Chapter 30:

It had been six months since Helia had found her home on Olympus. She settled in nicely, still continuing with her training with her mother and siblings, as well as her scholastic lessons with Athena. She still had her playdates with Melinoe and Triton on Saturdays, where they caught up and had recently been discussing possible birthday plans. Since they were gods, they didn’t age like mortals; instead, they would age twice as fast. When she arrived on Olympus, she was eight and a half years old, the equivalent to a four-and-a-half-year-old mortal child; she, along with Melinoe and Triton, would be turning ten godly years in a few weeks, five in mortal years.

“Helia, sweetheart, it’s time to get up.”

“Ten more minutes, mama,” Helia groaned from underneath her covers. She did not want to get up; she was tired from another visit from the Moirai.

“You said that ten minutes ago, darling,” Hera reminded her daughter. She had stopped sleeping in the same bed with her daughter, though she still did not sleep in her marital bed with her husband. Instead, she moved to the same wing as her daughter to be closer to her and further from Zeus.

He would still try to get her alone, which she absolutely hated, but her daughter would sometimes magically ‘pop up’ at the right moments to get her out of his presence. She was positive it had something to do with the bond they had, but if that was not the case, she was grateful for whatever reason it was.

“Mom, please, ten more minutes. You could even join me. You know you want to rest awhile,” Helia teased as she peeked from under the covers. She knew she had her mother when she saw her contemplate it over, and heard a defeated sigh.

“Fine,” Hera huffed as she made her way over to her daughter’s bed, “scoot over.”

After she had gotten in, they both, without thinking, had gotten into their usual position of Helia tucked into Hera’s side.

“You know, if you just wanted to snuggle, you could’ve just said so.”

“What’s the fun in that,” Helia giggled, “besides, it’s how we always started our morning talks, and we haven’t done so since you left me.”

“Oh no, we stopped because you told me you were too old to have your mom sleep with you, remember?” Hera corrected her daughter.

“You left, I kicked you out, whatever the case, I’ve missed this part.”

“So, have I, my little cub.” After a pause, Hera asked her daughter had she thought any more about her birthday plans.

“Not really; I mean, it’s nothing special, just another day.”

“Helia,” Hera said in a warning tone.

“I’m sorry, mama, it’s just that celebrating my birthday has always been difficult for me because of you know…” she trailed off. Her daughter had blossomed these past few months. Helia was coming out of her shell and would now show and embrace affection from Hera, herself, and her siblings, friends, aunts and uncles, and her father, but a part of her still had difficulty getting over her abandonment issues.

“I know, cub, I just hate seeing you hurt,” especially when I am the cause Hera wanted to say. “Well, I guess it’s time for us the start our day; It’s Amphitrite’s turn for the playdate.”

“Mom, we stopped calling it a play date a while ago; we now call it a friend’s date.”

“Friend’s date?”

“Yea, you and the other queens have a ‘Queen’s date,’ so we have a ‘Friend’s Date.’

Hera could only shake her head, she knew her daughter was growing up, but she wanted it to slow down. She had already missed four years of her life; she didn’t want the rest to go by in a flash.

“Well, then, it’s time for you to get ready for your ‘Friends Date,’ she air quoted and laughed when her daughter grumbled about having to get out of bed once again.

***

“Hera, are you okay? You seem a little distracted,” Amphitrite asked, concerned for her friend.

“Yea, it’s just Helia.”

“What’s going on?” Persephone asked.

“This morning, we were talking about what she would like to do for her birthday, and she hinted that she didn’t want to celebrate; to her, it’s just another day, nothing special.”

“Oh, my, the poor child. I can’t imagine what she is going through,” stated Amphitrite.

“Yea, I am just not sure of how to cheer her up. She has been doing better with affections and letting people in, even though she is cautious of who she lets in, but it is hard trying to get her to understand that she is wanted.”

“Hey, what if we throw a party for all of the children together? I’m sure they wouldn’t mind, seeing how close they are. That way, it can start happy birthday memories for her,” suggested Persephone.

“That is a lovely idea, Kore. I’m sure she would be happy about that idea,” Hera happily replied at the prospect of giving her daughter some happy memories on her birthday.

***

“So, do you still not have any ideas about what you want to do for your birthday?” Melinoe asked Helia. She did not receive a reply because Helia was spaced out, which she had been doing a lot today.

“Helia?!” Triton yelled.

“Oh, um, yea. What’s up?” she replied, still a little distracted.

“What’s going on with you today? You are spacing out a lot, and I’m getting worried,” Melinoe voiced her concern.

“Yea, tell us what’s going on.”

Helia wasn’t sure if she should or not, but she didn’t see why she shouldn’t; she trusts them.

“Last night, I got a visit from the Fates.”

“What did they want?” Triton questioned. He had never received a visit from them and was glad. He knew when they visited that it involved something dire and life altering.

“They told me that the time would be coming for me to know my birth parents soon.”

“Really? Why now?” Melinoe was excited for her ‘sister,’ but she was also curious about why she would be meeting her biological parents now after all this time.

“I’m not sure. They just visited me and told me, well, Atropos did since it concerned the future. Clotho did say something about my relationship with some people would change.”

“I wonder why your relationships would change?” Triton asked.

“Wait, does aunt Hera know? How do you think she would react?” Melinoe questioned. “I mean, you call her mother and treat her as such. With your biological parents coming into the picture, that would definitely affect your relationship with her.”

“Crap! I didn’t even think about that.” Helia was panicked now.

“Well, you need to think of something. We wouldn’t want a war to break out because of you,” stated a serious Triton.

“Wait, why would a war break out?”

“Because,” Melinoe interrupted, “you are basically Hera’s daughter now, and with your biological parents coming into the picture, it could cause problems. Especially if she wouldn’t be willing to let you go.”

“You’re right. Ugh, life is getting so complicated now. Why did the Fates have to tell me this?” Helia huffed, frustrated at the situation.

“I don’t know, dude, but we are here for you,” Triton tried to comfort her. He didn’t want a war to break out, but he also didn’t want her to leave. He was torn between her happiness and his, but he knew that he would not let her in on how he felt, for he didn’t want her to become more upset than she already was.