The lot of them were prudes. Hera had known it before--known it of her cousins, at least--but she had assumed that the impending spiritual apocalypse would be enough to get them over that particular personality flaw. It hadn't. The moment she had proposed that the six of them try to make the best of what was very likely to be their last night among the living, she had been met with incredulity and sneers. The only one who had seemed remotely interested in the idea had been Ciel, and so it was to him that she gravitated later, after it became clear that it had not, in fact, been the night of their demises.
It was with him that she fought against the encroaching tide of the spirits and drove back the horde of the dead.
It was with him that she stormed the Temple of the Spirit and drove the Spirit Herself back to the Otherworld.
It was with him that she ensured their parents would not be returning to reclaim their thrones now that the crisis was over.
And it was with him that she brought the rest of them, those prudish fools, to heel.
Hera could still see it in their eyes sometimes. It had only been a few weeks, of course, so she wasn't the least bit surprised by their resistance--truth be told, she suspected she would have been a tad disappointed if they had rolled over for her too easily--but she looked forward to seeing it fade from them until at last they knew their place.
The Spirit had sought to change the world, and while Her plan certainly didn't come to pass as She had intended, the world had been changed nevertheless; Hera and Ciel had seen to that. It was only a matter of course that the empire had bowed to the Quintessential in the end. Now if only she could make them do the same, all would be as it was intended.
Hera walked through the halls of the palace, her heels clicking on the smooth stone floor as she ascended into the tower. It had been several days since she'd been upstairs, her duties having seemed to pile on all at once, and while she was inclined to blame it on the incompetence of her new host of advisers, she instead welcomed the distraction. It wasn't that she particularly wanted the work; quite to the contrary, she found herself using the work merely as a distraction, a way to keep her busy enough that she would have a genuine reason to avoid the tower for a few days and leave the care of her pets to her husband.
She didn't doubt they would be pleased to see her today.
Unfortunately, it had meant that Hera had been forced to spend the last few days in very close proximity with her sister-in-law. Normally, she didn't mind Kalani in the least; the girl was as docile as docile could be, submissive and well-trained and a general delight to be around. But when it came to trying to run a kingdom, the woman had a tendency to simply get in the way, and while Hera would have loved to send her away so she could get her work done without the distraction, part of her work for the past few days had been to keep Kalani distracted. If she didn't, the woman would inevitably end up at her brother's side, and the last thing Hera wanted was for Ciel to hand off the tower's caretaking to his sweet sister. Her boys wouldn't learn a thing under that woman's care.
Hera slid the key from her around her neck and unlocked the door to the tower, then locked it again securely behind her. It wasn't the most necessary thing in the world, given the other precautions in place, but there was no sense in tempting fate. She doubted anything could turn the people against their Quintessential now, but she had little interest in testing that; the less her people thought about the princes, the better she would feel.
Hera slipped the key into its hiding place, the one she was sure even Ciel knew nothing of, and then slid the false key onto the chain around her neck before removing that, too, and stashing it away in a much more easily found cubby hole. It Ciel or Kalani or any of the others went poking around, it was this key that they would find. And whoever was fool enough to use it would quickly learn of the tower's other fortifications.
Buzzing with anticipation, Hera walked quickly to the next set of stairs and raced to ascend. It was more than time for her to see her boys.
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timeasmymeasure
Dark Energy [1/?]
Date: 2016-02-11 09:12 am (UTC)It was with him that she fought against the encroaching tide of the spirits and drove back the horde of the dead.
It was with him that she stormed the Temple of the Spirit and drove the Spirit Herself back to the Otherworld.
It was with him that she ensured their parents would not be returning to reclaim their thrones now that the crisis was over.
And it was with him that she brought the rest of them, those prudish fools, to heel.
Hera could still see it in their eyes sometimes. It had only been a few weeks, of course, so she wasn't the least bit surprised by their resistance--truth be told, she suspected she would have been a tad disappointed if they had rolled over for her too easily--but she looked forward to seeing it fade from them until at last they knew their place.
The Spirit had sought to change the world, and while Her plan certainly didn't come to pass as She had intended, the world had been changed nevertheless; Hera and Ciel had seen to that. It was only a matter of course that the empire had bowed to the Quintessential in the end. Now if only she could make them do the same, all would be as it was intended.
Hera walked through the halls of the palace, her heels clicking on the smooth stone floor as she ascended into the tower. It had been several days since she'd been upstairs, her duties having seemed to pile on all at once, and while she was inclined to blame it on the incompetence of her new host of advisers, she instead welcomed the distraction. It wasn't that she particularly wanted the work; quite to the contrary, she found herself using the work merely as a distraction, a way to keep her busy enough that she would have a genuine reason to avoid the tower for a few days and leave the care of her pets to her husband.
She didn't doubt they would be pleased to see her today.
Unfortunately, it had meant that Hera had been forced to spend the last few days in very close proximity with her sister-in-law. Normally, she didn't mind Kalani in the least; the girl was as docile as docile could be, submissive and well-trained and a general delight to be around. But when it came to trying to run a kingdom, the woman had a tendency to simply get in the way, and while Hera would have loved to send her away so she could get her work done without the distraction, part of her work for the past few days had been to keep Kalani distracted. If she didn't, the woman would inevitably end up at her brother's side, and the last thing Hera wanted was for Ciel to hand off the tower's caretaking to his sweet sister. Her boys wouldn't learn a thing under that woman's care.
Hera slid the key from her around her neck and unlocked the door to the tower, then locked it again securely behind her. It wasn't the most necessary thing in the world, given the other precautions in place, but there was no sense in tempting fate. She doubted anything could turn the people against their Quintessential now, but she had little interest in testing that; the less her people thought about the princes, the better she would feel.
Hera slipped the key into its hiding place, the one she was sure even Ciel knew nothing of, and then slid the false key onto the chain around her neck before removing that, too, and stashing it away in a much more easily found cubby hole. It Ciel or Kalani or any of the others went poking around, it was this key that they would find. And whoever was fool enough to use it would quickly learn of the tower's other fortifications.
Buzzing with anticipation, Hera walked quickly to the next set of stairs and raced to ascend. It was more than time for her to see her boys.