Hera lounged langourously over her ostentatiously diamond-speckled throne; her legs spread out lewdly in a private moment of rebellion against the constant habit of having always to hold herself perfectly proper in the presence of company- which, as a punishment for being the Queen of Gods, she was never long without. So now, in this temporary moment of solitude, she took solace in showing herself off in as a seductive manner as possible to her invisible audience. She strutted the length of the hall, sashayed, swiveled, and sensually strolled back to her throne, only to start something anew. She did these things for no other reason than that it made her feel beautiful in a world where she felt confined by the commitments of a marriage to a man who mocked monogamy. And alone, in her throne room, she was free to act out her fantasies. And so she did, knowing deep down she was moving on borrowed time, but reluctant to admit it. So when she heard the knock on the door signaling someone with a matter in urgent need of her immediate attention, she did not even bother to sigh, pout, frown, or display any outward expression of her inner disappointment. Silently, she trudged back to her throne, arranged herself in a proper manner, and called out: "Come in!"
The guard stormed in, dragging behind him the bloodied and bruised body of a man. "And intruder," the guard explained. "Caught him wandering about on the grounds. He was riding on Pegasus, and apparently the horse has taken a liking to him. Took about seven guards to calm him down after we nabbed the fella here." He roughly jabbed a thumb in the man's direction. The mans only response was a groan. "Yeah, the guards are still out there trying to calm Pegasus down."
Hera narrowed her eyes. "And why is he bloody and beat-up? Did he arrive this way, or was this at your doing?"
The guard shuffled a bit, and glanced uneasily down at the man. "Well, uhm, uh, it was...well you see...He- then I...uhm...H-he cast a spell on me!" he suddenly blurted out.
Hera quirked an eyebrow. "He did?" she asked in mock disbelief.
The guard nodded his head vigorously. "Yup. See, I was just going to grab him and bring him here and...and..I don't know! I was just looking at him one moment, and the next thing I know...I-I'm trying to kiss him! Unbelievable, right? Me- straight as an arrow- trying to kiss another guy." The guard laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck, shaking his head in embarrassment.
"And so...you beat him up?" Hera asked, nonchalantly, but still a little intrigued.
"No!" The guard shouted, anger returning. "He hit me first! When I was leaning in, right, to, you know, he hit me! And then I beat the snot outta him!"
Hera smirked. "I don't know which you're more angered about- that he hit you, or that he wouldn't let you kiss him?"
The guard stopped and when processed what she said, he began sputtering and stammering about how he wasn't "interested in kissing a male period", especially a "male trespasser" who just happened to be "really good looking for a guy, that's it.
Hera nodded, amused. "Job well done. You may leave with the assurance that he will be dealt with accordingly."
The guard paused. "What are you going to do to him?" he asked. Hera clearly heard a slight tone of a protective concern, and smirked.
"Why, I'm surprised! Are you actually worried?!" she exclaimed.
"No, er, well...I mean, thinking about it, he..he..maybe he had something important to tell us, y'know? Or something..." he trailed off. In the silence, Hera could clearly hear the words that were being left unsaid: Please don't kill him.
"What do you propose I do with him?" Hera asked.
"You could leave him in my care! I mean, I could watch over him. Er, in a jail cell of course.."
Hera was becoming a little more intrigued. The guard was clearly trying to hide his obvious infatuation with the prisoner. And she had known the guard to be a well-known lover of the women mortals and nymphs and the like. But that did not mean anything in the world they lived in where men and women slept with anything that moved (and some things that did not). No, what intrigued her was how fast the prisoner had worked his influence over the guard, and how potent it was after only been in effect a few minutes or so. Had it really been a magical spell? Hera wondered.
"Leave him here. When he awakes, I will see if he has anything of value to share. And I will proceed from there."
The guard wanted to say something, protest maybe, disobey. But instead he heavily swallowed it down, and after a glance touched with tender concern for the prisoner, he left the hall.
Hera watched the prisoner as he lay unconscious. Who are you? she wondered.