Love and Lust
Lusticious held the beautiful goddess Aphrodite in high regard. He would always picture her golden hair flowing in the wind while she ran into his open arms. In his opinion she was already his, and just hadn't know it yet.
After all, who could resist the pinnacle of manly beauty that he was. His shoulders were broad, his chin squared, his eyes a piercing blue, and brown, flowing, locks of hair more beautiful than a woman's. His features suggested that of a warrior; as he is covered from head to toe in a layer of muscle that would catch any woman's eye, but what he most prided himself on was his lack of battle scars. Not a single blemish to mar his perfect skin. Though he had participated in many battles with creatures of various sizes and forms he walked away from each without a scratch. Surely, he could have any woman he wanted.
One day, the graceful Aphrodite in the form of a swan coasted the nearby river. The beautiful sound of the pan flute is what had summoned her, and nearby was a homely-looking man of middle years playing a beautiful song while sitting on a fallen log. So entranced was she that she assumed a human form and walked across the water to the far bank of where the man was playing. The homely man took no notice of her, because he was just as absorbed by his own music as she. Her voice as soft as a harp, Aphrodite spoke to the man, knowing he could not hear her. “You grace my ears with a beautiful sound. For that, I shall reward you in some way. You shall not know it was I, but that is how I wish it.”
But neither of them noticed the tall form of Lusticious standing amongst the trees, and he had heard her words. He speaks quietly to himself as a plan unfolds in his head. “That fool deserves no reward. He should be punished for betraying such a beautiful goddess with his ugly physique. I shall rescue her from this wicked sight. She shall be so grateful that she shall fall in love with me.”
Aphrodite stays at the homely man's side for long hours as his song never stops. The beautiful melody enchants small woodland animals consisting of squirrels, song birds, and rabbits into sitting around him as well, and they all agree to also grant this amazing man a gift of gratitude.
Lusticious, being so irresistible had easily charmed favors from local girls, and eventually used their desires to get himself a large net of iron chains, but this was no ordinary net. This net came straight from the belly of the Hydra. The hateful souls of the poor fishermen it had eaten had all been crammed together into the net, and created a type of evil magic that resisted the gods. Lusticious planned to use this very net to capture Aphrodite and make her his own.
Lusticious returns to the river bank, and finds Aphrodite still there listening to the homely-man's song. With a wicked sneer and a shout, he throws the evil net about her and catches her fast. Aphrodite screams out in terror, and claws at the powerful force trapping her, but for all her godly powers, it was to no avail. Lusticious pulls the net in with his prey trapped inside. With a sneer he announces himself to the entangled goddess. “Here I am. Your savior, and lord. How shall you repay me I wonder?” he slides a finger down her lovely face and places his face dangerously close to her own. “With your body, maybe?”
Aphrodite flinches away from his touch, and tries to smack his hand away, but the wicked power of the chain net leave her with no strength. “Leave me be filth, or you shall experience my wrath.”
Feeling like he was struck, Lusticious also flinches away. Never before had anyone-a woman no less called him filth. The goddess was not entranced with him at all. It seemed almost like she hated him, but that could not be possible for all women loved him. Straightening up, he answers her. “Oh fair goddess must we play these games? You are already mine so why fight it? You see, you are madly in love with me.”
The very idea that some pompous mortal was talking to her in such a way infuriates Aphrodite more than any before. Her response is laced with loathing, and a bit mockery. “Foolish mortal. What do you know of love? You cannot tell one such as I what love is for you have never experienced it. I do not love you. Nor does anyone on this Earth. You are ugly. You pale in comparison to any other man.”
Lusticious assumes the fair goddess knows not the situation she is in, and sneers at her. “What does that matter. You are mine anyway. Soon, you will have no choice, but to acknowledge your love for me.” Lusticious frighteningly close to her as he attempts to grabs her arms and restrain her.
Fearful of what this deranged mortal may try to do, Aphrodite put all of her remaining power into a single word; barely strong enough to overpower the chain net. “Wait!” The powerful word catches Lusticious off guard, and he pauses in his attempt to claim what he believed to be his. The beautiful goddess continues as an evil plan forms in her mind. “I-I do love you.. That is I would like to love you, but I cannot for my heart has been viciously stolen by another. He used evil tricks to steal my heart from me and now keeps it for himself.
The deranged Lusticious is appalled at her message, and leaps up in a rage. “Who!? Who would steal the heart of one that is mine? He shall pay in blood.”
The fair Aphrodite sees her chance and runs with it. “The man with the pan flute. His wicked music spirited it right out of me, but it is not that simple to get it back. You must defeat him in a contest.”
Lusticious leans on a tree mulling over the idea that such a man could have stolen the heart of the woman who he loved, and then decides that it made sense for a man who otherwise had no other way to win her heart to steal it with a trick. “What kind of contest?”
Aphrodite can feel her power waning and wills herself to not pass out from the evil net's power. “You must use your beauty to attract more of the local creatures than he. It should be no issue for you who is more beautiful and handsome than any man, and dare I say it, any god.”
The praise she gave him was all Lusticious needed, and he bounded over to the homely man who is still playing the pan flute. Seeing how distracted the man was, Lusticious decided to cheat the man out of any hope of victory by starting without him. He removes his tunic, and exposed his bristling muscles, and wonderfully sculpted body to the whole forest. Woodland creatures are attracted far and wide by the wondrous sight, but stop short of going to him. Though Lusticious was a very handsome man, and maybe the handsomest in the land, but the creatures also remember their promise of a gift to the homely man playing the pan flute. So, to repay the homely man for his wonderful playing, every animal goes to him instead of Lusticious.
Lusticious was outraged, and felt cheated, and raised his fist to strike the homely man down, but he is stopped by the godly voice of the god Hephaestus who descended from the sky in wonderful chariot of gold. “Stop, you disgusting cretin! You would strike down a man for being more beautiful than you?”
Lusticious cannot believe his ears. This man was definitely not as beautiful and handsome as he, and neither was the disfigured god. The old god obviously had no idea what beauty was. “You fool. This man is ugly! Just as you are ugly! Women cannot love ugly people!”
With an angry shout, godly Hephaestus shouts at Lusticious. “You believe so?!” The god sweeps his mighty hand across the air, and transforms Lusticious into a beautiful woman. Lusticious sees herself and bellows at the god in anger and despair. “What have you done to me?!”
Hephaestus strides to where his wife lay and removes the net from about her. As soon as the net is cast off, Aphrodite stands up, and embraces the man she loves. She then turns to unlucky Lusticious. “He has turned you into a woman, and I shall teach you love. With a flick of her hand, she causes a change in Lusticious. His proud, manly mindset, is changed to that of a woman in love, and her attention is fixed on the homely man playing the pan flute. “That man..His music..I think I'm in love. If I could love one such as he, I would-” Aphrodite suddenly, yet gently pushes the woman towards the homely man, and she falls into his arms.
His playing interrupted, the homely man's eyes are greeted with the sight of the most beautiful young woman he had ever seen.
No words are spoken aloud, but the looks in their eyes speak volumes. The two-now lovers embrace and passionately kiss. Tall reeds grow from the grass concealing the two as Aphrodite turns away from the scene. “There, I have taught a wicked man a lesson, and given the greatest gift I can ever give to another.”
Hephaestus pulls his wife close to him, and looks into her eyes. “You have given me a gift as well.” The goddess looks questioningly into his eyes. “I have? What did I give you, my husband?”
Godly Hephaestus guides her to his golden chariot and answers. “You reminded me of why I love you.”
The two gods, united by love enter the chariot, and are whisked away to Olympus where their home awaits.
