A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews! You guys are incredibly sweet! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and please take a virtual cookie on your way out.

Hades was angry about something. Persephone trembled at the sound of his furious voice. She realized that she wasn't the only thing trembling. The whole palace was shaking. When the tremors stopped, she took a steadying breath and continued down the obsidian hall. She stopped abruptly when she saw Hades step into the hallway from the throne room. His angry scowl softened at the sight of her. "Ah, Persephone," he greeted her. "Are you well? I have not seen you since our, ah, last discussion in the garden."

Not much of a garden now, Persephone thought sadly as she reflected on her dead flowers. She forced herself to look at her husband. "I am well, Lord Hades," she managed shakily.

"It's nearly time for dinner," he said hopefully. "Would you care to join me?"

"Ah, I was just on my way to Hecate's," she replied, "perhaps another time."

His face fell in disappointment. "Very well, my love," he said. "I hope you enjoy yourself."

Persephone turned to leave, but her curiosity got the better of her. "You caused that tremor, didn't you, Lord Hades?"

His face formed a scowl, but Persephone got the feeling that his anger was not directed at her. "Yes," he said shortly, "Eh, sorry about that."

"It's just rather strange," she said almost to herself, "I thought Poseidon was the god of earthquakes."

Hades glowered. "Ha!" he spat, "who do you think taught Poseidon geokinesis?" His voice turned to a mutter, "'god of earthquakes'; ungrateful little pipsqueak."

They stood in silence for a few moments. When Persephone was sure her husband had nothing more to say, she said, "Well, I'll be going now, my lord." He nodded, but after Persephone took a few steps he called her back. Persephone winced. Couldn't he just leave her be?

"You know Persephone," he said, "You are now an Underworld deity. I could teach you some simple geokinesis if you feel so inclined."

"I don't know if I can, my Lord."

He shrugged. "It's worth a try. It comes in very handy when you live down here." He smiled slightly. "You can go now, Persephone. I can see that you're already irritated at me for keeping you."

Persephone blushed slightly. She gave an awkward curtsy and walked away.

Hecate's door was answered by Thanatos, who smiled when he saw his queen. "Ah, Queen Persephone," he said cordially, "Please come in."

"Hello, Thanatos. Isn't Hecate here?" she asked, confused.

"Oh, don't worry; she just stepped into her kitchen for a moment. She'll be back."

Persephone glanced around the room to see who else was present. Charon sat at the table, looking bored and playing some kind of solitaire game. A couple of dogs slept in the corner as puppies played around and on top of them. She looked at the couch and viewed a rather shocking scene. Hypnos was sitting up and trembling slightly. His olive complexion had turned pale. His chocolate eyes were wide and frightened. Morpheus sat at his side, patting his father's arm gently.

"Hypnos!" exclaimed Persephone, "Are you all right? You're um, well, you're wide awake."

Hypnos managed a shaky smile. "Good evening, Queen Persephone. Yes, I'll be alright. Just had a little shock is all."

"What happened?" she prompted gently, "Can I help?"

"He'll be alright," assured Thanatos kindly, "He was doing Queen Hera a favor and it almost ended, well, badly."

"Not that Hera cares," Morpheus mumbled bitterly.

Thanatos sighed. "Morpheus, you're not helping."

Morpheus viewed his uncle angrily, but his faced softened when he glanced back at his father. "Don't worry, father," he said kindly, "You've nothing to worry about with Grandmother Nyx on your side."

"After all, you are her second favorite son," said Thanatos cheerfully.

Hypnos frowned. "Second favorite?"

Thanatos smiled. "It's just a joke, brother."

Hypnos chuckled slightly. "That's right. You're her second favorite, Than."

Thanatos flashed an irritated look. "She doesn't choose favorites!"

"That's right," mumbled Charon. "Remember, I too am a son of Nyx."

Persephone glanced back at Charon. "Charon's your brother?" she asked Thanatos.

Thanatos smiled. "We have many siblings. Not all of them are friendly, I'm afraid, but perhaps you've heard of our sister, Hemera. She's kind enough."

"Hemera?" sounded Hecate's voice. They turned and saw the older goddess push the red silk curtain aside and enter the room, holding a steaming cup. "Well, hello, Persephone!" she said happily. "I thought I heard your voice." She turned to Hypnos. "Here's you're tea," she addressed him kindly. "Made just the way you like it: with poppy, nectar, and honey, as well as a little concoction of mine to help your nerves."

Hypnos sighed with relief. "Ah, thank you Hecate." He took a sip and looked calmer almost instantly.

Hecate turned to Thanatos. "Is Hemera coming here?" she asked with a wary expression.

"No," Thanatos assured her, "we were just talking about our family."

An expression of relief washed over Hecate. "I see. Hermera's a good girl, but a bit too perky for my tastes.

Charon shuddered. "'Perky' is an understatement. And her husband? Our brother Aether? Hopelessly optimistic.

"That girl will talk your ear off, too," sighed Hypnos, "It's impossible to sleep with her incessant chatter."

"Aether and Hemera are your siblings?" Persephone asked, surprised. "I've never met them personally, but I know of them."

Hypnos chuckled. "Ironic, isn't it? You should have seen mother's face when she learned that Hemera, daughter of Night and Darkness, had accepted the post of the daytime goddess. She was so disgusted, I thought we'd never hear the end of it. Then Aether goes and decides to become the god of light and the upper sky. She was fit to be tied."

Thanatos smiled. "She got over it, though. At least, she's back on speaking terms with Hemera.

Hypnos laughed. "If you can call a brief greeting in the morning and a stiff greeting in the evening 'speaking terms.'" He smiled and sipped more tea. "Excellent, Hecate," he complimented with a yawn. "I'm beginning to feel like myself again already."

Hecate smiled. "Good, Hypnos. Oh, by the way, Persephone, did you hear about Aphrodite's upcoming wedding?"

Persephone sat up straight in her chair. "She's seriously getting married? To whom? Ares? I know he's interested in her."

Morpheus snorted. "Well, what god isn't interested in her? I suppose she can only marry one, though. Is it Ares? That would be my guess, too."

Hecate shook her head and smiled wryly. "Hephaestus."

"Hephaestus?" Persephone and Morpheus exclaimed. "Why on earth would she accept him?"

"I mean, don't get me wrong," added Persephone, "He's a nice god, but I didn't think just 'nice' would be enough for Aphrodite."

Hecate shrugged. "Perhaps she felt flattered by his plentiful gifts. His jewelry never ceases to amaze me. He also made her a gorgeous golden belt. You should see it, Persephone, the workmanship is divine. And stop rolling your eyes, Morpheus. If you saw her in this belt, you'd… Well, never mind."

"I'm baffled that she's marrying at all," Persephone said. "Can she be happy with just one man?"

Hecate shrugged. "Probably not. It doesn't really make a difference though, does it?"

On the couch, Hypnos gave another yawn.

"Perhaps you should go to bed early tonight," Thanatos advised his brother kindly.

Hypnos finished his tea and gave an even wider yawn. "Bed. Ah, that sounds heavenly." His eyes drooped.

Morpheus stood and helped his father up. "I'll make sure he doesn't fall asleep on the way home. Goodnight, everyone," he said as he led his father out the door.

Charon shook his head to himself. "Mama's boy," he muttered.

"Oh, I don't know," said Hecate, "if Zeus came after me with his master bolt, I might run for mother myself."

Persephone gasped. "Zeus went after Hypnos with his master bolt? Why?"

"Well," Hecate began, "Do you know of Zeus's demigod son Hercules?" Persephone nodded and Hecate continued. "Hera hates the boy and enjoys tormenting him, but Zeus won't allow it. So, Hera hired Hypnos to put her husband to sleep so she could torture Hercules. When Zeus woke up, he realized what had happened. He flew into a rage and chased after Hypnos with his master bolt."

"But Hypnos's mother saved him," Persephone guessed.

Hecate nodded. "Yes, and when Zeus saw her look of maternal fury, he backed down."

Persephone's eyes widened. "My," she said, "It's hard to imagine a deity capable of intimidating Zeus."

"Well, she is a daughter of Chaos," replied Hecate. "Thankfully, she mostly keeps to herself unless provoked, and no one is fool enough to provoke her."

"Well, I should get back to the Styx. Oh joy." Charon said flatly as he stood up. "You'd better get back to work soon, too, Thanatos. If you reap them, I'll ferry them." He bowed to Persephone. "Always a pleasure, my queen. I hope our last meeting didn't cause you any, ah, unpleasantness."

In the excitement over Hypnos, Persephone had forgotten about the Charon incident. She eyed the ferryman with distaste. "Goodbye, Charon," she said coolly. As Charon closed the door, a thought struck her. "Charon's a god?" she asked Thanatos.

Thanatos thought for a minute. "We're not really sure what he is. I suppose he's a god of sorts. He's responsible for the boundary between life and death. And, I'm afraid he's right. I need to go."

After he left, Persephone turned to Hecate. "When is the wedding?"

"In the spring, a few months from now," answered Hecate. "I'm sure you'll be invited along with Demeter. I heard it will be quite the social event."

"Hmm," said Persephone. "I'll look forward to it. Um, Hecate?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think Hades will come?"

Hecate chuckled. "I doubt it. Oh, I'm sure he'll be invited. Even Aphrodite isn't stupid enough to insult him like that; however, he tends to avoid large parties."

"That's good," Persephone muttered with relief, "now I can really look forward to it."

Hecate regarded Persephone with a look of pity. "I've never been married, at least not to an immortal, but my mother always told me the first hundred years is the hardest. Give him a chance, my dear, even he deserves that. Would you like a cup of tea, dear?"

Persephone nodded and Hecate hurried into her kitchen, leaving the young queen to her thoughts.

A/N: Hooray! Virtual cookie time! (::) (::) (::) (::) (::)