Page 30 of Hermes
“My son,” the King of the Gods stated, with sympathy. “You must understand. You are a god who will live for an eternity. Crocus is but a mortal. Surely, you would only have a few years together before he would perish. You should move on. You have a longevity about you. There will be many opportunities for you to find love. You may not realize it yet, but you are destined for many, many lovers as a god. It will come naturally to you, I swear.”
I wasn’t having any of it. I could not believe I was being so mistreated by not only Aphrodite, but by my father as well. “I won’t love anyone else! I will only love Crocus, and you have now stripped that love away from me.”
“He is young…” Aphrodite interceded. “Immature as ever for a god. Only time will heal his current wounds.”
“Shut up!” I yelled at her, now losing all control of my emotions. “You do not get to address me in such a way!”
Both she and my father now had an expression of worry written on their faces. Zeus spoke up. “Hermes. I think you need some time, some space for yourself. What I recommend is for you to neglect your duties for the time being. Take the year off to further explore the world. Visit the sights it has to offer. Gain new experiences. Meet new gods and mortals. Surely, you will forget all about Crocus by then, before you return back to your duties.”
My father thought he was helping me in this. He assumed I would see the error in my ways and come to my senses as time would pass. But that would not happen whatsoever. He was making a huge mistake. It was beyond vexing to see that he could not see past Aphrodite’s guise. She was not innocent in any of this. This was all her fault, and yet, he was practically siding with her based on his final decision.
But I knew my place as the messenger to the gods. So, I would need to maintain my dignity, despite my recent outrage. “Very well. I respect your judgment, father,” I stated, trying my best to come out of this still amicable with him.
Deep down, I was already plotting on how to get my revenge on them. On how I could punish them beyond repair. I wanted to do something so awful that it would shake all of Mount Olympus.
Fuck the gods and goddesses!
I did my best to gain their trust over the years. I have been their messenger, their herald, their darling. For decades, no, centuries, I have accomplished every mission and request they have made to me. I went out of my way to see that their every need was met. Yet, the one time I wanted my needs to be met, to have the love of my lifetime revived and brought back in my arms, no one could seem to help me.
Aphrodite, Zeus, all of them would regret the day they ever thought they could take advantage of me. I would make them sorry they ever believed such a thing. But what could I do that would shake them to their core? How could I go about and ruin all of them?
I would have to wait and think about this. I needed to be patient and time this out carefully and methodically. But I shouldn’t worry. Based on my father’s decree, I had a whole year to come up with a plan. And I would intend on making the most of this year off that I had.
The King of the Gods assumed I would use this time to relax, to explore the world and its wonders. However, I would be spending no day being idle. This would be a productive time that I had to myself. One where I would eat, drink, and be merry with many other gods and goddesses. I would get so close to them and learn their secrets in order to find a crack that would destroy them for all that they put me through. Hopefully, I would find just the right crack, with the right depth that would be enough to allow me to wreck them all and make them regret the day that they underestimated me.
Chapter 18
MonthshadpassedsinceI last saw Crocus. I was miserable on the inside, feeling practically destroyed. However, I would never let the other gods and goddesses know of this, for they would find it weak of me. I needed to pretend to play the clever, witty companion that they’ve all grown so used to, that they all loved.
During this time of leisure that my father allowed me to have for the next year, I spent countless hours trying to find a way to restore Crocus to his former self, but all my efforts were in vain. It was an impossibility and no other god or goddess had the power to transform him back into a mortal human.
So, I continued to resent them for me being able to help them for hundreds of years, while they couldn’t even find the time to assist me with one small thing. The plan was to remain in their good graces, to wine and dine with them, and then somehow find some sort of secret they held that could let me devastate all of Mount Olympus, and the world for that matter. This would be the only means of revenge that I deemed acceptable and appropriate for them, taking away the most important thing to me in all of my existence.
I made it my new mission to decimate them all, to cause them all grief, to make them as miserable as I currently was. After all, misery loves company.
But nothing seemed to be falling into my lap. I spent several days with Ares on his training grounds, sparring. When he was away for a short time, I took the time to sneak around his home, but found nothing special. I would attend the many parties and festivals of Dionysus at his abode, with many other gods and goddesses in attendance. But no matter how many drunk, lucid conversations I had, none of them revealed to me anything incriminating or offered information that I could use to my advantage. Even spending days at sea with Poseidon proved to be pointless. He had nothing that I could use to ruin the world.
I began to lose all hope, wondering if I should just give up on my efforts altogether. No matter how much time I spent with these imbecilic gods, they could do nothing to aide me in my cause, that is, until I spent an evening dining with Zeus and Hera.
We had had a feast meant for gods, just as was expected when you ate with the King of the Gods. I was prepared to retire for the night before my father made an unusual request.
“My son, have I ever shown you my weapon room?” he inquired.
I shook my head. “No. Not to my knowledge,” I informed him, although I very well knew I had, in fact, never seen it before. But the thought of getting the chance to access the room gave me great delight. I wondered if there were any special swords, or magical bow and arrows, with the greatest powers I could steal and use. Zeus had to have something that could be useful to me. So, this was an opportunity I did not want to refuse, nor mess up.
“Well, would you like me to show it to you? It’s been a while since I last let anyone into the room,” he explained.
“And you think taking Hermes there is the best idea?” Hera interrupted, having a look of skepticism written all over her face. “Do you not know what he is capable of? Lying, cheating, stealing…”
Zeus let out a deep, roaring belly laugh, amused by his wife’s insinuations. “Hera, how can you think such thoughts of Hermes here? He’s done nothing but be loyal to me and my causes. I can’t think of another god that I would trust more than him to take there.”
“Just be careful…” she added, which left a pungent taste in my mouth. I wanted to shut Hera up for good. If there was ever a curse that could lock that atrocious mouth of hers for an eternity, I would do whatever it took to cast it on her.
“There is nothing to worry about. No matter who is in the palace, it could be in any room for that matter, I would know if something was missing or stolen. Hermes would not be that foolish to try and rob me, knowing of the consequences that would follow for such actions.”
The thought of ever getting caught in stealing something from my father did leave me anxious. I gulped heavily, nervous over the thought. If I were to find something useful, there is no doubt that I would find a means to plunder it. However, I would have to be cautious about how I went about in doing so. Getting caught would not be an option for me. It was out of the question.
“Of course not,” I interceded. “I would never think to take something from you, father, unless I had your permission granted to me.”
