"That's not fair Sophia. You
don't know what was going on at the time."

"So enlighten me."

The goddess sighed."This doesn't just
concern Gabrielle, but you and other half-mortals as well. A number
of years ago, Hera finally had enough of Zeus' infidelities.
You can say that the birth of Hercules was the last straw. And what
really hurt Hera was that Zeus seemed to prefer his other children
over the sons that Hera bore him.

Hera saw all of us as a threat to her and her
children. She knew that one day, one of Zeus' children would
inherit the throne, and it looked like neither of her children
would be that one. Hept is the most decent and gentle of the gods,
and as the eldest it is his right, but he doesn't want it. Ares
may want it, but the rest of us will make sure he never gets
it.

Anyway, Hera decided that enough was enough.
She declared war on all of her step-children, including the gods.
And after some of her cruelties, many of us were more than happy to
oblige her. What we didn't realized was the depths she was
willing to go in order to hurt us. She knew she couldn't kill
us, but she could kill the ones that we love. And since most of us
had mortal lovers and children, they became Hera's targets.
That is why so many of you were hidden."

Sophia shook her head, doubt shining from her
eyes. "I'm sorry mother, but I can't believe this
about grandmother. She has shown nothing but love to me and little
Evander."

"Then go ask Hercules. Ask him what Hera
did to his wife, his children, and members of his family. Ask him
how Hera tried to kill him as a baby and continued her rampage
through most of his life. And he is just one of many who had felt
the anger of Hera, all because of no fault of his own." She
placed her hand upon Sophia's shoulders. "I know that this
is hard for you to accept, but you must remember that she did not
find out about you until we found out that Ares was your father. Of
course she loves you, you are of her bloodline. But anyone else,
and she is willing to sink as low as it takes to get what she
wants. Your grandfather finally forced the gods to come to a truce.
But none of us trust her."