Chapter Text
Zeus' version
Zeus continued with his affairs. And one of his lovers was her own priestess. Io, princess of Argos and consecrated as a priestess in her name. He had no limits. Enraged the goddess went to the earthly plane in search of her ‘husband’ and if she could arrive early before he made a mistake, she could save the priestess. Yes, Hera needed to remind herself that she was the goddess protector of women, especially since they were her followers. The queen looked for her priestess in her temple and found no clue indicating her presence. Searched the surroundings of the temple and found nothing. The same result was found in the royal palace. The search was futile in the rest of the city. Imagining the worst, the goddess of women looked for Zeus. Since he had not been on Mount Olympus for days, this proved to be proof of his adventures in the mortal world and possibly with Io.
Hera called her messenger to find out the location of the god of lightning. Efficient as ever, Iris gathered information from the various fellow gods and revealed the last place where Zeus was seen. Thanking the goddess with a day off, Hera went to confront the traitor god herself.
Arriving at the open field, it didn't take long for her husband to laugh. Silently, she made her way over to him. Watching the man in the shadows of the trees, analyzed the scene. It looked like a picnic and Zeus had brought a basket of fruit and water.
Unnoticed, she approached the crouching god.
“Zeus,” the queen spoke calmly and coldly. The god of gods jumped in fright.
“Ha..He..Hera?” the god stammered as if he was a naughty child caught red handed doing something he shouldn’t.
“What are you hiding?” the queen asked him directly, not wanting to waste time with a ridiculous theater of cheap questions and answers.
“Nothing! I wasn’t doing anything!” he tried to defend himself.
“If you weren’t doing anything like you say, then why are you nervous?”
“Er…”
“Move!” Hera ordered.
“No!” Zeus stamped his foot decisively.
Already seeing the refusal prior, the goddess took grains from her bag, which was to feed her peacocks, and threw it in her husband’s eyes. As Zeus wiped his eyes, the goddess pushed him aside. With her sight clear, the queen of the gods lost her hatred and found surprise when she put her eyes on the mysterious secret.
A heifer.
A very cute heifer. The dark eyes looking at her, the soft silver fur, the way she moved her little ears. Cows were one of her favorite animals. And seeing one of them in front of her made her hatred disappear in seconds.
“Moooo?” the little cow mooed. Hera’s heart beat with excitement. The goddess’ dark eyes shine like they did in the days when she was a dreamy goddess with a bright future before everything was taken from her. At that moment Hera wished that the rumors were false and Io had run away with some lover and Zeus had really brought or created a heifer as a gift for her and not for another mistress. Maybe it was the only good thing he had done in all the millennia of marriage.
“Can I keep her?” was the first thing the goddess said.
“What?” Zeus blinked his redned eyes in confusion.
“I want to have this heifer as a pet.” the queen said with excitement and bright eyes of a child looking at new toys.
“Er..I wanted to..”
“What’s the problem?” she asked irritably. “Want to reveal something?”
“We don’t have room on Olympus to accommodate a cow from the mortal world.” he pointed out.
“We can always build one.” Hera reminded him.
“And who’s going to build that?”
“I’ll ask Hephaestus, I can also ask Athena.”
“And where will the cow stay until it’s ready?” Aarggh, he was asking too many questions.
“I know someone very capable of taking care of an animal.”
“Who?”
“Argos.”
“Argos?!” Zeus blinked twice in surprise. “Argos as the hundred-eyed giant?”
“Yes.” she said firmly.
“He’s the worst candidate to take care of a cow!” the king of the gods protested.
“How the worst? He’s always taking care of injured animals and has always been the gods’ first choice to watch over the divine animals when needed. You yourself have used his services countless times.”
“Ann… yeah.. It’s just that the heifer is so small and so fragile. A giant like him could kill her with just one finger.”
“Nonsense, he has taken care of more delicate animals before and none of them got a single scratch.” Hera continued to defend her friend.
“Okay!” she sighed, feeling the bitter taste in her mouth. He knew it was futile to find an argument to win over his wife.
Up until that moment, Zeus kept his disgusting mouth shut. Hera didn’t care, because she was busy petting her new pet. The heifer had the same name as her priestess, but Io meant violet and was a very common flower at that time and it could just be a coincidence. Of course, Zeus could have turned the priestess into a heifer to trick her, but to be honest, she would much rather want to believe that the cow really was a gift, even if it wasn’t for her but for one of her lovers, than her main theory. And she really preferred the pet theory.
Arriving at her giant friend's house, Hera greeted him with a radiant smile and explained the situation, also asking to watch over and take care of the animal while the gazebo was being completed. Argus agreed without thinking twice and prepared a special meal with fresh cereals. The queen of the gods returned to the mountain without imagining what would happen next.
She called Athena and Hephaestus to commission the project. The two gods were surprised by the request. How could the queen of the gods have asked them to build something so banal to accommodate such a common and unimportant animal? Athena could understand the queen's feelings. She was also a very attached owner to her beloved owls. Hephaestus agreed due to the payment. When the gazebo was completed, Hera thanked the two and paid them as promised.
Before going there, the queen went to meet Demeter to ask for the most delicious vegetables to give to the heifer and the other animals of Argus, in addition to bringing a bottle of nectar for the giant. With everything ready, she headed to Argus' house. Smiling, she couldn't wait to have the little cow in her arms.
However...
The smile slowly faded as she walked. The silence along the way stripped all life and tranquility, giving way to despair and destruction. She couldn't understand why she felt this way.Arriving at the gate, she couldn't find the giant. The queen called out to him once. Nothing. She called out to him again , raising her voice. Still no answer. Once more she called out. And for another five minutes, no one appeared.
Helios was already finishing his work of carrying the sun across the sky, leaving few rays to illuminate the afternoon. With her heart pounding with anxiety, she opened the gate and entered the house, still calling out to her friend, but receiving no answer. After going through each room, she went to the backyard.The place was as silent as the others. The animals in the pens were sleeping. The heifer was not among them. Hera noticed tools scattered on the ground, something strange given how careful Argus was with his things.
And on the ground there was a trail of blood leading directly to the decapitated head of a friend.
She remained motionless. She didn't cry, scream, tremble, faint or vomit. She felt emptiness. And a violent wave of hatred and revenge. Furious, the queen of gods demanded to find out who was the murderer and the thief responsible for such an act. Hearing the answer from Iris's mouth, the queen almost fell from her throne in shock.
Her friend was murdered by the hands of her son, Hermes.
Still shocked by the giant's death and in denial about Hermes' involvement, the goddess decided to interrogate him to hear his side. Hera could still hear his voice in her head.
"Hermes." She said his name to give him the courage to continue. "You were accused of killing the giant Argus Panoptes. Is that true?" SThe goddess of family hoped it was a lie and that it was just a rumor invented by an envious god.
"Yes, your majesty." The messenger replied. The queen's heart broke.
"And why did you do this? Could you explain it to us?" She continued despite the pain.
"The lord of the gods, Zeus, ordered me to bring the silver heifer guarded by the giant to him." Hermes responded normally. He showed no fear in front of the queen of the gods, even if he was being judged.
“If the mission required bringing back the cow, why did you have to kill Argos?”
“It was a request from the king of the gods and as a servant I had no right to refuse a direct order.”
“Since it was an order from the kings of the gods I have nothing to say. However, you executed Argus Panoptes, one of the allies in the war against Typhon and responsible for eliminating the terrible Echidna and because of that you will have to work in the mortal world to pay for your transgression!” Hera, the queen of the gods, declared before the murmurs of the witnesses of the divine court.
“As you command, your majesty!” he bowed and withdrew to prepare his new stay as a servant of mortals.
The queen’s serious expression disappeared and she put her hand over her eyes due to fatigue. Great! Now this day could not be one of the worst of her life! Three horrible things to haunt her mind for a looooong time. Her beloved heifer was actually one of Zeus's lovers transformed to deceive her, and even worse, being his priestess, her best friend was killed and her son was not only murdered by the king's orders but she must punish him.
Three horrible factors for this terrible tragedy. And she could do nothing to change it.