albumconcepts; 1. The Dam at Otter Creek
Notes: Lyrics are here.
The gods mentioned in this story are not meant to represent any of the gods that may currently exist in the variety of prompt and roleplaying communities on Livejournal or elsewhere. They are gods inside of Athena's universe only, and their actions and personalities have no relation to, or effect upon, any other characters but Athena.
Infinite Regret
There are two luxuries of time. There is the luxury of knowing it will never end, and that you will live an eternity rich with experiences. Then there is the luxury of knowing your place in the universe is limited, and that all things - pleasure and pain both - will come to an end. Sometimes I envy you mortals that latter luxury. Regret is a hard thing to bear forever.
When I was young, fresh sprung from my father's body, I was fostered by my cousin, Triton. He was the son of my uncle, Poseidon, whom I would later anger by winning the favor of those you know of as Athenians. We have a very complicated family tree, and Zeus wouldn't exactly win father of the year by any stretch of the term; being fostered with Triton was a good alternative, and I enjoyed my time with him and his family.
I was raised beside his daughter Pallas, and she was my best friend and my sister. At that point in my life, she was more my sister than any of my father's daughters. We spent our time together on the shores of the Lake talking of warfare and battle. We learned to wrestle and fight, with weapons and without, and we learned letters and the ways of words.
But people grow and they grow up. Our games of war became tinged with an undertone of hostility. I was the daughter of Zeus, she was the daughter of the son of the brother of Zeus. My place in Olympus, as a goddess, was guaranteed. She would be a nymph of the sea. Pallas longed for more.
The last night I saw Pallas I was seated on the edge of a dam at the northwestern part of the lake. The dam had been constructed so that the settlers north of us could have a proper growing season. I liked it there because it made for good fishing.
Pallas crept up behind me and tickled my ribs, startling me enough that I dropped the pole I had been holding. It was an old pole, and I didn't mind. I was in good humor that night: my father had seen fit to talk with me for the first time in many months.
“Greetings, Sister-Cousin,” she intoned, resting one hand on her hip and reaching out with the other to help me stand. I recognized that look in her. “I thought you might like to experience defeat in the moonlight.”
I laughed and took her hand. “I've yet to experience it in the sunlight, what makes you think Selene will grant you more favor than Apollo?”
“I don't need favor from the family, I have my skill.” Her words had become sharp suddenly, and she tossed me my short sword and struck immediately.
I countered, easily. Pallas didn't understand that my family didn't favor me in battle. Just the opposite, really. My siblings by Zeus preferred Ares; I had yet to earn their respect. It's not as though earning the respect of a Greek god is an easy thing. I think the family fought almost continuously, one way or another, for nearly a thousand years.
Pallas thought I won our battles by favor from the gods, and that rankled me. I was young and stupid, and the insinuation hurt. I responded the only way I could think of: I fought back twice as hard.
Looking back, I'm sure she was trying to raise my emotions so that I would lose my concentration. It was foolish for her to anger me, but it was foolish for me to rise to the bait. I should have known better. I know better now.
The battle was quick. I was easily defeating her. My blood rushing in my veins, I raised my arm for the final blow, intending only to knock her shoulder with the butt of my sword, as was our custom. But then I felt it, felt him: my father. He reached from Olympus, the ægis in his hand, and it was all over. She had changed position to deflect the blow from Zeus and my sword pierced her chest.
My sword pierced her chest.
Zeus was gone, of course. What did he care if some nymph fell beneath the blade of his great daughter? I cradled her in my arms as her blood poured from her body, and I cried out for Triton.
Don't get me wrong; I love my father. I always have, despite his eccentricities. But I love Triton as a father, too. Much of who I am is because of him. When I saw the look on his face as he came up out of the waters of the lake, it was the first time that my heart broke.
I'd like to say it was the last, but there's that luxury of time again.
She died in my arms, and I left the shores of the lake the next morning as the sun rose. I know that Triton knew what Zeus had done, but I could see blame in his eyes nonetheless. I had come to his lake and taken from him his daughter.
I lost my sister that night, in name if not in blood. And so I took her name for my own, so that I would remember her in the years to come.
It has been a great many years, and I have yet to forget.
Word Count: 909