The Reign of Cronos Ch. 05

Chapter 5: The Regretful Choice

"Time flies over us, but leaves its shadow behind." - Nathaniel Hawthorne

Years bled into decades on and under the high mountain of the divine.

Rhea continued to give birth. Both to her annoyance and thankfulness, they were girls, which she named Demeter and then Hera.

Privately, Rhea laughed at everything. She was getting pretty good at being pregnant and giving birth. The labor pains were becoming manageable. But then, when she looked at the other Titans, Rhea observed that they were having children left and right. With the passage of time in their Realm, some titan children were having children.

There were Oceanids, Nereids, lesser titans, some like the one called Cratus were throwing around the title 'god'.

For Rhea, she was finding the changing flows of the world to be rather charming. She wondered if Gaia saw these children the same way Gaia saw her. If so, she wondered how her mother handled such immaturity, entitlement, and just their youthful spirits.

Rhea laughed from her palace on Olympus. Things were changing. They always would, she supposed, but it was fascinating to watch it happen and so very rarely be involved.

Her thoughts often strayed from those down below. Her jailer would walk by her palace, returning her thoughts to her plans at hand.

Cronos' behavior did not seem to change in Rhea's estimation, but that did not stop her from lying with him. There was no love in their intercourse for her. It was primal, almost hateful. Every new sexual experience gave Cronos his release, and it could potentially conceive a son that would usurp him.

If anyone were to judge her, she could not tell them her life story. She would remind them that sex was only an act. Those who did not know what she went through could not lay claim to judge her. She was a queen trapped in a farce of a marriage with a man that cared more for his power and prestige than the woman he claimed to love.

Though...that realization brought a sad change to Rhea. She no longer pretended it was Ouranos with her in those intimate moments. She could not imagine what was lost when she needed to focus on what was to be gained.

Her mind singularly dreamt of Cronos' defeat.

In the end, that was her satisfaction in every regard.

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As time went on, Cronos came to regret his consumption of Aether to the point it gnawed at the back of his mind. There was a lingering pain within his stomach from time to time. He wondered if that was all in his mind. If it was not, he suspected that the pain was a remnant of Aether as an echo within Cronos' belly.

The constant pain might have just been a sign that he had gone too far. It might be better to allow Aether to live and his first son to take the throne whenever that child was born. There was very little pleasure in ruling for Cronos.

Gaia would only come to Olympus to see Rhea. His Titan brothers and sisters were more involved with one another than with him. He was starting to suspect that they were purposefully ignoring him, but if they were, he could not go down to Greece and ask them. That might only push them further away. When they got distant enough, would they decide he no longer deserved to rule over them as their father had?

His rule was becoming a lonely and sad affair, but more...it was becoming a cage for him to wallow in. He could only sit on his throne and see his relationship deteriorate without any recourse to repair any of his relationships.

Cronos' mind fell into the plague of doubt. He once had an unwavering resolve, but upon his seat of power, he could feel that resolve faltering. He mused that he could stop and free Rhea and let the idea of the throne go. After all, the Fates said if he let his oldest son have the throne, Cronos could live.

Looking out at the majestic beauty of Olympus, Cronos closed his fist. He knew he had lost too much, given up so much of what he once was, and battled far too hard to just give up.

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Upon closer inspection, Rhea recognized that Hestia, their firstborn daughter, lacked the spirit required to become the Queen of the usurper. She was too much of a people pleaser, wanting to be loved by Rhea and Gaia to her own detriment. With a heavy heart, Rhea found Hestia's love of home charming, but it was not enough to rule.

Demeter held promise as a potential Queen. She was cold in nature, pragmatic to a fault, and could profoundly change the weather with a word, even at the youngest age. Rhea almost thought she might be perfect as her power over frost and cold could be a challenge to whatever deity married her, but Rhea was wondering if Demeter even wanted to be with a man with how distant she was from people.

However, Hera, Rhea's youngest daughter, showed the most potential. Hera's magic was diverse, unlike her sisters but like Rhea. She could weave things with Rhea and those skills were soon used to improve Olympus. Columns would rebuild on their own after Hera's and Rhea's efforts. Cloth and curtains came to shimmer. The gardens and waterfalls cloud with a light of grandeur.

With a burgeoning belly her next child's birth approached, and Rhea could feel an air of tension that hung over Olympus. There was a tangible, unspeakable difference. There was a defiant spirit in the child. Her girls had become more and more manageable in terms of births after Hestia. Maybe Rhea's pregnancy with Hestia was only painful because Rhea had been in mourning of Aether.

"It will be a boy," Rhea informed Gaia.

Gaia shooed Hera away from the two talking. While Hera was chosen to be the next Queen in Rhea's mind, she did not need to hear or be a part of the scheming and machinations just yet.

"Then let us hope this boy has the strength of will to fight against Cronos," Gaia prayed.

"And if he does?" Rhea asked, hoping it would be more than will that the child brought against Cronos.

Gaia had put some thought into the matter. "We will find a way to protect him," Gaia asserted. "We could trick Cronos into believing the child died or was taken to other lands."

Rhea considered her mother's response. It was lacking by Rhea's estimation. "Maybe... "

Gaia touched Rhea on the shoulder. Her maternal affection bled through from her mannerisms to her tone of voice. "Breathe, Rhea. We will find our way."

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Rhea found out just how wrong she was about pregnancy when she screamed and shouted her rage in her birthing labor. Bringing forth her first son by Cronos was as painful as Cronos was unfeeling.

No matter how much ichor she lost or how much it pained her, she would persevere because she had to. Rhea had every intention of surviving to celebrate Cronos' downfall. She did not care what it required.

He would fall, and she would be there to watch it happen.

Gaia was the ever-comforting midwife in the room. She knew that the birth was taking a toll by how much ichor Rhea lost. Still, with a wet cloth in hand and a hand for Gaia to hold, Gaia ensured that Rhea would make it through. Only Ouranos and Aether had been killed, Gaia would not allow Rhea to be the third.

When the child finally came, Gaia marveled at the small baby's glow of divinity. He was small but vibrant. He would be the epitome of life. He might be able to grow up and be more powerful than Cronos all on his own.

The two women looked at him with clinically decisive eyes. "He's strong, like his father," Gaia observed kindly.

Rhea looked at the new child with mild disgust. "He is the spitting image of Cronos." That she might birth Cronos' twin was abhorrent to her. She wanted a child to be Cronos' downfall, not him in miniature.

Gaia nodded in agreement even though she wanted to deny the resemblance. It was impossible for her not to recognize the disdain this mother had for her son.

"Hades," Rhea said softly. "You will be Hades." Even as she had named him, she did not take the prince into her arms. If Cronos treated Hades anything like Ouranos or Aether, Hades would not be in the land of the living for long.

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