Author's Note : Sorry it's been so long since I've updated, I've been consumed by several RL problems and realities. Plus, one of my other stories has taken over my mind. I hope to get back on track with my other works though. I thank every one of my readers and reviewers for their patience with me. It has helped me so much and encouraged me to continue writing. Thanks once more.
654321
In a dark corner of the Underworld, far blacker in color than even a starless, moonless night could achieve, a man leaned against a wall. Around his wrists were bright, heavy, silvery bracelets, chaining him to this small corner. As footsteps approached him, he opened his eyes and looked up at the being that joined him.
His eyes were dark in color but held a shimmer of starlight within their inky depths.
"What news?" his question was short for his voice was rarely used. To speak brought him only agonizing pain for in the silence of his cell, it rasped against his hearing.
"Queen Hera has been found."
A deep sigh reverberated thought the room. "Is she?" Yet, he could not bring himself to finish the question. As much as he wished to know, there were some things that he couldn't put into words. Not for the same reason as before. He couldn't finish it past the weight of guilt that ate away inside of him.
"She is unwell for some reason. King Zeus did not elaborate upon what was wrong with her to the Lord Hades but it seems as if she is under some spell of forgetfulness. She knows not who she is nor does she know what happened to her. It is as if she is newly born into the world, knowing not who she is but drawn to that which is her nature for she is a protector of women and children, even some men have sought out her guidance and aid."
The being was silent, staring at the wall. "It is worse than I feared. Is there no way you can see her?"
"King Zeus doesn't even know where she is." There was a lonh pause, "Or else he chose not to say."
There was a slow nod.
"Sire, is there nothing you can do?"
"I am bound," the answer was slow, spoken methodically. His mind was far away, thinking over that day so long ago when she had come before him. Come to see him at his penitential request. When she'd left, he'd thought that all was well. Now…now, to hear this…he couldn't help but recall the waves of pain, the shame that had carried down towards him. How he wished he had now sounded the alarm for he'd known deep in his gut that something was wrong.
For it wasn't the pain of a justly tortured soul.
Yet he'd feared that none would come, that he wouldn't be believed until it was far to late for the one harmed.
"Unlike Prometheus' imprisonment, I am powerless in these chains."
"But you are the mighty Kronus. They are merely metal."
"Forged by the hand of a god and tied to the Realm of Tartarus. No god can use the full extent of their abilities in another's realm for fear of accusations of betrayal and war."
A breath escaped the figure kneeling in front of him. "So, that's how it happened."
"Yes," Kronus sighed. "Here, in the Realm of her Brother, though Queen of the Heavens she is, she was rendered powerless."
The servant was silent, contemplating the repercusions of the rule. Though necessary it was - and is - it had caused a rift, an imbalance in the cosmos that was being felt the world over. "What would you have me do?"
"Find out what happened to my daughter after she left me. I need to know what I'm facing," a deep sigh escaped him. "I need to know what I accidentally set in motion by seeking forgiveness for my crimes."
"As you wish, sire."
654321
Amele tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable in the bed. It felt too new, too lonely for her. After a while, she sat up and made her way to the kitchen, thinking that a drink might help her. Of course, she wasn't unwise enough to reach for the alcohol, though it was a struggle.
Even though it promised oblivion, she was wise enough to recognize that such an action would only adversely affect her.
Diane was just walking into the room. Looking down at Amele's pale, tired face, she winced guiltily. "I'm so sorry this happened, Amele."
"It's all right, Diane," she stopped. "I mean, Lady Artemis."
"Don't you dare," she snapped. Her hand slammed down on the table, not even flinching when it cracked. "I've been Diane to you for as long as you've known me. Until you remember and decide otherwise, I shall remain so, Amele."
Realizing that it would do no good to fight her on this – and not wanting to anyway – she gave in with a sigh of relief. After all, the younger woman spoke truth. She knew Diane, not Artemis. "Did you know?" she quietly asked, pouring her some of the green tea she'd made. "When you first applied, did you know the truth?"
"I suspected after I saw you," she slowly admitted, thinking of how she'd felt upon seeing Amele for the first time. Even after all the years that had passed by, she recognized her immediately. The flash of both reverence and irrational anger towards the other woman was something that she was well acquainted with, it was hard to recall now that there had ever been such differing emotions within her regarding Hera. Recalling what had drawn her to the haven in the first place had taken a moment.
A deep curiosity born from hearing Heracles talking to Hebe about what he'd been doing that day – and she was bored. She'd thought the woman who ran the place sounded interesting, if a bit foolish for continually challenging those in authority in such a dangerous area of town. Though he'd not mentioned the woman by name she suddenly wondered if there was the slimmest of chances that it could possibly be Hera.
Was it entirely possible that she had been the first to figure it out?
Then Diane remembered all those times that it felt as if someone was watching over them. Protecting them during stormy days and the long, dark nights, how it seemed as if there was someone there for them. At the time, she'd been wary of the unknown protector. And resentful, thinking that it was some of her retinue that had managed to cling onto life in a spectral form after all these years. That they somehow doubted her ability to take care of herself and the ones she chooses to protect.
Now, it was clear – Heracles was the one she felt.
The question was, why had he kept silent? Unlike her, he had no reason to do so. He had never approached them. Never once had he entered Safe Harbors and learned who Amele was now, never learned to love her. They had no close affiliation with each other – she still harbored a deep resentment towards him for capturing her hind. And he held onto a fear of her for she kept away from the touch of man.
Why then had he stayed silent?
"But what kept me coming back was you. For the first time in eons, I found a purpose again in something other than the role that myths had assigned to me," she added.
"You didn't want your father to know."
"It wasn't any of his business."
"I thank you for wanting to protect me." And here she paused, making sure to look the younger woman in the eyes, "But that really wasn't you call to make."
Diane's hand clenched the glass, waiting to hear it crack. Wanting to hear it crack, shatter as she felt she was shattering. "So, are you going to give all this up? Give up Safe Harbors and those who need you to become his doormat again?" The questions came out bitterly. "You've discovered the truth and will just do whatever he wants, forgiving him anytime he hurts you? Abuses your trust and your heart?"
"Was it always that way between them?" she asked, unable to think of the Divine Couple in the first person. The idea that she could possibly be half of that eternal union had yet to sink in. A part of her wondered if it would. If she would ever feel as though what they believed and spoke of with such certainty would become as real to her as it was to them.
And she wasn't sure if she wanted it to for the idea, the prospect frightened her.
"Did they never have peace? True companionship?"
There was silence as Diane thought about how to answer the seemingly straightforward question. A deep sigh escaped her, "That's the way it appeared to me."
"But you don't know that for certain. And I don't believe that Hera had any close friends to confide in, so who can I talk to? Who can I seek answers from? For though they seemed close, I doubt she told her mother her troubles," she sighed. "I need something stronger than this."
"Pour me a brandy."
Chuckling, she shook her head half chiding her. "Alcohol would be bad – even if it's just a few drops." Pulling out a double chocolate cream pie, she cut them both generous slices. "So, who was the satyr?"
"Dionysius."
She frowned, trying to recall what she knew of him other than the fact that he was a god of wine. Bits and pieces of his story came to mind and she paled, putting her fork down to inhale deeply. "Isn't he the only other child of Zeus' that Hera violently tormented?"
Diane nodded slowly, sensing where this was going.
"So, why would he volunteer to help Lord Zeus find his wife? One would think that he'd be relieved to not have her around," she mused.
"They made peace over Ariadne," Diane told her. "It was Hera who convinced Zeus to make her a goddess, though mortals would doubt that this was so. As the years went by, men weren't willing to see a more complete picture of Hera as they stopped looking at complete pictures of all the goddesses. It was so much easier to keep all of us in one dimensional roles. We made them uncomfortable by being complex beings."
"Does that include making your father one noted?" she archly asked.
Diane was silent, saying nothing.
After a moment, Amele changed the subject. Something told her that it was not the moment to press Diane, this was something that the other woman needed to work through on her own. "How did you learn of me? I had not thought that my little organization had made shock waves on the immortal scene."
"Heracles."
Putting the mug down, she stared at her in wide eyed shock. "Mighty gods of Olympus, who else knew before the king?"
"I don't think he was aware of your identity when he'd first seen you," she quickly said. "And we haven't spoken of these matters. Though I get along well enough with Hermes, he's about the only male I do get along with on Olympus. The others refuse to understand me."
"What are the odds that he didn't know?"
Diane reluctantly had to admit, "Probably not all that possible. Did you want me to talk to him? Or make an appointment for him to see you?"
"Oh, now wouldn't that be a lovely sight?" she tartly asked. Laughing but there was no humor there. For so long her past had felt as if it had been in limbo, a comfortable miasma of nothing. Now…now she was surrounded by the chaos of emotions and other's memories pushing and tearing her apart.
Amele missed her apathy. Things had been so much easier when she didn't really have to feel anything concerning her situation. "As I really don't want to put him in that position of faking a reverence for me – nor do I really want to see him – I won't ask that of you."
"Why would he be faking it?"
"If I'm not mistaken, in a mythological context, Queen Hera tormented him mercilessly for much of his life. Ultimately, she gave him what he needed in order to use his gifts wisely. But it was not the plan either had in mind. Even through the lens of male chauvinism and blending of legends, there must be truth to the stories spoken. I really don't want to talk to him."
Diane smiled grimly. "But you need to."
"Did you finish your report?" She changed the subject, wanting to be done with this for a while.
Making a face, she shook her head. "I'm having trouble with the ending. Everything else went well but I just can't tie it all together in a way that works with my thesis statement."
"Can you change it to work with what you have?"
Thinking it over, she wondered if it was possible. "I guess so. But to do that I' d have to talk to my professor first. And he's not so fond of changing what he's recorded as our topic."
Amele's nose wrinkled, rather shocked. "That makes no sense. It's still a same topic, just a different angle. And doesn't being so inflexible make his skills as a teacher questionable? Should not a teacher be able to bend and shift as the needs of his students require?"
"One would think so but I'd swear this man takes his plans from Prometheus and therefore sees no reason to change."
An inelegant snort escaped Amele. "Perhaps you should tell your father that Prometheus has escaped imprisonment and is being subversive again."
Artemis laughed. It was the first genuine laugh she'd had since her brother had started to unravel her life by telling the truth. A pang struck her at the thought of her brother, at the distance between them. And she knew that she'd have to make peace with him soon. "Father would go crazy at the idea. He's never really gotten over Prometheus' tricks."
"Or his nearly successful seduction of Hera away from him," she said, freezing as her words registered. Staring at an equally shocked Artemis, "Did I just?"
"Yeah," Artemis agreed, "You just. But I don't think I've ever heard that story."
"Why should you? If it even happened, Zeus would never let it be spoken of. His wife, possibly loving another being over him? He'd never allow it, it wouldn't fit into his perfect love story."
"Still, one would have thought something would have been said. Secrets are never kept," she pointed out. Tilting her head, "I wonder if Hestia knows anything."
"Perhaps she would. As the oldest child of Kronus and Rhea, she'd be aware of more things than others," she mused. "And she can be trusted to keep quiet. But I'm not sure we should go digging into the past before the question of my present has been settled."
"My brother may be an idiot, but he was right about one thing. Your past is what makes you who you are, to settle the present you must face the past," she said. "It is a saying from the temple of Apollo at Delphi – Know Thyself. If this is a part of your past you have to learn about it."
End, part 7
