The Monkeys Lilly

The chandelier’s reflecting light danced on the velvet curtains in the ballroom. 

“Quite agreeable evening isn't it Lily. Lily?”

“Oh-oh yes of course.”

Lily was in fact quite distracted. A ruffle in the velvet curtains by one of the large, ornate windows had caught her eye.

“Horace, did you see something move in the velvet curtains over there?”

She pointed her slender fair arm across to the window.

“No, but you know this fondue is quite exquisite! I say Lily, try some-”

Horace was quite large, buttons almost bursting at the seams of his suit. He was the god of cattle, and it suited him as he could be very easily mistaken for a cow. A grey-brown mustache crowned his upper lip as he stuffed the chocolates in his mouth with his stubby fingers. Lily was not interested in the fondue though. She was quite certain she had seen a tuft of stark white hair pop out behind the curtain. It reminded her of someone. Lily was the goddess of plant life. She had light brown hair and red freckles dotted her face. She pulled herself back into reality.

“Oh I’m fine, thank you, really. Uhm if you’ll excuse me I am going to mingle with the rest of the guests.”

“Good Idea, good, very good. I shall just try some of this spanakopita- Oh and it is still warm!” 

Lily smiled and turned to navigate her way between the guests. It wasn’t too crowded which Lily was grateful for. She hated large crowds.

Yes, yes she was certain of it now. There was someone behind that curtain, she could see it moving very visibly now. She parted the velvet material.

 “-oh”

Lily, blushing, quickly closed the curtains again but could not get the sight of Winston Bevarde and Melissa Kingston wrapped up in each other's embrace out of her head. She shuddered and hurried along. Lily began scanning the crowd again, Although she now knew what the ruffling of the curtains was from -she gulped- She was certain the tuft of white hair had not been from Bevarde and Kingston.

There! She saw it again, this time it darted out from under Lady Amethyst’s (The goddess of Jewels) abnormally large gown. Lily picked up the ends of her own gown and darted in the direction she saw the figure  go. She nearly threw Mr. Ravierte (the god of Music)  into the punch bowl as she hurried past him. 

“Oh sorry Ravierte!-” 

She had barely paused to finish her apology before she started to scale the stairs to one of the spare rooms, away from the party. She was certain she had him now. She burst open the wooden door to see him lying on the spare bed rolling with laughter.

“Oh- you should have seen your face Lily! When you opened the curtains, I-I..” He trailed off choking on his own laugh.

“Simia!!!! Are you joking!??” His name, Simia, was fitting since in Latin it means Monkey.

“When am I not? I am the god of mischief aren’t I?” He said still smiling.

“You could have been caught.”

“Wow, no Hello to a friend you haven’t seen in nearly a year?”

“You could have been caught!”

“But I wasn’t”

“But you could have! You need to leave-”

“Lil-”

“Now.”

Simia sullenly jumped off the bed to an open window.

“I brought you a flower.” He pulled a black-eyed susan out from his tailcoat pocket

“I can make them myself, thank you” Lily said coldly.

“I know.” He said, staring her in the eyes.

“But I want it to be from me. I haven’t seen you in… it’s been too long. I’m still banished for a month yet.”

“Which is exactly why you shouldn’t be here! If-”

She brought her voice down to a whisper

“If they saw you… who knows how long it would be till-”

“Till I see you” He interrupted her.

His ice watery blue eyes seemed to see into her soul. He was slender like she was, but not in a weak kind of way. He just was small built, and sly. His hair was ruffled with little specks of silver amongst the white. He placed the flower in her hand.

“Until I see you next M'lady.”

And he was out of the window, in the tall meadows grass.

When She had come back downstairs, Horace was back at the buffet table. 

“Where were you Lily?”

“Just wondering about.”

Lily did like Horace, he had always been so kind and genuine to her, ever since she was born of a star a thousand years ago, but she was not sure how Horace would take to Simia being here, in the main grounds.

“Ah Lilliana.”

She cringed at the voice and the use of her full name.

“Seneca, how charming” She said, putting on a rather convincing smile.

“Undoubtedly, and the same to you.” Seneca eyed Horace with disgust. Lily had to keep herself from summoning thorns up from beneath their feet. How dare he look at horace that way. Horace, although undoubtedly not the cleanest, had a sweet, warm, heart, which was more than Seneca could say. Seneca Bevarde was much taller and a good deal older than Lily. He was God of the Sea, and much less pleasant than his younger brother Winston, although even he was barely tolerable.

“I wished to speak with you Lillliana, about Simia”

Lily nearly spat out her punch  all over her dress but managed to compose herself.

“Mhm- yes” she coughed the juice out from her lungs.

“It would be in yours and in the whole Assemblies best interest if  you are to report, if such a thing should ever happen, any sighting of Simia.” He leaned in close to her ear with hot breath that smelled of fish. “Should you fail to report any such sightings, it would be very unfortunate for such a young goddess as you to end up in the Hollow…” Lily shivered. She knew Simia had been under arrest but, in the Hollow? Why hadn’t he told her. Why hadn't she asked?

Seneca slowly moved away from her ear. 

“Do I make myself clear?” He said concisely.

“Yes.” Lily said quietly, not daring to look him in the eyes. 

“Well, I shall leave you two to-” He paused to eye Horace again, who was seemingly oblivious to Seneca’s threatening behavior.

“-to enjoy the rest of your evening..” He said with a very forced smile, and strode away.

Lily was very grateful when the evening finished and fell into her soft silk sheets on her bed. She stared at the ceiling for a while, thinking of Seneca, a dead boy and the god of Mischief.

She remembered it all very clearly. Simia had had a reputation for unintentionally hurting people. With his pranks he would simply forget, anyhow he couldn’t seriously injure anyone since they were all gods. But he was in short careless. Lily still loved him despite it though. She had never said it out loud but somehow they both knew they loved each other. Then came the incident. When they were younger, Simia, Theo (Seneca’s son), and herself went out to the marsh to play. She had been growing the flowers and dancing with the trees when she heard it. Theo’s scream. And she turned and there suspended in the trees by a rope on one leg was Theo. He was crying but Simia was laughing. She had yelled. 

“Simia! Let him down!”

“Alright if you insist.” he had said disappointed she didn't like the prank. And then the rope snapped. A cut off yell from Theo. She hadn’t seen if Simia did it, but it was snapped and Theo was on the ground. Dead. They could not have known his mother was mortal, let alone Theo himself. No one knew except Seneca. Seneca came out yelling at Simia, how he saw him snap the rope with his powers. And then Seneca was weeping and cursing. He convinced the whole Assembly Simia had done it and must go. She had felt so hopeless. She wasn’t sure what had happened, but would not believe Simia had done it. 

Lily shuddered in bed and pulled her sheets higher up over her, to drift into sleep, trying to forget about it all.

In the following few months Lily began to forget about Seneca’s words, believing she had exaggerated his tone, until one day in late summer. She rose at dawn and after a small breakfast went down to the meadow. The soft grass caressed her feet and she felt herself wander to the marshy pond. Out of all of Alexandria (a hidden place on earth home to the gods) the marsh was Lily’s favorite place. You can hear the birds sing to each other a cheery good morning, and the willow trees dance together. Only, She felt a deep sorrow among the life this morning

 Lily pressed her hand against a tree and felt its soft breath. 

“Are you alright?” She murmured to it.

It did not dance, the bird's tune was sorrowful and burdensome. She heard a rustle.

“Hello?” She weaved through the trees to the sound. 

She heard a moan. She quickened her pace leaping through the brush. And there he was. In a plane of lilies.  

“Simia!” She fell to her knees where he lay. 

“Lily.” He said hoarsely with a smile. He looked so weak and was dying.

“No, no Simia… what happened?”

“ In the Hollow. I couldn’t stay there anymore. Not without the sun. Not without the soft grass.”

“But you-you’re dying, how?”

“The Hollow, it-it makes you, well mortal.” Lily stared at him. His lips were blue-gray 

“That’s why you visited me.”

“Yes. I only had so much time. Thought I would find you here.”

“Oh Simia..”

“I escaped this last time, knowing today would be my last.” He said, struggling for breath. 

“Don’t say that” Lily said fighting through her tears

A moment of silence. 

“But of course everyone's luck runs out sometime.”

“No! No, hang on please…”

“ Lily, it’ll be fine. I just- I just want to sit in the sun a while longer. He smiled painfully. He reached out and grabbed her hand. 

“Am I selfish for wanting you here? Seneca could be here any moment.”

“ It’s fine. I know.”

And so Lilly sat with him, 

“Lily, here take it.” Simia said. The black eyed susan. Lily pressed his hand with the flower against her cheek. “Until I see you again.” She said softly.

“Until then.” He said and drew his last breath. She wept and gazed at the flower in her hand. “If such injustice as this is in Alexandria, I wish to leave, I wish not to remember.” She said her face grey. When Seneca found her She spoke.

“Take me to the tree of mortality.”

“You wish to be a mortal?”

“Yes.”

“You will forget everything Lily.”

“Exactly.” She said, wiping her face.

Seneca grabbed her hand, leading her blindly to a place she need not remember for the rest of eternity.