~ 7 years before canon ~
Ceraunius, Gamelia, and Hera were huddling together, mourning Alfia's passing. It was a struggle but thanks to the other two she had with her, the death of her last child of the old era was much more bearable.
Thanks to the closeness Gamelia had, she could feel the pain and suffering of Hera's heart. And so too did Ceraunius with Zeus, mourning Zald's passing. Their mentors, their familia… gone.
Once Hera had finally cried herself to sleep like a baby, she was tucked in…
Ceraunius and Gamelia both felt it, and went to their own room. And, they went at each other in a romantic embrace, uniting their bodies together, comforting each other with exactly what the other needed most, their lover's touch. Both of them stayed like that for a very long time.
…
In a little village up in the mountains, Zeus held back his emotional expression for a while. However, despite him, he couldn't keep everything at bay forever, so he began writing the story of his and Hera's familias into a picture book of heroic tales. Keeping a towel specifically to keep his eyes dry.
There he sat at his little desk, with a fermented lemon flavored honey ale, various colors of paint, and away he went. Under the light of a magic lamp, and a small use of his arcanum, he searched for the right scene to use for the pictures. Wanting to encapsulate everyone of the heroes.
"This should be good. Hera's children really began to emulate her regal image, this is perfect…" He said, taking a gulp of his ale, a drink he only allowed himself on rare occasions. "I should have done this for all of you much, much sooner. Forgive me."
…
In Beltane, Hera woke up early in the morning, she reached over, turned the magic lamp on to a low setting, she pulled out her peacock feather pen, setting it down on her night stand, then she noticed there was a letter from her children.
We didn't want to wake you, so we turned on our sound suppression item. We made your favorite drink, and breakfast. Sorry if it's cold by the time you wake up, w-we need to spend some time together. Sorry, Mother Hera. Love you, lots. ~ Ceraunius & Gamelia
"Silly children, I'm the one who's sorry. I could have banned Alfia from going through with it. Zald wouldn't have done it if I'd done that… I'm sorry, I'm sorry they chose death over you." Hera cried, holding the now tear stained letter.
She curled up, feeling completely defeated, and helpless while the tears came again. A dam breaking loose. I never thought I could feel like this… I really held back. She thought to herself, slowly collecting herself. Then pulled a board off a hook, placed it on her lap, opened the drawer on her nightstand, and pulled out a thick stack of paper…
A mirror appeared showing the scenes of her and Zeus's children and their exploits. She decided she's beginning… Pen to paper, she novelized the entire life of each of her children starting with Empress when she was born, and through time she wrote everything.
"I swear I won't forget you. And I won't let the world forget you either, my child… My children… Once I'm done, I'll start searching the world over for your reincarnated souls. So we can be familia again."
…
Of the six remaining members, two were oblivious to all of the sacrifices made by those who'd come before them, Bell and Zaria, both living their childishly carefree life with a loving grandpa. They were kind hearted, so they noticed that their grandpa was suffering in silence, but instead of asking about it, they just dialed up the childish shenanigans to make him laugh more, and more.
Ceraunius, and Gamelia found comfort in each other, and in their training. Each swore to each other, and to all of their former familia that they'd grow strong enough to avenge them. The two started thinking about what they want to do with the twins. Knowing that Zeus would be furious with them if they just showed up randomly. And so, they began thinking of a way they could all unite together again.
Hera absorbed herself in writing a series she would later title: Chronicles of the Lost Heroes. Each volume, named for a different member of her and her husband's familia. When she wasn't writing the novel, she was bathing with Bheara in the Spring of Life, a special place only found in Beltane.
Zeus spent his time being a grandpa, filling the void that'd formed in his heart with joy. Writing the stories of familia exploits in details that a child could understand, without traumatizing them in the process.
Everyone bore with their suffering in their own ways. Zeus had a few visits from Ceraunius and Gamelia just to check in on him, and deliver the latest copies of Hera's work. He would laugh, smile. The first time he was caught by surprise and had to come up with something to send them off with, so he sent them back with a portrait he painted of Bell and Zaria. He thanked his foresight to have painted more than a few of them.
Everything ran smoothly like this for a while. Quite a while in fact, over a year, but less than two. It was just one day at random, and Zeus hadn't thought about it much since the twins had gone to bed. He was in his rocking chair, reading a novel.
It was early in the morning when Bell and Zaria woke up, it just so happened to be the day they were going to ask more about their mother. They noticed that their grandpa had fallen asleep teary eyed, reading some book they never saw before.
"Hey, Bell, you read all the books a lot, right? Did you find this one?"
"You read them just as much as me, Zaria." Bell pouted cutely, taking a look at the book.
"Oh hey, here's the title, Chronicles of the Lost Heroes: Maxim Edition?"
"I've never heard of it, there's also no pictures like in the books grandpa reads to us."
A few moments of having two very eager for story time kids would wake just about anyone up from their slumber.
"Huh? Good morning you two…"
"Good morning, Grandpa… You okay? Did this book make you feel sad?"
"Huh?" Oh no… I really didn't want them to see that yet. "Yes, it's a book written by Hera herself. It's all about the members of her and Zeus familia's heroes."
"Like the book you read to us?" Bell asked, cutely tilting his head, a motion Zaria copied.
"Yes, but this has much more detail, showing all of their individual struggles, in short, it's the story of what made them who they were…" He explained. "I'm sorry Maxim, I failed you…"
"Grandpa? How did you fail Maxim?"
"I'll tell you in time, it's still too early for you to know, Zaria. I wouldn't want you to be burdened by it."
"Will we ever get to see Hera? I bet she's beautiful… Right, Grandpa?"
"Yes, she really, truly is."