When I finally woke up, vast amount of sunlight was pouring heavily into the room through the lone window. I winced at the sudden brightness that I was exposed to and groaned softly, feeling sleep disappearing slowly from me. One hand covered my shut eyes to protect it from the deadly brightness, while the other reached out to the other side of the bed.

And then, I shot up into a sitting position just as the hand on my eyes went away. I looked at the other side of the bed with wide eyes.

It was empty.

I then looked over to the rest of the room, and realized that I was all alone. Immediately, I felt disheartened and slightly angered at the fact that Hades had just left without my knowledge. He could have at least given me a message telling me that he would be gone for a while.

Don't be so rash, Persephone. a little voice in my head said to me softly. Hades won't leave you without reason. You know that.

I sighed to myself as I realized the truth. I immediately felt guilty for nearly making an accusation towards him. I'll make up for it somehow.

I stretched lazily as I looked around the room and wonder what the time was. Judging by the brightness of the sunlight, I would say about maybe mid-afternoon. As my eyes continued to wander, I then caught sight of something on the study table.

Slowly, I slid off the huge bed and padded my way over to it. I unfolded it to reveal a plum-coloured, knee-length cotton dress and some underwear. Someone, most probably Hades, Artemis or Hestia, must have come into the room while I was still asleep and left it here for me.

Taking my new clothes with me, I ventured to the bathroom, and was immediately amazed by the interior, just as how I was amazed by the rest of the house.

It was covered entirely in the most exquisite and expensive marble I have ever seen. Everything was so shiny and polished. There was the basics in a bathroom – toilet, shower, sink, mirror and counter – but there was even a white porcelain bathtub that looked oh so tempting.

The bathroom seemed similar to one of a hotel's. There were spare towels, toothbrushes and toothpastes. I seriously wondered why Hestia would even bother to set up a guestroom to this level of exquisite. Then again, she would have a lot of spare time on her hands, and she could have merely done it out of boredom.

Despite how tempting the bathtub was, I decided on just simple shower. The temperature of the water was just right and it was so soothing that as I lathered myself with the soap that was provided, I hummed a tune.

When I got out of the shower and dried myself with the table, I proceeded to put on my new clothes. The underwear fitted me nicely, whereas the dress was a size too big. The neckline of the dress kept slipping down, revealing my cleavage, and the straps kept slipping off my shoulders.

This must be Artemis'… I assumed as I reached for the spare comb in the bathroom. I took some time to comb through my russet waves, being extra gentle with them.

When my hair was combed and I had readjusted my dress once again to properly conceal my cleavage, I stepped out of the bathroom and made my way out of the bathroom. I then headed downstairs, hoping to see a familiar face.

Luckily, I saw Artemis sitting silently at the couch with a book in hand. She was quite still as she read. But somehow, she must have sensed my presence; she turned to look at me the very minute my foot touched the floor.

"Hey," she greeted, a smile appearing instantly on her lips. "It's about time you woke up."

I nodded my head in greeting as my own lips graced into a smile. "Hey," I replied kindly. "How long was I out?"

I didn't take my eyes off her as she turned away to look at the clock, and then she turned back to face me and answered, "It's three-thirty in the afternoon now."

My mouth gapped open instantly. Three-thirty? Well, this was most certainly the first time I woke up this late!

"You were really tired after what happened last night, and none of us had the heart to tear you away from sleep. So we left you on your own," she told me slowly, her midnight blue eyes assessing me. Then, she asked, "Are you hungry?"

On cue, a loud rumbling emanated from my stomach, answering Artemis' question for me. I felt my cheeks go red as Artemis giggled in response.

"That answers it," she chuckled. Then she put aside her book and got off the couch. "Come on," she said as she made her way to the kitchen. "We still have some leftover chicken casserole from lunch."

I obediently followed right behind her and took a seat at one of the bar stools at the kitchen island while Artemis went to the stainless steel fridge and produced a blue plastic container. Taking the lid off, she took a plate and poured some of the contents of the chicken casserole onto it before putting it in the microwave to warm up.

"Hey, Artemis?"

"Yes?"

"Have you seen Hades?"

She immediately shook her head no, and said, "He and Hestia left for New York in the morning."

"What?" I exclaimed in shock. "New York? Why?"

While pouring some apple juice into two cups, she replied coolly, "Zeus called them there for urgent business."

I only stared at her in shock as I let it sink into me. New York? That's about an eight hours drive away from Heatherton. How could Hades have just left for New York without telling me? I know! Maybe I should give him a call…

Wait. I just remembered that I didn't have a cell phone anymore.

"Persephone?"

I looked up at Artemis, who was now standing on the opposite side of the kitchen island, just right across me.

"He's going to be fine," she told me reassuringly. "Don't worry. He'll be back soon."

I took a deep breath and nodded my head in understanding. Yes, Persephone. I thought to myself. He's going to be fine. And he will be back soon.

Artemis then set down the plate of heated chicken casserole and the glass of apple juice right in front of me before turning to get out some silverware out of a drawer. With a knife and fork in one hand and her own cup of juice in the other, she perched herself on the stool next to me and handed me the silverware.

"Thanks," I said as I took it from her. I then cut up a piece of casserole and ate it. And I had to admit, that was the best and most delicious chicken casserole that I have ever tasted in my life.

"Woah," I marvelled as I chewed. "This is amazing."

Artemis smiled graciously and bowed her head. "Thanks. It's my own special recipe."

I raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "You made this?" When she nodded, I said, "Woah," once again. "I bet the boys really crave for your cooking, huh? Speaking of which, where are they?"

After sipping her juice, she answered, "Dionysus is trying to sleep off his hangover, Hermes is playing some video games on his PS3, and Apollo is probably in some girl's bed right now."

I nearly choked when I heard the last part, and she looked at me worriedly. "Are you alright?" she asked. "Do you want water or something?"

I shook my head and took deep breath to calm myself. I was actually taken aback by how open she was about her brother sleeping with girls. I mean, she was a virgin goddess, and her twin is one of the most promiscuous in Greek myths.

"Does it bother you?" I asked her.

Looking confused, she asked, "Does what bother me?"

I bit my lip, hesitant to ask because it seemed kind of rude. But I did anyway. "That Apollo is doing all this? I mean, you're a virgin goddess. Don't you feel angry that your twin would do this?"

She pursed her lips, and my anxiety began to increase. But just before I was about to take it back, she said, "When it gets him into trouble, it does. But overall, I honestly have no objection to him doing this."

"Why not?" I asked her.

Another sip of juice, and she answered, "I chose to be a virgin on my own will, same as Athena and Hestia. And just because I make a decision for myself, doesn't mean others should follow. Apollo is his own soul, so I let him do what he wants. And even though I'm his older sister, I don't want to control his life to fit it to my liking. Besides, he isn't the only god to have garnered the 'uncontrollable lust' gene from Zeus, so it doesn't really surprise me."

When she had finished, I looked at the goddess before me and realized how totally different she was from all the stories that described her. From what I know, she was always said to be a cold-hearted but just goddess who absolutely hated men and only cared for the beasts in her wild lands. But seeing her right in front of me, I realized that she was none of that at all. In fact, she was actually really kind-hearted and friendly and seemed to be alright with the other gods and goddesses.

"You really seem different from when I've read about you," I murmured, popping in another piece of casserole in my mouth.

She quirked a perfect dark eyebrow. "You've read about me? Well, I'm flattered," she said with a smile and a hand over her heart, as a flattered gesture.

I giggled and so did she, and then she asked, "How different?"

Cutting up more of my casserole, I answered, "Well, you're not really as mean as the stories say you are, and you don't seem to have a strong hatred towards men. Oh! And you're seriously sophisticated."

She chuckled wholeheartedly and set her cup down. "Yeah, I heard about that too. I think those so-called 'historians' just wanted to make me sound like a wild and vile-mannered person just because I'm a girl and the Goddess of the Hunt and the Wild. But seriously, just because I'm the goddess of wild things, doesn't mean I don't know my manners. And I'm only mean when I have to be, not all the time. And I don't hate every man in existence. Just those who crossed me and make me angry."

Relaxing against the edge of the kitchen island, she mused, "It's stupid, how these mortals pictured us, huh? They make us seem a lot worse than what we really are."

I nodded my head in agreement. "Especially the ones about Hades," I said. "He's not an evil god. In fact, he's so kind and gentle."

"He is like that," Artemis added. "And despite what all the versions say, he actually doesn't hate the Underworld. Sure, he drew the shortest straw and got the worse, but he took it to his advantage and created his own safe haven there."

I will admit that it seemed a bit strange for Artemis to talk so nicely of Hades. From what I knew, Hades seemed to be one of the most disliked gods in the myths, but it's a completely different tale in real life.

"What was life in Mount Olympus like?" I suddenly asked.

Right there, the longing returned to Artemis and she looked down blankly at a corner of the kitchen. I could see it in her eyes that she was remembering.

"It was quite peaceful," she suddenly answered, her eyes still having that 'far away' look. "Sure, there were a few spats here and there and everything goes into chaos once in a while, but it was peaceful. Everyone was in good terms with one another. Well, maybe not so with Ares."

I ate up the last bits of casserole before I said, "I really want to go back there. And maybe to the Underworld."

When I said that, I immediately remembered what Apollo had told me about the world restarting time and that we would return to being gods and goddesses. I remembered the painful feel inside me when I heard about it, but right now, I think that maybe it's for the better. But I don't know what to really feel about it so far.

"Yeah," Artemis answered. "Me too." Then she saw my empty plate and quietly took it away from me. As both of us slid off our respective stools, my dress slipped down again to reveal an inappropriate amount of cleavage, and I adjusted the neckline quickly.

"Is it too big?" she asked as she started washing the plate. "I'm sorry. It was one of the only clothes that I had which was nearly close to your size."

Continuing to readjust the dress, I said, "No, no. It's alright. I'm fine."

Suddenly, Artemis' eyes perked up and she exclaimed, "Why not you use your powers to change the size?"

My own eyes widened at the realization. She was right. I could use my powers. However, I wasn't really sure if I could do that. I don't exactly know my full potential, since I've only started using my powers. But still, it didn't hurt to experiment a bit.

I stood still as I concentrated on the cottony feel of the dress on my body. I concentrated on the parts that I wanted to re-size. In my head, I formed the mental image of the dress fitting quite nicely on me, and I tried to turn the image into a reality.

Suddenly, I felt my aura radiating around me, and I looked down to see the dress slowly shrinking. The neckline became slightly higher, but still enough to cover my cleavage, while the straps graced my shoulders perfectly. The dress shrank to fit my torso perfectly, and the skirt stayed knee-length.

When my powers had finished its job, I turned to see every angle and was glad that the dress finally managed to fit me. I looked at Artemis in excitement, and she smiled back at me.

Just then, we heard a clap coming from an unknown source. Both Artemis and I turned to where the clapping was coming from, and saw Hermes leaning against the wall.

"Impressive," he commented with a smirk. "Truly impressive."

I couldn't help but smile in triumph.

Hades and Hestia sat on a couch on the last level of the Evans Industries' buildings in Brooklyn. There, they waited to be called in to the office of 'James Evans' for an important meeting.

Suddenly, the intercom at the secretary's table started sounding up, and 'James Evans' spoke on the other end.

"Lucy. Do I have any visitors?" he asked.

The secretary, Lucy, cast one glance at Hades and Hestia, who looked back at her, and answered, "Yes, sir. A Mr Aiden Cole and a Ms Portia Flare."

Just then, 'James' boomed, "What! Why didn't you tell me sooner! Did you not receive the memo that I will be expecting them and that they are to enter my office immediately and no matter what?"

Lucy's brown eyes suddenly widened in panic at the realization of her mistake. She stuttered, "I-I'm s-s-sorry, s-s-sir."

"Whatever!" 'James' exclaimed angrily. "Just send them in!"

Lucy replied that she would do so, and turned to the guests to show them in. However, Hades and Hestia had already stood up and walked into the office without a word and without casting one more look at the shaking secretary.

In the office, they are met by Zeus, Hera and Poseidon, who were sitting at a round table at the end of the office.

Zeus smiled warmly to them, before saying, "So shall we start the meeting?"

Author's Note:

Alright. I know this chapter seemed absolutely pointless, but I wanted to write about Artemis and Persephone's bonding time as half-sisters. It seemed perfect, and is quite an important point of the story.

See ya!

Muse of Fanfiction