Page 24 of Arrogance
I nodded. “Yes. Because I killed Python.” I said it so matter-of-factly, without any indication of remorse.
“And you know our rules, son. A god killing another god…” he began to explain.
“But Python is no god. He is a serpent… a monster!” I disrupted.
“He is my son!” Gaia shouted.
“Wasyour son,” Hera corrected her, with a cunning smirk on her face as she clarified it.
“Enough!” Zeus shouted over all of us, causing a hush about the room. “Apollo, the fact of the matter is that you killed a son of Gaia. You committed a blood murder. This is deemed an impurification. No god nor goddess can live on Mount Olympus if they are impurified,” he revealed.
“But it wasn’t my fault! Hera sent Python to Delos to attack my mother. Had I not shown up in time to heal her, she would be in the Underworld at this very moment,” I tried to explain.
Zeus glared at Hera with indignation. “Did you do such a thing?”
Hera shook her head. “Of course not. Why would I ever want Leto dead? What has she ever done to me?” The Queen of the Gods spoke with such sarcasm it made my blood boil. A fury rose within me.
“She lies!” I shouted. “If not her than who else would send a monster to hunt down my mother?”
Zeus held his palm out to quiet me. “Silence, Apollo. Leto is safe and living now. That is fortuitous news. However, the same cannot be said for Python. As I was trying to explain, you cannot live on Mount Olympus until you are purified for the actions you committed.”
Gaia folded her arms over her bosom. “Such a shame. You would have inherited the oracular Shrine of Delphi sooner, but now this puts a damper on that plan for the time being.”
“And how exactly do I go about to being purified?” I asked them.
“You must spend one year in servitude,” Zeus informed me. “It’s just a matter of us deciding on where you will serve those terms at.”
Gaia then chimed in. “He should be banished to Tartarus as punishment. It only serves him right.” Hera nodded in agreement with her.
But I was a favorite of my father, as was Artemis. There was no possible way he would allow us to ever experience the wicked abyss that was Tartarus. I knew it, he knew it, and so did the goddesses beside him. They were trying their best to persuade him otherwise, but he wasn’t having any of it.
“No. Apollo will not serve his time in Tartarus. He will be exiled from Mount Olympus, but will be a servant to a mortal. And I know of just the mortal he will work for,” Zeus replied.
“Who?” all of us synchronously questioned.
“King Admetus of Pherae. I owe him a favor and this will be his compensation. Apollo, you will serve King Admetus for the next full year in whatever capacity the king desires. Upon the end of your servitude, you will travel to the Vale of Tempe, where you shall bathe in the waters of Peneus. I will perform all the necessary purificatory rites on you there and you will thus be reestablished as an Olympian god. Am I understood?” Zeus raised his brow to me.
I bowed down to him. “Yes, father. I will serve King Admetus well,” I responded, to add as much alleviation to any worry he may have had.
I accepted the terms graciously. After all, my punishment could have been far worse than just a mere year of servitude. I glanced up to witness Gaia and Hera glowering at me. Clearly, they were not pleased with this sentencing and thought I should have had more harrowing consequences.
The only downfall to spending time in Pherae was that it would be another full year where I had to be absent from Adonis. A full year was dire on the life of a mortal. It pained me to know he would go on living with Aphrodite for that long without any interference, without knowing of my existence and the attention I wanted to devour him with.
I then became worried at the thought. A full year under the watchful eye and influence of Aphrodite would not bode well for anyone. Surely, they would become tainted and jaded.
I arrived at Pherae soon after my meeting with Zeus, Hera, and Gaia. Zeus explained he would make the necessary preparations and inform King Admetus of my services. Upon arriving at his castle, I was stunned by the king’s features. I was expecting an elderly man who was tyrannical. This king was the complete opposite of that. He was a young brute with leg muscles nearly the size of a boar’s. His auburn hair was thick and full. The king was charming and surprisingly very hospitable towards me.
“I must say, I am unsure of how to allow you to service me, God,” Admetus admitted to me in one of his private chambers. “I would never allow you to be ridiculed or perform duties that are beneath you. I cannot allow myself to treat you in such a way.”
The king’s words seeped into me. He was a kind soul and a very logical and thoughtful leader at that. Not only was my physical attraction towards him evident, but even my emotional connection towards him heightened based on this initial interaction between us. “You are considerate, King. But I too am uncertain of how I can be of service to you.”
King Admetus stroked his chin, deep in thought as I stated this to him. “What if you were to be my herdsman?”
“A shepherd? I’m not sure I would consider that being in servitude. It’s a passion and skill of mine I already possess,” I tried to explain to him.
But Admetus held his hand out to me and shook it. “To me, it is considered a form of servitude. And Zeus informed me that whatever I considered as such would be acceptable. Therefore, I want you to herd and watch over my cattle, Apollo. I will also provide you with a private guest chamber right across the hall from mine. You will wine and dine with me every night during your services. After all, I would thoroughly enjoy the company of a god during my feasts.” He gave me a friendly wink upon making this offer to me that I could not refuse.
I could not help but smirk at Admetus. “Very well. I have no objection to your terms. They are very reasonable.”
