Aphrodite's Choice

Chapter 22 – First Night (I)

Although there was a slight delay, the wedding took place as scheduled; the ceremony itself ended briefly. The couple exchanged a pledge to fulfill each other’s needs as companions. That was all. The ceremony wasn’t the focal point of the wedding; the true celebration was the banquet. The banquet was the spectacular pinnacle of the long-awaited marriage in Olympus.

“To Hephaestus and Aphrodite!”

A chorus of drunken voices shouted and cheered their support for the newlyweds. Dionysus wore a beaming grin as he watched the festivities. Nectar flowed in endless, golden streams and the tables groaned with heaped platters of colorful ambrosia. Music floated over the feasting gods and a group of fairies danced and spun in the center of the banquet hall. The gods’ laughter echoed over it all as they offered blessings and good wishes.

The wedding guests seemed drunk on more than just nectar. Their love for this celebration went deeper than the thousands of other banquets they’d attended. No one spoke of it, but it was clear they all wanted to forget about the horror Erinyes had brought.

Olympus was a heavenly paradise and its inhabitants didn’t care to dwell on ugly things. Anything that couldn’t be spun into glory was not to be mentioned. In order to make that dark intrusion and the curse things of the past, they laughed harder, drank deeper, and called for the music to be louder, louder!

It was some time before the guests remembered why they were actually there.

“Where are the bride and groom?” called one.

“Uh… I don’t know. I need to raise a toast; I must congratulate them!” replied another.

A few of their fellow gods clapped the drunkards on the shoulders and laughed.

“Oh, you fool. You’re far too early to be looking for them.”

“What?”

“Those two left for their chamber a long time ago. We’re leaving now too, so stop drinking and sober up.”

“I can’t believe it! Did they really just leave?”

A general mutter of disbelief bubbled up into a ruckus of anger and discontent. More than one guest had rude or spiteful things to say about the newlyweds. While many complained about the fact that the bride and groom had left without a word, there was a general displeasure at the thought of what would be going on in the honeymoon chamber.

“I can’t believe it actually happened!”

***

Ignorant of the furor among their wedding guests, the newlywed gods reached their new bedroom, which was set up in Aphrodite’s sanctuary. The place was already so beautiful that there was no point searching for a new place to create their home. Everyone involved in planning the wedding had agreed it was perfect.

Of course, Hephaestus’s sanctuary was never an option from the start. They couldn’t put the marital bed in a place filled with fire and charcoal rather than flowers and birds.

Aphrodite knew that this was the plan from the start, but it still felt strange to be returning here with Hephaestus. She stared at her new husband, the first man to ever set foot in her sanctuary. Words left her mouth before she could stop them.

“This place really doesn’t suit you.”

It sounded like she was criticizing him, even though she hadn’t meant to. Hephaestus nodded in agreement, looking around the heavenly chamber.

“I know.”

Aphrodite scrambled to cover her slip up before the mood could sour. “I just meant that the color doesn’t suit you, nothing else.”

“I don’t mind if you meant something else.”

“No, I mean…” Aphrodite tried to explain herself, but stopped.

“Yes?” Hephaestus prompted.

“Never mind. It’s nothing.”

Hephaestus wasn’t so easily brushed off. “If you have something to say, then say it.”

“I said never mind. I’m tired.”

Aphrodite let out a sigh and sat down in her favorite chair. The last few days had been exhausting, and now the real fatigue was settling over her. She’d been busy preparing for the ceremony and hashing out a few last disagreements with Hera. Then there was the disaster with Erinyes. The last thing she wanted was another argument, least of all with the man in front of her.

“Then you should rest.”

That response was the last one she was expecting to hear. She lifted her head and stared at Hephaestus in confusion, before asking, “I beg your pardon?”

He repeated himself. “I said you should rest. You look tired and I think you need a break.”

Aphrodite stared at him in silence.

“Don’t just sit there,” he said. “Why don’t you go and lie down in bed.”

It was a thoughtful suggestion, thoughtful enough to make Aphrodite sit upright in her char.

“Are you kidding?” she asked.