I am not looking forward to this, thought Serafina as she entered the throne room of Elysia. The journey through the realm to get to where she was now had been long, and arduous - and the heat! The wolf inside Serafina longed for the cold. It did not help that she was dreading this visit… Angela Rose had been the only person Serafina had actually felt fearful of when she had briefly met her before Celeste had given birth. She had been putting this journey off for some time, longer than she should have if she were to be honest with herself. Nemesis had suggested it more than once, but the stubborn-headed Serafina was not usually one to take the advice of others, even someone she respected as much as she did Nemesis.

She had made it, and she was there, and there was no turning back now. Surely Angela would already know by now that Serafina was within her realm. She was the eldest of the gods, by a long time since Dalanesca’s death. She would most certainly be more powerful than any of the rest of them, and that would include her detection abilities.

In one hand, Serafina carried a small satchel made of black leather. In that satchel there was a small box carved from obsidian - and within that box was a crystallized heart. The heart had been extracted from one of the Frost Maidens that inhabited the ninth circle of Inferos. Serafina had been informed that Angela was a practicer of alchemy, and she knew that would be an ingredient that could certainly be powerful in alchemical concoctions. The heart itself was smaller than that of a human, tinged a blue color with dark streaks running throughout it. Surely a small piece would be enough for one mixture, meaning that Angela would be able to get several uses out of it. It was truly a meaningful gift, as the guardians of her circles were very important and valuable to her.

Serafina began to busy herself taking in the different images that were depicted on the stained glass throughout the throne room, as well as the intertwined roses of different colors - she assumed that these must be an indicator of the different Rosenite courts. There was a sense of hesitation inside of her, as though she were not totally sure what to expect upon visiting with Angela. So it was here she waited, taking in the sights, until someone, whether it be Angela or someone in her service, came to greet her.

Melina was a slender yet growing woman still in her youth, or so it appeared. Angela had blessed her with eternal youth to be alongside her love without the need to taint her blood (not that they could). A vampire could try as they might and never would they be able to turn her. That was the price of the tattoo on her shoulder passed down her bloodline since their days of Angela becoming a figure of life. This was their price for their crimes of the past or so Melina had thought. She had waist-length brown hair and hazel eyes. “Lady Serafina,” the woman bowed lightly. “Lady Angela will be with you in a short while. She has Princess Emry with her today.”

Angela had been all about this grandchild since the moment she found out Nerezza was pregnant. It had kicked her into overdrive about being the world’s perfect grandmother and no one in the world could probably ever measure up to what the goddess had in store.

Now Angela had been a grandmother in the past but most of them were grown now or they didn’t want her suffocating ways. She had agreed and kept her distance but she was still rather sad about it all. Nerezza and Kaiser had opened their arms to her and allowed her towards Emry the way she wanted to be all along. With the news of Gerard and Talise’s baby and Raile and Leilah’s baby, the expectation was the same. She wanted to give those children the world.

Melina had a thoughtful look on her face for a moment and chuckled. “Lady Angela has told me that plans have changed. She’ll meet you in the children’s playroom. Please follow me.” Going through the temple was surreal and vast, while one the outside it looked like it had stairs it was plain to see that was not the case. Angela had designed her temple for children to be able to wander. Glyphs and other magic elements were seen securing tables, chairs, and anything that could hurt them. They were easily missed if not trained to see them.

Opening up a set of ornate double doors Melina found Angela on the floor in all of her glory. The goddess was dressed in a white deep cut halter dress with a gold thin rope belt around her waist. Her long red hair was down in the back but pulled back on the sides as not to drown the little one she was playing with. Angela was waving a rattle, “Come on Emry look at Grandma just for a second.”

There were squeals of enjoyment as tiny legs kicked up and a baby flailed towards her. “My Lady… Lady Serafina is here now.” Melina looked down at her own grandchild, after all, she was with Nemesis’s light side. It was odd considering how young she was and at first, Melina had been unnerved at the thought of being called grandmother.

“Hello, Sera!” There was a friendly answer as Angela waved the rattle again and began to sit up. She pulled Emry up into her arms. Emry had curly white hair and blue eyes. The bae was dressed in royal fashion, for a baby, making her look adorable with a little bow in her hair to boot. She didn’t look older than a few months. She was freely looking about and looking at Sera with interest. “Beautiful isn’t she?” Melina excused herself and closed the doors.

“Nemesis is just in love with her. She is the daughter of mine and Nemesis’s Nerezza.” She was sure that Serafina would be protective of this little one now that she knew. It was why she had invited the she-wolf to see her. She was family after all in this giant net of life. Emry tried to put her fist in her mouth and Ang pulled it away. “No… no-no.” She kissed her forehead. Angela pat the area next to her on the floor. “Afraid it will be hard for me to get up so we can talk here.” There was a laugh as Angela put Emry back down on an exquisite blanket that could probably fund most houses.

The little one went back to flailing a bit and laughing as Angela shook the rattle. “I am glad that you came to see me. I was afraid you would never come.” Green and red eyes looked towards the new goddess of death.

Serafina watched as Melina approached her, and it was clear to her that she was a member of Angela’s familial line. Not only did she exude the beauty that those of that line possessed, but it was clear in her mannerisms, as well as the aura that Serafina could sense off of her. It made sense to her that Angela would send to greet her and not immediately meet with her personally. She knew that the elder goddess was most certainly busy with other things. What those things were, Serafina could not even imagine, but she was sure there was a plethora of things that took up the Mother’s time. As Melina bowed to her, Serafina nodded in appreciation of the show of respect. “Thank you,” she said, her voice staying cordial and straight. There was no sense for hostility in this situation – though in the past Serafina had been known for her chaotic ways, she knew now that there were times and places that behavior of that particular sort just wouldn’t do, and this was one of those times. She knew just how important it would be to have a pleasant relationship with Angela.

When Melina indicated that Serafina was to meet with Angela in a different part of Elysia, she nodded in understanding and followed her out of the throne room. As they passed through the temple, Serafina was sure to look around and take in the sights. Angela had certainly crafted herself a beautiful world. She noticed the temple seemed to be rather safe, with different enchantments and spells keeping things in place. Serafina only assumed that this was to keep the youngest members of Angela’s family safe. The magical elements were certainly not standing out on their own – Serafina was sure that if she had not possessed her godly powers that she did, she would not have even noticed them.

When they passed through the beautiful double doors into the children’s playroom, Serafina witnessed Angela in a situation she had not been expecting. The goddess, who was much her elder, was sprawled out on the floor, shaking a rattle at a baby, sweet talking the child into looking at her. As Serafina looked at the child, she felt something stir within her – though she was unsure what that feeling was. She was not allowed to dwell on it for long, as Angela sat up and greeted her. “Lady Angela,” she said, bowing her head in a show of respect. While she may have been Angela’s equal in the terms that the two were both gods, Serafina was well aware of the fact that Angela was a lot higher up in the hierarchy than she was, and she accepted that as there was no changing it.

“Indeed, she is a gorgeous child,” Serafina replied as Angela questioned her. A smile spread across the vaewolf’s lips as she looked down at the child, and when Angela went on to explain who the child belonged to, the feeling that Serafina had felt upon seeing the child made a lot more sense to her. A laugh exuded her lips as Angela stopped the child from eating her own hand. “That is quite alright,” she said, and assuming that Angela would be alright with it, Serafina sunk to the floor near her, sitting with her legs to one side.

“I apologize that it has taken me this long to come and see you,” she said, and the sincerity of her words was reflected in her voice. “I am afraid that it was a mixture of my own pride and fear that kept me from this visit,” she added. “I was not entirely respectful to you the last time we met and for that I am sorry. I am still the same selfish and impulsive creature I have been since Nemesis brought me over to the vaewolf way of life,” she said. “However, I am much more in control of those impulses when I need to be,” she added, and it was true. “I am realizing now that holding any sort of ill will with any of my fellow gods is only going to do me harm in the long run, so I am beginning to make my amends, and bring good will, so to speak,” she said.

“I almost expect you to hold some sort of grudge towards me for Dalanesca’s death. Though I had no part in it, I realize that taking up the mantle that your dear friend once held could cause negative feelings towards me,” she said. “Though I am sure you are a much more amicable person than that, I want you to know that I understand if that is the case,” she said. “However, I am truly hoping that, despite any difference we may hold, you and I can possibly become friends to one another. If not now, then in the future, if I am to be so bold as to hope,” she concluded.

At that moment, she pulled out the gift she had brought with for Angela and slid it across the floor to her, careful to keep it out of Emry’s reach. “I brought this for you,” she said, with a smile. “I am hoping that it will be useful to you in your alchemical endeavors. It is a crystallized heart taken from the chest of one of the frost maiden’s in the ninth circle,” she said, and the tone of her voice gave way to the fact of just how precious and rare such a gift was. “I hope that you find it an acceptable gift,” she said, still being rather formal as she was unsure how to act around Angela just yet.