A/N: Hi there everyone! I decided to do a sequel to my story... lol.
This is Hades and Seph in OUR world. Lol...
Wanna thank everyone who reviewed my other stories, who subscribed to the stories and who added me to their favourite lists! You guys are awesome!
On with the story!
Once in a while, there are stories that appear in vague places, far away from the eyes of experts and specialists, that are read and questioned, analysed and picked at by people who appreciate simple accounts, to find the truth of the tale. Then, suddenly, the story disappears, never to be seen again, hidden by those who told them. Hidden by the people who saw them happen. Hidden to cover up the truth before it is spread too far.
This is one of those tales. It will be told, the truth spread to a small group of people who I deem worthy and then hidden for the safety of mankind everywhere. If everyone knew what I knew, there would be chaos. A chaos caused by those who refuse to accept the truth and those who refuse to accept non-believers.
My identity is simple enough to figure out. For I have seen everything and know all. I am time. All encompassing and all pervading. Many try to defy me. Make machines to try to change their fate. But alas, all shall fail. No one can hide from my wrath. They can use many things to slow my effects, trying to turn back the hands of the ever moving clock, but their attempts are futile. None can hide from my all seeing eyes.
Now that we are acquainted, traveller, here is the tale I shall tell.
Hades, the King of the Underworld, had found a wife who complemented him perfectly. She was the light to his dark. She brought joy to his dreary world. She was the spring in his winter. Ever since she married the gloomy King of the Underworld, he was never quite the same.
Years passed, the only time they were separated was when she returned to her mother to bring Spring and joy to those on earth. The despair of their separation usually was enough for Hades to revert to his previous demeanour. He visited his wife often, her mother blissfully unaware. There were nights, however, when Demeter would insist on having her daughter with her. It was these nights that made their separation almost unbearable.
After six months, when his beloved was returned to him, however, the transformation warmed even the coldest of hearts.
However, those six months are not quite over yet.
Hades sat on his throne on the bank of the river Styx and glared at the soul who moved up next in line. The soul of the young man quivered in his boots, unwilling to move and draw the wrath of the King of the Underworld.
Hades roughly rushed through the memories in the boys mind, looking for the deeds that would aid in his judgement. Recently, as the outside world had changed, he was finding less and less souls who deserved to be sent to the Elysian Fields. Tartarus, however, was fuller than it had ever been before. The people of this century were more obsessed with wars and science than any before them. They used their newfound technology to create monstrous inventions that could wipe out an entire nation if used by the power hungry idiots on earth. He missed the days when he did not have so many conflicting deeds to judge from. He missed the days when a good man was purely good and an evil man was purely evil. It had been quite simple. Now, so many evil thoughts filled the thoughts of man that it was hard to see goodness in any of them. Lust, greed, money, power and treachery were rampant.
"You may go to Asphodel and await reincarnation, whelp."
The boy blinked, disbelievingly. He had been sure the King of the Underworld would sentence him to an eternity of Tartarus just for spite. Hades barked, louder.
"I can still hear your thoughts, idiot. Go quickly before I change my mind."
The young man yelped as if he had been slapped and ran to Asphodel.
Hades sighed and turned to look at the spot next to him where his wife's throne would have been. She would have been sitting there, holding his hand or even napping in his arms while he judged. Sometimes, she brought books to read while she laid her head on his shoulder. He felt his heart clench, shocked that he could feel still more pain than he already felt. He loved his wife more than anything.
He glanced at the line of souls left to be judged and snarled in frustration. He wanted to be left alone, to wallow in his pain. It was a crushing feeling. He had not been able to see his Seph for over a month, her mother insisting on having her in her own bedroom where she could be monitored at all times for the last few weeks of her stay.
He needed his wife more than he needed his own life. He glowered at the line, making them all shudder as he displayed his frustration.
"Next."
He called, angrily and the next soul, her eyes wide and wild with fear moved unwillingly forward.
Seph jabbed the little shovel into the dirt, flinging the dirt over her shoulder, muttering to herself. Her usually pristine appearance was destroyed as she was covered in dirt, her hair partially loose from the conservative bun it had been in earlier. Her previously immaculate white dress and sandals now had brown and green mixed in all over.
"'Gardening has become the new way to relax, yourself, darling. If you're feeling unwanted needs, why don't you go take it out on the flowers?'"
Seph quoted.
"Why did I even bother to tell her how I felt?"
She asked, exasperated with herself. She was usually very good at hiding everything for her mother. Loneliness, however had been the driving factor of confessing to her mother.
"I want my husband and she wants me to garden! As if flowers can make me feel any less tusky!"
"I believe the proper adjective would be, horny, Seph."
Seph jumped, turning to find her friend, Hermes, commented.
Seph turned to glare at the uninvited visitor.
"I am in no mood for your little quips, Hermes. If there is no purpose for your visit, then leave! I am busy."
Hermes looked her over, and then glanced at the almost destroyed bed of flowers that she had been hacking at with the shovel.
"I can see that."
He said, lifting an elegant brow.
"No need to throw a hissy, Seph. I need your help."
"I am not throwing a hissy, Hermes! I am merely taking out my frustration on my mother's favourite daisies."
With an evil grin, she jabbed the shovel into the dirt once more. Hermes could barely make out the remnants of the once beautiful little flowers. He shuddered.
"Remind me never to piss you off, Seph."
She huffed and said,
"What do you need help with, Hermes?"
He grinned at her and said,
"There's a human that needs someone's soul back."
Seph laughed in his face.
"As if, Hermes. That kind of request is ludicrous and you know it. Souls can't just be returned at the request of someone. Unless..."
She whispered, her eyes widening. Hermes smiled, nodding.
"Yup. The little twit sold the thing. Now his lover wants it back."
"What the hell is wrong with these people anyway? Ever since Pandora opened up that stupid box, I swear, all humans have become idiots! Selling their souls. That's a new low."
She rose, dropping the shovel, dusting off her hands on her already dirty gown. She lifted her hands and with a delicate twirl, she was changed into a lovely scarlet dress, dropping softly to her knees and tied around the neck with a thin cord. The neck line was low enough for the very tops of her breasts to be seen. On her feet, she wore comfortable flat slippers.
Seph sighed and said,
"Who is it and who did they sell their soul to, Hermes?"
"It's not as simple as that, Seph. You need to understand the sitch."
She nodded, leading him to a tree where she sat and he dropped next to her. He took a deep breath to ready himself, before he began his tale.
"The man who sold his soul is actually one of Ares' sons."
Seph gasped at that.
"An illegitimate son, that is. So he's not a God."
Less shocked now, she nodded for him to continue.
"He sold his soul to Hades so that he could protect the woman he had been seeing from his father's wrath."
At the mention of her husband's precious name, she perked up, intrigued. Hades had bought someone's soul? She sighed, shaking her head. She always had to be there to supervise him or he did something silly like this to fill the time away from her.
"Hades hid her well and Ares does not know she exists. Now, however, that Hades' bargain is fulfilled, she wants the soul back."
Seph nodded.
"Well that's simple, Hermes. Just give her the soul."
He scoffed.
"As if Hades would just hand it back. One more thing though. The woman that he asked Hades to protect? Yeah, she's one of Artemis' handmaidens. The psychotic cherry hoarder of a Goddess heard about the little liaison and now she wants the girl's head. This is where it gets tricky. Hades can't let that happen. But you know how well he bargains with the other Gods, Seph."
She sighed, holding her head in her hands.
"As well as a crocodile bargaining with a deer to step into his mouth."
"Yup. So let's just say things aren't going so well with that. Also, Hades doesn't seem to care either way who dies. He said that he agreed to save her from Ares not Artemis. He wants the man's soul and honestly, he has a right to it."
She groaned, knowing her husband was the furthest thing from empathetic when she was not with him.
"We need to fix this before Aunt Artie kills the girl and demands the man's soul for herself."
She shuddered at the thought. Artemis would torture him more than the tormentors of Tartarus would for daring to touch one of her little handmaidens.
They made their way to Olympus, and were on their way to Artemis' temple when they heard the screaming. They looked at each other, worried before hurrying to the temple.
Inside, Artemis was screaming, throwing things around the room, furious.
"How dare that piece of filth touch her?"
They looked at each other and saw she was yelling at the head priestess of her temple. The woman, although standing straight, her hands clasped in front of her, as if nothing affected her, was shivering uncontrollably, her eyes wide and following Artemis' progress around the room.
Seph ran to her Aunt and pulled her two hands in front of her.
"Aunt Artie. Are you alright?"
Artemis' eyes remained wild for a few more seconds before she recognised her visitor. When she saw it was her beloved niece, she calmed down enough for Seph to take her to a plush chaise.
"What's wrong, Aunt Artie?"
"Seph, darling. It's been so long since I've seen you."
Seph nodded, remembering the visit a few weeks ago.
"I just don't know what's wrong with these men, Seph. They covet what cannot be theirs! They have no respect for the old ways! These ignorant idiots who hope to touch my pure handmaidens have another thing coming to them! I will kill them all. And those women. Those stupid fools! If they wish to lead a life of sex and immorality, then so be it! But they dare to become my handmaidens first! I will have their heads, Seph..."
Seeing the crazed look in her Aunt's eyes, Seph decided that it would be prudent to not mention that Artemis herself chose the handmaidens as babes to be raised in her temple. They were not given a choice on whether they wanted to have husbands or not. They were simply forbidden to engage in any kind of sex related activity.
Seph nodded, sympathetically and said,
"You know Aunt Artemis, I completely agree with you. It is not moral to be your handmaiden and then change their mind as soon as they become hormonal, sex-crazed teenagers."
Artemis nodded along, her eyes still fiery with fury.
"I think you should let me deal with her, Aunt."
At once, Artemis glanced at her sharply. Seph, however, had had a lot of time to practice deceiving others with her expressions, having a lot of experience with her mother. So when Artemis glanced at her, her expression was one of sympathy and righteous fury. Artemis smiled softly at her sweet niece.
"No darling, do not bother to sully your hands with the likes of that little whore. I will deal with her. Have no worries, dear."
Seph shook her head.
"You do not understand, Aunt. I believe that I can make her suffer far more than you ever can."
Artemis looked at her, disbelievingly.
"You, Seph? Who used to cry when you accidently stepped on an ant?"
Seph bristled at the mention of that.
"I am not the same child anymore, Aunt Artie. I am fully grown and far more capable of cruelty than you probably know. Have you forgotten where I have been for the past few millennia, Aunt?"
Her Aunt sat up at that. Heartened, Seph let her powers flare. Artemis shivered as the cold, darkness passed over her.
"Seph?"
She asked, shocked.
Seph smirked, one corner of her mouth lifting in cruel humour.
"I am Queen of the Underworld, Aunty Artie. I am no longer a child. My powers and my ability to torture makes a mockery of anyone else's except my husband's."
Artemis' eyes widened. This was someone she did not recognise. For the first time in her life, she felt true fear. Then, in the blink of an eye, the feeling of dread was gone and Seph was back to her usual cheerful self, any trace of the cruel woman who had been in her place gone.
Artemis nodded, nervously.
"Maybe it would be best I you dealt with her after all."
Seph smiled at her and said,
"Thank you, Aunt. I'll see you later."
With that, she stood and waved to her Aunt who stared after her, now worried for the fallen handmaiden who would have to suffer at the hands of the Queen of the Underworld.
Seph blew out a breath, relieved as she walked from her Aunt's temple with Hermes who had remained silent for the entire exchange, trusting Seph to convince her Aunt without his help.
"Where to now, oh cruellest of all Goddesses?"
Hermes asked, cheerfully. Seph glared at him before they both began laughing.
"So where are we going, Seph?"
Seph bit her thumbnail before deciding.
"We better go tell my mother that we were with Aunt Artie or she'll have a horse."
"A cow, Seph."
"What?"
She asked, confused. Hermes smiled and shook his head. Seph hardly ever ventured out to earth, and so hardly interacted with the humans. Due to this, she only picked up bits and pieces of the latest slang from Hermes, who was often on Earth as his job was messenger of the Gods and he travelled extensively. Seph, however, sometimes mixed up the slang, making her own sayings to suit her mood.
"She'll have a cow, Seph. Not a horse."
"Why on earth would she have a cow instead of a horse?"
Hermes shook his head and said,
"Never mind, love. It's just a good thing you're pretty."
Seph glared at him before hurrying to her mother's temple, stepping over a line of ants as she went.
E/N: Thank you so much for reading! I really hope you enjoyed it! Please tell me if I made any mistakes! And if you have any comments, good or bad, please feel free to leave a review. Criticism is welcome!