Small Twists of Fate

Chapter Fifteen

Persephone smiled as she shook her head at the scene in front of her. Harriet had convinced Sammy to spar with her and the two of them were now deep in a sparring match that looked like there was no end in sight.

"Who's winning?" Hades asked as he leaned over the sofa to kiss his wife softly on the cheek.

"Right now it's looking like they're evenly matched," Persephone said, smiling at her husband. "What brings you over here? Thought you'd be hard at work, isn't it a barge day?"

"Not that many souls this time around," Hades told her. Thankfully the girls either couldn't hear them or just hadn't noticed that Hades had entered the room. Otherwise, both of the Gods were certain that they'd be peppered with questions. "You know...maybe Panic should bring his son around more. I mean, the boy's already allied himself with Jess and he's so jumpy that more alliances could only do him good. Not to mention, Milah's sunspot might appreciate another boy around if she's carrying a son."

Persephone chuckled softly. If Olympus could see the 'big bad' Lord of the Underworld now...Zeus alone would probably faint at the sight.

"And what would Virgil do if Milah's carrying a daughter?" Persephone asked.

"Well...we don't know if we're carrying a boy or a girl," Hades pointed out. "Our pup might appreciate having an older boy around too."

Persephone smiled and leaned over to kiss Hades' cheek. "Have you thought of any more names? For the 'pup' I mean?"

"...You caught that didn't you?"

"Kinda hard to miss."

Hades shook his head. "As...sappy as this is going to sound, I really don't like the idea of referring to our kid as 'it'. I know we don't have a medical system here for whatever Gods forsaken reason Auradon made up to get away with not giving us one so we don't have a chance to sneak a peak so I just...I figured since I'm known for Cerberus and he's a dog and dogs have pups..."

"I think it's sweet, not sappy," Persephone said, giving Hades a small smile. "And I've been thinking about names..you know I have considering the conversations we've had on them...I know we don't know the gender but it can't hurt to be prepared you know?"

"I agree," Hades nodded. After all, Persephone had done multiple calculations to come up with her due date and she had determined that she would likely give birth sometime in June. Meaning he would not be there for the birth of his child.

Great.

It'd be worth it though, Hades thought as the two of them continued to watch Harriet and Sammy spar. If it means my kid's born in Auradon...and never has to know the pain of the Isle...I mean I'll miss them but...can you miss a child you'll never know?

"L-Lady Persephone?"

Persephone looked over and smiled as she saw Panic in the doorway. "Hello Panic. How can I help you?"

"T-There's a c-call for you on the portal," Panic said, his knees knocking together in what could only be assumed as a natural reaction at this point for the perpetually nervous imp. It wasn't as if Persephone would lob a fireball at him the way Hades used to.

"A call? For me?" Persephone asked frowning slightly. "Who could it be?"

"L-Lady De-Demeter."

Persephone's frown quickly turned into a smile at the thought of talking to her mother. Demeter was the only other person who could activate the portal on the Auradon side due to her blood connection to Persephone, though she usually liked to wait to talk when Persephone was in Auradon. She claimed it hurt too much to see her daughter without getting to actually have her there, something Persephone completely understood. "Oh why didn't you say so Panic? Hades, will you be okay handing the girls while I go talk with my mother?"