Ancient Greece

There were many, so many more than originally expected, and all of them were gathered for one person. In addition to the grand twelve who sat on ornate thrones unique to each of them, there were other, lesser beings gathered in the pavilion. It was no more than an open space lined with pillars around the perimeter without walls or a ceiling.

"This is your fault," a man growled viciously. His face was buried in his hands and his curly black locks hung limply. The man's skin was pale, as if he had never seen the sun. He wore black robes of the finest fabrics and numerous gemstones were inlaid on his rings and pendants. This man sat on a throne carved of black obsidian with pomegranates and skulls carved into the design along with many set jewels.

"This was her choice," his brother replied sullenly. In contrast to his brother, this man glowed with health and light. His skin was sun kissed, his hair was platinum in color and fell in waves, he wore garments of the purest white. There was a mix of remorse, regret, and sadness in his stormy gray eyes. He sat on the largest of the thrones. This throne was pure gold with the impressions of lightning bolts adorning it.

"It was not a choice any of us would have chosen for her!" the middle brother exclaimed angrily. His hair was chestnut in color and even more wavy than that of his younger brother, but not yet curly like that of his eldest. This man wore an ocean-blue toga with the design of waves set in a lighter blue. His skin tone was that of someone who spent all of their days at sea. His eyes were as clear blue as the Mediterranean Sea and the color swirled like whirlpools. His throne was constructed entirely of different shells found upon the beach that had been smoothed to perfection.

"She chose it for herself," their king snapped.

"It was for the best of all. The girl knew it, the mortals knew it, and, more importantly, we knew it," the woman to the king's right stated with her head held high. Her hair was golden in color; her skin was unmarred porcelain; she wore a pink chiton and golden diadem; her eyes were lavender in color and held a cold edge to them.

"Lords," one of the lesser beings said in a gentle voice, "the queen is correct. If you had not all been so…involved with her…"

The head of the man garbed fully in black shot up and his eyes, as black as his throne fixed the speaker with a hard glare, "You dare speak of your superiors so?"

"Leave him be," the man's brother instantly intervened on the young being's behalf.

"Zeus," the man's oldest brother hissed, "you knew what she would decide upon. You offered her a choice when you knew what she would pick! You approached her during a time when she was fragile and vulnerable! Have you no shame?"

"Watch yourself, Hades," Zeus, king of the gods, warned his brother. "You are speaking out of anger. Can you not see what that girl was doing to us? How she was driving us to war? Poseidon, surely, you see the reason behind my actions."

The god of the seas shook his head morosely, "How, brother, could the girl knowingly lead us towards a war? The War is inevitable, as it has been foretold by Apollo himself." All heads turned to the healer, musician, and prophet.

The man's hair was short and curly blond as radiant as the sun itself, and he possessed a skin color a shade darker than Zeus. His eyes were like liquid pools of gold, but now, they held discomfort in them without any traces of joy. He wore a slightly unnerved expression upon his beautiful face, "It was foretold that the girl would be significant in war, but it was not foretold whether or not she would be the cause."

"Are you telling me that this was done without you having full knowledge of the circumstances?" Hades roared, his black eyes flashing with fury.

At the same time Poseidon turned to Zeus, "Did you not think before acting so drastically? Had it not even crossed your mind that perhaps you should ask for the details before taking such a risk?"

"Enough!" Athena, a foster mother of the child, screeched. The goddess was beautiful and untouched by man. She was garbed in battle armor, but without a helmet. Her dark hair fell in loose curls down her back to her waist. Her eyes were striking, royal blue in color. "You are all blinded by your jealousy!"

Hades ignored the wise goddess's words and glowered at his oh-so-mighty brother, "We lost her, brother, and there is no telling whether or not she shall ever return."

Zeus sneered at his brother, "You mean whether or not she shall ever return to you. Tell me, Hades, does it disturb you so to know that she would rather leave this world than see your sorry face for eternity?"

"You insolent little…" Hades growled menacingly. His words became so low that nobody could hear them, but the hateful glow to his eyes told them all they needed to know.

"You have no right to speak!" Poseidon snapped, "It was you who drove her to him in the first place!"

"Stop it!" Hestia, goddess of the hearth, shouted. She wore the modest clothing of a peasant along with a shawl over her straight reddish gold hair. Her eyes, usually a timid and submissive white, flared with a glow from her impatience towards the three brothers.

"Oh, no," a man with short and curly dark brown hair drawled, "do continue. I'm just itching for a little bloodshed." He was perfectly sculpted, and he knew it. The man wore a loincloth and draped himself on his throne. His eyes were crimson in color.

"You have no right to speak," Zeus rounded on the man furiously.

"I feel…as if I should be offended," Ares brought his hand to his chest in mockery.

Hades ignored this exchange and glared at Zeus, "When she returns, Zeus, she will hate you, and you will regret this with your entire existence."

"I already do," Zeus said to himself in a voice he was sure that none of the other gods heard.

Ares laughed maliciously, "That is, if she even remembers, much less returns. It's a shame that you had to discard her so soon, Zeus, I would have played with her after you got bored." At this the three sons of Kronos and three pure goddesses glared at him with pure outrage, and he relished the bloodlust in their eyes.

"I, for one, am glad that she is finally out of our way," Persephone, wife of Hades and queen of the Underworld announced. She wore a green tunic that pooled around her, seeing as she sat at the foot of Hades' throne, with stitched in flowers. In her long blond hair were several brightly colored flowers. "A mortal with such…abilities should not even be allowed to exist. At least your brother has managed to buy us some time, my lord."

"It is unfortunate," a radiant woman said disappointedly. She was sprawled out on a bench with her chestnut colored ringlets fell over her shoulder. Her thick eyelashes curled up and full lips gave her a sensual appearance. She wore a very loose chiton that exposed more skin than the garments of the other goddesses. Her eyes were a gentle, inviting pink. "She was so entertaining to watch, wasn't she, Eros?"

The young man sat on the marble floor of the pavilion. He had the same curly chestnut hair as the woman, but it was much shorter. His olive skin glistened from scented oils, and as he wore only a loincloth, his perfect body was exposed. His eyes were the lustful color scarlet. Eros chuckled to himself, "Aphrodite, you say that now, but what happens when your own lover and husband turn their attentions toward her? She was such a pretty little thing…"

"Be silent," Zeus ordered the young immortal. The god smirked at his king and fell silent.

"So, you've managed to hold off war for now, my king," a woman with dark brown hair combed and pinned away from her face said, "but how long until it is triggered again?" The woman wore a simple deerskin garment with a bow and quiver strapped to her back. Her eyes were silver in coloring.

"That is a question meant for an Oracle," Zeus sighed tiredly.

"What do we do now?" Hestia asked in a shaky voice whether from anger or grief, none of the gods could tell.

"We wait," Athena stated with a coldness to her eyes that had not been there before.

Zeus nodded as if his mind wasn't with the other immortals, "We shall wait for her to return to us. Until then, we shall live on as we have before her, and shall well after she is gone." There was agreement among the gods and goddesses. "This meeting of Olympus is adjourned." The lesser gods and goddesses left the pavilion, but the three brothers remained. Hades and Zeus ordered their wives to leave the three.

"You made a poor decision, Zeus," Poseidon told his younger brother.

"It was a choice she had to make," the king of the gods stated firmly.

"Keep telling yourself that," Hades grumbled and rose out of his throne slowly.

"Where do you think you are going?" Zeus demanded. He had not given his brother permission to leave his presence.

"I am returning to my Underworld," Hades replied, still bitter that Zeus had drawn the longest straw. "Summon me when you finally start thinking, little brother," and on that note, Hades took his leave. Zeus stared at the spot where his brother disappeared into a shadow; his hands clenched the armrests of his throne.

"He loved her, Zeus," Poseidon reminded his younger brother exasperatedly. Poseidon had loved her as well, and he was filled with immense sorrow at the thought of never seeing her beautiful, joyous face again.

"He wasn't the only one," Zeus snapped.

"You had no right, brother," Poseidon sighed and rose from his throne as well. Zeus's other brother left the pavilion in a rush of water. It was then, when he was alone, that Zeus roared out in frustration and threw a lightning bolt down into the clouds. Thunder followed the flash of light, and he had called forth a storm. He slouched back into his throne and ran his hand through his hair.

"Chrisantha," Zeus groaned.

A/N...I just thought that I'd publish the prologue before the actual story just to start out. Uh, what's it seem like so far? This is my first story ever published, so I hope you guys like it. I'll be back pretty soon with the main story :)