by Dee King
“Your husband tried to save everyone, he will always be worth the fight. Remember that on the hard days.” Releasing her from the hug, I smiled at her as I walked away.
My brother and everyone else had shown great strength today, even though I didn’t see it that way at the time. They were trying to save my life. I just couldn’t let Sebastian go without fighting with everything in my being. We make it to our mansion, following behind our children, who were now trying to tell the story to everyone that would listen. Laughing at how they saw us as these true gods come to life, we were finally ‘cool’ parents. Walking past them and their friends all I could think of was… home. It was finally good to call a place home. Sitting in our living room was Cato and Iris, hand in hand, who now stood before us as a couple.
“Hey Brother.” Cato says, letting go of Iris’s hand to come hug Sebastian.
“Hey Beautiful.” I say to Iris as she hugs me like she hasn’t seen me in years.
“We saw everything…” Iris begins to tear up.
“And… I just… that’s the kind of love that the worlds need.” She could barely speak through her cries.
“Thank you, Iris.” Hugging her tightly, grateful for being able to be her friend and seeing her beautiful face once again.
“Sit, please, we will be right back.” I usher them to the couches.
Taking their seats, I take Sebastian by the hand up the stairs. Before entering our bedroom, I turn around.
“I know why he’s here. I’m not sure I’m ready to hear this.” My words stuttering.
“It will be okay.” Sebastian pulls me close to him.
“And when everyone leaves, it will be our time, together, alone.” He grabs me pulling me up to his chest holding me with his strong arms, letting my feet dangle off the ground; caressing one another as we used too. Kissing his perfect lips, letting go of all that surrounded this broken heart, deciding that whatever the outcome was, I could handle it. After all we had just been through, I could handle anything is what I kept telling myself. Showering, I the water tries to heal me as it always had, and my mind began to wonder. Wondering if Cato had let them decide their fate or had he decided it for them. Was Elizabeth already here and awaiting to see what her future held? Would anything ever be a normal way of life? What was going to happen next in this ole’ heart of mine? Could it take anymore? Stepping out of the shower and dressing myself, I stare back in the mirror. This goddess who stood before me was not the same one that had stared at herself just a few days ago. This one had a new heart and it showed. If I had lived through all this, then I could live through anything. My rage had subsided once I found what was important to me. My heart found something to believe in and forgiveness was now pulsing through my veins. Pulling my long, golden hair around my shoulders and letting it fall where it may, I pinched my cheeks adding a bit of color to this face that had seen better days. Gaining my confidence back, I make my way down the stairs to the hushed voices I hear speaking. Nothing could break me down. Smiling at everyone who now sat in our living room, I stand in front of the mantel, searching everyone’s faces for the smiles. No one was smiling, they looked... scared.
“Oh my gods, what? What happened now?” Leaning my back against the mantel with my arms crossed.
“Your highness, you may want to sit.” Cato refers to me as ‘your highness’, yeah, this was bad.
“Cato... I can handle it.” Smiling back at him, not moving from my position.
“Just remember that not everything is always as it seems.” He is now standing.
“Let them in.” Cato points to Ian, who is now holding the door open.
Three people walk in to our home. One elderly woman and a couple who looked quite a bit older than me. They were in shackles with their heads down.
“Cato? Are you insane? Why are you bringing these people here? Are you not the god of the Underworld? Can you not handle your job?” I address him in front of the entire room.
“They have done their time, now they have come to ask you something.” Cato clears his throat.
“Elizabeth, you may ask first.” He steps toward the woman who he refers to as what my mother on Earth had been called.
“Selene, your highness…” This woman who stood in front of me was barely able to stand.
“Elizabeth?” Running over to this woman who could barely stand, I hold her hands.
“We would like your forgiveness.” She says in a timid voice.
“Cato! Take the shackles off now! My gods, have you completely lost it?” I ask him, trying to break the restraints from her.
“No. They are still bound to their duties to me. You won’t break the cuffs, so you should answer them and then we can be on our way.” Cato moves my hand from the restraints.
“Wait, Christian, Chloe?” I move to see them better.
As they both peek their heads up, my whole body shivered. They looked as if they had walked through hell more than once. The shackles were glowing now with a fire that encased their wrists. I didn’t want to see this. I didn’t want this to happen. Why had Cato done this?
“Yes, yes, they are forgiven. Release them, Cato. Let them go.” Pleading with Cato to release my family.
Tears filling my eyes, trying to place my hands on the cuffs to give them comfort, Chris’s eyes meeting mine. Tears falling from his weathered dirty face, he seeks refuge in mine.
“Selene, your highness, they cannot be released to you or anyone else. But asking for forgiveness is what they desire to be able to go to the island.” Cato stands firm on not letting them go.
“Forgiveness for what? I should be asking them to forgive me, not the other way around.” Touching each one separately as I walk by them.
“For their faults. As the goddess of all, you must agree to anyone and everyone to release them of their pain at one point. That’s the rules…” Cato bows his head.
“To hell with the rules, Cato. We’ve been breaking every damn rule since I’ve been here. This is a way for you to get back at me because of what happened to our parents. That wasn’t my fault, they chose to leave. Don’t you ever spit out those lies to me. You forget, I know you. I know you better than most.” We now stood in front of one another, neither backing down.
“Release them, now!” Sebastian says, turning towards the guard that was standing behind them.
The ghoulish looking creature with three eyes does as he is told, grumbling the whole time. Elizabeth almost falls to the ground as I reach out for her. Chris and Chloe kneel in front of me. This was enough for me. I was broken. Falling to my knees, kneeling before them as my equals. We had all been equal at one time, this had been my family. I owed them the same respect as they owed me. Love would have to conquer more than just my heart. It would have to conquer all of ours.
Chapter Sixty-Nine
Hearts need to heal, rules need to be broken, and a new chapter begins…
Kneeling with the three of them, trying to take each one in my arms to give comfort, Cato stood arguing with Sebastian. He wasn’t happy about what had just happened and being under minded wasn’t something Cato took lightly. Iris kneeled with me and soon the others followed. This was a step in the right direction, a step towards the healing we all needed. Tears flowing among us as Cato and Sebastian quieted their argument, watching what was taking place in front of them.
“I’m sorry. I lost my way along this journey, and I should have tried harder…” The words catching in my throat.
“No, no, no… it was us…” Chloe cries into my arms.
A heart that needed healing, a heart that needed to feel loved, and a life that needed to be lived. This was the pain for all of us in this room. We had all lost a part of ourselves as we had tried to grow and change the world. We just changed it to what we wanted, taking no prisoners along the way, regardless of who we had cast aside to get what we had dreamed. Dreams live and die in one’s heart. I was never one who had dreamed, I was a realist. There had never been a place for a d
ream to live in my heart. Screwing the rules and everyone who had stood in my way made it hard for me to see dreams become reality. But right here, right now, we were what dreams were made of. We were together, seeing our futures in the bright sunlight that shown through the glass.
“They are free.” Standing to my feet, I announced to the room.
“Everyone should be free of their burdens, we all have suffered greatly, and it’s time to heal.”
My words resonated through the air; making it clear with the ones who stood now staring at me.
“Freedom came at a very dear price. We have lost so many of our loved ones, wars were fought over power and greed, leaving no one to be free to themselves. We must stand. We must rise above the ashes and be the best that we can be.” My words strong as my hands trembled from speaking the truth not only to them, but to myself.
“Agreed.” Sebastian says loudly, coming to my side.
And as we watched, suddenly Chris, Chloe, and Elizabeth, stood before us in beautiful white clothing. All the dirt wiped clean of their faces, each one looking as wonderful as they had before all the death and destruction had happened. Each one, free of all their pain. Standing in white as light shines down upon them. Taking Sebastian in my arms, watching with a joyful heart, they all smile, taking each other by the hand as they ascended into thin air. They were gone as fast as our parents had been, leaving a small piece of themselves behind in each of our hearts. A feather falls slowly from the light shining down in the middle of the room. Bending over to pick it up, the white feather vanishes with my touch leaving me speechless. Death was a part of life that no one wanted to ever be reminded of. But life was beautiful in so many ways, it just took some of us longer to find the key to our joy then others. If you are given this life to do with as you please, but you live it through rose colored glasses or blinded by what holds you back, then you never see the beauty that this life truly should offer. We often confess on our deathbeds that we love the ones who have meant the most to us, but maybe we should be living like every day could be our last. There was something amazing about this moment for me. Everyone I had ever loved had either said goodbye to me or was now standing with me. It was a triumphant moment for me as I gaze around the room. It was time to move on to what this life really had to offer, and I was going to take every advantage of it.
“Cato, please let the rules change. I don’t think I can bear to ever do this again. You are now the ruler that you were always meant to be, make it mean something. Make it how you see it should be, not what someone told you that it should be. Your father and mother will always be proud of the god that you are. Be kind, be merciful, be who you are…. In your heart, not theirs.”
My words seep out as a lullaby to shush this cold heart of mine that had finally turned warm.
“Thy will be done…” Cato quotes the words of the gods and goddesses before us.
Taking his word by his honor, he kneels before me. Zack kneels beside him, placing a hand on top of his shoulder. The room filled with silence as they all began to kneel in the presence of Sebastian and me. We were the ones to lead us into eternity, and we were now the ones with the hearts that could. The decision to make a huge announcement to the ones left with us on the Mount and Nirvana came as a shock to everyone as I was the one to choose to do the speaking. Our children supported our actions as they stood tall beside us on the oversized stage that had been built for us. Nervous for what I would say to the masses about where our future would and could lead us, made me second guess myself. My eyes turned to Sebastian for one last shove towards the audience. He smiles that smile that I have been in love with for quite some time. Giving me the strength to do what needed to be done, stepping forward to the large crowd that awaited my words of wisdom.
“Today we gather in honor of you…” I speak as the crowd begins to hush.
“I have come to call this place home over the course of many years. I have come to call many of you friends, and many of you my family. Many years ago, a war was fought for all the wrong reasons, over the power and greed of the ones who used to stand before you. They were the ones who brought all of us here, although, my heart had been closed to any kind of love that this place could offer, I couldn’t see the light through the darkness. We all have lost so many in these battles, we have lost our hearts along the way. But I stand before you now, to tell you… that they did not die in vain. That we will always honor the ones who gave their lives for us. Many of you may not understand why you even fought for us, but we thank you. We hope to always honor you in the way you have us. Today, I stand before you, asking you for your forgiveness. I stand before you in the shadows of the ones I believe wanted to do good. From here to the rest of our days, we vow to honor the love we share with each of you. We open our hearts to each of you.”
Stepping back from the crowd, a quietness develops. Turning around to stand with my family, the clouds break free, the sun slowly going down behind the mount; and the crowd begins to kneel. A single tear drops from my eye, watching the ones before us each kneeling slowly. Searching the crowd, I see my new family standing with their hands over their hearts. This was my home now, this was my family… and I was glad to call it just that… home. My mended heart accepted their love as I placed my hand over my heart to show them the same love. If nothing but love had come from this journey that I had been calling my life, then it was all worth it. Taking my children in my arms, while Sebastian wrapped his arms around us, we were what dreams were truly made of. This was what life was all about. Finding your place among the many, and feeling loved beyond words… We take our leave from the stage, all my doubts leaving my mind, watching my children walk before me. They were the beauty in the dark world that had been created around me. This is what life had taught me. True love isn’t always roses, true love was thorns with a kind of beauty that could hurt… Love could hurt you beyond what you ever dreamed possible. My heart had been broken from feeling unloved for so long that I never could see the beauty of dreaming of what real love could be. This was it. This was what love had to offer. Heartbeats that beat fast, heartbeats that walked before you, and a heartbeat that stood beside you.
“So, what happens now?” Sebastian asks as we make our way through the crowd.
“We grow old together... Happily ever after.” Glancing up at him, walking hand in hand, he was where my heart had always been and would always be.
“You have always been my fate, my one true love; and most definitely my, Charming Selene.”
Smiling at one another, this was our story. We were where we were always meant to be… Together… Forever.
Epilogue
My heart now sings with a world so incredible…
“Atlas Kai, Ember Rose, you think you two can hurry up?” Sebastian yells up the stairs.
“I swear, these two…” He paces back and forth in front of the stairs leaving streaks in the marble floor.
“Sebastian, this is a big day for them. They are coming, calm down, Love.” I tell him, laughing at him as I sit in front of the fire place.
At the top of the stairs stood our grown children. Atlas now as tall as Sebastian, wavy blonde hair that tousled at the top of his head, with striking features and the purest blue eyes that anyone had ever seen. Ember with her long dark hair draped around her shoulders, her cheeks a rosy red, with the same facial features as her father. They both turn to one another, smiling as they make their way down the stairs to us. Standing, reveling in this moment, I stand in awe of their true beauty. Pure hearts, pure love, and pure souls never tarnished by pain. My eyes glossing over as I remembered the day they were born. Many years had passed; they had grown to be the young adults they were meant to be.
“Thank you for finally gracing us with your presence your majesties, you two are going to be late to your own coronation ceremony. Good grief.” Sebastian shakes his head at them, but I can see the pride through his eyes.
Today, our children will be crowned the God and Goddess of Nirvan
a. It had grown quite tremendously, and they had been the ones to make it the place that others wanted to be. When Sebastian and I are gone, and we leave this world, there would be no part of Mount Olympus to exist. On Earth they would be considered young, too young to become the god and goddess of all, but they were now our ages when we had been made to marry. Telling each of them how wonderful they looked this evening, and how proud we were of them, I embraced them in my arms. It was a pride that I let show to all the world. Their carriage arrives first, engrossed in gold with the fire and ice symbol on each side. They step inside as we wait for ours. My Pegasus is leading ours, while Sebastian opens the door for me, I hear him gasp. Tonight, wearing a strapless dress with no back, showing off something that I had kept secret for a long time.
“When?” He says to me as I feel his hand rub over the back of my collarbone and down my side.
“You like it?” Turning around to face him.
“It’s… It’s amazing…” His eyes turn upwards as his lips gently go to caress my skin where the tattoo now was.
Tonight, would be the first time I showed off my tattoo. No one ever saw Sebastian’s unless we were surfing. This would be the first time to show my love for him in a very different manner. The anchor was done in gold and has roses wrapped around it with the word FATE inside of the rose. It glittered in the moonlight. This was my way of saying to the world that he was worth living for. Sebastian was worth all the pain, all the heartache that we had been through, and our fates forever being aligned with one another. I had surrendered to his love.
