Hades had never been so glad to see his home. The one in the underworld, that is, not the palace in Olympus where he now served at the pleasure of the gods. His dedicated nymphs, Blythe and Sella, met them at the stable, dancing on delicate toes as they gushed over the babe.

"Isn't she marvelous!" Blythe said as she ignored their bags to indulge in the young goddess. "Her hair is quite dark. That's fortuitous."

"Everything is fortuitous with nymphs," Hades offered.

"I knew it was likely to happen while Lady Lexi was away," Sella said. "I could see it in her eyes." Sella talked as she trundled off the chariot with their bags, stopping to look into the babe's face. "And a breech birth is..."

"Fortuitous?" Lexi said as she winked at Sella. "I think a hot bath would be most fortuitous, right now."

"Straight away, your ladyship. Can I take the babe out of your tired arms?" Sella passed off the luggage to Blythe but Lexi curtailed Sella's enthusiasm.

"My arms will never tire of holding my children. But thank you, Sella."

While Lexi disappeared inside with their new offspring, Hades took Ely and Elm to the swings he had erected before leaving for their trip. With Cerberus bounding after Ely, the dauntless boy hurried up to a swing and hopped into it, but Elm didn't take such a hasty approach. She eyed the contraption warily through strands of chestnut hair, her thin arms crossed over her chest.

"The swings won't take me high enough," she said. "I want to be able to see over the wall." She pointed to the wall that bordered the yard. A wall that served one purpose; to keep gods and other palace inhabitants from falling into the gorge.

"You haven't even given it a try," he said, although he couldn't help being impressed by his daughter's certainty.

Elm went ahead and took a seat next to Ely, who had already begun pumping his feet violently. This actually hindered his progress, but his effort was diligent.

"I measured the distance based on the calculations you and I made," Hades went on, walking to the wall and reaching for the top to make his point.

"Well...we might have to knock down the wall, then." Elm stated her position as she coaxed her swing into a fluid back and forth motion. Ely's enthusiasm had finally taken hold, and he seemed determined to keep up with his sister.

"Elm, the wall is here to protect us, and I will not risk our safety just so you can keep an eye on the minotaurs."

"But I want to wave at Lars from the backyard," Elm protested. "It takes him all morning to get from one end of the forest to the other, and this is the only place I can't see him."

Hades let Elm have her rant. It was easier than arguing. "Can you see anything, yet?" he asked as Elm and her brother competed for the highest position.

"It's just as I thought." Elm held her limbs tight as she leaned away from the swing until the only thing saving her from a painful fall was her fisted fingers around the chain.

"I see the tops of the trees," Ely put in. "But, not the ground."

"You're not high enough, Ely," Elm said. "Go higher."

Elm's challenge had Ely's chin jutting forward, and he lunged with his legs, causing the chains to buckle as he caught air. His eyes widened and he was jerked backward, forcing a gasp from his open mouth. Elm started laughing, and Hades wished he could join her. Ely's surprise did make him look like a jack-o-lantern, but Hades would never laugh in his son's face.

"The swing won't go higher," Ely said as he resumed his previous speed. "And I still can't see the ground."

Elm gave her father a stubborn look from her seat, but Hades didn't give her a chance to push her agenda. "I am not tearing down the wall, Elm."

After a short staring contest, Elm countered. "Can you lower it? Just two stones. Please, daddy."

Hades glanced at the wall, eyeballing it for the sake of satisfying his daughter's appeal. The child's definition of 'no' was merely a challenge for 'yes'. "You bring up a valid compromise, and I counter with this offer. I will take down one row of stones, and if you still cannot see over the wall, we will revisit the problem. But first, we need to get your mother's okay."

"Do we have to?" Elm leaped off her swing before it came to a full stop, throwing out her arms to steady her landing. "She always says no."

"That isn't true. Your mother often agrees. She only requires that we do our homework."

Elm didn't look persuaded as she stomped away from the swings toward the back door. Ely's swing had just come to rest, and when he jumped off, he assumed a warrior stance, jabbing his arm forward as if it held a sword. Cerberus decided it was safe to step closer, and Ely patted him on the neck.

"Don't move, Berber. You'll be my horse."

Hades followed his son into the shed where a wooden sword hung from the workbench. Stretching onto his toes, Ely snagged the sword from its hook and bolted away before Hades could suggest the gauntlets Heracles made for him. Hades watched Ely zoom back toward Cerberus, wondering how his son had inherited such a winsome spirit when his daughter had the moods of a sailboat without a breeze.

Leaving Ely to battle imaginary foes, Hades followed Elm inside, knowing her complaint would carry on if he didn't address her problem now. Hades had no doubt Elm's gifts would include some amount of stubbornness, which was fine with him. It was his daughter's tendency to brood that had him worried.