Chapter 4:

A year had passed since the emergency council meeting that concerned the Queen of Olympus and King of the Underworld’s unknown love child. Everyone pretty much forgot about the prophecy or had other things more important on their minds to worry about it. Everything had gone back to normal, including Zeus once again cheating on his Queen with a woman whose name he had already forgotten and who would carry his child. Some believed that if the King showed so little care for the prophecy, then why should they care, for it concerned him more than it did them.

***

“Rhea, are you sure about this? I mean, after all, what do you think will happen when you walk in with an eight-year-old godling that no one’s ever seen before, especially with the prophecy that was given a year prior?”

“Oh, Tethys, will you calm your titan tits down? Everything will be fine.”

“You don’t know that, Rhea. You know how Zeus will react when he finds out that she is the prophesied one; he won’t hesitate to destroy her!” exclaimed Tethys, Rhea’s sister and the adoptive mother of Hera. She wanted her sister to think about her actions and the consequences that would follow, but everything she said was going into one ear and magically flowing out the other.

“You are right, my dear sister.”

“Thank you for finally…”

“You are right about the fact that I do know my son. Yes, he will react negatively if he were to even suspect her of being the one to overthrow him, but he won’t.”

“What do you mean he won’t?! Do you not remember what he did to Metis?”

“Of course I do, but the difference is Metis was carrying a male alongside Athena, so therefore she was a threat to him. Zeus wouldn’t dare see a female, not even Hera, who is just as powerful as him, as a threat, for he believes that MAN should rule the universe, not woman.”

“Even still, Rhea, you should really think this through, I mean...”

“I have thought it through, sister, and it is time. It is time to begin the start of the prophecy, so either you stand with me or leave. I have no time for this foolishness.”

Tethys wasn’t sure of what to do. On the one hand, she was afraid, not just for her adoptive daughter but also for the child she had gotten to know over the years. She fell in love with her the moment she saw her as a babe cradled in Rhea’s arms as her sister hummed a lullaby that she had never heard before on one of her visits. When Tethys questioned Rhea about where the child came from, she was told the child was found outside of her home near the ocean when Rhea was leaving one night, and she believed it for a while. After seeing the child grow up, however, she began questioning the story she had believed for such a long time, especially when Tethys saw the child’s features that reminded her so much of Hera when she was younger before her brother swallowed her. After some probing that lasted for months, she was finally told the truth about the child’s true origins after swearing on the River Styx to never tell another soul. After learning the truth, she fell even more for the child and protected her in the same ways she did her mother many years ago. She wanted to keep the child a secret forever, but she knew deep down that was not possible, for it would only raise more speculation if they were to show up with an adult goddess out of the blue, so she made the decision.

“Okay, I will stand with you, sister, though I still fear the outcome. I know the prophecy will happen no matter what, and so it is best to kick start it now rather than later.”

“Oh, sister, thank you. I know you fear for her, as do I, but this needs to be done. It is time for the downfall of Zeus and a new reign to begin.” With that, the two titanesses began perfecting their plan, for tomorrow would hold a new day and a new beginning for all.