Revenge.

“Zeus can’t just ignore me like this. He has to learn a lesson,” Hera told herself.

She sat down on her throne contemplating her options. Her throne room was a mix of yellows and blues. The only item that wasn’t blue or yellow was her bed which was a bright purple. The room was dimly lit by candles, they helped her think. She had several different peacock statues scattered around the room and the throne’s back twisted into an exuberant show of peacock feathers, her goddess sign. The room smelled of the various perfumes she had collected over the centuries and, right now, she was getting a strong scent of her strawberry surprise, which wasn't her favorite. She ripped her mind away from thoughts of perfume and other trinkets and focused on the more pressing matter. Zeus had left her for Leto, a goddess, leaving her completely forgotten. Leto bears two children of Zeus. Twins nonetheless! She could not let this stand. She knew she had to do something. She just needed a plan. It had to be a good plan, a plan that would chase Leto away forever. Her mind filled with possibilities. 

“Python,” she thought.“Python, the dragon. Python was perfect. Python would chase her from place to place. Python would ban Leto from giving birth anywhere in the mainland.”

A few of the gods even feared him. It was perfect. 

“So what if I was doing this because I was jealous? I shouldn’t be abandoned like this. I wish that Zeus would stay loyal to me; after all I am his wife. Still, every few thousand years, Zeus will leave her to chase after some other goddess. I just wish he would give me affection. I long for the pride I receive when he gives me a compliment.” she rambled to herself.

This is what fueled her, kept her going through with her plan. As she clenched her fists, she called for Hermes.

“Yes, my queen, what do you need?” Hermes said as he screeched to a stop. 

“I need you to deliver a message to Python,” she replied.

“Uh, sure, what is your message?” he said as he fiddled nervously with his attire.

“I have a proposition for you, meet me at the orchard. RIGHT NOW!” She demanded.

“Of course,” he said. Then he was gone, leaving only a few scattered leaves behind, which the servants quickly swept.

Hera stood, releasing her grip on the throne. This had to be done. She headed in the direction of the orchard finding a nice clearing to sit and wait. Of course, she had someone bring her a chair. She couldn’t sit on the bare ground. That would get her dress dirty. Though she had several of the same dresses sitting in her closet. There was only so much you could buy when you had been around for millions of years. She sat on her cushioned chair and waited. The orchard had apples and pear trees encircling her and the wind blew the scent of blooming flowers to her nose. It was peaceful, but inside her a battle raged. Her mind was clouded with anger and she didn’t appreciate the beauty that surrounded her. The longer she waited, the more her anger grew and so she waited, fuming.

***

A large windstream sent her hair flying in all directions and she scowled. Small wisps of hair came out of her bun, and she was forced to remove it completely. The wind stopped and in its place stood a dragon.

“Ah, Python so you finally decided to show up,” she said as she brushed her hair behind her ears.

“What do you want?” He gruffly replied.

“Revenge!” Hera yelled.

“And how am I important to your revenge plans?” Python asked as he rolled his eyes. 

“I need Leto kicked out. I need her to be far away. I need you to chase her all around the mainland making sure she can never give birth,” Hera screamed.

“And what if I say no?” Python challenged.

“YOU CAN’T SAY NO! I AM YOUR QUEEN!” she cried.

“Alright, fine, I never liked Leto much. I am expecting a reward after though.” he replied as he set off again.

“Don’t count on it,” she called after him but her words were lost, taken by the winds. She sat in contentment before standing up and heading back into the palace, waiting for the arrival of Zeus’s anger.

***

“WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?” Zeus boomed. 

“He must have figured it out,” Hera thought as she smiled to herself. “That should teach him to ignore me.”

“IT WAS YOU WASN’T IT?” He screamed at Hera as he stormed into the room.

“Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t,” She replied 

“HERA!” He yelled.

“I’m surprised you remembered my name,” she criticized

“CEASE THIS MADNESS AT ONCE!” He screamed.

A crowd was beginning to form.

“Sure, once you learn your lesson,” she replied as she walked away. Turning to do a ridicule filled curtsy. This was going just as she had planned.

                                                           ***

News came to her that Leto had given birth on a newly found island named Delos. Twins, just as planned, and they were here at Olympius to live as gods. There was nothing she could do about the little nuisances now that they had Zeus’s protection. Hatred coursed through her.

“HOW? HOW HAD SHE DONE IT?” She screamed inside her head.

Her mind cooled. At least Leto wasn’t here; she had decided to settle down in the little town of Thebes. That was half a win for her. She wasn’t going to like those twins though, Artemis and Apollo. She kept her distance from the twins as much as possible but little could be done now that they lived on Olympus. The reminder sent a new wave of anger through her. Not once since the twins arrived had she talked to them. She didn’t like them and she was pretty sure they didn’t like her. Zeus had started to give her more attention though. She was sure this wouldn’t be the last time he would do this to her though. When she would run into the twins she would glare at them and move onward. Word had gotten around of her opinion, and she was hoping it would catch on. Still everyone seemed to adore them and glare at her. 

One day she was walking around the palace when she bumped into Demeter.

“Oh perfect, just the person I wanted to talk to,” Demeter smiled.

“About, what?” Hera asked. 

“The twins,” Demeter said.

“What about them,” Hera said gruffly as her mood dropped.

“I don’t think what you're doing is right.” Demeter admitted. “I told my daughter that she shouldn’t hang out with Hades and look where that got me. The point is things won’t go as you planned. You should also think about their feelings. The twins haven't done anything to you besides existing. You need to think about it,” Demeter lectured.

“Well, you're wrong about everything,” Hera decided as she stormed off to her throne. She sat there questioning what Demeter had said. Maybe she wasn’t making the best decisions regarding the twins, so she decided to talk to them. She set out to find them. After hours of searching she ran into them and almost decided against talking to them, but she squared her shoulders and stopped.

“I know I haven't been the best to you guys,” Hera started.

“That’s an understatement,” Apollo chided.

“Yeah, we have been here for almost a year now and you haven't spoken a word to us before this,” Artemis added.

“I know, and I am starting to think I was too quick to judge,” Hera admitted.

“You don’t say?” Apollo interrupted.

Her patience was beginning to run low and she took the effort to cool herself down. She hadn’t been the kindest to them over the years and they were right not to like her.

“I don’t think we can become friends, but I don’t want to be enemies either,” Hera amended.

“Maybe, but I don't like you,” Artemis retorted.

“Fine then,” Hera said with a slight gruffness. “I won’t ignore you anymore, but don’t expect my affection either,”

She glanced back at them as she walked away, acknowledging the fact they were gods for the first time.