- 5 hours ago
[NEW] Forbidden Love with Ares - Full Movie - Fantasy Short Drama
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00I was born with a large chest. All the men in the forest coveted my body. The fairies say I
00:08am cursed, because my mother was a priestess of the Moon Temple, who died while giving birth to me. And
00:15until the end, she never revealed who my father was.
00:19The priestesses therefore see me as an ill omen, treat me as a slave, and have forbidden me from looking
00:26directly into the eyes of men.
00:28Fener, you think that body of yours is for seducing men? This is Artemis' sacred grove. Step out of line,
00:38and I'll feed you to the sea monster, Scriper, myself.
00:43I didn't know what stepping out of line meant. All I knew was the ache in my chest from the
00:49bindings they made me wear.
00:51In summer, the fabric rubbed my skin raw. In winter, the coat turned my fingers blue. But no matter how
00:59tight I wrapped, those two stubborn mouths pushed through, refusing to disappear.
01:04I cried into the spring more times than I could count, begging my mother to tell me why she gave
01:10me this body. The spring never answered. Only the wind rustling through the laurel leaves.
01:17Everything changed on the spring evening. Everything changed on the spring evening.
01:25Helios' chariot had just crossed the sky, painting the growl gold and rose.
01:31I was walking back from the stream, with a clay jug on my shoulder, water sloshing, when I heard sounds
01:37coming from the olive grove behind the temple.
01:39Oh, muffled sounds. The kind you're not supposed to hear.
01:44I put down the jug and crept closer.
01:47Tea was on her knees. Her robe had slipped down to her waist, exposing the dry, wrinkled skin of her
01:53back.
01:54And standing in front of her was a man I'd never seen before.
01:57No, not a man. A god.
02:00He was shirtless, his body carved like a statue, every muscle holding enough force to level a city.
02:06Dark brown curls hung past his shoulders. His eyes were amber, burning like twin fires in the twilight.
02:13He had Teya by the chin, tilting her old face up to his.
02:17Tell me, who's the most beautiful niff in this grove?
02:25The moon goddess's handmaidens.
02:28No.
02:28He let her go, his gaze sweeping past her, past the olive branches, past the floating dust moats, in the
02:36golden light, and landing straight on me.
02:40My blood turned cold.
02:42His eyes moved down my face, past my trembling lips, and stopped at my chest, pressed tight against the edge
02:49of the clay jug, rising and falling with every panicked breath.
02:55He walked toward me, and with every step, the leaves on the ground seemed to shrink back.
03:02What's your name?
03:04Vena.
03:06Vena.
03:07He rolled the name across his tongue like he was tasting it.
03:11The corner of his mouth lifted.
03:13Are you afraid of me?
03:15I nodded, then shook my head.
03:18His scent was too much, iron and blood, the smell of a battlefield.
03:24It made my knees weak.
03:27I'm Eris, god of war.
03:31I knew who he was, son of Zeus and Hera.
03:35Every nymph knew the stories.
03:37Once a god like him set his sights on you, there was no escape.
03:41My knees buckled.
03:43The clay jug sipped from my fingers.
03:47Iris reached out.
03:48His fingers hooked the strip of fabric binding my chest.
03:51Moving so slowly, I had all the time in the world to run.
03:55But I didn't.
03:56I couldn't.
03:59He pulled.
04:00The linen tore like butterfly wings.
04:03My body, bound and concealed for seventeen years,
04:07lay uncovered in the twilight, exposed to his gaze.
04:11To the fading sunlight and the evening breeze.
04:14I gasped, tried to move back, but my feet wouldn't obey.
04:19His ember eyes filled with something I didn't understand.
04:23Something hungry and wild.
04:25Like a man who'd been walking through a desert for a thousand years,
04:29and finally found water.
04:30Taya, you were right.
04:33This body really is cursed.
04:38He paused, bent his head, and brought his nose within the breath of my collarbone.
04:44Cursed by me.
04:46He inhaled.
04:47The warmth of his breath hit my skin,
04:50setting off a ripple of goosebumps down my neck,
04:53my arms, my spine.
04:56You smell like spring.
05:00I shoved him.
05:01I don't know where the strength came from,
05:03but my palms hit his chest solid.
05:06I felt his heartbeat, loud and fast,
05:09just like a mortal man.
05:10I staggered back,
05:12stumbling over shards of the broken jug.
05:15Blood welled from my foot.
05:17But I didn't feel it.
05:19Don't touch me!
05:22I screamed.
05:24Airs didn't follow.
05:25He stood there,
05:26watching me flee,
05:28watching my hair whip in the wind,
05:30watching my bare shoulders disappear into the trees.
05:34Then he bent down and picked up the torn strip of linen,
05:38still warm from my skin.
05:40He lifted it to his nose.
05:44The sound followed me through the olive grove,
05:46through the laurel trees,
05:48through the dying light.
05:49It sank into my bones.
05:51That night,
05:53every nymph in the grove heard me cry.
05:55I caught up in the darkest corner of the moon temple,
05:59moonlight falling cold through the high windows.
06:01I tried to wrap my chest again with the torn cloth,
06:05but my fingers shook too badly to tie the knots.
06:09Tears soaked my knees,
06:10my dress,
06:11the stone floor.
06:13Teya found me.
06:15The marks from Airs' fingers
06:17were still fresh on her cheek,
06:20purple and swollen.
06:22She looked down at me,
06:23whose eyes are held nothing but disgust.
06:27You think you can run from this?
06:29When a god like Airs wants something,
06:32no one stops him.
06:35No one.
06:36I looked up through my tears.
06:38She bent down,
06:39close enough
06:40that her lips almost touched my ear.
06:43I heard Airs was badly wounded at Troy.
06:46A spear went through his thigh,
06:49right through the tendon.
06:51She didn't finish.
06:52She didn't need to.
06:54A god who couldn't perform.
06:58Lucky you.
06:59Better a broken god than a beast.
07:05At least you won't have to bear children.
07:08She patted my cheek.
07:10Besides,
07:11they say men who can't do it in bed
07:13make up for it in other ways.
07:15I don't want to marry him.
07:16Don't want?
07:17Who do you think you are?
07:20A bastard with no father.
07:23Airs wants you.
07:25That's more than you deserve.
07:26If it weren't for that body of yours,
07:28that slut's body,
07:29a war god wouldn't even look at you.
07:31I cried again.
07:33That night,
07:34I dreamed.
07:35Airs' hands moved up my legs,
07:38and everywhere he touched,
07:39my skin caught fire.
07:42His lips pressed against my stomach,
07:45and I heard his voice,
07:47low and shaking.
07:49Senna,
07:50you can't escape me.
07:53I woke,
07:55soaked in sweat.
07:56My hair was plastered to my face,
07:59my neck.
08:00The blanket had slid to the floor.
08:02Between my legs,
08:04a heat I'd never felt before,
08:06spreading through me like spring flats,
08:08breaking through ice.
08:10I bit my leg,
08:11until I tasted blood.
08:13Shame shook me down to my bones.
08:16Outside,
08:17the moon hung cold in the sky.
08:19The next day,
08:20a messenger came to the grove.
08:22Not Aerith,
08:23that Athena.
08:24She wore golden armor,
08:25an owl's crest on her helmet.
08:27Her eyes were sharp and gray,
08:30the color of winter seas.
08:32Her presence alone
08:33made you want to bow.
08:35You're Athena?
08:38Athena?
08:38Yes.
08:39Aerith sent me to get you.
08:41He's wounded,
08:42recovering on Olympias.
08:43He wants to marry you.
08:46I,
08:47I don't...
08:48Athena was quiet for a moment.
08:50In that silence,
08:51something flickered across her face.
08:53A crack in the divine perfection.
08:55Something almost soft.
08:56Do you know why Aerith chose you?
09:01Because you're the only niff in this grove
09:03who wasn't afraid of him.
09:05You pushed him.
09:07No one has ever pushed the god of war.
09:10I stared at her.
09:11Well,
09:12you're also very beautiful,
09:14but that's not the point.
09:15She held out her hand.
09:17In her palm lay a silver ring,
09:19plain and unandorned,
09:20glowing faintly in the morning light.
09:22Put this on.
09:23Hephaxes made it.
09:24It'll hide your form.
09:26Make you less noticeable.
09:28I slid the ring onto my finger.
09:29It tightened to fit.
09:31Cold spread up from my knuckles,
09:33washing over my whole body.
09:34When I looked down,
09:36my curve seemed softer,
09:37blurred at the edges,
09:38like looking through frosted glass.
09:40Come on.
09:41Olympus is waiting.
09:43I followed her out of the grove.
09:47Serve him well, Athena.
09:49Don't forget you're nothing but a bastard.
09:52No one's daughter.
09:53No one's anything.
09:55I didn't look back.
09:56The golden chariote
09:57tossed through the clouds.
09:58Thought,
09:59then Olympus rose up ahead of us,
10:01higher than any mountain in the world.
10:04White marble columns
10:05caught the sunlight
10:06and drew it back,
10:08dazzling.
10:08I never thought I'd see this place.
10:11A nobody nymph,
10:12a bastard girl.
10:13Eris's temple stood on the eastern slope,
10:15facing the sunrise.
10:16I'm not going in.
10:18Eris doesn't like me.
10:20If he gets angry, run.
10:21If you can't outrun him, shout.
10:23I nodded and walked toward the bronze doors.
10:27They were carved with battle scenes,
10:30chariots,
10:31spears,
10:32fallen soldiers.
10:33When I pushed,
10:34they swung open on their own.
10:37Inside,
10:38the air was dim and heavy,
10:40thick with the smell of medicine and blood.
10:43At the end of a long corridor,
10:44I found his room.
10:45Eris lay propped against the headboard.
10:47His white robe did nothing
10:49to hide the lines of muscle across his chest,
10:52but his face was too pale.
10:54You came.
10:56I stood in the doorway.
10:58Athena gave you that?
10:59She's kind.
11:01Annoying, but kind.
11:02I didn't answer.
11:04Come here.
11:05I still didn't move.
11:07I don't bite.
11:09Not right now, anyway.
11:10I walked to the edge of the bed.
11:12He tilted his head back,
11:14watching me.
11:15His ember eyes held my reflection.
11:18Small,
11:19scared,
11:20wrapped
11:21in thick wool.
11:22You're afraid of me?
11:25Yes.
11:26Why?
11:27Because of what they say.
11:29He was quiet for a moment.
11:30Then his hands shut out
11:31and closed around my wrist.
11:33His fingers were hot,
11:34like iron pulled from a forge.
11:36I flinched,
11:37but he didn't tighten his grip.
11:38He just held my hand,
11:40turning it over in his,
11:42looking at the lines on my palm.
11:44Your hands are cold,
11:45like mine.
11:46I didn't know how to answer.
11:48He let go,
11:49one finger at a time,
11:50like he didn't want to.
11:52You'll sleep there tonight.
11:53I can't do much anyway.
11:57I'll have clothes brought for you.
11:59You can take the west room tomorrow.
12:00More light.
12:02All right.
12:02A servant came to take me to the baths.
12:07When I looked back at the doorway,
12:09Ares had closed his eyes again.
12:12His face was blank,
12:14expressionless,
12:15like a statue that had been shattered
12:17and glued back together.
12:19That night,
12:20I lay on the couch,
12:21listening to his breathing,
12:23and couldn't sleep.
12:24Moonlight crept through the windows
12:26and sprayed across his face.
12:28Asleep,
12:29he didn't look like the god of war.
12:31He just looked like a wounded boy,
12:33no older than the men
12:34I'd glimpsed at the edges of the grove.
12:36I turned to face the wall,
12:38pressing my face into the pillow,
12:40then my head.
12:40A thought kept circling back.
12:42When he had held my wrist that first night,
12:44his thumb had traced the lines of my palm.
12:46Light,
12:47almost not there,
12:48but it had been there.
12:49I didn't know when I fell asleep.
12:51Half dreaming,
12:52something warm touched the back of my neck.
12:54I rolled over and opened my eyes into amber.
12:58Ares stood beside the couch.
13:00His hair fell forward,
13:02brushing my cheek.
13:03Moonlight painted his silhouette,
13:05the broad shoulders,
13:06the straight nose,
13:07the long line of his jaw.
13:09I tried to speak,
13:10but no sound came.
13:12He didn't say anything either.
13:13He just looked at me.
13:14His hand rose,
13:15hovering over my face,
13:17his fingers trembling.
13:18He didn't touch me.
13:19Sleep.
13:20I watched him go,
13:21my heart slamming against my ribs.
13:23That night,
13:24I dreamed I stood on a battlefield.
13:26That night,
13:27I dreamed I stood on a battlefield.
13:29The sky rad as blood,
13:31the ground cracking beneath my feet.
13:33Ares came riding out to the clouds
13:34in a golden chariot.
13:36He held out his hand.
13:37I didn't run.
13:38He pulled me up onto the chariot,
13:40wrapped his arms around me,
13:42pulled me back against his chest.
13:43His heartbeat was a drum against my spine.
13:46Do you know why I chose you?
13:50Because you pushed me away.
13:53Everyone wants something from me,
13:54power,
13:55protection,
13:55my name.
13:56Everyone wants to use me,
13:57but you,
13:59you were the one who didn't want me.
14:02So I want you.
14:04I woke gasping,
14:05drenched in sweat.
14:07Outside,
14:07the sun was up.
14:09Ares's bed was empty.
14:10The servant who bought my water
14:12told me the war god
14:13had already gone to the training grounds.
14:15Even wounded,
14:16he never missed a day.
14:17In the bronze mirror,
14:18I studied my reflection.
14:20The ring still worked,
14:21I thought,
14:22but the edges of my shape
14:23were starting to come through again.
14:24My breasts pushed against the wall,
14:26my waist curved in.
14:28I wrapped the bondings tighter.
14:30One turn,
14:31two,
14:31three,
14:32until I could barely breathe.
14:34Ares came back at midday.
14:35I was in the kitchen,
14:37standing over a bronze cauldron,
14:39stirring the herbal broth
14:40I'd learned to make
14:41from my mother's notes.
14:44What's that?
14:45Medicine.
14:46For your leg.
14:48He came up behind me,
14:49close enough that I could feel
14:50the heat coming off him.
14:51You know how to do this?
14:53I learnt.
14:54My mother knew healing.
14:55He didn't ask anything else.
14:57He picked up the cup
14:58and drank.
15:01How is it?
15:03Terrible.
15:03I watched him drink,
15:04and for a moment,
15:06I thought maybe the god of war
15:08wasn't as frightening as they said.
15:09I was wrong about that.
15:11That evening,
15:12I was in my room
15:13unpacking the clothes
15:14Athena had sent
15:15when I heard footsteps in the hall,
15:17heavy and uneven,
15:18like an animal dragging a wounded leg.
15:20I opened the door.
15:22Ares was braced against the wall,
15:24his face slick with sweat,
15:25his right leg trembled,
15:27blood was seeping through his bandages,
15:29running down his calf,
15:30pooling on the marble floor.
15:31What happened?
15:33Nothing.
15:34Old wound.
15:36Don't bother.
15:36You're bleeding.
15:39So?
15:40Rest,
15:41the healer said.
15:43Rest?
15:43I'm the god of war,
15:45not a cripple.
15:47He's a cripple
15:48like it was a knife
15:49twisting in his gut.
15:50I didn't argue.
15:50I half carried him
15:51back to his room,
15:52his weight almost too much,
15:54and laid him on the bed.
15:55I found the healer's salve
15:56and unwrapped
15:57the blood-soaked bandages.
15:58The wound
15:59was worse than I'd imagined.
16:00A long,
16:01twisted scar
16:02ran down the inside
16:03of his thigh
16:04where the Trojan spear
16:05had gone through.
16:06My fingers brushed the scar.
16:08Arrows went rigid.
16:13Does it hurt?
16:14He didn't answer.
16:15He was staring at me,
16:17his amber eyes wild.
16:18Keep looking at me like that
16:19and I can't promise
16:20what I'll do.
16:22Thought my face went hot.
16:23My hands stopped moving.
16:25I'm just,
16:26I'm putting on the salve.
16:28I know.
16:29Just finish and get out.
16:31I worked fast.
16:32When I was done,
16:33I practically ran out
16:34of the room.
16:35Behind the closed door,
16:38I heard a dull thud,
16:40his fist hitting the wall.
16:42I leaned against the wood,
16:43heart pounding,
16:44and listened to him
16:45breathing on the other side.
16:46Days passed.
16:47I made the medicine
16:49every morning.
16:50Changed his bandages
16:51twice a day.
16:53Read him the dispatches
16:54from the war councils.
16:56Some days he was angry.
16:58Some days he was silent.
17:00When he was angry,
17:01he threw things.
17:03Once he threw a cup,
17:05so hard,
17:06it shattered against the wall
17:07and a shard cut my cheek.
17:09He saw the blood
17:10and went still,
17:12his whole body locking up.
17:14Then he closed his eyes
17:15and said,
17:16Leave.
17:17I left
17:21when he was silent.
17:22He sat by the window
17:24for hours,
17:25watching the clouds.
17:27Sometimes he watched me.
17:28His gaze was heavy,
17:30but not threatening.
17:31It was like he was trying
17:32to memorize the shape
17:33of my face,
17:34the line of my brow,
17:36the curve of my mouth.
17:37Like he was afraid
17:38he'd wake up one morning
17:40and forget
17:40we never touched.
17:42No,
17:43he made sure not to touch.
17:45Sometimes when I leaned down
17:47to hand him his cup,
17:49I could feel his eyes
17:50on my chest.
17:52My hands would shake
17:53and a drop of the dark liquid
17:55would fall on his skin.
17:57He'd look at it
17:58for a long moment,
18:00then wipe it with his thumb
18:02and bring it to his lips.
18:04Sweet,
18:06he'd say.
18:07Sometimes when I passed him
18:09in the hallway,
18:10his fingers would lift
18:11just barely,
18:13like he was thinking
18:13about reaching for me.
18:15But he never did.
18:17One day,
18:18Hera came.
18:20The queen of the gods
18:22swept into the temple
18:24with her whole rat knew,
18:26wearing purple robes
18:27and a golden crown,
18:29her presence
18:29like a weight in the air.
18:32I hear you married a nymph,
18:34she said,
18:35looking me up and down.
18:36This one?
18:38Ares grunted from his bed.
18:40Hera crossed to me,
18:41lifted my chin
18:42with her cold fingers,
18:44steady my face.
18:45Pretty enough.
18:46But the figure.
18:48Her gaze dropped to my chest
18:49and her mouth tightened.
18:51Who was your mother?
18:53The priestess of Artemis.
18:55Which priestess?
18:56And your father?
18:57Hera's smile was sharp.
18:59I shook my head.
19:00She turned back to Ares.
19:01A nobody nymph.
19:02A bastard.
19:04Not a fitting wife
19:05for a god of Olympias.
19:07Ares' voice went flat.
19:08I marry who I want.
19:10Hera's face darkened,
19:11but she didn't push.
19:13She swept out,
19:14pausing at the door
19:15to look back at me.
19:16You know why
19:17your mother's body
19:18was like yours?
19:19She said.
19:20Because she was a slut too.
19:22She used that body
19:23to seduce someone
19:24she shouldn't have.
19:25You're just what
19:26she left behind.
19:27She left.
19:28I stood in the empty hall,
19:30cold to the bomb.
19:31Ares pushed himself up.
19:33Come here.
19:34Come here.
19:35I didn't move.
19:36His voice softened.
19:37Thena,
19:39come here.
19:40I walked to him.
19:41He took my hand,
19:43his thumb moving over my palm.
19:45Don't listen to her.
19:46He said.
19:47The way you're made,
19:48it's not your fault.
19:49My eyes burned.
19:51Annoyance edged his voice.
19:52Why are you crying?
19:53But he didn't let go of my hand.
19:55I said,
19:55I don't know.
19:58No one's ever,
19:59no one's ever told me that before.
20:02Iris was quiet for a long time.
20:04Then he pulled me against him.
20:06One arm went around my shoulders
20:08and the other hand patted my back,
20:10clumsy and awkward,
20:12like a man who'd never comforted anyone
20:14in three thousand years.
20:16I won't hurt you.
20:17He sat into my hair.
20:19I swear it.
20:20I bared my face in his shoulder.
20:22After that,
20:23things shifted.
20:24He stopped avoiding me.
20:26I stopped running from him.
20:28In the evenings,
20:29we sat on the temple steps together
20:30and watched the sunset.
20:32He sat on the left.
20:34I sat on the right
20:35and arm's length between us.
20:36He told me about the battles he'd fought.
20:39I told him about the grove,
20:41about Teo's cruelty,
20:42about singing the hymns off key
20:44and getting punished for it.
20:45He scowled like a child.
20:47Do you know why I hate Athena?
20:49Why?
20:49Because she's always right.
20:52Every time.
20:53Annoying.
20:54No matter what the subject,
20:55she always has to be right.
20:57He watched me.
20:58His eyes softened in the fading light.
21:00You have a beautiful laugh.
21:02I stopped laughing.
21:03He looked away,
21:05but not before I saw his ears go pink.
21:07That night,
21:08I dreamed of him again.
21:10His mouth on my neck.
21:11His hands on my skin.
21:14I woke up shaking.
21:15My thighs slick with heat
21:17and bit my lips so hard,
21:19I tasted copper.
21:20I'll set my door.
21:22Footsteps.
21:22I looked up
21:24and saw the shadow of his back
21:26retreating down the hall.
21:27The next morning,
21:28when I went to the kitchen
21:30to make his medicine,
21:31I found flowers on the work table.
21:34White anemones,
21:35their petals wet with dew,
21:37tied together with a piece of rough twine.
21:39No note that I recognized the red clay
21:42still clinging to the stems.
21:44It came from the stream
21:45behind the mountain.
21:47With his leg,
21:48it would have taken him an hour
21:49to walk there,
21:51an hour to pick the flowers,
21:53an hour to walk back.
21:54I put them in a clay pot
21:56on the windowsill.
21:58When I went back to stirring the cauldron,
22:01I couldn't stop smiling.
22:03Spring was just beginning,
22:04and something between us
22:06had changed.
22:07Something that started
22:08the day he first saw me
22:09in the olive grove.
22:11Something that started
22:12when he tore away
22:13the bindings on my chest.
22:14Something that started
22:16in the dark
22:16when he stood over me
22:18with his hand hovering
22:19by my face
22:20and didn't touch me.
22:21Something that
22:22I finally understood
22:24had already changed everything.
22:27Eris' leg got better,
22:29but he still didn't touch me.
22:31I told myself,
22:33it didn't matter.
22:34I'd never wanted
22:35this marriage anyway.
22:37What did it matter
22:38if he can...
22:39That's what I told myself.
22:41Until the evening,
22:42by this stream,
22:43I was washing clothes,
22:44kneeling on a flat rock.
22:46I was bent forward,
22:47and the color of my dress
22:48had slipped open
22:49without me noticing.
22:51Xena.
22:52Eris' voice
22:53came from behind me,
22:54rough as stone
22:55scraping stone.
22:56I turned.
22:57He was standing
22:58under a plain tree
22:58at the water's edge.
23:00His amber eyes
23:01were fixed on my chest
23:02where the wet wool
23:03clung to the shape
23:04of my breasts.
23:05I scrambled up.
23:06He walked toward me.
23:07Every step was heavy,
23:09deliberate.
23:10I stepped back,
23:11slipped on the moss-lick stone,
23:12and fell toward the water.
23:14His arms shot out
23:15and caught me.
23:15I slammed into his chest,
23:17my body flushed against his.
23:18We both went still.
23:20His heart was hammering.
23:21His breath came fast,
23:22his chest heaving.
23:25Eris.
23:25He didn't let go.
23:27His arms locked
23:28around my waist.
23:29Don't move.
23:31He buried his face
23:32in my neck,
23:33his nose pressing
23:34against my collarbone.
23:35He inhaled.
23:36The heat of his breath
23:37spread across my skin,
23:38and I shivered.
23:39Do you know how long
23:40I've wanted this?
23:41I couldn't think.
23:43Since the first time
23:45I saw you,
23:46since you pushed me away.
23:48His fingers dug into my waist,
23:49almost too hard.
23:51Three thousand years.
23:52No one's ever dared
23:53to push me.
23:54You were the first.
23:55He pulled back,
23:57just enough
23:58to look at me.
23:59And this.
24:01His gaze fell to my chest again,
24:03that I tried to cover myself,
24:05that he caught my wrist
24:06and pressed it
24:07against the tree trunk
24:08behind me.
24:09Don't.
24:10Let me see.
24:11His fingers found the ties
24:12at my collar.
24:13They were shaking.
24:15Can I?
24:16I didn't answer,
24:17but I didn't push him away either.
24:19He pulled.
24:20The wet wool
24:21slipped off my shoulders.
24:22His breath stopped.
24:23His eyes went dark
24:24with fire.
24:26Xena.
24:27His fingers traced
24:28the line of my collarbone,
24:29moving down.
24:31Aries.
24:32He bent
24:33and pressed his lips
24:34to the curve
24:35where my neck
24:36met my shoulder.
24:37Light,
24:37barely a kiss,
24:38but my whole body
24:39arched into it.
24:40He looked up at me.
24:42For once,
24:43there was nothing
24:43of the war god
24:44in his face,
24:45just tenderness,
24:46raw and open.
24:47You're shaking.
24:50So are you.
24:52He smiled.
24:53I'd never seen him
24:54smile like that.
24:56I'm scared.
24:58You?
24:59That I'll hurt you.
25:00That you'll cry.
25:02That you'll push me
25:03away again.
25:04I laughed.
25:05He touched his forehead
25:06to mine.
25:07Can I kiss you?
25:08I answered
25:09by pressing my mouth
25:10to his.
25:11For a second,
25:11he was frozen.
25:13Then,
25:13he came alive,
25:14pushing me back
25:14against the tree,
25:15casing me like
25:16he'd been starving for it.
25:17His tongue
25:18swiped into my mouth,
25:19claiming everything.
25:20I clung to his hair,
25:22breathless.
25:22He lifted me,
25:24wrapping my legs
25:24around his waist,
25:25and I felt it.
25:27The part of him,
25:28the healers said,
25:29would never work again.
25:30I went still.
25:31He went still.
25:32We broke apart,
25:33breathing hard,
25:35staring at each other.
25:37The healer said,
25:39his face cycled through
25:41confusion,
25:42disbelief,
25:43and in a fierce,
25:44almost boyish delight.
25:46I guess they were wrong.
25:48His hand slid down to my hip,
25:50pressing me closer.
25:52Eris!
25:54What?
25:55You don't want to?
25:56He laughed,
25:57and lifted me higher,
25:58carrying me back
25:59toward the temple.
26:01Thought my spine
26:02hit the bronze doors
26:03with a boom
26:03that echoed
26:04across the valley.
26:05The door.
26:07Leave it.
26:08He pushed me against it
26:09and kissed me again,
26:11harder this time.
26:12His hands slid up my sides
26:13and found my chest
26:14through the thin,
26:15wet cloth,
26:16and my thoughts scattered.
26:18I've wanted you
26:19since the moment
26:20when I saw you.
26:21His thumb
26:21rushed across
26:22the peak of my breast
26:23and the sound
26:24escaped my throat
26:25that I'd never
26:26heard myself make before.
26:28More beautiful
26:29than I imagined.
26:32Dead, dead.
26:33He carried me
26:34to his bed,
26:35laid me down,
26:36and stood over me
26:38in the moonlight.
26:39In Olympus,
26:40gods aren't supposed
26:41to love.
26:43Why?
26:45Because love
26:46is a weakness,
26:47and the god of war
26:49can't be weak.
26:50He lowered his head
26:51and pressed a kiss
26:52to my chest.
26:54But you,
26:57you're the one weakness
26:59I don't want to give up.
27:00That night,
27:01every flower on Olympus
27:03bloomed out of season.
27:05Anemones,
27:05crocuses,
27:06hyacinths,
27:08laurel,
27:08doesn't hum thick
27:10in the air.
27:11His mouth
27:12moved down my body,
27:13his fingers
27:14laced with mine,
27:16sweat beaded
27:17on his forehead.
27:18Does it hurt?
27:19A little.
27:21My nails
27:21bit into his back.
27:23He stopped,
27:24kissed the tears
27:26that had started
27:27at the corners
27:27of my eyes.
27:29We can stop.
27:31Don't.
27:32I pulled him back.
27:33Don't stop.
27:34He looked at me
27:35with something like
27:36reverence in his eyes.
27:37Alright.
27:39The moon slipped
27:39behind a cloud.
27:41That night,
27:42all of Olympus
27:43heard the war god roar.
27:45Not with battle rage,
27:46but something else.
27:47something that sounded
27:49like a lion tamed
27:50purring at his
27:51maid's ear.
27:53In the morning,
27:55Eris was already awake.
27:56He lay propped
27:57against the headboard,
27:58his fingers
27:59tangled in my hair.
28:01Morning.
28:02He said,
28:02smiling.
28:04Morning.
28:04I buried my face
28:06in the blanket.
28:06He pulled it back.
28:08What are you hiding for?
28:09You know why.
28:11He laughed
28:11and hauled me up
28:12against his chest.
28:14Watch the sun rise
28:15with me.
28:16Every day.
28:19Why?
28:20Because I want to see
28:21the beginning
28:22of every day
28:22with you.
28:23From now on,
28:26everyone.
28:27Outside,
28:28the first light
28:29broke over Olympus.
28:32Alright.
28:34Deal.
28:35I pressed my face
28:37to his chest,
28:38listening to his heart.
28:40Deal.
28:41For it spread
28:42through Olympus,
28:43Eris wasn't broken.
28:45The healers
28:45were idiots,
28:46and the god of war
28:48was fiercer in bed
28:49than on the battlefield.
28:50I was limping
28:52out of the bedroom
28:53when I ran
28:54into Athena,
28:55leaning against
28:56the pillar
28:57in the hallway,
28:58looking amused.
29:00I see.
29:02Glancing at the marks
29:03on my neck.
29:04He's recovered.
29:07My face went hot.
29:09You knew.
29:11You knew he wasn't...
29:13You lied to me.
29:15Athena just smiled.
29:18You did it on purpose!
29:20I didn't lie.
29:22The healers
29:23said it was unlikely.
29:24I just didn't
29:25correct them.
29:26Why?
29:27Because I wanted
29:28to see him suffer.
29:31You should have
29:32seen his face
29:33when he heard
29:33he couldn't...
29:34Well,
29:36it was worth it.
29:38I stared at her.
29:40But if she hadn't lied,
29:42I never would have stayed.
29:44I would have run
29:45from Eris
29:46on our wedding night
29:47and never learned
29:48that beneath
29:48all the violence
29:49there was a man
29:50who'd been alone
29:51for 3,000 years.
29:52A man who stood
29:53outside my door
29:54at midnight
29:55with his hands
29:56shaking over my face,
29:58afraid to touch me.
30:00A man who walked
30:01an hour
30:01to pick flowers
30:02with his wounded leg
30:04and left them
30:05on my work table
30:06without a word.
30:09Athena came.
30:11Yes.
30:14What did she say?
30:17That she lied to you.
30:21She said you were fine
30:23all along.
30:25His ears went pink.
30:28Do you still want to leave?
30:30And for a moment,
30:31he looked almost afraid.
30:33I cupped his face
30:34in my hands,
30:35stood on my toes
30:36and kissed him.
30:37I'm not going anywhere.
30:38He pressed his forehead
30:40to mine.
30:41Then every spring,
30:42we watched the flowers
30:44bloom together.
30:45All right.
30:46Outside,
30:47the pomegranate flowers
30:48were opening,
30:50red as flame.
30:51The wind came up
30:52from the valley,
30:54hearing the smell
30:55of anemones
30:56and laurel,
30:57drifting through the columns
30:58and stirring out hair.
31:01Hera came one more time.
31:04She looked me over
31:05and said I was too much,
31:07too loud,
31:09too shapely,
31:10not fit to be
31:12the wife of an Olympian.
31:14Iris stepped in front of me.
31:16She's fit enough for me.
31:19Hera looked at him
31:20for a long time.
31:21You've changed.
31:23Yes.
31:24He glanced back at me
31:25and his eyes were soft.
31:27Because of her.
31:29After she left,
31:31I took his hand.
31:33Do you regret it?
31:35Marrying a nobody nymph?
31:36A bastard.
31:38He laughed
31:38and pulled me
31:39into his chest.
31:40You're the best decision
31:41I ever made.
31:42I pressed my face
31:44against his heart.
31:45It beat steady and strong,
31:47like war drops,
31:48like spring thunder,
31:50like the tide coming in.
31:52And for the first time
31:53in my life,
31:54I wasn't ashamed
31:55of my body anymore.
31:57Because this body,
31:58this cursed,
32:00impossible,
32:01too much body,
32:02it was the reason
32:03he saw me.
32:04Every spring,
32:06the flowers bloom.
32:07Every night,
32:08the moon rises
32:09over Olympus.
32:11And we will be here,
32:13together,
32:14to see it all,
32:15from now on,
32:17year after year.
32:18to see it all.
32:18about to see it.
32:18It won't meet up
32:19¡Gracias!
Comments