In The Beginning, Chapter 133

“Apollo!?” She cried excitedly, running towards him with a smile. He dropped his spear in shock, it dissipated as it hit the ground, as he rushed to meet her, they collided in a mess of arms.
“Hebe? You’ve been here? This whole time? He told me you were dead!” Apollo cried, still furious and elated.
“Who told you that?” She asked as he sent his power over her, she shivered as it hit her skin but said nothing, he knew what he was going to find but he had to be sure.
“Father told me that.” He replied when he found her completely untouched, as always.
“Don’t be silly!” She giggled softly. “Umm, do you know what today is?” She asked, staring at the floor, while he was unable to take his eyes off of her face, she was almost perfect, he thought.
“It’s your birthday.” He replied, knowing what she would never, every day was her birthday.
“My fourteenth birthday, practically a woman!” She said, obviously going somewhere with it.
“I agree, which is why I came, when I found out you were alive, I went straight to father and told him everything. I promised him, anything, if I could have you.” He breathed against her neck, his erection felt alien and yet titillating against her intimate area, which ached like it had never before.
“What did he say?” She asked, her voice sounding weak and breathy as she admired him in his armour.
“He said that if I make you a woman, no other man can touch you... you haven’t been with anyone else, have you?” He asked her seriously, but he was barely holding it together, the urge to laugh into that beautifully confused face, then hear her scream as he took her by force was tempting, but it had been done so many times. Hebe really was his favourite toy, for his father to give her to Hermes was an insult, but for him to lie? He would have to move up his plans.
“No, I’ve been with no one... just like I promised.” She swore, looking up at him with her forever innocent eyes. To everyone else she was his greatest accomplishment, his masterpiece, for anyone else to own her was a travesty. He examined her unchanged face again, making her blush. “I was worried you had forgotten your promise.” She whispered, as their faces grew closer.
“I could never forget you, my little dove.” A rare moment of truth, Apollo thought to himself, although not for the reasons she thought, in the thousands of years since, she was still the closest thing to the perfect woman he had ever met. Her hair and skin were the colour of bronze, her hazel eyes twinkled, at least she was actually dressed, he sighed, her cream silk dress looked well cared for, and wasn’t overly revealing. She smiled at him, with such innocence he couldn’t help but remember the first time he had really taken her virginity, the night of her fourteenth name day. The way she had whimpered when he broke her hymen, and cried and fought, until he made her use her power to undo it, trapping her in an endless cycle, perpetually fourteen, her mind and body reset every night. He had tested the strength of her ability to regenerate, but as long as part of her survived, the next day there she was, and with her connection to their grandmother intact, he could eat and eat, and never drain her. Her only flaw was that she couldn’t give him an army, she wasn’t pregnant at thirteen, so she would never give him a worthy heir.
“I know it was very painful, but father sending you to protect us from that monster was the best thing that ever happened to me.” Hebe whispered, for a second Apollo was confused, it had been so long, it took him a moment to remember.
“Right... you found me hurt, wounded, I had no idea you were the reason father sent me.” Like hell he did, Apollo thought. It had taken him months to find Zeus’s bastard, and being raised by powerful nymphs? He had to find out more, hence his little ruse. Back then Zeus had more than just the human’s convinced they were Gods; it had been useful for his experiments. Claiming he had been hurt protecting them, after being sent by Zeus, they welcomed him with open arms. Hebe’s mother, he discovered, had been one of the first nymphs, powerful and beautiful, she had died during childbirth, giving all of her soul freely to her daughter, and thus, giving the child a connection to the source. He returned many times in the following months, feigning excuses, laying the groundwork for his plan. It had gone perfectly; the proof was sat beside him on the bed.
“And we got to know each other, and we... or well I...” Oh, get on with it, he thought to himself, she had given him this speech a million times. “Fell in love with you.” She finally confessed.
“Why do you think I have been away for so long? I was doing everything father asked, so I could take you as my own.” He smiled, though the sentimental twee made him want to vomit.
“Will I be able to live on Olympus with you? I don’t like it here.” She confessed, both elated and scared, when she had woken up in this strange place, she knew it had to be her father’s doing. She had stayed in her rooms, sure from the sounds around her she must be inside Hephaestus’s domain, deep inside the mountain. Even though it had only been a day, she missed the smell of spring in the air, heavy with the scent of newly bloomed flowers, and the feel of dewy morning grass between her toes.
“Once we are married. You have the right, as a daughter of Zeus, but as my wife, you will obtain so much more!” He teased her, as they lay on the bed, his body covering hers, trapping her beneath him.
“I’m a little scared... it’s going to hurt.” She whispered as he kissed her shoulder and neck, removing his armour quickly, it would be a pain if it became stained, he thought.
“I’ll be gentle.” He whispered as he undressed her. He was once again caught off guard by her flawless skin, despite the clear memory of when he sliced off her breasts, they once again looked untouched and ready for his hands. Her soft pants made him throb, her nipples hardened under his fingertips, eliciting a sharp gasp that made his mind foggy, it had been too long since he had last needed to deny himself anything. He ripped the dress from her body in a frenzy, while pinning her to the bed by her throat. “You are my greatest failure!” He screamed as he entered her, minimising the amount of air she could inhale. “You were supposed to give me an army! Children to worship me and help me overthrow my father! I WILL DRAIN YOU AND USE YOUR SPARK TO GET SOMEONE WHO CAN GIVE ME AN ARMY!” He bellowed into the girl’s terrified face, as she gasped for air, her face becoming red, tears flowing down into her hair as she stared up at him. He placed his hand over her face, taking something, but she couldn’t tell what, everything hurt, he wasn’t being gentle, and she didn’t understand. Apollo drained her spark as he brutalised her, almost exactly the same way he had the first time. Although now he wasn’t angry with her for being yet another usurper trying to unseat him from his father’s right hand, but because there hadn’t been another born like her. Until Charlie, and she was even more powerful, she would finally give him heirs that wouldn’t need to steal a spark to live, and maybe if he consumed enough of hers, over time, he might not need to either, not that he would confess that dream to anyone. Hebe fought and scratched, wheezing and crying, until she felt her eyes roll back, everything went dark. Apollo didn’t relent, he took her spark while chasing his release, her unwillingness making it more enjoyable for him, her body went limp, as if she had died, forcing him over the edge. Such a waste of his seed, he thought, but everyone needs a bit of fun, he sighed as he climbed off of her, feeling much more relaxed and invigorated. He went and showered, before returning to his armour, he was just wondering which helm to choose when she woke up, the first time is always a drag, he thought as he turned around. Ready for the waterworks and recriminations that always came before she cried herself to sleep and started over like none of it ever happened, he would have to change the sheets first. He thought, although it was hilarious, the last time he had left her in a puddle of his seed and her blood, she woke up screaming, convinced she was dying or something, she had cried for hours. He didn’t have the time or patience for that, at least not immediately. As she slowly came around, he picked up the phone and ordered a clean-up crew, he knew the basic script and both of their cues, it may have been a while, but they had been together for centuries before she was taken away from him.
“Why? Apollo? What did I do?” She sobbed; it was almost enough to make him feel something.
“Nothing, my princess, this is just what I need! What you will have to endure from time to time to keep me happy. Now, let’s get you all cleaned up, and there will be clean, soft bedding waiting for you when you’re done.” He smiled as he led her to the bathroom, he even ran her a bath, and helped her in. She would cry until the water grew cold, get out, curl up on the bed, cry some more, then it would be over, he reassured himself as he left her in the water. The servants were already stripping the bed, one of them had moved his armour to the chair, he realised as he walked through the room. Still naked, he didn’t care who saw him, after all, he was perfect, it both angered and bolstered him when the servants refused to raise their eyes from the ground. Part of him liked how much they feared him, but another part of him wanted them to look at him with lust and envy, the opposing sides of him never allowed him to be content with anything. A knock at the door prevented him from finalising his ensemble decision, drawing him away from the armour, and towards the perpetrator of the unforgivable offence. If the door had been wood at one of his homes, it would have been ripped from the hinges, on the ship everything was metal, and creaked ominously in his hands. An androgynous young person stood with their back straight on the other side.
“Hermaphroditus! At last, come to check your father is truly dead?” Apollo chuckled, stepping aside so the beautiful creature could enter the room.
“I don’t care if he is or isn’t, but I wouldn’t be here if he were alive!” Hermaphroditus spat, looking around the room with disgust, like every surface was stained with something viscous and would get on him.
“But how would I get to see you otherwise?” Apollo asked, his hand slipping into the youth’s chestnut coloured curly hair possessively, before yanking, drawing Hermaphroditus’s mouth to his.
“Don’t... not with her here.” Hermaphroditus tried to pull away.
“The King has given me permission to take anything of Hermes I want, and I want you both.” Apollo growled, he had never taken rejection well, but to be told no by someone who had no choice in the matter infuriated him. “GET OUT!” He screamed at the servants, as they scurried away, leaving the youth alone to face the enraged prince, Hebe was still sat in the tub, disassociating from her trauma and surroundings. “In two days, you will leave this place with me, Hebe and my prize, or you will be aboard when I blow this piece of junk out of the water. I do hope none of you have done anything to piss off Poseidon.” He sneered into the youth’s face menacingly.