Finally, Dante let us leave the Second Circle. We still had a long journey to go- seven more to go. As we passed through them, Dante stopped and talked every so often, everywhere but the Fourth Circle, but I expected this of my traveling partner. Dante's morals were more strict than mine when I was alive, for he is more conscious of the consequences of his transactions. He knows that this Hell exists and how to avoid it. From what I could tell from our conversations, his time alive in hell exacerbated this. "Why do you think Helen deserves an appeal?" he asked after the Sixth Circle of Hell.

"Well," I replied, "she did not really have a choice in the matter she is in Hell for."

"What do you mean?"

"Her first marriage was arranged and unhappy, so who she thought was Aphrodite, arranged her on another marriage with a worthy man. She could not disobey Aphrodite, nor give up her chance at a happier life."

"So had she stayed, she would still be in Hell for disobeying a 'god?'"

"Yes. She would likely be in the Sixth Circle and the last ten years of her life, miserable. However, she chose the lesser crime and greater happiness. That is what we are planning to write her appeal on. She had good intentions. Also, the Trojan War would have likely just been fought later. The political tension was high without Helen's affair."

This fact surprised Dante. " I didn't know that. What? When did you give the reader that information?"

"I didn't. It makes for a worse story-line but in my revised version from here I did. I felt guilty for the inaccuracy. I can give you my final draft if you want more information."

Disappointed, Dante changed the subject to avoid thinking about my inaccurate reporting longer. We were approaching the Seventh Circle, and he wanted to know what to expect. Dante and I had traveled miles and circles together, so we fell into our usual lecture theme. I provided the basic details and who we might encounter, and Dante kept his questions until the end. However, the Seventh Circle was different. Once I mentioned that the innermost part of the Circle contained those guilty of blasphemy, he interrupted. "Did anyone recently arrive there?"

"Well, new people come everyday, but not in the masses they once did before Christianity."

"Could Brunetto Latini be there?"

Surprised about his tone, I stopped my lecture. "Who is he to you?"

"My mentor, my guardian, and my father-figure for most of my life. He helped raised me."

"Well, we are only in the first sub-circle, we can search when we get to the inner-most."

With that, Dante quickened the pace. He never forced us to stop--we only made waving gestures and never stepped off the path until we finally made it to the inner-most circle.

Screaming his mentor's name, he stepped off the path and ran towards the innermost circles circle's inhabitants. He used quick rapid movements to avoid his feet burning in the sand. He weaved through the people trying to get comfortable on the sand, not recognizing their faces, to get to the huddle of people. I am trying to keep up but his motivation keeps him from slowing with the heat. I cannot help but to wonder, "Is he a good source for my appeal if he was taught by a man here?"

As Dante scurried towards the huddle of people, a man stood up and called out for him. It was Brunetto.

"Dante? Dante, what are you doing here?" Brunetto asked.

"I wandered down here and now am making my way out. Virgil agreed to help guide me to the exit," Dante informed him.

"Good. You do not deserve to be here. You were always m most well-behaved student. I should have listened to your interventions about my behavior."

When I overheard that, I got excited. I chose the right person to help me with my appeal. His morals were sound so the advice I was receiving was not unfounded.

Suddenly, Dante ushered me away from Brunetto. When we made our way to the path with our feet burning in silence until Dante looked at me teary-eyed and said, "I just can't see him here. It hurts too much."

"Did you get any closure? You seemed unsure if he would be here and why"

"Well, I was scared it could be either his private relationships or his work. His lifestyle went against what the church teaches and he wrote in French, not Italian or Latin."

"So either of those could be violence against nature. Violence against his nature or what the church thinks is natural."

"Exactly. So, I asked him, and he said his sentence was for his writings."