I'm sorry for leaving you on edge for a month guys, but the combination at being back home, lock-down that only recently started letting up, online classes, new remote job and NaNo Camp was nuclear for my fanficcing. I didn't write almost a single word in April fan-fic wise up until today! Thankfully, most of this chapter was pre-planned, so I had relatively easy time connecting all relevant plot points. I'll try and hurry up the next few chapters (we're reaching the Fall and I'm excited for it!), but no promises!

I'll skip the Q&A I've been doing so far because frankly, I'm exhausted, and can't write anymore, but next chapter will answer all questions from this and previous chapter. Thank you again for loving and supporting HoSA, and enjoy!

"No, no, no, that's a bad, bad idea," Mercury shook his head, scrolling the mail and re-sorting them into their appropriate folders to avoid confusions as he argued with his Greek counterpart. "I'm not visiting stepmother even if you paid me all the money Olympus has."

Oh c'mon! Hermes whined, sounding like a petulant child – well, more than usual, that was. We're the only ones who hadn't seen what sort of punishment Uncle P cooked up for her. Besides, she owes me a few dozen things after all these years – I wanna go and laugh at her!

"You can do it in your own time, when we're not constantly switching between to keep everyone happy," Mercury snapped back at him. "I have a job to do right now."

The job you were planning on using to check on Sephie? Hermes mercilessly took a stab at the sore spot, and Mercury all but recoiled from the implied accusation. He had been given orders not to make contact with any demigods, and he planned on keeping it, he really, really did… but that girl was constantly on his mind, and he couldn't stop thinking about her and wanting to visit her.

"Shut up!" he said a tad bit too loudly, attracting the attention of the god lounging nearby at the bench in front of the Great Hall.

"Having fun arguing, dearest brother?"

Mercury bit his lip not to backtalk to Mars. The man was always a bit too proud, and a bit too rigid for Mercury's liking, but Mercury was determined not to talk his way into another fight with the patron god of Rome.

He had far better things to do.

"No comment?" Mars' eyebrows raised and he stood up, strolling over until he blocked Mercury's path to the edges of Olympus, from where he'd normally dive to start delivering mail. "What were you arguing about with your pathetic counterpart to not want to say anything?"

I'm not pathetic, that arrogant little swine, just because he's the patron on the entirety of Rome - !

Mercury tuned out Hermes' rant and looked his brother directly in the eye.

"What he and I talk of does not pertain to you; so, step aside and let me do my job."

"Does not pertain to me?" Mars laughed derisively, coming even closer, forcing Mercury to shift weight backward to avoid losing balance. "Do listen to yourself – god of lies and trickery, giving birth to the biggest traitor Olympus has ever seen, yet can't lie for shit when wanting to visit their demigod lover?"

A ugly feeling rose up in Mercury's chest. Was he forever going to be branded and looked down upon for his counterpart's missteps? Not even that, but also dragging in the Castellan child into it? Why was he being punished for other people's indiscretions?

I'm telling you, he's an asshole, so let me at him! Hermes growled from the background, and Mercury felt a faint sensation of fingers interlacing with his. One word, and I'll send him to Apollo with so many broken bones, he'll lose all face and reputation on Olympus for the next two centuries. God of trickery and lies… like that's all we do!

I'll deal with him, Mercury rejected the offer hastily, but the ugly feeling faded away, blood calming down as he carefully chose his words to do the most damage in the shortest time. Hermes also retreated, a bit disgruntled but nonetheless accepting of the choice.

"I repeat, private discussions I have with my counterpart are hardly what you should be concerned about," Mercury finally spoke, ready to grievously injure. "My children's mistakes are theirs to bear, and their glory are theirs to enjoy – I may only claim actions done in my name, and would not presume to do otherwise, no matter their relation to me."

A not-so-subtle jab at Mars' habit of claiming everything Romans and their children did as something done for him and in his name, Mercury enjoyed seeing the other god's face turn from healthy bronze to puce white, before skipping the redness and going straight into purplish. He was not done, however.

"If I wanted to visit any lover of mine, mortal, demigod or immortal, I would certainly not do it in secret: I have no permanent lover, no spouse to tie me down, so from who I should hide anything? I'm sure you can relate..."

Mars gnashed his teeth, and Mercury grinned cheekily at him, knowing he was pushing it to the edge, but not caring at all. Technically he wasn't insulting his brother, only insinuating, and the god could not act until the direct insult was slung their way lest he wished to face Jupiter's wrath.

"Fine! Do what you wish, brother, but I will be keeping an eye on you," Mars spat out after a long silence and stalked off, leaving Mercury alone.

Well, as alone as you could when you had someone else at the back of your head doing a live spectating of everything you did.

That was just nasty; I underestimated how much you dislike him, there was a level of awe in Hermes' voice Mercury was unused to hearing. It wasn't unpleasant, though, just unexpected. Is it really that bad?

His continuous disparaging of everything that has nothing to do with war or rulership has long since worn on everyone's nerves, Mercury snorted, checking off the mail he had sent and noting where the next message was waiting for him: the depths of the Underworld, from Lord Pluto, for Persephone Jackson. No one truly can stand him; we tolerate him because he knows how to shut his mouth when he is not necessary, but outside of that he's insufferable.

Not that different from Ares, then, only with more brain-to-mouth filter, Hermes concluded with a dismissive huff. Can I take over for the delivery?

"Absolutely not," Mercury easily rejected his request, checking the strap of his messenger bag once again just for the mind's peace, and took a running dive off Olympus, focusing on the paths through the clouds that led into darkness of Erebus, and inevitably into the Underworld. "It's my turn to make deliveries, and it says Pluto, not the Greek counterpart."

It was becoming easier and easier with every day to get used to the communication between the two sides. Sure, the headaches they got from speaking the wrong names were still there, and the moments when both sides were prayed to at the same time were still nightmarish, but the change they were now adapting to under the threat of Mother Earth's attack was not a bad one.

Quietly, cautiously, Mercury even wished for the things to last as long as they existed.

I know, Hermes sent him a warm feeling of amusement and contentment. I wish we are able to continue working like this for a long time.

"Not everyone made a smooth transition, so I'm not sure," Mercury winced as he recalled what happened not a day ago – Minerva and her counterpart, driven nearly to the point of insanity by their arguments, had started breaking things Minerva's counterpart's daughter had done to repair the damage from the recent Titanomachia. It had taken the combined strength of Apollo, Diana and Neptune, who was visiting at the time, to prevent the goddess from further lash-outs, and it had served as a rude wake-up call for everyone to watch how close they got with their counterparts.

In the end, they may have been made out of the same mold, but the powers and domains they presided over would never allow them to fully merge together, nor should they, in Mercury's opinion, and Hermes echoed his feelings.

The package from Underworld turned out to be an ornate, old-fashioned envelope stand: Mercury had no idea why Pluto handed it to him, together with another box that was specifically addressed to him and Hermes, with a enigmatic smile, but it wasn't his job to know. His was just to deliver the package as soon as possible to the recipient and go on to deliver more things.

What he didn't count on was Persephone Jackson catching him in his delivery.

The demigoddess was still awake despite it being very, very late, sitting at the foot of her bed in her cabin and combing her difficult to tame black hair while humming a song Mercury found both strangely familiar and completely unfamiliar. She was thankfully still dressed in her day clothes – maybe she was getting off the watch duty or getting ready for it? Whatever it was, she was decent.

"Herm – oh, I'm sorry, Lord Mercury," Persephone blinked after getting a good look at the deity in the dim lights, and Mercury preened at being instantly recognized. "What brings you here at this time of the day?"

"Delivery, from esteemed Lord Pluto," Mercury fished the envelope stand from his messenger bag and handed it to her. "He offered no explanation, only that you'll know how to use it."

"Right, right – did he send me my old one, or?" Persephone lifted the stand to look underneath it. "Huh, different sigils… So who am I supposed to send the letters to, Uncle?"

Mercury, who had already turned to leave, whirled back around to look at her and the envelope stand again. Now that he focused, he could sense faint traces of magic on it – the type of magic the gods used to warp things from one spot to another. Why was Lord Pluto sending something like that to a demigod?

Well, he does like her a lot… I once overheard him and Father discussing how much she reminded them of Grandmother, Hermes offered in a tiny voice. She even said it herself she talks informally with Uncle H often.

"Huh, I guess I'll just have to write a letter and figure it out myself..." Persephone muttered, almost completely forgetting a god was in the same room with her. "As long as it doesn't connect me to an asshole, I'll be fine I guess."

"And how do you know what it should do?" Mercury asked harshly, reeling a bit from the information Hermes had dumped on him. Gods, being casual with demigods? Though Lord Pluto was always known as a bit of an oddball, this was so out of norm…

"Huh? Oh, Uncle Ha – Uncle and I wrote to each other often after we first met," Persephone shrugged, leaving the stand on the bed, and stood up, stretching out her arms before quickly braiding up her hair and tying it away from her face. "I did him a major favor and he did me a favor, and we just… continued writing to each other after that, I guess. It's not really a secret… at least, I don't think it's a secret?"

The question at the end made Hermes chuckle. It's certainly a secret if your names happen to be Father and stepmother. I believe everyone else on Olympus knows, though.

You approve of such things? Mercury raised an eyebrow, more than aware of his counterpart's possessiveness.

Uncle is no competition, Hermes shrugged at left it at that.

"The Romans and Greeks don't often communicate," Mercury said aloud to sate Persephone's curious look. "This is the first time I hear things like this."

"Yeah, that makes sense..." Persephone mumbled, before straightening up. "Well, I'm glad we met again, Lord Mercury, but I have to replace Frank and Leo on the till with Jason – I've just arrived from Camp Jupiter, and I'm the freshest."

"Far it be from me to stand in the soldier's duty," Mercury chuckled and stepped aside for the girl to get out.

"I'm no soldier, whether of Olympus or of the Camp, either one," Persephone shook her head, a dark undertone to her until then jovial voice. "Don't mistake me for one."

Mercury nearly took a step back; she radiated the same energy and aura her father did whenever something he was particularly pissed off with resurfaced as the topic of the conversation, and he had always taken great pain to avoid being the one who started such topics. An irate Neptune was a scary Neptune; the calmly furious one you should better hide from in the depths of Tartarus and hope he never thinks about going there to check if you're hiding there.

Please don't, Hermes hurriedly told him as Mercury opened his mouth. She's still carrying wounds from Titanomachia. I've talked with her about it… please don't.

Mercury snapped his jaws shut, letting the demigoddess exit the cabin, wondering how exactly did he manage to get her that angry.

"Anything to say, Hermes?" Mercury asked dryly, checking the next destination he had written down for delivery and making a low whistle. It looked like they were going to visit their stepmother after all.

I'm not going to say anything, Hermes refused to talk. She told me everything in confidence, so you'll have to ask her yourself if you want to know.

"As you wish," Mercury shrugged and imagined himself dissolving straight to the temple of Juno on Olympus, where the next delivery – a letter from Ceres – specified its destination.

Knocking politely on the door, Mercury took a step back to insure he would not be stricken down by either the temple's defenses or its crabby resident. It happened more often than not, him being blasted by the goddesses' temples' defenses, so he developed a method how to do his duty and get out of at unsctahed as possible.

After a few minutes Mercury spent tapping his foot on the marble pathway and debating internally whether he should take the offered time and open the package Pluto had given him, the doors to the temple creaked open an inch. A youthful face of one of the Graces peeked through, looking rather anxious and harrowed at the intrusion.

"Yes?"

"Lady Ceres sends a letter to her sister, Lady Juno," Mercury bowed slightly, flashing the envelope to prove he was there on a serious business. The Grace pursed her lips, looked around and then opened the door wider, but only enough for Mercury to barely squeeze through.

"Her Ladyship does not wish to be seen or heard by anyone until the punishment runs its course," the Grace hurriedly explained as she led Mercury through the temple to the inner chambers. "I'll explain to her what you need, but she might refuse to take the letter – she had done so today at least three times."

"I understand," Mercury hummed. "I can leave the message with you ot be delivered when Lady Juno feels better, mh?"

The grace blushed and nodded in acqueisance, stopping in front of the smallish, mahogany doors carved with reliefs of Juno and her stories and inlaid with precious stones Lord Pluto had given the royal couple at their wedding as the gift.

"My Lady? Lord Mercury has a letter for you, from Lady Ceres," the Grace said after gently tapping at the door.

"You can let him in," Juno's voice, unusually deep and raspy, echoed from inside, and Mercury pushed the door inward to enter the chambers.

The room itself wasn't overly big, or ornate – a surprise to Mercury, knowing how the temple itself looked and how much Juno liked her ornaments and decorations. One would think she'd decorate her own space to the point of it being tasteless, but it was just the opposite: the room was bare, with only beautiful frescos decorating the walls Mercury could bet everything Juno had to beg Minerva to make and few potted plants.

The goddess herself was sitting morosely at the window, looking outside and wincing from time to time. Mercury at first thought it strange – gods did not feel as much pain, or at least it took them a damn lot more to feel pain, and that went doubly so for the children of Kronos, who had gone through first Titanomachia with almost no protection.

The reason, however, immediately became obvious once Juno turned to face Mercury and accept the letter – her face was covered in painful blisters, and every bit of skin that was not swallowed by flowing robes showed signs of attack by what looked like a horde of animals; and that was only what Mercury could see in the dim light!

Uncle really knows when to go overboard, Hermes sounded viciously pleased. Bet you anything the wounds underneath the clothes are even worse!

Mercury only raised an eyebrow and commented nothing, something Juno shot him a dirty look for but also did not comment as she thanked him and shooed him out of the room.

"That was outright vicious," he finally said after he got far enough from Juno's temple. "I did not know Lord Neptune would go that far."

Neptune? Nah, this is all Uncle P – the guy knows his stuff, Hermes huddled in his corner of the mind, radiating contentedness. Now I can rest easy and let you do our work as long as needed.

"So easy to please you," Mercury shook his head.

Several days later, Mercury was just ready to switch with Hermes for the next batch of deliveries, before remembering the package Pluto had given him. Unpacking it, he was confronted with a letter stand – and a letter already resting in it.

What's this? Hermes came closer to the forefront of their shared mind. Is that the same letter stand Uncle H sent to Sephie?

"Looks like it," Mercury murmured, taking the letter and inspecting the flowing Greek letters on the envelope, addressing Whoever receives this. "Should I open it?"

Go ahead – it could be a coincidence, Hermes sounded doubtful even as he suggested it himself.

Humming in reply, Mercury fetched a letter opener from his pocket and gently tore through the flap, taking out a single sheet of paper. It took him a second to switch from Latin to Greek, and started to read the letter in earnest.

Dear Whoever,

Congrats! You're stuck with me now! I don't know what have you done to piss off Uncle Hades – that may be Lord Hades to you, or Pluto, nowadays even I don't know what to call which god – that he decided to gift you a way to talk with me, but here we are. I will be writing to you, just so you know, even if you decide to ignore my letters. I really do need an outlet with the shitstorm currently going on, and since my favorite sounding boards are either a) locked in Underworld and incredibly busy, b) forbidden from even approaching me Because Prophecy or c) with me on the way to fulfill that prophecy, you'll do.

My name is Persephone Amphitrite Jackson, but call me anything other than Sephie (yes, even you Uncle Z, if you're the one reading it!), and I willdrench you in freezing water. You might know me as Heroine of Olympus (bullshit, Luke's the hero, I'm just the child of the prophecy), Praetor Jackson (don't call me that, please) or General of Olympus (again, bullshit, Annabeth and I did it together) – whatever you know me as, straight out ignore it. I've learned the hard way never to trust the stories going around about others in our world; in return, I'll do the same for you. I don't care who you are: if you want to reply to me, I'll talk with you in the same way I'd talk with any of my friends. I hope you will answer to me, though – having someone to talk to who's at least a little removed from this whole nightmare would be nice.

Anyway, who are you? Tell me a little about yourself, and something totally random that only a few people know. Personally, I love color blue, and put it everywhere I can (yes, even in food and drinks)! Silly, I know, but it's what I do.

Hoping for your reply,

Sephie Jackson

"I see Lord Pluto decided to meddle," Mercury raised an eyebrow as Hermes lost in his mind, blubbering over the letter, and started pushing him out of the control. "Wait your turn, I'll also write a letter."

Whose girlfriend is she? Hermes hissed, and Mercury had to fight for control as the jealousy echoed in their connection. Let me talk to her!

"Calm down for a microsecond – no wonder you ruined that cabin for a minor offense," Mercury huffed, finally wrestling enough control to sit down and summon paper and pen. "We can both write letters and pack them together!"

That cooled down the fire, and Mercury was left to write the letter in peace.

Dear Miss Jackson...