Ishtar was fuming. She was not used to being dismissed in such a manner and with no explanation either. Gilgamesh's refusal to grant her an audience was more than embarrassing; it was downright degrading.

Her maids ducked behind a table as the Mesopotamian Goddess launched a goblet of wine through the air. It landed with a dull clunk on the floor, its contents sprayed over the wall and floor alike. Luckily, none of the maids were hit by the flying vessel.

"Who does he think he is?" Ishtar demanded of no one in particular. Her maids muttered in a huddle, reluctant to say anything aloud for fear of another outburst.

The Goddess paced back and forth in her sumptuous bedchamber, her skirts swishing as she spun and retraced her steps. Her golden headdress, bejewelled necklaces and bracelets also clinked and rattled as she stormed around the room.

A knock on the door drew the maids' attention before they looked at each other, wondering which one was brave enough to cross the room and see who was at the door. Another knock sounded - this time insistent.

"Are one of you going to answer that?" Ishtar challenged the quivering girls.

Nahrina stood shakily, and after offering a brief bow to her Mistress, she obeyed and crossed the room. A look of relief flashed across the young girl's face when she saw who stood on the other side. Ashur-Dan, the High Priest, was a man of great wisdom and knowledge with a propensity for calming the impetuous Goddess. 

The servant girl stepped aside as Ashur-Dan entered. He surveyed the room, noting the three other girls still cowering near the balcony. With nothing more than a look, all the serving girls vacated the room. Nahrina was last to leave, and she quickly yet quietly closed the door behind her.

Ishtar, still angry, glared at the High Priest. "What are you staring at?"

Ashur-Dan's stony features remained impassive. He was accustomed to cold responses from Ishtar, especially when she was annoyed. His light-grey robe rustled as he crossed the room to the balcony. His eyes reflected the wine stains on the voiles and the dented goblet discarded on the oven-baked brick floor. He stooped down to pick it up and placed it on the nearby table. "I take it your audience with Gilgamesh did not produce the desired result?" he said calmly, turning to face the Goddess.

Ishtar huffed. "I was not even granted an audience!" She threw herself down on the Halub wooden longue, and started preening the Ostrich feathers which adorned the backrest. Her anger was still simmering. 

Ashur-Dan cocked an eyebrow. "I see."

"No. You don't."

The High Priest moved over to where Ishtar sat, and he stood like a sentinel in front of her. 

The petted Goddess toyed with her skirts, rearranging the material and fringes to cover her long legs. She shot the High Priest a warning look.

The beauty's body was of no interest to Ashur-Dan, so the underlying threat in her eyes worried him not. He continued standing, unfazed, watching her closely.

Eventually, Ishtar forfeited her frustration, lowering her eyes to the floor. She was the Goddess of love, war and fertility, but she still required the wisdom and guidance of her High Priest and Seer, especially in times when her womanly wiles failed to achieve what she so desperately desired. Aeons ago, she'd learned how persuasive sex could be, the glories it could yield, and the subsequent status and power it would deliver. Therefore, beauty and seduction soon became her weaponry. 

Yet, Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, resisted her charms time and time again. She was at her wits' end, uncertain how to proceed. Now, she needed direction from her devoted High Priest. She took a deep breath. "Tell me what I need to do, Ashur-Dan."

"You must be wiley, Your Divine Grace. Think beyond the mere seduction."

Ishtar scoffed. "Mere seduction has served me well in the past."

"I concede, yes. But Gilgamesh is no ordinary man or King. He is part divine and part human. He is held in high regard by his subjects as well as other tribes and kingdoms. Plus, I've heard he knows about your treatment with previous suitors. It does not sit well with him."

The Goddess pouted. "Sex is still a powerful tool and can sway the strongest of men, be they human or celestial," she said defiantly. 

Ashur-Dan's tolerance did not waver; as usual, his influence calmed the Goddess further, making her more receptive to his counsel. The High Priest held fast to his strategy. "Gilgamesh must be challenged with something that requires his strength and endurance to overcome, not by something which would be considered a weakness."

"You think love is a weakness?"

"No, Your Divine Grace, for I cannot begin to conceive of its divine blessedness. But the people would only see their King as being seduced by a beautiful woman, just like any other man. They would not care that it was by a Goddess. They would consider him merely equal to the man who tills the fields."

Ashur-Dan's logic offered no solace to Ishtar's dented ego, but she recognised the implication. If the people looked upon Gilgamesh as an ordinary man, then his reign, as well as his kingdom, would be deemed forfeit; a prize not worth having. "So, what do you suggest?"

"A bull. A divine one at that, and sent not to bolster his ego, but to destroy him."

Ishtar gasped, incredulous. "A bull? Gilgamesh will easily slaughter it; that is no challenge for a man like him. And how is that meant to make him look at me with desire?"

"In this instance, desire is not the goal. Lust will not seize his power or convert his followers or subjects. And it will not make all of them obey your every command."

"And what of Gilgamesh? He, too, will be mine to command if I take your advice?"

"Not exactly."

"Then what is the point?" 

Ashur-Dan smirked and stepped forward. "The massacre of a divine bull will anger your fellow Gods, Anu, Ea and Shamash, who will undoubtedly seek the King's demise..."

Ishtar started to protest but instantly quietened when Ashur-Dan held up his hand for silence. "He would then be inclined to seek your forgiveness, your blessing. How best is he to thwart their judgement other than employing a Goddess to champion his cause."

Ishtar considered but remained unconvinced.

"Gilgamesh is a proud man," Ashur-Dan persisted. "He is not one to welcome the advances of a woman; he prefers to initiate the chase. Plant the seed by all means, but let him believe it was his idea to come to you."

The Goddess considered Ashur-Dan's words. After a few moments, she stood nodding in agreement. "Then he will lavish his affections upon me."

A tight smile crept over the High Priest's face. "Like your other suitors?"

"Yes, exactly. And if he still resists..."

With a heavy sigh, Ashur-Dan looked Ishtar straight in the eyes. "May I speak candidly?"

"Do you ever do otherwise?" Ishtar grinned.

Ashur-Dan took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. A challenging glance from Ishtar told him her patience was running dangerously thin. "The love you crave, my most Divine Goddess, is that which lives only in the hearts of mortals. It will forever elude you, no matter how much you hunger for its divine touch. You will never be loved as you desire. And those who dare to love you, are subjected to the worst of fates."

Ishtar sat in stony silence.  Ashur-Dan's words sliced the air as brutally as a khopesh would cut a watermelon. Worse still, she could tell he was not finished. With a brief nod of her head, the High Priest explained further.

"Your habit of turning bothersome or stubborn suitors into animals has lost its... potency. Furthermore, that last one, the shepherd you changed into a wolf, ran rampant amongst the smaller villages. The people feared the beast so much that they loosed hounds upon it. Howls of pain reverberated through the hills as it was torn to pieces by those dogs."

Ishtar was stunned. She had not expected the young man to be hunted and certainly not butchered.

But, Ashur-Dan had not finished. "When the villagers went to find a wolf's remains, they were horrified to see the broken body of a young shepherd, one they had known well. His innards and limbs were strewn across the grass and rocky inclines. It has since created hysteria within the masses, for there is tell of others like him which roam the hills."

Mortified, Ishtar slumped on the longue again. "But that is not possible! I only turned one boy into a wolf. The others were rabbits, boars, birds, and reptiles. So, it cannot be..."

"But it is. According to gossip, your playful hex has become a ruinous scourge."

"Since when did you believe tattletales, oh wise one?" Ishtar mocked.

"Every rumour harbours an element of truth, Your Divine Grace. Ultimately, you are equally as cursed, for mortal love shall never be yours to experience. You can only hope that your subjects will be blessed with that which you cannot retain."  

A crystal silence hung over the Goddess. The news was disturbing, and, as always, the High Priest had a way of keeping heavenly feet planted firmly on the ground.

"So, you see why you must not toy with Gilgamesh in such a manner?" Ashur-Dan insisted. "It is one thing to warp a mere shepherd boy, but attempt that with a hero such as Gilgamesh, and you will spell your doom."

Not once had she considered such a brutal demise for the shepherd. Neither had she thought her hexes would come back to haunt her. She looked up at the High Priest and held his gaze for a long time as she considered everything he'd told her. Eventually, she found her voice. "Make it so, Ashur-Dan. Arrange for the bull."

Word Count: 1655