Deep within the caverns on Mount Kyllene, a pair of lovers stood quietly within each other's embrace. The world was quiet around them as if it could keep them hidden in its silence.
The younger of the two kept their face hidden within the crevice of the elder's shoulder. "You did well," the elder said, tightening their hold. "You have made a great change."
"It does not feel like it," the younger stated pulling away from the embrace. The golden glow was starting to fade from her eyes, bringing back a familiar and most beloved blue hue.
"You have saved those that were destined to die in a war that they did not believe in," he reminded her, placing his forehead against her own. "Even with Father's disgust of the House of Príamos, Ilion shall not fall."
"I thought he loved Dardanus above all other children born to him from mortal women," she mused.
"He does. It's why we gods, especially your Father, worked overtime to make sure that Aineíās lived or Father would have grown enraged."
"I feel for Aineíās truly, but should the others born from Príamos suffer misfortune because of the faults of Paris? Most protested his actions to begin with and only for because the honor of Troy demanded it."
"Tis the way of Fate, little one. You are a child of inevitability and Anankê is beyond the reach of us younger gods whose fates she controls. All mortals die and Ilion was long prophesied to be destroyed just as Ahkilles was destined to die. The path you lived before was one way to ensure and now your brother leads them into a new era."
She laughed softly. She could imagine the way her brother lived up to his name as a Destroyer different to how most would expect.
(Later the daughter of the sea will learn of the retreat behind the walls... she would learn of thousands of people replaced by clouds of water, clouds, shadows, grain, and threads... she would learn of the Trojan Horse crafted carefully from the wood of the destroyed ships... she would learn of the soldiers that poured out of it like a ferocious flood... and she would learn how Perseus stood side by side with Thalia and rained down hell onto the invaders until they were the ones rushing out of the walls. And later, she would make her way back to Ilion, stand side by side with Hektōr before Trojan Palladium that had been fashioned by Athênê in remorse for the death of Pallas as the newly crown King forsake Príamos and brought gifts to the gods that live in spacious heaven and brought them pleasure. She would oversee Aineíās forsake the crown of Dardania and instead take those of the Dardanian race in a kingdom far away while his sister - heavy with twins - took her place as Queen and content to not have a king at her side. And the Dardanian race will not die out, so now those Trojans will be ruled by powerful Aineíās, his children's children born in years to come.)
Ariadnê was quiet, gaze trailing over the god's face before turning to look about the world. "Do you-" She paused, and seconds passed. "Do you think it could have been different? All of it? If we never came back, do you truly think it would have changed anything?"
"Possibly. Time moves differently for us," Hermês smiled a little sadly, eyes turning to the heavens. "A year to mortals is a decade for us. Centuries pass by us in a blink. You can now just fall in love and yet-" He turned to her, tilting her face to his with a finger. "And yet, a god will have loved for hundreds of years in a second and grieved for a thousand."
His thumb brushed across her cheek. "With that in mind, tell me, Ariadnê Nympheuomenê, why should we get so attached to you all; children in the face of our grace and watch you die long before you depart to domos Aïdao." His forehead pressed against hers, speaking so concisely that she could have no chance to misinterpret his words. "Mere mortals with your lives as fleeting as it is. It drives us mad and Dionysos can tell you all of what madness does to the mind. You hear our stories. You have seen the tales of our rage and you want us to apply that love to our children?"
His laugh was almost cruel. "I thought you all wanted the children to be safe. You know how far we will go for what we claim as ours? Apollôn loved Asklêpios and murdered the cyclops when he was struck down knowing he risked Father's wrath. Lêtô bore the Divine Twins despite the trials that she faced when mocked? She sent forth her children to avenge her name, and they brutally wiped out the entire family. All save Amphion and Zethus whom you saved yourself. Arês murdered your brother, Halirrhothios, for his attempt to rape Alkippe and stood without fear when Poseidôn made he to be the first to be put on his trial for the shedding of blood. You, yourself, stated that when Odysseús blinded Polyphêmos then your Father will actively try to murder him by sending a storm to scatter and wreck the hero's fleet. My own Father invoked great fear within Pallas on the worry that Athênê, deathless as the day she was borne, would be felled which led to your brother's daughter's premature death. And Thetis bathe Ahkilles in fire and washed with the waters of the Styx in her attempt to prevent his foretold death."
His eyes were burning with divinity as he looked at her intensely, "So I ask again, you want us to apply that love to our children? Our neglect as you call it harms you but soothes us. Even the bare minimum can destroy the world if we so will it. For a god to know you is to love you and lose you in the same breath. And as you always say, love can bring even the gods to their knees. Where would the world be if they could see how far the mighty have fallen?"
And she met his eyes, not flinching from the sheer power, the burning divinity that she could feel burn the chill of immortality in her soul and loosen the threads of her soul-No, she didn't flinch. She raised her hand to calmly lay against his cheek. "We are demi-divine, my love. We are half of you. We love even with your distance so strongly. Where would the world be if we met the intensity of your love on near equal terms?"
"If they were even half as powerful as you and your family?" He chuckled lowly. "You'd destroy the world in the face of your love."
Her blue eyes sparkled like the sea. "I am my Father's child."
