Voluptas

 When I was a little girl, I believed I was secret weapon of the world. Their magic and their secret for love. I am Pleasure after all.
 When I was little Mother, Psyche, goddess of soul and mind, wrapped her hair elegantly in white cloth and golden rings with flowers. I wouldn’t have to beg for her to do mines, no doubt. Mother would take me atop of the mountains or to our temples, and we would often be accompanied with either my auntie Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, or Venus, goddess of ual love. Auntie Ceres says to call her Auntie Sooyoung, and I call Venus grandmother Yoona. Yoona immediately objected to it, as calling her grandmother would make her feel her real age. 
 But my favorite place to be, even more than the magnificent mountains and exploring the greens of the jungles, was with my father, Cupid, god of love. It was my father that helped with my powers the most. I felt he navigated them in the right places better than some lousy old teachers. He was a god, so he knew better then he put on. Grandma says that marriage has matured him.

 Mother gave me my very first mineral stones and paints, and Father proudly gave me one of the largest rooms in the house. I’ve never been happier. I didn’t even plan or gave a second thought. I spent hours in the room doing art you wouldn’t believe a ten year old did. I painted murals of my most favorite gods. My parents, Venus, Ceres, Proserpina, Jupiter, Mercury, and even the cute and adorable Greek Pan. They were all my family, and all held a part of my heart.

 My beautiful and kind friend, Proserpina, also known as Sulli, came down to our house on a good day. Being down in the earth, she always longs for the real sunlight. One morning when I was coming close to thirteen, I was embroidering a pillow with an orange rose, which means desire. While I decorated the pillow, I continue to beg for her to tell me the future of my love. Who will I meet? What is he like? Is he a god or a mortal?

 She said, “Shouldn’t you be asking the love experts, like your father or your mother?”

 I shook my head. “No. They won’t tell things. I trust you to tell me anything.” I trusted only a few people to tell me the truth when I wanted them to. Sulli was one of them.

 “Your love life is a little blurry, Aki. What do you expect me to say?” She calls me Aki, which is short for Akilina. It means ‘eagle-like’, because she says I never know when to stop soaring. When I pretend I am on an adventure, I always like to pretend I am a bird. A bird can fly to so many places and can get there within a minute. I am not very fast, but the name suffices.

 “Anything,” I say with wide-eyed curiosity.

 Sulli’s mouth slowly twitches into a smile. She nodded her head. “Fine. I’ll say a thing or two.”

 I gasp in excitement. I put down the needle and pillow and lean in to listen closely to my fortune teller of life.

 “I can see quite a predicament. A rather complicated love, much like you father and mothers. Only . . . a bit more different.”

 I furrow my brows and grimace. “Is it going to be exactly like my parents adventure in love?”
 I heard the whole story before when I was six. I don’t want to go through what my mother went through – challenges so hard they can kill you, and my husband having to be kept away from me until them. I mean, the ending is always the best part. But in the middle, it’s just pure chaos.

 Sulli laughed. “No, Aki. A lot more different than that. I cannot see your lover at the moment, but whoever it is, I hope you’ll have the most wondrous adventure of all of the gods.”

 Silence hung in the air for a second. Then, I pouted. “That’s it?”

 “Well that is all I see. And besides, wouldn’t you rather be surprised when you meet the love of your life?”

 I sighed deeply as I sat back up and grabbed my incomplete pillow. “I guess you’re right,” I mutter.

 Sulli left it at that, and we started to talk about the flowers I’ll be helping Minerva grow in her garden later that day.

 Ever since that talk, I’ve been waiting for that forbidden love to come to me. But when and where? And most importantly, who?

 Who would love someone like me?
 It’ll be a miracle the day I meet the love of my life.

                                                                                                            ____________

 I met my grandmother with completely soaked hair. My curls only got tangled in each other even more than usual. But it’s nothing I can’t handle.

 Venus, dressed in flowing white cloth that strapped itself across her s and down her white torso. The white cloth hanging beside her knees were decorated in her favorite flower, the rose. She bore white heels bedazzled with clear crystals. A perfect specimen of beauty. I admire her so much for it.

 Grandmother rushed over to me and took me in her tight embrace. “My sweet girl, how are you this morning?” She asked, giving a slight chuckle at my wet hair.

 I shrugged. “Nothing a little cold water can’t cure.”
 Yoona chuckled as she raked her fingers through my wet hair.

 “What is it you need from me, Grandmother Yoona?”

 Yoona sighed. I still called her by grandmother Yoona, and she let me, but she still didn’t like the way it sounded. I find it funny every time. I stifled a laugh.
 “Today, I need you to help me with some more of my amulets. New ones we are experimenting on. Let’s go!”

 I head after her towards our wing, the magical rooms most people wouldn’t even believe existed. Including me. I haven’t been in any of them for so long. People thought the doors would just be a distraction to me. Father would let me in now and then, but he too made me keep out. My heart settles as I look up at the constellations on the ceiling. A few years ago, I watched Pan do the beautiful art himself. He did the glorious star patterns. I just painted it blue and black and added the clouds. Pan tells me the sky on earth is much better to look up at then in Rome; mostly because, we are pretty much above the sky. I thought it was so good, I actually did the same to my room. But instead with mineral stones and even diamonds. Courtesy of my father, who swiped just enough to make five constellations. He just loves to spoil his girls. Grandma says he should try and stop that, before I get a swelled and spoiled head. Father said he would be called the god of love for nothing.

 “How else do I show my love?” he said.

 “Kisses, hugs, and in some cases . . . nightly meetings. From what I can tell, those things are quite free and loving.”

 Father laughed. “But here’s the thing, mother: I can do all of those any day.”
 Mother blushed.

 I smiled. I knew what Yoona meant by ‘nightly meetings’. Knowing the god of love, of course he could get those things . . . probably fifty times a day if he wanted.

 “Yuri-ah . . .” Venus’s soft, enchanting voice comes out and breaks my mind from wondering into abyss.
 With a sigh, I say, “Yes?”

 “Have you been . . . making new friends lately?” Her face is calm but her eyes are clouded with curiosity, distracted as we wind our way to the spell room.

 Is she kidding me? Was this a joke I was supposed to get? No. She is serious when she asks. “Who am I seeing, grandmother Yoona?”

 “Hmmm. I guess not then,” she mutters. “Well, have you been working on your powers?”

 I furrow my brows. “What did you mean by meeting people, grandmother Yoona?”

 She looks sharply at me. “I had a dream, Yuri. I just wanted to ask. Now can you answer the next question?”

 I fight to not roll my eyes. Why would she suddenly snap at me? I did nothing but ask a simple question. You know, when these gods try to skirt away from my questions, you can already tell they are up to something. None of the less, I answer her previous question.

 “Yes. I am still practicing but I am getting better. Having power over the water element isn’t as easy as talking, you know.”

 Yoona snickered. “I understand. Tell me if you notice anything strange. Anything. Do not mind my worrying, it’s just that sometimes my dreams can be a little real.”

 We enter her workshop, the room flickering from candlelight, all along the golden-yellow stone walls and twinkling chandelier from above us. We call this room our Temple, because when it comes to magic and talismans, witches met in temples. Only Grandmother and I come in here. Anyone else who comes is either Mother or a maid coming to clean. My grandmother has many rules when it comes to other people looking at her work. Even some gods can steal ideas from others and make it into something completely different.

 I sigh. “What are we doing today?”

 “Today, it is luck and protection.”

 “Which one am I doing?” I ask.

 “Protection.”

 “Anything in particular today?”

 “No. Choose the gem and the chain you want. We’re doing about five of protection, and two for luck.”

 I smile as I grab at least five little gems and lining them up in front of me. I look at each one and imagine what they could look like in my head. Yoona says I make the most beautiful gems. I don’t mind if she gives me a lot of work. I love doing amulets. I can do them all day.

 “What would you think about using an ankh?” Yoona asked, turning on the fire starter.

 “I think that we are Roman, grandmother. Not Egyptian.” I grab five long strings of tweed.

 “I fancy the Egyptians. I will never forget the night I had with Amen-re.” Yoona grinned secretly, even though I know what she is talking about. I gag as I grab a pallet of acorn shavings, rosemary, and hot honey. Acorn and rosemary help for protection. The sweet honey keeps away evil spirits.

 “Amen-re is a little old,” I say as I hold a diamond-shaped blue gem between my tweezers and hold it over the fire. “I much prefer Horus. It is lucky he does not really have a birds head as humans depict him to be.”

 Us Romans are very good friends with the Egyptians gods. We have both been on good terms since when it comes to war, we work together. And plus, Grandmother Venus has not kept it a secret that she may have slept with two or three of the gods. I didn’t really care, since I expected that from the powerful goddess of love. I heat each gem up in the fire, then dipped each of them in the honey. For each of them, I spun and glued the tweed around the top of the gems, making a necklace you can easily just slip on your neck.
 I take a handful of rosemary and acorn into both of my hands. Then, I clasp both of them together, and slowly sprinkle them on and muttering the words for protection. The necklaces emit a small glow and absorb the acorn and rosemary in them. I successfully finish my amulets, and look at Yoona.

 Yoona finishes whispering her spells to the pendants, and they glow just like mines. After completing her necklaces, she takes one of mine, the blue gem pendent, and drapes it over my neck. I furrow my brows. “What’s this about? Why do I need one?”

 “To keep my one and only grandchild safe.” She takes the rest of the necklaces into her hand. “Do not worry. You can never have too much protection. This should be sufficient . . . for all of us.”
 What? What did she mean by ‘all of us’.

 The door makes a squeaking noise, sounding behind us and I turn to find my mother, Psyche also known as Naeun, standing just in the doorframe.

 “Come in,” grandmother says, barely looking at her since she was more focused on the pendants. “See what our Yuri has constructed this week.” She smiles as she swishes the amulets around.

 Mother hovers over me and Yoona’s worktable, her eyes flitting from our stone jars full of flowers, minerals, and herbs, as well as spices, and dungs. Ew. I never touched that, unless there were clean gloves available. Sometimes she watches create our own tools of magic, and maybe become an assistant on a good day.
 I lean against the table, wishing to go back to the fountains.

 Then, my mother asks, “What is it today?” She and I talk exactly alike. We both have soft voices, the sounded of soft flowing honey. I’m just one inch taller than her, a characteristic my father makes fun of. I wish I was a little smaller. But grandmother says longer legs are the iest legs.

 “Luck and Protection. I’m glad we went with the classic crystals. Grandmother almost made us use an ankh.”

 Yoona cried, “Aish! Do not mind me then when we have to make a more complicated amulet!”
 Abruptly, she left the room with her white cloth dress swishing behind her.

 I snicker as I walk to another table and grab a small, clear crystalized dragon. I pile up a small jar of honey, fox fur, star dust, and a blue and purple gem.
 “What are you doing now?” Mother asks me.

 “I’m about to start my new project. I’ve been wanting to do this for some time. I am going to create my own stars.”
 Creating stars is a very hard and difficult spell to weave. My parents didn’t want me to do these kinds of spells, but since I have gotten older, Yoona has persuaded them to let me try. I have already been taught to command moonlight, and I have my water element managed. But, the one spell I have been dying to try was to create stars. I love stars. It is why I even put diamonds on my ceiling.

 I set my supplies down, and Mother puts her hand on my arm. “You can wait. Let’s go talk to your father.”





 Father waited for us in the gardens with the fountains. He wore his favorite red and black robes, and was of course barefoot. Father doesn’t normally wear shoes outside. His short curly hair has grown into shining brown locks. No doubt the god of love is probably the most beautiful man you would ever see. My mom was so lucky to have caught his eye. I’ve heard many are still jealous that the mortal princess has the god of love for a husband, and has become a goddess. I’m lucky myself, since I’m the daughter of the two. If I was mortal like everyone else, I would kill to be like my mother.
 I wonder why he’s called me. What was there to be discussing today? Did I miss something that we’ve talked about before? I don’t think so.

 So . . . what are we talking about?

 “Yuri, how is your day, kiddo?” My dad came in and gave me the biggest bear hug he could give. He even ruffled my hair. I hate when he does that.

 I straighten my hair. “Fine, dad. Stop messing up my hair.”

 He laughed. “My mother was here, correct? What were you doing today?”

 “I’m still here. And we were doing the usual, right, Volupta?” Yoona appeared right out of the corner behind Taemin.

 I smiled, and nodded at father.

 He sighed. “Why are you still here, mother?”

 Yoona stopped beside him, and gave a confused look, wondering why her presence was upsetting him.
 “Well, why can’t I?”

 Taemin rolled his eyes.
 He gets annoyed every time he sees his mother. He still has a weird relationship with her ever since he tried to . . . you know . . . kill my mother. I’ve developed a good relationship with her, despite the story I heard. But dad, he mostly refuses to see her.

 “Did you tell her yet?” Yoona asked, fiddling with her amulets.

 Taemin gave her a look, which I could tell held something that I wasn’t supposed to know. Yoona didn’t mind the look and just continued playing with the necklaces. Na Eun snickered.
 Father gave her a stern look. “It’s not funny,”

 Mother stopped laughing but turned her head so he couldn’t see her smile.

 I looked at everyone confusingly. “What’s going on?”

 “Um . . . Yuri, I know you’ll probably get upset, considering you’ve wanted this for a while, but-”

 “You can’t get out of the house for a while longer.” Yoona said, giving Father a ‘there, said it’ face.

 What? A while longer? In this stuffy palace? No way. Their kidding.

 “What are you talking about?” I asked with wide eyes.
 Please just let this be a cruel, sick joke.

 Father huffed and looked at Yoona. “See what you did?”

 Yoona shrugged. “That’s what we were going to tell her, right?”

 “Me. I was going to tell her.”

 Father took hold of my wrist and led me back the way I came out. Yoona was going to follow, but Mother stopped her and led her the other way to the fountains.
 He didn’t say anything or look back at me as we continued walking. I wondered as we walked, why couldn’t I go out? I’ve been waiting to get away from everyone in this house for such a long time, and now I have to be in here, for more time. What did I do to deserve this? Did I do or say something disrespectful to my parents, my teachers, or the staff. Staying stuck in the house felt like a punishment. My parents know how much I love the outside world way better than anywhere near these same old mountains. They know I hate it very much. I was born in a garden even, kissed by fairies the minute they caught sight of me. All though the animals to a double take when they see me, because I looked so different, they usually get used to me after a bit. The animal I have the most touch with are the birds. We can relate. We like to fly to wherever the wind takes us. Anywhere. Away from here.

 My Father drags me towards the marble staircase, and we stop right at the top.

 We face each other on the top of the stairs.
 “I can understand you are upset, Yuri.”

 “Upset? I could go livid, dad. Why do I have to stay inside all day of my life?” I can feel my face getting hot with anger.

 “You didn’t hear. You’ll understand when I say that the mountains near our house is no longer safe. Everywhere, Rome is not safe for you yet.”

 I furrow my brows. Safe? Where the gods live, no creature, not even the most lethal, would dare try to harm us. It can’t be possible. It just can’t be.

 “What do you mean?”

 “Geun Suk told me, enemies have moved closer to us. Maybe ten miles away from our palace. They could come and explore our territory any day, any hour. I want to keep you safe. It’s not like you can’t go where you want, just not alone.”

 What’s so dangerous that it’s not safe for me? I don’t understand.

 “What’s happened in Rome?”

 Father sighed. “I don’t know. Foreign creatures have been let loose. A few lions have been found dead.”

 “Has Geun Suk and Siwon done anything yet?” I ask. My angry mood had simmered down to scared and weak. I would never want our animals to get hurt. If our strong and surly lions could not survive these creatures, imagine if they attack one of the gods.

 “They and the other gods have not identified anything yet. But even so, do you promise to stay safe, no matter what?” My Father looks at me, desperate, sad, and grim. He was serious. Which meant this was serious. Rome isn’t safe. Not just for me but nearly for anybody.

 I nod. “I promise dad. Don’t worry about anything.”

 My Father nods in relief and understanding. He takes my shoulders in his hands, and gives me a kiss of the cheek.
 “I’m so happy, my daughter. Are you ready for your coronation?”

 “Yes, I am.”

 “Great. I think your mother needed to talk to you about it. Come on, she’s probably still in the gardens,”
 He takes my wrist again and we make our way down the stairs and towards the gardens again. I shed a smile just for him.

 But deep down inside I felt my blood freezing over.











Enjoy the Story~