Winter solstice
"Lord Boreas and Lady Khione have officially reported, Queen Hera."
The Winter Solstice meeting commenced a few hours before. The Queen's preparation for the meeting was far different compared to the party. Differentiating the two would be considered as appropriate as she was an important figure of the realm. As the Queen, she was a bit more refined in terms of presentation. The evident glare she exuded was rather terrifying in the eyes of the present deities.
Inadvertently, the Queen pursed her lips. "I expect a full-on written report on my desk overmorrow." She imparted. Her hazel orbs fell to the man high-toned dressed in black and grey as his choice of clothing for the Winter Solstice. His passive stance and countenance alerted the Queen of the grave importance with the knowledge he possesses.
Lord Zeus, momentarily, rose to speak when he was abruptly interrupted by his wife with the raise of her hand. He ceased and regarded her with respect when she spoke. The throne was greeted with warmth as he sat back down. His bright interchanging blue eyes averted towards his wife with a knowing glance.
"Lord Hades, I suspect you have impending news for us." Her tone was audacious, firm, and commanding that sent shivers down their spine. There was an adjustment with her posture, though she braced for her anticipation, her profile was guarded safely.
"Your Majesty, Queen Hera, I would like to request a private audience with only our siblings to relay this information." The Lord of the Underworld met her tantalizing gaze at the same level as his intrepid expression.
Hastily, her eyebrows furrowed at his request, a slight alteration to her oblivious façade. With a blink of an eye, she spared a glance at her husband, who was eagerly waiting for her response.
"Granted. Everyone else is dismissed. The celebration will be held in an hour." After a while, in acquiescence, the rest of the meeting attendees rose on their heels and without a word, vanished or left the room in a disorderly manner. This caused the Queen to have a deprecating look plastered on her features.
It was only after the command did the siblings amassed near the King and Queen, their thrones appearing temporarily compressed to the side.
The Elder Olympians were the only deities present in the room.
"What do you have for us, Brother Hades?" The title was supposed to sound in a familial manner, not foreign. There were moments when the border between family and authority would have its veil lowered, particularly in the presence of all six children of Cronus and Rhea.
"It has come to my knowledge that the Void momentarily connected with my domain." Hades relayed the information with hesitation. His siblings weren't exactly known for their subtlety in receiving aggravating news.
"Are there any deleterious beings that could potentially harm us released by the Void?" Poseidon implored.
"None that I know of." The Lord of the Underworld shook his head as he spoke.
"It would not be frowned upon. The creator is not particularly known for producing beings out of nowhere. There might be a potential reason for connecting with your domain." Hestia said.
"For now, none of us have a concrete idea of what that would be. What it would mean for all of us." It was Demeter's turn to speak up. "Would it be safe if we took precautions by exploring the Void?"
"Exploring the Void would be staking our safety, our immortality. There's a reason why fading gods return to the Void after all." Zeus heavily told them of his insights on the matter.
"Which is why the Void is safely being watched over by Erebus. As a direct child of the Void and primordial god of darkness, he is in safe hands of protecting the Void and its surroundings from causing any destruction." Hades explained.
The Queen was silent whereas her neverending thoughts were invading every single space of her mind. This matter was solely hers to handle, not that she would impart that fact to her siblings. The oldest brother watched her with a keen look on his face. Her brooding eyes and unnerving silence in a serious matter was unusual to be found resting upon her features.
"What do you suggest we do?" Demeter asked.
"Nothing." Hera, with all her gracefulness and composure as Queen, stood from her throne and walked to the middle of the room, her back facing the Elder Olympians. Her brother's curious glance urged her to speak up and settle this matter for the time being.
"What?"
"It is only plausible to do nothing. After all, no threats have come to our world. Our Creator, Mother Chaos, is the Goddess without myths. She is known to be nothing. Regarded as lifeless and formless by the Ancient Greeks of our time. And according to Lord Zeus, the Void is our resting place and any disruption might even raise confusion and destruction in both realms. We cannot risk our lives and be welcomed and presented with additional problems on our plate.
We do nothing.
After all, it is only an endless void merged with everlasting nothingness." Twisting the words she relayed was appearing to be difficult on her part. There was a reason for the Void connecting with their world, and as a matter of fact, the creator isn't merely nothing. That entity appears in various forms, a living form, whereas the Void would be her humble abode. It was only a matter of time before she endangers a member of her family with her non-discrete actions. And once the Queen's secret was revealed in the open, there's a possibility that her plans would only go to waste, preventing her from executing her delirious desires.
With her sharp and authoritative tone, no one dared to voice out their viewpoints.
There was a hardened look on Hera's features when she turned to face her siblings. Only, it was Demeter who sank on her throne whilst the rest averted their eyes from the Queen. After all, the history between the two sisters was unforgettable. The goddess of harvest would always stand below the Queen, no matter how much time passes by. There was a time when Demeter would have her by her side and wrap her into a loving embrace. Those years were now over and with them granted with an immortal life, it would only appear as a blur. Even if the Lady Demeter dreaded that she would never have the Queen as her sister once more, a tiny bit of hope still existed inside her.
It was clear that none of them would leave the discussion unresolved but for the time being, no one transpired against the Queen's viewpoints as they held proper wisdom and safety precautions. They may have feared the wrath of the Queen but underneath her cold façade was her love for her family. Everyone was aware of that despite their ill-feelings on the matter.
"If that would be all," Zeus rose from her throne and met his siblings' eyes one by one. "The matter would be temporarily closed. Everyone is dismissed."
There was a lingering stare as his wife strolled away from them. The rainbow goddess, Iris, was quick to appear and assist the reigning Queen to her destination. No doubt, their bed chambers. After all, it was certainly time for them to shine for tonight's festivities.
•••
Her mind was, otherwise, occupied the precise moment she left the throne room. When she appeared inside her chambers in a flash of light, she presented her arm in front of her where there was a small vial containing specs of black and grey that appeared as she summoned it. Her fingers wrapped around the glass and enchanted it to a secure location.
The vial disappeared from her grasp in a flash of golden light. She would have to conduct a plan regarding the concerns with the Void's momentary contact. An exasperated sigh left her lips. This was a matter she caused and soon, it would need to be resolved without jeopardizing her plans.
But for now, she needed to dress accordingly.
Her handmaiden happily obliged and assisted the Queen with her appearance. The Queen was dressed into a long-sleeved white spandex-made gown with a golden belt attached around her waist and golden flower inscriptions all over the fabric. A cape was bound to the entire gown and flowed perfectly behind her back. The frontal part of the gown consisted of golden metal bars attached to the fabric.
Hera's gown
Her hair was still in a neat updo underneath the veil. Her ginger red strands, however, fell in front of her face. In a matter of time, the Queen stood directly in front of her mirror, revealing her appearance to herself. Every inch of her looked regal and majestic but her countenance said otherwise.
"You're very beautiful, your Majesty. I would likely applaud you for your choice of outfit." Iris praised her mistress with honesty.
With her eyes settled on the mirror, her lips curved in a gentle smile, grateful for Iris' compliment.
A soft inhale of breath, allowing the calming vanilla and citrus scent lingering around the room to enter through her nostrils. Her hand gracefully reached for her gloves and let them settle properly on each hand. With one more glimpse at her reflection, the lids of her eyes fluttered closed.
There's no more time to merely squander with something fatuous as being constantly conscious of my appearance. We've thrown and attended these festivities for centuries in a blink of an eye. What difference does it make?
In the back of her mind, she was completely aware of the response to her rhetorical question. No matter her continuous denial regarding the matter, her insecurities appeared as the worst impact on her husband's betrayal, which was why words of encouragement and reassurance had no desirable effect on the Queen's pessimistic thoughts.
Meanwhile, while in preparation, the rest of the council began to appear in the main location of the event. Splendidly, the goddess of the hunt was able to manage and prepare as the host of the celebration. Nonetheless, the young goddess appeared to be anxiously worrying over not being able to appease the eyes of her kin and standards of every single present deity in the room, most especially the Queen who assigned her firsthand on managing these arrangements even if she had consulted her days before.
Her fingers were repeatedly fiddling on top of one another while her movements, though prim and proper, were rapid which was increasing her distress despite taking ridiculously apt breaths.
"Breathe, little one." A soft voice providing comfort as an arm reached out to steady the young goddess of the hunt.
Soothing words coming from the eldest Olympian, Artemis delivered a look of gratitude and followed through.
"Now, it would be wise to settle down. As far as the egotistical and prideful deities in this power-filled room, the preparations have been dealt with glorified perfection." A glass of nectar appeared on her hand. "The nerves of an immortal are outrageous. Neverending. Tarnishing the forthcoming plans for tonight by allowing it to the surface would be elusive on your part." The amusing tone on Hestia's voice aided the young huntress whereas the drink offered was accepted on her behalf.
"Wouldn't want the regal duo to come hunting for my immortality." She grumbled under her breath.
Hestia feigned shock in pure amusement. "The pair would devastatingly destroy each other before they could even act upon attaining your sudden death."
A sip of the nectar sent shivers down her spine. Her limbs regained the necessary strength and energy as it restored their power. Though, she was cautious about staining her outfit. "Their presence is yet to be known. The night had already begun. Perchance, it would have something to do with my-" Her anxiety started surfacing but thankfully the Hearth goddess eased her out of it.
"It has nothing to do with you. Your father's known for being fashionably late and the Queen, she's particularly bothered with the news that Lord Hades revealed earlier... Speaking of it publicly is foolish on my part, my apologies. Do heed my words, little one. You need not worry."
Artemis' gown
Her gradient silver and cream gown fluidly flowed as she turned to the sound of the enormous doors opening for the arrival of the King of Olympus.
It seems the Queen has been winning against the King of the tardiness pursuit.
The guards announced his title and dominion over the vast lands of Olympus. He walked directed towards the middle along the imaginary aisle with such authority and zaps of electricity emitting from his skin. The aura he possesses turned in an instant blue with specs of lingering grey and the atmosphere drastically decreased by a few degrees.
Zeus' attire
"I wouldn't give for conspiring another overthrowing rebellion." The god of the sea murmured and gulped down his alcoholic drink, with his beloved wife, Amphitrite standing by his side in all her glory. Her delicate hand wrapped around his shoulder soothingly, her lips twisted into a playful smile.
"We all know the events that had occurred afterward for going against my warning, dear husband." The queen of the seas leaned forward and hushed the words to his ear, her breath tickling his godly skin, sending waves of pleasure to the direction of his loins.
After all, it was Amphitrite who had the power to calm the raging waves and currents of the sea.
The glass of his drink was lowered on one of the tables as he pulled her closer with a swift of his arm around her curvaceous waist. "The aftermath was the desired effect." His face mere inches away.
After welcoming the sudden and tardy appearance of the Lord of the Sky, the attendees wasted no time in conversing with their respective companions and enjoying the presence of others.
The King ventured around the room, discussing with his fellow subjects and kin, but discreetly looking for a particular goddess who was undoubtedly absent currently. It would seem that he bested her upon appearing to the festivities earlier than she did.
His children expressed their respect towards him and engaged him in conversations he was rather not able to escape from.
It was only a matter of time before he was greeted with a majestic and enthralling sight as the enormous doors burst open, revealing the woman he had been desperate to see. The look on his face was dumbfounded as his eyes slowly let the sight before him embedded gravely into his lecherous mind.
•••
Here's the update.
Thoughts?
~AC