The Last Dinner

Part 1/1

Disclaimer: I am NOT a professional writer so my work isn't perfect. There's tons of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. I wrote this for my myth class based on a classical art piece by Jan Saleder. I was just too proud of it to not post it... This is also my first published story on here so enjoy and give me feedback!
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Lucien, the son of Lord Seth and Lady Annabeth was the only one in the village who noticed the change. Birds were starting to migrate even though it was mid spring. The sun went down before people came back from farming. The tides were violent and the animals acted strangely. Lucien went to an oracle outside of borders of his village. Adelaide was her name. She was a beautiful oracle who was the half immortal daughter of Zeus. Lucien was in love with the beautiful maiden. He asked her what his village had done to anger the gods above. Lucien knew, he knew that someone, somehow angered the gods, for he was the only one in the village who believed in them. Lucien was deemed foolish by his parents and fellow villagers. His village believed in no such thing, especially not gods and goddesses. Adelaide herself was the reason for this change. She being the illegitimate child of Zeus angered Hera. Hera decided it was finally time to punish Zeus for his infidelity. Hera consulted with Poseidon. She wanted Zeus to suffer from the lost of his beloved daughter and the only way to do this was to drown everything on earth, for Adelaide was half immortal. Poseidon was a fair god and he would never do anything to hurt innocent people but he disagreed with Zeus' cheating ways thus leading to his helping hand in Hera's cruel plans. He was going to flood the village with his tides. It was going to cover and drown everything in sight. Men, women, children, animals, houses, and he would not stop until Adelaide gives her last breath. Adelaide knew of Hera's plans and she was willing to do anything to stop Poseidon's wrath. Lucien on the other hand, wanted to warn his parents and villagers, he was going to convince them to leave the area right away. It was dinner time, maids and servants carried trays of cheese, meats, and fruits to tables filled with nobles and their wives. Everyone was chugging down delicious red wine. Laughter filled the air as jokes were told. They were celebrating their newly formed membership with the royal court. Music was played by talented cellists. Drunk nobles were slouching in the corner with a metal cup, half empty in their hands and golden pots were placed next to their feets for when they felt nauseous from the high amounts of wine consumed. They were all too distracted by themselves to see the dark, malicious storm approaching them. Rough tides were making ships made for war look like a child's rocking horse in the harbor and rain poured like it never poured before. Lucien sat at the table with his parents and the well known nobles. He waited until all the fancy cheeses, delicate meats and freshly picked fruits were gone. He stood up, his tall figure hovering over the table, with a confident voice he spoke: "Poseidon, the god of sea will send his wrath on us. He will drown every single one of us if we do not leave right at this moment." The drunk nobles were quiet for moment but then erupted into laughter. "You fool, there is no such thing as the god of sea or will there be a wrath, please spare us another joke." Lucien tried to convince them one last time. "Please believe me, if you do not leave, you will die. This will be your last dinner if you do not wish to believe me. It does not matter if you believe in gods or not, trust my words and you will live." He looked around and everyone had already went back to what they were doing before. He turned to his father who shook his head at him and took another sip of wine. Lucien's efforts were useless. If they weren't going to trust him, then they will simply die. He was going to save himself and the love of his life. Lucien hurried back to Adelaide's home and gathered her into his arms. Meanwhile, the storm arrived to the village. Heavy rain fell upon the poorly built houses, destroying them. Animals ran wild. People were running and screaming for their lives. Some were preparing ships to depart from the village but it was unsuccessful. Animals and people lay scattered everywhere dying from the impact of falling rocks and houses. The nobles who did not believe Lucien, stood there in shock. There was chaos everywhere. Tides as high as mountains engulfed the village and everything around it. Chaos was then followed by a peaceful silence. Lucien did not how long it was until the sounds from the violent storm dissipated but when they exited Adelaide's home, her home was the only thing that was not engulfed by the tides. Water was everywhere. Her home which was on a mountain was the only structure that survived the flood. There was no village in sight. It was like a large ocean and the house was an island. Lucien knew it was Adelaide's immortality that protected her home, therefore Poseidon had failed his task. Zeus' favorite daughter was not dead therefore he will continue destroying other areas in the region with his powerful waves. Adelaide knew what she was going to do. She was going to give up her immortality. Hera wanted her dead but being mortal meant that she will die one day, for men were born to perish. As an oracle, Adelaide was able to contact Hera. She stared in front of her, where the wife of her father stood. "Hera, I know you do not like me as I am my father's mistake but please do not punish the people that I care about. They do not deserve to die and you know that." Hera let open a sinister laugh "Your father should have thought of the consequences before he betrayed me. I do not care about your people for they do not even believe in our kind. I do not feel sorry for my actions." Adelaide felt her heart break because of what she was about to say, "Tell Poseidon to stop his wrath and I will give up my immortality. Without my immortality, I will grow old and perish. That is what you wanted, was it not? For me to die so my father can suffer? If you agree to spare my people, I will keep my word." Hera thought about the young maiden's words. If she is no longer immortal, she will surely die and Zeus will suffer in due time. Hera agreed. "Poseidon will stop his wrath as long as you keep your word. For many years to come, the water will evaporate and soon, the village will be recovered. I will not take your immortality myself but if you want men to walk this land once more, you will place a drop of your immortal blood into this well for it is where they will come to be. After men have been created with your blood, they will not be immortal, but they will share your same beliefs. They will believe in the impossible and an altar must be made for each and everyone of us gods around the region." Adelaide came out of her trance and was relieved that her people had been saved. As she and Lucien stared out of the window, the sun was seen rising upon the horizon. Decades later, the last drop of water from the flood had been evaporated. Men, women and children came to be once again. Lucien had married Adelaide and they lived a very mortal life. People now believed in gods and goddesses and everything in between. Religion also came to be. Lucien was on one of his horse rides when he saw it. A large wooden table with silver plates settled on top of it. There was a red silky cloth draped on top a tree branch. Gold pots, metal cups and stools were laying on the ground. He remembered clearly what had happened that day. The day where his parents and the infamous nobles enjoyed their last dinner. With one last look, he rode off, going back to his home, the Temple of Hera.