Chapter eighteen
For someone who was undoubtedly planning some nefarious scheme, Zelena looked oddly relaxed as she stared intently at her nails.
Like almost every other time he was in his sister's presence, Neal rolled his eyes while crossing the domed dining room which went largely unused.
Once he was sure he was close enough to be heard, he asked "where are the others?"
Zelena's eyes snapped up from her nails and she smirked as she replied, "nobody wanted to have dinner with Regina."
Poseidon shook his head and slipped into the seat next to his sister.
There was no point commenting upon the fact that there was no Olympian who would deny an invitation from Zeus.
If it was actually an option, he certainly wouldn't be here waiting to eat with his sister and her new wife.
"In that case, why am I here?" he asked.
"I thought that Emma White should have the chance to meet her wife's closest siblings, Neal," Zelena replied as if it should be obvious. As if it hadn't been two centuries since Regina had last seen them.
Neal just bit his lip and was about to reach over to grab the chalice set out on the table so that he could avoid having to ask further questions.
However, his attempt to get a drink was interrupted by the arrival of the guests of honour entering the hall hand-in-hand. The sight of his brunette sister smiling threw Neal slightly, but Zelena seemed unperturbed.
"Regina," Zelena announced and stood with a massive smile spread across her face. Unlike Emma, she was hardly trying to hide her excitement.
Regina's smil fell instantly at the sound of the red-head's voice.
Her hand slipped out of Emma's since she hardly thought that holding hands with her wife would exude the perception of power she was going for, which Emma seemed to understand judging by the lack of a frown on her face at being robbed of a chance of holding hands.
When Zelena became sure that Regina wouldn't be saying anything, she asked, "are you going to stand there for the rest of eternity?"
Emma watched as her wife's jaw clenched and decided to taking the first step in moving forward.
As much as she was in absolute awe of the fact that she was currently stood in a room with the three most powerful gods in existence, she was also acutely aware that one of them clearly needed some emotional support.
The princess began walking towards the unnecessarily long table, followed closely by Regina who took the cue to mean that she shouldn't stand there quietly staring at the siblings that she hadn't seen in so long.
"I was under the impression that there would be more present by now," Regina announced, not mentioning that this turn of events really threw off her plan to sit next to the least objectionable Olympian, perhaps deigning to spare Zelena a 'hello'.
"Unfortunately they were unable to make it, but that's no reason to delay," Zelena replied.
Regina really wanted to roll her eyes at the clear lie, but her attention was stolen by Emma slipping into the seat next to Neal.
Now, Emma sitting next to Zeus was absolutely the last thing she would have wanted, but herself sitting there instead was very much a close second.
However, it would be an insult to leave the seat next to Zeus empty as much as she would prefer to spend the meal next to Emma, so she dutifully took the seat she didn't want.
After all, this whole damn dinner was about duty when it came down to it.
Now that the two visitors had taken their places, Zelena sat back down on hers at the head at the table and she focused all of her attention on Regina as she said, "it has been far too long, sister."
Regina quite literally bit her tongue so that she didn't say 'not long enough' after a second, she said instead, "that is precisely why I was so surprised to return to a dinner invitation."
Zelena smirked and allowed her eyes to travel over to Emma.
The princess was currently inspecting the food that had been there upon their arrival, the blonde didn't seem like she would be opening her mouth to speak any time soon.
It flew in the face of what she had heard of the woman's bravery, but she supposed that she could understand a mortal being intimidated in this situation.
"There is no conspiracy here, Regina, I simply thought it was high time that your wife at least met some of your family members," Zelena replied, and then picked up her chalice to swallow some of the golden liquid within it.
Emma's eyes fell down to her own chalice.
The entire table had been set impeccably with every available inch of its surface covered in either food or the strange golden liquid that the blonde was more than curious about.
Zelena really had put in more effort than Emma thought she would have to keep up the perception that she had actually invited all of the other Olympians.
Finally, Emma decided that she could try the curious drink, which would have the added bonus of wetting her dry throat so that she could maybe actually try to contribute to the conversation.
However, as she moved her hand to pick it up, she felt herself prevented by a vice-like grip on her forearm that bordered on being painful.
Regina opened her mouth to protest the fact that her brother appeared to be hurting her wife, but no words came out of her mouth as he reached over to grab the chalice away from her and then dropped it. All the while, he didn't take his narrowed eyes off Zelena.
"Mortals cannot drink ambrosia, Zelena," he said through gritted teeth, seemingly having decided that there was no reason to have just said the warning directly to Emma.
Regina huffed and looked at her sister in a mix of exasperation and anger.
Zeus's face twisted in anger as well, at least for a split second, but she soon schooled her features and waved her hand so that a glass with red liquid appeared in front of Emma's plate.
"I sometimes forget how fragile humans are. I believe you may find that drink more to your liking…dear."
Emma was frozen for a second as she took in the fact that she was literally moments away from what she could assume was a very painful death.
However, she soon decided that there would be no use in dwelling on the apparent 'accident' and she tentatively picked up the wine and took a couple short swigs.
As she did so, Neal cleared his throat and Zelena rolled her eyes as she waved her hand again and Emma's food changed to soup to replace the nectar that has been there a moment ago.
Regina clutched the edge of the table.
She really wanted to attack Zelena.
Though Zeus looked similarly displeased.
No doubt she was planning to take her frustrations out on Neal for ruining what could have been a simple solution to her problems.
Emma placed her chalice down and shot Regina a look that said 'I'm fine' before she picked up a spoon so that she could begin what they were actually here for.
The three divines seemed to take the hint and each picked up their own eating utensils so that they could start on their nectar that Emma ached to try.
Regina felt warmth spread through her whole being as the substance hit her tongue.
It has been a long time since she'd had the chance to eat the food specifically made for the gods. No matter how good it was, it wasn't really worth making the trip to Olympus for. The chance of running into people was always far too high for her comfort.
The feeling certainly helped with the blinding rage she felt from being in Zelena's presence.
About ten minutes passed as the four of them ate in silence.
This wasn't exactly what Zelena had planned, but there was no natural way to bring up the subject that she wanted.
Originally, she had been sure that Neal would help her with this, but judging by the way he was adamantly refusing to make eye contact with any woman present, he had obviously disengaged.
Finally, Zelena just decided that she might as well get the ball rolling and asked, "are you enjoying living in the Underworld?"
Emma swallowed a mouthful of her soup and looked at Zelena with a little fear behind her eyes.
She obviously hadn't expected to be spoken to directly by either Neal or Zelena since it had become increasingly clear that neither god was particularly fond of having to talk to a mortal.
It was something she had noticed when she had first met Regina and she honestly understood why.
Emma couldn't even begin to comprehend how long these three gods had lived so she could see why they would disregard a 21-year-old princess at first.
Of course, things had changed when Regina had actually started making an effort to get to know her, which was something that she couldn't really see happening with either Zelena or Neal.
After her surprise induced fear passed, Emma replied, "the Underworld is beautiful."
Zelena grimaced and Neal frowned despite his attempts at indifference.
Even Regina looked up with raised eyebrows.
She could see Emma responding like that upon first coming to the Underworld since it was literally the first place she had seen other than the White Palace and its grounds.
Now though, she had seen Wonderland, Camelot…and Olympus, surely the enchantment she felt in the land of the dead had faded by now?
However, when she looked at her wife, she could see that she definitely believed in her words. She truly did love the place that so many mortals spend their lives afraid of.
"Should I assume that dull grey is your favourite colour?" Zelena asked.
"The Underworld may be dark, but it's far more interesting than anything I have seen in Olympus so far," Emma shot back before she could question where this courage came from, though she would later realise that she wouldn't have wanted to miss the chance to defend Hades no matter how afraid she was.
Regina would have been proud if she wasn't aware of some of the punishments that Zelena ordered in response to insubordination. She just hoped that she would show some restraint in this instance.
"I'm sure that the wandering spirits provide endless entertainment."
"Zelena," Neal hissed, but the goddess just held up her hand to her brother and looked at the princess expectantly.
"Asphodel is only part of the Underworld," Emma replied, "if Olympus is the pinnacle of existence, it's strange that Elysium is in the Underworld, don't you think?"
Zelena chuckled, though Regina wasn't sure whether she found the sound relieving or concerning.
"I see why you like her Regina, she has more confidence than any mortal I have ever met," Zelena said, "though, if memory serves, the tournament is the only thing of interest in Elysium. Honestly, what is the fun in the dead fighting to the death?"
"I will be competing in the next tournament," Emma announced as if it would somehow prove her sister-in-law wrong.
"How fascinating," Zeus replied, with a triumphant smile overtaking her face.
Emma was instantly unsettled by the sight and looked over to Regina for some assistance.
Regina just pushed her chair away from the table and stood.
She couldn't take anymore of this.
"I believe we should be going," Hades announced, not bothered by the fact that Zelena didn't seem to particularly care.
Emma, on the other hand, looked between the two Divines for any sign of objection but found none.
The blonde didn't have time to pretend to be grateful for the soup and wine before Regina had come around the table and the pair of them disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.
Once they were gone, Zelena leaned back in her chair and let out a contented sigh.
"Well that was a disaster," Neal said and threw his fork onto the table.
"On the contrary, dear brother," Zelena replied, "in spite of all of your 'help', I learned exactly what I needed to know."
"It helps you to know that Regina's bride truly loves the Underworld?" Poseidon asked with squinted eyes, deciding to ignore the possibility that he had royally pissed her off.
Zelena shook her head and clicked her fingers.
A moment later, a figure came zooming into the room looking a little flustered.
Thankfully, it seemed that Zelena was in far too good a mood to admonish him for taking too long to arrive (as she usually would).
"What can I do for you, your highness?" Hermes asked, with a pronounced, bordering on exaggerated, bow towards the red-head.
"I need you to inform Ares that I have a task for him," Zeus replied, Neal closed his eyes in frustration, but said nothing.
-Two weeks later-
"Focus princess," Dawn groaned.
Emma blinked and brought her hand up to her cheek that her step-daughter had managed to slice.
Blocking such an attack was something she had learned early in her training, so she could understand the brunette's frustration.
Training seemed to be all she had been doing with either Regina or Dawn since her return to Olympus.
It wasn't like her statement to Zelena that she would participate in the next tournament was some kind of binding contract, but she couldn't see herself backing out now.
For one, she didn't want Zelena to see her as the cowardly mortal and she also couldn't help but crave to have the tournament behind her at this point so that she could look towards the future.
Dawn watched the blonde stare at the little blood on her hand for a moment until she dropped her stance and threw her blade to the ground.
"Perhaps a break is in order?" Dawn asked and Emma's eyes shot up from her finger as she realised that her tired mind registered that she had been staring too long.
She was about to apologise and take a fighting stance so that she could continue sparring, but felt a twinge in her arms when she tried to raise them.
"Well it couldn't hurt to take some time to…regroup," Emma said, with a distinct smile tugging at the corner of her lips as she sheathed Durendal.
Dawn laughed at the princess's smile and said, "sweet dreams, princess."
"I'll see you later," Emma replied and all but ran from the courtyard and towards the palace.
The demi-goddess rolled her shoulders which also twinged in slight pain from the hours of training.
Her original plan for the day was to spar for a while longer, so she wasn't quite sure what to do with erself.
She hadn't returned to the Enchanted Forest since the day with Graham and she hadn't felt particularly inclined to.
Finally, Dawn decided that she would go and find Graham and spend Emma's nap time with him.
It would give her more chance to try and discern exactly what her feelings for him meant.
She pulled the blade out of the ground by the hilt so that she could go and return it to the armoury before she went to find Graham.
However, the sound of crunching ground behind her made the young woman whip around and point the tip of the blade at the source.
The unfamiliar man held up his hands in surrender with no hesitation, though his neutral expression he was not particularly afraid of the young immortal.
He raised his hand to effortlessly push the sword away from his face and he murmured, "you truly are the spitting image of your mother."
Dawn wanted to raise the sword back up to his face, but there appeared to be no point since he clearly was not afraid of her. She instead relaxed her arm and allowed the sword to fall back down to the ground.
"Who are you?" she asked, hoping that she sounded somewhat intimidating.
"My name is Neal, but you perhaps know me better as Poseidon," he replied, making no attempts to shake her hand.
Dawn's jaw tightened.
Before her mother's marriage, the only other god she had met was Hecate and now in the space of two weeks, she had met her aunt and her uncle. She could only assume that it had nothing to do with being their niece and everything to do with Emma.
"Should I assume that Zelena has grown tired of delivering her own messages?" Dawn asked.
"You should assume that Zelena has lost her mind," Neal replied, resisting the urge to retaliate at the young woman's insinuation.
He was here to help Regina and striking down her snarky little daughter wouldn't exactly help in that pursuit.
Dawn narrowed her eyes at him.
Zelena certainly gave an air of always being up to something, but thinking she was mad seemed like a little much.
"She has plans of killing the only person who threatens her positions."
"Are you talking about Emma?" she asked, knowing full well that he was.
It seemed a stretch to think that Regina's 'new Persephone' would be capable of toppling centuries of tradition but the look on his face told another story.
"Zelena has been made aware that Emma White will be participating in the Elysium tournament. Lets just say that no matter how much the princess has trained, she cannot be prepared for a fight against Ares."
Dawn was about to ask the god to elaborate but her attempt was interrupted by a pair of footsteps which somehow sounded angry.
"What the hell is going on?" Regina called once she was close enough to be heard.
Neal brought his bottom lips into his mouth so that he didn't visibly clench his fist.
Talking to Regina hadn't been part of his plan since she was far less likely to listen to him than Dawn was.
"I had some spare time," Neal replied, "I thought I might as well at last meet my niece in person.."
Regina looked over her daughter, which served the dual purpose of making sure that there were no physical marks on her and to see whether she could discern if he was telling the truth.
Dawn nodded and said, "he was simply introducing himself when you arrived, mother."
As much as she hated to lie to her mother, she could only assume that the god of the sea had his reasons for not coming to Regina with this news.
He obviously had more experience with Olympian strife than she had, and considering the cataclysmic possibilities of such strife, Dawn figured she could give herself some time to figure it all out before she told her mother why he was really here.
"Meeting your wife made me realise that I have been neglectful in my…familial obligations to you, sister," Neal added.
Dawn couldn't help but think that he didn't sound particularly sincere. Was it physically impossible for Regina's siblings to be nice to her?
Regina really did not believe him in the slightest, but she also couldn't think what he could be planning.
"It is common courtesy to at least speak with the ruler of a domain before assuming you may freely roam," Regina said steely, not trying to hide the fact that she was moving to stand in front of her daughter.
"I will keep that in mind," Neal shot back, deciding that it would be unproductive to say that he would rather minimise his time in the Underworld.
They may never be as close as they could have been if Regina had become Zeus, but that didn't mean he had to taunt his sister in the same way that the woman he believed to be the true Zeus did.
"I suppose on that note I must be going," Poseidon announced with no further pretense as he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
The moment he was gone, Regina turned back to her daughter, doing a quick check over her.
"I'm fine," Dawn said, not mentioning that she was an adult since she was sure that wouldn't help her mother's mood.
"Am I supposed to believe he was only here to meet you?" Regina asked.
"If he had another motive, he did not mention it," Dawn lied, already anxious to go and discuss this with Graham to see what he thought.
Hades narrowed her eyes as she tried to decide whether she was being lied to, but she eventually just said, "very well."
Dawn smiled, hoping it didn't look too strained as she hooked her arm through the older woman's and began leading them towards the palace.
"I have been thinking," Dawn said, "I believe the princess could use a break from all this training, so perhaps you could begin your courtship plans early?"