Chapter One

To tell you my story, I must first tell you another. It's your story too; the story of the creation of life. Zeus had two loyal Titan supporters when he first became the greatest of the Greek gods. The Titans were Epimetheus and Prometheus. You've probably heard of Prometheus, but his brother didn't get as much publicity. It's rather ironic since Epimetheus is the source of all of the world's pain. Most people think it's my fault, but it wasn't, it was his. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

As a reward for their loyalty, Zeus gave the brothers the task of creating the first creatures on Earth. Epimetheus made the animals, and he gave each of them a skill and a way to protect themselves. Prometheus took his damn time perfecting humans, and when he was finally finished, there were no protections to give them. So, Prometheus asked Zeus if he could give humans fire. Zeus laughed and refused, saying that fire was for the gods. Prometheus gave it to humans anyway.

I'm sure you've heard of his awful punishment; the eagle eating his liver daily. So gross, but that was Zeus for ya. Heracles eventually saved Prometheus, but that's not the end of the story. Zeus didn't just punish Prometheus; he decided to punish humans for accepting the gift of fire too. How dare the humans take a gift of protection from a god! Yeah, Zeus wasn't known for his fairness.

To punish humans, Zeus made me: Pandora. Well, he told Hephaestus to make me. Zeus was more of a delegator than a hands-on type of god, but whatever. I was created in the image of Aphrodite herself, and I was given numerous gifts by the gods upon my birth. On top of my beauty, they gave me wisdom, kindness, peace, generosity, and health. Sounds good, right? Those lovely gods.

Wrong.

Zeus instructed the gods to give me all of those attributes so that I would tempt Epimetheus, and then Zeus added a good dose of curiosity. Because Zeus, that sadistic bastard, had a plan for me. First, I was offered to Epimetheus as a wife. Nope, I had no say in it. I was created and then given away. Fine. Well, despite his brother's warning of Zeus's trickery, Epimetheus couldn't resist my god-enhanced charms. He married me, and Zeus came to our wedding.

The lightning-wielding lummox gave me a wedding present too; one just for me. It was a jar–no, not a box, though it was a large, squat jar, so I guess I can see why the grapevine of storytelling eventually turned it into a chest. Zeus gave it to me, and then told me to never open the jar. Right–eye roll. He knew I'd open it; I was made to open that fucking jar. And who the hell gives a person a gift that they can't open? That's just rude!

But I promised Zeus that I wouldn't open the jar because that's what he wanted me to do: make a promise. When it came down to it, I was Zeus's creation, and I did not only what he asked, but also exactly what he intended for me to do. My curiosity drove me to it. This horrible feeling hounded me day and night until I finally gave in and opened the stupid jar.

I'm sure you know the rest. I broke my promise, and all sorts of evil came flying out of that jar: hatred, greed, envy, pain, disease, hunger, poverty, war, and death. If something bad happens to you, it's most likely because of that jar. I fumbled for the lid mid-exodus and was able to smack it in place just in time to save hope, which is a small comfort, I know. But at least you can cling to that when all those other traumas bombard you.

Anyway, that was just the beginning of my story. Everyone blamed me for opening the jar when it was all Epimetheus's fault in so many ways. First, if he hadn't been so greedy with the protection, his brother would have had something to give humans. Then he didn't listen to his brother... who was being eaten by an eagle every day... Zeus's eagle. Um–hello? You're gonna trust a guy who tortures your brother with a bloodthirsty eagle? Epimetheus married me anyway, the dumb ass. So, I blame him. That doesn't change the fact that everyone else blames me. Well, mostly everyone.

Epimetheus was horrified when I opened the jar that Zeus expressly told me never to open. He raged at me and even knocked me around a bit, but, at first, nothing happened. The evil needed time to take root. It wasn't until three months later that the effects started to show. Everyone became more guarded and suspicious, and then the wars began. Epimetheus hired men and trained them to be soldiers–warriors. Then he was infected by hatred.

Epimetheus annulled our marriage and sent me packing. But he didn't just kick me out. Oh no, the son of a she-goat sent me away on one of his ships with five of his strongest warriors to make sure that I didn't escape. His loyal captain was instructed to sail me out to some uninhabited island and then leave me there to rot. It's kind of a Greek tradition; they loved abandoning people on islands.

The Greek God, Dionysus, who happened to have found his wife stranded upon an island by that jackass Theseus, noticed my plight and took pity on me. He knew what a bastard Zeus could be, and he figured out that I had been set up. Dionysus was offended that Epimetheus hadn't stood by me when it was his fault entirely that the jar had been opened. He was also a bit peeved at the whole “stranded on an island” thing.

So he made some adjustments.

When we landed at last, on an island in the middle of nowhere, Dionysus was there waiting for us. He gave the Captain and my guards a good talking to, and then he offered me a chance, if not a way out precisely. He said that I would remain on the island, but he would make it more hospitable toward me. Dionysus would create a little world just for me; an island attached to, but separate from, the world of the humans. There, I would never grow old, never want for anything, and never be touched by the evils I had unwittingly released on the world. Instead, I would be revered as the guardian of the jar and would keep Hope safe forever.

I accepted immediately. What did I have to lose? Either way, I was stuck on the island, so I might as well make the best of it. Dionysus worked his magic, and the island grew, transformed, and sprouted forth magical beings. Mermaids filled the sea, Indians roamed the plains, and fairies flew through the forest. Oh, yeah, and the ship, along with its Captain and sailors, was stuck on the island with me. Once Dionysus set the wards in place, only gods could come and go from Neverland.

Yeah, the name was Dionysus's idea too: Neverland. He thought it was a nice play on words. So many “nevers” there; never aging, never wanting, never suffering the evils, and never leaving. I was also never supposed to open the jar and now, I would never allow another person to do so. It was a land of never.

To help me guard our precious Hope, Dionysus turned the loyalties of Epimetheus's men to me. They would protect me for eternity. The warriors were surprisingly okay with that, but Captain Kadmos and his sailors weren't too happy about being stuck on an island for all eternity.

Dionysus had intended for me to be safe from the evils I'd unleashed, but he'd forgotten that humans had already been touched by them. The Captain and his crew brought Hatred and War into Neverland with them, but they didn't let it show until long after Dionysus had left.

And I had to deal with them alone. Okay, not entirely alone.