One night without consulting any of the gods, he went down to his former home. The sun had set hours before and he traveled unseen by mortal eyes. He snuck into his wife�s room and saw her and her new husband in bed together. He stayed in the shadows trying with all his might to control his temper.
Soon they were laying on the bed in exhaustion, staring at the ceiling. He took his lead and crept forward. He walked to the foot of the bed and looked down upon them. It took a moment for his wife to notice his presence. She screamed and jumped up. Her new husband soon did the same. Deep in Aeneas a twisted pleasure grew. His wife�s hand rose and pointed to him.
�Aeneas! You-you�re dead!�
�Yes,� he said slyly.
She screamed again and servants pilled into the room, each equally shocked at Aeneas� appearance. He furrowed his brow and turned again to his wife.
�I am gone five years and you have already found a new husband?� he growled. �You have betrayed me in ways no simple human can understand. You will pay for the sins of betraying me and my son.�
With this he ran out of the room with inhuman speed and with the intention of coming back the next night, when the whole house would be swarming with guards. He would have his fun yet. Of that he was certain.
The next night he headed out for the former comforts of home. The home now ruled by a stranger. Just as he suspected, there were guards posted everywhere around the house. He went straight to the hidden entrance which would be the same as every other one. Two guards stood at the entrance carefully scanning the area. When he approached they gripped their weapons in preparation.
�My faithful guards Tiberius and Micas! So good to see you again,� he said warmly to them.
�Sir, I know not of what spell has brought you back to this place, but I have orders from the queen to keep you out,� Tiberius said raising his spear.
�Now now Tiberius. You really should not get on my bad side. Micas, how of you? Have the gods been treating you well in my absence?�
�Yes sir, but what Tiberius tells is the truth. You may not pass this point.�
Aeneas sighed and rubbed his chin.
�Hmm. Now what would be the best way to kill you both? How I would hate to do so, but I am hungry and must get inside my house. If you don�t let me pass I will have no other choice.�
�I am sorry sir. We have our orders, and that is to keep you out,� Tiberius said.
�Then you shall see my new found wrath. You have no conceivable notion of the evil which has consumed me. How your wives and children shall mourn for you.�
He sneered and lurched at Tiberius, biting hard into his neck. Micas thrust the spear into Aeneas� back so it burst forth through his stomach. He let Tiberius drop and turned to look at Micas.
�Now that wasn�t nice at all. Good to see that I truly can not be killed however.�
Micas stumbled back in horror and Aeneas threw himself onto him as well. Within minutes the two were both completely drained of blood and Aeneas was clear to enter his home.
The halls were the same as they were when he last walked through them. Torches led the way to his old room, where vengeance awaited him. As he approached the door he saw two more guards standing there. These were ones which he had never seen before. He knew why they were there: they had no loyalty to Aeneas and would not be bribed to leave their post. He smiled at her intelligence. She had learned something after all.
He approached them and didn�t even bother saying a word. He flung them into the wall with all his supernatural strength, which nearly broke the walls in two. He entered the room to see his wife looking out the window, with her new husband nowhere to be seen. Her blonde hair shone in the moonlight, his favorite feature of hers. For a flash of a second he had second thoughts of what he was about to do. Just a flash though.
�My precious Lavinia. How beautiful you look tonight.�
She whirled around and pressed herself against the wall in fright.
�How could you enter here? Guards are posted everywhere.�
�I killed them,� he said with a shrug. �Where is you new love? The one you more than happily welcomed in my absence?�
�I thought you were dead,� she whispered.
�Have you heard me tell you otherwise?�
�You can�t be dead. You stand here before me.�
�So na�ve. You always were though.�
By this time he was directly in front of her, running his hand over her cheek and through her hair.
�I missed you so. For five long years I have awaited my return and your glorious welcoming. Then I come here last night to see you with another man. Five years and you move on? How long did you wait to give up hope and marry another?�
�T-two years.�
�Two years?! Have you not heard of Odysseus and his return to his homeland?! Gone twenty years and his wife waited for him! You can not go two years?!�
�How do you know of Odysseus? He fought against you in the Trojan War. The story which reached here may well be legend, fairytales.�
�It is no fairytale. I know what has become of him.�
�Where have you been?�
�With my mother of course.�
�Aphrodite?�
�Yes. On Mount Olympus I waited for the day when I could see my family again. What a disappointment that became.�
�I had word that you were killed in battle. What was I supposed to do? Wait for the dead to rise?�
�Look in front of you. What do you think this is?�
He leaned forward and kissed her neck. Soon his fangs punctured the skin and she screamed softly. A sharp pain arose in his back and he turned around to see her new husband standing with a bloody knife in his hands.
�Why must all of you insist on doing that?�
Her husband leapt forward and put the knife into Aeneas� chest. Aeneas rolled his eyes and pulled it out. He threw it onto the ground and without a moment�s hesitation her husband picked up a spear and rammed it through his thigh. Again he simply pulled it out.
�You�re wasting energy,� Aeneas said.
�What are you?� her husband asked.
�Nothing that you have ever seen. I am a monster; I am evil. I shall be the death of you.�
He jumped onto her husband and drank him dry. When his legs stopped flailing about he dropped him to the ground. Lavinia was now crouched in a corner, crying in fear and sadness. A crash was heard outside and Aeneas turned to the door in time to see his son come in. Silvius stopped in his tracks and stared at his father.
�Silvius? My son, you have grown so!� he said walking up to Silvius. He had forgotten about the blood dripping off his chin and his son backed away in fear.
�You�re not my father. My father is dead, and you are a monster.�
Aeneas� heart bottomed out and he stopped trying to approach his son. None that he had hoped would happen upon the return to his house had occurred. He turned and looked at his wife, for that was what she was, and felt a completely new fury drive through him. He turned back to his son.
�Silvius, leave this place. If you know what is best for you, you will leave. Do not come back. You won�t like what you will see.�
�You can�t make me leave.�
�You shall die if you stay here, and that is not what is meant for you. You will leave and found a great city and think not upon what takes place on this night. But learn from the life your father has lead. Learn courage from me, and true toil; from others the meaning of fortune. For that is what I do not have. I have only the wreck which my life has become. My son, leave here as fast as your legs can carry you. Leave now and worry not for your mother. She fulfills her destiny in this room tonight.�
His son, seeing the eyes of his true father, turned and fled from his former home. When Aeneas was sure he was gone, he turned back to Lavinia. She was now over her new husband�s body, mourning for him. He came to her and pulled her up by the hair.
�Tell me, my beauty, did you mourn such for me? Did you mourn for the soul which would be lost to evil for all eternity?� She did not answer, only cried. �Have you any idea what torment I�ve gone through? No, of course you don�t. All you can think about is your happiness; your lust for men. Could you not live with an empty bed for three more years; wait for the one you promised your love to?� He put his hand on her throat and pushed her against the wall. �Your sins have caused me more pain than my journey already has. You have destroyed our son, turned him against me.�
�You did that yourself, you monster,� she said with all the breath she had.
�Don�t you talk to me like that! I�m in this mess because of you; you and your damn father! You shall pay for what you have made me.�
He lowered his head quickly to her neck and bit into her. She screamed loudly and servants and guards ran in. Spears were thrown at him, but he never let his wife go; not until she was dead. She went limp in his arms and he let her fall to the ground. Then he turned to face the others. Blood covered his face and was dripping down his neck in rivulets. The women all screamed in terror, but the men advanced on him with weapons. With a twitch of an arm he flung them against the walls, crushing their bones and killing them on impact. The women were next. He killed them all with the speed of a skilled hunter. By the early morning all were dead and his house was covered in the blood of those who once served him. With a last look of vengeful satisfaction he went to Mount Olympus to sleep away the day.
Fifty more years passed and Aeneas fell in despair. He watched the death of his son and his son�s children, knowing he could do nothing to help them; knowing that he could make them immortal. The longing to see the sun again was almost unbearable. On more than one occasion he was taken by his mother when he stood out in the open, waiting for the sun to rise.
On the eleventh day of his latest hermit period Aphrodite called on the Oracle to see what was in store for her son.
�Worry not for your son, fair Aphrodite. His destiny lies far in the future, farther than even the gods can see. He will be the father of a great race which will slip through the centuries unseen. He will be the father of the greatest war the earth shall ever see,� the Oracle told her.
�When will this happen? When will my son achieve greatness?�
�When he finds the woman who will help him accomplish this great feat. When he finds this woman the war will begin.�
�But when?�
�It is hard to say; somewhere around three thousand years from now.�
�My son will live this long?�
�Yes, he will outlive the times when gods and goddesses are worshiped. Your lifestyle will fall into disrepair and you will all crumble, but he will live on as the demon mortals will soon make of him.�
At this Aphrodite had to sit down and process what had just been said.
�We will be� forgotten?�
�Yes. I am so sorry.�
�Leave,� Aphrodite whispered.
�But-�
�Leave!�
The day finally came when Aeneas wished to leave his home of Olympus. His mother begged him for years to stay, but nothing could change his mind. It was time to get out on his own. The gods had all assembled to give him goodbyes and warnings.
�Aeneas, without our help you will not last long living among mortals. A few preternatural gifts shall help you avoid the death they shall wish to instill upon you. Hermes,� Zeus said turning to Hermes.
�To escape men,
To escape light,
I give what�s never been:
The gift of flight.�
A bright light came upon Aeneas and he knew he had what Hermes said. Next Hades slowly approached, looking remorseful as ever.
�I have spoken to the Oracle and I know what you will become. To help you in your way, I give you the power of fire to use upon your enemies.�
Aphrodite now approached.
�Son, I give you the gift which all gods possess: the gift to read the minds of mortals.�
Zeus now re-assumed command.
�Your mother has not told you what she knows, has she?�
�What do you know, mother?� he asked.
�The Oracle and I spoke of you. I do not like what she has said, so I have not relayed it to you.�
�He has a right to know, Aphrodite,� Zeus said.
She became remorseful and uneasy.
�You will rule the world of men, but only after we gods have perished from their minds. We shall be left in ruins and perhaps even die. But you� You shall flourish when you find the woman who is destined for you.�
�Who is she?�
�The Oracle says that you shall know. She will call to you and you will be sure that it is her.�
�When?�
Aphrodite opened her mouth to answer him, but Zeus interjected.
�No, Aphrodite. He may not know when these things will pass. If he knows when he may not remain sane to see the day.�
Aeneas sighed and looked at them all.
�I suppose this is it, then. Words cannot express my gratitude for you all. I shall never forget any of you; of this you can be certain.�
�I wish you luck on your journey,� Zeus said.
�And if you ever need anything, anything at all, just call for us and we shall be there,� Aphrodite said hugging him.
�I will mother. Goodbye everyone and thank you again.�
He left Mount Olympus with his new gift of flight. Never again would he see its splendor again.