As Camp Half-Blood entered a new stage full of surprises, Olympus was living through a much calmer scene.
Grayfia and Koneko walked through one of the palace's main corridors, though saying they were walking of their own free will was a bit of a euphemism. Rhea was leading them from one place to another with a bright smile, clearly excited to have the two silver-haired girls in Olympus. The Titaness held one of Koneko's hands while pointing out all kinds of things.
"And this is one of the inner courtyards. It is one of Hera's favorites, so we always have to be careful here if we do not want to earn her wrath," Rhea said with a nostalgic smile.
Koneko blinked slowly, looking at the white and golden flowers growing between fountains of clear water. Her ears moved a little, and although her face remained almost expressionless, her two white tails swayed with slight curiosity. "It's pretty," she murmured.
Rhea seemed to receive those two words as if they were great praise. "Isn't it?"
Grayfia walked a few steps behind them, with her perfect posture and composed expression. Even so, her silver eyes moved over every detail of the palace with attention. She did not want Rhea to catch her not paying attention.
And yet, she had to admit she liked it a little. Also, in secret, the Lucifuge liked flowers very much, though she would not admit that out loud.
Rhea suddenly turned toward her. "Grayfia, dear, you do not have to walk as if you were escorting me."
Grayfia blinked once. "My apologies. It is habit."
Rhea shook her head, amused, wondering where Damon had found these two antisocial girls. Then she looked at Koneko and gently squeezed the young Nekoshou's hand before continuing to walk. She did not try to force any response out of either of them, and that was something Grayfia noticed.
Little by little, Grayfia was beginning to understand that Rhea was a ball of maternal happiness, but at the same time, she had the kind of dangerous warmth that made it easy to lower your guard. Not because she was weak, but because she did not seem to expect anything unusual in return.
"Come," Rhea said, pointing toward the end of the corridor. "I want to show you Damon's temple. After that, you will eat something."
Koneko looked up. "Will there be chocolates?"
Rhea smiled even wider. "Of course, there will be chocolates."
Koneko's tails moved a little faster.
Grayfia observed the scene in silence, allowing her expression to soften slightly. Perhaps this place would not be as bad as everyone thought. People like Rhea made it much easier to enjoy.
XXXXX
Temple of Hera.
Hera's temple was not the largest place in Olympus, but it was one of the most imposing. And truthfully, that surprised no one. Everyone knew what Hera was like, upright and proud like the queen she was. The place was beautiful to behold, filled with white marble columns carved with elegant designs and purple curtains that gave it a unique touch of royalty.
Damon walked between Hera and Amaterasu with a calm expression, though inwardly he could not help feeling a little nervous. He knew how dangerous those two women could become if something went wrong. But at the same time, he also knew Hera and Amaterasu were not the kind of women who would turn a simple conversation into a meaningless argument.
Hera, for her part, was lost in her own thoughts, observing Amaterasu carefully. She could not deny that the woman was beautiful. She was, and she also represented the role of queen far too well. Hera could not deny that either. Perhaps she even did a better job than her, something that made Hera a little bitter, because not only did she seem like a better queen, but she had also stolen the man she liked.
On the other hand, Amaterasu was someone who had already prepared herself for something like this from the moment she and Damon formalized their relationship so many years ago. That was why she was not upset. Rather, she hoped to leave that conversation with Hera as a good friend. She had no intention of stopping the progress of the relationship between Damon and the Olympian queen.
"I must admit," Hera finally said, breaking the silence as they entered an open room within the temple, "ever since Damon told me about you, I hated you and cursed you many times."
Damon felt a drop of sweat run down his temple at how frank Hera could be. Amaterasu, on the other hand, showed a kind smile. "I hope that is not still the case, Lady Hera," she said calmly, not angered in the slightest by the words of the Olympian queen.
"Not at all. That is no longer the case," Hera replied calmly. Then she paused and added with far too much naturalness, "Although sometimes I still feel like, you know..."
Hera raised her hands and made a strangling gesture while biting her lips and looking at Amaterasu, drawing a nervous laugh from the Shinto queen.
Damon also laughed nervously. "The good thing is that I am a good person and told you, right, Hera?" the god said, scratching the back of his neck.
"Pfff, please. You were only trying to save your own ass," Hera replied without looking at him. "I handled it myself. Not everything has to revolve around you, brother."
Amaterasu let out a soft laugh, barely covering her lips with the sleeve of her kimono. "I must admit I very much agree with you, Lady Hera."
Hera moved a hand elegantly. "Please, just call me Hera. You do not have to address me with so much respect."
Amaterasu nodded with a grateful smile.
Damon looked between both women. Wonderful. They are already getting along. Finally. I am coming out of this winning beautifully, he boasted in his mind.
The three sat on an inner terrace of the temple. From there, Olympus stretched beneath the blue sky, with its palaces and elevated paths. The place was calm, quite beautiful, and secluded enough to allow a conversation without interruption. Damon sat first, but soon noticed that both Hera and Amaterasu were looking at him seriously.
"What?" he asked.
Hera raised an eyebrow. "This conversation is about you, but not necessarily with you."
Damon fell silent for a second. Then he leaned back slightly in his seat. "Understood. I will try not to interrupt too much."
"I hope so," Amaterasu murmured.
The two queens sat down, facing one another with Damon between them. Amaterasu took a moment to organize her thoughts as a comfortable silence settled between them.
"Damon has always spoken about you," Amaterasu finally said. "Not with all the details, of course. He always keeps things to himself, and in the end, they become a surprise for everyone else. It is funny, because he hates surprises, yet in the end he is the one who causes them the most."
"Yes, that is how he is. But I have gotten used to it," Hera replied. "He has always done the same thing since we were in Kronos's stomach."
Damon opened his mouth to respond, but both women looked at him before he could say anything. Seeing himself cornered, the god closed his mouth at once.
Amaterasu let out a low laugh before continuing. "I do not know if you know everything, but I met him while you were fighting your war against Kronos. At that time, Damon was not at all what he is now. He was more reckless, more naive, but at the same time, I liked the way he tried to bring peace to his pantheon and protect his family."
Hera listened attentively, her gaze fixed on Amaterasu's golden eyes. "Yes, I have heard parts of that from him. Although, honestly, when he disappeared for three years and then came back as if nothing had happened, I was so angry that I do not know what I would have done to him if he had told me he had been with another woman that entire time. Perhaps I would have castrated him."
Hera said that with an amused smile, remembering those events, while Damon internally thanked himself for not having told her anything back then. Even so, he could not help rolling his eyes. The woman had just complained that he had not told her anything, and now she was admitting that she probably would have castrated him if he had. Then they wondered why he hid things.
Amaterasu could not help laughing out loud while covering her mouth with one hand, absolutely amused by how direct Hera could be. Now she understood a little better why Damon sometimes spoke of her with a mixture of affection and fear.
"I am sure Damon has already learned his lesson," Amaterasu admitted.
"I hope so. He is lucky I have not taken real action, despite the fact that he literally left for thousands of years..."
A silence settled in the room. That was a delicate subject.
Amaterasu noticed it, but she did not retreat. "Yes. He regrets that very much too. When he arrived in my land, I could see that leaving his home had affected him more than he admitted. The only thing keeping him moving forward was his desire to bring peace and become stronger."
"I imagine he succeeded," Hera said with a warm smile.
"He did," Amaterasu replied with a soft smile. "And in turn, he ended up earning everyone's respect. It was something good for many, even for Damon. He may act as if nothing matters to him, but he recognizes strength and sincerity when he sees them, even if he tries to prove otherwise."
Hera remained silent, listening closely. The goddess truly seemed interested in what Amaterasu was saying. She seemed to be putting together the pieces of a part of Damon's life she had not been able to see.
Amaterasu lowered her gaze a little, remembering. "In the end, I began to love him even when he was still learning. It did not matter if he made mistakes. The simple fact that I saw him stand up again and again, even in his worst moments, made me realize that Damon was the kind of person I wanted by my side. That is why things ended up the way they are now."
A silence settled over the terrace while Hera processed what Amaterasu had said. Not only her words, but the true love transmitted through them. The Olympian queen could not help feeling a little envious. If Damon had not left so many years ago, would she have been the one in Amaterasu's place? Would she have avoided the hell she ended up in with Zeus?
Hera shifted slightly in her seat. "I see... It is impressive, honestly. But I cannot help asking something. Are you not afraid of losing him?"
Amaterasu lifted her gaze toward her. "Absolutely not. At least, not in the way you mean."
"I know Damon very well," Amaterasu continued. "I know he is not a simple man. That is why I came to understand and accept that he would not be a man of only one woman. Not because he is incapable of loving sincerely, but because his existence is connected to too many places. It is already difficult for a god to remain within the limits of a single pantheon, and most do not even leave their own lands. Damon has two homelands, two histories, two worlds that claim him. So I came to accept that I have no problem with the women who become involved with him. That said, if something becomes serious, he knows he has to introduce her to me."
Amaterasu held Hera's gaze with confidence. "Damon loves me in his own way, and that way is enough for me. If there are other women in his life, that does not make me feel less loved. I would see it as a humiliation only if he treated our feelings as something disposable, but that has never been the case."
Damon could not help feeling his heart warm at Amaterasu's words. He knew she trusted him deeply, but the way she had just said it was simply another kind of trust. An unconditional trust. Even divine couples who lasted millennia together sometimes could not build something like that.
"That... I suppose that makes things simpler," Hera finally said. Her gaze remained on Amaterasu, though her voice lowered slightly. "I imagine you know what I feel for Damon, right?"
Amaterasu nodded softly. "I have always known. But more than that, I knew because of the way he speaks about you."
Hera looked at Damon, and she could not help feeling happy that he truly spoke of her that way even with Amaterasu. "Oh, really?" the goddess asked.
Amaterasu nodded kindly.
Hera sighed internally, gathering her courage. "I have loved him since long before you," she admitted. "It is just that back then, I did not have the courage to say it. Not with everything that was happening with Kronos, and much less with everything that came after."
Hera's voice was low, almost broken, but Damon felt the weight of every word. Not only because Hera was speaking about her true feelings, but because she was doing it in front of him and in front of Amaterasu. For someone like Hera, that was no small thing.
Amaterasu did not try to judge her. After a moment, the sun goddess spoke with kindness. "That is why I did not come here to tell you what you can or cannot feel. If you love Damon and want to be by his side, it does not bother me. Ultimately, you only have to accept how he is now, if that is what you truly want."
Hera took a deep breath, though her eyes softened only slightly. "I understand, and I thank you very much, Amaterasu. But I must also be honest. I am possessive, proud, and I do not tolerate being treated as a secondary option."
Amaterasu watched her without discomfort. Her calm smile made it clear that she had expected such an answer from the beginning. "I know," she replied softly. "And we agree on that."
Silence settled between the three of them again. Damon finally spoke, his voice spreading across the balcony with seriousness. "I do not want either of you to feel forced to accept something only because of me."
Hera looked at him firmly. "I am not a child, Damon. I do not accept things because someone forces me."
"Neither do I," Amaterasu added. "We are here because we want to be."
Damon held both of their gazes for a moment. Then he let out a snort. "If you say so, I am not going to argue with dangerous women."
"I am glad you understand," both women said at the same time.
Damon shook his head, amused. In the end, after so many years of waiting, the three of them had reached a mutual understanding, and they had done so as adults and deities who knew exactly what they wanted.
And for now, that was enough.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Hehe, boy Damon, 'bout to enjoy life to the fullest...😂 Thank you for reading
2539 Words
https://discord.gg/xCTg5S8Xq
P@treon: Brotato up to chapter 157