#i am sorry aphrodite/hephaestus but you two would be gift giving!!

[puckjay-writes]

But This Is Ruin: It looked like it hurt (chapter 2)

When Hephaestus opens the door he expects to be sad. That is how he always felt when Aphrodite cried. That is how everyone felt. Instead he is angry.

There is something about the perfect pink of the tip of her nose and her perfectly puffy eyes and the five strands of hair that escaped her messy bun. Something about those watery hazel eyes. He knows that when she looks like that the entire universe fawns and gives her a hug. And that means that he immediatly becomes the bad guy. No hugs, no compassion for him. She is not doing it on purpose, he knows that. She is just that pure, and if he is being honest, that pretty. And that makes it even worse.

She is holding a cardboard box a bit larger than what he expected. "Come in," he offers. She nodds and sniffles, and follows him as he wheels back into his appartement. Aphrodite puts the box down on the coffee table. In it there are a change of clothes, toiletries, several hoodies, and a collection of small trinkets. Glass baubles and welded figurines, woodcarved toys and clay cups, leather bracelets and finer jewelry. Hephaestus picks up a glass dog and turns it in his hands. "I didn't know if you wanted those back, so..." He doesn't really want the gifts that bad. Instead he wishes she had put their whole relationship in the box, all of his secrets and how he looked naked, so he could take it all back from her. "Thank you," he says, refusing to argue.

"How are you doing," she asks as she sits in the guest chair. "I'm good. Do you want something to drink?" "Tea would be nice." Hephaestus does not drink tea, but there is still some of her favorite in his cupboard. He leaves her in the living room to go to the kitchen and put the kettle on. She looks like an odd thing in his space, where everything is big and empty and in dark colors, like a small pearl in a too large oyster.

He comes back, a tray balanced on his lap with a single cup on it, and she is crying. People always assumed she was one of those pretty criers, who seemed to only cry with the water coming out of their eyes. Aphrodite cries with her all body. He soulders shake under her coat and her face contorts in a frown, yet she is still pretty. "Are you sure we're over?" she chokes a little on her words. "Come here," Hephaestus says, putting the cup on the table and bringing his wheelchair next to Aphrodite. He wraps his arms around her and shelters her face in his shoulder. He is not angry anymore.

She does not cry long. When she lets go, he finally answers. "Yes, I am. I'm sorry." Her nickname almost slips from his tongue. It's too easy, like a poem he learned by heart, and calling her "Aphrodite" just feels wrong.

Like a needle popping a baloon, a knock at the door breaks the tension in the room. "I got it," Hephaestus announces. When he opens the door he has to crane his neck up to meet the gaze of the tall woman standing there. She looks overdressed, in a silk grey suit and silver jewelry that shines like stars against her dark skin. "I'm sorry, am I interrupting," asks Athena. "No, it's ok," Aphrodite answers when Hephaestus hesitates. "I like the bantu knots on you, Thena, looks great." Athena gives a nod of appreciation as she steps through the door. "I have some papers from the student comitee." "Ouh, not my scene," Aphrodite says in an exaggerated sing-song tone. "I'll leave you two to it." And she waltzes out the door, light on her feet despite the cardboard box she grabs from Hephaestus's table.

Athena stares at him with her usual neutral look. "You're getting too popular to own only one chair." "I guess so, huh." There is a comfortable silence as Hephaestus grabs the papers and quickly reads the titles and carefully highlighted words, and Athena settles on the one chair. "So. Are you going to tell me?" she asks when she sees him put the papers down. "You're such a gossip," Hephaestus teases. Athena's neutral look does not leave her face. "Everyone is wondering." "So? Let them wonder. It's none of their buisness." "I don't do wondering. Why did you break up with her, Hephaestus?" He groans and hides his face in his hands. "Do we have to do this, Athena?" "We do. Spill the tea."

Hephaestus chuckles, a little bit hysterically. "You know what's fucking unfair? Evryone acts like she was such an angel for dating me, and im making a huge mistake by breaking up with her. No one has ever asked what she did." "What did she do?" "Nothing!" Anthena nods thoughtfully and gets up. Hephaestus follows her into the kitchen to continue the conversation as she pours herself a sparkly lemonade and leans her back against the counter. "If you want ice cubes I made some earlier. She didn't do anything big that people can point out and say "that's why". It's the little things." To other people, Athena's unmoving stare is unsettling, but Hephaestus has known her long enough to know this is how she pays undivided attention, and her stoic silence is soothing when he bares his soul. "She was even better than most my previous partners, didn't let go of my hand in public and stuff. And people treated her like a saint for that and that made me feel like shit." "I know you," Athena interrupts. "You did not break up with her because of other people treated her." Hephaestus sighs, and grumbles "Cut through the bullshit, I get it." He spins his wheelchair in place a few times as he thinks. "She didn't find me attractive. And I get it. No one does." "Not true." Athena interrupts him again. He looks at her with a raised eyebrow, surprised and disbelieving, so she points at her own face. "See this? This is my I-know-something-you-dont face." Hephaestus rolled his eyes and continued. "She never called me pretty. Or handsome. Whatever. She only called me stuff like, rugged or, strong. And when I asked, she would reassure me that she was attracted to me, but she's not a very good liar." "Is that really the problem?" Athena asks. "Stop psychonanalysing me," says Hephaestus without meaning it. "She did this thing where she'd compliment my scars and touch them all delicate and soft. And that's better than if she was disgusted by them, but it's still making a point of how not-disgusted she was, and that felt weird. Like there was no way to just be *normal* about them." Athena just keeps staring. She is not one to repeat herself, and she already told Hephaestus to cut to the real issue. "It's going to sound like it's about Ares," Hephaestus says and adds, after Athena does not say anything. "It's not about Ares!" "I did not say anything." "*Stop psychonalaysing me!*" he half-yells, but he is grinning. "I don't mind that she likes him," he conceeds. "And I know she would have never cheated on me. But seeing how she looked at him, it made me realize, he is her "one who got away". And that made me wonder what I am, what story she put me in. I don't think I'm the charity case, despite what everyone thinks, but I don't know. I think I was her beauty and the beast story, the rough exterior with a perfect boyfriend underneath." Athena stays silent. He knows that's how she keeps people talking, but for now he does not mind. "And honestly I think I'm more mad at the "perfect boyfriend" part." Hephaestus starts spinning his wheelchair in place again. "Because it's a lot of pressure, you know? It's like I have to make up for my looks, like I can't slip up and be angry, or forget an important date, or literally anything. I have to be perfect all the time." Athena nods. Hephaestus reaches into a drawer and puts a metal straw in her glass as she goes to refill it.

"You're doing good," Athena says without any inflection. "Yeah, I broke up with her because-" "Not about the break up. Identifying and communicating your feelings." "You taught me well." "You don't miss any practice." "Don't call this practice, I know you're just looking for hot goss'." Athena does not deny anything.

[duck-writer]

Aphrodite’s Broken Heart

“What is that?” Huey asked as he and his brothers plus Webby approached the artifact. 

It was encased into the walls perfectly. It would seem hard to pluck it without proper tools. But even as Louie tried to reach for it, Scrooge tapped his hand away with his cane. 

“The Heart of Aphrodite...don’t touch. This is not one treasure we can take.” Scrooge said solemnly.

“Why not?” Louie asked with a pout. Followed up by, “Isn’t that the point of our adventuring?”

“Normally, yes. But not this time. See...there’s another aspect of adventuring you wee ones need to learn.” Scrooge answered. 

“Is it the posing? Because we’ve actually been practicing and mine’s the best.” Dewey offered.

“No.” Scrooge said dismissively as he looked at the cracked gem with a deep frown. “There are some adventures you learn a bit more about the place you’re exploring. What makes it up and sometimes how it fits into the grand scheme of things. When you’re young, you may not care much about it and more about the quest or treasure at the end-”

“I mean obviously, what’s the point of these things if not for the treasure?” Louie asked and Dewey nodded.

“I hear a ‘but’ coming though.” Huey said as he noticed his uncle’s tone. 

“But!” Scrooge emphasized. “What we only value at it’s surface, some things were created to maintain a balance. Lock away evil not capable to be destroyed, or simply pillars that help maintain life here on earth, as we know it.” 

“And the Heart of Aphrodite is one of those pillars?” Webby asked as she stepped up to get a better look at it, “It’s cracked...”

“Aphrodite...Storkules mentioned her! Something about asking her for help with Uncle Donald....” Dewey commented with a bit of confusion in his voice. Other than that reference, he wasn’t really sure about her. 

“She’s the Greek goddess of-” Webby began but then gasped as the bright red gem that was glowing on and off got another crack in it. “Are we...talking too loud?”

“No...it’s breaking.” Scrooge said solemnly. 

“That’s not good...right?” Louie asked.

“Considering the Trojan War happened as a result of her being chosen as the fairest, I can’t imagine her heart getting broken would be anything good.” Huey supplied. 

“But this isn’t actually her heart right? What is it, Uncle Scrooge?” Louie asked. 

“Nay, it’s not her actual heart but it is important. It was gifted to her by Ares as an anniversary present.” Scrooge began. 

“Wasn’t she married to Hephaestus?” Huey asked.

“Yes!” Webby answered. 

“Sounds like a soap opera.” Dewey said.

“Are you going to let me finish!?”

There was a chorus of ‘Sorry, Uncle Scrooge!’.

“This gem is what allows love to be felt and given to everyone on earth. If it breaks...there will be no love.” 

“That’s gonna be a bummer for Valentines day.” Louie said. 

“Man, if they cancel Valentines day then we’ll have no sweets giving holiday in February! No 75% off of chocolate February 15th!” Dewey cried. 

“It’s not just romantic love, you knuckleheads! ALL sorts of love! Romantic, platonic...familial.” Scrooge said the last one quietly.

The triplets and Webby shared a look. Love was an concept. They weren’t interested in romantic love, yet, and it was the sort of love one thinks about the most when hearing the word. But they all understood that some of the most epic moments of their adventures, their most heroic feats, were acts of love for each other and want to keep each other safe. 

“What does that mean for us if it breaks?” Huey asked. 

“An entire world full of indifference.” Scrooge answered. 

“That doesn’t sound...too bad.” Louie said, though he didn’t sound too convinced. 

“But it won’t come to that! Right Uncle Scrooge?” Webby asked. 

“Fix a goddess broken heart? Let me Dewey-it!” Dewey exclaimed as he walked up towards the gem. Only to be yanked back by Scooge.

“Careful, laddie! We came here to see how bad the damage is. The cure is sadly...a sacrifice.” Scrooge answered. 

“Sacrifice? What sort of sacrifice?” Louie demanded, already eyeing the gem warily and taking a step back from it. 

“Someone with very powerful love. Love so strong it’ll move mountains, give hope to the hopeless, make you believe everything will be alright despite it being not alright. It’s rare and asking someone to give it up for the world isn’t easy...” Scrooge explained. 

“Does someone like that even exist?” Dewey asked with a head tilt. 

“Aye. But anyway, we’ve come what we came for. Let’s head back and make a proper plan.” Scrooge said and was met with grumbling, but they all headed back towards the aeroplane. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“It was a gift from Ares to Aphrodite...” Xandra began as she looked at the cracking gem rather than her valiant hero. “The saying ‘all’s fair in love and war’ stems from their relationship. Love can be dangerous. The things one is willing to do for it...” She closed her eyes and sighed deeply. “I know it’s not fair to ask this of you. And I can already hear the angry tirades of the other two, but there is no one I can think of who fits the criteria better. Someone who is so angry at the world...but loves just as intensely.”

“If I don’t do this...bad things will happen, won’t they?” Donald asked, though he already knew the answer. At Xandra’s nod, he sighed but forced a smile anyway. “What do I do?”

She reaches for his amulet and places it in his hands. “Think about all that you love.”

He does. He doesn’t have to think too hard because the answer is easy. His kids. Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webby. Others popped in too. Panchito and Jose, Xandra too. Daisy, May, June, and April. Ari, Launchpad, Scrooge, Mrs. B...he had a lot of love and respect that fueled him. And now it would have to fuel the world for a couple of centuries. 

Xandra watched with a sad expression as the love manifested itself into a whirlwind of stardust that swirled from Donald and into the blue amulet. After it was done, she caught Donald as such a task drained him of...a lot, and gently placed him against the wall. With tears in her eyes she replaced Ares’ cracking heart with Donald’s intact one. 

~~~~~~~~~

Scrooge let the kids wonder off after some time helping. He had plenty of work to do atop of trying to figure out how to cure Aphrodite’s heart. 

There was a swoosh sound and he grabbed his cane and pushed back his chair to stand as a bright whirlwind appeared. When it manifested into a creature of some sort he wasn’t too phased, but when he noticed who it was holding, his grip on his cane tightened, “Put. Him. Down. Gently!”

The goddess does, resting Donald on the couch near the wall before she turned to look at Scrooge with a saddened expression. “Scrooge McDuck...”

“Aye...and who are you? More importantly, what have you done to my nephew?”

“My name is Xandra. I am the goddess of adventure.” Unlike before, when she would have exclaimed her title with mirth and excitement, it was a mere introduction she knew would hold Scrooge’s interest. 

The older duck gasped and muttered, “Bless me bagpipes...” But he couldn’t be as thrilled as he would have been under normal circumstances. He looked over to Donald with a concerned look. “What happened?” 

“You’re aware of the condition of the Heart of Aphrodite?” Xandra asked. 

Scrooge nodded and gestured to his desk, “I’ve been looking into possible answers.”

“...there’s no longer a need. It’s been resolved.” She said sadly. 

Scrooge narrowed his eyes. “How?”

He followed her gaze over to Doland’s form and his eyes widened and he rushed to his nephew to inspect his vitals. As he did, Xandra continued to explain. “The heart was far too broken. There’s no way to cure or fix it. It needed to be replaced. I need not remind you the vital role the heart plays on Earth...nor of the sacrifices done for the sake of love.” 

Scrooge’s grip on Donald was like a vice, “He’s not waking up...why isn’t he waking up?”

“I placed him in a slumber.” Xandra answered. She didn’t flinch when Scrooge snapped his head at her and demanded the reason for it. “It was his request. He didn’t want the boys to see him without love...the love for them was the only thing that kept him going for over a decade. And now, that same love will keep the earth alive.”

[lilacmoon83]

Finding You Always

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 217: Heathens

Pain and Panic did their due diligence and brought the two souls that their mistress had requested into her Throne room. They tossed the pair at her feet and she stared down at them.

"You have a couple of visitors," she said. Hera and Clayton looked up, only to see Zeus and Dione stood there with glares that would have frozen even a desert.

"You…" Hera hissed, as she glared at Dione.

"Give me one reason that I shouldn't cast you into Tartarus for everything you have done to my precious daughter?" Dione hissed.

"No reason at all, because the only thing I regret...is not causing her more pain! Had Seth not killed me, I would have made sure she lost James again…" Hera said deviously. Dione started to advance on her, but it was Zeus that held her back.

"She's not worth your time...you are so far above the likes of her," he said, as his attention turned to Clayton.

"But you...I'm starting to think that even death in eternal fire isn't good enough for you," he said. Clayton smirked, showing that his arrogance knew no bounds.

"I only ever tried to woo your daughter, Lord Zeus. I was captivated by her the moment I saw her," he confessed.

"You were captivated by the power of the chalice," he corrected.

"If she had agreed to be with me...and bore me a Demi-God son, we would have ruled the Earth together. I would have made sure she was showered with affection and gifts," Clayton said.

"She already had a true love and you pursued her anyway!" Dione said. He smirked again.

"What can I say? I'm a man that doesn't accept it when he is told no," Clayton replied.

"And that has sealed your fate, which you will meet once James and Aphrodite are able to confront you one last time," Zeus said. Clayton frowned, as his confidence wavered, for he knew that a very bleak eternity awaited him soon.

~*~

Flashback

"And this Black Fairy...you know not of her origin?" Zeus questioned.

"I am afraid not, my Lord...but she is definitely interested in your daughter's chalice and is livid that she cannot have it. I fear that she may try to harm Aphrodite," Blue replied.

"Then…I have no choice. She must come home to Mount Olympus. She can be protected here by Hephaestus," Zeus said gravely.

"Father...you cannot separate her from Anchises," Athena chided.

"It is not forever and he will concede for her safety, especially now that their child will also be in peril," he reasoned. Blue nodded.

"I'll go at once and retrieve them, my Lord," Blue said, as she disappeared.

~*~

She reappeared in the Enchanted Forest and the Black Fairy emerged from the trees.

"He suspects nothing?" she asked.

"No...he has no inkling that you and I were once one being. He has sent me to retrieve his unruly daughter. Now, you just need to follow and everything should go as planned," Blue said. The Black Fairy nodded, as Blue shrank down to her fairy form and the Black Fairy followed suit.

~*~

Aphrodite softly caressed her son's cheek, as she nursed him and felt his presence before she saw him. She smiled up at her husband, as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead, while peering at their son.

"There's papa, little one," she cooed, as he finished nursing and she got a burp out of him. Anchises smiled and took their son, as they put him down in his bassinet together and looked over him. He put his arms around her and they gazed down at him for several moments.

"Sleep well, our little Eros," Aphrodite cooed, as they quietly exited his nursery and she immediately kissed him passionately. He smiled, as their lips parted.

"Well, hello to you too, my beautiful wife," he said.

"I missed you…" she replied.

"I was only a mile away in the fields," he said. She bit her bottom lip and then rested her head on his chest.

"I know...but even just a few hours is too much separation for me," she said.

"Me too," he agreed, as he surprised her and swept her into his arms. Their bliss was interrupted though by a knock at the door.

"Who could that be?" she wondered, as he placed her on her feet and they answered the door together.

"Blue...what are you doing here?" Aphrodite asked.

"I'm afraid I have terrible news...there is a great threat to you and your family," Blue replied, as she came inside.

"What kind of threat?" Anchises asked.

"There is a dark fairy. We do not know where she came from or who she is, but she wants the power of the chalice and she will do anything to force you to give it to her," Blue claimed.

"But it doesn't work that way. Unless you are deemed worthy by the chalice, you cannot touch it. Even I cannot modify that rule," Aphrodite protested.

"Yes, but you have a husband and a baby. She will use them to force you to use its power on her behalf if she has to," Blue replied.

"What do we do?" Anchises asked.

"Zeus wants you and the baby to come home to Olympus. It is the only way you can be protected from her," Blue replied.

"But...what about my husband?" Aphrodite asked.

"I'm afraid he'll have to stay behind. Mortals are not allowed on Mount Olympus," Blue replied.

"I'll not leave my husband…" Aphrodite protested.

"My love...this may be the only way you will be safe," Anchises said sadly, as she turned to him.

"No...no I can't be without you," she replied in anguish. He was about to plead with her that it was for her safety and the baby's, despite how painful it would be. But he didn't get the chance, as their door burst open, revealing a woman, dressed in black fairy garb. Aphrodite reacted immediately and blasted her with orange magic, but the Black Fairy batted her attack away like nothing. Aphrodite gasped, as her airway was restricted and with a wave of her hand, Fiona slammed her against the wall. Inky black tendrils came alive from the wall and wrapped around her, trapping her there.

"Aphrodite!" Anchises cried, as he grabbed his sword and tried to cut through the magical restraints. But when he could not break through, he attacked the Black Fairy instead.

"Anchises!" Aphrodite cried fearfully. The Black Fairy dodged his attacks, leaving an otherwise expert swordsman, shadowboxing. With a devious grin, she picked him up with her magic and threw him into the table, causing it to shatter and him to fall among the rubble.

"Anchises!" Aphrodite cried, as she sobbed uncontrollably. And she screamed, even louder, as her hand went into his chest and she extracted his heart. The baby started to cry and she waved her wand, as the child appeared in her arms.

"Ohhh...a Demi-God. Grandson of Zeus himself...you will do perfectly well for what I have planned," she said.

"No...no, my baby!" Aphrodite cried.

"My baby now…" Fiona hissed, as she crushed Anchises heart into diamond dust, gave Blue a quick glance, and then disappeared with the child. Her restraints disappeared and Aphrodite let out a gut wrenching scream, as she collapsed beside her dead husband and cradled him in her arms.

"You led her right to us!" Aphrodite cried, as her eyes burned with pain.

"I...I didn't mean to," Blue lied.

"Yes...yes you did! I sensed her energy...it's the same as yours!" Aphrodite accused.

"She was a part of you once, wasn't she?" the blonde accused. Blue smirked.

"You are definitely smarter than we give you credit for, but it makes no difference, because you won't remember this," Blue replied.

"Why...why would you do this? You let her kill my husband and steal my baby!" Aphrodite sobbed.

"You still don't get it...none of this would have happened if you had just given me power over the chalice," Blue responded.

"You did this because of my mother's chalice!?" Aphrodite cried, but she was zapped with Blue's wand and lost consciousness instead of getting an answer. With her wand, she carefully extracted the parts of Aphrodite's memory where she had realized the truth about herself and Fiona, leaving only the pain, and then roughed herself up to make for a good show, as Zeus and Athena arrived.

"What...what happened?" Athena asked, as she helped Blue up.

"It was horrible...I tried to stop her, but the Black Fairy got the better of me," she said, as she watched Zeus cradle his daughter.

"I am afraid she killed the mortal and stole your grandson, my Lord. I am so sorry that I could not stop her," Blue offered. And somehow, Zeus knew she would never be the same. Athena looked at her half sister and frowned, as she used magic to evaluate her.

"What is it?" Zeus asked, as she did the same with Anchises.

"They have been cursed," Athena said, as she revealed a black lightning bolt marking on both their hands, which was only visible with magic.

"A curse?" Zeus asked.

"It is a rare curse and can only be enacted with dark fairy dust. It preys on true love and twists it into something that will only cause pain," Athena said gravely, as Blue smirked deviously at their turned backs.

"When a true love couple is cursed with this...it means they shall be reborn time and again, find each other, only for their love to be ended violently, ensuring a cycle of pain. In this case, Anchises will be reborn and find Aphrodite in whatever life he is living. The curse will blind her from remembering that he was once Anchises and she will never realize that each time she finds true love that it is her first and only true love, just in a new life," Athena declared.

"Can the curse be broken?" Zeus asked.

"Only when they are aware of all their lives together, but that is why this curse is nearly unbreakable. Aphrodite will remember Anchises, but each time after this that she finds him, her memory will be wiped once she loses him. And he will always return, cleansed of any memory of his previous lives. Only when they are both able to retain their memories can the cycle be broken," Athena replied.

"I want the Black Fairy found! She will undo this horror she has wrought upon my daughter!" he ordered. Blue bowed.

"I will not rest until I find her, my Lord," Blue lied, as she disappeared.

"She will be inconsolable when she awakens. We must prepare a burial for her beloved and then see her through her mourning," Athena said. Zeus felt helpless. He was the supreme God of the skies, yet even with all his power, he could not spare his beloved daughter of this pain and any future pain she would endure.

"Prepare the burial...then we will return to Olympus. Aphrodite will be coming home with us," he said.

"And the baby?" Athena asked.

"I want every available God searching for him...alert Hermes to what has happened immediately. She has the best chance of finding him," Zeus replied.

~*~

Rose sighed deeply, as she looked up from the book, having just read about the moment Aphrodite lost Anchises and had her baby ripped away.

"Mom!" Ben and Ari called, as they ran into the library, with their father and older sister following them.

"Wow…I didn't realize it was so late in the day already. How was today's training to be Knights?" she asked, as she hugged them both.

"The best! I beat Ben in a spar!" Ari boasted.

"You got lucky," Ben protested.

"Did not!" Ari protested.

"Did too," Ben argued.

"All right...what have we said when it comes to winning and losing?" Rose asked.

"Gracious people are humble whether they win or lose," Ari replied.

"And?" she asked. Ben sighed.

"And we learn more from losing than from winning," he added.

"Very good...now go wash up for dinner. The palace chef will likely have dinner ready soon," she said, as they ran off and Carina followed them, as Fandral leaned down to kiss her tenderly.

"A sad part in the book?" he asked, as she shifted so he could sit in the chair with her and she cuddled against him.

"Yes...and I can't imagine how she got through it. If I lost you and our children...I'd be broken beyond repair," she replied.

"Well, though you are stronger than you know, I promise you will not lose me or the children, my darling Rose," he promised.

"And Aphrodite will have her happy ending. Though her past may be sad, I have no doubt that she and James will see their way through this and come out stronger in the end," he added. She smiled.

"Me too...and now that Blue is behind bars where she belongs, they can have justice," Rose said, as they stood up and joined hands.

"Do you think she'll receive a life sentence?" she asked.

"Well, if this were Asgard, she would be tried in a military tribunal and receive a death sentence for a charge such as treason, let alone murder," he replied.

"But Snow and David will likely try her in a royal tribunal and though they will probably not seek the death penalty, as most royals would, I doubt they will show much more mercy than that. I think it is safe to say that the remainder of her years will be in a cell," he surmised, as they made their way to the dining hall to have evening meal with their children.

~*~

"I cannot believe this! If it is the last thing I do...I will make them pay," Malina Pizarro complained, as the four of them sat in the cramped brig of the Jolly Roger.

"At least you have not been betrayed by your own flesh and blood," Thalia countered.

"Yes…I must say my so-called girlfriend sold us out in record time. I guess that Charming blood in her veins is more powerful than your bloodline," Johnny countered.

"I come from a bloodline of royals, blessed by Hera herself," Thalia hissed back. He smirked.

"The Charming line is blessed by Aphrodite...she was far more revered than Hera ever was," Johnny replied.

"Watch your tongue…" she warned.

"Bloodlines are irrelevant. Believe me, I've seen beneath the skin and the blood is all red. But he's right about one thing," Dr. LaGuerra stated.

"That Charming bloodline is special...because magic. Oh the experiments I could do with access to that magical blood. Just thinking about sinking my scalpel into that flesh gives me goosebumps," he added.

"Well, on that disturbing note...I need a drink. Too bad all they'll give us is water," Malina said, as she shook the bars.

"Hey...stupid cops! Hey! You haven't given us any water or food for hours!" she cried. But there was no answer and she huffed in annoyance and only heard some noise above deck.

~*~

"I can't believe this...six years as a Baltimore cop, three as a detective, and four more as a trained FBI agent and I'm back to guard duty," Agent Brooks complained. Agent Green snorted.

"Believe me...I'm still seething over it," she said, as she looked over a file.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Just "agent" Nolan's file on his casework," she replied.

"Why are you reading that?" he asked curiously.

"Because for someone like Major General Patricia Donovan to give him complete free reign over this entire operation suggests that there is at least some validity to his skills. I like to know who I'm working with," she answered.

"Yeah, are we sure his record during the last two years is legit?" he asked.

"I wondered the same, but all these cases check out in the system. Guess Prince Charming just has a knack for finding scumbags," she replied.

"I still don't see how he is more qualified than us," he said, as they heard a whining sound and looked over the bow.

"What the hell…" Agent Brooks uttered.

"What are they?" Agent Green asked of the creatures, as Agent Brooks drew his gun. But it would be the final thing he ever did, as one of the creatures used a blaster and a blue beam of energy shot straight through his chest, as he dropped dead on the deck with a smoking hole in his chest.

"Oh my God!" she cried, as she unloaded an entire clip at the strange looking people, but was shocked to find that they had bluish shields. One of them chucked its spear-like weapon at her and she hit the floor, as the wound in her belly slowly bled and she could only watch them go below deck.

"Sir...there are prisoners down here," one of the goblin-like men called.

"These ones may be useful. We'll let the Commander decide their fate," the lead soldier said, as the four prisoners were led away by the oddly deformed looking people.

~*~

Snow and Charming willed the chalice into their individual weapons, while the others readied with magic and their weapons as well. Two young men ran in from the jungle frantically.

"They are coming! The Mu are attacking!" they warned.

"Everyone to their battle posts!" the Queen ordered, as her personal guard readied their weapons to defend their Queen.

"Charming…" Snow whispered.

"We'll defeat whoever is in that jungle," he assured.

"I know...I love you," she said.

"I love you too...that's why we'll win," he promised, as he kissed her quickly, before their enemies made their entrance. And they were definitely not what they expected. They tried to never judge anyone based solely on their appearance, but the beings in front of them were astonishing to look at.

Their eyes were all a sickly yellow or green color and sunken back in their heads, disturbingly so. They were heavily armed too, though that was likely because they were skin and bones. Their ears looked deformed and pointed, while their cheeks were sunken as well and they were all bald.

"Whoa...they were kidding about the deformities," Leo commented.

"Normally, I'd chide you having no tact, but when you're right, you're right," Eva said.

"Have you ever seen anything like this? I mean medically?" Belle asked. She shook her head.

"No...but then I've never actually seen or treated anyone with radiation poisoning," Eva replied.

"So...the chalice of Venus has new champions at last. The Children of the Sun have returned," one of them said, as he stepped forward. They were all wearing what appeared to be a military-type uniform, but this one definitely seemed to be the leader.

"We prefer truest loves," David interjected and the man nodded.

"As you wish. No matter...you will lead us to Cibola. We need it to stabilize our reactor," he stated.

"We've come only to secure the Dragon Queen's heritage. She wishes for Cibola to be protected. It is her legacy and belongs to her descendants," Snow reasoned.

"Pity...then it seems you will have to be forced to cooperate," the man said, as he motioned to his army and they raised their weapons.

"So much for peaceful negotiations," David quipped, as he blocked an arrow that was volleyed their way.

"You're going to have to do better than arrows against us," Emma commented.

"Oh they will...the arrows are just a distraction. Those blasters on them are the real danger," David warned. The Commander smirked.

"You know your weaponry well. I once got the esteemed pleasure of dueling a master warrior like the Dragon King. Shall we see if you compare?" Kiyun asked. David stepped forward and drew his sword and the commander charged him.

~*~

Snow looked on, as a female warrior approached her and drew a sword.

"I'm Lauda...and our Queen is very interested in meeting the successor to the great Dragon Queen. She was a formidable warrior in her own right. Let's see if you are the same, shall we fair one?" she asked, as Snow willed the chalice to take the form of a sword.

"Careful...because you may have just bitten off more than you can chew," Snow warned, as they engaged in a duel of their own.

~*~

Emma stood before the rest of the army with her siblings flanking her. A few of them had broken off here and there to fight the others, but the bulk of the army remained before them.

"Something tells me they almost want to see our powers," Eva commented.

"Then let's show them…" Emma replied. Bobby disappeared beneath the ground and burrowed beneath the soldiers, before shooting up from the ground with a quake that threw many of them off their feet. Summer volleyed bubbles at their arrows, harmlessly deflecting them and then doused them with a water blast. Leo let the lightning flow through his arms and into his palms, devastating their soldiers. Emma and Eva finished off the soldiers in their path with Savior magic and wind power.

"Well, well...looks like we're just in time to join the fight," Johnny said, as they arrived.

"How the hell did you get free?" Emma questioned. He smirked.

"These fine soldiers freed us and we have joined their cause so I can have revenge on everyone that has dared to betray me," he said, as he glanced at Natalie.

"You're up against a lot of magic users, so we're ready for whatever you've got," Leo retorted. He chuckled.

"Oh I'm so glad you said that," he said, as he pressed a button on his watch.

"I've been itching to try out this new weapon my techs have created," he said, as his arms glowed and seemed to take on a steel-like appearance.

"Steel skin…" he boasted, as Regina lofted a fireball at him and it hit his forearm. He smirked, as he withstood the heat and the fireball fizzled out.

"Oh crap...he can nullify magic," Leo warned, as they prepared to battle him.

~*~

For someone that looked malnourished, Charming quickly found that he had plenty of fighting prowess, as he threw himself into the battle with an aggressive style. But it was nothing David wasn't able to keep up with, as he parried every strike and blow with his own blade.

"Impressive…I daresay the Dragon King had little on you," Kiyun stated.

"Then you'll be really surprised when I actually go on the offensive," David countered, as he made several swift moves and Kiyun began to shadowbox. Unfortunately, Snow's blood curdling scream pierced through him like a blade and he kicked Kiyun away.

"SNOW!" he cried, as he rushed to her.

~*~

Snow dueled Louda, who like her male counterpart, was a formidable warrior, despite her malnourished appearance. But unsurprisingly, Snow held her own and even challenged the clearly seasoned warrior.

"Yes...you are definitely a warrior and not just a pretty face," Louda complimented.

"Guess you'll get to tell your Queen how I rate compared to the Dragon Queen," Snow retorted, as she blocked several slashes from the other woman.

"Oh no, fair one...she wishes to see you for herself," she warned.

"Not going to happen," Snow refuted, as she slashed at the other woman, but she sidestepped Snow and pulled out another weapon that looked like a nightstick. But it extended into a long pole and with one touch to the small of Snow's back, an incredible electro-magnetic pulse caused her excruciating pain and she cried out in agony.

"SNOW!" David cried, as he kicked Kiyun away and barreled toward his wife, catching her as she fell to the sand.

"Just as we knew you would," Kiyun said, as David suddenly saw two round, robot-like devices in the sky, encircling them. Black netting shot forth from the devices and captured them both inside.

"Mom! Dad!" Emma cried. Bobby reacted quickly and burrowed beneath the ground, popping up within the confines of the netting with his parents.

"Bobby...no, you need to get out of here," David stressed.

"Not without you and mom," he replied, as he prepared to use his powers to escape the netting with them. But the net became alive with electricity. David and Bobby cried out, as they were rendered unconscious.

"Let them go!" Xander cried, as he barreled toward them, but was blocked by the remaining soldiers.

"We have what the Queen wants," Kiyun said.

"She wanted all of the offspring too," Louda reminded him.

"We have one...it will be sufficient for now," Kiyun replied, as a large ship soared through the sky and stopped above them. A transport ray engulfed the two of them, their remaining soldiers, transporting them onto the ship, along with Snow, David, and Bobby, as well as Johnny and his crew.

"No!" Summer cried, as she tried to run toward the beam, but JJ wisely held her back.

"That was their whole plan this entire time. They'll force Snow and David to open the gates to Cibola for them," Regina said worriedly.

"Then we go to that stupid mountain and we stop them!" Xander cried.

"No...it's a foregone conclusion that they will dangle Bobby's life in front of them. Snow and David will do what they want, as any parent would," Rumple reasoned.

"Then what? We just give up?" Natalie asked. He side-eyed her.

"No one in this bunch even knows what it is to "give up" as you say, nor entertains it," he corrected.

"Exactly...he's saying that instead of going to that mountain, we head them off at the pass," Robin said. Rumple nodded.

"We make our way to the gates ourselves and this time, we'll be ready for round two of a fight they won't win again," Regina agreed.

"Your Majesty...do you know where the gates to Cibola lay?" Eva asked. Queen Nubia nodded and turned toward the setting sun.

"Where the sun touches the horizon, there is an island. The half moon island, for it is in the shape of a crescent. On that island rests the gates to Cibola. The island is said to be rife with treachery," the Queen warned.

"Doesn't matter...we have magic to protect us and we have to save our parents and little brother," Emma replied. The Queen nodded.

"Be safe…" she said.

"Let's get back to the Jolly Roger," Hook said, as they headed for the beach.

~*~

Flashback

When Aphrodite awoke, she had memory of the Black Fairy killing her beloved and taking her baby. Her father and Athena informed her that Hermes was searching the realms for Eros, but had yet to yield any results. They had a funeral for Anchises and then she cried for months in mourning of her beloved and their son.

Her father was extremely protective of her and had forbade her to leave Olympus. For the first few months, she didn't disobey, but eventually, she found herself fleeing in search of solace in nature, but that didn't last long.

During her period of mourning, her father, in his anger, had punished Sirius Clayton by striking him down with a lightning bolt for trying to deceive her. His consort, Beryl, had sworn revenge and soon tried to take it out on Aphrodite's charges.

They warred for months in Thebes, as Beryl led a criminal sect to try and take over the city. Aphrodite soon joined her charges and aided them in a final battle to defeat Beryl. She was banished to a remote island, where it was rumored that she gave birth to Sirius' son.

Serenity and Endymion were crowned King and Queen of Thebes and it entered a new age. The old name seemed to be plagued by its criminal past so they renamed it the Crystal Kingdom and reigned benevolently.

Aphrodite returned to Olympus and endured a worried lecture from Zeus and insistence that she marry Hephaestus for her own protection. She kindly declined Hephaestus' proposal, ensuring him that he was a wonderful man, but she couldn't marry for anything less than love.

After an argument with her father, she left Olympus again and created a small cottage for herself outside the Crystal Kingdom and spent most of her days in the garden and surrounding forest.

Her first charges ruled for centuries and she saw them through many battles, until their reign ended and they passed into Elysian and she returned the chalice to Olympus until there was another spark.

Despite searching thousands of realms, Hermes was unable to find Eros and Aphrodite mourned her lost child. It was an ache that would never fade, just as the pain of losing Anchises never would as well.

She had long ago resigned herself to the realization that she would likely spend the rest of her life alone; that she would never find true love twice. It was shortly after that acceptance that she met Adonis and he proved her wrong.

~*~

Snow awoke to pitch blackness before her eyes and immediately her breathing quickened, until it was coming in ragged gasps. She was laying on something that felt like a cot or bench and she slowly sat up. She knew David wasn't in the room, for she couldn't feel him nearby, which terrified her. Her half of the chalice, in sword form lay next to her and she picked it up when she heard a noise.

"Who's there?" she called with a quiver in her voice, as the lights went up in the room and she saw a woman sitting before her upon a Throne. She looked much like the other Mu people. Sunken eyes and cheeks, yellowing irises around sickly green eyes, rail thin and probably balding, though this woman wore a headdress, not unlike the Queen of Hiva did.

"I am Omaru, Queen of the Mu and I am told that you are called Snow White. A very appropriate name it would seem," the woman said.

"Where is my husband?" Snow demanded to know. She smirked.

"Causing quite a ruckus from his cell...he is very virile," the Queen mentioned.

"I want to see him," the raven haired beauty demanded.

"In good time...I must say, you are both quite impressive. The Goddess Venus has chosen well. Your rectitude and exploits are impressive and now you have come to save my people," she said.

"Charming and I would never not help people in need, but I know you don't have good intentions for the gold you seek. You have poisoned your people with radiation, if my daughter is correct, and now you are poisoning us," Snow refuted.

"We have made great sacrifices in our health for the greater good, I agree. But it is a sacrifice my people willingly make for the glory that should be ours. And you and your husband are quite protected, I assure you. The Chalice has seen to that," the Queen responded. It was then that Snow noticed a protective glow around her person and realized that once again, the Chalice demonstrated a power that almost seemed sentient when it came to knowing when they needed protection.

"Charming and I are not going to help you stabilize your reactor so you can use the power to take over the world or something," Snow warned. The Queen smirked.

"I think you will," she replied.

"I have studied the legends surrounding the children of the sun for many years," the Queen said.

"Truest loves...we prefer truest loves," Snow corrected.

"Very well...alas, the Goddess Venus has always chosen well. Her first charges defeated many evils and sired one daughter, who was born with magic," she said.

"The Dragon Queen and her King had more trouble with the people around them and ultimately paid that price, though managed to sire one child as well," she continued.

"But you and your Prince...you have not only defeated more evil than your predecessors combined...you have also sired five magical children, all with unique abilities," she added.

"If you touch my children...I'll kill you," Snow hissed. The Queen let out a cackle.

"Never poke a mama bear," she goaded.

"But don't worry...your son is quite safe. Dr. LaGuerra is just doing a little examination. The youngest one is very intriguing," Omaru said. Snow's blood ran cold, as an image appeared on the screen above her.

"Bobby…" she cried.

"It appears the chalice is protecting him from the radiation, though this particular lab is further in vicinity from the reactor," she said.

"What are they doing to my son!?" Snow demanded to know.

"Don't worry...my people are simply curious about his power and are examining his blood. I told the Dr. that none of his usual experiments would be tolerated. We're well aware of what the Dr. used to do in the Collector's employ," Omaru said.

"You knew about Clayton?" Snow asked. The Queen nodded.

"He knew Cibola was here. It was one of the many reasons he was so determined to have the Chalice. Is it true that he came so very close upon the collapse of Atlantis?" she asked. Snow gave her a hard stare.

"Yes…I suppose you don't like to speak about the moment when you had to crush your beloved heart. The split heart...it is fascinating. My scientists are chomping at the bit to examine you both, as is the doctor," she replied.

"All in good time. But first...perhaps you'd like a tour of my grand mountain and the future you will help us envision," she added.

"All I want is my husband and my son!" Snow snapped, as the door slid open.

"I swear...if you don't take me to my wife now, I'm going to knock your bald heads together so hard that they'll crack like eggs!" David shouted, as he struggled with the shackles on his wrists.

"I'm sorry, my Queen, but we had to restrain him. He is quite strong...and uncooperative," two of the soldiers said. They seemed to be quite intimidated by her husband and rightfully so. The Commander behind them, Kiyun, she recalled, and his right hand, Louda, seemed unbothered.

"Charming!" she called and it came as no surprise, as he knocked the two subordinates away and ran to her.

"Oh Snow…" he called back, as she picked up her sword and it glowed, unlocking the chains. They fell away and he swept her into his arms, before kissing her passionately.

"Charming…" she breathed, as she cupped his face and he put one arm around her waist, while drawing his chalice sword from his hip.

"One step and we'll use the full power of the chalice on you," he threatened.

"No...you won't or I'll allow Dr. LaGuerra and my scientists to conduct whatever experiments they'd like on your son," the Queen warned. It was then that David saw their son locked in the exam chair on screen and looked into his wife's tearful eyes.

He realized at that moment that they were going to easily acquire access to Cibola by holding the well being of their youngest child above them. David sheathed his sword and held Snow close.

"Now for that tour...then we will board my royal vessel, the Solaris, and you will open the gates of Cibola for me," Omaru said, as they saw Louda and Kiyun behind them. With arms around each other, they followed the Queen into the corridor.

Though this place was a mountain on the outside, the inside was man made, with stark, metal walls and floors. They came to a set of winding stone steps that seemed to descend into the underground and Snow shivered.

"You want us to go down there?" David asked.

"Afraid?" Kiyun challenged and the prince glared at him.

"Hardly...we've been to hell, after all and I promise you that by the end of this, you'll be visiting there too. But you won't get to come back like we did," David promised ominously. Kiyun chuckled.

"I look forward to the rematch, Your Highness," he said, as they followed the Queen down the winding staircase.

~*~

Flashback

"I do not know why I let you talk me into coming to this thing," Aphrodite complained, as she shifted her soft pink ball gown.

"Because you're practically a hermit these days and the Queen of Cyprus invited me. I owe them a great deal, being that they managed to save so many books and scrolls from the fire at Alexandria. They can now be added to the eternal library in the Andresia realm," Hermes responded, as she pulled her along in her baby blue ball gown.

"I am not a hermit," Aphrodite protested.

"Besides me, how many people do you talk to on a weekly basis?" Hermes questioned.

"I talk to a lot of people," she huffed.

"Zeus doesn't count and neither do the people in the crystal kingdom where you buy goods," Hermes refuted.

"Fine...at least these parties usually have good wine," she complained.

"Queen Myrrha...thank you again for giving me the texts saved from the library at Alexandria. You are truly doing a great deed in helping me preserve all stories," Hermes said, as the Queen bowed to the Goddess.

"It is my honor, Goddess," the Queen said.

"This is my niece...the Goddess Aphrodite," Hermes said, as the Queen bowed again.

"It is an honor to have you both in attendance. I was hoping that my unruly son would find an eligible woman that he is interested in courting, but judging by his disgust at this whole thing, it is not to be. At least we can save this event by presenting the rescued manuscripts to you," the Queen said, as a handsome young man stormed up to her Throne.

"That's it, mother...I detest these balls!" he said hotly.

"Adonis...you will be crowned King of Cyprus soon. You must find a Queen," Myrrha chided.

"Exactly...do you think any of them are really interested in me? Or just my title. It's like being thrown to wolves," he complained. Myrrha chuckled.

"I think you are being a little dramatic, my son. But you are a handsome prince and that is why every eligible woman within a hundred mile radius has come to our city," she reminded him.

"I understand my duties to the crown, mother...but can I not find my own Queen? Can I not marry for love?" he asked.

"I would love that for you, my son...but you know that is not always a luxury we have as royals," Myrrha said.

"Forgive me, Queen Myrrha, as I know it is not my place, but allowing him to marry for love would be one of the greatest things you could do for you for your Kingdom. I watched true love free the city of Thebes from lawlessness and create the prosperous Crystal Kingdom it is today," Aphrodite interjected, as his blue eyes met her green ones.

"And it is my hope that my son can marry for love...but the court will soon demand that he marry," the Queen said.

"Of course...forgive me, I didn't mean to intrude," Aphrodite said, as she excused herself and found the wine table. She grabbed a glass and downed the liquid in two gulps, before she heard a chuckling behind her.

"My, my...I always did admire a woman that can drink a man under the table," a voice said and she turned to find a dark haired man standing there with a smirk.

"I'm sorry...you are?" she asked.

"You don't know me...but you knew my parents. I am John Clayton, son of Sirius Clayton...the infamous Collector," he replied.

"My apologies," she drawled, as she reached for another glass, but he grabbed her arm.

"You are responsible for my father's death...I never met him, because of you," he hissed. She raised her hand and called on her magic, but felt nothing in her fingertips. That's when she noticed a peculiar looking black cuff on her wrist.

"A magic suppressing device...an very useful item from my father's vast collection, which I inherited," he boasted.

"You're mine now, Goddess. You are coming with me and you will use the Chalice to do my bidding," he hissed, as his eyes raked over her beautiful form.

"And you will bear me a Demi-God son...my bloodline is very deserving of God blood and I will have it from you," he growled. She responded by kneeing him in the groin and he growled in pain, as he doubled over. The entire room stopped when he backhanded her across the face. Hermes moved in with the intention to blast this man with her magic, but Adonis beat her to the punch. The Prince grabbed John by the collar and punched him in the face, before tossing him away.

"Guards...throw this trash out!" he ordered, as his men obeyed his command and dragged him away.

"You haven't seen the last of me, Goddess! I will have you...and the Chalice!" he ranted, as he was carried away.

"Are you okay, Goddess?" Adonis asked, as he took her hand and she practically felt the electricity between them.

"Y...yes, thank you, Prince Adonis. My father will smile on your Kingdom for defending me," she promised, as Hermes waved her hand over the cuff, but it didn't come off.

"It's resistant to my magic. We must see your father...it may require his power to remove it. He'll be livid...I'd say another Clayton has signed his death warrant," Hermes said. Aphrodite nodded, but could barely tear her eyes away from her handsome rescuer, who was unlike most royals she had encountered.

"Thank you again, Your Highness," she said, as he bowed to her.

"It was my honor, Goddess," he replied, as her Hermes led her away in a daze.

~*~

When they reached the bowels of the mountain, they were brought before the reactor and were stunned to see what it really was.

"It's a giant crystal…" Snow said.

"You're running a nuclear reactor with a giant crystal and you wonder why there's radiation," David deadpanned.

"Do not speak of our ways as if they are crude or archaic!" Louda snapped.

"Our crystal reactor is magnificent and it will change the world once we can stabilize it with the treasure of Cibola," the Queen informed them.

"Or destroy it," Snow countered, but her comment was ignored.

"Uh...why is it glowing red?" David asked with trepidation.

"This is one of our problems...our cooling system is not adequate. With gold, this problem will be corrected," Kiyun said.

"Quickly...turned on the cooling system!" Louda ordered, as one worker began turning manual water valves. They watched the water flow through the man made cooling system and it started to help, but the crystal still glowed an ominous red.

"Quickly...increase the water flow! Open more valves!" Kiyun yelled with urgency. But it was too late and one of the control panels caught fire. The poor worker that was manning that station was engulfed in flames and screamed in agony.

"Oh God…" Snow cried, as she turned away from the gruesome scene, burying her face in David's chest. The man's cries were hard to take, at least for them, as the others seemed unbothered.

"What are you doing!? Help him!" David implored, but the flames only faded when the poor man's cries ceased and his charred body fell to the floor. The extra valves cooled the crystal and it returned to its normal bluish color.

"Clean that up," the Queen said, unbothered by the carnage of the charred man that had just literally burned to death before them.

"They're monsters…" Snow cried, as she sobbed against him and he held her tightly.

"I want our son now!" David demanded.

"Do not worry...it is time to depart for half moon island. Your son will, of course, be accompanying us," Omaru said, as they were forced to follow along and endure this madness...

[thelittleseawitch22]

🌿Altars/Shrines Part 2

Hi everyone 🌻🌼🍃

So this is part two of my Altars, I'll be showing the top half of my main altar😄💛

I will be showing my Aphrodite and Apollo altar in part three tomorrow because of the limited amount of pictures on each post.

So first off, this is my 'main' altar, I call it my main altar because it's in the centre of my room. There is two sections;

Top shelf: Haides, Persephone, Hestia, Artimis, Athena, Ares, Hermes and Eros.

Bottom: Rhea, Hecate/Hekate and Cronus/Kronos

Today I'll be showing the top half only as I have so many limited pictures on one post.

Starting from left to right.

Eros: I have collected various statues to represent him, I also have a jar of collected feathers (If you also want to do this PLEASE sterilise them first for your own health/safety). I also have a rose quartz crystal pendulum point that I have placed on there for him also. I will also probably be adding the necklace I got of him that I dedicated to him a while a go but not sure yet.

Hermes, Artimis and Hestia: I have not got much for the three of them yet but I have put together little drawings, pictures and jewellery. I have also made Hestia a drawing in my own art style as a offering to her.

There is a candle holder between them as I don't have the space to give them one each sadly.

🍃All pictures around my altar are for art and worship purpose only. It does not mean I see the gods exactly how they are represented in the artwork.🍃

Haides & Persephone : Because I am devoted to these two gods they have a place in the centre of my altar, (You don't have to be devoted to a god to worship them) Haides is on the left and Persephone is on the right.

On Haides side, I have collected many different coins I thought he would like from euros, dollars and pounds. I have also put some jewellery that reminds me of him, a Cerberus pendent and a winged skull. I also put on a stone that says 'Hope' it reminds me of him, I have no idea why it just does.

My glass offering bowl also sits on Haides side of the altar even though I use the bowl for each of the Theoi.

And lastly I have a plastic skull cup that I got at Halloween two years ago for liquid offerings.

In the middle of Haides and Persephone sits a taller candle holder which I only put a candle in if I ethier would like to talk to the both of them, thank the both of them by a candle offering or in the winter to show Persephone's return to the underworld.

The black Obsidian crystal skull also represents the both of them.

And each of them have their own charm, Haides is a skull, Persephone's is a flower.

On Persephone's side of the altar, I have put a small greek pottery jug, a hand made pot with pomegranates on which was given to me as a gift but it reminded me so much of her I had to put it on the altar for her.

A spider broach as spiders and bees remind me of her, a amethyst crystal because amethyst reminds me of the underworld mysterious but beautiful.

And lastly some fake pink roses, I wanted to give her some yellow flowers but I couldn't find any sadly and I tried giving her real flowers but because the temperature in my room they didn't survive, so I can only have Cacti.

Now finally on the right side of my altar, is Athena and Ares.

Now on this side of the altar is pretty bare at the moment, I have some things for Athena but nothing for Ares as of yet I will probably make him something but for now he only has a picture and an offering bowl just for him, which I normally put tea lights in because at the moment I'm broke.

For Athena I have a pineapple owl which I think is absolutely adorable 😂😍, a roman coin like for Hephaestus, a little owl statue I have had since a child and a pen of her which I've had to sellotape to the altar to keep it from falling over.

You've probably noticed I use alot of fake tealight candles aswell that's because if I've run out or I don't want to burn the surfaces.

Wow. Sorry for these long posts I'm trying to make them as simple as possible but still explain at the same time.

I'll be posting part three (final one I promise) which will be Aphrodite, Apollo, Demeter and the bottom half of my main altar.

And if anyone would like to ask me any further of anything on my altars you can do my Ask box and Dms are always open. 😊

🌊thelittleseawitch22🌊

[waltzofthewifi]

Yposchesi -  A Percy Jackson fanfic

Originally posted on my fanfiction account

1945

"Promise," Mary said, gripping Joe's hands tightly.

"You know I would never do anything to hurt you," Joe replied, but Mary shook her head.

"I need to here you say it," she told him. "Please."

She trembled violently, and Joe wondered what was so important to her.

In the background, the empty forge seemed almost eerie. Everyone at camp was out in the hill, managing and repairing defenses. Only Joe and Mary remained, and only because Mary said she had something important to give him.

"Alright," Joe decided. "I promise. Now what was so important?"

"It's back here," Mary said, leading Joe into the back of the forge.

Even trembling and scared, Mary looked beautiful. Her raven black hair was up in something between a rat's nest and bun, and her skin, clothes, and armor was smeared with oil, but to Joe that only brought out her sky blue eyes.

It was weird for Mary, as a daughter of Zeus, to want to meet Joe in the forgery, even as much as she had helped her stepbrother and his cabin mates out. Joe wondered if maybe this super-important thing she wanted to show him used to be her stepbrother's - he, as head of the Hephaestus cabin and boyfriend to the only child of Hecate at camp, tended to make dangerous things. And ever since he died last week, his inventions were even more dangerous.

Joe wouldn't be surprised if Mary showed him a murderous dragon, or an advanced war plane. Ever since his brother had started advocating for a separate military branch for air support, Joe had been interested in planes.

So he was a little surprised when Mary gave him a dagger.

"He called it Ypóschesi," Mary told him.

"Promise," Joe translated. He ran his fingers along the blade and hilt - definitely Mary's stepbrother's craftsmanship.

"Yes," Mary confirmed. "It wasn't an official name, but he called it that because he promised... he promised that as long as I had it, nothing could ever harm me."

"Then you should keep it," Joe said. "With everything's that's happening. Especially with your sixteenth birthday coming up."

"I can handle that," Mary argued. "I can handle the war, and the stupid prophecy, no problem. But I just can't handle the thought that something might happen to you - that I might lose you. And this knife is so important to me, and you promised."

"Alright," Joe agreed. "For you. But you have to know that I don't want anything happening to you either."

"I know."

1949

Henry looked around, wide-eyed, as he followed his tour guide around camp.

It had been hard, coming all the way from Seattle to New York City, mostly unarmed, but he had managed. And now he was finally here.

His tour guide - and brother, according to Chiron, but Henry didn't know how he could be related to someone so commanding - was explaining how camp wasn't as impressive as it usually was, what with the war just having ended, but it looked impressive enough to Henry.

"And here's the cabins," the tour guide - John? Joe? - said. "This is our cabin, Athena, and where you'll be staying."

"Here?" Henry asked, staring up at the large, gray building. Not for the first time since leaving his family's cabin in Washington, he felt intimidated.

Joe smiled sympathetically. He was at least a foot taller than Henry, with military posture and haircut, but when he looked down at the younger boy, he looked friendly.

And very sad...

"Do you have a weapon?" Joe asked. Henry shook his head.

"I had a dagger for a while, but I lost it in Indiana," Henry explained.

"You like daggers?" Joe asked. Henry nodded - it was the only weapon he had ever used, and being only nine years old he doubted he could lift a sword. "Well, then, how about I give you this one?"

Joe pulled a dagger from his belt and leaned down to give it to Henry.

"Now, this dagger is very special," Joe explained. "It's magic, supposedly. It will protect its owner. Not only that, but it's last owner was very special - one of the smartest and bravest fighters camp's ever known."

"What happened to him?" Henry asked.

"She died recently," Joe replied, his voice cracking. "But as much as I'd like to keep it, I think she'd want you to have it. But you have to promise me you'll take care of it."

"I will."

1956

"Oh, come on Henry," Jessica whined, pushing a piece of blonde hair out of her face. "You're being ridiculous."

"I'm being cautious," Henry replied, crossing his arms. Even when being a stubborn idiot, Henry looked handsome - long, blonde hair that always fell in his gray eyes and curled whenever it got wet, a cute button nose that he hated, and massive biceps that did not in any way make Jessica's crush on him superficial.

"Is there a difference?" Jessica asked, crossing her arms in response. Cute or not, Henry was not going to win this argument. As stubborn as children of Athena were, children of Nike were always worst (and it didn't help that she had to live with Hermes' children either).

"I'm telling you, the quest is suicide," Henry repeated. "Just please, reconsider."

"You don't think I can handle myself?"

"You're impossible." Henry sighed, and Jessica smiled in victory. "Just promise me one thing."

"What?"

"That you'll be careful."

Jessica snorted. "When am I not?"

"All the time," Henry replied.

He had a point.

"Fine. I'll promise that I'll be careful, and that I'll come back and make your life difficult."

Henry grinned. "I'll be counting on it. And one more thing."

"That was the one more thing." Jessica thought she had a good point, but Henry ignored her. To Jessica's surprise, he unsheathed a dagger - the one he had always had on him.

"Take this." Henry said, holding the dagger out. "It's supposed to protect its owner."

Jessica raised an eyebrow. "All weapons do that."

"I mean, its special. Please, just take it." Henry lifted the dagger up, giving Jessica his puppy-dog eyes.

With a sigh, Jessica took the dagger. "Fine. But you need to stop stressing - I will be fine."

"I know," Henry replied. "But I just can't stand the thought of losing you."

Jessica squeezed his hands. "And you won't."

1958

"I don't understand," Lily said, her feet banging against the side of the Jessica's bunk. "Why don't we have our own cabin?"

"Because," Jessica replied. "There's not enough of us for us to have our own cabin. The two of us don't take up that much room now, do we?"

Lily frowned, obviously not happy with that answer. "But there's several empty cabins."

"Well..." Jessica started, trying to find a good answer.

Even after only knowing her for a day, she knew her little sister would not give up until she had a satisfactory answer. She was, after all, a daughter of Nike, but she had Jessica frustrated beyond belief.

Lily didn't look like much. With beautiful auburn hair and crystal blue eyes, she looked like she belonged in the Aphrodite cabin, even when dressed in active clothes. She was thirteen, but was the size of a ten year old, and she smiled more than she glared.

But she was so insistent.

"You want to know the real reason?" Jessica asked, leaning in towards Lily. Lily nodded eagerly. "I think they're scared of us."

"Really?" Lily replied, eyes lighting up like a bonfire.

"Yes," Jessica said. "And they think that if we had our own cabin, our own space to plan, we'd take over camp. Which is true, of course." Even if it wasn't the real reason.

Lily frowned. "Oh, well I guess that makes sense. So, when do I get my own weapon?"

Did this girl have a book of hard questions (and was it provided by Henry)? After an accident involving two poodle-sized bronze dragons, triplet children of Hephaestus, and a prank by Jessica's cabin mates, there was a concerning lack of weapons at camp. There was no chance a daughter of a minor goddess was going to get her hands on one, unless...

"Actually," Jessica said. "I have one here for you. But you have to promise not to lose it, okay?"

Lily muttered something under her breath. During her trip from Maine (seriously? Who lives in Maine?) to New York, she had destroyed, lost, and otherwise made useless a total of twenty six weapons, and she had a habit of cursing whoever brought it up.

"What's so special about it anyways?" Lily muttered.

"It's magic," Jessica said. "It protects its owner. But you have to take care of it, okay? It was a gift from someone very special."

"I promise I'll take care of it," Lily replied. "But it's not like I purposely destroy things."

1963

"Why do you carry a dagger around?"

The question caught Lily off guard, judging from how fast she spun around.

"What?" She demanded.

Colleen debated keeping her mouth shut, but curiosity won her over. "Why do you carry a dagger around?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Lily asked. She looked murderous, as if Colleen had just insulted her grandmother. Colleen gulped, but didn't back down.

"Because you're so good at archery," Colleen answered. "One of the best, even."

Archery was the reason Colleen and Lily knew each other so well, anyways. Colleen wasn't very violent, liked flowers and skirts, and spent her free time playing on the piano her brother had snuck in. Lily, on the other hand, was about as violent as someone could get, despised anything feminine, despite being a girl herself, and didn't do much else besides train and fight. But they were the best archers at camp, so they somehow became friends.

"Oh," Lily said. "Right. The dagger was a gift from my sister."

"You have a sister?" Colleen asked. As far as she knew, there wasn't any other children of Nike at camp, and the blade was celestial bronze, so it wasn't like a mortal sister could have given it to her.

"I did," Lily replied. "She's - she's gone."

"Oh," Colleen said. "Sorry."

Lily smiled. "No, it's okay. I don't mind talking about her. I would hate for her to be forgotten."

"What happened to her?" Colleen asked.

"She won a game she shouldn't have had, and was murdered for the prize. It was a stupid, mortal way to die." Lily spit the last sentence out.

"There are worse ways to die," Colleen replied. "My mother died because her hair got stuck in a machine. Broke her neck. Probably didn't even realize it was coming until she was dead."

Colleen and Lily lapsed into awkward silence, with the exception of the thunk of arrows hitting the target (almost all bullseyes). When their quivers ran out, they walked down the range in silence.

When they reached the targets, Lily decided to break the silence. "Why all the sudden questions?"

Colleen shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I'm feeling a little underprepared for the quest tomorrow."

"That's stupid," Lily declared. "Chiron wouldn't let you go on the quest if he didn't think you were ready."

"I know." Colleen yanked hard on one of her arrows, almost taking the paper target with her. "But if we get attacked, and it's too close of a range, I'm useless..."

"You can always punch it." Lily wiped the fuzzy target pieces off of her arrows and slid them back into her quiver.

Colleen shook her head. "Most monster have pretty thick skin."

"Then kick it," Lily suggested. "You wear heels, right?"

"Not on quests," Colleen replied.

As Lily and Colleen walked back to the shooting line, Colleen checked her watch. "I need to be going. I'm getting up bright and early tomorrow."

"I thought children of Apollo natural got up at dawn," Lily observed.

Colleen smiled. "It's winter. We'll be in another state before dawn."

Lily laughed her loud, barely laughed that ruined her natural beauty, and Colleen couldn't help but chuckle.

"You know," Lily said. "You could have my knife, if you want."

"Really?" Colleen asked. "But it was your sister's, don't you want to keep it?"

"No, not really," Lily admitted. "A weapon is kind of wasted if it just stays on my belt all the time. At least, if I give it to you, it might get some use." Lily passed the weapon to Colleen.

"Thanks," Colleen said.

"And Coll?" Lily asked.

"Yes?"

"What I said about Jessica, about my sister... no one at camp knows who she is anymore, and I meant it when I said I didn't want her forgotten. But I'm leaving this fall and you still have a couple years left..."

"I won't let her be forgotten. I promise."

1965

Elizabeth laughed as the girl, Colleen, tripped and fell over her root and her bow went flying.

Being only twelve years old and a daughter of Demeter, being any help at all during capture-the-flag was a delight, and especially taking down a counselor like Colleen...

Apparently, she laughed a little too loud, because Colleen looked her way as she propped herself up on her elbows. Shoot. Elizabeth was unarmed and in enemy territory, and if Colleen chose to chase her, or retrieved her bow, Elizabeth was dead meat. So she did the smart thing and ran in the other direction.

Colleen was fast and not very silent, and it wasn't long before Elizabeth heard the older girl tearing after her. The string of her bow hummed, and Elizabeth barely ducked away from an arrow. The arrow hit a tree instead, and splattered red paint everywhere.

Elizabeth summoned another tree root, and immediately felt faint. She didn't usually use this much power, but she forced herself to keep running. Behind her, Colleen yelped as she tripped, and cursed a very creative and unladylike string of words.

Elizabeth almost repeated the curses when she heard Colleen stand up again, and the chase resumed. Elizabeth dodged two more arrows, and the fletchings of a third hit her shoulder. She dodged a fourth arrow, but when it lodged itself in a tree, it let loose a horrible sound, and Elizabeth found herself on her knees. Colleen was standing behind her in barely a second, her black hair a mess and shirt covered in sweat marks.

"Just for the record," Colleen said between pants. "I got you with the first arrow." She pulled a knife from her belt and held it out at Elizabeth. "Now, let's go to prison, shall we? No, wait, first give me your weapons."

"I don't have any," Elizabeth replied.

"Nice try," Colleen said. "Now, your weapons."

"I don't have any," Elizabeth repeated.

"Seriously?" Colleen asked, using her left hand to wipe the sweat off of her forehead. "No one has given a fighter like you a weapon?"

"No," Elizabeth replied. Why did she have to keep repeating herself?

"Well, then, after the game how about I give this knife? It's a very good knife, and it has a little magic in it too. Would you like it?" Colleen grinned as Elizabeth rapidly nodded her head. "But first, you have to promise me something. This knife comes with a story, and you have to never let that story be forgotten. You promise you'll do that?"

"I promise!" Elizabeth replied. No one had offered her a weapon before, and the idea of a counselor giving her one - a magical one, too - excited her. "What does the magic do?"

"It protects the owner," Colleen replied.

Elizabeth frowned. "Don't all weapons do that?"

"No," Colleen answered. "Well, yeah, but this one is extra protective. If you keep this, nothing can ever harm you."

Elizabeth's eyes widen. "Really?"

"Yes, but remember, there is a promise that comes with it."

"Don't let the story be forgotten," Elizabeth remembered.

Colleen grinned. "Exactly."

1967

Hal calmly sipped tea from the porch of his mansion, waiting patiently for the demigods to show up.

Apparently, there was a karpoi infestation in Ohio that was causing a lot of problems for farmers, and Chiron had told the demigods that were going on the quest that they could borrow Hal's car.

Hal was annoyed at the assumption, even if he had said that his car was open for use by camp. Chiron should know that he didn't mean it - besides, shouldn't camp have its own vehicle by now?

Hal sighed and leaned back in his chair. He was twenty, he should be free from camp's obligations. But no, he had to give up his pride and joy - his precious car. Chiron should know how possessive children of Apollo were with vehicles - a trait directly inherited from their lovely father.

Right on time - that is, an hour late - three demigods appeared in the plaza. They looked young, not older than fourteen, but then maybe Hal was getting old. Demigods don't usually live to be twenty, anyways.

The leader of the quest was in the stereotypical position of the middle. She was the shortest and the skinniest and the least scariest - she couldn't have been taller than five feet. Her golden brown hair was pulled back into pig tail braids as if she was trying to look younger. The John Lennon glasses that were tilted on her nose didn't take the attention off of her heterochromatic eyes - one eye brown, the other green.

Hal frowned and sat up. Hadn't he had a vision about a girl with different colored eyes?

Even if he had, he shouldn't do anything about it. Apollo had drilled it in his head - don't try to change the future. He wasn't the oracle, he had no right over anyone's, even his own, future. Just shut up, and maybe write it in his diary if he had to get it out.

But those eyes were definitely familiar.

So familiar that after giving his keys over the girl - Elizabeth - he pulled her to the side to read her future.

"Give me your hands," Hal said, holding his own hands out for her to grab. She obliged.

The first thing Hal saw in his vision was evil corn. Karpoi maybe? Visions weren't always straight forward. The corn reached out, grabbing at a car - his car - as it drove down the road. Suddenly, the corn yanked the car backwards, causing it to flip over and -

Hal yanked back, causing Elizabeth to do the same.

"What did you see?" Elizabeth asked.

"Don't go," was all Hal could say.

"What, why?" Elizabeth asked. "I mean, this is a quest for my mother, if she-"

"Don't. You will die."

Elizabeth flinched. "I will?"

Hal nodded. "I-I can not tell you more. Even telling you this was a great risk. But promise me you won't go."

"I won't, don't worry." Elizabeth smiled reassuringly. "I have plenty of siblings that can handle this, I was just the most eager to get out." She moved as if to leave, but stopped. "Why was telling me such a great risk?"

"I am not supposed to divulge what I see," Hal explained. "I have no doubt angered my father already. But as much as I despise getting involve in things like this, I could not let an innocent girl die."

"Thank you, then," Elizabeth replied. "For taking that risk. Maybe I could give you something in return?"

Hal chuckled. "I'm fairly well off, if you haven't noticed."

"I'm not talking about stuff like that," Elizabeth replied. She took a knife out of her bag. "This knife is supposed to protect its owner. Maybe, maybe it will protect you."

"Thank you," Hal said, taking the knife. "And be careful."

"I will. I promise."

Ten years ago

Hal studied the boy in front of him carefully. The vision he'd seen of his future was... discerning. Could the boy - not much older than Elizabeth had been - really go on to cause so much harm?

But Luke did have a point. Hal was already cursed, already punished. He couldn't come right out and say what he saw, but maybe there was some other way to change his future.

Elizabeth's knife, maybe? It was supposed to protect the owner, but she never said from what. Not Hal's curse for sure, but maybe...

And his diary, of course. If Luke could learn from past mistakes...

Annabeth stared at the two people staring down at her. Could they be serious?

No one took her seriously. Not about the monsters, not about the spiders, not about the nightmares... but the boy promised. She could trust a promise, right?

And he was offering her a knife, a weapon. As if she was someone who could be trusted, could be taken seriously. Not an attention-hogging seven-year-old like her parents had treated her.

No, they were treating her differently. And that's what she wanted.

Family.

So she took the knife.

“Family, Luke. You promised.”

[exo-one-shots]

Something Flutters

Written By: Admin T.Pot Summary: Not everyone knows at once when they’ve fallen in love. And although you are the expert, you’re blind to your true feelings. The feelings you have make you uncomfortable hence gives you the idea that it’s unpleasant. Something... flutters... inside whenever he’s involved. But maybe it’s not always negative. A/N (PLEASE READ): There are a few things I would to let you guys know ! This is a series but every shot has it’s different title so I won’t be naming the whole series;; Just know they are all somewhat connected but like;; they’re not really connected LOL For those who know mythology really well;; I’m sorry if these don’t really match up with the actual myths, but it’s just my twist on it so please bear with me TT it’s just a fic LOL;; Another thing, you might get confused along the way but here’s an easy guide: Aphrodite (goddess of Love and Beauty) = Y/N Hephaestus (god of Fire [and like craftsmans / metals / etc.]) = Chanyeol Also ! Keep an eye out for who may be next to come in the 5 part series ;) Okay ? Okay ! Enjoy ~ Word Count: 5,200

"Y/N, I got you some flowers," Chanyeol smiles sheepishly as he hands me a bouquet of flowers.

Yet, the flowers aren't really real. I stare blankly at the bouquet of flames in the shape of roses. The petals move as if the flowers were actually alive and dancing. It was quite beautiful and honestly, if he gave this bouquet to another girl, anyone from a human to a goddess would most definitely appreciate the effort and the creativity. Some may even fall for him. But it was different for me. In fact, it irritated me.

My eyes moved up from the flowers to see the shy stupid grin Chanyeol had on his face. I don't know what it is about him, but everything he did just annoyed me. Everything about him just irritated me. And I'm the goddess of Love for crying out loud. I love everyone. EVERYONE !

Heck, Hades was going to take a serial killer far earlier than his due date because he was messing up Hades' system but I had love for the man so I spared him another chance by giving him a wife that he comes to love. Hades strongly opposed, but what can he do. He can't hate me cause no one hates me. I'M THE GODDESS OF LOVE. I am Love itself.

But this god who does nothing but help other gods prepare for their battles, who protects us by building our safe haven, who has done nothing but try to show me how much he loves me, is annoying the hell out of me. And all I want him to do is leave me alone and stop pestering me with gifts he's handmade with his fire.

It's sweet, and I want to love him. I really do. But something about him doesn't quite click with me. I've thought on this for years... Decades... CENTURIES. But no matter what he does, I can't help but show him a pathetic look and turn away from his sincerity. And I regret it every time, but only long after the deed is done.

I see Chanyeol's face drop from the shy bashful twinkle in his eyes to the hurt puppy pout of his lips. His big eyes were visibly watering up. I can’t help but think he has too much tears. For a god who's very rough and beaten with his line of work, his heart is very gentle and fragile. I know for a fact he's going to go cry to Apollo, and Apollo will blame me for disturbing his work. And I know I will regret this later when I listen to Apollo tell me what I'm doing wrong, but as of right now, I can't wait to get rid of him.

"Haphaestus, I'm tired. You can give the flowers to Demeter or someone," I waved him in dismissal and looked away cause I could no longer bear to see his tears drop down from his eyes.

"You... want me to give fire to... the goddess of Harvest...?" I could tell Chanyeol's voice was confused, hurt, and shaky from his emotions.

"Hestia then," I snapped and glared at Chanyeol who jumped at my outburst.

I sighed at his timid attitude and so decided to try to talk him into leaving me alone as gently as I could.

"I'm tired, Hephaestus. Please. Leave me be," I tried to sound less annoyed then I actually was.

I turned away from him again and closed my eyes since keeping my eyes open made my headache worse which started when he first walked into my door.

"Okay..." Chanyeol choked.

I heard the sound of his footsteps make their way to the door, but then they stopped right before he actually left the room.

"Y/N, could you possibly call me by my given name...?" he asked softly, almost like a whisper.

"... Later ..." I sighed.

"O-okay..."

And soon enough, I heard him leave the room and shut the door behind him. I then opened my eyes and turned around to see the empty room. I sighed again at the playback image of his hurt expression. I felt my guilt crawl up to me. It's been coming faster than usual these days.

At first, I didn't feel a thing. Then Apollo started judging me, telling me how Chanyeol goes and tells him what happened, but he would never blame me for all the horrible things I've said or have done towards him, and that was the start of my guilt. It began to grow as he became more persistent. No, I may be lying. He might not be so persistent, and instead I might be the one who is getting short tempered for the same little things he's been doing.

But when I actually see him face to face, I get annoyed and don't even want to deal with the likes of him at all. Not even for a minute. Was it because I know I'm going to feel guilty later and so to save myself, I don't want to face him at all ? Or is it cause I don't want to seem like a fake ass bitch when I'm the goddess of Love and I should be giving love to everyone ?

These same questions and thoughts have been running through my brain since the beginning. But I have yet to find the answer. I don’t know how this even started. The first time I saw him was at the gathering of the gods about a few years after I arrived at Olympus. I knew he was the god of Fire and I’ve only heard of him. I wasn’t too interested since there were other gods like Ares, who was a hunk, and Apollo who was even better.

Chanyeol was known to be very dedicated to his line of work. I respected that he was so diligent but I didn’t have the urge to actually meet him. During one of the meetings the gods held about some problems amongst the mortals, I met Chanyeol for the first time. He was the only god I haven’t met so I recognized him almost instantly.

He was talking to his brothers Apollo and Ares. They seemed to get along quite well despite the fact that he was less godly attractive than the two. I was never one to judge by looks, but you would think Apollo and Ares would rather be around those who were equally attractive. But as I was observing the three, Chanyeol turned his gaze and our eyes met instantly. For a second, his eyes flashed dark red and I felt something turning in my stomach. It was very uncomfortable. I swallowed the lump in my throat with a troubled look and turned away from his stare. He was definitely different. It wasn’t that I didn’t like him. It was more uncomfortable for me to be around him, or better yet, him around me.

I walked out my balcony door and saw the view of Olympus. The clouds were spread far out, who knows how far. Olympus is full of gods and goddesses who own massive homes. Of course, there are those who don't live in Olympus, but we have more than enough already. I looked down from my balcony and saw that Chanyeol left my front door and was walking towards his own home.

But he stops his tracks, turns about 30 degrees. He seemed like he was going to take a step but stops and turns back 30 degrees again. I didn't have to guess hard to know what he was debating about. And sure enough it was about whether or not he wants or should go to Apollo's. After turning back and forth multiple times, looking like a huge idiot (since he has such a massive build), he finally decided he was going to go back to his house.

Even as he was walking home, I see him tripping on his own feet. Luckily for him, he didn't fall on his face. If he did, I was sure the guilt in me would disappear. But instead he didn't, catching himself quickly. And even though I was only looking at his back, I could tell he brought his hand up to his heart, trying to calm it down, since he clearly was surprised by his self-inflicted blunder.

"You're so stupid," I whispered as I shook my head.

I didn't want the image of him to linger in my thoughts any longer than the amount I’ve already seen so I turned around and went back inside.

I looked around my room, thinking of what to do to get the thought of him out from within me. It was still too early to go listen to prayers, but since mostly everyone prays to me, I was never out of prayers. And since I'm behind anyways, I decided to go to my temple and listen to prayers, answer a few of them if I deem acceptable, and maybe even bless a few unbelievers with the gift of Love.

-----

"What are you doing here ?" Chanyeol asked, clearly surprised to see his closest brother in front of his doorsteps, waiting for him even before he got back home.

"My sword has become a bit used. I was hoping you can tinker it a bit for me ?" Apollo shrugged with a grin. "And I was kinda bored. Thought I might spare you your emotions. Come, I know you went to Aphrodite today. Tell me what happened."

Chanyeol smiled in gratitude and invited the god into his home. The two went down to his work area to fix Apollo's sword as Chanyeol was going to tell him everything that happened.

"Why do you think she doesn't call me by my given name ?" Chanyeol asks, working Apollo's sword as if it wasn't anything difficult to him.

"Don't take it to heart, she doesn't call me by my given name either," Apollo smirked.

"But you don't need her to call you by your name," Chanyeol frowned.

"Touché," Apollo nodded. "Well, why do you want her to call you by your given name so badly anyways ?"

Chanyeol was silent for a while, still sharpening Apollo's sword.

"...Cause it's more intimate...? Everyone calls each other by their god names and it feels distant..." Chanyeol finally answered after about 5 minutes of silence.

"So why won't you call me by my given name ?" Apollo asked.

Chanyeol looked up and rolled his eyes at Apollo.

"I do, cause I love you, brother" Chanyeol chuckled.

"Yea... You do, actually," Apollo shrugged again. " Well, Aphrodite doesn't seem to love you then."

And with that, Chanyeol decided that if Apollo shrugs one last time, he's going to throw him out of his home and dull out his sword before giving it back to him. Cause he really needed to be reminded of the obvious. He turned back to his work in front of him as Apollo kept looking around, picking up little trinkets he's been working on yesterday and examining them with bored interest.

"Do you think maybe it's cause I'm not handsome...? I mean, she is the goddess of Beauty... I should at least be appealing to a certain point, don't you think ?" Chanyeol looked up to see Apollo looking at him with a confused look that screamed 'you crazy'.

And with that, his arm paused midway before hitting the hammer on the scorching blade in front of him.

"What...?" he asked uncomfortably, remembering to move his arm to hit the blade.

"You do know you're a god right ?" Apollo asked.

"I'm not stupid, Apollo," Chanyeol rolled his eyes as he kept working on the sword.

"You know, you already surpass the highest level of beauty a man could have-"

"Human man. I'm a god. And I know for a fact I am last in line when it comes to looks amongst the gods," Chanyeol corrected him.

"Don't be ridiculous. In my opinion, Hercules is the ugliest," Apollo joked.

"No one cares for your opinion," he scoffed, clearly seeing he's joking, since Hercules is one of the most popular beings in Olympus, and he's only a demigod.

"Is that so ?" Apollo's eyes gleamed. "And is that the reason why you always come to me for advice and even ask me if it's your appearance that's the matter ?"

Chanyeol's arm came to halt once again. His lips turned into a frown. He glanced up to see Apollo shrug and half of his face flinched in disapproval. Chanyeol's eyes rolled back to his work. He was almost done anyways. It was more work to dull the blade out now.

Apollo went back to waiting, bored out of his mind as he played with his fingers. After a few drumming on Chanyeol's carving table to the beat of his hammer hitting the blade of the sword, Chanyeol was finally done. He slipped the blade into the cool water next to him then pulled it out the check the blade. He quickly sharpened the sword and handed the weapon to his brother.

"Thanks," Apollo nods as he flings it around a bit on the side.

"Now get out of here," Chanyeol chins towards the door.

"What, no dinner ? I thought this was a date," Apollo smirks.

"Shut up. Go home. It's late," Chanyeol smiles, finding his friend's sarcasm somewhat amusing.

"Alright, I'm going," Apollo turns around. "I have to go set the sun for Artemis anyways."

"You left the sun up..? It's 3 in the morning for the huma-"

"For the gods, you idiot," Apollo shook his head and finally left the room leaving Chanyeol feeling like a fool.

Once he was left alone, Chanyeol sat down on the seat Apollo was in to review his work from last night. He wasn't the best at making fine jewelry, but he tried the best that he could, only hoping that Y/N will at least look at it twice. He thought about the roses he's made this morning for her. He left it with one of her maids asking her to put it somewhere Aphrodite will be able to notice it.

Of course it hurt how Y/N rejected his love, and not even once but multiple times. But Chanyeol couldn't blame her. She was the goddess of Love and Beauty. He couldn't help but fall in love with her the moment he laid eyes on her.

He's heard of her before she arrived. She was who and what everyone talked about before she even got to Olympus. Some say Hermes almost forgot how to fly when he first saw her. Hermes, the god who's seen more beautiful women than any of the gods combined. You can't blame him though, he couldn't help but see them cause he's the one who sends all those love letters and gifts to Zeus' lovers in his stead so that Zeus had a smaller chance of getting caught by Hera. Not that he's never gotten caught. In fact, he got caught every single time.

It took Chanyeol a few years before he finally met her in person. Unlike the others, he was always busy with his work, whether it's providing for the gods or for the humans. He believed that he wasn't the best looking god out there, so he gave up on love. His rough callused hands weren't the kind that any woman would want holding onto them, let alone a goddess.

Even still, Chanyeol was a romanticist. He dreamed of falling in love with someone who didn't mind his general roughness, or his cruel line of work which always leaves him sweaty and smelly. And when he heard of the goddess of Love and Beauty, he couldn't help but wonder if she would ever see him in love with a woman who loves him just as much.

What he didn't expect was to fall in love with her. Was it the fact that she was so beautiful ? More than the other goddesses he rarely gets to see only through meetings for important matters since he's working most of the time, even through parties. Was it because she was the first one who actually asked him a question about what he does ? Or was it only because she's the goddess of Love ? No matter who you were, you were drawn to her. Even Hades has a soft spot for her even though he says he loathes her and they argue all the time.

Whatever the reason, Chanyeol couldn't deny his obvious feelings. He tried many times to try to have her accept his love. But it wasn't easy. She's the most popular amongst the gods and goddesses, whether it be to the humans or the gods. It was always hard to approach her.

Chanyeol picked up the chunk of diamond he's been working on. It was the next gift he was working on to give to Aphrodite. And probably the last. Chanyeol sighed at the memories running through his head. All the gifts he tried giving her, all the times he's told her he loved her, all the glances they've exchanged. And it hurt to know that it was all one-sided. Of course, he knew that already. But it still hurt to finally have to let go of his feelings.

Chanyeol always felt guilty of expressing his feelings to Y/N. He wasn't sorry for his feelings, but he was sorry for bothering her with them. It always seemed to annoy her, how persistent he was. The last thing he wanted was for her to have any sort of negative feelings in her. And if he believed he was the purpose of it, then he would bring his love to a stop.

Chanyeol caressed the piece of diamond in his hand with his thumb as a teardrop fell from his eye.

-----

"My lady, there's a message for you," the maid interrupted.

I nodded, letting her know I heard her. But I don't take my eyes off the large glass orb in the center of my shrine. I had my arms crossed as I debated whether or not the man the girl is praying to me about is the right choice for her. Although he's not a bad man, and I'm sure he'll be good to her, I wasn't sure he would love her. It seems as though he sees her as a younger sister rather than a love interest.

Instead, I flung my hand to the right to move the orb to another prayer. This time, a prayer from a man who's praying about the girl before.  He's praying for her happiness rather than asking me for her love. Now, this man truly loves the girl. I could see that he treasures her happiness and well-being more than his own.

A smile crawled up at the edge of my lips and I couldn't help but feel the love this man has for the girl. It always made me happy to know there still were those who prayed for others than for themselves. I lifted my hand and slightly touched the orb. The orb glowed once but before it went onto another prayer, I gently tapped the orb twice and with that, the prayers faded away and all that was left was just a glass orb.

I turned over to the maid who was patiently waiting for me to finish and handed me the paper. After I thanked her, she bowed respectfully and left the shrine. I opened the piece of paper and read the message. It was from Zeus. He summoned me because he had important matters he needed to discuss with me. I raised an eyebrow, wondering what in the world he needs to discuss with me.

I walked out and summoned someone to get the chariot ready. Soon after, a maid told me that everything was ready. Once I got settled in, the driver started the chariot. It wasn't long till I reached Zeus and Hera's mansion. It must be the grandest of all the Olympian gods, and like always, I was in awe of the new decorations displayed outside the front steps.

A maid of the household lead me to where Zeus was and announced that I've arrived. When the doors opened, I realized it was a leisure room. To my surprise, Zeus and Hera were seated at a table on the balcony. Hera invited me in and I awkwardly  went forward. Zeus stood to open the seat for me and I sat down, still not understanding the situation.

Everything was out of place. Zeus at home with Hera, Hera smiling at me, and the two of them having tea. Together. I was seated in between them, so I kept turning my head from Zeus to Hera, then from Hera to Zeus.

"How was your day, Y/N ?" my eyes widened when I heard Hera's voice calling my given name.

"E-excu... F-fine...?" I stuttered, thinking it would've been rude if I asked her why she was being so affectionate.

"I'm glad," she smiled.

I was clearly shocked by her change in attitude towards me. Hera didn't really like me. Or so I believed since everyone told me she didn't like me. Of course, the reason being that I haven't married anyone yet. Being the goddess of Marriage, Hera would like nothing more than to see me settled down. She's not even my mother, but she definitely cares about my marriage more than my actual mother does.

"So... What was the important matter you needed to talk to me about ?" I turned to Zeus, taking a moment to avert my eyes away from Hera's sweet smile.

"You're mother, Hera, and I have been talking..." Zeus starts, forcefully trying to pull off a calming smile.

"Yes...?" I couldn't help but get a gut feeling of where this was going.

"It's about your-"

"No..." I cut Zeus off, with a bit of plea in my voice.

"You can't stay single forever Love," Hera came in.

"Oh, please no," now they heard the plea in my voice.

"Love-" Zeus started.

"You can't make me marry someone !" I burst.

"I'm sure you'll come to love him," Zeus smiled with concern.

And with that sentence, I knew exactly who they were pairing me with.

"Hephaestus ?!" I asked in disbelief, knowing he's the only one I didn't love among all the gods.

"Honey-" Zeus put a hand over mine, trying to calm me down, but I quickly avoided his touch.

"Really Zeus ?! Hephaestus ?"

"Love, please," Hera tried to calm me down.

I turned to see that Hera was mortified at the way I acted upon rage.

"I'm sorry," I dropped my head down.

I heard both of them sigh. There was a long silence before I felt a soft pair of hands holding onto my shoulders and a firm hand holding onto my hands that were clamped together on top of my thighs. I looked up to see their eyes full of affection.

"He loves you so much... I'm sure you know better than anyone," Hera softly reminded me.

My brows started to crinkle, trying to dismiss the unwanted feeling.

"And although he doesn't pray to you for the love to be returned, we know you feel his love even from separate homes," Zeus rubbed his thumb on my hands.

I sighed and averted my eyes away from them to see two birds having fun on a birdbath.

"And you know better than anyone that when the man loves the woman to the point where her happiness is more important than his own, then the love between them is bound to be filled with joy," Hera smiled with hope.

I sighed through my nose, not wanting to open my mouth to indicate I have something to say in this ridiculous matter. Honestly, I had a lot to say on this matter. But I can't oppose the god and goddess of all the gods.

"We know..." Hera assured me by gently rubbing my shoulders soothingly. "We know you're not ready to love just one god when you're the goddess of Love... But honey, you need to at least settle down."

I gazed into Hera's eyes and felt the concern she had for me. Coming from a similar line of work, I guess I understand a bit of where she's coming from. Sharing the load will lessen the weight.

"Plus, no one is telling you to be super committed to him," Zeus let out a laugh. "You're just like me ! Loving one person then moving onto the next ! Heck, I could be the god of Love !"

Hera's hands stopped instantly and her eyes glared at Zeus.

"That doesn't give you the right to go around sleeping with every female in the universe !" Hera exclaimed.

"Trust me honey, I haven't slept with EVERY female," Zeus scoffed.

"You do not want to test me, Zeus," Hera's eyes were blazing with rage now.

"This is why I don't want to get married," I sighed as I shook my head and stood up to leave, breaking myself free of their hold.

"Don't be like him, Love," Hera commanded. "He's just a playboy who can't keep it in his pants. I know you know better."

"But you love me," Zeus beamed a killer smile and Hera's face turned red; It could just be out of rage, seeing her expression wasn't that of a flustered lady being wooed by a handsome gentleman.

But we all knew what Zeus said was right. I felt the love from both of them to the other and it was definitely a very strong bondage between them. I told them it wasn't necessary to walk me out and so they wished me a fare trip back home.

As I was going down the steps of their home, I saw Chanyeol walking up. My eyes narrowed at the sight of his surprised expression, clearly asking why I was here. He was so easy to read, it was uncomfortable.

"W-what are you d-doing here ?" Chanyeol stammered, following me back down as I walked past him.

"What ? I can't visit them when I want to ?" I rolled my eyes.

"N-no, it's just t-that I-" he tried, but I was already stepping into my chariot and told the driver to go.

"Bye," I give him a hallow glance and then turned my gaze forward as the chariot started moving.

"O-oka- b-by-e," he waved quietly.

I have to live with that annoying stammer for the rest of my life...

I had no idea how many times I sighed on the way back home, but I'm sure I'll hold the record now.

-----

"What was Y/N doing here ?" Chanyeol asked his parents who were surprisingly together.

He couldn't believe his dad was actually home. It was his mother who called for him, saying it was an emergency. But seeing how the two of them were together and the fact that Aphrodite was just here about 5 minutes ago, told him something was up.

"Chanyeol !" Hera's face had the widest smile Chanyeol has ever seen in years.

"Hello mother," Chanyeol met his left cheek with his mother's right and puckered his lips to make the kissing sound.

"Eh-hem, I'm here as well," Zeus spoke loudly to get his son's attention.

"Sure, hey, what's up dad," Chanyeol nodded.

"Is that all I get ?" Zeus asked in disbelief. "I'm your father !"

"Well, stop flirting with other girls and I'll treat you like a father and not some pubescent little brother."

Hera couldn't contain a laugh from leaving her. Chanyeol was by far her favorite son. Only because he is more like her and not like his father who goes around trying to get every girl to lay in bed with him. And even her other sons were so confident in themselves, they go around wooing any girl they lay eyes on. She still loved them, of course. All of them. Even Zeus.

But Chanyeol held a special place in her heart. He works hard and keeps himself busy with his work. He loves 1 goddess and although she doesn't return his feelings, he is loyal to her. Hera can't help but believe that Chanyeol is the exact replica of herself. And so she wanted to do anything she can in her power to have him be with the only woman he ever gave his heart to, and will give his heart to.

Others say that she doesn't really like Aphrodite cause she's more beautiful than Hera was or that she was jealous of Aphrodite's popularity when Hera used to be the one closest to Love. But that wasn't the case. Even if Aphrodite was more popular than she was, or even if she was more beautiful than Hera, those were not the reason to why Hera has been so sour to Aphrodite.

It was all because her son, who is so much like herself, fell in love the same way she did. He fell in love with a goddess whose job is to love everyone whether romantically or innocently. And that was no different than her love, who goes around seducing others when she was waiting all day and night for his return to show her the same attention he gives to others.

Hera was the one who brought it up to Zeus, and the two of them agreed to talk with Dione together. Dione accepted their proposal right away, feeling content her daughter has the blessing from the goddess of Marriage.

"You what ?" Chanyeol stood up from his seat, unable to contain the panic from rising inside of him.

"She said yes," Hera quickly followed him up, trying to calm him down with the good news.

"And you let her ?" Chanyeol turned to his father, without fully hearing his mother's words.

"Yes, but-"

"I can't believe the two of you would do that !" Chanyeol cut Zeus from trying to justify himself.

"Honey, she said ye-"

"Great, now she hates me..." Chanyeol slumped back down in his seat. "I was already pushing her too far... Now there's no way we could at least be friends even after I give up on this unrequited love."

Zeus scoffed and shook his head. He reached for a bunch of grapes and popped on into his mouth. Chanyeol heard his mockery, but didn't think to bring it up. He was already depressed enough. Hera on the other hand, shot Zeus a glare for the millionth time today. Zeus caught her eyes as he was about to put another grape in his mouth. He put the grapes on the plate in front of him, understanding the meaning behind Hera's glare.

"Chanyeol, sweetheart...?" Hera cooed, placing her hands on his back with a motherly touch. "Y/N agreed to marry you."

Chanyeol flinched. He lifted his head and saw the soft sincere smile on his mother's face.

"W-what ...?" he stuttered.

"You're getting married," Zeus said, lifelessly.

"Fuck !" Chanyeol cursed as he stood up to leave.

"Hephaestus ! Language !" Hera gasped and called out to Chanyeol.

"Please mother, I'm thousands of years old !" Chanyeol shouted as he made his way out of his parents' home.

He quickly went back to his house. Chanyeol barged into his home and hastily went to his work area grabbing the right utensils he needs as soon as he arrived. He started working on his new project and kept working till he was content with his piece.

-- To Be Continued --