Alethia and Aphrodite - Jewels of the Olympians -Past-

Mount Olympus

It had been almost a millennium since Alethia had been in Mount Olympus, as her home was in the Underworld. Her arrival was neither foretold or announced, and so it was no surprise that the inhabitants of Mount Olympus were startled. The fact that she was gone for so long was of no surprise, but that fact that Hades' daughter was here representing the Underworld was what made everyone uneasy. Everyone knew of the hellish creatures that lived there, and of course the Titans...the all powerful beings. Alethia however, contrasted the realm of Hades in every sense. Her beauty and elegance, matched by her golden attire would make it seem she had easy living here on Olympus. Alethia was told to surpass Athena in terms of beauty, and was considered one of the two jewels of the Olympians. Alethia was claimed to the Jewel of the Underworld, while Aphrodite still was foretold to be the Jewel of Olympus.

Thoughts of Aphrodite began to come into her mind, it had been so long since they had seen each other. They never had a friendship, caused by them living in two separate planes. She wouldn't mind talking to her because they had much to catch up on, and she learned that the Olympians that lived outside of Olympus did not become as content as those residing here as the world forgot them. Was Aphrodite among the content? Was she fine with the state of Humanity? She had questions, surely they would be answered in the new couple decades if they happened to run into each other. Would Olympus still be here by then? Thoughts of the Asgardians began to creep into her mind. How dare they come to Earth and call themselves Gods? It sickened her, but what made it worse she felt she was the only one that felt this way.

As Alethia toured Olympus, her old thoughts came back to her of the Good Old Days. She remembered how the Goddeses used to sit around and view the world. She remembered how they would create romances, lust after men, and even become jealous of the talents of mortal women. She remembered when the Gods were powerful from the mass amounts of praise they received from the Mortals. It made her a bit sad that no one cared about them anymore, but she was bound to change it...All she needed was allies. Would fate allow her to find them on Mount Olympus?

“Another grape” the brunette said, as a pair of hands slowly reached into the always full bowl in front of them, taking a single round piece of fruit and approaching the girl so that she could take it with her mouth. The sour taste made her senses tingle, letting the girl relax for a few moments. Aphrodite had almost forgotten how easy it was to relax here, losing the sense of time and just enjoying the feeling of being blessed. Sound of relaxing, godly music came to her ears from the distance, the main square where the enchanted harp of Apollo played for the Gods and other lower residents of Olympus. The clouds were slowly rolling in, surrounding the area. They were enchanted as well, a scent of glory embed in them to further enhance the atmosphere of perfection. Soft gushes of wind coming from a man who was moving the fan behind the woman up and down cleared the clouds, only so that they would reappear again in a few moments. Everything was quiet, so perfectly arranged, made to make the inhabitants forget about all their problems. It was the home of Gods, made by Gods and worthy of Gods. It was the heaven.

But no, that was not why the girl was here. There were more serious matters that needed to be solved, the ones concerning the children of Prometheus, living below the edge that the mountain peaks represented. It has been nearly two thousand years since she, the Goddess of Love and everything beautiful, was trapped inside that necklace, jinxed to rot in there and wait until she was finally released. It was a long time, but now she was free again, and the way she found the Earth to be like was a disgrace. It was a disgrace to herself, her relatives and everything that the word ‘God’ meant. Other religions have taken over, pushing them out of the spotlight and into a corner in which they could bathe in their former glory. Humans, their own creations, modeled after them and gifted the breath of life by the Gods, failed them. They were now serving under someone else, rotten and self-centered, fueled with nothing but greed. They became everything that she and others fought against, and that made the woman angry.

Aphrodite opened her eyes, waking from the state of sedation that this place had put her in. For two thousand years she was gone, and the other Gods let themselves be fooled, enjoying and doing nothing while their creations were destroying themselves. What could have happened for them to act like this was not her concern. Perhaps the other religions were too strong, or perhaps they were all weaklings who would rather fall back and enjoy their pitiful lives than fight to claim what was rightfully theirs. Whichever the reason, she wasn’t compassionate. She was there to try and make things right again. What made the girl even more furious was the way that the others acted even now that she was here again. Upon her arrival she went straight to Zeus, the self proclaimed ruler of Gods, only to be told by his henchmen that he was busy and couldn’t see her now. She was told to wait, and so she did, but she has waited enough.

“Move!” she yelled at a servant, getting up and knocking over the bowl of fruit off an ivory table nearby. The oranges and grapes rolled on the floor, as she walked down a path, guiding to the main square. The beauty of the terrain that would leave any mortal breathless didn’t interest her now; she had other, more important things, to worry about. The sound echoed as her sandals moved across the stone path. On the square itself, near the fountain with the enchanted harp, she saw the servant of Zeus who she spoke to earlier. “Miss, I am sorry but the lord is not ready to see you yet.” the fat man spoke as he saw her marching towards him with anger on her face, “As soon as he is, I shall dispatch someone to tell you.” The man’s smile didn’t calm the rage inside the girl; it had inflamed it even more. “What could possibly be so important? Is the old fool giving Hera another foot-massage or something?” Aphrodite asked, trying to keep her face straight. She hated being angry, as that increased the chance of her having wrinkles, and she despised anything that would disrupt her perfect beauty. “I am afraid I am not informed about that miss. But as I said, you should rest and we will inform you when you can come.” the man answered, the smile removed from his face, before quickly turning around and walking away.

This was not going well so far. The Gods seemed to have forgotten about their duties, and the things they enjoyed doing way back when. Her temple was now empty and the fair maidens were finding some other way to solve their love issues. Everything was wrong. Aphrodite walked towards one of the white-marble benches that formed a circle around the fountain and sat down. There wasn’t much she could do right now, but to wait and hope that her voice is heard. A white bird flew over and sat at the girl’s lap. The sound of the harp was relaxing. Perhaps everything was not so bad. Or maybe it was. She didn’t know any more. The sound was relaxing.

Alethia headed to her quarters that she had once inhabited long ago. She found her belongings in perfect order still. She emerged from her room in her silk dress strapless dress, woven by Athena herself. She walked to the balcony, so see the majestic clouds rolling in, and a sense of peace rolled over her. She was home, at last. She didn't want to leave, this must've been the feeling the other Gods had felt for the last millennium because was assured they had not moved against humanity as they fell away from the Gods. The sounds of Apollo's harp filled the palace as he began playing, it soothed her soul and made her eyes heavy as she stood in awe and beauty of this place...it had been so long, too long.

Her eyes were forced open at the giggling she heard from the hall outside her room. She walked out to see two handmaidens walking away from her, but she heard bits of pieces which made Alethia to believe that Aphrodite was here. Interesting! Just as Alethia began to wonder about her fellow Goddess of Beauty, she shows up! Alethia walked down the great halls that used to be filled with laughter and celebration. It seemed the only thing that remained were the walls, and the two guards that guarded the gate to Zeus's lair. She took a left at the next intersection, which lead to a courtyard with a beautiful fountain in the center. Lo and behold Aphrodite sat there.

Alethia quickened her pace to the surprise visit. "Aphrodite," She said as she descended the steps into the courtyard. She quickly sat down next to the Goddess and grabbed her hands with her own. She smiled from ear to ear as she spoke to what some would think would be her sister. "It has been far too long. I've heard many rumors about you but I'm glad the worst of them are true. You live! You have a lot of explaining to do, but first, what brings you to Olympus?" She asked with curiosity.

The white bird started singing, mimicking the sound of the harp almost perfectly. The creature shook it’s head slightly as the girl slowly patted it on the wing, before flying away again, joining many similar bird that were standing on a nearby tree. The little choir of singers only enhanced the beauty of the soothing melody. Artemis always had a refined taste when creating the animals which resided at Olympus. Aphrodite remembered the times when both Goddesses were young, hunting out in the forest and admiring the perfection of every single being that lived there. They were often joined by another girl, Alethia the daughter of Hades. She had spent a lot of time with them at the mountain, and everyone accepted the girl as one of their own. She was likable and hard-working, unlike many other Gods who cared about nothing but themselves.

A voice woke Aphrodite up from her thinking, a voice familiar to her that was calling her name. The girl turned around, just to see another girl, the one she was just thinking about, descend the steps and quickly walk towards her. The golden haired girl that Aphrodite thought of as he sister sat next to her and took her hands into her own. "It has been far too long. I've heard many rumors about you but I'm glad the worst of them aren’t true. You live! You have a lot of explaining to do, but first, what brings you to Olympus?" Alethia asked.

The girl smiled at her friend, happy that she had finally met someone that remembered her. “Far too long indeed dear Ale. It must have been centuries since I last saw you. I come from the Earth-below, horrified by what I saw happened down there in the time of me being away. The humans have changed, for the worst, so I decided to ask Zeus for help.” Aphrodite spoke in a calm tone, partially influenced by the sounds of the harp. She looked towards the place where the head God resided, a magnificent palace surrounded by thick walls, the clouds almost completely surrounding it, “But the foolish old man doesn’t seem to be willing to discuss the issue. He has changed too; I have been away for too long.” Aphrodite looked down, a sad look in her eyes. Nothing was going according to plan and she hated it.

She was relieved to see a smile on Aphrodite's face, it was as beautiful as it was all those years ago. "Far too long indeed dear Ale. It must have been centuries since I last saw you. I come from the Earth-below, horrified by what I saw happened down there in the time of me being away. The humans have changed, for the worst, so I decided to ask Zeus for help." she said. She noticed how Aphrodite's voice was calm, perhaps a little less happier than what she remembered. Alethia saw her eyes wander to the place where Zeus reined, her eyes followed to see the magnificent building as Aphrodite spoke. " But the foolish old man doesn’t seem to be willing to discuss the issue. He has changed too; I have been away for too long" She said. Alethia quickly turned her head to look at her fellow Olympian in shock, she had just called Zeus a fool. She had never witnessed open dismay for Zeus.

She put her smooth fingers on Aphrodite's chin to raise her head from below. "My dear, do not be sad. Not all is lost" She said as she stood up and walked around the courtyard with her left arm folded across her chest and her left hand resting on her chin, as if she was deep in thought. "What if I was to tell you that some of the Olympians were gathering to overthrow Zeus?" She asked, darting her eyes to Aphrodite to see her reaction. "Not only to overthrow Zeus, but to every Olympian that supports him?" She said as she slid her left hand on the edge of the fountain. "What if I was to tell you Aphrodite, that I was among them?" She asked, finally stopping as she stared at Aphrodite. It was dangerous to be spilling her heart out to this woman, right on Mount Olympus where every God reside. So far, the Gods of the Underworld were the only Olympians ready to take on Mount Olympus. Alethia was ambitious on making allies on Mount Olympus, so that the Gods could throw Humanity back into a time where they worshiped Olympus.

Once Olympus was cleansed of the complacent Gods, they could destroy the governments and cities of mankind, and devolve them into a society that relied upon the Sword and Shield, rather than the cell phone and television. It was all possible, she would just need the Gods to become involved in her quest. Aphrodite would be a invaluable ally, seeing as she was one of the original gods.

Alethia’s face gave the impression of surprise at Aphrodite’s words. In their world it wasn’t common for one to call Zeus a fool, but that was simply how he was behaving at that moment. The word itself was actually an understatement of how the girl felt about the God of Gods, but she wasn’t going to push it just now. Alethia and her always got along quite well, but one could never be certain about some things. Centuries have passed since the last time they talked, so maybe her friend fell under the influence of the other Gods who seemed not to care about anything but their own well being. Aphrodite looked down to her lap again, uncertain about her following actions. She needed allies.

"My dear, do not be sad. Not all is lost" Alethia said, putting her finger on the girl’s chin and lifting it up, so that Aphrodite was now looking straight into the girls eyes. In an elegant manner, the girl then stood up and started walking around the courtyard surrounding the fountain. Her left hand was under her chin, a pose that meant the girl was thinking about something. Perhaps she would turn the girl in to Zeus, call her a traitor and get her kicked out of Olympus. But no, she wouldn’t do that, the two were like sisters and have known each other for too long. Still, the entire situation made the girl feel extremely nervous.

"What if I was to tell you that some of the Olympians were gathering to overthrow Zeus? Not only to overthrow Zeus, but to every Olympian that supports him? What if I was to tell you Aphrodite, that I was among them?" Alethia spoke again staring at the girl. Her words surprised Aphrodite so much that she just sat there, face-blank, for a few moments, trying to process what she had just heard and let the thought settle in her brain. She knew that something had to be done, but to try and dethrone the ruler of the Gods, to try and take all of his power, that was something completely different. The last time that was done, the doers were defeated and were locked in Tartarus forever. Was the situation really that desperate that they had to do such things?

Aphrodite took a lock of her hair into her hand and started spinning it around her finger, looking down to her lap again. “I you were to tell me that, I would tell you that it is a very bold, very revolutionary but also very risky and stupid idea.” she said, getting up and looking at Alethia, still playing with her hair, “I would also tell you that some of the most brilliant ideas this world has ever seen also started as stupid, not thought trough thoughts, risky and dangerous, but rewarding.” The girl slowly walked towards her friend, taking the girl’s right hand into her own. “And if one does not risk, one shall not ever do anything worthy. Which is why, I am willing to offer you my help in your plan, but you will have to tell me more.” Aphrodite smiled at the girl. The way things were now was extremely bad, and she couldn’t just stand there and do nothing. If a war was needed to make others realize the depth of the situation, then war they shall get.

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