The Gift of the Lethe

The Winged Messenger

Hermes grins at her, his eyes gleaming with a mischievous light. "You've been busy, sister."

Athena smiles back, her gaze sweeping over him for any indication of what he knows. "Hermes. I was just about to look for you."

"Were you? It seems I picked the right time." He shifts, crossing his long legs to lean against the wall. "Stop analyzing, would you? It creeps me out, and it isn't needed. I'm here to help."

She doesn't give him more than a single blink to indicate her shock, raising an eyebrow at him. "What do you know, Hermes?"

"Everything. I know of your plan against our Father, I know of the reasons behind it, and I know who is and isn't on your side. You were about to come ask me to join your side, spouting your spiel again. I don't need to hear that once more, so let's get right to it. I'm helping you. You're right, Father has gone too far and needs to be stopped. There are many things most of us would like to do but can't, because of his rules."

"Like what?"

"Seeing our kids, for one. So much could have been prevented if we were allowed to interact with them beyond just claiming them. So I will help you, on the condition that the rule about our kids is overturned upon our victory."

Athena smiles at her brother. "I can agree to that quite easily."

He nods, giving her a soft smile in return. "So, how long do you think it'll be until Ares tells father about your little uprising?"

She wants to raise an eyebrow at him calling it her uprising, but he isn't wrong. She is the one who called for it, no one else. In a way, it does belong to her.

"If he plans on taunting me with his knowledge, if he tries to put me on edge with worry, then he'll wait a few days. If he's really eager for that fight or just doesn't care about messing with my head, then we'll know within the next few hours."

"What do you think will happen then?"

"Knowing Zeus, he'll summon me to speak with him as a guise, and then he'll punish me for acting against him."

Hermes blinks at her. "Two things. One, you're prepared for being punished, considering what happened in the last uprising?"

"I must be. I made this choice, I will carry the consequences on my own shoulders. I hope we can prevent that of course, and we should be able to if we can act quickly enough. But if we fail, and the worst comes to worst-"

"I'll protect Pallas for you. We all will, Sister."

Athena blinks back the tears of gratitude in her eyes. "Thank you."

"Of course. We'll take her to the sea, if something happens. Father can't follow her there."

She just nods, not able to bring herself to words. Hermes pushes off the wall and crosses over to her, leading her back to the looms in the center of the room. He sits on the stool she normally uses, leaving Athena to sit in Pallas' normal seat. He squeezes her hand.

"It's okay to be scared, Athena. That means you thought things through."

Athena laughs. "Being wise is my job, brother."

"Oh hush. I'm a thief. I can steal it from you for a moment."

Athena laughs again. "You're not a good thief, if you're admitting to it."

"Maybe it's all in my master plan. Didn't you think of that?" His smile fades a moment later as he leans forward. "My second thing. Why are you calling Father Zeus now, Athena?"

She sighs. "Because my love for him, it hurts me. It's reached beyond that point, actually. It's a festering wound that needs to heal, and the only way it can is to let him go. He's caused too much damage to me, Hermes, and I refused to see it for so long. I was his obedient daughter, reaching for the love he could never fully give me back. How could he, when he only really thinks of his own desires? I had to let him go, and no longer calling him Father is the first of many steps."

Hermes lunges off the stool, reaching for Athena to pull her into a hug. She lets him, gracelessly falling off of her own stool into his arms. He presses a hand into her hair as she settles against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"Oh, Athena. I'm so sorry. I never realized."

"I never realized, brother. And I'm the Goddess of Wisdom."

He hugs her tighter.

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Did you think it would be Hermes? What did you think of their discussion at the end? What's going to happen next? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~ Goddess of Fate, signing out