Sometimes it's so obvious to everyone but you.
This most obvious thing can be the truth hidden in plain sight.
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Ariadne knelt beside someone she had thought was her son, but now she saw it was her twin, Nour, staring back at her. How had she missed the similarities?
The feelings she had long since learnt to repress leaked out of her every pore, oozing out of her like invisible streams of water unto the floor. The sudden loss of that anchor caused her to be lightheaded. The need to scold Nour or Jin or whoever overwhelmed her, because if it wasn't for his carelessness they wouldn't be here in this position, piecing together broken glass one shard at a time.
Yet...
All that came were relieved sobs that rumbled in her chest and broke free from her lips. Although Nour was different in this life, that stoic demeanour had never completely faded. The need to care for everyone but himself also never faded. She knew Nour was not her twin anymore, he had six brothers now and she in a strange way had become a guardian for him and his brothers. The miracle that had been bestowed on them just dawned on her.
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Your voice pierced through the fog and tore through the clouds, it disturbed particles suspended between time and space as you knelt on your knees and sang. It sounded like love. Like the feeling of blossoming and new love, the type of love that suddenly dawns on you. It filled the heart with excitement in the way a first kiss would or a summer's day...
It invoked the same feeling as when your lover looked at you with a stare that carried gentle anticipation and playful sexual tension. That day many of those stuck in monotonous work and mundane day-to-day life found themselves inexplicably bursting into tears of joy as there was something worth celebrating. There was something bigger than this after all.
Nyx had not heard that song in years and followed the melody like a moth seeking out the light. Before she knew it she was running, desperately peering through doorways and staring through windows searching for the voice. The race was on.
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Jin's memory hadn't fully merged with Nour's yet. He saw flashes and episodes but he couldn't grasp them fully yet. He was starting to understand how you must have felt when you were transitioning to become a god. He remembered yours and his very first kiss and also the ungodly things he nearly did with you in your chambers...
Ariadne had been his disapproving twin and he had only been a mere servant to you. Yearning and dreaming but understanding it could never be and yet he had broken everything rule in the book kissing you under the stars and confessing his love. Even now he was breaking every rule in the book...defying his grandfather and lineage. A lineage he had hated in his past life.
But at least...
But at least—
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Nyx, out of breath and frantic finally found you on your knees. Eyes closed. On your head was a brilliant crown that casted out dancing and sparkling light that reflected on the walls like the flickering stars of night. You were in your royal robes wearing; a long white lace dress that fanned out around you, threads of shining gold was woven into the fabric as tiny, minuscule diamonds encrusted the bodice of your dress, your décolletage was exposed apart from a gold necklace with a pendant that resembled the star of Venus. Your coils sat free on your head brushing against your warm-looking deep brown cheeks and of course in your hands was your Rose. A majestic flower, the same intoxicating colour as your eyes.
Titling your head slightly upwards you made direct eye contact with Nyx. A knowing smile brightened your beautiful face
"If only I knew it was this easy to find Nour." You laughed lightly, shaking your head softly.
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The temple of Zeus could no longer bear the weight of the truth.
The pure white marble had started to yellow like curdled cheese.
That day Olympia was deathly silent as the Olympians watched on in utter bewilderment. If Zeus's temple fell what would it mean for them? They had ignored the cracks in the temples for a century now, they had become so accustomed to ignoring the obvious that they had failed the notice that the sun was setting on them. Or maybe they had noticed and felt that burying their head in the sand was the best way to avoid the inevitable.
The only god that seemed not to drown in the collective existential dread was Aphrodite who taught back to the young lady that had scampered through the heavens carelessly that day. She had never been a fan of Zeus particularly, although if asked she couldn't tell you if her suspicions of Zeus become before or after she decided she disliked him. A mischievous smile flashed on her lips for a microsecond before she turned her back to the temple.
Dionysus swirled a champagne flute and held up to the fallen temple as if raising a cheers to the end.
Once again it was time for war.
Zeus could only bet on one thing, using Nour as a wager to regain his throne once more.
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Jin's memories slowly merged with that of Nour. As they finally become one person. In your dying breath, you had prayed for the last thing and you had done it. Your Nour had become a god.
Seven would be Zeus's undoing and eight would rise for the Revolution. Just as you had promised and you would fight just as you had promised. Once again you could hear the approaching war drums slowly but surely picking up pace.
"Nyx let's go see Jin."
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Zeus had called his son Dionysus to his side. Paranoia rose in his heart and he had no idea who he could trust. The Olympians were not known for loyalty. He could only blame himself for that. He and his wife's constant suspiciousness had rubbed off on his children and grandchildren, however, this wasn't the time for regret it was a time for action. He knew if he could at least keep Dionysus loyal he would have an easier time. They both knew that Dionysus was far more powerful than Zeus but neither of them was ever going to admit it out loud. Dionysus needed Zeus to remain ignorant and proud and Zeus needed Dionysus to not do as he had done and become proud and overthrow him. Pride was the keyword here. It was the Olympians' hubris that had been passed down from generation to generation
"How can I help you...?"
Dionysus spoke first. He had always made a point to never address Dionysus as father. Dionysus's only parent was his mother. Exhaling the old god braced himself. He hadn't really thought of a plan as of yet but he knew that his plan centred around the servant. If he could get hold of him and use him as ransom there wouldn't be a need for another war. To Dionysus it was like looking at a mirror that aged you when Zeus finally looked him in the eye. The same eyes and hair, did they share a similar heart?
"Dionysus, did I ever tell you how I got to where I was?"
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Aphrodite slunk out of the heavens determined to see her semi-estranged sons. She rarely saw or spoke to them as they had preferred to occupy themselves with mortals that lived on a floating blue ball. She found mortals insufferable and pitiful. The condition in which they lived in made her stomach churn unpleasantly, but these were the beings she swore to serve so the least she could do was briefly wonder among them. Her sons had made it impossible to just appear to them where they lived and therefore she was forced to find their home the tedious way.
What brats her sons were! At least that's what she thought to herself as she finally saw a glimpse of their home in the forest. A fog had descended around it as an effort to further conceal it. Aphrodite wasn't sure how she felt about the automatic chariot she had acquired. Despite being told many times it was a car she preferred to call it a chariot. She tsked to herself as she realised she forgot how to park. Not that it mattered, no cars really drove down the quiet country road.
It was Jimin who saw her approach the house first. He had taken it upon himself to go be a pesk to his older brother Namjoon as he tended his plants. Periodically shooting Jimin a dirty look Namjoon would bite back with a sarcastic remark designed to get him to back off.
Instead, Jimin was greeted by his stepmother making her way up to their home. Not something he had ever expected. He wondered if they had been careless. You remained in their home as a goddess, but denying her entry would definitely raise her suspicions, so what was it going to be? Namjoon eventually looked up unnerved by Jimin's sudden silence. The guy could talk the hind legs of a donkey on a good day, especially if he was in a playful mood as he was today. Intrigued further by the fact that his brother seemed to be frozen on the spot he followed Jimin's gaze to see Aphrodite in the flesh making her way to their home.
"For fuck sake!" the older brother muttered to himself as she locked unto them from a distance.
"Hi boys!" She called in a cheerful tone very similar to the tone that Jimin had used to tease Namjoon with earlier. In times like this Namjoon wondered how it was possible she and Jimin weren't related at all.
"Don't you dare ignore me either!" She continued. There was a threatening edge to her tone.
She smiled self-assuredly sashaying towards them and meeting them at the gates of their front garden.
Aphrodite was a curious character by all accounts. She was the goddess of beauty, sex and fertility, but was also a war goddess specifically "Justice" enacted via war. However, humans had gotten carried away with her and her Mythos. In their eyes, she was a superficial, temperamental goddess who remained fickle and juvenile because humans could not grasp someone with such feminine traits as someone who could handle the intricacies of wars. Meaning the Trojan war among other things was blamed on her carelessness when in reality Aphrodite had tried to enact justice for Helen of Troy who had been trapped in a brutal and hateful marriage. As an attempt save her she knowingly incited a war, unfortunately, King Menelaus did not die in the war as she had intended because Athena and Hera had gotten involved doing so under Zeus's orders. Ironically no one ever got their justice Helen remained with the King and Aphrodite would be depicted as an airhead goddess to the point that no one on Olympia even took her seriously.
That never seemed to matter to her though. She knew things she wasn't supposed to know. She knew things about herself that would send anyone spiralling, but she had taken the information she needed and stored it away waiting for the day she would need to use it again. Painting her lips with her signature gorgeous smile she allowed knowledge to fade from behind her eyes.
"What do you know?" Namjoon asked finally seeing past her facade.
She laughed a little, her laugh like the tinkle of wind chimes before shaking her head at her stepsons.
"I know too much."
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His eyes finally met with yours.
He remembered how angry you made him, how you infuriated him. He had watched you for millions of years waiting for the day you could smile at him without causing the universe to implode.
He remembered how in love he had been with you and he understood that would never ever change. His feelings may have been blasphemous, a form of treason even, but when he looked into your eyes both as Jin and as Nour he knew that there was nothing in the universe that could keep you away from him.
Like glistening water at a sunset, your eyes danced beautifully as tears brimmed and breached the water line. Your one prayer had come true, your one wish!
You had been a fool to not see that the love of your life was right in front of you. He had grown and changed and fought his own personal battles, but he was your Nour. He was your Jin too. They had been one person and with every life, you had lived you had been together always unwittingly finding your way to each other's arms. Always.
"I love you."
It was Jin that spoke first.
He could say that now that he was finally a god. He could say it and people could hear him say it and it was okay.
"I love you too."
You reached out your fingers and met his finally connecting. Briefly, you were in that field again staring at the night sky. Whispered confessions lost in the dark.
Nyx and Ariadne shared a look as they watched the two lovers reunite right in front of their eyes.
Had the fates wanted this after all? If so why go through all this trouble? Why?