Zeus's golden chariot was drawn by winged white stallions, and when they soared to cloud-crowned Mount Olympus, he found Hera anxiously awaiting him at his palace. "Beloved," he greeted his wife with a lingering kiss.
"Where have you been?" she asked peevishly. "Does it take an endless number of mortal maids to satisfy you?"
"They don't compare to you," he teased and drew her close.
She placed her hands on his chest, and his warmth tingled her fingertips. "That's true, but it's never enough for you, is it?"
"You are more than enough, and I haven't been out seducing pretty maidens. You doubt me too often, Hera, and it isn't becoming."
"Would you mind if I walked the Earth seducing princes and kings?"
Zeus stepped back, scowled and rested his fists on his hips. "Of course I would, and I'd kill them before they drew a breath to brag of it."
Her lush body curved in a graceful sway. "And you expect me to be less harsh?"
"I'll admit to a weakness for women, but none is as lovely as you, so you've no reason to be jealous. Today, I was merely walking through Sparta and enjoying the beauty of an almond grove in flower."
Hera's striking blue eyes narrowed. "More likely the female kind of blossom."
Zeus laughed. "I'm innocent of any crime, my dearest, don't make me guilty in your mind."
She swept him with a skeptical gaze. "Innocent for today, perhaps."
He again pulled her close and nuzzled her creamy smooth throat. "Isn't today enough?"
Chapter 4
Sparta
The Palace of King Tyndareus
Leda led the curly-haired, dark-skinned little girl into Helen's room. "Look what I've brought you. Omalu is a present from your father, and while she's young, she'll soon grow to be your favorite maidservant. You must treat her kindly while she learns how to please you."
Helen had been knotting scraps of fabric to form little people she could line up and toss about. "I'd rather have another pony."
"I said you will be kind," Leda emphasized. "You need Omalu to look after your pretty clothes. She'll see your room is in proper order rather than scattered with twigs and bark and whatever else you carry home from your rides. What is it you're doing now?"
Helen waved a fabric doll in the air. "I'm a goddess and these are my people. If they fail to obey me, I rip them to shreds."
Appalled, Leda raised her hand to her breast. "Please choose a goddess who is not so fierce. Artemis loves to hunt. Why not fashion some fabric deer and have Artemis catch them. Let Omalu help you."
The little girl took a small step forward.
"Can you tie a knot?" Helen asked, and separated some scraps for her.
Omalu nodded and climbed up on the end of Helen's bed. She was smaller than the pretty princess, but older by a year, and had big, brown eyes. She twisted a piece of yellow linen before tying knots and left a portion at the end for hair. She held it up, and Helen took it from her.
"Look," Helen cooed. "She knows how to make hair!"
"A piece of rope with a frayed end will look even better," Omalu offered shyly.
"Rope?" Helen's face lit with excitement. "Come, let's find some."
Leda stood back and Helen sprinted from the room with Omalu hurrying along behind. Clytemnestra had been such a sweet, calm little girl and so much easier to raise, while Helen provoked her so often she provided a continual challenge. She'd not imagined how quickly her headstrong little daughter would draw Omalu into her endless mischief.
* * *
Late that night when Leda was alone with her husband, she coiled her arm through his. "We must begin thinking of suitable husbands for our daughters. Clytemnestra will be a lovely wife for any nobleman, but Helen will need someone extraordinary."