7DeadlySins: I said Asclepius was going to have an impact. Still didn't say how!;) And yeah! Their relationship is progressing slowly. I like to take my time to built the tension and to develop my characters. Anf for what Delphina will be doing in Crete, you will soon discover!

Guest1: Maybe yes or maybe no. I will let the suspense.

Guest2: I can tell you that you are not going to see another Apollo's conquest before a long big while! And for if Delphina will have another special person, I prefer to say nothing.

Guest3: This chapter took me a little more time but here it is.

Thank you for your comments!

Chapter 15: Theseus

An Athenian boat was navigating in direction of Crete. This one had the particularity to transport fourteen people: seven boys and seven girls. Sadly, it wasn't a happy travel…they were fated to be offered as a sacrifice to the Minotaur in the famous labyrinth.

A long time ago, Aegeus, the King of Athens killed Androgeus, son of Minos, King of Crete. The ruler of the island was so furious that he requested fourteen young Athenians to be offered as food to the half-man half-bull monster each nine years. And Aegeus could do nothing else then agree to this act of cruelty. But the most heartbreaking reality was that this year, against his own wishes and despite his numerous pleas, his son Theseus volunteered to be one of the sacrifices.

And there, the prince stood. A stunning youth with voluminous dark brown hair, a tall and thin well sculpted body and shining green eyes. Unlike the other young people, he didn't tremble or weep. He didn't fear death…because he didn't plan to die at all. It may sound foolish, but he planned to kill the monster and save his people!

But first, he had to stay focussed. The ship now accosted to the main port of Crete. The island was all rocky and sandy with a huge variety of rocks and plants. The main town was composed of rectangular houses dominated by a big palace made of white bricks, red columns and painting on its walls.

They were welcomed by the king Minos himself and his children. One of them was his daughter Ariadne, a young maiden with long red and curly hair descending to her butt.

The old sovereign smiled arrogantly, demonstrating no remorse or compassion toward the youths to be sacrificed.

"Welcome in Crete." He simply said.

None of them dared to answer. They were too scared by their fate. They fought to not cry and attract unwanted attention on them. All…but one.

Theseus presented himself, confident, reflecting majesty in his posture. He looked straight at the islander King with coldness and determination. The latter guy noticed this one acting abnormally. How unpleasant was the disdain shot at him. He couldn't let this provocation unnoticed. He spoke. "You there! I see you are wearing a precious attire unlike your companions. You are not a man from the common people. I order you to introduce yourself."

The prince advanced with dignity and responded. "My name is Theseus, Prince of Athens, son of Aegeus and Aethra. Also son of Poseidon."

"Also?" Minos repeated with interest. "How could you have two fathers?"

"Both men slept with my mother the same night. This way, I got a mix of divine and mortal paternity."

"Nonsense! You just want to impress me, a son of Zeus, a real demigod. There is no way someone can have two fathers!"

"I don't want to offense you but Hera mothered Hephaestus without the help of a man and that doesn't make sense to us. Also, we should never question the logic of the gods."

Everyone who assisted at the scene nodded their head at the statement. Not wanting to lose his face, Minos replied. "Well, then prove it!" He took off a ring from his finger and, suddenly, he threw it far away from the shore. The small jewel sank in the water. "If you really are the son of the God of the Sea, then, go and bring me back my ring."

Everyone directed their attention toward the Athenian. Surprised by the request but not so intimidated, he courageously retorted. "I will."

And he ran before jumping into the sea…and didn't reappear at the surface for a while.

Minos waited, amused and not at the same time. He still needed to give fourteen sacrifices to the Minotaur. Ariadne, at his side, was fascinated and waited anxiously. She found him courageous and selfless. She got a strong feeling of attraction toward this man.

She prayed for him to succeed.

…

Delphina was looking after her dolphins inside the half-dome at Poseidon's palace as the dutiful deity she was when the King of the Sea himself appeared in the room.

"I need you to execute a task for me."

The goddess jolted at the sudden declaration shot at her. She turned around, ready to listen to her ruler as the devoted servant she promised to be.

"My son Theseus has been asked to prove my paternity. I will help him. He is at the port of Knossos in Crete. He just threw himself in the water. Go there and bring him here now!"

Delphina received no time to ask more question. When Poseidon gave you an order, you obeyed! And so, she jumped into the water and transformed herself into a mermaid. She was gifted with a divine speed as a swimmer and she reached her destination in a very short moment.

By luck, she had seen Theseus before, having observed him during his adventures with the help of Apollo's powers. The demigod was quite famous. This way, she could easily recognize him. Still underwater, she caught the prince in her arms. As a son of the God of the Sea, he possessed the capacity to survive longer in the water without breathing but it remained limited. She had to hurry up. Holding him, she struck the water with her tail and traveled back to the underwater palace.

She lost no time to enter the house surrounded by the bubble of air. As soon breathing was possible again, Theseus coughed heavily before inspiring a lot. He recomposed himself and opened his eyes. He found himself inside a half dome where he could observe the sea outside. He checked beside him and discovered the identity of the one who rescued him.

"Lady Delphina."

"I am. And you are Theseus, Prince of Athens. Your father asked me to bring you here."

"Exactly." A feminine voice resonated in the room.

Their stare deviated in direction of the entrance. The Queen of the Sea, Amphitrite, stood there. With a sign of her hand, she invited them to come out of the water to approach. They did it.

While Theseus was receiving a dry cloak on his shoulders, Delphina, turned back into a human form, couldn't stop gazing at her adoptive sister. She expected to see Poseidon, certainly not her! Watching her being so kind with the son of her own husband looked so…odd.

At the same time, she had no clue of what was happening. She just got an order to bring the demigod here. To prove he was the son of Poseidon. But to who? And how he had to prove it? And by the way, what was he doing in Crete? Unless he was… Ho! No!

"You have been sacrificed to the Minotaur, is it?!"

Disturbed, the Queen and the guest turned to look at her. The prince simply nodded to answer. Amphitrite sent her a stare of disapproval. Then, Delphina recognized her misstep. "Ho! Forgive me! I didn't want to interrupt you. You may continue."

If Delphina could keep the familiarity with Amphitrite in private, she had to remember the protocol in presence of others. Adoptive sister or not, she remained her Queen and her superior. She owed her respect.

Amphitrite spoke to the prince. "Welcome to the Sea Palace, Theseus. We, the Nereids, always collect the lost objects in the sea and bring them here." She showed him a shining object. "This is the ring you have been asked to seek. To prove your point even better, you will appear on the back of a dolphin at the surface. This way, everyone will know that you are the son of my husband."

Delphina understood it was an indirect to her. Yet, she could only stare at her adoptive sibling, completely stunned on what she just did. Did she realise she was technically asking her to help him to prove that her husband had cheated on her? Did the Goddess of Dolphins miss something or what?

Anyway, she had to obey. "Just follow me, Theseus, I will show you how to ride one of my children."

…

Back in Crete, people were waiting for more than thirty minutes. Still no sign of the Athenian. Minos grew tired of it! For him, the boy died. Simple as that! He was about to go back to his palace with the intention to write a letter to Aegeus in order to announce the death of his son by drowning and to command him to send him another young Athenian to replace him.

But his daughter, Ariadne, at his side, held him back. "Please, Father. Give him a little more time."

"I accepted to give him time fifteen minutes ago and ten minutes ago and five minutes ago to your request! But now, this is enough! I am a king! I have more important things to do than wait!"

But suddenly, the water splashed and a figure emerged, catching the attention of the whole audience. Theseus presented himself all glorious and splendid, riding the back of a sumptuous dolphin. This struck everybody present's minds. The marine mammal was such a sacred creature in their kingdom. Its presence usually announced goodness and the fact that Theseus was allowed to ride one showed that he received the blessing of the Goddess of Dolphins herself.

But it wasn't everything. The fact he stayed in the water so long proved he got access to Poseidon's residence in order to breathe. This only meant…

"He said the truth." Minos whispered.

The dolphin brought the prince closer enough to the beach so he could continue his road all by himself. He debarked, advanced and exited the water to approach the sovereign of Crete who somehow felt humiliated by this prowess. Nevertheless, he still managed to contain his frustration and waited for the Athenian to talk.

"Your majesty, I completed the task you gave me." He said while offering the ring toward its owner. Minos took it. He retorted. "I now recognize that you told the truth, that you are indeed an offspring of Poseidon. However, your proved demigod status will not save you from your fate."

"I know that."

"Perfect. Guards! Bring him to the dungeon with the others sacrifices. I spent enough time here."

And everyone left to return to their own occupations. The Athenians would be sent in the labyrinth only tomorrow. All of them became even more stressed as the D-Day came closer. But not Theseus. This episode only boosted his self-confidence. He just needed to figure out a way to kill the monster and to get out of the maze after.

Happily for him, the Fates seemed to have heard his call. A door opened and a beautiful maiden penetrated the building and approached his prison while passing carefully the asleep guards. He gasped when he recognized her.

"I'm here to help you." Ariadne said.

…

"I cannot believe it!" Delphina screamed.

The goddess was now in the palace of Delphi. This day, Dionysus had decided to pay a visit to his old friend. And she didn't wait a minute to complain to a very attentive God of Wine.

"I don't get how Amphitrite can tolerate this situation! Her husband always cheats on her and yet, she doesn't get angry! She even welcomed and helped his own bastard! Seriously?"

"So what?" Dionysus commented, sat on a chair. "You would prefer for her to behave like Hera?"

"This is not what I mean!" And she had to be careful to not offend him. After all, he had been himself a victim of Hera's jealousy just like most of Zeus' bastard children. "I don't expect her to be vengeful about it, but at least upset! Do you think Poseidon would not react if Amphitrite slept with other men? That's hypocrisy! She deserves more respect for her loyalty!"

"Did you talk to her about that matter?"

"Yeah! And what did she answer? That she didn't care! That she knew that she remained the only one. Others got him for only one night, unlike herself who got him for eternity! Seriously? If he truly loved her, he would remain faithful! When I think that I almost married him…"

"Thanks Zeus! You didn't! We would have gotten a Hera number two!"

"I am not like her! I would never attack innocent people! But I would have never tolerated such disrespect! I would have left him simply, all lonely on his throne!"

"You talk like it would be easy."

Delphina didn't comment.

Then Dionysus added. "Anyway! Here I hoped to spend some nice time with a good friend of mine but I am now afraid to end up as a confident of all of her complaints."

"I'm sorry. I just needed to get that frustration out."

And since they were in the middle of the throne room, Delphina decided to approach the pool. She touched the surface and a light began to appear at the surface.

"Take a seat and come." She said.

"What are you doing?"

"Theseus is planning to kill the Minotaur today. And I want to observe if he succeeds. I am playing with the power of the pool to connect to the sun. So we can use it to watch inside the labyrinth."

"You can do that?"

"The pool is connected to this place and I am its mistress. I discovered that it was connected to Apollo's powers as well, so I found a way to use it as it pleases me."

"Hum… Are you sure Apollo gave you the right to do that?"

The blond goddess raised her back and faced seriously Dionysus. She replied. "And you? Are you sure you have the right to be here while he is absent?"

The God of Wine said absolutely nothing. Delphina smiled. "Just sit here. It is going to be interesting to see that."

Dionysus took his chair and placed himself near the pool before sitting. He couldn't prevent himself to notice. "You have truly become a real goddess… You use mortals to entertain yourself!"

"Ah! Ah! Ah! You are funny." She said with sarcasm.

And finally, she found the trick to manipulate the pool and soon, an image of the labyrinth appeared in front of them. She sat on a chair beside her friend.

Dionysus looked carefully what was happening. He spotted Theseus at the entrance. But he also noticed someone else. That made him comment out of nowhere.

"Wow! The woman beside Minos is freaking gorgeous! What a lucky king!"

Delphina laughed loudly. "She is not his consort. She is his daughter! This is Ariadne, princess of Crete and guardian of the labyrinth."

Dionysus, still amazed by the beauty of the maiden, simply retorted. "Ho! That's perfect! How do you know her?"

"My temple is in Crete. She often comes to pray for the safety of her people at the sea. She is really compassionate! Because of that, she is one of my favored ones."

"Ho! I see."

"She asked me in her recent prayers to watch over Theseus. She is in love with him so… Don't think."

"Don't think what?"

She stared at him seriously. "You know what."

And then, Theseus entered the maze. They both went silent and turned to observe the scene.

…

The sun set. Apollo had finally finished to drive the sun chariot. By Zeus, fatigue overtook him so much! The days were so much longer during the summer. By luck, he shared the job with Helios! He wouldn't do that every single day!

At least, it wasn't too boring. He had observed Theseus slaying the Minotaur. A very great fight. It wasn't every day you could see someone kill a monster.

Anyway! Time came to go back home. Right now, he needed to see Delphina very badly. He knew she would be there tonight to his greatest joy. Damn! He needed to see her smile. She belonged to the minority of people able to calm him. Even when she teased him or criticised him. Her small defaults made her more perfect. Having her to help him to raise his son contributed to increase his appreciation of her company.

He ordered his swans to fly faster. He desired to be near her. To play his lyre while she would sing. To hear her talk about her day while they would eat. Just the usual quiet moments together.

But when he arrived, when he entered the throne room, he faced a disagreeable surprise.

Someone uninvited was sat beside Delphina! "Dionysus!"

Both divinities jolted when their conversation got interrupted by the loud voice of the God of the Sun. He looked angry and annoyed. Being more jovial, the God of Wine simply rose and opened warmly his arms. "Welcome back, Brother! The sun already set? I didn't see the time pass…"

"What are you doing here?" Apollo cut.

"Well… I came to visit."

"Without my permission?"

"Do I really need it? I am a patron of this place as well…"

"Only during the winter! Right now, you are only stepping in my personal space! So get out! I am tired and I don't want to have to bear your difficult personality!"

Dionysus said nothing and simply bowed in respect before leaving. He knew better than test the limits of the short patience of his half-brother. He waved goodbye to Delphina before leaving to join his own followers.

Once they were alone, Apollo sat on his chair beside the blond haired-goddess who didn't comment about his attitude. She was used to it. You cannot expect him to be very cordial after a long tiring day of work. He was faithful to his own nature.

He sighed then said. "Dionysus needs a wife."

Delphina quickly turned to him. "What a sudden declaration from you!"

Apollo replied. "Well, a spouse would keep him busy. I don't like to see him sneaking here so often."

This last statement caught her attention in a terrific way. "Wait! You knew each time Dionysus came here?"

"Of course! I am not a bloody idiot! I can see from the sun when he is entering my palace and sometimes I get a vision of his upcoming visits! Just like I can know when you are using the pool to your own benefits."

Her skin became whiter when she realized that her crimes had been discovered. She tried to justify herself. "Apollo! I'm sorry! I didn't want to…"

"Don't." He stopped her with a sign of his hand and smiled to reassure her. "If I was really forbidding you to use it this way, I would make sure that you would be unable to do it. But honestly, I don't mind it. I just don't like your habit to do stuff that you hide from me intentionally! You know how it brought you trouble in the past."

"Stop talking like if I was a child. I am older than you!"

"I will stop only when you will cease to act like a child."

"You are not well placed to talk! Complaining about your brother like that! Isn't childish?"

"I can barely tolerate when he decides to come to see you in my absence, so, don't ask me to tolerate him when I am here."

"Seriously, you almost sound jealous!" Delphina laughed.

Apollo looked at her, not an ounce amused. She laughed louder. "Ho! Come on! Now, tell me about your day?"

But just when Apollo opened his mouth to answer, they heard the main door open. They both stood up, confused. They expected no one to come in the evening.

But when they discovered who it was, they were deeply pleased. Delphina could hardly hide her joy. "Asclepius!"

Apollo's son had become a grown man. He was now bearded and very muscular. The world knew him as the new God of Medicine. He was an accomplished scientist and healer. Widely respected in the mortal and immortal universe.

And he didn't come alone.

Delphina stood up and ran to welcome her godson accompanied of his family! Beside him, there was a woman. His wife, Epione, a gorgeous auburn-haired minor goddess who had been well welcomed into the family. She also gave birth to plenty of children who came with their parents to visit their grandfather.

"Hello Father! Hello Godmother!" Asclepius said. "We decided to pay a surprise visit!" Few people could dare to pay a surprise visit to a bad tempered Apollo so late in the day without consequences. Luckily, Asclepius was one of them.

"To my biggest pleasure!" Delphina replied. Then, she turned to the children: Machaon, Podalirius and Hygeia. She squatted near them "How are you, my dear little treasures?"

"Godgrandmother! We want to play with you!" Hygeia asked.

"Yes. Please!" Her brother Machaon approved.

The Goddess felt obligated despite the fact it was the evening and that she was a little tired. But she was still a child at heart and she loved to have fun. So she accepted to go play with the children.

However, she had left the occasion to converse with Asclepius and his beloved who stayed with Apollo.

The God of Almost Everything sighed but managed to keep some good mood for the people he loved. He was tired and didn't expect to receive visitors at this moment, but he will welcome them and offer them a place to sleep in his palace.

"Welcome home, My Son, Epione." He greeted them with sincere joy.

"Happy to see you, Father."

"Well, just take a seat so we can take time to share our news. Delphina will take care of the kids as you can easily guess. Now I want to hear your progress in medicine."

…

While they discussed, Delphina went outside with the kids. It was very late in the evening. The moon was up in the sky. She knew that playtime would not be too long. Bedtime would arrive very quickly. But she still could manage to cope with their endless energy!

Suddenly, Hygeia fell on the floor, pushed by her brothers. Delphina went to help her and also scolded the boys. "What I told you about pushing your sister?! This is not a funny game and it can be dangerous for her!"

"Sorry, Grandmother." Podalirius responded, guilty.

"How many times must I tell you to not call me grandmother? I am not your grandmother, I am your godgrandmother!"

"That's too long! And what is the difference? You raised Father, did you? Just like Grandfather!"

"But I didn't give birth to him. So I am not his real mother. Just like I am not your grandmother."

"Is it that important?" Hygeia asked. "After all, you live with Grandfather like every grandmother."

Delphina was kind of embarrassed when she understood what she meant. "Yes, but… We are not like that. I mean… We are not married."

"Why not?"

"Hum… Because it is like that." She didn't know how to explain this to kids.

The children just blinked their eyes. They clearly didn't understand.

"But you love Grandfather, right? You are always together. Like all couples. So why don't you marry him?"

Delphina really felt trapped and confused. Many thoughts tormented her. She realized that she grew very closer to Apollo since the birth of Asclepius. In fact, she discovered that they always acted like a couple despite that she had refused to wed him a long time ago. They lived under the same roof even if it was only a secondary residence for her. They passed a lot of time together even if officially it was only friendly. In fact, some people could argue that they behaved sometimes like an old married couple.

And yet…she didn't know how to describe how she felt.

"It is…complicated." Delphina answered.

The children were about to ask another question but she cut them quickly.

"Eh! Do you want to hear a good story before bedtime comes? The story of how a demigod came to slay a huge monster called the Minotaur?"

They happily replied. "Yes!"

Great! Delphina was now out of trouble for the rest of the night.

But this conversation would still haunt her heart.

Thank you for reading!

Asclepius got more children than that, but I didn't want to show all of them. Just assume that the others may not be born yet.

I couldn't prevent myself to do a lot of allusions to the Dionysus/Ariadne pairing, one of my favourite couples in Greek Mythology!

I hope you enjoyed it. This is your hint for the next chapter: Wax.

See you soon!