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"Then...how about I choose my own dominion? You can't tell me there isn't ever a case that a god hasn't chosen his own dominion instead of waiting to be assigned one."
"The latter has always been the case, milady," Minos said dryly.
I shook my head. "I refuse to believe that, especially after yesterday."
Hadrian frowned. "What about yesterday?"
"Weren't you guys dealing with a god called No Sauce?"
"Nosos?" Hadrian's frown deepened. "We've had trouble with him, yes, but I still do not see what that has to do with—-"
"It's impossible that the Moirai had come up with a dominion that useless," I scoffed. "That god had to have chosen his own dominion, and obviously he was smart enough to choose something no one else would challenge him for. I mean, come on. God of No Sauce? That would make him what? The ruler of all restaurants without ketchup? And what would that make Heinz? His mortal enemy and—-why are you guys laughing?"
"OH, WILL YOU PLEASE stop that already? It wasn't that funny."
But of course such admonishment only made my disobedient handmaiden laugh even harder.
It was already half past one in the afternoon, and Mary Priscilla and I were back above ground to do some shopping...or so Hadrian thought.
I honestly hadn't wanted to lie to my husband, but I also knew I had no choice.
News of Persephone changing legal counsel had reached us shortly after breakfast, and her new lawyer turned out to be Nemesis of all deities. Like honestly, once a Disney villain, always a Disney villain, and even worse, Nemesis' first move had taken us completely by surprise.
Although the specifics of her dastardly complicated legal maneuver escaped me, the results of it were pretty clear cut: Eunomia had been forced to change the date of my next court appearance, and instead of having a month to prepare my defense, I now only had until tomorrow—-
The sound of Mary Priscilla's groan drew me out of my thoughts, and a sigh of relief escaped me when I saw what she was groaning about.
Thanks to Hades' inadvertent tip earlier, I knew exactly where to find last night's Chinatown portal, and just as Rhadamanthus reported, the magical town was located at the back of a foreclosed warehouse.
Knowing I hadn't a second to waste, I hurriedly floated towards its bright lights while Mary Priscilla unhappily kept pace."Please don't tell me this is what I think it is."
"Okay. I won't tell you."
"Saoirse!"
"You know I have less than 24 hours to figure out what my divine dominion is," I reminded her. "My guts tell me it has something to do with that coin trap—-"
"Can't you just ask Little Iron to do something for you instead?"
"Of course I tried asking for its help first," I said defensively, "but Little Iron is a tracker, and with the coin gone, there's nothing for it to track unless..."
Mary Priscilla's expression turned incredulous. "Don't tell me—-"
"Then I won't—-"
"Saoirse!"
"I just can't sit around and do nothing," I said helplessly. "I need to—-"
"Sssssh!"
Mary Priscilla and I jumped back as a familiar figure thrust itself between us. It was the same woman from yesterday, and I couldn't remember feeling so happy at having another person glare at me.
"Why do you two keep insisting on making such noise this close to sacred grounds?" she demanded.
"You remember us then?" I asked excitedly.
"How can I not? I have not heard such prattle from at least a thousand years! Not since...well, never mind. Just be quiet, you two, and be mindful of your surroundings!"
She floated off with an actual, audible harrumph, and Mary Priscilla and I slowly turned to each other.
"It's fate," I whispered to the little girl excitedly, but when I tried going after the old woman, my little handmaiden suddenly blocked my way and shook her head at me.
"Mary Priscilla, come on!"
"Whatever you're planning, don't do it!"
"Can't you see it isn't a coincidence that we've met her again?"
"What if it's not a coincidence," the little girl protested, "but another trap?"
"I just want to talk to her—-"
"Let's do that when your husband's around—-"
"As my handmaiden, you're obliged to follow me!"
"I don't think I'll be your handmaiden for long if you end up getting killed," Mary Priscilla said darkly.
"No one's getting killed," I assured her. "Or fired. Everyone knows how much I adore you—-"
Just as expected, the little girl started gagging, and I quickly took advantage of her distraction by circling around her and running after the old woman.
"Hello again," I greeted her just as a glowering Mary Priscilla caught up with me. "I'm Saoirse, by the way, and this little girl is Mary Priscilla." I smiled at the old woman hopefully. "And you are?"
"Bothered, now shoo! Go away!"
Mary Priscilla snickered, and I made a face at the brat before running after the woman again.
"I'm really sorry to be a bother, but I'm afraid I can't leave you in peace until I have a few questions answered—-"
