Chapter 1: The Mortal World
Sebastian was sitting on the ground, his golden hair blowing in the wind. He did not really know what to do at this point. His father, Zeus, had forbid him going down under to the humans. For so long he had wanted to travel the world beneath him and see the many things there were to discover.
He looked down through the clouds, staring at the tiny mortals on the ground. He did not know what he found so fascinating about them, or their land, but there was just something down there that drew him in - something that just pulled him in their direction.
Sebastian decided to go back and ask his mother, Hera, and hopefully - if she did agree - this would push Zeus into accepting his adventurous self.
"Mother!" He called out, hoping she was still on the 4th cloud from the sun and not on the other side of the Gates. "Do you have a moment? I need to ask you for a favour. It's really important!"
"What is it, deary?" His mother answered from behind him. "Are you alright?"
"Oh, hi. Yes, I-I guess I'm all right, but I just... I was-"
"Come on now, speak up. I have a meeting with the other Olympians in 5 minutes," Hera interrupted.
"Can I go down!" Sebastian finally bellowed. He took a moment to pull himself together. "Down under... with the humans?"
Hera stood still for a moment. She did not know what to answer. Zeus specifically told Sebastian that he was not allowed with the humans. He never told Sebastian the reason, but she knew that Zeus was just scared of losing his first-born. He did not want Sebastian to get lost or hurt or - as he feared the most - never return to the skies.
Hera looked up at her son, with his pure green eyes glistening, full of hope and fear all at once. She took a deep breath. "All right." There was a slight silence.
"All right?" Sebastian choked quizzically.
"All right! You can go down to the humans... however, only for a week. No more, but hopefully less because I am going to miss you so much." She leaned in and hugged her son tight. Tighter than she had ever hugged him before. Her eyes filling with tears, she whispered in her son's ear, "I want you to discover the world. I want you to see what has not yet been seen… but I also want you to be safe. Promise me," Hera paused to swallow the clog in her throat, "just promise me that you will stay safe and come back anytime - whether it's if you get bored down there or if you just want to say hello." She pulled away and Sebastian could see tears of gold streaming down his mother's cheek.
"It's going to be all right, mother. I'm going to be fine. It's just seven days. Time will pass by quickly, I promise." He brushed the tear away carefully and dropped it through the cloud they were standing on, down to the land he would soon - finally - surface. "I love you, mother." He took out a small pendant from the pocket of his toga. "If you need anything, use this, and it will send me right back home." He placed the pendant in his mother's hands and, with those being his last words, he was off to the human world.
"Have you seen Sebastian?" A deep voice questioned, some clouds shaking with the voice's deepness.
Hera froze at the sound of her husband's voice. "Not since early today," she said nonchalantly.
"Well, where has he gone? I need to show him this new trick Kalliope taught me today."
"I told him that he could go down to the land of the humans," Hera spoke firmly as she stepped closer to Zeus.
"You- what?" Zeus was startled. "How-...h-how could you betray my trust like that?" Zeus spewed lightning from his hands with rage.
"Listen! He needed to go. I don't like it any more than you do, but he needs to be free. Anyways, he's only going for seven days, and then he will be back."
"Seven days?" Zeus cried. "Seven days?! Seven days is all he needs! Don't you see? If he goes to the humans, meets them, interacts with them, then he will be gone for much longer than seven measly days." Zeus sat down in tired disappointment, placing his face in his palm. With little to no energy he whispered, "We will lose him forever." He felt as though he had nothing more to say. The only thing he could do for now was wait for a sign from another Olympian.