Aren/Ares

I had just pulled up in front of the house I'd decided to buy, a home away from the Great Home, when I'd received a message from my father. 

Come at once. 

Well shit. Looked like it was time to go back to the Great Home.

I went inside and into the spare room, opening the closet door. It looked just like an empty closet, and had been the perfect place for me to set up the portal back to Olympus. Shutting the door behind me, I walked all the way to the back until I felt the veil between the two realms break, allowing me to slip through. 

Everything was pearly white, exuding an air of holiness as if you didn't already know you were standing in the home of the gods. And that was exactly why I had gotten my own place on earth. It was nice to feel normal for a bit, even if you were anything but. 

Small children chased one another. I didn't know if they were my brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, possibly even both, or completely unrelated. But to be quite honest, they were most likely related to me in one way or another. 

"Brother," Artemis said as she entered the giant hall, dressed in traditional robes of purple. "Father wishes to speak with you."

"I figured as much." I shoved my hands into my pockets and she spun on one foot, her long brown hair flaring out. 

I followed her through room after room, each one identical to the last, save the decoration on the walls, and straight into an elevator. Father was always one for the dramatics, and having an office at the top was merely one more notch on his belt.

The electronic sound of elevator music filled the small space, and no, elevator music in Olympus is not better than on earth.

I shifted back and forth, and Artemis tapped away at her phone. And I thought humans were bad at their inability to tear themselves away from electronic devices. Gods were even worse. As soon as technology came out, we made sure it would work for us here as well.

The door dinged and opened, and we both exited, making our way down another plain, white hall.

Finally, Artemis pushed open the door to our father's study. 

"Ares is here, Father." She bowed once before leaving the room. 

It was just Zeus and me now.

"Son, it's good to see you after all this time," Zeus said. He gave a large smile and stood, walking around his desk to shake my hand and pull me into an awkward embrace. 

"It's been only a decade, Father. That's hardly the blink of an eye." Time was relative, and he knew that. 

"I'm glad to hear you think that. Something else happened not too long ago."

So this summons was about him spying. 

"You were there the day the decision was made, Ares. You know what the ruling was, and I won't let you go against our decision."

"That wasn't our decision. It was an action taken because you keep sticking your godly staff between the legs of every female whether a goddess or human."

Thunder and lightning cracked in the room, and the gold of Zeus' eyes glowed brighter. Apparently I'd struck a nerve. 

"You better watch your tone, boy."

"There's nothing you can do about it. You're no longer the sole ruler. You've been deemed unfit of that position. You're no better than the rest of us twelve."

"I am still your father."

"You're the father of half the people down here, and hundreds down there. We aren't all going to tip-toe around you."

The metallic tang of electricity sat in my mouth and another flash of lightning struck the room. Zeus was always the one to throw the temper tantrums.

"I'm ordering you to shape up and to stop fraternizing with humans. There are to be no more demigods. It was agreed upon."

"Because you filled up the quota. Maybe we should just go get rid of all the demis walking around."

"Don't you dare lay a hand on any of them. I will ban you from leaving Olympus."

I threw my hands in the air. "You can't do anything!"

There wasn't any way I would ever hurt the demigods. Father didn't have to know that though. To him I was a loose cannon. I could go off at any moment. It was better to have that reputation than to be the easily pushed around like Artemis.

I turned to leave.

"Don't make me bring this to the rest of the twelve."

That made me pause. "You mean you haven't already? I would have thought that would be your first move."

"Of course it wasn't my first move. Why would I had you over before giving you the chance to correct your own mistake."

"Because you want your placement back."

"And you think I would throw you to the dogs for that?"

"Yes I do."

Zeus shook his head. He couldn't fool me though, it's exactly what he would have done. He'd gone through eons of effort to get where he was, and there was no way he would let anyone stand between him and his coveted position of ruler of the gods, especially not me. We'd never really been on good terms.

"How about you worry about yourself, and I'll worry about myself. I've done well for myself over the years."

"There will be consequences."

"There are consequences for every action we make. Test me, push me to my limits, tell me I'm incapable of doing something. I'm descended from you. You should know how well something like that will work."

Zeus shook his head. "You don't even know the human. Why would you throw everything away for her?"

"You think this is because of affection I have for her? This is more than just that."

While I couldn't deny the already strong attraction, the desire to stand my ground ran much deeper than love or affection. It was for our rights as gods to be who we were.

"I'm done with this conversation now, Father."

He most certainly did not look done, but I wasn't going to give him the chance to say anything else. I left, closing the door behind without looking back.

If I didn't see that place again, it would be too soon.

*****

And there we have chapter five. Zeus is telling Ares he needs to get his shiznit together and to stay away from Leila. What do you all think? Let me know what you think in the comments.