The Last Ballad of Olympus: The Waltz of the Vulture and Owl

Unfavorable Bliss

Golden and bright as ever, Athena awoke to the beautiful morning with the scent of dew lingering in the air.

Seeing that their goddess was now awake, the little critters greeted her with lovely little grins on their faces as they gathered beside her. Athena felt blessed—however, she noticed that the wolf was missing. She asked her good friends about his whereabouts, but they knew nothing. They told the goddess that when they opened their eyes, it was only them, her, and the calmness of Helios's ascend.

"I see—" Athena sighed, downhearted that she could not bid a proper farewell to the beast as she will now return to Olympus.

Kisses and warm embraces for the little ones before she left, and later, by the cave entrance, she placed the flowers and fruits she hastily picked as gifts for the wolf.

"I will be going now." She said to the emptiness of the hallowed house.

Walking back was tedious, but the beautiful day should not be stained by wariness. Athena looked back and saw the forest at its splendor with glittering specs under the sun's rays.

"Bless that little paradise." She smiled and raised her hand daintily as she waved to the swaying trees.

***

Louder and wilder—the opening of the third day's feast was a tremendous delight of pleasure with no precaution. Some gods and goddesses, nymphs and satyrs, and all other beings enjoyed the early hours of lust as the wine blurred every functioning sense.

Wet kisses and satisfied moans echoed every hither-tither. It was never a desirable music, yet everyone never ceased their merriment—all except for Eris and Enyo, who were hiding behind a secret and unwanted door at the edge of a corridor.

"He was supposed to be here!" Eris frantically complained.

"I had no leads where he is at this moment," Enyo informed, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

"Ugh! It is the third time already!"

"Stop with your nagging, Eris!" The brutal goddess of war snapped. "Ares will be here. He will be. He promised me."

A fiery glare was flaming on Eris's eyes as she turned her head at Enyo. Raising a brow, she asked, "Promised you? You?"

Enyo laughed, feeling like a champion on the battlefield. "Ha! Ha! Oh, pity. Put that jealousy away, my dear Eris.

"Jealousy? All I know is he bedded you after losing favor from Aphrodite." The goddess of discord grinned, joyous to have trapped Enyo with her pride.

Hardened and not wanting to lose, Enyo equaled Eris's grimace and retorted, "He adored me in silence."

Eris's laugh grew louder and more sarcastic upon hearing her fellow goddess's pathetic belief. "Adore? Goodness me, Enyo. You are the goddess of war, yet many praised Athena instead of you. And what do you mean in silence? Love does not even go with silence. If Ares was no brutal soul, let us admit he might also be admiring Athena."

"Why you—" As Enyo charged, Eris luckily took hold of her hand.

The two raging goddesses struggled, not wanting either to be in losing grace. "Still not winning Ares's favor, I see? No matter how many times you will offer your legs to him—if he does not want you, he never will."

"And you think you won him with the argument?" She gritted between her teeth, wanting to slap the goddess's head off her neck.

"And you think you can wrap his head with your said son? Oh, my dear, fool him all you want, but you cannot fool fate for knowing his seed did not even grow inside that vile womb of yours." Eris spat, tightening her grip on Enyo's clawing hands. "Soon, he will know that his son was not of his flesh and blood but of alabaster with your blood giving it life."

"You better not—" Before there would be bloodshed between them,

Hermes uninvitingly entered the room—drunk and disoriented from reality.

"Well, greetings to you two beautiful deities!" He greeted, barely even balancing on his heels. "What are—are you doing in this dark corner? Everyone was in high spirits! Wine, food, sex—a celebration for us gods!"

Puzzled by his intrusion, Eris and Enyo halted their fight and looked at Hermes, who never cared as he went on scouring the dimly lit room.

"Only chairs and a table. What ki—kind of setting is this?" The god pondered as his words barely escaped from his tongue.

"What are you doing here, Hermes?" Enyo stiffly asked.

"I asked you the same question, my de—dear En—Enyo. What are you do—doing here?"

"We are just talking about life," Eris answered. "It is none of your business."

The god, known for his swiftness throughout Hellas, was disconnectedly pointing at them that he even staggered on his stance. "Do—do not te—tell me wha—what to do! There is a celebration! Come, you two, and join the glorious happiness!" He pulled the two goddesses' hands and dragged them out of the misery of the dark room.

"Hands off, Hermes!" Eris screeched.

"No, my lovely. The three of us wi—will jo—join the cele—celebration. Do not refuse!"

Eris and Enyo, though respectably strong in their own right, under Hermes's tight hold—were no match. They had become weak as they skirmished to be out of his firm grip.

"Unhand us!" Enyo shouted as she scratched his hand.

"No." Hermes firmly answered, ignoring, perhaps numbed from the painful ordeal of scratches and nicks of Enyo's nails.

The persuasive and alcohol-filled god got the upper hand, successfully pulling Enyo and Eris away from their dark hiding and leading them back to the ballroom. The goddesses could do nothing but let their situation be as they walked along the corridors like captured criminals.

***

"Back in Olympus, at last." Athena breathed, letting the familiar air of incense and all kinds of follies tickle her nostrils.

Finally reaching the top after climbing the infamous long steps of the heavenly palace, Athena paused. She let her breathing ease while admiring the scenery of the early morning.

"Whew! At least the morn is not melancholic." She thought.

Walking back to the long halls and the rows of columns with the large windows in between, the sweeping wind blew in delight, blowing the long curls of Athena like a soft curtain. So far, nothing appalling was happening—not until she gazed by the window to see the garden—

Lo and behold, a sight she would never dare to look at was happening right before her sacred silver eyes.

Athena was shocked and shrilled at the nymph and satyr, who carelessly copulated in an open space where eyes could see and the breeze polluted by their moans of passion.

"No!" Athena exclaimed, putting a hand over her chest as she felt her beating more profound from the shudder. "How can they do such a thing?" She distressingly protested as she lowered and covered her ears when the horrendous moans began.

The goddess poked her head again to see—and there were the lovers, still savoring the taste of each other. Horrified was not enough to describe her reaction, especially when she witnessed how the satyr longingly devoured the nymph's womanhood. It was like looking at a nuthatch sapping a violet bud.

She curled into a ball after staring at the scene. She was disappointed, realizing how that nymph willingly offered herself like easy prey in the wild. With her fiery hair sprawled on the marble bench where she lay; and her legs ridiculously parted for his lips, Athena could not escape from its haunting.

"This is unacceptable!"

"Of what? Of lovemaking? Oh, what kind of a deity are you for despising the very creation of life?"

As Athena looked up from hiding her scowl, she saw Ares walking towards her—-still prideful and satirical as ever.