As Athena pushed open the wooden doors she found Zeus sitting in his throne while Hera paced in front of him. Her arms swung about wildly as she shouted about some new lover he had taken last night. They were too preoccupied to notice her standing there.
Zeus was watching his wife with a bored expression on his face though Athena knew that he was actually getting upset. His fingers were clutching the arms of his throne till his knuckles were white and he was tapping his foot impatiently on the marble floor.
Athena folded her hands in front of her and waited to be noticed. She knew better then to jump in during a fight between them. Last time she had tried to help she had found herself being used as a shield by Hera to stop Zeus's lighting bolts. It had been a bad experience and she tried to avoid their fights from that point on.
"Athena there you are." Zeus said happily, grateful for the interruption to Hera's usual rants about his affairs. Standing he stepped past his wife who was frowning at Athena. "Congratulations on your great victory." He said as he extended his hand to her with a fatherly smile on his face.
Taking his hand Athena smiled warmly. "Thank you father." She said softly then glanced at Hera. "Greetings Queen Hera." She said with a nod of her head then let go of his hand. "I am pleased to report that Ares's army is at this moment leaving your favored city of Argos. And my army will be leaving within the next few days."
"Thank you Athena." Hera said stiffly and with much difficultly. Though she did like Athena and for the most part they both got along very well, Hera hated thanking anyone. "If you'll excuse me. I see that your father's attention is going to be on you rather then my concerns." She bit out sharply as she shot Zeus a dangerous look.
Sighing heavily Zeus took a step up to his wife and put his hands on her shoulders. "Hera, please stay." He bent forward and placed a kiss on her cheek. "I'll talk with Athena then you and I can finish our talk." He suggested with a twinkle in his eyes and a sly smile on his lips.
Not able to stay mad at Zeus for long Hera sighed and nodded her head. "All right." She whispered then turned and took her seat on her throne next to Zeus's. She looked at father and daughter and wished not for the first time that she had been Athena's mother. It was no secret that Athena was Zeus's favorite child. And Hera was sure that if he had given his gold child to him then he would spend more time with her then with his many lovers.
"So what do you need to talk to me about?" Athena asked as she followed Zeus to his throne. Taking his seat, he studied his daughter who was now standing in front of him. He flashed her a smile as if asking her to forgive him.
"I need your assistance." Zeus started as he ran a hand over his bearded chin. Athena watched her father with careful eyes. The only time Zeus asked for her "assistance" was when he needed her to aid one of his illegitimate sons in some quest.
Nodding her head as if to tell him to continue Athena noticed that Hera was studying her closely. She knew from previous experiences it was never good when Hera had an interest in something. It always meant some sort of trouble.
Zeus leaned back in his chair and folded his hands in his lap. He had to word his request the right way or he knew Athena would feel it was below her. "Hephaestus is having some problems." He started with a shrug of his shoulders. He noticed the way Athena's brows raised in surprise.
It was no secret that Zeus had little feelings for his lame son. The only reason he let Hephaestus live on Olympus was because the god produced the most beautiful objects. He was gifted with his forge and fire. And Zeus was often the receiver of his gifts.
Another thought struck Athena strangely and she had to force herself to hide it. Hephaestus was Aphrodite's husband. She didn't want to help him out of pure jealously. And that was very unlike her. Nodding her head she closed her eyes momentarily and frowned, missing the strange look passed between Zeus and Hera.
"Yes...umm." Zeus said very unlike himself when he wasn't sure what to say next. He had never seen Athena look sad without there being some major war or one of her followers dying. Shaking his head to get his thoughts back on track he continued. "You see, he is becoming increasingly upset about his wife's infidelity."
Athena snorted softly and shrugged her shoulders. "What did he expect?" She asked sharply as she put her hands on her hips. "She's the goddess of Love." Rolling her eyes she shook her head slightly. She was more angry at Hephaestus for being with Aphrodite then having a problem with her promiscuity.
"She is a whore." Hera spat out with a nasty snarl twisting her face. It was no secret that Hera hated Aphrodite. She felt too much attention was put on the goddess of love from both mortals and gods alike. It was enough to make an already jealous goddess eyes turn dark green.
"Now, now Hera." Zeus said calmly as he raised his hand and laid it on Hera's. "She is doing her job." He explained with a twinkle in his eyes. Aphrodite had done her job with him many times and he was looking forward to the many more times she'd do it in the future. "You can't blame her for that."
"Yes I can." Hera snapped pulling her hand away from her husband and pinning him with a look. "She is a whore who spreads her legs for anything that moves." Folding her arms across her chest, she raised her brow as if to ask him to deny it. Zeus sighed wearily not wanting yet another argument to break out between them.
"She is not a whore." Athena said firmly causing Hera to raise a brow. Athena couldn't believe what she'd said. She'd never defended Aphrodite to anyone but herself. To voice it meant she was losing the battle with self control.
"Athena, since when did you defend Aphrodite?" Hera asked with an amused smile on her lips while her eyes sparkled dangerously. Leaning forward eagerly she raised her brow and waited for Athena's answer.
Shrugging her shoulders, Athena forced herself not to tell Hera off. "I've come to realize that her powers work well with my men." She explained as she waved a hand around carelessly. "They love their country and their wives so much they are willing to fight for them." Mentally she gave herself a pat on the back then warned herself not to be so careless when around others.
"I am glad you've finally learned that. Maybe now you two will stop fighting." Zeus grumbled good naturally. Hera sat back in her seat and frowned. She'd been looking forward to some gossip about the two goddesses.
Zeus smiled at Athena then sighed. "This should make your task much easier." Athena didn't believe him at all and felt herself wanting to tell him she could not help. But she knew better then to say no to Zeus. She'd also need to come up with a good reason why she couldn't help.
"As I was telling you earlier, Hephaestus is upset with Aphrodite..." Zeus started but Athena cut him off.
"Why don't you just tell me what you need me to do." She suggested with a sweet smile on her face. A little taken back at the interruption Zeus frowned.
"I was about to tell you." He huffed, in the distance the sound of thunder rumbled. He was getting upset. Athena wisely kept silent and nodded her head to him. "He is mostly upset that Aphrodite is still sneaking off with Ares." He watched for her reaction, knowing how much Athena hated Ares.
"Yeah." Athena said shortly as she crossed her arms over her chest. Not because she hated Ares but hated them together. "I've been waiting for him to figure out they are still at it." She said with a shrug of her shoulder. Zeus nodded his head in agreement and Hera just sighed and rolled her
eyes. Both of her sons were pains to her but they had their advantages.
"Athena, I need you to get Aphrodite to stop seeing Ares and to be much more faithful to Hephaestus." Zeus finished as he folded his hands in his lap. He expected Athena to nod her head and tell him she'd get right on it. But as he watched her face became pale and she seemed to be holding back tears.
Athena couldn't believe what she'd just heard. How was she supposed to tell the woman she loved to stop seeing other people and be faithful to her husband. "But she's the goddess of love." Athena said weakly knowing she was acting strange.
"I know this." Zeus said as he stood and stretched his arms over his head. "But I would rather she be with one man, showering all her love on him, then having a divorce." He explained. As he walked over to one of the large windows that over looked the rest of Olympus.
Athena watched him for a moment then noticed Hera was staring at her. Lowering her head, she sighed. "I'll get right on it." She told him then turned to leave.
"Athena, I am asking you to do this because I trust you above the rest." He said as he turned to face his favorite daughter. "You have never let me down." He smiled warmly at her while Hera stood and walked soundlessly out of the room.
Athena wanted to scream. She was going to have to put all her feelings aside, and suffer silently while making sure she didn't let her father down. "Of course father." She said then hurried out of the room and to the marble path.
She was so deep in her thoughts she never saw Hera watching from the steps. She knew something was going on but she couldn't put her finger on it. Athena had just shown some emotions. And that was very rare for the often cold goddess. "We shall have to find out what she's feeling." Hera murmured with a smile on her lips.
I had to throw some twist in the plot! Please review! i love hearing what people think about my stuff!