No More Olympus

Chapter 12

The last time Athena had been to Athens, it had been a completely different world.
A world before now, everyday things like electrical devices, plumbing and cars,
Before gasoline, firearms and capitalism,
And noticeably after Olympus.
To most, the modern city of Athens would be unrecognizable as the city it used to be over two thousand years ago.
But to Athena, the land remained as familiar as ever.
Sure some minor details had changed, a politician's house had become a fast-food restaurant, a blacksmith's shop replaced with a gas station, and stone and dirt roads had been replaced with asphalt.
But it was still her city, and she won it fair and square against her uncle, for better or for worse.
As she stared out the window, her statue stared back, a Goliath of unmoving marble and bronze with a spear in her hand standing several meters tall, including the pedestal it was on.
Of all the massive monuments the mortals built in honour of the Olympians, Athena wondered why this one had to stand the test of time, even if it was just a recreation.
Wouldn't the world be better off just forgetting about her entirely and dropping her statue to the bottom of the ocean to make room for something better, like a park bench or a drinking fountain?
But no, the statue remained sturdy, illuminating against the night sky thanks to the lights that surrounded the landmark.
They had landed in the city about three hours ago at seven in the evening. Athena wasted no time in booking them hotel rooms so they could all recover from the plane ride and ready themselves for the day ahead.
Athena had decided to spend her evening watching the sunset and enjoying the night air, with her book in one hand and an iced tea from the minibar in the other.
She had a hard time focusing on the words in front of her as her mind drifted back to the conversation on the plane.
She recognized that she was likely causing her siblings quite a bit of pain with her choice to keep them far away from her family, but in her eyes, she had no choice if she tried to list the number of mortal partners the gods had taken who ended up in fates worse than death she could have spent three years writing them all down.
This was a fate she refused to let happen again with Jacob.
That wasn't even mentioning her family's history of parentage,
She didn't want Alec and Odessa growing up in the same dynamic she did, spending their lives believing that the love of a parent was based on their godly accomplishments rather than being unconditional as any child rightly deserved.
She didn't want them to end up like Phobos and Deimos, who spread fear and terror across Greece just to impress their father.
Or, like the many mortal children of Zeus who would go and get themselves killed trying to slay monsters beyond their abilities just to grab the slightest morsel of attention from the Olympian king.
Or like herself, who ruined the lives of countless mortals to uphold an idea of her father and Olympus that never existed in the first place.
But would letting her siblings back into her life really set things back on the toxic path they found themselves on so many years ago?
Could she even take the chance that it's possible?
These thoughts and more took up the majority of space in her mind that night.
Any remaining space in her thoughts was dedicated to trying to block out the smell of cigarette smoke from the next balcony over. Which despite the large pillar blocking her view of Ares, who was the smoker in question. Still stung her nostrils with the foul smell.
Athena heard another screen door open on the balcony next to Ares, which, unlike Athena's, had an unobstructed view of each other.
"Good evening," Ares greeted,
"Oh hello," Aphrodite said back, "I'm sorry I didn't know anyone else was out here. I didn't mean to bother you."
"I do not mind," Ares assured her, "It is a free country."
Neither seemed to know that Athena could hear what they were saying.
"Have you been smoking for long?" Aphrodite asked, clearly having no clue what to make small talk about.
"Since the First World War," Ares explained, "I appreciate the tradition, and since we can't get lung cancer, I might as well enjoy it."
"I used to," Aphrodite admitted, "It made my breath smell terrible, so I had to stop."
Ares pulled a half-full carton out of his pocket.
"Would you like one?" He offered, reaching the pack over the balcony rails.
Aphrodite hesitated for a moment before reaching over and grabbing one.
Ares lit it for her as she brought it to her lips. Her shoulders almost immediately relaxed after the first breath.
"Thank you," Aphrodite said gracefully.
The two stood in silence for a moment, slowly puffing their cigarettes as they looked over the city.
"Athens sure looks different," Aphrodite commented, "Guess that's progress for you."
"At least they had the sense to continue to remind themselves of their namesake," Ares added, nodding to the statue in the distance.
"It looks nothing like her, though," Aphrodite chuckled, "I mean, not even close."
"Did you expect her to pose?" Ares joked.
"I posed," Aphrodite reasoned.
"Yes, but you actually like people staring at you for that long," Ares reminded her.
"True," she smiled, "But they didn't even get her armour right."
"They never got mine right either," Ares added, "Mortals have a terrible attention to detail."
"Aren't you naked in most of their paintings?" Aphrodite asked.
"Yes..." Ares sneered, "Yet never have I once appeared to them without my armour."
"Are you sure about that?" Aphrodite asked as if she knew what he was saying was untrue.
"What do you know?" Ares asked suspiciously.
"Oh nothing," she said hesitantly, "Just one night back on Olympus, we were having one of our... secret rendezvous, we had a lot of wine that night, you especially were pretty drunk, so I can't blame you for not remembering. Anyway, I, in my drunken state, thought it would be a great idea to go down to the beach of Pafos and... go swimming."
"Oh no," Ares groaned.
"Anyway, we went down there and did just that," Aphrodite continued, "And we passed out, and when I woke up the next morning, I saw this group of mortals surrounding us, clearly in awe that two gods had graced their presence that day. Needless to say, they got a pretty good look... of everything, all I could do was drag you back to Olympus and put you back in your temple to wake back up."
"And you didn't think to tell me?" He questioned, "To tell me that a large number of mortals had seen my..."
"Insert euphemism here?" She offered, "It just never came up, and then a few days later Hephaestus caught us, and it didn't seem relevant anymore."
Ares sighed.
"What was it Dionysus always said?" Ares asked, "The best nights are the ones you fail to remember?"
"Does this mean you're not mad?" Aphrodite asked, sounding as if the answer didn't matter to her in the slightest.
"I wouldn't go that far," Ares sighed.
"I'm pretty sure it was made after we disappeared," she guessed.
"Pardon?" He asked.
"The statue," Aphrodite clarified, "I think it was made after we were gone. It was based on the stories about her rather than memory."
There was another pause in the conversation.
Athena considered the possibility of sneaking away and giving the two their privacy. She decided against it. The screen door would be far too loud.
"Can I ask you something?" Aphrodite continued, "About us?"
"Go ahead," Ares agreed half-heartedly.
"Do you hate me?" She asked.
Ares paused for a moment and locked eyes with Aphrodite,
"No," he said without hesitation, breaking the eye contact,
"But you don't particularly like me," she continued,
"Yes," he said, confirming her suspicion, "Why do you ask?"
Aphrodite paused for a moment as if internally debating whether or not to elaborate.
"It's about what Athena said on the plane," she explained, "The whole not being able to have relationships without sex thing."
"I would not take much stock in what Athena thinks," Ares assured her, "She is not nearly as wise as she thinks she is."
"I think she's right, though," Aphrodite continued, "I mean, looking back, my longest lasting and most significant relationship was with you... and once we stopped sleeping together, we could barely be in the same room without starting an argument."
"I doubt I was your most significant relationship," Ares objected,
"I mean, who else could it be?" Aphrodite asked, "Hephaestus and I barely spoke with each other while we were married, the kids seem to want to avoid me at all costs then, and now, every other mortal or god who came along was just a one and done, gone as fast as they came. I don't really have any friends to speak of, just acquaintances, none of my clients want anything to do with me, they just want what I can give them."
"I see," Ares commented.
"Maybe I should have tried to make it work with Hephaestus," She rambled on, "Maybe I should have stuck with that rather than go off and play with the first pair of blue eyes and set of abs I found."
"You cannot be blamed for what happened then," Ares defended, "You did nothing wrong."
"He physically caught us with a net," Aphrodite reminded him, "A literal net, everyone saw what happened. He was very clear on why he divorced me."
"You did not choose to be married to him," Ares reasoned. "Neither did he. He foolishly believed you were nothing but flighty and self-obsessed. It was apparent even at the time that neither one of you had any real interest in the other."
The two locked eyes as Ares continued speaking.
"My brother was not offended by our affair because of any romantic feelings," Ares explained, "He admitted this to me long ago under the influence of wine. We simply humiliated him."
"Is that any better?" Aphrodite questioned.
"Anger is much easier to forgive than heartbreak," he explained.
Aphrodite paused thoughtfully.
"And if it helps," Ares continued, "I never believed us ever to be something as insignificant as a fling. For better or worse, I truly enjoyed our time together."
Aphrodite smiled,
"Neither did I," she reciprocated, "And I enjoyed it too."
"Of course you did," Ares chuckled.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" She asked, her smile not breaking.
"I am the God of War," he reasoned, "I win all of my conquests."
"Whoa, whoa," Aphrodite objected, "I am not one of your 'conquests'. You are one of mine. I seduced you first."
"You did not," Ares disputed, "I played you right into the palm of my hand."
"I'm the goddess of love," she said, "I'm pretty sure I know when I'm being seduced."
"Okay then," Ares debated, "How did you seduce me then?"
"Oh, Lord Ares," Aphrodite began, mimicking her seductive voice from all those years ago, "Returned from a heroic battle, I see. You seem to be covered in the blood of your vanquished enemies. I would be happy to help you clean that off in the bath, and to call it even you can clean me as well..."
"Wow," he remarked, "That's it?"
"What?" she demanded.
"No, no, no," Ares shrugged off, "We were both young. You were clearly inexperienced in your craft."
"Okay, Buddy Love," Aphrodite retorted, "What exactly was your seduction strategy?"
"Simple," he began, "You go to battle, kill countless enemies, and return home covered in blood as evidence of your battle prowess. She's so impressed with your might that she must just have you in her bed."
Aphrodite stared at him in disbelief.
"That is..." Aphrodite hesitated, unsure of where to begin, "You are... I..."
"Figures you would be speechless," Ares grinned with self-satisfaction.
"That's disgusting," she shuddered, "You're covered in human blood, and you think women like that? Do you know anything about us?"
"It's worked before," Ares reasoned.
"With whom," she demanded, "And I don't count, I was already planning to seduce you before you were covered in... that."
"It's worked quite well with several mortal women," Ares explained.
"Mortal women don't count," Aphrodite ruled, "You're a god. They want to jump your bones regardless of whose remains you're covered in. It's part of the gig."
"Ah yes," Ares nodded, remembering the extreme reactions some mortals had to Aphrodite's mere presence.
"Kind of a curse isn't it," she remarked, "To wonder if every relationship you ever had wasn't based on who you were but rather godly powers you can't control."
"Once again, you are letting Athena into your head," Ares warned sternly, "I know that I am hardly unbiased against her, but you should not let Athena's opinions lead you down this path of self-doubt. She is not nearly as all-knowing as she pretends to be, especially when it comes to you."
Aphrodite smiled in appreciation.
"I'm heading to bed," She said, tossing the butt of her cigarette onto the ground and crushing it under her foot, "We have a long day tomorrow."
"That we do," Ares agreed, "Good night."
"Good night Ares," She replied, hesitating before she went to open her screen door, "Oh, and um... thank you."
"For the cigarette?" Ares assumed.
"Yes," Aphrodite smiled, "For the cigarette."
She then opened her balcony door and disappeared into her room for the night.
Ares stood in total silence.
Athena had not moved a muscle for their entire conversation.
"I assume you heard all that?" Ares asked.
Athena flinched.
Had Ares known she was there the whole time, Hiding and listening to their every word?
"Good, I thought as much," he continued, "I wanted you to hear it. I wanted you to hear what your rejection of what you really are and where you come from is costing others."
Athena did not say a word.
"If you are going to keep spitting in the face of your true family, you may as well transform back into that owl of yours and fly home," Ares requested, "We do not need you to close the box. Unlike what you may assume the Olympians do not revolve around you, we will do just fine without you barking orders and belittling us at every available opportunity."
Ares paused, waiting for a response from his sister.
"I will take your silence as your answer," he said, putting out his cigarette by placing the tip into his wrist, which did not burn in the slightest.
Without another word, Ares slid open the door to his room and closed it behind him, leaving Athena alone in the cold night air. Her only company being the statue of herself in the distance. Taunting her with its cold marble stare.