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Prince Charming Diaries Volume Three
Diary of a Working Prince
Hephaestus'
Diary
Sproutling,
1, Year of the Green Horse
Entry
One,
Twins
are a strange breed. It is as if one mind was born into two bodies.
But distance causes the minds to change. Once upon a time, my twin
brother and myself thought so much alike that we could complete each
others sentences. But then we were separated. Father let him go with
the fleet and I remained with mother. But that is now history. I have
seen him only a few times in the next six years. But it would seem as
if a rift had grown between us. Now here I am under the sea at his
wedding to a girl I don't even know the name of. It seems as if he is
a complete stranger. But this morning when we awakened something
happened that changed everything.
I
was lying on my couch, fingering the brace under my pants. I was born
with a limp, a defect that would keep any girl from ever looking at
me twice. My unfortunate habit of living in a smithy might have
helped. The way I lived would never make anyone think I had noble
blood in my veins, let alone make me resemble my older brother, Zeus,
Lord of Olympus and Sea World. But back to the story. I was fingering
my brace, which I had made myself, when I noticed a disturbance in
the water. The current had turned.
As
far as I knew, the water always flowed from the North to the South. I
had never studied the flows of the currents, but that was simply how
things went. I certainly had never been as close to it as I was now.
Wearing a cloak of the scales of a Verm Fish was the only way for
land breathers to stay alive underwater. Unless someone invents a way
to bottle air.
The
currents had changed and started flowing in the opposite direction.
From the South to the North. This is strange, because all of the
streams and rivers would be flowing upwards. I scrambled out of bed,
jamming my brace and nearly wrenching my leg off. I would have
toppled over if the water hadn't been supporting me somewhat. Braces
were never meant to be worn underwater. It was to wet. I had to reset
the brace before I could it to work again. I limped out of the
chamber and bumped into Hades. He was swimming down the corridor
without any dignity at all, and waving his Cap of Invisibility. We
collided and were flung into the wall. I could feel the pull of the
current, trying to push me away.
“My
cap, it came back.” Hades cried. I had never seen him with so
little dignity, since we were children and he bawled out Ares for
playing with Star Fire. He rarely got excited.
“What?”
I gaped. Hades had already plowed past me. I regained my balance.
What did he mean that his cap had come back? Where had his cap been
in the first place?
I
was still awkwardly trying to push my way down the corridor when
Hades came back. This time their was a merboy, Poseidon and his bride
with him.
“I
tell it is really strange.” the merboy was saying excitedly,
“Nereus says he never felt such a thing.” They passed me in a
rush. I floundered after them. But braces were not meant for
swimming. More people rushed by. Hestia took my arm and guided me
after the others. She was always the sweetest girl.
We
surfaced. The sun had just risen on the horizon, turning the waters
gold, red and pink. It was truly beautiful, but I still would prefer
to see the fires dancing on my blackened forge, hear the ring of the
hammer and watch as the pretty sparks showered over the metal. I
smiled and sighed, my eyes closing to thin slits as I envisioned
myself at home. If only I could be back there.
Suddenly,
a great big sigh went up. My eyes snapped open. It seemed as if
Nereus' entire court had surfaced and surrounded me, as well as my
brothers and sisters. But this blaze of color was not what had drawn
attention. Something was happening, much closer to shore. Two
enormous snow white swans with golden beaks had burst out of the
water. My eyes widened. These magnificent birds were harnessed to a
vast pink and golden shell that glowed in the sunlight. Seated on the
back of the shell, with hair like a river gold flowing about her
shoulders, was a tall woman with snapping blue eyes. Her white gown
looked as if it was made of sea foam. My jaw dropped.
“Now
that is a woman to kill.” Ares whistled. I blinked, the beauty
suddenly marred by horrible reality. I glanced at my brother. He was
leaning forward, his eyes half closed and a look of idiotic stupidity
on his face. I would have sworn he was drooling, except there was so
much splashing water. I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.
“That
is trouble!” I muttered gloomily. Beautiful women always were
trouble. Had I not seen such things since my earliest years.
“That
is trouble!” several voices echoed. I glanced around. All of the
men had looks of aw on their faces. The women looked annoyed. It was
them that had spoken. Poseidon's bride slapped him hard in the face.
“Wipe
that look off your face.” she snapped. Poseidon looked suitably
chastised.
Nereus
ordered several of his Merwarriors to swim out to the lady in the
shell and invite her to the palace. Then he ordered the rest of us to
depart and prepare ourselves for a feast. Hestia took my arm to guide
me back down to my chamber. To my surprise, Poseidon took my other
arm.
“The
Amazons still have my trident.” he muttered, “I wouldn't have
even the slightest doubt that they are responsible for this.” For
the first time in years I could feel his thoughts. I could tell that
he was very disturbed.
“You
think she is a spy?” I whispered.
“Boys.”
Hestia scolded lightly, “Give her the benefit of the doubt.”
“How
did she get past Nereus' centuries? Where did she come from?”
Poseidon cried, tightening his grip on my arm.
“You
got past Nereus' centuries.” I pointed out. I knew he wasn't very
pleased with my response.
Poseidon's
wife took his arm and pulled him away from me. She looked far from
pleased. In fact, irritation was radiating off every fiber of her
being. I hastily looked away and avoided eye contact with her hair.
There was something creepy about having snakes for hair.
“Do
not look to deeply into it, Poseidon.” she was snapping, “Let her
to the unmarried fools.”
“Oh
dear.” Hestia whispered, “That would be ugly.” If even sweet
gentle Hestia noticed a problem, than things were going to be really
bad.
Before
I dressed, I removed my brace. On land it was a necessity. I could
not walk upright without it. But underwater, I found it much easier
to maneuver myself about without it. When I entered the chamber of
audiences I found the swan lady already there. The entire court was
ogling her, including most of my brothers. Only my three older
brothers and the women looked worried. Zeus, as the overlord of all
Sea World would have to deal with this problem before she caused a
major war for her hand in marriage. Hades always went against the
normal and refused to be awed and inspired by anything that pleased
everyone else. Poseidon, of course, thought that she was a spy. I did
not blame him. What better way to send a spy, than to make all the
men fall in love with her?
The
woman's name was Aphrodite and she claimed that she come from the
Unknown Waters and was born of the wind and stars. I thought for
certain that everyone would laugh at her. But apparently her voice
cast a spell over the fools and they could do nothing but drool. I
was disgusted. But it did not matter much to me. It would not be long
before I could return to my little forge and go back to a life of
simplicity, far away from the silliness of court and fools.
“Lady,
you are most welcome to this humble palace.” Ares said, rising
first and bowing with many little twirls and tosses of his cloak.
Hades snorted. Clearly, he thought Ares' manners pathetic. I agreed,
but did not think I had to voice such things out loud. Especially
not in front of Nereus, as this was his court.
“Why
thank you, young man.” Aphrodite said, a sigh went through the
room. Ares sighed long and loudly. Hades snorted again.
“What
a nincompoop!” Hera sneered. This must have been the first time in
six years that Hades and Zeus' wife had ever agreed on anything.
Now
that Ares had made the first bold step, all of the eligible, and some
ineligible men began to push their way towards Aphrodite. They pushed
and shoved. Ares and a merwarrior even came to blows. Zeus and Nereus
looked frazzled. The women added to the chaos by shouting at the men.
I covered my ears and slunk out of the chamber. It wasn't any of my
business what they did. I could go and pack, to prepare for the
return journey. Not that I had much to pack.
Farewell,
Hephaestus
To Be continued
