For the Love of God

γ | three

"I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE this dress is woven from the condensed dew collected from Azaleas. It must have taken days," I said for the third time but instead of getting annoyed Aphrodite only smiled.

When the Goddess had stepped into her dress, my jaw remained open at the beauty of the design. The dress she had picked out for Demeter's ball was forest green — the green that sparkled in the sunlight and screamed fresh and natural. From the waist down, the material that flowed down was glossy and thick like a waxy leaf with glass-like tendrils creeping up to her waistline. From the waistline up, the tendrils seemed to flatten and branch out upwards into a gel-like fabric that hugged her skin. It looked like it was transparent but in reality it wasn't. The mirror-like material ended above the curve-line of her breasts, green emeralds dotting the border. A thin strap extended from the dress to her shoulders, on which green satin flowed down her arms as sleeves.

"Do you think I should wear the silver paint or the gold one?" Aphrodite asked and my brain failed at the question. She snapped her fingers in front of me.

"Y-you are asking for my opinion? You are the Goddess of beauty," I whispered, looking down.

"I thought it would be thrilling to do this with mortal intuition. What do you say?"

I mentally crossed 'giving make-up opinions for the goddess of beauty' from my new bucket list. "Silver," I said.

"Good choice," Aphrodite smiled and applied a thick coat of it on her eyelids, perfection at its peak. She dyed her lips red, making her lips stand out like wine spilled on a white carpet, a forbidden fruit in an emerald forest. She wore no jewelry except for the heart-shaped locket on her neck that she never removed from when she first walked into the room. It had been golden but then, in a light tap of her fingers, the locket turned moonlight silver.

When she beckoned me, I scrambled towards her and helped fix the armlet of silver leaves around her smooth arms, careful not to hurt her at any cost. I adjusted the matching crown on her hair that somehow sat there without a pin, unafraid of slipping even when she bent down.

Aphrodite inspected herself in the mirror and only after approval flashed in her eyes did she turn around and look at me. "How do I look?"

"Like emerald elegance," I said, this time a smile forming on my lips. The warmth and kindness from Aphrodite melted away the fear and hesitance in me. Laughing, she patted my arms lightly and I thought I felt a tingle of shock pass through my nerves.

"Neànis don't talk unless they're spoken to so you must take note of that. And you don't talk at all because you are going to pretend you are mute. I will cast a glamour on you to shield your mortal blood so you don't have to worry. You will stay with the other neànis on the left corner of the courtroom, where they wait. The Gods and their neànis have a mental connection so that we can call upon them anytime. But since you are mortal, you will not have that bond. Instead, you need to keep an eye on me at all times and wait for my signal — which would be three taps on my locket — and come to my side immediately. Stick with the other neànis and make sure you don't destroy your cover," Aphrodite advised me and I nodded immediately.

She took my hand and stared at the bracelet on my wrist. "This looks like it is a cherished gift. Is it from your lover?"

Ivan.

I could see him in my mind locking that bracelet around my wrist, feel that linger of touch and his thumb tracing circles on my skin as he admired his gift on me. I saw this in the store and immediately thought of you, Cel, he'd said to me as he sat in front of me with his knees brushing mine.