Triad: Fates, Furies and Graces

by Brick ONeil

TRIAD: FATES, FURIES AND GRACES

  BRICK ONEIL

  Copyright 2013 Brick ONeil

  I would like to dedicate this book to my husband, Josh, for his constant support of my writing adventures. Thank you very much.

  The author holds all copyrights, ownership, rights and responsibilities to this work. This work is solely the author’s; any similarities to any person, living, dead or fictional are purely coincidental and unintended.

  Part ONE

  Three Fates and Three Graces

  “Clotho, don’t you ever get tired of spinning that yarn?” Thalia , the goddess of good cheer and blossoming, asked her older sister. “My arms would just fall off!” She giggled, poking her older sister, one of a triplet.

  “We all have our jobs to do, Thalia.” Clotho answered, long with fatigue and wear. “Have you seen to Hera? I would soon tire of her mood swings.” Clotho announced to her other two sisters, Lachesis, whose job it was to allot the yarn that Clotho spun and Atropos, whose job it was to snip the yarn.

  Aglaia, one of Thalia’s triplets, was one of the minor goddesses, of brightness and splendor, the other triplet being Euphrosyne, goddess of joyfulness and mirth.

  “Oh how did we end up with these three as sisters, sisters?” Lachesis, bemoaned.

  “You can thank Father for that!” Euphrosyne, answered, gleefully; for she knew this irritated Lachesis to no end.

  “Oh Zeus and his wandering eye!” Exclaimed Atropos. “He doesn’t know when to let enough alone. He needs to learn to cut his good times!”

  “I guess Mother just caught his eye” Giggled Euphrosyne, poking Lachesis with her own scissors. “Eurynome was just too much for Father Zeus to ignore.”

  “I so wish I could ignore you three bubbles. You are like bubbles of wine: easy to see, yet difficult to grasp.” Atropos snipped at Euphrosyne.

  At this statement, the Three Graces spun around Atropos. Aglaia, Thalia and Euphrosyne each draped Atropos’ face and head with their lightweight gauze-like shawls, giggling like larks, while Atropos tried in vain, and playfully, which was so unlike her, poke each of her younger triplets.

  “Oh how I wish they were more like Mother Nyx!” Bemoaned Lachesis again, winking at her triplet Clotho.

  “Mother Nyx would probably get a kick out of us,” chided Thalia, “afterall, Father Zeus did manage to get her to let her guard down, apparently.” She giggled again.

  “Father Zeus has a way with women.” Clotho reminded her much younger siblings.

  “Is it true he once transformed into a Swan in order to seduce Leda?” Asked Euphrosyne, eyes filled with questions.

  “Oh yes,” answered Lachesis, “in fact, it was her daughter, Helen, that the Trojan War was fought over.”

  “How I hate war,” Thalia sorrowfully announced. She had stopped dancing and now sat on a plush red cushion on the floor, watching her three older sisters weave the tapestry of humanity.

  “Without war, you would not have a job to do of cheering up Men on Earth.” Reminded Lachesis, rounding a long length of yarn around Thalia’s neck before returning to her duties.

  “Isn’t it romantic?” Aglaia sighed breathlessly, as she laid her head down upon Thalia’s lap.

  “I suppose so,” Euphrosyne agreed. “On his part, but didn’t she turn him down before he transformed?”

  “We don’t talk about that part, my dear.” Chastised Atropos.

  Somewhere a gong boomed and the three younger triplets rose from the pillows.

  “Duty calls, Thalia.” Clotho teased after Thalia’s disappearing back, in a sing-song voice.

  “They’re not bad girls, afterall.” Lachesis replied to her sisters, Clotho and Atropos.

  “No, they are just young,” Atropos wisely agreed, “Afterall, they’re just young things, a few millenia old. We’ve been around since time immemorial.”

  Clotho nodded her head, not missing a thread of yarn. “Mother Nyx said we were born old!” She cackled, the ages bouncing off her laughter.

  “Was that you, Clotho? Actually laughing?” Euphrosyne teased, carrying a bountiful tray of rolls, meats and cheeses.

  “And her face didn’t crack!” Exclaimed Euphrosyne again, in mystery and good humor.

  “No, I believe it was already like that.” Giggled Aglaia, placing a crown of myrtle on Clotho’s wrinkled head. Clotho took the good-natured ribbing in stride and chuckled along with her sisters.

  “What is all this?” Asked Atropos? “Does Hera know you absconded with her meal?”

  “Oh this is left over. She was receiving Aphrodite but is still smarting that Paris didn’t choose her in that little popularity contest.” Aglaia answered, pretending to gaze at herself in a mirror.

  “She’s still upset over that?” An exasperated Lachesis asked, unbelieving.

  “Yes, Hera tried poisoning Aphrodite’s wineglass and Aphrodite called her as glamorous as a snail.” Thalia blurbed with glee, carrying two jugs of wine. “Don’t worry, these are good wine. It was only Aphrodite’s mug that was poisoned.” She set down the jugs and went about finding six glasses and passed them out.

  “Now, freeze your tapestry and come join us!” Aglaia begged her older sisters.

  So the Three Fates put a spell on their Tapestry of Humanity, for in their plane of existence, they could freeze the tapestry, where in Humanity it was frozen for only an infinitesimal amount of time. Clotho set down her spinning wheel, Lachesis set her measuring tape aside and Atropos set aside her scissors, after playfully snipping at Aglaia’s hair, who squealed with delight. She grabbed her hair under her myrtle crown and started dancing around the other five ladies.

  “Don’t you get tired of all that dancing?” Atropos asked the now blurring Aglaia who was spinning faster and faster.

  “She’s just happy to be rid of Hera for a bit.” Thalia replied cheerily, setting down some divinity, a favorite dessert of the Gods. “Aglaia, come sit and enjoy a feast!” Implored her sisters Thalia and Euphrosyne in sync. Upon hearing her sisters, Aglaia stopped and joined the feast.

  The two sets of triplets were at the Three Fates’ home under Mount Olympus, but not deep enough to warrant disturbing Hades (Lord of the Underworld. Although there is another god who is official god of death, sometimes Hades is considered to be Death.) and Hecate (A mysterious nature goddess associated with sorcery and witchcraft, who went with Demeter to the Underworld to fetch Persephone, but then stayed to assist Persephone. Hecate’s parents are Perses and the same mother, Nyx, as the three fates.) though they were not afraid of any God or Goddess.

  “Have you heard from your other triplet siblings?” Asked Thalia.

  “Oh they’ve been around, you know.” Clotho answered. For the Three Furies were triplet sisters of the Three Fates, being Alecto, Tisiphone and Megaera, the goddesses of vengeance who pursue their victims even after death. Their parents were Gaeia and shared the same Mother, Nyx.

  “Oh yes,” sniffed Euphrosyne, “we don’t usually hang out with those three.”

  “Now, now, Euphrosyne,” Clotho chided a bit, “Like I told Thalia earlier, we all have our jobs to do.”

  “They just seem to enjoy theirs so much, with a vengeance, too.” Thalia entwined.

  Lachesis enjoyed watching her three younger sisters squirm under the conversation and chuckled at them. “My dears, we all should enjoy our jobs as much. I know my other two triplet sisters enjoy weaving.” She reached down to pat Lachesis’ on her long brown hair under the myrtle crown. “You three, my dear, enjoy dancing and bring cheer, joy and mirth to humans. Even, I daresay, to the other Gods and Goddesses?” She smirked.

  “It just so happens, the Three Furi
es enjoy chasing vengeance. It’s not like you must change places like poor Persephone every six months!” She again chided her younger sisters.

  “Now, Lachesis, Persephone has her benefactors.” Clotho reminded all. “Hecate watches out for her and Demeter mourns her daughter half the year.”

  Atropos made a sour face. “Persephone this and Persephone that. A lot of wasted tears. No sense in mourning what has happened. We must deal with our lot.”

  Euphrosyne sniffed at Atropos. “Easy for you to say, Elder sister. We’re not the ones that cut short the lives of Humans. We must continually cheer the ones left behind.”

  “Oh but it is such fun!” Thalia exclaimed as she began gathering up the dishes, cups and pillows. The feast was done, the Three Fates arose and went back to their Tapestry.

  “We must return to our chores as well.” Aglaia replied, adjusting her Myrtle headdress and nodding to the other Two Graces.

  “Thank you, Clotho, Lachesis and you crusty old curmudgeon, Atropos!” Aglaia kissed each one of her elder sisters on the cheek and danced out from under the mountain to cheer up the Gods, Goddesses and Humans.