"Demi, I'm home!"

The door closed behind her mother with a bang and Demi rolled off her bed and landed on the floor. The bell of the clock tower indicating that the promised I'll be back at three was a lie.

"I'm coming!"

There had been an auction her mother had attended while Demi was studying for her exams. Usually her mom would by something nice and old for herself and find an interesting book for Demi to read. And today would be no exception.

"Hey darling, happy to see me so much? Are you exams that horrible?"

Demi was hugging her mom with everything she had, the walls had been closing in on her for the last half an hour. The only reason she hadn't left, was that there was nowhere to go. Her friends where at a party and wouldn't return to the dorms till Monday, making it easier for Demi to sneak away and spent the weekend home.

"They're atrocious, why should I want to know any of this?!"

The knowing look she receives at that, tells Demi enough.

"Mom, I know I choose this study myself, but that doesn't mean I have to like every part of it. Now what did you bring home from the auction?"

Her mother had put her bag on the kitchen table and put the kettle on for the tea.

"Look at it yourself, do you want tea too?"

Demi nodded and started unpacking the various oddities her mother had bought this time. Several boxes with jewelry appeared, a vase with Greek paintings on it and at last a book.

'Greek Myths and Legends, a complete collection'

A cup of tea appeared in front of her on the table, as Demi let the pages be turned between her nimble fingers. The index was already really promising, she had devoured many a book about Greek myths and the Ilias had a permanent spot under her pillow.But she had not yet seen a book with so many stories within one book.

"Thank you mom! It's amazing!"

Her eye fell on a story called 'Eros and Psyche' she had heard of it before and visited its Wikipedia site, but had been unable to get a copy featuring that specific myth before.

A groan escaped her throat as she belatedly realized she had exams to study for and had no time to indulge herself with a good book.

"Uhg, exams."

Her mother's laughter followed Demi up the stairs as she escaped to her room, back to her study books.

-

"2 AM is late enough to stop studying, right?"

Her question was answered by the lolling head of the bear plushie that was squashed next to her in bed.

"You're right, Sir Abberdam, it's absolutely too late to continue studying."

Demi dumped her study books with a satisfied smile on her face and crawled back into bed, at long last she was done for the day.

"2 AM just in time to read and finish a book."

The book about Greek Mythology she wasn't supposed to even open before her exams were over, appeared from where it had been hidden in her nightstand and was opened at the first page.

"All the time in the world to read it in order, no need to rush to the good parts."

-

A look at her alarm would have told Demi it was closer to dawn than to midnight and she should let herself be captured by sleep. She had only moments before started the myth about Hera seducing Zeus to help the Greek defeat the Trojans when her eyelids began to droop. 

No amount of furious blinking was able to stop the sleep slowly ascending on her consciousness, making her surrender to Hypnos in much the same way Zeus did. The vision of a beautiful woman, making all reservations and precautions fly away to surrender oneself to the mercy of your deceiver wearing the face of your beloved.

-

"Do you think she's awake yet?"

"Ssh, sister, do be quiet we don't want our unexpected guest to wake up to soon, now don't we."

"If you both keep talking at this volume she certainly will, and if she isn't already awake I will make sure that wrong will be righted."

Demi's head pounded behind her eyes and her body felt too heavy, not even when all of their five cats had fallen asleep on her had she felt this way.

"No one wants to hear you sing, Euterpe, no matter what the mortals may say."

"Oh, how dare you you, Thalia, like your comedic plays are that good."

The bikkering of the women surrounding her did certainly nothing to help.

"Oh do be quiet, your disrupting the inner peace I was trying to concentrate in the mortals body, your talking makes it impossible."

There were hands on her body softly caressing her hair and slowly taking away the impending headache waiting to strike.

"Why are you all her together, and why wasn't I invited to the party?!"

Before Demi even can collect the strength to groan at the volume of the last arriving person a chorus of be silent you idiot does the job for her.

"Erato! When will you learn that you're not needed hear? No one wants to hear about lovers in the night who both survive to see the day, nor do they want to hear your crappy poetry to begin with."

An indignant gasp was all that could prepare for new hands on Demi's face and a soft voice whispering in her ear.

Child of Earth and Fire hear your name,

Seek the one you adore , of your heart the dame,

Go forth or back inside the earth,

Ascend the skies, and find your mirth,

No return to where you once came forth,

Unless you find your heart, your life, your flame,

Up Olympus you must go to find the desired by all,

Twice her hand was asked, yet both were rejected in brawl,

Sea and lyre both saw behind the shawl,

Now you must too my child in time,

Go forth and see for yourself the truth of my rhyme,

My love, my child, my hope for life,

Up Olympus you'll find your wife,

You'll hear the chime,

And know, all was in strife,

Demi opened her eyes to a clearing at the foot of a mountain, behind her a dark forest with a hound guarding its entrance. The voice sang once more its rhyme urging her to climb the mountain, to find a person who rejected both sea and lyre.

"What the-"

Her voice falters in her throat as the hound that can be no one else than Kerberus raise its head and look straight at where she is laying in the grass. Better to not attract any attention and listen to the voice telling you to climb Olympus and make some deity fall in love with you.

Nothing could possibly go wrong, right?

-

A lot could go wrong. Beginning with the fact that Zeus was the god of the sky who did not take lightly to anyone entering his domain. Not even when they were female and looking for a deity to marry, Hera would be in the house stopping him from being overly rash and obvious.

But at long last Demi arrived at the gates and entered the Olympic square.

"My Lady, what are you doing here?"

A man with a dark beard stopped Demi from treading deeper into Olympus, yet he did not got into her way when she didn't immediately answered him.

"My love, can't you see she's a mortal and shouldn't be able to come here. Really Aidoneus, she's her on some quest of behest of a deity, but unless she has some actual prophecy it might be better to make her disappear before Zeus appears."

A sturdy female in a long black flowery dress appeared next to the man and let her eyes wander over Demi, weighing her and deeming her too light without a word spoken between them.

"I'm sure there's a logical explanation for-"

A ruckus interrupted the man that appeared to be Hades, and a woman appeared her hair covered by a shawl and flanked by no one else than Zeus.

"What is going on here, and why does Hestia say someone is here for her?"

The booming voice of Zeus made the Olympus shake and Demi cower away in a vague attempt at self preservation. She still had no idea what was going on, but now that she had had time to think about the behest there was one goddess getting more obvious by the minute. 

"We have no idea Zeus, she hasn't said a word and no markings of fate are on her."

Desired by both Poseidon and Apollo, yet both received rejection and the goddess made a pledge for ethereal maidenhood. 

"She just walked through the gate without any problems."

Keeper of the flame and protector of the household.

"Demi is here for me, it doesn't concern any of you."

Hestia.

-

"It appears you have found yourself in a predicament."

The softly spoken words of Hestia, were maybe a slight understatement, but they were well meant none the less.

"As far as I understand what happened, you got stuck in a dreamworld and they only way back is making someone, me, fall in love with you."

That was about it, and though Demi gave little value to the more modern ideas about Hestia's unwillingness to get married, there had to be some sort of truth in it. And that was without considering her own preferences.

"Yeah, I don't know how it happened either. I was reading a book about Greek mythology and then I woke up here."

They were sitting on the roof of Hestia's home with their legs hanging over the edge, watching the world beneath them pass by.

"It is unfortunate that the muses decided on me, they always like a tragic love story after all."

That was as much as a final verdict as Demi needed. She was never going home.

"Could I stay here though, as a guest and help you with your work. Even though I can't go home anymore there is no reason for me to do nothing with my time."

The shawl that covered Hestia's hair fluttered in the wind and she caught it multiple times to readjust in the short span of a few minutes their conversation took.

"That would be amendable, I'll show you the spare rooms."

-

There was very little to do as a goddess atop the mount Olympus, it turned out. 

Hestia would wake up before dawn and together with Demi they made sure the hearth was ready and aflame before the other gods appeared. After that was done they would make sure the house was clean and accept the offerings from mortals. 

It gave them many hours wherein there was nothing to do except talk and walk. 

This in turn they took great pleasure in doing together. Hestia had before walked alone without any partner to converse as not even Apollo or Poseidon during the period they tried to woo her, would walk and talk with her. 

It gave Demi ample opportunity to use to her advantage, to ask all the questions that had been burning in her mind about the many stories she had read about. Though Hestia didn't know about many of them, the ones she did know about, as did all of Greece, were ample source material for long conversations. And when there was more time than expected, especially during the summer months when people's lives would prosper, did they descend to the mortal realm to explore. 

Together they enjoyed the many pleasure the Muses gave the world and visited many a play. And when late at night they would leave for Olympus and would only arrive at dawn, they slept together under the stars.

-

"Hestia, my dearest sister, how are you doing?" 

They had only just finished giving life to the fire in the hearth when Zeus appeared and whisked Hestia away for a private conversation. Demi finished her duties alone, and had already completely cleaned the house when Zeus returned a shaken Hestia to their door.

"Think about what I said, there don't have to be any consequences."

The scowl on Hestia's face told a different story, but neither women wanted to speak up and disagree with Zeus when he was within hearing distance.

"What did he want to talk about?"

Now that Zeus was far enough away for them to talk freely did Demi ask what had been on her mind for the entire morning already.

"It appears we were both under the illusion that the prophecy was about romantic love, when that was not at all what was meant."

Demi's mouth fell open in surprise and in a whirlwind of memories did she look back on her interactions with Hestia. That did cross the friend borders at some point, though it never ventured into romantic territory for either of them. 

"Zeus came to tell me, you could leave if you want to. The magic that brought you here is now satisfied and willing to aid you in your return."

She wanted to rejoice at the mention of going home, of seeing her mother again, her friends finishing her study. Yet seeing Hestia sitting there at the other side of the room, more alone than Demi ever saw her before. This is not what she wants either.

"So I'll have to leave then."

The silence stretched between them, till Hestia stood up and went to their room.

"Yes, I'll walk with you to the portal tomorrow morning."

-

The walk from Olympus to the field Demi had woken up, was a quiet and somber affair. Neither of them willing to break the silence of unspoken words between them.

Till at long last the portal appeared in front of them, that would return Demi to her own world.

"This is it then."

Demi moved forward into the portal without looking back, she wasn't wanted at Olympus. It wasn't her world, no matter how much she had enjoyed living there.

The world turned black as she continued walking, the scenery surrounding her slowly changing from the lush green fields to that of the village she had lived in. The chime of the church bell barrels through her thoughts, and the words of the Muse come back to her.

You'll hear the chime,

And know, all was in strife,

She turns around without a second thought, once more the world turns black and this time the village disappears to make space for the green grass. 

Hestia is still waiting on the other side of the portal, Demi extends her hand in a silent plee for Hestia to join her.

"Come, please."

Hestia looks up in surprise to see Demi back and takes her hand following her, away from the dreamworld that never existed to begin with.

-

March 1, 2023