Hera wandered around the beach as the light rain drizzled around her. She watched the water droplets slide down her arm, one after the other. Holding her hands out, flat, her palms facing upwards, she tried vainly to catch the water, but the drops would always follow the creases in her hands and drop onto the wet sand. It was ironic. The water slipped away, just like Zeus does, every time, and this time. He was with another one of his mistresses again, neglecting his duties, and most importantly, her.
She raised her face to the heavens, so that the raindrops mixed with her tears, and she fooled herself into believing that she was not crying over her imbecile of a husband. Just for a little while.
The sun sunk below the horizon, and Apollo's work for the day was done. The heavens turned pinkish purple, with a faint orange glow from just below the horizon. Hera felt that her heart was sinking along with the sun.
"How could he forget about me every time he sees a pretty face?" She murmured to herself. Walking to the water, she stared at the calm seas, despite the raging skies. She stared at her reflection in the water, slightly blurry and disturbed by the natural flow of the tides. She wore no make up. Her naturally long lashes were clumped together due to the rain and her tears, and her emerald eyes looked watery and dull. Her eyes were rimmed with red. Her face was flawless, and her wet, stringy and brown hair, now darkened with water, was no less beautiful than when it was smooth and silky and flowed down her shoulders.
Shivering as a cold breeze blew in from the open sea, she could feel herself turn numb. Her thin light green tunic did nothing to stop the chill from penetrating her bones. It clung to her curves, leaving very little to the imagination. Not that anyone cared, she thought bitterly. Certainly not Zeus. Stepping out of the shallows, she walked along the beach again, the soft sand clinging to her wet feet, coating it, but she didn't mind. She remembered spending her time on the beach as a child, under the care of the gentle Titanide Tethys, wife and sister of Oceanus, the Titan of the ocean before Zeus took over. Being here made her feel like a child again. She looked out to the sea wistfully, remembering the days she spent as an innocent, carefree girl, before Zeus complicated everything.
The sky was slowly turning dark. Artemis' lovely moon rose over the endless ocean, illuminating it in a soft beam of white light, glittering mesmerizingly. Sometimes she wondered if living in the ocean would be better than living in the heavens. Nobody had ever seen Poseidon's realm before, as other deities couldn't invade another god's domain without them inviting you, and Poseidon has never invited anyone to his kingdom. Hermes is a special case, as he carried messages to everyone, including deliveries.
Sitting down under a palm tree, she cast her gaze at the bright white moon, big and round, which rose higher and higher into the near black sky. As the tides crashed against the beach due to the lunar push and pull, she suddenly felt so alone. Other than the waves, the ocean was undisturbed. The wind had died down, but it had already carried away any warmth she might have retained. The palm leaves stopped swaying, and everything was peaceful.
Hera knew that her husband wouldn't be up on Olympus tonight. Most of the times he had a mistress, he tended to stay with them for the night, for a few days or even a week, when he really favoured a woman. Tears dripped down Hera's chin again, and she vaguely realised the rain had stopped a long time ago, perhaps even before the moon rose.
Her eyes closed and she yawned. Her head lolled forward as she fought to stay conscious, but Hypnos lured her into his realm slowly. The emotional stress of the day became too much, and soon enough, she was slumbering peacefully.
Hera bounced happily through the golden wheat fields which belonged to her older sister Demeter. Her hand brushed against the tops of the stalks. Some grains fell into her hand, and they sifted through the gaps between her fingers. She giggled at the sensation.
"Hera, what are you doing out here alone?" A gentle voice asked. She turned to see her older brother Poseidon. He was smiling at her, and she beamed back radiantly.
"Demmie's really outdone hereslf this year. The mortals will benefit much from the growth of the wheat." She said. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"
"That it is." Poseidon said quietly. "But not as beautiful as my ocean." He smiled mischievously. Hera laughed.
"Of course. Each to their own?" She questioned.
"But mine is unique." Poseidon insisted. She rolled her eyes, and they both laughed. "Alright, yes, each to their own, but you have to come see me in my domain sometime." He offered.
"Deal." Hera smiled. Poseidon kissed her forehead.
"Zeus is looking for you." He murmured, drawing back.
"Zeus? As in our youngest brother?" Hera asked.
"Who else?" Poseidon chuckled. "That little troublemaker." He muttered fondly. "Although he's not so little anymore. He has requested you in Olympus."
Olympus. Hera has dreamed of seeing the grand city in the skies ever since she was born, but she has stayed earthbound with Demeter, who was, in many ways, her mother as well as sister, because their birth mother Rhea was banished to the depths of Tartarus. Sometimes she wondered what they were like, as she had no recollection of her real parents. Maybe she'd ask her siblings. Maybe she'd ask Zeus.
"Come, Hera. I'll bring you to the palace." Poseidon extended a hand. She grasped it. In a swirl of water and a salty sea breeze, they were gone.
When she opened her eyes again, a beautiful man stood in front of her. He was well-built, wearing a pure white chiton and a golden sash around his waist to match his golden hair. His eyes were the purest of blue, the colour found in the cloudless sky on a sunny day. She looked into Poseidon's glittering crystal blue eyes so much like his beloved oceans. He nodded encouragingly, eyes twinkling.
"Hello." She said tentatively.
"You are Hera?" The man asked softly, his voice like a thousand gusts of warm wind. She nodded breathlessly, vaguely feeling Poseidon slip away beside her.
"I am Zeus." He said, and an unknown feeling overwhelmed Hera. She smiled at him shyly as he lifted her hand to his mouth, his lips brushing against her knu—
She screamed, jerking awake. Light emerald eyes stared at the fresh four maul marks on her body. How was this possible? Who would dare hurt her? She moved, and gasped as the wound spilled a waterfall of gold. Groaning in pain, she put a hand over the gashes, her palms coming away sticky and coated with a thick golden liquid. How much ichor was she losing?
She lay helpless against the palm tree, feeling the rough bark pressing against her scalp. Her head pounded, and her vision spun dizzily. She closed her eyes and tried to send a mental message to someone, but her strength was rapidly fading from her. A flare of pain wrenched another cry from her ichor-stained lips. The wounds glowed sickly green.
Poison.
Whatever it was, it was sapping all her energy. She knew she had no chance.
What a stupid way to die, not even knowing what killed you, Hera thought, wincing.
Resigning herself to her fate, she watched the sunrise through a haze of pain, her eyes blurry. She could only make out the blend of colours on the waves in the distance. She knew this would be her last sight on earth, the last time she would see the sun rise over Poseidon's vast and magnificent domain. He was right. The ocean was beautiful, perhaps even more so than Demeter's fields, Hades' winter wonderland, Hestia's homely hearth, or Zeus' magnificent skies.
"Oh Zeus…" She whispered through her pain. How would he deal with her death? She knew him well enough now. He would be crushed with guilt when he finds her here. After all, she had left after Zeus abandoned her yet again. A small part of her was crowing victoriously.
Why should you care about him? You're finally free, Hera, free of all the pain he inflicts on you. What's a physical wound compared to all the emotional anguish you dealt with as Zeus' wife? Leave him and be in peace forevermore. Leave him to feel the pain you feel when he leaves you.
"I can't…" She whispered, warring with herself. The vicious, vengeful side of her was conflicting with the gentle, maternal, and loving side of her.
Her vision blurred again, and all she could see was a vague outline of the ocean, and a form rising out of it with urgency. The beautiful blue churned and crashed against the shore in anguish, and she thought she could make out Poseidon ripping through the waves recklessly, straight toward her.
"Zeus…I love you." She whispered brokenly. The roar of the ocean was dimming in her ears. "Goodbye…" She let out her last breath.