The Queen's Irony

21

“Hera.”

His voice had startled her. The deep rumble of his voice made every fiber of her body vibrate, and she wasn’t entirely sure it was in a good way. She looked up from her spot on the ground to the back door. Zeus blocked the way inside. He looked down at her, his eyes clouded by a thought. He was at his most dangerous, he was scheming. Hera’s chest tightened, that look was all she needed to know that he knew.

She had stood up immediately, the way she had been groomed to whenever Zeus called for her. She had to tie her own weight to the ground to keep from swaying or trembling. If she could play it off and keep it cool he’d leave Her alone. Hera didn’t care if this got her another beating, but she needed to make sure Adiya would be left out of this. 

Zeus never moved. He stayed there, staring at her until finally he opened his mouth to speak.

“What are you doing out here alone?”

“I’m waiting for Her. She’s rather tired from last night and of course the shirk slept in.”

“You seem upset.”

“Upset? Me? Oh, Zeus, when don’t I look upset? At this point it’s just my resting face.”

“Yes. Of course. Exactly what did you do yesterday? You just disappeared, and now you’re telling me you and her spent the night together?”

“Oh, don’t start this again, Zeus. I’ve mentioned this to you before, She’s your mistress. I’m able to tolerate Her now because I’ve been finding it easier to talk with Her. I will admit, She’s better at holding intellectual conversations than I thought. She rivals Athena in the department actually. Chaos knows I’ll do anything to avoid speaking to Athena again.”

“You haven’t answered the question.”

“Zeus? You’re-you’re not being serious?”

“I asked you a question, Hera.” His voice shook her core again. His eyes stared at her, scanning, searching, prying. She felt herself begin to die again. She wouldn't be able to pull this off. She’d lose Adiya, and winning Artemis’ favour would have been for naught. She swallowed the bile in her throat and opened her mouth to respond, “She and I raced the sun. She had come up with a completely preposterous idea that we can outrun the sun by staying ahead of it. She challenged and I complied. I admit, it was a rather, brash action for me to take without letting you know. But I didn’t think you'd mind. You wanted us to spend more time together after all.”

His eyes ran up and down her body hungrily. He was looking for a tip-off, something that told him she was lying. She knew because she did the same when he ran off on his escapades. She did her best to swallow the bile in her throat discreetly.

“Was that it? You were just humoring her?” She saw something in his face twitch. That was more unnerving than him actually succumbing to his rage because this meant he didn’t believe her, but he wanted to see how much she would continue to unravel her web. The thought that he was waiting for the perfect time to trap her in her own string frightened her. All she could do to keep from giving herself away, due to the rising quaver that had started in her soles that had now crept up to her vocal chords, was give a nod.

They stared each other in the eye for what seemed to be the longest time. She couldn’t stand it. Without touching her, his eyes were numbing her. He didn’t need to lay a finger on her for her to be able to feel his bolts. She ended up lowering her gaze. She gave him all the confirmation he needed with the gesture and he gave her a cruel smile, “Come now, my love. You act as if you’re in trouble when clearly you were only humoring the mortal. Lift your gaze.”

Hera rose her eyes to stare back into his cold ones. They sparked with some type of energy that she had vague memories of. “You have the eyes of a child. What are you so frightened of? Come. Give me a hug. I won't bite you." 

She forced her best genuine smile and walked toward him. The two embraced, but it felt more like she had walked into his trap. His arms weren’t warm or comforting, nor was his scent like that night. They were doing the opposite. They were causing her to panic. She tried to pull away but he held tighter. When she was close to hyperventilating he finally let her go.

She took a small step backwards and he stood to the side. He gestured at the temple, "Breakfast is ready."

She looked ahead of her at the cold, dark hallway that welcomed her. She took cautious steps inside and stood by the door, her eyes scanning the corners and the shadows. She felt Zeus smack her bottom so she’d walk. She jumped forward toward the dining room. When she stepped in, Zeus stood by the door.

She turned to look at him, “You won’t join me, husband?”

“In a moment, I’ve forgotten something, stay here unless I call or an emergency allows for it, I won’t be long. In fact, get started on your breakfast. Don’t wait for me or Her,” his eyes had changed. They were soft again and comfortable to look at again. Hera felt her tension begin to ease and she gave a soft nod. She turned to sit down at her chair, and when she faced the door again, Zeus had left and the doors were closed. She looked down emptily at her plate. 

Her food was cold now but she ate anyway. Despite the rising nausea that rose in her throat from nowhere really,she continued eating.  She could feel her stomach churn, and her eyes began to burn. Why was she acting this way? What was going on with her? Her body began to ache and her body trembled. When she’d lift her fork it shook so bad she couldn’t keep the egg she had ordered on it. She had to stop moving and let herself convulse. She hyperventilated and cried. 

She heard the sound of rain fall outside. When a strong wave of pain washed over her there’d be a wave of pouring rain outside. Hera couldn’t take it, she rushed to the bathroom across the hallway and let go of whatever she had holding within her body. She continued to tremble and cry and her throat began to burn. The sound of the rain and thunder covering her noises. When her episode finished she stood shakily, keeping herself supported by carrying her weight on the sink and walls.

She walked back out into the hall feeling lightheaded. Her vision was blurred. The walls continued to slide away from her and the floor continued to move lower or higher with each step. Then there was a knock at the door.  She turned toward the source of what became an echo to her and stumbled forward. She looked through the window, her eyes finally piecing together who stood outside.

She opened the door wondering if this was just her hallucinating, “Aphrodite? Why are you here?”