So this was sort of inspired by "Hera's Final Act" by Toshiro of the Eternal Dream. I really liked it so I decided to continue it and yeah. Hopefully you guys like it :)
That was it. The final straw had been crossed. She just couldn't take it anymore. It was no secret how they got married in the first place- he had taken advantage of her while he transformed himself into a bird so that she would lift him up to heat the bird with the warmth of her body. He married her, mocked her and humiliated her. He needed a queen- a wife that would not stray and she was perfect for that. She was the Goddess of Marriage after all. It was humiliating. On her wedding night, she cried, sobbing because she knew better than anyone what was going to happen next. They tried to help her- Hecate and Nyx. They offered her a way out and she refused, honoring her role as his wife, just as he had expected her to do. There were times when he did look at her, times when he did tell her that she was beautiful but it was so long ago that it didn't even matter. It was all over. She was done.
Pushing her chestnut brown hair off her face, she wiped the tears off her face, biting her lip and silencing herself yet again. She hadn't cried like this ever since the night of her wedding. Even when she was not to blame, she would still be blamed. The children she bore him would be ignored and ridiculed and the ones his whores produced would be showered with praise and glory. She was just the vain, vengeful woman now, not even the Queen of Heaven. It was quite evident that the respect that came with her empty title was long gone now. They treated her as if she didn't matter, and perhaps she didn't.
Her hands quivered as yet another page was soaked with her tears. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, facing the ceiling and attempted to compose herself. Hugging her knees closer to her, she buried her face in her knees, her tears soaking through the cotton of her white gown. With another series of deep breaths, she finally felt calm enough to pick up the paper again. This time, she'd finish the letter before she cried again, she thought to herself in silence as she began to write again.
After a few hours, she was finally done and she couldn't take it anymore. Her cheeks were damp once again as she hugged her knees closer to her body again, sobbing. It was apt to say that it was all she had done that particular night. The night would soon melt into daylight and it would be too late by then. It had to be done only when Nyx was roaming the universe. After all, Nyx was one of the few people her husband had absolutely no dominion over. After all, he never did and he never would. Therefore, she knew that if she had to leave, Nyx was the one to speak to. The gates of Tartarus were forbidden to all, including the Gods and that was her wonderful home.
Therefore, she stood up, wiping her tears off again. With a deep breath, she picked up the letter and carefully placed it on the table. Closing her eyes, she placed her crown over the letter and then, placed her palm against her lips to silence yet another sob. It was far too painful but it was the only way and she knew it better than anyone. Clenching her eyes shut, she slipped off her wedding ring, placing it over the letter and instantly turned away, hugging herself with her arms, her eyes still closed as tears continued to spill.
She would not turn around. She could not turn around. Enough was enough. She would no longer be mocked and humiliated the way she had been for so long. She was the Goddess of Marriage, not an ignorant child. Hera could tell when she was not wanted and clearly, with the exception of Hestia and Hades, clearly no one wanted her around. Aphrodite was always in the center of attention and Athena took most of the administrative decisions. Arteritis was almost never present and Demeter… well, they'd never been close to begin with. In Zeus' eyes, she was practically non-existent anyway and as for the others, it hardly mattered. She had never cared what they'd thought of her but it was easy enough to see that she was not required any longer. Hence, she'd be doing them and herself a favor by leaving, wouldn't she?
Taking another deep breath, she turned to face her window. Her brown eyes faced the dark emptiness. The ice-tipped breeze pushed her hair back from her face as a light shiver ran down her spine. Hera had never been fazed by the cold. She quite enjoyed it, unlike others who clearly preferred the heat of summer. Summer was so… disgusting. She despised the heat and evidently, the heat brought out the worst in people. However, this was no time to be speculating about the weather. She would have eternity and more for that. After all, after this she would be finally free once again. The very thought of freedom was enough to cause her lips to twist into a bittersweet smile.
As tempting as the thought of freedom was, she knew that she had built a life here. Given the life wasn't exactly the best; she had nonetheless survived and carried out her duties as she had been expected to do. Hera had been a queen, a vengeful wife and a cruel mother according to well, everyone. Of course she did not deny any of those claims and they were the reason that she had to leave. She had pushed away the world, frozen every single person out and had isolated herself in such a way that she had nothing that would provide her comfort. When she was younger, music and dance did but her life changed when she was married to him. Now she was done. She had allowed anger and jealousy to consume her being. Hera had allowed him to twist her own personality and she had forgotten who she was. Hera was never born vengeful, nor was she born jealous. She was born to be a peace-loving woman who was twisted this way because of her husband. Yet, allowing him to take the entirety of the blame was unfair. The point was that she had allowed his actions to influence her and now, after millennia, her eyes were open again.
She was not leaving to spite him, although that would be amusing as well. She was leaving to find herself again. Hera was leaving Zeus to be at peace with her own mind. Not every single action revolved around him and contrary to popular opinion, his actions did not dictate and determine the events of her life.
Therefore, pulling the heavy black material of the cloak over her head, she closed her eyes one final time before her figure was no longer present in the room. She'd been fantasizing about doing this since the day she got married but chose not to due to an array of different reasons. However, now she'd finally done it. She had finally left Zeus and she had done it successfully. For the first time in millennia, Hera felt alive again.