You're family, aren't you?

Uncle-niece chat time

Crossposted on FanFiction.net.

Persephone Amphitrite Jackson.

Hades frowned as he read the name of the hero Alecto had identified as the potential child of Poseidon and the thief of his Helm.

What was he supposed to do now? He had been expecting the boy with some degree of resemblance to his favorite brother – but a girl? Poseidon never had a mortal daughter before: a scant few immortal daughters like Kympoleia and Rhode, but a mortal?

The added trouble was the guilt Hades knew he would feel if he hurt his niece. No matter what, Poseidon and Hestia had always valued family bonds, and his little brother gave his damn best to include Hades into the family. He hadn't failed to notice how Poseidon seemed to target Hades specifically on the Winter Solstice councils to provoke a reaction out of his older brother and drag him into the conversation. To hurt his child, even if she was born out of the breach of the sacred oath, would feel like a betrayal, and if there was one thing Hades detested, it was the betrayal.

To make things worse, the girl bore the name of his dear wife and her father's wife. Persephone Amphitrite. Hades couldn't help but feel reluctantly impressed by the lover Poseidon had chosen, for she must've been a clear-sighted or Poseidon trusted her enough to reveal his true identity. Whichever was the truth, the result was the same: little demigoddess' first name protected her against the excessive wrath of the monsters allied with Underworld and endeared her to her uncle, and the second name would hopefully pacify the enraged Queen of the Seas when she hears about her husband's newest bastard.

Persephone Jackson.

The name would not leave him alone, teasing him in his wife's absence and calling up the image of his wife overlaid with his brother's intense green eyes instead of Persephone's soft blues, and for the first time in centuries Hades decided to check on a mortal that was not his child of his former lover. He needed to get the image of the child and, hopefully, get her out of his head before she had time to root herself there too deeply. Hades was no one's fool, he knew his weaknesses, and beautiful women were one of them.

The worst part was, no one could deny the fact his brother's children were show-stoppers, with their inky black hair and intense green eyes, and Persephone Jackson promised to be just like her half-siblings: both powerful and beautiful beyond all mortal standards.

Waving his hand, he summoned the rainbow and tossed one of the many drachmas littering his office, mentally calling upon assistance from Iris. Iris, dear, please show me Persephone Jackson.

Of course, Lord Hades! Iris chirped. Will you tell your Persephone to call me when you see her?

Hades flushed slightly at the unsubtle way Iris differentiated his wife from his niece. Of course.

Thank you!

The rainbow blurred for a second before smoothing out, revealing the image of the young demigoddess exiting the yellow taxi, looking over her shoulder with cautious eyes. Hades' heart nearly stopped at sight and he heard himself gasp.

Mother?!

He found himself glued to the display in the shimmering air, but he couldn't care less. How was this possible? Rhea Ourania had disappeared from Olympus' sights soon after the Gigantomachy, but the elder Olympians knew she was still alive due to regular check-ups and occasional gifts she sent them. So how was it possible for his niece to look like her grandmother's spitting image? How?

From the soft, inky black ringlets framing the green eyes that Poseidon inherited from Rhea to the tanned skin, frail build and full lips now scrunched in an expression of distaste Hades had seen numerous times on his mother's face when she heard anyone talk about her husband, seeing Persephone Jackson was like seeing his own mother in a miniature form, and Hades found himself torn.