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A meeting was called on Mount Olympus. The usual tranquil and gay atmosphere of the holy mountain was now tense with an undercurrent of malicious glee that would make many a mortal shiver. The leaders of the meeting, Zeus and Hera, stood above the others and looked on over their fellow gods. Zeus's golden locks cascaded down upon his shoulders like waves upon a sandy shore.
His handsome and timeless face was pinched with aggravation. His wife, sister and queen, Hera, held no emotion on her gorgeous face. Her red hair was held up by a clasp and reached the middle of her back. Beside them sat the mischievous messenger Hermes. He bobbed his head from side to side, humming a tune to himself and swishing his bronze curls with his every movement.
The others looked at him with distaste. There was something teeth grindingly annoying about one that was far too optimistic. Next to him was Poseidon, Hades, Apollo and Ares. Hades' face was also pinched, matching his brother Zeus's. He wished to be anywhere but here. Poseidon, whom had a beard of dark auburn, Apollo, with his hair of gold that nearly rivaled his father's, and the other deities all crowded about as tightly packed as a festival. The only one who looked more displeased than him was Ares who wore a clouded and stormy expression and sat away from the others in a dark corner.
No one said a word and the silence was irritating. Zeus appeared to be all too weary and Hera all too giddy for some nefarious reason or another. Hermes scowled and uncrossed his legs, hovering several inches off the ground.
"Well, are we going to talk or not?" he asked impatiently.
"You are very much welcome to leave and go back to your harp Hermes," Hera replied curtly.
He opened his mouth to retort, thought about it and then clamped his mouth shut. He couldn't play his music in such a stifling atmosphere, and, besides, he was curious about why Hera and Zeus had called them. With his silence, Hera faintly smiled.
"I'm sure you are all wondering why I called you," her voice was sharper than knives.
"Helen has birthed a child. The child comes from the seed of the fallen royal family of Troy, the seed of Deiphobus," her voice became higher and more frustrated with each word. Hades was the only one unaffected by her hysterics.
He saw right through her. Since she had not won that confounded golden apple for being the most beautiful from Paris, Hera had been on a vengeful vendetta against all connected to the man who did not choose her. Even though the war was over and Paris long since dead, he had seen his soul himself, she still felt it necessary to go after those closest to him, which was his cousin Aeneas and now this unnamed infant. He found it all very petty.
"...The midwife was close to being rid of it, however," she snarled.
"Solon of Crete got in her way," she said with a voice that was laced with the breathy tones of one that was maniacal.
Hades had heard enough, and he stared her straight in the eyes. He was taken aback by how much hatred there was inside her smoky gray eyes, and it was all for a new born child. A sense of dismay and pity washed over him like cold water over the dangerous life the poor boy was set to have.
"You are being irrational Hera," Hades hissed to her.
"I agree," spoke up Poseidon. "You speak with much hatred over a small child you have not seen."
Hera whipped around to Poseidon's direction and glared at him.
"You speak of irrational hatred and yet you still keep Odysseus away from his home for something he has already apologized for," she said coldly.
Zeus's eyes shot back and forth between the three of them, his anger mounting. He watched Hera, Hades and Poseidon argue while the other gods chatted amongst themselves. They were frivolous that way, nothing ever keeping their attention for long. Zeus had seen enough. The meeting had gone way out of hand to the point of madness. He rose abruptly from his throne, and the noise around him stopped.
"That is enough," he thundered. The childishness of it all irritated him to no end.
"This I proclaim, Hera you shall not touch the boy."
She once more began to speak and the gaze in his eyes silenced her.
"As long as he is under the guidance and watchful eye of Solon he will live his life in blissful ignorance," he told her calmly.
"We need someone to keep a close eye on him," she countered. "Once he learns his heritage he will want revenge for his fallen house."
"Then do you have a suggestion of whom we can choose?" Zeus asked wearily.
"Hades seems to be in love. Let's indulge him!"
Hades glared at her darkly. Zeus stepped in quickly before anymore altercations could occur. Woe be to he who claimed that Hades would fall out of love with his wife.
"Hermes shall watch him, and he shall report to me about the boy," Zeus said.
The messenger god lazily saluted him with a half-smile.
"You may put your faith in me Zeus," he said brightly.
"Do not come in contact with him Hermes," Zeus warned. "He must not know that we are watching him."
"Fine, fine." Hermes waved away his worries. Zeus sighed heavily.
"Then this meeting is over."
-------
Hades moved swift as a shadow that lingered in the passages of his domain. The Fates were his destination. After the fiasco in Olympus, he just had to see them. Those looks that Hera had given him-he knew the boy was in grave danger. She wasn't going to let him live.
His hair, as dark as night, was laid flat over his shoulders, and his eyes were black and intense. On his body was a chiton, fastened about his shoulder with a silver brooch. The long garment's wooly fabric brushed against the sides of his ankles with every step. Unlike Zeus's kingdom, his was filled with the moaning souls of the dead and had a dreary atmosphere. Due to this, he could never go to Olympus and interact with his fellow gods as often, except on special occasions.
And with good reason, he thought sneering. Despite their old age, they still acted like children. He was better off with the dead. They didn't start rivalries with infants. In his throne room stood the Fates, their eyebrows furrowed impatiently. The only resemblance to a smile on their old, haggard faces were their eyes, narrowed and taunting him.
"So you have finally come Hades," they said in a unified manner. He inclined his head to them in acceptance.
"Yes, I have come to ask about the child born from Helen," he said.
Now the smiles appeared, and Hades shivered.
"The child resides with the merchant Solon and his wife and other son," they replied. Despite their desolate appearance, their voices were gorgeous.
"But that is not your question is it?" Clotho said.
"He will face much hardship," Lachesis said soon after.
"Once he learns who he is," Atropos finished.
Hades frowned. He had had a bad feeling that that was going to be the case.
"Then I must do something," he muttered to himself.
It was obvious to him that Hermes couldn't be relied upon to watch the boy. He'd have to do it himself. It was a stunning revelation that sent him reeling. Was he ready to take on his sister and not only that, the queen of the gods? He had no other choice in the matter. The Fates watched him unblinkingly.
"What is the boy's name?" he asked in a defeated tone.
"The boy's name is Abaddon," Hades winced. The boy was named for ruination and destruction; more for Hera to use against him.
"But Solon has given him a new name, one that does not curse the child, Vangelis."
Hades nodded and bid them farewell. They watched his back closely until he could no longer be seen.
"Hades, without knowing, has begun to set the boy's fate in motion," Clotho said and within her hands was a bright, golden thread.
"If only he knew about his future passion."
"Which will lead to the Child's destruction."
-----
It was not often that she came to Olympus. As a matter of fact, the last time she had come uninvited and caused one of the greatest wars in history. Eris smirked nostalgically. The irony that Hera, the one most injured for not being given the golden apple and proclaimed the most beautiful goddess, would call upon her was not lost on Eris. It was amusing really to see her so desperate.
The meeting place was an empty grove, and Hera had the face of a petulant child not given sweets. Amusing, Eris thought, her smirk growing. More and more Hera was descending into madness from Zeus's affairs. The cold and festering humiliation created the woman now shooting Eris a venomous look.
"You're late!" Hera hissed bitingly.
Eris held back a snarky response and simply tossed her chestnut brown hair, her black eyes holding more mischief than Hermes himself.
"Why the impatience Hera? It doesn't become you," she said teasingly.
Hera didn't even bother to answer her and instead continued on, ranting.
"Zeus and the others do not see my point of view, especially that damned Hades," Hera paced along the grass. Eris didn't even try to conceal her grin.
"The family of the house of Priam must be slain until not a drop of their blood is left. That includes this infant. Eris," Eris tilted her head in acknowledgment.
"Hermes is stupid and will try to interact with the child the first opportunity he gets. Watch them and bring me back any and all information on the boy," Hera demanded.
Eris giggled and disappeared into a cloud of black smoke. She was going to enjoy the next few years. She was, after all, the goddess of discord.
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