Hope's Guardian and her Quest for Vestal Virgins

Chapter 1 (and only)

As the young heroes left Mount Olympus, Hestia frowned.

Not at them, of course. They had bravely saved Olympus from Kronos, and there was no reason for her to frown at them. No, Hestia was looking only at her youngest brother, her eyes narrowed as he ignored the leaving gods, deep in thought.
As all of them left, and Hestia and Zeus were left alone, she disrupted his thoughts.

"What exactly are you plotting, Zeus?", Hestia asked the King of Olympus.
"Nothing, Hestia, nothing of your concern," came his reply, as his gaze went around the throne room and then settled at the deceptively young Goddess of Hearth.
Said Goddess rolled her eyes in response. "As if. I know that look in your eyes. The last time you had it was in Carthage."

Seeing that Zeus still wouldn't budge, she too left the throne room in a blaze of fire.
---

"So, did you hear? Apollo's latest Oracle gave another Great Prophecy," Hera started, sitting next to her sister, who was currently making s'mores in Camp Half-Blood, by the fire pit in the centre of  the cabins. Hestia loved that place, as it was here she got to enjoy seeing her relatively mortal family.

None of the Campers paid the two of them any attention, as the Mist worked itself around them, obscuring them from view. Just as she knew Hera had planned.

"Yes, I did. In fact, I was there when it was given," came Hestia's response.
"And oh, wouldn't you look at that! The same prophecy is-"
"Is known to the Roman demigods as the Prophecy of Seven? Yes Hera, I do, so stop stalling and get to the point." Hestia was getting annoyed, and her s'mores were getting burnt. Upon noticing, she waved her hand and they went back to an uncooked state.

Hera told her the plan she had come up with. Her s'mores got burnt again.

"Hera, you would have to be insane to believe this would work without tearing us all apart," Hestia sighed as she snapped her fingers. The two Goddesses departed Camp Half-Blood and appeared back in Olympus, in Hera's chambers. The Queen's room had cow-print rugs, beige wallpapers, a sofa and an ornate bed in the shape of a peacock. There were other knickknacks scattered around, and Hestia had to watch her steps as they sat on the sofa.

"And you must think me so too if you believe I would help you in any part of it."

But as she talked to Hera, an old memory came to the front of her mind. Though she would deny it, the memory came to her regularly. She remembered back in Rome, being worshipped by the Vestal Virgins as Vesta. She was at her strongest back then, and though she had no use or desire of power, she did miss the strength she had back then sometimes.

Hera, meanwhile, was fidgeting. Her entire plan rested on her successfully convincing the Eldest Olympian to help her.

"Sister, I want you to look me in the eyes and tell me you haven't heard the Earth Mother's whispering. Believe me when I say that I have too. As we speak, she is conspiring against Olympus. Please, I beg you. Help me and we can put this prophecy to rest sooner than later."

Her calling Hestia 'sister' was deliberate. For all her preference of solitude, she loved it when her siblings acknowledged her as part of her family.

But Hestia had grown quiet. Hera knew that she was now contemplating her words, and staying silent would be the best choice.

"Very well then. I would help you in this mad scheme of yours. But in return, you would not dare tell anybody that I helped you."

Hera knew that was the best she would get for now, so she agreed.

As the two moved to leave, Hestia turned to Hera.
"I hope you know what you're doing."

Hera hoped that she did, too.
---