The Immortal Heart

A/N: Happy new year to all our devoted readers! I hope you will continue to enjoy this story in the upcoming year as well.


Chapter 29

The first thing Zeus did after rising from bed was to fashion himself a crossbow with belonging arrows. It was still his duty to provide for his family, and nothing helped to relieve sexual frustration better than indulging in a hunt.

Before retreating into the woods, the Olympian leader opened the door to the room shared by his brother and sister to see how they were coping, and as he’d expected, Hades and Demeter were both still asleep, curled up in each other’s naked arms like a pair of lovers resting after a long night of passion. Had he witnessed Hades in such a profound state of intimacy with anyone except their newly healed sister, jealousy would have flared within Zeus like wildfire. However, knowing that his brother harbored no carnal attraction for the goddess, his tempestuous, possessive nature remained relatively unfazed.

Huffing to himself, Zeus closed the door and exited the house, hoping that his usual fortune when it came to hunting had lasted the journey to Crete.

The god had not even made it out of the old building’s overgrown front yard before he was intercepted by something approaching from the right. The being was quick, but Zeus, his senses and reflexes sharpened and honed to perfection from decades of hunting and engaging in battles, was even faster. Reacting without a second or even a first thought, only positive that the being was not one of his siblings, he had it on its back the moment it touched him with the tip of his sword placed under its chin.

Zeus stilled his blade when he realized his attacker was no attacker at all. Instead, the round eyes of a nymph looked up at him in surprise. Startled by the god’s speed and reflexes, she managed to back away from his sword, managing a little smile. When she saw the recognition in Zeus’ eyes, her smile grew and she knew he would not hurt her.

“Adamanthea?” he addressed with a smile of his own. She laughed out of pure joy, fearing she would never see him again when he left to free his siblings. The very moment Zeus dropped his sword, she was in his arms and giving him big wet kisses all over his face.

“Your beard has grown so much since we last saw you!” she exclaimed in elation, and Zeus laughed at her enthusiasm. He could barely kiss her back, as her kisses and affections were too quick for him to keep up with. She was like an overly happy pet which had not quite been tamed, and her fervent wiggling in his arms finally made Zeus lose balance, falling on his backside in the tall grass.

“There are other things which I’m sure have grown since you last saw them as well,” the god stated, his tone suggestive and roguish. “In fact one of them is growing as we speak.”

“Then I will have to do my duty and make it shrink,” Adamanthea said with a giggle, and her dexterous hands were pulling aside the layers of his robes in no time.

“And who is this?” a female voice asked with forced politeness.

“Hera!” Zeus said joyously as he looked up at her, acting as though he was not about to be manually pleasured by what looked like a complete stranger. “You’re awake!”

Of course, you idiot, Hera thought, but she kept the remark to herself.

“This is Maia,” the younger Olympian said. “She was one of the nymphs who helped our mother to raise me from infancy.”

“Good morning,” Maia said gleefully.

Hera did not return the greeting but merely glanced at the nymph still in Zeus’ arms. In her opinion, nymphs were untrustworthy, savage, inferior beings with whom the Olympians should have no or minimal contact.

“So I see,” Hera said from between clenched teeth. The creature still seemed completely oblivious to her anger and proceeded where she had been interrupted by Hera’s arrival, reaching in beneath Zeus’ robes to fondle him.

Not wanting to be audience to whatever Zeus planned to do with the bold nymph, Hera spun on her heel, planning to retreat into her inferior new bedchamber and hope that her brother and his old acquaintance at least would not be loud enough to disturb her there. She barely had time to turn around before a second high-pitched voice was excitedly calling out Zeus’ name, and the pair frolicking in the grass was joined by yet another nymph.

“Maia!” Zeus exclaimed, opening up his arms to envelop the newcomer in them as well. “You haven’t changed at all since I last saw you!”

“You have,” the nymph said with a snicker and eagerly began to explore the god’s body and face. “I like it. When you left us so long ago, you were naught but a boy, and look at you now!”

Zeus simply laughed at her astonished excitement, but his breath hitched in his throat when her hand joined Adamanthea’s in caressing his hardening member.

“This is definitely a pleasant change,” Maia said coyly and exchanged a knowing look with her fellow wood nymph. “There is more than plenty of you for the both of us!”

The loud cries and giggles of the nymphs mixed with the occasional groan from Zeus eventually attracted the attention of both Poseidon and Hestia, who glanced at the spectacle unfolding on the front yard with mild curiosity. Their youngest brother’s behavior was certainly no surprise, and the two Olympians decided to allow them some privacy, even though Zeus had not asked for it.

*

The jovial commotion in the grass carried on through the windows and reached the ears of Hades and Demeter, who awoke wondering what on earth could be going on outside.

“I will look,” Hades offered, and he peered through their window, paused, and returned to his sister’s side with a peculiar look on his face.

“What. What was it?” Demeter asked, anxious to know.

“Zeus,” the god answered. “With what I think were two nymphs.”

“They must be the servants Rhea spoke of,” Demeter said, brow raised in slight surprise at the source of the noise. “I am guessing that they are very happy to see him.”

“The same could be said for our brother,” Hades remarked, returning to the reclining position he had been in before he had been awoken. A minute of silence passed before he spoke again. “I swear, Zeus would make love to the knothole of a tree if he thought it deserved his attention.”

Demeter burst out laughing. His expression straight, Hades surrendered into a chuckle, his statement creating the most amusing of mental images.

“Either way,” Demeter said, sitting up with her improvised bedcovers around her figure. “I am now wakeful. And I think I am rested well enough to join my brothers and sisters in the day’s events.”

“Are you completely certain?” Hades asked, still feeling ever so slightly protective of his sister.

Demeter nodded and turned her back to her brother, ready to test her healing leg, when part of her robe fell away from her legs. Upon seeing the scars there, she stiffened and covered herself again. “I would appreciate that you look away while I dress,” she quietly murmured.

The request took Hades by surprise. Demeter had never been modest or self-conscious about her form, especially not around him, but it didn’t take him long to figure out the reason for her sudden shyness.

“Dear sister,” he said, reaching out to touch her shoulder. “There is no reason to be ashamed of your scars. They do not affect how I see you.”

“They affect how I see myself…” the goddess replied in a low voice tinged with sadness and regret. She turned around to look into her brother’s eyes. “Do not get me wrong, I am overjoyed to be alive and forever indebted to our mother for healing me, but… I am not what I once was.”

“You are still Demeter,” Hades stubbornly argued. “You are my sister, and I could not love you more.”

Seating himself behind his sister, Hades wrapped his arms around her waist, nuzzling her neck and making small, cooing noises which eventually drew a chuckle from the melancholy goddess. She placed her hands over those of her brother and squeezed gently, grateful for his unconditional love, even though his proclamations did nothing to ease her concern about her changed appearance. Hades was not her lover and most likely never would be; he could not possibly understand her anguish.

“I know you still love me all the same, brother,” she said softly. “I am not questioning you. I just…” She released the hold on her robes, allowing her scarred lower side slip into view. Supposedly she should be grateful that she could hide her deformity with clothing, despite having to do so for the rest of her life was a sad thought.

“Then what is troubling you so much?” Hades inquired, far from oblivious to the grief felt by his sibling.

“Zeus might no longer find me desirable, and perhaps Poseidon won’t either,” Demeter murmured, unable to tear her eyes from the rough, discolored scar tissue now covering most of her left thigh and hip. She imagined Zeus’ hand trailing the misshapen skin and wondered if the sight and feel would make her brother turn away in disgust.

“And what about Hestia?” Hades inquired. “What do you think she will say to your doubts?”

Demeter managed a smile, though it was a sad one.

“I think she would be too happy for your good fortune to mind the scars of a healed wound,” her brother suggested.

“Perhaps,” the goddess replied, her ton indifferent.

“What makes you think Poseidon would not feel the same way?” Hades asked. “He seems a fair god, based on what I have seen of his behavior. After all… he swam through the seas in the small hours of the morning to find me an octopus.”

Demeter managed a small laugh at the memory. “And though he failed, he tried to make up for it. You are right, he can be very considerate and courteous.”

“However…?” Hades added, hearing the doubt in his sister’s voice.

“However…” Demeter replied with a sigh. “He is still a god. I fear that appearance alone can make the difference between desire and rejection from our brothers. Especially Zeus.”

Hades was silent, and instead of arguing, he rested his head against the goddess’ shoulder. He knew the nature of gods, of their vanity and pride, as he was not completely impervious to such a temperament either. Zeus, spoiled by beautiful nymphs and responsible for the rest of his kin as their leader, was the most fitting example of an Olympian’s faults.

But Zeus could be kind and gentle, Hades reminded himself. Surely if Zeus could return to Hades after the loss of their child…

“I know Zeus would still desire you,” the god insisted, ignoring the sadness which came with the memory of his lost son. “You are still the same goddess he has taken to bed so many times before.”

Demeter stroked the skin of her brother’s forearms to show that she appreciated his attempts at reassurance. “I wish you would not mention to anybody that we had this discussion,” she then said. “Especially Zeus. He… He would not understand.”

“I promise,” Hades immediately said, not one to betray his sister’s trust in him. “But if you need me to do anything, or just wish to talk, I’m here,” he added, dreading to think that Demeter might be experiencing the same feeling of despair that he himself did after losing his child.

The goddess gave a small smile. “I’ll remember, brother.”

*

After he had had his pleasure sated by his two childhood acquaintances, Zeus picked up his sword along with his bow and arrows and headed out into the forest to hunt. The woods on Crete did not differ much from the ones on the mainland of Greece, although this time the Olympian leader knew to be on his guard against the lions – supposedly the guardians of his mother – that inhabited the area.

When Zeus returned to his new home less than two hours later, carrying the carcass of a young buck over his shoulder, he was surprised to find his siblings gathered around what served now as their dining table, eating of the bountiful feast that had been laid out before them.

The food did not come from the meager supplies brought to the island by the gods themselves, and Zeus frowned at the sight before him.

“What is the meaning of this?” he asked. The fact that his effort put in hunting down a prey had now been made superfluous made the god feel slightly inadequate, and it was not a pleasant emotion.

“It seems our mother’s servants were good for something,” Hera replied dryly.

“Indeed,” Zeus muttered. Though he was disappointed to have made such an effort for nothing, he had to confess that he was happy to have food on the table after the events of the past few days. The part of him which remembered his days growing into young adulthood felt happy to be back under the eyes of his mother and the nymphs.

Shaking his head with a smile, he stepped outside and called his nymphs forward. Maia and Adamanthea and lingered nearby in case of assistance required, and they could not be happier to preserve the buck’s meat as the Olympians enjoyed their dinner. Thus Zeus returned to the table with a grin on his face as he joined his siblings in the meal, taking Hades’ hand and squeezing it as he sat down next to him. Hades leant in for a kiss and his leader happily indulged.

*

That very afternoon, the nymphs had informed Zeus – and no one else, Hera observed later – that at nightfall Rhea would make her return with news from the friends she spoke of the day before.

Though Zeus had remembered more and more of his life in Crete, he honestly could not ascertain who these acquaintances could be, but either way, he hoped that they would be of help to their cause.

“Do you know if they can help us?” Poseidon had asked the nymphs.

“She will show herself the very moment the sun is set,” Maia said to Zeus as though Poseidon were both invisible and silent. “She usually does. This way she can better hide herself from enemies.”

Rolling his eyes, Poseidon gave up. Catching the expression on his brother’s face, Zeus gave the other god a jovial clap on the back, as though to wordlessly reassure him not to be irritated with the nymphs.

“We await her arrival with great eagerness.”

Though he knew by now that Rhea, despite being a titaness, meant them no harm, Hades could not help feeling nervous and apprehensive when she finally reappeared to speak with her children, or rather just with Zeus. Just as when they first encountered her, their mother came forth in her titanic form only to shrink to a size at which the gods could more easily communicate with her without feeling like critters about to get squashed under her feet.

The Olympian leader knelt before the titaness in respect, and following his example, his siblings mimicked his behavior. Hades did not know if Rhea demanded such reverence, but he did not want to do anything that risked angering their mother.

“I bring word from your allies, my son,” Rhea announced, gesturing at her children to stand up.

“My allies…?” Zeus asked, uncertain of what his mother was alluding. While there were many beings on Gaia’s vast earth that were dissatisfied with Cronos’ rule, Zeus was far from certain how many would join his ranks in case of a war.

Rhea merely laughed at her clueless youngest son. “For someone so sure of yourself, you can be rather dense, my child,” she said. “The giants freed by you from Tartarus wish to show their gratitude by giving you the weapons to defeat Cronos.”

“Weapons? What kind of weapons?” Zeus glanced at his sword, always with him hanging from a scabbard by his belt. It was a powerful and trustworthy weapon that had helped him win many battles, but even Zeus knew that his sword would not bring him victory against his father.

Rhea scoffed. “Do you truly intend to use your puny swords and axes against Cronos?” she sneered. “The Cyclopes have taken onto themselves to create a weapon more powerful than anything previously found here on earth. Hopefully you, my son, will be worthy to wield it.”

Zeus’ eyebrows shot up at his mother’s words. “What is it?”

“I know not,” Rhea said. “Until they are ready to endow you with their precious gift, it must remain a secret.”

“Wonderful,” Hera said as Rhea once again left her children. “A surprise present. I love surprises.”

“Be patient, sister,” Zeus urged her. “Remember how our mother reacts to those she deems as ungrateful.”

“I am worried,” Hera elaborated. “What if these ‘friends’ of ours are dishonest? What if they only mean us harm instead of help?”

“Rhea is wise,” the youngest god said. “And she does not approach others with reliance. If she can speak for the giants then I will trust her judgment.”

Poseidon added, “And if she thinks they will be of assistance to us, I believe her.”

Zeus smiled and nodded to his brother before the Olympians parted ways. Instead of wandering off on his own, he followed Hades, and he silently strode up behind the older god, wrapping his arms around his thin frame and inhaling the fragrance of his hair. He could tell Hades was happy to see him by the way he moved against his much bigger body. Zeus could detect a smile without being able to see it.

“Giants,” he said as he rested his chin against the back of Hades’ head. “How could I have forgotten about the giants? Their gratitude for my freeing them from Tartarus will arrive in weaponry forged by their hands.”

“Do you believe they will be able to help?” Hades inquired. He did not doubt his brother, or Rhea, but Cronos was so very powerful. What if even weapons made from giants could not defeat him and his brethren?

“Yes. I am certain of it. Let me see those beautiful eyes.”

Hades turned to face his brother, feeling the gentle tug of hands guiding him to stand face to face with him. Smiling, he looked up at Zeus, and though his shy nature pulled at his urge to avert his gaze, the older god locked eyes with his leader and lover.

“And how is your patient, dearest brother?” Zeus finally asked. “I trust you and Hestia have been ensuring her a fast recovery.”

“Mmm,” Hades hummed an affirmative. “But I am worried for her heart.”

“How so?”

“She is happy to be alive and well… but she had never bore scars before now. It saddens her to possess them. She thinks no one could ever want to make love to her again.”

Zeus raised an eyebrow at his brother’s explanation. He had not figured Demeter to be the type who was bothered or self-conscious about some superficial scars or blemishes, and therefore Hades’ revelation came as a surprise to him.

“The scars will fade in due time,” he said. “Does she know of this?”

“Our sister believes that her scarring is permanent,” Hades replied. “She is reluctant to even let me see her unclothed body now. Zeus, I fear for her. What if her grief is overwhelming enough to make her do something… foolish?”

Hades could not help drawing parallels between Demeter’s current state of mind and his own descent into despair after the loss of his child, and what his sadness eventually had driven him to do.

“Our sister knows better than that, Hades,” Zeus said reassuringly. “She is alive and walking, which is more than could have been expected only a little more than a day ago. She will see reason, dear brother. You need not carry her troubles as well.”

The younger god punctuated his statement with a kiss placed on his brother’s forehead and turned around to leave. However, Hades reached out to grasp the bigger god’s sleeve.

“Zeus…” he quietly pleaded. “Perhaps we could do something for her. Do you think we could show her that we still find her beautiful? I believe… I believe she wants confirmation from you.”

Zeus gave the proposition some thought, and a sly look formed on his face. “Are you suggesting what I think you are?”

Hades blinked, clueless to his brother’s question. “What?”

“A meeting of three, dearest!” Zeus exclaimed happily. “I never would have thought it to be to your liking, but as it turns out, I guessed wrong.”

“Oh…” Hades said, realizing the mistake. “Well, when I said WE could show her, I meant…”

“And here I thought she did not garner your attraction,” Zeus continued with a laugh, not listening to the other’s words. “Perhaps it is the mere notion of more than one lover to share the bed with you.”

Hades considered explaining the contrary to his brother, but if he backed out, Zeus might become irate with the other. Perhaps if Hades was doing the kissing while his brother did the thrusting…

“No, wait!” he suddenly interjected. “Wait, brother. I have realized an error in that plan.”

“Really?” Zeus questioned, looking slightly disappointed. “I see no problem. The three of us, somewhere quiet, not in this dusty house… perhaps in the nearby field. With the sun shining to warm us, it would be perfect.”

“But Zeus…” Hades said, interrupting him a second time. He gingerly placed his hands over those of his bigger fellow god. “I have remembered something our sister said to me. When Demeter told me of her woes, she made me promise not to tell anyone. If the three of us were to make love, she would never trust me with her secrets again.”

Feeling dejected, Zeus’ smile vanished, replaced by a look of discontent. “Perhaps she has the right not to…” he muttered.

Hades sighed, a little hurt at Zeus’ words. However, his hands were still closed around those of his fellow Olympian, and Zeus had not pulled away.

“I would not be against your proposal, brother,” Hades said, an imploring expression on his face as he looked up at the younger Olympian. “And though I am not in love with Demeter, she is still beautiful, and she deserves to be made love to. But she wants your reassurance. She wants you to prove her wrong.”

“I shall visit our sister’s bed shortly,” Zeus promised. “I would prefer that you be in it as well, my brother, but I will leave that for you to decide.” He let his broad, callused thumb caress the elder god’s pronounced cheekbone for a moment before withdrawing his hand and leaving Hades to stand in the hallway.

Already Hades regretted bringing up the issue of Demeter’s woes, but it was too late to take it back, and already he could vividly imagine the look of hurt in his sister’s eyes when she found out that he had betrayed her trust.


TBC...