The two women never parted from each other. They ate together, danced together, talked together, and walked together. It seemed the only time the two would leave each other alone was at night, when Nyx would drape the world in her cape and Hypnos sprinkled his sand over the gods' eyes. Morpheus could tell you that the two women didn't stop thinking of each other in their sleep, however.
If they seemed like friendly acquaintances before, they were definitely best friends now. They told each other everything. They'd whisper to each other in the corners of rooms and giggle silently at the playful teasings they'd give each other. Hera continued to play piano, but this time she enjoyed watching the mortal girl dance. The days of Olympus were filled with a strange glimmer of joy.
Every two weeks, Hera and Adiya would extend their walks through the garden into Demeter's and would replace the wilting flowers left there with fresh ones. Adiya would always kneel before Hestia's statue, silently praying for forgiveness. Hera would stand behind protectively and look up at her frozen sister silently bidding her thanks. She would then gently lead Adiya away and they'd continue their day.
They would visit Jocosia frequently. When Adiya first met her, years before her and Hera were on good terms, Jocosia was a tall goddess with sun kissed skin, golden eyes, a splendid golden aura, and gorgeous, luscious brown hair that was done up in a neat bun. The last time Adiya saw her, Jocosia was placed on a mandatory bedrest. The goddess had been fading for awhile, but by the start of November she was on a quick decline. Adiya was able to catch sight of the nebulous goddess as she stood in the doorway waiting for Hera. Jocosia was pale, with thin brown hair sprawled about her pillow. Her aura no longer shined. She was thin, bone thin. She had slowly and weakly turned her head and the two caught each other's eye and after seeing the emptiness of Jocosia's eyes Adiya couldn't watch anymore and waited in the living room of the goddess's splendous home for Hera.
Tragedies aside, Adiya was allowed to sit at the table with the Olympians as long as she served Zeus and Hera like she was a servant. Speaking of which, Zeus' callings occurred less and less. The days seemed like they would hold a never ending happiness, and Hera looked forward to the next days.
Was this what it would've been like? If she and Helios had married? Would the days always be like this? She didn't know, and for once, she was okay with not knowing.
One night, however, Hera had woken in a cold sweat. She had dreamt of a tall building. It was a blue, cloudless sky and the building was crumbling to the ground. Hera ran out of what looked like a cafe and ran towards the ruins. She looked through the rubble calling Adiya's name. She kept thinking, It's my fault. This is all my fault. I've lost her.
She eventually found Adiya, but she wasn't breathing. She was gone. Hera let out a cry of pain and that's where she sat upright. She woke with a hand over her stomach and her night gown was drenched in her sweat. She had trouble regulating her breathing and when the adrenaline in her had finally calmed she looked over at Zeus who slept peacefully next to her.
The rays from the moon outside made his curls glow like she was still in a dream. She let out a soft sigh. Silently threw her legs over the bedside and stood. The floor was unforgivingly cold, but she walked barefoot anyway. She tiptoed out of the room and closed the oak door behind her as she stepped into the hallway.
Her back rested against the door and she took another deep breath. Her heart rate sped up again as she watched Adiya's door taunt her from across the hall. She swallowed the lump in her throat and silently walked over to the door. She opened it and poked her head inside.
Adiya's curtains were opened fully, it was a fantastic view of the ocean. The moon shone inside the room giving everything an eerie glow. Adiya slept in her bed. She had a habit of making a little alcove with her pillows and blankets, and that's where Adiya was buried. She reminded Hera of a bunny during winter. Hera stepped closer to her and sat at her bedside looking her over.
She giggled quietly as she watched Adiya's nose twitch like she really was a rabbit. Hera looked away from the mortal and around the room, she looked at all the dark corners, no matter how uncomfortable they made her and after making sure Adiya was safe, stood silently from the bed and made her way to the door again.
It continued like this for many nights, Hera being startled awake by nightmares, her hand on her stomach as if she were pregnant, her leaving Zeus' side to check on Adiya, and then going back to Zeus' side after making sure the mortal girl was fine.
They were becoming a frequent occurrence, these dreams, she began to get worried. She was thinking of going to Apollo or another Sibyl, but she always thought against it. She was still queen of the gods, she couldn't waste her time on such trivial worries. But then again...she didn't want Adiya to die.
Another thing, what was up with her waking with her hand on her stomach? She wasn't pregnant, in fact, she and Zeus hadn't slept with each other in almost a year. There couldn't be any way she was pregnant. She felt foolish to go to Apollo to ask him about it. But maybe it could just be her nerves causing her to try and comfort herself. She always shrugged it off until the next night.
One night, as she retreated from Adiya's bedroom to her own, she heard a small gasp come from Adiya.
She turned toward the mortal and found her eyes glinting at her in the dark, "What are you doing?"
Hera was thankful the moon wasn't out tonight, her face was red enough to cause embarrassment on its own, "I, uh, I had a nightmare. I just came to see if you were okay. I wasn't going to stay the night, I have my own bed to get to."
She began to leave when she heard Adiya say, "Wait. Do you think...do you think you could stay with me tonight?"
"Excuse me?"
"I know it's a bit unorthodox, the mistress and the wife sharing a bed, but the dark has always given me the creeps. It took me two hours just to fall asleep because I was so-"
"Paranoid?" Hera interrupted with a raised brow. Adiya nodded, this time it was her turn to be embarrassed, "Yeah. Gods, I'm so pathetic. Who's ever heard of an adult being afraid of the dark?"
Hera made her way toward her and made herself comfortable on the bed next to her. She caressed her hair lightly, the way she used to when her children were younger. "I have. Plenty of people throughout history have had a fear of the dark, Augustus Caesar had a fear of the dark...I have a fear of the dark," she cooed.
Adiya bent her neck to look up at the goddess, "You? No way."
Hera nodded, "I do. Zeus knows. He's used it against me. He's left me locked in the closet before. He and my father have given me claustrophobia, too."
Adiya stayed quiet, she looked up at the ceiling and hugged Hera's waist, "Do you feel comfortable hugging people?"
"Well, yes, what I mean by enclosed spaces are places like broom closets, or, uh, small bathrooms. Areas where you don't have much room to walk or stand in, or where there's no windows and just one door."
"Kinda depressing if you think about it."
"Shut up."
"No, no. I'm not making fun. But why do you have a fear of the dark?"
"Again, it started with my father. The years we spent living in Zeus' cave before we could actually live on Olympus, the void Zeus hung me over when we tried to overthrow him...the closets," Hera shivered at the last thought. "Ahem, what about you. Why are you scared?"
"Similar story actually. My mother would lock me in the closet when I misbehaved. And when I grew up, I would always find someone stalking me from the shadows."
"What a shame. Tell me who they were, I'll smite them for harassing you."
Adiya giggled and shook her head, "You sound like Zeus the first time we went out together. But there's no need to. I'm in a better place now, thanks to you and, well, I have to give credit where it's due, but thanks to Zeus, too."
"Hm," Hera looked out the window. The stars were glowing brightly against the dark sky. Eventually she felt Adiya fall limp against her and her breathing became a steady rhythm. Her nose twitched like a rabbitt's letting Hera know that she was in a deep sleep again.
Hera smiled softly, she arranged Adiya's body carefully so she wouldn't wake her and left the room without another word. She wouldn't go back to bed, instead she changed into her day clothes and left the temple into her office to do some work and fulfill prayers to the few believers that existed in the mortal world.
Every night was exactly the same. She didn't grow tired of it. Neither did Adiya. When Hera would come into her room, she grew accustomed to the soft clicking of the door opening and she'd wake. The two would spend an hour talking with each other about the day's events, holding on to each other in the same position from the first night until Adiya fell asleep. When she'd fall asleep, Hera would leave to do work. Hera knew she was risking Zeus' waking and finding them together, what would he do if he found them like that. Embraced within each other's arms like a couple of teenagers getting a bit too friendly with one another. Hera grimaced, not wanting to think of Zeus' wrath. Instead, her thoughts were interrupted by Adiya again.
That was a common thought, she could be thinking of something trivial or vital, but Adiya would always manage to creep her way into Hera's thoughts. She just couldn't stop thinking about her. The smell of cherries from her silky, blonde hair. Her glimmering, blue eyes. Her soft, brown skin. Her beautiful curves that flirted with Hera's own. The way their bodies seemed to fit each other perfectly like a puzzle piece.
Hera gasped and washed her face with cold water from her office bathroom. She shouldn't be thinking about the Little Vex like that. Thoughts like those would definitely get her in trouble with Zeus.
But she couldn't help herself.
Late at night, while she was in her office, she'd find herself thinking of Adiya like this. She'd think of her own fingers sliding across Adiya's arms and then onto her sides. Her hands would creep down to her legs, caressing her smooth skin and then sliding back up, pulling up Adiya's shirt, which was so large it worked more as a nightgown, with it. Slowly revealing her beautiful, thick thighs and her- she rushed to the bathroom, dousing herself in cold water.
One day, Hera had heard Adiya's shower running as she woke from a night without nightmares. She had crept inside Adiya's bedroom and peeked through the crack of the open door. She saw Adiya showering in her full glory.
Hera blushed, she felt herself go warm and watched her rinse off the soap that covered her body, and then she felt ashamed. She stepped out of the room, locking the door behind her, giving Adiya the privacy that was rightfully hers. Still, she never stopped thinking of the way she looked when she was in the shower.
She couldn't stand it, she needed to make Adiya hers and hers only. She'd find a way to keep the mortal girl to herself. Zeus himself wouldn't be able to intervene.
Hera smiled as she watched the mortal laugh at a joke Hermes had told her. Yes, this girl would be hers. She'll move the mountain if she had to just to make her hers.