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Erasing the Heavens

Intro-

"Iris!" "I need you to deliver this important message to Apollo for me!" exclaimed Hera. Iris rushed into the room where Hera sat on her throne. Her long brown hair flowed behind her robe. "Tell me the message and I will deliver it." replied Iris. "This message is not in word, it is a letter. You may not open or read this letter on your journey to Apollo. If you read it, you shall face a cruel consequence." "I promise you Hera, I will not ever think of reading Apollo's letter." Iris claimed strictly. Hera went to get her map of the Greek sky and showed it to Iris. "Apollo lives by the sun. Travel towards it to find him." "But, Hera… the sun will be too hot this time of day, I will burn if I go near it!" "Iris! This message is very important. If Apollo doesn't read it soon, Zeus will mess up the heavens and- I've said too much Iris. You best leave now and return quick." "Don't worry Hera I will be back as soon as I possibly can."

Starting her journey to Apollo, Iris flew through the clouds on her rainbow. She followed the sun, flying as fast as she could. A few hours went by, which seemed like days to Iris and she was getting very bored. The sun didn't seem any closer than when she started her journey, but she knew she had to deliver the letter. Curiosity started to get the best of Iris so she picked up the letter. She studied the envelope with Apollo's name on the front and wondered what magnificent secret could be inside. Hera had said the heavens depended on this letter and that Iris would face a consequence if she read it. So she set the letter down next to her, and stared off at the shining sun.

Evening started rolling in but Iris was almost to Apollo. The sun was setting and was super bright which almost blinded Iris. Her rainbow was flying straight so she lay down on her rainbow so the sun was out of her eyes. The letter lay under her hand with its mysterious secrets inside. Why was the sun so far away? Iris didn't understand and started to get curious again. She thought about what Hera had told her, and that she would face a consequence if she read the letter. "But how would Hera know that I read it? She isn't here with me… I'm so far away from her, she'd never know!" Iris thought to herself. She held the letter in front of her face and carefully peeled it open. Iris set the envelope down next to her and unfolded the note. It read:

Dear Apollo,

I need you to help me on this very important mission, the heavens and all of my goddesses will cease to exist if you do not act quickly. Follow these instructions carefully:

Get up right at sun rise and go to the heavens.

Talk with Zeus about the "humanity project".

Make sure you convince him to cancel it!

If you don't, all of my goddesses and I, will be sent to earth.

Apollo, I would go myself, but since I am female, Zeus will not listen to me. We know you respect us and that you also disagree with this project, so we decided to ask you first. We don't have much time and the heavens cannot exist without me. All of us have faith in you. Good luck.

-Hera

The "humanity project"? What in the world was the "humanity project?" Iris thought nervously. What does she mean by be sent to earth? Iris knew why she wasn't supposed to read the letter, Zeus couldn't know about this discussion that Apollo would have with him later. He would never let him speak if he knew what he was going to say! Iris knew that she had to prove that the goddesses are important and can make a difference. She pointed her rainbow towards where Zeus lived. She wasn't being sent down to earth anytime soon.

Heading to mount Olympus, Iris started to try to come up with something to say to Zeus. She went on a rage in her mind, thinking that she was screaming at him. "You think goddesses aren't important?! I will prove you wrong mister!" she yelled in her head. Then she imagined telling him what she does every day, about delivering important messages to gods all across the sky, and all over mount Olympus. She showed him how she made a rainbow and that she worked with other gods, and she told him that if she wasn't here no one would be able to communicate.

Iris wasn't paying attention to her rainbow. She was going on a rampage in her head so she didn't notice that she was entering a thunder cloud. Crack! The thunder snapped Iris back into reality. She was startled by the sight of lightning right in front of her face. The letter was blown by the wind up into the air but luckily, Iris had grabbed it before it got sucked into the storm. She angled her rainbow down, trying to escape the cloud. Then to her surprise, she got knocked in the head with a chunk of hail the size of a baseball. Iris was knocked unconscious, losing control and being blown about the storm. She awoke to a cool breeze, which blew her brown hair back. Zeus was pacing before her.

Zeus was whispering as he was pacing, but Iris could her him. "I knew goddesses were a disgrace…" he whispered. "I heard that." Iris said as she regained her consciousness. "Oh you're awake young Iris. Do you have a message for me, or did you forget it in the storm!" he screamed. "That wasn't my fault! I didn't create the storm! I was just caught in it!" Iris snapped back. "Well I see you're clutching something… hand it over." Zeus told iris as he held his hand out. "Never!" she yelled. Iris shoved the paper in her robe pocket and stood up. "You will never read this letter Zeus. It's not for you." "Well then who's it for… weak Iris? Iris's jaw dropped to the ground. The rampage she had planned was about to start.

"I am not weak! Do you know how much I do for you and all of the other gods? I travel all across the Greek sky and mount Olympus, delivering messages that usually aren't even worth my time, and what do I get? I get called weak! Goddesses are so important Zeus! How can you not see that? If Hera wasn't here where would all the dead humans go huh?" "Uh… um…" "Exactly Zeus! We couldn't continue on without goddesses, so you need to make sure you keep us here, and respect us, for a long time."

All of a sudden, Hera came flying down. "Iris! What are you doing?!" "Hera! What are you doing here?" Iris asked nervously. "I know you read the letter Iris… and I am not happy. Do you understand what I mean when I say DON'T read it? I came to stop you from ruining everything!" "Well I think you're too late Hera… I already sort of screamed at Zeus."

Zeus came up to Iris, stood very close to her, and whispered, "You better not screw up again goddess… but for now the project is canceled. If you mess up one more time… you're gone, along with every other goddess in Greece. Do you understand Iris?" "Yes Zeus…" gulped Iris. "Now leave… both of you!"

Iris and Hera set off into the Greek sky. They stopped at the sun to talk to Apollo, and told him everything that had happened. Iris apologized and handed him the crinkled letter. "I'm sorry Apollo… I should have just brought you the letter instead of losing control and trying to help all by myself." said Iris. "At least you did stop him from eliminating goddesses forever, your really brave Iris and I'm actually proud of you, and Hera should be too." Exclaimed Apollo as he looked towards Hera. "I am kind of proud of you Iris, I would have never had the guts to stand up to Zeus." admitted Hera. "Thanks guys and I promise to deliver every message to the correct people Hera." Iris and Hera went home and the goddesses stayed in Greece for a long time.

The end!