IX || ethereal

May you fall asleep in the arms of a dream, in my embrace, and in our moment. May you wake up forgetting a rebellion, my warmth, and our love. Shh, darling, we're a hidden tale that no one can know.

◩

MORPHEUS

UNDERWORLD
Location: Oneira, Temple of Morpheus

━━━━━━━━━━

"Morpheus, I am getting married," she said, with tears against her opal-coloured eyes.

I wasn't sure if I were to feel angry, sad, or disappointed — perhaps, I was already feeling it all. I sat where I was, as she took the space beside me and leaned her head against my arm. Iris was clutching so tightly onto the sleeves of my chiton, and I was too confused on how to feel to only be able to tell her in a quiet reply, "I know, írida mou."
(Translate: my rainbow)

Iris' marriage was decided by Hera, the goddess of marriage. If it was any minor god who had decided this absurd arrangement, I would've tainted my hands in ichor. I felt powerless — pathetically powerless — when it was the queen of heavens that had decided that the goddess of rainbow would be wedded to the god of the west wind in the arriving winter. The divines above always think that they could play with everyone's fate within their clutches, and I knew this was Zeus' way of dealing with me because imprisoning me within the Underworld wasn't enough to keep me checked. That paranoid ruler of the heavens wouldn't rest until he ensured everything I had were kept within his control.

I was never part of the strive for power and led a quiet life within my realm in the Underworld. All I had were the dreams, prophecies, and her. Seeing her so helpless in my embrace, I hated myself for not being able to do anything about the arrangement. Father warned me to not meddle with those above and Mother never liked Iris because she never belonged to our world. If I had more power, I would overthrow the heavens for her. I would raise a rebellion just to have her —but I couldn't.

Gritting hard on my teeth, the apology burned with a bad taste in my mouth, "I'm sorry, írida mou, I'm sorry I couldn't do anything to stop this."

◩

MT. OLYMPUS
Location: Heraion, Temple of Hera

━━━━━━━━━━

I stood at the corner, watching Iris as she took each step down the aisle of the temple. The ivory gown fitted perfectly and beautifully on her. The golden delicate clasps held onto a white cape that cascaded down from her shoulders, flowing like the gentle waves against the polished marbled ground. Iris had her hair down and wore a gold flower garland with diamonds embedded into the intricate design. In her wedding gown, she was the most beautiful woman I would ever encounter in my life. I wished I were the one taking her hand at the end of her march, but I could only see her handing her eternity to another man.

Iris' expression remained impassive, but her opal-coloured eyes spoke of all the fear and uncertainty she tried to hide within her. Closing my hands into tight fists, I could only watch from afar as they separate me from my love and threw her into another man's embrace.

Standing before the altar, Iris' gaze caught mine. She stared longingly at me before closing her tear-filled eyes and receiving the binding mark on her arm, above the vein that linked closest to her heart. The tears that rolled along the curves of her cheeks became the pain that bled from my heart. His name was carved in gold, a vow that she would be with him through her eternity.

Quietly, I left the temple and returned to my own realm. I sat in between the bubbles of mortal dreams and realised the desperation of humans. In their wildest dreams, it was always with their heart's desire. I used to think it was pathetic, until this moment when I wanted to trap her in my dreams and whisk her away into a land of our own.

Right, a dream.

◩

UNDERWORLD
Location: Oneira, Temple of Morpheus

━━━━━━━━━━

I waited from far, looking at Iris as she flew away from her Cloud Palace. When she neared, I swung my arm and morphed out a bird that flew in her direction at full speed. The silver-feathered bird crashed into her wing, causing her to plummet into the ocean.

I kept everything under control, making sure that she wouldn't be gravely injured in the process. When I neared, Iris was calling for help with an arm straightened on the water surface, almost desperate with panic. I quickly grabbed onto her slender arm and pulled her into my embrace to carry her to the nearest rainbow. Her eyes remained squinted close as she gasped, "W-Who? Put me down—"

"írida mou," I called her quietly.

The beautiful woman in my arms quickly used the back of her hands to wipe off the water over her eyes and when those eyelids fluttered opened, it revealed the brightest and pellucid pair of opal-coloured eyes. She exhaled, "M-Morpheus."

It was almost a reflex that she folded her arms around my shoulders and crashed into my hold. She asked, "Is this a dream? Did you appear in my dream?"

"Yes, darling," I nodded, admitting to a half-truth, "This is a dream."

"I know this is wrong," Iris murmured, leaving a soft kiss against my shoulder as she continued, "But I missed you so much."

Without hesitation, I pulled her to face me and kissed her fervently. Pouring every single emotion I bottled within me, I was desperate to show her how much I yearned for her, and she answered all the doubts I had with equal passion. I never had to question how much this woman felt for me because she always wore her heart on her sleeve. Since the day she descended into my realm from the arc of colours painted beneath her feet, I fell deeply in love with this woman each time we locked our gaze. I loved her, through the centuries of my eternal existence.

I laid my palms tenderly against her shoulder blades, feeling her golden hair falling like warm rays of light caressing my fingers and the back of my palms. Iris hesitated a little but eventually freed the shoulder clasps holding my chiton. I allowed the ivory soft material to slip over each ridge and curve on my body as I bared myself to her. Even when I knew how gravely wrong this whole thing would turn out to be, I refused to stop. I breathed, "Are you sure that you want this, írida mou?"

"I—" she gasped softly, her brows pinched together to show the troubling thoughts that stopped her from continuing. "I shouldn't be doing this, should I?"

"If it troubles you, let's not continue," I smiled.

"But this isn't real right?" Iris tried to reason. "Is it so wrong for me to be with my heart's desire in my dream?"

I stayed silent, trying to conceal the guilt woven into my lying self. My hand reached for her thin wrist as I wrapped my fingers to hold onto her. Closing my eyes, I cooed, "You're right, darling. There's nothing wrong."

Iris let out a small exhale and I gripped firmly onto her and lay her back onto the softness of my bed. Our existence tangled, with our divinity intertwined into a magnificence of iridescent illusion. Unbound hair, white robes slipping off marbled-smooth skin, and her opal-coloured eyes that hid all her treasured emotions. The spectrum of her soul touched me everywhere and rushed upon me in fabulous technicolour. Under her lips and against her touch, she coloured the insipid monochrome of my being with her rainbow. At that moment, nothing else mattered except that she was mine.

Months spent together was nothing compared to the whole eternity we had through our immortality. I whisked her away from the real world into a realm where no one could find her, and I was a sinner who continued to lie to her that she was living in my dream. As I held her within my arms while overlooking the sea of stars above, the world outside was frantically finding her in raging desperation. Quietly, Iris said, "This dream felt too real, Morpheus."

"Don't worry too much, írida mou," I assured. "It'll all be fine once you wake up."

Iris placed her hand over her stomach, saying, "I must've been so desperate to the point that I'm even dreaming that I have a child with you, Morpheus."

I saw the trouble in her expression and my heart ached. Even when I knew how much Iris felt for me, I also understand her well enough to know that she would never do anything to disappoint her husband, Zephyrus. I kissed her forehead and whispered another lie, "I'm sorry that you're stuck in this dream with me, darling."

Not wanting to trouble her any longer with my presence, I left her in the garden within my Land of Dreams. Standing from afar, I saw her weeping silently by herself. Her sadness felt like blades slicing and tearing through my heart as I finally realised my mistake and selfishness. While I was drowned in my own guilt, someone had disturbed the ward of my realm and I snapped into attention. I quickly appeared in front of the unwanted guest and demanded, "What is it, Aphrodite?"

The goddess of love and beauty stared piercingly at me and said, "Morpheus, we need to talk."

◩

MT. OLYMPUS
Location: Acrocorinth, Temple of Aphrodite

━━━━━━━━━━

When I entered the sanctuary, I was surprised to see that I wasn't the only one invited to the Acrocorinth —Apollo, Thanatos, Hades and one of Hades' minions were there. I knew my sins were learned, except that this combination of divine beings present was exceptionally odd.

"Morpheus." Apollo was the first to address me, and I turned to stare into his pale gold eyes. In an interrogating tone, he continued, "Where have you kept the goddess of rainbow?"

I ignored the god of sun and light, staring piercingly at Aphrodite and mentioned, "I have nothing to discuss with everyone if I am to be interrogated."

"Cut it out, Apollo," Aphrodite snapped. "That wasn't the point of this gathering."

Apollo let out an angry exhale and took a step back. Hades sighed, "Morpheus, there's no interrogation here but you know that you are to return Iris soon. My brother wouldn't let it slide if he learns everything."

An ache struck my chest, but I kept it well hidden as I nodded and asked curtly, "Why am I here again?"

"Your daughter," Aphrodite said simply. "She will be birthed in a few days to come."

I turned my head sharply to face the goddess of love and beauty, suddenly anxious. Now, I figured out why Apollo would be here. His prophecy had led him to understand the whole ordeal and he had told his sister about it. Glancing towards Thanatos, Hades and the minion that followed Hades, I still couldn't figure out what my sins had to do with them.

"The Fates delivered a message about your child to me," Hades took the initiative to explain. "She needs to ascend."

"Do I need you to remind me that I'm the father of my child?" I hissed through gritted teeth.

"Misfortunes will be on her way, Morpheus," Aphrodite interrupted the tension. "This child had a heavyweight on her shoulder and whether she ascends, it requires everyone's help here."

No matter how much I resented the divines, it was wise to always take their advice into consideration. Trying to calm the nerves within me, I asked monotonously, "What help can I get?"

"Your child shall be wedded to Thanatos," Aphrodite said. "He will protect her through her ascension."

I looked towards the god of death and the expressionless feeling that he held on to his face. I found the impossibility of reading him frustrating and from the hearsays about him, I wouldn't hand my daughter's hand to someone like him. The rejection was already at the tip of my tongue until the god of death beat me to it, Thanatos said, "I refuse."

"You cannot refuse my arrangement," Aphrodite reminded. "You owe this favour to me, Thanatos."

"I didn't ask you to cancel my arrangement with Makaria, so that I could take someone else as my wife," Thanatos argued.

"I refuse to hand my daughter's hand to him," I added.

"For heaven's sake," Aphrodite complained. "This is a serious matter."

"We're serious," Thanatos and I spoke at the same time.

Hades chided, "No one shall go against the Fates."

Nothing ever went right when the divines come together. Standing in the middle of the sanctuary in Aphrodite's temple, all that was felt were tension and the raging aura of every god present.  

◩

a/n.

disclaimers here: the tale of iris and morpheus is written based on the records in greek mythology. however, i added my own touch to the story. just a reminder that this work is fictitious and does not strictly follow the actual events recorded in greek mythology. 

i also wanted to apologise for my slow updates because i just landed in my new job and trying to adjust to my odd working schedules. i really hope have the time to focus on writing again. i'm trying my best here, but updates will be as slow. i'm sincerely sorry to my readers. i hope to have your understanding, but you know i appreciate every read, like and comment!