Hera eyed him with contemptuous fascination, like a girl who cannot stop staring at a bug despite how much it disgusts her. This man- this mere mortal- did not stir her in the slightest way. But. He spoke well. So he would live. For now.
"Stand up," she ordered. He did this.
"Look up," she ordered. He did this -literally- his eyes fixed on a spot well above her head.
"Do you mock me?" She hissed. " Look at me." She ordered. He hesitated...then as was the routine; he did this.
He gasped.
And time froze.
And a mortal body too weak to carry the immense love that suddenly bloomed within, fell in a heap to the floor.
Hera had only a slightly parted mouth to show for the shock that had suddenly ran through her, stronger than a bolt of Zeus.
What was that? she thought.
Something had passed between her and this mortal. Something deep, intense, and promising. She had never felt this way before -excepting once- when she had first developed her plan of revenge for the first mistress Zeus had had after their honeymoon.
But that time, the shock had been negative. This time it felt...good.
Her brows furrowed in thought. What does this all mean? Who is this man again to make me feel this way? I'll have to look into this further.
She looked at the man below her, with his body still bowed to the ground in reverence. Pathetic. Zeus would have never knelt before her like this. But, somehow, this thrilled her. But only a bit. And a bit was a bit too much. She would have to get this man away from her before she lost control.
"Guards!" she called out. Immediately, two guards entered- neither one the one that had tried to make a pass at the mortal. "Dungeon. Alive." She instructed.
Two nods, and two pairs of arms clenched in effort as they dragged the man away to the dungeon. Before the man could be dragged completely out the hall, he glanced up once more. Gray eyes met golden light ones, and the thrill ran through them both.