Page 21 of Arrogance
I had lived my entire life with Persephone. Elysium and the Underworld were my home all this time. However, I only ever dreamed of living on the surface. And Aphrodite has now provided me with that opportunity. So, should I spend the remaining third of my year living in comfort or seeking adventure? My mind then drifted back to Hermes and my most recent sexual encounter with him. If I wanted the chance to seduce and be a player among the gods, then I needed to remain in the world of living. Based on these thoughts, I had come to an unwavering decision. I had to follow my heart.
“I choose to spend the remaining one-third of my year living with Aphrodite,” I confessed to the group.
A smile crept up on Aphrodite’s face, while Persephone’s demeanor completely changed. She seemed crushed and grief-stricken by this blow to both her heart and her ego. But Persephone shouldn’t think that she was losing me to Aphrodite, because that was predominantly not the case at all. She was losing me to the potential for opportunity. An opportunity to find other beautiful and handsome gods and goddesses who would worship me and my body, and I theirs.
Act II
Jealousy
Chapter 10
Artemis
A competition was held among the gods and the strongest and most courageous of mortals who wanted to compete to show off their athleticism. This event was held yearly in my honor, as the Goddess of archery and the hunt. Only the best archers were invited to compete in these games. Needless to say, Apollo and I won every year since this competition began. However, it was I who won far more of these tournaments than Apollo had. For every year Apollo took the title of World’s Greatest Archer, I won it roughly the next three years in a row.
Truthfully, the event was more of a show for gods, goddesses, and patrons to witness my skills in the sport. My aim was almost precise with every shot I ever took. There may be a few shots that were slightly off, but never far from my designated targets.
The massive crowd in the surrounding stands roared with every shot of a silver arrow I fired, all of which were handcrafted by Hephaestus himself. Clearly, I was their favorite among the other deities present, and I did not want to disappoint my devout followers.
The beginning rounds of the event went swiftly. I outshot my opponents every time, as I should. I couldn’t imagine losing to anyone this early in the competition. What would that say about me? People would likely doubt my capabilities as a goddess and what I stood for. What would they think of the Goddess of archery being bested by mere mortals? It was out of the question. I had to be perfect. I had to be flawless. I had more on the line than anyone else at these events. My name, title, and pride were at stake every year here. The pressure was insurmountable and I would be damned to the Underworld before I lost to anyone that wasn’t my twin brother.
I continued to win my way to the final round of the event. Now, I just had to sit back and watch Apollo beat his opponent before he would face against me in the championship round, just like every other year since these games started.
Apollo stood in position at the opposite end of the arena. His stance was precise and with his gold bow, he released his arrow and fired his shot smoothly through the air and hit the target right in the center. Those in the stands cheered and shouted once they saw his impeccable shot. I glanced behind him to watch his competitor, who was watching him closely. Aphrodite stood behind the mortal, intimately whispering in his ear while seductively rubbing his shoulders.
“Hmph!” I grunted, disgusted by the goddess’ behavior. Her husband was Hephaestus, yet it was no secret to any of the gods on Mount Olympus that she took on multiple lovers. Not only gods, but certain humans as well. And this mortal was obviously one of them. It was distasteful enough for her to have sexual affairs with many men, but to actually flaunt a lover of hers out in public was beyond an abomination, especially at one ofmyevents.
However, I knew that it would be reckless of me to call her out on her repugnant character, especially with an audience of this size who would likely view me as being bitter. I could not allow such a perception of me to take place. So, I would need to keep my disapproving thoughts to myself.
It was no secret among the gods and goddesses that Aphrodite and I have had our differences over the years. I stand for all things pure and wholesome, while she will use seduction and her sex appeal in order to get what she wants. It was a repulsive behavior that I never wanted to be associated with. So, I kept my distance from her as much as I could.
She gave us goddesses a horrible name. Females who have to resort to beauty and sex in order to achieve greatness truly show their real lack of power. I considered them weak, with no two legs of their own to stand on. Aphrodite was no exception to this. She failed to understand that most of the other goddesses, like me, despised her because of her sordidness. Goddesses who valued chastity and purification would shun her. Contrary to that, goddesses who were married and committed often tried to hide their husbands from the vile wretch. Yet, here she was again, showing much of her skin and curves to all that were around her, gallanting with any and all who would provide her attention. It left nothing to their imagination.
Disgusting!
The man she was whispering to stepped forward, passing by Apollo who was returning off the course. I could see Apollo scan the man as he went by, likely sizing his opponent up and down. The human was a fairly attractive man. Even I could admit that. I watched as the women in the audience giggled and gossiped to one another, probably speaking fondly of how charming the young mortal was to them.
I studied him closely as he stood in the offensive stance, pulling the string back on his bow. He held it firmly in place, concentration and focus taking over him. Soon, he fired the shot and sure enough the arrow landed directly in the center of the target, just as Apollo’s had.
My eyes widened with shock at the accuracy of his aim. I could not believe he actually had tied Apollo. And a human for that matter. It was unheard of. The two went back and forth with shooting for several minutes. It was just a matter of who had the most discipline. The competitor that would falter would be the one to lose.
But something wasn’t quite right with Apollo. I knew my brother well, and he seemed extremely distracted in between each of his shots. I scrutinized him closely. His eyes began to show a lack of focus, as if he were in a lost daze. When he stepped up once again to make his shot, his arrow landed just adjacent to the center. The crowd gasped, astonished that the God of the sun was slightly inaccurate. This confirmed that something was amiss with my brother, and I was determined to get to the bottom of it. For now, though, I had to be prepared and keep my own wits and focus about me, for I still needed to be in competition mode.
When Aphrodite’s young lover made his final shot, it was executed flawlessly. The patrons roared with applause and laudable shouts. Apollo had been defeated and I could not be more irritated that he had let me down. But I needed to keep my smile on. I traipsed across the course and approached the skilled archer that had triumphed a god. “I am quite impressed, mortal. Tell me, what is it they call you?” I asked him.
He rubbed his hand through his golden hair, swaying it back as he placed his bow behind him. “I am Adonis,” he shared, before bowing down to me. “It is an honor, Goddess.”
I was taken aback that the boy had proper manners and etiquette in how to respect the gods. At least Aphrodite was able to teach him something useful. “You may rise, Adonis,” I instructed him. “And where is it you learned to shoot like that? Who trained you?”
He shrugged. “No one, really. I just picked up my first bow and arrow a few months ago.”
I could not believe it. It was improbable that a mortal who was self-taught in the field of archery could be better than a god, especially a mortal who had just learned to use a bow and arrow less than a year ago. “Surely, you’ve had some assistance in learning how to shoot?” I questioned him.
“Eros taught me how to use the weapon. But after that initial lesson, I’ve been all on my own,” he explained.
Of course, it was Eros that educated him. I should have known better. That filthy and licentious son of Aphrodite was always jealous of me and my skills. I truly wondered if Eros bestowed some sort of power or spell on the mortal to make him this skilled. “Be warned, young mortal. It is now your time to face me. And I have never lost an archery competition to anyone in the world, besides my brother, Apollo.”
Adonis snickered at my remark. “Well, it would seem that I should be the one warning you. I just defeated your brother. Perhaps it is you who should be the one worried?”
