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HERA'S POINT OF VIEW

My hands shook with anxiety as I headed back into the palace. Today had been more than rough, that couldn't begin to describe all of the bullshit that went on during the first trial of the day. Some demigod had decided to anger Hades, which meant that we had to go to the Underworld. By nature, I hated that place more than anything.

Life hadn't been too hard. In fact, things had been quite serene. My womb growing with my beautiful child, I always thought of what they would turn out to be like. Would she, or he for that matter (although I was pretty sure the young god or goddess was in fact female. My intuition is almost always right when it comes to the matters of childbirth and gendering) would be like. Would they resemble me, or would Zeus' genes come into play. Nature have mercy on them if my husband's temper shone through. We already had enough to worry about when it came to Ares and all of his mischief.

"What shall I name you?" I questioned myself, finding myself on the stairwell. "Should I set my hopes out that you're a girl or shall I give you two names if you are in fact a boy? Oh, I already have sons, I want more daughters. You shall be so much easier if you end up being a small baby girl. I always have loved raising young goddesses. Enyo is difficult, but Hebe is a highlight of my life."

Walking up was much harder while pregnant, that much was well known. My bump got in the way of everything that I did, even while in my divine form (which I had to be in during the entirety of my godly pregnancies. It was required and custom for all).

"Perhaps you will be worthy of a name that means something already to the humans. It has been so long since I have named a child of my own. Your older siblings have been asking me what your name will be for almost two months now." I chuckled at the memories of Hebe's pestering. "Ah, I know what I will call you. If you are a girl, I will name you Callidora. A fitting name for a princess, don't you think? If you end up being a boy, your name shall be Enhastus. The latter may not have much meaning, but the first one does. Oh, I know you can't hear me right now, but your mother loves you already."'

This child's presence had been a delight for the past five months. The sudden change in my mood when even thinking of them was enough to note. Pure happiness ran through my veins when someone mentioned the child. She was mine.

A small pang hit my lower half. Not too painful, but shocking. This was not normal in the slightest. I tried to play it off as simple anxiety, but this didn't feel right.

"Sweet child, do not bump me," I whispered to my large baby bump, "Your mother loves you and needs you to stay inside for a while. I hope you can understand-"

My sentence was cut off by another pang, this one sharp and cutting. A silent scream left my lips as I grabbed onto the railing of the golden staircase. What the-

I had no chance to think things through as a wave of pure pain hit my lower half. No, this was not normal, not in the slightest. Small flashes of white and black made my heart drop. Children were precious. My child was precious. They were supposed to be coming in four months, not now.

"ZEUS!" I shouted for my husband, a stray tear running down my cheek. "ZEUS GET OVER HERE!"

King of the gods beside me in but ten seconds after my call, he ran his hand down my side in solidarity. "My dear, what is going on?"

"The baby," I mumbled, bile rising in my throat as I felt my child coming into this world. Still inside, the process had started. This happened every time, although for this god or goddess their siblings had come on time. Everyone came on time. That was how it was supposed to work.

Nothing like this had ever happened to me or anyone else before. I had been the goddess of childbirth for long enough to see some awful things when it came to birthing a godly child, having a deformed son of my own. This... I had not foreseen something like this happening to me. After Hephaestus... I didn't want to think of that, not right now. I was too far into this to look back.

All I could hope for was the health of my baby.

"What do you mean, the baby, Hera? Our child is not due for-" I cut him off.

"They're coming now, Zeus!" My voice snapped with hormonal anger, almost falling to the floor. "Call Artemis. I can't do this alone, not this time. This is-"

"By nature." My husband grabbed one of his messenger necklace and furiously pressed the core.

It had taken Artemis almost five minutes to come, which was very soon if you thought about it the right way. The gods, well, we aren't very punctual. It seemed that a call from her father was good enough to have her running. Good on her, his bastard wasn't as bad as I would have thought.

"What happened?" Her voice annoyed me just the same, slightly high pitched and reeking with her own sense of self. Artemis may have not become one of Zeus' favorites (out of his bastards, I believe that our trueborns will always be his favorites), but she was close, always being bailed out of things that she should have paid for. "Hera, what is going on?"

"The baby is coming," I hissed out, looking to the ground. "I can't do it alone. They're so fucking early."

"Premature babies, that hasn't happened to the gods," Artemis mumbled before helping me into my bedroom. By nature, it was hard to walk, with my legs fumbling and begging me to just give up all hope. I wanted to lay down. I couldn't think straight as I got onto my bed. All of my thoughts crunched together as searing hot pain came through my nether regions. "Hold on, I have to get a towel. Get out, father, this is no place for a man."

Zeus listened to his daughter, planting a kiss to my head before leaving the room. I was all alone, unable to be with anyone. It was truly lonely. I was alone.

Loneliness was my worst enemy.

Two minutes turned into four minutes which turned into four days. We had been in my bedroom for four days. This was most definitely the worst birth I had ever experienced. Not even Ares had been this excruciating.

At the end of the fourth day, a small child popped out of me, lying naked in the blankets that Artemis had brought in the night prior.

I took one look at her and let raw tears of joy run down my face. She was beautiful, laying down in her divine form. Her eyes had not opened, peaceful in a dreamlike state. By the heavens themselves, I had never seen such a face on a goddess. Pure, she was pure of everything evil in this world, having been shielded by her youth.

So small, not as old as any of the gods or goddesses as they were born. We were born fully grown (while perhaps the same could not be the same in terms of mental maturity, although one could argue that we are perpetual teenagers), with everything staying the same for all time. She could not have been older than nine or ten, with her breasts being non-existent. Almost no hair was on her body, the only hair sprouting from her head.

Snowy white, the color of her gorgeous hair. It was much longer than any child I had given birth to, with my older children having to grow it out once they were born. Her skin was pale, but glowed in her divine form. Elegance radiated off of her unlike anything I had ever seen before.

She was perfect, and she was truly mine.

---

CALLIDORA'S POINT OF VIEW

Light sprinkled across my vision as I opened up my eyes for the first time. The stone on the walls stood out to me, warmly toned and calming.

"Look at her." I whipped my head around to see a woman with dark skin and black hair. "She's a beauty. Dear, can you come over?" I didn't know what to say. I didn't know if I could even allow words to drip from my tongue. What is this? I don't understand.

My eyes wandered to a woman in the same bed as myself. Her eyes glimmered with both fear and joy, those hazel eyes of hers peering into my naked frame. She was my momma, and she looked upset. I didn't want my momma to be upset, especially not with me. I would do anything for her to not be upset with me anymore.

Crawling over to her side, I curled up on her chest. She let out a gasp and my eyes watered. "Momma. Momma. Momma are you... okay?" I asked, not knowing what else to do.

A dull pain started in my head, causing tears to flow freely from my eyes. It hurt so bad and I didn't understand. What is this? What's happening to me? I don't like this. This isn't good for me! Please make the pain stop!

She let out a small chuckle before her eyes turned from fear to confusion. "You know, no child of mine has ever asked how I was doing after their birth, or ever for that matter. My sweet child, why are you crying?"

I shook my head, wanting to get through this alone. I had to do this. I wouldn't upset my Momma. "Nothing, Momma."

"Dear baby," she crooned, pulling me closer to her chest, "What's wrong? Please tell Momma what's wrong. Momma wants to help you, baby."

"No," I whined, more tears streaming down my cheeks. She sighed and flipped me over, allowing me to cry into her chest. Her comfort felt like nothing else, warm and all consuming. She was so much bigger, with my feet barely reaching her ankles. "Momma, I love you."

"Oh baby, I love you too." Shuffles and small shouts could be heard from outside the room. Before Momma could say anything, a tall man came inside, gasping as our eyes met. "Zeus don't scare her, please."

"I wouldn't dream of it, my wife," his voice was soft. His larger frame walked with pride, finally making his way over to our sides. "How is she doing? Has she been hurt?" None of his questions came with answers from anyone else in the room. Those smoky grey eyes of his met mine once more. "She's so tiny. You aren't supposed to be so young."

"Who are you?" I asked, my arms wrapping around my Momma. I didn't know this man, although I felt connected to him in ways I could not understand. "What is a wife?"

"This is Daddy," Momma informed, letting out a small laugh. "Daddy and Mommy are married, which means that I am his wife. Don't worry about that just yet."

A small cry left my lips. I had tried to muffle myself, but the pounding in my head was becoming too much to handle. I hated it so much. My whole body ached, but my head felt the worst. Life was getting hard. Life was really hard. Is life always this hard?

"You can trust Daddy, baby," Momma said, "Daddy wants you to be happy and loves you."

"She's young, Hera, she doesn't understand yet. That's okay-" Wriggling myself out of my Momma's grasp, I embrace my Daddy. Whatever that meant, I supposed that I should be giving him equal treatment when it came to my love. After all, if he was going to love me, I would show him my love as well, which meant lots of hugs. "Baby girl, you're so small. Why is my baby crying?!"

"Callidora baby, please tell your daddy what's wrong," Mommy pleaded with me, reaching out to hold my hand. I snuffled a bit before shaking my head. "Darling, if something is wrong we need to know. We're always here for you, my baby girl."

Daddy wrapped his arms around my waist and hoisted me up, allowing me to see his face at a better angle. He was so large, towering over me. He was different from the women I had seen. This was what a man looked like. I think I like men, as long as they look big and strong like Daddy. Daddy is nice and strong.

Churning out the words in between my muffled sobs, I explained what was happening, "My head hurts real bad."

"Your head?" I nodded. "Okay, baby, we can help you with that. It's okay, my sweet baby, no need to worry about it for long. Your big brother Apollo can come to see you. He works with medicine. I bet you'll love to play with him once we get you all happy and ready."

"Not that bastard son of yours!" Mommy snapped at her husband. I frowned at her tone, which scared me a bit. I had never seen my mommy so upset with someone before. "I don't want him anywhere near our baby!"

"Hera, he's the god of medicine," Daddy tried to reason with her. "He will know what to do. We have no clue why her head is hurting and she can't be in pain for the rest of her eternal life. Please, I know you hate him, but our baby is in pain."

Mommy didn't seem to like the idea of my brother coming over to figure out what was wrong with me, but she allowed it after some more convincing on Daddy's part. She would frown every time Daddy mentioned his name or what he would do for me. Their fighting wasn't fun for me at all. Half the time I wanted to walk out of the room and wait for them to finish arguing. It was awful. I loved both of them, I didn't want them to be upset with each other!

I was still in my Daddy's arms when a man came into the room. His bright blonde hair and bright smile entranced me.

This man took one look at me and screamed. "What is the meaning of this, father? There is a small child!"

"Your half-sister was born prematurely, Apollo," Daddy deadpanned.

"What do you mean she's 'premature'?! Gods and Goddesses come out at the right time, not before! What happened?" His insistent questioning stressed me out. Daddy kissed my head and sent my brother a glare.

"Her head hurts and we need you to figure out how to fix that. As to why she was born too early, I have no clue. Work with what you have, son," Daddy's voice was commanding, cutting deep with authority. He placed me down on the ground. I didn't stumble at all, instead staying up on my feet. Daddy smiled and ruffled my hair. "It's gonna be okay, baby, big brother will take good care of you."

Not knowing what else to do, I moved my little body over to this much taller man in hopes that he could save me from the pounding in my head. Apollo smiled and placed me down on Mommy and Daddy's bed. The sheets felt so nice under me. I could have curled up in them forever.

"Now..." He trailed, looking at my wandering eyes and limbs. Staying still was becoming hard. I wanted to roam. "Stay still for a moment, sister."

Whining, I obeyed his command, stopping my movements. "What's her name, Hera?"

"Callidora," Mommy said, smiling over at me before frowning at my brother. I didn't understand why this man, my brother, was calling Mommy the same thing that Daddy calls Mommy. Was she not Mommy as well? He called Daddy father (Just another word for Daddy, I knew that), so that means that Mommy must be his Mommy as well, right? That's the only logical conclusion. I think so, at least...

"Well, little Callidora, can I look at your head?" I nodded, looking into his golden brown eyes. "Nothing wrong with her eyes. I've never seen eyes like hers before. Looks like we've got a little albino baby over here. Anyways... wait, wait, what's behind her-" I squealed as he touched my forehead. He hissed at the loud noise before shushing me, rubbing a hand down my arm. "It's okay, Callidora, I'm just trying to get you all fixed up."

A small whimper left my lips. This wasn't comfortable at all, not like when I was with Mommy or Daddy. He was nice, but I wanted to go back to their warm comfort. Having those silken sheets wrapped around me, I would have loved it if it weren't for my head feeling like it's about to explode.

"It's going to be okay, baby," Mommy insisted, moving a bit closer to me. "Mommy and Daddy will make sure that you're alright, little baby."

I nodded, settling down and allowing my brother to touch all over my head. I hated it when he would touch my cheeks, which would glow golden when he got near them. It was my forehead that was the problem, not my round cheeks!

"This is odd," Apollo said, "Her magical energy is completely concentrated in her head. Ours is always running throughout our bodies. Poor sissy."

"Can you fix it?" Mommy snapped at him.

"Yes, just give me a second, I don't think Callidora will like the way this feels." Well, I most certainly didn't like the way it sounded. "This may hurt a tiny bit, but in the end it will be able to alleviate most of the pain in your head. Promise me that you won't bite, kick, or scream?"

Just as he said, it was painful. I didn't find myself screaming, but the pain that tore through my body as he spread out my magic would never be forgotten. It burned.

The entire process had taken maybe ten minutes, but afterwards things weren't as bad. He smiled at me, a wide and unchecked grin. My body didn't know what else to do, so I wrapped my arms around his waist, not wanting him to leave the room. He had saved me from my own magic, he deserved a big hug.

"Callidora, don't hug him," I frowned at Mommy's words. Was my big brother not deserving of my love? Why couldn't I show my love? Why didn't Mommy love big brother just as much as she loves me? None of this made sense. I thought that everyone would like me showing that I loved them!

"Hera, leave her alone, she's a mere baby and doesn't understand much of anything," Daddy said. "Child, please do not cling to brother Apollo, he has places to be."

"I want to give him my love," I insisted. "Big brother Apollo deserves my love."

Mommy rolled her eyes before bringing me away from my brother and into her arms. "You can show big brother Apollo your love once you get some-"

Shaking my head, I leave her once more to go and hug my big brother again. Mommy seemed quite annoyed with me, as she pulled me once more. This time I screeched and almost fell to the floor. Key word, almost. I still managed to land on my two feet, something that seemed to shock Mommy and Daddy (even brother Apollo, but I could tell he didn't show it).

"Don't fall, my sweet child," Mommy's voice was rushed as she managed to bring me into her lap. "I don't want any of my babies to fall down."

"I won't fall, Mommy, I don't ever want to fall." Mommy smiled at my enthusiasm and pulled me closer to her soft chest. "Mommy, I'm so tired."

"Then let's go to sleep, Callidora. We have not made a room for you yet as we did not expect for you to come this early. It should be fine for you to sleep here in Mommy and Daddy's bed for the time being." I smiled and snuggled into her chest. "Apollo, go home, you are no longer needed. Tell your twin that she can stay over until noon tomorrow before she has outstayed her visiting rights."

"Of course, Hera," Apollo said, clearly saddened by the fact that he couldn't stay over with us. He left the room with no parting words.

Daddy smiled and came into the bed, wrapping some of the blankets around us. "Nothing bad will happen if we can watch you, little one. Sleep for now and we can get you some food in the morning."

"Of course, Daddy."

---

Waking up the next morning was a task in and of itself. My eyes drooped every time I tried to open my eyes. When I would try to cling to Mommy, who had held me during the night like I was some sort of lifeline, she would nearly turn over, leaving me alone in the middle of the bed.

Birds chirped all around as I woke, making me smile. It was so beautiful outside! I may have only been able to see out the window, but even that couldn't stop me appreciating the beauty of nature outside.

Slipping myself out of the golden blankets, I make my way over to the closet in the room. I had been naked the entire day before, as nobody had given me any clothes to put on my pale body, but I wouldn't be naked today. Finding my way through the many nicely folded outfits, I found something that may be able to fit my small body. It was... I didn't really know what it was, but it was an article of clothing that I could wear on myself. To be fair, it seemed to be a loose fitting white dress, but I was ignorant in the ways of fashion.

Making my way over to the window, I unlatched the clutch that held the thing shut. I wanted to explore, to find all of the nice things that nature had to offer. If Mommy and Daddy were asleep, why not come outside to have some adventures?

The roof was the first place I had found myself. Shaped perfectly to fit a small being, I curled up and watched the sun start to rise. Mixed pink, yellow, and orange, the sun rose to the sky within the first hour of me sitting down on the roof.

This place is so beautiful. I hope today will be a bit better than the last. My head hurt really bad and I hated it. I shouldn't hate things, but I really hated that. I want to see more of the sun, it looks so pretty. I wonder who runs the sun. Is it a person or does the thing just rise and set on its own? I want to learn everything!

Not much time had passed before I found myself being tracked down by Daddy, who had found me sitting on the roof. His hair was a mess as he picked me up in his arms.

"Baby, what are you doing up here?" He asks, worry plaguing his stormy grey eyes. "You shouldn't be up here right now. You could fall down and get hurt! Your mother will kill me if she finds out that I let you get up here."

"Mommy is nice. Mommy would never kill," I tried to convince him. Daddy shook his head and propped me up on his waist.

"Your mommy is capable of a lot more than you think, Callidora. It doesn't matter, I found you all the same. We have to come back inside before Mommy finds out that we're up here. She can be scary sometimes, I'll have you know." I frowned and shook my head, not wanting to leave the roof. "Baby Callidora, we have to go back. Please?"

"No, I want to stay up here, Daddy." Daddy sighed and ruffled my snowy white hair.

"Mommy will be very upset, my little one. She'll be upset with me too. I don't want Mommy to be upset with either of us. Please come down, Callidora." I contemplated the chances of my mommy being any level of upset with me and didn't like the potential. Mommy being mad wasn't something I ever want to see.

"FIne, but I want to go outside later." Daddy sighed but nodded, kissing my cheek lovingly as he brought us down from the roof. I didn't know how he did it, but he seemed to float down, like he was flying. Daddy had cool powers.

"ZEUS!" Mommy's angry voice came from outside of the room, "ZEUS WHERE IS SHE? WHERE IS MY BABY? YOU DAMNED DISTRACTED BROTHER OF MINE-"

Mommy stopped yelling once she saw me in Daddy's arms. "Oh my sweet baby, I'm sorry for raising my voice with you here. Where were you, Callidora? I was worried sick!"

"I'm sorry, Mommy," I apologized. "I wanted to see the sun and the birds. I was on the roof."

If I didn't know better, I would have thought that my mommy was going to faint when I mentioned the roof. I lowered my head in shame as she came up and kissed the top of my head.

"The roof? Let's not go on the roof anymore, baby. You could fall off the roof and Mommy never wants you to fall. Never. I never want you to fall. Falling is not graceful for a young goddess like yourself." Mommy picked me up out of Daddy's arms and ran her hands through my long silver hair. "So beautiful, my baby. We should get you some better clothes. Perhaps Auntie Hestia will be willing to make some better fitting clothes for her new niece."

"I have an auntie?" Mommy nodded, taking me over to the closet once more. "How many aunties do I have?"

"You have two amazing aunties who you can see once you come back from your first quest, whenever that will be," Daddy informed me. "Hera-"

"No, you should have said something when you woke up to our baby missing. She's but a child and doesn't know any better! Do I not deserve to know when baby Callidora has gone off somewhere? Is she not my daughter, Zeus?" I winced at Mommy's harsh words. "Come, my baby, we should be coming down to breakfast soon. You can have some ambrosia. Nature, you must be hungry."

My stomach growled as I nodded, truly wanting some of this ambrosia that my mommy was talking about. Whatever it was, I suspected that I would be having a lot more of it if I stayed with my Mommy and Daddy.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, baby?" She said, putting some new clothes on me.

"I'm really hungry." Mommy and Daddy chuckled. "And I also want to go outside again."

"Sisters Artemis and Hebe can take you outside once they meet you at breakfast, Callidora," Daddy promises. "If you wish to see the world, you must be accompanied by someone else, as you are much too small to fend for yourself."

"I'm small?" Daddy nodded. "I didn't know I was small. I thought you were just big."

Mommy and Daddy laughed before opening up the door. Outside of the room was beautiful. Not that our room was not gorgeous, it was just that, but these walls right in front of me were lined with gold. Not pure gold walls. These ones had lines of gold running down the sides. Those lines illuminated the stairwell that led down to the bottom of this castle type structure.

When we reached the bottom of the stairwell, I was led into a large dining room. The same shades of brilliant gold lined these walls, bringing me in closer to the long tables in the room. This place is pretty as well. Is everything in the world this beautiful?

"Father!" Came the voice of a young woman. "Who is she?"

"Your baby sister, Eileithyia," Daddy said to her, much to my sister's shock. "Can you fetch her some ambrosia, dear, it has been a long night."

Eileithyia nodded before bringing me something. I didn't know what it was, but it was a liquid that I assumed was a form of this ambrosia. Taking a sip, I hum. It was delicious.

"It may take some time for you to grow, my little one, as you are here four months early, but I suspect that having ambrosia will help you age," Daddy said, sitting me down at the table next to a young woman with black hair and green eyes.

"Tastes good, Mommy," my mommy smiles and kisses me on the head. A few murmurs could be heard from all around. I frowned at the notion that they were speaking about me. That couldn't mean anything good. "Why is everyone so surprised, Daddy? Did I do something wrong?" Daddy shook his head.

"You're doing great, sweetheart," Daddy assures me. "You being here so early is just a bit surprising for everyone. Something like this has never happened before. You're... special."

"Special?" Daddy nodded. I sighed and shrugged, digging into the other dishes of ambrosia on the table. Mommy laughed at my enthusiasm, taking a seat next to Daddy.

On my right there was a woman with similarly colored hair to mine. Hers was not bright white, but rather a blondish white. "Who are you?"

This woman giggled and ruffled my hair. What is it with people messing with my hair? Is that a normal thing to do around here? Does everyone touch each other's hair whenever they think something is funny? I don't get this.

"My name is Enyo, one of your trueborn siblings," she introduced herself before pointing to a man with a scowl on his face, "That is my twin, Ares. Next to Ares is Hephaestus, who is a brother of ours."

I nod, now understanding. I had many siblings, it seemed.

"Sorry for being late, mother, father," A very young and beautiful girl came into the dining area. "You know how those pesky mortals get when it comes to their prayers. Always asking for the same things. Beauty, grace, youth. All the same."

"No worries, dear Hebe," Mommy ushered her down. "Eileithyia, how have your dealings with mortals been going? Enyo, I assume that Lebanon was your doing."

"I am a goddess of war and the goddess of destruction, mother, it's what I do. What is life without a little bloodshed?" My sister insisted. "The fight is coming to a close, mother, what more do you want me to do?"

Sister Enyo seemed to like war a lot. I didn't think it was a good thing. This war stuff sounded dangerous. I didn't want any mortals to die, so why did she? I couldn't make sense of it at all.

"Contact Irene, make sure that the people are in peace by the end of the year," Mommy ordered, taking some food for herself. "Ares, you too. Stop with this senseless conflict. Why has he been let back into the house, Zeus?"

Daddy let out a cough but didn't answer. Mommy rolled her eyes and continued to eat, annoyed by whatever was going on. Why do they always get into arguments? I don't understand.

"Why must you let him corrupt our baby?" Mommy mumbles under her breath.

"That's enough, dear," Daddy says before standing from his seat. "Since little Callidora seems to be finished with her meal, I shall send her off to her new studies. Artemis, Hebe, you shall teach your sister. I don't think she likes your talk of war, Enyo, so don't get any ideas around her."

---