Forbidden Love

Chapter 6

Hephaestus started after Peitho as she walked away. Part of him was dumbfounded that she asked him to throw the competition. He could sense her abilities radiating from her when she spoke, but only slightly. Which told him that she still expected him to try to win but that she was hoping he wouldn't. He decided that he owed it to himself and Vulcan to give it his all, but that didn't necessarily mean Hephaestus would win. The last time the two of them met, he had won by the skin of his teeth which did not go without notice by Zeus or his wife.

On the other hand, Peitho was right. He had no interest in building this new mountain everyone was buzzing about. Especially since its location is in Italy. It made more sense for Vulcan to construct it in the first place. There weren't even any temples of Hephaestus in Pompeii, so why should he be the one to grace them with one of his creations? Rolling his eyes at the thoughts in his head Hephaestus stepped onto the center of the arena. There were to be three parts to this competition. Each of them had brought a piece of their finest craftsmanship. Their first task was to take turns attempting to melt the other's work, thus proving which flame burns hotter. Since they were competing on Olympus, Hephaestus was up first.

Vulcan stepped forward, dragging his work to the center of the arena and placing it about 10 feet from where Hephaestus stood. He had decided to use a piece made from the same steel as Cupid's new bow that was still in the works. Vulcan had created a tiny suit of armor with some scraps of that steel and had added to it just for fun this morning. When Vulcan stepped back, everyone saw that he had sculpted a replica of Hephaestus' head to go along with the armor. Vulcan smirked at the collective gasp as he walked back to his place. Hephaestus cursed under his breath when he saw it and scowled at Vulcan. As he stepped forward to place his work in ten feet from Vulcan, Hephaestus wished he had thought to do something similar. Instead, he used one of his finest shields which he had altered last night to make it look more like a target. As soon as he returned to his standing place, Zeus's voice rang out loud and clear.

"THREE, TWO, ONE, BEGIN!" He shouted. The crowd erupted in applause after Zeus spoke.

Both Hephaestus and Vulcan stretched their arms out in front of them, allowing their flame to escape their hands as though it were the breath of a dragon hurling its way toward their targets. While their flames connected with the objects simultaneously, it was abundantly clear that Vulcan's appeared to be burning hotter. His eyes were a deep shade of red that mirrored that of blood, and his face contorted in rage. Hephaestus glanced over briefly and noticed the irritation. He couldn't help but wonder what it was that seemed to be making him so angry. The distraction caused him to lose velocity causing his flame to cool significantly. He quickly snapped out of it when he heard Aphrodite's screams from behind him. 

"What are you doing, you fool! You can do better than that; I know you can!" Shaking his head to clear his thoughts his head and put his all into his flame. When he concentrated, Hephaestus was definitely able to put his all into his abilities, but he seemed to be getting distracted, and he couldn't understand why. Did Peitho's abilities of Persuasion work on him after all? It couldn't be her, could it? He's never heard of her using her abilities quite like this before. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a horn blaring. It was then he realized he'd lost. Vulcan approached him and clapped him on the back. 

"You alright, Hephy?" He asked in a mocking tone. "Don't make this too easy for me. We both know you can do better than that, and I want nothing less than your best. Besides, if you don't give it your all, Aphrodite is going to throw her own flame your way, and I don't imagine it will land anywhere pleasant." Hephaestus snorted. He hated to agree, but he knew without a doubt that Vulcan was right. 

Peitho bit her lip to keep from smiling at the exchange she saw happening in front of her. As they conversed, other members of the Greek Pantheon enclosed the two in a circle of targets. Part two of their competition was flame-throwing. Aphrodite crossed her arms and pouted like a child. Mumbling about what a disappointment the poor excuse of a God her husband is—cursing Zeus for punishing her by saddling her with him. Aphrodite's barely audible tirade intensified when she saw Venus running toward Vulcan and throwing herself in his arms. Vulcan could feel all eyes on him as he stood there holding Venus to him. Deciding to play into the facade, he lifted her up and spun her around as he embraced her. He made sure to lock eyes with Aphrodite as he did. Peitho felt a knot form in her stomach at the sight of Vulcan with Venus. For the life of her, she couldn't understand what it was about seeing them together that troubled her. She watched as his eyes moved from her mother to her. As soon as she caught his eye, he winked. Her stomach did a flip when she noticed it. At the same time, Peitho hoped Aphrodite hadn't seen the exchange. If she had Peitho feared, she would know Peitho failed in her task.

Vulcan smiled to himself as Aphrodite's face screwed up in distaste at his embrace with Venus and, no doubt, his victory over her husband. When he'd gotten his fill of watching Aphrodite fume, he turned his gaze to Peitho. There appeared to be sadness behind her eyes. He knew he shouldn't care, but for a reason he couldn't explain, he did. Vulcan found himself wanting to be the one to make her smile. But that was impossible. There's no way he could be the one to make her smile. Their warring Pantheon's would never allow it. Maybe they would stumble upon each other somewhere in the mortal realm. Should he win the other two competitions, he would be spending a lot of time there, and the look on Peitho's face seemed to say she was curious about him. Vulcan set Venus back on her feet and gave him a chaste kiss telling her that she should return to her seat. Cupid and Mars had just finished putting up the targets for the next competition.

In round two, The second round would test the velocity of their flame-throwing. Since Vulcan won the first round, he goes first. Cupid inclined his chin to Vulcan, silently wishing him luck. Vulcan returned the gesture in thanks. Taking a deep breath, he stepped to the center of the circle and formed a ball of flame in his hand. He tossed it up in the air casually and began to juggle as a means of showing off. He heard some in the crowd laugh at his antics. In the blink of an eye, he turned and shot the flame careening toward the center target. When it collided with the bullseye, the entire target went ablaze, incinerating it so quickly there was nothing but a pile of ash within minutes. Vulcan smiled as he watched it crumble and heard the cheers and chants from the half of the arena occupied by his Pantheon. 

Vulcan quickly turned in. an immediate circle alternating the hand throwing the flame with each target. When he finished the ring, he stood in no longer held targets, only piles of ash. He turned toward the Greek Pantheon and bowed with a mocking expression on his face. They booed in response. Some of them even threw goblets of wine in his direction. To their dismay, none of them had made contact with him. He watched as Heracles and Hermes descended the stairs. No doubt to sweep the debris and set up targets for Hephaestus. "Good luck," Vulcan mumbled as he breezed by Hephaestus. Hephaestus gave him a curt nod in response before taking his place at the center of the arena. Vulcan took a seat on the sidelines to watch. As soon as he did, Layla sidled up to him. As happy as Vulcan was to see her, he knew he'd be hearing about it later from Venus. Deciding he didn't care, Vulcan stood to embrace her. "it's good to see you. 'Lay, where on Capitoline have you been?" Layla glanced down nervously. Truth be known, she hadn't been able to stop thinking about Vulcan since she'd helped to fix him up, so rather than lounge by his forge like she would typically avoid him. She even created a new garden for Diana just to keep herself busy. 

Clearing her throat, Layla finally spoke. "Oh, I've been around just keeping myself busy. Let's be honest, V. I've done all that I can for the field and the bottom of Etna." She said with a laugh. Vulcan returned the laugh and smile, but he was uneasy. He could sense that something was different about Layla but couldn't figure out exactly that. "Go on." He prompted in an attempt to keep her talking. 

"Well, I created a new garden for Diana. She seems pleased with it. I've been working mostly in the daytime hours, so you're usually already at your forge by the time I arrive," she said nervously. Layla gazed into his honey-colored eyes as she waited for his response. Unsure of what to say, Vulcan gave her a nod and a smile in acceptance. Layla breathed a sigh of relief before she spoke again. 

"You're doing beautifully, Vulcan. I'm so proud of you," she beamed. Again Vulcan smiled at her. 

"Thank you, Layla. Perhaps if I win in the end, you could work some of your magic on my new volcano? Same patches of grass here and thee, and be sure to make the ground below pleasant looking for the mortals."

"I think I can do that for you, V." He took her hand and kissed her knuckles at her answer. Her cheeks lightly flamed. Vulcan had gotten so distracted by his conversation with Layla that he hadn't realized Hephaestus had completed his task. To his surprise, even the Greeks were booing him. Vulcan did his best to stifle a laugh as he watched Hephaestus hang his head in shame.

"I guess that means you've won again, V," Layla exclaimed. Vulcan shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "I guess so, Lay," he said with a slight smile. 

Hephaestus walked toward Vulcan to wait for the arena to be cleaned and the next event set up. "Final round," he said barely above a whisper. Vulcan nodded without looking at him. 

"What's your deal, Hephaestus? Why the lack of trying?" He sighed before answering.

 "Believe it or not, V, I am trying. I used all my strength to melt your armor, and while I suppose I could have turned faster when aiming for the targets in the last competition, I did throw with as much velocity as I could muster." Hephaestus hung his head low and spoke again. "My heart's just not in it, Vulcan. I truly have been using all my strength because you and they, he said, looking up to gesture around the arena, deserve that, but I couldn't give less of a damn about a new volcano. Do you know what I want? I want my wife to love me like Venus seems to love you." Vulcan snorted at that.

"Trust me, Heph, she doesn't love me. Venus loves beautiful things. So, I had someone make me as attractive as possible to piss Jupiter off. It's not a punishment if Venus is happy it's a punishment for Jupiter because he f****d up with Juno, and now he gets to watch the one he thinks he truly loves to marry another and, worse, be happy about doing it.

"Even still, at least she can stand to look at you," said Hephaestus. 

Vulcan nodded, "At least thee's that I suppose." He said.

Moments later, the two stood and began walking toward the center of the arena once more. This time there were two huge pyres next to each other. They stood about five feet apart. The last competition is a test of who's flame burned hotter as well as the height of the flame. They turned toward each other and shook hands. Vulcan then gestured for Hephaestus to go first. On some level, Vulcan felt terrible and wanted to give him a slight chance at redeeming himself. Hephaestus stepped forward, feigning pride. He had a cocky expression on his face like he knew he would do so well at this last event that they'd declare him the winner despite his losses in the other two events. He turned towards his wife and gave her his best smile and a wink. She scowled in return, at which point Hephaestus took one final step forward and cracked his knuckles before letting loose his flame. He channeled all his anger and dismay into the power or the flame. So much so that his hands felt white-hot while the flames escaped his fingertips. Being a fire God, he doesn't typically feel the heat when using his powers. He couldn't speak for the Roman Pantheon, but an event like that only happened when the God or Goddess using their powers was feeling great distress. The pain coursing through him was so much that he let out a blood-curdling scream before crashing to his knees from exhaustion. Vulcan stood back with a stunned expression on his face. Hephaestus indeed had brought all of his feelings to the surface. Because he was in such close proximity, Vulcan felt every ounce of pain radiating off of Hephaestus while he performed his task. The arena was so silent you could hear a pin drop. Eros and Poseidon stepped forward to help Hephaestus to his feet and to his chair. 

Vulcan stepped forward. Turning in a slow circle, he addressed the entire crowd. "That, my friends and foes, is going to be terribly difficult to beat." The Greeks gave a loud triumphant cheer while the Romans stayed quiet, and Venus stamped her foot like a pouting child. He took a deep breath and stretched his arms out in front of him. Before he began, he made eye contact with Juno.

"Wish me luck, Madre," she heard in her head. 

"Hephaestus's pyre is very impressive. If you've any hope of beating him Vulcan, you're going to have to channel all your energy into it. Good luck Mio Figlio." 

Instead of speaking, he nodded in her direction. Vulcan was well aware it would take a lot to defeat the intensity of Hephaestus's flame, but he still had the advantage. He had won the two previous events and, unbeknownst to Juno, Vulcan had plenty of memories he could relive as he stood there so that he may channel his anger into his flame, and that's just what he planned to do. As he stood there, he heard laughter in his head. He could see himself as a small child being pointed and laughed at due to his hideous appearance. Vulcan could feel his anger building at the thought, and he knew his eyes would soon change to their shade of red. That very same day, Juno disowned him. She'd heard that the other children were teasing him due to his looks, and when she found him, she felt the same way. Juno could barely stand to look at him from the day he was born, and when she learned that others felt the same, she decided to dispose of him. 

Vulcan replayed the image of Juno stepping forward and pushing him off of the nearby cliffs of Capitoline. As he fell, he looked up at her angry face. Vulcan heard her shouting obscenities at him while he fell. Shutting his eyes, he'd accepted his fate. Hot tears burned his eyes while the memory replayed. He kept his eyes on Juno the entire time he was pouring his flame toward his pyre. He locked eyes with Juno as they did. Vulcan didn't have to speak to her for her to know what it was he was thinking. A silent tear slid down her cheek as well. Her expression was imploring him for forgiveness. She had thought they had moved past this a long time ago. "I'm sorry," he heard her whisper in his mind as he stared at her. He nodded once. Still, he kept his mind on Juno as the flames escaping him grew hotter still. He could hear gasps from those around him. He assumed from the sounds that his eyes most her a scary shade of red. 

This time his mind went to the revenge he'd exacted on Juno when he found his way back to Capitoline. Layla had rescued him when he was a child. She had accepted him, no questions asked. 

Vulcan waited until he'd become an adult to venture back to Capitoline. He went straight for the temple that Jupiter and Juno shared when he got there. He grabbed Juno by the wrist and dragged her to the temple that would later become his when he got there. Sometime the night before, he'd snuck in and delivered a chair that he'd made himself. It came complete with ropes made from fools gold. The fates created a special golden cord that was impossible for any deity to break free from. When they reached the temple, Vulcan forced her into the chair. Juno was afraid of fire, so as he stood there tying her to it, he surrounded the chair in a circle of flame to keep her from fighting him. Once secured in the chair, he dragged it to the edge of the cliffs she had pushed him from all those years ago. Vulcan pushed her backward just as he had done. He watched as she fell back but grabbed some loose rope just before the chair went over the cliff altogether. 

"Hello, Madre. Did you miss me?" He asked in a mocking tone. When she said nothing in response, he continued. "Do you remember it here? This very spot is where you disposed of me. I've made you a gift. If you just turn your head, you can see it." He said with a laugh. 

Juno shakily turned her head to look behind her, afraid of what may happen to her if she didn't comply. Directly below her, there was a large fire pit. She knew by the sight that he intended to toss her into it as an act of revenge. He smiled evilly at her before letting some of the rope slip from his hands, slightly lowering the chair toward the ground. Just then, Juno screamed and began to beg for her life. The crowd gasped at the sudden burst of flame that came from him as he reheard the sound of Juno's cries. He had pulled the chair back up quickly and walked toward her bending down, so they were nose to nose. 

"I could never do to anyone what you did to me as a child. I, unlike you, have a heart." Vulcan then pulled a dagger from its sheath on his belt and cut her free from the ropes. He swiftly turned and began walking away from her intending to go back to his forge at the bottom of Mount Etna.

"Wait, Vulcan please?" Despite himself, he stopped when he heard the soft motherly tone coming from her that he'd been longing for all his life. He turned and gave him a questioning look.

"Let me make it up to you. I'm a different woman than I was when I wronged you. Truth be known, I've regretted doing it every day since, but I was too ashamed to come and find you." Said Juno, unable to meet his gaze as she spoke. 

For some reason, he believed the words she spoke even though he wished he didn't. 

"Fine, but I'm moving into my own temple on Capitoline. That is not a request." He said firmly. Juno nodded in agreement.

Vulcan's expression softened as he lowered his arms. He was panting from exhaustion, but his gaze never wavered from Juno. He could see the tears shining in Juno's eyes. She knew all along what it was that powered the rage that caused his flame. Vulcan had never been able to explain it to anyone, but somehow he and Juno had made it through their dark past and had a closer bond than either of them had ever thought possible. Despite what it had taken to get here, he wouldn't change it for anything. Finally, Vulcan turned away from Juno to look around the arena. To his surprise and delight, his pyre was burning more brightly than he'd thought possible. He laughed at the sound of applause around him. He was surprised to see that even some Greeks were applauding him.

"Congratulations." He heard the word softly in his mind. He turned around, and sure enough, it was Peitho that had spoken. Vulcan turned back toward his Pantheon and shouted in victory. 

Zeus stepped forward and cleared his throat to speak. As soon as he did, silence fell. "It appears we have a winner Vulcan of Mount Capitoline has won. Vulcan will create Mount Vesuvius."