Ferry of Woe [malexmale]

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

The meal was absolutely delicious.

But it wasn't a surprise. Everything Alexion tasted was heavenly. He could easily manage to turn sugary sweet nectar and ambrosia into something spicy and sweet. The warmth of it in my mouth and in my stomach was comforting and relaxing. I could feel my anxieties being chased away.

"When did you learn to cook?" I asked, deciding to try and start conversation. Alexion paused, licking sauce off his lower lip and wiping the corner of his mouth before he sucked on it for a moment.

"A very long time ago," He said, and looked like he was satisfied with that answer until he saw me staring at him expectantly and he sighed heavily, running his finger along the rim of his wine goblet, "After Cronus gained custody of me. Rhea wasn't the cooking type. She was always busy with her friends or faeries. She didn't spend too much time with Cronus. He eventually ordered that I learn to cook meals for him and the rest of the gods. It took some trial and error and beatings before I figured out how to do it correctly." I nodded, trying not to grimace at his mention of being beaten. I already knew Cronus was cruel. I had never personally met the Titan, but I knew full well that he wasn't the friendliest of them. He had a temper as bad as Zeus's.

"I'm sorry that happened to you," I murmured, "The thing with Cronus. He isn't very... polite." Alexion snorted, picking up a pomegranate to twirl around on the table, his expression disgusted.

"He's about as polite as a rabid bear in a cage."

"Well, he's in Tartarus now."

"That's not good enough." Alexion muttered. I frowned. I didn't know what to say to that. I didn't know the depths of Cronus's cruelty and I didn't even want to imagine it. Yet, I was finding it difficult to think that Tartarus wasn't the right home for someone like Cronus. Tartarus was a blazing hot pit of hell. Surely Hades had assigned an appropriate amount of punishment to Cronus. After all, during the Titan escapade, Cronus had been too weak to even flee. He'd been found curled up in a corner with Rhea cradling him.

"What would you do to Cronus for punishment?" I asked. Alexion pinned me with a merciless stare, so icy cold that I could feel the chill of it down to my toes. As handsome as Alexion could be, he could also pull off the deadly aura quite well.

"I would rip him to tiny pieces, slowly and painfully, then set whatever's left of his corpse on fire." He deadpanned, making me grimace.

"But you would destroy the universe in doing so."

"Revenge comes at a price that I am willing to pay."

"You're willing to doom the entire universe and all existence, just to get Cronus back?"

"Zeus too." He added, as if that made anything better. I didn't say anything now, because I wasn't sure what to say. I obviously didn't understand it. Cronus must have done something worse than simply beating him, and I couldn't imagine what was worse than a beating... No, maybe I could, I just didn't want to. Why would Cronus, or Zeus for that matter, do such things to Alexion? Were they as frightened of him as everyone else because of his title as "god killer"? What did it mean to be a god killer, aside from the obvious? Maybe it went beyond simply killing other gods.

"Alexion, what do you think it means to be a god killer?" I asked. Alexion looked at me, confusion screwing up his features, but it looked oddly charming.

"What do I think it means? I'm sure it's kind of obvious." He offered, but I shook my head.

"Maybe there's more to it than just killing other gods. Maybe there's a different meaning to it. Maybe you don't just kill the gods." I explained. Alexion didn't say anything, but he was listening, so I took that as my cue to start throwing out ideas.