Pride & Pomegranates

Lunch at the Citadel

"...She nourishes the poison in her veins and is consumed by a secret fire."

― Virgil,

"Oh children, please be careful by the ridge!"

"Leto, come and sit. The children are fine, they are not made of glass." Themis called to her lover, her rich throaty voice reaching from the garden patio where she and Demeter awaited lunch.

"Watch, Mother! Watch! I'm going to climb this tree all the way to the top!" a child squealed from the branches of a lush evergreen.

"I really wish you wouldn't Apollo. Why can't you just play nice like your sister- where is your sister?" Leto sighed, already knowing the answer. She loved her twins more than the sun and moon combined, but gods they were exhausting. She tried to keep them in line the best she could but after all the birthing complications and almost losing them- she just couldn't bring herself to reprimand them properly when they acted out. Which was often, it was as if they were always trying to outdo one another's mischief. Thankfully she had Themis to sort them out and referee their squabbling, she was always thankful for Themis.

"Artemis is off with Orion hunting, or trapping, I'm not sure- AND ANYWAY- Sephy bet me I couldn't do it so I HAVE TO NOW MOM, I HAVE TO!" Apollo peaked his curly golden head out of the dark branches shooting his mother an imploring look not to argue and embarrass him in front of his friend just as another tiny head popped out from the branches above.

"It's true Aunt Leto, I did say Apollo wouldn't be able to climb her," Persephone's large lilac eyes glimmered with suppressed laughter, "because Pinaceae will knock him to the ground before he can ever reach her delicate crown!" Persephone's head vanished back into the foliage as her joyous giggling echoed through the citadel around them.

Demeter's Meteora Citadel was one of the few places Leto felt comfortable in Thessaly, but to be fair Leto rarely felt comfortable anywhere other than Lycia- especially with her children- since Zeus took his latest bride. But Demeter's fortress was high above the city and well guarded. Not to mention Demeter was just as, if not more, protective of her precious daughter, which put Leto at ease.

Like Leto, Demeter deemed to spend as little time on Olympus as possible but when she was called upon or duty forced her to return she kept her quarters among the mortals rather than in the golden palace of Mytikas. Most of the time Demeter left her daughter home at The Villa in Taormina when she traveled but since it was time for the yearly Conclave she decided to bring her along. That and apparently Persephone had been quite adamant about visiting the city this year now that she was 13, so adamant that she shattered her mother's greenhouse in a rage- the details of which Demeter still hadn't gotten into but had invited them to lunch to discuss.

They were an unlikely trio; Demeter, Themis, and Leto. All ex lovers of Zeus yet never crowned his queen. All mothers to his potential heirs yet still lived in fear for themselves and their beloved children. Well, Leto lived in fear, she couldn't help it. Demeter seemed to fret over Persephone more than fear anything and Themis feared nothing. It helped that Themis remained a loyal and trusted advisor to Zeus even after their divorce, much to the dismay of his new wife, and Demeter was a power in her own right as a clan head and one of 7 seats on The Divine Council. Leto, being a titaness, may have been born with the golden blood of the immortals- but she had no sword of justice nor the power to stop the rains and bring on famine, she was simply a mother who could call the moon.

As if she could hear her mother's thoughts, Artemis let out a howl of triumph from the other side of the gardens. Leto prayed to the Old Gods that whatever her wild spirited young daughter just killed wasn't a pet of someone in the Citadel. They did not need a repeat of Athena and her owl.