Part Seven
Cupid was having a ball! He'd been aiming his arrows in every
direction ever since his mother had taken a temporary back seat as Love
Goddess. The God Of Love grinned to himself as he watched a young couple
finally get together. They'd been betrothed since birth, but had always
felt that their parents had chosen wrongly. Cupid had just given them a
little push, to show them how wrong they had been.
Of course, he'd kept his promise to Aphrodite that he'd stay away
from Dad's warriors and warlords...
His sister was another matter, though. Cupid had the feeling
that a certain god was fast on his way to capturing his sister's heart, and the
God Of Love wanted to know more.
*~*~*
"Hey, Heph!" Cupid shouted when he appeared in Hephaestus'
caves.
The God Of The Forge looked up from his latest creation and smiled
shyly at the God Of Love. "Cupid, what brings you down here? Has
Ares reclaimed his domain?"
Cupid shook his head, grinning. "Nah. Dad's still
shacking up with Mom. They haven't come out of their chambers since Mom
made the announcement."
The other god nodded, absently looking around his
'lair'.
Cupid smiled at his nervousness. "So, you like my
sister." The god held back a grin as Hephaestus' head shot up, a stunned,
guilty look on his face. "Hey, don't worry about it! I just wanted
to check. I've got a feeling that 'Dite likes you, too."
Hephaestus looked as if he were about to blush. "She...she
wouldn't. Aphrodite could have any man, god or mortal, that she
chose."
The God Of Love laughed out loud. "So could Mom, but look who
she chose!" Hephaestus had to concede Cupid's point. Of all the gods
on Olympus, Love had chosen War. But still, it was hard for him to believe
that a goddess as lovely as Aphrodite, would want him.
"Hey! I don't see anything wrong with Mom's
choice!"
The two gods turned at the sound of Aphrodite's voice. The
goddess appeared, a huge grin on her face as she contemplated her brother and
the other god. "And I don't see anything wrong with my choice,
either."
"You...you're married?" Hephaestus paled. The pain that
ripped through his heart at that moment, was so much more than what he'd felt
when he'd discovered Xena was with Ares...
"As if I would be! I've been having to much fun doing the
single-chick thing!" she grinned, rotating her hips. (Think Nicole Kidman
in Practical Magic)
"It's about time you found someone, sis," Cupid told
her.
"Well duh! Why do you think I'm here? It's certainly
not because of the amazing view of..." She looked around the
cave. "... rocks. And anyway, you can't talk, Cupie, coz last I
heard, you haven't got a regular date, either."
Cupid scoffed. "I don't need regular, I have a queue.
Anyway, Mom consulted the Fates about my love life, meddling mother that she is,
and discovered that my love is going to show up for quite some time. Give
or take a thousand years..." he sighed. "And, until then, I'm going to
enjoy my single status, while you and your new beau here, can go off and do
things that a God Of Love would be proud of, but a brother just doesn't want to
know!"
With that said, Cupid disappeared in a shower of his trademark
lilacs, leaving Aphrodite and Hephaestus to work out their love
lives.
*~*~*
Cupid watched over the couple through his mirror portal, smiling in
satisfaction as Hephaestus pulled out yet another little statuette he'd created
just for Aphrodite. Even he had to admit that they were a match made in
the Elysian Fields, despite their obvious differences.
Still, as happy as he was for Aphrodite and Hephaestus, as well as
his blissfully joyful parents, Cupid couldn't help but feel alone. Oh, he
remembered what he'd said to 'Dite about his 'queue of women', but he was the
God Of Love, and love was what he sometimes needed, not just lust and passion,
although, both were extremely satisfying...
His future had been set, and he wouldn't come across the his future
lover and wife for centuries, and even though the thought of him actually having
a soulmate, he still longed for her even then.
The image of his sister and her new love blended into a new image,
that of a brunette girl, with a delighted smile on her face. "Paula!" The
girl turned at the name and grinned as she saw a blond girl.
"Julie! What are you doing here?" she asked as she hugged the
smaller girl.
"I'm just in town visiting me aunt."
"Cool...you wanna go to the movies or something?" Paula
asked.
"Julie shrugged. "Sure."
Cupid watched as the scene blended into another. He had no
idea what the buildings and other things in the background were, but the
differences between his home and this new place where the two girls lived were
numerous.
He knew that the brunette, Paula, was his soulmate. He was
glad. She was almost everything he'd ever envisioned of having.
Smart, passionate and caring. She wasn't drop-dead gorgeous or anything,
but she had a quiet beauty that was contained in her soul, and it drew him to
her, calling out to him like a bright, fluorescent beacon.
For hours, he just sat there, watching her do everyday things, like
go to the shops, gossip with her friends, even sleep. She makes the
most adorable sound when she'd sleeping...Cupid silently
observed.
Every now and then, a plea or sacrifice would make itself known,
and he'd regretfully abandon his portal, in favor of servicing his worshippers,
each time longing to have even one uninterrupted hour with his
soulmate.
It wasn't too long before Zeus caught wind of the other god's
preoccupation.
*~*~*
Xena and Ares were having the time of their immortality. It
had only been three days since they had locked themselves away in their
bedchamber, but it felt like a lifetime of bliss.
Xena absently wondered how their children were faring, but was soon
sidetracked by Ares antics under the covers...
Already, the goddess had begun to show, gods having their gestation
period for half as long as the mortals they lorded over. Her lover and
husband was in constant awe of the changes that her body was put
through.
The God Of War had reacted the same way when she had been pregnant
with the twins, but he was extra careful this time, since Discord had played her
petty game of one-upmanship.
Xena missed her occasional rough 'n' tumble with Ares, but his
softer side was sweet, too, right up her alley. She'd take it while she
could, because before too long, he'd be back to his bad-ass self, and she'd be
back to seducing the life out of him to get her own way.
They had more than just love and passion going for them, they had a
bond that would last forevermore...
TBC