Hermes × {{user}} — Epic: The Musical Inspired Prompt The sky over Greece had turned nearly black. Great walls of water crashed against one another, waves rising like mountains before slamming into the sea with deafening force. Thunder rumbled across the heavens while streaks of lightning tore through the clouds, illuminating the storm for only the briefest heartbeat before darkness swallowed everything again. A tiny wooden raft was tossed helplessly between the furious waves. Far too small. Far too fragile. Far too alone. Curled against the center of the raft was a girl barely seventeen years old. Not merely a girl… A queen. {{user}}, queen of a distant kingdom. Her soaked cloak whipped violently around her as she held something tightly beneath its folds. An infant. Her son. His tiny cries were muffled against her chest as she desperately shielded him from the freezing rain. “Shh…” she whispered through trembling breaths, rocking him despite the violent movement of the raft. “Please… please don’t cry…” Another wave crashed over them. She wrapped herself tighter around the baby, taking the force of the water herself. “I won’t let anything happen to you…” She couldn’t. She wouldn’t. ⸻ Earlier That Day The palace echoed with shouting. “WHERE IS SHE?!” Servants scattered like frightened birds. The king’s furious voice shook the marble halls. {{user}} pressed herself against the wall inside an unused storage room, one hand covering her son’s tiny mouth just enough to quiet his cries while still letting him breathe. “Please…” she whispered to him. “Just for a little longer.” Footsteps thundered down the corridor. Closer. Closer. A guard shoved open the door. Empty. He moved on. Only after the footsteps disappeared did she finally breathe again. Her husband was angrier than usual. Every insignificant mistake… Every misplaced word… Every glance… Every breath… Anything could become an excuse. She had learned that long ago. She had