The Grace Curse

Chapter Five

THE CHILL OF NIGHT CAUSED ME TO BECOME RESTLESS WHILE I SLEPT. I saw someone standing in the foggy distance. Great another dream. Naturally, I decided to approach the figure being the brave jerk that I am. The woman's rainbow robe sagged onto the misty ground, it looked like peacock feathers with thousands of eyes. I took a moment to further examine her. Her long black hair was darker than the night itself and was let loose in the faint wind. She turned around; I gasped at how beautiful she looked.

"Chase Grace...it certainly took you long enough," The woman said. She flashed and turned into something more horrifying, Myra. I froze in fear. This woman radiated a dark sense of power, like mess with me and you'll get blasted out of the sky. This couldn't be Myra. She flashed back to her pretty form.

"What do you want?" I asked.

She laughed an empty, broken laugh. "I've seen your suffering and pain, most of all, your mother. That annoying nitwit thought she could handle my husband!" "Myra" explained. Mentioning my Mom created a prickly feeling inside of my back, especially the word nitwit.

"Where is she?" I growled defensively.

The woman clenched her fists as if she was restraining from vaporizing me. "Your mother is safe in Elysium," I scanned my memory for what Elysium was. I remember my Mom mentioning it when she used to teach me about mythology.

I thought it had something to do with death... "Elysium is where the heroic souls reside in death, isn't it?"

She looked surprised and adjusted her hair, it was funny how she was ugly one second and pretty the next. "Yes, it was...tragic to witness Vivien's death but she was definitely heroic. Even if I hate the bitch," What did she have against my mother? I was still puzzled as to who this woman was and why she was in my dreams. Just because she looked like Myra for a minute didn't mean anything. Could she be the one who spoke to me in my dream the previous day? I dismissed the idea. Her voice sounded too airy to be the dark figure's.

"Who are you?" I finally asked not wanting to wait much longer.

A smile spread across her face. "In Ancient Greece they called me Hera, the Romans called me Juno, same difference really, either works for me," Hera...I remembered that goddess all too well, there was a pretty children's book my mother read to me with a depiction of her surrounded by little peacocks as a nice mother to all. This woman however, seemed interested in being anything but a mother.

It took me a few moments to collect myself and think of a proper response, after all, this crazy nut could explode me to bits. "So, you're the Hera who is a crazy goddess? The one who mercilessly killed anyone who was an illegitimate child of Zeus?" Hera didn't seem appeased. I finally was getting the hint, it all made sense; and why she clearly disliked me. "Zeus is my father, isn't he?"

Hera crossed her arms. "Unfortunately, so. To set the record straight, I am not crazy, I was completely justified in killing most of his children. Let me ask you this, do you think it's fun to see your husband running around with everyone except you? Didn't think so... tell me how it feels when you see his disgusting illegitimate children and how they are just constant reminders of what I can no longer have..." In all honesty, Hera had no right to kill anyone. However, it made perfect sense when she put it into perspective, heck, I probably would have felt the same way she did if I was in her position...but still, that doesn't give her the right to kill Zeus's kids or anyone for that matter.

"I guess you aren't completely crazy then,"

The peacock goddess looked visibly relieved and sighed. "Thank you,"