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Friendship lost

Five years passed. Five years while Io breastfed the new Theban heir Aristomachos and then his little brother Ias. But then queen Castate must have decided that Io was too old for performing as wet nurse any more. Either that or the queen simply did not want to carry anymore children. The latter was very much understandable because the relationship between Castate and king Dorius had became strained since the king had begun to cheat on his queen, taking pleassure from the younger maidens of the court. Was that a common royal curse? Io couldn't help wonder, thinking back on her own affair with the divine king Zeus.

Whatever the reason was for Castate's desision, Io became dismissed from her duties. And once again the goddess found herself and her son on the road again. This time she had more or less made up her mind to seek out one of those smaller pantheons residing in the shadows of the grand and mighty Olympos. Io felt that she needed to be around her own kind again, and not having to pretend, the way she always did among the mortals .

There was a pantheon on the island Delos, Io knew. A place where her old acquaintance Leto was living these days. That was the closest one. Then there was another one at the island Cytherea where Dione came from and yet another north of Sparta that might be reachable too, although Io wasn't familiar with any of those gods. The other pantheons she knew about were far away across the seas, in Egypt, Assyria and Sumeria, and she didn't plan to go that far. At least not as a first try. Besides she was accustomed to the Greek gods and the Greek ways, the foreign pantheons she knew almost nothing about. She had met Enlil and Amon on Olympos once, that was as far as it came. And they both seemed foreign and strange, with odd habits and manners.

Epaphos had protested, he didn't want to leave Thebes; he had made friends in the castle and had already started school. To cover for his fast development, Io had lied about how old he was, added one year to his age, but soon not even that proved enough, so it became another reason for them to leave. After all she didn't want to hold back her sons developement, even if he was bright and intelligent and had soon learned that he couldn't use his divine powers in front of mortals.

" But we are going to see people of our own kind now", Io had told.
" Other gods?" Epaphos had asked.
" Yes."
" Are we going to Olympos?" the boy's face lit up with excitement. He had after all too heard the stories of the magnificent home of the major gods.
" Perhaps later. Now we are going to an island named Delos. An old friend of mine lives there and she and her sister have children who are about your age. You sure going to love it there", Io tried to convince her son. And - to be true - herself as well.

¤*¤*¤*¤

As the ship set sail and left the harbour of Piraeus Io wondered if she was doing the right thing. She had been in touch with Leto trough the divine communication way of using scrying mirrors. Leto had been more than happy, and welcomed Io with open arms. At the same time Io had a feeling that she ought to stop running and instead facing both Hera and Zeus with the fact that Epaphos was her son with Zeus. After all it didn't become easier the longer she waited. And she was convinced she couldn't keep that secret forever.

She hadn't told Leto either, because she was really not sure that Leto could keep such a secret. How Leto would react to the news. So Io decided to wait until she was face to face with Leto, to make sure her message about keeping Epaphos' identity a secret hit home. After all Leto's relation with Zeus had been of a quite different kind. It was only mere coincidences which had led Zeus to choose Hera as his bride instead of Leto. Coincidences – and love. Io so wished that she too would find someone to love for real one day. Something which was impossible if she kept hiding among mortals.

It was a beautiful day to be at the sea, and Io soon forgot her worries. The sun was shining from an almost cloudless sky and a strong wind was blowing from the northwest, pushing the vessel forwards. The sea was glittering in the sunlight, the gulls were calling out and the small islands they passed by looked pretty and inviting. Io knew she could have chosen other, quicker ways of travelling. Flying like a true goddess for instance. But riding a boat was comfortable and it gave her time to think. To figure out what she was going to tell Leto to make her understand what Io really was running from. The goddess cast a glance over her shoulder to where Eppie had found some children his own age to play with and then she leaned on the railing, resting her arms on the darkbrown wood, worn smooth and shiny by many arms before her, and looking out over the blue waves.

" Io! Again I meet you among mortals!"
Io looked up. And there she was once more. Hera. Disguised as a mortal amazon this time with a short and tight, black leather outfit and a heavy sword on her back, jackaranda hair tied up underneath those suede caps the amazones wore in battle. But Io recognized the queen, and once again she hoped to embrace her friend. But Hera backed off ever so slightly, and there was something sad in her large, dark eyes.
" What?" Io asked.
" Not now. I'm not in the mood for anyone touching me, especially not in a place like this. "

The way Hera said 'place like this' gave away that she had no desire at all to be on a mortal ferry. And it made Io wonder…
" Why? Where are you going dressed up like an amazon?"
" That's none of your business," Hera suddenly sounded hostile in a way Io had never heard before. All right it had been five years, but that was nothing in the eyes of an immortal. Their friendship ought to be worth more than something you just dismissed. Even if you was the queen of the gods, like Hera. Io rose a questioning brow.

" I saw your son, Io," the queen went on. "And he reminded me of your evasive game last time we saw each other. I offered to help you then and all you did was avoiding my held out hand and suggestions. I wanted to to aid a once dear friend, and you were more or less intimidating. And it made me wonder…"

" Hera, I just… I didn't mean to offend you, I just wanted to tell that I was in no need of help. I was doing fine. Still am to be true."
" Who's the father to Epaphos?" Hera said with a voice sounding more angered than Io had ever heard it before and she took a hesitant step back, like a reflex, and glanced over her shoulder again, at Epaphos' dark blond curls and tanned neck where he sat a bit away bent over a game of stones and dices together with some other children, laughing happily like the world held no care at all.
" No one. I mean no one you know, Hera."
" 'Just a storm god' right? Well I happen to know several of them. I'm even married to one of them." The royalty's eyes were just slits now and there were red stains on her cheeks, when she lowered the voice to an almost lethal hiss. "Tell me, Io! Is it Zeus?"

" Hera," Io nearly gasped. "Do I look like someone who cheat on her best friend with her man? Epaphos is blond, yes. But there are more blond gods around than your husband. And the man I met was just as blond as Zeus, only not that regal. He was, just as I said, just a nobody storm god. I don't even think I'd recognize him if I saw him today."
" And you met him at Olympos?" Hera scorned. "And still you claim I wouldn't know him. "
" I didn't say I met him at Olympos. "

" But you did. The timeline fits with the party at Poseidon. When I left early to help poor Dione. And you took advantage of my absence to sneak away into the bushes with Zeus. Don't you think I have brains enough to draw those conclusions?"
" That's not what happened! "
" Don't give me that crap, you stupid cow!" Hera was raging. "I want the truth! What happened between you and my husband?"
That was it. Now Io couldn't hold back her tears. Gasping for breath she felt her eyes blur and the salty liquid trail down her cheek.
" I… he…" she began. "There was just… one event. One mistake… I did…"

Hera's backhanded slap stung hard on Io's cheek.
" I thought you were my friend! My best friend! I brought you to Olympos. I helped you, I gave you a job. I so trusted you – with everything there was. I even let you stay in our home. Mine and Zeus's. And you went behind my back in the most low and shameful way. You took from me the finest I had, the one I valued most in life. And you knew all the time how much I loved that man. How much Zeus meant to me."
" I didn't take him. I just…"
" Shut up slut! Shut up your shameful cow, you lying bitch. I do never want to see you again. Ever, Io! I hope your consciousness will chase you like a gadfly across the world and that you'll find nowhere to rest!"

" I'm sorry, I…"
" There are some things 'being sorry' cannot help. And what you did was one of them. "
" Hera?"

But when Io looked up there was no one there to be seen. Hera had disappeared as swift as she had arrived. And the mortals went on with their little businesses as if they hadn't seen a thing, which they after all most probably hadn't.

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" That's why I cannot go back to Olympos. Ever." Io told Leto. "I regret it so much. Well not my son, I love him over everything else. But that I had to… That it ruined Hera's and my friendship."
Leto sat silent for a while in her comfortable coach, looking out over the endless blue Aegean sea. Io waited, fingering on her golden cup of wine. They were sitting at a terrace outside the magnificent palace that hosted the Delos pantheon. The pantheon was really nothing more than Leto, her husband Pandios and their daughter plus Leto's twins with Zeus, Apollo and Artemis. Then there were Leto's sister Asteria, her husband Acorind and their son.

Just as promised Leto had given Io a generous and heartwarming welcome and then listened to her sad story, trying her best to comfort her guest. Now she returned her sea"green eyes to the other goddess, saying:
" It's not just your fault, Io. Does anyone really have to point out that there's two involved? Zeus was as fault as well, if not even more. He was the one who was married and he was the one who seduced you, even while knowing that you was Hera's best friend. "
" Leto…"

" Let me finish, Io. I know that man very well. He is after all the father to my oldest little cubs. And he ruined his two first marriages by having affairs with other women. I had a fair chance of becoming wife number three. A chance I dismissed because I knew that I would be cheated on just like Metis and Themis had been. Did you know that my pregnancy was just weeks old when I saw him flirting down Hera the first time. At that moment I decided that I was not having it, and I did the same thing as you. I left Olympos. And I can't say I've never regretted it. Zeus is a walking miracle, he's strong, smart and handsome and a brilliant leader. Not to mention sex on a stick. And I was this close to catch him for myself. Leto indicated with the thumb closing in on her index finger, making a circle. Yet now it seems that he's way into the process of ruining his third marriage. Io, you're not the only one he has betrayed Hera with, you know. He'll break her heart. And then who's left? Who's ever going to want him anymore, knowing his history with women?"

" More than enough girlies will line up," Io responded cynically. "Thinking that they can really be the one who makes Zeus stay faithful."
" You're right," Leto sighed. "I can think of several now when you're hinting at it. Dione for instance. Demeter or Selene. Or Maia. "
" Maia? The young daughter of Atlas, you mean? Her father would kill her if she ever ended up in bed with his old arch enemy. "
" Don't think so. Atlas is smarter than that. He doesn't dare to risk more of Zeus' hostilities. He has already been expelled almost to the end of the world. And that happened when Zeus was in a nice mood. Now, Io, I can talk to Hera if you want. She listens to me. She knows I've been there done that with Zeus too, and she respects me for having that experience. If I explain these things to her she might get a bit more realistic view on the events. "

" You can always try."
" Trust me I will. Leto sat down her cup with a movement as if she was planning to fly off to Olympos at the very moment. "
" I appreciate that. I really do! Io said. Thank you so much, Leto!"

It sure felt quite a bit better after talking with Leto, even if Io was not really convinced that the older goddess would be able to sway Hera, who was after all known for being stubborn. And later the same day she was invited to stay at the Delos pantheon as long as she should wish, by Leto and her generous family. This time it felt like a turning of a page, a chanse to begin a new life.