Chapter Text
~Agora = City square in ancient Greek cities; literal meaning is "gathering place"~
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*Begins at the end of chapter 66*
~Psyche POV~
I stood outside of his bedroom, listening to the whispers of their conversation.
It was almost too much to bear.
As if living under the same roof as him and having him look straight through me was not hard enough, now he was spending time alone with a beautiful goddess.
She is a much better match for the God of Love.
The thought broke my heart, but I could not deny the truth. I was a mere mortal, what could I offer a God?
Leaning against the wall I took a deep breath and shut my eyes—I focused on his voice, the way it wrapped around words like a caress, but ignoring the words themselves… Knowing he was alone with another woman was painful enough, I didn’t want to know more than I already did.
A shadow coming down the hall captured my attention; glancing up, I was just as caught off guard as I was every time I saw her. No matter how long I lived among the Gods, I would never grow used to their presence, their aura of power and strength, and certainly not their beauty—especially Aphrodite’s.
“Come.” She said calmly as she breezed past, ignoring the fact that I was loitering outside of her son’s bedroom. “We’re going to the mortal realm.”
With one last sidelong glance at the bedroom door, I resigned myself to the reality of my situation—Eros does not know who I am, and as a love god, he has certain urges and needs that cannot go ignored forever. He had mourned for me while living in the same house and now he had found someone new. I had to accept what was, be thankful that he had at least picked someone as compassionate and bright as the Goddess of Spring.
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Stepping onto the desolate battlefield, I clung to Aphrodite, startled by the number of dead bodies that lay before us. The battle that took place was over, but the stench of death hung heavy in the air, making sure no one forgot what had happened.
“Are you frightened?” She asked, glancing down at me.
“No ma’am, I just have this terrified look on my face because I’m having so much fun.” I grimaced at the sight of blood on the hem of my chiton, but Aphrodite chuckled.
“No need to be frightened, we’re perfectly safe. Now come along and don’t fall behind, I don’t want to lose a Nymph in the mortal realm.”
We searched all throughout the night and even once the sun rose again. Field after field, town after town, and even a good portion of Athens. It was while we wandered the empty streets of Athens in the early morning light that I cleared my throat and asked the question that had been on the tip of my tongue since we left home.
“Ma’am?”
Aphrodite sighed. “Yes?”
“What, or who, are we looking for exactly?”
We stopped in the Agora and settled on the stone platform there to give our feet a rest. Aphrodite rolled her shoulders and fluffed her hair having seemingly forgotten about my question.
“Someone dear to me was taken away, shoved into the mortal realm and forced to live and fight alongside his own worshipers.” The Goddess of Beauty massaged her forehead for a brief moment. “I want him back.”
“A lover, madam?”
Aphrodite smirked, staring off into the distance. “Oh, he is so much more than a mere lover… He is the other half of me. Some forces in this world, well, they need balance. Day and night, life and death, love and war.”
Balance. It was a forgiein concept to me. All my life had been about give; give my time to care for my family, give my freedom for the advancement of my father, give my life for the man I love. There was little take in my world and the very idea was inspiring.
In the end, we never found who Aphrodite searched for.
“Come, let’s go home… This is a waste of time.” Aphrodite sighed dejectedly, grasping my hand before we dissolved in a shower of purple shimmer.
The sensation of transferring was not comfortable, but something I am slowly growing accustomed to. It was a heavy pressure on my chest, like when I had fallen ill as a child and coughed day and night. The air was pulled from my lungs and then the light turned so bright I feared I might go blind… but just as it all started, it stopped and we were someplace new.
Returning home, I stepped into the house behind Aphrodite and followed her into the kitchen. The children were all awake while Eros prepared breakfast, Persephone seated at the kitchen table looking terrified. I did not blame her, Aphrodite had placed her in the back of the Unseen One’s car unconscious. That is enough to scare anyone.
Half-asleep on my feet, I failed to keep up with the conversation until Aphrodite took the cooking tongs from Eros.
“Let me help you.” I offered, stepping to her side, wanting to be useful.
Aphrodite patted my shoulder. “No need, go get some rest.”
Hearing that I was released from her service for the time being, I felt a light tug on my peplos, I glanced down to find Ludus. The little red God’s various costumes always made me smile, today he was keeping it simple with a black mask over his eyes and a coordinating cape.
“Ampelus, can you draw for me?” He asked sweetly, taking my hand into his own; I couldn’t help but smile.
“Not now love, she has been following me around all night. She needs to rest.” Aphrodite argued lightly, but I shook my head and allowed Ludus to guide me to the table.
“It’s alright, I can do one.” As we settled down at the table, I reiterated that I would only draw him one picture before he began describing what he wanted—yesterday was a Pegasus, something Agape had told him about after she last visited her father. Today he wanted a Petasos, a symbol of his father.
“Just the outline.” Ludus explained as I began to sketch. “I want to color it in for him.” I smiled. He was such a kind child, a perfect mixture of Aphrodite and Hermes; mischievous and funny like his father, but big hearted and generous like his mother. I did as he requested and sketched, then darkened the outlines of the drawing before handing it over to be colored in.
Once I was done with the drawing, I took stock of the situation in the kitchen; Aphrodite was harassing Persephone about her crush on Hades, while Eros nervously stood to the side, looking both fearful of what his mother might do, but excited to see his friend encouraged to confess her love. Shaking my head at the drama, I excused myself silently.
On the other end of the table, Persephone was doing her best to downplay her love situation; she was in love with a king who was committed to a nymph. What a mess, indeed. I did my best to conceal the relief I felt; Persephone was not in love with Eros. Although I was unsure of what they did in private, I at least had confirmation that they were not in love and for now, that was enough to bring me peace.
I was bone tired after spending so many hours traipsing around the mortal realm in search of Aphrodite’s love. Although my body screamed for sleep, I knew I first needed to bathe. My room was small and sparsely decorated, but conveniently attached to an equally small private bathroom.
As I disrobed and stepped into the shower, I breathed a sigh of relief; Persephone’s heart did not belong to Eros. That alone made me feel both less guilty for eavesdropping the night before, and less fearful of losing Eros to another woman.
You don’t have to be in love to have sex with someone—look at four of Aphrodite’s children .
I groaned at the intrusive thought, hating how true it was. Aphrodite was in love with Ares, but four of her children were fathered by other men, not to mention the countless affairs she had that were either with women or did not result in children…
Tilting my head back under the stream of hot water I forced myself to take a few deep breaths—there was no reason to panic or worry. Sex without love was…
I sighed.
Still hurtful .
Stepping out of the shower, I dressed in the soft grey pajamas that Aphrodite had given me when she brought me here and climbed into bed, relaxing into the soft mattress. I had gotten myself into this situation by listening to my sisters and nearly stabbing the man I loved. If he was having sex with others, it was not malicious towards me;
My pain was my own fault and blaming Eros would not help, even with all the rational thoughts in the world.