To Live Again In Paradise - Segment 05

Chapter 21

New Earth, Home of the Golden Ones

Unable to stop smiling, a sexually satisfied Melody decided to take her time getting out of the tub. She was still tingling from her husband’s vigorous yet loving invasion of her body and wanted that feeling to last as long as possible. Minutes earlier, she had enjoyed the sight of an already recovered Vulcan very carefully standing up in the tub and stepping out onto the bathroom floor. She never grew tired of looking at him, particularly when he was naked as he was at that moment.

Vulcan tried to wait for her also get out of the tub and join him, but he quickly lost patience with her procrastination. He leaned down and put one of his arms under her knees and the other around her waist. With one strong and swift movement, Vulcan picked her up out of the cooling water and slowly backed away from the bathtub.

“Woman, here I’m starving to death, and you’re lollygagging like a virgin, as if you’ve never been with a man before.” Vulcan ruined his joking complaint by kissing Melody’s nose, after which he set her down to stand in front of him. “We better put some clothes on if I intend to take you to that new restaurant.” He turned her around to face their bedroom and gave her naked ass a little slap to get her moving in that direction. “Oh, Melody, one more thing. Can you wear that red dress I saw in the closet?”

It took almost an hour before the two of them finally walked out of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel’s front door. “It’s this way,” said Vulcan, pointing to the left. “We can walk there since Arturo’s place is only a couple blocks away.”

“Arturo?” Melody looked at him as she followed him down the sidewalk. “Why did he pick that particular name?”

Vulcan shrugged. “It has something to do with his restaurant serving pizza and a few other Italian dishes. His partner chose Violetta for her name. She’s female, by the way.”

“I gathered that. It’s a lovely name.” Melody found she had to walk faster to keep up with Vulcan’s longer stride. “Will you please slow down? The place will still be there even if it takes us a few minutes longer. Oh, what’s Arturo’s restaurant called?”

Vulcan thought for a second. “I can’t remember right off hand. He said it was Violetta’s idea since it seemed to represent where the two of them came from.”

Before Melody could ask any more questions, they arrived at their destination. A blinking neon sign over the doorway showed that the name of the restaurant was “A Slice of Heaven.” Through the open door drifted the fragrance of hot, freshly made pizza with its unmistakable aroma of tomato, cheese, and pepperoni.

“Oh, that smells wonderful. Let’s hurry and get inside!” This came from Melody, her nose almost twitching as she breathed in the delicious odors. Vulcan smiled at her enthusiastic reaction and let her go through the door first.

The first person they saw was a rather plump male, looking in his mid 50’s, hurrying across the large dining area to meet them. The bald man’s only visible hair was a magnificent mustache that Salvador Dali would have envied. The slight amber tinge of his skin remained as the only indication he was one of the original golden ones of New Earth.

“Father, Mother, welcome. You honor our restaurant with your presence.” He bowed first to Melody and then in front of Vulcan. This effusive greeting, not to mention hearing herself called Mother by a much older man, startled Melody. Vulcan took it in stride since humans had worshipped him as a god for centuries.

Vulcan simply shook Arturo’s hand, having met him before. “I’m sorry we’re later than I said we’d be. Melody demanded we have a bath first, and one thing led to another…” His voice tapered off, thus allowing the other man to use his imagination.

Even though he had only lived for a few weeks, Arturo understood Vulcan’s sly, humorous implication. If indeed he had any doubts to his father’s meaning, all he had to do was observe Melody’s embarrassed blush.

“That is not a problem, Father. I kept a reserved table for you in case you were detained somehow, as it turned out you were.” He gave a low bow in Melody’s direction. “Please, Mother, if you will follow me to your table. I’ve had a special meal made especially for the two of you, something other than our usual pizza.” He started walking with Vulcan to show them the way, but he stopped when he noticed Melody was not behind them.

“Arturo,” she paused while trying to phrase her request diplomatically. “I feel strange having someone who looks twice my age calling me Mother. Would you call me Melody instead?”

“As you wish, Melody.” Arturo looked at Vulcan next. “And, Father, would you prefer another name?”

Vulcan nodded. “Vulcan would be fine. Thank you.” He eagerly rubbed his hands together. “Now, what was this about a special meal? I’m starved, so bring it on.” He placed Melody’s arm on his, and they followed Arturo to a table by the large front window. The red-and-white tablecloth covering it was crisp and spotless, and there was a burning candle placed in an empty Chianti wine bottle. The table already had two place settings ready and waiting for the restaurant’s honored quests.

Arturo pulled out a chair for Melody, and both she and Vulcan immediately sat down, ready for whatever Arturo had made for them. After he left them for the kitchen, Vulcan leaned forward wanting to hear Melody’s reaction to Arturo and the restaurant. He did not have long to wait.

“I’m a bit confused about all of this,” said Melody as she looked around at the other people eating at some of the surrounding tables.

“I gathered that. What’s confusing you the most?” Vulcan glanced up as a teenage waiter placed a long bowl of bread sticks on the table. “He looked quickly at the name plate on boy’s red vest. “Thank you, Johnny.”

“You are most welcome, Fa..Vulcan.” It seems the word was already spreading about their parents’ preferences of names. “You food will be out momentarily. Is there anything I may get you until then?”

“No, we’re fine. On second thought, could you bring a bottle of your best red?”

“Right away.” The waiter left to fill the order and soon returned with two chilled glasses along with a bottle of red wine.

Melody, more familiar with the local wineries, took the bottle from the waiter and read the label aloud. “2003 Verite La Joie from Sonoma County.” She carefully handed it back to the waiter, after which he uncorked it and poured a small amount of the wine into one glass.

Realizing Vulcan might not be all that familiar with Earth customs, Melody took the initiative and sipped some wine from the glass. “Excellent choice, Johnny.” The teen beamed from her compliment and finished pouring the wine into both glasses. He then left to get their dinner.
Arturo and the young waiter arrived within minutes, even before Vulcan and Melody finished their first glasses of wine. The owner was wheeling out what used to be a pastry cart on which were two covered dishes. When the waiter lifted the covers, one in each hand, the steam rose from plates containing linguine smothered in butter, pecorino, arugula, and black pepper.
After Johnny place a plate in front of both diners, Arturo finished with what he hoped was an appropriate comment, “Buon appetite!” With that wish for Vulcan and Melody to enjoy a good appetite, both owner and waiter left the table.

With no further delay, the hungry couple dug into their food. There was silence at their table until their plates were empty, which took quite some time since Arturo had been very generous with portion sizes.

Vulcan used the linen napkin to wipe the last drops of food from his mouth and leaned back in his chair. “Now, before we were so delightfully interrupted, you mentioned you were confused. Are you still confused, or did you forget what you wanted to ask me?”

Melody took another sip of wine before answering Vulcan’s question. “No, I’m even more confused. How did Arturo’s chef learn how to make that delicious meal? In fact, where did Arturo and Violetta even get the knowledge to know how to run a restaurant? I mean, this isn’t any tiny hot dog stand. Look around, dozens of people are filling the dining area. By the way, that brings up another point. How did all our golden ones morph into such different types of people?”

Vulcan couldn’t help smiling at her rapid-fire questions. “Are you through yet?”

“No, I’m just getting started. You better get Johnny back and order another bottle of wine. I feel we might be here for quite some time until you tell me everything about what’s going on.”

Vulcan sighed, knowing it was going to be a long night. He motioned to the hovering waiter who quickly brought the wine and left to serve other customers.

“Okay, sweetheart,” said Vulcan in a resigned tone of voice, “maybe it is time you learned the truth.”

Chapter 22

Auspasia, Home of the Goddesses

The loud noise the horses were making as they entered the courtyard nearly drowned out the welcome sound of male voices. Esther raced outside the mansion closely followed by Hera and Venus. The sight that greeted them shocked all three women into stopping just outside the doorway.

“What happened to them?” whispered Venus. She had just caught sight of Loki walking next to a stretcher on which was lying another male. The blood covering his face and torso was so thick she could not tell if he was alive or dead. For this reason, she failed to recognize her former husband.

As she watched, the concubines of these gods poured out of the seraglio. For some reason, her attention immediately went to a blonde female frantically racing toward the Loki. Venus followed her progress across the yard until the woman fell on her knees to the ground beside the stretcher. At that point, the blonde hysterically clutched the man to her breast. Catching sight of Loki smiling at the woman, Venus realized the blood-soaked man was only wounded and not dead.

In the midst of all the confusion throughout the courtyard, Hera was finally able to catch a glimpse of the huge Clydesdale her husband always rode into battle. A weary Jupiter slumped over the saddle while guiding his horse nearer to Loki and the stretcher.

Hera gasped when she realized who might be the wounded warrior on the stretcher. Of all her many children sired by Jupiter or other males, only Vulcan was created by her alone with no known father. Although she rejected him at birth, Hera grew to love him over time because of his normally kind nature. It also helped that he had forgiven her for the cruel actions she inflicted on him at his birth.

“Venus, I have to go to Jupiter and learn what happened in the mountains.” Hera started to leave the mansion’s doorway, but stopped and turned once again to face Venus. “They wouldn’t have come back without Eros, so find him and have the men bring him here.” Hera gave her former daughter-in-law a comforting hug and then turned to join the mob of horses, gods, and concubines milling around the courtyard.

It took some time, but Hera finally reached Jupiter. By then, he had dismounted and was giving crisp orders to the other men surrounding him. He already had been to the stretcher and verified the wounded man was still alive. Suddenly, he saw Hera running past him toward the forge where, seconds earlier, Loki and a couple other gods had carried the stretcher.

Grabbing her by the arm, Jupiter yelled, “No, Hera. Leave him be. His woman is all he needs to care for him right now, not a smothering mother.” He swung Hera around so that she faced him and was able to hear him more clearly above all the surrounding noise. Only after giving her that order did it sink in that Hera was ignoring his previous demand that neither she nor any other goddess come to Luzon.

His anger flared at her obvious disdain for him and his rules. “You know you were forbidden to come here. Why do you always ignore my wishes? Do you enjoy infuriating me like this?”

Over the centuries living with him, Hera became used to Jupiter’s foul moods. They were quick to come and fast to leave. She simply smiled at him and said, “Irritating you has always been a highlight of my day. I thought you knew that, my husband.” She got up on tiptoes and kissed his cheek, enjoying the feel of his rough, unshaven face.

Jupiter continued to mutter about the contrariness of women. He knew, however, that he would lose any argument with Hera, as he usually did all during their stormy marriage. Grinning, Jupiter pulled the smaller woman up against his sweaty body and gave her a fierce hug. When he eventually released her, he asked, “Okay, I give up. Why are you here?”

Hera took a couple deep breaths while wondering if Jupiter had cracked any of her ribs. She finally managed to say, “Venus had a vision that Eros was in danger. She insisted we come here and see what trouble you got her son into.”

“Me? It wasn’t my fault. Somehow the old Titans escaped from where our father had imprisoned them in Tantalus.” Jupiter slid his arm around Hera’s waist and headed back toward his mansion. “The first thing they did was come to Luzon where they kidnapped Eros and spirited him off over there.” Jupiter used his free hand to point to the far off mountain range. “I didn’t find out until much later, and by then the damage on Earth had already advanced beyond any hope of recovery.”

Just as they reached Jupiter’s mansion, Hera remember the sight of her injured son. She pulled away from her husband and glared up at him. “Why didn’t you protect Vulcan better? You know he’s not a true warrior like you and others are. My son is better at creating your heavy swords than yielding one in battle.”

“Calm down, wife. We needed all of the men to fight the Titans. Vulcan would have felt dishonored if I’d made him stay behind with the women.”

His explanation did not satisfy Hera. “If he’d remained here, at least he would not be dying. I’m not ready to let Hades have my son.” She began weeping at the thought of Vulcan descending into the pits of Hell. “I should be with him now instead of that blonde slut. A man needs his mother when he’s ill.”

Jupiter impatiently shook his head at that ridiculous remark. “Hera, you can visit him in a few days when he’s better able to tolerate you.”

“What do you mean by tolerate me?” Hera suddenly resembled Freya’s cat as she bristled in anger. “I’ve been nothing but nice to you since I got here, and here you are insulting me already.”

By now, Jupiter had opened the mansion’s front door and moved aside to let Hera go in first. “Give it a rest, Hera. All I meant was he’s in a weakened state and needs the gentle healing touch of his concubine to bring him back from the edge of death.” He gave Hera a tiny shove to move her inside out of the dust and noise still filling the nearby courtyard. “Give him a few days, all right?”

Unwilling to fight with him any further, Hera reluctantly agreed. Three days later, though, Hera swept majestically into the Vulcan’s bedroom.

“Get out, slave,” she ordered, not even bothering to look in Melody’s direction. “I want to talk to my son…in private.”

Chapter 23

Luzon, Home of the Old Ones

“Natasha, what have you been doing to your hair?” Teresa was staring at her friend, another elderly kitchen worker. Natasha was once a dark-haired Russian beauty before Jupiter abducted her from Earth. After keeping her in his own bed for a week, he decided she needed someone strong to control her fiery spirit.

For that reason, Jupiter gave Natasha to one of the most hot-tempered gods in Luzon. Thor was from the North Country and preferred actions to speech. He was quick to anger, and Natasha often felt his mighty fists if he felt she was out of line. She lasted longer than his previous slaves did, but Thor finally banished her to the seraglio’s lower floor.

When she became one of the old ones, Natasha’s raven curls quickly lost their luster and their glorious dark color. For all the centuries that followed, her gray hair was no different from those of the dozens of other elderly women.

Natasha had no idea what Teresa meant. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about. What can I do with this ugly hair Thor cursed me with?” She reached up and ran her fingers through her thinning, gray hair.

“Never mind.” Teresa answered. “It must have been the way the sun was hitting you. I thought I saw a couple brown hairs.”

Natasha sighed before saying, “I wish that were true, but I’ve had this horrible hair ever since I turned 100. In fact, I’ve almost forgotten what my original hair looked like.”

Just then, Izzy came into the kitchen, her usual expression of disdain for the kitchen staff on her face. “Ladies, why isn’t the dinner ready? The rest of us have been waiting in the dining area way past the usual time for the evening meal.” She did not wait to hear their excuse and walked over to the large iron range that nearly filled one wall of the room. In the past, this kitchen was where all the cooked food for the old ones, concubines, and various gods came from.

The staff now only had to prepare the old ones’ meals, and Izzy was constantly after them to serve their meals in a timely manner. This evening, she was unwilling to put up with what she considered the poorly run kitchen. Izzy stopped in front of the range and lifted a cover from a large kettle. Steam rushing out nearly burned her face, and she had to jump back out of the way.

“Be careful, it’s hot,” warned Jacky, a minute too late. The overweight head cook disliked Izzy and had since both women arrived at the seraglio as young concubines on the same day. In her mind, Jupiter gave Izzy to the better of the two gods who requested a new sex slave at that time. Ares, considered one of the greater gods, chose Izzy.

Meanwhile, Jacky ended up in Pan’s often crowded bed. She quickly learned this lesser rural deity usually enjoyed having more than one woman at a time. When she complained once too often about his running after the woodland nymphs, she found herself returned to the seraglio. Two weeks later, she became one of the old ones.

Beginning in the kitchen doing menial work like peeling potatoes or scrubbing dirty pots, Jacky soon proved her culinary worth when she filled in for an ailing pastry chef. After tasting Jacky’s first delicious attempt at an apple pie, the head chef promoted her to assistant pasty chef. Over the years, Jacky rose up through the ranks of the kitchen staff until one day she was in total charge when the current head chef became too fat to stand on her feet all day. Now, sadly, Jacky was well on her way to exceed her predecessor’s ponderous weight.

“Izzy,” she screamed, “get out of my kitchen and leave my people alone.” Jacky waved a large butcher knife in Izzy’s direction. “You’ll get your food when we’re good and ready to serve it and not a minute before.”

Usually Izzy would not allow anyone to talk to her in that manner. Seeing the large knife, however, had her scurrying out of the kitchen. For the rest of the evening, Jacky walked around the busy kitchen wearing a wide, triumphant grin. It was not often she got to put Izzy in her place, and the rest of the kitchen staff reaped the benefit of her good mood.

* * *

After an extremely late and poorly prepared dinner, a few of the women wandered outside to enjoy the cool evening air. One of them, a slightly fey female named Francine, looked up at the starry sky and began yelling excitedly to her four friends. “They’re coming back. Look! Look up there! Can you see them? I knew the gods wouldn’t leave us here all alone, unprotected, with who knows what out there in the wild countryside.” In her excitement, Francine began twirling round and round until she got so dizzy that she fell down onto the courtyard grass. Even after that, she continued to cry out and point upwards.

Some of the women still inside the seraglio heard her and hurried outside. One called out, even before she finished coming down the stone stairs, “Are they really back? Does this mean their women are coming back with them?” She hoped not since she had made herself comfortable in one departed concubine’s bedroom.

Another old one passed her on the stairs. “Hurry, Betsy, we don’t want to miss their return. Oh, I wish we had a better meal to serve them when they get here. Of all nights for Izzy to pick a fight with Jacky.”

By now, Betsy was running side-by-side outside with her friend. She caught sight of Francine still lying on the ground looking up at the sky. “Where are they, Francine? Have they arrived yet? Are we too late to see them?”

One of the women who had originally come outside with Francine shook her head in exasperation. “Forget it, Betsy. There are no gods up in the sky, and they are not coming back for us.” She dug her shoe into Francine’s side to get her attention. “Get up, Francine. What you’re seeing is a group of shooting stars.”

She turned back to the growing crowd of elderly women pouring out of the building. “You all might as well go back inside, the excitement’s over. Francine can’t seem to tell the difference between gods and stars.”

Chapter 24

New Earth, Home of the Golden Ones

Before Vulcan started with his explanations, he fortified himself with a large glass of the wine. “I didn’t actually tell you the truth about my being mortal. Oh, I am mortal,” he swiftly said when he noticed Melody was about to speak. “Kind of. In a while at least I will fully become one. You see, Jupiter insisted I retain some of the abilities of a god until our golden ones become settled, but I am mostly mortal.”

Melody thought this over and then asked, “What do you mean by settled?”

“Well, to begin with, each of them is highly intelligent and can memorize whatever they read. It seems one of the gods or perhaps it was his Earth female had a photographic memory. This ability merged with all their other traits in his personal chain of submission. As you remember, I eventually melted all the chains together, and they became the golden ones. That’s how Arturo and Violetta learned the restaurant business so quickly. The golden ones also retain whatever they learn. They will pass on their eidetic memory and other abilities to the next generation and so forth after that.

“I think I have already mentioned about the golden chains. The basic nature and personality of each god and his woman, including us, merged over time into his personal chain. I’ve only forged one per god, and he fastened it over the centuries around the hips of his various concubines.” He stopped to see if Melody still understood what he was saying.

Seeing she was still with him, Vulcan continued. “Well, from my old Celtic shape shifting friend, the god Math Ap Mathonwy, came the ability for our golden ones to become whatever shape, color, or age they preferred. In this way, not everyone looks the same, and they will pass on these differences in their genes to future generations.”

Vulcan looked up when he felt someone gently touch his shoulder. “Violetta, I was beginning to wonder if you’d be here tonight.”

Standing by his chair, waiting to gain their attention, stood Arturo and his partner, Violetta. She turned out to be a black woman appearing to be a decade or two younger than Arturo’s age. Her slender form contrasted with Arturo’s more rotund one, and she definitely had more hair than he did.

Vulcan turned to Melody and made the introductions. “Melody, I’d like you to meet Violetta. She’s the genius who came up with the idea and design of this place.”

He then pointed to the two empty chairs at their table and motioned for Arturo and Violetta to join them. After they sat down, Vulcan said, “I was in the process of explaining to Melody how all of you have been evolving during the past few weeks. Perhaps you two wouldn’t mind helping me with some of her questions?”

Violetta answered for the two restaurateurs in a softly accented voice, “We would be delighted. Melody, I imagine all of this must be confusing to one who used to live at one time on the older Earth.” She motioned for Johnny, who had been nearby eavesdropping, to bring them four clean cups and a container of fresh coffee.

After he left on this errand, Violetta continued, “We may be here for some time, so I thought we all might need coffee. Now, Melody, which question do you want answered first?” She smiled at her surrogate mother, proud to be among those given the honor of actually speaking with the parents of them all. “Whatever Vulcan can’t answer, we will try.”

Melody thought for a minute or two while the others waited patiently. Finally, she said, “It just dawned on me that you needed food to make your restaurant’s delicious dishes. Where did that come from?” She looked at Vulcan. “Speaking of food, how did we always have fresh produce and meat when we cooked our own meals?”

Vulcan was the one to respond first. “That is one of the items Jupiter insisted I handle until he allowed me to fully become a mortal. He realized it would only take a short time for all the golden ones to starve without food. Another of my tasks is to make sure what you have always taken for granted will also keep working, at least for the time being. Once our children learn how to run the equipment left behind, like power plants and food processors, they no longer will need my help.”

Arturo spoke up. “The golden ones have spread all over New Earth and are adapting to the planet as quickly as they can. Soon, Melody, you will have Vulcan all to yourself, but for now your children need him if we are to survive and have a future.”

Chapter 25

Auspasia, Home of the Goddesses

Once Hera was alone with Vulcan, she looked him over carefully to see how injured he had been. “You’ve lost weight since I last saw you. Haven’t the old ones been feeding you properly?” She pulled up a chair next to his bed while making what she thought of as necessary, caring comments. She missed seeing Vulcan rolling his eyes at her attempt at being motherly.

“Hera, not that I don’t appreciate your company, but was there something you wanted?” Vulcan winced from the shooting pain in his leg as he sat up in bed. The wound he had received in battle no longer appeared infected, due to Melody’s excellent nursing skills, but the skin along the long gash still had not fully healed. Seeping blood continued to stain the bandages at his slightest movement.

Hera decided to come right to the point. “Your father sent me with strict orders for you to go to his home right away. With the dire situation on Earth getting worse, he has come up with a plan.”

“A plan? What about Earth? What’s wrong there?” Vulcan had not seen anyone except for Melody and the elderly servant Grace since returning home. He had no idea that the human race had become extinct while the gods were away fighting the Titans.

Hera quickly explained. “It seems that without Eros to promote romance between human men and women, they had no interest in conceiving more children and became the last generation. Slowly the Earth’s population aged and died out, leaving only their empty towns and cities behind.”

She waited until she saw Vulcan understood what she had told him so far before giving him the really, really bad news. “Without humans, none of us will exist for long either, so Jupiter has come up with a plan to save us.” She hesitated. “Well, at least our essences. He needs you to carry out his plan, and we’ve no time to lose.”

Hera stood and headed for the bedroom door, having given Jupiter’s instructions to Vulcan. “Call your slut if you need help getting dressed. All the males are already gathering and waiting for you, so hurry.” Following those sharp words, Hera left her stunned son and returned to the mansion to await the end of their lives on Luzon.

Vulcan was struggling out of bed when Grace came in with his midday meal. The elderly woman hurried to his side, thinking he needed help to walk to the bathroom. Instead, he pointed to where Melody had left his loincloth draped over a chair after washing the blood and dirt out of the material. Vulcan stood there completely naked, a fact appreciated by Grace even at her advanced age.

“After you hand me my clothes, I’d like you to go get Melody back here again. Be sure to tell her I forgive her for returning to the seraglio unescorted, but that I don’t want it to ever happen again.”

Grace knew he failed to realize how insulting and demeaning this would sound to Melody. Every since the young woman became Vulcan’s newest bed partner, Grace had watched the attraction grow between the two of them. Although Grace loved the lame god and had for centuries, she was not blind to his many faults. His arrogance at times caused him to do or say something that hurt another, and Grace knew Melody would be furious when she repeated Vulcan’s words.

Once Grace left, Vulcan managed to put on his breechcloth. He was struggling to lace up his sandals when Melody angrily walked into his bedroom. The long gash in his leg had reopened, and blood was starting to run down onto the floor. Vulcan turned and held up his hand to stop any protests she had. “Hera demanded my presence at her husband’s palace, and I need you to help me walk over there.”

He slowly came toward Melody, each step slow and deliberate. “I don’t want anyone to know of my weakness, and it isn’t uncommon for one of us to be with our concubine in the courtyard.”

Melody started to object, and Vulcan angrily cut her off. “Give me your arm and be quick about it! I don’t want to hear one word from you.” Knowing it was useless to argue when he was in this foul mood, she reluctantly obeyed.

The two of them made the long walk across the courtyard in total silence, with Grace following a few steps behind. Vulcan’s only words before he entered the palace alone were, “Both of you wait for me here. I won’t be long.”

* * *

The short time stretched into long minutes, and soon two hours had passed. Just as Melody was about to disobey Vulcan and return with Grace to the women’s quarters, he angrily charged out of the palace’s front door. To say Vulcan was angry would be the understatement of the century, or many centuries for that matter.

He had started limping back to his home when he remembered the two women who had been waiting patiently for him. Grace calmly walked toward him, no longer bothered by the inconsideration of the gods. However, Melody still was furious with Vulcan and continued standing in the shade of the palace. Even when he stopped walking and turned around to glare at her for not following him, Melody refused to move.

Seeing his hands clenched into tight fists, though, convince her that now was not the time to strike a blow for equality and independence. Dragging her feet and moving as slowly as she could, Melody followed Vulcan and Grace across the courtyard.

Once at Vulcan’s home, Grace left them and returned to the women’s quarters. She realized Vulcan would probably force Melody into his bed and use her as a release for some of his pent-up anger.

Since Grace adored Vulcan, even when he was at his cruelest, she was not sure if she pitied or envied Melody at that moment.

To continue reading this story, chapters 26 thru 30 are in the link below.

To Live Again in Paradise - Segment 06  (GC) Chapters 26 thru 30 #2091513 by J. A. Buxton