Diana lingered with Stark, Arthur, and her mother as they emerged from the cellar and Steve led Bucky back to the feast.
"You think just finding the words will be enough?" Arthur asked.
"I don't know." Diana fingered the lasso at her side again. "I want to think so, but I don't know."
"I'll find the best therapists - for PTSD, memory issues, all of it," Stark said. "Dad never gave up looking for Rogers, and he wouldn't have given up looking for Barnes, either, if he'd thought there was a chance Barnes survived."
"Let me know if there's anything I can do to help," Arthur said. "Even if it's just offering him a quiet place to stay where no one will bother him."
"He's a decorated war hero," Stark said, "returned from the dead. Is there such a place?"
"My dad'd take him in," Arthur replied. "Might ask him for all kinds of war stories, but otherwise, no pressure."
"Arthur," Diana began, "you've already done so much. We can't ask you to do any more."
"You're not asking, Princess," Arthur reminded her. "I'm offering. Besides, Mom's back in Atlantis for diplomatic talks with Xebel, and Dad's getting lonely."
"You do know Barnes can't breathe under water, right?" Stark asked.
"Neither can my dad," Arthur replied before turning to Diana's mother. "By your leave, Your Highness, I'll return to Atlantis now. I'm needed there more than I'm needed here."
"I understood Atlantis and Xebel are at peace," Hippolyta said. "And have been since the war."
"That's true." Arthur said, and cleared his throat. "These are marriage negotiations."
"Ah," the queen said with a completely serious expression. "The most delicate kind."
"And since I know how certain feasts tend to end," Arthur continued, "and my future queen is a redhead, it's best I leave now, before anything … unfortunate happens."
The queen inclined her head, just a little, and said, "You are always welcome here, Arthur of Atlantis. And it would be my honor to host you and your queen, as well as your lady mother - I've not seen Atlanna in many years."
"I will extend the invitation," Arthur replied, then turned to Diana. "And you - you are still gorgeous, and fierce, and strong. It is, as always, my honor to fight beside you."
"And mine to fight beside you," Diana said. She opened her arms, then laughed as he pulled her into a bear hug. "My congratulations on your wedding. I look forward to meeting her."
Arthur released her and turned to Stark. "A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Stark. If that armor works under water, I'll send you an invitation."
"It does so far," Stark answered. "But I'd rather not be the only surface-dweller at the wedding, if you know what I mean. Wouldn't want to steal the spotlight from the happy couple."
Arthur laughed and clapped Stark on the shoulder hard enough that even in the Iron Man armor, Tony Stark staggered a step. "It's been fun."
With that and a wave, Arthur started toward the beach and his home beyond.
Stark looked between Diana and her mother. "Yeah, so this is a mother-daughter moment, right? I'll just - follow the golden oldies."
That Stark chose to follow the others with a short burst of his armor's jets was more amusing than it should have been.
"You have found many good men."
Diana could only shrug. "The first one found me."
"Tell me what happened after you left. Did you end the war, even if it didn't end all wars?"
"Yes, and no." Diana looked at her mother shrewdly. "But you knew that."
"I assumed," her mother corrected her in a gentle tone. "Men - and women, too - are complex beings, full of joy and love and laughter, but also anger and hate and greed. The gods have much to work with, but there is also much in people that needs no assistance."
"So Ares said," Diana murmured. "Just before I killed him."
"You -?" Her mother's gaze narrowed, then. "You know."
"That I am the god-killer, because I am a goddess? Yes."
"In point of fact, you're a demi-goddess," her mother said dryly. "But the great heroes all were demi-gods themselves, so you stand in good company."
Diana chuckled, but only briefly because her mother's expression remained serious. "Mother?"
"I should have told you your parentage. And I should have given you my blessing. I can only apologize that I did not do either of them before now."
"Why didn't you?" Diana asked before she thought. The question couldn't be unasked, so she braced herself for an answer she wasn't certain she really wanted.
"Because I was thinking - I was feeling - as your mother, not your queen."
"I - don't understand."
Her mother looked away, over the courtyard. "As queen, I know that Captain Trevor's arrival was not the first time men have found their way to our shores."
"It wasn't?" Diana couldn't help the exclamation. "But - he was the first man I ever saw."
"By design," her mother snapped back. "Most of the others were pirates, raiders - not good men, let alone noble men. Antiope's warriors dispatched them quickly and efficiently, sinking their ships along with their corpses."
"That's why I only ever swam off the north side of the island," Diana said as realization swept through her. "I thought it was because it had both cliffs and a sandy beach. But these pirates - their ships -"
"Sunk off the south coast," her mother agreed. "It was easy to ignore these accidental incursions. Easy, yes, and necessary, too."
"You said most of the others were pirates. What of the others?"
"Sailors and merchants. Better men, though still not all good. Those we gave an ameles draught, that they would forget us, and asked the Atlanteans to help us set them adrift outside the barrier around Themyscira."
"You kept this from me," Diana said. "Why?"
"Because I know you, my daughter." Her mother's tone was gentle. "And I knew that the moment you met a good man, a noble man, with a worthy cause, that you would be lost to me. To us."
"Mother -" Diana broke off, uncertain what to say.
"Yes, as your mother. As your queen - I know that we cannot, we will not, remain hidden from the world much longer, and I knew that even before Captain Trevor's arrival. We have been preparing for that since you left with him." Her mother smiled, then. "Philippus assures me I am taking us to ruin with such preparations."
That startled a laugh out of Diana, and she was still smiling when she said, "That is why you've allowed me to return - you wish me to be our ambassador to the outside world."
"Truly, Athena blessed you with her wisdom. Yes, I do. And I would hear of your life there before you return."
WW = CA = WW
They hadn't been given an exact departure time - not that water clocks were at all exact - and Steve had taken advantage of the uncertainty to explore a little more of the city. He doubted he'd ever return to Themyscira, even if his relationship with Diana became as permanent as he wanted it to be, so he savored every moment he was here, fixing the images in his mind so that he could draw them later.
He'd never had a grand tour of Europe, of course - even if the custom hadn't mostly died down by the time he was born, he was certain that visiting during wartime didn't count - and even if he had, Greece probably wouldn't have been on his itinerary.
Themyscira was proving to be better than he imagined a grand tour might have been - not least because it wasn't swarming with other tourists. This early in the morning, Steve wasn't surprised to see a number of Amazons heading out for the day, but aside from offering him quiet greetings, none spoke to him and none impeded his progress through the city.
Steve picked out some obvious things - a blacksmith, a mill - but other buildings simply stood where they were, unlabeled on the assumption that only people who lived there would ever need to access them.
Still, overall Steve noted more technological advancement than he would have expected from such an isolated society. Then again, they weren't really isolated, were they? They'd had contact with Atlanteans - Atlanteans… maybe not any stranger than aliens? - and who knew what other societies, after all.
A yellow-painted building with a colonnaded entrance drew his attention thanks to the steady stream of people entering and exiting, so Steve crossed the open space toward it, hoping that it wasn't some kind of communal bath or other place his presence would be unwelcome.
He approached cautiously, relieved when the Amazons who bothered to acknowledge him did so only with a nod or a slight smile, rather than drawn weapons.
Steve climbed the steps and passed between first a pair of Ionic columns and then heavy wooden doors into a room where last night's chill still lingered. Despite the windows near the roof letting in shafts of early morning sunlight, it took a moment for Steve's eyes to adjust to the relative dimness of the interior.
When they did, his breath caught.
Before him, two rows of statues formed a corridor leading to a giant statue of Zeus, seated apparently comfortably on a throne as tall as Steve with golden thunderbolts grasped casually in one hand. To Zeus's right, Steve's left, statues of the major Olympian goddesses lined the interior. Steve picked them out through their symbology. Hera had pride of place - though from what Steve had seen of the Amazons, he suspected that gesture was more to propitiate her than indicative of her position in their beliefs. Then Artemis, Athena, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hestia. Opposite them were the major Olympian gods, again identifiable by their symbols. Poseidon, Apollo, Hermes, Ares, Hephaestus, and Dionysus.
That's thirteen, not twelve. Didn't Hestia give up her place to Dionysus?
Making a mental note to ask Diana about it later, Steve stepped further into the temple - for there was no doubt this building was a temple - and examined the interior more closely.
Behind the statues of the Olympians, Steve a double handful of smaller statues, and he passed behind Hestia to examine them.
He'd barely reached the first one when he realized what these statues depicted. These were representations of legendary heroines, some with familiar names such as Psyche, Atalanta and Penthesilea. Others he vaguely recognized, such as Otrera and Cyrene. Still others, he could only guess at.
He paused by the statue of Psyche, admiring the skill that had gone into the sculpture. The light shifted again - a cloud passing overhead, maybe? - and Steve realized that there was yet another layer of statuary in the temple.
The third layer was much sparser than the first two, only a handful of sculptures dotted the outer wall, each standing on a stone column about as high as Steve's sternum.
These were more busts than actual statues, and Steve recognized none of them. One, he assumed by the trident-like symbol on its crown, was some previous king of Atlantis. No other clues suggested the identities of the others so honored.
Steve's breath caught when - incredibly, improbably - he saw a face he knew from an old, grainy photograph.
Steve Trevor.
The sculptor had captured a reasonable likeness, an impressive feat considering they had only known the man a day or so and had nothing like cameras to capture an image. Then again, maybe it was that very lack that had sharpened their memories, enabling them to make so accurate an image.
"My daughter tells me you are much like him."
Steve turned to face the queen.
"She speaks highly of Captain Trevor, ma'am," he said. "I can only hope I'm like him."
One regal eyebrow lifted. "Truly? From what Diana says, you are stronger than he - stronger than any man."
"Not any," Steve said. "And strength isn't everything. Is he here -"
He broke off, unable to form a question that wouldn't be rudely presumptuous.
"He is here because he fought bravely to defend Themyscira," Hippolyta replied. "As did old King Atlan, and every other man here honored. As did you and your friends."
Steve understood the implications. "It's my honor to have fought for her home - for your home."
"I think you were more correct the first time." Hippolyta's tone held a wry amusement that reminded him painfully of Bucky. She continued before the feeling could depress him, "And I think that my daughter has chosen well."
Damn an Irish complexion that showed every hint of embarrassment. Still, Steve kept his tone even when he replied, "If she has chosen me, it's my good fortune, and I will strive to be worthy of her every day."
Hippolyta held his gaze for a long moment. Then, "Your friend - the one who attacked us."
"Bucky," Steve said. "Formally, James Buchanan Barnes."
"Diana tells me that there are words that, when spoken, force him to do things against his will."
"Yes," Steve said. "He's been brainwashed - tortured and conditioned to obey, regardless of his own choice."
"Do you know what these words are?"
"He doesn't remember them, so no." Steve blew out a breath. "The same people who learned of the attack are searching for them. We hope that once we know what they are, we can reverse what was done to him."
"He may remain here while you search."
Steve jerked to face her fully. "That's - very generous, ma'am, considering what he did while he was here."
"You and Diana both tell me - and he admitted while bound by Hestia's Lasso - that he would not have done so of his own will. We will not punish him for actions he had no control over. And it is very unlikely that he will hear those words here. He and we will be safe."
"I can't decide for him," Steve said. "But I'll pass on your offer." After a moment, he said, "These are not my gods, but I don't want to dishonor them unintentionally."
"Do you think you have?"
"I hope I haven't."
"That you come here with a respectful heart is enough."
They stood in a companionable silence for a moment before Hippolyta spoke again.
"I trust that respect extends to my daughter."
"Always." Steve took a breath, forced his hands to remain unclenched at his sides. This was not a fight; it was a time-honored ritual that played out in every culture as long as there had been culture. "I hope to marry her."
"You hope to?" Hippolyta's question held no accusation.
"It's not just my choice," Steve replied. "It's hers."
"Then I wish you well in your endeavor. But come, we should break our fast before you depart."