Play a Little Longer

Oh-ho! What shall happen now? I bet you're wondering about the relationship between Rowen and Sage…or what about the punishment reserved for Aphrodite and Hera? Well, go ahead and read to find out! I'm not stopping you…not yet anyways!

A very important note: There was a goddess I forgot to list in the first chapter introduction. Her name is Hestia to the Greeks, Vestia to the Romans. She was the goddess of the hearth and was often given thanks by each family for meals, shelter and safety. She was also known to carry a child about to be born around the house once, making it even more part of the family before it was born. Although she is considered a very minor goddess in some sense, she was still very important to each individual family. Where each house had one god or goddess they worshipped above all else, Hestia was always included as another goddess to automatically give thanks to. So before you eat the last cookie…just kidding, but please enjoy the story!

I also wanted to thank the following persons for their reviews: Split Persona…what? That's it?! Oh come on peoples, PLEASE keep reviewing! I'm serious when I say that your reviews make all the difference in my story!

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Mia's Mansion, the Next Morning

Sage yawned as he stepped into the kitchen early the next morning. He mussed up his hair which only succeeded in making the locks fall into a more attractive position as he sat down at the dining table after saying a good morning to Cye.

Cye smiled cheerfully back at Sage and flipped another pancake before laying a short stack in front of Sage. It had some syrup and butter, but the best part was that it had his favorite fruit, bananas, topping it off. Sage smiled brightly as he took down six cups and appropriate silverware for himself and his roommates.

"Hey, Cye, what is all this? Normally you never cook a breakfast for us." Sage asked as Ryo and Kento stumbled in, still looking bed-rumpled and sleepy.

"Well, I think today is a special day."

"Really? How?" Sage asked, not eating the first bite of pancakes he had halfway to his mouth.

"You and Rowen, Sage! You get to tell us all about how it went last night!" Kento said, suddenly looking more awake than ever before. The Chinese boy actually seemed extremely excited.

Sage, however, just shook his head and let a frown form to convey his puzzlement. He was slowly remembering something about last night…something about him having to talk to Rowen about…something. He just couldn't put his finger on it. "I don't understand. What were Rowen and I supposed to do last night?"

Ryo and Kento's faces fell in utter disbelief while Cye looked slightly offended.

"Oh, man, you can't tell me this! Sage, we know the two of you have been digging each other for over half a year now…and you didn't tell him last night when we all vacated for just that reason?" Kento exclaimed, his voice slightly high. "Geez, talk about a ruined night."

Sage, however, suddenly remembered a few flashes about last night and lost interest in Kento's comment halfway through. He remembered…Rowen…with an asp hanging over him…then a beautiful woman curled next to Rowen's side, taking kisses from the archer as if they had been old friends…he remembered…

"Good mornin'." Rowen said from the doorway to the rest of his friends, startling Sage out of his memories long before Sage could remember everything that had happened last night.

Sage looked up into Rowen's face to see a silly grin stuck on as his friend settled down at the table with the rest. Sage glowed with hidden anger though, having remembered enough to make him plenty angry at Rowen. Rowen looked over at Sage and asked for something, but Sage didn't process the request as anger churned like angry waves in his ears.

Sage stood up briskly, forcing his chair away with a loud screech across the linoleum. Four pairs of eyes immediately focused on the blond warrior of light, but he kept his eyes hidden behind his screen of blond hair.

"I'm going out to meditate…I'm not that hungry, Cye…but thanks for making it." Keeping his head lowered, Sage quickly brushed out of the room.

The others stared after him in shock, not knowing that the blond warrior had been hiding his tears from his friends…and the one he had hoped to love forever.

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Mount Olympus

Athena was so upset! She had been down to the armor bearer's residence early this morning…just in time to see Hera depart Rowen's bedroom with a satisfied smirk set on her face. Athena had grown sick to her stomach as she approached the still sleeping Rowen, knowing that he had been violated in a way that he would never remember…'twas merely the curse and blessing of the gods.

However, she had approached the boy and healed him as best as she knew how by erasing any memory he might have retained about the night he had spent in Hera's arms. However, his virginity would be one thing she could never gain back for him…no god could ever bring that back.

Now Athena was outside of her father's home, banging on the doors and demanding admittance. After waiting only a few seconds, she tired of this charade and made her way in by shifting through the wall and not waiting for a proper welcome.

"Father!" She raged as Zeus stumbled out of the bedroom he was supposed to be shared with Hera, sleep still lining his features.

"Athena, my daughter…what brings you here so early in the morn that Helios has not even brought the sun horses out of the stable yet?" Zeus asked, covering a yawn with one hand. Athena stomped her foot in frustration.

"Father, your wife violated one of the armor bearers last night…one that I had marked under my protection!" The house trembled slightly at the sound of Athena's rage.

Zeus, however, took the anger in stride and led his daughter into a sitting room. As he sat down with her, he asked her in a calm voice what had gone wrong.

"Your wife slept with the bearer of Strata last night, making love to him when that duty is supposed to be with you." Athena ground out through clenched teeth. Her hands tightened into fists, nails cutting into her palms, but no blood was drawn. "I had marked him the night previous to be under my protection, but she violated that mark by doing her deed."

"This does not sound like the Hera I know at all." Zeus murmured, then continued when he felt Athena wanted an explanation. "I went off for another girl last night with thanks to Aphrodite's menacing love potions. While I was gone, Aphrodite might have been free to taint Hera…I've known for some time now that she fancies the blond warrior, Sage of the Halo. That was why I placed him under MY protection. If what you say is true and my suspicions are correct…"

Athena grinned slightly. She was happy now, knowing that Hera and Aphrodite would be punished. Now all she had to decide upon was what to do with the child she knew Hera had conceived last night.

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A section of Mia's land, later that afternoon

Sage breathed deeply of the clean mountain air as he settled upon a rock next to a hidden stream. It was his hideout, something he knew the other boys had not found yet and a place he wasn't too sure he would want to share…at least, not right now. It always calmed him when he came here; it allowed him to sort through any problem he ever had.

A cool breeze from the stream dried the final remnants of tears and settled him into a deeper peace. He breathed deeply, pulling in clean air and pushing out the bad as he sank into a meditative state.

"Sage?" A soft voice whispered behind him, disrupting his meditation. Sage gave an angry sigh, but turned to see who had followed him. It was Cye.

"Cye, what do you want?" Sage asked, his voice harsh and uncharacteristic.

"You want to talk about what happened last night?"

"Nothing happened last night…so I don't need to talk about anything." Sage replied coolly, averting his face from his friend. He knew he might lose his control if he stared into Cye's concerned, ocean-blue eyes.

"Sage, I know you felt sadness and…and anger back there, in the kitchen. You may have great shields, but I'm an empath too and I could feel some of the tension in you. Please, tell me what's bothering you." Cye replied quickly. Sage refused to answer and the silence stretched for quite some time between the two friends before Cye stood up to leave. "All right, Sage. I won't lie and say I understand what's going on because I don't…but just know that all of us are here for you and you can talk to any of us whenever you need it."

Cye laid a gentle, comforting hand on his friend's shoulder and felt a small shiver course down Sage's back as sobs were suppressed. He waited a minute to see if Sage wanted to add anything before he turned to leave.

"Thanks Cye." Sage choked out as Cye started to leave. The words were hardly distinguishable from one another as Sage struggled to regain control of his emotions, but Cye stopped and turned back to face Sage.

"Hey, no problem…that's what friends are for, remember? See you for dinner, all right?" Cye added softly before heading back to the house. Sage just smiled and relaxed again, determined to remember as much about last night as he could.

However, the more he thought, the more last night became misty.

"What happened to me last night?! Why can't I remember?" Sage cried out, pushing his hands against his temples in frustration.

The truth lies in your heart, Sage of the Halo. If you search it, everything will be made clear. The crystal like voice that held so much wisdom washed around the entire clearing like a soothing spring.

Sage drank greedily of the peace. He opened his eyes briefly to try and find the person who had spoken with such wisdom, but no one was there.

"I thank you, whoever you are. You have given me the precious gift of peace." Sage said softly, then slowly started on his meditation once again.

Apollo, god of truth and purity, watched the blond warrior from a short distance. He smiled, knowing that he was well hidden from the boy's piercing gray eyes…and he was pleased to hear the thankful praise slip from the boy's mouth as well. It had been so long since anyone had bothered to converse with him in normal standards…

Stepping forward, Apollo laid a hand on Sage's shoulder and closed his eyes, knowing the boy had a right to know about what happened last night. No one should be the father of a child…and not know.

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Mount Olympus

It took a few minutes, but finally Hera and Aphrodite were standing before Zeus and Athena, their heads bowed in reverence but not shame. In fact, they had small smirks of satisfaction on their lips as new life began blooming in their wombs.

"Are you aware of the consequence you bring by breaking our marks we placed on the two mortal bearers of Strata and Halo?" Zeus's voice thundered, making the whole heavens shake with a new storm. Aphrodite and Hera, however, never swayed in their satisfaction. "Tell me the truth! Last night, with whom did you share your bed?"

"Why Zeus, faithful husband that you are…if you are truly the king of the gods, is that an appropriate question? You should already know the truth." Hera said simply, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Aphrodite smiled slightly in agreement but added nothing to what the queen of the gods had to say.

"Tell me the truth! I want to hear this abomination slip from your own lips!" Zeus thundered and for the first time, Hera felt a trill of fear. Swallowing heavily, she nodded slightly.

"I did share a bed with Rowen of Strata last night." Hera conceded, lowering her head once again, this time in fear.

"And you, Aphrodite?" Zeus asked, his voice calmer now that he had one confession but no less threatening. Aphrodite snarled in an almost feral way, but she nodded as well.

"I shared a bed with Sage, the bearer of Halo."

Zeus sat back, his face grave and his expression unreadable. Athena, looking up at him, feared for a brief instant what punishment he would unleash.

"For this crime…the two of you shall be banished from Olympus for the span of two weeks. You must work the hard life as a mortal before you can return. And the children you both carry as of now…they shall die for your behavior!" Zeus commanded. At the sound of his words, a servant came forth with a concoction of hemlock to give to the woman. In its brewed form, it would only attack the womb and not the women themselves.

Both Aphrodite and Hera took the cup offered to them, their color draining from their face. Their stomachs rolled in disbelief as they placed the cup to their lips and prepared to take the first swallow…Indeed, the only thing that kept them from dashing the cups upon the marble floor was the compulsion Zeus had commanded into his words. In their foolish state, they had been subject to his will and now had to follow his command.

"Wait!" Athena cried, stepping forward to stop the drinking of the poison. "Father, I cannot allow this to happen! Hera and Aphrodite did commit a high crime and for that they should be punished…by why should we punish the children of their union when these children did not choose when and where and how they would come into this world?!"

"I will not tolerate my wife being pregnant of a child not from my get!" Zeus bellowed, standing up from his seat. However, he too looked uneasy about the task that must be performed.

"That's funny…I quite clearly remember that you seeded several girls before and allowed their children to live in bliss. Why is it so different with every child I have that is not from our union?" Hera asked. The drink was still poised near her lips as if her hand was immobile.

"Be quiet!" Zeus commanded and waved his hands. Hera felt her lips seal shut and she glared up at him, unable to comment now. "Athena, you may decide what to do with Hera's child since she broke your mark."

Athena smiled. "I'm going to have Hera hand over the child for me to raise." Hera breathed a sigh of relief. At least she could still have the child while it was growing in her womb. "And I want to raise it starting now."

"Mmmph!!" Hera screamed. Her voice was muffled since her mouth was still sealed shut.

"You want to take on the care of a fetus and later, a child?" Zeus asked incredulously. Athena was his favorite daughter and even though she was millennia old, he still wasn't certain he wanted her to have to deal with raising a child. Normally, the gods just left the child with a mortal parent. There was also, for the first time, a time factor to consider as well…would the child have enough time to even emerge from the fetus stage in this short span before the gods would fade?

"Yes, Father. I would like to care for this child like you once cared for me when I was born." Athena added, remembering the stories of how her father had saved her from her dying mother by placing her, as a fetus, near his head. He had done the same thing for Dionysus by placing the fetus in his thigh.

"Athena, I must caution you against this for two reasons. One, the child shall never be able to be born before we fade from existence. Two, the only way to counter that is to stay in Olympus for the next three weeks so the child will be born faster. However, if that is your course of action, then the child shall be immortal and will fade with us when the time comes." Zeus really didn't want to have his daughter's heart broken.

"Your wrong, father…there is one other way that the child could be born within the amount of time we have left…and still be able to lead a normal, mortal life afterwards. Please, father. This is the punishment I demand. I want to have the child of Rowen, bearer of the armor of Strata."


With a heavy sigh, Zeus slowly nodded. With a wave, Hera felt a giant rip come from her womb and watched with tear-filled eyes as a golden orb floated from her to Athena's outstretched hands. She watched angrily as the bastard child of Zeus and some un-remembered mortal cradled the ball of life against her as Zeus assigned the punishment for Aphrodite and Halo's child.

"I would normally think it unfair for you to keep the child when my wife will not. However, you will go to earth appearing that you are almost ready to give birth. Whatever method allows Athena to have the child grow faster shall also be yours. You, my fair Aphrodite, shall learn how truly terrible it is to lust so much. You shall have the excruciating ordeal of a mortal birth…only for me to take the child from you in the end."

Hera looked over to see Aphrodite's eyes fill with tears. "You will kill my child?" She asked hoarsely, her hand immediately flying to her womb.

"No! But you shall experience the pain of giving birth…and only the pain, for I am giving command of the child to Athena once it is born. You shall not have the joy of holding the babe in your arms or even to glance upon the child's face. Athena shall raise them both on the island of Crete, where I myself was raised…and neither of you shall ever be able to see them unless Athena wills it." Zeus explained softly as he turned to Athena, his daughter that still cradled the infant light that had come from Hera's womb. "Will you be willing to take on another child?"

Aphrodite's eye flew to the young goddess of wisdom and was concerned to see the young maiden had her eyes still fastened on the golden orb of light. In truth, it seemed like Athena had heard nothing of the conversation after the infant had been entrusted to her.

However, slowly, Athena raised her head to gaze at Zeus's face. Silently, Aphrodite wondered what kind of magic was being worked as Athena gazed into Zeus's stormy blue eyes for what seemed like an eternity. Truly, any promise that did come from this encounter would be forged, tainted by the magic of Zeus's compulsion.

After still a few more moments of silence, Athena turned to Aphrodite and stated that she would look after the babe that came from Aphrodite and Sage's union. She even went as far to state that she would love the child as her own. Her voice sounded normal enough and it was filled with emotion…maybe she was working from her own influence and not directed by Zeus at all…

However, Aphrodite opened her mouth to object to this unfair treatment, to raise the alarm that she feared her child would not survive infancy in the arms of Athena. But even as Athena began her protest, her world grew dark. Her two week sentence as a mortal was to begin shortly and she watched in desperation, trying to force out her last concern before time was up.

Nonetheless, she faded from heavenly Mount Olympus without Zeus hearing word one of her complaint.

After Aphrodite and Hera had been sent off to live out their punishment in the mortal realm, Zeus turned to his daughter.

"Pray, dear daughter, to tell me what wonderful solution you know of to quicken a child's infancy." Zeus asked, his voice rumbling like rolling thunder.

Athena looked to her father, her mind still locked in the fact that she soon have two beautiful children to look after. Indeed, they would be even more special since they were children of the famous armor bearers, already proclaimed to absolute in purity because of half of their parentage. Eventually, what her father had asked penetrated her train of thought as she answered him.

"Father, I once heard of Hestia knowing how to birth babes quickly and sooner than they should in case the babe would give a mother an untimely death at their birth."

"Yes, I heard of Hestia being the keeper of such knowledge before as well…but those children all died either as they left their mother or a few days afterwards. They were just too weak on their own."

"But if Hestia was able to birth a babe before its time, maybe she knows how to make a child that has half the blood of an immortal to grow faster." Athena pleaded and Zeus paused in thought. He had never considered that possibility before…

Zeus gave his permission to Athena, summoning Hestia with his mind as he told Athena so. Together, the two goddesses were able to concoct a mixture of tansy, oak leaves, pure clovers honey, and a few other miscellaneous items along with their own magic for what they hoped would only allow the child to grow quickly in the womb. A steaming mixture was poured forth into two clay cups and Athena hesitantly raised it to her lips after her own womb accepted the child that belonged to Hera and Rowen.

"My daughter, are you sure you want to do something such as this?" Zeus asked, fear choking his voice slightly. "If it does not work, not only is the babe's life at stake, but yours as well."

"Shush, Zeus, let the girl drink in peace. Another key ingredient into this concoction is the courage of the mother…without that, the potion will surely fail!"

"Have you not listened to the story, old hag?! Athena is not the mother of this child! My traitor…" Zeus began to rant as Athena stopped, the drink poised near her lips as she started to tremble with fear.

Athena didn't want to die…but she too did not want to die.

"It doesn't matter who sired the child, Zeus…it only matters who raises the child as their own. The same goes with adoption or the taking in of an abused child. Without love and proper guidance, the child cannot grow into their full potential. Without medicine and the courage to do what is right, the child would be taken by the harsh elements. This is fate, Zeus, even you can feel it in your bones. You cannot stop fate." Hestia proclaimed, her voice echoing around the heavens.

Zeus growled. "No, but I can avert it to a later time."

"And jeopardize the heartache Athena will feel by losing this child? I am the goddess of the hearth; I know the child has already bonded with Athena even more than it had bonded with Hera. This was meant to happen and if you disrupt it in any way, both shall die!"

She also could feel the bond that Hestia had talked about. She knew that if this child died, even if it was from a mere sip of this potion, she herself would fade long before the other gods.

Athena was about to dash the cup on the marble floor even as Hestia and Zeus continued to argue, but something held her hand back. She looked to see who held her and beheld a shimmering form that floated.

The form hovered and blew about by an unseen wind, her hair tangling itself but not getting knotted. She wore a pure white gown that conveyed innocence, but her expression was grim.

Athena, my daughter…please, do not destroy your hope. You have done everything right, your child shall live.

Athena gulped back tears. She had only heard stories before, she had never actually seen a….a restless spirit. But now one stood before her…a restless one stood before her and called her…daughter?

"Mother?" She asked softly and the astral projection nodded slightly. A opaque hand slid forward and rested on Athena's own cheek before passing through.

Be strong, my love, my only child…The voice continued to echo as the projection faded. Athena started to see the mother she had never known fade, but then a nagging in the back of her mind reminded her about the drink she held. Remembering what her mother said, she quickly downed it, then started forward after the spirit once again…

Only to have a surreal amount of pain grip her womb and twist her vision. She groaned and felt Zeus wrap strong arms about her, holding her up even as she began to drift from the poison the tansy wrought. How had she not seen that? Was Hestia actually trying to kill the babe?

"Mother!" Athena cried out from the pain, wanting nothing more than a mother's comfort to help her through one of the hardest things she would ever have to face.


Do not fear, my daughter. The babe and you shall live…I love you…A final image of her mother floated in front of her eyes before she closed them for a long time to the world.

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Somewhere near the outskirts of Toyama, that day

Aphrodite paused in her long trek down from the mountain that Zeus had dropped her on after her transformation into a temporary mortal. Needless to say, even after only four hours as a woman who was obviously pregnant…she knew that she hated it!

Aphrodite stopped, placing both hands at the small of the back in some hopes of relieving the pressure that was building up there. She had waited on the top of the mountain for an hour after being dropped off, hoping that Zeus would reverse his punishment and also trying to get used to the constraints of her own body. At the end of that first hour, she realized that Zeus would not reverse her punishment and had started walking down since she could no longer zip to places with the slightest thought.

That was when Hestia had appeared, giving her the potion that would allow the babe inside her to grow within the two weeks she had as a mortal woman. After being knocked unconscious for fifteen minutes, she had woken up to find her womb already swelling with the growth. The growth of this new babe had not stopped for the next two hours afterwards, forcing Aphrodite to take breaks more and more frequently on her way downward.

Aphrodite forced herself to take another step forward before stopping once again and laying a hand to her swelled belly. The growth may have stopped, but the pain that occurred with the babe readjusting itself inside had not diminished. Indeed, it had grown and Aphrodite groaned with pain at the memory of this pain.

She wiped at he long, golden bangs and did her best to lift the hair off the nape of her neck, hoping for a cool breeze to brush over the sweat that coated her and made her feel miserable. The clothing she had been wearing stretched tightly against her belly, pinching it and constricting her breathing slightly. Her back had a pain growing against her lower back and she had the undying need to relieve herself what seemed like every five minutes even though she was certain she could not have that much liquid in her system.

Aphrodite paused again in her trek, pulling in long, deep breaths to try and calm her racing heart.

"And I put so many poor maidens through this trouble before me…" Aphrodite muttered to herself as she squinted at the city below that seemed to fade farther into the distance with each step. True, she had birthed children before…immortal children, never a mortal one. Other times that she had pleased herself with sex was merely for pleasure, nothing more. "Never again." She groaned. "Never again will I allow a young maiden to have a child before she is ready. NO one should go through this pain."

"I'll agree with you on that one. Okaa-san…expecting, mother?"

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Well, that's it for now…who do YOU think the new woman is? Give me your guesses and I'll put the next chapter up once I've had it written. Please do keep in mind that your reviews DO give me inspiration, so please don't hold back.

PLEASE REVIEW!!!! I'm BEGGING!!!