Before They Fall

Prologue

It was almost midnight on a warm summer's eve. In the quiet oasis, the goddesses arrived in succession of power. First it was Hera. The mother who had first called out the insanity of her male partner. Then is was Athena, the one who brought the solution; she was followed soon after by Aphrodite. And so, on and so forth until the six females all stood before the pool of water that would act as their medium tonight.

"Good, good. We're all here. Tell me my sisters in plight, do any search for us tonight?" Hera murmured in a quiet voice so that no one else but those intended to hear, would.

There were several heads that nodded and a few quiet noises of agreement too.

"Should I ask how it is that the moon is rising?" Athena raised one blonde eyebrow at Artemis.

"Should you feel the need, feel free. My brother and I have a deal; it is him who impersonates me tonight. He will think nothing of it," said Artemis. While some of the other goddesses might be worried, she knew her brother would not question this.

Athena appraised her for a moment before nodding her head. "Then let us begin."

The goddesses accepted the command; they stepped aside for the first to emerge for a gift to the pool.

Demeter was dressed in a swirl of plants and trees. As she stepped towards the pool, she took an acorn from it and held it in an open palm.

"With this, I give her form. May her bones be strong, and her roots dig deep," as she spoke she slowly closed her fist. At the end, she held her hand out over the water and released the now crushed seed.

Without another word she drifted back amongst the crowd as Artemis stepped forward. With a quick draw, she drew an arrowhead across her palm and let the blood drip into the pool. "What was once my blood shall now be yours. Let it bring you courage and be the spark of your soul."

And then came Aphrodite. She stepped towards the water and drew a vial from her gown, "With courage and a soul must come the beauty of life; to you I give my tears. Tears of joy, tears of anguish, and tears born of love." She brought the vial to her lips and kissed it gently before turning it over, allowing the contents to spill out. The tears slipped into the water without a splash.

Athena came next. From a pouch she drew a handful of ash, "This is the ash of my first companion. Let this grow to be your mind, as sharp as it once was. Let it tame your emotions into a weapon. And let it lead you to do what is right." She glanced at Aphrodite with the ghost of a smile gracing her lips. Without wasting another moment, she left the remains of her first feathered friend fall into the water.

The goddesses in union turned to look at Hera as she came forward. "And I, my dear child, shall give you the gift of birth. For it is me who shall bear you into this world." As she walked towards the pool, she let her robe slip off her and she stepped into the water. The water glowed where it touched the goddess, and soon the glow grew as she reached the center of the pool.

The other goddesses circled the pool around the edges, evenly distributed and together they chanted in a language long forgotten by man. The language of the Gods.

I stood away and let them chant. Their words in human tongue roughly translated to:

With one there is hope, and with many there is chance.

Together we stand, against the oppression

A wronging has been done. And now it shall be undone

Let our will be known, let a child be born.

She will grow and she will live.

On a day of misfortune, let their paths cross

Let her be his undoing

For no power is greater than that of love

Together there is hope, with this one there is a chance

Of course, it sounded far more mystical in the original tongue. The water was surging around Hera now. It swirled up around her and encased her. It obscured the view of any who dared to look. The chanting kept up from all the other goddesses as time went on, but it was not long until suddenly the water receded.

Hera kneeled with a baby at her breast.

She shared a moment with the child; the bond of motherhood. Hera's raised her head and looked to the sky, "My final gift to this child; the gift of a name. Alexia Hope. For she shall be our savior."

Only when she looked up and meet my gaze did I slowly approach the pool.

With the grace of a god, she carried the child to my awaiting arms.

"Hello small one, I am Hestia. Though my strength has been stripped, my grace has never needed more than open arms. My gift to you is the gift of a home." I swaddled the new born infant in my arms and kissed her forehead.

Hera's hands touched my shoulders and soon after I felt the arms of my family embrace me.

This was it. This was the first step in turning back the tide. Male dominance ruled the world. The gods that were once a council were now unbalanced. With the god of wine sitting in what was once my throne, the precarious scale was tipped.

And there was only one god who could fix it. Zeus. But power had corrupted him. Hera couldn't reach him anymore. Poseidon had left the land of the gods to return to the sea. Hades had no time to spare.

We had no choices left. This child was our final chance, so said the three Fates. 

I could only hope that Alexia Hope would fulfill her destiny.

We stood at that pool until the night threatened to leave and with a final parting from mother and child, our group dispersed.

I would travel with the child to the other side of the world. A place no one would bother to look, and no one would find if they did.

As they had banished me from Olympus, no one would be looking for me. They feared the wrath of Zeus. This much I understood. It was common to fear men drunk on power.

A shiver passed through me, I held the child closer to my arms and scurried through the forest. Artemis had offered her wolves to me, and soon they would find me. They would offer their protection to us, to the girl in my arms.

But tonight, we would be alone. For airport security typically frowned at wild wolves roaming the airport.