Bonus Content - Alekto POV

Hey all!

In line with the results of the poll last month, here's a little something of Alekto during Chapter Nine, this time featuring Meg and Tis, too. (Naturally, this vignette assumes they were both safely rescued earlier.)

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“You know, it would be okay. If this had rattled you.” Megaira runs the edge of her reed pen along her chin, the soft feather she’s attached to the end of it for no good reason brushing back and forth under her chin. “I’m just… putting that out there.” She eases back in her chair with a groan; her injuries are healed in the superficial sense, but it will be some time yet before she’s back to normal

“I know that,” Alekto replies, trying to focus her attention on the paperwork in front of her. She misses being able to put herself to something and plow through it until it’s done to her satisfaction, but she just hasn’t been able to achieve that kind of focus since—

“Do you?” Tisiphone asks, pausing briefly in the act of applying the whetstone in her hand to the edge of a large axe. She prefers hammers, which don’t need sharpening, but occasionally sets to maintaining the other weapons in the garrison nevertheless. “Because while I’m certain you would extend that grace to anyone else, I am less sure you’re willing to give it to yourself.”

Alekto frowns. “Why are you pestering me about this?” she asks, unable to help making the gestures a bit too curt. “There’s nothing to be bothered about. She had an opportunity to go home, and she took it. If anything, I’m just annoyed that the security breach turned out to be so simple. We’d known about the gaps in the Phlegethon, but it was supposed to be taken care of. And then to get past the guard, and Kerberos? This isn’t just one problem, it’s a cascade failure.”

“And you’re pretty sure they had Demeter’s help, right?” Megaira rolls her eyes as she signs. “Look, I’m not calling you a liar, but I don’t think you really believe the problem is that a minor deity, some spirits, and a very sleepy guard dog couldn’t stop people with the power of a major goddess behind them. We all know what it’s like, trying to handle one of the older members of the Twelve. They’d have had to run into Hades himself to have a problem.” She pauses. “Or maybe Charon, not that he would have done anything.”

“The point is—” Tisiphone picks up, halting her sister’s words only after she’s begun to ramble, “—the point is, it’s not the security breach that we’re talking about. And it’s not what’s bothering you. Well… maybe it’s bothering you a little bit, bit it’s not the main problem. We all know that.”

Alekto rolls her eyes. It’s always like this. They always act like they know her every thought, shooting significant glances at each other when Persephone comes up. Like they don’t think she’ll notice. Or worse, like they’re expecting her to, and hoping that the annoyance will make her confess to something.

But there’s nothing to confess to. Persephone is her friend. An important one, but one who apparently doesn’t hold her friendship with Alekto in quite the same esteem—

No. That is not fair. Persephone has been here against her will for months now. It is not unreasonable for her to have taken the only way home that presented itself in such a long interval. Because it is long. Or would be, for someone of the goddess’s relative youth. Alekto’s only jobs here are rectifying an alarming breach of the Underworld’s defenses, asking Hekate to come up with something that will make Kerberos less susceptible to magical sleep, and…

Doing whatever she needs to do to make sure Persephone is the one making her own choices, in the end.

“You’re my main problem right now,” she replies, testiness evident in her motions. “Can you go away and stop distracting me? This paperwork is important.”

“Alekto,” Megaira says, her tone gentling. “We’re not trying to force anything here. It’s just… you’re not yourself, and I think it would help if you just—”

“What?” Alekto replies, arms heavy with a weariness more psychological than physical. “Talked about it? What is there to talk about? This has nothing to do with me.” She shakes her head, looking back down at the paperwork in front of her. The letters all look like nonsense.

“As long as she’s happy, that’s all that matters.”

It’s more of an admission than she intended, and she doesn’t bother to look up, and watch the two of them exchange another of their significant looks. There’s too much on her plate for this. She isn’t going to discuss it when only one opinion is of consequence and it’s none of the three in the room.

Persephone… Persephone will choose. That is all.