by Dee King
“Yes, Cato is your brother. You will not be allowed to sit beside Selene, unless, somehow Iris and Colin have already moved the seating arrangements, and that alone would be no easy task.”
“You mean he will have Alex and Selene beside each other?” I knew I shouldn't have spoken out of turn like that, but I couldn't help myself.
“Most likely,” My father grimaced.
Slamming down on the table, the glass closest to me cracks. I was already mad.
“You’re going to have to tame that down, son. Tonight, you will need to show restraint. If he knows this bothers you, then his plan will surely fall into place.” My dad puts his hand on mine.
“No one likes this Sebastian, but Ian and now Zachary are here by your side. They will help keep you confined for the evening.” When Aries speaks the room goes silent.
He has a very deep voice and, unlike my father, he usually looks serious at all times. Ian begins to laugh.
“Oh, please. You don't even know Sebastian now. If you think any of us can calm him down, your dead wrong. No offense, but he is the one person at this table that makes me nervous.”
That was very bold of him to say, when we all knew that he may be right. I had more involved in this, than any of them, and I was going to be damned if anyone stood in my way. Ian was also wrong though. I knew that tonight
needed to go well. There was no way I could show any signs of weakness.
“I can do this.” I blurt out.
“We know you can, son.” Poseidon tells me. His eyes match Selene’s and for a moment I find comfort in that.
“You will need to communicate with Selene in a different way tonight. She will not know that the two of you are not sitting together and she will need to be forewarned.” My dad is tapping on the table with his index finger.
“That was already covered, Sir. Iris knew that this may be an option and she has Selene now.” Zack speaks so quietly I hardly heard him.
“Great, great. Okay, now all that's left is for everyone to prepare for the first trial run of what is to come.” My dad stands to his feet.
“Trial run?” I stand, questioning him.
“Yes, son. The wedding is the finale. This is his test and if you pass then you will be allowed to marry Selene, but that all depends on how this evening goes. And don't think for one minute on your actual wedding day he is just going to let you say your vows and not have a plan in motion. Tonight will be his first trial run for Alex and Selene. You will need to control yourself.” He lays his hand on my shoulder.
“I apologize that you have to go through this. But, soon it will all be over and you will have tilted the balance in our favor, and many will be glad his tyrant rule is over.” He smiles at me then hugs me.
I didn't want to be hugged, and I still had too many questions unanswered, but he wasn't going to answer them for me at this time.
“Excuse me, but since I am new to this protection detail thing will I be beside Sebastian or Colin?” Zack asks his father.
“There will be a place setting for two protectors for each of them. Alex will have two, Colin will have two, and Selene will have two.” Aries tells him.
“Wait, Colin is one of Selene's protectors.” I object.
“Not tonight. He will be with her but Iris and London have taken to her side. Colin will have Maddox, leaving Zachary for you.” Aries stands tall.
“Yes sir.” Zachary nods at his father.
“It's good to have you.” Aries wraps an arm around Zack.
“Thanks.” He says bashfully.
“Awe, that's sweet, can we move this on?” Ian, always the one to break up a happy moment.
“You will also need to learn to restrain that tongue of yours, son.” Aries moves away from Zack, towering over Ian.
“Yes sir.” Ian salutes his father.
It was wrong, but I couldn't help it. I laughed out loud. My father flipping around fast at me.
“You will also need to learn self-control.”
“Oh, like I have a brother that no one mentioned, my mom tried to sabotage my love for her own personal gain, as you and Poseidon did to Selene and I, and then not kill anyone, you mean that kind of self-control?” I am standing so close to my father that I can feel his breath on
my neck.
“Yes, exactly like that.” He doesn't back down.
“This isn't over.” Ian is pulling me towards the door.
“I know, I know, but one day you will understand.”
“That's bullshit and you know it.” I am losing my cool.
“Sebastian, you may not understand, but this is all for you. All for you and Selene.” His eyes showing mercy.
“You keep telling yourself that. You keep thinking this didn't have everything to do with the two of you. This will only happen if Selene and I want it to. Not you, or anyone else, is going to tell me what to do anymore.” I yell as Ian and now Zack have both of my arms pulling me out the door.
My father laughs, shaking the whole house.
“See you soon, son. You hang in there.” My father keeps laughing as they continue pulling down the hall.
“Get off me!” I pull free from their grips.
“Dude, you gotta chill.” Ian tells me.
“Shut the hell up!” I storm past them, looking for my mother. She was next.
Ian and Zack are right behind me when I swing open the door to my mother's dressing room.
“Now! You tell me right now that you haven't lied to me my whole life, and you tell me how you don't want your only son to be happy.” I am yelling at my mother, watching her with a team of seamstresses and servants.
“Sebastian, you will never speak to me in that manner again.” She is furious.
“I will do what I damn well please. Your leaving anyways, so what does it matter?” Her servants are moving fast past me to leave the room.
“I never said I was leaving and I only wanted the best for you.” She glides closer to me.
“Please. The two of you are exactly the same. Always looking out for yourselves. I should have known that Cato was my brother, and I should have known better than to trust you!” I point in her face.
“Well, if that's how you see it, then there is no changing your mind is there? You are so sure you have all the answers and you know EVERYTHING, so why don't you run along like the small child you are acting like.” She turns her back to me and I lose my control.
“No! You tell me why you never told me about Cato and why you don't want me to be with Selene.” I move sharply, standing in front of her now.
“All I will tell you is that your father wouldn't allow me to tell you, and that I chose Cali because there is no way Zeus will ever let this happen. I feared for you, my son, I only wanted the best for you.”
“No, you only wanted what was best for you.” I leave her standing in her dressing room.
I make my way to my old bedroom, with Ian and Zack whispering behind me.
“What?” I snap.
“Nothing, you just have a lot of anger and this is exactly how Zeus wants you. You make one mistake tonight, and everything and everyone you love, will be turned against you.”
“Whatever. Shut up and get out.” I try slamming the door, but Zack puts his foot out stopping it.
“We are here to protect you, whether you like it or not, and if that means from yourself, then so be it.” Zack tackles me down the ground.
“What the hell are you doing?” Shouting into Zack's ear.
“You have got to calm down. Now, are you calm?” He isn't moving. And when a two hundred pound, all muscle guy is laying on top of you, you begin to either laugh or get angry and fight back.
Laughing at how this might look, I push him off of me.
“Alright, alright.” I raise my hands over my head to show I would back off.
“Okay, now can we discuss some real shit?” Ian says shutting the door to my room.
Brushing myself off, I look around the room. Nothing had
changed except my father had made the room look almost identical to mine in Malibu. It was creepy, yet serene.
“What's up?” I find my old favorite couch, laying myself down, stretching my legs and arms out.
“You're crazy aren't you?”
“Huh?”
“You go from wanting to kill people, to hey look I am gonna lounge on a couch. You’re so much like your dad you don't even know.” Ian shakes his head.
“Screw you.” Sitting up and facing the two of them, I laugh at him. But he did have a point. That scared me straight.
“Anyways, Selene..”
“What about Selene?”
“Did the two of you ever? Ya know? I mean how did you take the news of having to get married?”
“Ian, don't ask stupid questions. No, we never.. and we were pissed, but we also wanted to, so all Zeus did was make it easier for us.”
“Good to know.”
“The real question is, why are you still siding with Cali?” I wanted to know.
“Shoot. That bitch is crazy. If I had told you that she killed me, and then tried to kill Selene, how would that go over?”
“Wait, you know that she did it on purpose?”
“Hells yeah, that girl is completely in love with Alex. The only problem is Alex didn't ask her to do that.”
“What?”
“Yeah, I talked to Alex when he arrived, in secret of course. His plan that night was to scare you, Selene the most, and make her show her powers to mortals so she would have to come home. When that didn't work out, I guess Cali took things into her own hands.”
“That bitch!” I flew off the couch.
“Now, of course, all this will be denied but I did find some very interesting news out for you.”
“What? What is it?”
“He loves Cali. He told me himself, but he knows that going against his father is more pain than it is to be truthful with him.”
“No way?”
“Yep. That's the truth. Listen, Cali won't be a problem here, nor will Alex. He doesn't want to be with Selene, but he also knows he has to play the part. Let's say we have a secret weapon, so to speak.”
“You’re saying that Alex is on our side?”
“He is now. I know, blows your mind, right?”
“Yea, kinda.” I sit back down on the couch.
This was great news for me and Selene, only one problem. His father wasn't going to let this go down without some kind of fight, and this could hurt Selene in the end. She would hate thinking she was just a pawn, she
already felt that way. But this needed to end before anyway else got hurt, and I needed to talk to Alex. There's a phrase I never thought I would say.
How do I even begin to think of a plan that lets all of us win?
Chapter Eleven
We are all pawns
Ian and Zack leave me to get ready for this evening's event. My mind was racing on how I would keep calm, and how I would deal with not being able to be beside Selene. This was harder than I had imagined it would be.
Parents using their children as pawns; I will never understand why parents, gods or mortals, do that to their children. Why? Why would you want to cause pain and heartache to your children, and what kind of monster does
that make you? Thoughts raced through my mind like a train, running back and forth, from this depot to the next. I didn't have the answers for how I was to let everything just go and be happy, but for Selene, I would try my hardest. She was what was keeping me sane through all this.
Selene?
Sebastian?
Yes who else?
Oh, I don't know, my other soon to be husband.
I pause, because I don't know if she is kidding or that's what's on her mind.
I'm kidding.
I know. I lie to her.
If you’re going to tell me about the seating arrangement, I already know.
Yea, and I wanted to see if you were doing alright.
I guess. Iris can be a little bossy. But she says I need to wow them, so I
guess wowing has begun.
You don't need to wow me.
I know, and I find that most admirable about you.
You do?
Of course.
I love you, Selene.
As I do you, Sebastian.
See you soon, okay?
Okay.
I let her go back to her own thoughts, but it was good to hear her in my head. Selene was the calm after a storm, a quiet place among the noise, and most of all she felt like home. Looking inside my closet, I see that my attire had already been decided for me, which I hated. So that would have to change. I find my bag sitting on my bed, probably brought up by one of the servants to my father, and search through it. I would wear the monkey suit they had brought in for me, but I wasn't going to wear my family's colors anymore. I was going to make a new one, my own, one for Selene and me. This alone would and will turn heads with my Adidas Sambas and my turquoise tie I had bought just for tonight with my new crest on it. It
had been done before Selene had added the fire around the rings, but nonetheless, it showed where my intentions lie. Tonight, they wanted a show, and a show they shall have. I took my shower, dressed for this night, and took a step back, making sure that everything looked just right. My hair fixed perfectly, aviator sunglasses covering my eyes and my tuxedo jacket open so that everyone can see my tie. The knocking at my door startled me and then I knew. Now was the time to pull it together and show
no weakness, and no mercy.
“Hot damn, man! When we left you weren't nearly this good looking.” Ian stands back to admire my suit, and also to laugh at his joke.
“You like?” I hold out the tie in front of him.
“Oh, now that's impressive. Nice, real nice.”
“And look at you... surely there will be a missus before too long.” I slap him on the shoulder as we leave the room.
“Don't you ever say that. All this can't be tamed down.” He laughs at himself as he is pointing to his body. I laugh at him.
“Sir, your father waits for you down stairs.” One of the servants tells me, not making eye contact with me.
“Thank you, but please don't call me sir. It's Sebastian.”
“Yes sir... I mean, Sebastian.” She lowers her head and I see a slight smile across her tan face.
Servants in Mount Olympus are not what mortals have. They chose to serve the God of their choice; in return, they receive a lifestyle they may not have chosen for themselves on Earth. Being a servant to the God of the
Underworld let you be free for the most part. That's why we had so many.
“Wait till your father gets a look at you.” Zack meets us at the top of the staircase.
“You clean up nice, Zack.” Ian and Zack looked so much like one another; it was hard to tell who the older one between the two of them was.
We walk down the stairs, laughing about who knows what, and then I see my father and mother arm in arm standing by the door. My father was wearing his usual attire for these kinds of things; black tuxedo, black shirt,
red tie, and black shoes. My mother, with her dark hair draped over to one shoulder, eyes as green as isles, and her face not looking a day over twenty-five. Her red dress was a little different from what I remembered. This
dress was long, and very revealing. I did have beautiful parents, but this wasn't the time for beautiful gods, this was a time for me to prove I was standing on my own two feet. I was choosing my own destiny.
“No, no, no.” My mother shakes her head at me.
“Now, Persephone, he has a right to wear what he chooses.” My father lets go of her arm, and wraps his arms around me.
“My gods, son, aren't you a handsome devil. You grew up nice. You grew up real nice.” My father was pleased with my appearance for the most part, and that was one less thing I had to worry about.
He hands me a box that is sitting on table with the roses.
“Thought
you may want this. Just in case.” He winks at me, and then steps back.
Opening the box, I find a small tie clip with our family crest on it. How did he know that I was going to have the tie made? Again, what doesn't he know?
“Thanks, Dad.” It's pure gold, and weighs more than I thought as I pinned it on the side of the tuxedo jacket. He would make sure that people knew I was his son, one way or another.
