[2] 𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐁𝐀𝐁𝐘 ― l.valdez ✓

002.

she sort of lost all respect for hera after she had a dream from her. which is probably when every single bad thing started to really happen.

you see, cherry only ever had dreams from her mom. and her mom was the best. demeter always warped the dream so they were in a lovely field of wheat, and they'd chat over dream-made tea that cherry could only imagine tasted devine. but this dream she had with hera... not so much. no wheat field. no nice tea. nothing.

although perhaps cherry should be sympathetic, the queen of the heavens was trapped inside a cage.

she'd blinked deliriously when she saw the woman in the cage. she was weak, terribly weak, and her skin looked worse than deathly pale. she looked tired, with black circles weighing under her eyes and chapped lips along with bloodshot eyes, like she hadn't slept in days.

"my dear," hera spoke with a corak, "at last... i have been able to speak with you."

"queen hera?" she stammered, looking around. did she curtsey? did she bow? what in hades was she meant to do? she had to show respect somehow!

so in the end, she did an awkward sort of bow. that looked like a cross between a spasm and maybe a courtesy if she'd twisted her ankle. it was awkward and painful for the both of them. at least, that's what cherry guesses.

"it is me, yes," confirmed hera, "i have come to you- to send you a message."

"a message?" asked cherry, tilted her head slightly.

"yes," nodded hera in a grave tone, "i have been trying to keep you here in new yor-"

"wait-" frowned cherry, "are you the who keeps stealing my money?"

"not stealing, dear, trying to help you achieve great-"

"how is stealing my money helping me 'achieve greatness'?" asked cherry, trying to remain calm, "explain me that, queen hera. and why are you trying to keep me away from camp half-blood? my home? why are you-"

"please," coughed hera, "let me finish, you were never meant to die. you are apart of something big. you must know that. you must free me."

"look miss queen of the heavens," spoke cherry politely, "i know i'm part of a prophecy- but pardon me for benign rude, but i don't think a great prophecy revolves around freeing one goddess."

"you must free me," repeated hera.

cherry looked at hera, her eyes squinting. her form flickered slightly ans she seemed to be wincing. she looked weak and covered in ichor. she seemed weak and fragile, which was very different to what cherry expected from the immortal beings who basically ruled the world. of course, she'd never seen too many gods before, so she didn't exactly have a very clear image of what they were meant to look like.

"free you?" she asked, "what happened to you?"

"many things have happened, young one," hera rasped, "but you must help me. you will travel to find me. along with four others."

"others?" she asked, confusion spread clearly across her face, "what do you mean? i'm not-"

"i shall take you to three of them," spoke hera, "you'll meet the final one soon. although it shall be... a familiar face."

cherry frowned, very confused with what exactly was happening. she walked closer to queen hera, but it seemed she couldn't. figures, you cant talk to a goddess but can't walk around in a dream. made total sense. hera let out a shaky breath before she started to wince. soon, she started to look different. very different. she wore a goat skinned cloak and looked more agitated. and a hell of a lot more warlike.