The Empress of Magic

Chapter 91 : Dementors in Little Whinging and a visit to Sokovia

If history is to be trusted, those who are to receive the affections of the God Apollo would meet a fate more tragic than death.

Hyacinthus, once upon a time a beautiful Spartan prince, met his end in the form of a discus to the head, dying in the sun god's arms because the god of the west winds could not control his jealousy and rage.

Cyparissus, saddened by the unfortunate death of his pet deer gifted to him by Apollo, requested the god to let him become sorrowful forever, making him unwillingly turn his lover into a cypress tree.

Daphne, repulsed by his continuous shows of affection ran from him, and in her desperation to escape his love, let herself be turned into a laurel tree just as he was about to embrace her.

Cassandra, a Trojan princess who would not hold her end of a promise after Apollo had gifted her the gift of prophecy, was cursed to never be believed by anyone else, even though her prophecies always spoke the truth.

Marpesss, fearing that the god's love for her would dwindle once she had turned old, chose her lover Idas instead of him.

And then there was Coronis, who while pregnant with their son Asclepius fell in love with Ischys. He was informed of their affair by a white crow, whose feathers he burned after he requested Artemis to kill his unfaithful lover...

The one person whose life did not end with a curse following her, or death befalling her by his hands was Eve Pendragon, Queen of Magical Europe and sister of Morgan Le Fay, Arthur Pendragon, and twin of Xavier Pendragon.

He met her when she was just shy of twenty years old, a beautiful young maiden with a sarcastic mind and rather sharp tongue. Her white hair was incredibly long, almost reaching her calves even in its braided state, and he enjoyed observing her as she let the children of the nearby village decorate her white curls with flowers and feathers.

Her eyes, the most mesmerizing shade of blue, twinkled with mischief and intelligence.. He would be lying if he said he hadn't found himself staring a bit too long after having gotten lost within them.....

She was sweet, kind, and so, so strong, having had the courage to trade her own freedom in exchange for her family's safety...

And when she declared that she chose Hephaestus out of all the Olympians to be the father of her first child he had laughed, smiling at her act of defiance.

Zeus definitely had expected to be asked by her, and Hera had thought the same if her wide-eyed look, before a pleased smile graced her features after she announced the name of the god of forges, said anything. Pulling a move like that had shaken all of Olympus and beyond, but Apollo only found himself more intrigued by her once he saw her unwillingness to work in the favor of his father.

The young god watched over her, seeing how she genuinely seemed to care about the god of Forges and didn't care about his obvious lack of good looks....

Hephaestus loved Eve more than he did his own wife, who funnily enough was the very goddess of this peculiar emotion, and gifted her a bouquet of red tulips out of metal, crafted by his own two hands, on the day she had confirmed him to be her first choice of the gods.

Where Apollo and the other gods had found the gift tacky, and expected the mortal queen to quickly regret having chosen the male, she had surprised them all by accepting them with the most beautiful of smiles decorating her features, displaying them on the desk of her nightstand so she would awaken to the sight of them each morning.......

It didn't take long for a child to come forth out of this peculiar union, a handsome young prince that had Hephaestus swooning praises and bright smiles even months after his birth. Eve gifted the boy the name Helios, after the former god of the sun, who had grown to be a good friend of the witch over time, and who had blessed the young child with the ability to create light, even when finding himself in the darkest parts of the earth.