Note: Reference point, pre-marriage for Harmonia. Pre-pubery, actually. So I'm going to say we're probably looking 12-13ish for her, age wise.

Harmonia had been studying things carefully, in which by things where other girls. Most of them were mortal and she had no idea how old they really were, but her best guess was maybe around her age. Maybe. But, things were wrong, somehow. She wasn't sure how, but they were. The mortal girls had extra plumpness in parts they were supposed to -the same places most of her relatives did. But her relatives were all older. Shouldn't she have this by now, too?

She wasn't that young. Well, okay, she wasn't old either. But some of these mortal girls were getting married off already. Harmonia had been watching them. Some of them even had boys coming calling after them and there was love involved. It sounded and looked very romantic. Harmonia wanted that. She wanted to be curved and beautiful and have some boy come calling after her and have her father be happy for them and then she could get married ( and have a lot of babies and live happy forever. )

OOC: Takes place a little over a year since Harmonia married Cadmus. So way before the Trojan War

Carefully, Harmonia stepped out of the bath. Exceptionally careful so she didn't slip and fall. That could be tragic. The second her feet touched the tiled floor she was surrounded by attendants and a large piece of fabric meant to dry her. She continued walking toward a chair that once she sat upon, two attendants took to trying to dry her hair. It had been just over a year since the wedding that sealed her fate and she was growing accustomed to having people insist on doing things for her.

Looking down, she frowned. Things were changing so much and she felt to utterly alone. She was a Queen, she could not be friends with the mortal women around here. She didn't love her husband and Balance thankfully only saw Cadmus during formal meals, when guests were greeted and in bed. Which was assuming that both of them consistently slept in the same room. Or... really, even ate together. To those who lived in the Theban palace it was quite obvious that neither the King or Queen wanted the arrangement they were forced into.

Harmonia's hands went to her naked belly a moment, then waved the girls with the fabric that were drying her hair away. Wrapping the sheet around herself rather haphazardly, since short of her husband and her attendants, no one would really enter unannounced while she was in the room. Well, at least not men.

( She was so alone. )

Harmonia walked through the marketplace in Thebes, peeking around corners and in baskets. Behind clothes and fabric, under imported and locally made rugs, around flowers and behind people. All while she looked the people around her smiled and bowed their heads reverently to their Queen. She tried hard, but it didn't matter, the people loved her from the second she married their King. Maybe it was because she was a good individual and was kind, or maybe it was because she was a goddess and her family was usually quite scary if scorned. ( She didn't want to know, she was just grateful her people loved her and in return, she loved them. )

The errand Zeus was sending Hermes on was not high on his list of fun things to spend an afternoon doing. Point of fact, it was right down at the bottom of his list. As his personal messenger, Hermes was often called upon to carry out unpleasant instructions. None had ever been as unpleasant as this one was going to be.

( Hermes loved his father, but he didn't always like his king. )

When Hades had been summoned by Makaria to deal with a problem, he had not expected that problem to be a sobbing goddess with a dead snake. The dead snake was supposed to be taken immediately to the Elysian Fields due to its exemplary mortal life before it apparently offended the wrong person. This wasn't surprising. Even if it were only an ordinary snake, you can't judge someone with no legs too harshly. Unfortunately, you also can't take a dead snake to the Elysian Fields with a living goddess attached to it.

Now the snake wasn't in the field where it belonged, and the goddess wasn't on Olympus where she belonged, and they were all on the banks of the River Styx where they did not belong a little ways off from the improperly buried that did. The girl was a goddess in mourning, and most likely a relative. This gave her the right to his audience when she had demanded it. But one thing was already certain, no matter what she said, or how she chose to try and appeal, Hades would not yield. The snake was moving on. The goddess was going back. ( If he caved on this, he'd never hear the end of it. )

Hebe was happy with her duties. She was youth which meant she was always in on the things that were current. She always had the best dresses and formal wear. She was the one the Goddesses modeled themselves after and the ones mortals followed when she did appear down there. But there was more to her than just Youth. There was the cup bearer duties as well. Keeping the Gods young was important and she happily gave them all they needed to remain young. Plus it made her pretty important and she was sure her parents were glad that they had such an important daughter. Way better than War and Wisdom. Without Hebe how would they stay young?

But the last bit of duties felt weird right now. She was also the Patron of young brides and her dearest niece, whom she considered a sister in a way, was to be a bridge herself. ( What made this really weird.. )

Sneaking was something that a person might think would come naturally to an Underworlder. Particularly an Underworlder born of Night and Darkness. After all, sneaking around in the middle of the night would be second nature to some of those children. But not to Philotes. Not for lack of trying; she would really like to return the favor some of her siblings visited upon her, and sneak up and scare the stuffing out of them when they least expected it. It was all in good fun. Mostly. But Lottie had a problem with sneaking: ( she was a klutz. )