"Styx? The river where oaths are made?" asked Hades. "What's she doing with that?"

Poseidon had kept it a secret, because if the rumors spread, it might even reach earth. Which wouldn't be good. If the gods lost their purity, there was no doubt the factions would follow them.

"I think about forty years ago, this happened. Amoris, was smitten by a human, a wizard on her visit to earth like always. He could really do any spell, work with any potions, but above all, he had similar views to hers.

When she bonded with him, I came to know that his best ability was working magic with water. The boy, heck, I haven't seen someone with so much power. It wasn't just water. He made potions and poisons, herbs and medicines from the water I have put to earth. That magic transcended all.

Anyway, she wasn't supposed to go with him. So, I put a curse on him that he'd be the river Styx upon which oaths were made, but eventually would get polluted. You see, people throwing their woes to him."

"So..." said Apollo, putting the pieces together. "You were jealous?"

"Jealous?" thundered Poseidon. "I didn't like him."

"That's jealousy. Continue."

"She promised she'd wreak havoc from that day."

"Oh," was all Hades could say. "How nice, brother."

"I think...she might succeed in bringing him back...with Athena's flute," he replied tersely.

******

Amoris ran her hands deep in the water, feeling it wrap around her fingers. She stood up, the golden shoes in her hand.

"Funny, how you stole the Crown quite easily," mused Nyx.

"If not for Hypnos and Phantasos, I wouldn't reach this far," she said modestly. "But, seriously, Phantasos, you need to stop messing with Eric's mind."

"I was experimenting!" he protested. "Well, it went wrong, and I am trying to figure it out..."

She dipped the golden shoes in the Styx, closing her eyes. The water carried it away and the shoes sunk after some time.

She picked up Athena's flute, nodding at Phantasos and Morpheus. As she brought it to her lips, Morpheus held a jar, which would collect the tunes and then assemble it to fit a shape Styx would like.

A frog croaked. Amoris' concentration faltered. She looked around. Styx was rising dangerously. She knew that something was up.

"So, you think you can defeat the God of the Seas?" asked Poseidon, stepping out.

"Step back, Poseidon," said Nyx dangerously. "Otherwise, you will suffer like Zeus."

Poseidon guffawed. "Zeus escaped. Arachne is no match."

Nyx opened her mouth wide in surprise. The frog's tongue lengthened and pulled the flute out of Amoris' grasp. Amoris looked shaken, fearful and angry at the same time.

"Why won't you let me love someone freely?" she screamed. "Every god has a lover or more, and I couldn't even have a bottle of memories for centuries!"

"You broke the code," said the frog, the flute in its sticky grasp. "Codes broken are not tolerated."

The Nutmeg of Sanity was actually the Nutmeg of Fear. If anyone consumed it, their worst fears would come true. A frog had the least brains and Athena consuming it would turn her to someone without brains. However, it seemed that it failed because the other gods were on Athena's side.

"Love has no code," she said, rising to her full height. "I will bring Styx back. And I will wreak the factions."

"No, you won't. You think, that the minor gods win?" asked Poseidon.

"The power rests not with intellect, Athena. Neither through strength," she smiled gravely and left for earth.

*******

Amoris saw Arachne on the way, sheltering herself from the rain. She shook her head, bending to speak to her.

"Arachne?"

Arachne turned and saw her. It scurried up to her, holding on to her dress.

"Do not worry. If you want, Nyx can take care of you. She's amazing."

Arachne seemed to consider it and nodded. "I am sorry a war has to come. I just wanted love. A thought too much to ask for. I loved one man, only. And Zeus? Look at him. Yet, he is allowed to be a god, running the skies and Olympus. "Terrible."

Arachne seemed to point to something. The spider web from which Hera had freed Zeus. She walked over to it.

Amoris and Styx, it said.

She smiled ruefully, knowing well that perhaps spiders could be great friends too.

Mirabel pressed her lips tight in determination, sewing the shoe. It would protect Eric from all kinds of harm. If he went in search of the Crown. A nagging thought kept biting her.

She wondered if Eric thought like the other faction members that elves were unworthy. Low caste. She picked up a stem of ebony and welded it onto the shoe. She noticed Eric's sleeping form; he fell asleep as soon as Zest gave him the potion.

"Is this my fault that the Crown got lost? I mean come on, just when I was about to become..." he sighed deeply.

Mirabel shook her head. He needed Zest around more, considering that the inferiority complex was getting worse.

"Nah. Maybe, Amoris has...a motive. I don't know if it is good, though."

"Amoris? Does she even look good?" he snorted in disbelief.

"Everyone has their reasons," said Zest.

"Really?" Hans asked. "Come on, that woman is...a cupidopath. I mean, who matches people that often?"

"We were matched by her, if you didn't notice," said Zest blandly.

"What? Oh, right we are from different factions...blah, I don't care," he said looking at her.

"Which is what we were trying to tell you, dimwit," Mirabel rolled her eyes.

"Is that Eric? Can I meet him?" asked a voice.

It was Sera.

Mirabel looked at Eric. "He's sleeping."

"That's okay," she said coming in, anyway. "They say the sleeping can hear, if nymphs speak to them."

Sera was essentially a tree nymph. You could see it in her brown eyes, the way they reflected trees of all sorts.

They all went out, and passed Amoris.

"Amoris?" asked Zest. "What are you doing here? Did you steal the Crown?"

Amoris smiled. "Maybe. Maybe not."

Hans advanced on her. "Look, I know you're a goddess, but you can't mess with the factions, like this."

"I have my reasons," she said, raising a brow.

"And what mighty ones might they be that you wreak havoc?" asked Hans.

"I paired you off," she said rubbing her head. "If you'd like to have a walk?"

They passed a garden and she sat on a bench. "So, you know I am the daughter of Hades."

They nodded.

"Also, the daughter of Aphrodite. She doesn't mind, because I do her job, but Hades does. All the major gods and goddesses do.

So, when I was born," her expression turned animated. "I came to earth, to learn how to match people. Mother guided me. So, during that time, when I was making one of my matches, I met a wizard," she said looking at Zest.

"He was a good guy, I liked him. But, he was a mortal. That's no problem, either. Only, he excelled Poseidon in spinning water and making magic out of them. Poseidon couldn't bear it and cursed him to be a river. Styx?"

"Styx?" they all said in unison. "Your lover is a river?"

"Yes," she said, bringing her knees up. "Every two decades, I come to fight for my right for him. It makes no sense, according to me, that Zeus rules Olympus, despite multiple affairs. I had one love. One true one, and he was cursed."

Zest patted her arm comfortingly. "If I may ask, who was it?"

"Rex Winthrop."

Zest inhaled sharply.

*******

So, who's Rex? The story about Rex inside Styx isn't true. Styx was actually a goddess and she's one of the rivers on the way to the Underworld. Just mentioning so that if you go and read, you might not get confused! Styx was also the river upon which many oaths were made and if the person broke it, there were grave consequences. 

Feel free to ask anything! 

Stay curious, have a nice day, everybody! 

Yours,

Rose