Chapter Twenty Four


A/N: I do not own anything other than my OCs when they come out to play! Everything else belongs to either Disney or the Greek Myths!

*ducks* Sorry, sorry! I know this update has been a long time coming. Unfortunately real life has still been a mad scene so I'm trying to write where I can but I'm looking forward to the time where I can get back to normal.

danifan3000: I mean anything's possible but in all honesty, I almost consider the movies after D3 to be an AU since Carlos is alive in my universe.

AmethystDragon14: Oh yay! And thank you Dragon! :D Hey, the old windbag is mythologically accurate, and as for Demeter, how could she not be enamored with Mali? :D If it'll fit, I'll see if I can!

LotusQuil: If you fight Zeus, I'll join you!

OceanBlueSeaEyes: In all honesty, I'd be on whatever side had Persephone when it came to a war. She's not one to be messed with!

twilightgirl587: Lore of Olympus definitely influenced that!

thegracewhiteofficial: Oh thank you!

Hope you guys enjoy the chapter! Let me know what you think! :D


Persephone smiled softly as she looked down at her daughter as the two of them stood in front of the door to Eric and Ariel's castle; a strand of her newly pink hair falling out of her ponytail that she'd hastily put up. Her mother had been shocked to say the least when she saw the change but to Persephone's relief, there had been no comments other than a note that most mortal mothers cut their hair rather than color it but the color looked good with Persephone's complexion. Malinoë smiled back up at her, well at least as much of a smile as a baby her age could smile.

Then again, she was a Godling so the odds of her developing faster than a mortal baby were rather high. After all, her cousin Athena came out of…the brain fully formed as an adult.

"Are you excited to go visit your cousin Elle?" Persephone asked, keeping her voice happy even if she was worried. Eric hadn't mentioned how Elle was doing, just that both Persephone and Malinoë were more than welcomed for a visit before Persephone had to go back to the Isle.

And Persephone wanted Malinoë to meet her new cousin before they had to be separated by time and the Strait of Ursula. And the barrier. The barrier did help in terms of separation.

That wasn't to say that Malinoë didn't have any friends…I mean alliances in Auradon. They'd been invited over to King Beast's castle more times than Persephone could count. And King Charming and Queen Ella seemed to always be over at the same time so Malinoë was able to meet their son as well. Prince Chadwick…though they called him Chad for short.

Occasionally Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip would be over at King Beast's castle as well , with their daughter, though Persephone wasn't too sure Malinoë liked being around Princess Audrey. Then again, maybe it was just the tension brought on by the…joy of being around Queen Leah. Either way, the visits weren't the calmest.

"Lady Persephone?" Carlotta's voice brought Persephone out of her thoughts.

"Ah yes," Persephone nodded. "It's nice to see you again Carlotta. How are you and Louis doing?"

"We're doing just fine your Ladyship," Carlotta said, giving Persephone a kind smile. "Louis has been in his element, making up recipes for purees when the little Princess gets old enough to eat more solid foods."

Persephone couldn't help but smile as she heard that. "I'm glad…and…and how is Princess Elle doing?"

"Oh she's doing just fine," Carlotta said, the smile never leaving her face even if her eyes did grow a little sad. "Lady Persephone….do you mind if I speak candidly to you?"

"Of course not," Persephone said as she walked through the door.

"I'm more worried about Eric and Ariel than I am about Princess Elle," Carlotta said, her voice growing soft. "Even though the young Princess shows no signs of her health deteriorating, they've been hovering over her night and day. They barely sleep, Grimsby and I almost have to force them to leave to eat."

"They're new parents, it's understandable that they'd be worried," Persephone said though she couldn't help but frown as she heard what Carlotta was saying. The last thing she wanted was for either Eric or Ariel to run themselves ragged. "Are they going to be okay for the playdate?"

"Of course, they would be so disappointed to miss the little dear especially since you haven't much time before you go back to the Isle," Carlotta said as Malinoë cooed softly in Persephone's arms. "And I'm sure Princess Elle's excited about the chance to meet her cousin."

"Of that I have no doubt," Eric's voice called to the three of them. Persephone smiled as she turned around to see the high King of Auradon.

"Eric, you're looking well," she said.

"We both know that's a lie but I appreciate the compliment," Eric chuckled. He wasn't wrong, the rings around his eyes and slightly messed up hair were two obvious signs of sleepless nights. Persephone was honestly surprised at how well put together Eric was but then again, the man was the High King of Auradon. "How've you been Aunt Steph?"

Before Persephone had the chance to answer, Malinoë cooed from her spot in Persephone's arms.

"Now who's this?" Eric asked, smiling down at Malinoë.

"High King Eric, allow me to introduce Hades' and my daughter, Malinoë Fleur," Persephone said with a smile as Malinoë cooed once more.

"Now, now, you know there's no need for titles among family," Eric said before his voice changed to be more upbeat as he looked over at Malinoë. "Hi there Mali. I'm your cousin-in-law Eric. Are you having a good time in Auradon?"

Malinoë cooed and tilted her head as she looked up at Eric.

"I think she likes you," Persephone said, giving Eric a small smile. She didn't even mind the nickname. After all, Malinoë would be difficult for the mortals to say. Plus familial nicknames were entirely normal—how many years had Persephone been 'Steph' with Hades after all?

"I'm glad," Eric said with a small smile of his own as he looked back up at Persephone. "Shall we go see Ariel and Elle?"

"We shall," Persephone nodded.

Eric looked over and smiled at Carlotta. "I can escort Lady Persephone from here, Carlotta. Thank you so much for your assistance."

"Of course Eric," Carlotta nodded and gave the man a kind smile. "I'm more than happy to assist with anything you need, you know that."

"I know," Eric nodded. "But that doesn't mean I'm not appreciative about your assistance. And please let me know if you have too much on your plate."

Carlotta smiled and nodded before walking off.

"Shall we?" Eric asked, looking over at Persephone and gently taking the diaper bag off of her shoulder to carry it himself.

"Is there anything you need to do?" Persephone asked as she looked over at the raven haired King. After all, while the day to day duties had been handled by the regents, any emergencies were Eric's responsibilities.

Eric shook his head. "I'm at Ariel's and your disposal, Aunt Persephone. If any emergencies occur, Grimsby or Carlotta will let me know."

Persephone nodded as they made their way down the hall, Malinoë's coos echoing down the hall much to the enjoyment of the adults. A happy baby was always nice to see.

"Aunt Persephone, it's so good to see you," Ariel said as the three of them entered into Elle's playroom. Truthfully it was more of a room for Elle's physical therapy after all her surgeries, but calling it a playroom prevented the pit of guilt from growing in Eric's stomach.

Not to mention, she also had a designated area of their indoor pool for her physical therapy which helped make the room they were in feel more like a day to day play room.

"It's good to see you too, Ariel dear," Persephone said with a smile that only grew as she saw Elle waving around the seagull plushie Persephone had purchased for her. "I'm so glad to see that she likes it."

"She loves that plushie, only one I think she loves more is a plushie Grimsby found that looks just like Max," Ariel said, following Persephone's gaze and looking at the seagull plushie.

"I'm so glad she likes it," Persephone said once more. Yes, she sounded like a broken record but for some reason the words were failing her. To be fair though, it wasn't as if she could ask about typical baby milestones without potentially hurting Ariel and Eric.

"Come, sit," Ariel said as Eric laid down on the multicolored foam floor. "There's no need to stand on ceremony. We're all family after all."

Persephone couldn't help but smile as she sat down and laid Malinoë down next to her cousin. "She looks healthy."

"She has a…a couple more surgeries scheduled, to try to see if any movement will be possible in her legs," Ariel said softly. "But we've also arranged for contractors to come and install stair climbers."

"She won't be walking right away, even if she gets movement in her legs," Persephone pointed out, trying to keep her voice gentle. She knew Poseidon had also been hopeful for Elle though it was more understandable for the God.

There were so few Gods with disabilities, Hephaestus was really the only one anyone knew of now that Persephone thought of it. And for a mermaid to have the bottom half of her body disabled?

"I know," Ariel sighed softly. "My father and grandfather were here last week."

"They were?"

Ariel nodded. "We weren't able to have Elle's blessing on the sea, the way we had originally wanted it. She represents the divide between our peoples closing."

Well, closing more than it already had. After all, Jim Hawkins' daughter Jamie is a couple of years older than Elle and I believe Arabella and Adrian are Elle's age, Persephone thought but didn't say out loud. She knew Ariel didn't mean to exclude her nieces and nephew from her sisters.

Yeah the thought of a grandson born to Triton was weird even to think about if Persephone was honest.

"Ba!" Elle cooed and waved the seagull plushie, drawing Persephone's attention.

"She's so calm," Persephone said as she laid Malinoë down next to Elle. Not that she wished for Elle to be a fussy baby, it was just…surprising is all. Especially considering Triton was the girl's grandfather.

Persephone loved him but there was no denying the fact that Triton had a temper.

"She is," Eric nodded. "Ariel thinks she gets that from my side of the family."

"Well dear I've yet to see any reason why that can't be the case," Ariel said as Elle cooed once more. "I mean…you've met my family and you've always been so calm and composed."

Eric looked over at Ariel, slight shock evident on his face. "I'm sorry, calm and composed? Do we need to remember what happened on my almost wedding to Ursula?"

"Yes I believe you said 'Grim, I lost her once. I'm not going to lose her again' and saved me from being vaporized by my father's trident."

"…Okay that is true but I can assure you, calm and composed are not the words that should be used to describe me then."

Persephone shook her head as Malinoë cooed. "Oh are your cousin and cousin-in-law being silly?"

"I wouldn't say we're being silly," Ariel chuckled as Malinoë cooed once more. "Are we being silly Mali?"

"I think she thinks we're being silly," Eric said amongst Malinoë's responding coo—and Elle's coo as well. "And now she's corrupted her cousin into thinking we're silly too! Mali, how could you do that?"

"You know as well as I do Eric that a baby can't 'corrupt' anyone," Persephone shook her head. Still though, she couldn't help but wonder what growing up would have been like had her father Iasion had been around when she was growing up. Her mother would have definitely been less protective, that was certain.

Stop, you don't know that, Persephone thought. Besides, mother did an amazing job raising me and my sister…even though I know losing my father must have hurt her. But this is a happy time, it's Malinoë's chance to connect with her cousin before we go to the Isle for six months.

It was going to sound odd but Persephone had never been more thankful for Hades' deal with the pirates than she was after Malinoë was born. Yes she knew her husband would likely prefer some alone time but with young Harrison being born, Persephone was at least glad that Malinoë would have someone her own age to be around.

Plus, Malinoë would have three lovely 'big sisters' in Sammy, Harriet, and Jessica. Those three would have Harrison and Malinoë welding swords in no time.

As a matter of fact…

"I hope you don't think this too odd but…Hades said that the young children we live with wanted to give a gift to young Elle," Persephone said as she pulled a small gift from the diaper bag Eric had set down on the floor next to them.

"What is it?" Ariel asked as Eric unwrapped the item to see a foam sword.

"I'm so sorry, swords are…they're popular around the kids of the Isle and I'm sure as toddlers, the girls don't know the difference—."

"Aunt Persephone, it's fine," Ariel said, her soft voice breaking through Persephone's rambles.

"It…it is?"

Ariel nodded before sighing. "I…I will never forgive the pirates who killed my mother but we have no proof that Captain Hook or his ship was part of that. Forgive me but…grandfather likes to talk about you when he visits. He hasn't said anything personal but—."

"Ariel, I'm not going to lecture you for talking to Poseidon. He's your grandfather first of all and second of all, you're the Queen of all of Auradon," Persephone said. "You can talk to whomever you want whenever you want."

Ariel smiled at her aunt before continuing. "Well…as he mentioned you were living with Captain Hook and his family for their protection, I had a feeling that young Malinoë might have a penchant for swords the next time she visited. Plus I think it's cute the way they thought of Elle."

"I have no doubt Elle will quickly be adopted into their 'crew'," Persephone said. "Or to quote the father of one of your other Isle cousins, you could say that Elle would be their friend on the other side."

Eric shook his head. "I'm not…the image that produces…"

"You could probably freak Naveen out if you mention it to him though," Ariel pointed out.

"But that would mean thinking about it more!"

The sounds of chuckles filled the playroom and Persephone had to smile. If she had to leave Auradon, at least it was on a good note.

And really leaving isn't all that bad, she thought. I'll finally get to see Hades again. It truly has been too long.

Now all she had to do was figure out how long it would take for her husband to let their daughter out of his sight.