Chapter 67: Hearth (865 BC)

Chapter 67: Hearth (865 BC)

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I would like to thank my beta, AvidReader2425, for his help in this chapter.

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865 BC, Korinthos

(Hestia POV)

Hestia was given an assignment from her brother and king Zeus. The whole worshipping thing was getting to him, and she could tell. It was almost as if he believed it himself, that he's a god, that he is the king of the sky. The way he was acting as if he was entitled to be worshipped at all times, that the non magicals don't matter, he even started calling them mortal, as if he wasn't anymore. As if he was divine.

But Hestia knew better, she had listened to the stories her mother told her and her siblings before she died, of a land of wonders and magic that she came from, when she was barely a century old. Of a clan where everyone was united and strong together, preferring family over everything. A clan that is now full of infighting over insignificant matters. How the Olympia clan of Atlantis has fallen.

These stories were one of the main reasons that she treasures the concept of family so much. She was never interested in the pointless power plays over useless matters even if her family seemed obsessed with them for some reason. Ever since she and her siblings defeated and dethroned their father, her brothers, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus kept fighting for control over the family.

Zeus ended up winning, of course, and Hera married him to become queen as well. But with the non-magical population witnessing their feats, they were worshipped as gods, something Zeus and Hera reveled in. Not that they weren't considered gods before; during her father's reign, he took some of the mortals to perform some experiments with them. Hestia's father, Kronos, was a time elemental. And not just any time elemental, he was the undisputed master of time. He was trying to find a way to travel back in time so that he could see Atlantis one more time. It's not as if he was trying to save it or anything; he just wanted the knowledge that was destroyed with it.

Hestia walked through a market and watched as the food that was being sold seemed healthier, bigger, juicier. She was something of a culinary expert, herself and she could only admire the quality of the produce sold. She was definitely going to like it here. However, there was no sign of the mysterious Medusa who kept into line all these people.

Suddenly, Hestia heard some yelling and followed the crowd towards the commotion, only to find half a dozen of men assaulting an old woman who was selling peaches and taking the gold she earned that day. Hestia wished she could intervene, killing those men would barely take any effort; as a fire elemental, there were few things that could stand in her way if she was really determined, and had this been anywhere else in Greece, she would have defended to woman and burned the men into ash.

However, in this case, she didn't want to be found and noticed as an intruder. She hated herself for letting a woman get hurt just to stay hidden, but she didn't want to be found. Before she could ponder on the issue, a soft feminine voice interrupted the men. It was a woman, but she was definitely not a normal one. She was the most beautiful woman Hestia had ever seen; her skin was as pale as the moon and was so smooth, she could mistake it for porcelain. Her hair was wavy and as dark as the night, creating a contrast with her skin that somehow enhanced her beauty further. But her most exciting feature were her eyes; they were emerald green and they glowed with power. This woman was even more beautiful than even Hera and Aphrodite.

"And what do you think you're doing?" The mystery woman called out.

The men froze in shock, as if they couldn't grasp the idea that someone was actually telling them off, before the man that was holding the old woman let go of her. He was obviously their leader. "Why don't you turn around and go home. Or better yet, stay here. I don't mind having a pretty little thing like you around." He grinned lecherously at her.

The woman looked at him with an unreadable expression but then looked underneath her and whispered something to the girls standing next to her. They looked as if they twelve to thirteen years old, but oddly enough, their hair was purple as were their eyes. The girls nodded and the woman walked towards the man who insulted her.

"I am going to ask you to leave that woman alone." The green eyed woman asked him again.

The bandit sneered at her, "Or what?" He drew his sword and pointed it at her. His underlings did the same, mimicking their leader.

"You will not like the consequence of your actions should you continue," she responded, unconcerned by the weapons pointed at her.

"Alright, bitch. You asked for this." The man swung his sword at her, trying to behead her. The woman stayed unconcerned until the blade slowed down the more it approached her neck until it completely stopped inches before her neck. It was then that everyone noticed that the man was turned into stone. Even his clothes and sword turned into stone as well. Hestia had never seen anything like it before. Before she could process what happened, the other bandits, scared shitless from their leader's untimely end, rushed to attack her as well. Fools, did they not notice how dangerous she is. The woman looked around at them and suddenly, they were turning into stone as well. Seconds later, the woman was surrounded by statues of attacking men, sneering at her. It would be quite humorous if Hestia didn't know that these used to be real people. The green eyed woman blew a kiss at the statues, and they slowly broke down and turned into dust.

Hestia had a feeling that she had found the mysterious Medusa. She sneakily followed after her.