Demeter's Love (8)

Just as Greek men, once smitten, know no restraint whatsoever, the women are no different—and a prime example of their victims is Hermaphroditus, son of Hermes. Those who draw their passion from loving someone claim no smaller share of the myths than the men do, and Demeter was no exception.

"Ahhh~! Lady Hera~!"

"…Hm? Demeter?"

She had meant to keep her feelings hidden, but the day's events must have kindled a sacred fire in the hearth of her heart, for she climbed all the way to Olympus and poured everything out to Hera. Because a past lover of hers had once been struck dead by lightning, she fretted that any involvement might bring trouble down on Perseus—so she spoke only of her own infatuation. Hera, confronted with this sudden confession of love, could only look baffled and thoroughly at a loss.

"Wait, wait, wait a moment, Demeter. Calm yourself. That you came straight to me without making a mess of things was the right ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠choice—but barging in like this is far too startling."

"Yes… I'm sorry…"

"And… you mean to say you… toward that Perseus…?"

"At first I tried to hide it, but after facing him a second time, I simply couldn't hold it in any longer…"

Hera found the whole business deeply awkward. Summer was the season of barrenness that symbolized Demeter's other face—a time when her mood was known to be thoroughly foul. Yet when Hera looked down from the heavens upon the earth, sure enough, greenery was quietly beginning to sprout. Alarmed, she hastily clamped a hand over Demeter's mouth.

"Kill that mood of yours! If the earth grows this lush at this time of year, the other gods will notice!"

"Ah! I didn't mean to…"

At Hera's cry, Demeter carefully settled her heart. The land did not quite become barren, but the sprouting of new growth stopped, and summer returned to its usual state—so no one was likely to catch on.

The other goddesses have set their eyes on men more times than I can count… but Demeter, of all people, falling for Perseus…

She was a woman who suffered heartache every time she grew fond of a man. As a fellow goddess, Hera wanted to take Demeter's side—yet as the goddess of the household, she could not openly grant permission.

What am I to do? She came to me because she thought she could lean on me, and she has lowered her head accordingly—I can hardly just send her away…

Hera fretted briefly, then hit upon a scheme. As the goddess of the household, she could not very well encourage Demeter toward adultery—so she decided to summon someone who might actually be of help.

"Hermes~? Are you there? If you are, come here a moment~!"

"Yes, Lady Hera! What did you need me for?!"

A handsome youth popped out from the high clouds and wedged himself between Hera and Demeter. He hadn't heard the conversation, but the way he grinned with those scarlet cheeks twitching said he already smelled an entertaining ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠affair—every inch the little rascal.

"My boy, I wish to help Demeter, but something has come up that these lips of mine cannot endorse. So I would like you to help her in my place. Can you manage that?"

"What sort of business is it?"

"The truth is…"

Whisper, whisper—Hera murmured into Hermes's ear the very same confession Demeter had made to her, and color bloomed across his face. News of Demeter's love life was hardly something one stumbled across every day. With no intention of letting this opportunity slip, he swept back his golden, wool-like curls and grinned from ear to ear.

"Haha! If Lord Poseidon heard this, he'd be jealous out of his mind!"

"Exactly. And it isn't a matter one can speak of with a clear conscience. I came to Lady Hera to apologize for these impure feelings I've ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠harbored…"

"And what do you think of it, Lady Hera?"

"That I am not lenient toward adultery is something even the mortals on earth know well. But Demeter came of her own accord to confess this, and Perseus has never formally taken Achilles as his wife—so on that pretext, I am willing to look the other way. Hermes, my boy? You are full of mischief, yet you never cross the line, so I can trust you with this. Besides, I hear you and that Perseus are sworn brothers. Might you be able to lend a hand?"

"When Lady Hera herself calls on me in trust, how could I refuse? Haha—and to think my little brother is once again rendering service for the gods! I couldn't dislike him if I tried!"

"You're right. Heroes like him are rare in this age. All the better if things work out smoothly."

"Hmm, hmm… now what to do about this…?"

Hermes accepted the two goddesses' request and immediately set his mind to work. Given Perseus's nature, he would no doubt treat the gods with perfect courtesy—and Hermes already saw that Demeter thrusting herself forward would only make the man uncomfortable.

This little brother of mine is a real handful! Still, he seems to get along well enough with Achilles, so he's clearly doing everything that needs doing!

Being a god—and Hermes in particular—he was well aware of the lust that flowed from that body. So long as the other party wasn't a block of wood, there was surely a way for Demeter to find satisfaction.

"If we're being serious about this, a clean, proper union between my brother and Demeter is impossible. Given your position, Lady Hera, that would stick in your craw—and Lady Demeter herself wouldn't want the other gods staring daggers at her."

"That's true."

"Indeed."

"But if it's merely sharing affection now and then, or even bearing a child—wouldn't that be a level Lady Hera could close her eyes to? Especially so long as Lady Demeter never publicly declares with whom she's been intimate, the goddess of the household would have no cause to take offense. I believe this is the compromise that lets each of you preserve your respective positions."

"Hmm."

As the goddess of the household, Hera put the question to Demeter once more.

"Demeter. So long as you do not proclaim to the other gods that you are intimate with a man who already has a wife, I will look the other way. But I have my own position to consider—if the day comes that you are found out, remember that I will not be able to help you."

"Yes. I will take care not to be discovered. I'm grateful for your consideration, Lady Hera."

"Heh. Then that's settled."

She gave Hermes a little chin-nod, and he grinned so hard his scarlet cheeks stretched taut.

"Even if someone did find out, who would there be to condemn her besides Lord Poseidon? Or perhaps Lord Zeus?"

"That Zeus fellow—if he so much as opens his mouth about Demeter's love life, every god in existence will tear into him that very day, so don't you worry about him! Interfering in someone else's romance not once but twice is simply not to be borne! Hmph!"

"Ah, well, when you put it that way. Being obstructed twice would be hard for even Lady Demeter to endure."

Hermes snickered and nodded as if thoroughly convinced.

"Then we'll manage this among ourselves without asking Lady Aphrodite for help. That's all right, isn't it?"

"I'd be grateful if you did. That woman can be quite useful when it comes to matters like these—but her mouth is far too loose, and that's the problem."

"I agree."

It had become an unintended bit of gossip about Aphrodite, but Hermes seemed uninterested and poured his attention solely into what came next. Now that Hera had given her blessing, all that remained was to reel Perseus in—so he crafted his plan around the man's sexual appetite.

"Lady Demeter, what is Perseus doing right now?"

"Before I came up to Olympus he finished his work and fell asleep, so he should still be in the bedchamber…"

"Then shall we slip down quietly and take a look at the situation together?"

"Yes."

Guided by Hermes, Demeter descended once more to the earth. Hera fretted briefly over what schemes that trickster might cook up—then promptly put it out of her mind.

The two of them will manage well enough on their own.

She worried a little that they might stir up a ruckus on Olympus, but the matter was already out of her hands. She allowed herself a modest hope that good news might follow, while Hermes and Demeter came all the way down to the mortal world and set foot in a forest thick with darkness.

"There's quite a lot of something here. Who built these huts?"

"They're lodgings for the Spartoi. They asked the nymphs and made a place for themselves to stay. Perseus is using the bed in my temple, so he'll be over that way."

"And Achilles?"

"They're in the huts over there as well."

"Hmm~?"

The fact that Perseus was staying inside Demeter's temple made the difference in how he and the others were treated rather plain.

I only saw him as a grown man today—but if she's been letting him live like this all along, she must have cherished him dearly from the start.

She seemed to favor Perseus far beyond anything she put into words—and hearing that she had even sent Achilles out to a hut offered a small glimpse of her peculiar nature. Demeter was less jealous than most goddesses, yet even accounting for that, the way she seemed to keep Achilles at a distance proved that she, too, was a Greek goddess in the end.

"First, let's go inside and take the first step."

"The first step?"

"With these things, starting with a kiss is the proper form, isn't it?"

"A-a kiss? Already?!"

"Haha."

Hermes chuckled under his breath, as if to say, leave it to me.

The two gods slipped secretly into Perseus's bedchamber.