Chapter Seven: Gods Among Mortals
1283 Words
It began with silence.
A silence so sharp and still that the birds surrounding the Kingston Estate dared not chirp.
The air buzzed with unspoken tension, whispers darting between marble halls and servant quarters like gossiping ghosts.
Amazon stood at her window, her emerald eyes fixed on the long road winding up to the estate. The staff was in a frenzy. Vehicles had begun to arrive. A procession of black-tinted luxury cars. The family was assembling.
Hermit’s grandfather was coming.
Rumors about the old man spun wildly through both the business world and aristocratic circles. They said he once controlled an empire with a single phone call, that his enemies vanished before they could retaliate. His name was spoken like a shadowed legend.
Now he was coming to meet Hermit's potential 'bride.'
Amazon turned from the window. Her jaw set. She wasn’t afraid. But she was curious.
---
Elsewhere in the estate, Snow practically skipped through the corridor. Her bruises from her staircase incident had healed nicely thanks to luxury ointments and high-end creams. But what truly restored her was the support flowing in.
"Athena is coming!" she squealed to Ash and Leah.
Ash grinned. "She always had taste. She’ll be on your side."
"And Leo too! Can you imagine how elegant the Kingston family will be with you as their future daughter-in-law?"
Snow smiled sweetly. Everything was falling into place. Athena Kingston—Hermit’s only sister—was infamous for her protective nature and sharp tongue. She was also a staunch believer in old money traditions.
There was no way Athena would accept a village girl like sss.
---
Athena Kingston arrived first.
Her heels clicked like gunshots against marble as she entered, draped in an ivory coat and shades no one dared ask her to remove. Her eyes, when revealed, were a piercing shade of onyx.
She took one look at sss from across the hall—and her smile froze.
"So," Athena said, her voice like a dagger in a velvet sheath. "You’re the one?"
Amazon didn’t flinch. "If I am?"
Athena’s smile deepened—but it didn’t reach her eyes. "Then I’d say Hermit has gone mad."
Behind her, Snow watched gleefully, her hand brushing Athena’s arm like a loyal pet.
---
Minutes later, the echo of helicopter blades thundered through the skies. The Kingston patriarch was not a man of subtlety.
Hermit stood by the garden steps, his expression unreadable as the helicopter landed.
The door opened, and out stepped a man wrapped in authority: tall, gray-haired, and sharp-eyed, his every movement calculated. He wore a pristine black suit, adorned with a lapel pin in the shape of a golden lion.
In his hand, he carried a rich, polished mahogany cane with a silver lion’s head. Not out of necessity—but for effect. His legs were fine. But Sebastian Kingston was a man who believed in symbolism.
He was fearsome, strict, and deeply disciplined. There was no room for softness in his dealings—yet to his family, he extended a quiet, unspoken warmth that came in gestures, not words.
His eyes scanned the area.
"Hermit."
"Grandfather."
"Is she here?"
Hermit didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he gestured to the side.
Amazon stepped forward from behind a tree, wearing a simple but elegant dress. Her presence was commanding even without luxury.
Sebastian studied her. The moment felt like a courtroom verdict.
Then he turned away. "Let’s eat."
---
Lunch was a quiet war.
Athena peppered sss with underhanded compliments.
"So charming how you still cling to peasant principles," she said while sipping white wine.
Amazon smiled sweetly. "I find it’s what keeps me human."
Snow giggled falsely. "She's funny too."
Hermit’s lips barely moved. "Keep your fake laughter down, Snow. It’s disrupting my appetite."
Sebastian watched all of them like a chessboard.
Then came another arrival—unexpected, unannounced.
Leo Kingston entered the dining hall wearing a crisp navy suit, a black tie with a golden pin glinting at the knot.
"Hope I’m not late."
He was charismatic and warm, a sharp contrast to Hermit. With him came his wife—Aqua.
Aqua was the image of elegance. A globally respected designer, she oozed confidence and grace. She greeted everyone with ease... until her eyes landed on sss.
And then a soft smile bloomed.
"You must be her," Aqua said, brushing a strand of hair behind sss’s ear. "You're... breathtaking."
Snow visibly paled.
Then came the most unexpected voice of all.
"Goddess!"
Everyone turned.
A blur of navy-blue ran into the hall and tackled sss’s leg.
"Pickles!" Aqua gasped.
The small boy clung to sss’s skirt, big gray eyes wide with awe. "You look like a goddess from my storybook!"
Amazon bent down with a surprised laugh. "And what storybook is that, mighty warrior?"
"The one where the goddess saves everyone and beats the dragons with fire eyes!"
The table fell into stunned silence.
Even Hermit cracked the ghost of a smile.
Sebastian cleared his throat. "Well, at least someone has taste."
---
As the family settled, Snow leaned forward slightly and chuckled, her voice sweet like poisoned honey. "Grandfather Sebastian, sss here is... quite the mystery. She grew up in a village—no real culture or etiquette. Her family tried, but you know how wild countryside girls can be."
She laughed falsely again, hiding behind her glass.
Athena smirked. "A bit uncouth, I imagine."
Amazon didn't react. Her silence held power.
Sebastian’s birthday discussion took center stage shortly after.
Leo stood, clasping a polished box.
"Happy birthday, grandfather. I’ve transferred deeds to several islands in the South Pacific."
Sebastian lifted an eyebrow. "What am I to do with more islands? I can’t live in all of them."
Leo only smiled. "That’s why I added some estates in the Alps."
Aqua followed. She handed him a black velvet case. Inside was a wristwatch so rare, it was rumored to cost more than a small nation.
"It’s from the Seraphim Collection."
Athena scoffed. "He already has hundreds of wristwatches, most of which he doesn’t even use."
She dramatically lifted a sleek case. "I present a cane forged from memory-alloy titanium, with in-built calorie trackers, step counters, and health sensors calibrated to his unique vitals."
She snapped it open proudly. "This, unlike watches, serves a function."
She sat with a scoff of triumph.
Then Pickles leapt up. "My turn!"
He ran back with a blinking device. "It's my prototype! A Bluetooth-integrated AI communicator. I built it myself."
Everyone clapped.
Snow approached last before sss. She handed Sebastian a box wrapped in gold leaf. "It’s a surprise. But it’s a luxury handmade shoe line prototype, made for royalty."
Sebastian opened nothing.
Then, silence fell.
Amazon stepped forward.
Snow and Athena traded mocking glances.
Amazon calmly said, "I have nothing. I’m broke. But… happy birthday in advance, my lord."
She handed him a stone shimmering in a dozen colors—pure, natural, and ancient. Then she placed a rolled canvas beside it.
Sebastian unrolled it. A dragon, regal and terrifying, bowed its head before a crown. The detailing was ethereal. The artistry, masterful.
The room was breathless.
"I drew it myself. The dragon is you."
Sebastian brimmed with inward joy—but gave only a curt nod.
Then came Hermit.
He stepped forward and placed a box before his grandfather.
Inside: an ancient porcelain vase, delicately preserved. Its origin? Ming Dynasty. The last of its kind.
Sebastian’s hand paused mid-air. His fingers lightly brushed the porcelain.
Then he looked around. He didn’t speak for a long moment.
But his eyes said everything.
The last two gifts had touched something deep.
A warmth… long hidden beneath the layers of a king.
---
- Writer
