Aphelion

"Aphelion," came my father's boisterous voice from just inside the white pearly gate, "my dear son, how are you today, my boy?"

As I step outside the portal the rest of the way, I glance around cautiously to see if there's anyone else around. My father is unusually cheery this afternoon. Seeing someone of importance around would make his odd behavior make sense, but to my shock, there isn't anyone else nearby.

"Where is St. Peter?" I ask my father as I enter the last of the twelve heavenly gates, Zebulun's gate.

Before our realms were divided, Jehovah sentenced St. Peter to guard the pearly gates of Heaven, one guard for all twelve gates. Like the original nine circles of Hell, Heaven also has multiple stages. Most humans do not know that they're already living in the first three stages of Heaven. The first three gates, named Asher, Benjamin, and Dan, make up the human world. Most would think that if there were three overly large iridescent gates on Earth, someone would've noticed them by now, but the gates present themselves differently on Earth. In the human world, the gates make up the Upper, Middle, and Lower class. Jehovah created the gates to divide each level of Heaven, making the eleventh gate the one closest to his home, an area where only the purest of souls could live, but over the years, the purpose of the gates changed. Now it's all about what hand you're dealt and how good you are at playing the game of life. Since the first three gates of Heaven are in the human world, they'll continuously be occupied.

The fourth gate, whose entrance can be found in the human world on the small island of O'ahu in Hawaii and is appropriately named Ha'iku stairs or Heaven's stairs, is the first passageway from the human world to the divine. Inside the fourth gate is where the animals of the Earth go. Not just the dogs, but the cats and hamsters too, as well as all the other beasts that roam the world. The fourth stairway is named Gad. The fifth through ninth gateways, Issachar, Joseph, Judah, Levi, and Nephtali, are now empty, but they once housed the twelve apostles, yes, even Judas and many other prophets told in the legends of the Holy Bible. The tenth and eleventh gates, Reubon and Simeon, housed Jehovah's siblings, Brahama, Yahweh, and Shiva, just to name a few. It's still unclear to many how many siblings Jehovah actually had. And through the twelfth gate of Heaven is where Jehovah lived. A place of virtue where only the purest of souls could live. Not even Jehovah's son could reside in Heaven's twelfth gate. It is said that only the Great Goddess, most often referred to as Mother Earth now, was allowed to reside in the twelfth gate. Speculation has it that we were born from his love of the Great Goddess instead of being created in Jehovah's image.

The tenth and eleventh gates now house the people of the sky kingdom, and the palace remains locked behind the twelfth gate. My father keeps the twelfth gate under lock and key, which is why it is shocking to me that he's so casually greeting me now.

"St. Peter has been tasked with readying Nephtali." My father replies.

"Readying Nephtali for what?" I inquired, looking at my father suspiciously as we made our way toward the palace, passing by the angels to whom I'd originally planned to talk to.

"Why our visitors, of course." My father responds as if I'm supposed to know exactly what he's talking about.

As we enter the palace, I notice my mother Hera standing in the foyer, deep in discussion with my half-brother Hercules; a demigod she could hardly stand since he was proof of my father's infidelities.

"Where's Hebe as Karios?" I ask my mother, immediately noticing the nonpresence of my littlest sister and baby brother, who never leaves Hera's side.

"They've gone to stay with my sister Isis in Egypt for a while." My mother states, her eyes not once meeting mine.

"Why?" I ask suspiciously while trying to catch my mother's gaze.

"Does he really not know?" Hercules asks incredulously.

"Not know what?" I ask, feeling my anger rise as the sound of thunder crackles above us.

"Now Now, 'Phil. Calm down. You've always been so hot-tempered. I always say you get it from your Dad's side." Hera states in a mother-like fashion.

"You'd be irritated too if something was being kept from you." I spit, not bothering to stop the flashes of lightning swirling around us.

"Temper boy." My father growls, "Don't make me renounce your claim to the throne." Zeus threatens, a threat I am all too familiar with.

I take a few deep and calming breaths letting my power reel back inside and pushing the anger down.

"Will you please tell me what's going on?" I ask nicely, gritting my teeth as I do so.

"I met Katrina," my father states.

"Wait, you did what?!?" I ask, my electricity lighting up the entire palace, even causing a few bulbs to burst.

"Seriously 'Phil, you'd think that fancy school or yours would teach you how to control your powers." Hercules teases.

"Don't interrupt your father while he's talking to you." My mother tsks.

All while my father looks at me smuggling, his face gloating.

"As I was saying, I met with Katrina the other day and was surprised by what I saw. And from the gossip that's being spread around, I think her meeting with the council will be a much bigger attraction than what we're used to here. Many deities from all over want to meet the woman who has supposedly been prophesized about."

"Katrina's introduction to the council doesn't need to be paraded about." I Snap. "She's not some monkey in a zoo."

"The people want to meet her, Aphelion." My mother states. "If she is the true Queen, you cannot hide her."

"Or are you afraid the entirety of the four kingdoms will find out she's a farce or, worse yet, something unholy? Maybe there is some truth to Hilda's rumors." My father states, eying me closely to catch my reaction.

I keep my expression stoic, having learned at a young age that everything my father does or says for a reason that's hidden behind his actual reasoning.

"She is the true Queen. No one else's meeting with the council has been public; Katrina's shouldn't be either." I respond.

"Then what shall we do about the guests?" My mother asks.

"Tell them the event is off," I reply angrily, annoyed that this entire thing has already gone so far.

"We can't do that. We'll appear fickle." My father states firmly, ixnaying any plans of cancellation.

"Then tell them that instead of the council meeting, they'll attend an engagement party," I stated, throwing the first thing that came to mind out there but also going with the plan the guys and I had come up with.

"An engagement party?" My father booms, his thunder shaking the entire palace.

Now, who needs to get their temper under check?

"Yes, celebrating Miles and Katrina's engagement."

"Ah, so she's affiliating herself with the Earth Kingdom. I guess that means your betrothal with Hilda is still on?" Hercules asks, "Bummer." He mumbles beneath his breath. "I was hoping to claim her as mine."

If my mother were a Medusa, Hercules would be stone right now from the look she's giving him. "And why would Thor agree to that?" She asks, her eyes lit with fury. "You have no claim to the throne."

"No, but I am a son to Zeus. Any child created between Hilda and I will be powerful, a child born with the blood of two powerful thunder gods." Hercules retorts.

I swear his bronze and beauty have caused him to lose brain cells. Even I can see the anger radiating off my mom toward him has grown tenfold.

"A child powerful enough to claim the throne." My mother hisses, the tone of her voice indicating g that she's plotting another death threat against the poor foolish man.

"Herc," I state, not really wanting to see the death of my half-brother that I semi-like, "You should probably go now."

Hercules rolls his eyes, "Little Brother, how many times do I have to tell you that you're not king yet."

"Alright, it's your funeral," I reply before turning my attention back to my parents. " I have to leave now. I'm the future. If anything comes up pertaining to my mate or me, please have the kindness of informing me. This time things were able to end on a peaceful note. I can't promise the same for next." I threaten before making my way through the palace door and back down to the portal, ignoring my mother calling out for me and the shouting profanities from my father.

Katrina and I needed to discuss her meeting of my father that she decided to keep secret, and I needed to let the guys know that the engagement party in the sky kingdom was a go.