The brick forged palace sat lonely and muted between the gaping crevice of the giant mount Etna. His weary mismatched eyes looked far beyond the bleak grey sky readying to split for dawn. Hephaestus had already risen hours before, his habit formed by reveling in the silence and heat of his forge as Gaia still fell asleep.
But no. The habit came from waking up alone in his bed for two, festering a coldness with which the molten rocks and iron cannot dissipate.
He shook his head at the bitter past that made him feel worse than he already was. He wanted to pretend things have gone well for him the morning he exposed his wife and her brute of a lover to the universe. He wanted to believe he had avenged himself well and that she'd finally learned her lesson, and yet naturally promiscuous she was, news of her sensual exploits haven't stopped coming after him.
A knock at the iron door robbed him off his thoughts, replaced by quick wonders who would see him at such a lonely hour. Would it have been his ex-wife? That beautiful dove with a heart of a crow. Of course not, he refused to believe, limping at the door after another weak tapping demanded of him.
The hinges screeched, and he stared at the unexpected guest. It may not be her but it was a pure soul with glassy eyes so sad, so wrecked.
"Here," the Blacksmith handed a tin chalice of water mixed with lime. Athena took the cup between thin fingers and sipped slowly whilst Hephaestus sat a good three yards from her. They perched at the edge of fenceless balcony looking below a wide warm lake blackened by the dark, its thick vapors creating a ghostly cloud of mist.
He looked at her, trying to tether the image of the Athena he knew – a young goddess oozing with confidence, defying the prisons of sexism the way she donned her armor and threw her spear more majestic than a javelin athlete. He saw her the first time mounting a beautiful beast they then called horse, her messy earthen hair tied high behind her head, her dirtied face grinning like a champ. She came to him one day, offering apprenticeship in exchange of practical knowledge until her creation of the first chariot. She matured then with the formalities of a scholar. If she wasn't meddling with the affairs of Athenian kings or chasing stags with the sky twins, she would be burning midnight oil at the libraries.
And then she was forced to marry the savage, bearing a massive responsibility on her shoulders. So much for being the great Zeus' favorite.
What she was now he couldn't fathom – a fragile bird with broken wings, a withered summer pine. The War god had shattered her fiercely, flesh to spirit. He heard she lost an unborn child and fell so ill. It was only now he saw how bad the defeat had thwarted her. How her husband must be proud!
"I'm sorry for your loss."
Athena blinked. And nothing else. He couldn't even hear her breathe.
"I heard Roman gods are coming, the first in history to ever happen, that alliance you suggested. You must be anx – " "I'm running off."
Hephaestus halted, his thick brows creasing. "What? Why? Where will you go?"
"I don't know, Hef." Her voice was so cold she was almost summoning winter. "Disguise as mortal. Blend with my people, and run… just run… just… forget. And keep running."
"That doesn't sound like you at all,"
"Oh. Like what, exactly?" She hollowed in a soft sob, burying half her face on the blanket around her shoulders. "I don't even know what I am anymore…"
"Hmm. You might have heard of a magnificent deity, she is called Pallas Athena. She didn't really do much…" Hephaestus shrugged his crooked shoulders, the left rising higher than the right. "She just… made important inventions! Things that made mortals' lives easier… what else… ah, she founded a city from dust and stone, made it so vast and glorious it stood to be Greece's capital, its name bearing hers proudly. She served strength and inspiration to heroes. When the gods would gather she did not just exist among faces. Her presence was intimidating. When she opens her mouth to speak the others would not just fall silent. They will damn listen!"
The Queen was faintly blushing amid sorrowful eyes. When she was younger it was always an awe listening to Hephaestus' stories, his comic facial expressions and various vocal trails. She always found him entertaining, far opposite how the others pulled fun in his disfigurement.
The Blacksmith sneered in continuation. "Well she had her shares of bad weather… rivaling over a golden apple which caused a decade of destruction, being competitive as she was. Do you want to know how she made the first spider?" He grinned and Athena covered her face, shook her head before an embarrassed chortle. "NO! No…"
Hephaestus shared his laughter before concluding in a manner that gave back the life in her eyes. "Despite those shortcomings she is still a legend to behold. The people love her. They celebrate feasts in her name. Right now she, with the help of those who respect her beyond belief, is trying to save her home and their namesakes from a catching desolation…"
By the time he finished, her sunken cheeks were trailed with tears.
"What could stop you, dear, hm?"
"A husband."
"Aggh!" Hephaestus scoffed, "Of course it won't! He's a terrible man, that warmonger. Believe me, I know. I have never hated someone as much as I wanted to lock him in a casket and throw it deep under the molten rocks of this mountain. But I know he fears you as. A sort of rueful admiration."
"Tell that to the bride who was raped before her wedding."
Oh. Hephaestus looked down. Of course. He remembered that day from the whispers of the nymphs. They had to reconstruct her before the ceremonies, quickly pasting the fresh bruises with pearls and powder. Gladly as it wore off her skin had regenerated, but her wounded pride remained. What sane god or man would ever violate his bride only to prove a point? He had once desired Athena, but quickly found it the most brutal of his thoughts and begged for forgiveness.
"How did you do it?" the Queen asked. "How did you ever live with it? Those centuries of stark betrayal… How can you not wrap your fingers around that long noble neck and snap it?"
The distant stare he gave filled her with guilt.
"I had worse imaginations," came a somber reply. "Would that I have only lost more than I could gain. Look at me, Athena. I can make the prettiest things and still I be named the 'ugly cripple'. She can open her legs to every living, squatting creature and still be adored. That question should have been thrown to you. How can you not have just ripped you husband's head off within so many chances? Ah-ah-ah, don't." He waved a skewed wrinkled finger on her face before she opened her mouth to protest. "Don't tell me it's because he's immortal. That's cow dung."
Athena looked once more at his mismatched eyes of cognac on the left iris and flecked steel blue at the other. She used to pity him, incensed at the nasty treatments from his wife. Now she sees herself in his eyes, the similar pity she held now reflecting at her.
She allowed the saddest smile and in return Hephaestus sighed in full understanding.
"It's difficult, isn't it? Love can confuse even the most reasonable mind. I should know. I loved her, too. And so she's alive till today."
Exactly the reason I came to you. Athena breathed the fused smell of ash and sulfur. She needed to confirm the twist in her gut, the murky shadow that easily makes pass at Ares' stupidity, the peculiar hope of seeing potential in their current stand. Only the most enduring Hephaestus can tell - she loved him; she loved that obnoxious bastard shaped as her husband despite his layers of grotesquery. She might as well admit it to put her at ease, and finally lay waste on those feelings before it completely consumes her.
"So how do I fix it?"
A faint smudge of pink and orange begun to mark the horizon. Hephaestus nodded at her reassuringly.
"Alas I don't know. I can only forge a broken steel, not a broken heart."
Sunlight burst and the gigantic gates of brass and gold opened. The gods heralded their Roman guests with unified applause as nymphs tossed about the petals of white manna.
Apollo led the parade in his baronial chariot, reflecting a regal kind of light which made the great pillars sparkle. Up the façade of stairs the King couldn't help narrowing his eyes repelling a glare. He turned to Hermes by his side. "Have you seen her?"
"I'm afraid not yet, my King," the god clicked his tongue only to make Ares curse under his breath. How dare she runs off and turns her back at her scheme. He sees the approaching party and tries so hard to feign a welcoming aura. The thought of alliances still hasn't settled in his stomach, so quick to be retched out even before the Romans could gaze upon him.
The King was so lost in antipathy that he hasn't noticed the deities slowly parting way behind him. When the scent of pure dream filled his nose and made the hair on the back of his neck rise, he exhaled in utter relief and repressed excitement.
When Apollo's chariot halted and appeared three Roman deities, Ares successfully pulled a half smile. Athena stepped forward, offering genuine hospitality. She spoke eloquently that Ares knew he could not even match half her effort. Today she wore her legendary aegis, the captivating sketch of Medusa's head glimmering on the chest. The band crown ran across her head so fittingly, its diamante highlighting the silver in her deep eyes. Her hair fell a soft mess of dark hazel studded with glittering pins. She walked so regal, long milky legs shaped behind silk and lustrous satin.
"Welcome to Olympus," Athena beckoned, stretching her arms as her wristbands shimmered. "We hope you find ease at our home."
"The honor is ours."
None could miss to identify the nobility that was Jupiter. A huge god, standing proudly draped in purple toga. Thick ginger hair tasseled his head like lion's mane, fluff around his broad shoulders. The tip of his beard was braided as a little girl does her pigtails. His eyes were electric blue and yet his face bore kindly. When he stretched his hand to the side urging a woman to come forth, the rings on his stout fingers sparkled.
"My wife, and Queen, Juno Regina."
The Roman goddess moved close to kiss Athena's cheek. She was tall, beautiful, black of hair tumbling to her wide hips. Her headpiece was a string of marquise cut diamonds, thicker on the right side where more of the gems fell like tears, smoothly swaying as she moved. Attached to the crown was a silken garb which flowed longer than her hair. "The poets have talked of your pleasance, but no words could truly surpass your beauty and grace, standing before us now."
Athena blushed with Juno's light squeeze in the arm. Finally they turned, faces alight. "And may we introduce our son, Mars."
She'd heard of him. The Roman equivalent of her husband, glorious in battles but far from bloodthirsty. They say he was a calculating one, clever, and does not forfeit the advantage of intelligence in war. If she and Ares were to combine it would be the red one, Mars. Athena could hear the skitters of nymphs behind her, their faces puffed from subduing screams of delight.
But they had every reason to behave like bees knocked off the hive… he was exceptionally handsome. He wore red like the color was born for him. His hair was deep vermillion, eyes were alluring gold. No jewels adorned him, he did not need them either – the black furs and thick bloodred cape were enough to make a mortal swoon.
Athena caught the distant Artemis by sight, jestingly flicked her eyes towards Mars and back, half smiling coyly. Might change your mind, virgin. The Huntress frowned.
"The great war queen. What an honor." Mars bowed and she noticed his was a youthful face. He stretched an arm to take Athena's hand to kiss –
"Yes, welcome," Ares' voice was crude, compressing quick between the two and forcing her to move behind. "I am Ares, no further cordialities. This is Queen Athena," he enjoyed the emphasis of the two last words – "…my wife."
The Red god withdrew, politely smiling at a message he comprehended between the lines.
"Olympus is even prettier than what the songs describe. I hope the others could see this," Juno sighed, falling in love with the sight of the palace below them. They rested upon the hanging gardens topmost of the architecture. The apple grove burned bright orange, its leaves dwindling as they fell creating a mat of crisp feathery haven.
Mars was stooping by the edge, elbow pressed on bent knee. The wind was skirting through fur and cloak and auburn hair. "Fascinating…" he whispered to himself yet loud enough for them to hear, "Would that I'd have difficulty breaching. Those high walls, seven floors of iron and marble – "
" – stuffed with diamonds, the hardest stone. Not all that sparkle serve as ornaments. You'd shatter to the earth sooner than you breach a pillar." Ares stole the attention without looking at the Red god. He sat across his Queen over a disc shaped stone table, fingers around a chalice. She only hoped the wine had not reached his head yet.
"Mhm," Mars shrugged, attempting to ignore the indifference before occupying a stool by the table he gave his closing remarks. "It may seem impossible on the outside. Tricking is the key. One does not simply strike face front. It has to be from within…"
His last sentence immediately threw Athena in a trance. These were familiar words… from within… she recalled a chilling voice, the voice of a serpent at the edge of her bed. Euryale. Her vision raced and the voices around her blurred.
…open from the inside… from within…
" – the gates will open from the inside…"
Mars was appalled at the Queen who joined his exact words as if they had practiced it before. Realizing this, Athena paled. Her understanding of the riddle came as shock. Someone will have to betray before Olympus would fall. But who, damn it. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer… a cliché not to be ignored.
She swallowed with a deep inhale. Terrified she was by the thought, but Ares' face was already contoured with wroth limited to why the Red one and his wife could have jinxed a certain line. She closed her eyes and held her forehead. Someone was talking to her.
"…Athena?" "Queen?"
Her silver eyes gaped at them as the pull to reality happened quickly. She tipped her head, blinking in shame to have to ask what she was being told.
"Should we discuss the matters now?"
Seconds passed before she remembered to exhale. She hated this happening right then and now. Words were fleeing from her. "Ah… yes… I..." Cursed tongue, bring it out!
"You are aware of the destruction we are promised, yes?"
Athena turned to her savior in the form of her own King and husband. When she looked at him he was already eyes on her, the usual glare being thrown with an unspoken promise of doom.
"We were told," Jupiter agreed. "Janus' sights are never an error."
Ares fixed his sitting gait, "My Queen suggests we offer alliance with you. I am unconvinced. But I know everything she does… she does with the best intents." He moved his face to the side, trying to hide embarrassment. She felt her heart skip a beat and her thoughts began to realign; looking at him she smiled gratefully.
"Our offer is built on mutual respect. War is anticipated; but not between nations and mortal kings. We look forward to a god-worthy battle, our prowess against forces unimaginable. I demand we keep our peoples off the option. This is not their war, they won't stand a chance." Athena discussed, gaining immediate admiration.
"We seek only these from Rome. That, should battle befall we implore your army – I am aware of your rising military finesse. Next, you provide us shelter if matters fall for the worst." She crossed her fingers behind her. Olympus will fall. They needed to go somewhere.
The three Roman deities brooded, contemplating, repeating the words in their heads. Jupiter raised, "What do we get in return?"
Glory and gore. "Definitely the same. Only that we take advantage of the first try," Athena grinned shortly, "Soon Rome shall have its seat among world powers. And yet again we are not alone. The universe is vast and we are all racing – Norweigians, Rus, the Orient, many more. You would need more than defense. You need allies. I may not have been Queen for long but we've lived long enough to witness this among our nations alone. Our mortal kings rip each other apart but what keeps the winning side is sworn fealty and not just independence."
They went further with so much enthusiasm, raising queries, cutting expectations, making ends meet only to formally agree. It was midday the time they were to indulge in a conversation that would knock Ares and Athena off their feet.
"Now we'd like to ask one more," Jupiter had turned smug, a sign Hera and their son most likely knew of, the way they almost followed his expression. "Like many other alliances we might as well demand a token to ensure this."
Ares scoffed, "I knew it. Treasure?"
"Far more precious, on the contrary," came Juno. She leaned back her chair, shaping a tent with her fingers. "Marriage."
Athena could almost hear the blandest sigh when silence fell. No. Not again. She remembered the first Zeus revealed his plan of marrying her off to the plague they call Ares. It almost choked the life off her, and now fate demands for another to suffer.
She nervously chuckled. "I – I believe we have no one at hand ready for this, my Queen, it will be an outrage. And at such a dire time – "
"It does not have to be tomorrow or the next harvest, surely the marriage can wait. What we need to ensure is 'who'."
"What do you mean?"
Juno released an amused laughter and watched as her reply turned Athena ceramic white. "Aren't the King and Queen supposed to produce heirs?"
Ares raised his eyes, giving a quick dart at the way his wife's lips trembled, dubiously caught unaware. He raised a question gruffly, saving his wife from the momentary shock. "You have any more options?"
"Why? It wouldn't be difficult for you now, would it? We sure heard your reputation…" Mars cut off without so much an apology, hitting a string on the other. Jupiter was quick to chastise his son.
Ares delivered a lethal stare masked behind his fraud sportsmanship. These agreements are taking an ominous turn and both can feel their skins getting cold. He locked gazes with his wife and after a long sigh, she cleared her throat, tangled her numbing fingers on the table and forced a well-played promising smile.
"Of course."
"Perfect." Juno smirked, running a thin dainty finger around the mouth of her chalice but the other Queen was not yet finished.
"I could only agree if you listen very well," her face darkened, conveying a contempt rooted deep. Ares felt it too. "This is our child's stars you are arranging, a babe to be nurtured by my body and shall be the last in history to be given away in a political marriage. My King and I are gods of war so heed this close – you dare lay a hand, or in any way make our offspring unhappy, we will damn our own immortality to make the world forget that Rome has ever existed. Your state will be an endless desert, ravaged by wolves and rattlesnakes. Any scroll or stone that bears your name will turn to ash. You understand?"
It wasn't a threat. It was a promise which made the Romans rethink what kind of Queen they were truly dealing with. Behind a cheerless expression, Ares was swelling with pride – the first woman he witnessed to have such fire even in diplomacy happens to be his wife!
The nymphs have summoned them thereafter. The banquet was ready and they needed to deliver the most important decree to an awaiting crowd of deities.
Athena took a last glimpse of Olympus, her home, their home now in the hands of an abominable fate. Before she could follow her retreating companions, a creature swooped before her going straight up to the highest cloud. She followed its direction, her eyes immediately tearing up sighting an eagle flying in a circle above her, its feathers platinum like the heaven in thunderstorm. The Queen watched as the bird flapped such powerful wings before disappearing behind a cloud. She fell in silent sanctuary –
Father. My Queenship is consumed. Soon I shall resign my crown and leave the rest to fate. My greatest fear has found me – I have fallen for the heathen, and it pains me so. It is beyond pointless to reason with my heart. You would laugh at me; I have shamed myself. Soon I'd bear his child and if you have any love left for me then allow me a sweet death in battle not as a Queen but as your loyal daughter.
As toasts were made, the revelry took after and every soul was satisfied. The feast was great and laughter was as constant as the wine. Athena had her share of glory, greeted by subjects proud to have her as their ruler. She retreated by the mezzanine, a small balcony protruding from the second floor of the great hall and watched the merriment below.
The golden chalice in her hand felt empty. She wanted to allow herself generosity for the meantime and dwell in a favorable parlay. She approached the table near, laid with glistening canisters of fermented grape juice. Before she could reach for the handle, swift fingers snatched it first.
Athena stared at the hand that interrupted her refill – covered in dark leather gauntlet cut short to the fingers so the palm was veiled. These Romans have fetish for fashion, strange but elaborate. He was wearing damn trousers.
Mars began to fill her cup.
"You have a habit for seclusion, I see. But forgive me. It is impossible to ignore you." He finished before placing the canister back.
Athena half smiled, looking behind him. "Those girls find it impossible to ignore your either." She referred to nymphs hiding behind walls and pillars only to turn beet red stealing glances of him. Mars could only shake his head laughing.
"You must enjoy so much attention," the Queen said. He shrugged and took a sip from his own cup, "On the contrary," he faced her, youthful golden eyes straight to her silvers. "Yet since we would be staying a lot longer than we think, visiting your city states and getting familiar with your culture, which I find intriguing because Greeks and Romans share a lot in common…"
Athena looked away. "We only share a common hero: Aeneas. Others… not so much."
"Really… but then where was I, yes, since we would be staying a lot longer, I may want to have a bit of your attention," he grinned.
"Aren't you too young enough to flirt?" Athena raised her brows acting like a mother, "Run along boy. My husband won't deal well with you if he sees us." She meant to jest, but later realized she might have just spoken the truth.
"If I intend to steal his bride for about half an hour, what might he do to me?" The smirk never left his face.
"Ah not much I guess," Athena searched the crowd below them, for hateful crimson eyes. "Rip your lungs off and carve them in a cake. If he's feeling merciful he might just put you in a dress and have you whipped as you walk home." And yet the real question is if he'd even care at all.
"Ohh, I'm spooked…" Mars acted a playful grimace, earning a small laugh from the Queen. His skittering stopped upon catching his mother Juno calling from below. Mars walked off after clinking his cup against hers. "To Greece and Rome."
She followed his trail disappearing by the stairs. Turning back to her former place she felt another god fill the space. Her heart began to bleed the moment Ares walked nearer and she stared on, wondering how can anyone not be smitten… even in a taut mood, her King defined the true physique of a god. And she would now lose him.
"Husband," the Queen acknowledged, "You did well."
"You're beautiful," Ares strode around her, red orbs quickly scanning the goddess head to heels. "Deadly, beautiful." He made his second turn, marking his territory before muttering close to her ear.
"What did the Roman want?"
"Nothing important."
"Anything that concerns my wife is not nothing important to me," the King glowered and she felt it yet again, a touch of the green eyed monster. She repressed the will to revolt. It won't be long until he won't describe her his wife anymore.
"I've made a decision, Ares," spoke the Queen, unable to look him in the eye, "I'm cutting you loose from the loyalty I demand of our marriage."
Ares paused when a fat burst of laughter came from below, Jupiter was getting drunk. Athena sighed shakily, "That be said you may do as you please. You may choose to obey the progresses of this battle, you are free to your own schemes, and you may…" she stopped a breath before hiding the spark of pain, "…choose to sleep with your women. I wouldn't mind."
Ares scowled, "The hell is this?"
"This is me sounding hopeless. Are you enjoying?"
"That is you sounding like a pathetic martyr," Ares scoffed at the memory of his mother, "I'm not listening to this bullshit."
"Who said anything about being a martyr?"
When Ares' eyes flew open in revolt she knew she had him in the collar.
"I meant to do this earlier, if not for the sudden conspiracies demanded by the Romans. Therefore until I conceive us a child we remain married, and then I will denounce it. You may retain your crown as long as you want but I shall give up mine."
Athena never lifted her eyes to absorb the cinders he was radiating. The King did well to swallow his anger for a time, getting behind Athena and locking her within a triangle made by his arms and the marble rails of the edge. He pressed his jaw behind her ear. "Conceive a child? Am I only a donor of seed to you now?" He mocked in whisper, "What if I refuse?"
She squeezed to turn to him, eyes sparkling with dangerous confidence: "I don't know if you've noticed but as far as I can see, you're not the only one here capable of impregnating – " "NO! –
"You wouldn't…!" Ares' fingers swiftly clutched around her jaws, hissing as he led her to the more concealed corner of the platform. "You couldn't possibly…!"
"Oh Ares… how righteous you think of me," That slow smirk across her face successfully shoved terror down his spine, loosening his grip.
"If there's one thing our marriage taught me, it would be to take advantage of one's ruined reputation. You liked doing that. You've nothing to protect. Whereas I've only realized since my virtue has already been sripped off from me then what stops me from taking further advantage? Who would refuse his Queen's advances Ares? Tell me."
"Don't do this…" The King bared his teeth, palms now pressing on her shoulders, repelling the twisted desire to break her neck. "Throw your dice on me. Keep gambling. I thought you said you never want to give up."
"I did," her only reply despite the overflowing thoughts – I did with more than a fair's share of humiliation, suffering shades of pain and betrayal. I did despite almost succumbing to madness at the death of her unborn. She remembered the morning, that sweet morning she woke up feeling his protection. But right then she had dealt with the impossibility of reconciliation. The cycle should be broken for better and worse.
Slowly Ares' hands slid down her arms at the weakening effect she was raining down on him. "Try it," he threatened with half the usual conviction. He would hellbent slaughter every creature with a cock before Athena would choose. "You just don't know what I could do."
"You're right I don't. Before we married I thought I already knew you well and I was wrong. But here's what I know." Athena stepped so close she could almost feel the racing of his disquieted blood. She placed her hands above his chest; his thundering heartbeats vibrated through the armor.
"I know you'll miss me..." she hummed near to seduction. "You'll miss the scourge that I am to you… I know you'll search me in the faces of the many lovers you'll take to bed. You'll look into your her eyes and wish she had the fire like mine, and at the edge of pleasure on pain I know you'll groan my name, again and again...
…until it hurts."
"Athena…" Ares moaned, shaking his head as perspiration began to fill his temples. "Don't do this."
The Queen smiled, tipped her toes and held his face before pressing her cold mouth against his. Opening her eyes she gazed at the handsome face numbed and bewitched as if she'd pulled the soul out of him as their lips departed.
"Goodbye Ares." Athena whispered before turning her heels, leaving him sedated, reaching out his hand and croaking her name.
A / N: Heyyy. This is the longest chapter so far, credited to Athena being Athena. How is everyone holding up? My never ending flow of thanks to your reviews. You rock! Although when I received a message asking about My Immortal Sin, I almost jumped off the third floor. Hahaha. Kidding aside, I hope you enjoy! And please don't forget to keep the reviews coming.
Stay safe.