Chapter 1: Apollo and Alena
Apollo was most known for being the god of music and light, among many other things. He was also known for his many affairs, both mortal and immortal, male and female. It wasn’t uncommon for him to have a new lover and to sire children. What was most unusual was when he fell in love and vowed to love no one but her for all eternity.
Alena, such was her namesake, was a torch of light; her hair, golden like the sun, was her crowning glory. The sun had even worked its way into her skin as it was browned beautifully from her arduous days of work on the hills. She was very much flesh and blood, a real, mortal creature...those sky blue eyes reflected her clear world around her. Yet, Alena was oblivious to all that she was, oblivious to how she made heads turn and minds wander at the sight of her, for she was a woman of the hills, a simple daughter tending her father’s flock.
Certainly, she wasn’t the most beautiful woman in the world, but she was a sight to behold. And to hear, for upon the rolling hills below the Temple of Apollo, Alena would sing. Gently, so as not to scatter her flock, she would sing tales and ballads of every sort. The generous wind would often carry her voice up and up and up into the clouds and through to the heavens above.
Her beauty was only matched by the goodness of her heart. She had a smile and kind word for anyone who crossed her path and a compassionate hand for any in need, always willing to help and give though she had little herself. But worldly goods did not matter to her, for she was content with her life.
No one could say for sure what drew the eye of Apollo to her. Perhaps it was the sweetness of her voice as it floated through the heavens, the purity of her heart or the way her hair shone when the sun played through it, or perhaps her gentle manner in dealing with both human and animals alike.
Apollo’s reputation, however, preceded him and the lovely Alena would surely just be another string to his bow...or not. The difference between love and lust is, quite simply, dedication on the infatuated one’s part; Apollo was known for music and with such a bright and wondrous singer just outside his temple, an opportunity for song would never be missed by him.
Having heard her lovely voice drift through the halls of Olympus as she sang on Earth, enchanting him with the purity and sweetness of her voice, Apollo swore to find the mortal who enchanted him so and make her his. He searched the land below before he came upon her tending her father’s flock like she always did and contented himself from watching her from his lofty abode in Olympus before deciding to descend to the Earth and teach her himself, a high honor to be bestowed by him. But he’d have to plan carefully if she was to be his. He remembered the few times his conquests had been unsuccessful, Daphne turning into a laurel tree to escape his advances and Leucates who had thrown himself off a rock to avoid being carried off. No, he’d be much more careful in the seduction of Alena. She was a treasure and he would take great delight in conquering her heart.
