Jupiter sat primly upon his throne with a stern look darkening his face. As Branna and Amy stood before him they were confused. It may not have been an outright victory, but the army of Ares, thousands strong before the battle, had been reduced to a few hundred frightened men, defeated and crawling through the woods, praying that they made it back to their king before Jupiter's forces caught up with them.

Four guards stood next to the king and along the sides of the throne room over twenty more soldiers stood to attention with a hand on their swords, ready to strike at their king's urging.

"Not exactly the heroes' welcome we had been hoping for," Amy said.

"True enough, Amy," Jupiter began. "But it was not exactly the total victory we had been wanting."

Branna stepped forward. She was annoyed, but not yet angry. The guards standing next to the king moved defensively. Catching sight of the look of rebuke on the king's face, the guards moved back.

"And you blame this slightly less than perfect victory on us?" Branna asked.

"No, Branna, I blame this less than perfect victory on your father."

"What?" asked Branna. "Why is my father to blame for a few men escaping?"

"My men on the walls had the last of the enemy in their sights. Your father took it upon himself to destroy my weapons before I got the chance to deliver a complete victory."

"If my father did that then there must have been a good reason for it. As for the few men that escaped; what of it? Your army will round them up and destroy them. Why should it matter that you have to wait for a few days before you get your total victory?"

The king got to his feet. It was a graceful motion that betrayed no emotion.

"If those men make it back to their city they will hide behind the walls for years," Jupiter explained. "It could delay the final victory by decades. And all the while my brother, Saturn, will grow in strength. By the time we take Ares' city, it may be too late. And the witch that saved my enemies. What do you know of her? You saw what she did, yet you stand here in front of me and make no mention of her? Who is she? And more importantly; who is she to you? Your father, he never told me what he truly was. I knew that he was turned by my brother and saved from darkness by your mother. What I didn't know was just how powerful he is. Why did he keep that from me? Until I have answers to these questions, your father will remain here as my prisoner. And when I do learn the truth, the complete truth, if I do not like what I hear, I will kill him."

Branna took another step forward.

"Until I see my father, I will tell you nothing."

"You will tell me, Branna. Everything."

"If you and your guards would like to have a go at making me talk, feel free."

"Your father is not in the city," said Jupiter. "He is back in the human realm. In that realm me and my children have the power of gods. Power enough to drop your father in the middle of the hottest desert under the full heat of the sun. I do not want to go to war with you or your father, but I cannot put all of creation at risk to indulge your secrets. You have a choice; be reasonable and this will end well, for all concerned. Oppose me, and we all lose."

Branna vanished. Amy looked around the room. She had never felt so lonely or so vulnerable.

"So," she began, nervously. "How is everyone doing?"

She smiled. No one smiled back.

"I just want you all to know, I am not in any way related to Branna, or her dad. Goes without saying, yet I feel it's worth saying anyway."

"You have nothing to fear, Amy," Jupiter said. "In point of fact, none of you have anything to fear. I simply can't win this war when I don't know all the facts."

A tense pause followed.

"Like I say, it is a family matter. I don't know anything," explained Amy.

Branna reappeared.

"What have you done with him?" Branna demanded.

"He is safe, for now," said Jupiter. "And once I have the answers to my questions, he will be returned to you."

"Could you give Branna and me a few moments?" Amy asked.

Branna and Amy vanished. The appeared by the edge of the forest outside the city.

"What the hell are you doing?" Amy asked.

Branna looked confused.

"I thought you wanted to speak to me?" asked Branna.

"I did, but we could have spoken outside the door to the throne room. You didn't need to go for the big dramatic gesture."

"Big dramatic gestures are exactly what we need. Once we start doing things on Jupiter's terms, he has won. What did you want to say?"

"I was going to suggest that you tell Jupiter what he wants to know. The witch, your sister. What harm could it do? Though to be honest, I'm a bit hurt that you didn't tell me about her. You are like a nuclear bomb in this place. It was kinda comforting to know that. If she is just as powerful as you and she's on the other side, well, that's a lot less comforting."

"My sister died a long time ago. It was a painful time for me and my father."

"She looked very much alive out there on the battlefield."

"She was taken by the demon. She was turned. My mother couldn't save her. That didn't stop my mother from trying. She spent years looking for her. And then she too disappeared. So, forgive me for not wishing to bring up the darkest time in my life just to make small talk."

"Okay, I get it. But she is back. And she is a problem. Or at the very least, she could be a problem. An epic, life ending problem."

Branna smiled.

"She was fighting on Ares' side," said Branna. "That doesn't make her a problem. She isn't with Saturn, the demon who took her. In my opinion, that is a good thing. Maybe she is part of the solution to this madness? Maybe my mother did catch up with her? My mother could have done for her what she did for me and my father."

"There's a lot of maybes in there. I am no expert on the whole magic, good versus evil, thing, but she didn't seem like she was on the side of the angels."

"We will find out soon enough," said Branna, with a smile.

"Don't you..."

They vanished again. Amy was shocked when they reappeared in front of Jupiter. It was the last place she expected Branna to take them.

"The witch is my sister," Branna said. "I haven't seen her in hundreds of years. Until today I assumed she was dead. I am going to find her. I am going to get answers. When I return, I want to see my father. If he is not here when I get back, you will have two angry witches to face."

"I would advise against that," said Jupiter. "If she hasn't tried to make contact with you for hundreds of years, that should tell you all you need to know about how she feels about you and your father. She is not the girl you once knew. You could be walking straight into a trap."

"The kind of trap that leads to a prison cell?" Branna asked, caustically.

Withthat, they were gone.