The Queen's Irony

6

Weeks passed by and neither mortal or goddess made an attempt to contact each other again after that morning. Adiya thought it to be extremely awkward whenever Hera caught her leaving her bedroom after spending the afternoon with Zeus, and Hera found it uncomfortable every time she shared meals with Zeus and Adiya. The two seldom spoke to each other but that was hardly a problem. The real problem was the gossip.

It was remarkable to hear all the rumors spreading around even without having the fuel to start the fire. Some said Hera was biding her time, meticulously planning Adiya's downfall. Others said Adiya finally put Hera in her place. While very few said Zeus and Hera were in the midst of a divorce and Adiya and Zeus were actually engaged.

They caught on so quickly they made the front cover of Olympus Weekly, a tabloid magazine that specialized in publicizing the private drama within the Olympians' lives. At reading this, Zeus finally decided it was time to put the tittle-tattle to an end. Once again he proved to Hera how much control he had over her life. He made the morning stroll she took with Adiya all those weeks ago a mandatory thing and, of course, she had to oblige.

That's how she found herself walking to her gardens to meet Adiya the next morning. She sighed, she was gonna go there anyway, she wanted to check on how well her poppies were fairing. She heard from Demeter and Hestia that when mixed in a tea they could help the drinker feel at ease and make any ache go away. She was hoping this to be true. Maybe Adiya would disappear if she drank a cup. Maybe Zeus would stay faithful if she took two cups. Artemis and Aphrodite would probably move away or disappear if she took three or four. Maybe if she took ten Athena would finally shut the fuck up and Ares would get married and she would finally have legitimate grandchildren.

The thought about the poppies immediately left her mind as she found Adiya waiting for her at the fountain, reaching into the water. The sun glistened off her beige dress. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and, as always, she was barefoot. Who did this girl think she was? Snow White?

She cleared her throat in order to catch the mortal's attention and the latter sprang upright, water dripping from her closed hand.

"Leave those coins there. Unless you want me to label you as a thief, too."

~o0o~

"So what's up with the accent? Is it aesthetic or were you actually born with it?" Adiya wondered. The two women had sat down at a bench to rest up a bit, they were already sweating from the morning sun's heat. Hera could already tell today was gonna be a bitch.

However.

At the mention of her accent Hera's usual frown turned into a very small smile.

"Some years ago, I wanted to go to England, but I never found the time to go and just tour around. I wanted to visit on good terms, too. So my first time with it wasn't tainted. And then, Zeus found out and as an anniversary gift we went to live in London for a year," Adiya nodded in understanding. "You caught the accent."

Hera nodded, letting out a soft sigh, and then she shook herself gently out of the memory. She looked over at Adiya,"Have you ever visited another country?"

Adiya shook her head,"What about another state?"

Again, she shook her head,"City?"

"No. I've never been outside of LA in my life. Let alone Reseda."

Hera rose her eyebrows in shock. She always seemed to forget that mortals couldn't astro travel the way gods could. She almost felt sorry for the poor girl. She looked over to the rising sun deep in thought.