Chapter 9: Celebrations

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”Job 1:21, The Holy Bible. New International Version (NIV), first published 1978. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™

It had been a century ... maybe more ... Or was it less? She could not know ... But it felt like a century since she had been in Hades’ Underworld.

The air in Hades’ private chambers was heavier than it used to be. There was a scent of incense, maybe even a metallic edge to it. There was so much she was not sure of. What she was sure of was that shadows were longer, reaching farther than they might have in the land of the living. The single brazier that lit the room could never wipe out the darkness of the space. She knew that better than anyone from Olympus.

The intimate space was unassuming for any god, let alone a king.

She looked over the fabric and the stones. There were some linens and clothes made of a finer stitch than that on Olympus. The gems in the walls displayed a wealth that Olympus might never have.

Hades entered his room. He looked up, unsurprised.

“Your Majesty,” Hades said with formality.

He positioned himself near the brazier, casting a silhouette sharp against the flickering light. The dark shades on his face only made the god look all the more handsome.

She could feel him looking her over.

He drank in her golden sandals, the rustles of her crimson and golden dress, the scent of nectar, and her unbound, bouncy brown hair.

His movements around her were measured. Each of his steps were measured yet fluid. In his eyes was the weight of the Underworld.

“Hades,” she said back.

Hades turned to face her. His pale eyes met hers with a calm intensity.

“What brings you to my domain?” he asked gruffly.

“You cannot still be upset,” Hera remarked.

“Can’t I? You did not listen!” Hades shouted back. “You discarded me.”

“I made a mistake!” Hera explained by exclamation.

“By hurting me! At the first sign of difficulty, at the first sign of faith, you let me go!”

Hera had no answer for that, so she said nothing. The silence between them was thick. Hera’s training with the public told her to smile, but if she did, she knew she would lose any chance of anything with Zeus. She drifted closer to him.

“And I was wrong for that,” she admitted. “I’m...”

“Yes?” Hades said.

Hera fought every political instinct she had honed as queen. She knew Hades was not the King of the Underworld speaking to the Queen of Olympus. Hades was the young warrior from the Great War, reaching for the young archer and mage who had helped heal him.

“I am sorry.”

Hades flinched.

“I should have listened instead of speaking. I should have told you what I was up against. You can’t possibly know!”

“Then tell me!” Hades shot back. He inhaled deeply. “I would never have judged you. I would have never ... I would never have hurt you. Just tell me, Hera.”

Hades inclined his head slightly.

When Hera said nothing, Hades exhaled angrily.

“This is what I mean! Let me in, Hera.”

“It is not that simple, Hades. Promises were made!”

Hades froze. As someone who made a vow on the River Styx, he knew that some oaths were completely binding. This led him to the heart of the matter for him.

“Do you love Zeus, Hera?” Hades asked.

“No,” Hera said, without blinking. “This was an arrangement I had to see through, for the sake of others.”

Hades inhaled deeply. “Then why are you here?”

“Why do you think?” Hera replied in the form of a question. “I can’t ... Hades. I can’t leave Zeus, but ... My feelings for you have not changed.”

“And what if mine have?” Hades asked. He was not trying to be cold, but with everything, he was failing.

She froze in shock at his question.

“I loved you, Hera! I chose you! I chose you! I would have turned the Underworld on Mount Olympus if only you had said the word, and you called me a child!” He stopped before scoffing and turning. He shook his head. “No ... You told me to grow up. As much as I want to forget what you did, it was ingrained in my mind.”

“Zeus, I...”

“Hera ... Did you know Nyx’s son is a god named Hypnos. He can put me to sleep with his poppy flowers,” Hades said.

“Yes ... He and I met on the battlefield,” Hera replied, unsure of where this was going.

“Did you know when he does that, you can have dreams of your deepest desire?” he wondered.

She shook her head.

“I dreamt of you for a long time, Hera. A long time. I would have lived that dream with you,” Hades said.

Hera shook her head. “I am so sorry. I am...”

Hades lunged forward, leading with his lips.

What might have been a moment of passion was stolen. Hera could feel his breath on her face. She felt his hand wrap around her. However, when that feeling of intimate affection should have come, Hera felt a thin, air-like barrier between her and Hades.

She looked up to him, and he looked at her.

Shock was painted on her face and contrition on his.

“Hera, I am...”

She cut him off by grabbing his right hand and forcing it forward to grasp at her left breast. They both stared in confusion when there was a barrier.

Anger, rage, frustration, betrayal, and loathing were all written on Hera’s face.

“Don’t you apologize. Don’t you dare, not for this,” Hera said. “I will find out who did this.”

In an instant, she was gone.

Hades stared around the bedroom in confusion. He was not entirely sure what was going on, but he could not question it. All he knew is for a moment, Hera had returned his affection. She was simply unable to act on them.

Delos may have been landlocked after Hera’s blow, but Leto had protected her family from the attack, so they were shaken up but they were more than content in their stable home.

Leto sat on a smooth stone. Her children were beside her. They were laughing over the defeat of Python, surviving the attack from who they guessed was Hera, and they just embraced a sense of joyous relief.

“You know? I thought Apollo was going to piss his pants,” Artemis said through her laughs.

Apollo recoiled, offended. “No! What the fuck was I supposed to do when magical bolts come from the sky?”

“Block it!” Artemis shot back as if he were an idiot.

“Be glad you didn’t,” Leto remarked. “If that was Hera, she has more power than most on Olympus.”

The two children laughed, Leto watched them with a quiet pride over them. She marveled at how her children had outstripped any potential that she thought she might have had while they were in her womb.

She was shaken from her thoughts when, without warning, a flash of lightning split the sky. It struck the edge of the island. From the point of impact, rather than being destructive, there rose a thick, luminous cloud. While the children had no clue what this was, Leto suspected that this billowing, soft but solid platform, hovering just above the ground, must be from Zeus.

They were all frozen. All of the laughter was gone, replaced by cautious wonder. Tentatively, Leto was the first to approach the floating ball of fluff. Artemis followed by Apollo.

Leto motioned for them to follow her. One by one, they stepped onto the cloud. The cushy softened was solid enough to hold them effortlessly. Once aboard, the cloud lifted into the air, ascending with gentle grace.

Delos fell away, lost in the distance down below. Artemis gripped her bow harder while Apollo flicked the string on his bow. Leto stood between them. She looked hopeful, believing that Zeus had to be the one to send such a mode of transportation.

Her belief was rewarded when Mount Olympus, resplendent in its celestial glory, grew closer to her. The years away had only made her want the summit to be in sight even sooner. There, waiting for them, was Zeus. His arms were open wide in welcome.

She paced back and forth in her palace. All of the regalia meant nothing to her. She needed answers.

Did Zeus know?

No ... If he knew, he would have bragged, but who would have spelled her? The magic had prevented intimate contact. When she thought about it, she could only go through a list of people that had that kind of magic.

She was one. Demeter or Hestia might be able to do this to her if they were so motivated, but Hestia had no reason to do so, and from everything Cratus told Hera, Demeter never left the mortal realm. They were both out.

This left someone like Leto, but if Leto had done it, it would have been against her own interests of stealing Zeus.

This left Hecate, Hades’ private mage, from what Hera heard. Information from the Underworld was sparse; however, Hera assumed her information was good. What did she know anymore?

She was in a huff, and she knew who was responsible realistically. She knew there were only two individuals who had the power the really spell her.

Rhea and Gaia.

Her mother knew better. Hera had put the fear of Chaos into her more.

Gaia, on the hand, lacked any such fear as a Primordial. What Hera could not work out was why.