Chapter 6

Mt. Olympus

Exquisite robes, shining lights, wine and delicious food, in one word luxury. Luxurious was the way to describe any party that took place on Mt. Olympus. Gods and Goddess from all lands were gathering landing their chariots on the cloud-road. There was no actual land, as humans might say, in this place. You had to reach above clouds in order to meet the Sky Land itself. From a far far away angle, it seemed that the entire domain of Zeus was standing on the very peak of the mountain. The main entrance was guarded by two marble lions and two enormous eagles.. They were a gift from Hades to his brother, made from the finest white marble of the Underworld. Their role was to detect danger in case enemies were approaching. Fortunately, it was never necessary. After the main entrance there was an impressive number of columns that supported the palace of Zeus. Because of Hera's wish the place was quite alive, having plants and animals almost everywhere. The night sky and the stars were surrounding everything making the white palace the main jewel of the party.

But somewhere, in the dark, a small chariot was approaching. With two Gods laughing.

'Hermes! Are you sure you know how to handle this thing?'

'Of co-course! I normally use my sandal wings, but how hard can it be to ride a chariot?' Hermes was smiling.

'WHAT?! Do you have any idea how to land?'

'We'll see...' he winked

When reaching the main entrance all of the chariots slowed down and had a sort of a dignified pace. The same thing cannot be said about Hermes and Persephone.

'WATCH OUT!' the spring goddess screamed.

There was a group of nymphs gossiping on the stairs that was not very pleased by the sudden change of events. They were running in every direction trying to avoid the chariot approaching at an impressive speed.

The inevitable was about to happen as they were about to smash on the stairs when everything stopped. They stopped in mid air.

'Nephew…Again?' an irritated female voice was approaching

'Aunt Hestia! Such a pleasure to see you!'

She lowered her hand and with it the chariot was slowly reaching the ground. She reached them and looked at both carefully.

'Persephone? It's been a while my dear, how are you? And what on earth are you doing with him?' Hestia was throwing Hermes a questionable look.

'Hi, aunt Hestia! I was invited to the party and Hermes offered to escort me here.' Persephone was putting on her best smile

'I see…and your mother agreed to this? You on Mt. Olympus on your own?' Hestia was skeptical.

'I am here so I think we both know the answer.'

'Hm… Demeter surprises me every time. Come, let's get you inside' Hestia was smiling. She always tried to explain to her sister that Olympus was not such a bad place and now it seemed that her words truly reached her.

The three of them went to the main hall. It was beautiful. Music was everywhere, food was on every table and joy in every soul. Hestia was proud, the feast was a success so far.

'Ok children, from here we will part ways. I have to make sure everything goes well in the kitchen. I saw Ares going in and I hope he doesn't eat the entire dessert like the last time. Have fun, but not too much fun!' Hestia was looking at Hermes

'Who, us?! Never auntie! I would never…' Hermes was interrupted

'Yes yes, I know' Hestia replied as she was leaving.

The two of them were left alone at the entrance of the main hall.

'So, Sephy, ready to party?'

'Well…After we almost crashed because of your amazing skills…' Seph was smiling

'Heyyyy! We are safe now! My plan worked!'

Persephone was removing her dark robe that she used to hide from the nymphs, revealing a simple dark green dress that was hugging her figure. She let her hair loose on her back and her green eyes were enhanced by the cat eye makeup. She was simple yet glamourous.

'Oh my, Sephy! You have some serious plans for tonight. Who is the lucky God?' Hermes was scanning the room.

'No one. I just had this dress for a while and since I am already as good as punished why not make it count?'

They were laughing as they joined the others. The problem was that the others were already a bit drunk. Persephone was not a fan of wine nectar but she decided to give it another try tonight. Maybe she would forget about her duties, her mother and her rules, and most importantly about the voices that seemed to be calling her from beneath more frequently lately. After her first sip she took Hermes hand and headed towards the dance floor. She learned to dance from the nymphs and her moves seemed to attract the eyes of Gods and Goddesses alike. 'Who is she?' 'wow, she really grew up nicely' 'prettier than Aphrodite if you ask me' could be heard from each side of the room. Hermes noticed this and dragged Persephone from her party state.

'Seph, you don't have to be the heart of the party tonight. We don't want your mother to know you were here, remember?'

'Oh, shoot! I forgot! I guess that wine works up fast' she had a smile on her face.

'You had wine?! No, no, nooo! Ares spiked the wine! That is why Hestia was checking him! Drinking one is is equal to three bottles!' Hermes looked scared 'You know what, we better leave. I just have to talk to Hestia before.'

He got her out of the main hall and got her into the relics room. It was a place that nobody visited. There were paintings of the war and gifts from the mortals, mainly statues and art pieces.

'Here, stay here until I come back! Do not move, hear me? I will be back soon' Hermes was trying to make sure she understood him.

'Y-y-yep! Got it Herm-he-hermles!'she tried to straighten her posture but the result was a funny looking drunk goddess.

'Oh my…I am soo dead!'

Hermes left and she was alone in that room. She started to look around but everything was dizzy. And then…she heard a voice 'Persephone…Persephone…come to me child…' she looked but there was no one around 'Persephone…' she reached the end of the room. It was the darkest place. There was something covered by a wrapper. She clumsily took that away and she found something questionable to be there: a throne. It was huge and it was made by black diamond. She never saw something like that before. There was an inscription but she couldn't see it clearly 'Persephone…sit!' the voice was demanding. She wasn't scared of the voice anymore, she was curious. The wine could be blamed for that. She ran her fingers on the surface and sat on it (collapsed would be a much better word for her state). After that everything went blank.

And as I promised there will be an update each Sunday! Enjoy and stay away from wine nectar :)