Intertwined

Mia gently set me down as she and my mother bowed in front of him. I clasped my hands together behind my back and began to bounce on the balls of my feet. I gave Mia a nervous look when she looked at me questioningly and then turned back to the God who was standing up. Holy Zeus, he's even more gorgeous standing up, I thought to myself. My mother turned and gave me a sharp look. I wondered if she could hear my thoughts or something. She nodded. My eyes widened to the size of saucers and I gulped. There was a cough and I quickly looked in front of me. I blushed as I realized he was standing in front of me.

"Hello Cordelia, I'm Poseidon," he said. He stuck his hand out for me to shake and I just stared at it. Since when do Gods offer to shake your hand? I wondered. My mother made an "ahem" noise in the back of her throat and gave me a pointed look. I gulped and put my hand in his. Compared to his hand, mine was absolutely tiny.

"You can call me Cora, Lord Poseidon," I told him as he brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it. I almost swooned.

"I apologize for taking your mother away from you at such a young age, Cora. You see, when a Naiad has children with a human, their limit is usually only two years but your mother is very special to everyone in my kingdom so naturally, I just had to grant her more time with you and your brother," he explained.

I squeaked as he let go of my hand and in the process, almost fell over but a rough hand caught me by the elbow before I did. I looked up and smiled at the God, giving him a silent thank you. I hadn't realized I had been depending on him to hold me up. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Mia and my mother shaking their heads with their hands over their mouths. They were clearly trying to keep in their laughter and failing little-by-little. I shot them a glare and looked back at the God standing in front of me. He gave an amused smile and slowly let go of my elbow. Thankfully, I didn't topple over this time.

"I understand. It's an ancient law, right?" I said and he nodded.

"Because Naiads can't stay out of the water for too long, like Dryads can't go too far from their tree, right?"

He smiled and nodded again.

"It seems you know your Greek mythology, Cora," he remarked. I nodded.

"Ma used to tell Sal and I a bunch of Greek stories every night before she," I paused, "died. After that, my dad continued telling us Greek stories on our birthday but they were always new ones, ones we hadn't heard before. I suppose he went down into the lake and talked to her, and she'd tell them to him on our birthday so he could repeat them to us before we went to bed. Our dreams were always so magical." I smiled at the memories of my dreams. He chuckled and gave my mother an appreciative glance.

"That's nice. That saves me quite some explaining then." He shot me a brilliant smile and I almost fainted right then and there. I never knew a God could do this to a girl above teenage hormones. "Have you ever heard about the calling, my dear?"

I shook my head, confused.

"It's when a woman, or a man, knows they need to do something when it's presented to them. In your case, you knew you needed to follow Mia and the other Naiads into the water. Correct?"

"Yes but I still don't quite understand, sir," I said shyly. He chuckled at the use of the word 'sir'.

"Usually, that would mean a God needs them so he gives them the calling. Or if it's time for a Halfling, in other words a Naiad or a Dryad, to become a full water or tree nymph. Or when a minor God is hidden amongst humans, disguised as a human, they will get a calling when the human world needs them to perform their duties again. Does that make sense?"

I nodded.

"But the thing is, Halfling, it isn't time for you to become a full Naiad otherwise your brother would've been here with you," he mused.

"But how come I got the calling? I don't think – no, I know I'm not a minor God, and you'd know if you needed me, right?"

He nodded and gave me a puzzled look as though he didn't know what to make of me.

"Yes, you're quite right. However, tomorrow is the summer solstice which means I must go to Mount Olympus to meet with the other Gods. I've decided I'm going to bring you with me," He paused and my mother's head shot up. She looked panicked. "Maybe they could help me understand what it is you're doing here and what compelled you to follow Mia down here."

"I'm not letting her go up there! Can't you explain it to them without her there?" My mother asked – no, demanded. She looked down when Poseidon glared at her. I touched his arm gently and he turned to me.

"She's my mother, it's instinct for her to be worried about me if she's not with me."

His eyebrows furrowed as he thought about that. Wow, he even looks gorgeous when he's thinking, I thought to myself. My mother looked up and shot me a look, then her face morphed into one of thought. I raised an eyebrow.

"Alright, I understand. I suppose your mother can come with us."

I nodded and my mother gave him a grateful look.

"Tomorrow morning, we head to Mount Olympus. Both of you go get some rest. Mia, could you get Cora some appropriate attire for tomorrow from her home, please? Also, could you please retrieve her glasses at the same time?"

She nodded.

"Thank you," he dismissed her and she swam off. How did he know I wore glasses?

My mother tugged on my arm and we headed back to the room I had been in before. I collapsed on the bed when I got there and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

***

I groaned and tried slapping away the hand that was shaking me. I was having a marvelous dream about Poseidon and my mother that I didn't want to ever end. I attempted to snuggle deeper into my pillow but someone pulled me off my bed. I swear, I was going to smack whoever it was. I bet it was Ivan.

"Cordelia, get up!" My eyes shot open at the voice. It was my mother's. That meant it had all been real and I hadn't been dreaming. I mentally did a happy dance.

"Come on, get dressed. We're leaving in 5 minutes," she said as she threw something at me. I caught it and stared at it. It was my white Grecian styled dress from my 20th birthday party.

She tossed some other stuff on my bed and repeated herself, "Get dressed. Five minutes, Cordelia."

I looked up at her and she pointed at the stuff. She then proceeded to leave the room.

They expected me to be ready in five minutes; were they insane? I sighed and shook my head. I slipped out of the dress I was currently wearing and into the dress my mother had thrown at me. I slipped on my gold thong sandals, my starfish necklace, my LoVe stud earrings, and my heart bracelet. I took a quick look in the mirror and cleaned up the smudges from my make-up. I figured that would do. I picked up my glasses and put them on. I ran a hand through my hair then rushed out of the room.

My mother wasn't waiting outside my room for me so I assumed she'd be in the courtyard and I swam to it. When I got there, my mother gave me an exasperated look that clearly meant 'You dare make a God wait. What is wrong with you?' I shot her a half-hearted glare. Unfortunately, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and ended up bumping into someone. That someone just had to be Poseidon. He turned around quicker than I could say 'Holy Zeus' and caught me before I fell. I gave him a shy smile and muttered a quick "thank you." He grinned.

"Are you ready to go Cora, Lory?"

My mother and I nodded. He gestured for me to grab his hand and I did while my mother grabbed my arm. "Close your eyes," he told us.

I nodded and shut my eyes. I don't know how but soon I could feel we were no longer in the water. I wanted to open my eyes and see where we were but I knew if Poseidon told me to shut my eyes, I should do exactly that.

"Open your eyes," Poseidon whispered into my ear. A shiver ran down my spine at his close proximity. I opened my eyes and gasped at the sight before me.

Before us stood the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. We were standing on the peak of a mountain in the courtyard of an enormous palace. The summit was covered in snow as it seemed to be quite high up from the ground (where the mortals lived). I assumed it was Mount Olympus in all its glory. In the courtyard, there was a festival of some sort going on. Satyrs, minor Gods, half-bloods, centaurs, dryads, naiads and more were all dancing around, eating, laughing, really anything you'd expect at a celebration.

Poseidon was guiding us to the big palace. Its white marble walls gleamed against the snow and stood high above everything else. We approached a set of double doors, except I wasn't sure a normal person would call these doors. Unless, of course, doors are usually approximately 10 feet tall. My mother nudged me and gave my hand a pointed look. I looked down and realized I was still holding Poseidon's hand. I blushed and tried to take my hand out of his grasp but he just held on tighter. I looked up at Poseidon and he flashed me an earth-shattering smile. I smiled back shyly. He then looked ahead and pushed open the doors.

My breath caught in my throat as I stared at the 11 Gods assembled. There were 12 thrones placed in an inverted 'U' shape. They were all made of white marble except each one had a different tint to it; the color represented the God that sat in it. Poseidon's throne had a sea foam green tint to it. Each throne was about 10 feet tall and had the symbol of the God it belonged to. In every throne but two, there sat a God or Goddess. In the middle of the room, there sat a hearth with a Goddess tending to it.

When we stepped in, all the chatter stopped and every God and Goddess in the room turned their attention on us. I shyly let go of Poseidon's hand and hid behind him like a child would hide behind his parents on his first day of school. Poseidon chuckled and brought me out from behind him. My mother and I bowed to the Gods and Goddesses.

When we came out of our bow, I noticed Poseidon was no longer beside me but beside Zeus in his throne and quickly whispering something to him. A couple seconds later, Zeus nodded and returned his gaze on my mother and I. Poseidon gestured for me to come forward and I shuffled across the room towards him, my mother in tow.

When we were standing beside Poseidon, Zeus stood up and everyone's attention shifted to him. "It seems my brother has a bit of a situation," Zeus announced and I giggled at the way it sounded. The Gods Apollo and Ares snickered. Somehow, in a way, they reminded me of Sal and Ivan. I smiled at the thought. I missed my brothers. "This young lady here," Zeus said, pointing at me, "is a halfling. She has gotten the calling. However, Poseidon says it's not her time to become a full Naiad yet and he didn't need any help with any problems. He would like to know why she has gotten the calling. He has brought her and her mother here with him so they could hear what we think."

The Gods, and Goddesses, all began to murmur among themselves. The goddess Aphrodite was silent and didn't move an inch. I found that odd. Apparently my mother noticed too because she nudged Poseidon and pointed at her. Poseidon turned to Zeus to tell him what my mother had noticed but it seemed Zeus had already noticed it.

"Aphrodite," Zeus said and it rang clearly throughout the room. The entire room went quite and everyone turned to look at her questioningly. Aphrodite looked at Zeus, looking like she'd been caught meddling in something she shouldn't be meddling in, and sunk down in her throne.

"It seems you may know something about why she got the calling, Aphrodite. Would you like to share your secret with the rest of us?" Zeus asked, except it sounded more like a command. Aphrodite sighed and sat up straighter in her throne. She smiled warily and eyed my mother cautiously as though she might attack her. She coughed nervously and began.

"How long has it been since Amphitrite faded into nothingness?"

It took me a couple seconds to remember exactly who Amphitrite was; she was Poseidon's wife and ruler of sea. How could a Goddess, an immortal, fade?

"Eons but you already knew that, Aphrodite," Poseidon replied impatiently.

"That's my point. You haven't had a mate in a really long time. I thought that maybe, like a lot of us, you could use a lover and maybe someone to help you rule. So I sent the calling," Aphrodite explained as she watched my mother carefully.

My mother and Poseidon stiffened. What did that mean?

"Um," everyone turned to me, "What does that mean exactly? That Aphrodite sent the calling, I mean."

"You're a smart girl, Cordelia, you can figure it out. What do you know about Aphrodite?" Athena questioned.

"She's the Goddess of love and beauty," I said, trailing off. A couple seconds later, I stiffened and muttered an audible, "Oh."

Athena smiled but her smile quickly faded when Poseidon stood up in rage. I cringed at the growl he let loose.

"Aphrodite!" he bellowed. "Why on Earth would you do that?" he asked angrily. "It's none of your business what I may or may not need! And she's a mortal. Dammit, Aphrodite!" I flinched at his tone of voice. I reached out my hand and touched his arm. He looked at me and I silently begged him to calm down. He sighed, visibly relaxing and sat down in his throne once again. He gave me a grateful smile and I smiled in return.

"It may not be my business what concerns you but it is my business on who Cordelia ends up with. Who she falls in and out of love with. Who she loses her virgin– " I coughed, cutting her off hastily. I did not need the Olympian Gods to know about my sex, or lack-there-of, life. She glanced at me and smiled apologetically.

Poseidon glanced at me weirdly, and I just shrugged. "And it seems that there would be no mortal being she would end up with. None what-so-ever. You know that everyone has someone out there in the world who is made for them but she didn't. That upset me greatly. Do you know how upsetting it is to know that there is one person in the world who seems to have no soul mate when it's your job to make sure every single person has one?" She paused. "Nevermind. Of course you don't. This was before I realized she herself was a Naiad-to-be. It bothered me so much I began to search through all the satyrs, dryads, naiads, half-bloods, and so on but her soul mate wasn't hidden there either. That's when I tried my best to find out everything about her and of course realized she was the daughter of Lory, your favorite Naiad."

Aphrodite paused and took a deep breath. "That was when I began searching among the Minor Gods and not finding her soul mate there, I searched among the Gods. Low-and-behold, her soul mate had turned out to be none other than Poseidon himself. That's when it became my business what you may or may not need. Secondly, I know we're not suppose to involve mortals in our Godly lives, however, in this case, it doesn't matter. You would have met somehow and fallen in love. Of course, being a God and all, you'd probably just end up impregnating her after a while and leaving before the baby was born because we're not allowed to interfere with our children's lives." She gave Zeus a pointed look and he looked down guiltily. "Therefore not being able to realize entirely what you meant to each other."

"So in short, I had to send the calling. It's not often a God, let alone one of the Big Three, has a soul mate," she said and turned to me. "Darling, you were made for him. And he for you."

The entire room was silent. My mind was reeling. What did this mean for me? For Poseidon? I thought. As it finally sunk in entirely, I stumbled backwards in shock. Poseidon reached out and caught me before I fell over.

***

Poseidon and my mother both thought that they needed to have a serious discussion with the other Gods alone so around supper time, Poseidon brought me back to the cottage. When I opened my eyes, we were standing at the edge of the lake, him in the water and me on the grass. As he was clearly about to leave again, I grabbed his arm and he turned around. I stepped into the water with him and hugged him.

"What does this mean?" I whispered. I knew he could hear me. I felt him shrug.

"I don't know, Cora. That's why I need to discuss it with your mother and the other Gods. Please refrain from leaving your cottage. Please," he said quietly. I nodded and let go of him. As I was about to turn around and step out of the water, Poseidon grabbed my arm. I turned, looking up at him, our eyes locking. He looped his arms around my waist and bent down, and crashed his lips onto mine.

Poseidon, the God of the sea and earthquakes, had just kissed me.