Persephane looking nervous replied, “Of course not Uncle Archipeltis. I’m not hiding anything. I mean there isn’t anything to hide in the first place, s-s-ooo I can’t hide anything when there isn’t anything to hide. Hehehe.” 

Archipeltis looked at her with his left eyebrow raised, “Yeah Persephane, that wasn’t very convincing at all. If there is nothing to hide, then why do you sound so nervous?” 

“Are you absolutely sure that you aren’t hiding something from us? You have nothing to be worried about. Whatever you tell us will stay between us. Remember that this is just to gather information. That’s all,” Topificetus said while looking at Persephane. 

Persephane looked down at her hands while she was wringing them in her lap and said, “Haa, please forgive me. I didn’t mean to hide anything from you. It’s just that I was worried that if I told you everything you would use it to hurt Commander Caijoonyung. That is the last thing I want to happen.” 

“Do not fear dear niece. We will not harm him in any way. We need to know what, if anything, has transpired between the two of you. Nothing more and nothing less. You have our word,” said Melophilio. 

“I believe you Uncle Melophilio. Alright, I’ll tell you. We have gone out on dates, well to me I considered them to be dates, and we have indeed been spending nearly all of our free time together. We’ve gone out to eat before and after work when we have the time, we’ve grabbed some drinks at local inns or pubs, and we have taken strolls around whichever town we were currently in. He’s walked me back home every day, regardless of how tired he was, unless we were in separate places, or either of our jobs lasted longer than we anticipated. I feel that I have grown closer to him, considering how much time we have spent together. I have thoroughly enjoyed his company. I love spending time with him, getting to see the world through his eyes, and being able to learn new and exciting things from him that I would otherwise not know about. I like the fact that we can just be ourselves around each other and that our ways of thinking, morals, and values, are very similar to one another. It’s amazing how our conversations just seem to flow, and we never really run out of things to talk about.” 

Jupcaeris had a little smile, just enough to curve the corners of her mouth, looked at Persephane, and asked, “Based on everything you just told us it sounds like you have some strong feelings for this man. Do you know whether he has feelings for you in return?” 

Persephane looked her Aunt Jupcaeris in the eyes with a saddened look and replied, “I’m not sure Auntie. There are times when I feel like he does, and then there are other times when I am unable to tell for sure. Sometimes his behavior can be contradictory and uncharacteristic of him. Not knowing has caused me to be insecure and to have anxiety. I do wish he would show me for sure how he feels or just tell me, and I know I could ask him, but I’m scared to ask. I don’t know what I would do if he said that he didn’t feel the same way. I think that would hurt a lot to find out that he doesn’t feel the same way as I do, especially after spending so much time together.” 

Mariplius, who can be hot-tempered, gave Persephane a look like a predator when it dares its meal to try and escape, narrowed her eyes at her, and asked, “Persephane, what do you mean he has acted uncharacteristic? Has he tried to do something to you? Did he try and force you to do something that you didn’t want to do?” 

Persephane in a panic hurriedly replied, “No he has never forced me to do something that I didn’t want to do. Nor has he done anything compromising or harmful to me in any way, shape, or form. He has been quite the gentleman with me. Commander Caijoonyung has shown me the utmost respect for someone like me. I haven’t found any faults and I have no complaints. Commander Caijoonyung has always been respectful and has never once asked me nor forced me to do something against my will or something that I have told him that I didn’t want to do. Whenever he has time and is able, he will always escort me home and he will wait outside and make sure that I get inside safely. Also, during those times that he took me home, he never once asked me if he could come inside. I have offered for him to come inside, but he has rejected my offer each and every time I've asked. Honestly, he hasn’t even asked me nor tried to sneakily hold hands when we are out walking around or tried to do anything romantic in nature. I can’t say that it doesn’t make me a little sad, because deep down inside I would very much like him to try and do that. I can’t help but be a little envious of all those couples I see enjoying their walk around the town square, holding hands, and showing off their affection for each other. I’m not going to lie, there have been many moments where I have felt a small tinge of pain in my chest every time I saw all of those couples out there, being lovey-dovey with one another. It made me want what they had. It made me hope for something I’m not even sure I will be able to do with the Commander.” 

# 

After hearing Persephane’s responses, they intuitively knew that there was indeed a connection that had already been made between the two of them. One thing that crossed their minds that caused them to worry was the imprinting. Based on what they heard Persephane talk about, it didn’t seem like it had been done yet. However, the feelings that they have for one another could lead to it happening sooner than they thought. Since the imprinting has not been done yet, which is good, that means they are not officially tethered to one another, which might cause problems for them in the future.  

However, they are not sure if they should be trying to stop that or encourage it. If they go based on that train of thought, what will happen to them if they do prevent it from happening? For that matter what would happen to Persephane if they prevented it? Would it hinder them, or would it protect them? Considering how dangerous the process can be if it is not done properly. If they do complete the imprinting process without the guidance of the gods who knows what could go wrong, it doesn’t help that none of us demigods have fully completed the process ourselves, only the first part of it, since the gods have forbidden us from fully completing the process. It seems like this is just another issue that we will need to keep a close eye on as well.  

Mariplius got up from her spot and sat down next to Persephane, and then turned toward her so that their knees were touching, and they could look at each other in the eyes properly. Mariplius reached for her hand and clasped it in hers and gave it a small pat to reassure her that everything was fine and that it was safe to talk freely about her feelings towards the Commander with them. She was worried that if they probed too much for information it might cause her to clam up and only give them half-truths. That is something that they cannot afford to do. Things are already going in a risky direction, one that neither of us anticipated to happen.