I studied her from head-to-toe. She was tall, taller than me by a few inches, and thin. Not really stick thin, but she had slight curves. Her skin was in the exact shade as mine's; the colour of peaches. Hers looked smooth and flawless, similar to mine, and I then had a feeling that our skin had something to do with us being goddesses.

Her hair was straight and it fell past her shoulders, reaching her bosom. It was a blonde of a darker shade, looking almost nearly like golden brown, and it seemed to shine in the sunlight. Her dark blonde shaped her oval face perfectly.

But I was mostly taken aback by her eyes. Her eyes were a really striking and piercing grey that seemed to look right into my soul. And another interesting thing was, other than the fact that they looked wise and knowledgeable, her eyes made her look as though she's been around on Earth for an extremely long time, despite her youthful appearance of a typical twenty-five year old.

I assessed her like how she assessed me. The more I looked at her, the more an image of her processed in my mind. But in my head, she wasn't wearing anything simple like a dark purple Henley shirt with grey matchstick jeans and black sneakers. Instead, she wore a long and white flowing dress that reached her ankles with gold armour on her shoulders and torso and armguards on her wrists. Behind her, a crimson red cloak flowed in the wind. Adorning her head was a bronze helm, and in one hand was a silver shield and in the other, a long and sharp and powerful iron sword.

The image of the girl in my head was indeed a warrior, for she looked brave, powerful, intimidating and strong, as though she had come out victorious from war. And that was when I realized who the woman standing in front of me was.

Elizabeth Craiss, the mortal disguise of the one and only Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom.

And with utter astonishment at the fact that we were both facing each other, I breathed, "Athena?"

Just at the same time she whispered, "Persephone?"

We both stood as still as a statue, gazing into each other's eyes as we let the moment sunk into us. Like I had first learned the truth of my true heritage, this moment seemed too impossible to be true.

But my mother's voice broke through the silence. "Spring! Who's at the door?"

Snapping out of my daze, I answered back quickly, "It's just somebody trying to sell cheap knock-offs! I shooed them off already!"

I immediately stepped outside and quietly but quickly shut the door behind me, just as I heard her say from the kitchen, "Pesky people!"

When the door closed properly, I turned to look at her again. She still stood there, facing and looking at me in complete shock and disbelief. I did the same at first, but a split second later, we were reaching our arms out to embrace each other tightly.

"Persephone," I heard her say softly, almost like a whisper. "I missed you so much. I – We – thought we lost you."

I could feel something wet staining onto the right sleeve of my shirt, and I realized that she was crying. And it was then I realized that I was crying too. I smiled half-heartedly as I replied, "I was lost… So lost…"

I broke into a wave of fresh tears as she hugged me tighter. At first it felt weird, crying to and hugging someone who was a total stranger to me. But as the reality slowly began to set in, I realized that I wasn't crying to and hugging a stranger. I was hugging a goddess, who was one of my half-sisters.

Hades had mentioned to me the night before that I had a close sisterly relationship with Athena in the past. And judging by the way she comforted me and held me, I could tell that our closeness still stood strong and had never once faltered.

When she pulled away, she studied my face even more. "What had happened to you?"

I pursed my lips and took a deep breath, before I said with a half-hearted laugh, "It's a really long story…"

"Here you are, Spring," Henrietta said nervously, setting down a cup of iced caramel frappe on the table I sat with Athena.

I looked at it curiously. "What's this for?" I asked her. "I didn't order this."

I watched as Henrietta nervously bit her bottom lip, looking at me with extreme guilt in her blue-grey eyes. And I immediately knew what the reason was.

From the very second Athena and I walked into the cafe, after I had successfully managed to weasel myself out of my mother's watchful eyes, Henrietta had not stopped apologising for leaving me alone at the party, telling me that she was drunk and, like I had suspected, had went off with some guy, whom she had managed to snag his number.

I wanted to be mad with her. Honestly, I did. But after much thought, I realized that if she hadn't left me, I would never have my encounter with Aiden, and I would have been kept in the dark. For that, I felt slightly thankful for her stupid actions. But I didn't exactly fully forgive her for leaving me with a bunch of lecherous strangers. So I did no more than just say that it was alright and just forget about it.

I sighed and said, "Really, Henrietta? I already said it was okay."

It was then I noticed her bottom lip quivering and sheer moisture overtaking her eyes. I panicked, not wanting her to break down here. I grasped one of her hands quickly but gently and said, "Let's talk after this, alright? Maybe I'll give you a call."

Henrietta then hastily wiped her eyes and nodded her head before she scurried off to the kitchen. I watched until she had disappeared through the doors before I turned back to Athena, who was looking at me in confusion.

"What was that all about?" she asked me.

I shrugged and took my free cup of iced caramel frappe, ignoring my now empty cup of coffee. "It's a long story," I mumbled before I took a swig of my frappe, enjoying the sweetness of its flavor on my tongue. "So what were you saying?"

Athena cleared out her throat and straightened up in her seat. "I was just asking about what you and your mother have been doing ever since our last rebirth. It really made me kind of mad that she just run away from the others and took you along with her."

I sighed in frustration. "To be honest, I really don't know, Athena. I can't remember at all. Hades told me that Deme - my mother – took away all my memories and replaces it with mental images that would make it believable that I was just a mortal. And I wonder how she manages to do that."

"I think I do."

My eyes flashed over to her in an instant, and immediately saw how she gazed intently at the empty coffee mug on the table, her eyes deep in thought.

"You do?" I asked, getting pretty anxious. "How? Please tell me."

She takes a deep breath and her eyes moved to look at her own half-drunken mug of latte. She then said, "To fully wipe a person's memory, the victim must consume water from the river Lethe."

I felt my heart jolt in an instant. I know very well about the river Lethe, one of the five rivers that ran in the Underworld. And now, my eyes widened in realization that Lethe was known as 'The River of Forgetfulness'.

So that must have been how I lost my memories. My mother must have a hidden stash hidden somewhere, because I know extremely well that there was no way on Earth she could get it straight from the Underworld. And even if there was, I doubt she would even dare to go there. I don't know, just a feeling.

"If it's a possibility, I'm going to find out," I told her determinedly. Turning away from her, I whispered to myself, "All those wasted years."

I felt remorse. Remorse that I had to spend most of my rebirth being trapped by my mother, and not be able to do anything independent. I wasn't able to make a name for myself, like Zeus and Aphrodite, or do something that could benefit me in life, like Athena. Instead, I stayed with Mother, acting the role of her sweet innocent child who had no pure knowledge of anything whatsoever.

I must have gotten it worse than Hephaestus.

And then, I decided to talk about her instead, just to get my mind away from the heaviness of my burdens. "Hades told me that you always spend your years studying. Don't mind if I ask, but where are you studying now?"

"I'm studying in Kingston University in London, majoring in physiotherapy," was her reply. "But right now, I'm on an exchange program to the University of New England, in Portland."

Portland… That's about an hour's drive from Heatherton. I've been to Portland on a few occasions, or so I think.

"And when would you be leaving?" I asked worriedly.

She fiddled her thumbs and answered, "Tomorrow morning."

I felt my heart go heavy at that new piece of news. Honestly, even though I had only 'met' her for a maximum of an hour, I already didn't want her to leave. It was unfair. I just met another of my family members, a greater goddess than myself, and she had to leave so soon. I felt heartbroken. Sure, I had Hades, and maybe could even consider my mother, but I needed more of my family to be with me, because it would only then be the time when I could finally feel secure.

She seemed to have somehow sensed my anxiety, and gently placed a hand above mine.

"Persephone?"

My eyes trailed up from my cup of caramel frappe to her. Athena looked at me with gentle grey eyes and a small smile, making my own disheartened expression slightly more cheerful. Her smile was the most assuring smile I have ever seen.

After taking a deep breath, she whispered, "There are others who would be coming to Heatherton. Then, you and Lord Hades must leave before it is too late."

And suddenly, she quickly clamped her lips shut in a flash, as though she had just accidentally said something she wasn't supposed to say.

I furrowed my eyebrows in curiosity as I studied her face for answers, but she seemed to have remained still and trying hard to not answer more. "Before what is too late?" I inquired, genuinely curious.

But before I could ponder on the subject more, Athena then said, "You'll find out soon enough. Just not now."

Again, I felt frustrated. I felt like I was being kept out of an exclusive secret, like those type of situations when you were a kid trying to find out something, and all your parents would say was 'Until you're older'.

But I wasn't willing to give up so easily. I replied, "Alright, Athena." I made my voice sound level with a slight tone of sadness. But underneath, I've decided on one thing.

If I couldn't find out from her, I could find out from another person.

Hades would know.

I stood in front of my window, gazing into the dark outside world through the glass panels.

A few hours prior, Athena had been called back with her group and had to leave, but not without bidding me goodbye and exchanging numbers, though I doubt she seemed like the type to text often.

But she seemed either unable or unwilling to share with me some vital details. And I was aching to know more about it. So I've decided to go to the one person that had all my trust.

As I stand and looked out the window, I had my phone pressed to my ear, and I listened to the ringing of the phone, waiting for him to pick up.

Suddenly, I heard a click sound, and his voice saying, "Hello, love."

It immediately made my heart swoon to hear him call me that. I gave me a dose of warm fuzzies that seemed so good and really weird at the same time.

"Hi there," I answered meekly. Biting my bottom lip, I asked, "Is it alright…. if you…."

"Yes?" he asked.

I decided to not be a chicken and just tell it there and then. With a quick breath, I said, 'Is it alright if you come over? I really need someone to talk to."

Though I kind of expected it, my heart skipped a beat when he agreed.

Author's Note:

I know it seemed kind of short, but it was intended.

By the way, check out my new one-shot, Sisters, No Matter What.

Muse of Fanfiction