My Tattered Bonds

by Courtney Cole

  We made our way quickly through the city and up the winding road to the palace. Pristine and sprawling, it was exactly like its authentic counterpart. Massive marble columns lined the porches and walkways, manicured lawns stretched as far as the eye could see and thousands of windows sparkled in the light.

  As I stood still and looked upward at this beautiful building, I suddenly felt apprehensive. Would Hades be waiting for us inside? He had to know that we would find our way here. Was this a set-up or a trap? I took a deep breath, but I didn’t see what choice we had. We had to continue.

  In typical fashion, Ares barged onward, up the wide steps and to the front doors. He didn’t knock, he simply entered. To my shock, the doors weren’t locked. That seemed strange and only increased my unease.

  As we filed into the palace, it was easy to pretend that we were entering the real palace on the real Olympus. The rooms were sparkling clean, the stone floors buffed and polished. Windows stretched floor to ceiling, elegant and lavish furniture was artfully arranged in every room with beautiful art adorning the walls.

  But each room was empty.

  “Where is everyone?” Aphrodite murmured as we made our way quietly through the rooms.

  “The dungeon?” Ortrera suggested.

  “Most likely,” I agreed. “We should head that way.”

  As we turned into the next hall, we finally encountered another person, a young servant girl with her arms full of fresh towels.

  “You, there!” Ares called, motioning to her. “Where is everyone?”

  She seemed startled to find strangers walking toward her, but she didn’t run away. She approached us with a timid expression.

  “They’re in the courtyard, sir,” she replied meekly, her head bowed.

  “The courtyard?” Ares’ brow was furrowed. “Very well. Thank you.”

  She nodded and scurried on her way as we looked at each other anxiously. The courtyard? Perhaps this was a trap after all. Maybe an ambush was waiting for us outside. We would have to tread carefully.

  Ares and Cadmus led the way through the remaining part of the castle and within a few minutes, we spilled out the back doors onto the terrace that led to the courtyards.

  “What the hell….” Ares stopped talking as confusion overtook him.

  The gods were having a party.

  Long lantern strings were hung festively from tree to tree, swinging gently in the breeze. Elaborate flower arrangements and fruit adorned each long banquet table, while large lotus blossoms drifted down upon the banquet attendees. In the middle, several gods were dancing and everyone here was laughing and having a wonderful time while Zeus and Hera looked on from the head table.

  “What is the meaning of this?” Ares roared.

  Everyone stopped moving and turned our way. I suddenly felt self-conscious, as though we had just crashed a party instead of staging an elaborate rescue maneuver. I felt my cheeks flush as every silver eye in the courtyard fixed upon us. Zeus’ ancient face lit up as he saw us, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiled.

  “Ares,” Zeus called happily. “Come forward, my friend. It’s been a long time. Aphrodite, it is nice to see your lovely face.” His silver eyes scanned the rest of the group and halted when they found me. “And Harmonia. I am so pleased that you have been victorious.”

  “Victorious?” I asked hesitantly. “I was given no choice.”

  He nodded. “I know, sweet girl. My apologies. But it was the only way. I hope you see that. And now that you’re here, you can feast with us. Come. Join us! It’s beautiful here. We have not a care in the world.”

  He waved his hand and the dancers began dancing again. I studied the scene in front of me warily. Zeus’ demeanor was strange. He was as light and carefree as I had ever seen him. His face, which was usually serious and lined with worry-lines, was relaxed and he was actually smiling. I looked at him uncertainly and felt everyone with me do the same.

  “Mother?” I whispered. “What is going on?”

  “I don’t know,” she replied, not taking her gaze from the festivities.

  “Nothing, sweet girl,” Zeus called from across the courtyard. He had heard me and I startled. How was that possible? Our gifts were blocked here in the Underworld.

  “Not for us,” Zeus replied again with a wide grin. “We have an unlimited supply of nectar here that perpetuates our gifts. Life is good.”

  He could also read our minds. We all realized it at the same time. Without our gifts, we weren’t able to block our thoughts and I suddenly had the uneasy thought that we might actually need to.

  “No, you do not,” Zeus replied indignantly. “Why would that be the case?”

  “I don’t know,” I answered calmly. “This is just all very strange to me. We have traveled through hell and high water to get to you- to save you- and now that we have arrived, we see that you’re having a party, as happy as larks. I find that curious, to say the least.”

  Zeus’ stare flitted from me to Hecate and for a split second, it hardened, and then he relaxed once again.

  “Hecate,” he drawled slowly. Her shoulders slumped as he spoke, weighed down by her every contributing action that had put them here. “I should be angry with you, but I am not. I’ll admit I was furious in the beginning, but we have found joy here. You cannot imagine how wonderful it is to bear no responsibility for the world at all. We are free to simply enjoy our own lives. So, perhaps I should thank you instead.”

  “You speak as if you like it here,” Ares replied uncertainly, shock evidenced on his face. I was certain it was mirrored on my own.

  Zeus shrugged. “Tis the truth, we do.”

  “But you can’t leave,” I pointed out, still in shock.

  “No, we can’t. But why would we want to? We have everything we need. You should see for yourselves. Stay with us!”

  “You can’t be serious!” I snapped. “After everything you have put us through- for thousands of years- in order to secure your rescue, you can sit there and nonchalantly dismiss it and tell us that life is wonderful here? If life is so wonderful here, you should have simply volunteered to come in the first place and saved the rest of us a bunch of heartache.”

  “Harmonia,” Aphrodite began warningly.

  “What, mother?” I replied angrily. “What is he going to do? He apparently doesn’t care that he has abdicated his reign. I can’t show him respect right now because I don’t feel it.”

  “She’s right, Aphrodite,” Ares declared. “This is rubbish. All of it.” He stomped through the festival-goers and stood in front of Zeus, leaning down to speak directly into his face. “You have wronged us, Zeus.”

  Zeus appraised him quietly and then nodded. “You are correct. I have. It was not meant that way, you understand. We were tricked into entrapment here, but as the years passed, we settled into life here. There are no power struggles, no corruption, no hate. Hades leaves us be, he simply enjoys the powerful energy that we garner with our presence. There is nothing to dislike, and I cannot imagine ever wanting to return to the Spiritlands.”

  His statement caused most of us to drop our mouths open. This couldn’t be happening. Everything that we had been through… had been for this? It was unfathomable. And to make it worse, Zeus didn’t seem to care.

  “Come now,” he called to the rest of us. “Come and catch us up on the latest goings-on. We’ll be interested to learn how you have managed to topple the Fates.”

  His words brought an interesting point back to mind.

  “Zeus,” I began, “With the Fates’ overthrown and you here in the Underworld, there is no one at the helm, so to speak. There is no one to monitor the mortal world, no one to regulate the Spiritlands. This is just… irresponsible. You must return. You are the only one who can use your sword correctly. We tried and failed miserably, making some things even worse in the process. We need you to set everything to rights.”

  He stared at me like I had two heads.

  “There is something
that I have learned since I have been here, Harmonia, something monumental. It doesn’t matter if we interfere or not, life… whether it be mortals or gods… goes on without us. We might bend something to our will, but that does not mean that the way it would have gone on its own would have been any less right. We are unnecessary,” he concluded simply. “I believe that we have out-lived our purpose.”

  “You have given up,” I replied, drawing my own conclusions. “You have simply given up.”

  “No,” he shook his head. “That is not the case. What I have just told you is the truth. And if you had been cognizant of your surroundings and your true self all of these years, you would have come to this same realization. Fate… destiny… those are simply words that we use to fool ourselves with. Neither of those things exists. Every person takes their own lives into their own hands, they make their own decisions. We are not needed for that. We only thought that we were.”

  “So, it’s all just been a big misunderstanding?” I snapped sarcastically. “For all of these years, we’ve been deluded and living a lie? I can’t believe what I’m hearing.”

  Cadmus laid his hand soothingly on my arm, a silent warning to check myself- to remain calm. I glanced down and swallowed. Then swallowed again. He was right. It would do no good to lose my temper with this god of gods. I took a deep breath.

  “Harmonia,” Zeus said calmly. “You cannot leave right now at any rate. There is much to be discussed and you will need to determine a way to leave. Stay. Drink nectar- you all need it, I am sure.”

  His grandfatherly face was placid and unbothered, his silver hair thick and unruly as usual. He remained seated with his wife, waiting for our reply. I nodded curtly. It would certainly be nice to take in nectar. We could use our gifts back.

  “Wonderful!” Zeus said warmly. “We shall show you to your rooms.”

  “I think we can find them ourselves,” I answered. “We know the way.”

  “That you do,” he nodded. “That you do.”

  We retreated from the courtyard silently, making our way back into the large, empty palace and stood in a tired group, looking at each other dazedly.

  “Did that even just happen?” I asked. “It doesn’t seem possible. If they do not want to return, if they do not want to retake their rightful places, then what will happen?”

  Hecate shook her head slowly. “This is not something that I ever foresaw. I have no notion of what to do. In all of my travels here in the Underworld, Hades never allowed me access here, and I didn’t want it. I thought the gods would be furious with me and I didn’t want to face that. This… this is not what I expected. I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to provide you with warning.”

  “Do you think they’ve been bewitched?” Aphrodite asked. “That would at least make sense.”

  Ares nodded slowly in agreement. “That would indeed make sense. Hecate, what do you think? Is that a possibility?”

  She appeared to consider that. “I do not know. I don’t know how it would have been done.”

  I remembered how each silver gaze had fixated on me- not intensely as would have been the case once upon a time, but instead, very relaxed and complacent. They were simply curious at our arrival.

  I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I think they’ve just grown lazy here. They’ve grown used to this way of life and they think there is no reason for them to return. From their point of view, they’ve been here for thousands of years with no negative effects on the world. They just don’t realize…”

  Cadmus rubbed my back. “We’ll talk with them again tomorrow, Harmonia. For now, let us get a drink and some rest. We all desperately need it. Ortrera’s warriors look dead on their feet. They’ve been guarding us constantly without sleep.”

  “We’re fine,” Ortrera insisted, although her face was tired and worn.

  “Of course you are,” I answered with a small grin. “Sister, it is not a weakness to grow weary. You haven’t slept in days.”

  She dismissed my concern with a scowl and a shake of her head, so I let it drop. The Amazons were proud to a fault. They would rather die than admit what they considered a weakness.

  I trailed my hand on the polished banister as we climbed the majestic staircase. I couldn’t remember the last time I had been so tired myself. Raquel clung to my other hand, still looking around in bewilderment. If it was hard for me to comprehend, it must be near impossible for her.