Olympus Year 50XXX
Like a flower blossoming splendidly, the same could be said for Ares and Aphrodite's relationship. Three years passed, then five and then 10 years.. until they decided to confess and take things further.
When other gods and goddesses heard of their upcoming marriage, they were quite shocked and baffled.
Shocked because they never thought that a heartless god of war like Ares would actually settle down and marry someone.
Baffled because the one and only goddess of beauty was the bride! The most beautiful woman in the entire continent would be claimed by one god only! She wouldn't be the nation's flower anymore.. she was finally plucked by someone in the garden.
Others weren't aware of their 10 years of secret rendezvous since Aphrodite and Ares often met within his territory by the mystical lake. And not many would like to trespass on the ruthless god of war's land.
Amongst other gods, many were heartbroken. But the most affected was Hephaestus. He had been in love with Aphrodite for so long. He tried many ways to see her, or at least tried to fake an encounter. But nothing went his way for the past 10 years.
As if Aphrodite herself wasn't liking the idea of meeting him. Or perhaps she knew of his feelings but didn't want to give him more hope than necessary.
Ever since Ares came back to live in his mansion after the war was over, Hephaestus never visited him again in the south. He wanted to but Ares would always reject him. Ares told him he didn't need to look for the mansion anymore since he was finally back.
Now that Hephaestus heard of his marriage- and the identity of his future bride, he felt betrayed and hurt. He realized that the reason why Ares would reject him coming to his mansion was because he didn't want him to encounter Aphrodite by accident.
"You're so heartless, Ares!" Hephaestus yelled in anger. He came barging into the Mansion of Glorious War first thing in the morning after the news traveled to his ear.
Ares was lying down on the couch with one leg propped up. He looked relaxed and wasn't bothered with his brother's lack of manners. He turned towards the entrance where he saw Hephaestus. His countenance calm like serenity of a prayer.
"And why am I heartless?" he asked boringly.
Hephaestus was seething in deep-boiled anger and even his red eyes were starting to flash redder in color. He didn't appreciate the lack of response by Ares. The surrounding furniture was starting to melt under his flames.
He barked "You knew she was my fiance! That's why you didn't want me to come visit you, right?!"
Ares pursed his lips and emphasized "She WAS your fiance. I get it."
Hephaestus frowned even harder and he felt like his chest was about to explode. He felt like a clown all these years- vying for chances with the woman of his dream. While all this time, his brother was slowly getting closer with her- having a great time together!
Hephaestus became impatient as he pointed his finger and bellowed "I can't believe this! You knew I like her but you still-"
"Enough, Hephaestus." only two words and Hephaestus found himself unable to continue his sentence.
Ares' aura was changing, but not for the better. Even taking one glance at him- others would have to run a mile just to hide away from his peering, dark eyes.
The same thing was happening to Hephaestus.
He stood there, speechless. The surrounding area was gradually shifting into that of a bloody battlefield. Hephaestus swore that he saw soldiers being massacred single-handedly.
Red blood splattered everywhere on the ground, trees and even the hollow sky. He gasped by the catastrophic play right in front of his eyes.
It was a hallucination, he knew. But he couldn't help but shudder under the pressure. The sickening screams for help and the helpless wails for a safe place were starting to affect him. It was loud in his mind but he didn't hear anything by his ears.
Then, as if it wasn't there- the ground-breaking pressure ceased to exist. Hephaestus could finally feel his heartbeat again. He was breathing. He was still alive.
Thank goodness..
Hephaestus attention was back towards Ares who was still lounging off the couch. He blinked his eyes a couple of times before he looked diffidently around him, feeling like he was still threatened.
What just happened?
"I'm not sorry for marrying the woman I love." Ares suddenly said and Hephaestus gritted his teeth in fury.
"But I'm sorry for not telling you about her oath." Ares added.
Then he told Hephaestus of the reason why she would never want to fall in love with him, much less give him a chance.
It was a long story cut-short but Hephaestus finally understood. He was dismayed by the reality that he would never be the right man for Aphrodite. But his heart was painfully crushed when Ares told him that even his love was just an obvious spellbound.
He tried to argue and said that his feelings were real but Ares didn't even try to explain. It was all up to Hephaestus if he wanted to believe it or not.
It was a blessing that Hephaestus actually respected Ares a lot. And even if he was mad, he would still exercise a little bit of patience while listening to his brother.
Plus the fact that Ares was stronger than him and he sadly wasn't his opponent.
And while they were into their conversation, the two gods didn't notice a woman's figure near the side entrance. She was there ever since the beginning but she couldn't get herself to talk.
She immediately turned around and her brown hair swayed with the winds in accordance to her rushing movement. She didn't want to be seen there with an expression so obvious.
An expression of a conflicted woman..
Athena walked ahead without looking and she accidentally bumped into someone. She raised her face to see who the other person was.
And she was surprised to see the woman in question- whom Ares and Hephaestus were talking about: Aphrodite.
Aphrodite's face was covered by a veil and she later lifted it up, knowing that she bumped into a goddess and not a god. Her beautiful appearance only affected the opposite gender and so she wasn't worried.
Athena sucked in a deep breath after seeing Aphrodite's face up close. Even if she was a woman, she swore she had never seen such a gorgeous face before.
Aphrodite really did live up to rumors.
No, the rumors about her beauty wasn't doing her justice at all.