Blessed by Night

Most gods are jealous beings.

It's in their nature. They crave attention, worship, and validity from sources that they consider beneath themselves.

Praise is what fuels them.

And in the early days of creation, when only the oldest of the other primordials were aware of each other, Nyx was showered with praise.

Sure, these beings were all beautiful, but none were gorgeous like her.

She was the night that held them all together. So majestic. So sublime.

And then she and Erebus gave birth to two children.

A son, Aether. And a daughter, Hemera.

They were light. Wondrous, splendid, heavenly light.

Their very personalities were like warm summer days. Cheery and full of life and splendor.

The two were showered with praise from the moment they were born.

They were the perfect pairing. Glorious day full of possibilities, and heavenly sky to hold up the realm of the gods.

Nyx was proud of her son. He was the proof that she could make something better than herself.

But she was uncomfortable with Hemera for the exact same reason that she loved her son.

Hemera looks exactly like Nyx- no matter the form she chooses to inhabit. The only difference is her shiny golden hair and grass-green eyes.

With that kind of resemblance, it's no surprise that comparisons started to be drawn.

Hemera was seen as the fairer of the two.

Much more mannerable and easy to deal with than her mother.

If Nyx was the former convict mother with a gruff personality, then Hemera was the precious, innocent daughter who volunteered at homeless shelters and didn't even swear.

If the gods had a choice, it was easy to say which one they would have preferred.

And they weren't exactly secretive about their thoughts on the matter.

Nyx was already aware of the fact that she had made a near-mirror image of herself, but brighter and warmer than she could ever be.

It was something she was a little insecure about before, but when the whispers of the gods reached her ears, the problem worsened considerably.

As a result, she unknowingly kept Hemera at arms length.

The praise and adoration that she gave to her other children, was never given to her golden-haired daughter.

The older that Hemera got, the more she began to internalize her mother's unvoiced dislike of her and she began to feel a way about her too- after years of pining for affection that she just wouldn't get.

Their relationship snowballed from there.

An off-handed curt comment from Hemera was like the gasoline on a smoldering fire.

It was as if in that moment Nyx felt justified in voicing her dislike of her daughter.

She remembered many things in her life, but she didn't remember all of the things she said to her daughter at that day. Explore more stories at My Virtual Library Empire

Vile, cruel obscenities were hurled at Hemera's every imperfection, with Nyx unable to stop herself before it was too late.

Though she didn't remember what all she said, she remembered how Hemera reacted.

Teary eyed and crying as she hurled insults back. Desperately trying to protect herself from the assault she was suffering from the one who should have loved her most.

Perhaps that was when Nyx crossed the point of no return.

Rather than acknowledge the fact that her first born daughter was literally weeping in front of her, Nyx held onto the fact that Hemera was insulting her instead.

That way, she didn't have to feel guilty for her role in bringing her to this point.

She could hate her daughter instead of hating herself.

And from that moment on, the day and night would forever remain separated.

"Wow… You suck."

"H-Hey!" Nyx couldn't even cry properly with Jasmine's lack of people skills killing the mood.

"Sorry… But there's no other way to put it. That was a sucky way to treat your daughter. You're almost as bad as the mom from Precious."

Nyx clenched her fists tightly as she literally ballooned with rage.

Jasmine folded her arms. "If you hit me then I'm telling my parents."

Nyx returned to regular size and sat back down on the floor in a huff.

She leaned the back of her head against the wall and stared at the ceiling with a bitter taste in her mouth.@@novelbin@@

"… They are going to hate me."

"Who?"

"You know who… How do you think those two are going to look at me when they hear about what kind of beast I am..?"

Jasmine found Nyx's choice of words amusing, since one of her human children literally grows fur and has permanently elongated teeth.

Jasmine sat down on the floor next to the goddess. "You know… for a powerful all-knowing goddess, you're really stupid."

"What exactly does my daughter see in you again?"

"I've been told I'm a real sweetheart and great listener." Jasmine blinked innocently.

She also has a good sense of humor, but after 2-3 drinks, her jokes get progressively darker.

Nyx glanced at Jasmine's exposed abs that couldn't even be hidden through a shirt.

Rather than believe all those other nonsense reasons, she was sure that this may have played a bigger role than what was mentioned.

"…Yea. Sure." Nyx rolled her eyes and went back to banging her head against the wall.

"I'm just saying…" Jasmine sighed. "You're too old to-"

"Choose your next words very carefully."

"-To think that everything is just so black and white all the time. Just because you've done bad shit does not mean you are wholly a bad person. It just means you're like everyone else."

"O-Obviously I know that, but-"

"But you think Malachi and Aubrey won't. Because humans are habitually shortsighted." Jasmine accused.

Nyx just nodded weakly.

Jasmine sighed and if one looked close enough then they might be able to see the ulcer forming in her brain.

"You're worried about the wrong things, woman. Malachi and Aubrey love you like you gave birth to them, your relationship with those two is unquestionable."

Jasmine gently turned Nyx's head and pointed to the garden beyond the window. Or specifically, at Hemera.

"The daughter you need to concern yourself with isn't the one you did right by. It's the one that you didn't."

Nyx felt an unfamiliar emotion bubbling up in her chest.

Fear.

"You brought Hemera into this world. It is your responsibility to make things right with her, regardless of how much time has gone by and what has been said." Jasmine pressed.

Nyx lowered her head and put on a pitiful expression.

"And I suppose I should do this… regardless of whether I believe she will forgive me or not?"

Jasmine smiled and gave her a congratulatory pat on the shoulder.

"Well what do you know? Someone's not so stupid after all."

"You're insufferable." Nyx rolled her eyes and stood up.

"Aubrey says I'm a cutie-patootie." Jasmine gloated.

"My daughter has a tendency to over exaggerate and lie to attractive women so that they'll take their clothes off."

Jasmine looked down at her figure. Her ears turned pink from various sets of memories running through her mind.

"Know what? I'm fine with that."