Long Past Dawn

"Gods are such children," he says under his breath and I can't help but agree with him.

I shiver as I remember all the gross shit he said to me, ah if there was anything I wanted to forget about then that whole encounter would be the top of the list. I know Hades called him brother but wow, those two are nothing alike. I much prefer the quiet and calm Hades to the loud and playboy-like Zeus.

And thirteen hundred? How could he think I'm that old? I would be dead if I was that old.

For my best interest, I push the encounter from my mind and hope to god I never have to meet that insufferable guy again.

Once out of the palace I sigh, I really don't care where we go now, as long as it's far away from that asshole I'm happy.

I follow Hades onto the chariot as yet again Iferis shrinks down to about the size of a plushie and hovers next to my shoulder as we head off the ground and back into the warm blue sky of Olympus.

I watch as we fly over tall buildings somewhat like the palace we were at and the amazing creatures below us, some look like people with the lower half of their body like that of a horse or goat and even women with flowing robes, slightly tinted skin and hair with different colors that couldn't possibly be natural. Everything here is just too unreal.

I'm not sure I like it.

As we fly away from the palace the air changes slightly, it becomes slightly heavier and it smells more of fresh-cut wood of some kind, pine maybe?

The smell slightly reminds me of Themyscira but here there's no smell of saltwater mixed in with the air, still, the smell is comforting.

Slowly we descend back down to the ground in front of another temple-like palace made of white marble with inlaid silver on the flooring that seems to show the moon cycle.

All in all the whole place has a beauty to it I can't quite describe, unlike Zeus's palace this place has a more down-to-earth feel to it, along with a much less regal feel to it. All in all, I'd say the place feels more welcoming than Zeus's palace.

"Um..." I start to as we land in front of the palace, "What exactly are we doing here?"

Hades laughs slightly as if I said some sort of joke, "You'll see."

As we walk up the steps my stomach twists and turns more every step of the way. If I thought it was bad walking towards Zeus's palace then this is torture.

My nerves seem to be all over the place, not that I blame them with all that's happened. It's been one hell of a day, or is it night? F.u.c.k I don't know, it's night time on Themyscira but the middle of the day here.

Once we get to the top of the steps we're greeted by the presence of a man. He has the aura like the sun, as in it's hard to look at him and when you do you have to squint, without even hearing him speak I have a feeling he's the type you get angry at easily.

"Apollo," Hades greets the man curtly.

The man has tan skin, green eyes, blonde hair and is rather well built. He looks to be in his late thirties and is wearing a golden toga with a sheath of arrows and a bow on his back. Somehow, I feel any of these people I've met today would be very successful models.

"Hades," The man called Apollo says, not hiding the cold edge in his voice, "What are you doing here."

"I'm here," Hades says as he moves in front of me, "To talk to Artemis."

If Hades moved to stop Apollo from seeing me it's too late, "Is that her? I didn't know you would bring her kid."

Hades is shocked for a moment and doesn't say anything as Apollo continues, "Hades, she's my twin, even if I didn't see her in the kid I would be able to tell."

Apollo looks at me and I can tell he doesn't care about me in the least, I feel like a lamb to the slaughter right now, after a moment he sighs and steps aside, "Fine, take her. But... Does Zeus know?"

"What Zeus does or does not know," Hades says as we step past Apollo and down a hall, "Does not involve you sun god."

As we walk down the hall away from Apollo I can't help but look back, even if he does blind me a little, Apollo is just where we left him and is gazing at us as we walk away with an unreadable expression on his face.

The walk down the hall is spent in silence as it gets darker and darker until I can't see anything and the only light is that from Iferis's mane.

"How much longer?" I ask, knowing very well that I sound like a little kid.

"Don't worry," Hades says as light suddenly floods past him and all I can see is his silhouette in front of me, "We're already there."

I suck in a surprised breath as we enter a huge room, its ceiling is high above us and the white marble of the place makes the whole room seem heavenly.

At the far end of the room is a silver moon cast into the marble wall, and under that is a throne of white marble and silver.

Sitting on the throne is a woman who looks like a real-life version of the statue in the temple on Themyscira.

Her long brown hair is tied up and styled behind her and she's wearing a dress much like mine but green and hers only comes to just below her knees. On one wrist she has something that almost looks like a wrist guard made out of cloth and wrapped around her wrist and tied with a golden string.

"Artemis," Hades says warmly with a slight smile on his face.

The woman called Artemisslips off the throne gracefully and runs down the room towards us, a bright smile on her god-like features.

"Hades!" She calls as she comes closer, she then sees me and stops in her tracts.

For a moment it feels as if nostalgia floods through her before she snaps out of it. "You brought her?"

"Of course," Hades says with a smile, I'm starting to wonder why I'm here more and more.

"Umm..." I start, "Why exactly am I here?"

I then remember what Hades told me back at the temple, "I was told that I'm going to met my mother but she's..." the word 'dead sticks in my throat and somehow I can't quite voice it.

Artemis looks at Hades almost in alarm, "You didn't tell her?"

She sounds worried, anxious and concerned, I'm a little surprised. Hades shakes his head, "You know it was not my place to say. That is your job."

Artemis gives a small nod and smiles slightly. She turns back to me, "You look like your father."

I snort bitterly thinking back to the days on the streets and the nights I spent cold and hungry, "I don't remember the asshole."

The word slips out before I remember where I am, I blush slightly and turn away. I hear Hades laugh slightly at my words.

"Ha... I suppose so..." Artemis says, a faraway look is in her eyes and she almost looks... regretful.

"Um... I still don't know why I'm here..." I say, trying to remind either Hades or Artemis that they still haven't told me.

"And as for meeting my mother she's de-" I'm cut off mid-sentence by Hades.

"Dead?" He says, looking at Artemis and then back to me, "I think you'll find that you're wrong about that, right Artemis?"

Artemis sighs slightly before nodding and straightening up, I notice she's pretty tall.

'I'm sorry,' Iferis says in my head suddenly, it's the first time she's spoken in a while and I'm startled for a moment but before I can ask her what she means Artemis fixes her blue eyes on mine and starts speaking the words that destroyed everything I thought I ever knew.

"Dawn," Artemis says, glancing at Hades as she speaks, "I am your mother."