so...I lied, this isn't the last chapter, its the second to last chapter. They were originally meant to be one but halfway through writing this chapter I thought o the perfect way to end it showing and symbolizing Yugi's growth and transition through out the story nd just a wonderful way to make it come full circle...and its been way too long since we've seen Timaeus...

so...Two months and fifteen days later...Here is the next chapter!

Only one left...for real this time...I must not cry...

Chapter LXXIII: Temple

Yugi had gone up and down the same hill at least twice before concluding that he was hopelessly lost.

Plopping down on the thicket with an exasperated sigh, he looked up and down the path again, but saw no sign of the promised city—just an endless stretch of mossy hills dotted with wildflowers. The sun had sunk further in the sky, casting shadows and promising an early darkness; there was no sign of the path Tea had promised, nor the gondola that would take him home.

He sighed again and weighed his options. Malik, Otogi and Ryou weren't far behind, doubtless. Maybe he should just let them find him and escort him home. Surely they wouldn't be too mad at him once they had him home safe and sound?

Empowered by the thought, he chose a divergent in the path and followed it without hesitation. Searching, he spotted a hillside just past the meadows—one still small enough to climb, but large enough to get his bearings once he took in the view. Cheering his luck, he quickened his pace.

And stopped. The path ended deep in the valley just before an impressive set of retaining walls made from rough, sandy stone. Through the gape in the opening, Yugi spotted the outline of strange buildings. Curiosity overcoming him once again, Yugi approached it and gasped. Beyond the enclosure wall, a fortress sat immediately at the base of the hill. Unlike the retaining walls, a shiny, crystalline stone formed the interior structure, forming smooth pillars and a circular courtyard, as if to highlight its importance. The building itself was a gathering of monuments. Crafted from same smooth, sparkling white stone, it shimmered in the light; however, unlike the quadrilateral buildings of Kemet or the slender towers of Locri, it seemed devoid of shape. Rather, it molded and flowed with the limited space provided by the natural gorge formed between the two hills. Like the impressive retaining walls, the shape of the monuments defined the space, acting perhaps as a gateway to the narrow access path. If not for the cut in the rock that perfectly replicated a door, Yugi would almost think it part of the hillside itself.

What was this place? An abandoned villa? A community home? An old temple?

Yugi froze in the threshold, torn between his desire to explore and his duty-bound instinct to leave. Whatever it was, it wasn't his place to enter unannounced, even if he was Magistrate. Surely if there were someone here who could give him directions, he'd have spotted them by now. He should leave, there was no place for him here.

And yet.

And yet…

His feet moved as if summoned by some unseen force—and before Yugi could comprehend enough of himself to stop, he found himself inside.

It was the most beautiful place Yugi had ever seen.

Breathtaking paintings consumed the terra cotta walls depicting the embossed images of a beautiful and mysterious woman in different stages of her life: her youth, running wild in a field of flowers and hills, her maturity into a fierce but noble queen besides an imperiously and intimidating man, a wise advisor and overseer of men and women marrying, and a matronly figure smilingly loving down at an infant just born. The details of her chiseled face were so fine, so delicate that it betrayed the ferocity in her eyes, both savage and tamed, yet cruel and kind. The carvings were so real, so lifelike he could envision the woman stepping out of the walls. Even the pillars were depicted in contrasting carvings: climbing roses, decaying branches, and cold stone archways. And beneath his feet, colors exploded.

Fantastic murals dominated the floor: vibrant colors and flamboyant swirls blended together to form a series of murals that told a fascinating story. He saw the same maiden from before running carefree through a landscape mirroring Locri's wildflower-dotted hills. But then, its swirls of blue and green bled into darker, stormy purples and eventually terrifying streaks of red and black. That maiden was in the arms of a terrifying man in a chariot drawn by shadowy black horses; in the next mural, she was sat upon a throne of rich ebony. More murals branched out, depicting her in various roles: a queen dispensing justice, an indomitable judge sentencing an execution, a warm guardian wishing two young lovers blessings on their wedding day, a motherly figure breathing life into a new born infant, and finally a lover departing from the shadowy underworld for the bright, bold colors of spring and the world above, her hand never leaving that of the man's.

No pillar or archway was unadorned, no part of the temple undecorated—even the strangely arched ceiling featured frescoed lunettes of a fierce and noble queen presiding over births, unions and the sentencing of wrong-doers, all under the proud and passionate gaze of the imposing man who was her king. The unusual narrowness of the structure combined with these peculiar characteristics further invoked within him a feeling of being in an otherworldly space—a descent into a dark, bizarre underworld.

Yugi hadn't even realized how far he'd wandered until he found himself nearly stumbling towards a large square pit in which the whole structure seemed to be built around. Within its heart was a statue of a woman: proud, regal and elegant, she sat a queen upon her throne, a warrioress preparing for battle, a stately Lady commanding her business and home. Her face was frozen in marble stone that mirrored every detail of her power and grace, and when her eyes fell upon Yugi, he felt as though they were piercing his soul. He recognized her instantly from the art upon the walls, the decorations in the city, and the very adornments of his own house.

She was the Iron Lady.

She was the Queen who ruled alongside the Dark Lord.

She was the Goddess of Locri.

And he had trespassed into her home without invitation. Only hem-netjer were allowed in the deepest, most sequestered parts of the Gods' Great Houses in Kemet; he did not doubt Locri followed a similar principle. Bowing his head in apology to the goddess, he spun around and ran—and felt himself suddenly thrown backwards with a gasp of surprise.

He realized the gasp was not his when flowers suddenly rained down around him and he was sitting face to face with a stunned woman, struggling to hold an armful of flowers.

Mortification burned Yugi's face red.

He scrambled into a prostate position, mumbling apologies frantically as he gathered fallen flowers.

"Oh please, dear, it's alright." The woman's voice was soothing like the purddle of a stream and there was a sweet laugh to her words.

Yugi dared a glance. She was tall and sturdy-looking, with cascading chestnut brown hair done up in a tail high upon her head with two thinner tails framing either side of a plump, pretty face with an easy smile and friendly brown eyes. Her presence was kind and inviting, welcoming even before she held out her hand. Yugi took it and allowed her to pull him to his feet. It was then he noticed the capped sleeves of her long red dress, held with golden chains.

"Are you the priestess?" he asked, pulling away nervously.

Her smile did not fade. "I suppose. Are you here to visit Persephone?"

"Who?"

"Her name." She gestured her chin towards the goddess. "The true name of the Iron Lady is Persephone. We all have permission to use it within her temple, though she prefers it if you bring her an offering." She held up flowers in her arms.

Yugi's face heated again. "I didn't realize this was… I mean, I suspected but—I did not… Only priests are allowed in the Home of the Gods…where I'm from."

"I'm sure she will not mind if you share mine," the woman grinned. "I brought plenty anyway. She does so love flowers. They remind her of spring time and home. Come." The hand that clasped his was soft but its grip was firm. "I shall introduce you."

She led him back into the room where the stone woman sat regally upon her throne; Yugi mimicked her as she set the bouquet of wildflowers at her feet, then stepped back with a bow. "It's alright to be nervous," she assured him, her voice soothing and maternal. "Persephone is not like her husband, who enjoys his privacy. She likes it when people come to see her—so long as you are respectful, of course."

Yugi nodded, and dared himself once more to look upon her face: her strong features, the playful curl of her smile, the wildness in her eyes.

"I confess I know little about her," Yugi admitted. "I am not from Locri."

The woman chuckled. "I suspected as much," she teased lightly, and Yugi couldn't help but smile. "Just so," she turned back to the Iron Lady, her hands clasped behind her back. "I will tell you her story.

"Before she was known as Persephone or the Iron Lady, she was called Kore. Her father was the Sky God, her mother the Earth Goddess. Her mother loved her very much."

There was a pause in her words. "Perhaps, that is why her mother named her Kore, for it means maiden, and perhaps it was her mother's deepest, darkest wish that she would forever remain a child, never to become a woman. And perhaps, this was the reason that, even when her daughter blossomed into womanhood, she kept her close—kept her secret and hidden and away from those who would fall in love with her and separate her Kore from her…even if her own secret dream conflicted with those of her daughter's who wanted only to be free."

There was another pause. This time Yugi felt it, for the Iron Lady's youth reflected his own when his mother died; and for the first time since he'd left Kemet, he found himself thinking of Maat and Menk and the Great House of Amun where his father once served as High Priest and where his mother once danced and sang.

"Do not think her less for it, for it is the wish of all parents that their children never grow up and stay young and innocent forever, unknowing of loss or sorrow or pain—even if we realize they may never know friendship or love. Though, perhaps, we may think it a fair price if their hearts are never scared…" She spoke that passage with a particular sadness and longing, sympathizing with the mother-goddess in a way only someone who has felt the same emotions could understand. "And yet, in the deepest depths of hearts, we know it is naught but wishful thinking…"

Yugi watched her expression carefully, taking note of the sadness in her eyes and the resigned curve of her lips. Her face reminded him of Maat's just before he boarded Timaeus' ship the morning after he was married; Menk slumped beside her, weak and defeated and looking nothing like the indomitable, imposing figure Yugi had known him to be. He remembered how he'd left it to her to tell Yugi that they had always loved him. At the time, he had mistaken the hoarseness in Maat's voice and Menk's silence for bitterness; only now did he recognize that it had actually been remorse.

A lump of guilt formed in his throat when he realized how long it had been since he had last thought of her, of Menk, of Pas and of Mut. When had he last thought of them at all? Did they know that he had arrived in Locri safely? Did they know he was happy—that Mut was right and he and Timaeus had found peace through the turbulence of their marriage, and that he had found love in the man's arms? Had Basilius told them? His guilt deepened, realizing he hadn't thought to do so himself.

"Yet Kore was not the delicate thing her mother had thought her to be." He was ripped from such thoughts when the Priestess continued the story. "Yes, Kore was raised among the flowers and looked like a flower herself: her body was pliant as a stem, her skin soft as petals and her eyes bright and colorful like pansies. However, in her heart was a secret darkness. Though she appeared delicate, her will was strong: when she decided upon something, nothing could uproot her. She was lovely and sweet, but her temper was sharp as thorns and her world could be poisonous. She had no fear of the birds or the beasts. The flowers were her friends, the animals her confidants, and the trees her fellow trouble-makers. She took control of the flowers and the spring from her mother, and she gave them to the grasses and the trees and to all things so that they might bloom. She was an artist that way—and try as her mother might to control her, it was a fruitless effort.

"Alas, she was also a lonely goddess—as can happen when one has only flowers for company. Though her mother's love for her daughter was as strong as it was fierce, it was so much so that it demanded nothing more than to be loved best, but her daughter's heart was not hers to have nor to hold. Her father knew there was another who loved Kore more than anyone—even more than her Mother ever could."

The Priestess' eyes wandered to the walls where the shadows seemed to move and take shape. Yugi mimicked her movement, seeing everything she had described of the goddess painted in the murals of her temple: she was wild, free, untamed, yet always there was a shadow beside her, watching like a loyal guard—or a timid lover. For a moment, Yugi saw himself in the murals; he saw memories of his own childhood, the reeds and ibis, and an all too familiar green shadow sitting beside him at the lotus pond.

"It happened one day as the beautiful maiden was picking flowers by the river bank. A tall figure in a shadowy cape rose from the depths of the earth in a chariot drawn by six horses. On his head was a black crown. His name was Hades, the God of Death and Darkness. Before she could even make a sound, he snatched the maiden and stole her away to his realm, the mysterious underworld where all the dead go when they die."

Yugi trembled, transfixed by the tale, and unnerved by the similarities. His eyes fell upon the imposing black figure who appeared in all of Persephone's images.

"She knew of the dark god—of the King of the Underworld and of whom all life and things underground belonged to. It is his realm that our souls depart to, and it is he who judges whether we are worthy of paradise or torment. She knew the stories of his cruelty and his command over the dead, though no one knew his secret, for his was a life shrouded in mystery. Though he was the most powerful of all the gods—stronger than her father, the sky, and his brother, the sea—he was a god who, known to all but her, had fallen deeply, deeply, in love with the passionate and vibrant Kore.

She paused for a brief moment, taking in Yugi's look of wonderment. "He took her to his palace of black stone in the heart of the Underworld. He told her that he had fallen in love with her—with her loveliness and her sharp tongue, with her wildness and her indomitable will. Knowing her mother would reject him, he had asked her father for her hand, who agreed he could marry her if it was what Kore wished. He showed her his castle, introduced it to her as her new home, and filled the rooms with all the things he knew she'd loved, certain theirs would be a long and happy marriage."

She stopped again to giggle. "Of course, as one might imagine, the maiden Kore was none too pleased with the arrangement. Oh, she did not mind being kidnapped, mind you, for by then she was tired of her mother's overbearing nature, but she was not pleased to be taken into marriage by another whom she had not previously met and only knew through stories. Alas, the first few weeks of their marriage was tumulus and turbulent. The Dark God learned that for all her liveliness and loveliness, his wife was a fearsome creature with a temper that rivaled his own, yet he loved her more for the fact that she was not afraid of him. Meanwhile, Kore learned that though her husband was a fierce commander and a terrifying ruler, he was also patient, gentle, and extraordinarily kind.

"After the first few days of haste and brutality and strangeness, he began to treat her gently and with great tenderness, even though she made herself difficult to please with her raging tantrums, threats, sharp words and her promises to never forgive him, telling him that she would always hate him. As she launched into tirades with him, he would stand and listen and frown and keep listening until she flounced away. Indeed, for all her troublesome behavior, he never once scolded her, for he truly did love her and wanted to make her happy. He hoped that, in time, she would come to love him as he did her—and, perhaps, he sympathized with her predicament, for he knew it must have been difficult for her to come to a new home, a new world and a new place with no experience.

Embarrassment heated Yugi's cheeks as she recounted the telling. He, too, sympathized with the frightened Persephone, as well as her patient husband whose love and desperation was eerily familiar.

"It was only after her rage had cooled and she had no more anger left to thrust at him that she realized the gift he'd given her—the gift she had always longed for. Freedom. Freedom from her mother, her duties, from everything—even from the title of Kore, the maiden who was never allowed to become a woman. She missed her mother and the sun and her flowers, but there was much else to amuse her. Secretly, she relished in her influence over the fearsome monarch: she enjoyed his gifts and his efforts to please her, and she marveled at the way he obeyed. However, she also marveled at his kindness: he was sympathetic towards the just-departed and terrible only to those who had misused their lives for cruelty. He was generous with his wealth, and those who served him respected him not out of fear, but love. And, he was all and more with her: he asked her often what would make her happy, gave her gowns spun from gold and silver thread, played jacks with her using rubies and emeralds, and delighted in how she would take him for walks through the Elysian fields. Above all, he shared with her his secret garden where plants and flowers bloomed without need for sunlight.

"It was here that she saw for the first time the beauty of the underworld. She liked to wander the Elysian Fields and dance with the shades. She was fascinated by the torments her husband would enact and felt a strange sense of pride when she watched her husband sentence criminals. She saw the endless caves of jewels and treasures and the helpless ghosts standing, waiting for the end of time, and resolved to help them. They say reincarnation did not begin until she arrived, for she brought the matter to her husband who headed her council with love as well as respect. In time, she abandoned the name of Kore, for it was the identity of a girl she no longer was, and to reflect her new status, her new position, her new duty and her new role as Queen of the Underworld and Wife of the Dead. She called herself—"

"Persephone," Yugi echoed before she could finish, his eyes transfixed on the woman before him, strong and fierce, yet only now did he see traces of that wild girl who, like a small, sheltered bud that was freed from the shade by her husband's love, had been allowed to sprout and bloom and thrive. He wondered, if he were to glance his face in a polished looking glass now, would his eyes reflect such a transformation?

"Yes," the Priestess agreed, bowing slightly to meet his eyes. "Do you know how the story ends?"

She shook his head. "I do not. Will you tell it to me?"

She smiled. "Alas, not all was well, for though the Sky God had told her mother of the marriage, her mother was furious and grief-stricken at the loss of her daughter and neglected her duties. Nothing was allowed to grow upon the earth until the Sky God relented. Some stories say he sent his son to bring his sister home; others say the Earth Goddess herself went to retrieve her daughter, and when she arrived she was furious when Persephone confessed her love for her husband and the underworld—and though she'd been angry that he had took her away without asking her, she forgave him for that mistake as he had done so much to make up for it. But here, the story differs," the Priestess explained, tapping a finger to her chin. "It ends with Persephone eating six pomegranate seeds from the Underworld, which according to ancient law means she must stay in the Underworld. It was therefore decided that she would spend six months of the year with her mother, during which the world would be fruitful, and six with her husband, where her mother would grieve her loss and allow nothing to grow. Some stories say Hades forced or tricked her into eating them, though many believe this is the Earth Goddess' telling. Others stories say it was her father, the Sky God, who made the ruling to end the quarrelling between them. Another telling says it was a boy whom the Earth Goddess turned into a lizard for jeering at her grief that tricked Persephone into eating the pomegranate in revenge. The women's version claims it was Persephone, herself, who decided to eat the pomegranates and came up with the compromise; another version of that says she lied about eating the seeds. Regardless, all the tellings have one similarity.

"Persephone chooses to stay in the Underworld with her husband and rule as its Queen, because it was his love and trust that inspired her to become the Queen that the Underworld needed, and it was because of him that she was able to grow and make her own choices and embrace her true self."

"He helped her become Persephone."

"Precisely," the Priestess said, something akin to slyness creeping into her smile. "You speak as though you understand her."

Yugi flushed, smiling and tucked a stray lock behind his ear. "Her story is similar to mine in how I met my husband—particularly my behavior in the beginning." He felt his blush deepen, shame heating his neck. "It was an arranged marriage, though I liked him well enough before then. Looking back, I can honestly say I was falling in love with him, but because it all happened so suddenly and without me, I was…very angry at him for a long time."

"And you are not now?"

Yugi shook his head, a grin brightening his face. "No."

A warm, understanding smile brightened the woman's face. "You love him."

"I do. I love him very much." Yugi rubbed his shoulders, suddenly shaking from the force of that confession "Sometimes I'm afraid of it—not of him, never. Just… I'm afraid of how strong this feeling is, how powerful it is…and of the possibility of losing it." He paused, struggling to regain control of himself, but his emotions were wild and the insecurities he'd found so hard to put aside warred to the surface in his husband's long absence.

"Dear child, what has caused you this distress?"

The priestess' voice was so kind. Compassion radiated in her eyes. Her age and face reminded him so much of Mut in that moment that he could not have stopped his tears even if he wanted to. Two hands found his shoulders, steading him as he wept and prayed the goddess would not be offended.

"Surely, it cannot be as terrible as that." Her words were so reassuring and gentle, her voice so kind and sincere. "Perhaps we—I can help?"

"In truth, it is not," Yugi admitted, noting her correction but choosing not to mention it. "I have only been here for a short time, barely a fortnight, though I confess I've spent much of that time with my husband." A smile brightened his face and a small blush bloomed there. "Today was the first time I saw the city since we arrived. I was determined. It is so different in every way possible from where I grew up, but I already love it here. The people, the city, this place—I already consider it all my home. I understand why my husband loves it so much. I want to know more, see more, but there's still so much that I don't know…" He stopped, a familiar anxiousness threatening to overwhelm him. "I don't know anything about him, about Locri, about Atlantis…" He stopped and took a breath, hoping to ease the coming tears. It did nothing. "I want to stand beside him, to rule beside him. I want to help these people, my people, I want to be the ruler they need, but I'm…I'm…I'm so afraid."

He covered his eyes, unable to stop his tears. "I'm afraid I won't be able to handle it all. I'm afraid I'll make mistakes I won't be able to fix. I'm afraid I'll be too weak to stand beside him… I'm afraid I'll fail him."

Two arms, tender and fierce as a mother's love suddenly engulfed his shoulders, stunning him with their warmth and strength. "Oh, sweet child, we understand."

He welcomed her embrace.

"We were but an ordinary women before our—my—husband and I wed." There it was again—that slip that sounded familiar, though in his state he could not put to memory where he'd heard it. "Ours was an arranged affair. I was quite sour at him because of it, though it was not he whom I was angry at, but rather what being married to him meant." She released him and stepped away, her sad eyes gazing longingly out over the sea. She seemed so much older, so much wiser. "It meant that the land I had grown up in was no longer my home, that the people I had known and cared for all my life were no longer my people and that all the imaginings I had for my future were no longer my destiny."

She turned back to him, a touch of sadness in her deep brown eyes, but Yugi read other emotions too: apprehension, excitement, resolve, pride. "Please do not think less of us—me. I was young then, so very young, and I had not wanted this life. I never imagined it for myself, and yet suddenly it was all thrust upon me, but beyond that we…" She paused again, and this time Yugi heard it; he knew exactly what it was and where he had heard it. "I felt overwhelmed by the responsibility…"

A small spark of shame crept across her face, followed by a dry chuckle of humor that came from understanding one's mistakes. "It seems our only comfort in such situations is to blame those we love for our suffering rather than look to them as a source of strength in our apprehension."

"Yes," Yugi frowned, only now understanding the wisdom of her words. As the youngest child of the king and his mother's only child, he was free to choose his own fate. He never needed to worry over the responsibilities of kingship like Pas or Mut, nor did he need to devote himself to the catering of gods outside festivities like Menk and Maat. He could sing, dance or play all he wished and no one could tell him not to. Had he always been so spoiled? Had that been why he'd been so angry with Menk and Maat, with Pas and Mut—with Timaeus?

"And how did…" he began, his voice hesitant. "How did you overcome that apprehension? Didn't it bother you? Having your life chosen for you? Having someone chosen for you?"

Her smile beamed. "It did at first when my husband and I had just been wed—as I'm sure it did you. He was less than happy about the arrangement as I was, but eventually, we became tired of being angry, and we came to learn each other: our strengths, our weaknesses, our fears… We came to understand one another—first as friends, then as lovers, then as something much deeper and much stronger. I was happy and proud to stand at his side, even when the duties of my position completely overwhelmed me. I confess at times I am still afraid, but he gave me strength, and the more I thought of it, knowing he was by my side as I was his, the more I started to see it not as a duty or a privilege, but a chance to do some true good for the people—for my people. Just as the Iron Lady chose to be Queen, I chose this." She spun about as she spoke; pride brightened her face and the sheer love she felt for her duty radiated off her in waves like soft, warm sunshine. "I could've been content to merely be happy with my husband, to raise our children and let others see to the tasks at hand. It would've been within my right to do so, but I chose to do it, and I take pride in that choice, because it was my choice. He is my choice—not my family's, not my husband's, but my own. Knowing that he supports me in that choice…" Joy moistened her eyes and she brushed them away, her smile still beaming. "It only makes me love him more."

That same joy filled Yugi's heart until he thought it might burst. He looked back to Persephone and felt that her eyes were warmer, her face less stern than when he'd first met her, and the curve of her lips gentler and more encouraging. He nodded to her and bowed to the priestess.

"Thank you, my Lady, for your inspiring words."

She giggled. "I appreciate the formality, though please: from now on, if we are in private, call me Fiona."

"Only if you agree to call me Yugi."

"A deal it is then!" She clapped her hands with glee and led him back to the foyer. Both of them offering the Iron Lady one last bow before existing her sanctum.

"You'd best be heading home now: it'll be dark soon." She gestured to the sky showing the fiery boldness of crimson and scarlet, then deepest violet.

"Aye," Yugi sighed. "I was trying to find the path back to town but I must've turned myself around." The laugh they shared was harmonious in its humor.

"Oh, that happens to the best of us. You are close, actually, but on the wrong hillside." She turned him around, and to Yugi's own bewilderment, there—just beyond the hill where he'd found the path leading to the temple—sat Locri, clear and shimmering in the setting sun, its grand canal peaceful and empty. The boy could've blanched, but instead only laughed harder.

"Thank you, again," Yugi smiled calling back and he hurried off.

"My pleasure," the priestess waved, just as exuberant. "And fret not, sweet Yugi. You will make a wonderful Magistrate."

Caught off guard and wondering briefly how she'd figured him for the Magistrate, he turned back momentarily—and smacked right into a strong chest with a loud 'oof'. Two arms encircled around him and Yugi recognized their strength and familiarity instantly. He looked up and saw the all too familiar emerald green and pale pearl eyes of Timaeus blazing back at him. A mixture of emotions swirled in those eyes: surprise, recognition, relief, joy.

Delight transformed his face. With a squeal of happiness, Yugi all but leapt onto him and clung tightly; Timaeus caught him easily and spun him about. As Yugi snuggled deeper into his arms, it felt as if his heart was suddenly relieved of a heaviness that he hadn't realized was there. Over Yugi's bent head, he caught the Priestess staring at him with a curled, playful, knowing smile. He was once again stunned that, just a moment earlier, he'd seen his beautiful, young wife laughing and smiling with the Queen of Atlantis.

HISTORICAL NOTE: the temple of persephone, located in Lori, Italy is a REAL place, its ruins are still accessible to this day and was one of the key pieces of inspirations for this story!

I wont bore you with the details since i've explained them throughout this story but Persephone was a critically important goddess in Locri, in fact she was at the very heart of the Locrian society and many customs and cultures came from her role as women, mother, overseer of birth and funerals, and her role as a goddess of life and death, and I based many of the customs i used to create locri on Persephone herself and many of theses roles that she played (and Persephone'es role was much greater in Locri than it was in any other place) and her relationship with Hades was also a key factor.

So I'm just gonna come out and say it incase all the references and allusions i made throughout this ENTIRE story weren't enough...Hades and Persephone is my favorite myth of all time, its one of the few actual love stories in greek mythology and one of the few stories told exclusively by women (the ballad of dememter version in the Illiad is a cliffnotes version meant to focus on demeter. And for those of you whose only knowledge of greek mythology comes from Disney's Herculeus (one of my fav movies but has absolutely nothing historically accurate about it, Hades was NOT an evil god, and while he did kidnap Persephone, he DID have permission to marry her from Zeus, her father-the myth was actually meant to explain greek marriage and not the seasons since Greece's mediterranian weather didn't follow the four seaons cycle of north america, hence the confusion)

I'm also very proud of the way i managed to bring Fiona into the story ;)

hope you all enjoyed it...Next chapter will bethe last and given the lock down...i'll have lots of time to work on it!