Bows and Eros

H&H Chapter 14: Changing Faces

“I can understand,” I said. “It’s hard to be alone. When I was alive, I was always hooked up to some machine getting cancer treatments. A lot of it happens in a way that isolates you. That is the hardest part, being isolated from others.”

        “When I first met Gabriel, he was a new soul,” she said. “He was so much darker than he is now, full of rage and contempt. They marked him when he crossed over, which you’ve seen. But they didn’t condemn him because I ordered that they didn’t, even though he was a murderer.”

“Why did you spare him?” I asked.

“It’s simple,” Hera said. “I can sense true evil without even blinking. For example, your good friend Helena, she I asked to be sent to the depths of the underworld. But Hades spoke on her behalf, not me. When I saw Gabe I didn’t sense evil, I sensed something else entirely. I sensed his pain, and I felt like we were kindred spirits.”

“So when did you fall for him?” I asked her hesitantly.

“After a century or so,” She replied. “It didn’t happen overnight. True love is never instantly, it starts with a spark and builds. Eventually you can have a raging inferno, but it always starts with the tiniest spark. It was little things here and there: a stolen glance, a brush of the hands, a smile. Until finally I made my feelings known.”

“And how did he respond?” I asked.

“He claimed he saw me as a friend,” Hera stated. “Zeus had spoken with him about my feelings. He gave Gabriel the about preserving my honor. He told Gabe that if any man other than my husband were to touch me, it would cause discord in the cosmos. My husband hasn’t touched me since all the invention of fire, but he still wants to claim me. Bastard.”

         “I’m sorry,” I said. “So, what happened next?”

“I assigned him to be a guardian,” Hera said. “He met you, fell in love, and then you know the rest. I had gotten over it, and then he came to me. He told me he’d always loved me, and he always would. He told me he wasn’t afraid anymore, and we were together. I believed it all.”

“And then you realized,” I whispered. “I am sure if it wasn’t for the circumstances, Zeus, love spells, and trips to the underworld, Gabriel could have loved you. You’re the good one, you know. I think you seem wonderful.”

“Ah yes,” she said. “Heroic Hera, saving the universe to go home to an empty dimension. It’s the story of my freakign life, and I can’t find any way to rewrite it.”

        “Well,” I said. “I can’t save your love life; I can’t even control my own. But I do think, if you’d be willing to accept it, perhaps we could be friends.”

“Why would you want to be my friend?” Hera replied. “You don’t even know me.”

“No, I don’t,” I whispered. “But once upon a time you sent a guardian to look after me. Anyone, God or human, who looks after cancer kids is ok in my book.”

“Oh,” Hera said. “I suppose I could use an ally. Especially since it seems like the other gods are planning something.”

“Why do you think that?” I asked.

       “Well, it’s simple,” Hera replied. “Things have been off lately. It started with something small, a cosmic glitch. That of course, was your death. Then other small details started getting tweaked, as if someone was intentionally messing with destiny. The smallest bits of change can cause chaos, you know. Then there was the crack in the underworld; we still don’t who was responsible for that. I believe that someone is trying to take over the underworld.”