that freedom any day," Iris sniffed. "I never tried to hinder him from doing anything he desired. As a matter of fact I was away so often I saw very little of him, especially the last years. How he may have felt I suffocated him is something I fail to understand. He never said anything earlier. Just yesterday it was all fine – or so it seemed. Then today he just told me to get the chaos out of his house. As if it wasn't more or less mine too these days. We had it modelled together. Hephaestos listened as much to me as to him, you know."
"That's a risk you may run into with longtime relations," Aphrodite tenderly said. "I've seen it happen so many times. I always try to press that matter, make people talk more with each other. Especially those who come to me and expect me to fix things for me. Like Hyperion and Theia."
"So what do I do?" Iris asked and made an effort to hinder more tears from falling. "How do I get him back?"
"Regrettably the chance for that is very slim," Aphrodite answered with the harshness of honesty colouring her voice.
"But," Iris looked at Aphrodite with blue eyes so large and so sad that the Love Goddess almost felt a lump in her chest. She felt sorry for the petite messenger, there was no denying that. Iris was honest and compassionate and she sure deserved something better than to be treated like yesterday's dish.
"I can try to talk to him if you like, Iris," Aphrodite said, more or less as words of comfort. "But I cannot promise anything. To repair these things is often very hard."
"Aphrodite, they were together for 30 years," Hera said. "There has to be a way."
"I'm not so sure about that," Aphrodite sighed and took her eyes off Iris to face the Queen instead. "When a relation breaks after such a long time, there's often about more than a sudden fluke or misstep from one of the parts. There tend to be something going deeper and further back in time. Something which has been grating on Favonius' mind for quite a while. And which suddenly burst today."
"But he never said anything," Iris complained. "How could I've known?"
"That's the delinquent with relations where one – or both parts – fail to talk, and start keeping things inside of their chests instead of letting it out," Aphrodite said, feeling inadequate for having so very little solace to offer.
"Is that true about the two of you, Iris?" Hera asked. That you never talked?"
"Well... I guess... sort of," Iris stared intensely down at her nails, almost as if she was seeing them for the very first time. "I was always away, you know. But I never felt... it was that bad."
"One seldom does. Unfortunately," Aphrodite said.
"So now what?" Iris whispered as she dried off one last tear.
"Get over him," Aphrodite advised. "No, I know it's not easy and it will take time. Let it take that time. Cry if you want to. Come talk to me if you feel you need someone to advice you – or just a listening ear. And try to busy yourself with important things to do, so you may keep your mind occupied with other things than the loss of Favonius."
"That I can sure be of help with," Hera smiled and Iris nodded mutedly. "However foremost I'm going to need your help, Aphrodite," the queen now turned to the Love Goddess, all business again.
"The royal house of Thebes, I take it," Aphrodite replied, her voice more alert.
"Yes," Hera confirmed. "Did you get anywhere with the things I asked for last week?"
"Not with the practical things yet. I have to admit it's quite of an emotional snakes nest down there. That demigod Valeros can't keep his thing inside of his pants and his intended fiancée Alavara has already left him and returned back to Mycenae. And then there's the king. Loradan. He's gradually beginning to suspect that Valeros is not his offspring. I mean, just look at the two men, Hera! Valeros is tall and blond, lithe and athletic and with the most breathtaking blue eyes."
"Darn Zeus," Hera murmured before waving her hand. "Never mind, Aphrodite, go on!"
"Yes, the king is short and swarthy and besides having never been fit, he's getting more and more portly for every year passing. However he must keep up the appearance somehow, since Valeros is the only son he 'sired'."
"So what's your plan?"
"To find a new wife-to-be for Valeros. Preferably someone who does not care that much about a spouse with a straying mind."
"Can be hard enough," Hera muttered and rolled her dark eyes. Aphrodite disregarded her and went on:
"And still being a woman who can take queenship serious."
"That's not gonna happen," Iris stated. Less devastated now, when she got her mind focusing upon something else than her own misadventure. That gave Aphrodite an idea.
"I know," Aphrodite said. "It's not impossible, but surely hard enough. But I have a plan. Iris would you considering giving me a hand in this, and Hera could you let me borrow this able lady for a couple of days or so?"
"May I?" Almost unconsciously, did Iris beam up, and Hera, who understood what Aphrodite was trying to do, smiled and nodded her head.
"Sure thing," she confirmed. "Since it's my project to start with, I see no problem with my co-workers engaging in it."
*o*o*
"So that's prince Valeros?" asked Iris as she and Aphrodite stealthed among the mingling ladies and gentlemen of the Theban court, anonymized into mortal noblewomen of the local aristocracy. Aphrodite nodded silently and Iris went on. "Handsome. One can tell who his father is. Same looks, same way of carrying himself, as if the world was his to do what he wanted with. But unlike Zeus he can't back up it with anything really."
"Save for a hope of inheriting this kingdom," added Aphrodite. "And that's why he has to have a spouse. And no, it's not only about succession and decorum this time."
"Even if his behaviour leaves a lot to wish," Iris huffed, while recalling how Valeros kept sleeping around and how that had scared off possible princesses.
"The main problem here isn't really his philandering," Aphrodite stated while regarding the prince. He was standing in the middle of a thong of young women and a few men too, and it was easy to tell that he was the centre of attention. "Not in the 'regular' sense, I mean."
"I'm not sure I follow, Aphrie!"
"It's the way he keeps attracting attention from his - 'father'," the quotation marks around the word father becoming remarkable as the Goddess of Love paused. "King Loradan is beginning to be annoyed with the behaviour of Valeros, and as his irritation grows, he'll start questioning who this boy really is. I'm already convinced that Loradan suspects – no, make that knows, Iris, that this prince is not his son. He might have chosen to ignore it earlier, because of the simple fact that he has no son on his own and wants it to at least look like his house still keeps the throne in Thebes. However such an acceptance might end quickly if the presumed son fails to behave the way a king ought to expect. To produce an heir for instance."
"And conducting himself according to protocol," Iris nodded her head. "So what do you fear?"
"A scandal," Aphrodite stated harshly. "Drama which might as well end in blood and tears if we are not careful enough and turn these events around."
"The king trying to dispose of his demigod stepson, you mean?" Iris' eyes widened slightly.
"Or the other way around, if Valeros starts to get worried that his right to the crown is in danger."
"Sounds much direr then when you and Hera talked about it earlier, Aphrodite. Are you actually saying that we're here to stop a blood bath?"
"I hope it doesn't come that far."
"So what do you have in mind?"
"A goddess behaving badly."
"As in... no," Iris' eyes widened notably, "don't say you're planning...?"
"Yes I am!" Aphrodite had suddenly got a very smug look upon her face. "And you, my dear, are going to play another role, no less important..."
*o*o*
Prince Valeros had never seen that striking young woman earlier and it surprised him, since he thought he was acquainted with every lady of the nobility in Thebes. Perhaps this very beauty was a guest from another place, or maybe she was someone from the known families who had been away for a while. In any case she intrigued him, and if his gut feeling wasn't all over the place tonight, the feeling was mutual. Those lavender eyes which were regarding him had just that curious look, those full lips were slightly parted and a bit moisty and as Valeros regarded her chest, he saw it was heaving slightly more than what would be ordinary, the gemstones fastened upon her no doubt expensive dress, gleaming slightly in the light from the chandeliers.
Smirking inside of himself, he straightened out the primary blue tunic over his wide chest and started off across the floor towards the unknown beauty. However she seemed to have got second thoughts, because she suddenly backed off behind the pillar and turned around.
But she was not going to get away that easily, Valeros hastened his steps and weaved through the throngs of people, more than one calling out his name, however he chose to disregard them as he pursued this alluring blonde. He blessed his luck when he stepped out through the set of double doors leading out of the hallway, because he managed to catch a wisp of crimson textile as she fled around a corner, and listening with concentration, he heard fast steps descending the staircase.
"No, milady," he said out loud. "You better stop playing hard to get, because there's no getting away from prince Valeros." Then he set off after the lady, quickly making it across the hallway and down the stairs, across the entrance gallery and out in the garden. She spotted her in the sheen of the torches lighting up the garden, she was moving with fast steps down the road, towards the stables, however not running. Thus he was soon racing her and swiftly turning around to face her.
"So where do you think you're going, beautiful?"
"I can hardly see that it's any of your business," the reply came fast, perhaps a bit too fast.
"Oh, well, I'm making it my business. Especially after those flirty looks you gave me back in the ballroom. It was as if you asked me to run after you," he reached out to place a hand upon her shapely arm, but she took a step back.
"What if you're mistaken?" she said, but there was a faint twinkle in her blue eyes, a sparkle he took as a sign to go on.
"What if you don't know who I am?" he asked in return.
"What if I couldn't care less?"
"That is something I don't believe," the prince grinned and, yes, wasn't she grinning back? At least just a little bit. A tuck at the corners of her full ruby lips. In the torchlight, her face was alluringly beautiful, almost illusory, almost divine, as if she had stepped down from Olympos itself.
"As a matter of fact," she said, and now she became the one to place a well-manicured hand upon his shoulder instead. "I know very well who you are. You're no other than prince Valeros of Thebes."
"True..." he began.
"You are also the son of Zeus."
"How do you... who told you that?" Valeros suddenly felt a shiver running down his spine; only his mother had known the truth about his real father. She had told him on her death bed; back when he was just a scared 16 year old, making him swear not to tell.
"I have my sources," the blond said and suddenly she raised up on her toes and placed a well-aimed kiss at the left corner of his mouth. Valeros now felt the ground waver beneath his feet, he was intrigued by and attracted to this inexplicable young woman, still he was death scared. If she, a complete stranger knew of his secret, then who else might also know?
"What's your name," he asked, trying to gain some time.
"You can simply call me Venus," the blond enigma said and ran two fingers down the bare part of his chest, tickling his flesh, intriguing him.
"Okay, Venus," Valeros shut his eyes for a heartbeat, to savour the impression of her tactile games. "What do you really want from me?"
"You," she grinned. "Just a friendly encounter, how about that?" As he reopened his eyes, he was looking right into her blue orbs, feeling that he was caught. Cornered. Like a prey who faced its predator. He, who always had been the predator himself, knew now for the first time how it felt to be the prey. And to be caught, no able to move away. Not that he really wanted to, he was soon realizing.
*o*o*
With a content smile plastered over his face, prince Valeros was resting in the dark. The silken sheets felt cold against his skin, and the bear skin covering them was exactly as pleasantly heavy, warm and covering as he wanted it. Next to him the lovely Venus was asleep, her chest heaving slightly, her perfumed, somewhat buttery fragrance pleasing his nostrils, her blond, wavy hair almost luminescent in the dusk, where the only light was what emitted from the dying embers in the nook, a faint red sheen, like woven dreams. It was silent; the only thing heard was a light rain rattling on the closed blinds.
Perfection! There could be no other word for it. The Theban prince had enjoyed the perfect love making here tonight, and he couldn't care less that he had disappeared from the ball, neglecting his royal duties. Because if he hadn't left that festivity, he wouldn't have got the chance to experience THIS. And what was a ball, one of many, compared to this celestial acquaintance. There would be a ball the next month and the month after. And if his father or one of his sisters should wonder, he'd only excuse himself with not feeling well. Besides, even if they might've understood what he had been up to, they could prove naught.
Slowly, he was beginning to feel sleep overtake him, the pleasant fatigue of bodily functions powering down, the relaxation of muscles, the overpowering gravity in the eye lids. Dream images began marching in his mind. Women, more or less naked – and more or less all of them looking like Venus...
... and then there was that light, like a million fireflies. Too bright, irritating him, as did the white noisy buzz in his ears – now what?
Confused Valeros sat up in bed as that glittering, bright lime-coloured light coalesced into a human form. Into another woman, a sparkling, magnificent being in an iridescent dress, which appeared to shine in all the colours there was – and being brilliantly white at the same time. She stood by the end of his bed with her arms slightly raised, her blond, free-falling hair and the loose parts of her gossamer, semi-transparent dress flying around her as if she was standing in a soft breeze. For some reason the prince wasn't afraid, although something told him that he should by all right be. But this was all too beautiful to him, too mesmerizing for him to form a coherent try at understanding what he was really seeing. With a part of his mind did he wonder if he had actually fallen asleep and began to dream.
Then he heard that pearling laughter, like a singing brook in springtime.
"She was right, the dear Venus," this unearthly apparition then spoke. "You, my dear prince, is the epitome of masculine handsomeness. And I hope you're as enduring as she held you for as well."
"Who..." Valeros began in confusion, however he was cut off, when the glittering woman leapt forwards, almost like flying, and then kissed him on the lips.
This was the second time the same evening he became surprised by a woman's kiss. A kiss, which was followed by several more, travelling across his face as she cupped it in her soft, uncalloused hands. She tasted him with lips and tongue, lenient lips travelling across the ridge of his nose, his brows and landing two kisses, one on each brow. After that she let go of his face, to travel with her hands down his chest and then encircling him so she came to feel his back. Oh my, this was one hot little vixen! Naturally, Valeros felt that he was beginning to become arosen again. Arosen, and therefore forgetting all the questions he ought to have, as his thoughts turned all linear and aligned downwards, into his eager manhood.
Then again, how often did it happen, that a man became surprised by a woman materializing right into his bedroom in a snowfall of sparkles, and then starting to kiss and caress and do other things to him? On top of that, she seemed completely unaware of Venus, who was sleeping next to him. Or perhaps she didn't care. Venus, meanwhile, went on sleeping as if nothing of consequence was going on. That also puzzled the prince somewhere in the back of his brain, beyond this heavy influx of hormones, these desires coming alive, which made him mimic his nameless lover in the dance of hands and lips across needy bodies.
As his newest lover explored his chest, her fair hair was dancing across his naked skin, and it felt almost as if it was filled with sparkles, tickling him beyond reason. Valeros traced with his hand across those firm and perfectly velvet orbs that made up her ass, sliding across silken skin and then he ran his hands across her tights and gently separating them, doing all in his might to not let his insane eagerness show. However she was already wet and waiting for him, therefore it became impossible for him to hesitate anymore. He pulled her slightly in position, she helped along, and soon they were making love as if they had been meant for each other.
Oh gods! Was he dreaming?! Then he wouldn't want to wake up for all the gold in the world.
In repeat of the explosion of lights earlier, they both found release in profound orgasms, before the petite goddess rolled off him with a pleased and gentle chortle. Yes he was certain she could be no other thing than a goddess, he thought as she curled up on his right side, snuggling closer to him.
"That was awesome, son of Zeus," she purred as she ran a hand across his chest, tracing circles across it, as if she was writing something. Branding him perhaps, with some invisible mark only goddesses could see. And what more, Venus was still asleep next to him. That was perhaps the most remarkable thing of all.
"Who are you, uh, what are you?" he heard himself ask.
"Make a guess," she tittered next to him.
"You're a goddess," he tried.
"Perhaps," came the singsong answer, almost whispered in the shell of his ear.
"And do this goddess have a name?"
"You can call me Aurora." A deja-vu to Venus. Now these ladies must be connected in some way, that much was clear.
"This was fabulous," the Prince said. "No, this was more than fabulous, it was amazing! Beyond words. I'm just so surprised by your visit. What made you come here?"
"You, of course, my stupid, handsome boy!" she whispered, her breath tracing lines in his whiskers.
"But how did you know about me?"
"Oh, I have my ways," Aurora said and twirled a strand of his hair around long, slender fingers, her smile splitting her lips and a tiny bit of a tongue was shown as it slid across pearl white teeth.
Then it was as if the air shifted anew. The room turned all dark blue, and the hair was standing up in the back of his neck, it felt almost as if it was a thunderstorm brewing. And next to him, Aurora stirred.
"Oh no," she said, trepidation colouring her formerly so gentle soprano, pitching it. "It's HER!"
"Who?" But Aurora did not bother with Valeros anymore, instead she reached across him and pinched Venus in the side.
"Wake up, sister! We hafta get out of here!"
Too late!
Suddenly the room got all bright, blazing with light as if the sun had risen again, and the roof had come off, and Valeros raised his hand to cover his eyes against the blinding light.
"Now, what am I seeing here?" A furious voice bellowed. A contralto like a gale, threatening to swipe Valeros up against the wall.
"Hera!" Aurora breathed next to him, dread coloring her voice and Venus was also wide awake now.