There and Back Again

Prologue: Another Story Time

Athena marched down the corridor towards her grandmother's chambers, it had been a couple of days since her grandmother had finished the first part of the story and now she wanted the rest of it. 

Things were a lot calmer now that the festival was over and Athena's mother was again distracted by her younger brothers and it allowed Athena to track down her grandmother. 

Her grandfather was away at some council meeting and he would be gone for most of the day, leaving her grandmother free to finish the story that she had been telling her. 

Reaching her grandmother's chambers, Athena didn't bother knocking before she pushed the door open and entered; her blue eyes sweeping the room and smiled when she spotted her grandmother reading by the fire. 

It was remarkably cold this time of year and Athena had heard many people say that it was the coldest that it had ever been in many years since they had retaken Erebor from the dragon. 

"Grandmama," Athena greeted before hurrying over to her, she was glad that they were alone and she was surprised that there weren't people here tending to Thalia; she was the Queen under the Mountain and it was rare that she was completely alone now that she was queen. 

Thalia set down her book and looked at Athena, she wasn't surprised that her granddaughter had come to her asking for the rest of the story; it always seemed to brighten her day when she could tell her grandchildren about the past and the true story about what had happened.

"I want to hear the rest of the story now," Athena announced plopping herself down on the floor, she smiled up at her grandmother and she was sure that no one would be disturbing them any time soon. 

Thalia reached over and set down her boo, she was pleased that her granddaughter was taking such an interest in their history because one day she wasn't going to be here to tell it. 

"Very well... now where did I finish," Thalia mused with a smile, things had been so busy recently and Thalia was relieved for a break; she didn't have as much energy as she did when she was younger. 

Reaching for her drink, Thalia sipped on her drink as she prepared herself to tell that story; it did not have a happy beginning even if the ending was a lot happier. 

"You were alone on Earth," Athena informed her grandmother with a frown, she still couldn't believe that the wizard had told her grandmother that her grandfather was dead. 

He had been very much alive and Athena adored spending time with him when he had time to do so; she was usually with her mother or her mother's handmaids during the day. 

Thalia smiled and shook her head, she knew that it might have seemed that why given how she had ended the first part of the story but she had been far from alone. 

"But I wasn't alone darling... I had your mother and your uncle," Thalia reassured her, she was sure that this story would make her a lot happier than the last story had done.