Leon POV

"Ah, right, sorry, this must be really shocking to you." the woman apologized as she slowly released me, "I'm Evelyn Starr. I was 20 when I was captured and I've been here for one year. Nice to meet you."

"...That doesn't really tell me who you are."

This woman...let's just say that she was quite beautiful to start. She had light pink colored hair with a dark shade of crimson-colored eyes. But despite looking so innocent, she also had the 'risk' tag on her, which means that she is not something you'd want to mess up, making her gleaming smile look just a tad bit sinister than it is.

"...What did you do to get down here?" John asked.

"I think the 'who are you' question should take precedence."

"I'm a girl who just happened to fall in love with you at first sight?" Evelyn said as if it was an obvious reason.

"Then...no thank you, girls who said they like me are either psychopaths or trying to kill me."

"Why are your experiences with women so harsh? You seem to get along with...this one."

"Well, Sasha is my guide, while one other woman is a bitch, you...you could be an undercover sent by Lux. So explain before I leave."

"Well, I suppose I should explain a bit more, shouldn't I? You see, before I ended up here, I met a thread spinner...someone who can apparently weave the fates of others. She told me that my fate was tied to a man, someone I'd fall in love with at first sight. She even went as far as to say that this man was the one I was destined to be with."

"And I'm supposed to believe that's me? Heck, I'm supposed to believe in fate?"

"Yes, it was confirmed by my mother, Aphrodite, the goddess of love herself. She told me that my fate was intertwined with yours. Something about a handsome man of similar age, grey hair, glasses, a beautiful brown skin tone...she also showed me a picture of you."

"...Why is it only Greeks here?"

"IF you want to see the children of the Egyptian gods, you will have to move out of the underworld."

"So how did you get down here?"

"I had to give birth to a hero with some swordsman, and I refused."

"I can't believe the gods would force such actions." Mike commented, "My parents met each other at a daycare."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The whole group then went silent at that statement as even Viper was looking at Mike in silence and Viper rarely shuts up, especially if I'm around.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"Your parents met each other where?" he asked.

"A daycare, how hard is it for you guys to understand?" Mike retorted.

"Is your mom an elderly woman?"

"No."

"No...Does she have certain physical or mental needs? Ugh...that's still messed up."

"No, why are you guys being so weird? My mom worked as a volunteer at some children's daycare, and my Dad fell for her."

"Ohhh..." we all then breathe a sigh of relief.

"It was pretty romantic, my mom took some volunteering hours for high school-"

"Nope, we're ending it there before we get sued." I interjected.

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Back to Evelyn though. This is so lazy...a prophecy about falling in love at first sight? Really? I know that we have to find a way to introduce a potential love interest in an original and interesting way, but this just sucks on a few levels, because Zeus...well, I'm gonna have to find a way to break it to Mike on why Zeus is not as great as he thinks because he really wants to know why we're refusing to listen.

"So, are you planning to escape?" she asked before taking out a small notepad, "If so, I'm in, just give me a call, here's my number."

"I don't have a phone."

"Don't worry, I bought you one."

"Why are you labeled as a risk though?"

"Oh, because that cloth weaver or thread ever...whatever she is, asked them too, saying that I had a troublesome fate. But Mom also told me that you'd want to escape, and since I want the same thing, I might as well take my chances, I'd rather die trying. I have to be here for 500 years after all."

"This seems to be quite a coincidence then, like...it's too good of a coincidence."

"Of course, but my Mom would never lie to me."

"Your mother is also quite a prolific cheater, you know that, right?"

"Of course, but unlike her, I have my morals from my Dad's side."

"I see...can you fight?"

"to a certain extent, I can take out one guard."

"Okay, I'll contact you later. But it's for the escape, not for this love thing."

"But...you find me cute though."

"...I don't"

"My mother is the goddess of love, so...I can detect these things. But even if you reject me now, it doesn't mean that I'll give up on you."

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Aphrodite POV

"Well, well, it seems my daughter has finally crossed paths with her potential future husband," I said aloud while sipping from a bottle of champagne.

It had taken some time, but everything was moving along exactly as I had envisioned. Evelyn and Leon...what a pair they would make. Leon was as resistant as I expected, but that was part of the charm. He'd come around, eventually. They always do. I'm currently in someone else's private realm and observing Leon's plans and thinking...I would love to have him for myself and join my daughter a bit in the future, but his mother seems to be highly against it, it doesn't help that I can't even joke about it as this realm I'm in is hers.

"Everything's moving along just as we predicted, Leon's already got his next move planned, though he doesn't even realize how much of it plays right into our hands. And Evelyn.. well, she's more determined than I gave her credit for. It's almost cute."

A shadow moved in the corner of my eye, it meant that she'd arrived. My companion, always the silent type, was listening intently. We had been working together on this for a while now, though her involvement was much more discreet. She preferred it that way, staying behind the scenes while I took on a more active role. Which...unfortunately involves only helping to push my daughter in the right direction.

"You don't have to watch her progress with me, you know," she finally spoke, "You talk too much."

"I don't talk too much, you're just dreadfully quiet. Besides, it's not every day that you get to see your daughter and potential future son-in-law meet for the first time. That's something worth celebrating, don't you think?"

"You're enjoying this too much," she said a hint of exasperation in her tone, "Focus on the task at hand."

"And you should consider revealing yourself to your twins, Leon and Lux. It's about time, don't you think? They're getting closer to the truth every day. It would save you the trouble of sneaking around like this. Most gods at least give hints."

"Most. Not all."

"What's the worst that could happen? They might actually like you, you know."

"Enough. Stay focused, Aphrodite. This isn't a game."

"Fine, fine. But don't say I didn't warn you. They'll find out sooner or later. And when they do, well...I wouldn't want to be in your shoes."

"I know what I've done, and unfortunately, even if I had second thoughts...it's too late."