Chapter Text
Hera is the Queen of the Gods. She is Queen of Olympus, Queen of the Heavens, Goddess of Marriage, of the Sky, of Air, of the Stars, of Women, and much much more.
She is the Goddess who sits beside Zeus as He determines the acts the Gods must take to Uphold Fate. She is the Goddess who lays beside Zeus in their wedding bed and honors her King and Husband. She is the Goddess who fills the air and watches the Earth with sharp eyes. She is the Queen Mother of the Gods.
And most importantly: She is Hera the Goddess of Family.
She knows that all Her other roles are so very important. She knows Her actions can change Fate.
She knows that Zeus would not approve, that Her actions now may ruin Olympos, may ruin the Gods.
May be Their end.
But she looked upon Sally Jackson, who’d borne the Child of Poseidon. She looked upon this young woman, a woman by modern and ancient standards yet little more than a child to Hera and ached.
Sally Jackson was just 19 the first time Hera laid her eyes upon her. She was 19 years old and crying out in childbirth. She was 19 and a monster was already trying to slip through the door to reach the child which had not even left her womb.
She was 19 when Hera first took action. She was 19 when Hera changed her Fate, changed the Fate of the Gods, Olympos, and the World itself.
She was 19 when Hera saved her from the monster. 19 when she bore Perseus Jackson, the son of Poseidon and Sally Jackson. 19 when the world recognized the defiance of Fate that was the child breathing his first breath.
And Hera knew that what She’d done could not be undone.
But She was Queen and Mother and as She looked upon Sally Jackson and Perseus Jackson She determined that She would follow through with Her decision.
Perseus Jackson would reach 16, he would be the prophecy child.
For what other child could say that even being born was against all odds?
What other child would have the forces of the Fates’ Themselves bearing down on them for all their life?
What other child would have the shelter that Hera was offering so freely?
Perseus Jackson would reach 16, and 17, and 18, and every year after that Hera could manage for him. She had ensured he breathed his first, and she would watch until he breathed his last.
And if everything went according to the new tapestry of Fate that She was weaving now… he would save Olympos.
So truly, no matter the wrath Zeus may embody if He ever learned of Her actions this day… She was fulfilling Her duty as Queen.
Olympos would not fall.
Perseus would save it.
And Hera would save him.
OO OO OO OO
The first time she needed to interfere was when Perseus was 2 and Sally was 21. She’d lost her job, which had provided childcare and was now in desperate need of a new one. She had little money and was struggling to find food for little Perseus, small and unassuming as the Godling may have been. She had even less money to feed herself, and it was beginning to show.
And so, Hera stepped in.
She guided the mother to resources that would grant her further food. She guided others to the mother, offering assistance freely. She guided the mother to job opportunities, not able to guarantee them but ensuring they at least considered her.
She found a neighborhood teen who offered to help take care of Perseus. She found an apartment that was cheap but livable. Hera arranged for a small windfall to reach the mother who was desperate to keep her child and raise him right.
At 21 Sally had a new apartment, a bit worn and ragged around the edges, but serviceable. And it even had enough space for little Perseus Jackson to have his own bedroom, a step up from the old apartment.
At 21 Sally gained a new job at a candy shop and a reputation for drawing in all the best customers.
At 21 Hera stepped back, pleased with Her work in ensuring the mother and child would live another year.
OO OO OO OO
Hera next stepped in when Perseus Jackson was 4 years old and Sally Jackson 23 years old. She stepped in and lured away the Gorgon heading for the young Godling in his cradle at the daycare his mother had managed to get him into.
She led the Gorgon far far away, until the Gorgon met the Hunters and fell to them. And then She turned Her focus back on the child in the cradle.
Her ichor ran cold for an instant when She caught sight of the snake within the cradle. But a moment later She realized there was no need to fear. Perseus may not have been able to survive the Gorgon, but apparently a measly little snake was no match for the child.
In his hands, strangled purposefully or not, was a deadly poisonous snake which had slithered into his bed. Perhaps with the aid of the Gorgon, perhaps not. But either way, the snake was dead, and Perseus was alive.
Once more living to see another day, against the odds indeed.
She ensured the others present didn’t notice the snake, not yet. Perseus enjoyed his new toy for a time, tangling it in knots and waving it up at Her, as faint as Her presence may have been.
She entertained the child until his mother arrived then slipped away once more, watching and doing all she could to soothe the mother’s fears as the young Sally Jackson realized her son was playing with a snake.
Percy was not brought back to that daycare, which was really for the best.
Hera did ensure the daycare arranged for a new one and paid for the first 6 months as compensation for the risk Perseus had faced in their care.
But all was well once more and Hera relaxed. This wasn’t nearly as difficult as She’d feared.
OO OO OO OO
Hera did not need to act once more until Perseus was 6 years old, and Sally 25.
He was having a good day at school, doing his best to learn despite his disabilities and struggles (as of yet undiagnosed, Hera would need to guide a teacher into realizing). Indeed, that day the class was getting an extra long recess after a long and boring school assembly.
It was while he was playing on the jungle gym near the gate to the playground that Hera noticed the threat.
Perseus took several more minutes to notice, up until the figure was already at the gate.
Hera’s eyes narrowed as the Kyklopes opened the gate and moved towards the child. This was not one of Poseidon’s emissaries nor even one of the smiths of the deep but rather a Kyklopes born wild and monstrous, a divine omen of disaster, a figure of death and destruction.
Hera wrapped a bubble of divine threat around Perseus, sheltering him from the Kyklopes. He was too young yet, not yet strong enough to battle such a threat. He would not be strong enough for some time. She would not let him die.
The Kyklopes growled and grumbled and stalked the child. Staring hungrily and angrily at the warning Hera had laid out. He could be as upset as he wanted, for Hera would not remove it until he was long gone.
And it took time, more than She might have expected. He stayed following Perseus, who was quickly wary and quicker to move away, for nearly the entirety of the recess.
It took Hera drawing the eyes of the mortals present for one to realize the threat the Kyklopes posed. Not as a Kyklopes of course, but mortals could only see so much.
The Kyklopes left when faced with security.
Perseus was quickly bundled up and brought inside, along with the rest of the children, and their parents called.
Sally Jackson arrived like Zephyrus was at the reigns and scooped her child up.
Perseus told her what he had told every teacher so far. There was a strange man following him, one with only one eye. He’d been growling and angry, Perseus didn’t know why though.
Sally did.
His mother knew instantly what that meant.
For Perseus, for herself, for the world.
Hera could see the mother’s mind working and She wondered what the woman would do next.
Sally Jackson didn’t know she was protected after all, and she certainly didn’t know her child was.
It was alright, Hera would safeguard them regardless.
OO OO OO OO
Hera wished She could interfere when Sally Jackson was 27 and Perseus 8. She wished she could stop what was happening while Sally made her wedding vow and signed the marriage certificate.
She wished she could remove that foul excuse of a man and now husband from the mother’s life.
Gabe Ugliano was a foul man. He was cruel, petty, and lazy. He did not care for Sally’s child, no matter his mask for the first period they knew each other. He was a criminal. He smelled like the cigars, beers, and meals he ate. He wouldn’t work a day in his life if he could manage. He would run Sally ragged. He would treat her son like scum.
He was also the shield that Sally Jackson had picked for her son.
Hera could acknowledge the desires and goals of the young woman. She could understand the purpose, no matter how she hated it.
Sally Jackson had made herself into a living martyr, determined to protect her child even if it cost her her own happiness.
Hera cradled Perseus in Her power, whispering of happiness and safety as She watched the scum of a man sign the certificate.
Perseus would not enjoy what Gabe would become but Hera would do Her best to shelter him.
She was no protector of children, but She was a mother too. She was Queen of the Gods and a Mother Goddess. Perseus would have Her protection.
OO OO OO OO
Hera had to interfere more frequently with Gabe in the picture. He was as cruel as She expected, with little love for the child in his care.
Perseus had no peace, no understanding for his school struggles. There was no shelter in his home like there once was.
But Hera no longer had to redirect monsters and so in this way Sally succeeded.
Her son would not have to fear monsters for many years to come. Not until his natural presence could overcome the stench of mortality and miasma that coiled from the mortal stepfather he was forced to live with.
The price was too great, for Hera, but She knew that She would shelter the mother and her child. Sally Jackson did not know of this protection, and thus she acted to secure a protection of her own.
A protection where she suffered. A protection where she was bruised and battered. A protection where her bedroom was a prison. But a protection, for her son, the one she loved most.
Hera held great respect for the young woman, the mother who embodied all that a mother should be.
The mother who was suffering greatly for her child and all Hera could do was watch.
Hera grieved, for a moment, the life Sally Jackson could’ve had. But She did not grieve long, for Sally Jackson loved her son.
She loved him more than the sun, more than the stars, more than her own life. And she would’ve offered herself up a thousand times before giving up her son a single time.
And so, Hera honored that and did all she could to shelter the child in turn.
OO OO OO OO
Perseus had a knack for getting into trouble, even without monsters on his back.
Perhaps part of it was Her fault. Hera was always there, always watching, and Perseus had no need to truly fear with Her there. While this was a good thing, it also meant his natural curiosity was… never truly tempered.
This led to small situations, such as him wondering what a particular lever did and asking the guide on the aquarium tour his class was getting.
Now, this alone wouldn’t have been a problem.
Except the guide thought he was asking about something else and invited him to pull that lever and see.
He did pull the lever. The one he had been looking at.
And the class dropped into the shark tank.
Needless to say, Perseus got in quite a bit of trouble.
Hera made sure the one who’d welcomed him to pull the (wrong) lever also got in trouble though. It was the most She could do in this situation.
At least no one was hurt, the sharks had been more interested in Perseus than the ones suddenly dropped into their tank.
Unfortunately, this led to Perseus being expelled, which seemed quite unfair to Hera. She did what she could to deal out punishment. Something subtle, so the rest of Olympos wouldn’t notice, yet serious enough that the school would regret wrongfully expelling the child.
OO OO OO OO
The accidents didn’t stop with the shark tank. Though personally Hera found the cannon incident amusing the school didn’t think the same.
The only thing damaged was the school bus, there weren’t any injuries. And really, Hera thought it was the school’s fault. None of their guides noticed Perseus trying to figure out how to load the cannon?
If a nine-year-old could figure out how to load a cannon without anyone noticing then Hera thought the issue was with those who were supposed to be supervising him.
Nonetheless, he was expelled once more.
And once more, Hera took action to mete out justice for the wronged child.
And then She went searching for another school to guide his mother to. Really, raising a demigod was a lot harder than raising Gods.
OO OO OO OO
When Sally is 33 everything comes to head.
Perseus had been having a horrendous year and Sally had been grieving the loss of the peace that She’d come to treasure.
Khiron had found out about Perseus at the beginning of the year thanks to the satyr Perseus was rooming with. Hera was displeased with the kentaur’s attention on the child.
And also, with the fact that he was blatantly using Greek weapons and lessons for the Latin and Roman class.
It was insulting.
But things only got worse when the Winter Solstice came and went. Because with the going of the Winter Solstice went Zeus’ Master Bolt.
And He was looking for the thief.
Poseidon was Her husband’s prime suspect, and Hera feared for the child She’d been safeguarding for all these years.
And then the Erinyes turned up at the school.
Really, Hera knew She was fighting the Fates to keep Perseus alive, but this was getting ridiculous.
Perseus survived the Erinyes attack, Hera made sure of it. And Perseus would survive every attack to come, Hera would make sure of it.
He wouldn’t be a repeat of Her husband’s bastard daughter.
And so everything came to head, with Sally learning in the middle of the night, in the middle of a hurricane that Poseidon was raising to hide their presence from Zeus and Hades who were hunting.
Sally learned of the attack, Perseus learned of the satyr, and the Minotaur learned their location.
Hera imbued the family with as much urgency as She could manage. She guided them through the storm, through the sheets of rain and crashing thunder. She guided them past road after road, away from the Minotaur which hunted them with single minded determination.
And then She realized just how furious Her husband was: with the theft, with the secret child of Poseidon, with the threat he posed to Olympos.
Hera revealed Herself just in time to prevent the bolt from smiting the car and its occupants from existence. She couldn’t stop it, not entirely, but it went from a bolt that would end everything it touched to a simple lightning strike.
Her husband was shocked for but a moment before his rage returned. But now, now it was pointed at Hera.
Hera raised Her chin and faced Her husband, knowing She was defying the will of the King of the Gods, Her King and Husband. And She was doing it to blatantly shield a child suspected of theft and a known risk to Olympos as a whole.
This was a very different battle from the one Perseus would have to face.
OO OO OO OO
It was only later, once She’d soothed Her husband’s wrath enough to convince Him to at least see what Perseus was like, once She’d convinced Him that Poseidon would not hesitate to strike if Perseus was smote so, once She’d reminded Him that there was more to Fate than what They saw, that She could turn Her attention back on Perseus and his mother.
Only to find his mother gone.
Not gone in death but gone as in stolen.
Her eyes narrowed.
It appeared Zeus wasn’t the only one striking out personally. But why was Hades stealing a mortal?
She settled back, unable to interfere so blatantly now that all of Olympos realized She was willing to, and readied Herself for a wait.
If there was an opening She would help, but until then She would watch and wait and plan.
The prophecy was coming, and Hera would not have Perseus die just yet.
He had a long life yet ahead of him.