The Weight of The Moon

Chapter Two

Had I not been in the situation that I was in, I would have longed for my camera. The temple was breath-takingly beautiful. Scented candles that didn’t seem to get any smaller lined the circumference of the white marble room. I was finding it difficult to ignore the child in my head, who wanted to remove my shoes and slide across the immaculately polished floor. It would have been easy enough to glide around, as the only obstacles were two extremely large thrones. Both had very high backs, but looked uncomfortable, as, like the rest of the room, they were made from marble. I could only imagine how cold they would become in the winter. 

In looking around the room, I was avoiding the real reason I was there. A part of me wanted to freeze time, to prevent the future from ever happening, but another part of me wanted to get this whole thing over and done with so I could go home and go to bed.

What scared me the most was that the two thrones were occupied. One by a woman, who, despite her short build, had a pair of the longest legs I’d ever seen. She had long black hair, which was combed over one shoulder in a neat plait, and tied with a sparkling gold ribbon. She sent a sympathetic smile my way, as if she’d been in my position before, and knew what was to come. She was sat in the temple belonging to the god of the sky, so I quickly realized that she was Hera, Zeus’s wife. 

Beside her sat Zeus himself, who was slightly podgier than I had imagined. He wore a sky blue tunic, typically worn by the Greeks. Underneath his mighty facial hair, his face looked soft, like that of on old, loving grandfather. But the frown he wore told me otherwise.

“Well.” His voice boomed like thunder, which made sense; he was god of the sky after all. “You were late.”

I opened my mouth the speak in reply, but Selene answered for me. “Oh Zeus, she’s only a teenager, it was only a matter of time before she was late anyway.” I never thought I’d be glad of my grandmother’s lack of belief in me, but I was.

“As a descendant of the moon goddess, I would expect her to know better.” He said, hurting me, but probably not even caring in the slightest.

I was glad for Selene, as I wouldn’t have known what to say. “No one but you and I noticed. No mortals, not even NASA.”

Zeus rose from his seat, noticeably angry. “And what about  next time?” He shouted.

“There won’t be a next time.” I decided to speak up. I was surprised that anyone actually heard me, as I spoke so quietly, terrified of Zeus.

“Sit down, Zeus.” Hera spoke softly, stroking his hand. Thankfully, he did as she advised.

After thinking over what I had said, whilst stroking his beard for what seemed like years, Zeus finally sighed. “I will give you another chance.” He said. “But if you are late once again, whether the morals notice or not, we will have to find a replacement for your job.” 

“Thank you!” I smiled, before Zeus waved his fingers towards the door, and Selene and I swiftly left. 

Once we were outside the temple, Selene turned to me, a stern look on her face. “You must take what he said very seriously. If you’re late again, Zeus won’t just replace you, he will shadow your entire family with shame, cut you off from all of my descendants, and you will forever be regarded as a mortal. You mustn’t be late again.”

She hadn’t needed to tell me, for I already knew what Zeus was capable of. I nodded, informing her that I understood.

“So, uh… how do I get home?” I asked.

Selene’s eyes opened wide in surprise. “You want to leave already?”

I was confused. I thought I’d already overstayed my welcome.