Hera’s Judgement

Crystal was put into an enforced sleep, cocooned within a golden **** field in which no sound could penetrate. She was unharmed, and for the moment under Artemis’ care.

Hermaphroditus was not having a grand experience from his kneeling position directly at the feet of the king and queen of the gods. Aphrodite stood proud but anxious on his left, a gentle hand on his shoulder. Hermes on his right was annoyed and embarrassed, but also concerned for his child.

Athena had only just returned after dismissing herself in an enraged outburst, so violent that she chipped marble from the walls when she slammed the double doors of the hall behind her. She’d taken fifteen minutes to even resemble an expression of composure. She came back seething but dignified. The only person with more red in their cheeks was Dionysus, but she spoke coldly and deliberately from the moment she returned.

This was such a major event...and cock-up...that it resulted in all the twelve Olympians being awake and in attendance. Every throne was filled, bar the two belonging to the parents of Hermaphroditus currently standing. Even Hades was present, although having no afterlife duties probably worked against him with this rare meeting of the gods.

That wasn’t to say everyone gave a damn. Those who don’t care: the likes of Poseidon, Ares, Hades and Dionysus. To them this was either sport or something to just sit through. And Hestia may have cared but has always been too hard to read, some might say she’s the voiceless of all the Olympians.

Everyone else had an incentive to be effected by the gender hybrid hanging his head in shame in front of them.

Hephaestus didn’t necessarily care about the cock-up, his problem was his resentment of his wifes lover’s son. He would jump on the side of the other gods regardless of a genuine opinion.

Apollo felt wronged with his fellow Olympian’s total disregard for the youth. The girl brought to them was not in her adolescence, and the very idea that there was a plan to coerce a young girl into fulfilling another god’s selfish ideology, it struck a nerve. He didn’t blame the boy, and certainly not the girl. His ire was towards the parents of Hermaphroditus and Athena.

Artemis was of an identical opinion to her twin, except more focused on the fact the human was a girl, with her rights to reject sexual activity taken from her.

Demeter was outraged by the whole thing. Everybody involved with this couldn’t escape her ridicule. She considered it a most unethical and nonsensical interference. She nearly slapped the face off of Athena when she first heard the goddess of wisdom had been the mastermind of the plan. She was warned out of it by her sister Hera.

And then we get to Zeus, who could be the biggest hypocrite in the whole world without even knowing it. When people go against his orders, bad things happen. It was his reaction that Athena most feared when she came up with the plan, and that was when she had full-confidence in its success. Once you disobeyed him you’d better impress him, make him admire your guts and admit the effort was worth it. She catastrophically failed to do that.

Hera was quiet mostly. She was mainly diffusing people’s temper when it got too intense. But Athena was smart to her ways, and Hera was distracted. Distracted by her thoughts and schemes too much that she couldn't participate in the argument.

Whilst Hera was remaining expressionless, the accused were showing the complete opposite. Athena was still too mad to speak at length, and Hermes was always the most cowardly of the gods. So Aphrodite had to take the reigns in her son's defense.

“Almighty Zeus, God of the sky and our nobel father, may I be given permission to speak”

Zeus scowled but the atmosphere had not changed as of yet. Sometimes when Zeus sneezed he inadvertently shocks everyone around him and draws their attention. When he's really fired up not a single living thing, immortal or not, can stop themselves from crumbling into a pathetic mess. He nodded his consent.

“The boy is as loyal as any son should be, his weakness is his devotion to my every word. He cannot be blamed for this, his actions were on my orders. My sister Athena, though an influence over the decision, has no authority over what I do with my son. And his father was merely a passenger.”

Hermes bristled at how Hephaestus immediately laughed after she mentioned his role.

“Father, my sister is honourable and pure of heart. She only wished to see love spread back into the world, and I only wanted to spread wisdom” Athena defended.

“If perversion leads to wisdom, I shan’t want to remain immortal” Demeter shot down her fellow goddess.

“What a convenience, it was fine for us to fornicate and breed like savages centuries ago and call it guidance and leadership. Now somebody wants to promote it for a genuine cause and suddenly there’s major opposition” Athena challenged irately.

“Genuine. This has got your ego written all over it Athena, don't talk about genuine if you don't understand the term”

“Both of you be silent” Zeus commanded, and all were indeed silent. “The world has long been independent of us, and I dare any of us here to deny that they've not felt any deep desire to find our place amongst the people again. But Demeter is correct, when we all agreed to disband from our responsibilities it was to allow the people to achieve natural growth. They have by far proven us right to do so. It is no longer about what we desire, and I don't care if the sky falls and the seas boil, we leave the people to their own successes and failures. You have conspired to break that accord Athena, and you will receive judgement.”

Athena submitted. Truthfully, she just wanted to get this calamity over and done with, spend the rest of her immortality trying to chip this mark off her otherwise squeaky clean record. “Yes father.”

“The official punishment for breaking the accord was an ambrosia rationing, and three weeks of muteness. But I believed then that nobody here had the restraint to go a generous amount of time without interfering, to be the first in a thousand years to break that accord...I would've pardoned you.”

Athena was just about to break out into smile, when he steamrolled on. “However...you failed to take control of your own scheme, you made a mockery of yourself and your fellow Olympians. You claim to lead this campaign, yet showed little leadership or responsibility. And you expected perfection without putting any degree of effort into guiding this here servant. You deserved to fail, and your punishment will represent that.”

Athena looked outraged, but quietly so. Through clenched teeth he replied “sobeit. Name my punishment.”

“You are to be exiled to the uninhabited island of Keros, you'll be stricken of your mortality and powers, you will be granted a return to Olympus when you have proven to me you have rediscovered the true meaning of responsibility.”

Taking away one gods immortality was punishment enough, and Athena went from contemptuous to fearful in seconds. “But father-”

“That is my judgement girl, and you shall honour it” Zeus’ power was demonstrated by a thunderclap blasting over her plea. Athena shrunk significantly on her throne, and soon enough vapourised into thin air. Her exile was to be served immediately.

He turned back to the parent gods in the centre of the hall. “Hermes, and Aphrodite. You both condoned this scheme and were instrumental in it's operations. But unlike your sister, you both demonstrate responsibility and accountability by standing here before us now. You may serve the original punishment as previously stated.”

Both parents nod their understanding, they would have voiced it but just like their sisters punishment, it had an immediate sentence.

Finally Zeus addressed Hermaphroditus. “And you. You were too keen to escape your own isolation, to give a decent amount of thought into what your instructions were. Whilst you cannot be blamed for following orders, you are accountable for your execution. You brought this girl to us, and have given us the inconvenient responsibility of erasing all memories pertaining to her ordeal, and also ask us to reverse the damage you caused. This does not amuse me, your punish me-”

Zeus was stopped by the hand of his wife. He courteously accepted Hera’s silent request to take over the judgement, leaning back in his chair at last.

“Boy, why did you choose this girl over those many others you were capable of opting for?” Hera questioned nonjudgmentally.

Hermaphroditus was surprised and nervous to even be offered the courtesy of something in their presence, let alone defend himself. “Well...she was beautiful. The most beautiful girl of her age that I had come across in my travels. And my first instinct was that she was exceptionally bright.”

Hera seemed even more curious after hearing him. “And what was it exactly that made you believe she was exceptionally bright?”

Hermaphroditus spoke as if he doubted himself, which he very much did. However he only spoke the truth, and it was aiding his defence immensely. “Unlike many males and females of her age, nothing seemed to faze her. She shook off criticism with a simple smile. She saw the brightness in everything. She was good-natured and caring. And when I realised she wasn’t as intelligent as I originally thought, despite my despaired reaction I still had the ability to feel admiration for her.”

Hera smiled approvingly at his reasoning. “What about her lack of intelligence did you find so admirable?”

“Well...when I considered everything else; the resilience, the belief, the brightness, the beauty, her nature...it amazed me that a person so unintelligent could indeed live the most happiest life of any of her supposed equals.”

Even Zeus smiled when the boy finished his detailed response. Hera asked him one final question “do you regret choosing her?”

Hermaphroditus turned to look at the **** and oblivious girl concealed within the golden orb of protection. Her beauty shone through all that protective energy even now. “No. I still don’t think I’d choose differently if I had the chance to do so again.”

Hera’s smile remained as she turned to address the rest of the hall. “I do not see a reason for punishment, instead I think this dear Hermaphroditus deserves rewarding. We sit here and accuse him of failure, and all we’re truly doing is condemning his sense of humanity. This boy demonstrates humanity better than most of us here put together, we will honour his decision and thusly grant him his freedom.”

Hermes, Aphrodite, and the loudest of all the boy himself; all simultaneously gasped at Hera’s declaration. “Really? I’ll never go back to the Iliad pond again?”

“Not unless you waste this pardon and step out of line again” Hera sternly answered.

Hermaphroditus eyes were brimming with tears. “Thank you Queen Hera, I thank you so much.”

Hera nods to accept his gratitude, before speaking up again, addressing the entire room. “Amidst all this controversy, I have seen an opportunity. To reverse this girls condition and return her back to normality, it would be just and fair. However, the boy has chosen a heroine, she will complete her task like all the heroes of before. The world always needs help, and if it cannot be down to us to provide it then we need a human who can.”

Hera stood up and gracefully approached the golden orb. She stopped right in front, peering precisely at her from an eye-to-eye level. “If it is wisdom and love that the world needs, let them have it.”

“Hera, are you seriously suggesting we send this young girl back to her life, with this abomination attached to her body? We will allow her to breed with multiple women under false motivations of spreading wisdom and love?” Demeter levelled her with a dubious stare.

Hera raised a single eyebrow at Demeter, and slowly turned towards her with a power that rivalled Zeus himself. “That abomination is this boys eternal curse, I would insist you speak with more considerate terms. And as far as I'm concerned, there is no falseness about it. This girl might be the wisest and most loving human currently alive today; she's the only person I've seen with the right constitution to accept this responsibility, and use it for good. She is our best hope of rectifying the worlds mistakes, and I will not take that privilege away from her.”

Hera turned to Hermaphroditus again. “Should she need guidance would you care to be there to provide it?”

He nodded energetically and for good measure added “absolutely, I will.”

“Please release the girl so Hermaphroditus may accompany her back home” Not two seconds after finishing her order, Artemis dispelled the golden **** field and Crystal floated to the ground, remaining motionless and ****. Hermaphroditus sprang into action immediately, lifting the girl impressively into his arms and turning back to face the Queen of the Olympians.

With one final look at his proud mothers eyes, he uttered a promise. “I won't let you down.” Then, just like his aunt, he disappeared.