Son of Love and Fire

Chapter 21

Hestia continued on, "As much as I dislike the situation, it is rather true. Hades is greatly uncomfortable in the domains of his siblings and finds solace in the solitude of the underworld away from the arrogance and impetuousness of most Olympians."

Perseus nodded his understanding, not surprised in the slightest, "I was aware of this, at least most of it, I was planning to travel to Cape Tainaron in search of the entrance to the underworld that I've heard mortals speak of."

Hestia answered the unasked question, "I am unaware of where the entrance to Hades' domain exists in the mortal world, I find my way there through the hearth in his palace, with his permission obviously."

"I won't lie, it is a dangerous path, even when I tell Hades to expect you, there are perils beyond even my brother's control in the depths of his realm. Although you are skilled and powerful enough to make your own way, be careful, I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say that you won't like the consequences if you frighten us by being harmed." The other two goddesses nodded in agreement, leading to Perseus sighing despite the smile on his face.

"Thank you, mum, but if you could, could you not warn Hades of my arrival, I know it might seem reckless, but I want to gain his respect and kinship for myself, not because of my relations or your advisement."

Hestia seemed torn for a long moment as she debated the risk, versus her sons reasons given, and decided to leave the decision to Aphrodite as she drifted in indecision.

Seeing her meaningful look, Aphrodite spoke out, "I won't lie, I hate the idea of you ever being in harms way again, especially if its avoidable. I also have very little familiarity with Hades, most Olympians as well really. On the other hand, you are more than capable of a task such as this and I admire your motivations, this is a choice you must make for yourself; my advice though is to follow your heart and what you think is the right path. An immortals existence is long, and their path often filled with twists and turns, I am already proud of the decisions you've made, and should you follow the same guidance I doubt you'll be steered wrong."

Perseus was touched by the support and the belief in him expressed by everyone around him and said as much. Before any such plans came to fruition though, Perseus had a task to complete, one that everyone at the table was excited for.

As such, the group made their way outside to return to the work that the trio had begun that morning. As they were heading out, Aphrodite softly grasped Perseus' wrist, leaving the two standing in the house as Perseus cast an inquisitive glance towards his mother.

"I just wanted to thank you, for the piece you gave me last night. It is the greatest gift I have ever received, and I promise to never take it off."

Perseus gave a watery smiled in return still not having fully come to terms with the return of his mother in his life but overjoyed none the less. After a warm and expressive embrace, demonstrating the mutual feelings, the pair broke apart and reunited with the group outside.

Perseus and Erimia spent the greater portion of the day working on charmspeak with the willing assistance of Demeter and Hestia under the expert tutelage of Aphrodite. Unfortunately, due to the test subjects willingness to participate, it didn't pose nearly as intense a challenge as the godly beings needed.

Whilst charmspeak was extremely difficult on powerful, and especially immortal, beings, with willingness to comply there would never really be any difficulty in the process. As such they had to develop a system to motivate the pair against complying with the instructions without causing embarrassment or harm.

The solution generated was actually though of by Aphrodite who decided it would be a competition between the two, each gaining a point for every instruction they could resist, and the loser had to clean the washing by hand at the end of the day, a useless task given the ability for the immortal beings to easily complete such a thing without the slightest effort.