Demeter sighed loudly as she looked at the unrolled piece of parchment in front of her. She pressed her head up against the back of her hand, grimacing from a slight headache. A frustrated groan followed. She quickly swept her arm across the table and sent the piece of parchment flying off, landing a short distance away. 

“‘We are holding a feast in honor of your return, Goddess Demeter. We are happy that you have finally overcome the depression that plagued you before.’ I don’t believe that for a second. I knew I had to move fast with her but I didn’t know they were going to react this quickly to everything. This is probably Hades’ doing. Hermes was delivering a message from him for some reason.” Demeter sat down quickly into a chair, sighing again.

“I don’t really have a choice but to go. The question is whether to bring Persephone or not. She should be okay if she goes, I’m not worried about anything happening to her mental state anymore, but I’m worried about how the others will act.” Demeter tapped her foot against the floor as she continued to sit and think about what to do. She hadn’t intended for Persephone's existence to remain a secret forever; there wouldn’t be a way to do that permanently now that she had divine power and a temple, but she didn’t like her hand being forced.

“I don’t think they’ll try anything. Maybe Athena will get it in her head that she will be able to fix her, but that’s no longer possible. There is no Lyra anymore. There’s just Persephone. So fine, if this is the game they want to play, then I’m going to enter Olympus proud and tall. The rest of them would never enter sunken over in shame.” Demeter stood up, looking around the room before walking over to Persephone’s. She opened the door and looked inside, but Persephone was not there either.

“Ahh, she must be in her temple. I can only take a guess as to why.” A smirk grew across Demeter’s face as she walked over to the portal. The destination pictured in it was to Demeter’s old temple, now being devoted to Persephone, and she stepped towards it. 

---

“Come on Priestess, that’s it. That’s it. Right there. Right there!” Persephone yelled as she panted and heaved, her breasts bouncing up and down slightly as she moaned. In between her legs was her Priestess, with her face right up against Persephone’s pussy, eagerly licking and eating out her Goddess. She didn’t really have any technique behind it, but her raw passion for pleasing her Goddess made Persephone moan loudly in the temple. 

There was no way for anyone walking into the temple to not hear what was going on, but the thought of that excited Persephone. It made her press her Priestess’ head harder between her legs, enthusiasm that was quickly matched. She was a Goddess after all, so why should she truly care what mortals find her in the act of doing? Were they really going to stop worshiping her because she enjoyed having sex? Absolutely not. 

She could feel her pleasure growing and growing as her Priestess looked up at her. Her eyes were filled with devotion and purpose, and Persephone moaned needily. Her Priestess smiled up at her, sliding a finger into her Goddess, slowly rubbing it against Persephone’s walls, looking for the place that made her squirm. Persephone purred and gently petted her Priestess’ head, when she saw Demeter turn the corner, looking at her. 

“O-oh hello Mommy. I didn’t know you needed me.” Persephone quickly motioned for her Priestess to stop, internally a little frustrated at having to quit now. Demeter shook her head, giving a warm, wide smile. 

“Don’t feel you need to stop on my account, sweetie. I just needed to talk with you for a bit, I don’t think that will be too intrusive.” Demeter’s voice was tinged with the slightest bit of seduction, and Persephone saw the briefest glimpse of hunger in her eyes. 

“Keep going Priestess. Serve your Goddess.” Her Priestess nodded, slowly inserting her finger back in, Persephone gasping and rocking her hips. “What did you need to talk to me about Mommy~ Mmm. Yes. Perfect, right there my Priestess.” Persephone moaned as another finger entered, rubbing on the exact spot that made Persephone feel good. 

“Now that I’ve returned to my duties I am remembering just how much the life of a Goddess can be filled with obligations. The other members of the Pantheon are holding a feast to celebrate my return, but that is undoubtedly only part of it. They will want to see you there as well, Persephone. They’ll want to know the good news of course.”

Persephone’s body began to shake as she could feel herself getting close to an orgasm. Her Priestess was fingering her quite intensely so that it was making it a bit hard to stay focused on what her Mommy was saying. 

“I can be there, absolutely. I would love to meet the rest of the Pantheon Mommy. There isn’t a problem with that, is there?” 

Demeter shook her head. “No, of course not. You just need to make sure you carry yourself as a Goddess. It will probably be a bit of a shock being in the same room as the entire Pantheon. There are some old and very powerful Gods there. But I have every confidence you will be fine, my daughter.” Persephone nodded as Demeter walked over and kissed her on the forehead, smiling as Persephone moaned loudly as her orgasm took her. Her legs squeezed around her Priestess as she shook and panted, her chest heaving as she could feel her body humming from the pleasure. 

“See? No reason to make you miss out on that, especially since you look so cute when you get off. We’ll need to discuss what you’re going to wear, so come back when you have recovered dear.”

---

Persephone straightened out her dress a bit as she walked arm in arm with her mother, walking along a garden path that was being tended to by various beings, moving to and fro to water and tend the plants without ever noticing them. It was a long, tight black dress with long purple feathers on both the arms and on the shoulders. Persephone was initially skeptical of it, but when she put the dress on, she realized just how right it felt on her. It made her feel powerful. 

‘The dress may be tight around my breasts, but I suspect that Mommy is doing that on purpose. She isn't shy about looking down at my cleavage every chance she gets.’ Persephone smiled as she thought about it. She really was lucky to have a Mommy who loved her so much. Demeter was wearing something more traditional than Persephone, a light green wrap that covered her modestly while still being loose enough to easily move in. 

‘It’s so beautiful on Mommy that it almost looks like the wrap is flowing…’ Persephone thought as she stared lovingly at her mother. Demeter looked at her and smiled, petting her on the head.

“Not much further now dear. You’ll know it when you see it. I know your memory is still foggy, and that probably won’t change for a long time, but I’m sure once you’re inside it’ll feel just like returning home.” 

Persephone nodded, and Demeter sighed happily. This was, for her, truly Persephone’s final test. If she passed…she would feel proud. Proud that she made such a wonderful daughter. A daughter who was always going to depend on her, a daughter that was never going to decide to run away. Someone who was going to be by her side, forever, away from the meddling and fickle gods and goddesses that took her away before.

Persephone stopped walking as she looked up at the massive temple just in the distance. It was nothing like the temple she claimed for herself. The sheer scale of it took Persephone’s breath away. The marble columns shined brilliantly and were each as tall and as wide as the largest trees she had ever seen. The facade of the temple was gilded in gold decorations and vibrant, colorful murals depicting various events from the creation of the universe in different kinds of polished stones. 

‘It’s truly appropriate for the Gods’, Persephone thought as the briefest flash of insecurity hit her. She swallowed and shook her head, steeling herself by slowly closing her hands into little fists before releasing them. 

‘I was meant to be here. I am a Goddess. This is my right.’ she repeated to herself as she walked forward, slowly closing the gap between her and Demeter. She didn’t have mantras anymore, she was past the need for them at this point, but Persephone found something comforting in repeating the same phrases over and over again in her head. It always made her feel more sure of herself. 

Demeter and Persephone both reached the large doors of the temple as they opened before them. Persephone wondered if there were servants opening them in a way she couldn’t see, or if it was simply magic, but walked in step with her Mother into the temple. She blushed a bit as she felt her Mother grabbing her hand, holding it tightly. 

“Together, Persephone.” Demeter said as she smiled brightly. 

“Yes, Mommy.” Persephone replied, smiling back. They both walked down the dimly lit hallway to another impressive set of doors, as they too began to open automatically as the two of them approached. 

The banquet hall was bright as the two goddesses walked into it. In front of them were several large stone tables, covered in all kinds of foods, many of which Persephone could only guess at. Various people were moving to and fro, fussing about with the exact placement of goods or bringing new dishes out, as Persephone spied a man at the far end of the tables, picking at a platter with various different kinds of fruit on it. 

His hair was long, thick, and quite curly, the jet black locks coming down to the small of his back. His skin was a bit darker than either herself or Demeter, and in his right hand was a golden chalice that he was routinely drinking out in between putting food into his mouth. He turned around and his face broke out into a smile that gave him an intense kind of warmth. 

‘It’s almost like the sun but there is something different about it. It’s the kind of smile you could drown yourself in. It’s almost…heady’ Persephone thought as the man grabbed a piece of fruit she didn’t recognize and started walking over to them. 

“My, my! If it isn’t Demeter! It has truly been too long since I’ve seen you last! I’ve quite missed your company, you know!” Demeter let go of Persephone’s hand as she wrapped her arms around the man, who hugged her in return. 

“I should have figured you’d be eating the earliest out of them, Dionysus. After all this time..it is refreshing just how true to yourself you are.” Demeter said, as Dionysus turned and looked at Persephone, his face showing the slightest bit of confusion. 

“You…I’m terribly sorry. I’m sure your name slipped my mind at some point. I’m Dionysus.” He extended a hand, and Persephone grasped it, before Dionysus shook it, much to her surprise. 

“Oh I’m…I’m Persephone. It’s nice to meet you, Dionysus.” His face further clouded with confusion as he just stared for a bit, before resuming his smile. 

“Well, you definitely are something interesting, Persephone. I’ve been spending a bit too much time in other places recently, so I missed a lot of the recent developments. When you’re the God of wine, it’s not hard to find a table that will let you sit down.” Persephone smiled, nodding her head. 

“I can imagine that is true. What is that in your hand?” Persephone pointed at the fruit that Dionysus had grabbed from the plate. It was small and rather oblong, but was covered in a sort of fuzz that gave it the appearance of having fur.

“Oh this? It’s a kiwi. Marvelous little fruit. You can’t find these anywhere in Greece. They’re really quite good. Why don’t you try one?” Dionysus brought the kiwi closer to Persephone, slowly going to grab it before Dionysus snatched his hand away, chuckling. 

“Come on, just take a bite.” He teased, before he could suddenly feel a pair of eyes boring into him. Dionysus looked at Demeter glaring at him, laughing, before moving his hand a little closer. Persephone leaned forward, looking at her mother who rolled her eyes and shrugged, before slowly taking a bite out of the fruit. She chewed the fruit in her mouth, savoring the flavor even if she didn’t particularly care for the texture of the skin. 

“It is pretty good isn’t it? You just need to get used to the texture.” Dionysus laughed again as he placed the rest of the fruit into his mouth, Persephone walking close to Demeter’s side. 

“Thank you Dionysus, but we’d rather not take anymore of your time. There’s a lot we have to do unfortunately…you know how these events are.” Demeter politely said, her smile obviously put on. Dionysus nodded quickly. 

“They’re always such a nosy family. I don’t envy you. Do tell me if you’ll need someone to drink this all away with. I’m always available~” Dionysus turned back to the table, looking at the other offerings on display, as Demeter grabbed onto Persephone’s hand and pulled her away. Persephone smiled as her Mommy grabbed her away, pulled her closer to her. 

The banquet hall was empty outside Dionysus and the attendants setting up the feast, and Demeter walked across the way to another set of doors. They were smaller than the doors entering the banquet hall, but still rather embellished. Demeter pushed the doors open into a large room with a large, U-shaped table in the middle, around which there were more plates of food and a number of other people. Other gods. 

The door opening caught the attention of the closest group of gods. A tall, imposing man with long locks of deep blue hair smiled, and walked over to them. 

“Sister! It has been far too long since you have last graced these halls!” His voice was loud and booming, and Demeter groaned internally, but tried her best to return the smile. 

“Brother Poseidon it has indeed been quite some time since we last met. Of course you know my daughter, Persephone.” Persephone nodded and smiled, and Poseidon’s face darkened a bit before a smirk came across his face, He leaned in close to Demeter, whispering into her ear.

“I’ve heard the rumors. No one is really sure how you did it…but know that you have my support. I think what happened was truly cowardly.” Demeter grimaced as Poseidon spoke to her. She wasn’t a fool and Poseidon knew that. He was no better than the rest of the gods with the lives that he took. She was sure he didn’t really care about the situation, but rather saw the opportunity to get political.

“Thank you brother. I appreciate your support but…I do not truly believe I will need it. Reason, of course, will prevail.” Poseidon nodded, and Persephone noticed a woman walking up to them, her hair a dark and rich brown color and done up in an elaborate series of braids and buns. She could feel the divinity coming off of her, and felt her breath hitch in her throat. 

“Sister. Our brother, Zeus, is requiring your presence. You as well, Poseidon. There is much that is important to talk about.” Demeter nodded, grabbing Persephone, before the goddess held out her hand and shook her head. 

“No, Demeter. You are wanted alone.” Demeter gritted her teeth, face clouding with anger before she took a deep breath and relaxed, loosening her muscles as she let go of Persephone’s hand.

“Of course, Hera. Do forgive me for not wanting to be separated from my daughter. I’ve become…rather attached to her.” 

“Quite.” Hera’s response was curt, and Persephone shrunk a bit. She could feel how tense the air had gotten, as if one wrong move or one wrong word would cause it to snap. Hera, Poseidon, and Demeter walked away, and Persephone allowed herself to breathe when she finally felt it was safe to. 

‘I’m not sure what is going on…is Mommy in trouble? I can’t imagine what she has done that would be that wrong…maybe it was neglecting her duties as a goddess? But she started making sure crops grew and people didn’t die, so that can’t be it.’ Persephone was too lost in thought to notice the woman staring at her from across the room. Her face was calm, not betraying the swirl of emotions underneath as she examined the woman who looked so like her. Contemplating on what she would do.

She was interrupted by a touch on her shoulder, her husband standing alongside her. Their hands intertwined and held each other tightly, a brief pang of fear crossing the woman’s face as she realized what he wanted to do. . 

“You can do it Persephone. This is why we organized all of this. I’m here with you.” Persephone sighed and nodded her head, before starting to walk forward, leading her husband on. She needed to confront this new Goddess who had usurped her name. The mortal that Demeter had so wrongfully ascended to replace her. 

Persephone snapped herself out of her thoughts when she noticed the pair coming towards her. She didn’t recognize either of them, but there was something familiar about the woman. 

‘Probably just a fragmentary memory from when I was a goddess before. Mommy said I would have those!’ Persephone quickly dismissed it, before smiling at the pair. She could handle this, even though her Mommy was gone, she was a goddess too after all.

“Hello, I do not believe we have met before. My name is Persephone, and I’m Demeter’s daughter…although Mommy is busy at the moment if you need her. I’m just waiting for her to return.” Persephone shifted in place a bit. She did feel a little less secure without her Mommy backing her up.

“That’s quite alright. Demeter’s return has caused quite a stir amongst the other Olympians, but it is less of a concern for me. My name is Hades, lord of the Underworld, and this is my wife.” The other Persephone said nothing, but tried her best to nod amicably. “Really, I was quite curious about you. Your presence is also quite mysterious.” 

‘For someone who is the god of the Underworld, he definitely looks the part. He’s…haunting, in a way.’ Persephone once again shifted on her feet, before mentally taking a deep breath. 

“It is a pleasure to meet you, although I am unsure what makes me so mysterious. I’m just Mommy’s daughter after all.” 

“Well…we just don’t know much about you. Demeter was quite secretive about your existence after all. We only heard about you from when you met with Apollo.” This time the other Persephone spoke up. She was succeeding at remaining calm, and Persephone just smiled back at her for a moment. 

She was struggling to remember what the woman was talking about. Her memories had felt vague and unformed ever since she had become a goddess again, but she did faintly remember a visit with Apollo. She couldn’t remember much about it at all. 

“Well, if you want to know about me, I can tell you. I was Demeter’s daughter before I got turned into a human and stripped of my divinity, and Mommy spent so much time looking for me in order to restore me back to being a goddess again. Then she did! I’m very happy now.” 

“I…suppose that makes sense. It would explain Demeter’s absence from her duties. What is your domain, by any chance? Surely you know that.” Hades asked, trying to politely pry as much information out of her. Persephone felt a little unsure of herself then, but quickly nodded. 

“To be honest, I am still not really sure. Mommy said that my domain got all messed up because of what happened to me, but I can do this!” She concentrated her divine power into her hand, this time completely effortlessly. The violet and black ball of energy quickly formed, patterns swirling on its surface as it began its mesmerizing work. The other Persephone felt her gaze suddenly trapped by the orb as she struggled to look away. 

Her mind started to slow down as the patterns kept her attention. Something about the orb felt very relaxing to her, like she was being placed in a nice warm bath or had decided to stay under the covers in the morning. She couldn’t make herself be alarmed by this feeling, as she felt herself beginning to close her eyes. This entire conversation had just suddenly made her very tired. She could just relax and look at the orb…right? 

Suddenly her hand was squeezed, and the feeling disappeared. The other Persephone blinked as she looked at the orb again. This time she more discreetly felt the kind of energy it was giving off and resisted it. Her husband was helping with that, almost surely. She looked back up at the woman who called herself Persephone, who looked both a little proud and also slightly scared. 

“I-I’m really sorry. I’m not the most in control of this, although Demeter has been helping me!” The orb suddenly vanished into thin air. “I wasn’t trying to do anything!” Persephone just hoped they weren’t mad at her. She didn’t want to get in trouble for doing anything with their minds. It wasn’t even something she was aware she could do.

“No need to be alarmed. You wouldn’t have succeeded if you had truly meant to. But that is quite an interesting ability. What do you think?” Hades looked at his wife, who nodded. 

“It seems a little similar to Dionysus. But it’s not quite madness. Something different.” Her voice was a little shaky and she spoke quickly. Persephone immediately realized that the other woman didn’t really want to talk about it. 

“I’m sure an answer will come one day, it is not important we know now.” Persephone smiled, trying to turn the conversation away. Fortunately, Hades was quick to change topics. 

“Do you remember anything from when you were human? Anything at all?” 

“Nope, not at all really. I have some very distant memories of the last few days before Mommy helped me to ascend, but I don’t really remember all that much. Mommy said that would be normal, so I don’t think about it really.” Persephone answered quickly, and there was a bit of cheer to her voice. It wasn’t something she really cared about. She didn’t remember, but she was so happy now, so it didn’t matter. 

“I see. I think I understand a bit more of the picture now. I’m sure we will be seeing each other again soon, but I should start some preparations for other obligations. It was nice talking to you.” Hades said, keeping a polite smile on his face. 

“Of course, I shouldn’t really keep you busy. Oh but uh…I don’t think I got your name?” Persephone asked the other woman, whose face darkened for a moment before she nodded. 

“My apologies. My name is Despoina, Queen of the Underworld. It was nice to meet you, Persephone.” Persephone nodded again as the two walked away. Persephone hadn’t noticed the change in the air around Despoina. The subtle changes to her dress, the way her hair began to change color at the tips. She had no understanding of the importance of what had just happened there, just that she suddenly felt more sure that she was Persephone. 

---

“What do you think, Despoina?” Hades whispered into his wife’s ear as they walked away. 

“She’s a poor thing. I had wondered if this was some kind of plot but it couldn’t be. That cover story is too flimsy to be convincing to anyone but her.” Despoina whispered back. 

“I assume we’ll never know for certain what happened to her. But I agree. There’s no way she isn’t a victim. I have to go talk to the other Olympians now, and confront Demeter. I don’t think she’ll be punished for this…but I need to do it for you.” Hades and Despoina shared a kiss before Hades left, Despoina deciding to pour for herself a large glass of wine from one of Dionysus’ many bottles. It was going to be hard to accept all of this, but wine would probably help. 

She was halfway through her first glass when she noticed Persephone had walked over, sheepishly looking over at her. Persephone was fidgeting with her hands, looking over to the side. Despoina put her glass of wine down and looked at her, curious as to what was going on. 

“I hope that I didn’t say anything to offend you or your husband. Mommy always says that I don’t need to be worried about the rest of you…gods and I trust her but I still feel a little nervous about meeting you all. I don’t really know why.” Despoina listened to the goddess talk sheepishly in front of her, watching as her body began to shrink a little bit. Despoina released the air in her lungs, letting it take the tension out of her body as her shoulders slumped a bit. 

“Don’t worry…things are okay. You haven’t done anything wrong.” she said, trying to keep Persephone from bursting into tears or slumping to the floor. It would look pretty weird if a Goddess got down on her knees in front of another one, even if that’s what the vestiges of her humanity was telling her to do. 

“Come, why don’t you have some wine with me. It’ll help you feel a bit more relaxed. Dionysus’ wines are always very high quality. It’s what you get for being the God of wine after all.” Persephone nodded, and slowly drank the glass Despoina poured for her. Her features started to visibly relax after the second glass, and soon the two of them were making small talk after the third one. 

‘I don’t know if the two of us can ever really be friends…but I know that the one at fault is my insane Mother. I just wish I had done something sooner.’

---

Demeter and Persephone walked out of the temple, the feast having finished a while ago. Persephone giggled and held hold of her Mommy, swaying in place and mumbling a slurry of words Demeter couldn’t pick apart from each other. The rest of the feast had gone on without any event: Persephone had met the rest of the Olympian pantheon and had gotten to know most of them, and then drunkenly flirted with Demeter any chance she got. Demeter found it adorable, but not particularly helpful when she had gotten out of a conversation about her actions. 

Kidnapping a mortal. Brainwashing her. Forcibly ascending her to divine status. Slaughtering a village. Those were all things Demeter had done. But at the end of the day, Demeter pointed out, she had done nothing anywhere near as heinous as many of the other gods did, and that taking away Persephone now would convince her to leave humanity to their doom. So they had backed off, and now Demeter was busy trying to get her very drunk daughter back home. 

“Sweetheart, you will have to tell me all about it later. Right now you’re not even using words. I cannot understand you if all you do is mumble at me.” Persephone nodded and went quiet, absentmindedly humming a tune Demeter hadn’t heard before. It was quiet over the noises of the night, but it was calming to listen to. She wrapped her arms around her daughter and held her close as they finally got to the portal that would take them back to her temple.  

“I won,” Demeter said aloud to no one. Her face twisted as a wide-toothed grin formed, and she suppressed a chuckle in her throat. She had gotten her daughter back, and there was no way she was going to lose her again. 

Demeter led Persephone to her bedroom and down onto her bed, where Persephone crawled in and mumbled something meant as a good night before rapidly falling asleep. Demeter slowly pet Persephone down her side, enjoying how adorable and soft her daughter looked. There was always something wonderful about how her daughter looked sleeping. Demeter willed herself up before going out into the main hall of her space, looking through the portal to see what the temple was like. She saw the Priestess there, tending away at things, as she was closing up the temple for the night. Demeter grinned as an idea took hold, and she stepped through the portal. 

The less Persephone needed to know…the better.