I'd Like To Believe

Epilogue

A/N: Still own nothing. Full A/N afterwards.

Peabody shut and replaced the book on its shelf, sighing deeply. Even with his schedule opened up while Sherman attended school, his search was fruitless. An extensive library of Greek history, and not a word of any Charis of Sparta. He had scoured every section of Troy, and the Troades, and had even found a copy of the legend claiming Astyanax would become the Celtic king (not exactly a legend anymore, he mused), but any recollection of the agent of Hera was conspicuously absent. It was starting to drive him mad; where on Earth had he read her name before?

As he read, he toyed with the peacock feather idly. He was fairly certain that she was able to escape; she was not present when the time-space rip dropped an army of familiar faces in the crowd, which lead him to believe she was far enough from Troy to avoid the anomaly. Still, he felt a sense of duty that refused to give him satisfaction until he could confirm that the name Charis had survived to the present.

Growling, he slammed the book before him shut and swept it off the desk in an uncharacteristic burst of frustration. Could there really be such a woman, who followed at the heels of the hounds of war and picked up the pieces, and yet was forgotten by all records? He sat the feather down gently atop another tome, and rested his head on the desk. The search was taking it's toll, and he was exhausted. A gentle gust of wind snuck through the cracked window, lifting the token off the desk, and he flailed in momentary panic to catch it, clambering up and over the tabletop as he gripped it.

Peabody picked himself up off the floor, marching over to the window and latching it. He leaned his head against the cool glass, taking a moment to clear his head.

A reflection of text and paintings caught his eye, and he glanced at the windowsill. A book on Grecian deities sat opened, and a bold header jumped out at him like a jack-in-the-box.

CHARITES: THE GRACES

Intrigued, he picked up the book, glancing over the page in hopes of seeing that elusive name. To his shock, there it was: "CHARIS, the personification of grace and beauty".

Peabody was astonished. Was it possible? Were her deeds so great, and so far reaching, that history chose to remember her as not a human, but a goddess?

"...describes Charis as the wife of Hephaestus..." Peabody chuckled at that, she had been quite enamored of pyrotechnics...

"...often represented as the companions of other gods, such as Hera..."

"...being in the service or attendance of other divinities, as real joy exists only in circles where the individual gives up his own self and makes it his main object to afford pleasure to others..."

The more Peabody read, the more convinced he became that these minor goddesses and his friend were one and the same. The inclusion of other names, and the portrayal of a trio of Graces, had him stumped, however. He would have to ask Charis if they meant anything to her.

Of course, he would have to show her first.

Smiling, Peabody placed the feather on the page, with the eye sticking out past the paper, and shut the book. Satisfied, he headed to the elevator down to the WABAC. Greek history would eventually come up at school, and he wanted to be ready for when Sherman came home asking about what occurred after Troy.

A/N:

This whole thing has been one wild ride; my first finished fanfic, and an actual audience for it! All of you have been so nice, and I'd like to thank each and every one of you for reading and enjoying.

Excerpts from Peabody's mythology book were gathered from , and much of the inspiration for Charis was indeed taken from the concept of the Graces (the reverse of what occurs in the story :) ).

This epilogue takes place about a week after the events of the movie. A few weeks after THAT, and Sherman and Penny will come home asking about Sparta, and the sequel begins!

Again, thank you for everything, guys. Stay vigilant; the next entry in the stories of Charis of Sparta should be starting up in a few weeks.

END