Where the narration proceeds with Persephone's attempts to adjust in her new life, the difficulties and the triple surprise she will have to deal with for the next years.

i bettee be seein' this comment section more alive, not silent😤. in other words, don't be shy to comment, if you really feel like you wanna express something in more than just a thought through the chapter. okay? okay.

No one's POV:
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"What was that house your mother was brought to?" Geno asked.

"As she didn't know the language then, mother had guessed she would be in service of some rich person. Or monster perhaps. Just like how she had the maids and servants in her old house who were servin' her family, now she would be the maid of someone else. She wasn't unfamiliar with how house chores were done, despite she was of a rich family, she would often help around the house, much to the staff's surprise and denial, that it was their job to serve and she should focus on her rich lady-like duties. She could clean and tidy up and she was better at whatever was related to gardens."

"Of course."

"Boy she had no idea about cooking however. That, was of her weak spots. As Persephone looked at the front of the house and around the courtyard, she realised the building itself was dark and gloomy. Also she could not sense any plant life around her. There was just one tree on the side and it had a trunk old and rough, with not a single leaf on it. Dead. She had started not liking the place. Yes it seemed clean and well-taken care of, its position as it was on a higher altitude had a great view of the town and the fields far away, but it felt as if it reeked of death and sorrow, more over loneliness."

"Wow, who can live in a place described like this?!"

"Someone who's not bothered by death that is. After her first observation, the monkey returned back to her, with the company of a very old pig woman dressed in grey and black. She started talking to mother in butchered but understood enough Greek. She was Cerdia and she was the head-maid of the monster ones, in charge of guiding them around the house, assigning them their positions for each day and evaluating if the jobs are well-done. In order to be accepted in the house of their master, Renrink Hades, mother had to show capability of handling most of the chores around there. On her first day she would get a uniform and learn the way around the house. Then she would be watched and evaluated if she was doing well or not with her chores. First she would fill up a paper where she would write which chores she was good at. And later she would have to prove if she was really successful in completing those or not. Cerdia then signed Persephone to follow her in the house and hesitantly mother followed. The monkey driver just stayed outside smokin' with a pipe near his carriage."

"Dude needed his break."

"The room of the main entrance gave mother the chills. The floor had black and white tiles as if it was a chess board, the little statues decorating were all black and seemed to be glaring, black heavy curtains were to the left and right of the windows and yet almost seemed to absorb the light, even of the biggest one that was just above the main entrance. The shadows fallin' all around were makin' it difficult to see or distinguish and it didn't help that most objects were dark-colored shades of blue, purple, red. Black the gunwales of the stairs left and right in the main hall that were leadin' upstairs. Though said stairs were of pale white marble. Mother had so many questions, like, how could one live like this and how was anyone navigating their way around there."

"Fair."

"Cerdia handed her a paper and asked her to write down what she was better at. Persephone was still fresh from her confusion about how from the pirates she ended up in that rich house, but she wasted no time to write down anything she knew she could do from chores. The head maid read and showed to be indifferent for the most part. Except when she saw the words 'Taking care of the garden and plants'. There she had commented in her poor Greek, that those were words she hadn't hear or seen in decades."

"Wow."

"And while Persephone hadn't understood the meaning of such words then, soon she was gonna find out. After that, Cerdia showed her around the house, the rooms and the areas and while mother was takin' in all that info well, she waited for the moment she would hear about the garden. Though she had the impression that she could sense nowhere other life than monster and a lil' bit of human. And that concerned her. Even more when Cerdia was done with showin' around and took her to the maid's dormitories without mentioning once the garden. There she gave mother and outfit for her thin and tall size and send her to put it on. Minutes later she came back to Cerdia and could already feel dying from the inside. Never in her life she had wore black before, the darkest she had ever put on herself was blue. But it was no time to choose, she was way out of her old life and land. She had to go by whatever rules there were and adjust to the environment. The pig woman looked at her from top to bottom with that indifference of hers and just nodded. She told Persephone to take a rest for today, as she wouldn't get much tomorrow and she was ready to leave. But Persephone couldn't stand not asking about the garden. For a moment Cerdia seemed ready to just ignore. But sighing, she waved at mother to follow her. The 2 went to the backyard of the house and once the door opened for the outside, Persephone couldn't help but cover her mouth. In surprise and terror."

"Oh boy."

"Whatever was supposed to be called garden, only like a large graveyard it looked like. From what she could see, the soils had not a single weed on them to say there was anythin' that could thrive in them, they were rough and corrosive. The trees were naked from leaves and almost seemed burned from the roots to the branches. Broken pieces of marble were the only 'planted' things around there. And the fountain 15 steps away from the door of the backyard was broken and empty of water. Persephone was almost ready to start crying and Cerdia saw her. She told her that when she had first arrived to the house, the garden was still like that. And that was 80 years ago."

"Sheesh."

"No one was taking care of the garden, the head maid had continued. Even long before her, the previous masters of the house weren't hiring gardeners and so was their current. Sayin' in the same mindset that flowers were a waste of time for him or anyone to pay attention, that other duties were of higher concern and more important focus to."

"That must have been almost a soul attack for your mother."

"Couldn't have said it better. And so, the staff was leavin' the 'garden' in that shape, without doin' anything about it, as they had no orders and tasks for it. Plus not knowing how to take care of one. More over, they were also afraid of it. Persephone took in that info and while she had nodded at Cerdia, she asked her if she could explore the area. The pig woman had no objection and after she made sure that mother knew just enough the way around the house by testin' her direction skills, she left her in the exit of the backyard. Persephone wandered in the garden and looked around. As she walked further in, her soul was tightening even more with sorrow. There definitely was no color and life. Now, about 30 steps away from the back door to the house, to the left and right of the garden's beginning and behind the fountain, there were old, beaten up wooden walls. There was only an openin' in the middle. Persephone went through it and was brought to what would be the heart of the garden. That area of the garden felt a little larger than the previous and so a lot more empty. An old small and broken hut was standing to the left side, with a big empty pond more to the middle of the area. To the right there was just nothin' except soil and grief."

"Darn."

"Persephone fell on her knees and as she was surrounded by this numb-like aura around her, all her personal sorrows found their way to hit her. She remembered her parents, the friendly fellow monster villagers, the temple, the priestesses and the beauty of the land she was living into and she snapped out of her first shock that wasn't lettin' her emotions free. She had just started crying and sobbing loudly. For long she was in that state. When she stopped and opened eyesockets, suddenly surprise took over."

"What did she realise?"

"No, what she saw rather. Where her tears had fallen, a little bit of green had grown. Where her hands were pressin' the ground, once she raised them, in their place there was a little bit of deep green grass. In that moment she realised that even though the soil seemed unwelcome and rough, it could still be fertile. For mother's ability to work, grow plants with her touch and tears, it was required for the soil itself to have the elements to allow such life to exist, otherwise they wouldn't survive by themselves for long. And seein' this, in that moment she felt as if there was still a chance for that place, all while givin' herself somethin' like a personal purpose. She didn't know if in the position she had gotten she had many options on how to choose to move or act, but felt that she had to at least try give a breath of life to that garden. Besides she couldn't imagine herself livin' in such gloomy environment."

"At least she had found somethin' to take her mind off her Grief."

"Yes, indeed. Her greatest distraction was to try make that garden alive again. If it was once, why not again. Her secondary greatest distraction were generally the chores around the house. In less than a week she had proven to be very good at them, doin' a good and flawless job and Cerdia's usual grumpy face didn't bother Persephone anymore, as her facial expressions weren't the ones that were indicatin' her emotions or judgment. It was her casual one and she was rather showin' her approval with movements. Simple nods of silence were positive reaction, shakin' head left and right and commentin' observations were negative. And mother knew, not because she had ever received negative expression, but she would see it when the pig woman was doin' these to any other maid around the house. Which became the first common ground for many maids to start dislikin' mother as she was only always receivin' silent praise."

"Jealousy? Really?"

"I mean, if you're a maid who just started workin' and you're already provin' to do a far better job than the ones who were definitely much longer around the house..." Reaper shrugged his shoulders. "... They didn't know why mother was so dedicated with the chores, they were only assumin'. And it didn't help either that she was pretendin' to be mute. For a long time only Cerdia, Ludífimo, the golden monkey monster who had brought mother in the house of the Renrinks and my triplet sisters knew she could speak. Persephone just chose not to do so. She didn't wanna have any talk with anyone. She couldn't trust or let anybody close. And anyways, she couldn't understand. She was keepin' her mouth closed and her ear holes open at all times, pretendin' to almost be mentally retarded. While she wasn't understandin' what the other maids were sayin' then, she could guess they weren't good words about her. As she remembers those, despite not understandin' them then, when later she learned the language better she could recall the maids, the human ones specifically, callin' her a fake foot-licker cajoler who works just to try and impress Cerdia and get on her good side."

"As if they weren't the ones bein' like that! Since they seemed to care this much about Cerdia's approval, weren't they the ones who actually wanted it more? Tch! Hypocrisy and jealousy holdin' hands right there..." Geno commented annoyed and crossed his arms.

"Truly. Then again the head maid of the humans was a vixen, just constantly screamin' to any being wearing maid costume, never praising. And mother had felt the comments would have been a lot worse if anyone knew she was once from the rich class. Human, monster, if you're rich you're almost immediately seen as a pompous, arrogant and spoiled crybaby by the lower class. Persephone could handle the whatever negative comments she was gettin', she didn't want unnecessary ones to be added that would make her position more difficult just because of who she was once. Even from the monster maids, who weren't aggressive to their commentary, matter of fact rather pityin' mother for seeming to be 'shot in the skull'. They had tried talkin' to her, even ask her in a good manner to tell them how was she doin' so well some chore. Even to them Persephone wouldn't show that she understood they were talkin' to her. She was keepin' her act up by rollin' her pupils to all directions, leavin' her mouth to hang open and twitchin' her head. With all those, eventually she had creeped out the monster maids and they were avoidin' her even more, just observin' her from a distance."

"Just like how she wanted."

"And while she wasn't allowin' her surroundings to learn about her, Persephone was learnin' about them. Cerdia especially, despite seeming grumpy and tired all the time, had proven to be secretly on her side, helpin' her to get accustomed and later help mother in far bigger and more serious matters, as I'll talk about later. For example if her and Persephone were in the same room, out of the blue she would start slamming her hand on objects while supposedly indicating to another maid in the room to clean it. If she was pointin' at a vase, she would go in Spanish like..." Reaper cleared his throat and then adopted a supposedly strict face. "¡El jarrón MariIiAaA! ¡El jarrón! ¡No ignores simplemente el jarrón! ¡Este jarrón todavía tiene polvo!" Geno found himself snorting from the Captain's changed pitch, attempting to sound strict and woman-like, adding in between pig squealing. But he had understood with that example what Reaper meant.

"Ah, I see. By repeatin' the same word again and again your mother could connect easier a word with an object."

"Like that by the end of the month she had learned and memorised about 300 words which she was writtin' down on a secret little notebook, with the Greek letters however. She knew the Latin letters too, but preffered the Greek one."

"But why would Cerdia help in such indirect way your mother? She didn't wanna seem nice or somethin'?"

"Kinda. Generally she was showin' a tough face with everyone. But she could see Persephone was a lot different. She could see far more than the maids that something else was motivatin' her to do chores without the slightest complain, not slackin' off once, even do more than what she was assigned to, definitely not to get approval. Any work she was doin' was genuine. She was seein' her will to adjust in her new environment and silently being curious about the act of the retarded she was having in front of everyone. Which act she kept quiet about, just like anythin' she knew about mother. Like of how she was from Athens, no, she hadn't gossiped with anyone about her origins or that she could actually talk. The pig woman had the fame of havin' the silence of a graveyard when it came to personal stuff about anyone. But what had captivated her interest for as long as she got to see Persephone around, was for witnessin' her insisting to revive the garden."

"Ah yeah! How did that go?"

"At first mother tested the soils and tried to grow just with her powers any plant life she could. All that could survive was grass. Any other flowers were startin' to die just a day later. So she decided she had to enrichen the ground if anythin' was gonna thrive in there. Whatever plants she would grow, she would unpluck them and throw it in a slightly damaged but still in good shape big wooden box a few steps away from the hut. Everyday, when the cooks would prepare in the kitchen breakfast, lunch and dinner, she would kinda sneak in and collect the peels of the fruits and vegetables that had been picked for consumption. Or volunteer herself to peel them just so she could more easily have access to them without bein' so suspicious. Then she would take the peels to the garden and mix 'em with the grass." Despite Geno seemed confused by this, he stayed silent to hear Reaper explaining. "A week in the service of the house, when she had considered she had made a good enough start, with her first butchered Spanish she asked Ludífimo, who was of the main carriage drivers from the town to the house, the strange to him but possible request that when the carriage drivers would go downtown again for supplies, to assign one of them, whoever could, bring to her alive snails and if possible earthworms."

"That is indeed a strange request!"

"Now normally, if any maid wanted somethin' for themselves, they obviously had to pay from their pocket. Even more if they assigned a carriage driver to find, buy, and bring it to them. Just like Persephone then. But anyways, despite confused, the monkey monster had told her to consider her request done and after talkin' with the one he would ask to bring whatever she wanted, also the service free just because she was as pretty as she was kind, far more than these hoity-toity human maids who were thinking that the house was theirs just because the Master wasn't always at home and goin' around to command the others like their vixen head maid when Cerdia had her back turned."

"Vixen's spawns..."

"2 days after the request, Ludífimo asked mother to walk a little further away to talk without other ears listenin'. He had handed her a small net of snails, sold normally to be eaten and a small box which contained 8 worms, as bait for fishin'. Her favor had been granted. Now what did she need the snails and worms for? To help with the production of compost."

"Compost?"

"Yeah. Such lil' creatures as snails and earthworms, insects like beetles, mites, ants and centipedes, by feedin' on the organic matter they make a rich and healthy fertilizer with their waste. That, the compost, is useful for the earth and can help plant life to grow big and healthy."

"Huh. Never heard of that, livin' for 14 years in a village near sea."

"You're welcome. Not wantin' her work to be seen by anyone in the house, mother started from the heart of the garden, where there was the broken hut and the pond, more hidden from the eye thanks to the walls. She released the snails and worms in the box and prayed they would thrive and accept to eat the peels and other organic stuff. If that went well, she would have the first compost in around 3 months, 2 if the temperature stayed warm, as mother was exiled from Athens and brought to Valencia near the end of July. In the meantime, she worked to break down the soil so it wouldn't look and feel like corrosed stone. Takin' tools from the hut, she would nonstop dig the earth around and when makin' it softer, make rows and channels, which would be spots to accept flowers and plants in the future. When done with her chores and the extra ones, she would go to start diggin' and not stop until the sun was about to dissapear behind the mountains. She was silently thankin' the gardeners who would take care of the plant life in her old house for allowin' her to get herself dirty too by workin' like them, then for the work around the temple when a priestessess, or else she would have broken her back by not bein' used to diggin'."

"Thankfully she was in shape."

"When she would finally stop and drop the tools, she would dust herself off thoroughly and return to the house. Of course the maids were seein' her and the human ones were quick to look at her with disgust as no matter how much Persephone was dustin' herself off, there was always stuck to her sleeves, face and shoes some dust still."

"They were gonna get a heart attack if they weren't sayin' some bad crap about your mom."

"Only once, one of 'em started followin' mother around, almost persuadin' her, just to see how on earth she was endin' up with dust on her clothes. Mother, havin' the ability to sense souls around her, realised that specific maid would always be in the same room as her when she would do some chore. In no way she wanted her to see what she was trying to do in the garden and she rather preffered to ruin her reputation even more than lettin' that happen."

"What plan did she come up with?"

"When she was done even with the extra chores, mother went to the garden as usual, pretendin' not to understand she was bein' followed. Heck, the maid had even brought another friend to catch her red-handed. But that didn't bother her. So, she entered the garden, but not even 5 steps in it she stopped. After waitin' for a few seconds, she proceeded to free-fall on the ground and start rollin' around while laughin' hysterically."

"¿Qué demonios?"

"Same words as the human maids who watched her in utter confusion as she kept bein' filled up with dust and dirt. Suddenly mother pretended that just now she saw 'em spying on her from behind a tree. She stood completely still, starin' at the maids smilin' and with wide open eyesockets. And then, laughin' even more hysterically, she got up and started runnin' at them with open arms. Obviously these maids weren't up to get filled in dirt and went back inside the house sprinting while squealin', as if a lion was runnin' after them."

"AJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJA!" Geno laughed as he wrapped his arms around himself.

"Since that day, the distance between Persephone and any other maid grew a lot bigger, even better for her personally. Except from Cerdia of course. Those 2 human maids had gossiped to everyone about how the shot-in-the-head skeleton woman had almost filled them with sh*t after she rolled herself in them like some dog and that was what she was most likely doin' for her to enter the house covered in dirt each day."

"Human women. AAAlways exaggeratin'!" Geno rolled his eyesocket.

"Not even the monster maids wanted to approach her anymore, even to just check up on her. They were simply now terrified of her. Cerdia kept checkin' up on Persephone and her work though, always givin' her approval about her work and advisin' the monster maids to just let her be, in her own personal world, that as long as she stayed unprovoked she would also stay calm, unlike what those 2 human maids had probably done by disturbin' her from her... 'activity'. Persephone had gotten one more reassurement that the pig woman was on her side, otherwise everyone would know by now the act she was showin'. Though she still wasn't completely sure if she could trust her. Simply too worried and afraid to allow anyone get too close. A little more than 2 months passed like that and Persephone had almost completed the first preperations in the heart of the garden. Then, when October had barely entered, as she was about to go there to work a lil' bit more, unexpectedly and suddenly she felt a strong pierce in her soul that got her fall on her knees and grip her ribcage. As suddenly as that pierce had come, in the same way it dissapeared. It wasn't the first time mother was feelin' fleeing pinches of pain in her soul. In her second month she had started feelin' those but they were tolerable and believed it was because she was tirin' herself out with work. That recent one was far more painful and the feelin' as if her ribcage was on fire had been added. For the first time then she got truly concerned with herself, that somethin' else was goin' on, other than just fatigue."

"Was it..." Geno's eyesocket perked up and waited silently to listen.

"Not feelin' courageous enough to stand up, Persephone went on her fours towards the hut. She pressed her back against its wall and sat. She looked down on her ribcage. She hesitated greatly to check on her soul. She was afraid to see... anythin' that would indicate somethin' wrong. Cracks, sickenin' color and such. Persephone prepared herself mentally, closed eyesockets and let her soul out of her ribcage. Slowly she opened her eyesockets, only for them to go both empty right after. In that moment then, she had rather preffered to see she was sick or had a damaged soul. Anythin' but what she had in front of her. Her soul was perfectly fine in shape and color. What wasn't fine was the fact there were the 3 smaller orbs attached to it."

"The triplets..."

"She had started shakin' as she knew very well when and how it had happen. Just because she was trained as a priestess, didn't mean she wasn't told about reproduction. For an Elemental to conceive while not in love is extremely rare. Even as the existence of kids from the union of a human with a monster. Some consider it even impossible. But there Persephone was, carryin' the result of forceful connectin' in her soul. If anythin', she wanted to convince herself that someday, she could still return to her old priestess life, just follow and serve as she used to."

"Even after bein'... y' know."

"Just a silent goal for herself. But then, in that moment she realised that she was on a path far away from what she desired. She would have to say forever goodbye to even thinkin' she had any chance get back to how she used to be. She had been exiled, disgraced, touched against her will and as a result, carryin' triplets. In all honesty, at first mother felt deeply sad, dissapointed, slightly angry but more over desperate for the fact she would have kids. As she called her soul back in her ribcage, she started cryin' loudly. Now not only she was by herself in that still unfamiliar land and with no one she loved by her side, she had to fend for 3 lil' souls, which she didn't wanna see, even as they were in her. She almost... despised 'em right here and then."

"Woah..." Geno did in a sad tone.

"Persephone cried for hours alone. She had cried so much, she got exhausted by it and fell asleep. Durin' then, the old memories had flooded back. In front of her she was seein' herself as a little girl running carefree around and laughing in pure happiness and positivity. She saw her parents watchin' her enjoyin' life. She saw them as they were holding her in their embrace, in the day singing happy songs, in the night tender lullabies for her to fall asleep. And she saw the memory the day she announced 'em she wanted to become a priestess of Life. She heard their words bein' said exactly as she remembered 'em 5 years ago. They sounded emotional, melancholic but their looks were filled with so much love as they looked at their daughter. And then her mother told her that no matter who she would become, she was their miracle they had asked for so long, just as big as that of life itself. The miracle send by another, her father had added."

"..." The siren was listening speechless and despite not showing it much to his face, his soul had gotten emotional.

"A few seconds after that last memory, mother woke up. It had gotten really dark but she was in no hurry to get up and go back to sleep with the other maids. Slowly she brought her soul out of her ribcage. She looked at the other 3 attached to hers. And she started thinking. She remembered how much her parents wanted her, a kid, in their lives. They asked for and tried. She remembered how they were treating her and loved her unconditionally, allowing her to do almost whatever she wanted. Their blessing, their miracle, their whole life... And in that moment mother remembered that she was raised to enjoy and love life, not despise it. In the temple she had learned why to worship it and how precious it was, even with the oath to remain pure and virgin herself. If she allowed herself to detest those 3 kids inside her, she was basically stompin' all she had learned about lovin' and appreciating life. It wasn't their fault for appearing. Right where Persephone was sittin', she might was carrying illegal, impure seed. But it was life too, a lot different from the one she could give to plants. And most importantly it was hers. She wasn't just gonna create inanimate life, she would bring into this world 3 other monster beings. Her kids! Wasn't that a miracle by itself, to bring such life?"

"Into this world? Depends how optimistic you are..."

"Finally, mother smiled as she looked at the soulings. She was still scared and uncertain of how future would be, she didn't know if she was gonna make it handling 3 kids at once, unlike when her parents had to deal with just one, but she knew she wanted to try her best and give an as good as possible life to her little loves. She might had no one by her side to protect her, but the triplets had only her. If she was givin' up, they wouldn't survive and besides... it would truly be then that she had no one by her. She apologised for allowin' herself to hold hard feelings for the triplets and as she let her soul back in, she placed her hands on her ribcage. She felt bein' filled with more emotion as in the calm and quiet she could feel the still weak and tiny soulbeats of her kids. Her decisions had grown bigger. She had to do a lot more work, prepare space for her babies, create the environment in which they would grow up as comfortably as possible and close to nature... talk to them about her old life. Yes, they had to know where they were comin' from. She would talk to them about Athens and her parents, teach them Greek when no one else would listen. Meanwhile, if they interacted with the house and become maids too, they would learn Spanish too. Her kids would adapt better than her on that land. As she was about to stop plannin', she heard someone coughin'. Startled, she raised head and looked at the openin' that was connectin' the heart of the garden with the area visible to the house. Holdin' an oil lamb and starin' down to her was standing Cerdia."

"Uh oh."

"This. Mother begged she hadn't seen the triplets and silently cursed that she hadn't sense the pig woman on time this distracted she was. Cerdia told her to get up and get back to the house already. She didn't seem to show that she had seen the triplets and was talkin' to her casual tone. Hesitantly mother followed but as they were 10 steps away from the house, the head maid stopped and grabbed mother by her wrist, which of course concerned Persephone. That would change to confusion and surprise however when Cerdia told her that no matter what she would hear her sayin' or doin' she had better to keep her usual act up. Before mother could comprehend the meaning of those words well, the pig woman started draggin' mother a little violently and faster and back to the house while squealin' aggressively in Spanish. When they entered the house, the few maids still around the area were obviously alerted by hearin' her angry, as that had never happen before. Rare event and the receiver of her anger was the newest maid! They watched as Cerdia was scoldin' Persephone for being out this late instead of doing somethin' useful in the house and pointin' at her dirty clothes. Unecessary to say the human maids enjoyed all that tremendously."

"And here I thought."

"If only they knew that this was all an act of course. Persephone was starin' down at Cerdia with the lost and unphazed expression of the retarded while silently wonderin' why they were doin' this. In the end the pig woman told her to go wash herself off as she looked and smell like a fossil just discovered."

"That's a good one, even if not meant."

"When the other maids couldn't stand it anymore to stay with the curiosity and they asked Cerdia why she had scolded the skeleton, callin' her that as they just didn't know her name was Persephone, Cerdia explained that they obviously couldn't have in the house maids slackin' off this much and that she wasn't allowed a roof to sleep underneath and food to eat, just to roll around in dirt. More than any other day, or for the first time for that matter she had slacked off greatly and of course, she had to be told about that. Satisfyin' reasons as to why all that had happen and ones the human maids would so badly want to rub in mother's face, if she could show to even understand what was told to her, to feel insulted."

"And the monster ones?"

"I suppose they silently felt satisfied that Persephone had gotten scolded too for once and not just them, but also dumbfounded. And boy they were even more afraid of Cerdia witnessin' and hearin' her anger. They definitely didn't wanna face that too someday and had better to just serve the house right."

"Indeed."

"One week passed after that event. Persephone kept goin' to the garden after she was done with all her chores and workin', a lot more carefully however, to not exhaust herself and her babies. Her babies... Many times she just couldn't believe she was expectin' kids! Or rather forgettin'. But the triplets were always there, with their way remindin' their existence to her. Everytime she was about to let herself work hard and intensively, she would feel tiny stings or annoyance in her soul. Then she would immediately stop workin' and check on the triplets. That check was lastin' for about a whole minute before goin' back to diggin' the area around. After said week, Cerdia showed up again to the heart of the garden, this time just minutes after mother had enter first."

"Ready for confrontation!"

"Persephone looked at her in agony and confusion. Cerdia was starin' around to all mother had done so far by herself. Eventually she walked towards the hut and sat down. She signed mother to sit next to her and despite still worried, the skeleton did so. Then, without warning and obvious reason, Cerdia started talkin' about... herself."

"Herself?"

"Basically she had talked about her life story. In summary, she grew up poor, her parents and sister died early in her life, she got married to the one she loved, her love was taken away for execution because he was seen by witnesses killin' a human who was about to kill another monster and she was left to fend alone, 6 months pregnant. For 11 years her only consolation was her son, until he caught an illness, deadly if not treated quickly and which Cerdia was unable to find the medicines for because she didn't have enough. In that part of her life it was then when she encountered for the first time her future masters, Lord Hades' parents and my other grandparents, Sufrimio and Pestornia Renrink. Him a necromancer, her with the capability to manipulate time. They had come to the pig woman's village for some inspection of conditions, even deigning to enter the houses of the monster villagers to see. They eventually saw Cerdia's son too, who was just on the bed, suffering slowly. They could clearly sense he was far beyond salvation and offered the kinda messed up option to the pig woman that she could come with them and change her life, for the slightly better, to serve their house and in return they would give her boy the quick and painless death he needed, to finally rest in peace. Without him, the pig woman would not have anyone anymore to get attached to and suffer mentally. Plus she could say goodbye to the filthy conditions of her village."

"Wow. Your dad's parents were messed up."

"Necromancers have a very heavy and macabre philosophy. But as ugly as that sounds, there are truths that are even equal to the ones about life. Though yeah, that was a strange thing the Renrinks were doin', pickin' the ones who had no happy life and no loved ones by them, just to have them to serve. At first Cerdia didn't even wanna think about their offer, matter of fact she was even ready to dare and flip off the Renrinks, who were gonna pass by her house again when they were done with the village inspection. But lookin' again at her son being in so much pain and since there was no way to ever bring him back to good health, what was the point of keepin' him alive? If she let him die when the illness would overwhelm him, he would still suffer. If the Renrinks interfered, he would suffer less and stop his pain at once. Of course as a mother she wouldn't wanna let go of her blood easily. Until the Renrinks were back, with a heavy soul she had decided to let everythin' from her village life behind. Before and after her husband was gone she never had made friends. Truly, nothin' would be holding her to the village anymore with her son gone too."

"And she accepted their offer."

"Grandpa Sufrimio placed his hands on the piglet boy's head, who slowly went from squirming and breathin' heavily as if almost choking, to slowly relaxing his limbs and a bliss takin' over his expression. Then he dusted. Cerdia couldn't handle that then and had fainted. Her boy was in a better place not hurting anymore, but of course it still hurt her. She woke up in the house of the Renrinks and from that day on, as agreed, she became a maid. Another thing her new masters had done as part of their deal, was actually to rid her off enough of her pain from her son's loss, so she could find the strength to not die that quickly at least. Call 'em deep necromantic perks if you please. She was 45 when she joined the house and 20 years in the service of it, she had proven worthy to take the place of the previous head maid for the monster ones. From her first day until that time she opened her heart and soul to Persephone, she had stayed all grumpy and cold, not sharin' her story with anyone."

"Which then brings the fair question as to why would she talk about herself, after who knows how many years of keepin' to herself, to your mother."

"And Persephone asked just that. Cerdia explained. She had felt at first from the time the skeleton woman had arrived to the house that there was somethin' about her, even by just first glance. First for the fact that she was from another land, all alone and defenceless. Then for her behavior around the house, the garden situation, her mannerisms! She had understood by mother's movements and her aura that there was no way she was a common monster. Even if she knew how to do house chores, she was doin' them in such way, it felt elegant. And then, Cerdia finally reached the topic of the kids. Her eye had prevented to catch a glimpse of the triplets last week. And despite she hadn't say anythin' about it, she confessed that the babies by themselves had softened her heart and soul again. She told Persephone that she actually felt, after so long, the need to give a far bigger aid to somebody, to her. 'Cause she knew how difficult it is to raise kids alone. She faced that difficulty, she had refused in her state of Grief to ask any kind of help too and lost her son. Now with Persephone havin' the triplets and havin' no trust in anyone, even if she was in the house of Hades which only intruders who wanted to commit suicide would wanna enter it, if she didn't seek for help too, the kids would have more of a difficulty to grow up and have a decent upbringing. Besides with just their mommy in a different land, there was a big chance they wouldn't grow as healthy. After all in a monster family both parents are crucial, especially with Elementals. Bein' reminded of that fact and who the 'other parent' of the triplets was, perhaps affected by the pregnancy too, Persephone started abruptly cryin', catching Cerdia off guard. She had thought at first though that she was cryin' for not havin' «Her spouse» by her side and consoled her that they were somewhere not sufferin'. Unintentionally Persephone broke a little more and confessed that her kids weren't even from a normal happy monster marriage and that she had lost no spouse."

"Uh oh."

"Shock for Cerdia. She seemed to understand what she was talkin' about. In that moment mother expected the pig woman to immediately change attitude and be condemning, forget in an instant that she had opened up about herself. Instead however, much to her surprise, the head maid hugged her. A few seconds later she spoke and asked mother to tell her if she was correct that the Ottomans had Athens under dominion. The response was a nod. Cerdia proved to be a little more informed than she had shown about what was goin' on with other lands. She knew how the Ottomans were treatin' the monsters there, when loyal and obedient and in what way when they were findin' out about any kind of treasons. She had hear of the harsh punishments, especially towards the female monsters when exiled. And then she started cursing the corsaire she had never seen in her life but had understood he had placed hands on Persephone. After calming down, Cerdia looked at mother with a softer expression and asked her how had she ended up to get exiled. Basically talk about herself."

"And did she speak?"

"Given her condition, plus somethin' about the pig woman's expression and words givin' a genuine sensation, Persephone opened up and talked about her life, even before she was born. From when her parents were alive, under what conditions she was brought to this world, her upbringing and connection to house work and gardening, the true nature of her powers, how she wanted to follow a different path from the common one most take and instead of havin' her own family to stay virgin, pure and serve the cult of life... About how 5 years into the role of priestess of Life she was caught for being that, the cold-blooded execution of the priestesses' parents, including hers, their transportation to the ship that would displace 'em to Crete and durin' the trip... of course she didn't get into details, she didn't wanna. Just said a 'skullwashed' corsaire skeleton would force her into emotionless, cold contact. How after a week some other ship had attacked the corsairs and took all priestesses and lastly, how she had mysteriously woken up inside the carriage Ludífimo was drivin' and took her to the house of the Renrink. On that last part Cerdia started gettin' confused, as if she had realised somethin' just then. If she was send straightforward to the house of the Renrink, when before that she was to get displaced, she had most likely and basically been bought. It wasn't the Renrinks' style to buy new staff members, or when they were from other lands. All previous family members preffered to get monsters only from their homeland, Valencia."

"Huh..."

"In the end, mother had told Cerdia everythin' from her life. The 2 women stayed silent for long before the head maid break it. She assured mother that her life story was safe with her and that she was glad she could open up to somebody else too. However as she looked around at the garden, her expression turned thoughtful and asked mother to elaborate on how exactly she was planning to revive the area. The skeleton woman had already big visions for it and explainin' to the rather impressed head maid how exactly she pictured the heart of the garden. When she was done, Cerdia stood up and gently warned mother that if she was gonna try somethin' as big as revive that garden she had to be prepared also face the opinion of the house's owner. No one had ever touched that area and definitely reactions were gonna be raised when the Master would see and hear about Persephone trynna revive it. But until then she was free to keep tryin' with the garden, as Master Hades was gone for personal businesses. Sometimes he wouldn't be back for more than 3 months. Aside him, Cerdia or anyone else had no power or reason interfere to whatever mother wanted to do, but had better to keep it under wraps, as she was doin' from the start, even from master Hades' friend who was occupying the house when the real owner was absent."

"Ah so that house wasn't completely left unattended after all. Someone from the owner's cycle of friends was keepin' an eye on it."

"Yes indeed. A friend of master Hades' whom he fully trusted to keep the house organised and make sure the maids weren't bein' too carefree. Just as strict and serious as him. Mother had encountered him a few times in the house, he wasn't really talkative and was constantly glaring around..." Reaper took a small pause before lookin' again at Geno. "... Personally also, Cerdia had assured mother that once Master was back and he was discoverin' about the garden bein' revived, she would be the negotiator in case he had big objections about his property bein' touched by a staff member. 'Cause even if he wanted no relationship with the garden area, it was still in his house."

"Such a cool pig lady."

"Mother's best girfriend for as long as she was still around the house." Reaper's grin grew slightly bigger. "The 2 women finished their conversation and Cerdia left Persephone in the garden to keep workin' on it in peace, of course askin' her to not overwork herself for the babies. Mother had felt relieved and truly felt she could trust Cerdia, even after the big surprise she would receive by her 8 days later. Boy it was a big one and it scared her. No, Cerdia didn't betray mother." Reaper prevented Geno, who seemed surprised and confused with how the narration went. "2 days after that big conversation, as Persephone was walkin' carefree almost towards the door for the backyard and to the garden, with shock she saw the door havin' locks. It wasn't openin' freely anymore. And with her not havin' the skill to teleport, she couldn't just bypass it. Unecessary to say mother had fallen almost into some deep state of depression for not bein' able to go work to the garden. She was starin' at Cerdia and while her mind was screamin' that no one except her had seen what was goin' on with the garden, so she could have told the temporary keeper of the house about her attempts and he blocked the access to the area, a softer voice was trynna convince her that the head maid hadn't betray her. Through that whole week she kept doin' her chores, but as if almost soulessly and bein' completely deaf to the sarcastic comments of the human maids about her bein' sad because she wasn't able to roll in the dirt."

"Useless oxygen consumers..."

"After those 8 days, as mother passed by the door again, with surprise she saw it unlocked. After makin' sure no other maid was around, she opened it and exited the house. She ran ahead and entered the heart of the garden. Her agony and surprise turned to pure shock. No, her spots for the flowers had stayed as she had left 'em, nothin' had happen to them. Nor to the compost box. The pond however had changed. It wasn't empty and dirty anymore but cleaned, fixed from most damage and was filled with water! Matter of fact it seemed to have some source from which it was gettin' refreshed. It wasn't just the pond the change. Next to the old and slightly damaged compost box was standin' a new and bigger one. The biggest change however was what was next to the fixed hut. A small wooden house, 3 times larger than it and brand new."

"Who had done all that?!"

"In that moment Persephone heard footsteps approachin' her from behind. Many different ones. She turned surprised and saw Cerdia, Ludífimo and 5 other ape type monsters approachin' her. The men were holdin' tools in their hands. Mother had almost understood by herself what had happen, but Cerdia assured her of everythin'. She apologised to her for givin' her all that agony for a whole week, but she had decided to lend with her way a hand. From the first day after the conversation the 2 women had, she had called Ludífimo and asked him if him and his ape buddies could come to the old garden area and repair some old broken stuff, as that was another job of theirs, to fix and build. At first Ludífimo had refused, sayin' that even if the garden was abandoned, he didn't wanna step foot further into Master's property without reason. But when the pig woman told him that it was for Persephone's sake, he changed mind fast right here and there."

"Pfff, did somebody have a tiny inoccent crush on your mother or somethin'?"

"Perhaps, for him to do somethin' that was goin' against what his master had forbid anyone from doin'. Ludífimo had gone and found said buddies, told them of the situation and once they heard that the favor was for Persephone, they became more than willin' to help too. They all had witnessed a lil' bit from her kindness, 2 of them in fact having bein' defended when some human maids had tried to mess with them and decided their labor would be worth it for a monster woman such as Persephone."

"Aaaw!"

"And so, they had locked the area to work without anyone seein' what they were workin' on. Ludífimo had said that he would feel very sad for seein' Persephone in such gloomy mood when he would catch glimpses of her around the house the whole week, but him and the others included to the work wanted to surprise her. Though they couldn't understand why Cerdia had told 'em to build a house too, with 2 floors, a room with 4 beds and a lil' dining area with 4 chairs. Persephone had looked at the head maid shocked. She had literally asked the 6 ape monsters to build space for her and her future daughters to sleep. Like a lil' personal house! There mother couldn't take it anymore. She had started cryin' right here and there."

"Happy pregnancy tears?"

"Happy pregnancy tears. Everyone was caught off guard, even more when Persephone went to each of the builders and smooched them on top of their heads, then hugged Cerdia tightly. She started thankin' them all for helpin' her so much and makin' her future work easier. Happy as she was, she explained to the surprised builders of what she was trynna do to the garden. The 6 apes, like Cerdia warned her in a calm manner that her plans were of course bold, far more different than what the house of the Renrinks knew, but announced that if Persephone was the one leadin' such plans, if she needed their help for anythin' else in the future, they would be up to help, support and defend her in the best of their power against Master Hades."

"Darn. Your mother was causin' monsters previously loyal to the Renrink become her followers."

"Followers, friends. Yep, she had that kinda charm. Generally also Ludífimo and his pals were energetic and rebellious enough, wantin' to have fun and adventure when given the chance. Even if livin' under the rules of a necromancer."

"Another reason why they clicked so well with your mother as friends."

"Persephone had gotten a massive boost of help and 6 more monsters she could call friends. Now the hope of givin' her kids a more decent and alive environment didn't seem as difficult as before. She was also almost ready to start testin' the soils again and fill 'em with plants and life. The next months went very well in the heart of the garden. The soils had been enrichened by the compost, the flowers and plants grew healthy and strong, they thrived. Mother really wanted to try and grow trees with her powers, but with triplets in her soul, her magic was drained faster. Again Ludífimo was quick to help her and brought from the town a variety of tree saplings. Those too grew healthily in the garden. Also, the walls that were seperatin' the heart from the beginning area, had gotten fixed and a gate was added to replace the simple opening. Everytime mother was done with her work in the garden and about to return inside the house, she would close the gate and control 2 ivy plants from the inside to crawl on it and keep it locked tightly. That way no one was able to enter the heart of the garden, except when mother would command the ivy to retreat."

"Didn't the fragrance of the plants betray that the garden was alive though?"

"The maids around the house did realise by this exactly. As long as each had lived in the house of the Renrink, they had never smell flowers again. Many were darin' to enter the garden and stop in front of the gate separatin' them from the heart, only bein' able to inhale the sweet fragrance comin' from the other side. Of course they couldn't enter. And Persephone was makin' sure to enter it only when she was certain she was by herself, or with Cerdia. That because no one else knew that she was the one who was controllin' the plants, or that she had the power of the abstract meaning of Life. Who would suspect her being capable of such anyways, when she kept pretendin' to be retarded?"

"True."

"Sometimes Persephone and Cerdia would spend time together, hang out in the house and chill with tea and conversation. The tea of course being from mother's harvest. To thank Ludífimo and his friends for their help, mother would often sneak out fresh fruits for them to enjoy. It was flatterin' her to hear them saying the fruits from the trees of 'Her little garden' were the tastiest they've ever had in their lives. They were also extremely happy when they finally learned about Persephone expecting babies, to the point they crafted 3 cribs, as the normal beds wouldn't be for them yet. They didn't even care that the kids weren't legal, they only wished that they were as pure and kind as their mother and that in need they would be their uncles."

"Your mother was so loved." Geno said with a calm sweet smile.

"She might had a bad arrival in Valencia, but indeed she had found great friends there in just a few months, ones that would stick by her side for as long as they lived." Reaper exhaled from his nose with a small melancholic smile. "The time passed quickly. Persephone was a week away from closin' 8 months in Valencia, her garden, 'cause at that point she felt it was hers• was thriving and doin' well and even better for her, the Renrink hadn't learn about it yet. Or he hadn't return to the house rather to hear. Even Cerdia was surprised, as Master Hades was gone for far longer than any other time. Not that it bothered Persephone. She had somethin' else to worry about and that was the arrival of her daughters. She was expectin' them very close to the end of March, but a week away from the end of the month and as said, so close to 8 months of bein' in Valencia, was when she went into labor."

"At last, the time had come."

"She was about to leave from the garden when the sun was about to set, but when she started feelin' the unbearable pain in her soul, she knew there was no way she was goin' back inside the house to give birth. She stayed in the heart of the garden, kept the gate locked and unable as she was to walk in the wooden house, she just layed on the ground tryin' to hold back her screams."

"Did she give birth by herself?"

"She did. She had felt scared then, but mustered all her courage to deliver and bite down on the sleeves of her dress to muffle her screams. And 2 hours later, when Cerdia went to check on her, as she realised mother hadn't return from the garden and she had realised that she could possibly be goin' into labor, she called her out loud worried. At first there was no response, but the moment the head maid was about to call again, the gate slowly opened, pushed to the side by an ivy vine. Frantically Cerdia entered, only soon for her worry turn to surprise. Then, she smiled. Beneath a young apple tree to the right side of the heart of the garden, an exausted, but with a purely happy expression Persephone was sittin' while holding in her embrace 3 asleep baby skeletons."

10000 words. see ya all to the next part of the narration named «4 little Sófrons under the watch of the Renrink»