Love's Forge

by Marie Medina

  “I feel more like laughing now. Happier. I may not be the perfect wedding date, but I promise to be the perfect husband.”

  “You will be.”

  He hesitated. Did she mean it? Or was she only trying to please him? “I’m glad you think so.” He slid the ring off her finger. “Would you like a new ring? This one probably has bad memories—”

  She snatched the ring back. “No! I want this one!”

  He watched her slide it back on her finger. “You’re sure?”

  She blushed, and he guessed she was embarrassed by her strong reaction. “I guess some women would want another one. They’d see this one as oppressive. But this ring actually did what you wanted it to do. When this was the only evidence there was still anything between us, it did what you’d planned. It reminded me you loved me. Even when you’d sent me away, even when I was scared and alone the night Eros was born, I knew you loved me.”

  He sat up, alarmed. “You were alone the night Eros was born?”

  She nodded. “If I’d asked Ares, he would have known he was Eros’ father. If I’d asked you… well, I was afraid of how much it would hurt if you said no. It was too soon. I was afraid to ask. I was even afraid to ask Hera.”

  He kissed her wrist. “I would have come.”

  “Harmonia was born so quickly. It didn’t hurt. It simply happened. Eros was different, much more like mortals. Hestia showed up at the end, though I hadn’t seen her for years and knew she was living with mortals. She knew I was in distress about the birth because she’s the goddess of families, and she helped me and reassured me Eros was all right.”

  “I’m glad someone did.” He kissed her forehead. “I wish you had called for me.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t.”

  “Stop being sorry. Everything is forgiven.”

  She sat up and wrapped her arms around him. “I know. You are going to be the perfect husband.” She snapped her fingers and opened her palm to reveal a gold band very similar to hers. It was wider and obviously meant for a man. “Here. You need one too. It’s not magical, but at least they match.”

  He slid it on reverently. She’d surprised him yet again. He knew nothing had ever made him as happy as this gift had. He smiled down at her. “It’s still incredibly special though. I’ll cherish both of you always.”

  They kissed slowly, and her fingers slid up and down his back. She pushed closer and his hand strayed between her legs. She grew damp under his exploring touch. He pushed her back onto the ground and covered her body with his. His plans for the evening could wait. All that mattered was making her tremble with ecstasy beneath him again.

  * * * *

  Eris kicked her shoes off and pushed them next to Hermes’ shoes on the sand. The wedding would be lovely. Poseidon and his wife Layla had exchanged vows here, and this day was as lovely as that one had been.

  “How come they aren’t having bridesmaids? You’d be a beautiful one,” Hermes said.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe they don’t like to make people wear weird dresses they look horrible in.”

  “Some are quite fetching. Lots of sex happens after weddings.”

  She laughed and took his arm. “I don’t think the dresses have that much to do with it.”

  Eris stopped as they walked down the aisle. Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos were sitting, of all places, on Ares’ side in the second row. They wore the exact same dress, in blue, green and yellow, respectively. Before Hermes could do anything, Eris had grabbed Lachesis by the collar of her dress, dragged her to the ocean and thrown her in.

  Lachesis sat in the surf, soaking wet and looking shocked. She gazed up at Eris as the waves crashed against her.

  Eris heard laughter coming from the crowd behind her. She turned to see Hermes coming toward her with a smirk on his face.

  “You and weddings,” he said, kissing her soundly.

  “Are you trying to ruin my wedding, you gorgeous bitch?”

  She rolled her eyes and turned to Ares, who was actually, to her surprise, wearing an immaculate black suit, minus the customary shiny wedding shoes.

  “She almost postponed it. I don’t think she belongs here.”

  Lachesis stood up, seaweed falling off her dress and water gushing from every fold. “Don’t worry. I’m leaving.” She shook her head and sent water flicking everywhere. “I’ll be seeing all of you later anyway.”

  Eris turned back to her brother in alarm after Lachesis disappeared. “What does she mean?”

  “I’m not sure.” He sighed and took her hands in his. “How about not worrying about it?”

  “Hmph. Fine.” She took Hermes’ arm again and let him lead her back to the chairs. Not many had turned out for the wedding. For once, it looked like all the guests actually had a relationship with either the bride or groom. She paused when she saw Aphrodite and Hephaestus arrive. They were holding hands, and she could definitely see wedding bands on both of them.

  “Would you quit staring?” Hermes said in her ear. He kissed her bare shoulder. “You can’t steal the show every time someone gets married.”

  She chose to ignore his teasing. “Sorry. I can’t believe it. Look at them. The happy couple. At Eros’ wedding, she had you and Ares running around doing her bidding like faithful little pups.”

  He poked her in the ribs. “The mischief at that particular wedding was all your doing though.”

  She smiled, remembering how her lust for him had grown into a love she could hardly fathom. “It turned out well, didn’t it?”

  He smiled and put his arm around her as Ares and his son Eros took their places. “It certainly did.”

  * * * *

  Zeus closed the door to his bedroom after looking around one last time. Hera flitted back and forth across the room, tossing clothes, books and shoes into the open suitcases on her bed.

  “I hope you’re putting in lots of lingerie,” he said.

  “Is this a second honeymoon, then? Or perhaps it’s the first.” She continued what she was doing for a moment, and then came over and kissed him before going to the bed to fold the scarves spread out on the comforter.

  “Why are you packing so much? You can conjure up anything we need.”

  She rolled her eyes at him. “These are my things. They aren’t the same if you just conjure them up.”

  Books and maybe even jewelry he could understand, but he’d never been able to grasp why Hera and Aphrodite wanted to accumulate closets full of clothes. Most goddesses did not do this. Why would anyone need to? He shook his head. Her illogical behavior made him love her even more. It tended to be endearing rather than annoying, most of the time.

  “That’s fair. You need to be prepared.”

  “I do,” she said. “Especially since you won’t tell me where we’re going.”

  “Surprises. Lots of surprises.” He hoped she would like all of them. He’d planned a few of them very specifically. First, he would take her to a comic book convention in Los Angeles the year her favorite manga author, who was quite reclusive, would be doing a rare public signing, and then whisk her off to Elizabeth II’s wedding. Hera had enjoyed Elizabeth I’s coronation, so he thought it would be a safe bet. A previously unknown author had published a supposedly controversial study of Greek mythology, and he was going to take her to one of his lectures to see what she thought of his ideas and theories. Then he would take her to the premiere of one of her favorite movies from the 1940s and then right off to her favorite beach in Greece. For the last one, he hadn’t decided what year yet. After that, they’d travel wherever she wanted to go. He knew she’d miss everyone, especially Ares, but he knew leaving would be good for both of them. They’d return soon enough.

  She eyed him. “Hmmm.” She walked over to her dresser and slid her jewelry box into a velvet case. “I’ll let you keep your secrets then. Will we leave after we meet with everyone?”

  He nodded. “I thought that would be best. I’m tired of worrying about other people. I want to be
alone with you.”

  She came and put her arms around him. “You will be.” She kissed him slowly. “Can this be our honeymoon? I think that would be perfect.”

  He kissed her back, but he wasn’t sure he knew what she meant. “Of course. Are you asking me to marry you?”

  She sighed contently. “No. I don’t care about vows or ceremonies. Rings and receptions don’t mean anything by themselves.” She thought for a moment, searching his face.

  “Yes?” He thought what she was about to say would please him very much, but he still felt a nervous flutter in his stomach. “What do you mean, Hera?”

  She smiled. “Let’s make this our honeymoon, as if we got married today. Put everything, and everyone else, in the past.” She looked down as her fingers toyed with the leather strap holding his long hair back. “Isn’t that what you wanted? We’ll never be ordinary or conventional, but we’ll always be in love.”

  Instead of answering, he slapped her on the ass and kissed her soundly. She giggled as he threw the suitcases aside and pushed her onto the bed.

  “We have to go meet the others,” she said as he kissed her neck. She gasped.

  “They can wait.” He glanced at the clock. “We have twenty minutes.”

  “I guess we do need to consummate our marriage, don’t we?” she asked as she dug her nails into his back.

  He groaned as he pinned her to the bed. “We do indeed.” He kissed her deeply as his heart soared. After years of being blind to the joy that was his, he could finally see how blissful eternity was going to be.

  * * * *

  Ares walked into his father’s throne room expecting to see only his parents, but instead he found the room filled with people. Zeus had told him he and Hera were going to be, in his words, taking a break for an indefinite period of time. He’d been given the impression that was the only thing Zeus had wanted to see him and Alala for. He kissed his wife’s hand and brought her into the room.

  “I thought this was just a family thing,” she asked.

  “That’s what he said. I think he was using family in a much broader sense.” Eros and Iris stood talking with Harmonia and Apollo and Apollo’s twin sister Artemis. Aphrodite and Hephaestus sat off to the side with Dionysus, and the Furies stood behind them, chatting. Hades, Persephone and Poseidon stood with Athena, Hestia and Demeter by Zeus’ throne. Eris and Hermes stood by themselves. Ares began to worry. Why would all of them be here for such a simple announcement? No one seemed worried or distressed in any way, but the last time they’d all been together had been at Thanatos’ trial. While that had ended well, only a matter that serious could call them all together.

  Zeus and Hera came in behind them, followed by the Fates. Ares looked around as everyone else fell silent. He met Eris’ gaze, but he could see she didn’t know any more than he did.

  “There’s no need for anyone to worry. We won’t be sharing any bad news today,” Zeus said. He and Hera moved aside.

  Lachesis stepped forward. “Recent events have made us reconsider our purpose here. Based on the number of times we’ve been consulted in the past hundred years, I believe most of you came to the same conclusion long ago.”

  Atropos moved to her sister’s side. “We’re going to… retire, so to speak. While our powers will never completely fade, it’s time we explored our own destinies. No one needs us to sit and watch history unfold. I can see death in every form, and this includes the end of our usefulness. I see the end of our days sitting in a temple and discussing the paths each life takes. You can always find us, if you need to or if trouble comes, but there’s no longer any reason for this work to be our only purpose in life.”

  Clotho spoke up next. “We’re going to start over, in a way. It’s going to be a positive change. That much I can see. We aren’t going to settle down and open a flower shop or a bookstore, but we are going to lead quieter lives.”

  Ares glanced around at the others. Everyone looked thoughtful, but no one looked shocked. Eris and Hermes remained silent, though they both believed in and worked with the Fates more than anyone else present. If they weren’t going to ask, he would. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

  Lachesis smiled. “Yes, Ares. We’re sure. Life won’t be dull here, I can promise that.” She looked at her sisters. “You’ll be seeing us from time to time. And there will be other joyous events to celebrate, from time to time.” She glanced at Zeus and Hera briefly, which made Ares wonder if his parents might soon see a renewal of the happiness they’d once shared, the happiness that had kept them satisfied enough to be faithful.

  The three of them began to fade as they turned and walked out. Before they reached the door though, Ares heard Lachesis’ voice in his head.

  Iris is pregnant. Eros is going to have a son. And one day … well, you’ll see when your father gets his way and makes you all very happy.

  Ares tensed. Alala looked at him and whispered, “What?”

  “Nothing. Just surprised is all.”

  He could tell she knew something was up, but she’d let him tell her in his own time. He looked over at Eros and Iris. Eros stood behind her with his hands resting above her stomach, and he kissed her lovingly on the shoulder. A son? My grandson. Ares tried not to smile as his own father stepped forward. He couldn’t help wondering what Zeus “getting his way” would mean.

  “Most of you already know this, but Hera and I are also going away. We’ll be back much sooner, but we need time alone. Hopefully, everyone has gotten all the drama out of their systems and no one will need us for anything.” He nodded toward his brother. “Any disputes are to be brought to Hades.”

  Hera snapped her fingers, and several tables laden with food and drink appeared. “All right, the boring part is over. Everyone get drunk and eat too much!”

  A ripple of laughter moved through the crowd as Dionysus stepped forward and announced, “I prepared it all myself!”

  Alala laughed. “Should we drink the wine then?”

  Ares smiled down at her and stole a quick kiss. “It might be fun.”

  She laughed harder. “What did Lachesis say to you?”

  “I think you’d rather hear the news from the source.” He kissed her forehead and led her over to a table covered in fruit and wine. They filled two glasses and walked over to Eris and Hermes.

  “So what do you two think?” Alala asked.

  “It seems right to me somehow,” Hermes said.

  “It does,” Eris said. “I think lots of long overdue happiness is heading our way.”

  He and Eris both looked over at Hephaestus and Aphrodite, who were holding hands. “I think so too,” Ares said. He looked around as he sipped his wine. He felt the weight of years slipping away. He still longed for excitement, but none of them needed wars or feuds or conquests to have that. He saw Iris whispering something in Hera’s ear. Hera’s eyes went wide, and then her gaze met Ares’. He knew Iris had just told her what Lachesis had revealed to him. He tried to keep his expression curious, as he didn’t want to spoil the moment for his mother. Eros tapped him on the shoulder, and again he tried to keep his face neutral.

  “There’s something I wanted to tell you and mother. Can we borrow you for a minute?”

  “Sure.” He led Alala over to Aphrodite and Hephaestus as she saw Iris trying, with little success, to get two words in with Hera. He laughed. “You’re going to like this, sweetheart.”

  “I am?” she asked.

  “Oh yes. Things certainly aren’t going to be dull around here any time soon.”

  * * * *

  Aphrodite smiled at the vase of flowers she’d found on the dresser after emerging from her bath. She’d thought they were from Hephaestus, but they turned out to be from Harmonia. Her note wished both of them the best and congratulated her on the impending arrival of her grandchild. She even said she looked forward to being a doting aunt, and Aphrodite sighed contentedly. She’d never valued Harmonia the way she should have before, and she wanted the birth of this c
hild to change that. The warm tone of her note said that more family time was something Harmonia would like as well. Aphrodite would have pinched herself if she’d thought it was possible she was actually dreaming. After months of having so many problems weighing on her mind, she finally felt like she could relax. She hadn’t expected the situation with Hephaestus to resolve itself the way it had, but she couldn’t deny he was the main source of her happiness.

  Hera called her every day to see how Iris was doing. Though she was having a wonderful time with Zeus, they were both coming back as soon as Iris had the baby. Hephaestus had congratulated Ares warmly on hearing the news, and the two half-brothers seemed to have come to an understanding. She knew this was partially because Alala and Eris had both been having a very positive effect on Ares, in addition to the fact that Hephaestus had resolved to lay aside all the competitive feelings he’d had regarding Ares for so long. The discovery of a second grandchild and the impending arrival of a great grandchild seemed to be doing more than expected for Hera’s sense of family duty.

  She was lost in these thoughts when Hephaestus slipped his arms around her waist.

  “You look happy,” he said.

  “I am. It’s like all these good things are piling up to make up for all the bad ones that came before.” She shook her head and laughed. “I couldn’t have imagined Eros having a child with Psyche, but this feels right. He’s so happy. Before he met Iris, he would have panicked upon finding out someone was pregnant with his child.”

  “Love makes all the difference.” He kissed her neck slowly.

  She sighed. “Would you have been happy if I’d told you about Harmonia?”

  “Yes, but I would have been worried about you. I would have driven you crazy. I worried about you being in pain or being scared with Eros, but I didn’t dare interfere.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

  “You’ve already apologized for everything, and I’ve forgiven you for everything.” His hands massaged her breasts. “We have better things to do right now.”