JiminQueens2's blog

The gods were feasting.  Their table was laden down with meats, sweetened breads, cheeses, fruits from all over the known world.  Ganymede kept at the ready, watching the gods as they ate and drank, all at the tops of their lungs.  When it looked like one was about to call for more wine, he was there, the bottle at the ready to fill the god’s cup. 

Some would consider it demeaning, being a servant – but when was a servant for the gods, that changed.  Beings that could remake reality at their whim, and they had chosen you to be almost one of them. 

And as he passed the head of the table, and felt that firm grip on his backside, he smiled.  That was the other reason he enjoyed serving at the gods’ table.  The king of the gods was a generous master, and he was an even more generous lover.  Ganymede risked a glance at Lord Zeus, and the elder god smiled knowingly at him.  He would share Lord Zeus’ bed tonight.

He turned back to the table – and then he froze.

Phaethon???

To Ganymede’s shock, there he was:  Phaethon.  Apollo’s fool of a son, who almost set the entire world on fire before Lord Zeus’ intervention preserved what was left of it.

Phaethon. Prideful, arrogant, and, as Ganymede had noted before, a fool.

Phaethon.

Carrying a bottle of wine and weaving his way among the feasting gods.

Phaethon!

*****

Lord Zeus drained his goblet and surveyed the situation with anticipatory delight.  Ganymede’s reaction was everything he had expected and more; Zeus could see it in a thousand little ways, from the hard set of his supple shoulders to the uncustomary frown on his beautiful face.  A rival for his position amongst the Olympians did not sit well with him, and if he took any pains to hide it, he was completely unsuccessful in doing so.

Phaethon, if he noticed Ganymede’s fury, did not show it, and Zeus was frankly inclined to think that he hadn’t noticed it at all.  Apollo’s boy was pretty, but a bit on the dim side – nowhere near as brilliant as his father, that was for certain.  But even the densest forest eventually saw some sunlight, and it would be very interesting to watch the results when the light finally dawned…