The Coming of Aphrodite Pt. 01

'You didn't really think I was a princess, did you?' said Hypergamy.

The blue iris stayed locked onto her.

'I suppose not,' said Zoravelina. 'But one doesn't like to be rude to one's guests.'

'Oh, I do so understand,' said Hypergamy, mimicking the posh voice. 'But here's the thing, my hungover darling: I spent three years at the Jarat Alfata in Heliopolis.'

'That sounds... exotic.'

'It's a school that teaches the Arts of Love. Trust me, Zoravelina... performing a good massage is the least of my talents.'

'Don't say things like that.'

'Why not?'

'You'll give me ideas.'

Hypergamy smiled and planted a kiss on the bare shoulder she'd been leaning against.

'Drink the water,' she said. 'And then meet me in your bathhouse. I'm going to change into something more appropriate.'

And she got to her feet and walked away.

*

As the eldest of four sisters, Zoravelina was always the responsible daughter, the one her parents expected to set an example. And, for the most part, she liked it. Zoravelina was sensible by temperament and looking down her nose at the antics of her younger sisters came easily to her. But now, as she sat with a thumping headache, staring at the red bougainvillea hanging from the house, Zoravelina began to wonder what she might have missed in the name of 'being sensible'. She had become a mother almost as soon as her own childhood was over, and her life seemed like one repetitive chore after another. Even with her monthly bleeding, it was the repetitiveness that got to her more than the cramps. 'Oh, not this again...' she would think and her heart would sink into her sandals.

And then along comes Hypergamy, this strange, intelligent, utterly beautiful woman - a woman her husband was desperate to sleep with. And she was... she was what?

'She was offering to bathe you and give you a massage,' said Zoravelina to herself. 'That's all. You're hungover and pathetic and she feels sorry for you. Plus, she's staying in your house, eating your food, and she wants to show her gratitude.'

Yes, that made total sense. Except... Zoravelina really was having ideas. And those ideas were anything but sensible. And Zoravelina couldn't help feeling that Hypergamy was the kind of woman who didn't say things on a whim. She knew exactly what she was doing.

Her head felt hot. She looked up and realised that she had been sitting on the stone bench for so long, the sun had moved in the sky and she was no longer in the shade. Zoravelina sprang to her feet, suddenly afraid that Hypergamy might interpret her absence as disinterest. Whatever was happening, that was certainly not the case. Zoravelina gulped down her cup of water, filled it and drank another cup just in case Hypergamy asked, and then she left cup and jug behind as she headed to her bathhouse.

There is one detail we need to clarify: What the two women called 'the bathhouse' was in fact a room on the ground floor, and what they called 'a bath' was actually a stone seat surrounded by a knee-high square wall with a drainage hole cut into one side. The whole structure was raised slightly above floor level so that gravity would take the water out through the hole and along a channel which led to the garden. 'Taking a bath' consisted of a person sitting on the stone block while a servant poured water over them. Zoravelina's 'bathhouse' was considered luxurious by her friends because it had its own fireplace where a giant pot of water could be heated.

There were two entrances to the bathhouse - one from inside the house and one from the garden. Zoravelina had chosen to walk around the outside of the house and come in through the garden. The wooden door was already open, letting out the smoke from the fire, and it was nice and warm inside. There was a big stone table laid with water jugs great and small, but it could be easily cleared off and used as a massage table. Zoravelina saw the various clay pots of oil and smooth hardwood tools which would be used to scrape the skin during the bath. She turned and saw Hypergamy and the servant girl, and her mouth dropped open.

Both women were barefoot and dressed in the grey chiton of a female servant, a tunic that was cut to just above the knees. But somehow, Hypergamy in a simple garment with bare legs and arms looked more like a goddess than a servant. Give her a bow and arrow and she would be Artemis and the servant girl her nymph. There was a great iron pot on the small fire and Hypergamy was showing the girl the various clay pots and jugs, some for storing water, others for pouring. Zoravelina composed herself and stepped into the room.

'Hypergamy,' she said with a formal nod.

'My lady,' said Hypergamy.

Did she have a glint in her eye? Zoravelina wasn't sure because Hypergamy had immediately turned to the girl.

'Now, Luna,' she said. 'When you see steam coming off the surface of the water, use this scoop to transfer water into that pot. Then top up the iron pot with cold water from the tank over there. I want there to be a continuous supply of hot water, do you understand?'

'Yes, ma'am.'

'All right, I'll leave it to you.'

Hypergamy turned to Zoravelina and gestured towards the low wall of the bath.

'If you would take a seat, my lady,' she said.

Zoravelina sat on the low wall and Hypergamy went down on one knee and began to untie one of the lady's sandals. She slipped it off and then ran a thumb along the arch of Zoravelina's bare foot. It felt wonderful and she had to stifle a gasp. My goodness, what was going on? Hypergamy removed her other sandal and then began to gently massage the woman's feet. Zoravelina's eyes rolled upwards and her head began to swim.

'The water's ready, ma'am.'

'Thank you, Luna.'

Hypergamy rose to her feet and gestured for Zoravelina to rise too. While the girl was using a small jug to transfer steaming water into a large two-handed clay pot, Hypergamy began undressing the lady of the house. Zoravelina had been undressed by servants before, but it was never this exciting. Her heart raced and she was swallowing on a dry mouth. Hypergamy frowned.

'Do you need some water?' she said.

'I'm fine,' said Zoravelina.

'Luna,' said Hypergamy, turning her head. 'When you're done there, could you go out and fetch a jug of drinking water and a cup?'

'Do you want me to go now?'

'No, finish what you're doing first.'

Hypergamy had untied Zoravelina's gown and with businesslike hands, she slipped it over the other woman's shoulders and down her body. Zoravelina stepped out of it, now completely naked, her eyes on the woman before her. Hypergamy's expression gave nothing away as she held out the gown with one arm.

'Luna, could you take this?'

The girl hurried over and took the gown. Zoravelina saw that Hypergamy was avoiding her gaze as she lifted her hand. Zoravelina took it and stepped over the low wall into the bath area, then she turned and sat on the stone block. There was a shock of cold when her bare bottom touched the seat, but she settled herself down and leaned forwards on her legs. Then, realising that this posture was making her breasts hang, she decided to sit upright. Hypergamy was busy at the stone table, pouring steaming water into a large jug, then stirring in cold water until she was satisfied with the temperature. Meanwhile, the girl was topping up the iron pot with cold water and checking the fire underneath it.

'All right, my lady,' said Hypergamy, the great jug in both hands. 'Could you please lean forwards?'

Zoravelina returned to her position of leaning on her legs. She let out some slow deep breaths as she braced herself for the water to hit... and then she learned that this was not Hypergamy's style. She did not just dump the water onto her or pour it from a distance. Zoravelina felt the other woman's finger on her shoulder blade, as though giving her a warning, and then it came... hot, hot water, but not scalding hot, pouring like dragon's honey over and down her back, the jug gently going from left to right and back again.

'Oh! Oh! Oh!' gasped Zoravelina.

'Too hot?' said Hypergamy.

'No...' Zoravelina began to laugh. 'No, it's perfect... it's just... perfect...'

Zoravelina tried to stop laughing but couldn't. Being naked, the hot water, Hypergamy's hands... it all felt so good that it made her nervous. She liked bodily pleasure as much as anyone, but this was overwhelming. Eventually, the laughter died down, but her chest was heaving, her skin was crying out for more, and her whole body was screaming to be touched.

'Sit up straight,' said Hypergamy. 'And lift your chin, please.'

Zoravelina obeyed, leaning back with her eyes closed, and Hypergamy repeated the process over her front. The guiding finger went along her collarbone as the delicious hot water poured over her breasts, her shoulders, her arms. This time, Zoravelina gave a groan of pure pleasure, not caring about the servant in the room. She wondered whether Hypergamy was looking at her breasts, then suddenly ached to feel her hands on them. But the scrape of ceramic pot on stone told the lady that Hypergamy had stepped away. She opened her eyes. The woman in the grey servant's chiton was busy at the stone table.

The hot water was part one of the bathing process. Zoravelina leaned forwards on her legs and closed her eyes as part two began, with Hypergamy rubbing oil into the skin of her body. After that, the oil and dirt would be scraped off with a smooth scraping tool and part three would be another round of hot water. But right now, Hypergamy's hands on her back and shoulders and arms were Zoravelina's entire world. Those fingers and thumbs pressing into her flesh were all that existed. She was vaguely aware of the servant girl saying something about fetching drinking water, but that seemed to be happening in another reality.

There was the sound of a door being opened and closed.

The hands on her body abruptly stopped and Zoravelina heard movement. She opened her eyes in time to see bare feet stepping into the bath with her and she was in the middle of saying 'What's going on?' when her head was taken roughly in two hands, tilted upwards, and a woman's mouth was pressed onto hers. Zoravelina's brain had just enough time to think, 'By the gods! Hypergamy is kissing me!' when she felt the woman's tongue pushing into her mouth. Zoravelina let it happen, but when her own tongue began to move against the interloper, it was slower, less insistent. She wanted the kiss, but not the intensity.

Hypergamy responded instantly, her tongue slowing to the other woman's rhythm. Zoravelina felt tears behind her eyes, even as she kissed. Her husband would kiss the way he fucked - to thrust and thrust and thrust until he was done. But this woman, this glorious, green-eyed woman... she actually listened. Zoravelina moved her head as she kissed and Hypergamy moved to accommodate her, the hands on her head sliding down to her shoulders. Zoravelina slowly pushed herself to a standing position, never breaking the kiss. She pressed her wet body against the other woman, slid her hands around Hypergamy and felt Hypergamy's hands and arms on her own bare, oily flesh. Their mouths and tongues continued to feed on each other. Zoravelina put her hand on the back of the other woman's head to steady it as, for the first time ever, her own tongue felt the inside of another woman's mouth.

And then... Hypergamy's tongue slowed. Her lips withdrew. The two women looked at each other, their hands still on each other's bodies. Zoravelina saw Hypergamy's look of relief and happiness and thought it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Hypergamy smiled sheepishly, as though she knew how transparent her feelings were.

'I'm sorry, Zora,' she said. 'I just couldn't wait.'

*

When Hypergamy decided to try and seduce Zoravelina, she had given a lot of thought to her approach. Just because a woman is starved of erotic love from her husband doesn't mean she will accept it from another woman. Besides, Zoravelina had nothing good to say about sex, referring to it as 'kind of disgusting'. But Hypergamy guessed that the object of her desire had never experienced an orgasm before and so she had suggested a bath and a massage as a way to lead her to that end. She had even prepared a few stories to whisper into the other woman's ear during the massage to entice her into letting Hypergamy touch her between her legs.

As it turned out, none of that was necessary. After the kiss, Hypergamy went back to giving Zoravelina her bath before Luna got back with the drinking water. When the bath was over, the lady of the house announced that she would skip the massage as she was still feeling unwell and wanted to go back to bed. Hypergamy spent a token few minutes helping Luna clean up, and then left. She had the forethought to go to her room and pick up a change of clothes and her sandals, but she didn't put them on. Instead, she carried them to the wing of the house where she knew Zoravelina's bedroom was. As expected, the lady was naked and waiting in bed.

'You took your time,' she said.

'Don't be rude,' said Hypergamy.

She closed the door, pulled the servant's chiton off over her head and walked naked to the bed. Zoravelina looked in wonder at the woman, then Hypergamy climbed onto her, body to body, and kissed her. She played the man, staying on top and kissing with mouth and tongue as she massaged the other's woman's breasts. Then she took Zoravelina's wrists in her hands, pinned them over her head, and kissed her face, her neck, her nipples, exploring her new lover. She discovered that the lady had sensitive ears that enjoyed the feel of her tongue, so she licked and teased them, as Zoravelina gave the most exquisite moans of ecstasy. While sucking her earlobe, Hypergamy reached her hand downwards and her fingers discovered a vagina that was slick and wet. As suspected, its owner had never before experienced an orgasm, and so Hypergamy introduced her to one. After that, Zoravelina was clay in her hands. The woman who regarded sex as 'kind of disgusting' ended up holding her own knees apart so that the other woman could reach her tongue deeper into her cunt.

But after an hour of lovemaking and several intense orgasms, Zoravelina hit a kind of wall. She lay on her back, her hand tight between her legs, staring upwards as though searching for answers on the ceiling. Hypergamy knew that look. It was the look of a woman who realises that she is not the 'nice person' she thought she was. Hypergamy recalled how casually Zoravelina had used the word 'degenerate' to describe a vase at the market that depicted two men touching each other. This could be tricky.

'Are you okay?' said Hypergamy.

'I don't know,' said Zoravelina.

Her voice sounded more dead than alive. Hypergamy moved onto her stomach, lying next to the other woman but not touching her. She rested herself on her elbows and looked down at Zoravelina's staring face. When Hypergamy spoke, she put a hint of mock sternness into her voice.

'Talk to me, woman.'

That cracked a momentary smile in the staring façade. It went back to bleak contemplation in a heartbeat, but Hypergamy was relieved to see it. Zoravelina swallowed and spoke in a voice that was hoarse and faraway.

'I was thinking about... Heracles,' she said.

'Heracles?'

'Yes. There's a part in the story... when Hera sends a madness that makes him do things he would never do normally. And, in that madness, he kills his whole family. I'm wondering whether I've just destroyed mine.'

Hypergamy wanted to say 'Of course you haven't!' but she stopped herself. Who knows? Maybe she had. So instead, she said:

'What we're doing isn't madness. In fact, I would say it's far saner than putting up with a man who doesn't love you.'

'And do you love me?'

The head with the staring eyes turned to look at Hypergamy. Hypergamy bit her lip and looked down.

'You're not answering the question,' said Zoravelina.

'I know.'

'Why not?'

'Because...' Hypergamy took a deep breath. 'Because I don't trust myself to know what love is. Not that long ago, I was with a man I thought I truly loved. King Eshmun and I would make love for hours and it was wonderful. But when push came to shove, I discovered that I would not sacrifice myself for his sake. And... and I would probably be the same with you.'

Hypergamy looked the other woman in the eye. Zoravelina continued staring back, her expression unchanged.

'Well...' she said. 'That's honest, I suppose.'

'Would you sacrifice yourself for me, Zoravelina?'

'I don't know.'

'You would for your children.'

'Yes, of course. But that's different.'

'Exactly. It's a different kind of love.'

Hypergamy took a chance and moved onto Zoravelina's chest, her legs curled to the side. They were touching now and Hypergamy looked right down into her lover's eyes. She secretly hoped that the other woman's fascination with her own green eyes would work its magic.

'Zoravelina, I may not love you in the way that you want to be loved. But I do desire you. Even now, I'm having to use all my willpower to stop myself kissing you.'

'Why?'

'Why what?'

'Why do you desire me?'

Hypergamy stared at her.

'Do you think I'm lying about wanting you?'

'I believe you want something from me,' said Zoravelina. 'I just don't know what. Maybe you're doing this to get back at my husband.'

'I think you're mistaking me for you.'

'How dare you!'

Hypergamy pushed away and got off the bed. She went straight to the chair where she had deposited her clothing. Zoravelina sat up and glowered at her.

'What are you doing?' she demanded.

'Getting dressed.'

'I haven't finished with you!'

'I'm not one of your servants, Zora.'

'Don't call me that!'

Hypergamy had put on her gown and was now tying its laces. When she was done, she went to the bed, pulled up the hem and knelt on the mattress, looking at Zoravelina.

'We both know,' said Hypergamy, 'that the moment your husband finds out about this, I'll be out on the street. I'm supposed to be his lover, not yours. There is nothing about this that works to my advantage.'

Her look was direct, candid, cut-to-the-chase honest. Zoravelina suddenly felt awkward. She looked away and covered her chest with her arms. Hypergamy took her chin and gently lifted it so they were looking into each other's eyes.

'There is one thing I can tell you,' she said. 'I like you, Zoravelina. I like you very much. And when I like someone this much and find them attractive, it feels very natural to be intimate with them. I make love to you, Zora, because I love to make love to you.'

Hypergamy took hold of one of Zoravelina's hands and held it.

'But if you don't believe me,' she said, 'or you simply don't want this, then just tell me. I will give your husband what he wants, get my audience with the king, and then find somewhere else to live. The last thing I want is to bring more unhappiness into this house.'

'Hypergamy--'

'Not now, my darling. Think about what you want and let me know. I'll be fine either way.'

Hypergamy kissed the back of the woman's hand, then rose from the bed and went to the chair. She picked up her sandals and the discarded chiton, then left the room barefoot and closed the door behind her.

*

The city agora of Iolcos was a giant rectangle of paved stone, surrounded by buildings of varying magnificence. The most magnificent of all was the Temple of Poseidon, the south face of which looked out over a bay of glittering blue water, while its northern façade dominated the agora. Poseidon was the patron god of Iolcos, but as a city of merchants, its next most important deity was Hermes, God of Trade, whose temple stood opposite from Poseidon's. At the centre of the agora, in an iron bowl on a stone plinth large enough to roast a cow, burned the Flames of Hestia. And on the shorter sides of the rectangle were two smaller temples - the Temple of Apollo on the one side, the Temple of Hera on the other.