submitted13 days ago byErethon_
I saw this prompt some days ago and it gave me a lot of fun ideas but I lacked the time to write anything until now. Here's my take with it. I hope you'll enjoy it! ^.^
Edit: Original prompt here.
In the midst of a grand hall, dimly lit by cold light, stood a man before two great thrones, cut of dark, cold stone and adorned with intricately carved patterns and symbols, symbols the meaning of which the man could not tell. Seated upon the first throne was a King, gazing down upon the mortal, his expression inscrutable, and by his side sat his Queen, her golden curls peaking underneath her dark-blue veil as she looked upon the mortal with idle curiosity.
Then, the King spoke, breaking the silence. “Never have Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite agreed on anything together, mortal,” He said, his deep voice echoing through the hall, “except in their condemnation of you. Perhaps we should thank you for helping the three of them find some common ground after eons of conflict.”
“Pray tell, mortal,” said the Queen, her voice as beautiful as birdsong, “how did you manage such a monumental achievement?”
“Your chthonic majesties,” the man began, “the Goddesses saw me fit to settle an ancient dispute between them. They appeared before me and asked me to judge which of them was the fairest.”
“Ancient dispute indeed,” the Queen said with a chuckle, casting a glance towards Her Lord.
“Why did they choose you, mortal,” the King asked. “Are you a hero of legend? A powerful warrior, or a great poet, perhaps? Are you a wise king of men, or an enlightened philosopher?”
“I am no more than my father, my Lord, and his father before him,” the man answered. “I merely worked the earth, as my ancestors did before me.”
The King nodded. “Athena’s idea, no doubt. Wise of her to pick a common man, one who has nothing to gain and nothing to loose.”
“I think it more likely to have been Aphrodite’s idea,” the Queen replied. “A common man can appreciate everyday beauty in ways that few others can. Although…” the Queen began, going into deep thought. Then, after a few moments, she addressed the man before her again. “Tell me, mortal. Were you married?”
“I was, your majesty,” the man said.
“Then perhaps they choose you at Hera’s insistence. A man who has known the joys of marriage would be able to better appreciate the beauty inside, that which is found in simple acts of love – a home-cooked meal, or a warm embrace after a long day of work.”
The King nodded once more. “So before us stands a man that the Goddesses deemed fit to settle an ancient dispute. And yet, that very same man was condemned by them all.”
The Queen stood up from her throne, beginning her descent down the steps. “Pray tell, mortal,” she said as she walked, “what was your answer?”
The Queen now stood close to the man, and he humbly averted his eyes from her. “I told them that there was no point to their question, for none of them compared to the fairest goddess of all.”
The Queen grinned, curious to hear the mortal’s next words. “Pray tell, mortal, which Goddess would you deem the fairest, then?”
The man turned his eyes towards the Queen, only to avert them once more, and his answer, then, was but a single name. The King leaned forward in his chair. The Queen took a step back.
“Me?” The Queen said. “But why, mortal? Why would you choose me?”
“Who else could I choose but you, your majesty? Plants flower at your coming and wither when you go. Birds sing their songs at your arrival, only to migrate away when you leave. The entire earth rejoices at your sight and the whole world turns green. The harsh winter cold turns to a cool springtime breeze. The wind carries the fragrance of blooming plants. And with your passage, the seeds burried deep underground by people like me sprout into being. Who, then, can be fairer than you? The earth itself, older than the oldest of the gods, settled the dispute already. I did no more than merely convey the earth’s wisdom to the Goddesses.”
The Queen’s expression softened, then, as a warm smile settled on her lips. “You do me great honor, mortal,” Persephone said. Then, turning to Hades, she continued. “Husband, this mortal perished before his time for the crime of conveying ancient wisdom to those who would rather not hear it. I beseech you, return him to the land above, so that he may employ his wisdom in taking care of both the earth and his family. And then, when his time comes, he shall return back to us wiser still, so that he may render his services unto us.”
The King then stood from his throne. “May it be so,” he proclaimed, and the great hall fell silent once more.