Two days later found Demeter back in Olympus, seeking out Aphrodite. For the past two days she had pleaded, begged, and bribed every god and goddess she could possibly find to watch over Persephone and hide her away. However, they were all too busy, which left only one goddess, who was in her off season this time of year. Aphrodite. She was loathe to leave her daughter in her presence, but if she asked, Aphrodite would do it. Demeter would owe her a large favor later, but she was willing and desperate enough.

Persephone waited in one of the rooms that belonged to Aphrodite's wing in Olympus. Her mother and Aphrodite were talking very quietly in the next room, but it didn't take her long to guess what it was about. She wasn't allowed near Hades because he'd fallen in love with her. Persephone didn't see how that was a horrible fate, but anyone who tried to take her away, force or not, met her mother's wrath. She remembered when Hermes had taken her to visit Athens for a day trip, in the guise of commoners. She'd never had so much fun at a market, but the moment she returned, all hell broke loose.

Figuratively of course.

Sighing softly, Persephone wound a curl around her finger as she waited in the small bedroom she'd been placed in.

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Demeter stiffly sat in the chaise lounge, not touching the water that Aphrodite had set out along with apples. Aphrodite herself was beautiful. Her own black hair dripped, black as midnight, down her back and almost to her waist. Her green eyes were the color of summer leaves and bordered with thick, black lashes and narrow eyebrows. Her mouth was large and full, a perfect bow shade in a dazzling red color. Her own gown was red today, the color of passion. Silver adorned her body and a circlet encircled her forehead with delicate grace. She was hundreds of years old, but barely looked even thirty. Smiling serenely at Demeter, she drank her own water.

"I have a feeling that I know why you are here, Demeter darling." The older looking woman frowned at the small endearment but brushed it off. Aphrodite shifted on the couch of cumulus clouds she laid sideways on, one end propped up with pillows of silver and red.

Demeter leaned forward with urgency in her eyes that had Aphrodite frowning instead of smiling. "I want you to convince your son to spurn Hades away from my child. He is a monster, unfit for her. I will not have that… that thing anywhere near my baby!"

Aphrodite frowned and set her cup gently on a side table. The room was made of marble and clouds, colors tastefully lightening the room, mostly flowers and roses. "Demeter, this is something beyond my power." She lifted a hand before Demeter could rave, seeing she was close to tears. In a gentler tone, Aphrodite continued. "This is something the fates have decided. If you insist on fighting it, so be it. I will keep Persephone for a time, until you deem the danger over with. You know he will look for her." She reached forward and clasped Demeter's hands in her soft ones. "I promise that no harm will befall her while she is under my care."

Demeter sighed softly in relief, standing gracefully from her chair. "I will speak with her and then leave. I know you might have company on the way and I won't keep you."

Aphrodite shook her head, calling out to Demeter as she reached the doorway. "Demeter…" When the matronly woman turned her head, Aphrodite gave her a serious look. "You know she isn't a child any more. You can't keep her from something as wonderful as love. He will come for her. Hades is not a man to be trifled with."

Demeter frowned and narrowed her eyes a little. She could keep her child away from anything she wanted, and that included her brother! "I'm no fool Aphrodite, but she is my child. I know what's best for her better then you would!" With a small huff, she turned to return to the room she had left Persephone in earlier.

Aphrodite sighed. The woman was going to learn the hard way.

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Once Demeter had gone back to Earth to tend to the fields and the harvests, Persephone deemed it fit to wander the hallways of this wing. If she was to stay here, she should be familiar with it. Idly looking at all of the plants in her hot house themed home, every petal she touched bloomed a bigger bud, a better flower, and a riper blossom. She was enchanted with the many different plants in Aphrodite's home. Some of these she had never seen before and looked exotic, like the foreigners who occasionally sailed to Greece with their spices to sell.

As she passed the common room, she idly glanced in and saw Ares, god of war, crowding Aphrodite against the wall. A moan filled the air and Persephone stopped outside of the door, frowning. That sounded like Aphrodite. Was she ill? Fearing slightly for her hostess's health, Persephone continued down the hallway and went through the main door of the common room, closer to the corner she had seen the two in. What she saw made her stop in her tracks and stare, nearly open mouthed.

Aphrodite had put red kiss marks all over Ares's face and neck and his hands were bracing her against the wall and pulling pins out of her hair and dropping them to the floor. Her hair and clothing was rumpled, as was the chest plate that Aphrodite was trying to undo from her squished angle between him and the wall. Her feet were barely touching the ground as Ares looked away from the doorway Persephone was in, too involved with the goddess in his arms to notice the intrusion. Aphrodite turned her head to the side for him and spotted Persephone in the doorway, a hand over her mouth and eyes wide. Seeing as Ares's was facing her neck and not the doorway, Aphrodite motioned Persephone out of the room with her free hand. Persephone gulped and ducked out of the room and into the hallway, her face heating a deep red. Did all men like to eat women's necks! A brief vision of Hades kissing her neck a few days ago made her face heat hotter and her knees a little weaker.

Satisfied that Persephone hadn't been seen, Aphrodite decided that she would have to postpone her 'meeting' with Ares. "Ares darling, I forgot to tell you something."

The brunette haired man barely looked up as her voice purred out, lavishing attention to her neck. "It can wait." Aphrodite smiled at the possessive growl and gently pushed him away.

"I fear it cannot." Ares sighed, disgruntled at being stopped, but gave Aphrodite his full attention. "The daughter of Demeter is being housed here. It was at such short notice that she arrived barely before you. And in light of our recent… activities, it slipped my mind for a moment." Ares sighed softly through his nose, adjusting the chest plate straps on his shoulders that had nearly come undone. Her hand ran through his hair briefly before she gave him a chaste kiss. Handing him a napkin, she pointed at the lip marks and he wiped them off quietly. "I'm afraid we might have to postpone. At least for today."

Ares nodded, somewhat disgruntled. He leaned down and gave her a brief kiss before putting his discarded helmet back onto his head. "I leave to make war in Cyrus today. The end of this week…?" Aphrodite nodded and he smirked, bending down for a second time. Aphrodite was tempted to prolong the moment but hesitated. Ares finding out that he had been seen with her wouldn't only make his temper boil, but his fists fly. He'd never harm a woman, but he might take it out on someone else. She pointed to the side door that was away from Persephone's hiding spot and he bowed gently at the waist before striding out of Aphrodite's home.

Aphrodite sighed, picking up the pins off the floor and straightening her gown. "You can come out now Persephone!"

Persephone came out slowly, still blushing hotly. The eighteen year old looking goddess sat down in a chair stiffly, looking upset. Aphrodite wasn't in the least bit bothered and let out a pleased sigh, sitting back into her chase lounge. "Like what you saw?"

Persephone blushed even harder. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't m-mean to, uh, interrupt you and lord Ares… What was he doing to you, exactly?"

Aphrodite looked up with raised eyebrows, hands pausing in her hair to give Persephone a scrutinizing look. She looked innocently curious and Aphrodite felt her lips curl slightly into a smile. Oh this was better then Demeter owing her a favor she could never hope to fulfill. Telling her daughter about this would be more than enough as payment for keeping her. "Tell me Persephone, how much do you know about intimacy?"

Persephone shook her head softly, a brown curl rebounding off her cheek. "Very little. My mother told me I never needed to know because I wouldn't marry. But just now… and with this lord Hades incident..." She glanced at the wall that Aphrodite had been pushed against, then back at the smirking Aphrodite.

Aphrodite tried not to smile even harder as she relaxed into her chair. "Oh I'm very open about my affairs Persephone. I would be more than willing to let you in on my secrets." She winked once and Persephone relaxed, curious even more now.

"There's more then just that?" Aphrodite let out a laugh, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Oh Persephone, there is a lot more. Would you like to learn?"

Despite her mother's constant warning to never get involved with Aphrodite or whatever she had to "offer", she honestly wanted to know. She hesitated for a moment, and then looked at Aphrodite with confidence on her face. "Yes, please teach me about it. I don't want to be in the dark any more about things my mother keeps from me."

Aphrodite smiled coyly. "Then let's begin…"

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Later that night, Persephone lied in her bed in Aphrodite's home, staring at the marble ceiling. Her head was full of information, and she felt a little faint from blushing so much. Aphrodite had called on a few other goddesses to attend dinner with them, and after dinner, the talking had begun. Story upon story had been told and Persephone had never flushed harder in her life. Being the youngest out of all of them, she was teased for her innocence. It was all in good fun, of course, most of them being married, but still. By dinner that night, everyone in Olympus knew that Hades had his eyes on her, and was interested. A lot of them shivered at the thought, but a few of them were more speculative. Soon they were talking into the wee hours of the morning about Hades and his looks, dissecting everything from their past experiences with the god of death. Being a recluse, the encounters were few and far between.

Persephone shifted in her bed, tossing the covers back to cool off a little. The weather was always warm, and up here in Olympus, it felt more stifling. The room had no windows, which accounted for the lack of air circulation. Sighing softly, Persephone rolled over and stared at the ceiling. Now that she knew what she was missing out on, she couldn't help but feel even more curiosity towards the subject. After a lot of prodding and pleading, she had, reluctantly mind you, admitted to what Hades had done in the hallway.

They had glanced at each other before picking at her brain for more answers to more impossible questions. Had he forced her? Threatened her? Did he kiss her? What was it like? Did she like it? Did he like it? Did he say what he wanted from her? They had picked her brain clean by three in the morning about Hades. They were a little shocked at his behavior because he never willingly touched anyone if he could avoid it. Soon the subject of Hades was dropped and they moved onto another male. After hours of talking and dissecting each habit of the male species of Olympus, Aphrodite had declared it time for bed. Everyone either returned to their own wing or stayed in guest rooms, turning in for the night.

The fact that Hades hadn't threatened, hadn't forced her into anything made her relax. Everyone had looked down or away when Zeus had been brought up. It was admitted he was a passionate, if not womanizing lover, but having Hera hate you wasn't on the top of most of their lists. They all admitted he was forceful and demanding, and some admitted to liking it. Others however were starting to see Hades in a new and very different light. Even though the two were brothers, their woman habits were polar opposites. Persephone knew she couldn't handle being forced into doing things with Hades. And if he persisted when she resisted… She shuddered. Suddenly she was glad she was excluded to Zeus's wandering attentions, being his daughter.

Persephone wondered when she would see Hades again. Now that she knew everything there was to know about it as she had dubbed it, she wanted to see him again. Would he be as affectionate as before? Or would he be cold and icy like he had been when he'd tried ignoring her at first? She sighed softly as she thought about the hallway incident three days ago. Hades leaning into her neck brought up a whole different meaning now. Holding hands wasn't something family just did; it was a sign of affection. Aphrodite had commented that Eros, her son who was also known as Cupid, had used a very powerful love arrow. The affects ranged from a crush to madly in love, and from Aphrodite had told her about this arrow, it was going to be the latter. She was about to have a madly in love god on her hands, and she had no clue what to do about it. She didn't even know Hades all that well.

Sitting up, Persephone ran a hand through her hair. There was no way she was going to get any sleep tonight. Sighing, she got up and headed into the common room where candles were always lit and found a book, sitting down to read it. After an hour of trying to read, she put the book away, unable to concentrate. Her mind wandered, and as her eyes drifted shut, she saw a pair of silver eyes looking down at her with an unknown emotion behind the ice. As she drifted off to sleep, she wondered what it was.

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I'll try doing a minimum of at least four pages. Three at the very least. This was five, and the last chapter was seven I believe.

Anyways, this was anon goddess's idea, thanks love! I wasn't sure what to do for a third chapter, but she suggested this, and it made sense, you know? Persephone had to learn some time, and of course with Aphrodite's friends, they'd all want to talk about men and stuff. I know my friends and I do when we get together, lawl. I'd like to thank the following reviewers for reviewing chapter two for me!

De Hunter

KisaraCrystal

madkat93

anon goddess

DevilBittersweetChild

If I reply to reviews, it won't be here, but I like to thank people for reviewing, because helpful hints are fun! And it makes me happy to read them. Musical inspiration: Clumsy Fergie