Leap Of Faith

Thirty One

**Two years later**

“Guys, we need to get going if we want to get to the Sun Gates before sunrise.”

The group leader rallied the fourteen of them together, and they all began the final hike of the four day trek.

“Are you excited?” Spencer asked as he helped Seph shrug her back pack back on.

“Very. I’m also extremely excited to be able to have a bath and to sleep in an actual bed tonight.”

“I echo your sentiment.”

The trip was enjoyable so far, the scenery was breathtaking, quite literally so due to the altitude they were at. The group they were trekking with were good fun, and everyone was making the effort to help each other long. Even the fittest members of the group had struggled at some parts.

And although it was a struggle it was one that Seph was going to look back on with fond memories, even though right now it felt like her feet were going to drop off. She had blisters upon blisters and despite the fact that their back packs weren’t as heavy as they could be due to the trip including porters, she still felt as though she’d been lugging rocks around for four days.

Luckily she’d had the foresight to book into a five star hotel in Cusco for some well needed relaxation at the end of the trip. A full body massage was definitely in order.

The groups leader started moving, the rest of the pack following him slowly and as Persephone fell into line, she reflected on the last two years, the journey that had bought her here.

Since Lila Archer had worn her designs, the business had kick-started faster than Seph or Helen could have imagined. She’d had to delay this trip already as they’d simply been to busy to have any time off last year. Seph had been tempted to delay again but Helen had told her no, she needed a holiday.

She’d been right, they’d both worked nonstop although a lot of it didn’t even seem like working. When she was doing something she loved, it made getting up each day to go to work enjoyable.

The client base for The Damned Dead Queen grew and grew as did the list of celebrities who had requested hand made couture designs from the Alexandra Dawning range. Persephone knew she’d made it when she’d taken a call from a certain Stefani Germanotta requesting she design a dress for her performance at the Academy Awards earlier this year.

Seph had done it.

Achieved her dream of creating her own design label, her own successful business.

And now she was celebrating by taking the trip of a lifetime with one of her best friends.

Seph and Spencer were still, just friends. Despite their confessions the night before her birthday two years ago, their relationship hadn’t changed in status. This didn’t bother Seph as such, she was too busy to let it be a issue, but sometimes she did wonder.

But it had to be the right time to take the next step, and they both seemed content with where they were right now.

Seph didn’t get to see Spencer Reid as often as she’d have liked to. Between his job and her business, she had very little free time, although now her army of workers had grown and Seph was able to delegate more, she and Helen were finding that they were actually getting time to sit down and relax a bit more.