“Queen of the gods, what a joke,” Hecate muttered, resigning herself to voicing her entire inner monologue now. “Did you know she was the first person to call herself that?” Hecate looked over at the ram, who made what sounded like a noise of assent. “I know. Terribly crude of her.”
The rest of the afternoon passed pleasantly enough. Hecate had never minded nature, and she didn’t remember the last time that she had an afternoon off. She didn’t mind her work, but a full day to herself in the sun wasn’t the worst outcome. The sun was beginning to set when Hecate stirred, not realizing that she had dozed in the hazy warmth of the afternoon.
There was a hot breath close to her face, shocking the goddess awake, when she sat up with a start. She panicked for a moment, thinking that Hera was poised above her and ready to strike. Her magic flared up, and she blinked her eyes open, only to realize that she was face to face with the ram…who had a length of her hair in its mouth.
“Oh, stop that!” she chided, detangling herself free from the ram and standing up, brushing her hair behind her shoulders. She sighed and shook her head. “I guess I can’t fault you for doing…whatever it is sheep do, I guess.” There was another noise from the creature. “Yes, yes, aram,not a sheep. Goodness. You’re touchy.”
Hecate moved towards the still-warm fire pit as the sun began to set, preparing to relight it for the evening. She would be able to ascertain the prayers sent to her through the smoke and was planning on getting some work done through the night; the reputation that she was one of the most responsive of the gods was fairly earned.
As the sun began to set, a golden sheen began to cover everything in the clearing. It started pouring out from the rocks and the trees, suddenly everywhere at once, as if the heavens itself was weeping gold.
“What the…” Hecate stood up and looked around when she noticed the flames of her fire turned to gold, casting up sparks of gold leaf in lieu of smoke. She looked around the clearing in a panic, trying to ascertain what was happening, but only seeing everything encased in a golden sheen. The magic in the clearing wasn’t ominous, but it was vague—something that Hecate knew from witchcraft was just as bad.The ram!Her heart stopped, suddenly filled with concern for the creature that she had risked Hera’s wrath to save when she saw it. Except, she couldn’t see it.
The ram was surrounded by a ball of golden light, so bright that Hecate brought her hand to her brow to shield herself from it. She couldn’t make sense of the ram’s frame hidden within it but watched as the ball began to grow…and grow…and grow…until finally, it exploded, sending cascades of raining, golden sparks all over the clearing. Hecate ducked to shield herself on instinct, covering her face with both of her hands. Hecate waited.
One minute.
Then two.
After three minutes of silence, she slowly straightened her back and stood up.
There were only three times in Hecate’s immortal life when she had been surprised by a man. The first was when, during their inaugural meeting, Zeus assumed she would sleep with him. The second was when Hermes proved able to back up his own talk. But neither scenario compared to the very one that Hecate found herself in at this exact moment. In lieu of a golden ram in the center of the clearing, Hecate was now staring at a man. A very, very naked man.
She didn’t move, and she certainly didn’t look away. The sun was now setting rapidly behind them, but the waning light did nothing to distract from the man now looking back at Hecate. He seemed slightly bewildered, as if he wasn’t sure how he’d gotten to the clearing, but Hecate couldn’t think fast enough. In reality, it had only been a few seconds, yet it had felt like an eternity before Hecate cursed.
“Well…fuck.” She had seen her fair share of chaos before, especially in spell work and necromancy, but those things were usually…dead. This man was undoubtedly alive. He was tall, taller than any mortal man she had ever known, with shoulder-length curling hair and a wide chest with a strong frame. Her thoughts raced.
A wide chest which you arenotstaring at… No, no, yes you are. You’re staring at hischest.No! His eyes. Yes. Eyes. Better…. That’s better.
As if he could read her thoughts, the man laughed. The sound nearly shocked Hecate more than his sudden transformation—and nakedness—and pulled her back to the scenario at hand. He was laughing, nearly tossing his head back as his shoulders shook with it. It was a truly joyful sound. Too often, Hecate had grown used to the laughter of man as mockery, as cruelty. This was a far cry from those sounds, and she couldn’t process how it made her feel; there was enough to process in that moment.
“You were a sheep!” Hecate finally blurted, daring to take one step closer to the stranger. He only smiled again, nodding as if this was a very casual occurrence.
“Technically, a ram. As you can well see.” He referenced his own nakedness without shame, and Hecate fought the urge to roll her eyes. She paused for a second before her brow furrowed.
“You tried toeatmy hair!”
“Oh, yes, I suppose I did.” The man chewed on his lip for a second, nodding as if he was in a great debate. “Well, that was the ram’s fault.”
“So…the ram is…its own…person?”
“I don’t know!” He tossed his hands in the air and chuckled, as if he was endlessly amused by the whole situation. “Have you ever been a sheep before?”
“No, but I thought it was a ram.” Hecate deadpanned but the stranger only seemed to find it funnier.
“Ha! Exactly. Who’s to say? It’s rather confusing being turned into an animal. One minute, you’re sleeping on your friend’s roof, and the next, an angry goddess makes you a golden ram.”
Hecate’s eyes got wide as she got over the shock of the moment, remembering what had made her wait out in the woods in the first place. Her voice was hurried, “The goddess! Do you know who it was?”
“The goddess who turned me into a sheep?”
Hecate buried her head in her hands and shook her head, making herself breathe deeply twice before responding. “No. The goddess who took your virginity.Yes,the goddess who turned you into a sheep!”
“A ram. I can’t say I’ve had the pleasure of sleeping with an immortal.” The man raised an eyebrow and tossed Hecate a devilishly charming grin. “I’d be more than willing to submit myself to the mercy of the experience, however.”
Hecate stopped and stared at him, shaking her head slowly in utter disbelief. “You are unbelievable.” Her tone was dry and exasperated, but he continued as if she hadn’t spoken.
“Although,” he laughed to himself, “I suppose whenever I’ve taken matters into my own hands, I’ve cavorted with divinity.” Hecate opened her mouth to respond as she cycled through the meaning of his words.
