AUTHOR'S NOTE: I confess, I've been fighting off separation anxiety for the Hades and Persephone narrative lately - hence the delay in updates. It's just that.. for the longest time, Hades and Persephone's myth and retelling has been my baby. It's hard letting go. *Argh* Attachments!

These past few weeks also, I've also been tinkering around with a couple ideas on my next retelling. I was initially playing around with Zeus and Hera since a few background tidbits on their relationship has already been thrown here and there all throughout CAPTIVATED, but then one day, I've been searching around fanfic and realized there's one Major Olympian Brother who's not getting enough loving: Poseidon. So now I'm torn. Should I proceed with Zeus and Hera? or should I give Poseidon and Amphitrite a shot? Your thoughts.


JUDGEMENT

Zeus strolled confidently into the Assembly Chamber and then stopped in his tracks when he saw Hera, with her back to him, facing the vast Olympian Mountain view, standing behind the head of the meeting table, sunlight flatteringly silhouetting her cerulean gown clad figure.

Zeus ran a lazy gaze down her shapely outline. He can't help it, he had long developed that habit whenever Hera is around. Not that it does him any good anyway, since she usually takes sheer pleasure at rebuffing him. The reminder effectively darkening his mood in an instant.

He continued his steps hesitantly.

The guards outside the Assembly Chamber definitely didn't inform him of her presence in the chamber, and if she had noticed his arrival - which she most certainly must have, since, this is Hera he is talking about anyway, and Hera notices EVERYTHING - she didn't give any indication of acknowledging his presence at all. Not even a single bit. Not even a sudden straightening of her shoulders, which usually happens whenever he arrives in surprise.

He cleared his throat when he neared the head of the table, "You are early," he commented.

She turned her head at him and surprised him with the most serene look painted on her face, one he hasn't seen for centuries since they've been married, one that wasn't guarded or masked with calm indifference, her clear green eyes temporarily knocking him off his balance.

"So are you," she replied with a smile.

He continued to stare at her, recovering himself, his mood not really in an engaging manner to indulge her with playful, impersonal banter in which she always seems comfortable with.

She got the hint.

Hera completely faced him and approached her side of the table, "You haven't spoken to me since yesterday."

He stood straight, the table standing in between them, and confirmed, "I haven't."

"You're mad at me," she concluded.

Zeus contemplated for a while and agreed, "I am."

Hera shrugged, "For something that so trivial...!"

"You tracked him!" Zeus accused, "You deliberately tracked Hades! You knew as well as I do that I wasn't in Thessaly the other day. And yet..." he suddenly gave out a sardonic laughter, "And yet there you were, in Thessaly, convincing my brother to make an appearance in Olympus."

He felt like a madman. He actually felt like laughing. Laughing at himself. And yet he was mad. Astoundingly mad. Yes, he had the most profound, possibly misplaced, distrust when it comes to his wife dealing with his brother! It's not as if it was unwarranted for. Hera was, in fact, in a relationship with Hades when HE finally got into the picture. And Zeus knew he never would've stood a chance with her if her relationship with Hades in those days hadn't drawn her closer into his circle.

It took Hera centuries dodging his advances only to drop her guard down when she thought that getting it off with his brother would make Zeus steer clear away from her. She was gravely mistaken. He saw through her plot. Hera could possibly be the only one who could go toe to toe with him with regards to plotting things to sway to their advantage.

And she had never quite forgiven him for making things sway to his advantage.

Hera has been making him pay for it ever since he managed to get her into marrying him. He'd rather thought she'd forgive him in the long run. Imagine his frustration when he came to realize that he, the mighty King of the Gods, might actually never be good enough for his lovely, strong-willed wife.

It knocked him down off his pedestal. It actually did. And he pulled away from her ever since. He couldn't understand why out of all women who should be out of his reach: it has got to be his wife.

Zeus felt his hands automatically balled into fists. He can never, for the life of him, fully describe how it felt during the early years of their marriage whenever a look of utter relief runs into her beautiful face when he pulls away from his advances on her. Or how she immediately stiffens whenever he touches her. Or that her laughter somehow, suddenly, were no longer for him. She no longer actually shares her laughter with him.

It drove him MAD. Gut-wrenchingly mad. He couldn't understand it.

It wasn't after she began running after him all around the mortal lands for going behind her back that he felt that she actually cared for him. And he loved the attention. He loved lavishing in her attention. Bad as it may. He enjoyed having her chasing him around. It made him feel like he mattered, really mattered to her. And he adjusted to it. 'Better THAT attention than nothing,' he once thought.

THAT attention from Hera was a privilege only he can boast of.

And NOW Hades shared the same distinction and it angered him. It angered him to no relief.

Zeus' eyes met Hera's and she read exactly what he was thinking and sat herself down gracefully into her chair, "Stop it, Zeus, stop making this about you," she said, "I went to Thessaly because I tried to talk sense into him. He was fully bent on giving up because he thought he HAS to, because he thought it was the most honourable thing to do - just like what he did centuries ago..." she gave an offhanded shrug recalling things past, "I was trying to save their marriage. That's what a Goddess of Marriage is SUPPOSED to do. Save the marriage."

Zeus looked away, feeling as if she'd just delivered a good punch into his face. He managed to reach the head of the table and sat on his chair, glancing at Hera's bent head.

"Is this how's it going to be for eternity?" he heard Hera utter.

He raised a brow at her.

"There's always doubt between us," Hera continued, raised her head, but not really facing him, "There's always going to be doubt between us. You don't trust me, and I don't..."

'...trust you,' Zeus completed what Hera couldn't. He deserved that. He really did deserve that, for finding relief in the one thing that hurts her most... and continually subjecting her into it whenever he felt a dose of insecurity in their relationship.

She suddenly surprised him with a soft laugh, "Out of all the privileges, Zeus, you made the mistake of making me the Goddess of Marriage when I married you," she said with a sad smile, "The one thing, we both know, we're both not good at."

'But he wanted to keep the marriage! He wanted to stay married to her! She's his equal in every way! There just couldn't be any other,' he thought furiously, 'But by the River Styx, he just DOESN'T know if she EVER felt the same way for him. And it's killing him! Every day.'

His hand drew close to hers atop the table, and just as he was only inches away from hers, she pulled her hand away. She pulled away from him! Again! Time and again, she always did this to him.

Her stunning emerald eyes met his, just as Demeter and Kore walked into the chamber, completely oblivious of the tension between husband and wife. For Zeus, however, he felt like he had just been wounded for life. And as he stared back into those captivating green eyes of Hera's, Zeus had the most unsettling realization, Hera could very well be his own destruction.


Hades studied the look on Zeus' face, waiting for his brother to make a reaction after Hades practically acknowledged all of the issues that were thrown on their initial meeting the other day. Zeus looked particularly tensed throughout the meeting, and Hades had a tiny hunch that his marital status with Persephone wasn't the entire reason for it. Hades' eyes travelled to Hera's and verified his hunch. She's as tensed as Zeus was.

'Those two must've been fighting before the meeting began,' he speculated, 'Wait...! Is this still about Hera following him in Thessaly...?'

Zeus entwined his fingers together and rested his chin atop it, his blue eyes meeting Hades', "You are aware that you've just confirmed every single detail that was raised yesterday."

Hades had to clear his throat. Two out of the four gods in the room were angry with him: Demeter and Zeus himself, he's basically treading on enemy grounds.

Hades nodded, "Yes."

"Persephone consented with the marriage, with no force, no tricks, no other influences..." Zeus clarified.

"None of the sort," Hades disclosed.

"The marriage was also properly consumma..."

"Properly so," Hades interrupted before Zeus could embarrass them all further.

"And that she'd actually eaten a fruit in your palace banquet," Zeus finished.

"Yes, a pomegranate," Hades replied, "Six seeds."

"Great!" Demeter scoffed, "You counted."

"Demeter..." Zeus warned.

Hades raised a finger, "In my defence, I was surprised..."

"Therefore, you just stood by and you counted..." Demeter rolled her eyes.

"I stood by, surprised, as I counted," Hades corrected, in part, just to satisfy a silly desire to irritate Demeter further. Emphasis on the word 'silly', since he is actually provoking the woman that is the mother to his wife, a wife he has no plans on letting go, therefore he is provoking a woman who may actually use every word he had said against him for the rest of eternity.

"Oh, and that actually clears everything out, doesn't it?" Demeter fumed, "Because you were surprised?"

"Demeter, please..." Zeus counselled.

"NO! No! Don't 'Demeter please' me, Zeus," Demeter argued, "My daughter has just been cursed to stay forever in the underworld for eating a fruit without any obstruction from someone who should've known better all because he was surprised?"

Zeus shrugged at Hades, "Seriously, you shouldn't have said that..."

Hades nodded, "I know."

"That's actually good! At least it's now all out in the open!" Demeter exclaimed sarcastically.

Zeus gave an understanding look at Demeter, "You do know how this all changes everything..."

Persephone cleared her throat and Hades caught her eyes.

"Actually..." Hades announced, straightening his shoulders, "It doesn't have to change everything."

Zeus furrowed his brows at him, "What do you mean?" he asked, "You've just confirmed, Persephone had eaten a fruit from your realm. It DOES change everything. No one that has ever eaten from your table has ever..."

"She IS the queen to my realm, isn't she? She's entitled to some exceptions," Hades answered.

"What exactly are you suggesting?" Zeus queried.

"Six seeds for six months of the year," Hades began, "She'd be entitled to stay in the underworld. The rest of the year, she can keep with her mother in Enna."

Hades could actually swear he'd heard Demeter gasp with surprise. Hera looked pleased.

Zeus appeared as if he'd just choked, "Are you serious with this?"

Hades scowled at him, "Do I look like I'm joking?"

Zeus studied him for a long while before he let out a short, abrupt laugh, "Ha!" he exclaimed, "My, my, marriage has changed you, my dear Aidoneus."

Hades met Zeus' eyes squarely, "Don't rub it in," he threatened.

Zeus raised his eyes to Persephone, "And you've got nothing against this set up?"

Persephone shook her head, "No."

Hades shrugged, "It's actually her idea."

Demeter snapped her head at her daughter in astonishment.

Zeus leaned back on his chair, "Well, well..." he mused, "Then I guess we've reached a decision."