It had been days at this point, all they were doing was walking in circles. The sun had begun to set over Athens and the city was slowly falling asleep. Most the women had vanished from the streets and had returned to their homes. Their husbands on the other hand, lurked the emptying streets of Athens, loud and very evidently drunk. In the middle of this, young couples walked beside each other discreetly, in order not to raise suspicion of the older people of their communities. The scent of alcohol and the sweltering heat hung over Athens like a damp cloth. Most faces were caked with sweat, but thankfully, they were not. Despite wearing thick cloaks, both Freyr and Freyja looked as fresh as they had been when they entered this side of the world.

Neither of them wanted to say it, but both thought the same thing- they were getting nowhere in life, clearly. The presence had vanished a long time ago and at this point, walking was pointless. Yet, neither one would openly admit it as it would cause them to apologize to the other- stubbornness clearly ran in the siblings blood.
As daylight began to melt away into the darkness, Freyja finally spoke up.

"We are walking in circles!" she declared, annoyed and very evidently irritated with the humid Greek weather.

"No we are not," Freyr calmly replied, although he knew she was right.

"Oh please, you know I'm right so drop the act. We passed the same building thrice now," she pointed out, irritation evident in her tone.

"Athens has many buildings, most look similar. You must have gotten confused," he responded in the same tone as she rolled her eyes at his response.

"That building has a broken window and we passed it thrice and you know it so don't even bother," she responded, anger flashing in her eyes.
Really, for the Goddess of sensuality, she really was the polar opposite from it. With such a temper, Freyr often wondered how exactly men fell to her feet like flies.

"Look, I know you're upset but there is literally nothing we can do at this point. According to our sources, this is a famous Greek town- Gods often come down, pretending to be human so that chaos is not caused. Therefore, let's hope that we have better luck tomorrow," he suggested, slightly exasperated.

"And what if they don't show up? What if none of them come for months? Are we supposed to rot in this filth of a city and abandon our responsibilities to our people? Freyr, I am the Queen of the Valkyries and being here for so long was a stretch in itself. I don't have the luxury to sit and rot in Greece all my life," she snapped.

"I know I know. I have responsibilities too you know… but we need to meet Hecate one way or another and by ambushing a Greek God is the best and the easiest way I know. You need to be positive. We can always hope for them-"he began as she sliced his words right off, her eyes shining with anger.

"Hope for them? I am not a pauper, nor am I foolish. I refuse to be treated in that manner so you better get this straight- we are not waiting. If we don't find them by tomorrow morning, we return and you tell Odin," she bluntly explained as he rolled his eyes at this point.

"You can go you know… I don't need you to watch my every step and treat me as if I were a child," he snapped, shocking her mildly.

After all, Freyr was known for his almost brilliant control over his emotions and for him to react like that meant only one thing to her- stress. She knew just how stressed he really was, but she had never imagined that it was nearly this bad.

"I don't treat you like a child but I will begin treating you as an imbecile if you keep this up," she snapped in return and simply walked in front of him, walking towards a woman who looked like her house had a few spare rooms and after talking to Freyr for a while, Freyja got the impression that the only reason she did this was to get closer to him.

Her suspicions were confirmed when their rooms consisted of only a small single bed, one cover, one pillow. When Freyr finally asked her for more appliances, she had told him that she was going to establish an entirely different room for him, which of course, was her room. At this point, Freyja simply rolled her eyes out of pure disgust. Of course she knew he was attractive but really, did she have to flirt with him now? Freyr too was at fault- he was just too… nice and that just encouraged women like her more. It was a sad reality, but it was the absolute truth and it annoyed Freyja. Therefore, she simply ignored them and walked up to her room, pushing the door open to reveal the small room.

It had a small bed, a table and a window that was covered by heavy drapes. It was sparsely decorated but all they needed the room was for a single night. Therefore, she closed the door softly behind her and sat down on the bed. Freyja didn't know if he noticed or not, but that presence earlier today bothered her. It really did. As a deity, of course she could sense other deities, even if they were foreign. However, if the deity was of her own culture, she felt the presence to be much stronger. The problem with this presence was that it felt familiar, which meant that it felt like a presence of her own culture. However, it also felt foreign at the same time. She couldn't understand who it was. The only person who had ever radiated such a presence was Hecate. Regardless of not being a Norse deity, she was still a close friend and therefore, her presence was well known to Freyja. But apart from that, Freyja had never interacted with a deity external to her culture. Therefore, it was highly unlikely that she knew a foreign deity to have a familiar aura.

-x-

"So, how does it feel to be away from your palace and all the gold and your 'loyal' servants?" Nyx's dry, sarcastic tone echoed through the eerie silence of Tartarus as Hecate shot her a sharp look.

"What? I'm curious and I want to know," Nyx replied, catching her friend's gaze, shrugging her shoulders lightly as she justified her question.

"Oh I know," Hecate responded, her tone filled with a familiar sarcasm as she rolled her dark eyes.

"Then why do you ask?" Nyx responded, an amused grin spreading across her sharp features.

"It's alright," Hera finally managed to speak, interrupting the friendly banter between the two deities, who turned to face her.

Upon hearing her, Nyx shot a victorious grin to Hecate who simply rolled her eyes.

"Well, to answer your question… it feels liberating I suppose," Hera spoke, adding to her earlier statement slowly as she attempted to find the right words.

"Liberating?" Nyx questioned, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow in curiosity.

"Well, I think you both know by now that I never liked that lifestyle. I mean, I was grateful that I was allowed to live in such luxury, with the gold, the attention and the handmaidens, but I was much happier when I lived with my parents," she admitted, attempting to clarify Nyx's query.

Hera was not surprised that Nyx was confused by her earlier statement. The truth was that most people were shocked or confused when they heard that she did not like the overindulgent lifestyle she had lived in Olympus. Most people portrayed her as a lavish queen who ate sweets all day and bathed in gold or something on similar lines. However, in reality, she much preferred to be left alone so that she could do whatever she liked, be it running barefoot across fields or sleeping in trees. Truth be told, Hera loved being in constant touch with nature. Therefore, she had built her garden in Olympus, where no other deity was allowed to enter without her permission, not even Zeus. It was the only place that Zeus in particular was denied admission and as much as it hurt his overindulgent ego, he knew better than to violate her sanctuary.

"Your parents?" Nyx questioned again, once again raising her arched eyebrow sharply.

"Oceanus and Tethys raised me and therefore, they are my parents, regardless of who gave birth to me," Hera bluntly stated, her tone sharpening with each word.
Once again, she was used to this. People always assumed that she spoke of Kronos and Rhea when she mentioned her parents. However, they had abandoned her when she was still an infant, leaving her to Oceanus and Tethys to raise, who still had not conceived a child. It was only after taking Hera in that Amphitrite was born.

Therefore, she was extremely close to all them and when she married Zeus, she was heartbroken to leave their company more than anything. It was for that reason that when Amphitrite married Poseidon, Hera was overjoyed to have the company of her sister in an unknown court, filled with people who mostly despised her for reasons that Hera could never comprehend. For this reason, whenever the topic of her parents came up, Hera became sharply defensive. After all, birth parents meant nothing- it was always the people who raised the child that had the right to be called its parents.

"Your childhood must have been brilliant because of them," Hecate spoke finally, attempting to soothe the growing tension in the air.

"It was the most amazing time of my life," Hera admitted, turning to Hecate with a small smile, her tone turning more nostalgic and her defensive nature slowly fading away.

"I can imagine. They are always so amusing and so hospitable as well. I remember having the privilege of being their guest a couple of times. I do have to admit that I am slightly jealous that you had the privilege of being their child," Nyx commented airily, causing Hera to greet her with a wide smile.

"As am I. My father used to teach me how to swim and I was horrid at it, unlike my sister and therefore, he would make me ride on dolphins and he would ask the fish to guide me until I learned to swim myself. Of course, that took several years but until then, I explored the ocean with the dolphins," she explained, her expression softening as she spoke of her past.

Unless it was in the company of those whom she genuinely cherished, namely her sister, her children and a select few friends, Hera never spoke of her childhood. It was a forbidden topic mostly because people expected her to claim that she was close to her birth parents when she despised both of them. Therefore, for her to speak of her childhood with Oceanus and Tethys so fondly was considered rude and since her temper wasn't exactly the greatest, she avoided confrontation by not mentioning her childhood. At this moment, she knew Hecate and Nyx could be trusted. After all, they had helped her escape Olympus.

"Yeah, water and I aren't on the best terms if you know what I mean," Nyx responded, sarcasm dripping from her voice as she rolled her eyes, causing Hecate to snigger.

"I do agree with Nyx on that. I don't mind the water, but with Poseidon, I prefer not to venture into the oceans. I often feel that he is constantly watching me and he really is Zeus' lapdog at times," Hecate admitted as Nyx nodded in pure agreement.

However, Hera began to laugh hearing her comments. It was absolutely true. Over the years, talks of a rebellion lead by Poseidon had erupted across Olympus. However, Hades was often accused for such rumours instead of Poseidon, who in Hera's opinion would be more apt. Hades, contrary to popular opinion, enjoyed the underworld. He enjoyed the fact that Zeus had no reign in his realm and he never would. But Poseidon on the other hand, wanted the throne and Hera knew that he was capable of anything to get it. But, since he was 'loyal' to Zeus unlike Hades, people suspected the latter. These rumours of course were often confirmed by her sister who really didn't care if her husband was punished or not.

"He does that a lot," Hera admitted, thoroughly amused.

"All of them do. They all suck up to him as if there is no tomorrow. Have you seen Demeter? Ordinarily I would say that she should suck him but I'm pretty sure she already did," Nyx commented airily, causing Hecate to shoot her another silencing look again.

Upon hearing this comment, Hera felt herself stiffen. She had never been particularly close to Demeter and always did prefer the company of Hestia. Yet, it was quite a shock when Hera found out that her husband had slept with Demeter and impregnated her with Persephone. It was a rude shock and that was one of the coldest betrayals she had ever encountered. This was followed by the shocking revelation that her trusted priestess and friend Io was sleeping with her husband as well. Following this, Hera had made a conscious effort to push almost everyone away in order to prevent such a cruel betrayal and she had been quite successful in that field. It was for that reason that she was presented to be cruel and aloof and to be honest, Hera really did not care.

Hearing her own words, Nyx soon realized her mistake. She hadn't meant it to hurt Hera, but she had obviously done so. As cold as Nyx was, she did care about certain people, as contrary as that may seem. Although these people were limited, she did care greatly for them. Hera was included in that list of course and therefore, right now, she glanced nervously at Hecate, unsure as to what she should do.

"Hey… look… I'm-" Nyx began, attempting to apologize as she was cut off sharply by Hera.

"It's alright," she found herself whispering, her eyes fixed to her feet as she flashed Nyx and Hecate a strained smile.

"I think I'm going to lie down for a bit. I haven't slept all night and I suddenly feel a little tired," she added before either one of them could speak as she stood up and excused herself from their company, walking to the guest room that had been prepared for her.

"Can you please think before you speak?" Hecate whispered harshly to her friend who shrugged her shoulders and rolled her eyes.

"Well you know I'm not good at that," Nyx responded in the same tone.

"Besides, she ought to get over that. Demeter is basically a glorified prostitute. She'll sleep with anyone if they give her what she wants," she commented dryly.

"That isn't the point. She's still hurt by it so don't mention it," Hecate responded, rolling her eyes.

"But why? Demeter is a fool and her husband is a bigger fool and she left him so she needs to forget it and move on," Nyx responded calmly.

"It's not as easy as it sounds you know, it's much harder in reality," Hecate replied softly.

"I know it is. I never said it would be easy but look, she left that life willingly and if she is going to mop around about events in the past, she's never going to move on and what is the point of leaving then? She might as well stay there and be depressed about all it. The only person who can decide to move on is her and if Hera can't do so, she might as well return to be honest," Nyx commented, as Hecate allowed a soft sigh to escape her lips, knowing that her friend as right.

Reality was never kind. It was harsh and it personified cruelty. Unfortunately, it was time for the Goddess of Marriage to accept this and no one could help her do so.

-x-

Over the span of a few hours, a lot had happened. Amphitrite had proudly walked out of the great halls of Olympus, followed by her nieces and nephews and had promptly lead them to her parents' home to protect them from any possible threats. She had defied almost ever God in the hall and had walked past Zeus without a single glance of pity spared at the King of Gods. She had taken Iris as well, allowing the young Goddess of Rainbows to be close to her at all times, to protect her from any future threats.

The King of Gods on the other hand, was more erratic than ever. He screamed for his subjects to locate his wife and lashed out violently at anyone who dared to defy him. Poseidon attempted to calm him, but was often met by a violent anger, as was Athena- his favorite child. As a result of this, Hermes had quickly set out to find his Queen while Aphrodite reluctantly looked through every reflective surface, attempting to locate Hera although she really didn't mind her absence. Most women rejoiced at her absence. After all, with her not present, they could possibly be considered for the position of Queen of Olympus. Therefore, thousands of women- Nymphs, lesser Goddesses, Priestesses- anyone and everyone had been pouring through the halls of Olympus to show their support for Zeus, attempting to win his favor. For the first time in eternity though, Zeus could not spare them a single glance. Instead, he had retired to the comfort of his room, summoning only and only Hestia and very ironically, Hades- his oldest brother and greatest rival.

At the moment, the King of Olympus seemed to be a shattered shell of his previous self. He was no longer majestic and looked somehow, more shrivelled. He leaned back, allowing his back to touch the coolness of the wall and closed his eyes, attempting to think where his wife could possibly be. He knew that she was the closest to Hades and Hestia in the court, so it was logical to summon them, even if he despised Hades. In all his years, he never thought that she would actually leave. Of course, she had threatened him with it several times but she had never seen it through, until now that was. She had always stayed, be it for him or for their children. The point was that she had always stayed. So why should she leave now? It just did not make any sense to him. She hadn't left when he had slept with Demeter or Io, and she had left now, when he simply continued his affairs with worthless mortals. He just didn't understand. Zeus had stayed away from the women of the court and those close to her in order to keep her happy. Therefore, he only slept with mortal women or nymphs. He just didn't understand what he had done so wrong anyway.

In his head, he could hear Hades' voice echoing, telling him that he was going to lose her if he kept this behaviour up and now, through a cruel turn of events, Hades' prophecy had come true and it annoyed him to new extents. He had won. But what was worse was that he would have to use his help in locating Hera.