Heidi let out a sigh as she looked at the completed rush job in front of her. Part of her regretted doing it so fast, she might get them back with Hestia saying the enchantments failed, but overall she was proud of the fact that she was able to get it done so fast. The goddess was about to box them as she does with any of her creations when she heard Hestia teleport in.
Hestia walked up to her and smiled. "Ah, they look perfect." She looked at the bangles closely. "You even got the Norse right!"
"If you were a normal customer I'd be making you pay triple for that alone." Heidi deadpanned as she spun in her chair to face her aunt. "I had to summon like ten old Norse dictionaries to figure it out."
Hestia nodded with a brighter smile. "Well I appreciate it, they are going to be amazing gifts. I do have one request, though." The goddess held up a finger and looked at the younger woman.
"Another one? Next time just write what you want down ahead of time and throw it at me." Heidi said, sarcasm lacing her voice before she shook her head. "What is it this time?"
"I need you to not make it look like it came from you. My friend isn't too trustworthy with certain humans and I don't want her panicking in case she recognizes your symbol." Hestia explained, keeping the innocent look on her face.
Heidi raised an eyebrow. "What kind of friend is this?"
"Ah, just an old one. As I said, they don't trust some humans, or gods for that matter." Hestia said, not bothering to give Heidi much information.
Heidi's eyes halved. "Of course." She said dryly before spinning to look at the jewelry. "So, you just want me to put it in a plain black box? Nothing on it?"
"Nothing on it." Hestia repeated the words and smiled even wider.
The bluenette shook her head in exasperation before causing a black box to appear. With a snap of her fingers, the pieces of jewelry were placed in and covered with a plain black cloth. The woman placed the lid on it before swivelling to look at her aunt. "Do you want a bow, ribbon?"
"Nope!"
Heidi blinked at her and let out a sigh. "I don't understand you sometimes. Here is your gift, rushed as you wished and in a perfectly plain box with nothing special about it." She said in exasperation before handing it to her.
Hestia looked at it before nodding. "Thank you. I must go now. Enjoy your creating." She said before vanishing.
Heidi just blinked a few times before teleporting her previous project back onto the table. "Why did I think it was going to be a normal request with her?" She said before turning in her chair to continue once more.
Meanwhile, Hestia had appeared in the living room and looked at a very bored Hecate. "I need you to enchant this box and make sure the enchantments on the objects within are correct."
Hecate looked up from her TV show and nodded. "Enchantments on the jewelry are fine, they'll last. What do you need done to the box?"
Hestia looked down before smiling. "It can only be opened by…" She suddenly stopped and tilted her head as she sent out a message via telepathy.
Hecate blinked once she received it and smirked. "I don't know what you are up to, but I like sneaky Hestia." She said before snapping her fingers, causing the box to be covered in green sparkles before they disappeared. "There, just as you requested."
Hestia gave her a nod in thanks before vanishing yet it again, causing Hecate to grin and look back down at the TV like the conversation never happened.
When the goddess reappeared, she quickly turned invisible and ducked around the corner. Apparently, she was near the room she needed to deliver her gift to. She just couldn't leave it there, she didn't want it to be picked up by some random person, so she decided on hiding for the moment. Pulling out the phone she had, she quickly sent out a text and smiled when she felt Hermes appear invisible by her.
"So, what's the plan here?" Hermes asked via telepathy.
"We wait until I tell you to drop it off at that room." Hestia replied back, peeking out to look at the room.
Hermes must have looked as well as he let out a telepathic laugh. "My, someone is up to something, aren't you?"
"I am simply fixing a few things, nothing more nothing less." Hestia said, clearly not intending to tell him either.
"Ah, whatever you want, you know I don't mind a good plan." Hermes replied before cutting the link as he went silent.
Hestia smiled to herself and moved a bit until she was in the perfect position to watch the room entrance. Now...all she had to do is wait, and she is great at waiting.
Just then a person walked past the entrance, not even acknowledging the presence of the two gods. She grinned to herself as she wrote in the iridescent book in her hand. She walked deeper into the empty library as she mumbled and laughed to herself.
Hazel tapped the side of her cheek with her golden pen. "Should I write that?" She said to herself, thinking about the boys rolling about in a giant snowball. That was before she broke into a large grin. "It wouldn't hurt." She scribbled onto the golden, reflective pages. Pouring out her memories before she stopped.
She smiled at her work. The ruby haired girl gathered the pages that she had filled for the day, scanning the words with her eyes. That was when her eyes caught onto a certain section. She sighed, "I think I'm done for now."
Closing the book, she looked out of the large window to see the sun setting. That immediately sent her into a rush mode to get to her room quickly. She hated being out in the dark. She can put up with it, but prefers to be in bed as soon as the night gets started good.
"Yep. That's enough." She said, glancing at the log one more time before sighing. "I am so tired of fighting, but it's for the best." She whispered to herself before closing her eyes and teleporting to her resort room.
Hestia waited for a moment before turning visible. "Hmm, as it would appear I got the place wrong. Whoops." She said innocently as Hermes turned visible behind her.
"Suure." He held out the word before looking at the box. "You want me to zip over there and drop it off?" The god looked at the box with curiosity.
Hestia nodded and handed it to him. "Get in and out as fast as possible, knock once." She stated, giving him a smile.
Hermes gave her a thumbs up before disappearing and appearing outside the window before zipping off at supersonic speeds. Hestia stood up, as she had been crouching, and chuckled. "Part one, complete." She said before disappearing in her orange flame pillar.
888888888
The first thing Hazel saw when she returned was her sister on the couch, chicken fighting with Elsa over a box of hot chocolate. Hazel's eyebrow rose at what had to be the most bizzare thing she had seen in her life. She wondered if she had even wanted to be discovered at this moment.
She blinked at them one last time before making it over to the kitchen. Because she spent a large part of her day in the library, she was feeling pretty peckish. Tuning out her bickering mother and sister, she made a mission to make a tuna salad sandwich.
Elsa, being as perceptive as she is, saw her other daughter from the corner of her eye. "Hey, hun." She snatched the box from Ara's grasp, attempting to smile at Hazel. "Did you have a good time?" She dogged one of Ara's sloppy attacks before tossing Hazel the box.
Relying solely on her reflexes, she caught the box and placed it on the counter to Ara's great displeasure. Hazel nodded. "Yes, I did. I really needed that." She said while placing her ingredients in her preferred order.
Elsa smiled when she heard that. "Excellent. Your friends texted Ara and said that they were safe...and had white eyebrows, but safe nonetheless." She chuckled. "Also, your grandparents said that they would be over after they purchased a room." Elsa glanced at the dizzy girl on the couch.
Hazel heard everything while she progressed in making her food. She poured herself some fruit punch, nodded, and took a bite of her sandwich at the same time. "Gotcha." She said after she swallowed.
All of a sudden, there was a single knock on the door followed by the sound of something being set down before whoever was on the other side left without making another sound.
They perked up at the sound. Elsa looked at the door with a raised eyebrow. "Hmm...Is it mother and father? I expected them to teleport directly in here…" She said with her voice laced in confusion.
Hazel blinked, frozen while looking to the door. "I don't think it's them. I heard something drop...or fall. I also don't hear any other movements…" She shrugged.
Elsa tilted her head, before rising from her confused and dizzy daughter. She peeked through the peephole once before opening the door completely. She looked left and right, but saw no one. "That's peculiar." She voiced her confusion.
That was before something caught her eyes. It was a small, plain, black box. She raised her eyebrow and bent down to pick up the box. She turned to the two in the room. "Did one of you order something?"
Hazel and Ara both shook their heads. Ara turned over just to try and get a peek at the box. Hazel shook her head before making her way over to her sister and placing her hand on her head.
Ara immediately sighed in relief. "Hazel. I really envy your healing magic right now." She said with a smile.
Hazel chuckled. "If you had it, you would do something stupid every five seconds."
"Would not!" She said, sitting up.
Hazel smirked at her sister. "I hate to sound immature but would too."
Elsa closed the door and began to try and pry open the box that refused to come loose. She was really beginning to question her health at this point. If she couldn't open a box, a small one, then something is definitely wrong here. "Okay, this sounds weird, but can one of you two stop arguing and help me open this?"
The two girls turned to their mother and looked at her with concern. Ara smirked. "It's just a tiny box." She stood and met her mother. Then she held out her hand and Elsa placed the box in Ara's. "I am sure it's not that hard."
She tried to raise the lid. Nothing. "Well, that's weird. Maybe it has glue on it?" Then she tried to pry it open with a knife. Nothing. She growled before trying to stab the box with the knife. To everyone's surprise, the knife bent. "Oh come on!" She cried out in frustration. Ara, in her anger, took the box and was about to throw it back outside.
Seeing her sister about to toss the box, Hazel grabbed it causing Ara to trip due to the lack of an object in her hands. "Hold on, Ara. I am sure there is a way we can get this box to-" The lid practically fell off when Hazel switched hands. "open? Well, that was easy." She tilted her head.
"I...I-I-I-I-I…" Ara stuttered, officially broken from the turn of events.
Elsa able to hide her shock better than her daughter, asked. "What's inside?" She tried to peek into the box herself.
Hazel shrugged. She looked inside, seeing a cloth covering the item on the inside. On the bright side, it was not a bomb. A bomb would not be wrapped with such care.
She removed the cloth and set it on the counter before sharply gasping. Tucked inside the box were four pieces of jewelry, the objects placed carefully shaped miniature boxes to keep them safe. The first two were a set of blue diamond chandelier earrings decorated with smaller white diamonds and crystals. The other two were identical gold bangles spotted with both blue and white diamonds like the earrings. The bangles appeared to be placed with a bit more care as there was another cloth keeping the inside of the bracelets covered.
Hazel kept silent. Looking at them with wide eyes. Ara let out a low whistle. "Holy guacamole! That is some nice ice!" She grinned as Hazel gently grabbed one of the earrings and held it up to the light.
Elsa looked at everything in confusion while Hazel looked at it in wonder. Hazel squinted her eyes, looking at the gems with scrutiny. "Wow. Everything is real. These are genuine stones." She said, placing it back into the box. That's also when She began to look for an address, a name, a note...something! "Who sent this?"
Elsa shook her head in thought of who it could be.
Ara chuckled. "Well, you know for sure that it wasn't us." She said referring to their terrible attempts to open the box. "Maybe you could ask the grandparents when they get here. Grandpa I guess would've sent it?"
That is when an icy wind blew in and the two Norse gods landed in the living room. Skadi stepped away while Njord grinned. "Did someone ask for me?" He asked loudly before laughing.
Ara blinked. "Man, I have been on a roll this week!" She smiled. "Actually we did. We were wondering if you knew where this box came from." She jabbed her thumb at the box in Hazel's hands.
Njord walked over and looked at the box with a tilted head. "Hmm...Can't say I know. It has a powerful aura around it though, I can't figure out what it belongs to...It doesn't feel like a god, a fairy, a witch, a genie, a demon-anything."
Skadi made her way over and raised an eyebrow. "It's too muddled, whoever sent it purposely made it impossible to track it back to them." She closed her eyes and frowned. "It feels...like a combination of everything. Not just one being."
Hazel raised an eyebrow when she heard this. She looked back at the box and said, "So how do we figure out who it's for? It came with no identification whatsoever." She picked out one of the bangles and looked it over. "They have great taste, though." She thought, contemplating if she should try it on.
Njord rubbed his chin in thought. "Well, the only beings who could pick through all those signatures would have to be a master at magic." He said, shaking his head as he tried to think of someone.
"Only old fairies, experienced genies, and gods of magic would be able to identify one exact source. It is very difficult to break through such a magic cloak and most magic users could never accomplish it in their lives." Skadi informed them, opening her eyes and looking at the box with narrowed eyes.
Elsa looked at the box with a questioning gaze. "All we know is that someone knocked and dropped it off. When Ara and I tried to open it didn't work out too well. Hazel is the one that opened it." She gestured to the box. "It popped off easily when she tried."
While her mother was talking, Hazel took out one of the bangles. Seeing some words engraved on it, she tilted her head to read it. "I am always here..?" She read aloud, before smiling.
Skadi blinked when she heard that. "Strange...Whoever sent this must know you and be a master of magic." She looked at the box. "It couldn't have been from one of the Greeks, they would never deliver such a plain looking box with no identification. They want the gifts to be tracked back to them and they always make sure to design it." She said in surprise, squinting in an attempt to find even a small dot of some sort or a speck of something.
Njord nodded. "And the only jewelry creators in this part of Auradon that do personal deliveries are said to handwrite a letter with each custom order. They try to make it as beautiful as possible before sending it out. This...there is nothing." He said in clear confusion.
Hazel shook her head trying to look for something of the sort. "Yep. Absolutely nothing." She wanted to look around the box more, but holding the bracelet was beginning to hinder her movements. She shrugged and briefly placed the bangle on her wrist with the others. Immediately, she shivered as she felt of foreign magic envelope her. It felt warm and...in a way comforting. "What...was that?" She looked at her wrist with interest. "It feels like sitting in the sunlight." She explained with a smile.
"Ah, the master of magic must have also enchanted their creations!" Njord exclaimed, scratching the back of his head. "Experienced magic users tend to hit everything with an enchantment, few can enchant jewelry, though. They have to know what they are doing if they want to enchant it successfully."
Hazel perked up with interest. "Really?" She looked at the other bangle before bringing it out of its packaging. She raised her eyebrow when it was written in a language she couldn't understand. She shrugged and placed it on her wrist anyway, feeling the familiar tingle of a foreign type of magic. Hazel raised her other wrist to observe the piece of jewelry.
Ara's face seemed more than confused as she stared at the symbols on Hazel's bracelet. "What in the world is that?" She pointed at the words.
Elsa peeked and said, "That's Norse, Ara." She looked back at the language. "From the looks of it it's old Norse. I can only understand bits and pieces." She said with a raised eyebrow.
Hazel blinked at them before smiling brightly. "Oh, that one?" She tapped the words with her index finger. "It says 'Smile for me'." She read without noticing what she was doing.
Skadi's eyes widened and looked at it. "That's...that is ancient norse. The oldest form I can remember." She murmured, seeming taken aback by the fact that Hazel had just read it.
Hazel blinked. "It is? It looks like English to me…" She said, shaking her head in confusion.
Ara shook her head. "No way...lemme try something." She pulled out her phone, looking up random phrases in different languages.
"What's this?" Ara asked her pointing to some Korean symbols.
Hazel blinked. "It says one way street."
Ara smiled before pulling up another. "This one?" This time the language was German.
"Apples are now twenty five percent of with certain purchases." Hazel read easily.
Now grinning, Ara pulled up another that was in Chinese. "This one!?
Hazel's eyes halved. "Ara, that says soy sauce." She folded her arms.
Ara blinked. "Oh." She smiled nervously. "But my point was still made!" She said with a smile.
"The being who made them must have enchanted that one to allow you to understand all languages." Njord said with a wide grin.
"And they had to have been either a Norse god or a historian…" Skadi slowly looked at Njord. "You didn't do this, did you?"
Njord blinked and threw up his hands. "It wasn't me! As I said, all jewelry artists and designers around here take great care in making their boxes pretty." He said, eyes wide and he let out a nervous laugh. "Besides, I do not know of any masters of magic." Skadi seemed to, somewhat, believe him and looked away, allowing him to sigh in relief and let his arms fall to his sides.
Hazel grinned while putting on the earrings to finish the set. "Well, I need to thank whoever sent these. They are wonderful." She looked up in thought, still smiling. "I guess I will have to find them." She shrugged.
Ara raised an eyebrow and smirked. "This "master of magic" must really know you to send these. I mean, those just scream Hazel." Ara looked to the side. "I think you may have a...secret admirer." She mumbled the last part, but Hazel could still hear her easily.
That caught Hazel completely off guard. She blinked before looking at her sister with irritation. "Ara, that's nonsense." She said plainly.
Ara smirked. "I'm just saying…" She teased causing Elsa to giggle a bit.
"It must be someone who knows magic incredibly well, knows about the ancient norse language, someone who knows how to mask their magical trail...and someone who knows you very well. Unless this is an incredibly powerful fairy or witch, we are probably dealing with a god from one of the pantheons." Skadi said in thought, looking down at the floor with narrowed eyes.
Ara blinked before looking around in thought. "Huh...that really limits our options. Before you guys, all we hung around were Greeks besides Jupiter, but we just met him a day ago. Hazel is not exactly an open book either…" She rubbed her chin in thought.
"It couldn't have been from the gods, even the shyest ones still place a symbol on their gifts. They want the mortal to know that a god has found favor in them." Njord said, shaking his head. "And those gems are too rare to be from someone who isn't professionally making jewelry."
Hazel glanced at them all before saying, "I...am completely clueless." She raised an eyebrow. "This person has hidden themselves so well...maybe we should come back to this later?" Hazel shook her head, coming up with no one who fit the exact description.
Skadi took a closer look at the blue diamonds before stepping back. Looking at Njord, she pursed her lips. "Try to create those blue diamonds."
Njord blinked. "Why? There isn't anything too special about them. They are just really rare and hard to find." He said, confused by what she was trying to say.
"Something...feels...otherworldly about them. If my theory is correct, then you shouldn't be able to make them." Skadi told him, frowning at her words.
The god blinked once more before shrugging. "Alright." He said before snapping his fingers...And nothing happened. "Oh...OH!" He practically yelled the last one out. "That can't be possible!" He exclaimed, prompting Skadi to nod.
Elsa raised her hand. "I'm...still pretty confused." She blinked.
Ara nodded. "Yeah, so am I."
"Same." Hazel said, looking at the gods wide eyed after Njord's exclamation.
Skadi sighed and looked at them. "If Njord cannot create it, that means it is a gem exclusive to a world that he isn't allowed to summon jewels from. This could be the land of the dead, Asgard, or any of the nine realms within the portal to Asgard. The only being able to summon them is the ruler of that world and only they can make them." She explained, suddenly smirking. "That is only ten individuals."
Hazel blinked. "Who are the ten individuals? We don't know that many other worldly gods." She shook her head in thought.
"The leaders of the nine realms, and the current Ruler of the Underworld. Though, I would not expect it to be from the Underworld's Ruler, they do not often give such precious gems out." Skadi said, frowning in thought.
"Not to mention it doesn't look like a gift from the Ruler of the Underworld. No matter who is in charge, they will always add a personal touch to show that they are indeed the Ruler." Njord interjected, finally getting over his shock.
Hazel's eyes turned three different hues before she sighed. "I am so confused." She stated.
Ara smirked and said, "We happen to be very familiar with the current ruler of the Underworld. She makes jewelry and stuff." She pointed to the pink tiara on her head. "This was a gift from her. The lack of a label is throwing me off though. If it wasn't for that, I would say Heidi for sure." She said, looking at her sister with the same knowing smirk. Prompting Hazel to look at her dryly.
Njord blinked at the name before grinning. "Heidi? Ah, I have heard of her! Not for the jewelry fame, no, she creates armor, weapons, shields, wands, and distributes them to countless pantheons. She regularly delivers some to Asgard and I hear that she even sends them all the way to the Romans." He said in excitement, missing the wide-eyed look from his ex-wife.
Ara chuckled. "That sounds like my best friend all right and Hazel happens to be very fond of her." She said, still wearing her smirk now getting a glare from Hazel with a hint of color on her cheeks.
Njord chuckled, not appearing to notice this and folded his arms. "But you can't tell anyone about that. The whole weapons dealing business is so far under the radar, she often sends the weapons through systems that she developed along with another god. Nobody in the mortal realm knows about it and nobody will know about it. If they did somebody would shut it down."
Recovering from her embarrassment, Hazel smiled. "That's where we break the streak. We are...unique. We won't tell anyone." Hazel waved it off.
Ara nodded. "Yup. It will be between the two of us." She said, folding her arms.
"Good! If it were to go down, well, there would be a lot of fighting between the pantheons. It would not be pretty." Njord said with a slight grimace before grinning once more.
"Good to know…" Hazel said with wide eyes. Ara nodded before looking at the other bangles on Hazel's arms before smirking again.
Before anyone could say anything, Skadi suddenly turned around with a thoughtful expression. She walked over to the couch and sat down silently, seemingly ignoring the others as she was in her own thoughts.
They all looked to each other before Elsa stepped forward. She walked over to her mother asking, "Mother, is something the matter?" She sat beside her, looking to her in expectation.
Skadi snapped out of her thoughts and looked up. "I...was just remembering how that Heidi girl felt when I saw her. She didn't feel right, even for a goddess. She felt...dead...then alive...almost as if she died then came back. It's weird." She shook her head and sighed. "Then she felt like a fairy, then like a human, then like a demon! It just bothered me when I noticed that box. It is nothing important." She said, waving her hand through the air.
Elsa tilted her head. "What about the box reminded you of Heidi?" She looked at the box on the counter.
"They both are muddled. The box is a classic case of a magical cloak while she is...not. There isn't a cloak on her, she just has a muddled aura. Dead yet alive, human yet fairy, god yet demon...It's just as muddled as the box." Skadi said with a frown.
Hazel frowned and her eyes began to change hues again. That's when she shook her head and began to head to her room. "Well, I am a very early riser, so I should be heading to bed. I will see you all tomorrow!" She said, before escaping to her room. This caused Ara to shake her head and roll her eyes, still holding her smirk.
Skadi sighed and stood up. "Perhaps...I can look into it later." She said mainly to herself as her voice lowered. "Died too fast and came back to life even faster." She muttered, her expression turning neutral.
Elsa stood herself. "Yes, it is getting late. We should all be making preparations for tomorrow." She smiled.
Skadi nodded and went to where Njord was standing. "That would be most wise." She said, her expression not changing one bit.
Ara looked at them before saying. "Yeah. I am going to head to bed myself. Sleep is important." She said while waving. "See you guys tomorrow!"
Skadi nodded while Njord smiled and waved back before the two vanished in the icy breeze that seemed to constantly get in somehow.
Elsa raised her eyebrow at the draft, but before she could address it Ara said, "We can never have a normal moment, can we?"
Elsa chuckled and said, "Nope. Not at all." Before heading to her own room.
…
The next morning was tranquil. A few dew drops had gathered on all of the leaves as they should. The only odd thing was the snow remaining on the ground from the sudden change in weather. With a closer look, You could tell that the drops were now frozen making the trees look like they were covered in tiny diamonds.
Jupiter sighed, resting on a bench near the school building. His eyes were closed as he thought of what his day could be filled with. He did want to see what Hermes was up to today. Maybe find a place to get some buttered waffles? He also wanted to get his steps in for today.
Jupiter opened his eyes when the sun began to beam directly towards his face. He shielded his eyes in irritation before standing. He looked left and right to find another bench that was not directly in the light.
Seeing one in the distance, he began to walk to the bench with a smile on his face.
"Didn't expect to see you out this early." A familiar voice stated.
He blinked before turning around in surprise. "Snow Queen? What are you doing here?" He asked her with interest.
"What do you mean? This is a public area?" Elsa asked, baffled by his question.
He shook his head. "No. I mean...what are you doing here; talking to me…" He raised an eyebrow.
At this, Elsa nodded in understanding before taking a deep breath. "As you may have guessed, I have no reason to you without a very specific motive." She said, placing her hands together.
The god nodded, encouraging her to continue. He kept his eyes on her while walking to the bench once again.
Elsa looked down at the snow. "I have decided to take back what I said."
That gave him a pause. "What you said..?" He shook his head, not quite understanding.
Elsa bit her lip and glanced at him. "I take back what I said concerning you and Ara. I don't mind if you spend time with her again." She fiddled with her fingers.
He smiled before looking to her. "This is because you found out your parents are gods, isn't it?" He smirked, earning a half eyed gaze from Elsa. "Ha! I knew it! Man, that was some irony, wasn't it? Who would've guessed?!"
Elsa playfully rolled her eyes before saying, "Oh please. I've heard enough of that from Ara." She said, looking to him with a slight smile. "Speaking of that, there is something that I have to tell you…" Her eyes looked to the side.
He sat down on the bench after he wiped the snow from its surface. "Okay." He patted down a seat for her to sit beside him.
Still in thought, Elsa sat beside him while looking directly at the snow below. "Well...how do I put this? Um…"
Jupiter waved it off. "C'mon, Snow Queen. Tell me. Whatever you have to say, I'm pretty sure it won't even be that bad. I have heard a lot of things. A lot." He explained with a smile.
Elsa looked to him with uncertainty. "O-okay." She fiddled with her fingers. "Well...in the other...dimension. Me and you were…" She said gesturing to the both of them. "And then the kids were...and…" She trailed off while looking to the side again.
Jupiter blinked, trying to process what he had just heard. "Wait so I'm...because we were...the kids..?" He slowly communicated with owlish eyes.
Elsa nodded with a nervous expression. Jupiter held up his index finger. "Hold please." He teleported away briefly only to return with a glass of water. He drank from it then rapidly spat it out. "What!?" He exclaimed.
Elsa, expecting this kind of reaction, shrugged. "Yup. They are yours." She looked to him. "At least they are not yours yours. They are from a different world."
A skittish Jupiter shook his head. "What's the difference!? I am surprised I didn't see it before! The hyper one looks just like me!" He got up and began to pace for a bit, mumbling to himself.
Elsa chuckled, standing herself. "Are you okay?" She placed her hands on her hips.
He whirled to look at her and smiled anxiously. "No, no. I'm fine. Just surprised is all." He looked around before saying, "I will catch up with you later, okay?" He said, preparing to teleport.
Elsa nodded and said, "Of course. Ara is expecting to see you today. She will hunt you down if you try to hide." She shrugged.
His eyes widened. Then he smiled. "See you later, Snow Queen."
Elsa shook her head. "Elsa."
He raised an eyebrow before smiling. "I mean, Elsa." He winked before teleporting away in a bolt of lightning.
Elsa just shook her head at him with a smile. "Well, that's one less confession I have to make. Now to make the...second one." She cringed before continuing her way around the snow covered land.
…
The blue-haired woman wasn't sure how long she had been down in her workshop, she didn't have a way of keeping track of time down there, and pursed her lips as she summoned her computer. Instead of bothering to check the time, like most people would do in her situation, she chose to go straight to her emails. She blinked a few times and groaned. "You have to be kidding me."
Since the last time she checked her emails, which had been awhile, she had gained well over a hundred emails...all for her business. The goddess let out a deep sigh and covered her eyes. "How the hell am I supposed to get these done?" She murmured before moving her hand, realization filling her eyes. "Wait…"
Several weeks before she had gone to the other world, she had self-taught herself a spell Loki normally used when he was up to his tricks. It took three different tries to get it right, and she had accidentally given the three portions of her divine power, she was still feeling that drain from that fateful day, but they were incredibly useful when she had too many custom orders.
Heidi stood up and stretched a bit before taking a deep breath. With a snap of her fingers and a bit of magic, three women appeared in front of her. One was blonde with rose gold eyes and the brightest smile, another one had fiery red hair and sharp yellow eyes with a scowl, while the last one was nearly identical to Heidi in every way except for her electric blue eyes. Though, strangely enough, their facial structures were identical to Heidi down to the last little detail.
The blonde in pink smiled brightly and waved at her. "Hi, Heidi! What's the occasion?" She was wearing a long-sleeved pink blouse, light blue jeans, pink boots, and finished off the look with two pink diamond stud earrings and a gold necklace with a white diamond.
The red-haired woman rolled her eyes. "I was enjoying a rock concert." She said sarcastically, shooting a glare at the peppy woman next to her. This woman had on a sleeveless white blouse with a bow, black leggings, studs that look like game controller buttons, and a pair of black heeled sandals.
The third one already had her nose buried in a book. "I was raiding Athena's library under a cloak of invisibility." Her electric blue eyes flickered up. "Are you overwhelmed with Celecreation once again?" Her icy blue hair was tied up in a pony tail and she was wearing a collared black blouse with the sleeves rolled up, black leggings with white skulls on them, black heeled boots, spiked studs, and black fingerless gloves.
Heidi's eyes halved at the sight of them. Sometimes she forgets that she has three clones that she unintentionally made into minor goddesses. It was one of those secrets she tried to keep from everyone, mainly because she doesn't want the gods going after her, and the fact that they were kinda wild. She also tended to try and not think of them, let her memory loss eat them up, due to just how impossible they were in theory. She let them run around near Olympus and far beyond the Great Wall. She had set up a barrier on the Wall to make sure the three wouldn't make it into Central Auradon, as it would quickly turn chaotic. And, frankly, she was risking it enough letting them near Olympus. There weren't that many places you could put three identical minor goddesses that weren't supposed to even exist.
"Seraphina." Heidi looked at the blonde in pink. "Phoenix." Her gaze shifted to the annoyed redhead. "Terra." Her eyes landed on the one who looked most identical to her. "I have over a hundred orders and I'm sure they are all due soon. I believe I don't need to explain the whole "I was in another dimension." thing to you all?"
The three shook their heads. "Nope." They said in perfect sync, Seraphina sounding happy while Terra and Phoenix sounded neutral.
Heidi clapped her hands together. "Good! Also, you have all been on your best behavior, right?" She asked, internally praying that they haven't gotten in trouble.
Terra looked up and snapped her book shut. "I made sure to erase the minds of those affected by their wild behavior." She pointed her thumb at the other two, prompting them both to look at her.
"Not my fault they can't take the honest truth." Phoenix drawled out, smirking while her eyes lit up like a fire. "If they can't handle the heat, they shouldn't talk."
Seraphina raised up a finger. "And I was just being nice!"
The other two clones/goddesses looked at her dryly. "You flirted with every good looking person you saw." Phoenix said in a deadpan.
Seraphina looked appalled when she heard that. "I did not!" She exclaimed, clutching her hand to her chest as if she had been wounded.
Before they could continue, Heidi cleared her throat. "As nice it is to see...that, and by nice I mean weird since you all have my face and you both are arguing, we have work to do." She said, looking at the women with halved eyes.
"I call the corner." Phoenix said before turning into a flame and flying over to her corner where she reformed.
"I'll take that desk." Terra said, walking over to a desk in the center of the room.
Seraphina grinned and ran over to a desk of her own. "This is mine!"
Heidi shook her head. I really wish their faces weren't my face. I might have to get Hecate to teleport them away and erase my mind of them ever existing. Ugh...That is the last time I am trying a spell of Loki's. Even unintentionally he has tricked me. She thought, closing her eyes and waving her hand. "There are your lists, all the materials are in your desk. I am going to be listening to music, don't fight." She told them before a pair of headphones appeared on her head and she hopped on her chair before swivelling and turning to her own project.
Terra immediately began working on the list, silently digging through the drawer before pulling them out. Using her magic, she began manipulating the materials much like Heidi would, tuning out the other two.
Phoenix begrudgingly looked at her list and rolled her eyes. "Jewelry freaks." She muttered, setting down the list with a 'hmph'. After that, she grumbled a bit more before she started getting out her stuff.
Seraphina, on the other hand, happily began whistling as she skimmed over the list while also grabbing her materials with her free hand. "Wow! I haven't seen the word 'diamond' this many times in awhile. Blue diamond, pink diamond, red diamond, yellow diamond, white diamond-all of the diamonds! Amazing…" She said in her usual happy voice.
Phoenix rolled her eyes. "People nowadays are such weirdos with this crap, who cares if you have to be the sparkliest bride to be." She said mockingly, sarcasm lacing her voice as she frowned. "Waste of time and money."
Seraphina looked at her. "No it isn't! When a person gives the love of their life such a precious gift…" Her smile turned dreamy. "...It shows they truly love them and adore them."
Phoenix made a gagging sound and scoffed. "That doesn't make it right to spend hundreds and thousands on meaningless objects that just sparkle all day!"
"They aren't meaningless, Nix." Seraphina exclaimed, turning in her chair to look at the redhead. "They are symbols of love and adoration, a sign that your beloved cares so deeply for you. So...romantic."
Phoenix frowned and her sharp golden eyes flickered up. "A kiss is just as good of a sign. If you need a piece of jewelry to show you care then you are a wuss."
The two began glaring at each other, prompting Terra to look up and blink. "Both of your opinions matter and many agree with one or the other, but now is the time to do the work she asked us to do." She said in her calm voice.
The other two glared for a moment more before looking away and grumbling as they returned to their projects.
Terra smiled softly and nodded. "Thank you." She said, her gentle voice giving off the strangest feeling...the feeling of warmth and love of all things.
Heidi, who had actually heard everything, smiled to herself. Even if the first two weren't perfect, she is and she'll always be perfect. She thought, closing her eyes.
Heidi was angry when she created Phoenix, causing the clone to become filled with negative emotions and rage. She was filled with desire when she created Seraphina. But Terra? She had thought long and hard before trying for a third time. When she did...she found that Terra was everything she wanted her to be...to be everything she wanted to be. Even if it was all a huge mistake that she couldn't clean up, not without doing something horrible, part of her was happy.
The goddess turned on her music and looked down at the several ring bases in front of her. The smile fell a bit and she let out a small sigh before nodding and beginning to start on them. I will say that I am surprised Hermes has not asked for me yet...I better not push my luck. She thought with a slight grimace, hoping that she hadn't just jinxed herself once more.
…...
Hermes was floating above the clouds in a bit of a sad mood. It had been quite some time since he had seen his partner and, while he was not clingy, he was concerned about how he had not seen her out. He had gone to her house earlier and spoke with Hecate, who was crashing on the couch. She claimed that Heidi had locked herself in her lab and had been there since yesterday. Apparently, Heidi was very upset about something and decided to throw herself into her business.
The god sighed and looked down at the ground, quietly hoping that he would see a familiar speck of icy blue hair. "I wonder what's going on...Even Hestia didn't know what she was upset about, then again…" He trailed off, remembering just how sneaky the elder goddess had been the night before. "I'm not sure if she is exactly telling the truth here." He folded his arms as he continued to absentmindedly watched the ground below, thinking of reasons as to why his partner would be so upset.
Just then, there was a flash of yellow lightning, followed by a huffing and puffing god. "Hermes!" Jupiter called. "There you are. I have been looking everywhere. I thought you'd be at the school?" He said, standing on a nearby cloud.
Hermes continued to float as he looked at the other god, the dejected look still on his face. "Substitute. I've been trying to figure out what's going on with Heidi. Normally she's out and about and...well...she's locked herself up in her house." He said, looking back towards the ground.
Jupiter thought. "We are talking about that flame haired young goddess, right?" He rubbed his chin in thought.
"Hades' daughter. Blue hair. Temporary Ruler of the Underworld." Hermes said, floating nearer to where the god was.
He snapped as his mind made the connection. "Yes, that's her alright! I don't have the slightest clue of why she would be upset to the point of locking herself away." He said, scratching his head. "When did she start doing this?"
"Yesterday. After she escorted Skadi here, she flew back to her home. She's been there since and nobody, or so I have been told, has been able to talk with her." Hermes said, looking at the sky in thought.
Jupiter shrugged. "The only thing I know about that trip is what the kid told me." He said, while looking up in thought, trying to remember her name.
"All I know is that something happened, whatever it was made her very upset. I managed to overhear Hecate say that "she was glad that the explosions stopped" and Heidi only causes explosions to happen when she is angered." Hermes said, his expression quickly turning worried. "She usually just lets it out in one big way, but...not this time. She's hiding for some reason."
Jupiter raised an eyebrow. "Hiding? From what? She's a goddess." He shook his head, trying to understand.
"Exactly. I don't think she's hiding from a threat, I think she's hiding from something or someone." Hermes told him before shaking his head. "If she doesn't come out soon, well, I might just teleport in and risk getting scorched."
Jupiter chuckled a bit then resumed his thoughts. "Well, I only know what the kid told me. Not Thunderbolt, her sister. She came back from that trip pretty upset herself." He placed his hands in his pockets. "She must have needed someone to talk to, because I was looking for a book in the library, Isaw her and started a conversation, and we got into that. She seemed pretty angry with the young goddess, now that you mention it."
Hermes raised an eyebrow. "Really?" He asked before looking away. "I doubt anyone will be able to get an answer out of Heidi, not without getting caught up in a fire explosion. When she is angry...It's like dealing with Hades himself."
Jupiter raised an eyebrow. "She's that bad, huh? Someone might be able to get an answer from the kid. She was with her. She's the one that went to the mountain first. Turns out, Skadi is her grandmother and she ventured out to look for her." He looked to the side with a smirk. "It seemed like Heidi was an uninvited guest that put her in...some kind of mood. I don't know. She kinda flew off the handle and started shouting insults before she eventually calmed down." He looked back to Hermes. "It will take the right type of person to get an answer from her, though. She is not too trusting."
Hermes slowly nodded as he absorbed the information. Letting out a sigh, he shook his head. "Heidi probably went after her because she's been training specially for meeting up with Skadi. See, she knew that Skadi's lost daughter was Elsa the moment she was out of the Underworld. She tried to tell any of the other gods and...they all pretty much laughed at her. They said it was impossible and Heidi stomped out saying she would prove it. Since then she was preparing to go up and meet Skadi herself." He explained, frowning at his words. "She knew how dangerous Skadi was and, probably, panicked. That is why she went to that mountain."
Jupiter chuckled. "Aaaaannnd...the kid didn't like that too much." He looked over his shoulders before speaking. "You want me to let you in on a secret?"
Hermes shrugged, looking at the sky as he thought about something. "Sure. Hit me with it." He said, waving a hand through the air.
Jupiter nodded and smirked. "Before you say anything, I just found out that she is my daughter, so I have a right to snoop. Second, I may or may not have read her diary." He stated with a shrug. "I haven't said anything, though. I want them to work it out."
Hermes blinked and squinted at him. "...I'd say that is wrong if I hadn't dealt with another god doing that awhile back." He said offhandedly, not appearing surprised by the other bit.
Jupiter smirked. "I only peeked, but I kinda got carried away when I hit the third page. It's a really good read!" He shook his head before saying, "Okay, turns out she is throttling Heidi on purpose. She has nothing against her. It's because she is secretly in love with the girl, but can't express it. So...I guess she's pushing her away? If that's what you call it." He said, looking up in thought.
Hermes let out a humorless laugh. "Well, she certainly did what she wanted. I don't think Heidi is coming out for anything other than an emergency so bad that only she could handle. At this rate...I may be the one opening the gate for them when they decide to pack up and leave." He frowned at this and looked away.
Jupiter's expression became emotionless. "What they need to do is work out their differences face to face. This has gone on long enough. The longer it goes on, the worse it will get. Just like an untreated wound." He explained.
"What you are speaking of is impossible, and impossible problems can only be fixed by miracles and...Well, I don't know if there are any miracles left." Hermes said, closing his eyes. "They both are probably just waiting till the other is gone."
Jupiter looked up at the sky. "Probably." He folded his arms behind his back. "That's only because they don't realize the damage that they are doing." He looked back at Hermes. "Those two are like the yin and yang. They are complete opposites and have a hard time understanding each other. Once they get over "what they think happened" vs reality, they can begin to move forward." He said, looking back to the sky.
"As I said, a miracle is needed. It will take something extraordinary to make them talk to each other. Something...unexpected." Hermes replied, tilting his head in thought.
Jupiter regained his smirk, but this time, it's a knowing smirk. "What are you thinking about?" He looked at the other god.
"Ah, nothing. Just a little feeling I have. Something tells me that several rather unexpected things are going to happen soon." Hermes said with a chuckle.
Jupiter chuckled himself. "Now that's the Hermes I know! If you need any help, feel free to let me know. The kid is my concern so consider me an ally." He said with a smile.
"And Heidi is mine. I will let you know if I need anything." Hermes said, nodding while his mysterious smile seemed to double.
Jupiter nodded still holding his smile. "Now, I must be off. I promised that I would be down to meet the little Thunderbolt. Have fun with those miracles." He said, playfully.
Hermes chuckled. "Oh, I will be keeping an eye out for them."
That's when Jupiter shook his head as he chuckled. He, then waved and disappeared in a flash of lightning.
Hermes smirked and turned so he was looking at the ground. "Just a feeling." He said to himself, chuckling before going silent and resuming the lookout for his partner.