Page 3 of Hermes
But I knew when my back was against a wall. And it was firm against one right now. Zeus would be enraged if he learned of how I desecrated his golden son’s cattle. I would surely be punished for my crimes. So, I had no choice but to give in to Apollo’s demands.
“Fine. I’ll take the cattle. But next time, I won’t be so willing.” I bitterly threw the lyre in his direction to catch before I ran off, too outraged to allow this conversation to pursue any further.
As I sped off, I thought to myself, trying to be as rational as possible. This wasn’t that great of a loss for me. I soon realized that I shouldn’t dwell on Apollo one-upping me in this instance. I was still young and fairly inexperienced in this world. Plus, losing this battle to Apollo was minuscule, practically insignificant. I had much higher goals and aspirations to accomplish. Greater things to steal, like the hearts of the gods.
Chapter 2
Ishouldhaveknownto never trust another god. For some reason, I thought Apollo would stick to his word and keep my actions in stealing his cattle a secret. After all, I bought his silence with the lyre I gave him. So, he should have no reason to ever speak about our encounter ever again, right?
Wrong! The little liar went and blabbed on me right away!
Within three days, Apollo had already run to our father and informed him of my deviousness, warning the King of the Gods that I was not to be trusted. I couldn’t believe it! There was more to Apollo than met the eye. I would keep that in mind in the future. But I was well aware of what my brother was up to. This was his way of getting closer to Zeus. Getting in his good graces. And in that same notion, he was promoting distrust between me and my father.Clever the archer that he was!
Meanwhile, I was now forced to have to trek to Mount Olympus. Hearing about my treachery towards Apollo, Zeus had demanded a meeting with me right away. When I arrived at Mount Olympus for the very first time, I was expecting to see something magnificent. A place of nothing but pure white clouds, with the air being fresh than anywhere else in the entire world. This was indeed true, but every other part of the land of the gods and goddesses was completely unimpressive. I expected Zeus’s palace to be gargantuan. It was extremely fine with its white marble, but that was it. The other gods’ homes and palaces were barely spectacular, too. Their structures were square and simple. One would think they would be a little more ornate and ostentatious, given how powerful they were. But I suppose their creativity must have been lacking. That, or Zeus and Hera prohibited the other Olympian gods from developing anything that would overshadow their palace. And if Hera was involved, then I definitely suspected the latter to be true.
Now, I stood just outside my father’s pearly palace gates, my legs shaking with nervousness, as I could only assume the worst in what my father had in store for me.
Would I be forced to be a slave to a mortal for years on end?
Could my godly powers be stripped from me?
What if I was banished to Tartarus for eternity?
These inauspicious thoughts would continue to consume me until the time came where I would be face to face with the King of the Gods, which wouldn’t be very long from now. Two of his young male servants in their alabaster tunics greeted me at the gates. As they opened them, they stood at each of my sides and escorted me up the marble stairs and into the palace.
Now I had to admit, the inside of Zeus’ home was far spacious than I gave it credit for. After all, based on how it seemed from the outside, no one would have expected it would be this vast on the inside. But such is the power of the King of the Gods. He is able to make things not seem as they truly appear. This I should have assumed.
I admired the pure limestone columns and the glossiness of the floors and walls as I was led to the King and Queen’s throne room. The immense double doors opened, and I stepped into the room alone. Soon, they shut behind me, preventing any sort of escape route I may have needed if things turned out horribly.
The hall leading up to the thrones was long. I could barely make them out in the distance. And so, I made my dreadful walk towards the far end of the room. Every step I took felt like it was pulling me closer and closer to a terrible fate that awaited me.
After several minutes, I was able to make out two thrones at the very end of the long hall as I approached them. They extended so high that I couldn’t even make out where they ended. To the left sat my father. It was the first time I had finally met him in person. He was more robust than I could have ever imagined. My father’s hair was so white, purer than snow, with a matching beard. His muscles bulged, practically ready to burst from his skin from being so massive. He was intimidating, for sure. At least he was intimidating to most other gods, goddesses, and mortals. But to me, I saw something much different. I saw a strong wielder of power. Power that I desperately wanted. And I knew my father was capable of giving me such power. Therefore, it was in this instance that I resolved to charm him, to flatter him and do anything I could to please the king so that he could give me all that I desired and more.
Enduring a cruel punishment was not an option for me. Whatever way in which Zeus would make me pay for my crime against Apollo, I would have to find a way out of it. In my head, I was already planning out all possibilities on how I would convince my father of my innocence, or rather, the false innocence I wanted him to think I possessed.
The throne beside him was completely empty. Luckily, Hera was absent, much to my appeasement. Based on the knowledge I had about the Queen of the Gods, I knew her to sometimes be far more ruthless and spiteful than her own husband. Also, it would be much easier for me to placate my father, to try and sway him to favor me over Apollo, without Hera’s input or influence to derail my plot.
“Hermes!” he called out to me in the deepest and loudest voice I had ever heard. I was stunned that the floors beneath me did not shatter and break apart. “Come forward, my son.”
I did as he commanded, holding my head down low, not daring to glance up at him.
“Look me in the eye, my boy,” he instructed.
I raised my head, having to stare at him head on. “Yes, father.”
“Tell me, my son. What is this I hear about you giving Apollo trouble?” he asked.
I guess there was no beating around the bush with him. Zeus got straight to the point of the matter. It left me little room to alter the version of my story for him.
“Trouble? Is that what my brother called it?” I raised my brow to make it seem as if I were perplexed by this. “I think the wordtroubleis a far outcry from what the situation really was, which was nothing more than a harmless prank,” I explained.
“A prank you say?” Zeus began rubbing his chin vigorously, as if he was deep in thought. “Do you mean to tell me slaughtering one of Apollo’s sacred cattle is considered a prank?”
I began to pace back and forth while in front of him, trying to think of a way out of this. “It was only one cow. What’s one among the masses that he already owns? Secondly, it is I who now possesses those cattle. Did Apollo mention that to you?” I inquired.
Zeus shook his head, as he displayed a perturbed look on his face. “No, he did not. He failed to mention that to me.
“How convenient…” I replied. “And what also shocked me was how quickly Apollo gave those cattle up to me. I created a glorious instrument. A lyre is what we called it, using that very same cow I killed. Apollo begged to have the lyre in exchange for his cattle. So, if he’s willing to give them up that easily, really… how sacred are those cattle to him?”
