Rhode | Ροδη (rhodus) wrote in nevermore_past, @ 2013-05-01 21:49:00 |
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Current mood: | cold |
Who: Helios and Rhode
What: A fight! A fight!
When: Ancient Greek times
Where: Island of Rhodes
Warning: TBD
The days waned on, Eos taking over the ride and folding the world below with dark night's blanket. His golden light still shone in the dark like a star in the distance. He returned home with a heavy heart tonight, having broke the news to Hephaestus of his wife's folly with the war lord, Ares. Helios was a seer. He did what was right. If Mt. Olympus could harbor frolicking love-sick gods who betrayed their other halves, then he would not shield it from the ones who should know. Hephaestus deserved to know. It had been a bitter reminder of his wife's unhappiness, which struck Helios heavily that afternoon.
What of his own wife's happiness? They had consummated their marriage, which he'd never forced upon her, but gave her time to warm up. Just when he felt he'd made some progress, she stepped back with a chilling coldness. What more could the Titan do to show he was not like the rest? He wasn't going to strike, or try to tame her wild streak, but he would come in their palace on the mountains with a overwhelming gloom.
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rhodus
2012-05-03 09:39 pm (local) (link)
Rhode was finally settling in to life with Helios, and she had to admit that things certainly could have been worse. He'd never forced her to do anything she didn't want to do, and when she went to their marriage bed, she'd gone willingly. But she couldn't help but worry in the back of her mind that things were going to go south soon. Her experience with Titans had been almost uniformly negative, and if there was something she knew how to do well, it was protect herself.
He entered their palace after putting away his chariot, and she sat watching him, shells and sea jasper adorning her hair, wrists, and neck. She was a goddess, and this was her island and her home, and she would behave as she saw fit.
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behemothic
2012-05-03 10:00 pm (local) (link)
If this was a test he didn't want any part of it. She was as tough as any creature of the sea, but instead of getting the harmonious union he'd hoped for, he had been met with sadness. Her trust of Titans, of him was still very little.
He was not in a pleasant mood, almost as if Eos' dark cover had pulled out the heavier side of Helios. Rhode sat, her eyes clipping him. He hated that feeling of a vulture over his shoulder. He thought of Hephaestus. The way his eyes had broken when he told him. It pierced Helios' heart, because in the pit of his stomach he felt Rhode would never accept him.
"How was your day?" he asked, jaw clenching enough for her to see the muscle poke his skin.
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rhodus
2012-05-03 10:37 pm (local) (link)
"Fine," she said warily, dark eyes watching him. "And yours?" She wanted to trust him, wanted to be able to let her guard down and have them live as man and wife. But she'd seen how marriages among the gods played out, and she'd had no say in any of this. It was going to take a lot of time for her to get over her trust issues, and the two of them circling each other like alpha wolves wasn't helping matters.
"Supper's been laid out, if you're hungry," she said, pouring him a cup of wine.
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behemothic
2012-05-03 10:46 pm (local) (link)
"I'm not," he said taking the wine and ignoring the dinner she'd prepared. Every night since they'd been married he'd never refused. She made it either because she felt it was her duty, or she did it to taunt him.
The wine didn't go well on an empty stomach, or maybe he didn't want to feel so flushed. He was angry every time he thought of finding Aphrodite tied up with another. Not that he condoned having multiple lovers, but it seemed different when you were wed to another. There were monogamous issues that followed suit.
He wondered if Rhode would ever do such a thing to him. If she failed to trust him, he didn't see why she wouldn't consider it. He'd never treated her as her father or other men had, but for a moment and just a moment he felt the apple didn't fall far from the tree. Not when it came to sea gods. He was letting his steamy head get the better of him as he swallowed his wine and pealed off the upper half of his riding costume. The helmet and then just in his usual golden tunic that hung low on his hips. It was almost like a thing leather strapped around him, not that like the humans wore.
He poured himself another glass of wine knowing full well he didn't want it. Most of the other gods may have considered him a tattle tale, but he only did the right things. Then his thoughts came out. He didn't dance around the issue.
"Would you ever cheat?"
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rhodus
2012-05-03 10:54 pm (local) (link)
She shrugged. "As it please you. I'll keep it should you want it later."
She watched as he drank and undressed, pacing around and drinking some more. The tension in the room felt like the air before a storm, just waiting for the lightning to split the sky, for the rain to come pouring down in sheets. But then he opened his mouth.
"How in Hades can you ask me that?!" she hissed, rising from her chair like a lightning flash. "My father runs around on my mother with anyone that will have him, and even some that won't, and it tears her apart. I may not trust you fully, but you aren't so odious that I'm going to run to someone else simply because we aren't getting along." She snatched up a plate and threw it at the wall, watching it shatter into hundreds of little shards.
"You don't know me," she went on. "I was given to you like a prize! No choice. No say. I was simply told that this is how it would be. And you presume to think you know what goes on in my head."
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behemothic
2012-05-03 11:04 pm (local) (link)
He didn't flinch when the plate collided with the wall. She could have been aiming at him, and he still would have picked up the broken clay. "It's a simple question Rhode," his voice was also raising, setting the pieces on the table. He towered being just near her, but he did not strike. "I did not presume anything. Your father parades around with his own harem like the rest of this pantheon! Like Zeus, like Aprhodite and not a one of them cares what it does to their better half."
Helios didn't reach out to touch her, but his eyes were dark and heavy. Hurt. "I never denied that I fancied you. I will not claim you like some prize. If you wish to walk out or void this marriage," he kicked the door open, "then go right ahead. I'm not stopping you. I've never stopped you!" He wasn't about to keep her like some caged bird. It was cruel, but maybe he had been doing just that and not realized it.
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rhodus
2012-05-03 11:14 pm (local) (link)
"I care!" Rhode burst out. "I care because I see the hurt on their faces, on my mother's face. My father's damn harem could fall into the sea, from nymphs to Olympians, and I wouldn't shed a tear. I'd wave as they went under."
"I know you haven't," she went on heatedly. "And I counted that as a kindness, I still do. But can you understand how I feel? How it feels to have your will taken from you and another's forced upon you? I'm angry at Zeus, but I can't say it to his face, I don't dare. And you're here, but I know it's not fair to you. But I'm angry and I'm lashing out because I don't know what else to do." She collapsed back into her chair, pouring her own glass of wine and draining it.
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behemothic
2012-05-03 11:33 pm (local) (link)
"I watched Hephaestus today wash through a world of emotions because I had to tell him I caught his wife with another man. With an Olympian she should have never been with in the first place." It was the root behind his question, why he'd felt the need to ask. "Was it because she was unhappy or simply because she didn't care either way? Because everyone thinks they can get away with it. But I see." He pushed his hair back with his hands, getting easily as worked up as she was.
"Then let me leave you your island." He said a little softer, his brows hurt because he did care. He loved her even if she didn't know what that was or ever felt it. "It was yours to begin with and I intruded. If I've made you feel like some caged animal, I'm sorry. Zeus decrees what he wishes, but I will admit I asked him. I dared to believe that we could be a fated match." Helios had had lovers too before, he was handsome, a beardless and beautiful Titan, but he would not stray from his vows. Most gods were jealous. Most Titans had been more brute. He was neither.
His hand slowly moved over his spiked helmet, letting it's cool metal rest against his fingers. "When I pull the sun out in the morning, I won't be back. I won't do that if it means your unhappiness. I do not agree but I'll let you keep what is yours." The Rhodians were hers to keep watch. They had not yet prayed to Helios as they would later.
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rhodus
2012-05-04 11:07 am (local) (link)
Rhode's face crumpled a bit at that news. "That's terrible," she said softly. "Hephaestus was always kind to me, he made the jewelry I wore on our wedding day-this jewelry, in fact," she said, gesturing to the necklace and earrings. "I don't understand how anyone can do that, just sleep around like it's no big deal. Everyone's choices have consequences that affect everyone else."
...Well that took the wind out of her sails. Up until now, she'd always assumed that Zeus had just passed her to Helios because he'd done something worth rewarding, like he'd done with so many other goddesses. It had never occurred to her that Helios had asked for her specifically. She thought about that for a moment before speaking.
"I will never mock anyone for believing in Fate," she said at last. "Nor for believing that they can make something good out of the hand they've been dealt. I just...the sea doesn't change the land overnight. It takes time, it takes persistence, it wears away the shore little by little. And you have been so patient. I know so many others would not have cared a bit about what I wanted, and simply had me when they pleased. You never did. You waited for me to come around. And I thank you for that."
She sighed, running her fingers through her hair, looking out the window at the waves crashing on the shore. And then, on impulse, she removed one of the rings she wore and placed it on a fine gold chain, coiling the entire thing into his hand. It wasn't her wedding ring, but it too had been a gift from Hephaestus, and she valued it highly. Hopefully he would see the gesture for what it was.
"More than anything, I want to be happy," she said softly, holding his fingers over the makeshift necklace. "And I want...I want to try and make it work. To make us work. Take this with you when you ride out today. Then come back to me."
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behemothic
2012-05-04 01:19 pm (local) (link)
Helios sighed, almost exhausted from such a burden. "I may have made enemies by speaking out, but I will not hold baggage for someone else's bad deeds. I wouldn't keep it from him. Just as I did when Hades abducted Persephone. I told your Aunt."I caught a glimpse of your island when I was taking one of my daily rides. It made sense that I would find it so intriguing." He gave her a half smile.
When she took the ring off at first he was ready to accept her wedding ring if she chose to give it back. Her happiness came first, he would see to it. When it wasn't her ring that she slipped off he wondered if she wanted him to take it to Hephaestus, but then it was obvious it was for him. He held out his hand letting it slide into his palm. He put the gold chain around his neck, the ring sitting off his chest like a globe circled in gold.
"Your happiness is what matters and I would never strip that from you intentionally." He stroked her cheek with his thumb.
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rhodus
2012-05-05 01:30 am (local) (link)
"Aunt Demeter deserved to know what happened to Persephone," she agreed. "She was devastated when she went missing. And I would have wanted to spare Hephaestus the pain, but he's too good for Aphrodite. She didn't deserve him." She made a 'hmph' noise in the back of her throat.
She turned her face into his touch, a small smile on her face. "I'm starting to realize that," she said softly. "It just...takes me a while sometimes." She stretched up on her toes to kiss him on the cheek. "Go on, go be the Sun," she told him.
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behemothic
2012-05-05 02:19 am (local) (link)
"And your father abused her grief." He would accuse Rhode no more of being like the family she was born into. She held a compassion her father had never understood. It was that compassion that he had sensed from her. It was in her stormy eyes.
Her action before he left seemed worth the fight. They'd dragged a little more out of themselves, vulnerability and strength. The ordeal took most of his time home, as quickly as hed walked in he was leaving to grace the sky with his golden glow.
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He returned to Rhode as she asked, but for no other reason than that, bringing with him a flower of unique beauty. He presented it to her with grace. A token of his affections and patience.