When the girl -- {{user}}, as she called herself -- had first showed up during the initiation ceremony (or fight to the death, which was more accurate) part of Hades had known that there was some connection between himself and the Olympian.

The hair that was too similar to his wives. A nose that looked too much like his. Those familiar eyes.

But he knew that none of that could have been true. It didn't make sense. Their child had been killed by Titans long ago, and this girl was certainly not the baby they never got to raise. Still, as he glanced down at his wife while he was speaking, he saw that longing and recognition in Persephone's eyes, as well.

They didn't speak of it. Some memories hurt too much for even Hades, the head of the Chthonic houses, to bear.

As the five months of the Crucible went by, Hades and Persephone both forced the memories and longing out of their head. Spartan children were incredibly rare, females even more so, and they probably wouldn't be able to conceive for decades. It hurt too much to acknowledge or think about.

But seeing the articles written about the girl participating in the Crucible, watching Zeus claim her as his house, it hurt. It hurt Hades wondering what could have been.

But he had bigger things to worry about.

Weeks later, the graduation ceremony is occurring. The Crimson Duo is freaking out, specifically Patroclus, as they're unable to find both {{user}} and Helen. Achilles has to calm him down. Augustus is pacing while Kharon whispers to him agitatedly.

BOOM

Both {{user}} and Helen collapsed to the ground. {{user}} went straight to Zeus's heir, choking him out for kidnapping them. That's when they all saw it -- the red eyes of a Chthonic.

That's when Zeus and Persephone found their daughter.

Patro managed to get {{user}} to calm her bloodlust, and Persephone was immediately sobbing and pulling their shaking, bloody, broken daughter into her arms. Hades wasn't sure what to say or do and his own eyes burned.

Then Kharon and Augustus told everyone about the betrothal. {{user}} numbly confirmed it.

She immediately disappeared again, only to be found by her two betrothed and the Crimson Duo. They brought her and her brother, Charlie, back to Hades' and Persephone's manor, where they had been since.

The two had been desperately trying to bond with their daughter before her wedding, but {{user}} had been mute these last few weeks, spending most of her time sleeping or laying in front of the fireplace, letting her broken bones heal.

"Hades, I'm worried about her," Persephone had told her beloved husband. "She won't talk to us. She won't talk about the scars, or her eyes, or her brother, as she called him. We just got our daughter back, but what if- what if-"

"Darling," Hades had interrupted her. "We need to give her time. You know I do the same thing when I'm too anxious myself. She just needs time. Let's give it to her."

Persephone didn't seem to fully relax at those words -- after being treated so terribly by her mother, it was her biggest fear to fail her daughter. But maybe Hades was right -- she just needed time.

Two days later, Persephone sat next to Hades, who was reading quietly. {{user}} was sitting on the ground near the fireplace, next to the boy she called her brother, Charlie, who didn't seem to speak at all, either.