Saint Valentine

1988 B.C.

To my best friend, who means the world, and more, to me.

1988 BC

“Valentine!”

A loud voice boomed over head me, and I instantly knew we’d been caught. I rolled off the beautiful woman under me a little too quickly, and fell off of the bed we had been making passionate love on. I cursed heavily, and got up off my backside. I was in for it now. Infidelity is one thing that the heavens were strict upon, and I had, we had been breaking the rule since the moment of her engagement. It was the rush that got us, the adrenaline pumping through our veins at the prospect of getting caught.

I should have known one day that this was going to backfire on my ass, and I guess today is that day. I straightened my shoulders, not even looking at her as I walked out of her room, my clothes laced themselves around me, and by the time I was near the throne room, I was fully clothed… decked in white like a God.

Honestly, I wasn’t ever the type to run away from things. But she was. I knew she’d probably cry in front of His feet and beg for forgiveness. Being a Goddess she had that power over men, which even He can’t not succumb to. I knocked on the door in front of me, ready to face the music.

There was a loud, “Enter!”

So, I did.

The ground was made of marble, the ceiling decorated with ornate chandeliers, the walls of a bright gold. I never understood why humans believed that we lived in cloud. Heaven is just another world, just another place. An afterlife. No, no guy gets the fifty or so virgins that you supposedly granted. But you do get to do whatever you want to do, and be whoever you want to be. The sky is not the limit here. But there is peace, every lasting, ever binding peace… unless you unfaithful, or are with someone who is being unfaithful.

It’s safe to say that Zeus was not happy. You could easily tell when he was unhappy, mainly because the rest of heaven felt it too. There were storm clouds overhead, thunder piercing my eardrums, the lightning was blinding. I dropped to my knees and bowed my head unwilling to look Him straight in the eye.

“You know why I have summoned you here today?” He asked stridently.

I winced as I replied, “Yes, sire.”

“What am I going to do with you Valentine?!”

The question was rhetorical. I didn’t know how to answer, even if it wasn’t. Shouldn’t I feel shame, guilt in what I did? But it wasn’t you who seduced Aphrodite first; a little voice in my head spoke up. It was her who made the first move. She was the one that whispered sweet nothings in my ear, and made me lust ambitiously after her. She was the one who promised an eternity of sexcapades and sneaking around. The worst part of it all… I knew somewhere, sometime in our immortality that it would stir up a pandemic controversy.

Zeus was pacing the floor, his footsteps echoing loudly in the empty room. I followed his feet with my eyes, finding nothing else to do as the big man thought. He came to a halt in front of me, maybe a metre, more or less, away.

“Rise,” he ordered.

I rose up off my knees, but still looking down. I twiddled my thumbs as I waited for him to say something. It was a bitter silence as I could tell he was trying to size up my regret. Even as the God of love and desire I could easily hide my emotions. My face and posture was blank as he looked me over.

“Do you have anything to say?” he asked, unnaturally kindly. I had the sudden urge to look up at him, but dared not to.

What did he except me to do? Defend myself? Deny the allegations against me? I think not.

“No, my lord,” I replied simply.

“Why?”

 One word, one question, one billion answers.

So, I went with the truth, “Lust, sire.”

“You understand she’s betrothed.”

 “Yes.”

“And you were fully aware that you’d be eventually caught?”

“Yes.”

“Was it she?”

Again, a sentence that didn’t seem to make any sense, but held full meaning in itself. This time I just gulped down my weakness and looked up, “Yes.”

His eyes showed a calm rage. I could tell he had a great internal debate going on within him. I could tell he was trying to be a fair King… as well as a Father. Not many have heard of me, I asked it so to be, I didn’t want to be known as the Son of the King of Gods. I wanted to build my own life, my own reputation, which right now seemed to be shattered.

He sighed heavily as he saw truth in my eyes.

“I’ll have to punish you either way, son, you do know that, right?” He seemed tired, wary. For a man who was immortal, he didn’t seem to have a lot of life in him right at this moment.

“I do, my lord,” I answered in the affirmative, dripping my head in respect.

He strode towards the windows and looked up at the sky as the storm was slowly diminishing. His hands were clasped behind his back. He was tense.

“I can’t go easy on you,” he told me.

I closed my eyes as they felt suddenly heavy, “I wouldn’t expect you to, sire.”

There was silence.

“I have made my decision,” he proclaimed, turning on his heel and walking towards me, “For the month of Sodalis every solar year you must do the job of the cupids, singlehanded. And your sentence… four thousand years.”

I looked into his aquamarine eyes, those which matched mine. We had till forever, so four thousand years wasn’t a horrid punishment. But my stomach did churn at the idea of destining souls. It was not an easy job, and I knew what price was paid by the cupids for such a task. They were eternally celibate, in every way possible. It was impossible for me not to submit to the feeling we call lust, a feeling that burns every man right to the core of our loins.

“You must not fall in love,” he continued in a warning tone, “There is nothing I can do to stop Fate as destiny comes upon itself. You must not love.”

He repeated this, as if I was a mere child as to not understand an order when given one.

“You know the price you will have to pay if you do,” he reminded me.

Yes, I do. It’s more of this fact that I did not envy the cupids. If they do not keep to their life of solidarity, they are doomed to mortality. I’ve never designed for a human life. Mortals… humans, they just have too many complications. Death for one, ailments for another, battle, hatred, denial, desire of the flesh… I could go on and on with a list of things that is wrong with human kind. But it would never end; the endless imperfections of these mortals are astounding. I have lived enough to understand that no one is perfect. I, myself, have committed what mortals call ‘sin.’

“I shall not, my lord,” I was dipping to bow deeply, but he pulled me into a Fatherly hug. I graciously returned it, rather taken aback by my Father’s sign of affection.

“She shall be punished.”

With those parting words, he dismissed me.