Gilded Ruins

by Chantal Gadoury

  Pleased by his response, Zeus flicked his hand to the rest of the group. “Carry on!”

  He turned, disappearing past the banister. My heart began to pound in my chest again; my ears—ringing. It felt as though everyone was staring at me—watching. It made me shift uncomfortably. I didn’t understand why I seemed to be the main focal point for so many of them. But I was, after all the human. The human who had once been an immortal Goddess. Morpheus reached for my hand and squeezed it gently.

  “It’ll be alright,” he said softly. I pulled the towel around myself more tightly and bobbed my head silently. I didn’t wait for any more words of reassurance. I didn’t want to hear them. Instead, I turned and headed towards the small stairwell that led down into the hall of rooms below deck. I released a sigh only as I reached the safety of my room again.

  I wanted Darce now more than ever.

  Chapter 17

  I had barely eaten anything all day, and after pacing around my room and spending an hour in the bath pruning, I still wasn’t even remotely hungry. The sun was setting outside and every second that passed only made my anxiety that much worse.

  Just the thought of having dinner with my mother and Zeus. . .after what had happened with Darce. I was at least grateful I wouldn’t have to face them both by myself. Morpheus would be there, and he knew how to speak to Zeus. It was apparent he still held favor with him. There was still a chance this might just be an okay dinner.

  Amicable, even. Maybe.

  What I needed to focus on was getting dressed. I sat on the bed, staring at my clothes, still nestled in my suitcase. Darce’s things remained untouched in the corner of the room. I tried to clear the knot in my throat as I turned my gaze back to the few choices I had left.

  “Summer?” Morpheus’ muffled voice startled me from my thoughts, as he knocked on the door. I jumped up from up from the edge of the bed, tightening the cord of my robe around my waist.

  “Just a second.” I called out weakly, shuffling my feet across the wooden floor.

  Morpheus waited on the other side, dressed in a sharp black jacket embroidered with the Underworld’s symbol. He had taken the time to groom himself for an evening out, and here I was in a robe, with a tangle of damp hair.

  “Were you sleeping just now?” He looked incredulous.

  “No,” I drawled slowly. “I might have tried to nap, except my mind hadn’t allowed me the chance to rest.”

  “Oh,” he looked past me into my dimly lit room. “Well, I’m here to take you to dinner.”

  “Oh good. Let me just grab my slippers,” I said, removing my robe, revealing the casual pajamas I had donned after my shower.

  Morpheus’s eyes widened. “You’re not dressed. You…”

  I pulled at the bottom of my t-shirt and frowned. “You don’t think this will do?”

  Morpheus stared at me for a moment more before he raised a brow.

  “Are you serious?”

  I rolled my eyes. “No, Morpheus. Of course I’m not serious.”

  He chuckled lightly and squeezed past me into the room. The lights brightened and I squinted, shutting the door behind me.

  “The past few days have been a lot.” He said, peeking out the curtains covering the window, “but it’s important for us to be present this evening.”

  It was an understatement. The past few days had been more than just a lot. After having planned to go to Mount Olympus to face my mother and Zeus, only to arrive onto a yacht and meet the entire God Squad? And then lose Darce? My body was carrying the weight of my misery and exhaustion.

  “Just give me a few minutes,” I sighed, brushing past him as I moved towards the small closet. Sifting through my suitcase on the floor, I dug around for something to wear. Arae hadn’t left me with much of my style of clothing. She had packed dresses, and sleek outfits that were probably perfect for Mount Olympus. But they were such a far cry from who I was and what I wanted to stand for.

  “I don’t even know what to wear,” I grumbled as I slid a glance in his direction, taking a peek at his clothes once again.

  “If you want my advice,” Morpheus began, peering at me before shrugging, “they’re expecting a lost young girl to appear before them tonight at dinner. They already have an idea of the game they’re about to play with you. You should appear as the woman you are. The Goddess that you have every right to be.”

  “So you’re saying I should wear one of these ridiculous dresses Arae packed for me?” I asked with a nervous laugh.

  “I’m just saying Arae knew the world you were about to enter. And she knew there were only so many sweaters and pairs of jeans you could hide in.”

  I allowed his words to sink in before I nodded.

  “Fine. Then, which one?” I took a step back and gestured to the suitcase. I raised my brows with a sort of ‘be-my-guest’ glance.

  “You want my honest opinion?” He asked. I nodded again, earnestly gesturing towards the clothes. Leaning forward, he lifted a pile of golden fabric from the suitcase and spread it out before me on the bed with a small smile.

  “This one,” he said with a nod. “I think this would be perfect.”

  “Gold? Really?” I stared at it for a moment, unsure of his choice.

  “Yes, really,” he reaffirmed. I wrinkled my nose, but before I could disagree, Morpheus waved towards the bathroom door.

  “Just go try it on. Trust me.”

  “I do trust you,” I replied.

  “Good, then go. We don’t have all night.”

  “You sure can be bossy,” I mumbled under my breath as I took the dress from him apprehensively.

  “Only with you.” He said with a wink.

  As soon as I slipped into the bathroom and began to undress, a knot in my stomach began to grow and twist. I couldn’t deny how nervous I felt. I had no idea what to expect out of this dinner. But it seemed, at least, Morpheus did.

  With my clothes folded neatly near the clawed bathtub, I unfolded the gown and stepped in. As I pulled it up around me, I realized it was only held up over one shoulder. The gold fabric swept up over one half of my chest, and shoulder, and flowed down along one side of my waist. While the other side of my chest and hips were covered in organza. The fabric was nearly transparent, except for the small designs of swirls and shooting stars embroidered on it. A curtain of golden silk fell over my shoulder, much like the dress I had worn for the masked party.

  “Summer?” Morpheus asked against the panel of the door. “Is everything alright?”

  “Morpheus…” I murmured. “I don’t know. I don’t know about this.”

  There was so much of me exposed. I felt as though I were wearing a dress that should have belonged to Hera. I turned to my side and took in the reflection of the woman staring back at me. I suddenly felt so strange, and so empty. I had become someone I barely recognized. So much of me had changed.

  “Let me see,” he said softly. “Open the door.”

  The handle jiggled and Morpheus knocked gently. I bit back a groan as I reached to open it.

  “You can’t laugh. You have to promise you won’t laugh.”

  “Is it really that bad? I didn’t think it was possible for Arae to have bad taste—”

  “It’s just…” I opened the door slowly and lifted my gaze to his as I stood awkwardly still. “...different.”

  I heard Morpheus suck in a breath.

  “It’s. . .different.” He agreed.

  I felt his gaze rake over me—up and down, from my head to my toes. My cheeks began to warm, and I darted my gaze away from his.

  “You look different,” he added slowly. “Nice. I mean—you look nice.”

  “I just don’t feel like myself,” I mumbled, grasping the folds of the fabric around my thighs.

  “But this is who you are, Summer. This is how we’ve always seen you. Just like this. Beautiful and strong. Let them see that too. Don’t hide tonight.”

  “I’m not—”

  Morpheus smirked and sh
ook his head. “Yes, you’ve been hiding. I know you.”

  “You think you do,” I corrected.

  Morpheus slid a finger underneath my chin, lifting my eyes back to his again. “I do. I know I do.”

  He held mine there a moment more before he turned and moved back into the bedroom. I followed him hesitantly, watching as he eased into the closet and pulled something shiny from the suitcase. In his hand was a woven halo crown of golden leaves; matching perfectly with my gown. He strolled back to me, and gently placed the crown on my head. I lifted my hand, letting my fingertips graze over the edge of one of the small golden leaves.

  “Do I look okay, then?”

  Morpheus smiled and extended his hand for mine.

  “More than okay,” he said, reassuringly. “But you might want to comb out those tangles.”

  Morpheus tugged on a strand of my hair and I snorted. Moving back to the bathroom, I ran a brush through my tangles and twisted it up with bobby-pins. I took extra care to pin certain strands into place, to go with the golden crown. Placing the crown back with ease, I took one last look in the mirror. Eat your heart out, Mom.

  “Final thoughts?” I asked as I turned to face Morpheus. He looked away from the window and smiled at me.

  “Perfect.”

  I was pleased by his answer and slipped on a simple pair of sandals from my suitcase.

  “Is there a game plan for this dinner?” I asked, taking Morpheus’s proffered arm.

  “Game plan?” He asked, leading us from the room. I closed the door behind me.

  “Should we have a code word that means ‘I’m ready to leave’?”

  He appeared skeptical. “Do humans do that often?”

  I laughed and shrugged. “My dad and I used to do that for holiday parties. He’d always be forced to go to his company party, and sometimes his co-workers got a little…” I wrinkled my nose, trying to think of how best to describe them. “Well, they’d get drunk. So we’d come up with a word in the car, so that when we were at the party, and we were ready to go, we only had to say the code.”

  “What words did you choose?” He asked, smiling.

  “Oh, things like. . .boarding pass—” I said, thoughtfully tapping my chin as I recalled certain occasions. One Christmas Party we had used the word ‘pineapple’ and another time we had escaped by referring to our “Uncle Clark,” who had been calling us due to an emergency.

  “That’s two words,” he remarked. I rolled my eyes.

  “One year it was meatloaf.”

  “Meatloaf?” Morpheus asked, obviously confused.

  “Yeah, it’s a meal. Some people love it, some people hate it. Dad and I weren’t huge fans of it.”

  “Alright,” he replied with a nod of his chin.

  “One year, at his holiday party, he came up to me and my mom and was like, ‘I think we left the meatloaf in the oven.’ It took my mom forever to realize what he was saying,” I laughed as I remembered my dad’s irritated face as he continued to repeat the same sentence over and over again, until my mom finally got the message. It stood as a running joke for a long time afterwards.

  The memory tugged at my heart as I thought of my dad. I remembered the silly red sweater he had worn that day with Ebenezer Scrooge’s famous line: “Bah-Hum-Bug” written on it. I had worn a bright red, “Merry Christmas You Filthy Animal” sweater, just to match him. That time seemed so long ago now; so far away and distant. I began to wonder if those moments were even real. I had been normal then, just an ordinary girl who loved her very-odd-parents.

  I knew, no matter what my mom said, nothing could ever bring that back.

  As I gazed down at my hands for a moment, I wondered what Dad would think of me now—if he could see me. I imagined he wouldn’t be too thrilled with my fashion-makeover. But maybe he would be proud of my courage. Even if he wasn’t my real dad, I liked to think I had taken after him in some regard.

  Morpheus paused at the bottom of the staircase and looked at me one more time.

  “I know this isn’t going to be easy,” he said softly. “I’m sure they’re going to say things to upset you. You have to remember to be strong. To think before you say.”

  “Don’t pull a Darce?” I asked gently, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ears. Morpheus nodded slowly.

  “I’d be mindful not to conduct yourself in the same way he did.”

  “So, do I just choke down my meal without saying anything?”

  “You have a voice in this, Summer. Just remember that not all power is gained by what we say. Either way, I’ll be right by your side.”

  At least his words were somewhat comforting. I slid my gaze up along the staircase and then slowly back to him.

  “Why did they ask you and I to come together? If they wanted to be cruel. . .if they wanted to intimidate me, wouldn’t they have asked me to come alone?”

  Morpheus considered me for a moment.

  “I’m sure they have their reasons. They always do.” he murmured before tilting his chin towards the stairs. He was the first one to move towards the stairs. I silently followed after him. As we came to the upper deck, I saw Eros and Dionysus drinking a glass of wine near the railing. They were looking out over the sea, just as the sun was beginning to dip lower below the waves. Eros’ gaze followed me; a brow raised with curiosity. He lifted his glass in my direction before flashing a white-toothed smile. The way he stared after me made my cheeks warm. Dionysus turned quickly, and looked at me with large, wide eyes. He dipped a nod, echoing what I thought might be a bow. Their reactions gave me a push, as if I had done right by conducting myself confidently in a gown made for a queen.

  Morpheus squeezed my hand gently as we continued towards the doors, leading to where I knew Zeus would be waiting.

  As soon as they opened before us, goose-bumps began to crawl up my skin.

  Zeus and Demeter were sitting side-by-side at a table covered in a simple black cloth. Mom was wearing a long, black dress, with flecks of gold and silver woven into the fabric. Zeus was dressed in a black shirt and jacket and wore a white pair of slacks. He rose to his feet and gestured to the two seats across from them with a small, pleasant smile.

  “Please, come take a seat,” he offered.

  I could feel my mom’s eyes on me, probably taking in my chosen attire. Something about her stare caused me to raise my chin higher. I did all that I could to stroll towards the table with a graceful, silent ease. Morpheus pulled out my chair and waited until I was situated to push me closer, and then moved to his own beside me.

  “I hope everyone is hungry,” Zeus murmured with a forced grin, glancing from Morpheus to me. Morpheus eased his wings into a more relaxed state, tucking them behind his shoulders. I didn’t answer.

  Zeus lifted a bottle of wine from the table and began to pour himself a drink, and then offered it to my mom. She gestured towards her glass. We all stared at each other as Zeus poured the wine. I wasn’t sure what exactly we were all waiting for. Zeus leaned forward in our tense quietness, lifting the wine bottle towards Morpheus. With a slight movement of his chin, he gave a nod of approval. When he came to me, Zeus only gave a polite smile.

  “I don’t believe you’re of age yet, are you?” He asked as he finally sat down in his seat, resting the bottle beside his own glass.

  “Not in the United States,” I explained, but my cheeks still warmed at her stark disapproval. I knew I was supposed to behave, but it was only wine. “But Dionysus was kind enough to inform me that here in Europe, the rules are different.”

  “The rules of home still apply,” my mom said, pursing her pink lips.

  Home? Was she really going to pull that card? Home was hardly what it used to be, if it was anything at all now that Dad was gone. Her saying it only served to enrage me further. She had done everything in her power to destroy my home—my new home. Everything I had known and loved was gone, and just when it seemed like my new circumstances were improving, she had to swoop in and ruin it.

>   Leaning forward, I reached for the bottle out of spite. I was never the type to go out of my way to make my mom mad, but tonight I didn’t care. I wanted to make her angry. As I poured myself a full glass, I watched as she glared at me. I arched my brow, inviting her to say something—to say anything! But she didn’t. Zeus chuckled and leaned back in his chair.

  “I knew she was feisty.”

  Morpheus reached for the bottle, helping to ease it back onto the table without spilling a drop.

  I lifted my glass to my lips and took a long sip. The wine was sweet, and I enjoyed the sensation of the little bubbles dancing on my tongue.

  “I hope you enjoy the dinner,” Zeus said, interlacing his fingers underneath his chin.

  I adjusted myself in my seat, doing my best to sit up straighter than before.

  “So, why are we here?” I inquired. “Why did you want me to come here?”

  Mom studied me, her eyes sparkling in the dim light of the room.

  “There’s so much to explain, so much to say. I can only imagine the questions you might have…” She replied as her gaze darted to Zeus. It seemed as though she was seeking his approval—making sure her choice of words were what he wanted.

  “Thanks, but Darce answered most of them already,” I said, doing my best to sound as bored as he would have.

  “I doubt the ol’ boy was able to answer all of them,” Zeus retorted with a snort.

  “There are things you don’t know, Summer,” Mom said gently, shaking her head. “There are so many things that. . .I don’t even know how to explain it to you.”

  “Like what?” I challenged her. “Tell me.”

  I wanted her to tell me the truth—the truth about everything; about Greece and Dad. I wanted to hear her tell me about all the past lives I had seen, and how she had done nothing but interfere. But she hesitated. I guessed she wanted more time to think about what she wanted to say, before it actually left her mouth. She parted her lips and took a breath but stopped just before speaking. I shook my head in disgust.

  “If you have so much to say, then. . . I’m listening.”

  Her chin trembled as she stared at me. A surge of annoyance filled me.