By the time Mars had calmed himself only Mercury and Diana remained.

"I'm not trying to anger you brother but it looks like the gifts Mercury and I brought have disappeared with your now ex-wife," Diana told him.

He looked and saw that indeed the quiver, bow and winged sandals were missing from the pile of gifts. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw his Aunt Ceres approach. She was arguably inhumanely clinging tight to his swaddled child.

"I do not know if this is a bad time but if you need a nanny. I think I would make a good nanny. I mean, what I am trying to say is. Do you need a nanny?"

He ignored her completely. He wasn't about to let that nut job watch his daughter.

"That wasn't Venus. For all of her shortcomings, she's not a thief. It must have been those envious sons of hers. Did you not notice that they had not shown their faces at the christening? The servants assured me they were informed. Curse those bastards! They are no longer sons of mine!" He slammed his fist against the table.

"If that is all that it costs to be rid of them, then so be it."

Ceres jumped at his tone, realizing quickly she had picked a bad time and with a wave of her hand, a crib appeared in the grand hall. He watched her lay his daughter in the crib before she backed away slowly until she disappeared from sight.

His eyes then landed on the crib. It was frilly and consisted of nothing but delicate white fabric and way too many ruffles. He crossed the space between them and lifted the tiny infant from the crib, pulling her close to his body. With his right arm, he held her tightly and with the left, he banished the hideous thing from his sight.

The baby girl moved in his arms and his eyes instantly landed on the tiny mortal. He watched her snuggle into his warmth and then settle in comfortably. He smirked liking the child already. She was undoubtedly beautiful and even as an infant he could tell she was going to be a real treasure, more lovely to look at than the goddess of love herself.

At that moment he genuinely thanked his mother for her gift. 'It will drive Venus crazy.' He thought, chuckling to himself.

He studied her for a moment. 'It's also going to make you a target. For both the Goddess of Love and suitors.'

He knew mortals would have a hard time getting to her but what he really feared were the gods who may take an interest in her when she comes of age.

His thoughts drifted to what Venus had said. 'And may that love be a torment to the one she calls father.'

He feared what that meant and to be honest, he couldn't bear to think of all the horrible possibilities. He heard footsteps approaching from behind and turned his head when his eyes landed on Diana.

She smiled."May I hold her?"

Without hesitation, he held the baby out to her. "Of course."

She took the child from him, brought her close and cradled her against her chest. A smile spread across her lips when her eyes landed on the child's face.

"Mother?" She guessed to who had given her the gift and looked up to meet his eyes.

He nodded in response. She began to rock the child in her arms and as she did so she sang sweet nothings to her. He could hear the child's soft coos, loving her aunt's attention. A smile came onto his face as he watched them. Most wouldn't have known that the great goddess of the hunt had a soft spot for children.

"I think I would make the better nanny." She chuckled.

Mars smiled at her and Mercury burst out into a fit of laughter. After a moment, she continued. "I was being serious."

Mars chuckled at her. "You can take Venus's old room."

She smiled his way before pulling the baby close and rose her right hand above her, she then snapped her fingers once.

"Done." She chimed.

He watched her continue to rock the child in her arms, eyes fixed on the baby's snuggled form until she lifted her head and looked him in the eyes.

"I have to ask." She said. "Do you really plan to make this child your titan?" Her expression was unreadable, while she waited for his answer.

He smirked. "I will make her a great warrior."

She smiled, contently. "If that's the case, I think you'll need my help."

He looked at her, there was a reason she was the goddess of the hunt, she was easily the strongest female warrior he knew. He was proud of his twin's abilities and knew her teachings would be invaluable.

'Since we will be training a female, then who would know better than Diana.' He thought.

"Your help is greatly welcomed."

"You don't have to be so formal with me, Mars." She said as she walked past him.

He watched her sit on the velvet chair she has been lounging on before and in her left hand appeared a bottle full of milk.

"It's milk from Lupa." She told him.

She touched the nipple to the infant's mouth and after a couple of tries, she got her to start sucking on it. He watched his daughter struggle to sip at the cloudy liquid. The new skill was awkward for the infant. A pain of guilt hit him when he remembered she had only been born a short time ago and to his knowledge, had not been fed yet.

When only a small part of the bottle was gone the baby girl had fallen asleep, lips still tucked around the nipple. Diana gently pulled the bottle from her mouth and made the bottle disappear. She made a white cloth appear in her empty hand and wiped the spilled milk for the baby's face. When she was finished the cloth disappeared from her hand and she leaned down gently kissing the infant's cheek before getting to her feet.

"I'm going to take this little beauty to her bed."

She stared at the baby lovingly as she walked the length of the grand all, only taking her eyes from the infant for a second as she approached the stairs.

When she was out of sight he turned his head, casting his gaze on Rome below. 'What a beautiful city. What amazing architecture. What wonderful people.'

The God of War was pleased with Rome's need for conquest and their recent victory made him proud. The roman soldiers had fought well in the seleucid war, after four years and four hard battles they took victory in Lydia.

He turned his head when he heard soft footsteps coming down the stairs and his eyes landed on Diana. "Shall we have some wine? This is supposed to be a celebration, correct?"

Without waiting for an answer, a golden pitcher appeared in her left hand. She held out her right hand and a golden goblet appeared. She tipped the pitcher and deep red wine flowed out, filling the goblet to the rim. She smelled the wine and took a sip before approaching Mars. She held the goblet out to him and he took the offered drink and drank from the golden cup.

He smiled at the flavor. It was very sweet.

"Did you make this?" He asked, passing the cup off to Mercury.

"I did." She smiled.

Mars watched as Mercury took a deep drink from the oversized cup.

"It's divine, Diana." He commended her skill.

Mercury passed the goblet off to her and she swallowed an equally ambitious mouth full of warm wine. With the pitcher she still held her hand, she filled it once more before setting the pitcher down on the empty table beside her.

With a delicate wave of her other wrist, the goblet appeared in Mar's hand. He sipped at the wine first, savoring the flavor and then took a massive gulp. The goblet made it around once more before Mars once again received an empty goblet. He picked the pitcher up off the table and poured the remaining wine into the golden cup.

"It's wonderful. Got anymore?" He asked.

With a wave of her hand, a dozen identical golden pitchers appeared on the open table. He looked at her and smiled before taking another big gulp of the fermented grapes.

The goblet went around once more and when it came back to Mars it was empty again. He peered into one of the golden pitchers first before picking it up off the table. He smelled the wine and the same sweet aroma hit his nose before he filled the goblet back to the top. He set the pitcher back down on the table and held the goblet out towards her.

"Thank you, dear sister." He lifted the goblet to his lips and with three monstrous swallows, he emptied the cup.