𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝𝐬

𝟎𝟏. 𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬

"Gemini, remember what we told you?" Mercury, Gemini's father, asked.

Gemini nodded, feeling very nervous. She reached up and untied the black band that held her dark hair up in a ponytail before she plaited her hair instead. Whenever she was nervous, she found that tying or playing with her hair helped to calm her nerves down because she felt as though she was at least in control of something.

"It isn't that bad. Virgo has gone through it and now it's your turn," Zadkiel assured her daughter before pulling her into a hug. "At least you aren't the eldest god."

Yes, that was something Gemini was extremely grateful for. The eldest god was the first god of every new council and they were expected to possess important qualities for the council to move forward, thus having to go through the trials without assistance.

"Remember, Gemini, you are ready. You can do this, you hear me?" Mercury said firmly, looking at Gemini in the eye.

"I am ready," Gemini repeated with as much confidence as she could muster. If her step-sister, Virgo, could do it, then she could too.

Mercury and Zadkiel smiled at her and gestured to the study door. "Do us proud, my child. Remember that we love you very much and will support you no matter what. Now, go in and meet your mentor."

Mentor. Right, one of the gods was going to mentor her, and help her through the trials. The mentorship was also a side test to see how well she worked with strangers.

It's just one of the gods, Gemini reassured herself. No need to be scared. Plus I heard that they are actually nice...I hope I get one of the girls...Maybe Cancer or Pisces? Or...

Gemini walked through the door and stared at the god who was staring out the window. It took all of her willpower to not turn back out into the hallway. Just great. Out of all the gods, she had gotten Aries.

Aries was the God of War, Strategy and Wisdom. And he was very handsome with his messy reddish brown hair and bright eyes. A pair of ram horns poked out of his hair, and a silver chain with a red charm of his zodiac symbol hung from his neck as a mark of his godhood. All the gods wore a silver chain around their necks with a charm of their respective symbols as a mark of their divinity.

Aries had mentored Ophiuchus, the last potential god and her aunt, almost two centuries ago and that hadn't ended well. Mortals on Earth might think that the trials are just overrated and if you fail one it is no big deal. Contrary to that, the trials are very serious and one mistake will get you killed...like what happened to Ophiuchus...

Ophiuchus was the younger sister of her mother, Zadkiel. Although she had never met her aunt, Gemini had heard a lot about her through her mother's story and reading her diaries. Zadkiel and Ophiuchus were really close so it was only natural for Zadkiel to feel heartbroken when her sister died during her third trial. If it weren't for Aries, who delusioned Ophiuchus into thinking she could make it through the trials, she would still be alive and save Zadkiel a whole lot of pain.

"So you're Gemini?" Aries asked, looking at her up and down. "We've heard a lot about you."

Of course, they did. Some parents from the previous council were part of a celestial parent group at Eden's only school. It was common for parents to boast about their children, and the details would circulate from the parents to their respective children.

It wasn't a surprise that the current gods' parents would tell them some things about Gemini, considering that her father was part of the previous council with several of the other gods' parents. Gemini couldn't be sure what exactly her parents had shared, but she sure hoped it wasn't anything too bad or embarrassing. Hopefully, they had put in a good word every now and then.

"It has been so long since I've been here," Aries mused, looking around the study.

Gemini clenched her fists, her eyes flashing with barely concealed anger. "I wonder why."

Aries tensed up, a whirlwind of emotions picking up a storm inside him. God, why did he have to say that? Gemini was Ophiuchus' niece. Did he really think that she would not be mad and blame him for Ophiuchus' death? Or at least be mad on Zadkiel's behalf? Because Mercury sure was, but that was a whole other story.

Maybe at least this time he could make things right. He took in a deep breath and relaxed his muscles, trying to look as calm and unbothered as he could.

"I'm sorry..." he said finally.

"So...what now?" she asked through gritted teeth.

How could he look so calm when he was literally in the household of the girl he had brought to slaughter? But she had to keep it in. If she wanted to be on the council, she would have to work closely with Aries so she better start working on keeping her anger in check.

"We get you ready for your first trial," Aries said, rolling his eyes.

"And what might that be?" Gemini bit back.

Aries just gave her a smug, knowing look. "You'll see tomorrow and I hope you're ready."

・‥...━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━...‥・

Hey, welcome to The Council of Gods. I hope you're enjoying the story so far. What do you think about Gemini and Aries? And what do you think the first trial could be?

By the way, what's your Zodiac sign?
I'm a Pisces.