The Wrath of Aphrodite - Book 2

The New Home

I sleep soundly by the shore of the lake, letting the sound of its soft waves soothe me. It was a glorious, forget-reality kind of sleep. 

Which only makes waking up more cruel...

So much work to be done, so much to forget and heal from. I let myself feel sorry and wallow in my own pity for a moment before thinking of Eros again. I need to get back to him! I need to bring him here and build him our home and show him more of the world above!

He's scared but I know he will grow to love it. Soon enough he'll be taking on his responsibilities and we'll be working together happily...and then none of this will matter. It will all be a horrible, distant memory...as long as Hephaestus isn't reminding me of it, of course.

I'm scared too, but I will be alright for the sake of my son.

I crawl to my feet and attempt to untangle my hair before emerging from the tree line into the blinding sunlight and evergreen meadow.

As the sun hits me I raise my arm and cover my eyes. I felt so dizzy and disoriented, it was as if I had a huge helping of wine the night before was and now dealing with the consequences.

As my eyes adjust to the daylight, I spot a brand new building settled near the shore of the lake. My eyes widen and I stumble towards it in a daze.

What in Olympus?

I stare in awe at the delicate little home that was built for me. It was yellow, appropriate matching my hair in a way, and covered with beautiful vines and flowers.

My mouth is still hanging open when I spot in the distance, a figure joyfully waving at me. I inwardly cringe at the thought of coming face to face with anyone right now, let alone Demeter. Why is she bothering waving at me at all, let alone this early?

Just as I begin to turn back to the house and pretend I hadn't seen them, the voice calls out to me. I recognize it to not be Demeter and feel a sliver of guilt for forgetting little Persephone.

I turn around and wave half-heartedly back and sift my hands through my hair more as the pretty little Goddess approaches me, carrying a basket filled with flowers, naturally.

I look her innocent self up and down before smiling as kindly as I can.

"You like it? Hades and I thought it might give you some relief. One less thing to worry about." She giggles.

"It's absolutely incredible. I didn't mean to spend my night here, but I guess it kind of just happened. This is a pleasant surprise to wake up to, as disoriented as I am." I answer simply. "Thank you to the both of you...And you look lovely today, as per usual, Persephone."

She beams, but I can tell she isn't exactly jealousy-free having left her husband in my company last night despite her participation in the gift for me. No one can blame the Goddess. She may hold the title of the Queen of the Underworld and the mother of Hades's children, but I am still the most beautiful Goddess to date...and not exactly a modest one.

"You'll have to thank your husband for me, next time you see him." I interject before her thoughts wander any more. "He talked me out of my funk...for the most part. I haven't been myself since I was..."

She nods knowingly and kindly. "I understand. I'm sure he knows how thankful you are. Thanking him again would only embarrass him more, I'm sure." She likely jokes. "He doesn't often entertain the company of anyone from the world above except me or give them gifts even close to this."

"Well, maybe I am an exception because I matched you two." I wink playfully and she giggles as a blush covers her cheeks.

"Thank you for that..." She says avoiding my gaze, her blush still not disappearing.

"You are very lucky. I'm very proud of the match as well." I comment lowly avoiding her gaze. "Well, I'll let you get back to your work. I need to get back to my son and show him our new, wonderful little home. I'll be sure to tell him who to thank." I wink once again, not knowing what else to do to show my gratitude.

"I would love to meet him!" Persephone immediately says.

I feign a smile and nod my head. "I suppose that would be alright. We will be neighbours for half the year after all." I try to hide my grimace. The idea of Eros meeting everyone still feels off-putting to me...I have no idea what could happen once he's exposed to the world and grows older.

I have to put those thoughts aside for now. He's still a small boy and knows barely anything about the world. I have other things to worry about long before he should become a problem. 

Besides, he's my son. He will know he belongs at my side.

"I'm so glad you think so. I've heard you're quite protective of him. I know the importance of being socialized as a child. My mother was much too protective of me before Hades whisked me away. All that isolation doesn't do any good for the child in the end." Persephone comments innocently, without considering my reaction. 

I tense up, my jaw clenching. She isn't wrong. Her isolation left her naive and exposed, very easy for Hades to take away from her mother. Her mother did make a tremendous mistake at that...she didn't teach her anything about the world or what to look out for! 

I cannot make that same mistake. I will teach Eros everything...

And from that, he will know better. Besides, he does have something in contrast with Persephone. I did not arrange a match for him as I did for her. He doesn't have anyone waiting for him to come of age.

"I understand what you're saying," I tell her simply, not really wishing to reveal my true feelings on exactly everything she was mentioning. "We cannot be raised completely in the dark and isolated." I look to the ground as more thoughts consume my head. "If you're raised like that, there are some dire consequences sometimes."

"Well, I'm glad my life couldn't have turned out happier despite that." Persephone's soft voice continued in the background as I calculated my next action.

"I am too." I finally conclude to go with the simplest response possible. "Now, I'm sorry, but I'm sure my son is anxiously waiting for me since Nerites returned without me last night."

"Of course." She reaches out and touches my shoulder comfortingly. I surprisingly do not cringe away from the contact as her warm hand brings me a genuine comfort I'm not used to expecting. "Have a safe journey, Aphrodite."

I nod as a silent thank you and turn around towards the house. It truly is perfect...but why does my heart still feel so empty?