Probably.
There was a knock at the door and I turned my head. How did they know I was awake? I scanned the room suspiciously. What are you expecting to find, secret cameras? In a world that uses iron fire dishes instead of TVs? Get a grip, Persy. Just roll with the punches. You'll be home in no time.
'Yes?' I called.
'Can I come in?' came a woman's voice from the other side of the door. It was a husky, sensual voice, and I immediately felt conscious of my silky PJs.
'Erm, yeah,' I said, standing up. The door creaked open and a voluptuous woman backed in, holding two steaming mugs. My lips parted involuntarily as she turned fully to me and smiled. She had thick dark hair that looked like it would be heaven to touch, deep laughing brown eyes that gleamed with fun, and lips that looked... well nothing like any lips I'd ever seen. There was no better word for them than kissable.
'Apparently humans are into coffee in the morning,' she said, and passed me a mug with a smile. 'I'm Hedone.'
'Hi,' I stammered. 'I'm Persephone.' She nodded and sat down on the end of my bed, cupping the mug.
'Hecate is busy most of today, so she asked me to start prepping you for the masquerade ball.'
'Do you, er, help everyone out?'
She gave a tinkling laugh.
'No. But I think you're rather special, and I owe Hecate a favor.'
'Why do you think I'm special?' I asked, taking a small sip of coffee. It was utterly amazing, way better than anything we served at Easy Espresso.
'A couple reasons. I have a soft spot for humans, but more than that, I've not long taken part in some Trials of my own.' Her eyes darkened, her husky voice hardening a little. 'The Immortality Trials. They were tough, and I would like to help an underdog,' she said, looking at me.
'Underdog, huh,' I sighed, sitting down too. I wondered if Hedone was one of the few who knew I'd supposedly already been married to Hades. I didn't want to tell her if I wasn't supposed to, although it was almost impossible not to trust her. That was her power though. Goddess of pleasure, remember?
'Did you win your Trials?' I asked her.
'I'd rather not talk about it,' she said simply. 'Now, we have a lot to go over. Hecate said you needed some help with your clothes and make-up, then there's Olympian etiquette to cover, charm and graciousness after that, and we've all the logistics of the ball to plan. We'll need to look at the guest list, and try to anticipate what problems might be thrown your way. You'll also be having combat lessons.'
'For the ball?'
'Of course.'
'Why would I need to fight at a ball?'
'This is no ordinary ball, Persephone,' she said.
'Call me Persy,' I told her automatically. She smiled.
'This is a test to see if you are capable of holding the position of Queen of the Underworld. Politics and combat go hand-in-hand. You need to prove your ability to hold your own, support your husband and represent your realm. Social events have been at the root of almost every serious fight between the gods for centuries. They are of the utmost importance.'
'Oh,' I said. It kind of made sense that one of the Trials would be a party when she put it like that. 'That doesn't really sound like my sort of thing.'
'No? You don't like parties?'
'Or politics. I like gardens.'
Her pretty face creased into a frown.
'You're in the wrong place then,' she said. 'There aren't many gardens in Virgo.'
My heart sank as she spoke. I mean, I'd already suspected as much, but it still sucked to hear it.
'Are there any plants anywhere?'
'To be honest, I don't spend much time here, apart from with Morpheus, but I'll ask him to come and see you. He knows this place like back of his hand. Now, let's teach you how to do something better than...' she paused and looked at my hair with an awkward frown, 'well, better than that.'
'Will you show me how to do whatever Hecate did with my eyes that made them super green?' I asked her, a little over-eagerly. Hedone gave a tinkling chuckle.
'I think we may make a party-goer out of you yet,' she grinned.
We spent three full hours in the windowless bedroom, going over how to get fine black lines drawn around my eyes, creating fuller looking lips with tiny crayons, and how to get a gentle curl set into my white hair. At home I would never have allowed myself to spend so much time on such things. I mean, it wasn't like I left my apartment looking like a bag of shit, I always found time to swipe on a bit of mascara and make my cheeks a little less pale, but I'd never committed this much time to learning how to make myself look good. I'd once watched an online video tutorial for French braiding but I'd only lasted ten minutes before I wanted to throw my laptop out of the window, screaming about impossible fucking hairstyles. But Hedone made it easy to learn somehow.
'There you go,' she said, as I secured the last piece of what I now knew was called a 'crown braid' to my head. It was essentially a plait that kept my hair back from my face more stylishly and securely than my crappy bun. It reminded me of Athena's and I loved it. 'I told you you could do it.'
I beamed at her, aware that I looked like a small child receiving praise, but not really caring.
'What's next?'
'Lunch, but not with me,' she answered, tweaking my braid slightly. 'I have to go now.'
Unease at being left alone skittered through me.
'OK. Well, thanks for all your help.'
'That's OK. I'll be back this evening to go through feasting etiquette.'
'Does that mean we'll be eating a feast?' I asked hopefully.
'Yes. So go easy on lunch. See you later,' she said, and let herself out of my room, closing the door behind her.
At least she didn't do the stupid bright-light vanishing thing, I thought, looking in the mirror. What was I going to do now? I stood up and looked at the wardrobe, deciding I should probably get dressed.
Just as I was deciding between a red pantsuit type get up with a low neckline, and the green dress I'd worn yesterday, a small excitable voice sounded behind me.
'Definitely the red one.' I span around quickly, nearly dropping both outfits in surprise.
A gnome was standing on my bedroom floor, completely naked, grinning up at me.
'Who the hell are you?!'
'Skoptolis, at your service,' he bowed low, bending his three foot frame in half.
'At my service?'
'Well, technically, I'm here to guard you. I've no idea what from, but it beats what I was doing before.'
'You're my guard?' I gaped at the naked gnome. He had twinkling amber eyes, thick dark hair in a mess on top of his head with a matching beard, and massive feet. I did my best to avoid seeing if his other extremities were as large, but it was somewhat hard not to look.
'I sure am,' he said, rocking on his heels.
'Could you put some clothes on?'
'Nope.'
'Please?'
'No can do. Not allowed.'
'You're not allowed to wear clothes? Why not?'
'Dunno. Is it this that's causing the issue?' He thrust his hips forward, flicking himself at me and I spluttered as my cheeks reddened.