Mother's house was a large estate surrounded by acres of fields on every side. There were orchards of fruit, fields of wheat and corn, their very own vineyard, and all manner of garden space where they grew everything else imaginable. The house itself was built in a large square U shape with two floors. The second floor was accessible by a balcony that looked down at the open courtyard in the middle of the house.

Mother hosted many oceanids, satyrs, and nymphs in her home. They worked in the fields by day and congregated in the courtyard by night to make merry and enjoy each other's company.

Persephone could see her mother walking into the courtyard as her and her companions drew nearer. As usual, there were tables piled with food for the midday meal. The great fountain in the middle of the courtyard gurgled happily, a few oceanids splashing around it playfully. A few satyrs were already seated at the table munching their food as they talked amongst themselves.

"My darling what on earth have you done to your dress?" There was a laugh in mother's voice as she surveyed her daughter.

"Sorry mother." Persephone said meekly under her mother's gaze.

"Well I suppose it's hard to train without getting a little dirty." She switched her gaze to the other two girls. "Tyche, will you please take her upstairs and help her wash up before lunch?"

As Persephone followed Tyche to the second floor she could hear her mother asking Pallas about the training. A feeling of regret washed over Persephone's insides. As they reached the wash room and she began peeling her dress off so Tyche could help wash the dirt off she felt she should have tried harder with the training exercise. She didn't want Pallas convincing her mother that she was not ready to visit Olympus. If only she hadn't gotten complacent.

It wasn't long before she was bouncing down the stairs to the courtyard wearing a fresh set of blue robes. It was a simple dress, tied at her left shoulder and cinched at her waist with a simple leather tie, the smooth fabric hanging to her knees. Her long light brown hair had been brushed and it hung in loose waves down to her waist.

Tyche, who had followed behind, left her to find the other oceanids in the courtyard. Persephone made her way to sit with her mother and Pallas at one of the many tables.

"Pallas told me you did well in your exercises today." Mother started, as Persephone filled her plate from the food that sat at the center of the table.

She looked up at Pallas, "I thought-"

"You did well enough." Pallas clarified. "I know I seemed hard on you before. But it is only your first week of training."

Persephone smiled back at Pallas, grateful that she hadn't told her mother that she was a complete failure.

"Are you enjoying the sessions Persephone?" Mother asked. She was stuffing a portion of pita bread with meat and veggies.

"Yes." Persephone said honestly, making eye contact with Pallas. "Pallas is a teacher that I'm not sure I deserve."

Pallas nodded her thanks as she bit into her own Pita.

"Well I'm glad to hear it. We still have a few hours before the council meeting starts. Perhaps you'll be able to get in some more practice before we go." Mother said.

"You'll have to forgive me, lady Demeter." Pallas interjected. "I'm afraid I have a few things I need to get done myself before the meeting."

Mother raised her eyebrows slightly at this information but continued gracefully in spite of herself. "Then I suppose you can choose for yourself what you would like to do darling."

Persephone looked up from her food a little startled at this pronouncement. "I...I suppose I could train some more on my own." She said, keen to prove herself further to her mother.

Mother nodded in agreement. "Why don't you take Tyche and Metis with you after lunch. You can practice with them by the river."

"Yes mother." Persephone said obediently.

It was good that she had something to distract her the rest of the afternoon. For the hours seemed to drag by after lunch. She had taken Tyche and Metis with her to the river by the edge of the orchard as her mother suggested. However the oceanids proved not to be as adept at strategy as Pallas was.

They moved the water from the river through the air in whip-like motions toward her. Persephone parried the blows with thick vines that she had grown from the ground. Her vines wove through the air easily and she held her own well. They practiced for hours changing the objective several times from trying to knock each other off their feet, to trying to evade the blows of water and vine altogether. It was fun, but Persephone couldn't contain her excitement when her mother finally came to tell her it was almost time to go.

"I have a special surprise for you." Mother said, as they made their way back to the house.

Persephone raced up the stairs to her bedroom ahead of her mother too excited to wait any longer. Her bedroom wasn't very large. It held a bed with a beautifully carved wooden frame, a wardrobe, mirror, window, and many potted plants that were placed sporadically through the room. To Persephone's great surprise she found a beautiful white dress laid out on her bed. It was embroidered delicately with golden thread. An intricate gold circlet of laurel leaves also lay beside it.

"I felt you needed something more than your regular clothes tonight." Mother said as she stepped into the room behind her.

Persephone smiled broadly as she hugged her mother in gratitude. "Thank you." She whispered into her mother's shoulder.

"I know how important this is to you." Demeter said, stroking her daughter's hair. "I'll be down in the courtyard when you're ready. But don't take too long, I don't want to be late."

When Persephone finished getting ready she was utterly unrecognizable. No longer was she the girl who had come home splattered with mud.

Her long light brown hair was twisted and braided into place on her head. Parts of it were curled into long ringlets and waves that hung down to her waist. It bounced behind her as she walked and was topped by the delicate golden circlet her mother had given her. The dress she wore was the finest she had ever seen. Well, not as fine as the ones aunt Hera wore, but still.

This dress brushed Persephone's sandaled toes as she walked. The rippling white fabric was cinched to her waist by a golden belt with an intricate leaf pattern. The top of the dress was perhaps a little more low cut than she was used to. It showed off her clavicle nicely and revealed a slight hint of breasts beneath. It was sleeveless, culminating in two straps at her shoulders. Over top of her dress was a beautifully embroidered palla that fastened at her left shoulder by a broach. Persephone dug through her jewelry box in her wardrobe. She withdrew a matching necklace, earrings, and arm bands of gold.

Placing the final pieces of the ensemble, she couldn't help but think that everything suited her well as she gazed at herself in the mirror. The sun shining through her open window seemed to make her glow with light. If aunt Hera's robes were any indication of how the other gods dressed, she felt she would blend in nicely.

"Persephone! It's time to be off!" Demeters voice called up from the courtyard.

"Coming mother!" Persephone called. She tried to act more dignified in her beautiful robes, but it was hard not to rush down the stairs in her excitement.

She found her mother in the courtyard in stately robes of deep purple standing with Tyche. The beautiful shimmering fabric of her dress was embroidered lavishly down the length of her skirts. Her dress had straps at her shoulders and more straps down her arms, her waist too was cinched with a golden band. The crown atop her dark brown hair trailed down a wispy length of billowy translucent fabric. She looked more like a queen tonight.

As Persephone approached, her mother conjured a shining ring of light. The ring was dazzlingly bright and big enough to step through. It sent harmless golden sparks flying in every direction.

"Shall we?" She smiled, offering her hand. Grasping it tightly they walked through the shining portal, Tyche following close behind.