The pink marble of Aphrodite’s temple blushed in the full moon light as the salted waved lapped upon the cooling sand. A tranquil scene if there was one until the screaming started. Lucky for Daniel he was fluent in so many languages for he no trouble at all understanding the odd mixture of modern and ancient Greek.

Inside all was a tempest. “Callestah is just a child! How could you do this, Ares? I know you are impatient but why couldn’t you wait just a little longer! Animal!” The Lady Aphrodite railed at her Lover, the Lord Ares.

“Animal? What are you speaking of, Woman? Spit it out, I tell you, I have not laid a hand on our Daughter!”

“Liar! She told me what you did! It’s despicable!”

Ares, insulted by her unwillingness to believe him over a lying child grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her hard. “Then she is the liar and if you believe her, if you think you know me so little after all these centuries, then you, my Lover, are a fool!” Ares cast his Lover to the floor with a viscous shove.

Sure enough out from around the corner an auburn haired girl came running to beat the band, her little fists clenched together, her cheeks puffed and red. “Father! Mother! Stop, please stop this!” The little girl came running out of her room in Aphrodite’s Temple to beg for her parents’ silence.

“Why have you lied to her? Why do you say such terrible things about me?” Ares demanded of the little girl with the red hair and freckles. “Answer me! Now!” His warmly handsome face, the one the little girl so loved to nuzzle next to in order to feel the softness of his beard, pulled back into a gnarled expression as he reached out for her.

Callestah stopped running and started retreated slowly with her wide emerald locks to his deep onyx pits she put her hands out in front to keep him away from her. She used to nuzzle that face before they made her lay on that altar and made it so they couldn’t touch anymore. They said no one but the women could touch her and Ares took to wearing those damn gloves all of the time for fear of the burning that occurred if his bare skin met hers. Almost a year she’d gone without his hugs, without sitting on his lap listening to his stories, with a small kiss good night. She missed that! She missed all of that! But he lied he touched her, he touched her plenty over the last month. “It is true! You…you…you’ve…”

“I’ve what? Go on! Say it!” Ares grabbed her by the flimsy material of her night dress.

The little girl screamed…

“No! Don’t! Father, please!”

“Ares let her go!” Aphrodite shouted from the floor.

“Be silent, Woman! I will deal with her.” Ares shot at Aphrodite. “Tell me why you say such horrible things? Why have you told your Mother that I’ve made you have sex with me? It is not true! Tell her THAT!” Ares, still gripping the white material of the nightgown started violently shaking the little girl. Back and forth, back and forth, her small body no more than a rag doll in his angry hands. Her head lolled on her shoulders until she went limp in his arms and the white linen in his big mitt began to tear. “Damn you, Callestah! Don’t you know I love you? I would never hurt you!”

Aphrodite pulled herself to her feet to stand in front of her Lover clad only in the scantest layers of lavender gauze scrambled to her bare feet and snatched Callestah out of Ares’ grip. This did not please the God of War. “I know what you want of her! Why couldn’t you wait? She is too young! You must wait until she’s older! Until the Rituals are performed!”

“For the last time! I never laid a hand on her!” The heavy stone around them which should have deadened the sound amplified it instead the whole Temple shook with its resonance. Aphrodite screamed as Ares’ fist closed tighter around the material of Callestah’s nightgown and he hauled her from her feet and then hurled the girl across the room.

“Ares!” She yelled and went running in the direction of where Callestah lay on the Temple floor. “What have you done?”

Rage mounting to a level where he could no longer contain himself Ares strode across the room. How could this woman believe, for one instant, that he would do this to Callestah? Didn’t she know him at all? Overriding the rage was a wave of something which felt like betrayal. All these years together, so much love made, battles fought won and lost, didn’t she know who he was? How could she hurt him like this?

Ares ceased Callestah by her small wrists and yanked her away from the body of her Mother as he sank to his knees beside her cooling body. “My Love, Aphrodite, don’t leave me.” Ares sobbed as he took her up in his arms and held her close. “I love you.” It was all in vain and all too late, Aphrodite would never draw breath again. “You.” He spat at the little girl lying across the room on the pink marble floor. “This is your doing, your and your treachery and your lies!”

Unable to stand she tried to crawl away from her Father. “Oxi, parakalo. Siynomi.”

“No! No! No!”

Ares dragged Callestah into her bedroom by the arm. Once inside and still holding on to her he tossed a handful of clothes onto her bed along with a rag doll, set of silver brush and comb, a few other small things and he ripped the tapestry of himself off the wall to bundle the items up in. “You can’t stay here. You’re unruly. You must go.”

“Go? Go where? Poppa!” Callestah cried looking at the Ichor staining her little hands. “Poppa please! I’m so sorry, I’ll do better, I’ll be good! Poppa!”

“SHUT UP!”

Ares was still angry, still pacing, while tossing down chalice after chalice of wine as he railed at the loss of his Lover and the lies spread about him. Kanan’s father, who was still king when Calla came to live with them promised he would provide Ares’ Daughter with the proper guidance and the proper teacher. So Kanan was elected Callestah’s Keeper and she became his Cha’Dech at the tender age of 12. The position, the father assured, would provide Callestah with stature within the Court, not that worthy of a Princess of a Queen to be sure she would always be considered Kanan’s property but still, she would be on a higher level than your average Tiberian woman. The deal made it was soon sealed. Just as Daniel always suspected, Ares really did do it. He really did walk a 12 year-old girl up tot hat altar, lay her down upon it, consent to what was going to happen and then watch. Not only that, he looked upon the act with pleasure and Calla cried, unable to take her eyes from her Father she never stopped stretching her hand out to him for his help and his protection the whole time Kanan invaded her and Ares did nothing.

On the walls the night gave way to day and the Stargate on Tiberia appeared once more. Callestah was no longer in her traditional Greek attire but was now clothed neck to toes because no one but Kanan could touch her. Unlike the men on the Islands, it would take the Tiberian men a few tries before they understood that she was only for Kanan and they would try to touch her. Hopefully not too many of them would prove to be idiots.

Dark hands overbearing on her little shoulders, Kanan stood behind her while the Gate opened and Ares stood in front of her. “You’re staying here.” He told her. “You will do what Kanan wants and whatever he says, do you understand me?”

“Poppa,” she moaned, “please, I want to go home. I don’t want to stay here.” She looked up at Kanan behind her, turned back to her Father and whispered, “He’s a bad man.”

Neither his Daughter’s words nor her tears had any effect on Ares’ cold angry heart. “I will come back for you one day.” He said as he straightened up without attempting to give her any comfort. “Until then you will behave for Kanan, you will be good, I’ll accept nothing less.”

“Father please!” Callestah took a step forward as Ares took a step back to Kanan’s big hands held her in place. “Please! I’ll be good! So good! I’ll do all the things you want. Please, Father! Don’t leave me!” Wriggling out of Kanan’s hold she flung herself at her Father. “I’M SORRY” She shrieked as she fell to the ground grabbing hold of his leg.

Ares reached down with his gloved hands, picked her up, handed her to Kanan then turned his back on her and walked through the Gate without so much as a wave or a glance for the grieving child he was leaving behind.