"I'm not the devil but I won't be your hero." -Stone Sour, Absolute Zero
It was a dark day. Stormy. Too stormy.
He scowled upwards, hating the sight of the black clouds swirling in exotic patterns across the sky.
Those clouds, bringing to Greece the first storm of the season, stood for everything he despised. They stood for power. They stood for absolute authority and unerring judgment. They were the symbol of his youngest brother, Zeus, the king of the heavens. They were the mark of everything that Zeus had stolen from him so long ago.
With a deep sigh, Lord Hades tore his eyes away from the angry sky and gazed straight ahead. Mount Olympus was visible far in the distance, an imposing sight to the thousands of people who believed that twelve powerful gods resided there.
To Hades, it was not imposing. In fact, it was nothing short of irritating. He should be living there. He should be ruling over the gods and people. Instead, he was shunned away in the Underworld with only monsters and the souls of the dead for company.
He was, of course, allowed to surface and spend time at his brother's grand palace in Heaven. It was bitterness that kept him away from his family. Years had passed since the Titans had been conquered, and still Hades could not let go of the grudge that he had held for so long. After everything he had done for the Olympians in the ten-year-war, this is what he got: rule of the Underworld. And for what reason? He was the oldest brother, older than Poseidon and Zeus. He had fought ferociously in the war, perhaps more so than any of his siblings. He deserved a better position than this.
Hades was torn out of his darks thoughts by the sound of beating wings. Glancing to the side, he came face-to-face with one of the most recent products of Zeus's many affairs. His name was Hermes, and because he was the messenger of both Olympus and the Underworld, Hades saw more of him than the rest of his family put together—which, Hades, thought, was unfortunate. As far as he was concerned, Hermes was nothing more than an annoying brat with a sharp mind that sometimes proved to be useful.
"Hades," Hermes greeted him in a tone that was far too cheerful. "I didn't expect to find you here."
"Lord Hades," the old god corrected him through gritted teeth. "You will refer to me as Lord. I may be cooped away in that wretched realm, but I am still a king, and you will not forget it."
To his irritation, Hermes merely winked at him. Winked. "As you wish, my Lord."
There was a pause, during why Hades silently fumed about the brat's insolence, and Hermes smirked at him as though he knew exactly what the other was thinking.
Then Hermes spoke up again. "I have a message for you. Father Zeus would like me to tell you that he is holding a gathering for the family at the palace in seven days. He requests your presence there."
Hades had always thought that the messenger had an annoying voice, but the buoyant, bubbly tone he used to deliver this message was almost too much to take.
"And what, exactly, is this gathering for?" Hades ground out.
Hermes shot him a sly grin. "He didn't say. Maybe he wants an excuse to get you out of that gloomy place you call a home."
"And whose fault is it that I have to call it my home?" Hades snapped. "You can tell him that I'm not coming. I have no desire to spend any longer than necessary with my brother and his little brats."
Hermes showed no reaction to the slight. "You could at least come see Poseidon and your sisters."
Hades let out a derisive snort. "What makes you think I want to see any of them?"
Hermes shrugged, smiling. "I never said that I thought you want to. Regardless, you're going to. Father said that you don't have a choice."
Hades had a strong urge to wipe the smile off the imp's face, and he gnashed his teeth together harder than ever. "Fine," he hissed.
The lord of the dead only got a fleeting glimpse of the triumphant expression on Hermes' face before he disappeared into thin air.
Seven days was not long at all. Especially not to a god who was thousands of years old.
The evening of the so-called gathering found Hades standing in front of a large sheet of highly-polished silver, glowering at his own reflection. His chiton was dark blue, almost black. He ran his fingers over the metal belt around his waist, a symbol of his high status. The chlamys draped over his right shoulder was violet, and his black hair tumbled freely down his back. He knew he looked regal. It wasn't an accident.
An imposing appearance commands respect.
He turned away from his reflection, tired of his own icy expression. If he had to go to this gathering, he was going to get it over with as soon as possible.
In less than a second, he had vanished from his palace in the Underworld and appeared at the gates of the palace at Olympus, the not-so-humble abode of the gods. Torches cast pools of dancing light across the marble walkways, illuminating the way to the Great Hall. Hades stalked through the gates, not paying the Horae, who were guarding the entrance, any attention.
His chiton and chlamys billowed around him, for it was an unusually breezy night in Olympus, where the weather was usually perfect and windless. Nothing but the best for Zeus and his precious family.
His scowl deepened.
Servants were bustling about, rushing to and from the kitchen, and carrying trays laden with food and drink. Rich laughter could be heard, echoing through the dark night. Hades wondered how many people had been invited to this "family" gathering. While Hades considered family to be only his immediate relatives, he wouldn't put it past Zeus to include every aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, and cousin of the Olympians.
Indeed, when he finally slipped through the doors leading to the Great Hall, he found himself at the edge of a massive crowd. It seemed that his brother had not just invited the extended family, but everyone with any remote connection to the Olympian gods.
"Hades!" a jovial voice exclaimed not a minute after he had walked in.
The disgruntled god's eyes landed on Hermes, who was shoving someone that Hades did not recognize out of the way in an attempt to reach his uncle.
"How many times do I have to tell you to address me as Lord?" Hades hissed when the messenger finally succeeded in breaking free from the crowd.
"At least once more," Hermes said with a grin that seemed impossibly big. It was amazing how the young god managed to show every single one of his teeth with just one smile.
Hades decided to let it drop for now. He had other things to focus on at the moment. "This doesn't look like a 'family gathering'," he said darkly, glaring at anyone who dared to look in his direction.
"Oh, they're all related to us in some way," Hermes said as he beamed at a nymph who had just waved at him.
"If I've never met someone before, they do not count as my family," Hades said, narrowing his dark eyes at the same nymph, "no matter how closely we are related."
Hermes turned his clever eyes back to Hades, brushing his black hair off his forehead. "I'm inclined to agree with you," he admitted, and Hades saw that he looked faintly amused. "It was supposed to be a small gathering – but then Dionysus got involved, and you know how he is."
The king's lip curled. Dionysus was the youngest Olympian, the last to join the pantheon. He was also arguably the most irritating of all. After he had met Hermes for the first time, Hades had been sure that he would never come across a more annoying person. But then Dionysus had come along, and Hades had been proven wrong.
Perhaps the youngest Olympian would be less infuriating if he wasn't constantly under the influence of wine. No one had ever had the chance to find out.
Hermes opened his mouth to continue speaking, but didn't get the chance because at that exact moment a voice boomed "Hades!"
Hades groaned inwardly and turned to face his youngest brother.
Hades and Zeus looked nothing alike. Zeus's hair was so blond that it almost looked white, and his eyes were blue beneath his thick lashes—the exact opposite of his brother's, whose were dark brown. Their only similarities were the high cheekbones that seemed to run in their family and their talent for looking majestic and imposing.
"Zeus," Hades muttered his greeting.
Zeus was not put off by his older brother's less-than-amiable attitude. "I take it you got my message," he said brightly, patting Hades on the shoulder.
"Obviously."
"I thought it would be good for the family to get together," Zeus went on, looking around the room with a merry expression.
Hades gave him a disgusted look. It was no secret where Hermes had inherited his good cheer. "It will be interesting to see if the evening ends in maiming and killing, as it usually does after these 'family get-togethers' that you so enjoy."
Zeus's deep laughter rumbled through the room. "I've always loved your sense of humor, brother," he chortled.
Hermes, who was watching the exchange between his father and uncle, smirked.
"So how is life in Erebus treating you?" Zeus then asked as he accepted a goblet of nectar from a servant who had appeared at his elbow.
"It's as wonderfully gloomy as ever," Hades said dryly, wishing that he could be anywhere but here.
"Excellent," Zeus said happily, and Hades scowled as Hermes stifled his laughter. "You're looking well, you know."
Hades raised a dark eyebrow, knowing that his brother couldn't be serious. His unhealthily pale complexion didn't really qualify as "looking well", but it was the unavoidable result of rarely venturing out of his palace. He knew that he must look more ghostly than usual standing next to Hermes, whose olive-colored skin had the healthy glow of the Mediterranean people, and Zeus, who was lightly tanned. "Thank you," he said anyway, not meaning it.
Zeus beamed at him. "Well, I must be off. More people to greet, you know." And with that, he turned on his heel and strode away. Hades shot a disdainful expression at his back before turning back to Hermes.
"Don't you have anyone else to annoy?" he snapped at the brat.
"Sure, but none of them are as fun as you," Hermes said matter-of-factly.
Before Hades could threaten to rip his tongue out if he didn't shove off, two more people that he had no desire to see stepped out of the crowd.
"There you are," one of them said to Hermes, sounding exasperated. "I've been looking everywhere for you." His name was Apollon, and he was the most favored of Zeus's many sons. Whether it was for his many talents, his brilliance, or his good looks, Hades wasn't sure. Nor did he care.
"Well, congratulations! You found me!" Hermes said jokingly.
Apollon scowled at him. Hades knew that he found the messenger as annoying as he himself did. For that reason, Hades had a tiny amount of respect for him. Still, he found Apollon's tendencies to be a huge overachiever and know-it-all hard to handle-not to mention the fact that Apollon was a healer who went out of his way to save people from early deaths. His chivalrous acts kept a large number of people from becoming subjects in the realm of the dead, and Hades didn't appreciate it.
"Maybe we should play hide-and-seek," the second person said from over Apollon's shoulder. He was wearing a stupid grin. "Then we could find you over and over and over again!"
"What a good idea, Dionysus," Hades said sarcastically. "I have a better idea, though. Why don't you go hide, and we'll come find you after a thousand years?"
"That doesn't sound like fun," Dionysus argued, and Hades and Apollon both shot him exasperated expressions that looked strikingly similar.
Hermes snickered before finally asking, "What did you need me for, Apollon?"
"I've been meaning to ask if you ever delivered my message to Melpomene. I invited her, but I haven't seen her all night."
Hermes frowned slightly and scratched his head. "Ummm…yeah, I did, come to think of it. Quite a while ago, actually."
Apollon gave a small sigh. "She probably didn't feel like coming."
Hermes wrinkled his nose. "I don't know why you like her so much, anyway. She's weird."
"She is not weird," Apollon snapped.
Hades glanced from Apollon's annoyed face to Hermes' stubborn expression and rolled his eyes. "This sounds like a conversation that I will never be interested in," he muttered before walking away.
To his annoyance, Dionysus followed him, teetering slightly. When Hades whirled around to glare at him, the young god merely smiled, wrapping his purple cloak more tightly around his body.
Hades had only met Dionysus a couple of time, and both meetings had been brief. Now he saw that the youngest Olympian was strikingly beautiful, perhaps more so than Apollon and his sister, Aphrodite. If Hades had merely glanced at him, he might have thought him a girl. His dark hair, chestnut brown, fell to his shoulders in waves and hung against his pale cheeks. A lopsided crown of ivy rested on his head, and his eyes swirled with different shades of purple. His face had a slightly dazed expression on it, and as he looked back at Hades, he appeared slightly confused.
"Why are you following me?" Hades asked curtly.
Dionysus tilted his head, and the ivy crown slipped off and fell to the floor. He didn't bother to pick it up. "You look unhappy," he said simply.
"Maybe that's because you're following me," Hades snarled. "Leave me alone. I don't want to talk to you."
Dionysus shook his head but the action seemed to throw him off balance—he began to stumble. Out of reflex, Hades reached out a hand and grabbed him by the arm to steady him. "You idiot," he hissed, fully aware that the crowd around them was now looking on with amusement. "You should go to bed and stay there!"
To his horror, Dionysus merely chuckled and leaned against the older god's side. "I don't want to go to bed. I'm having fun! You should have fun too."
Hades resisted the urge to shove him away in disgust. Dionysus would only fall over if he were to do so, which would attract more attention.
"I don't need to have fun," he said instead, pronouncing the last word like it left a foul taste in his mouth. "What I need to do is get away from you and this ridiculous party."
With that said, he swiftly stepped away from Dionysus, leaving the young god teetering in the middle of the crowd, looking very much like a lost puppy.
I hate my family was his last sour thought before he left Olympus in favor of his dark and silent palace in the Underworld.
To be continued...