Chapter 10: The Cycle Broken
Hera awoke sore. She could not recall the last time her body felt this amazing. Her thighs had been bruised by Heracles' great strength. She often wondered how powerful he was. To experience it firsthand was as divine as everything else about him.
She pulled herself off her bed and her legs wobbled from the effort.
Hera dressed without the help of servants. She wore a purple and golden gown reminiscent of the peacock, which was her symbol. The real reason she wore it was that she had not wanted Zeus to see the marks Heracles had left on her.
She had to wash her body so there was no cum leaking on her leg the night before. Strangely, she had discovered while other gods had white and golden seed, his was silver and gold.
Upon reaching the dining room, she found Zeus feasting.
"Ah! Hera! So it all went well?" he asked from his side of the table. Surprisingly, despite Hera not having laid with him, Zeus was looking better. He was not fully restored as from sex with Hera, but his muscles had returned and the lighting was pulsating around his beard.
"It did. Heracles was drunk, I think, but very active with this woman. If we are lucky, she has already conceived."
"And you won't tell me the identity of this goddess? Are you even sure she is a goddess?"
"I am, and I will not be telling you," she said. "You're too vindictive. When your grandchild is born and healthy, then you can try and hurl lightning bolts at them."
"It is not Hebe then?" Zeus asked.
Hera had forgotten all about her daughter and her desire to have her champion. Even as she felt Heracles' seed in her, Hera closed her eyes from the guilt of it all.
"No. And that is all I will tell you."
"Well, good. Have fun babysitting. You will need to do it eleven more times."
"Excuse me?" Hera snapped back as she was looking at roasted quail for her breakfast.
"The Fates said something about bedding this woman once for every Olympian to conceive this child."
"What?" Hera asked, annoyed. "Gaia said nothing about this!"
"Is that any surprise? I think she enjoys seeing you having to defend one of my bastards."
Hera allowed Zeus' comment to stand. Heracles was much more than just his bastard, so much more.
"What will you do?"
"You will
not
be discovering the identity of this goddess, Zeus. I know better than to play this game with you. If you try to find out, I will make sure all you find is me. And when you betray my privacy, you will find that I will not be so kind."
"Understood. What would you have me do?"
"Play with one of your whores for all I care. The sooner this trial is over, the sfer Olympus will be."
"It is strange to see you play nice with Heracles given your disdain for him."
"Zeus," Hera said calmly. "If you want to continue having my help, you might decide to silence yourself. My goodwill and pragmatism are the only qualities protecting you from me snapping at you. Let's enjoy breakfast as I have a meeting with the queens later today, and Heracles is sure to ask questions about what I know about this woman."
"Oh! So he has never met her before today," Zeus teased.
A single glare was all she gave him for warning. All too quickly, he silenced himself.
---
Heracles rolled onto the floor, knees first, when he woke up. His body felt...strangely...amazing. He had never felt that after sex with any woman. Who had he been with? He had seen Hera, but he distinctly remembered some other, more passionate woman.
Why had he gotten so drunk?
His memory was playing cruel tricks on him. He could only remember the woman having the most beautiful body in existence while also being the most amazing lover he had ever had.
Whoever she was, he would have to have her again.
But he would never have Dionysus' wine, for his own memory's sake.
"Hermes!" Heracles called.
The messenger god appeared at his door in a flash.
"Present!" he said in a sing-song voice.
"Tell Hera I need to see her and whoever she brought with her last night. And apologize to her for my drunkenness."
"Will do, Herc," Hermes said, using the Roman nickname for Heracles.
The hero-god allowed it because Hermes was incorrigible and utterly irreplaceable.
Standing up, Heracles legs buckled under his weight. That had never happened before. And his cock felt more sensitive than ever. Whoever this woman was, he needed to have her again.
---
"Okay!" Amphitrite exclaimed, last as always to appear at the meetings. "Who was she?"
Hera looked aghast at the rage in Amphitrite's eyes.
"Excuse me?"
"Don't play dumb, Hera. Who is she? Who is the slut that was with him last night?"
"How would you know he was with someone?" Hera wondered.
"He is with someone every night," Persephone commented. Surprisingly, the goddess of spring did not sound possessive.
"That and Poseidon felt some of his strength return to him when we were in bed last night," Amphitrite informed.
"The same was true of Hades," Persephone said.
"Well, I will not be throwing this girl to the wolves. I told Zeus her identity would be private until his grandchild is born."
"So you do know!" Amphitrite accused.
Hera nodded. "The Fates and a few titans were helpful in finding her identity."
"Why would they do that?" the sea goddess cried.
"They think this will bring about the downfall of Zeus," Hera explained, exasperated. "My husband and I have already gone in circles over this. Olympus
must
be preserved. Everything else comes secondary."
"When your husband is Olympus, I guess that makes things easier," Amphitrite commented.
"Easier?" Hera exclaimed. "Easier while Zeus fucks all of womankind and his son is bedding half of the goddesses known to man? Easy while I have to be the one to facilitate one of the hardest exchanges in all out history? Let's be honest, the titans are playing a dangerous game while you want to argue about easiness. Every one of the kings wants to be important but none of them want to make sacrifices. Meanwhile, I find an answer and fewer women need to be involved and you want to complain?"
"I am sorry," Amphitrite said contritely. "So who is this young lady?"
"Anonymous," Hera said simply. "And if anyone looks, she will not be seen. I have a lot of practice concealing people. After Zeus' escapades and him watching me as I made Heracles' life harder, I had to be good about hiding myself. No one except Nyx of the Fates can see this woman and none of them care. Maybe let's focus on helping reorganize Olympus. Heracles' child will be born at some point, and he will be a pince until he can fend for himself. Can we focus on that for now."
Amphitrite agreed begrudgingly. From there, the queens had a productive conversation about gods and the future and who should and should not be allowed near the child. The kings were out. Apollo was not inherently greedy but since Heracles had denied Aphrodite, Apollo's lover, and had bed Persephone, a goddess who had rejected his advances, there was a chance he might be vindictive.
From there, Ares was nothing but praising of Heracles, so he was allowed on a probationary basis. Athena and Artemis were respectful to Heracles, so of course they were allowed.
So on and so forth, they went. The process was arduous and tiresome, but when they were done, the Queen of the Sea was still livid and marched out. Persephone, however, was more keen than the sea goddess and patiently waited. When the Queen of the Underworld was truly alone with Hera, she crossed one leg of the other and simply asked:
"So, how was he?"
---
Heracles dressed in his short garb that only covered him from waist to just above his knee. Something about wearing a full tunic or robe felt wrong.
He considered where to spend his time for the day, but until Hera was free, he would find himself at a loss for direction. For a day, he considered wandering Olympus, but he knew better, given the state of Olympus.
Being contained never suited Heracles. That left him with only one other place where he could be free with his thoughts. In a flash, he left Olympus. What he did not see was that his symbol had gained a luster to one of the stars around his lion.
---
"Excuse me," Hera said back, affronted.
"Don't you try an act with me. You are more protective of this supposed woman's identity than you have been over much else. If I had to guess in the beginning, I would have thought you were being protective of Hebe. But then, why hide it from Zeus? Zeus could whisper into her ear to have Heracles be docile, but you...You would never obey Zeus if you found a way out of your prison of loyalty."
Persephone looked at Hera with a glint of pride. There was more to it than that. Was it jealousy that Hera saw in concert?
"You could never be swayed, and Zeus would be paranoid beyond belief. A child by a queen would be dangerous. A child by
the
queen would mean war. But none of those kings can hurt you..."
Persephone's gaze changed. Hera wondered if she had worked something out.
"And...your child could have the throne. None of them could stop you."
"Persephone?"
"Was that your plan?" she asked, suspicious.
The Queen of Olympus paused for a moment. There were options. Lying was always available. She weighed that as her path, but in the end, she had to chance it. There were so few allies for her on Olympus, but under it, and a wife that had been wronged by another one of the kings might be something worth planning
She motioned for Persephone to come to the other side of the table. Further, she spelled the door so no one would hear their conversation.
"Not in the beginning," Hera admitted. "I had thought there was a weakness in the magic that bound me to Zeus. There was. I can only lay with a god who has eaten from my golden apples."
"And Heracles can do that," Persephone said with realization.
"But it has another property to it."
"And that is?" Persephone asked, more curious than anything else.
"The apples make Heracles infertile to anyone but me until I conceive."
"Which is why he could not give me the son we discussed."
"You both really talked about that?" Hera wondered.
"We understand each other. He's nothing like his father and uncles."
"Which is why last night, when I found he was drunk, I took my only chance to be with him."
"Since no one would know?"
"Since my husband found out that there was one who Heracles could conceive with," Hera remarked, frustrated. "I have been trying to figure out how to end this mess."
"End it? You had sex. He must have succeeded," Persephone said wryly. "You have a certain glow about you."
Hera nodded. "I can't be sure, but it feels like my pregnancy with Ares, but stronger, more vibrant. There's a problem though."
"A problem? If you're pregnant, and he knows that, then everything should be well."
"Fuck!" Hera said, not thinking about that fact. "Two problems."
