Water Play

“Feeling better, your majesty?” Pan rose and bowed to me.

“Much, although that second potion was as unpleasant as the first was delicious.”

Circe laughed from the cypress grove. “It was the same potion. The only thing that changed was you and your perceptions.”

“Where did Hades get off to? I need to tell him about Hephaestus’s discovery.”

Pan and Circe gave each other the kind of look Athena and I often shared.

“What? Why are the two of you looking at me like that?”

“Hades was never here, my queen,”

“Are you saying . . .“I’m not saying anything. The potion and bath worked their magic more effectively than I could have hoped.” Circe brought my robe to the steps.

“I don’t understand. Hades was here. I felt him.”

I climbed up the steps and allowed Circe to wrap my robe around my body while Pan’s eyes traveled up and down it in a silken caress.

“There’s no need to speak of it. Pan and I successfully got your emotions under control. I’d hate to see you in a fit of rage.” Circe guided me back indoors and told me to lie down while she escorted Pan back to the wilder fields on the other side of my garden.

When Circe returned, I was lounging on my chaise like Aphrodite, and I remembered what Pan said. “Circe, we need to create a private bath for Aphrodite. Her chambers open to the eastern grounds, so let’s have it adjoin her chambers. Send the nymphs to her, and tell her I’ll be along later to bring the flowers.”

Finally, blissfully alone. I returned to my bath and floated on my back among the water lilies before getting dressed. Perhaps swimwear would be appropriate, enabling me to test each spring and spend time with my family in small groups.

After nourishing my skin with pomegranate oil, I skinned into a simple tank suit, recalling the green and blue my cousins wore, I shucked it off and called the vines to snake around my body but hold off from blooming until I entered the first communal bath. I had more than earned the right to a razzle-dazzle moment of my own. The bougainvillea wrapped a bandeau around my chest, and the thorns would keep Dionysus and Apollo in check.

I set out for the warm spring baths, the farthest away. Several baths were occupied by one or two of my kinfolk, while others contained groups of various sizes. Leto and the muses had the children in the shallowest pools, closest to the cottage while Artemis watched over them. It’s true: wherever there is water and children, there will be a game of Marco Polo. Paidia appeared to be leading this one. Calliope and Clio were playing Odysseus with the older children and creating a convincing Scylla and Charybdis by attempting to seize them while they tried to swim past a few naiads circling underwater. Circe and Calypso probably wouldn’t share my appreciation of it.

Artemis sat atop a slight ridge in the shade of a live oak with roots spreading underground to structure the terraces. I approached her silently, then knelt beside her before caressing the oak at its base. It understood, and I took Artemis’s hand before plunging my hand into the soil. I closed my eyes and listened to the children, channeling my dear cousin’s protection into the soil, ensuring only edible fruits and berries. The loamy earth whispered my mother’s approval and grew warm. I kept my eyes closed until Artemis gasped, then opened them to find myself in a field of Zoysia with raspberry and blueberry bushes, honeysuckle and grapevines on a trellis leading to a grove of fruit trees giving way to herb and vegetable gardens. I plucked a nectarine for Artemis and decided I needed figs in my private garden. I visualized it as I handed the nectarine to Artemis and hoped to find it growing when I returned to my side of the palace.

“You never cease to amaze me,” Artemis treated me to one of her rare smiles, and I returned it with interest.

“Perhaps a map of your grounds marking safe hunting areas? I don’t want to cause accidents.”

A private bath, a hunting map—I should start a list or perhaps get Mnemosyne to join me.

“Calliope!” I called out over the shouts of “Marco” and “Polo.” She froze and looked up at me. “Where’s your mom? I think I need her help.”

She pointed to the farthest pool, so I skirted around the others and joined her after instructing the bougainvillea to wait, for Chrissakes.

“Persephone, you’ve outdone yourself. Circe and Hecate came ‘round with potions for the water and to drink. I haven’t relaxed like this in years.” She stretched in the sun and smiled at me.

I didn't want to disturb her peace--nine daughters would wear out anyone, so I simply asked her to come find me later that evening. As I made my way around the pools, I picked up bits and pieces of conversation and kept hearing the phrase "hot tub party." I had a feeling my brother was involved, so I took off for the courtyard to check on what was intended to be a blissful place to relax.

It was like walking inot Las Vegas on New Year's Eve 1999. Orpheus and Euterpe had clearly discovered house music, hip hop, and heavy metal. Terpsichore improvised with them, and my cousins, nieces, and nephews danced around the courtyard while Hermes, Dante, and a few nymphs passed around a wineskin and got sloppy with each other.

Ares came lumbering in and told Dionysus he was needed at the pool. I was curious and followed a short while later.

They had suspended a net over the bath that was now known as the pool for an epic water volleyball match: Team Apollo vs. Team Dionysus. Maybe it would settle their rivalry for a day or two.