Page 22 of Hermes
Luckily, I had so many other tasks and duties to attend to that would keep me preoccupied for several months until I would find the ideal time to return to Corinth. But, I needed to become extremely aware of Aphrodite’s whereabouts on a daily basis, for my strategy would be to only head to visit Crocus while Aphrodite was busy and too consumed with other affairs to travel to Corinth to stumble upon my presence there.
So, when I learned that Aphrodite intended on taking an extensive trip to the Afqa mountains for a considerable amount of time with her lover, Adonis, I knew that was the best time for me to act. And the time had now arrived.
When I came upon Corinth, I bypassed the beach altogether and headed straight for the town, my identity hidden beneath a dark, hooded cloak. Based on memory, I recalled Crocus mentioning that his house lied just beyond the temple that was devoted to me. As I strode through the town, trying to dodge everyone’s eyesight, I found myself before the tallest and most extravagant structure at the far end of the village. My eyes widened, awestruck by how gargantuan and opulent the white pillared temple was. It was nothing like the structures I passed by in town, which seemed shoddy and looked like they could barely withstand a single storm without crumbling.
This temple was magnificent and far more kept than any other part of the town. It left me stunned that these people must have been that devoted and loyal to my deity. Having this many followers who worshipped me was not something I was still quite used to. It still was unbelievable to me. I wondered if other gods had the same experiences with this as me. Definitely not Aphrodite, though. That bitch would probably never be satisfied unless every single mortal walking the Earth prayed and worshipped her.
I avoided the main entrance of the temple, noting the large gathering of people that were coming and going from it. My feet carried me to the side, sneaking by any and all who took no notice of me. Evidently, my elusiveness was proving to be successful. My goal in being inconspicuous was working and so I smoothly navigated to a small dirt trail just behind the temple. I followed its winding path until I arrived at a small structure made of stone. It was the only building here, which made me believe this had to have been where Crocus lived.
It was a little run down, and small to say the least. I was shocked he could reside here with his siblings and Smilax all together. There was no privacy for sure, and I could picture all of them sleeping in the same room, huddled together. Something then ate at me, as if tearing my insides apart.
Was this sympathy?
I’d never felt this way before. But it hurt me to even think of Crocus having to endure living in a place like this with his family. It was a complete antithesis to the commodious palace that I lived in on Mount Olympus. And this was a palace that I could only visit but a few times a year for how occupied I was on the regular. Oh, how in this moment I wished I could offer my palace up to Crocus and his younger brothers and sisters. I would gladly let them all stay for as long as they desired, which would hopefully be for their entire mortal lives. They would be treated like gods and goddesses by my servants, who would wait on them hand and foot, offering them whatever it was they needed. But alas, Mount Olympus was a place only for us immortals, us gods. It was an impossible thought, but one could still dream.
My thoughts of taking care of Crocus were instantly brushed to the side once I caught sight of a shadow emerging from the tiny stone home. I cowered behind a nearby tree, whose trunk was barely wide enough to conceal the width of my entire body.
I couldn’t help but tilt my head and peer to the side, only to notice that of all people, it was Smilax who came out of the home. I could instantly tell it was her based on her stature and age. She began walking down the soot path, back toward the temple. The sight of her made me bitter as ever. I returned to my thoughts of welcoming Crocus and his family to my palace, realizing that I needed to reconfigure that scene in my head, and to subtract that conniving Smilax from it. Yes, she would not be allowed to stay in my grandiose abode, the deceitful little…
But now was not the time to reflect on the animosity and resentment I had for her. No. She was now alone, with no one following her. The time to act was now. I needed to confront her and do so without a watchful eye in sight.
Luckily for me, Crocus’ home was the only one in Corinth that existed beyond the temple, isolated from the rest of the town. The path that Smilax walked was a long one, and I trailed behind her at just the right pace, waiting until we both were halfway through it before I made my presence known, aware that no one was likely to stumble upon the two of us together.
“Ah!” she exclaimed the second she saw me waiting in front of her. “I’m surprised it took you this long. I was expecting you a great length of time ago, just as Aphrodite had warned me. She claimed you had an undying love for my new lover and that I should anticipate you coming to try and pull Crocus away from me. But that was well over a year ago. Tell me why. If you do have an unconditional love for him, why has it taken you this long to step forth?”
This was not what I foresaw her saying to me. Smilax’s words were ringing in my ears, stabbing at me with tiny blades of guilt. But no! I could not let her have this effect on me. I needed to be strong and resilient here. She was artful and not to be trusted. This was likely a tactic of hers to try and mess with my mind. If Aphrodite was her mentor, there was no doubt that she was trying to work me over right now. But I would not allow her to do so. Instead, I focused on the slight crack that she left open in her rehearsed speech to me.
“Yournewlover?” I emphasized. “So, you admit to having multiple lovers, then? Yet you stand here and attempt to place shame on me by not declaring and defending my love for Crocus in a timely manner, while it is you who should feel guilty for deceiving and blinding him with Aphrodite’s curse, while also carrying on with additional lovers?”
“Hmph!” she grunted. Smilax’s facial expression instantly changed from one of confidence to now one of vexation. “How quick you are to avoid your own flaws, but yet you can cast judgment on me so easily? Let us not forget who is the one known as the God of everything that is untrustworthy—the menace, the conniver, the trickster, the thief, the deceiver, the corruptor. Need I go on?”
I soon began to realize just how alike she and I were. Stubborn to a fault. Resourceful and willing to resort to cleverness and the highest wit in order to win in the end, which is exactly why we were in this deadlock, neither one of us willing to admit our own faults, but wanting the other to realize their own and admit they were wrong, in defeat. But there was a key difference between us. I was a god. She but a mere mortal. I had far more power, a much bigger ego, and way more confidence in my capabilities than she even realized in this moment. Smilax should learn to watch her tongue, and she should do so with haste, because when a mortal, who is beneath me, lashes out at a god, so disrespectfully, it does not end well for them. Even Aphrodite should have taught her that.
My patience was growing ever the more thin with her. “But when it comes to this matter of love, it is you who is being the deceitful one, not me,” I informed her.
She shrugged nonchalantly, as if what I said had no impact on her whatsoever. “And? So what? It just so happens that this time I am lying to Crocus. But you cannot tell me that if you were ever with him that you wouldn’t do the same.” As Smilax iterated her words, she then laughed, almost maniacally. “Oh!? But I almost forgot. You did already lie to him. What was that about you being a shepherd named Herates?” She continued to laugh, making a mockery of me.
I stomped my sandal into the ground firmly, taking an offensive stance. “I’d take caution if I were you, Smilax. You do not want to anger me. How quick you are to not remember your place in this world. Do not forget of all that I am capable of, of all that I can do to cause harm to you, if you awaken my wrath.”
But my threats held little to no weight for her. Smilax continued to laugh, which irritated me to no end. “And what are you going to do to me?” She arched her demonic brow as she asked this. “Aphrodite already told me that even you, of all idiotic gods, should know that trying to intervene and hurt another god or goddesses’ follower will result in heinous consequences for yourself. So, do not stand here and threaten me, Hermes. For if you lay a finger on me, Aphrodite will find out. She will go to Zeus and you will end up rotting in Tartarus for an eternity!”
But I couldn’t help it. No one ever spoke to me in the manner she did. No one had ever stolen a lover from me, and did so through a charm. A fake love that she established between her and Crocus. And above all else, no one has ever told me what I can and cannot do. The worst part about this was that it was a damned mortal who took these actions up against me.
My skin shifted from a milky white tone to a blood red one, redder than Ares’ palace walls. Never in my existence, have I been more irate than I was now. No longer was I in control of myself. I could not think into the future, nor realize that what I was about to do would have serious and dire repercussions.
Before I could even rationalize what I was doing, I held my hand out, palm facing Smilax. Her mouth needed to be shut. I wouldn’t kill her, exactly. No. I would just transform her into something that would no longer cause toxicity to this world, to Crocus, to me. A golden light emanated from my hand, directly aimed at her. The glare formed an aura, encapsulating her within it. Soon, the blinding light disappeared, revealing the new creation within it.
She was still, quiet, with no ability to make another sound. Smilax now existed as the only piece of greenery along this dirt trodden path. A bramble she had become. An ugly, worthless shrub.
At first, I relaxed at this result, realizing that she would no longer be the thorn in my side that she previously was. Smilax would never have Crocus wrapped around her fingers anymore, under her and Aphrodite’s spell. I could now go on and love Crocus and he could love me, just as it was meant to be.
But then, panic stirred within me for what I had done. I wondered if Aphrodite was hidden among this path, watching over our every move. I had great doubt that she was though. I had carefully planned this confrontation out accordingly, knowing she had to have been relaxing in the Afqa mountains right now.
Already I was plotting in my head with how I could get away with this. The Goddess of love would no doubt become skeptical of Smilax’s disappearance and would likely blame me. But there was absolutely no way Aphrodite could learn that I had turned Smilax into this hideous plant. It was improbable. My tracks were carefully covered. There was no proof of my presence here to make her think I was the one that made Smilax disappear. There was no evidence, and therefore, she, Zeus, nor anyone in this world could possibly know that it was me who gave her this fate, this justice.
Yet, as I now gazed upon Smilax’s new form as this bramble, I could not help but snicker, realizing how fitting this was for her. Just like a bramble, she was rough, messy, tangly, and above all else prickly.
Chapter 13
