Part 29
Diana stood before her mother and her lover in the temple erected as a tribute to her passing. She stared at them both for a moment, these two who she loved most in the world. She loved them differently, yes, but her love was fierce for them both.
"I cannot stay with you long, but there is time enough to show you Hera's gift. Take my hands, please."
Hippolyta did not hesitate to reach for Diana's hand. The queen was eager to gain a glimpse of Olympus and the chance to see through the eyes of a goddess. Her heart was thundering with happiness. Her daughter was returned to her, a goddess! Nothing would ever harm her precious Diana again. She could ask for nothing else in life.
Clark paused for a moment, still wary. If it was a trick, if this Diana was an impostor...
He took a deep breath before he took Diana's hand. Her eyes met his at the touch. She could feel his strength underlying the gentle clasp of his fingers, strength she recalled only too well. She had missed the sensation of flesh, the earthy blend of pain and pleasure that made her human experience.
I am a newborn goddess, still unused to the form my power has taken on. I am slow to adjust, but adjust I will, to better aid my friends in our fight for peace- both on earth and every other world.
She stroked her thumb over Clark's hand, sudden carnal thoughts flashing through her mind. The thought crossed her mind that, while Diana's body had crumbled into the lake, she was a goddess now, and free to take a human (or Kryptonian) lover if she mood should ever strike her like it had with the other gods on the Mount.
Her time with Clark was not meant to end with her death. Their story was not over. They would have each other again.
Now is not the time for such longings. You must first prove to them that you are Diana!
She focused, reliving her time with Hera, and bringing her memory forward as a reality to her man and her queen.
The opulence of the once-fabled Mount Olympus stretched around them in all directions. It was as amazing and beautiful as he could have ever imagined. It appeared to him as a never-ending temple: columns of ethereal marble corridors stretched on forever, staircases hung suspended in midair, great statues moved with life, waterfalls fell upward to the sky, gardens bore fruit and enchanted animals.
Clark blinked. How can this place be real?
Two figures came into focus before him; two women suddenly became clear, as if emerging from mist. They came forward, walking through a corridor just on his left. He could see Diana, appearing as she did now, standing before a beautiful woman in a pale blue robe. A crown rested in the voluminous golden waves of the other woman's hair.
"It is Hera, our queen of Olympia." Hippolyta gasped beside him, both terrified and in awe. Clark swallowed, feeling much the same way. Monsters and crazed villains had in many ways become the norm to him, it was the magical beings that unnerved him most.
Together, they watched as Diana knelt before the goddess queen. "I did only what was decreed by Zeus, my queen."
"Yes, my husband is far too easily persuaded by the fits of an angered Ares. Had I known what my king intended as a duty for you, I would have put a stop to it. You must know this." Hera said, emphasizing her disgust with Zeus's capitulation to Ares's demand.
Diana shook her head. "It is not for me to question the decrees of Olympus, great Hera."
The goddess queen raised a brow, and then smiled. "Ah, for you are such an obedient Amazon, are you? Did you not steal your lasso, your armor, all in defiance of your own earth mother's orders? And once in Man's World, as you call it, you did so much fighting in defense of the mortal humans but you did little in the ways of educating them. Your temper got the better of you- we all could see it. It was as if you had forgotten your purpose as an Amazon in the heat of so many otherworldly battles."
Diana hung her head, burning with fresh shame. "Is this the reason that Ares demanded me? Because I needed to be humbled by the God of War for the transgression of not doing enough to spread Amazon ideals of peace?"
"No, my child. You were sent to Ares only because Ares demanded it, in exchange for his not waging a war upon the humans. He threatened Zeus with this, if you did not come to replace Aphrodite at his side in Tartarus. Were I the king of all Olympia, I would have killed Ares eons ago." By Hera's words, none present were in doubt of her claim.
"And Aphrodite? What became of my patron- my gifts were stripped after my expulsion from the underworld realm. My body crumbled into clay. I was cursed and died before all who cared for me. Please, Hera, I must know the reason. Had I offended Aphrodite in some way?" Diana pleaded.
It had all been hidden in clouds of confusion- why she had been sent to Tartarus, why she had been so quickly released, and who had cursed Diana and why. Even now, she only knew part of the Olympic puzzle.
Hera shook her head. "Aphrodite is only offended by those who would look at another woman before her. She inspires love and beauty in others, but love can lead to jealousy, pettiness. Know that Aphrodite loves Ares, in her way, and she cursed you so that he could never take you again. That Ares took you to his side so easily, so quickly after she left, was what angered her. It was Aphrodite's curse that meant to remove you from the god's temptation."
"I died on earth for Aphrodite's jealousy."
Anger and a wounded bitterness colored her words. Rightfully so.
Hera reached forward and cupped Diana's pale cheek. "Yes. She did not answer yours prayers for her shame as to what torment she caused to you, the champion she loved from the moment of your birth. You are a daughter of Olympia, my child, and Aphrodite's curse was an affront to us all. She has been dealt with, as has Ares. Zeus is beyond reprimand, or so he likes to think. You are loved here, Diana. I refused to let you revert fully to the dust from which you came. You fell, a feeble mortal. You will rise now, a goddess."
Both Clark and Hippolyta watched as Diana stood to better face her queen. Shock was etched across her face, but understanding was quick to dawn as she realized the sincerity of her queen's declaration.
"A goddess, my queen Hera?"
"Yes, child. You, Diana, shall serve on Olympus as you did on earth- a beacon of truth."
"So you see? I am reborn a goddess." Diana said carefully as Hippolyta and Clark came down from the vision she'd granted them.
All at once, they were on the floor of Diana's temple once more. The soft Themysciran night hung over the island, showing an ebony sky littered with stars. The sconces on the temple walls flickered, sending shadows to dance through the corners of the room.
Hippolyta blinked, shaking off the power of Olympus that the vision had confronted her with. "And will you act as the Olympic gods? Vanish and then only appearing once every few centuries? I cannot bear you being away for so long."
"I will return whenever there is need of me, mother. I promise it." Diana said.
Hippolyta could hardly argue with a deity, no matter that the goddess was her daughter. As the goddess of truth, Diana would not lie to her. The Amazon queen nodded, embracing her child once more. "Then I will hope each day for your return. Your sisters will honor you tomorrow as planned- both as a fallen warrior and a patron goddess."
Diana bowed her head out of respect for her mother, though her eyes quickly fell in a glance toward Clark. "Thank you, mother. Now, may I please walk with Clark? I believe he and I have many things to discuss."
Hippolyta smiled. "Who am I to deny a goddess? Go on, both of you."
