Born In The Palace

Chapter 16: Deception

I chewed on my lip, absentmindedly stirring my now cold soup. While everyone else at the large table enjoyed the feast Zeus threw to celebrate the return of Persephone and the peaceful resolution we've come to regarding Hades's wrongdoings, I wasn't in a celebratory mood. 

Not only did Hades escape punishment, but I also learned that my own grandfather had a dark past, and I didn't know how to approach him about it. 

As Zeus said at the Hearing, there were no casualties. The people of Asterin were safely back in their kingdoms. Persephone was back in Olympus, and I was free of the serpent's curse. I should simply move on, shouldn't I? The other Gods already have, switching their attention to new events and latest scandals, which seemed endless in their realm. 

My mind was so preoccupied with trying to figure out how to ask my grandfather about what Zeus had told me, that I paid no mind to Persephone's incessant contact with Eros at the table, touching his arm every chance she got in front of my very own eyes.  

I could understand that she felt fearful at the Hearing, sitting in front of Hades and her father that easily gave her away, so she relied on Eros -- the God second to Ares himself in the art of battle -- to protect her. Now I wasn't too certain if her motives were innocent, but I had other problems to solve at the moment. Besides, I trusted Eros.

All the chatter and laughter around me made thinking difficult. Since I wasn't in the mood to eat either, I decided to get up and leave the feast to find a quiet place to gather my thoughts.

I walked around the palace of Olympus until I found myself in a beautiful garden full of ancient trees that proudly stood together, adorned with their vibrant green leaves and delicate white flowers. Even the air felt cleaner here. 

I sighed in content, my heart lifting slightly at the sight of such natural beauty. I carefully climbed one of the giants and sat on its thick branch, leaning my back against the trunk. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath to calm my mind.

I felt his presence beside me before he spoke. "Are you all right?"

Keeping my eyes closed, I shook my head. "I don't know what to do."

"With what Zeus told you?"

My eyes flew open and I turned to look at Eros, who was sitting on a branch next to mine. "You know what he told me?"

He shook his head. "I don't, but I know he must have told you something that caught you off guard. Your face completely changed after you approached him with that book at the Hearing. Did he threaten you?"

"He threatened me with my grandfather," I said. "And your parents... He told me that their dark pasts would be revealed to everyone if I went against Hades."

Eros ran a hand down his face, looking angry and frustrated. "He hasn't changed at all. Always using threats to get his way." He sighed, then opened his arms wide. "Come here."

As soon as I moved to sit on his branch, he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close, my back against his strong chest. Placing a gentle kiss on my neck, he said, "I will punish them."

I turned my face to look up at him. "How?"

Eros looked at my lips, then gave them a soft peck. "I'd already planned my revenge when you were brought back to Olympus unconscious and pale." He took my hands in his and rubbed slow circles on my skin with his thumbs. "It took every ounce of my self control not to make things worse by destroying Hades, so I waited for the Hearing to see if he got a just punishment." He laughed humourlessly. "After all these years in Olympus, I should have known that Zeus would never let his beloved brother be harmed."