"I know this one from long ago. I see, yet I know not the face, nor the name. Is this your mother, boy?"
"No, sire, this is the face of another, the face of one you once loved. The face of one you have condemned to misery. This is the face of your granddaughter, Venus, disfigured by the Curse of Cronus."
Cronus' eyes widened, and he glanced once more at the mirror. "I shall take this with me. Sleep, boy, this night I give you rest."
Head bowed, he turned and walked away, fading into the night.
Demo slept.
He woke late, the sun high in the sky. Even then might he have slept, except for the sound of the sparrows.
They hopped excitedly around an object gleaming on the forest floor. He rose, walked to it, and they took wing in fright.
The mirror of Venus. Cronus had dropped it there before he left. Strange. He had been so moved by the aged image therein. Demo shook his head, picked up the mirror.
In shock, he almost let it fall.
The beauty of Venus, radiant and young, once more graced its surface.