by Jay Toney
Demeter felt the cloth with her fingers and examined the fine thread used to embroider its hem. "These will do nicely. They will show off his legs and his chest, but they are missing something." Demeter produced a gold belt and a simple circlet.
"Now he will look like a god," Athena approved Nathaniel's new wardrobe.
"Let us be off before my daughter returns." Demeter and Athena walked out of the bedroom and to their rooms, leaving Nathaniel alone.
"Did you enjoy your nap?"
"I did, but I had the strangest dreams. How was your day."
"Demi did very well with her chemistry assignments. She kept me later than I planned. She enjoys science. Share your dreams with me."
She took my hand. Her touch was enough for us to share our thoughts. We merged as little as possible. Both of us wanted more children, just not now. Until I learned how to remove my thread of life and keep it safe, we couldn't merge our bodies safely. We could merge with our souls and often do. It was even more intimate than sharing our bodies.
"Such naughty dreams and you enjoyed every minute of them."
"Not nearly as naughty as I am going to be with you."
****
"What happened to my clothes?"
"It looks like mother and Athena felt that a wardrobe change was in order. I suggest you wear the new clothing and thank mother. You do not want to be the person wearing an invisible toga, and she will do that."
I put the toga on, even my undergarments were gone. It felt strange like I was wearing a dress. It was a man's toga leaving my right shoulder and part of my chest bare.
"Don't forget the belt and crown."
"How do I look?"
"Like a god."
Persephone helped me with my sandals. I was used to wearing slip-on sandals, but these were designed to be laced up my calves. Afterward, we walked into the children's playroom. The garden simulation was still running. Demeter and Athena created a banquet table with all sorts of breakfast items including pancakes for Persephone. Amber and Jewel were already seated at the table eating. Amber was slowly eating a large stack of pancakes smothered in syrup. She was sick of pancakes but dutifully ate them to sweeten her milk for Selena.
Persephone elbowed me, reminding me of our conversation.
"Demeter, Athena, thank you, for my new clothes. I love them. Also, thank you, for preparing breakfast."
"You're welcome, please be seated. Athena and I have already eaten. The Togas are a present from Athena, she made them herself. The crown, belt, and sandals are from me. They look better on you than I imagined. You look very handsome now, even like a god."
"Yes, very handsome indeed," Athena looked me up and down. Demeter was destined to be my mother in law when Persephone and I were married. What was that going to make Athena? She was engaged to marry Demeter. Why were they suddenly being so nice to me?
****
"What the hell! Why are you wearing a dress."
Astrea slapped Nugget on his head. "That is not a dress. It's a toga and not just any toga, it is one made by Athena. He is going to be the envy of every god. Nathaniel looks very handsome wearing it."
"I like the belt and circlet, but I'm not sure about the rest. What do you wear under your dress?"
Nugget wasn't going to let this go. He was going to tease me about my new attire for years to come. I smiled and ignored his question. I didn't want him to know that I was going commando, not by choice but by need. If I tried to sneak a few pairs of underwear into my quarters, Demeter and Athena would know. Women had a way of knowing when men cheated.
"Typically nothing is worn under a toga," Astrea answered, and Nugget smiled. I was in for trouble.
"Nugget, get me updated on our status."
"Mike estimates two more weeks before salvage and repairs to our capital ships are complete. The fighters will take longer especially yours."
"What makes my fighter so special?"
"It's the skin. We can't simply skin it with steel or aluminum, it's too fast. In space, it really doesn't make much of a difference, but in an atmosphere the metal would get too hot, weaken, and crack, even with the fighter's heat shields. Your ship uses an exotic blend of metal. It's difficult to reproduce."
"How long?"
"Maybe another month. I have a message from the Daedalus. Captain Lockwood wants you to call him."
I hailed the Daedalus. It was just me Nugget and Astrea on the bridge. Captain Lockwood's image filled the viewscreen.
"Am I missing something special? Why are you wearing a dress?"
"It's not a dress. It is a toga and a present from my future mother in law and her companion."
"That explains it. They hate you."
"I know."
"Persephone was kind enough to send me a copy of your ships logs. I've reviewed where you have traveled since arriving in this galaxy. You will never find the Sol System going from constellation to constellation like you are. The constellations were viewed and named from Earth's night sky thousands of years ago. You are traveling in a circle. Someplace within that circle is Earth."
The news shocked me more than I expected. I was sure that we were getting closer to Earth. In reality, we were no closer than we were when we first arrived here. I needed to do something to vent my fury. I had to get away, and needed time to think. I headed to the shuttle bay. I couldn't fly my ship, but I could borrow Amber's Marauder. Her ship hasn't been used in nearly a year and was ready to fly.
I couldn't leave without Persephone at my side. I summoned her. Persephone and Demi both appeared at my side.
"What is the matter, you look upset?"
"Daddy are we going to go flying?"
"We are."
We boarded the Marauder. Demi took the copilot's seat, I sat in the pilot's seat, and Persephone sat behind me. I keyed in the startup sequence and taxied to the ready line and took off.
This was a joy ride. Flying often helped me think when I wasn't thinking. I kept our speed slow, cruising at 2000kph. Being alone out here was just what I needed.
"Let Demi fly and come to the rear of the shuttle with me."
Demi took the controls. I unstrapped myself and followed Persephone to the rear cargo and passenger area.
Persephone kept her voice low, "You never answered my question."
"I got some bad news. We have been wasting our time."
"Wasting our time? I think not. Look at what we have accomplished."
She was right. We did do a lot, but we were no closer to Earth. I told her what Captain Lockwood said.
"We knew it would take awhile to find Earth. Now we know where it isn't."
"Yes, but that still leaves billions of stars to explore."
"We can narrow our search, exploring yellow dwarf stars. Who knows we might get lucky."
"That may narrow our search to a few hundred million. It will take forever to find."
"So, what if it does."
"I wanted someplace to call home for you, Amber, Jewel, and our children."
"What is wrong with our home?"
"Nothing, but we will need room to grow."
"We will have it when we need it."
Demi, as soon as you're finished flying bring the Marauder back. Your father and I are going to take a short trip. Be good, while we are gone."
"I can fly alone?"
"Today, you can."
Persephone took my hand and we vanished.
****
A red sun was setting, making the clouds look magenta. We stood atop a plateau knee deep in golden wheat. The view of the horizon overlooked the sea. A cool breeze came in from the sea, cooling with the setting sun.
"Where are we?"
"My home."
"We are on Earth?"
"Yes and no. We are on a shadow of what it was when I was growing up."
"Can we bring our people here?"
"No. It doesn't exist in the same universe or dimension. Come my mother's house is nearby. Priests from a nearby village brin
g fresh food and wine daily. We can rest there."
Persephone led the way to a temple. The temple was dedicated to Demeter, goddess of the harvest. The statue at the temple's entrance did her no justice. The statue was a woman who looked much older and mature in her age. I knew for a fact that Demeter didn't look a day older than seventeen.
I was led to the back of the temple. Persephone opened a portal and attached an arch to it. "This will make it easier to come and go as we please." She led me through the arch and into a room.
The room was small. It had one small window, for ventilation, covered by a shade made of some type of animal skin. A single oil lamp provided all of the lighting in the room. It was furnished with a bed large enough for two. Its mattress was filled with straw, probably left over from harvesting the nearby wheat.
"It's been a long time since I was last home. I've missed my bed." Persephone flopped onto the bed. It was growing dark. I pulled my comp from my belt and tried calling Amber and Jewel. There was no response. In fact, there was no response from anyone.
"You can't call anyone on your comp. They don't exist in this time or place. You need to relax."
"How long will we be here?"
"As long as it takes. You are tired, overworked, and stressed out. You need a break."
"Won't they miss us?"
"I have changed time in this universe to pass much more slowly for us. You needn't worry. We can spend years here if we have to. Come join me."
I laid on the bed with Persephone and turned to face her. I had more questions than answers. I needed some answers before I could relax enough to sleep.
"Aren't you afraid your mother will walk in, or worse that you will? It could cause a paradox."
"Don't be silly, we are immune to the effects of paradoxes. My mother won't disturb us here, she can't, she is in the other universe. My shadow-self resides in the underworld with Hades. You won't be seeing the young me. I was only twelve when he took me for his own."
"How long ago was that?"
"I do not know, but it was long ago. It was thousands of years before the coming of the one god or for the development of civilization."
"There are people nearby?"
"Just a village. There are many villages here but no towns or cities yet."
"Where is your temple?"
"I have none. I was taken by Hades before any were built. After that, his castle became the closest thing I had to a temple. I ruled at his side as the Queen of the Underworld."
I had a lot to think about, more than enough to keep me busy until morning.
"Nathaniel?"
"Yes."
"No more naughty dreams unless they are about me."
"I promise I won't dream about anyone else."
"Good." She took my hand and made just enough contact to share our dreams. "Sleep now."
I wasn't tired but suddenly felt as if I hadn't slept in days. My eyes closed and as promised I dreamed of Persephone.
The next morning we walked to the plateau's edge. It dropped off with a vertical drop, hundreds of feet to the ocean. There was no easy way down. As far as I could see it was either steep mountainsides disappearing beneath the water or steep cliffs. There were no sandy beaches to climb down to, only rocks.
"The nearest beach is several days walk to the west or south."
"Where are we?"
"In the future, this country will be called Italy. We are in the northern part. I was given it as a wedding present. It is such a beautiful country. I would like to return to it one day.
"We will."
That evening I emptied a large serving bowl onto the temples banquet table. The bowl was about one meter in diameter and made of hammered copper. It would do. I set the bowl at Demeter's feet and left it there while I gathered firewood.
It took hours to collect firewood from the surrounding forest. That was okay. I didn't have anything else to do anyhow. I stacked some of the wood, smaller branches and twigs that I collected and some of the wheat in the bowl. I fumbled in my pocket for something to light the fire with. I didn't have anything. Persephone saved the day, handing me two rocks.
"One of the rocks is flint, the other contains iron. We use these to light our lamps. Strike the rocks together, they will create a spark."
I got the hang of striking the rocks together to create sparks but couldn't get the fire started. "You need much finer tinder to start the fire." Persephone used a sharp rock to scrape some bark from a branch, Then she pulverized it and tore it into smaller pieces and placed it in a pile on a flat rock. I tried again. The shavings started to smoke. I was getting closer. "Blow on the shavings, gently, so it does not blow away." I did as she said. At first red embers glowed with my breath, then it produced a flame. I added some small twigs to the fire then added the fire to my tender. In a few minutes we had a roaring bonfire.
Demeter's statue looked angry in the red light, staring down at us. I would have sworn I saw it move to stare directly at me. It must have been my imagination. Stone statues did not move.
We sat together. I let the fire burn down, and stared at the night sky. It was full of millions of stars. More than I had ever seen before. I took my comp out and scanned the stars, recording their brilliance. Some seemed so close that I could almost touch them. I ended my recording. The sky was clear of clouds. We would sleep outside of the temple tonight. Besides, the ground was a lot more comfortable than Persephone's lumpy mattress. I threw a few more logs on the dying embers and got comfortable.
I lost track of how long we were here. Whether it was a month, or two, or three, I didn't know. Persephone kept telling me we couldn't leave until I was ready. Neither of us knew when that would be. What I did know was that if I didn't take care of certain things before Demeter or Athena saw me, I would be in for a lot of pain. During the time we spent here, my body hair grew back. I could keep that much hidden for a short time, under my toga, but not my face. I had no way to shave and now had a beard and mustache. I couldn't hide those.
Every day Demeter's statue looked angrier. Even Persephone noticed it now. It seemed that Demeter had a way of watching us, even here. There was one way to find out for sure. "Persephone we need to perform a virgin sacrifice."
"Just where do you think you are going to find a virgin?"
"I thought maybe we could find one in the village."
"That is not very likely unless you want a child."
"Hestia and Artemis are virgin goddesses, maybe they will help."
"You need to learn more about our proper history, not that junk you have in the library files. I know for a fact that Artemis has had more than one roll in the hay with Ares. As for Hestia, why do you think there are no temples for her? None of the other gods want her worshiped for what she really is, a slut. She gets around more than my father. She doesn't even care whom she sleeps with. Don't even think about a date with her. I'll know. She brags about everyone she sleeps with and you would be the crown jewel of her collection."
"Then something else but what?"
"Me."
"I'm not going to kill you."
"There are other types of sacrifice and how would she know I am not a virgin?"
Persephone transformed herself. She now had dark brown hair worn down on her shoulders. She was dressed in a white dress and looked about fifteen years old. That was a turn-off for me, I liked my women older and more developed, and I needed a virgin.
"Let's get this over with." I took her arm and led her towards Demeter's altar.
Persephone stopped, digging her heels in, "Not her altar, we must do it directly in front of her statue. If she is watching she won't miss it there."
Persephone kicked and screamed, putting on an act. I looked like a grizzly old man with my white hair and beard, perfect for the part. I didn't let her protests stop me. She really was a virgin.
Thunder rumbled, and lightning flashed, getting closer. Demeter's eyes were filled with hatred. We had her attention.
"Persepho
ne. I think it is time to leave."
"I think you are right."
Without bothering to stand, she held me tightly, and we disapparated. The two of us reappeared back on our ship. We materialized in the bathroom. Fortunately, we were alone. We rematerialized in the same position as we were in when we left. The only thing different was Persephone, she transformed back to herself. She looked like the perfect woman again with shiny sandy blonde hair, bright blue eyes, perfect lips, and she looked about 20 again. She was wearing the same white dress, now clean and pristine.
We undressed, we had a lot of work to do and little time to waste. Persephone helped spread the depilatory cream all over my body. While we were waiting for it to do its magic, she trimmed my hair, my beard and carefully applied more cream to my face. After waiting a few minutes, we stepped into the shower and washed and scraped the loose hair from my body and face. Clean and hairless again, except for my head and eyebrows, I was safe from Demeter's waxing.
I put on a clean toga and walked with Persephone into the playroom, nothing seemed to have changed. Demeter, Athena, Amber and Jewel were enjoying the sunset in the garden that took over the kids playroom. Demi walked in, "That was a fast trip. The two of you were gone for only a few of hours."
"What trip?" Demeter asked.
"Nathaniel and I were just enjoying a soak in my bath."
"He looks refreshed. It did him some good."
I was glad to see that it was a shadow of Demeter that we encountered and not herself. If it was her, she would have remembered, even after all this time.
"I think I know how we can speed up the process of finding Earth. I have a recording of the stars as viewed from Earth. We can eliminate all of them from our search and maybe triangulate a position that will take us close."
"I can help daddy. I'm even better at math than mom is and I am almost as good of a pilot as you are."
"You will be a great help sweetheart."
From The Desk Of The Author
Thank you for reading my novel.
I would greatly appreciate it, if you would consider leaving a review at your favorite retailer. Please let me know what you think.
