Forever Yours

Chapter Fifteen

Ian sat in the overly decorated room, looking at the tiny teddy bear that sat on the nightstand beside him. The little black button eyes stared back at him, looking into his soul or so he felt. Tearing his gaze away from the small toy, he shifted it to the girl who laid upon the pink frills and over stuffed pillows. Why did he make it so girly?! It's like someone threw up pink and frills in here. Everywhere he looked, every shade of pink decorated the room; from the marble floor beneath his feet to the curtains hanging on the fake windows. A large cherry oak wardrobe stood in the corner, next to the window that held a picture of a spring day and was letting in the warmth from a false sun. Across the room, a large fireplace stood encased in the wall, a fire blazing in its hearth. Two large overstuffed chairs faced the flames, welcoming to any who desired to rest in front of a fire. The bed that Makaria was laying in was also cherry oak, like the wardrobe. Large pink comforters covered the mattress, its frills overflowing onto the floor. A white lace canopy covered the bed, surrounding Makaria in a mist like veil.

Ian sat in a rocking chair next to the bed, waiting for when Makaria would open her eyes again. It had only been a few hours since they'd brought her back, however it seemed as if all hell had broken loose after the information he'd given Hades about Athena had sunk in. Hades had stormed off, muttering under his breath about how he needed to have a word with his brother about the disobedient daughter he housed in Olympus. Persephone had followed after him, trying to calm her husband down. They'd left Ian alone with the sleeping princess, along with the job of moving her himself.

He didn't have the strength to carry her, so he transported the two of them to the room he knew Hades had kept for her. Hades had always believed that his wife and child would return one day, and so had prepared a room for the child. How he knew Persephone had had a girl was beyond Ian's knowledge, but it happened to be true and so Hades had decorated the room pink, updating certain items as the girl aged.

"Is she awake yet?"

Ian looked up, seeing Persephone standing in the doorway to the large room. She stepped inside, looked around before she burst out laughing. "What in the hell?... He went a little overboard, didn't he?" She asked as she fingered one of the lace curtains. Letting the material slide from her fingers, she looked at him.

Ian looked around the room once more, at all the pink and lace. "He started decorating it the spring you left, always believing that you'd be back. Of course, some of the furnishing have changed as Makaria aged; but he believed. He knew you'd be back one day."

"I'd written him, after she was born," Persephone stated simply. Ian stared at her, shock written on his face. "I figured he would want to know what gender the child was, and so I sent him a letter. I just left certain features out of the details, made him think she looked like me." She walked over to where her daughter laid on the bed, softly sitting on the side as she stared down at the sleeping young woman. Softly touching Makaria's cheek, Persephone pushed back a stray strand of hair, smiling when her daughter moved closer to her hand.

Eyelashes fluttered against rosy cheeks as Makaria begin to open her eyes. Ian stood up, going to the bed but staying out of her line of sight. He didn't want her to be frighten of him. However, the first thing Makaria saw was her mother. Grey eyes shining softly down on her as she opened her turquoise ones.

"Mom?"

"Hi, honey," Persephone said as she smiled at her. She pushed another strand of hair back. "Welcome back. How are you feeling?"

Sitting up, Makaria put a hand to her head. It was throbbing. Wincing as the sun hit her eyes, she closed them before falling back into the mound of pillows behind her. She opened her eyes once more, looking around and realized she didn't recognize her surroundings. "Where am I?"