Santorini Paradiso Ch. 12

"Yup, we've had to adapt over time, as the world changed around us." Selene was looking tenderly at Elena, stroking her hair.

"Anyway – back to the story. Here's another surprise, kiddo. You're not an only child. Fertile gods just keep being fertile if they want, for as long as they want. And we - -well, let's just say that your Dad and I were rather... prolific."

"I have siblings?!" Elena squeaked.

"Not currently, baby. I'm sorry." Selene cupped the side of her face. "We've had literally dozens of children, but none who had all of your gifts." Her voice quivered here, and she grew quiet and pensive for a moment. Elena's father reached around her to grasp her mother's hand.

"I'm so sorry, Mom, Dad." Elena gave them a moment. She unconsciously rested a hand across her belly. Selene's sharp eyes noted this immediately and glanced at Endymion to see if he also saw it. His eyes were on Elena's protective gesture, too. He met his wife's meaningful look with the barest of grim nods.

Elena looked up at them afresh. "What do you mean 'all of my gifts'?"

"You're becoming awakened now, my poppet. Surely you've started to notice them?" Eddy asked. "What have you already discovered?" Again, he loved to quiz her. Elena smiled, feeling a deep sense of familiarity that she hadn't felt in a decade.

"Well, at first it was only with Adonis and Petros." Her father made the slightest of changes in posture, making Selene smile. It was always tough for a father to know his daughter was with a man – much less two, as in this case. And knowing the reputation of those two for the last few millennia – well – it had to be tough.

Elena went on to talk about her ability to hear thoughts with certain people, push thoughts into others, and her increasing amount of "instinct" when things are feeling wrong.

"But then today, I stopped a storm. I think." Both parent sat up at this.

"What do you mean, baby – what storm?" Selene asked, looking alarmed. Elena proceeded to explain what happened earlier that day, and the dark figure she saw in the shadows. As she spoke of the large, indistinct figure, she heard her father mutter under his breath:

"Fucking Typhon." Selene met his eyes, her mouth tight. They exchanged a look that seemed to mean something.

"Go on, poppet." Endymion urged.

Elena continued, stumbling a bit over the part where her anger rose up and she stopped the storm. She didn't mention the baby, and how that affected her. She had just found her parents again, and didn't want to dive into the possible pregnancy so soon.

Selene narrowed her eyes as Elena told them about somehow finding her anger – as if she knew something was missing, but she didn't challenge her.

Elena described the feeling of power surging through her, and how after she pointed at the dark figure there was a loud crack and a beam of bright light. And then she explained that all had gone silent – even the car engine had stopped – and the sun pushed through the clouds.

"Ah, darling Helios" Selene said, smiling. When Elena looked inquiringly at her, she said: "Your uncle, angel – my brother, Titan god of the sun. I wondered where he'd been lately."

"Do you think he helped me today?" Elena asked – not sure whether this was more or less confusing.

"I'm not sure how directly he got involved. We'll find out, okay? I'll try to find him before we meet next. Now – back to our story." Elena nodded numbly. Her father was right – this was all very complicated. But the comment about a next meeting made happy warmth spread though her.

Selene took a breath, then continued: "So – here we are, your dad and me, traipsing along through time. And I have to say – it's gone by SO quickly." They shared a naughty wink. Elena rolled her eyes.

"Anyway – we're hanging around the old stomping grounds one year – just doing a bit of a nostalgia tour of Athens, and we cruise by the temple of Delphi. Who is there? You're Auntie Sybil. We haven't seen her in ages – literally. She gives Endymion her usual inappropriate full mouth kiss..." When Eddy protested, Selene laughingly waved him off and continued on: "And when she gives me a hug, BANG, she goes into full trance mode: eyes rolling into the back of her head, flopping on the ground, talking nonstop in riddles – the whole bit. That is when she tells us that we would bear another child. A very special child with many gifts and a destiny that could 're-weave the fabric of the earth'." She paused for this to sink in.

Elena gasped, pointing at herself questioningly. And Selene nodded.

"Holy shit." Was all Elena could muster.

"Right?!" Selene answered. "So, as you can imagine, this led to many, many LONG discussions between your father and I. Should we, or should we not, have this child? Mind you, we didn't really understand the nature of this prophesy – how our child would 're-weave' anything. All we knew was that this was – in our considerable experience – a formula for trouble."

Her father jumped in at this point: "You see, angel, whenever a status quo is threatened, there are always those who fight tooth and nail to defend it. And usually they are the people who have the most to lose if things are dramatically changed. Often – not always – but pretty often this means the other deities will get involved. Lines drawn, sides taken, gauntlets thrown, that kind of thing."

Selene was looking at him with a combination of love and mischievousness. "What is a gauntlet, again?" She teased. When he actually opened his mouth to answer her she laughed, saying; "I'm fucking with you, baby!"

Elena snorted, delighting at this perspective of her parents.

Selene continued, her eyes still dancing: "Long story short—"

Eddy interjected with a "Too late!" which she ignored.

"We realized that destiny would unfold whether or not we consciously chose to help. You were coming – that was already foreseen. So the best we could do was try to postpone your arrival until we felt that we might have more ways to protect you. Shield you from people who may not want your prophesy to come true.

"Having you at the end of the last millennium was part of it. So many of the old guard has faded into abstraction. We didn't expect them to sniff us out as soon as they did. We thought we'd be able to stay with you through college, at least. Help you to awaken. But that wasn't possible, my angel. They came for you, and this time, they'd enlisted the help of a bunch of hapless mortals, too."

Elena felt herself trembling. "The car accident..." she ventured.

"Yes, poppet – but it had actually started earlier than that. We'd seen some signs that they were hunting us, and were actually trying to escape the night of the crash." Her dad said, pulling her back against him protectively.

Her mother leaned forward to search Elena's face. "What do you remember from that night, angel?" She asked.

Elena hesitated, shuddering as the visions from her old nightmares surfaced. "I remember a swirling storm of snow and ice, and I remember horrific sounds – like howling. Our car rolled down a hill, over and over. And I heard shrieking. Awful, awful shrieking. I always thought that was you, Mom. The next thing I knew I was waking up in the hospital. It was weeks later, and Aunt Sybil was telling me you both were gone, and that I'd -- I'd missed the funeral." Her tears were flowing down her cheeks freely now. Her father's arms were wrapped around her shoulders and her mother held both of her hands and touched her forehead to Elena's, just holding it there.

Taking a few deep breaths, her mother went on with the story. "The accident was all real. We'd been attacked by Typhon and his Harpies. The shrieks you heard were them, honey - not me. They were all supposed to be locked away in some pit in Tartarus. We never did figure out who helped them escape. But whoever it was is probably still involved. We knew the only chance you had would be if we hid you away. You weren't yet awakened – they couldn't find you unless we accidentally led them to you. So we had to disappear."

Here, Selene stopped. She cleared her throat, as if it hurt her.

Looking up at Endymion, she asked: "Is there any alcohol in that picnic basket of yours, handsome?" He flashed one of his devastating smiles, and with a flourish proclaimed that yes, indeed, there was.

Everyone took a break as Elena's father opened a bottle and poured out three glasses of a honey-colored wine. Before they drank it, they looked at one another and solemnly clinked glasses. Endymion said in his melodic baritone voice: "To our family, and the blood that binds us."

Elena was grateful for the wine, and the short break it afforded. As the amber liquid slid down her throat, she appreciated the gentle warmth it spread. It was a medium dry, citrus like wine with a finish almost like honey. Elena made a mental note to find out what it was.

She began to process what her parents (her PARENTS!!) had told her. She realized that if she'd been told this story any sooner, she would never have believed it. Only after all of the other things that had happened to her in recent days would Elena have been able to listen this tale of her family and her past, and accept it. Looking surreptitiously at her beautiful mother and father, who were at that moment whispering to each other in low, loving tones, she noticed that they had not aged a day since she'd been a baby. And that this immortality would have caused for them the same trouble that Adonis and Petros had over the many thousands of years they roamed the Earth. At least her parents were lucky in being together.

This train of thought led Elena to realize something else: all of the feelings she had of inadequacy regarding Adonis and Petros were now greatly allayed. They were far more alike than she would have ever believed. Her mind wandered back to the background check they'd done on her. While she'd been furious then, she now knew that they must have suspected at least some of this. It must be why they'd actively sought her out.

But did they know of her own prophesy, too, she wondered? Or was it merely that they knew of her lineage. It seemed that the more she peeled this onion, the more layers she found. But having heard what Sybil's predictions were for her own "destiny" (that word again!), she saw the obvious parallel to the one Adonis and Petros had been told.

Again, Elena looked down at her belly, and ran a protective hand across it. With a start, she looked at the wine with tremendous guilt. She was about to dump it out, and then something occurred to her.

"Mom... "She searched around for a way to approach it, and attempted to sound nonchalant about this question. "This is a dream, right?" She asked.

"Yes, baby. It's one of the best ways for us to interact with you directly and remain unseen – untraceable. Why?"

"Are the things that happen in these dreams actually happening? As in, if I eat, will the calories actually count in my waking body?" Elena hated that this made her sound superficial.

Her mother snorted, amused. "No, baby doll. You could eat everything in that picnic basket and not gain an ounce. You could climb a mountain and wake up refreshed, with no pain. Or you could swim in a river and awaken perfectly dry."

"Got it – this is not my real body." She said softly, and then running her hand along her mother's arm, she added sadly: "And so I guess I'm not really touching my Mom."

Selene pulled Elena into an affectionate hug and said reassuringly: "Oh baby, you are touching me – and I'm touching you. Emotions are the same on the inside and the outside." Elena smiled, resting her head on her mom's shoulder.

"Okay!" her mother clapped her hands, bringing them all back to the matter at hand. "Let's wrap this up, because you're going to have to wake up soon, and your Dad and I – well, let's just say we have stuff to do." Eddy laughed and Selene flipped her hair coquettishly.

"We faked our own deaths in the human world so we could disappear, and we sent Sybil to protect you. As an Oracle, her ability to see into the future would be useful. And unlike the gods, she doesn't show up on their – uh – cosmic radar, so to speak. Plus, we'd arranged for her to send you to that fancy private school so that you would be even harder to trace. We tried to find out more about who was involved in the attack, but everyone went to ground.

"Typhon – and whomever he's working with – must have been able to track you now because of your awakening powers."

"So now Santorini is not safe... they know I'm here." Elena mused. Her parents both looked grim as they nodded.

"You probably need to leave Greece entirely, my love." Her father added. "There are still too many spies and people who cling to the old ways here."

"So..." Elena began, unsure if she wanted the answer. "I get that I have gifts – but am I mortal, immortal, or what?"

"Until you're fully awakened, you are mortal. The accident when you were younger could have killed you. Someone could perhaps have killed you a few months ago. The closer you get to awakening, the harder it would be to destroy you – and when you are fully in control of your powers you cannot be killed." Selene finished, then looked worriedly at Endymion.

"But..." Her father began.

"But?" Elena echoed nervously. "I don't love the sound of that..."

"I was just going to add this one caution. Remember the story of Achilles? How they say his mother dipped him in the river Styx, but because she held him by his heel it was the one vulnerable spot?" Elena was nodding, smiling as her mind flashed briefly to an image of Brad Pitt in that loin cloth.

"Well, that story was part truth, part metaphor. Each demigod granted immortality has a potential point of weakness, even when fully awakened to their divinity."

Elena shook her head at this, thinking of Adonis and Petros, who were completely invulnerable.

"Not all, surely, Dad, because Adonis and Petros have complete immortality..."

Selene shook her head, agreeing with Endymion. "I don't think so, baby. This is a sort of 'genetic thing' among half-bloods." Seeing the stricken look on Elena's face, Selene bit her lip.

"But maybe they are an exception – I don't know. You should ask Aphrodite, to be sure. She will know." Elena nodded, making a mental note to ask the goddess as soon as possible.

"So... do you know what my vulnerability is?" Elena asked.

Endymion put his hand on Elena's head, while Selene took hold of her hands. She looked intently into her eyes, as if seeking something. Then she nodded, as if deciding something.

"According to your Aunt Sybil, you can be killed while you are with child." Both parents looked at her for a long time. Elena endeavored to keep her face masked in a blank expression. She finally looked down, as if contemplating her mother's beautiful hands.

After several moments, Elena swallowed, and looked back up.

"And the child?" She asked.

Her parents didn't speak, but their forlorn expressions told her everything.

"I'm sorry baby." Her mother offered.

Elena closed her eyes and breathed in and out.

"Fuck me." She muttered.

At the sound of her voice, the boys moved against her naked body, shifting to get comfortable. Elena's eyes snapped open. She was back in bed with Adonis and Petros. The room was dark. The sound of the sea below the villa drifted up through the open windows.

Petros laughed sleepily as he said: "Excuse me, agape-mou, but I think we just did fuck you. Hard. But let us sleep for an hour or so, and we will be more than happy to oblige you again.

Elena shivered a little, both from her cooling skin, as well as the latest information she'd been given. Both men tightened their hold on her. One of them dragged a sheet across their bodies to keep her warm.

Elena placed gentle kisses on each of her lovers' lips. She sighed.

Looking up at the ceiling, she smiled as she saw the patterns made by the light of the moon.

'Mom?' she thought, wondering if she could reach her this way.

'I'm here angel.' Selene answered. The moon goddess laughed and then impatiently said: 'Okay, okay, I'll tell her! Your dad wants me to say "Hi poppet" – he's here, too. We love you.'

'I love you guys, too.' Elena replied. A tear escaped from the corner of one eye and ran down her temple into her tangled hair.

Remembering another line from Keats's Endymion, Elena pushed out to her mother one last thought:

'What is there in thee, Moon! that thou shouldst move

My heart so potently?'

'Daddy says well done, Little 'Lena. Sleep well, baby.'

But Elena had one more thing to convey before falling into slumber. This one was for a different goddess.

'Aphrodite?'

'Yes, my lovely?'

'Thank you, my lady, for bringing my parents back to me. I will love you forever for that.'

'It was my pleasure, pretty girl. I know how much you missed them. You needed to hear what they told you, and it wasn't my tale to tell.'

Elena smiled, her frazzled mind finally shutting down after another exhausting day. She savored the warmth of the two men holding her, inhaling their particular scents. Her hand moved over her still-flat belly, thinking about the strong possibility that it contained a child.

Her parents' warning about her mortality was one thing. A threat to her unborn baby was quite another.

They were going to need a game plan. And a good one. Too weary to think any more, Elena allowed herself to finally fall asleep, safe for the moment in the warm embrace of her two lovers' arms.

To be continued...