There is Romance here, and I love it.
Hera was sort of stunned to see Ganymede looking lovingly into his scrying pool, watching his Champion gardening. The boy's skill as a gardener was simple and elegant, nurturing the plant with love and magic. She could not help but smile as the chanted, causing a sunflower of all thing to blossom up from the soil and bloom in full glory. The sweet but simple power of the boy's magic was something to admire.
Still, her focus was on Ganymede's look of pure adoration.
'I have never seen him so... in love, nor have I sensed him happy in all the eons I have known him.'
Then, she watched as his Champion cut the sunflower, and whisper over it. "To Ganymede, may you find it's as beautiful as I do. Sunflowers are my favorite flower, and I hope you enjoy it as well."
There was a swirling of power as Ganymede summoned the flower to his hand. He pulled out a vial from his neck and placed a single drop onto the flower. It shimmered with power, before he planted it in the garden by his scrying pool. The flower instantly grew roots, rising to a peek.
'It must have been water from his Chalice. In mortals it creates immortality, he made the flower everlasting.' And she knew, in her heart of hearts, that the boy gods was in love Or at the least, was on the path to falling in love. "How sweet." She whispered before she could stop it, startling Ganymede.
"Lady Hera." He said, not quivering, but standing taller than she had ever seen him.
Absently, she noticed he was now carrying a sword, one of her son's make, a Xiphos. The boy god looked sweaty, likely having been training. "I didn't know you still practiced swordplay."
He nodded. "I haven't for eons, but I was reminded of my past as a Trojan prince. I was once an expert swordsman, I wanted to reclaim my past skill."
"For the boy, for Mason?" She smirked.
Ganymede looked on coldly, almost startling her. He had never looked so... potent. "Yes, why do you ask?"
"You have been interfering too much, with plans. I cannot allow you to continue."
He rolled his eyes, enraging the Queen but before he could react, he asked. "In what way? I have no knowledge of your plans. I only knew of Leo through Hephaestus mentioning how he yearned to help the poor boy. I am doing what I can for others, you are not even a footnote in my plans."
The backhanded comment made her sneer, a sight that even Zeus cringe at but the boy god just took. "Would you run your mouth if Zeus knew you were falling for that mortal?"
The Boy god finally recoiled, knowing Zeus' wrath would be immeasurable. "Fine, what do you want?"
"Stay away from Leo Valdez, his path belongs to me."
"Zeus has already forbidden Mason from too much interaction, and warned me of the same. You will get your pawn, one way or another."
"Good... Now remember, all it would take is one conversation with MY husband, and you may find yourself falling from Olympus."
The Boy god dulled. "Hera, I never chose to be with Zeus, why must you allow his actions to dictate your hatred toward me? He literally kidnapped me, stole me from my family and abused me as a child. You know this and yet you hate me."
His word, like ice, pierced her heart and made her recoil in rage. "You seduced my husband into his infidelity!"
"I was fifteen, so no I did not." He turned from her. "Just go, you said you piece. I want to relax after a hard training session."
She sneered once more. "Remember yourself, and never forget your place."
"""
'Stupid bitch... I have never chosen to be a god or to sleep with Zeus. I am a victim... but I refuse to be one for much longer. Seeing Mason, the only person to treat me like a person, rise in power and gain his own purpose... it has inspired me. I will change my role, I will gain power and too come to matter beyond what was forced onto me. One way or another, I will matter.'
And so he watched the boy he was coming to love, Hera had not been wrong, hoping that one day his love would be reciprocated...
Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.
This was a joy to write.
Love, your Ninja Overlord,
Mika.