The lights of Olympus shone even in the darkest hours of the night, a golden beacon for the world to see the power of the Gods. There were times that Jessica thought that it was overkill, but occasionally it was a thing of beauty for even the demi Goddess herself. The hallways of her father's palace were blazing with their torches, the lights flickering brilliant shadows up and down the corridors, making shadows dance upin the walls. The gold plating on the floors reflected the glow of the lights, making the passages look as if they themselves were ablaze. From her perch on her balcony, though, the Daughter of Time saw none of this.

Her eyes were instead focused outward, away from Olympus, away from the world of power and deceit, lies and treacherous relatives. Her gaze was on the world of mortals itself, her heart longing to be one of them instead of carry the burden of being a Goddess. In a few months, she would have to take up her father's burden, her father's crown; she would no longer be a demi-Goddess but would become the ruler of time itself.

And she didn't want that mantle to bear.

With a heavy sigh, she cast a glance over her shoulder, a long look at the home she had known for the past twenty-four years. The palace she would one day rule. But for now, she didn't want to think about time, she didn't want to consider the consequences of what she was about to do. Because what she intended was to escape her fate, her destiny, her father's wishe