Chapter Three
Victoria calmed down and her snake features went away. "You are truly unlucky, Aphrodite. You are the first person I have cursed."
Athena asked, "Have you ever blessed anyone?"
Victoria nodded and blushed. "I have only blessed one person before."
Shiva smirked, because he knew who the person was. Vishnu asked, "Who did you bless?"
Victoria smiled. "I have only blessed Lord Shiva so far. It is hard for someone to gain my trust."
Vishnu nodded and smiled. Victoria looked at Hephaestus and could see that he was sad. She slowly made her way over to him and grabbed his hand. "Lord Hephaestus."
Hephaestus looked at her and asked, "What is it, Victoria?"
Victoria nibbled on her bottom lip for a little while. "Are you okay? I noticed that you haven't said anything about my punishment."
Hephaestus sighed. "It is hard to say anything when your pain blinds you."
Victoria nodded in understanding. "I understand. I'm sorry if I caused you any pain. I'm just tired of her attitude towards you."
Hephaestus nodded. "You didn't cause any of my pain. Only Aphrodite has the power to hurt me."
Victoria smiled sadly. Hathor asked, "Is he the one you love, Victoria?"
Victoria laughed. "No. I see Hephaestus as my adopted father."
Ares rudely asked, "How can you stand to see him at all?"
Victoria went back to the middle of the room and held out both of her hands. Suddenly, two weapons appeared. One was a black leather whip, and the other one was a sword made from the bones of demons. Everyone was surprised by her weapons. Victoria growled at Ares and said, "I dare you to say that again."
Everyone held their breath as they waited to see what Ares would do. Ares scoffed at Victoria and said, "You aren't worth my time."
Victoria said, "I see Hephaestus as my adopted father, because he was the first god I learned about. He was also the first god to bless his blessing, I made these weapons."
Everyone but Shiva and Hephaestus gasped in surprise. Zeus thought for a moment. "That explains why he is the first one you pray to every morning."
Victoria nodded. "Hermes is always the last one, so I can have safe travels."
The weapons disappeared. Victoria sighed and looked at her watch. It was already four in the afternoon. Victoria started to freak out. "Oh, no! My snakes must be hungry. Can I go feed them real quick?"
Shiva chuckled. "Victoria, Apophis has gone to take care of it."
Victoria nodded. She suddenly thought of something. "I have a great idea. I can call nine of you at a time to come hang out with me. If you make it so no mortal can see you, you could watch me go through my day."
Everyone thought about this. Zeus said, "It is a good plan."
Bqast asked, "Who goes first?"
Victoria said, "I think for the first group, there should only be five of you that come."
Vishnu asked, "Why?"
Victoria smiled sweetly at him. "I mean no offense, Lord Vishnu. These five just really make me lose my temper."
"Who are they," asked Artemis.
"These five are Ares, Aphrodite, Hera, Demeter and Zeus."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Odin asked, "Who will take Victoria home?"
Simultaneously, Hephaestus and Shiva both stood up. Odin nodded and dismissed the council. After everyone else left, Victoria said, "Let's go."
Hephaestus and Shiva nodded.
