The rustling of leaves beneath my feet was the only sound that filled the silent night air. I could barely see anything ahead of me and was tempted to light a torch, but remembered the old man's words. '…To find the mouth of the cave, follow only the light from the moon. There, the Lord of the Dead and his Underworld shall await you soon…'
Why must it all be in rhyme?
Honestly, it's not as if the rhyme helps alleviate any of the seriousness of the situation. I mean, I'm looking for the realm of the dead for pity's sake! This has a 99.99999% chance of me failing or being torn limb from limb.
That last thought sent a chill up my spine.
Maybe the god of the Dead was actually kind and merciful…and maybe pigs fly.
I tried to shake the depressing and pessimistic thoughts from my head and ended up tripping over another tree branch. My legs were bruised and scraped from my countless encounters with roots, thorns, and the stern, unyielding ground. Painful aching sensations racked the majority of my body. Not to mention that the peaceful song of sleep kept tempting me to stay on the ground and just give up on this insane venture. But the memory of my older sister's tearful face and sorrow filled sobs urged me to get to my feet and carry on.
I didn't have much time before the ceremony was completed and they lit the pyre—I had to make it, I just had to.
My hand moved away another tree branch that was blocking my path and the sight of the cave nearly made me stumble backwards.
This has to be it!
I quickly yet cautiously made my way to the entrance. It was so quiet and dark, that no matter how long I stared into the vastness, no familiar shapes appeared before me. The urge to create a torch came back to me, but the old man said that no man- made light could touch the walls of the dead; to do so would end in failure…
My heart felt as though it would beat out of my chest. I took one deep, calming breath before stealing my resolve and setting forth into the darkness.
I couldn't honestly tell you how long I was traveling in the darkness of the cave. It could have been hours and it could have been minutes. All I know is that once I could no longer see the entrance, a sparkling light began appearing ahead of me. As I neared the light, I saw that it was a gate made of clear gems that seemed to have light bouncing through it. Where the light came from, I have no idea, but I do remember the old man telling me that the gates to the underworld would be made of a substance called diamonds…
Truth be told I have never seen such a gorgeous gem before.
As if I were in a trance, my hand slowly extended out and gently traced the edges of the gate. It was cold to touch and seemed extremely strong…simply beautiful.
It took all of my body weight to push the gate open enough for me to squeeze through. Luckily, I barely have any form at all and didn't have to pry it open that much.
There were blue orbs that floated in the cavern and showed a grey, gloomy tunnel that seemed to slope down further into the earth.
Perhaps I was better off with the pitch blackness of the cave…
I thought sourly before willing my feet to move further down. For some reason the tunnel just seemed to get gloomier and gloomier as I pressed on. As I neared the end, the sounds of the wailing dead began piercing the silence and I saw a lake of souls with a skull island in its midst.
I thought the ferryman, Charon, took you across one of the five rivers to reach judgement? Where are the five rivers anyway and where is Charon? I thought to myself as I looked for a place where his boat may dock.
As I was lost in my train of thought, I had forgotten a certain aspect of the Underworld that I have always been told about and should have been much more concerned with…
His growl actually rumbled the earth beneath my feet and made my body shake with fear. I slowly turned my head to face the three-headed hell hound, Cerberus. No story nor legend could have prepared me for the massive, snarling beast that was before me. I took a few steps back in fright, which seemed to antagonize the hound more.
Okay, come on Damaris, it's a hound—an animal that can obey and be trained. Steeling my resolve, I scream out a command of obedience, "SIT!"
This seemed to halt Cerberus into confusion. I can only imagine how confused he was to have a pipsqueak of a woman try to tell him what to do. Before I let him get his bearings, I repeated my command in a firm, calmer tone of voice, "Cerberus, sit!" I even added the hand gesture for him to park his bottom on the floor. By some grace of the gods, he listened!
I smiled then began to praise him, "Good boy! Who's a smart boy!"
He seemed to enjoy the praise and wagged his little stub of a tail. I giggled at him and pulled the bag of biscuits from my knapsack. Compared to his actual size it was sort of comical to see him eat something like a crumb, but all three heads enjoyed it all the same. I then began listing other commands and praises, all the while throwing him a biscuit or two. I even added in some belly rubs at the end. I was actually in the middle of telling him what a smart boy he was whilst scratching the spot on a dog's belly that gets their hind leg kicking, when I heard someone clear their throat behind me.
Both Cerberus and I froze before turning towards the sound.
There standing in all of his deadly blue flamed glory was Hades, god of the Dead…and he did not look pleased. "Well, isn't this an endearing sight to see," he spat out with disgust before approaching Cerberus, "Here I am gonna give you mutts a nice juicy steak and you're over here, SLACKING off, MAKING NICE WITH AN ALIVE MORTAL!" His blue flames turned red with his rage as he enunciated each word at the end. Cerberus let out a small growl of protest while looking down in shame. That look tugged on my heartstrings and I leapt into action before thinking.
"HEY! Cut it out! Cerberus is a good boy! He was really good at guarding the gate and was the first one to notice me here before ANYONE else did!" I yelled while pushing the god away from Cerberus, "Besides, it's not his fault that this 'alive mortal' is REALLY good with animals! I mean, there is that one story where that guy had a lyre and p-persuaded you to, um, give something or…or someone! That was it, he persuaded you to give someone back to…him?" I finished off lamely towards the end…this is why I really needed to pay closer attention when the storyteller is speaking…and work on my people skills…
Hades looked just as unimpressed and blatantly asked, "I'm sorry and you are?"
"Oh! I'm Damaris!" I said holding my hand out in introduction.
"Uh-huh," He replied ignoring my handshake and cleaning his ear instead, "And why may I ask are you down here in MY domain?" His eyebrow went up in question before doing a sweep of my appearance. I could feel the blush come to my face as I realized that my dress was badly torn, my knees looked even worse than they felt, and I was covered head to toe in dirt, mud, and grime. My hands unconsciously went to my long, brown hair and tried to pull it back into a ponytail the best I could.
"Well…" he drawled, clearly not amused with his time being wasted on me.
"Um, well, I need the soul of Damon of Galiethe to be returned to his human body…uh—please?" I seriously could have face palmed with how lame I am…seriously why can't I handle people as well as I handle animals?
"Yeah, uh—no." Hades said before turning on his heels and walking away from Cerberus and me. "But, wait!" I quickly followed after before stopping and turning back towards Cerberus, "Don't worry buddy, I'll try to get you that steak. Be a good boy!" I gave him a hug before running after Hades. Cerberus seemed happy with this and laid his three heads down in contentment.
Once I raced down the hill, I saw Hades about to get into a small boat with, I'm assuming, Charon ready to steer towards the skull island in the middle of the body of souls. With the last burst of my energy I raced towards the boat and jumped into it as Charon pushed off. The skeleton specter immediately turned hate-filled eyes, that gleamed blood red, on my form. If it wasn't for how utterly exhausted I was, I probably would have peed myself right there. However, I already expected this and pulled out a shiny gold coin, that I had crafted into a necklace for this occasion, and gave it to him for safe passage. Charon's eyes immediately went back to black voids and his menacing presence turned back into a simple ferryman. I looked over at Hades, who looked extremely bored with the situation, and tried to open my mouth to speak, but only labored breathing came out.
I was drained from the lack of sleep and food, and really needed some water after that trek. "You're wasting your time. I'm not handing over any souls, and from the looks of things," Hades began saying before kneeling to my eye level, he gently placed his finger under my chin, "I'm going to gain another soul real soon if you don't start taking better care of yourself."
I shook my head in denial and he removed his hand so that he could lean on his knees as he waited for me to catch my breath.
"Please…please give me the soul of Damon of Galiethe." I said in a soft, but unwavering voice as I held his eyes. He let out an irritated sigh before rubbing his eyes with his hands.
"Look, kid, trust me when I say the guy ain't worth it. Okay? I've seen it a million of times—girl meets boy, thinks he's prince charming, but before she can find out he's really a toad—he dies. So, what does girl do? She comes down here, trades her soul for love and gets dumped in the end." He then proceeded to look off to the side and mumbled, "Then she falls in love with Wonderboy and ruins your plans to rule the Cosmos…but ANYWAY," he said before turning back to me, "There are PLENTY of fish in the sea and a…uh… somewhat attractive girl like you should be able to hook one of 'em…granted you shower first and maybe get some meat on your bones—I mean, what are you twelve?" Hades finished off kind of harshly while looking at my barely existent chest.
I was pretty irritated by his last statement, but tried my best to remain civil. "I'm actually eighteen, but Damon isn't my boyfriend—"
"Whatever, father, brother, cousin, horse—it makes no difference. Just accept that whoever this 'Damon' is wouldn't do the same for you and go get a cat or something, I dunno, you look like a chick who is gonna end up with a whole lot of cats," He rudely interrupted before realizing we had docked and got off the boat, leaving me behind once again. I quickly clambered to my feet and lifted my leg to leave the boat when my other leg buckled from fatigue. My body hit the ground like a ton of bricks and I weakly raised myself up. I stumbled towards his direction and luckily didn't fall again. Once I was sure my feet were beneath me and going to stay there, I lifted my head up to see where Hades ran off to when I noticed he stood on the stone steps watching my efforts. We made brief eye contact before he rolled his eyes and continued up the steps. I let out a huff of determination and slowly, but surely, followed after him. Once I reached the top of the staircase I saw that we were now inside the skull and the two eye sockets worked as windows. There seemed to be a table with a map of the world and figurines on it and a stone desk off to the side with a LOT of paperwork on it. There was also what looked like a throne to the far right of the room that faced a board with a number of souls that were 'serviced.'
I felt a chill go up my spine at that large, intimidating number, before turning to face Hades. He must have noticed my tremor from earlier because he had a sinister smile on his face. I took a deep breath before approaching his throne. Once in front of him I opened my mouth to place my request once again before being cut off with his sharp voice.
"No."
I slumped to the ground in exhaustion before looking back up at him, "You didn't even let me ask you that time." I stated from my seat on the ground in front of his throne. He looked completely amused at my childish pouting.
Jackass…
"Kid, my answer is still gonna be no. Now either get up and go home, or make use of that kneeling position you're in and we'll see what mood I am in afterwards," he informed me while leaning in closer. The look he gave me scared me in a way, but truthfully it made me feel excited more than anything. I've never received such an intense stare before and couldn't place a name with the emotion behind it. It made everything all the more strange and made me extremely curious.
My head tilted to the side in apparent confusion and the questioned left my mouth before I could think better on it.
"What do you mean?"
"What I…kid, stop it. You cannot be serious right now…" He said in utter disbelief.
"Um…but I am…you said make good on the position I'm in now…did… did you want me to bow before you?" I asked with the only logical answer my mind could come up with. I immediately began bowing before him in hopes of getting Damon's soul back.
"Oh, for Zeus's sake, kid, you said you were eighteen!"
My body immediately bounced back up into sitting position. Okay, maybe bowing is not the answer…What did I do wrong? I felt my body start to shake in fear from the anger that was radiating off of him. I'll be damned if I let him scare me away after all that I went through to get here. "I—I am. I turned eighteen last Winter and will be nineteen in another two months…"
There has to be something I've done wrong, I began worrying my hands—too filled with shame to look at Hades at the moment.
He let out a sigh of defeat before responding, "Kid, that's what I mean…you're eighteen so your husband has already explained and demonstrated to you the birds and the bees. You knew what I meant with that joke." Hades began rubbing his temples as he looked at me in annoyance.
"Um…I don't—I'm not married…" I hesitantly responded, and with even more confusion I stupidly asked, "What does birds and bees have to do with your joke?" My brow was crinkled in concentration, trying to remember all of the tales the storyteller told us to find a connection, but I came up blank. When I finally looked over at Hades, he had a wide, unnerving grin on his face.
"So, let me get this straight…you are almost nineteen years old, have no husband, and are risking your life for a guy who is not your boyfriend?" He then leaned back in his chair with his hands clasped together, "Well, well, this is a story I've got to hear. Go on kid, you have my full attention."
I immediately straightened my back to show confidence and quickly delved into my story before he changed his mind. "You see, it all started when my older sister Elaina met Damon of Galiethe. He's a little older than her, but he is extremely kind and treats her with the utmost respect and love—"
"Kid, don't make me regret my decision to hear your story."
"Okay, okay," I quickly appeased whilst carrying on, "Anyway, she loves him he loves her, and he's a rich merchant so father has no objections because it's always been his plan to marry Elaina and have me work on the farm—"
"Wait, so…your sister gets a nice husband and you get backbreaking labor because?…"
"Because I'm not pretty or good with people, obviously. I mean, I'm great with animals and strong for field work, so it only makes sense that Elaina, who is absolutely stunning, be married to the man she loves…or as father sees it, the first rich man who makes an offer…"
"If she's so 'stunning' then how come this Damien of Galos—"
"Damon of Galiethe."
"Whatever, how come it took your sis so long to bag him?" Hades smugly asked while raising his eyebrow.
"Oh, that's because I've trained some animals on the farm and in the village to attack any suitors she doesn't like," I told him nonchalantly.
"Ha! Wait! Hahaha! Wait, you seriously chased off a bunch of horny guys, that were drooling over your sister, with a group of flea-ridden animals?"
"I'll have you know that not one of our farm or village animals have fleas! I take proper care of my friends, thank you," I huffed out indignantly. Hades must not have minded my outburst because he was still laughing his head off on his throne. I could feel my annoyance grow with each passing moment.
Gods I want to strike him!
"ANYWAY," I enunciated loudly to make sure I had his attention, he just waved me on while muffling his snickers behind his hand. I rolled my eyes, but continued my story, "The week before the wedding, Damon unfortunately suffered a fatal blow to his head from a falling building. He died the following morning in my sister's arms. My father refuses to waste a wedding and has an awful groom set up to marry her after the burial service. This is why I must get Damon's soul back! I can't let my big sister who raised me and loved me unconditionally, be wed to that AWFUL, FOUL SMELLING, PIG!" I loudly protested remembering the odorous brute man handle Elaina right before I left on my mission. The thought of her living out her days under that man's thumb made my stomach churn.
"Please! Please, return the soul of Damon of Galiethe so that my sister can get the fairytale love she deserves," I implored the god of the dead whilst bowing as low as my body could go, "I will do anything you want if you allow his soul to return to the Earth."
The air seemed to still and shift in the room after I submissively added myself to the deal. I didn't care if it took my own soul, as long as my sister gained happiness, I was okay with losing everything.
"Anything you say?" Hades seemed to enjoy that prospect, I still didn't dare lift my head from the ground. "Yes, anything you want or demand—I will do everything in my power to give to you," I repeated myself like a humble parrot.
"Hmmm…that's not a lot of power…you are only a mere mortal after all," he began mocking me, I gritted my teeth not to say anything snarky back, "But…what if…oh, I don't know, I let this Damon guy go and you of course stay—"
"Done!" I shouted whilst lifting my head off the ground.
"I'm not finished yet," he chided me like an insolent child while wagging his finger at me. I clamped my mouth close in response and eagerly waited for his reply. His grin seemed to get wider at my earnestness. "So, he goes and you stay, BUT in…. the…hmmm…where could I put you…let's say…in the Tartarus?"
My mind blanked…the Tartarus…for all of eternity? I knew that I wasn't the type of person that would ever get into the Elysian Fields, but I never thought that for a moment I would be sent to the Tartarus. I worried my lip in thought and tried to weigh my options but the only thing I could conjure to my mind was my older sister's grief filled face as she delved deeper and deeper into a catatonic state of sorrow and tears.
"I'll do it…" I finally whispered out through developing tears of my own.
"GREAT! Well, we better get to it! Pain and suffering doesn't last forever you know? Unless of course you're in the Tartarus—oops! Forget I said that!" Hades grinned maliciously as he quickly dragged me out of the office type room and down a different tunnel. My body and mind felt so numb that all I could do was submissively stumble behind him. He finally stopped before a great wooden door that I hoped to goodness was painted a dark red, but the stench and stickiness told me that it was dried blood instead.
A thought suddenly popped into my mind, "WAIT!" I grabbed his arm before he could open the door. He turned to me with a knowing smile before looping his arm around my shoulder, "Listen kid, it's cool. I get it. Just go back home and tell your sister that you couldn't find the gateway to the underworld then get drunk and forget your troubles at her wedding, 'kay? This slight misadventure only has to stay between you and—"
"No, that's not it! Before you put me in there I need to see you release Damon first. I have to make sure it's the right Damon and that he has a token for safe passage back to the entrance," I told him while pulling out my last gold coin that I had also turned into a makeshift necklace. Hades looked at me dumbfounded before regaining his composure.
"Yeah…uh—sure thing kid," he told me before letting out a series of whistles. A dark gust of wind came out of nowhere with such a force that I had to close my eyes and shield my face. When I felt everything die down, I hesitantly opened my eyes and looked towards Hades who motioned for me to look in front of us. As I turned my gaze to the front, I saw Damon standing before me in his ethereal form. I could see his dark hair with bits of gray at the sides and kind brown eyes staring at me in shock.
"Damaris? What are you? Oh gods! Please tell me Elaina isn't here!" He begged while quickly looking around for the small blonde woman he had come to love. "No, no, Damon, she's safe at home. Which is where you are going too!" I informed him while giving him the gold coin necklace and a quick hug, "Please take good care of my sister."
Before he could ask further questions, my shoulder was shoved towards the now open door by Hades, "Yeah, yeah, wrap it up—I got people to judge and papers to file." He looked beyond upset for some reason. I nodded my head towards him and sending Damon a reassuring smile. My feet carried me through the doorway and into the complete darkness before the doors slammed shut behind me. I couldn't see a thing ahead of me and let out a breath of resignation trying to prepare for what was to come.
But no amount of deep breathing could control my fear and trembling limbs. My arms wrapped tightly around my body as I let my tears fall freely. If I'm going to live an eternity in misery in pain then there was no point in trying to be brave. I silently stood there and cried for I don't know how long. It seems as though life wasn't fair on the surface, and it appears that death will be the same for me in the underworld. The only comfort that I will have are my memories and that is okay; at least I'll have Elaina with me there.
Just remember Elaina's smiling face, her smiling face, her smiling…
I repeated this mantra over and over to myself until I realized something. I have been standing in this darkness for a good while and…nothing has happened…
Nothing is happening. I opened my eyes and rubbed some of the leftover tears away, but there is still nothing happening. Do I just stay here? Is that my punishment? I decided to sit on the ground with my legs drawn to my chest to wait for my punishment, but, as before, nothing happened…
I don't unders—
"Oh for Zeus' sake, kid! Do you seriously have NO self- preservation or something?"
"Hades?" I stupidly asked in which he sarcastically responded, "No, it's Aphrodite come to rescue you from your loveless life—OF COURSE IT'S ME!" I immediately jumped to my feet when the sound of his booming voice came from right behind me. There he was in all of his blue flamed glory with an EXTREMELY PISSED OFF look on his face.
Damon just stood awkwardly behind him…unsure of what to do.
"Jeez, I only put in this fake door and said that it lead to the Tartarus to run off the idiots that came to me all the time to give the souls of their 'beloved' back and this and that and… blah, blah, blah," Hades was furiously pacing at this point before turning back to me with such anger that I took a step back, "But you, sweetcakes, you take the cake! You were seriously gonna spend eternity down here where you CLEARLY don't belong to give your big sister a, what, 'glimmer' of happiness? Do you know how SHORT a mortal's life is? Especially compared to all of eternity? And you were just gonna throw that ALL away! You, you….IDIOT!" At this point Hades was in front of me and started to shake me a little.
I don't know if it was the head rush I was getting from all the shaking or how blatantly honest Hades was being, but I felt like a complete idiot.
"I…I'm sorry…but I really meant it when I said I would do anything for my sister… I'm sorry…" All of his yelling was really hitting me on a deeper level and I started to tear up again for the third time that evening. Jeez, what is with this place and making me cry.
Hades let out a sigh before scratching the back of his head, "Yeah, yeah, whatever…come on let's get you two bozos out of my lair so that I can finally get some peace and quiet." I quickly tried to keep up with his long strides and Damon followed closely behind me. We both looked at each other with confusion, I began to ask the question going on in both our heads but Damon shushed me. Hades heard this and said in annoyance, "Whatever it is just spit it out—I already have a major headache from all this."
"You're letting us go without any strings attached?" I hurriedly asked. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Damon facepalm at my stupidity.
"Yeah, yeah, but when you get to the surface you better tell 'em how I made you go through a serious ordeal." Hades nodded towards Damon before saying, "Let him come up with the story since he's the only one with any common sense in this duo you got goin on."
"I have common sense!" I cried out indignantly.
"Suuuuure you do, sweetcakes," Hades said before coming to a stop at Charon's ferry. "However, this is the part where I bid you farewell and hope I don't have to see your annoying, self-sacrificing face anytime soon." Part of me wanted to ask why he started calling me 'sweetcakes' instead of 'kid', but Damon gently nudged my arm towards the boat. He took out the gold coin and gave it to Charon before hopping on. I turned back to Hades and opened my mouth to say thank you.
"If you are about to thank me then I swear to Zeus I will drown you in that lake of Forgotten Souls," he told me with a smirk on his face. I simply nodded and said, "Please don't be too mad at Cerberus, he's a really good boy and deserves that steak,"
"I'll think about it," Hades responded before making a 'shooing' motion with his hands.
I laughed and turned to get on the boat when Charon pushed me out.
My body hit the ground hard and I looked up in shock as the ferryman extended his hand. I went to reach for the hand, thinking he was trying to help me up, when he pulled away and pointed to the palm of his hand. I squinted my eyes at the palm and looked back up, but didn't understand what he was saying. There was nothing there…
"Kid, he wants you to pay the toll for a safe passage; one gold coin," Hades informed me with an air of disbelief to my stupidity. Well I guess I'm back to being 'kid' again. "But, we've already gave him the gold coin," I told him with growing confusion.
Hades stared at me for a moment before things clicked in his head and his pointed smile grew to a malicious state. "Oh, I see…then you brought only two gold coins. Hmmm…one for the trip here and one for the trip back…" He stated coming closer towards me, each step making the block of ice in my heart grow bigger and bigger until it felt like I couldn't breathe. I saw Damon in the corner of my eye begin to stand up, but Charon pushed him down.
My moment's distraction allowed Hades to stand practically on top of me without me noticing until it was too late. I swallowed my fear as best as I could and tried to make eye contact but felt hypnotized the moment I did so. "Y-ahem-yes, that's right…I brought two coins with me. One for the journey here and the o-one for the journey b-back," I tried to begin strong, but became a stuttering mess as I felt his ice cold hands begin to rub my shoulders. How can someone made of fire be so cold?
"Hmmm…then I guess, Damon won't be traveling with you—"
"But you said his soul can return! And that we could leave!" I screamed out in shock at the injustice.
"Of course you can take him with you, BUT, since you only have one coin to take you across the river then it's safe to assume that Damon will be staying with me…"
It felt as though ice was coursing through my veins…
I'm such an idiot! I never thought that I would need an extra token the return passage. Of course it would cost two tokens for two people, and not one token for one passage. I looked at Damon who had a heartbroken expression. He stood up getting ready to get off the ferry and return to the land of the dead. "No!" I stated, quickly motioning him to sit down. "I brought the right amount of currency. I brought one gold coin for me to get here and one gold coin to take Damon back," I informed Hades while nodding my head with finality.
"Are you sure? I thought you said that you both were going, sweetcakes," Hades purred triumphantly. "I'm sure. Please, take care of my sister, Damon."
"D-Damaris! I can't just—uh…w-what about…" I mouthed 'it's okay' to Damon and tried to smile my best through my fear. Damon understood and in a solemn and sincere tone of voice said, "Thank you, Damaris."
With that, Charon took the boat and Damon away from the land of the dead. Once the boat was out of sight, Hades made sure not to allow me too much time to ponder about my current situation.
"…Now, what, oh, what shall I do first with my new toy…hmmm?" Hades asked me while grabbing a handful of my brown hair and tilting my head up to look at him. My mouth felt extremely dry from fear. I attempted to lick my lips, but felt as though I was running sandpaper over the rough flesh. Hades' eyes followed the movement and his smile widened even further.
"I know just the thing…" he purred out while tracing my chapped lips with his cold, bony finger.