Aphrodite's Choice

Chapter 11 – An Enigma

“Well, whatever. And…”

“Let’s get out of here first.”

Aphrodite interrupted Hephaestus and looked on suspiciously as he urged her to come down. There was no sign of warmth or welcome. She didn’t know why, but he appeared uncomfortable and awkward with her presence.

Aphrodite, in all her eternal existence, found this reaction completely and utterly unexpected. She bit her lips unsurely and stepped aside. He had great skill; it was hard to tell where the floor began and ended. If one was caught unaware, it could mean a painful experience to carry for a lifetime. Thankfully, the floor descended to an agreeable height again, and she could walk through.

“How in hell do you make this stuff? Oh, yeah, you don’t need to explain it to me. I won’t understand it either way, would I?” she said mockingly. Aphrodite was always treated as though she was vain, just because she was beautiful. Silence greeted her as a reply. She sighed.

“I think the trick of the floor works on me, and I assume it works on other gods too. What about you? Does it work as well on the creator or do you just avoid it, like you do everything else?”

The scorn associated with the question hung in the air. Aphrodite realized she rambled away whenever she found herself in an unfavorable situation. She always opted for loud, spoken words to fill the uncomfortable silence as though it was going to make it any better. Be that as it may, it was really starting to annoy her, the way Hephaestus lengthened the already awkward silence. How dare he? He could at least pretend to be polite enough to respond.

She could feel his eyes on her, and it was dismaying to find out she was momentarily gripped with a nervousness. She managed a sideways glance at him. He was certainly dressed in a very light cloak, which left nothing to the imagination. Aphrodite could not believe that she was blushing, she tried to look everywhere else except at him. She wondered if he would fall for her, as everyone else does, or would she fall for him? What in hell was she thinking?!

‘This person is an enigma,’ she thought. He did not react in the way she expected him to. In fact, he didn’t even spend a moment to look at her body. His indifferent gaze was directed straight to her face, to her eyes. It was aggravating to find this deviant behavior, this uncertainty. It angered her that his gaze remained so impassive, devoid of any emotion, any desire. She extinguished the flames that she had felt for him since she arrived.

She turned away and shouted at him, “Wear your clothes.”

She couldn’t believe she was losing her head over a naked man, as though she had never ever seen one in her life. She didn’t intend to be so rude and it seemed logical for Hephaestus to be in a comfortable, light cloak with nothing hindering his work in the workshop. Why was she so flustered and annoyed? The more she tried to repair the damage, the more she worsened the situation.

“You look ugly.”

There. Again! She must sound so condescending. Hephaestus handed her an apple and covered himself properly, especially his twisted right ankle.

When she was calm enough, she felt guilty. She didn’t mean most of what she said; it burst out of her in a fit of passion and anger.

“I didn’t mean it…” She tried to apologize, but he was surprisingly considerate and calm.

“It’s alright, don’t worry. I mean, you’re not technically wrong.”

He didn’t expect an apology from her, just as well, because she wasn’t very huge on apologizing. It felt, though, like he understood her. He wasn’t trying to pass a judgment on her based on the rumors and gossip that others perpetuated about her. It felt unexpectedly relieving. She knew what others thought of her, but she never paid it any mind, but being set free from any preconceived judgment before getting to know her, made her feel glad.

But why? Why be nice to her in the face of all the conversation she ever had with Hephaestus? They weren’t particularly friendly or polite.

“Is this part of your divine power?” She asked, amused.

“What?” He said, looking at her with the same indifferent gaze.

“To please me, is that part of your power?”

“I didn’t really intend for that to happen, so no.”

“Do you really expect me to believe that?” she asked.

To make her feel even remotely satisfied was no less a feat, achieved only by divine power. And here he was, making her feel amused.