Monday morning came bright and early, only to see that a curly haired little girl had come earlier than it had. It sighed and continued its course across the sky as little jenny scrambled out of bed and hurried out of her cramped room to brush her teeth in the bathroom in desperate need of cleaning. Squinting into the blurred mirror, she brushed her hair and splashed her face with water after letting the tap run to clear it of the red rust. She then jumped over the piles of trash and clothing littering the trailer as she made her way as quickly as possible to the washing machine and dryer, pulling her cherished yellow dress from it and yanking it impatiently over her head before carefully making her way around her father's unconscious form sprawled out over the couch. She silently got herself a bowl of cereal and checked the date on the milk before pouring it in. She carefully put it away and ate as quickly as possible before grabbing her inexpertly mended bookbag and paused, smiling. Daddy had sewed it for her when he saw her struggling to carry her books without it one morning. He hadn't been drinking then-- It had been back before mommy had left him and jenny alone when she was three. daddy had been nice then...sort of. He'd never hit her then. He'd cared back then. Before he'd finally forgotten everything for the everlasting search for the bottom of the next bottle. Jenny shook her curls resolutely and pulled the satchel onto her shoulder before running out to get to school before the sun had barely begun to rise. * * *

The librarian looked up as little Jenny raced into the large room a full hour before school started. She smiled fondly as the small child worked to hoist herself up to the desk to look at her with large unblinking brown eyes. "Ma'am--" She managed, having trouble holding herself hanging from the lip of the counter and speaking at the same time, "Could you help me look for a book on someone?"

Felia had worked in the Library for quite a few years, and Jenny was one of her favorites of all the students. The girl never mistreated her books and looked at them as the little pieces of divinity they were, giving them all the deference and care of small treasures. The child was earnest, sweet, thoughtful and more gullible than a paperweight. The poor thing believed anything that she was told, despite the fact that all life had done was hand her hardship after hardship. In any even, Felia had always had a tender spot for the child, and usually kept treats for her under the desk.

Jenny, in return, looked upon her blonde librarian with the certain awe reserved by children for the truly gifted among us. She loved to look at the woman's long blonde hair that was always falling loose down her back, and the woman was more beautiful than anyone she'd ever seen. on top of that, she was as kind as she looked, which brought her up to near-god status in jenny's book, which was pitiably sparse in the way of kindness. Felia walked around the desk, her purple dress swirling about her ankles, and Jenny let herself drop from the ledge onto the floor and scampering over to her librarian, barely coming up past mid thigh. Felia smiled and snuck the child a cookie when no one was looking.

"Now dear, who did you want to look up?" She asked, sitting at the card catalogue and looking at Jenny expectantly. jenny sallowed the last of the cookie and beamed up at her.

"Hera. And...Hedees." Felia frowned delicately, and ventured a guess at the last name.

"Hades?"

More sunshine flowed from the child as she smiled wider. "Yes! that's it. Thank you." She followed Felia as she stood up, not even needing to look up the greek gods in the catalogue. She pulled down five volumes for children and handed them to the child, who nearly fell backwards with the weight. Jenny set them down on a table and looked up at Felia while clambering into a chair. "Are Hera and...Haydees very famous, then?" She questioned, opening the first of the books while Felia sat down in front of her.

Felia nodded. "Very famous. They're the greek gods, known by the Romans as Juno and Pluto." she leaned closer as Jenny immersed herself in the texts. "Why are you so interested?"

Jenny looked up suddenly from her reading before blushing the shade or Hera's hair. "Um... well... promise you won't tell?" She said softly, and felia smiled.

"Promise," she replied, crossing her heart. Jenny smiled and leaned forward to whisper. Felia leaned forward as well, turning her head for jenny to whisper into.

"Hera and Haydees saved me from the truck, and then Hera ran into the building to save the other kids." jenny confided. Felia let out her breath, unable to find something to say.

This is bad... "Sweetheart," Felia said slowly, "I hate to tell you this, but the greek gods are only myths. They're not real. Lina inverse saved you from the truck and rescued those children. She's a lawyer." the poor girl was falling into the delusion that Felia had most worried about-- children trapped in situations like Jenny's often let themselves become immersed in a fantasy world, completely beleiving it it, because it was so much better than the one they were in. "There's no such thing as greek gods."

But Jenny only smiled and patted Felia on the head. "I know you don't beleive me, miss Felia. but it's okay. dont' get worried about me." felia had to smile at the startling spark of insight. "if I'm wrong, it's no worse than joey and his parents." Felia gave a silent little 'errrg' at the mention of the resident Jehovah's Witnesses. So far they'd tried to burn almost half of the library.

But Jenny had a point, however nominal it was. The girl continued reading, her beleifs only strengthening as she learned who her new worships truly were.

Felia knew that jenny's father would be no help. she'd stopped talking to him long ago about Jenny, especially after she had come to school with the bruise on her arm.

She had seen Zelgadis Greywyrds before at the local art museum-- he was curator. she would simply go to the source of the problem and try to convince them to tell jenny the truth.

* * *

Lina Grinned and looked up from her paperwork as a small but noticeable pulse made its way to her, and she felt her powers grow again ever so slightly. Looks like the kid learned who we are, Lina mused, looking over the brief. The power from knowing belief was far stronger than if someone believed in a god or goddess falsely. If the child knew who they were and believed in them as opposed to a god and goddess that she could have simply made up and given their faces, the power from the beleif was that much stronger. Hera silently tracked the child while pretending to read the papers in front of her, having trouble keeping from grinning.

Girard Elementary School, She decided, leaving off the search. She knew who it was, she didn't need to go into detail. She tried to hold herself in her seat into her usual lunch break and found it utterly impossible. She hadn't been this excited in a long, log time. I have to hurry and tell Hades. Then we can go and see the girl at school. And then she had to keep a close eye on the child. If something happened to the girl, there went her restored powers, however small they may be. and lina hadn't missed the worn overalls and the overlarge shirt. The girl came from a bad neighborhood, no doubt about it.

Lina stood abruptly from her desk, Letting the paperwork fall from her hands and onto the polished wood table as she snagged her silk overcoat from the peg near her desk. she strode cheerfully towards her secretary, the girl eying her warily. The last time her employer had had that glint in her eye, she'd almost been caught doing something she certainly shouldn't have but wouldn't tell the poor typist, simply telling her to lie to the authorities and say the lawyer had been in her office late at night researching a case with her. The girl had nothing to go on, but she secretly suspected it had to do with the policeman she had been unable to sue for her niece having been attacked by a small, black-clothed assailant with a baseball bat.

Lina sauntered over and leaned against the desk, the look on her face assuring her secretary that whatever it was, Lina was very, very smug about it.

"I'll be taking an early lunch, dear."lina said sweetly, her head tilting to one side. "If you need me, I'll have my pager, or if that doesn't work, leave a message at the museum of art down the street."

A vicious little light dawned above the girl's head, and she leered at her employer. Lina blinked and backed up slightly.

"Would this have anything to do with the young man you've had our investigators on in every moment of their free time since you started working for the agency?" she asked sweetly, delighting in the blank stare that told her she was at least partially right. "I called your house the night they found him, you know. you weren't home." she stood, looking the panicking lawyer dead in the face. "You were out with him, weren't you? Might you give me advance notice if you're planning on taking an extended vacation anytime soon? And I'm sure i'll be invited to anything...important.. that comes from this."

Lina sputtered for a moment before nearly tearing the top of her desk off. "WHAT are you IMPLYING?" She screeched, causing anyone within hearing of her to look up suddenly, then look at their watches as they hoped they were wrong and lunch was soon. "I am in no way, shape or form ROMANTICALLY inclined towards him!!!" and everyone backpedalled and looked at her. Lina clamped her mouth shut and turned the color of her hair, which was starting to make it's way out of her tight french twist and drift in currents that shouldn't have been there. Now the office KNEW something was up.

"i'm leaving."Lina snapped, storming out of the room and slamming the door. every human in earshot immediately rushed to the grinning secretary for the details.

The door opened and everyone froze, staring at the sweetly smiling Lina who had ducked back in.

"I'm taking the afternoon off. i'm not seeing anyone. go back to work." everyone suddenly realized they had something very important to do and rushed back to their desks, only to stampede back as soon a the door closed again.

Lina's secretary cheerfully informed the office over the P.A. that Lina had found a love interest, and proceeded to give all the details.

* * *

Lina stormed from the office, her perfect silver pumps clicking angrily on the pavement as she walked to the library. She pulled the blue-green silk jacket closer against the early autumn chill, not wanting to expend the energy needed to keep this form warm against the cold that was slightly too much for the grey powersuit she wore.

she rounded on the museum, opening the doors and stalking through the halls as every patron there decided they had somewhere better to go. Lina waked unerringly to the information desk, which currently was occupied with a much bemused Zelgadis, looking at her over his spectacles with a look that bespoke the enjoyment he was getting from seeing her so flustered.

She hadn't been planning on it until now, but the look finally convinced her to take out the aggression on him.

"I am in no way interested in you romantically." she said angrily, slamming a hand down on the desk.

Zelgadis gave her the blank look he usually reserved for certain patrons who cheerfully announced to him that they were a teapot.

"...What?"

"I don't want to have any relationship with you whatsoever." she hissed, spinning and crossing her arms. Zelgadis looked to the sky as if for guidance, a gesture he had picked up from the humans-- he was guidance-- and once again told himself he would never understand women.

"What exactly brought this confession out in the open?" he managed slowly, abandoning the mental search for anything he had done to cause this. He should have learned by now that very little that Lina did was in any way logical in the world as he saw it.

"...Nothing." she replied, racking her brain for a topic to change the conversation to now that she had thoroughly proven herself to be a complete idiot. "OH! Nevermind that! Guess what I found out today?"

"That your secretary is a gossip?" He asked cheerfully, the light having damned as she blushed. Lina glared at him with a look that could have curled wallpaper before continuing.

"No, smartass. I tracked the spurt of belief I'm sure you felt back to Gerard elementary school. It is the little girl we saved." Zelgadis Leaned back in his chair, regarding the flustered woman who had once called herself the queen of the gods. Oh, how the mighty had fallen...

"Alright. What upped the belief?" He asked, fiddling with a pen. Zelgadis almost never lost his calm, and he certainly wasn't now, when it would be so easy to tease hera about it later when she was so emotional. She calmed down, looking thoughtful.

"I'm guessing she went to the library. she found out who we are, anyway, and--"she cut off as they both felt another surge of power rush through them. Lina hastily looked into herself to find her power had doubled. "Holy shit," she managed, looking at the startled Zelgadis, "The little thing is spreading her belief."

* * *

Felia looked outside as the children were let out for recess before school ended. She locked up quickly and wrapped herself in her white shawl before hurrying headlong out of the library and running straight into the first grade teacher.

She turned red as she looked over from her seat on the tile floor at the startled Valgaav. he recovered before she did and stood, grinning down at her and offering her his hand to help her up. She ignored it and stood, brushing off her dress with exaggerated care to cover her blush before looking up at him when her traitorous cheeks had cooled. He was still grinning smugly, and she was torn between the want to confide about Jenny and the urge to bash him over the head with something very heavy. He suddenly turned serious, breaking off her happy train of thought as she ran over what was nearest at hand that would survive the mistreatment.

"I would like to talk to you about Jenny," he said, and Felia smiled.

"I'm assuming it's her new-found greek fascination?" she said, walking to the school doors as He followed. His hair was still dyed a bright green after the painting incident that reminded him to always give the children washable pigments with which to color. The white shirt he wore bore the marks of grubby fingers where children had tugged on it, and the worried smile he gave her held none of his earlier teasing.

"she's managed to convince heather of it and is working on the rest of the class," He said, lengthening his strides to keep up with her quick pace. Felia nodded, not stopping.

"i'm off to correct the problem," Felia replied, stopping at the bus stop scant minuted before it pulled up. "I'm going to look for the museum curator now. care to join me?" She hoped she'd kept the emotion out of the request, but one furtive glance at his grinning face knew he'd caught it.

"Of course," He said cheerfully, stepping onto the bus behind her.

Felia, stubbornly ignoring him, felt something smooth brush against her cheek and spun to stare at Val, who was currently holding a bouquet of roses in one hand, and a single stem in the other, held out against her face.