Chapter Text
Despite all their best efforts, despite the fact that they continually reminded one another they may be trespassing on another's property, and despite the fact that if they are trespassing, the fact that the door to the glade was demolished would instantly implicate them both as culprits, the king and bull kept returning to the garden they found together.
They tried, at first, to keep their time short. But neither champion was particularly good at controlling their impulses- and so the minutes easily bled into hours, and the hours into days (or the equivalent of such). It felt as if they were beginning to spend all their time wandering the gardens, and gathering immortal flowers. Asterius even began taking his sketchpad with him, so he could draw whichever flower, or animal, or insect caught his eye.
(Theseus was usually good at identification, having lived a long life and having traveled as much as he did, but there were some species even he didn't know. When this was the case, they'd visit the library and dig through books of flora and fauna until they found a match.)
The pair began to think that perhaps they'd never meet the garden's caretakers. Theseus was more than fine with the fact, not wanting to enter what would most certainly be an awkward conversation. Asterius meanwhile only became more and more curious, and each day or night secretly wished for such an encounter.
It was with great luck, then, that the bull's wish came true. On one such occasion that they decided to again enter the gardens, they heard distant whispering. The voices were too far away for Theseus (who immediately pressed himself against his beloved's side) to decipher, but Asterius had better luck with his heightened hearing.
A woman's voice, soft and caring, yet all together firm and impenetrable: "You're worrying far too much, my sapling. Do you forget where we reside? No damage here is permanent. Hmm… Now, let's see... I imagine that Lady Hera is quarreling with Lord Zeus again, so she's come to the garden to gather herbs. Does that put your mind at ease?"
Then, the voice of a young man, uncertain and awkward compared to her steadiness: "It can't be Miss Hera! If it's her, she hasn't been near the batch of crocus, or the apple trees, or the chaste berries, or any of her other favourites! And I think you are not worrying enough! This is your garden, is it not? What if some villain destroys it!"
"Then I'll replant it."
"But that will take ages!! Oh, just the idea of it makes me want to faint!"
The woman laughed; it was warm and full of love, clearly used to the theatrics of the young man with her.
"If it's bothering you so much, then we can investigate later. Now, come along. You wanted to help me today or night, did you not?"
Asterius leaned down, pressing his snout against his king's ear: "I think they're talking about us, king. Our trespassing."
Theseus grimaced, gripping Asterius' arm tightly. "We should leave. We'll simply have to come back another time! Or perhaps we shall never come back again! No one will ever know that it was we who desecrated this glade!"
Asterius leaned over just slightly; as they spoke and walked through the garden, each of the pair came into view. An older nymph with a soft frame and fair skin. Her hair was composed of broad leaves, which cascaded down her shoulders and curled around her face, accompanied by small, white blossoms. The young man had roughly the same build except for being slightly taller with a darker complexion. He looked human except for his hair being the same pale olive as the woman's leaves, and his eyes a soft purple. Instead of petals, his cheeks were decorated with freckles. A family, Asterius assumes. Mother and son.
Neither of them looked particularly threatening. Though the woman carried an air of divinity, her face held nothing but kindness. And her son was clearly no warrior; his mother often had to slow her steps for him to catch up, panting and huffing. And most importantly, Asterius did not enjoy the idea of never visiting the garden again. There's no harm in simply talking to the pair, he concluded.
"You can stay here if you wish, my king." the bull leaned down to kiss Theseus' forehead, then walked out into the open.
Theseus hoped that Asterius greeting the pair would be quick, and fast, and easy, and then he'd return… but it felt as if ages had passed already!
Theseus peered out from behind a large oak. Across the brook, Asterius was standing tall, talking to the nymph and her son. They did not seem very alarmed to see a bull man, though (Theseus would imagine) such curiosities weren't all too strange to beings who may as well be minor gods on their own.
He couldn't quite make out the words, but it appeared as if Asterius said something to make the woman laugh, for she had a hand over her mouth and was smiling with her eyes, and her son was grinning brightly as well.
Then, the woman reached into a sack she carried against her hip, and pulled out some kind of fruit. It wasn't any that Theseus recognized, though it looked red and ripe and delicious. The bull gave it a sniff before taking it into his mouth, and judging by the way his eyes suddenly shot open, he was surprised by the flavor of it.
Once he'd finished the fruit, the nymph's son walked to the other side of Asterius, and curiously touched one of his strong arms, and gazed up at him warmly, and squeezed his bicep firmly, and--
"Asterius!!!" Theseus quickly flew out of his hiding spot-- but his speed and suddenness, instead of immediately getting him to his companion’s side… made him trip and fall flat on his own face instead.
"King!", Asterius exclaimed in alarm. He quickly made his way to Theseus, to lift him from where he fell. "Are you okay?"
(The spark of anxiety Theseus felt melted the instant he was within his bull's powerful arms… though, admittedly, it was quite embarrassing to have announced his presence in such an inelegant way; he could feel how warm his face had become in the moment.)
"Oh my, is that your little friend you were telling us about?" The nymph walked closer to them, hiking up the skirt of an elaborate peplos to carefully cross the brook. Theseus noticed that where she stepped, flowers grew taller, healthier- even as she crossed the water, lily pads and lotus blossoms appeared.
"Yes. I apologize, he has a tendency to be impulsive."
"It's no trouble. Is he alright?"
"Yes, I am-- fine!" Theseus, suddenly flustered, wiggled out of Asterius' arms and back onto the grass. "I simply- that is, I merely, erm… “
Asterius snorted knowingly, which made Theseus' face turn an even deeper shade of red. "King," he hummed, "This is Lady Chloris and her son, Karpos. This garden belongs to her."
"Ah, yes!! And I am called Athens, Greatest King of-- that is, I am Theseus, Greatest King of Athens!! Asterius' cherished partner and brother in arms!"
"Brothers-in-arms, is that what they're calling it these days?" snorted Karpos.
“Yes, that is correct!”, replied the king.
(Then, Karpos whispered in an aside to the bull: "Your little friend...he's a nervous one, isn't he?")
"Not always. He's simply shy with new people unless he is about to battle them.")
“Well then! Now that introductions are finished with, would you two mind telling me how you ended up here?” Chloris’ voice was gentle, but still firm and commanding all the same.
"We simply found this place, Chloris, ma'am. The door to the gate was ah… broken, so we allowed ourselves inside." Asterius bowed gracefully, and the king was quick to follow suit despite his own unease.
“It’s been broken for some time. Do either of you know why the door seems to have completely vanished, now?”
“Ah- No, ma’am.” Asterius fumbled, giving his king a nervous glance, “it was gone before we ever came across this glade. Isn’t that right, Theseus?”
“Oh? Oh, y-yes! Perhaps it simply became unlodged on its own, who knows what might have happened!"
“You seem…” Karpos squinted, “highly suspicious.”
“But it doesn’t really matter all that much,” Chloris reached to touch her son's shoulders, calming him. “Most shades know better than to trespass. You two are simply… a bit reckless, it seems.”
"Yes, well! What is this place, exactly? You are discussing it as if it is some kind of... secret, forbidden realm! Which, by the way, I should be allowed to enter regardless!" Theseus' voice shrank as Chloris stared at him "As I am Champion!! Surely you've heard of me…?"
"Yes, I've heard of you," replied Chloris, "you're much shorter than I expected."
The king gasped in offense, and Asterius, as usual, stepped in; "My king is simply curious as to why this glade is so closed off from the others, considering its size."
Chloris hummed inquisitively. "Well, there’s something very important here! Lord Hades doesn’t want it to be easily accessible to other shades, and so...here we are!”
"Something important…?"
"Something that sustains both the world here and the world above," her son adds with a nod.
The two champions had no idea what the pair could be referring to, but with a glance at one another, they mutually agreed not to pry about it.
"Is guarding this glade your job, then…?"
"Mhm. Caring for it too. I keep this glen and many others fresh and green! Every plant and tree here has been tended by me. Though that's not to say I do it all by my lonesome- there's plenty of other nymphs as well, and we all work together to ensure the fields here are always verdant." The nymph plucked a blossom from its stem, and almost immediately a new, grander one grew in its place.
Karpos beamed behind her, “and we nymphs and half-nymphs are quite in tune with nature. Just as we can understand the flowers here, they can understand us! Even Lady Persephone herself used to visit this garden to gather seeds and fruits! Of course, she’s been gone for so long… and now that she has returned she hasn’t come to see us even once… Ah, what cruelty… “ Karpos trailed off, lamenting, a hand dramatically thrown against his forehead.
“There he goes again… I apologize, he gets a bit emotional when his beloved is away." Chloris clasped her hands together. “Well then… since you boys are here, why not try your hand at some gardening? I think you warrior types could benefit from having some nice, domestic hobbies as well.”
Asterius nearly leapt at the opportunity, readily agreeing. And Theseus, though he’d never had much luck with gardening in the past, agreed as well. Even if he had a tendency to unintentionally kill any plant he touched, he was quite certain gentle Asterius would fare much better and would not deny him this.
Within the fields of green were some patches of tilled land, filled only with some small gardens of begonias and moss and grass that spread far beyond its borders. Here, beneath the shade of a strawberry tree, Asterius and Theseus sat together as Lady Chloris gave a demonstration.
“You have to make sure you plant the seeds deeply enough, so their roots have plenty of room to spread and receive proper nourishment. But there are also plants that thrive from simply being. scattered around! Dandelions are one of them.”
"I see," replied Asterius as he chewed on a dandelion stem. He'd explained to Chloris that he likes yellow flowers best, including the weeds.
He watched closely as Chloris dug a shallow hole in the ground with only her hands. Beneath Elysium's lush grass was rich auburn- Chloris explained that the blood of the slain Titans had soaked the earth so thoroughly that it became permanently stained with a red hue.
"It's strange, the plants native to this realm all come out this shade of blue-green, despite the colour of what lies beneath. Though, it's not all bad. It turns out Titan's blood makes for fertile soil! It's one of the reasons why flora is able to thrive down here, despite the circumstances.”
The nymph gently shook a small satchel of seeds into the hole she'd dug; a pouch of mixed wildflowers to add more diversity to the plains. She then recovered the seedbed, humming gently all the while, until the land was shifted into a small mound of rich dirt. Once she'd patted down the earth, she tipped a small watering pail over it, wetting the dirt just enough. Asterius observed how carefully she did so, clearly mindful of how much or how little she poured.
"How long will it take before they sprout?" Asked Asterius.
"Oh, not long at all! It would be about a week or two on the surface. But, hmm… let me show you something."
Chloris kneeled, and spun her finger in a circle above the patch of dirt. A string of green light followed, then dripped, like rain, onto the earth below. Within seconds a number of green shoots pushed up against the earth, growing rapidly.
Asterius snorted, reaching to gently(!) touch the fresh greenery. Even like this, newborn and so freshly green, they were lovely.
"Now it's your turn!" Chloris asked Asterius to lift his hand, and he quickly obliged; a parcel of dainty seeds were shook into the Minotaur's outstretched hand, He couldn’t help but to observe them: small white dots against the softer brown of his palm, slender and black seeds that curved into a crescent, seeds that were round and woody like an apricot pit, and all so small… to think they could grow into such massive flowers.
(Though Asterius supposed he himself was once small in such a way himself, and now he towered over both mortals and gods alike.)
Asterius mimicked her actions, every movement with incredible care and concern for the fragile seeds he held. His king sat beside him; Chloris had placed a sun hat on his head (he didn’t need it, but she thought otherwise), and for Asterius, a crown of ruby flowers.
“That was simple enough!” Theseus exclaimed once Asterius recovered the patch of dirt. He wondered what may bloom from the many seeds? The Minotaur was certain to grow only the most beautiful, most splendid, most lovely flowers… how would Asterius look, resting within a bed of them? Soft petals and vibrant colours surrounding his elegant body, his thick, coily, curly hair decorated with an abundance… Asterius would rumble come here, king, in his handsome voice, and they would embrace one another until--
“King… you’re drooling.” The Minotaur's voice cut into his sweet fantasy, bringing the king back to reality.
“Eh?”, Theseus blinked slowly as Asterius, in his unending kindness and patience, wiped away a string of spit from his lip. “That is, erm! Forgive me, I merely had a rather pleasant thought!”
The bull snorted, but reached to hold one of Theseus' hands anyways. He rubbed a finger gently against the dark peach colour of his palm, then placed a single seed within it. It was one of the larger seeds Chloris had given him, with a woody grain to it.
"I'd like for you to plant this one, king," he said, "I know you're nervous about making mistakes. Allow me to aid you."
He was nervous, as he knew he had a tendency to overwater. Still, that Asterius could notice such a thing so easily… he'd become quite good at reading his king, hadn't he? Was he blushing, seeing how wonderfully tender his invaluable, irreplaceable friend could be… ?
"Ah, young love…!", sighed Karpos, lounging upon a bed of begonias. "What a sweet couple you two make! Overcoming strife and adversity, embracing light and dark alike… !"
"I am quite certain that I am older than you!" Theseus scoffed.
"And I am quite certain that you're not! I merely died young!"
"Don't say it like it's a good thing, Karpie…," sighed Chloris.
Asterius chuckled, but Theseus was quite certain his blush had spread to his shoulders at this point.
The Minotaur began working a new patch of dirt to bury seeds within, parting the rich earth with his hands. He guided his king, gently pulling him over, and (they both knew the process was simple, and that, technically, Theseus did not require aid, but it was still lovely to have regardless). One patch of seeds was quickly finished, and they moved on to the next...
Before they knew it, they had done quite a bit of gardening. Small areas of toiled land, seeds scattered and buried... Asterius' fur had collected a bothersome amount of dust; he sat in the brook while Theseus poured a basin of water over his head to rinse him.
“I need you boys to do just one more thing for me, and then we're calling it quits for the rest of the day or night!" Chloris hiked up her skirt to step into the brook. In her free hand she held a towel for the gently misted bull to dry himself with.
"Thank you, ma'am. What is it that you need from us?"
"I think you both deserve a treat for all your hard work, so I'd like you to pick some fruit! I already sent Karpie off to gather some herbs, so this goes to you two!" She sat down on the bank of the shallow river, letting her feet soak in the water.
"Did you hear that, Asterius? We've gallantly earned ourselves a reward!"
"I heard." Asterius dragged the towel along his arm. The king has a tendency to repeat things that had just been stated, but Asterius didn't see any reason to point it out at the moment.
"Lady Chloris, we humbly accept any gift you have to offer us!"
"I'm glad to hear it, former King of Athens! Now, here… " she shoved a wicker basket into Theseus' arms, "The orchard is due east from here, alright? It shouldn't take you too long to find. You'll probably smell it before you see it!"
The Minotaur stood from the brook, still dripping slightly with the spring water. Without giving him time to finish drying ("We must make haste, my dear companion!") Theseus grabbed his hand, pulling him in the direction of the orchard.
Theseus' excitement was infectious-- together, with the king's much smaller hand in Asterius' own, they ran across fields of lush green. The grass and flowers both became a blur, lilac dotting the open plains. Here, the light of Ixion was bright enough that the bull's dark fur was dried by it's warmth, though his usual coif had become undone and his hair was in it's natural coily state, falling heavy over his shoulders.
When they came upon a copse of fruiting trees, Theseus slowed, letting his wicker basket fall to the ground below as he paused to rest.
"It's been quite some time since I've ran like that," the king panted, "I'm utterly exhausted!" Theseus dropped down to the ground, then threw himself onto his back. "I don't think I could move another inch, my friend! Go-- go on without me! Continue where I could not!"
"There's mulberries here."
"Where!?" Theseus jumped back up so fast that his movements were all a blur to Asterius, who pointed in the direction of a tree teeming with the small berries. Theseus, forgetting to pick his basket back up, bolted off towards them.
"It's been ages since I've seen an orchard this large! Look, there's apples, and pomegranates, and date-plums, and- ah! One moment, my friend! I've spotted something incredible!" Theseus shouted from where he stood, before running deeper into the thicket. Asterius leaned to grab the wicker basket, holding it against his hip as he walked towards a tree heavy with figs.
He couldn't help but to laugh, watching Theseus launch off at such a high speed. Despite the splendorous life he'd lived as king, he never forgot to appreciate the small things, too. It was something else Asterius loved about him, how thrilled he would become over the mundane.
While the king was away, he reached up towards the tree and plucked at its fruit, each heavy and larger than what he was used to. Though he goal was, of course, to fill the basket… it surely wouldn't be so bad for him to eat a few, when there were so many.
(Asterius wondered, as he bit into the red flesh of a fig, if Theseus favoured them as well. He imagined, ever briefly, a fruiting tree in the courtyard of their home, one they planted and cultivated together. He imagined his king beneath it, sat on a picnic blanket splayed onto the soft grass. He imagined his own thumb brushing over soft brown lips as he fed fruit to his cherished partner, and how Theseus would tease him by sucking the juice off his fingers, his smaller hands keeping Asterius' own in place.
It was a pleasant thought- was Theseus dreaming of something similar when he drooled onto his chiton? It seemed likely. His king was, as always, very obvious about his own desires.)
"Asterius, look!" His king's voice broke through the fog of his thoughts. When he turned towards him, Theseus was proudly holding an especially large golden pear. "There's a whole tree full of these over this way- come, I shall guide you!"
Asterius snorted, but allowed the king to grip his hand, and pull him this way and that: they gathered gold-speckled apples, grapes of the deepest violet, mulberries rich in syrup, honey-sweet date-plums…
By the time they were finished, their basket was nearly overflowing with fruit. Before they returned, Theseus stood on Asterius' shoulders to pluck a peach that had grown particularly high on its tree; it was completely golden, as if it truly were the fruit of the gods. They shared it between themselves, splitting it perfectly in half (they were, after all, both rather impulsive).
They took their time walking back, taking note of things they missed; a number of pink butterflies rested upon a field of zinnias, sipping sweet nectar. A bush with strange vividly coloured berries stood out to them both, which Theseus described as appearing "absolutely poisonous." Asterius' arm shot out to keep his king from walking any further, when a family of ducks waddled in front of their path.
When they returned, Karpos was holding a bundle of dried herbs, and Chloris had many baskets of her own. She pulled out a checkered blanket, spreading it on the ground with a dramatic flourish. The rest of the baskets were emptied one by one: Small jars of honeys, neatly packed fruit jams, slightly warmed butter, fancy soft cheeses, freshly made crackers, loaves of crisp brown breads, a bottle of wine, a pitcher of pomegranate soda (Theseus' favourite), dried grapes and cranberries, toasted nuts, cured ham, small mead cakes…
A block of the soft cheese was sprinkled over with rosemary, then sliced and smeared onto a jam covered cracker. A loaf of bread was broken in half (resulting in Theseus getting crumbs all over his chiton), and given thyme and honey and butter. Fresh lavender picked by Karpos adorned the cakes- they looked so small, and so cute, that Asterius was nearly reluctant to eat them (though, he did in the end- he's always had quite the sweet tooth).
"Thank you boys for all your hard work today!" Chloris stood, wiping crumbs off her long dress. Karpos, drunk, was sprawled out asleep on the picnic blanket with the wine bottle pressed to his cheek. Asterius bowed gratefully, and Theseus, curious, poked Karpos with his foot to make sure he was still breathing (Karpos, in response, rolled over).
"Here, take these… you can start your own garden at home with them! They're real sturdy, so they should be good for beginners like you both." Chloris gave the champion and bull a small basket: in it were some of the jars and jams that had gone unopened, ripe figs, and small satchels of seeds to start their own garden with. Asterius carried it with a great eagerness- when he thought Theseus wasn't looking, he would poke and prod at the seed bags; labels on the small parcels indicated them as being sunflowers, marigolds, and begonias. He was happy to have received the sunflowers most of all, for their proud posture and golden crowns reminded him greatly of his king.
“Thank you, ma’am,” Asterius smiled as best as he could at her, despite his unique facial anatomy, “I’ll be sure to cherish your gifts.”
“I shall as well!” Theseus posed proudly as he often did in the arena, chin lifted and hands firm on his hips, “Though, erm, are we two, perhaps, permitted to return here again sometime?”
Chloris laughed warmly, then replied with a bow of her own; “Of course! Come back as many times as you’d like. Just… give me a head’s up next time, alright?”
“Of course, Lady Chloris!” The king turned to grin at Asterius, “Shall we be off then?”
Asterius nodded, and warmed underneath the light of Ixion and the delicious meal they’d shared, began their journey home.
"I feel… refreshed." Asterius eventually said as they returned to the wheatfield. He walked with the basket held against his hip, his other hand held tightly by his king.
"As do I, my companion! We shall have to make a habit of this, hmm? And just imagine- one day we'll have so many flowers of our own, our home will look like a bridal retinue!"
"Hmm… I think I would like that. I imagine that they will take a long time to grow, considering that neither of us are nymphs."
"My great grandmother was a nymph! A Hyade!", huffed Theseus, "as was your mother, a daughter of Helios! We should have more than enough godly magic in our veins to make these seeds bloom!"
"I'm not sure if it works that way, Theseus…"
"Nonsense, my friend! Together, we are the rain and the sun!
It was a theatrical statement for sure; Asterius has never seen Theseus summon rain, and Theseus has never seen Asterius manipulate the light of the sun (not that such powers would even be useful or applicable here so deep within the Earth), but the Minotaur smiled regardless.
"And besides, we should be more than able to care for these plants with or without such abilities!" Theseus squeezed Asterius' hand with great strength; the king often forgot himself when he was eager, but Asterius did not mind, his king's excitement did not harm. "Gardening is simply another form of battle! And it is a battle we shall conquer!"
Asterius laughed that time- pulling the sunhat he'd been gifted from his king's head, he swooped down to give a kiss- brief but sweet; he could taste the fig juice that still lingered on his lips.
If gardening was a battle, it was one they would conquer together.