Airalain and the Mystery Twin

Chapter 5: Dinner

Warning: Strong Language advisory.

After leaving the forge, I hear Aphrodite purr, "Glad you met my husband and my son." She sighed happily at the sight of him fighting off a horny, robotic dragon. I think that this love goddess is love struck at the sight of this beast. Don't get me wrong, but Hephaestus is not super ugly once you get past his horrifying appearance.

Aphrodite cleared her throat awkwardly, then she told me, "We'll be eating soon, Little Bluebird." She called me this because when I was sent to her home, my hair had a streak in it that was a royal shade of cobalt. More often than not, I wear my hair in a braid, which ends at my waist. I watched her cooking dinner from outside of the kitchen. I was entranced by her lilting singing voice. She sang "Smile" by Katy Perry.

I was hypnotized as it seemed as this Amy clone just glided across the floor as she was baking. I watched her mixing ingredients as she prepared a large dinner. She smiled dreamily as she basted the turkey. I wasn't realizing that she was going to make me as plump as a tick. She finished singing that song and then started singing "Castle" by Halsey. I was practically drooling as she finished up and started cleaning the dishes.

I heard Eros whisper eagerly into my ear, "Mom is a really good cook, but she is not the goddess of cooking. She was taught how to cook by only the best chef in the world, Gordon Ramsay."

I chuckled, imagining Gordon yelling at this goddess, "Madam, WHERE IS THE FUCKING LAMB SAUCE!? THIS PIG WAS SO FUCKING RAW THAT I CAN STILL HEAR IT SINGING HAKUNAH MATATA! YOU GOT SO MUCH OIL ON THIS PLATE THAT THE UNITED STATES WANTS TO FUCKING INVADE IT! YOU IMMORTAL DONUT, THE CHICKEN IS SO RAW IT LAID A FUCKING EGG!" I cleared my throat, blushing. Eros seemed to sense that I was hypnotized by Aphrodite's grace.

He guided me away from the kitchen, tugging at my little cloak. I couldn't protest since I was barely even aware of what I was doing since Aphrodite's voice was that hypnotic. I was wondering why she was making a huge feast. I didn't know that Sonic had asked her to stuff my little face with food. Her fingers seemed to move at a hypnotic pace. I couldn't stop staring at her. Her fingers danced across the cutting board as if she had the skill and the grace of an assassin.

She turned to me and asked, "Darling, would you mind waiting in the living room? I have to tell you something."

I nodded happily, not quite realizing that this could easily spell doom on my behalf. I danced to the living room and sat down on the gigantic couch (which looked like a giant cake). I shivered as I sank into the oversized pastry, suddenly feeling a tad bit cold. I curled up into a ball, not realizing that Aphrodite would be telling me something terrifying. "Why would Daddy send me here, if not to deliver a message? Does he miss me?" I wondered aloud.

A few minutes later, Aphrodite sailed in, her pink quills bouncing. She whispered, "Darling, there is something that I need to speak with you about." I nodded, not quite sure on what she was getting to. She continued, "Your father sent you here because he was worried about you. He said that you were looking a little thin. He has been very busy with keeping that rotten egg from kidnapping you or harming you."

Before she could continue, we both heard the sound of a bell going off. It sounded like a wolf whistle. Aphrodite stood up quickly, her dress billowing out ahead of her as she rushed out the door as if she had just remembered something. I heard something skitter down the hallway, and I froze as a mechanical cube scurried into the room on a pair of long, spindly legs. I froze, terrified of this spider-like appearance. It folded it's legs in on itself and the design was kind of cute. It had circles, but in that circle was a heart. It reminded me of the Companion Cube Headrobot GLaDOS brought with her (Yes, Aperture Science had rebranded itself into a technical school of sorts and GLaDOS is indeed left in charge. She was reprogrammed to not kill people under 18).

I heard Aphrodite sing from somewhere within the gingerbread house, "Airalain, dinner time!" I stood up and scooped up the strange, terrifying, yet oddly adorable contraption into my little arms as if it was a toy that I was playing with. I tried to move through the gingersnap halls when I heard Hephaestus roar from the inside of his forge, "Little companion bugger slipped away!"

I yelled back, "I got it!" I felt it getting plucked from my arms. I glanced up to see Hephaestus towering over me like a gigantic, fire red, hedgehog-shaped bear. I whimpered silently at the sight of the towering figure, fearing that the powerful beast might slap me or do something that is much worse than what I can imagine happening to me. Instead, he chuckled in a good natured way and ruffled my hair in a playful manner. 

Then the fire colored werehog must have realized that he was terrifying me, so Hephaestus told Aphrodite apologetically, "Darling, I need to excuse myself tonight because I don't want to terrorize our guest while she is staying here. Please skip me. I'll eat later." Aphrodite nodded, and the towering beast disappeared into the forge again while grumbling to himself about some mechanical projects of his.

I froze when I laid my eyes on the dinner table. It was beautiful, almost too pretty to eat, to be honest. The turkey was a light golden color, the potatoes were cooked to perfection, and the vegetables looked like Sonic had made them. The dinner rolls were a golden, buttery color, and the butter had a strawberry mold on top.

I never thought that I could be so hungry. What I didn't realize was that she was fattening and stuffing me on the ripener while she was making me eat. It felt as if everything was tailored to perfection. The rolls practically melted on my tongue, the turkey was juicy and the mango milkshake had a perfect texture. I was stuffed when I was finished. 

I yawned, not quite realizing how much time had passed. Aphrodite glanced towards the sugar pane windows with the clear sugar glass, then she scooped me up and whispered, "Oh, my goodness. Sonic was right about you being sleepy after a nice meal." I snuggled into Aphrodite's arms in a comfortable way, not quite ready to let go of her yet.

We headed up a flight of peppermint stairs, Aphrodite's hand lightly brushing the candy cane railing. She muttered as she opened a sugar cookie door, "Sonic wants you to spend a week here while he is off taking care of a pressing matter. He must love you very much in order to raise you for so long." I wasn't paying attention to what she was saying to me; I was nodding off. She tucked me into the large bed, her fingers tucking me in tightly to the bed. "Shh. It's only a week." She whispered before turning the light out.

I snuggled in tightly, not realizing that Sonic had something huge planned for me. I whispered, my voice just barely audible, "Good night, ma'am." I snuggled in, and I began to dream.

The first dream was awful. I dreamed that I was being thrown off of a cliff. I felt a pair of perfectly molded, gloved hands wrap around me and shove me out the window. Then the dream shifted from me falling down a mountain to a grand throne room. A tall yellow hedgehog with electric blue eyes glared at a light blue cat with grass green eyes. The yellow hedgehog demanded, his blue eyes sparking with electricity, "Hera, what happened to the baby?"

The blue cat replied, her voice cold, "He got kidnapped." 

I think that the yellow hedgehog knew that the cat was lying, so he pinned her down and thundered, "IF THIS IS ABOUT A PERFECT FAMILY, THEN TAKE NOTE FROM THE MORTALS, HERA! THERE IS NO SUCH THING!"

Hera spluttered, "Well, you have never been eaten by your own dad!"

The yellow hedgehog sat down and scowled, tracing a lightning bolt in his left hand. Then the dream shifted again to another perspective. I found myself with a young looking werehog with red fur. He was busy making something, and when he stepped back, I gasped. Granted, it was only shells on a string, but the way the shells shone were exactly like diamonds. Then the young looking werehog lifted the piece de resistance: a pearl that is roughly the size of my fist. He turned around when he heard a voice call, "Hephaesus, we need to tell you something."

He trudged, grumbling, "Almost done." He limped, his bad leg thumping behind him. I heard the other voice call teasingly, "Airalain! Wake up!"