Young Gods (A Klaus Mikaelson Fanfic)

Chapter 2- Elenor Salvatore P.I.

I've never been fond of the dark. When I was a child, while my siblings were fond of the fairytale that bespoke of a prince saving his damsel in distress, I was always interested in Greek Mythology. While mom read them their happily ever after, dad would sit me up against his chest as he leaned on my headboard to tell me the stories of the Greek Gods and Goddesses. There wasn't a book with pictures like Snow White or Sleeping Beauty but that was the glory of it all. These almost seemed real.

My favorite story was the love triangle between Hades, Aphrodite, and Persephone. It was a less common myth and my father always claimed he couldn't remember where he had heard it but I loved it because, unlike normal love stories where the women are jealous and only want the man for themselves, this story was different. The way my father told it was that Aphrodite was born from the sea foam and was more powerful than the Olympian Gods because she was able to turn her beauty into persuasion.

After watching her charm the king of the gods, the other Olympians got worried, a fact that only increased when they noticed she had become besotted with Hades, god of the dead. This was worrisome because Hades clearly returned her feelings and, being one of the three sons of Kronos, they were by far two of the most powerful gods. Once Hera brought their relationship to her husband's attention, the king became worried that Hades would be able to steal his throne with Aphrodite's help so he forced her to marry Hephaestus, his disabled son who had been thrown off Olympus by his wife.

Aphrodite, with Hades's blessing, did as told, not wanting Hades to be caught in a war. She had hope that one day she would grow to love Hephaestus but with his distance, she sought a lover in Ares. With his help, she grew Hades's kingdom by whispering in her lover's ear but she knew that power was not what Hades wanted. It was love. So when Demeter's daughter Persephone became of age and became fascinated by Hades, the god was quick to notice. He was intrigued as to why the goddess of spring would want him.

Seeing this, Aphrodite used her powers to make the two meet and as she hoped, they fell in love. It wasn't until after they were married that they realized what the goddess had done. When Persephone, who was well aware of the goddess of beauty's history with her husband thanks to Hades, asked why she had done it, she said she was the goddess of love. It was her job to encourage love and she knew they'd make a good pair. The goddess of the Underworld asked how she found it in herself to let him fall for another but Aphrodite simply smiled saying that was what love was. Wanting the one you loved to be happy, even if it wasn't with you.

Their story intrigued me which is why my distaste for darkness confused me. Out of all the stories my father had told me, Hades was my favorite character, mostly because he never raped anyone unlike most of the other gods. Yet, despite this fondness, I hated the darkness, something that was Hades's domain.

Yet, as I stand in the darkness in the same hallway that had become a comfort to me, it seemed to intrigue me in the same way that Hades did. Perhaps that's why I keep stepping forward as the lights shut off. I know that there's something in the darkness and everything in me is telling me that I need to know what it is.

Part of me remembers the story of Pandora but I shake it off, knowing that I need to do this, even if I couldn't explain my certainty. Yet, as I hit the mid-point where another hallway opens to the side filled with light and some unplaceable floral scent that always seem to end my dream, it does exactly that.

I jolt awake, breathing heavily for a moment before glaring at the ceiling. Not even becoming a vampire had improved my dreams and it was getting on my nerves. Speaking of my vampirism, I was beginning to come into it, as El claimed. The night we had sought a ring, I had been completely unable to decide so she ended up enchanting the one I had been wearing since I could remember. It had a silver band and 5 opals on display. Surrounding the center opal so as to accentuate the centerpiece, as Ellie called it, were what I thought were diamonds but according to her were lapis lazuli stones instead.