Black Rose | Greek Mythology

Birth of Monsters

It had been nine days since Gaia broke the news that she was pregnant. During which time, Uranus had been nothing but the most attentive husband, excited and anxious for the birth of his new child. He gladly catered to Gaia's every whim and never let her out of sight, which, though endearing, limited much of Gaia's movements.

Uranus loved his children. That is, as long as they were born with his looks. He was a fanatical aesthete, and it was an unfortunate happenstance that some of his children failed his standards. Consequently, ever since he exiled his six sons out of Othrys, Gaia's treatment of him became a little colder. She wasn't outright cruel, just distant. She would sometimes shy away from his advances but would eventually give in when he became adamant enough. He could see her far away looks, thinking perhaps of her lost children, whom she claimed was adopted by Nyx and Erebus in Chthonia.

It crushed him to learn that he had put her in pain when he buried his children underground after he had found out that they had been adopted. He swore to spend every moment of his eternity to atone for his crime. And promised that he would love this new addition to the family with what love he couldn't give to his exiled ones.

It was an easy day in Othrys. From his seat in on the throne, Uranus watched Gaia recline on a wooden lounge in sweet repose while her hand drew hypnotic circles around her swollen belly. Laughter, carried by the floral breeze, trickled from the open windows. Outside in the garden below, his eleven children were enjoying the light of Hyperion by having a picnic of fruits and ambrosia. His sons requested this day to themselves to break away from the monotony of council meetings, which he wholeheartedly granted.

He yawned while his eyes struggled to stay open. Gaia beckoned him closer and scooted back, the lounge slowly stretching and becoming broad enough to contain two gods. Uranus smiled and accepted her invitation. He curled up beside her and fell asleep to the feeling of her fingers repeatedly running through his hair.

888

The Titans chose a meadow surrounded by trees. The sisters gathered the fruits and other edibles while the brothers lay on the lush carpet of grass, listening to their sisters' soft conversation accompanied by the sound of bird song and burble of a nearby brook courtesy of Tethys.

"Isn't it wonderful? Do you think we would have a baby brother or sister?" Tethys asked her siblings as they laid the food down in flowing bowls of clear water shaped by her magic.

Iapetus shrugged and helped himself to a pear. "Another boy should even us out." Mnemosyne and Themis joined him. The former leaned against his back while the latter settled her head on his lap.

"The leaf rides the wind as it falls down," Crius murmured, his head tilted towards a tree which was shedding its leaves.

"Crius is right," Phoebe nodded sagely. "It shouldn't matter."

Looks of comprehension spread amongst the brothers while the sisters only nodded in agreement. Crius had the habit of saying something completely random that were up to the listener's interpretation. Phoebe usually served to interpret their younger brother's words while Coeus struggled the most to see the sense in his absurd statements. The rest of the siblings accepted Phoebe's interpretation as the truth.

"It's been nine days, and the child is still inside mother," Hyperion hummed as he settled behind Theia, wrapping his bright arms around her figure in a sweet embrace. "I wonder what he's waiting for."

Theia gave him a pointed look.

"...Or she," Hyperion amended, giving his sister an apologetic smile.