A/N: I want to point out that there will be several Greek myths I've twisted and tweaked to fit into this. And things might not be as from any stories you might have read of the Greek Gods.
Thanks to Hookedonapirate for the beta read on this longer chapter.
Chapter 16: RuebenThe group of friends walked into what might have looked like a green meadow had they been above water. In Atlantis, there was a strange bluish hue over everything, even the plants and flowers. Some seemed to be brighter and could have been a different color.
Rueben scanned the open area in front of them. The meadow spread down toward a glorious city with intricately designed buildings, some of which seemed to defy the laws of gravity, pillars and spiralling staircases wrapping around the walls. He looked up and saw nothing but endless blue; it was quite disturbing to think they were under water. Glancing at his friends, he could see they had similar thoughts.
Rueben reached for Hope's hand, tugged her closer and looked at her with a weak smile. Her eyes were huge and flickering all over the place, taking in the splendor of the city they now walked toward.
Once they reached the edge of the city, they met other Atlantians, who all stared openly at the new arrivals. A rush of excitement shifted through the crowd as they walked down the street.
Their host, Sinbad, showed them to a large building close to an open square. Before he opened the door, he called a small boy over and said, "Go find Lexi and let him know I need a word with him as soon as he can be here."
The young boy nodded vigorously and scampered off in a run.
"Come, my friends. Come meet my wife," Sinbad said and opened the door. With a flourish, he stepped in first and called out, "Beloved, I've brought visitors."
A female voice called back, "Oh, how lovely. Is it—" Her words trailed off when she saw the group gathered in her grand hallway. "Oh..."
Sinbad walked over, took her hands in his and kissed her on the cheek. "They are from above and are here to help us." He nodded toward them and pointed at Hope. "The girl is the hope we've been waiting for."
Hope gasped at this and tightened her grip on Rueben's hand; he knew this had to be very disconcerting for her to be under such scrutiny. He wrapped his arm around Hope, letting her know he was there with her.
Sinbad pulled his wife closer and introduced her. "Friends, this is my wife, Najia. Najia, these are my new friends." His eyes widened. "Oh my, I have not asked for your names. I'm so sorry."
Hope stepped forward and introduced each of her friends. Then she pointed to herself and said, "And my name is Hope."
Rueben grinned when both Sinbad and Najia looked at her in shock. He explained, "Yeah, the irony of her parents having named her Hope has not escaped us. Not since we heard of the prophecy."
"I'm sure it was meant to be," Najia said and walked over to greet them all. She ended with Hope and took her hand. "I'm so happy to meet you, Hope, I really do hope you and your friends will feel at home here."
"Thank you," Hope said and shook the woman's hand. "It's been a bit of a strange journey, and quite honestly, I hadn't expected us to end up in Atlantis. I mean, we all thought the city was a long lost myth."
"I know," Najia smiled, "but we're here, and if you're the one who can help us, then we will greatly appreciate your help, along with your friends." Najia took a look at the group and added, "I have a feeling they will all play a vital part in this quest to save Atlantis."
Rueben felt his skin prickle in anticipation of what laid ahead for their next part of this adventure. He gave their hosts a smile, hoping to prove they would be on their side in this.
Najia then offered to join them for a meal, and later she showed them where they could sleep. Each couple had their own room and the luxury of the furniture showed that Sinbad and his wife seemed to be doing quite alright. Rueben had no idea how things worked here in Atlantis, but it did seem as if things were holding together and there was some sort of order to the city. They met up with Sinbad in their living room where another man had joined them.
"This is Lexi, General of Atlantis' army," Sinbad introduced. "He and I will bring you up to speed on what has been going on down here."
They told the story about how Atlantis had managed to survive underwater when Poseidon created a dome over the entire city and Gaia's golden apple tree. These apples held the power over eternal life, and the Atlantians had survived only because the apple tree was still getting water from an underground freshwater creek. The apples helped the Atlantians survive underwater, and given there was no sunlight, the apples gave them the much needed extra energy to live under the dome.
"How often do you encounter attacks from the Sirens?" Rueben asked once they finished speaking.
"It varies, depending on how hard we hit them back last time." Lexi shook his head. "They seem to be getting stronger, they might even have a secret energy source we know nothing about." The large guard looked at the group of friends. "I'm sorry we've thrown you all into this war we have with the Sirens. By all means, you could just leave and not care how all of this ends." His eyes search each of their faces as if wanting to see how committed they would be.
"I don't run from fate, or whatever led me here," Hope stated firmly, even if the slight tremble of her hand in Rueben's might show how scared she truly was. Rueben squeezed her hand, and when she looked at him, he said, "I'm here with you."
"So are we," William said, and all of their friends nodded in agreement.
"Thank you," Hope whispered. When she tucked herself closer to Rueben, he wrapped his arm around her, holding her close.
Lexi left with a parting word. "I'll come tomorrow, we will show you more of our great city and we'll go to the palace and have words with Poseidon."
The friends mumbled their thanks, and Rueben imagined they all thought how strange it would be meeting the god Poseidon. It was rather mind blowing trying to phantom what they would be doing the next few days.
—-
As Rueben and Hope lay in the large, soft bed in the room Najia had given them, his mind was tired and still trying to absorb everything that had happened that day. His fingers were idly shifting through Hope's hair, her head resting on his chest. Her breath was even, but he could feel how tense her body was against him. He rubbed her shoulder and whispered, "Are you sure you're okay with us being here?"
It took a few seconds for her to speak.. "Mmhmm, I kinda know this is where I'm supposed to be." She shrugged. "I don't know how, it just feels right, even if the thought of fighting sirens is a bit daunting. And for a city we all thought to be lost." She lifted her head and looked at him. "That might be the craziest thing of all this."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, the whole why are we doing this?" She bit down on her lip. "Isn't it strange that we ended up here in a lost city. Why?"
"We have no idea what the outcome will be or if the Atlanteans will win this war," Rueben pondered. "I mean, will the city still be under water, or rise above? If it does, it means they could end up being part of the known realms." Letting his fingers shift through his hair he added, "That might end up changing quite a bit in the known realms—your great grandmother's United Realms."
"Yeah." Hope looked down and let her fingers draw circles over his chest and shoulders.
He felt a shiver run down his spine at her touch. When she looked up again, he spotted the knowing smirk forming over her lips. Waiting for her next move, he tugged his arm behind his neck, while the other kept sliding up and down her spine.
"Could you talk with the guys tomorrow?" Hope asked. When he raised his eyebrows, she added, "I mean, just to figure out where they're at in all of this. Sure, they said they're in, but how do they really feel about all of this?"
"I'll ask them."
She splayed her hand over his heart, "I will talk with Rose and Gloria too."
He lifted his head and gave her a tiny kiss. "I love how perceptive and caring you are with the people around you."
"Hmm, thanks." She shifted forward and captured his lips in a kiss that spoke more than words— words of love and compassion, and promises of a future together.
Rueben let her decide how the kiss would progress; he knew they were both tired, so he didn't assume she was looking for more than his care and comfort. But when she slid her leg over his hips and straddled him, he spotted a very familiar glint of mischief in her eyes.
Rueben moved both his hands to her hips and shifted beneath her, and she leaned over and kissed him. She obviously didn't care they were in a new place—Atlantis of all the places in all the realms. They moved together in passion and shared love. What happened tomorrow would be for tomorrow to worry about. Right now he indulged in the sweetness of his girlfriend.
—-
The next morning, both Hope and Rueben talked with their friends, making sure everyone was on board with the quest they were suddenly a part of. Everyone was fully aware of how dangerous it could be, but all agreed it was needed so Atlantis might rise to its former glory once again.
Later Lexi returned and they all took a grand tour of the city. Everyone marveled at how it was built, how each building had its own unique design, yet things seemed to melt seamlessly together. Several people on the street stopped them and asked who they were; it was clear that strangers were a thing of the past. They learned that Sinbad had been the first outsider to come to Atlantis for several hundred centuries.
Walking to a fenced off garden, Lexi paused and picked out a key, unlocking the gate. "This is where we have the apple tree growing."
The group walked into a marvelous garden; it was still quite strange to see all plants and brushery in the blue hue. Rueben couldn't help but reach out to the nature around him, he could feel the old grief of the lost sun. But magic kept the plants alive, thus making it possible for the citizens of Atlantis to feed off the land. Lexi had explained that they also kept livestock of goats, chickens and sheep outside of the city. With all this it was quite enough to feed the population of approximately 500.
At the very center of the garden stood a large tree, and as they got closer, they could see the bright apples hanging on the branches. Rueben felt a burst of magic shifting over him as he approached the tree. Placing his hand on the tree he was surprised how much the tree responded to his touch.
When he turned to his friends, Lexi and Sinbad looked at him curiously. Rueben rubbed his neck and shrugged, "I have some magic connection with nature." He wasn't one to boast about his powers, and when Hope stepped up to his side, he was glad she was there with him.
"So you can talk with nature? Animals?" Sinbad asked.
"More like feeling the emotion or stress of the plants around me." Rueben shifted on his feet and looked at Hope.
"He does have the ability to wield nature to help him, but never to destroy or kill." Hope explained. Rueben gave her a thankful smile.
"That is an amazing ability to have." Lexi said, "you could maybe help out here in the garden, making sure the gardeners are doing things right for our precious crops here."
"Oh, have you experienced some failures in the past?" Rueben asked, looking around the blooming garden around them.
"It started a few years back, some crops didn't yield as much as they usually did." Lexi pointed to the tree, "and this year we have a decrease in apples. We're not worried, not yet anyway."
While they talked, two women came toward them, both appearing to be in fairly good shape as if hard work was part of their everyday life.
"Ah Demeter and Chloe, you're just in time to meet our new friends," Lexi exclaimed and walked over to them. The two women looked at them curiously, the blond woman stepping up to them first.
"I'm Demeter. I tend to the pastures and fields outside the city." She shook hands with them all, only stopping for a few more seconds when she greeted Rueben. Her eyes searched his face as if she saw something inside of him.
He felt Hope shift nervously on her feet next to him and placed a reassuring arm around her shoulders. Demeter smiled knowingly then stepped back and let them greet Chloe.
"I'm Chloe. I take care of the gardens here." When she too stopped at Rueben, he felt Hope's shoulders tense under his arm, then Chloe said, "We could use some help around here in these troubled times." She nodded toward Rueben, her dark brown hair falling over her shoulders. "I can sense you have a connection to nature?"
"Mnhmm, I do," Rueben said and rubbed his neck. It was pretty daunting to speak to people who could be gods. If his Greek mythology lessons were true, the blond woman, Demeter, was the sister of Poseidon. "I could help out here while we're here." Both women seemed pleased at this.
The group walked up to the palace located in the center of the city. Rueben could feel the mixed emotions shift through himself and his friends; they would meet Poseidon—ruler of the waters, and Atlantis.
When the guards saw Lexi, they saluted and let them pass. The palace was a marvel of architecture, turrets, archways and towers all in white marble, with black shiny roofs.
They entered the great hall, and everyone held their breaths when they spotted Poseidon sitting on his throne. He was an imposing man, his chest broad, his hair white, yet he didn't seem to be any older than his parents.
Lexi took a step toward the dais and bowed low to the floor. "Our ruler, King of the open waters, saviour of Atlantis, I have brought the visitors from above you were notified about yesterday."
Poseidon leaned forward and scanned the group in front of him, a smile forming over his stoney face. "I see, and they come with hope I hear? That is indeed good news." He bowed his head in a small greeting.
Everyone either curtsied or bowed in a respectful greeting. Rueben glanced to the side and could see that no one really knew what to say. They had no idea what the king expected of them.
Lexi took the lead and explained how they'd come to the gates of Atlantis, met Sinbad and how he knew Hope was part of the prophecy that had been spoken so long ago.
When Lexi spoke of Hope, Rueben slipped his hand into hers letting her know he was right there with her. She smiled her thanks and took a deep breath as they listened to what Lexi was telling his king.
Poseidon drummed his fingers on the armrest of his throne, as if he was contemplating his next move. His booming voice shattered the silence. "I want to know now, before we move along—are you all in this with your whole heart and soul? Fighting sirens is not for the weak." His eyes shifted over the group, inspecting them individually. Rueben could see that Gloria shifted closer to Damien. Her quiet nature was not used to the scrutiny of others. When the king's eyes again moved over them, Gloria seemed to stand up a little taller, pulling her shoulders back and giving a firm nod of her head.
Hope stepped forward, her eyes bright in the flickering blue light from the tapers lining the walls. Rueben felt his heart fill with pride over how brave she was; they came here by accident, yet she'd taken her fate in her own hands and followed her own sense of what was the right thing to do.
"We're all here on our own accord." She glanced back at her friends, then her focus returned to Poseidon. "We might've come here by accident, but I know in my heart I'm here for a reason, and I believe the same goes for my friends. Each of them hold their own special powers, some might not be magic, but as a whole we will work together. We will help you and your people fight off the sirens so they'll fail in whatever vile thing they come up with next." Hope took a deep breath and kept silent, clearly waiting for the king to respond.
"You are a brave girl." Poseidon nodded and pursed his lips in thought. "We will see that you each get even more training in whatever weapon you can wield now."
"Thank you."
"One last thing before you leave," Poseidon said, holding up his hand, "I must know the full wording of the prophecy you were told."
"When Morpho and Stella Octo combine the powers of hope, a city forgotten will conquer the darkness of the deep blue. What once was hidden will again see the light of day," Hope recited. Rueben knew she'd examined every word and their possible meanings in the past few months.
"Peculiar," Poseidon said and tapped his chin. "Those are the exact words that were spoken by our cleric a very long time ago."
Rueben could see the surprised look on Hope's face. When her fingers instinctively reached for the pendant hanging under her shirt, her magic pulsed from them.
Poseidon gasped in shock. "I knew you wield magic, girl, but what is going on?" He pointed at her hand that was now clasping the pendant.
Hope looked down then pulled the pendant out. "I got this for my birthday. It's reacting to my magic, or my magic is reacting to the pendant." Hope shrugged. "I'm not sure what it means, only that it might be related to the prophecy. This is a butterfly, and that is a symbol of hope. It's called Morpho in latin," Hope tried to explain in a rush.
"So how did you come to get this pendant?"
"I…" Hope looked back at Rueben, she smiled in gratitude when he chose to step up next to her.
"I gave it to her, your majesty." Rueben bowed his head in respect and took a deep breath. "I found it in an old trinket shop. The man selling it had no idea how it had gotten there."
"Let me see?" Poseidon suddenly rose from his seat and strode down to them; even Rueben and William had to look up when the king stood in front of them.
Hope looked so small next to the imposing man, but her eyes didn't waver one single time. She lifted the pendant, letting it rest in the palm of her hand.
When Poseidon lifted his hand and touched the turquoise stone in the center, it shifted in color under his finger. "I feel the power of the pendant," he mused and tapped the stone a final time. "We only need the other half, the other symbol of hope."
"The eight-pointed star?" Hope guessed.
"Yes, exactly that." Poseidon returned to his throne, then added with a sigh, "We've been searching every crevice and hole in this place, even venturing outside the gates of Atlantis. Some brave men never returned from these missions." His hand clasped the armrest hard, his obvious distress over the missing pendant very evident.
"It must be found, and we will help look," Hope said firmly.
"I thank you."
After a few more words with the ruler of Atalantis, it was all made clear that Reuben would return to the gardens with the golden apples, along with Rose and Gloria. They both agreed they wanted to help there, as opposed to being on the lookout for the missing pendant. In between searching and garden work they would all engage in even more fight training, preparing them for whatever great battle that would come.
The next several days, they all formed a routine with both work and training. Rueben enjoyed the work in the garden, happy to have Gloria and Rose there as well. It was still daunting to work alongside the goddesses taking care of the land and garden. There were several areas of the garden that had needed some tending to. It was clear that even if Atlantis was a striving city, things had been a struggle for some time now. He promised to use his powers to clear out a secluded corner of the garden. While working with his magic to remove the overgrown area from erant vines and brushery, he suddenly spotted some very familiar symbols on some carved out stones. Symbols of the four elements were placed in a square.
As he worked on clearing the area, he could see it had been a fairly large open space, with some sort of low pillar in the middle. It looked like an altar of sorts. He used his shirtsleeves to wipe down the top, and when he removed his arm, he gasped in shock. At the center of the stone were the symbols of hope, the butterfly and the eight-pointed star. When he felt a crackle of magic shiver down his spine, he glanced around him, making sure he was all alone. This had to be important; he had to find out what this place was. It looked like it could have been used for some sort of ceremonial ritual.
He knew his friends had been working with Chloe and Demeter closer to the golden apple tree. Rushing to find them, he began jogging toward the tree. Finally, he spotted them working on fixing a garden bench near the apple tree.
"Hey, guys, you're not going to believe what I found—"
A giant blast of magic rushed toward them, knocking them all over. Rueben quickly jumped to his feet, trying to figure out what had happened. What he saw made his stomach drop and his blood pump through his veins. A large group of sirens were charging toward them, screaming, their winged arms holding swords, spears and other weapons. It was clearly not a social call, and he could see that both Demeter and Chloe had pulled out their weapons. He reached behind him and pulled out his own sword. Rose had already made the first arrow ready at her bow.
"Gloria, stay close to me," Rueben said, knowing Gloria was the least practiced in using a sword.
She'd picked up a smaller cutlass that Sinbad had given her, knowing she'd practiced far more than the others, determined to be able to defend herself.
They had very little time to prepare themselves for the battle; it was head first into the fight. The sirens were ruthless, and Rueben was trying to figure out what their aim was at this place.
Finally, while still fighting off a siren with his sword, he saw a small group head toward the apple tree.
Of course, the golden apples!
The sirens would likely want to make sure the Atlantians didn't have any more of their precious apples. Making a valid attempt to fight off the siren going at him, he swung his sword and aimed for the creature's sword-arm and striked it hard. The cut was deep enough to make the siren crumple to the ground in pain. Not looking back, he slipped in between his fighting friends and aimed his pace toward the small group heading to the tree.
"Get the fuck away from that tree," he bellowed and cut the closest siren to the ground. Her comrades whirled around and screeched at him, their teeth bared in anger.
While fighting off two more sirens, the last two of the group moved closer to the tree: their backs were to him, so he had no idea what they were doing. Suddenly, a bright light flared up between them, and in horror, he saw one of them holding a flaming torch aimed at the tree. The other was muttering what he could only assume was incantations, because a second later, the flames licked higher and reached the lowest branches of the tree. Rueben kicked one of his attackers in her knee, making her buckle over in pain, then he sliced the other across her chest, and she slumped to the ground.
Moving to the other side of the tree, he was trying to come up with a plan to save it. He knew the apples were vital for the Atlantian's survival. A low branch was in his path, and he spotted a golden apple within reach. On a whim, he plucked the fruit off and stuffed it in his pocket. The tree shivered beside him, and he sensed the emotions of fear and anger wash over him. Reaching out to touch the tree, he was attacked full force by the chaotic emotions from the tree. It knew its time was near, and Rueben felt the apple burn in his pocket. Suddenly, his connection to the tree was cut away when a siren had aimed her weapon at him, slicing through his shirt, making a deep cut in his arm. He cried out in pain but whirled around to find himself face to face with a sneering siren. Her eyes were dark red and filled with hatred and a thirst for blood— his blood.
Rueben stumbled back, away from the tree and focused on his attacker, her strikes against him making it impossible for him to get closer to the tree again. In short glimpses, he watched in horror as the large, proud tree was engulfed in tall, licking flames. Suddenly a loud war cry was heard from a siren, and all sirens retreated their advances and moved as a group away from the burning tree.
The pain in his arm was excruciating, and he could feel the blood drip down his arm. He clasped his free hand over the wound and realized he needed help. Suddenly, he was surrounded by Demeter and Chloe; they helped him to the ground, and in a daze, he saw Gloria fall to her knees next to him. Her eyes were wide and frantic, but he could see that her mind was working on how she could help him. She picked something out of her medic bag and began tending to his wound. The pain shooting up his arm burned through his veins.
He groaned as she worked on his arm, while mumbling, "Hope should have been here; she would be able to close this with her magic. I'm sorry."
Rose was crouched down next to them, assisting Gloria.
"Hey you're doing a good job here," Rueben managed to say between grunts of pain. He scanned the area around them, the smell of burning wood penetrating his nostrils. When his eyes landed on the spot where the proud apple tree once stood, nothing was left but a large pile of ashes. Whatever fire the sirens had used, it had to have been magic somehow.
"How are you feeling?" Demeter asked, pacing in front of the pile of ashes. Her eyes searched him as if she was trying to look into his very soul.
Rueben gulped down. "I'm okay. Where's Chloe?"
"She is locating the others. We need to make sure everyone is okay."
"Good." Rueben rubbed his face with his free hand. He nodded toward the ruin of the tree. "How could they burn the tree like that? I imagine that whatever they torched it with had to be magic."
"I gathered as much," Demeter said, frowning down at the pile that was once a spectacular tree. She stepped forward and kicked some pottery over the hard soil. Bending down, she inspected the piece in her hand.
"What is it?" Rose asked, now sitting on the bench they'd just fixed before the attack. She looked like hell, her wild, dark brown hair hanging loose around her shoulders, her clothes ripped in several places.
When Demeter walked over to them, Rueben sat up a little straighter, eager to see what she'd found.
"This is some magic pottery. It can contain flames and not just any sort of flames." She paused and pursed her lips in a thin line. She tapped the pottery with her finger. "This would be able to hold something as powerful as phoenix fire."
"What?" Rueben tried to get up on his own accord. Both Rose and Gloria rushed to his side and aided him. He was feeling a little wobbly on his feet but managed to slump down on the bench. "You mean, the sirens got a hold of phoenix fire?"
"Yes, and that is a dangerous quest to obtain such a magical flame." Demeter glanced back at the apple tree and sighed. "I imagine they had planned this for a very long time."
Rueben knew that without the tree, the Atlantians would be doomed. Suddenly, he remembered the apple he'd plucked from the tree.
"Rueben!" Hope's voice ripped through the air, and when he whipped his head around, he saw his girlfriend running toward him at a frantic pace. Once she was close she began crying, "Oh Rue, when Chloe came to us and told us about the attack, and that you'd been hurt—" Her eyes scanned his body, and when she saw the bandage around his upper arm, her face paled.
"I'm fine, Hope." He reached his uninjured arm toward her, begging her to join him on the bench. She slumped down next to him, her body curling up to his, wrapping her arms tightly around his middle. A small sniff came from her as she rubbed her face in his dirty shirt. Rueben shifted his hand through her disheveled hair, trying to sooth her raging emotions. "I'm fine," he repeated and placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head.
"Bloody hell, those sirens are ruthless; they came at us too," Damien said from his position next to William. His old team captain wore a grim expression; they all seemed to realize how serious this adventure had turned out to be.
"Yeah, but we're all safe," Rueben said slowly. "I mean we are one magical apple tree down; the only thing left is this apple I managed to snatch before they burned it down."
"Fuck," William grumbled and gazed over at the pile of ashes. "How can one apple help us now?"
"I think I can help it along." Rueben shrugged and looked at Demeter. "Would it be feasible to use the seeds of this apple to grow a new tree?"
"It certainly could, but it takes time to grow a tree. We don't have time," Demeter said glumly. She looked over at Chloe, but her friend only shook her head, as if she agreed to the impossibility of this whole situation.
"I can grow things!" Rueben stated firmly, suddenly feeling a rush of his magic wash over him; he knew he could do this. Only, when he tried to stand up, his head spun and he stumbled over. William and Damien managed to get him placed back on the bench.
"Woah there, buddy," William admonished. "Might need to wait until your body has healed up."
"Let me see," Hope interjected, peeling away the bandage; blood seeped down his arm and she winced. "This is bad."
"I did all I could," Gloria tried to explain, her hands wringing in front of her.
Hope smiled up at her friend. "You did so great. You cleaned the wound right away, so it will heal easily with my magic. Thank you." The two friends shared a short moment together, and Rueben could feel how close Hope was with her friends. "Okay, let me do this." Hope hovered her hand over his wound.
The usual blue magic shimmered over her hand and wrapped around his arm, a warm sensation washing over his wounded arm. It didn't take long before the wound closed up, and the only evidence of his injury was his bloodied clothes.
"Thanks." Rueben leaned over and kissed Hope, not really caring they had a whole audience around them. When someone cleared their throat, he pulled back and grinned at the blush that had spread over Hope's cheeks.
When Rueben rose from his seat and his body seemed to be okay standing up again, he walked carefully toward the pile of ashes. He slumped down next to it and placed the apple on the ground beside him, then he dug a hole in the pile, trying to dig down deep enough so the seeds could take root. Suddenly, his nails scraped over something hard, it didn't feel like a stone. Holding his breath, he watched as his hands uncovered a round, dark silver pendant. Picking it up, he flipped it over and stared at the eight-pointed star carefully crafted into the pendant. At its center was a blue turquoise stone, much similar to the stone in Hope's butterfly pendant.
A/N: Demeter IS sister to Poseidon, just choosing to ignore the kids/horses they had together!?
Chloe is not a God persay, but her name does mean "blooming" or "fertility" in Greek.
Lexi is a greek name that means "defender of man"
As you can see I try hard to find names that fit the character, that is the fun part of making up characters.