BlueTopaz: The EarlyYears

Chapter 11

The End of The Beginning pt 2

Well, I was disappointed! I really felt as if I’d been deceived, cheated somehow. White Lady had been my friend, my confidant, my mentor, for as long as I could remember. I had asked her many times who she was and her answer had always been, “That’s not important. Or, you know what you need to know, for now.”

Now after all this time of listening to her, of doing what she asked of me, I found that she was just another Olympian playing games with mortals!

I turned, calling out to Lucky, who’d been getting an ear scratch from Zeus, and started for the door. “Where do you think you are going?” Moira asked with more heat in her voice that I’d ever heard before.

“It doesn’t matter,” I replied insolently. “I was just going to get out of the way so you Olympians could have a clear field for whatever game you’re playing now. Surely, you don’t need me for that!” I concluded as I again started for the door.

“No!” she said, as the door slammed shut almost in my face. I turned back as she stomped her white slippered foot in a small puddle of water on the stone floor. Bemused at this display of temper, I watched the water disobey all the laws of motion as it splashed, not her pristine garment, but the colorfully embroidered hem of Zeus’ robe.

“Was that an accident?” I wondered, as I watched the King of the gods brushing at the brownish water stain with his hand.

“We’ve no time for your foolishness.” Moira said as she reached out her hand to me. “The child is soon to be born and Zeus must be there! It is his destiny, her destiny, not to mention the destiny of the child!”

“Then, change it!” I shouted. “He’s done enough to my friend, I’ll not see her or her child drawn into that stupid web of Olympian intrigue.”

Her shoulders slumped a little at this but she quickly shrugged, straightened up and softly said, “If there was any way to change it I would but this is one of those things that has to happen, Blue. I’m sorry, truly sorry, about your friend and the child. If I could, I’d be more than happy to let Alcmene and her son live out their lives completely innocent of all this but I can’t.”

She reached out her hand to me again and, this time I took it, even as I scooped Lucky up with my other hand. Moira took Zeus’ hand with her other hand and we all took one step forward towards the door. Amazingly, as I set my foot down on the stones and reached for the door latch I found the forgotten water pitcher, brim full, in that hand and realized that the door I was about to open led to Alcmene’s chambers not to the kitchen courtyard. This was the first time I’d ever experienced the strange way the gods have of getting about. I’m not fond of this mode of transportation but I have used it many times since then. Moira has even taught me to do it alone. As I said, it will never be a comfortable way to get around for me but sometimes speed is a necessity.

After we entered the room, I found that although I could clearly see and hear the two gods, Alcmene was oblivious to their presence. Finally I said to her, “There is someone here who needs to speak with you, my friend. He has traveled a long way and brings you a message of great importance, or so he says.” I glanced hatefully at the old man as I continued, “He will not divulge his message to anyone except you so I have no way of knowing the real importance of this. If you’d rather not see him I will tell him to go away.” “Take that, old man! If she refuses to receive you, Fate and you can go straight to Tartarus, because you’ll have to go through me to get to her,” I thought to myself. As I stared at the, to me, clearly visible King of the Gods, he quite deliberately stuck his tongue out at me! “ Incredible! Could he even hear my thoughts?”

“So it would seem,” His voice echoed in my head and he followed those words with a rueful chuckle. And, his lips never move through the entire time!”

“Oh,” Alcmene replied to my earlier question with a little girl sigh, “Show him in, Blue. I hope his message isn’t too mundane. I could use a little diversion. Maybe a devious plot against my uncle or at least some juicy Court gossip. But, it’s probably some dry old report on the price of grapes or olive oil. Father used to hate to sit though all those things.”

With that, I noticed the figure of Zeus shimmer a little and Alcmene’s quick, audible, intake of breath said clearer than any words that she could now see him too.

“Are you truly....” She began

“Yes, child. I am Zeus.” He said with that lopsided smile of his. “And,” He continued, “I have something very important to tell you.” He pulled a stool close to her bed and sitting down, leaned close to her. In soft voices they spoke for several minutes.

It may have been some godly trick or perhaps, just that they spoke quickly and quietly but to this day I could not tell you what was said. Except that, as he arose from the stool, their conversation obviously at an end he said, “Remember the name, my dear. That is the important thing. Remember the name.” Alcmene said nothing, but smiled at him and nodded her assent.

A few days later, I had retired in the early morning hours after sitting with Alcmene most of the night. She’d been very uncomfortable with her back bothering her almost constantly through the evening. Panchus had been called to attend to one of the workmen who had cut his hand on a farm implement of some sort so I was alone with Alcmene. Innocent me, I didn’t realize that the back pains were a sign that the birth process had started. When she finally dropped off to sleep I took it as a sign that I could also retire and gratefully sought my own bed.

Several hours past dawn, I was awakened by someone pounding on my door. As usual, the noise didn’t even cause Arn to stir and I finally had to climb over him to answer the door. I was really more interested in stopping the pounding which I was sure would eventually awaken Arn who had stayed awake until I had returned to our room. He always managed to be grumpy if he was awakened before he had his full portion of sleep so I was anxious not to wake him.

Flinging open the door, I almost got rapped on the head by Phyone! She was using a large mace to pound on the door. No wonder it had sounded so loud. Arn, however, snored on peacefully.

“Come quickly, Blue!” she said excitedly. “The baby is coming, now!”

We flew down the corridor to Alcmeme’s rooms and into a crowd of women milling about the bed. Over in the corner of the room, unseen and perhaps unseeable by the others, stood Zeus! How had he known? The answer was clear when I saw next to him the tiny childlike, Moira. She was there, I’m sure, to be sure this little drama played out just as she had predicted.

Through the day and into the evening poor brave Alcmene struggled to bring forth that long awaited child. When it was apparent that the labor would be long, Panchus sent most of the women from the chamber on one errand or another. I suspect that was primarily to get them out of the way and to keep things as quiet as possible so that Alcmene could rest between the violent contractions which now shook her entire body at regular intervals.

Nothing, however, could move me from that place. Not as long as those two uninvited onlookers stood there taking in all that was going on. Finally, after several severe, closely spaced contractions first the head of the child and the rest slid into Panchus’ waiting hands.

I remember, he had light sandy blond hair and startling blue eyes which seemed to glance around the bed chamber as if to take in his new surroundings and commit them to memory. He did not cry but made a sound almost like a sigh of wonderment. That was not good enough for Panchus, who firmly believed every child must enter the world screeching at the top of their lungs. She hoisted him up by his heels and smartly smacked his bottom with her hand. The baby obliged with one scream of indignation and then resumed the study of the room as he was quickly wrapped in a blanket and placed on his mother’s belly. Panchus then turned back to finishing the job and deliver what she thought would be the afterbirth.

Several moments passed as the contractions continued. A worried look on the face of the experienced mid-wife let me know that this wasn’t normal and I feared the worst. The midnight hour passed and the contractions continued. Panchus, was about to go seek the counsel of one of the other women when a look of relief mixed with joy lit up her face. “Two!” she cried out. “There are two babies!” As she bent to deliver the second child one of the women picked up the first born to carry him to a waiting cradle at the bedside. Suddenly stirring from his place next to the wall, Zeus stepped forward into the path of the woman. I quickly jumped up, ready to defend the helpless child from the god, but watched open mouthed as the woman carrying the child walked directly into and through the god. He was, of course, invisible and insubstantial to her so I shouldn’t have been concerned. Still on guard though, I watched him bend over the cradle and place one finger under the infant’s chin to tip it up ever so gently while saying, “Welcome, my son! I have waited a long time for you.” Then, he took the child in his arms and turning to me said, “This is my son! I name him Hercules! I think he will do very well.”

Moira just smiled.

The others, intent on the birth of the second child had not seen or heard any of this, fortunately. I shudder to think of the pandemonium that would have resulted from them seeing a strange man holding the infant or even worse, the child suddenly hovering in midair with nothing visible supporting him!

The second baby was also a boy. His hair was dark and so were his eyes. He came into the world screaming not in pain or fear but perhaps, at the injustice of being the second to be born and thinking back, the second in the heart of his mother. Alcmene tried so hard to treat the boys equally. But, truly, the first born was always the one she favored most.

After the second child had been cleaned and wrapped tightly in a blanket both were brought to their mother’s arms. Looking at the first born she, perhaps unknowingly echoed Zeus’ words when she whispered, “This child I name, Hercules.” Then she turned to the second born and said, “This child I name, Iphicles.”

The End of the Beginning