Welcome To A Hellish Heaven {completed}

17

(words: 4k)

The trial concluded at lot sooner than I expected it to. I felt like I had blinked and missed everything. Demeter recounted everything to me, all of the testimonies, the allegations, the wild and inhumane words that Hera had spoken.

Apparently, it went by so quickly because I had fallen asleep on her shoulder during the trial.

She had shook me awake, my fingers rubbing the sleep from my eyes when only one sentence, shot the sleep from my body instantaneously.

"Hera, you have been found guilty." Zeus said, not even looking down at his wife.

"Yes!" I cheered, getting pinched from Demeter and swatted on my leg by Aphrodite. I didn't care, I was happy that justice was finally served. Zeus banged his hand on the surface of the table to regain order, me finally sitting back in my seat, but still excited.

"Your punishment will now commence." Athena said, shuffling some papers.

"Zeus, please strip her of her immortality." Athena spoke. Zeus took a deep breath and held his hand out in Hera's direction. Within seconds, Zeus's palm began to glow and so did Hera. Her body shook as she whimpered out , thin wisps of golden smoke flew from her eyes, nose, mouth and ears. When the glowing and humming finally stopped, Hera almost fell off of the stand, her head dropping.

When she looked back up, her skin was shed of all color, her lips cracked and pale. And I had noticed that she had dropped a few feet in height. Her hazel brown eyes had changed into a deep inky brown and her hair fell around her face in waves.

She was panting like an animal and she looked like she was struggling to catch some air into her lungs.

"Y/N, please come up." Athena commanded.

"With pleasure." I smirked, my fingers flexing with the prospect of finally getting revenge for my mother, Heracles and everyone else that Hera's evil had engulfed. I stood up, walking directly in front of Hera, drawing my hand back, poised and ready.

"Hera, do you have any final words?" Zeus bellowed from his seat.

The woman looked up at her husband for the final time, then out to everyone on Olympus, "No."

"Y/N, when you're ready." Athena said , sitting back down beside Zeus. Hera looked up at me from her lashes, a weird look across her face.

"For Ithacles!" I shouted, looking over to Hera, the woman still staring straight ahead, but fluttering her eyes closed.

She was accepting her death....

"F-for.." I started, moving my hands and creating a small bolt of lightning, a javelin ready to be thrown.

"My mother.." I whispered, my mind tumbling with uncertainty.

Would my mother have wanted this?
It wouldn't bring her back....

My great grandmother's words played around in my head, "When you kill someone, even a God, it never leaves your psyche."

I took a deep breath and I could sense the tension in the air, everyone was waiting for me to make a move. To end this once and for all.

My thoughts went to my mother, at her last moment, did she accept her death in the same way that Hera does now?

She wouldn't have wanted me to do this in her memory, my vengeance was overweighting what she had taught me for years and years about mercy and compassion.

"No...This isn't right." I whispered, snapping my wrists and making the bolt disappear in a puff of smoke.

"I'm not going to kill her." I announced, not even sure if I wanted to believe my own words. Hera's eyes opened, and the brown orbs landed on me. I gave her a small smile, nodding my head, finally sure of myself.