Holy Matrimony

There was a pause as he rapped his fingertips on the arm of the throne. Had he heard that correctly? In that quiet moment of reflection, he argued with himself whether his ears had deceived him or if those words had brushed her lips. Then, choosing to be sure, Zeus slid his hand back, caressing the sculpted eagle at the end of the right arm of his throne as he leaned forward. "I beg your pardon... What was that you just said?"

Nike sucked on her teeth as she side-eyed her sister, the goddess Bia.

Bia was the shorter of the two goddesses. She had jet black hair and darker eyes than her taller sister Nike. She was also the louder and bolder of the pair. "I said-"

Nike cleared her throat and stepped forward. "Your grace, if I may-"

Zeus shook his head.

Nike bit her lip and nodded. Her feet moved her back to her previous position without protest.

"Let her say it," Zeus said, standing up and taking one step down from his elevated throne.

Bia glanced briefly at Nike. Only then did she appear to have understood her previous error. An uncertain flicker crossed her face. Then, brushing hair off her face, she stalled a moment later. "I, uh, said... the queen is refusing to join for court this morning."

Taking another step down, Zeus slowly shook his head. "No," he said amid his chuckle. "That is not what you just said."

Bia glanced to Nike for cues on how to proceed, but Nike's eyes looked everywhere but toward her sister. Bia let out a breath as she returned her focus to Zeus. "My apologies for what I had said before-"

"I asked you to repeat it," Zeus said, clasping his hands behind his back as he stood midway down the steps leading down from his majestic seat of power. "Now, if you would do me that honor."

Dropping her shoulders and gaze, Bia confessed her mistake to the floor in a tone barely audible to even divine ears.

"Look at me when you address me."

Bia did as ordered. After taking a moment to correct her posture and assume a mantle of responsibility, out came the overdue recital: "The bitch has chosen not to attend court this morning."

Zeus nodded as he strolled down the steps. "I will see about that," he said as his feet touched the same floor where Bia and Nike stood. As the god walked between them, they both turned to follow him but halted with a mere gesture of his uplifted hand. "Remain in place," he said with his signal.

Zeus approached a nearly hidden door between two other thrones. Then, pushing himself through it, he disappeared into his private retreat. He had to only cross through two more rooms in his residence until he found who he was looking for - Hera.

Soaking in a pool of milk and rose petals, the Queen of Olympus was enjoying a morning bath with a long flute of Nektar. The room surrounding her was palatially spacious and splendid in its decor - fitting the status of the residents. Sitting at the edge of the bath were two male godlings - daimons with neither title, purview, or endowment.

With the gods' entrance, the two godlings looked to their mistress for instruction. Hera did not give them an immediate answer; instead, she let them remain as her lips teased the rim of her glass. Her eyes waited on her husband to make the first move as she did so.

Zeus recognized the game she was playing. Still, he gave her one chance. His golden eyes flit from her to the two godlings, then back to her. He gave an idle nod and let out a long breath. Zeus saw the godlings become restless and uncomfortable as his foot tapped impatiently. Finally, Zeus waved his hand toward another door to spare the poor things. "I have need to speak to my wife. Leave us."

The godlings nodded and stood up, scrambling to comply with their kings' direction. They reached the door when the throat clearing sound halted their momentum entirely.

"I did not excuse you," Hera said without taking her eyes off her husband.

The first one turned around slowly. "Yes, my queen, we know, but-"

"But what?" asked Hera, raising an eyebrow for Zeus' benefit more than in response to the godling's excuse. "You work for me, do you not?"

The second godling turned around and put his hand on the first's shoulder. "You are our mistress, yes, my queen, but he is the king and-"

"And you think that makes him my master?" Hera's violet eyes snapped away from Zeus and gave a scornful glare to her servants.

"Hera," Zeus said, rolling his eyes.

"Don't," Hera said, as her glare turned upon her husband. She shook her head once in silent warning.

Zeus let out a sigh and averted his eyes, turning his attention to a gilded pillar. Then, deciding to let Hera play her games, he took a step to his side and leaned his arm and shoulder against the pillar.

Seeing her husband quelled, Hera looked back at the pair of godlings. "I asked you a question."

The first godling shook his head. "No, my queen. We work for you."

"Only for me," Hera corrected him.

"Only for you," agreed the second one with a nod. "We know this-"

"Clearly, you needed a reminder," Hera said with a scoff, followed by a deep sip from her flute. She let the beverage linger in her mouth before she swallowed, slow and deliberate. Only once the taste had left her mouth did she open her lips to speak again. "My husband wishes to have a conservation with me. Don't just stand there. Leave."

The first godling looked confused for a fragment of a second before the second nodded and opened the door. Zeus' eyes were entirely focused on Hera, but he did not need to be looking at the godlings to know the second one pulled the first one into the room with him. Their eagerness to leave the bathing chamber was palpable.

Zeus let out a long sigh with the click of the door shutting. "Why must you be this way?"

Hera leaned back against the pillow her head rested on with a smirk. "To what are you referring to, my husband? I am perfection incarnate, am I not?" she said as one of her feet's toes breached the surface to flick droplets of milk no more than a kubit in Zeus' direction, all splashing back into the pool that birthed them.

Stepping away from the pillar, Zeus brought himself to the bath's edge. "Hera, get dressed."

The queen scoffed and sampled her wine some more.

"You promised you would attend court this morning," said Zeus, idly clasping his hands together.

"And I will," she said after another slow, measured swallow. She paused as her eyes locked gazes with Zeus' own inquisitive eyeing of her. "After my bath," she added with a devious smirk.

"Court was meant to start at the third hour. Instead, we are now halfway into that hour and have yet to begin," Zeus said, keeping his yellow eyes on his wife's face.

Hera did not flinch. "If court cannot begin without me, then it shall just have to wait," she said with a freshly wine-soaked smile. "I cannot attend court without having my morning bath."

"This makes me look bad," Zeus said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "That is why you are doing this."

Hera rolled her eyes. "Everything is always about you, Zeus, isn't it?" she asked with a scoff and drowned her question by finishing her glass. Once her flute was empty, she laid it down, on its side, on the floor beside the bath rim. Then, with a flick of her hand's four fingers, she pushed it and let it roll away - only stopping as it hit a pillar adjacent to the wall. Amused, she turned her eyes back to her husband and shifted her position. Now sitting upright, her milk-dripping breasts revealed themselves, and right on cue, she smirked as she caught Zeus' eyes drift down.

Realizing the cause for her sinister smirk, Zeus rolled his eyes and bit his tongue. "More games..." he cursed under his breath.

"What games?" asked Hera, feigning ignorance as she let out a soft cackle. The next moment she was standing upright and traipsing her milk-soaked body through the thigh-high milk pool. Rose petals still clung to her body. Some slowly shifted down her body as the milk ran off, but others remained locked in place. She peeled one such petal from her collarbone and flicked it at her husband. It struck the lapel of his coat and stuck to it just as it had her flesh. Giggling, Hera stepped up to the submerged bench hidden under the milk, bringing her to marginally more equal footing with her husband. She stood there, her neck cranked back as she invited his eyes into her gaze.

Zeus plucked the petal from his coat and then let his coat slide off his arms. As the garment fell to the floor, Zeus swung a foot back and launched the coat out of the room, returning to the room he had entered from. Letting out a long sigh, Zeus fell to one knee to put him on nearly the same eye level as his wife. "What must it take to get you in the throne room without quarrel?"

Hera reached forward to place her damp hand on her husband's dry cheek. She let her fingers trace his jawline until she ran his tuft of facial hair between her thumb and index finger. Then, gripping that tightly, she leaned. Their noses were a breath apart as their eyes locked with eldritch intensity. "If you wanted to avoid a queen with the quarreling, you would cease your whoring."

Zeus scoffed and rolled his eyes but was silenced by a sharp jerk on his chin. Hera pulled his brow against her. The two were so close that the sides of their noses brushed against one another. Only after holding this position for a moment did he feel free to speak. "I told you before we were married that I could not give you my heart - not all of it."

"Why not?" asked Hera with a scoff. "Why can't you love me like you do the whores?"

Zeus closed his eyes. "I do not pay for what I get," Zeus protested.

She scoffed and released him, slowly stepping back and down and lowering herself into the bath once again. Once rested on the hidden bench and resting her head on the pillow again, Hera glanced to the side and let out a long sigh. "Am I so difficult to love?"

Zeus scoffed, also looking to the side - at nothing in particular. "When you play these games, you don't make it easy."

Hera did not have to say it. They both knew what was left unsaid; she played these games to get his attention. There had been love between them. There still was when you looked hard enough. No one remains married for four thousand years without some measure of love.

Zeus let out a sigh with Hera so quiet to break the silence. "It's not that I don't love you."

"It's that you still love her," Hera said, as a tear welled up in the eye that was turned away from her husband. Nodding, she pulled a damp hand to her face and wiped the hidden tear. She kept that hand's arm out of the bath, resting her upper arm and elbow on the lip of the bath. Then, the queen's violet eyes turned to her husband once more, giving him the full measure of her scorn. "It's that you love her more than you ever loved me."

"She was my wife," Zeus said with a long, heavy pause. His brow furrowed as he braced himself to turn and accept his wife's glare head-on.

"I am your wife and queen," Hera reasoned, her jaw clenching to punctuate her reminder. "And yet, you love her more than me."

"She gave my daughter," Zeus said, his jaw trembling as he kept his intense focus on Hera.

"I gave you daughters, too!" Hera screamed. "And sons!" she added as her other arm flung out of the bath, flinging milk and rose petals all about the room, even dampening Zeus' face and clothing. "Ares, Enyo, Hephaestus, Ilithiya, Hebe..."

Zeus let out a long breath. "And for that, and other reasons, I do love you..." he confessed before he brought a hand to his face and wiped the milk from his brow and cheeks. Then, letting that declaration simmer, he thought of how to add to that. "I love our children, just as I love you-"
He should have given it another moment or two of thought before speaking.

Hera caught that, and her look alone was enough to silence the god at once. Then, slowly, she nodded, her teeth scraping her lips as she did so, savoring what she was about to say.

Meanwhile, Zeus let out a long, agonized sigh. He had fallen into her trap once more, and he knew it. He closed his eyes and presented his chin to his queen like a boxer making the final blow easier for his opponent or the condemned, baring their neck for the executioner's swing.

"You love our children," she admitted with a nod. "But," she quickly added with a wicked grin, "not as much as you love Athena," Hera spat out. "Nor as much as your love your bastards."

Zeus was prepared to take his lumps in defense of Athena, but his eyes snapped open at the mention of bastards. He had to attempt to steer this conversation away from where he knew it would inevitably lead. "I admit that I favor my eldest daughter but she is my heir and-"

Hera shook her head. "Mm-mm," she said, humming the sounds through her closed lips. "Ares is your heir. He is the eldest child of our line. It is his right."

Zeus was partially astonished. Had he pulled it off? Had he steered Hera away from one of her favorite points of complaint? Zeus bit his lip to not betray his joy with a silly grin. Instead, he channeled his thoughts to singularly focus on the great Ares versus Athena issue. "Athena is my oldest child and a legitimate daughter."

"I am your queen, Zeus," Hera reminded him. "When we married, you promised me we would be equals in all things. You are King of Olympus, and I am Queen of Olympus. I am not your queen-consort. We are equal monarchs, and we both sit on the Quorum. My ichor has as much weight in determining the heir than yours. Ares is our heir."

"You cannot change the past, Hera. I was married to Metis first. Because she died does not erase her from-"

"She was not queen! I am the queen!" Hera said, abruptly standing and climbing from the bath. She grabbed a robe from a nearby rack and draped it over herself. As she marched around the bath, closing the distance to Zeus, her wet feet slipped and slid on the smooth marble floor, but she neither fell nor fumbled by merit of her divine grace.

Zeus feared she was approaching him to push him into the milk bath, but she simply kept marching, not bothering to tie her sheer robe as she boldly strolled away, heading toward the retreat. About that time, Zeus realized she was making her way to the throneroom, prompting him to put his feet beneath him and quickly follow. "Hera! What are you doing?" he called out, hoping to stall her to give him a moment to catch her.

Hera did not take the bait. "You seem to require a reminder that I am the queen," she defiantly said, walking toward the throne room.

By the time Zeus had her in arm's reach, she was in the process of passing through the throne room's hidden doorway. Nevertheless, his hand managed to grab her arm by the sleeve of her loose robe and spin her toward him, catching the interest of Bia and Nike as he did so.

"Hera," Zeus said, looking her in, "get dressed."

"You do not give me orders," she sneered before spitting into his eye and reeling against his grip.

Zeus groaned as he flung his head back and stepped backward, gripping Hera's robed arm. "Damnit, wife," he cursed as he used his free hand to wipe the excess spittle off his face.

When Zeus' grip did not release her, Hera grabbed her robe with her free hand and slipped her body from the moist material. Bare as the day she had been born, the queen then sprinted into the center of the throne room before she stopped to compose herself and saunter by the two guardian goddesses. "Bia, Nike," she said, giving each a nod as she strolled between them.

"My queen," said Nike, tipping her head as Bia gave a silent nod and bit her tongue.

Zeus tossed the damp robe to the floor and marched out, only to think on it a second longer and jog back to claim the wadded-up robe from the floor. Then, stomping into the throne room, dripping silk robe in hand, Zeus looked at Bia and Nike, who were doing their best not to smile at their king's marital difficulties. Then, flaring his nostrils, Zeus looked ahead, gazing between the goddess to see Hera's backside shift as she ascended the crystal steps to her throne.

"No one thought to stop her?" asked Zeus under his breath.

Nike blinked and opened her mouth, closing it a second later as she thought better of it. Meanwhile, Bia simply grinned without a word. She was genuinely enjoying this as it proved her earlier point.

Scoffing, Zeus stepped forward and stood at the foot of the stairs. "Hera... My beloved wife," he said with a forced grin, "you seem to have forgotten your robe..."

Hera had reached the top of her ascent. Slowly, she turned and lowered her still damp body to her white cowskin draped over her ivory throne. As she slung one leg over the other, she rested her arms on the throne. With an expression that gave only indifference, she eyed Zeus and then averted her gaze to look at the goddesses on the chamber floor. "My husband is mistaken. I distinctly remember that court was to be held at the fourth hour, and it was to be an honest court."

"An honest court?" Zeus asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked up at his wife and queen.

Hera smirked as her eyes drifted downward and found Zeus's expression similar to what she had hoped to find. "Indeed, my husband... A court with nothing to hide is an honest court if ever there was one. Do you not agree?"

Zeus sucked his teeth and looked over his shoulder at Nike and Bia. Only they would understand his inner frustration at that moment. Then, he dropped his shoulders with a sigh and looked back at Hera. "Maybe my queen is mistaken?" he asked with a pleading gaze.

"Oh, am I?" she asked, gently placing one hand's fingertips on her breast. "Oh, how foolish I must look..." she said exaggeratedly. "Why, I came in here unclothed and fresh from my milk bath. I strolled in so certain of the occasion and-" she let out a long sigh. "I am dreadfully sorry, husband. I can't believe I have brought such shame upon you and made you look so bad... unless," she paused. "Maybe it is not I that am mistaken?"

Zeus bit down on his lip as his fingers came up to manipulate the buttons on his vest. "No, my wife... Now that I reconsider it..." he said slowly as he peeled the vest from his frame and turned toward his throne's steps. He tossed his vest and Hera's robe to the side of Athena's throne, where it would be concealed from the view of those who attended court. His shirt joined that pile as he was halfway up his rainbow-colored steps. "An honest court is what we had agreed on... I cannot believe I had forgotten that..." he said as he reached the top of the stairs and pulled his pants off as he dropped his body into his throne. With a grunt or two, he pulled his boots off one by one and added them and his trousers to the pile. A second later, he stood back up and cast off his undergarments, but he chose to keep them on his throne, tucked away behind his back.

Nike and Bia looked at one another and sighed. A second later, they each retreated from the center of the chamber. The two rested their spears and shields against opposing thrones on the side of the chamber. Once their weapons were free from hand, they removed their armor and undergarments, hiding them behind the thrones where they had propped their spears. Once disrobed, they reclaimed their weapons and shields and returned to standing just outside the throne room.

Zeus glanced at Hera upon completion of his throne guards' baring. It was his turn to spot what her gaze was on. Zeus was not shy and simply smiled, seeing his wife taking an interest. A moment later, his smile faded as he had to consider whether that was the explanation for her eyeing him or whether she was measuring his arousal at Nike and Bia's nakedness. Glancing back to Hera, he was surprised to find her extending the hand closest to him. Zeus returned the gesture, and she intertwined her fingers with his.

Leaning toward her king, Hera smiled. "I am the Queen of Olympus."

Zeus looked at her quietly, uncertain what to say.

"Say it," she said as if she had read his thoughts.

Zeus nodded. "You are the Queen of Olympus."

Hera nodded, smiled, and squeezed Zeus' hand before withdrawing her hand. Then, as she rested her hand on the arm of her throne, she looked forward again and gave Bia and Nike the nod, signaling them to open large double doors at the end of the chamber. As the two goddesses walked away to facilitate the order, Hera spoke again, quieter than before. "I do not expect you to only lay with me, husband. I could care less who you put yourself into. After all, you have never had any issue with me bedding others. I only ask that you simply not put your love and attention of any others over our children or me."

Zeus gazed at Hera with a clenched brow. He was angry at her for making such demands, but at the same time, he felt a pain as he did not find her request to be unreasonable. She was his wife and queen. She had been a companion to him through all of their obstacles. Part of him wishes he had married Hera first. If he had never known the love of Metis, maybe his life would be more straightforward and free of undue stress. But if he had not loved Metis, what would he lose? Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes... Zeus doubted he would even have the throne.

He told himself that he could not comply with Hera's request. Zeus could never forget Metis. He owed her too much as she was responsible for many great things in the god's life. Yet, that which Zeus told himself was not always what Hera wanted to hear, so instead, Zeus bit his lower lip and turned away.

The naked sisters opened the doors and greeted the restless congregation in the foyer outside the chamber. Their peculiar entrance quelled the initial protests about the late beginning, but that was only replaced by confusion as the goddesses instructed those wishing audience with the king and queen of the need to disrobe. Nude gods, goddesses, godlings, nymphs, and satyrs were admitted into the chamber and kept in the back until all had gathered and the doors were closed behind them.

Bia stayed with the petitioners and plaintiffs at the back as Nike strolled up with the first two, a nymph and a satyr. Nike announced their names before specifying that the nymph had requested the audience. Then, as she finished, she stepped aside and motioned to each, telling them where to stand. As the nymph's bare feet seemed to find the marble floor's warmth to her liking, the satyr seemed all too excited to gaze upon Hera in all her glory.

Hera glanced over to Zeus and could see him taking offense on his wife's behalf. As Zeus cleared his throat and shot a condemning glare at the lecherous satyr, the queen smiled with delight. The creature quickly bowed his head in shame and apologized, only for Hera to wave off the need and invite him to speak his case.

Zeus ruled in the nymph's favor, awarding her one of the satyr's pastures for him breaking some vague promise he made to open her legs to him. But, as the court's proceedings went on, Hera offered no insight on that case or most of the others that followed, leaving Zeus to pass judgment on his own. When she did speak, it was only to offer vague responses to being directly called upon and then quickly shift focus to Zeus.

This was not her usual approach. Zeus hated this part of his job, and it was Hera that was usually the one doing most of the talking and judgment passing. However, when Zeus did pass judgment on anything, Hera was sure to give him a look - letting him know if she agreed or disagreed with his ruling, but other than that, she kept a mostly neutral expression. So was Hera doing what he often did to her? He was not sure, nor did he understand how this showed that she was queen. That had been her threat, after all.

After the court business was concluded, the king and queen retired through the side door. With its closure, Zeus lunged forward and grabbed his wife's wrists, pinning her to the wall of their retreat. He let out an angry growl. "What game are you playing at now, wife?"

Hera giggled and bit her lip seductively. "Angry, are we?" she asked. "What's the matter, husband? Did I get you all bothered?" she asked with delight. "We both know what you need to do when you're stressed like this..." she said, looking down and smiling wickedly.

"I should smite you," Zeus said, countering with a dismissive scoff.

"The Thunderbolt is right there," she said, glancing to the side of the room where his polearm was contained in its display case. "Have at it..." she dared him, but when he did not even glance in that direction, she raised an eyebrow slowly. "Or... you have another option," she said as she lifted a leg and let her bare foot stroke his outer thigh.

Zeus closed his eyes and let out a sigh. It had been some time since the two had been intimate, and the suggestion did have appeal. However, knowing that she had manipulated him into it unsettled him, as did the idea that he would be playing right into her hand... or cunny, in this instance. Zeus eased his grip without a word, letting his hand fall idle to his side and freeing her to lean into him.

With lips teased his ears. "Go on... Let us make use of our marital bed. Remind me of your legendary prowess, husband," she said, giggling as she walked around him, letting her fingernails and fingertips tease his chest, shoulders, spine, and buttocks. Then, pressing herself against his back, she again placed her lips to his ear. "You can keep your eyes closed if it helps. Pretend I'm someone else... A priestess, a princess, a nymph eager to please their god-king... It's been sometime since we roleplayed," she teased as her forearms draped over his shoulders and her hands massaged his chest.

Zeus slowly nodded before he turned around. "I love you as you are," he said, thinking he was steering away from whatever trap she had laid for him. "And why pretend you are someone else when I have the chance to make love to the Queen of Olympus?"

Hera smirked wickedly with his response before Zeus grabbed her hair and pulled her into a passionate kiss. Moments later, the two were stumbling toward their bed but only as far as the bathing chamber before Zeus' discarded coat tripped them up and sent both crashing hard to the marble floor. Divine durability spared them any injury or discomfort as the two simply shifted positions where they landed and proceeded to carnal dealings - with Hera mounting Zeus and sinking her fingernails tight into his chest as he entered her, prompting her to gasp.

The two had only begun when Hera locked her arms and shook her head. "Say it, Zeus..."

Zeus did not look away. He tried to thrust again but found her motions countering his pleasure. The god bit his lower lip. "Do not tease me like this," he warned her. "Not now... Not when I am so-" he paused and swallowed the word 'angry.' Admitting that would only be used against him.

"Say that you love me more than any other, and you can have it... and so much more," she promised him, bending her arms and placing her lips so close to his that her breath warmed his nostrils. "A single simple promise, and I'll arrange you an orgy in scale the dwarfs any Aphrodite has ever dreamed of, husband..."

Trembling, Zeus weighed his decision. The ichor in his veins burned, as did his tormented loins. Finally, Zeus clenched his teeth and flung her aside with his hands on her hips, plunging her into the curdling bath, causing the bath's contents to spill over the floor and soaking Zeus.

Hera struggled to gain her bearings with an insulted gasp as she stood up and wiped her soiled bath milk away from her eyes and mouth. "Zeus!" she screamed as she could make out her husband getting to his feet and storming out of their residence. "Zeus, get back here!"

As the door closed behind him, Zeus let out his upset growl and smashed his fist into a gilded pillar, causing it to crack and crumble. Bia and Nike ran down the corridor a few moments later, each halfway armored. Seeing their still naked king staring at his hand and seething with rage, they approached cautiously, each fully aware of Hera's muffled screams for Zeus to return to their residence. Unfortunately, this was not the first time they had encountered such a situation.

"My king," said Nike, walking up to place her hand on Zeus and draw his eyes to her. "Come on. Let's get you dressed and have Asclepius take a look at your hand."

"My hand is fine," he protested.

Nike took his wrist and slid her fingers to his knuckles. Then, as he pulled away with a wince, the look in her eyes was enough, but she said it anyway. "When's the last time you had Nektar and Ambrosia?"

"Dinner," he said with a shrug.

"You had dinner on the surface," she reminded him.

He sighed and nodded. "You're right... Lead the way," he said and followed, leaving Bia to deal with the broken pillar and the possibility of an enraged Hera following.

## Characters

### Gods

* Zeus
* Nike
* Bia
* Hera