"Thank you, your highnesses." Clyde said, bowing once more before Henry waved his hand, sending him into his newly-decided afterlife. I sighed and stood up, stretching out my limbs in an undignified but satisfying way. It felt good to stand and move around after sitting on my throne all day. Suddenly, I felt strong hands on my waist, and I turned to find myself looking straight into a pair of eyes the color of moonshine. "Another job well done," Henry murmured, pressing his lips to mine. I wrapped my arms around him and held him close.

It had been nothing but work for Henry and I this past year. Our days were spent guiding a seemingly endless number of indecisive souls to their afterlives. If a soul was unsure of what their afterlife would be, we helped them decide. If a soul was expecting to be judged after death and have their afterlife decided for them, we judged and decided for them. Some souls already had a mindset of what they would experience after death, and they went straight on to their own little portion of the Underworld, where their afterlives became whatever they wanted it to be- or whatever they thought they deserved. I had seen enough of those afterlives when I had travelled through the Underworld with James and Ava to find Persephone.

I broke the kiss, and smiled up at Henry. "Are we done for the day?" I asked. Our days at work had become increasingly longer due to the excessive number of souls that required our services before they could move on. Cronus's natural disasters last year had resulted in millions of people losing their lives, and that meant hundreds of thousands of souls who needed our assistance. When we first returned to the Underworld from Olympus, I had completely freaked out at the sight of all the waiting souls surrounding the palace. It wasn't because they were dead, it was because they were all depending on me to help them. But Henry had been right beside me with encouragement and support, and as a result we now faced the last few hundred souls. Over three hundred thousand souls in eleven months. It was a drastic change considering where we had started.

Henry chuckled and nodded, intertwining our fingers as we made our way out of the throne room and towards the nursery. Even though I had become increasingly proficient in travelling from one place to another instantly, I preferred walking through the palace instead. I glanced out the windows in one of the hallways and smiled at the sight of the empty grounds. Now that there weren't as many souls waiting, Henry and I had been able to fit the remainder inside the throne room, seating them in the pews before our thrones. I could now enjoy the immortal flower garden Henry had made for me without the constant company of surrounding souls.

We turned into the last hallway and made our way to the door at the far end of it, right past the ornately carved one that led to our room. I pushed open the door and my eyes immediately fell on the chubby, dark-haired figure toddling across the room.

"Mamma!" Milo cried as he struggled to walk over to us. Sparing him the effort, I walked over and knelt down as he threw himself into my arms. "Mamma! Mamma!" He squealed, patting my face with his chubby hands. I laughed and kissed his nose.

"Hi, baby" I cooed. Henry smiled and left his place at the door to walk over and sit across from us on the rug. I turned Milo so he sat on my lap and pointed at Henry. "Milo, who's that?" I asked him. Milo's face lit up as he raised his hand towards Henry.

"Dadda!" He said. I clapped my hands and kissed him on the head.

"Very good!" I said. "Can you go to Dadda?" I asked him, helping him to stand and watching as he stumbled to Henry.

Milo fell right as he reached him, only to be caught and scooped up into his arms. "What a smart boy you are, Milo." Henry said with a smile. Milo gave another incomprehensible squeal as Henry threw him into the air and caught him again. It was one of his favorite games. I watched Milo burst into a fit of giggles mid-air, breaking into a laugh when Henry caught him. I smiled as I watched the two most important people in my life play together, and I felt my heart swell at the look of pure joy on Henry's face as he made our son smile.

"Well now," Henry said as he caught the giggling little boy again and stood up, cradling him to his chest. "I think it is time to eat." I stood up and nodded as he walked over and put Milo in his awaiting high chair. Despite the obvious fact that, as Gods, we didn't need to eat, I had insisted that we raise Milo with as normal a life as possible, all things considered. And part of that meant feeding him like he was a mortal baby- Three times a day and in a high chair. So when Henry had the nursery made, I insisted that they put the high chair in it as well. It helped to have everything in one place, and the room was certainly large enough to accommodate it. I walked over to the supply cabinet and looked over the options.

"Hmmm….. How does carrots and peas sound, Milo?" I asked him as I took the jar down and brought it over. The look on Milo's face made me laugh. "Apparently you're going to make things difficult again." I said as I unscrewed the lid. "Bring it on." I challenged with a smile.

Three hours and a bath later, Milo was sound asleep. I crept out of his room and into the hallway, shutting the door behind me as quietly as possible. I turned to find Henry waiting for me, his eyes bright and his smile wide. "Excellent work." He said as he laced his fingers with mine.

We walked down the hallway and into our room, where I briefly left him to change into my nightgown. I walked out from behind my dressing screen to see Henry walking out from behind his, in his regular silk robe and bottoms. Without a word, we both made our way to our enormous bed, where we met in the middle and promptly curled up together. I sighed contently as I leaned my head on his chest, closing my eyes as he put his arms around me. This had become our regular sleeping position, as both of us had found it the most comfortable. "So, what's on the agenda for tomorrow?" I asked quietly as I yawned. "It's the end of the month." Henry said. I felt my insides curl as I listened to the darkness laced in his words. He detested the end of every month, as I did.

It meant that tomorrow I would be visiting Cronus.

After the battle between the Council and Cronus, I had decided that I would visit him in Tarturus once every month. Despite Henry's insistence that Cronus didn't feel emotion and wouldn't care if I didn't visit, I still felt the moral obligation to go. No one should be alone forever, I had told myself. And "no one" included Cronus. Despite his unforgivable actions, he did save my son's life, as well as my own. And for that I would be forever grateful.

"Will you take me there?" I asked him, already knowing what he would say. "I'll be right beside you the whole time." Henry insisted, as he did every month. "Forever and always?" I asked him.

"Forever and always." He promised.

"Cronus? I'm here." I called out as I sat in my chair across from the white bars of his cage. The familiar fog inside swirled and solidified as Cronus displayed his human-like form to me. "Kate." He nodded to me. "What do you want to do today?" I asked him, starting up our familiar routine. "Nothing." Cronus responded as he always did. I sighed and looked at Henry, who stood behind my chair with a grim expression, as he always did when we came here.

I knew if it were up to him, Cronus would never be allowed near me again. It was only after my insistence that he had complied to these visits, and even then it was under the condition that he would accompany me the entire time. I had no objections to this. Personally, I had no desire to be alone with Cronus, or to be separated from Henry for any lengthy period of time.

"Well then. I'll just go." I said, standing up and walking to the exit. "Goodbye, Kate." Cronus said as he dissolved into mist once more.

"I will never understand why you insist on visiting him." Henry said as we arrived back at the palace. "If it were up to me-"

"If it were up to you, he'd be in the deepest pit of the Underworld, far, far, far away from me." I finished, having heard this eleven times before. "I know, I know." I said with a small smile, kissing him softly as we made our way to the throne room. I swung our hands back and forth as we strolled through the plush carpeted hallways, humming softly as Henry watched me with a bemused expression.

"Do you think we'll get through the rest of the souls today?" I asked him, not pausing to wait for his response. "I don't think so. I think we might narrow it down to a few dozen, but-"

Kate.

Eric's voice cut into my mind, clear and urgent.

Eric? What is it? I thought back.

I-I think I found someone. He said excitedly.

Really? Who? I asked, sinking into one of my visions and appearing at his side. I looked around, and saw who he was staring at. A young woman stood above a massive crowd, and was speaking loudly and with determination. I watched as she seemed to be rallying the others, who all held signs in their hands with messages such as "Love is Free" and "Let Love Live". I turned to Eric and sent a thought to him. What is this? I asked.

He looked around for me, clearly forgetting that while in my visions, I could not be seen, felt or heard. It's an equal rights movement for homosexuals. He explained. She's promoting the idea that who we love is not a matter of choice, and so who we love shouldn't make a difference. She thinks people shouldn't be treated differently just because they love someone of the same sex. Quite a noble campaign, really. He said. It's just…. My mother would always rant about this. About how mortals don't understand the complexities of love and as a result have this preconceived notion of there being a "right and wrong" way to love.

All right. Skip the lecture. What makes you think she can take the test? I asked.

I've been watching her for a few days now, he said. Everything she does reminds me of all the things my mother would do. She looks out for the underdogs. She helps people in need. She goes out of her way to brighten people's days. And she believes in love. Eric said.

All right, all right. If you think this girl has what it takes, let's bring her to Eden Manor for testing. I said.

Why Eden Manor, specifically? Eric asked.

I don't know. That's where I was tested. And it's my home now, so I give permission to test her there.

Okay. I'll approach her and find a way to bring her in. Eric's sigh could be heard through their mental communication. I'm going to sound like a complete wackjob. He said.

That's okay. Henry did, too. I said, smiling to myself. Good luck. See you at the Manor. I said as I ended my vision. I looked up and saw Henry staring at me, holding me up.

"Everything okay?" He asked, concerned as always. I nodded and patted his cheek.

"Everything's fine." I insisted, pulling myself up and brushing myself off. "We'll need to make some preparations at Eden Manor." I said, watching as Henry realized what I was saying.

He smiled sadly. "Eric has found someone already?" He asked. I felt my heart ache at his expression. He had known Ava for far longer than I had. He had known her for her whole life, and as I had understood it, she was his favorite family member- after my mother, of course.

"Like I've told you a thousand times- If she passes, she isn't replacing Ava. She's filling the position open on the council." I insisted. But nothing I said could get rid of the emptiness in his eyes when he heard Ava's name. I just hoped that over time, that emptiness would fade.

"Come on," I said, taking his hand and changing our course to the portal instead of the throne room. "We have work to do."

***What did you all think? I'm trying to incorporate all the personalities from the books, but it's proving to be more of a challenge than I expected. If you have suggestions on how certain characters should act, I openly encourage you to tell me in the comments! Please review and stay tuned! ***