As soon as the familiar stranger's hand had touched my mouth, I fell into a strange unconsciousness. Visions greeted me after moments of dark sleep. They were like the dreams I had so many times before. I was in massive room with people surrounding me everywhere I turned. The air was warm, and humid. It smelt vaguely likely oranges . Odd music played in the background with a heavy drum keeping rhythm. Like the past visions, I could make out everything around me with a strange precision. It felt like I was in my own body instead of having that bizarre out of body experience like in most dreams. I walked through a large crowd full of odd looking creatures. Some looked like normal human beings, while others looked strange and alien. There was a woman with pale blue skin and emerald green eyes , a man that had a horse's butt, and a guy who had about a hundred and one arms. I would have taken a double take at the last being if I were in control , but instead my dream self continued on its way.
Dream me finally stopped to lean against some pillar on the other side of the room and began to gaze over the mix of individuals once more. My dream self remained alone for only a few moments when a voice addressed us or ,well, me. "Such a beauty like you with no one to converse with?Surely my eyes fool me." I could feel a smile spread across my lips as a man stepped out of the shadows to stand next to me. My stomach lurched forward and began to fill with butterflies. My heart rate jumped a little. I knew this voice too well. It had haunted me for months now, filling my dreams with its almost relaxing sound. Dream me knew him too. Every time I had these dreams, I always got this weird feeling in the back of my mind that I had always known this man, yet my waking self could not produce a name. I remained calm and turned to face him. He was about a head taller than me and features were well defined with a powerful , square jawline and hair that was black as coal falling in small curls around his face. In the midst of his dark features there was a set of hypnotizing gray eyes. I had seen them a million times.
"Perhaps I do not wish to converse." I retorted coolly with a whisper of a grin hanging on my lips.
The man raised a thick eye brow. "Nearly every species in existence is standing inside this very room and you can not find at least one who interests you enough to talk to? Ridiculous."
"It's not that I don't find them interesting, I simply don't want to put forth the effort of making words come out of my mouth. Besides, they're here for your victory, not mine."I had turned away from him at this time to continue watching the peculiar spectacle that seemed to be a party
"I am not the only one who overcame those tyrants." His voice was no longer playful as before. The conversation became suddenly serious with the brief mention of his success against some opposing force.
"But you were the only one who had enough courage to stand up to them." I said turning back to him. My tone turned as serious as his. The man frowned, and a strange look came into his storm cloud, gray eyes. A harsh silence fell between us. I quickly averted my eyes back to the party. My breathing became ragged for a moment. A surge of paranoia rushed into my mind. I could feel his eyes on the softness of my neck, creeping their way slowly onto my face. Undoubtedly, Somewhere deep inside me, I was afraid.
And undoubtedly he knew it. "I unnerve you, don't I?
My lips stayed put. No words escaped from my mouth. With all my might, I tried to ignore him.
"Answer me." His voice became stern .For a moment, it gave a glimpse of what power he had.
Breathing became a harder task. I still tried in vain to ignore him, as my eyes darted frantically around the room
"Hera."
As soon as the name was released from his tongue, my stone walls came tumbling down. Once again I turned to him.
"What?" I said with not a little annoyance.
His clouds captured me. The man leaned in closer. "You're afraid of me, aren't you? " His voice was gentle this time, but the shadow of his height , and closeness to me played across my face and upset me worse.
Tears began to blur my eyes. Honestly, I didn't what was going on at this point. The intense surge of irrational emotions confused me. I really couldn't figure out what dream me was doing or why!
The man immediately noticed the water forming in my eyes and took my wrist and started leading me into the shadows behind the looming columns. From there he found a door in to a nearby hallway. Poor dream me was still crying, as we were led into a small dark room, where only a few candles were lit. The man closed the door behind us and ushered dream me into a seat near one of the lights. He remained standing and stared at me.
"If I have offended or frightened you in any way, then I beg for your forgiveness. Just allow me to know how ."
Tears started to roll down my face more steadily. That odd feeling of a sob came rolling up into my throat .I managed to swallow it again. I took a deep breath.
" I am not afraid of you, brother ."
The room was horribly lit, but I could still make up the outline of his dark features displaying obvious confusion.
"Then what fear is this that drives you to such tears."
My chest tightened as I struggled against another wave of sobbing. A threat resurfaced into my consciousness. " Stay away from him, Hera! If you even utter another word to him, even look in his direction, he could fantasize an image that is far from the truth."
A breath of frustration rolled out. Instinctively a hand covered our eyes. Tears were no longer held back. "I am angry. Angry because every voice tells me to hold everything I feel inside of me. Angry because they all tell me that the one being who could possibly empathize with me- the one being who could be my true antidote-is only my true poison!"
The man was quiet. Minutes passed as the sound of my words echoed into the air. I continued to sob as quietly as I could, trying to hold what little possible back.
"It was Demeter, wasn't it?" He finally said after a few more moments.
My dream self was taken back. "How did you-?"
"Ever since that day after the war, she's been acting strange with me. There have been times when I try to communicate with her, but all I see is that look of fear and distrust, much like you had moments ago. What did she tell you?"
I though about it for a moment. "She told me... She told me I had to be careful around you now, since you might become king."
More silence encompassed us.
The man had turned as silent and unmoving as stone.
Fear tickled the hairs on the back of my neck. I swallowed and continued to wait for his response.
Finally, " My own sisters do not trust me , and my brothers would curse my name for all eternity if I ruled. What kind of life have the Fates dealt me?"
I released a breath and stood from my seat. I now stood next to his stressed figure. "If it's any consolation brother, I trust you." Unconsciously, my hand reached for his.
The man turned to face me as he accepted my hand. He smiled gently. "Perhaps we're not alone then." He nearly whispered as his hand reached out for the smoothness of my cheek.

I awoke with a start into yet another bed. Around me, purple sheets were tightly tucked. On my forehead, drops of sweat were forming. I felt like I had just sat in a crowded sauna for hours . I was exhausted and covered in sweat not only on my forehead, but in places where the sun was not likely to shine.
Awkwardly, I kicked off the suffocating, cotton sheets and stretched my arms out against the mattress.
My arms felt weighed down with heat while my legs now finally felt cool. I looked down at my legs. I had my favorite pair of girl boxers on. No wonder they were cool. I brought my arm up to my face. A long gray, heavy sleeve clung to it. Then with a suspicion in my head, I looked down at my chest to the bright neon letters that read "Sparkle and Shine Dance Academy." I nearly screamed with pure and utter joy at the sight of my old hoodie. I was back home!
Back in my regular pajamas and my my giant comfy bed and away from those crazy dreams. I felt like Dorothy at the end of the Wizard of Oz when she wakes up and realizes Oz was just a vision induced by getting her head nearly knocked off.
Unlike Dorothy though, my family was nowhere to be found.
My eyes began to finally notice my true surroundings. The bed was not mine (even though I do have purple sheets), the straight-back chair that sat lonely in the corner was not mine, and the room itself was definitely not mine. It seemed like the only thing that was mine were the clothes I now wore. My hopes were shattered.
Memories came rushing back to me. The lighting, the room, the herpes guy, running, blood, and the man's voice. They all came back to me as clear as crystal.
Without hesitation, I drew in a deep breath and screamed as hard as I could. I didn't stop either, until the door suddenly opened and that Hermes guy came running in.
"Hera!" He yelled in an almost panicked tone of voice.
My mouth shut almost automatically. I stared at his face taking in his features once more as my mind came to a frightening realization. My hands began to shake and I could not catch my breath for long. Fiery tears burned in my eyes and threatened to stream down my face.
With a shaking voice I asked "This isn't a dream, is it?"
The same worried look remained still on his face as he watched me struggle with my thoughts. He carefully walked closer to me. It was like he was waiting for me to snap.
He stood over me now. "Why do you ask?"
My chest rose and fell rapidly. Like in the dream, a sob rose up in my throat. "Because," I swallowed it back, "I had another dream, a dream about that man in the room."
Now he was shocked. His eyes turned wide. With a breath he whispered, "Zeus."
He shook his head and returned to his previous expression. "You said you had another one of these dreams, how many have you had?"
I calmed a little. The overwhelming feeling of pure panic receded. "Too many to remember."
Hermes continued his interrogation. His brows furrowed in concentration. "And in each dream you've seen him?"
I was almost fully calm now. I thought for a moment. "Yes, in every dream I've had for the past few months, he's been there."
"And these dreams, these dreams made you feel like you've been in a certain place, or witnessed a certain event before?"
I was stunned. "How did you-?"
He cursed under his breath and began to pace the space in front of me.
I watched in silence and wondered what the hell was going on.
"So, I'm not in a dream ." I tried to ask again. I wanted a legitimate answer this time. I wanted a sure clarity.
Hermes stopped his pacing and froze to stare at the wall before him. "No, this is not a dream. " His voice was ice cold and emotionless. "And unfortunately, things aren't going to be as easy for you as I would have hoped."
He turned back to me with a grim expression and uttered in the same emotionless voice "You, my dear, have a lot to learn."

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A/N: (Gasps) I actually updated! I know it's a surprise for me too. This chapter, despite its size has probably been one of the most difficult chapters to write. Only God knows how many times I have went back and re-edited. I'm determined to finish this story though, one way or another. I would like to specially thank my friend IrregularAllison for helping me actually finish this chapter. I'll probably ask for more so be prepared! :D Questions? Just ask? And what ever you do please review. Seeing a review notification in my in-box makes my day! So, "Go ahead, and make my day." P.S. Sorry for the seemingly annoying font and lack of spaces. I don't know if it's the program I used to type it up in or just me.