Sorry for not updating in such a long time. But I have been quite busy with life and work and such. Nevertheless I hope there's still someone out there who want to read this story about the early years of the Olympic gods.

/SE

Hera

It took five years until I saw Zeus again. Years spent by getting some kind of life on my own anew. Adrasteia left in spite of my pleas with her to stay. She had been unrelenting, she told me she was getting too restless and simple needed to get away.

I thought of turning some of the big rooms back to stone again, but then I figured that they might be needed in the future so I let them remain. But I quit using them and went back to those two rooms I had started with, got another dog and concentrated on the goat-herding life again.

Now and then some god stopped by at my place. Injured fighters who needed long-term healing, like growing out a cut-off limb or something. And with them came fresh news about how the war was going. Mostly it was swaying to and from, with no-one seemingly gaining an upper hand.

Then one summer day he returned. I was sleeping in, tired after a late night with an injured goat, when a rap on the door woke me up. Quickly I swept a gown around me (I had grown too skinny since I became alone, not fancying cooking anymore) and started a fire in the hearth. Then I went down and answered the door.

And there he was, my Zeus, greeting me with an awkward one-arm hug since he was carrying a child on his right arm. A girl about five years old. The war had changed him, he looked hardened, stronger and tougher. He had grown a beard, which suited him even if it was probably done out of convenience rather than vain. Then there was a new shine in his eyes. Grim and smart, but also with a grain of sadness, like he had seen too much terror, too many deaths.

"Come on in, Zeusy!" I held up the door. "And you too!" I nodded to the two deities following him. The lithe, blond goddess I recognised as Nike, daughter of Pallas and Styx. She was constantly following Zeus these days. The god though was unfamiliar to me. And who was the girl? She was too old to be a daughter of Zeus.

¤¤¤

"She's Hera", Zeus told when we were gathering around my fireplace drinking heated wine. "A true immortal, yet born from mortal parents. They were probably killed when the Titans swept in over the city of Khorae. This little girl survived, only to be caught by Chronos' men who were dragging her off to who knows what terrible faith when I rescued her."

Hera hadn't said a word. She was sitting in the lap of her saviour, holding on to him and with her head buried at his chest, dark locks of hair hiding her features.
"Hi Hera!" I tried to peak in behind those locks, wanting to get a closer look at the girl, but she didn't let me.
"She's shy, scared", Zeus told. "She hasn't said a word since I got her. But she won't let go off me."

"A state of chock, no doubt", Nike stated, helping herself to more of the beverage.
"Who can blame her?" said the god who had introduced himself as Prometheus. He looked more like a scholar than a warrior to be true, tall and slender and with intelligent eyes in a narrow face and a ponytail of bluish-black hair.

" I want to ask you one thing, Thea", Zeus went on. "I want you to take care of little Hera for me. The way you took care of me. She has lost everything and she sure needs a good home. And a honey-cake now and then. "
" Of course I will", I assured my boy. "I'll bake some cakes for you to take away too."

Once more I tried to have a look at Hera and once more she didn't let me. Yet I felt assured that I was going to win the girl's heart, given time. She seemed to be a sweetheart, and was looking strong and healthy even for a goddess.

" How long are you staying?" I asked the threesome.
" Only for the night", Zeus said. "We're going south, trying to locate the pantheon of Amon-Ra, pleading with them to join our case."

" I wish you luck, Zeus. How's it going by the way, this war?"
" Oh - up and down. We're powerful, that's true, but we are too few. That's why I need to have other Gods joining us. Both Amon-Ra and his pantheon and Mitrah and Ahura Mazda in the east. I'm going to tell them that if we loose, the Titans will come for them next, and then they too will be the unlucky inhibitors of Tartarus. "

" When will you be able to rescue them? Your mother and sisters and brothers?" I asked.
" I hope soon. But I can't go down there now. Can't give up command yet. That's another reason why I need to look for new Gods. So we can secure our victories, so I might place trustworthy Gods as governors over our liberated cities and still have forces enough with me to fight the Titans. "

¤¤¤

Zeus, Nike and Prometheus didn't get away without trouble the next day. Hera refused to let go of Zeus, he had to pry her little hands loose from around his neck, talking soothing and comforting to the girl who was crying soundlessly from large, dark eyes.
" Little one, you have to stay with Amalthea now, while I'm continuing on my journey south. I can not take you with me, you know. It's too dangerous. "

And for the first time the girl spoke. Or rather screamed.
" Nooooo!" she was yelling. "You promised me you were going to protect me. Like I was your own little sister. I don't want you to go! I don't want you to, Zeus! Everybody just disappear! Mum and dad. And Brismene and Hippios. They just disappear! Don't do that to me, Zeus!"

" But I'll come back for you, Hera. I promise. "
" Everybody say that", Hera was crying. "But no-one ever does. Mum and dad left me in the temple. And Brismene... "
" Hera, Hera! Please don't cry! I promise I'll return! I will do that. Meanwhile Thea will..."
" I want to come with you."
" But you can not. "

They argued like that for a while, then Zeus firmly placed her sitting on the staircase and gave me a quick hug before leaving.
" Be tender with her. She's fragile" he said.
" I will. Take care, Zeus! "

Then the struggle started. First Hera didn't want to leave the staircase. She sat where Zeus had placed her, sobbing. I tried gentle words and to bribe her with goodies, but to no avail. Eventually she came up, no doubt tempted by the smell of food when I was making dinner. But she ate very little, and never looked at me nor spoke during the meal.

And when I later showed her the room where Zeus had lived she obediently went to bed, still without speaking a word or showing even the slightest emotion. I tried to tell her about how much Zeus had loved this room and the view over the sea, but Hera only shrugged and turned her back. Poor little girl. And poor me, I realised I was looking at a hard time gaining this little ones confidence.

¤¤¤

I woke up late in the night, only an hour or so before sunrise, my inner timing told me. Something had disturbed my sleep.

Hera? was the first thing that that came to my mind. I went out of bed and over to the girls room. The door was slightly ajar and I pushed it open, already knowing what I was going to find. Or rather not find. So true, Hera's bed was empty.

"She's only at the outhouse" I told myself, realising as soon as I was saying it that I was wrong. Hera was gone.

Interlude

Hera, yes. That's one special person. She had to endure a lot during her early years of marriage to Zeus, and I admire her for standing by her man and also sticking up for him when he was having trouble with younger gods wanting to disrupt his world order.

Because while Zeus was a wise and noble ruler, always listening to reason and able to straighten out trouble and quarrels between other gods, he definitely didn't behave mature within the marriage. He was constantly cheating on his women, couldn't let a tempting beauty be. And since he is power, and on top of that both charming and gorgeous, he sure was getting them all.

The girls were in fact running after him, throwing their eggs at him so he ended up with countless of children. And all the time Hera stayed by Zeus' side, although she was crying and arguing with him all the time.

It wasn't until after The Great Withdrawal he learned to control these desires and stay faithful to his beloved. Thus Hera got remembered by the mortals as "the jealous one". A pity, because she was and is so much more. She's Zeus' loyal and hard-working life-comrade, his second in command and source of inspiration. And one of the few persons who can soothe his bad temper.

We haven't met in a while but now and then we call each other or chat over the Internet.
"So how are you enjoying DC?" I ask her on the phone while painting my toe-nails blue.
"A bit better this time" Hera says on the other end of the hands-free receiver. I can hear from the noise that she's in a car, driving herself, doing the whole mortal stunt.

" There's more women in power these days and lesser cloned suits-and-ties who tries to reinvent the things my ZeeZee has been doing for millennia. Down to the very – well, you remember Mr Clinton. "
" Yeah, sure, it was like watching a rerun of your first centuries. Complete with the girls with hairdos from Hades. But are these women in power really different? "
" At least they are original. Or try to be. "

" When you get tired of it down there, come to Manhattan and we can go shopping and then there's a new Broadway musical I'm sure you're going to love. "
" Great! Haven't been to Appletown since that crackpot drove his aeroplane into the WTC. We sure did screw up that time, no one taking the warning signs seriously. "

" Perhaps. But Hera, it takes more than some planes to take out this city, it's healthy and vital! "
" And you are in love, not only with a city but with its guardian as well. "
" Is that so obvious?"
" Oh, come on? How long have we been knowing each other?"

" Some millennia, little runaway! And you were bounding to Zeus already back then while I kept walking from arms to arms. "
"You think this is it then?"
"I'm not sure. But I'm certainly going to enjoy this ride as long as it lasts. "
" Thea, I'm going to have to hang up now, but you sure must come to DC too. We've found a great house this time. Almost Greek Style. Not like that fake art-noveau repulsivety we dwelled in last time. Talk to you soon, darling!"
" Talk to you soon too, Hera!"

Interlude ends

Zeus returned with Hera around sunset. She had found him down in Luxor, by tracing his soul pattern. Unusual for a girl at that early age. And she was quite and withdrawn while dragging her feet after her up the stairs and into the room that had been Zeus'.
" Sleep with one eye open now, will you!" he told me.
" I'll do my best. "

But my best was not good enough. Twice more Hera ran away, and the last time Zeus agreed upon letting her stay. But not without conditions.
" If you are going to be with me you'll have to do everything I say. The moment I say it. Do you accept that, Hera?"
" I do. As long as I can stay. Can you turn me into a warrior, Zeus?"
" Not me, that'll be Pyrrhikhos' job. I won't have much time for training and teaching, and besides he's better than I at these things. "

" Who's he?"
" You'll meet him when we get back to Atlantis again. And you'll have to obey him too."
" But what if he gives order that contradicts yours? Who do I obey?"
" Me of course. Stop being so clever! Now, do you like honey-cakes? "
" Sure! You've got some? "

That settled it. Hera stayed with Zeus, received the same training as he had, and could join his forces at the end of the war. And a few decades later that sister-brother thing went out the window, and they entered a more well-known relation.