In the Fell Clutches of War

It was a day like any other day upon Mount Olympus. Zeus had summoned his son, unsure of exactly how to proceed. He had received a message in the form of a prophetic omen from the Fates just nights before. There was a change, as they had called it, in the loom. A thread once weak and brittle had surmounted a hidden strength and had blossomed into a new life. The life of Enyo; a child born only five years before under Ares and his beloved mortal Adara. This child, as they had foreseen, would bring about the annihilation of the Gods and force the world under a reign of destruction.
Zeus had obtained a rage for his son insurmountable to any he had ever before displayed. To lie with a mortal was strictly forbidden, but to force the conception of its child was another; and for said child to grow into a force of destruction led only to one solution: its death.
"You lied to me!" he yelled, grabbing Ares by the collar and throwing him to the floor.
"And pray tell, what about?" Ares asked, his voice hiding a sliver of astonishment.
"You have brought sin into this world and doom upon us all" he roared, pacing back and forth as Hera looked on in little more than slight amusement. "What possessed you to lay with this mortal? Are you so delirious that you cannot control your own appetence?"
"Is that all you take me for? Some sex-driven animal?" Ares asked, getting to his feet.
"What possible reason would you have otherwise?" his father asked, crossing his arms.
"Her beauty" he answered simply.
Zeus threw his hands up in disbelief, as Hera glanced at him askance.
"Her beauty?" Zeus asked amazed, hardly able to believe the words he was hearing; as if such a desire could be satisfied by a force so ridiculous.
"I could not resist her. The way she looked at me, the way she smiled; I had to have her."
"Your lust will be the death of me. You have deceived me. A child was born from you with a destiny of destruction, and the ancient law forbids me from killing it! I will not see this world destroyed . . . not because of you."
"Then what would you have me do? Murder my own child?" Ares asked his eyes full of rage.
"You are the only one capable. You will go to Earth as a mortal and you will eliminate her. If you want any place upon this mountain, you will do as I have asked."
Ares cast his eyes to the floor. The ancient law of the gods forbids any immortal from taking the life of a force they themselves did not create. As Ares pondered his only solution, his thoughts returned to Adara, the woman he had grown to love and care for. This child was just as much hers as it was his and his concern revolved far more around her well being than anyone elses. Killing their daughter would break her heart; and that was a regret Ares could not force himself to live with. Not a moment had passed before Zeus had him suspended in the air, his aura of a god being slowly drained before his eyes. Before he had realized what had taken place, the air around him grew cold as he stepped out into the night and upon the folds of Earth.
He saw her in the distance, a woman whose beauty was incomparable. The air about her was almost angelic and she walked with a grace that held both innocence and determination. Her hair flowed softly down her shoulders; as dark as the night sky and nearly as radiant. Ares nearly held disbelief at the idea that she belonged to him so many years ago. He was unworthy of her, and he always knew he would be. As he strolled closer, the chilling breeze nipping at his mortal flesh, she stood up from the porch steps and came to meet him. As if on instinct he pulled her slender body into his, his arms wrapping around her waist as he stared into her pale blue eyes. She pulled away and cast him a look that said their time together was long since dead.
"Where is the child?" he asked her, as she folded her arms.
"Why have you come back?" she asked, ignoring the question as if it had never been asked.
"For Enyo" he answered solemnly.
"Three years you never uttered a word to me; never showed your face, nor asked of her well being. What has possibly possessed you to come caring for her now?" she asked, her tone one of protectiveness.
"She has . . . been destined to lead a life of destruction. Her thread of life . . . it’s changed, molted into something sinister. Not even the Fates themselves dare to touch it."
"No one is asking them too" she spat.
"Adara, please" Ares began.
"Do not patronize me Ares!" she growled.
"This child . . . if even you can call her such a thing; she must be destroyed. For the sake of you, for the sake of the world, she cannot stay on this Earth."
"She's a child Ares!" Adara cried, "And more than that, she is my daughter. I have raised her under an influence of love. Would you take that away from her?" she asked, her gaze slowly softening.
She stepped closer, grabbing his hands. "Did you only ever love me for my beauty? Or did you love me for my soul?"
Ares relinquished her hold and sighed. "I loved you for you, and only you. That is how it has always been and always will be."
"Then I beg of you, please do not murder our child." she pleaded, tears slowly forming in her eyes. "She is your daughter too."
"Zeus will hound you. He is unable to kill Enyo, but that won't stop him from coming after you. He would destroy you in an instant to gain revenge against me."
"If it ensures her protection, I would gladly die."
"I won't hear of it" he said, turning his back to her. "I can’t."
A time of love between the two had finally ceased to exist. In another place, another time, perhaps they would realize the full extent of their relationship. Nevertheless, he could not stop loving her. Had she pierced his heart and even spilt his blood, his feelings would never subside. And Enyo, the daughter, the life, they had created together held a part of Adara that he could not bring himself to destroy. He turned to face her once more.
"Let me take her away" he said at last. "I'll take her to Athens; she'll be safer there."
Adara held his gaze, her eyes full of a longing only a mother could hold, one that demanded his trust and begged for his compassion and mercy. Could he cut out his own heart just to prove his word he would have gladly done so.
"Trust me" he said at last.
Adara turned her back and slowly walked to the house. Minutes later, she reemerged carrying a child no older than the age of three, bundled in her arms, fast asleep. Ares joined her by the porch and held out his arms. She kissed her daughter one final time and surrendered.
He had taken her to Corinth, a small village outside the city of Athens. He had left her with a simply family; one whom he was hoping beyond all measure would sway her from the path she was so doomed to take. A destiny, he believed, could be changed. No one had ever prophesied her fate to be set in stone. Anything could bend at will; even the heart of a child. As he set her down, her eyes still tightly closed, he saw her mother in every aspect painted upon her face. She was so like Adara in every way. Her dark hair, her fair complexion. He could only pray she would live a life as similar and sweet.
As he stepped back and drove her fate from his hands, he simply walked away, never looking back.