Macaria… Go to Bed!~!
Hey Peeps, as the title suggests this is a little one-shot about the cutest little tot in the Underworld! Unfortunately I don't own Disney's Hercules but I do own Macaria and all my OC's from my Hades&Seph saga, permission to use these characters is granted to those who ask first… I won't say no, I would be excited to see what people come up with! XP
Anyway… in celebration of reaching 200 reviews this fic is dedicated to everybody who has left me a review, thank you… you've no idea how much it means to me x x
Important Notice: This one-shot is directly linked to The Importance of Thanatos Chapter 41: Who's Death is it Anyway? The contents of this chapter are happening on the same day…
Thanatos sighed heavily from his cross-legged position on the chessboard in the throne room, he could hear the sound of little black sandals drumming down the swirling staircase from the private quarters of the House of Hades. The golden-flamed godling lowered his Death List down just enough for his large black pupils to peep over the edge of the paper. His gold eyes narrowing as the hint of a star white aura appeared followed immediately by the tiny figure of his baby sister..
Macaria stood on the bottom step of the stairs and glanced around the throne room. The little toddler's blonde hair was in two pig-tails on either side of head and the little goddess wore a simple loose red shirt-style night-chiton, similar in style to the under-chiton her father wore under his black toga, and her little black sandals with the pink skull-shaped buckles. In her left hand was a little dolly that looked a lot like pink-haired Persephone wearing a long purple chiton with lilac clasp.
'Tha-ann!' The little two year old goddess called out in a sweet but whiney voice, her eldest sibling's golden flames rippled as Thanatos shuddered with irritation.
'What? What? Whadda ya want!' The thirteen year old godling snapped, wrenching his scroll away from his face and glaring at her moodily from his place on the chessboard.
'Would you read me a bed-time story..' Macaria ignored her brother's flames and pulled the sweetest face she could muster.
'Hmmh..' Thanatos rolled his eyes upwards mock-thinking. 'No. Go to bed.' He declared returning his glare to his baby sister.
'Please Thanny..' Macaria pouted adorably clutching her dolly to her chest, her odd eyes of yellow and green looking pleadingly towards her big brother.
'No!' Thanatos retorted, not even sparing her another glance.
'Please Thanny..'
'No!'
'Please Thanny..'
'No!'
'Please Thanny..'
'DAAAAAAAAAD! Macaria won't go to bed!~!' Thanatos bellowed down the hallway towards Hades' study.
'Fine. Be a doo-doo-head..' Macaria huffed moodily then stomped off down the steps to the Styx, dragging her dolly by the leg. Thanatos merely pulled his scroll back up to his eyelevel and smirked amused, silently thanking the Fates that Macaria didn't realise that Hades was actually in Tartarus at this precise moment.
With Persephone and the Sirens both in Elysium Macaria wandered aimlessly down the large stairwell to the docks of the vast river Styx. Mommy or her minions would always read her a bed-time story or sing a lullaby before bed but they hadn't returned from their work in the Elysian Fields yet. As the two year old goddess tottered down the path she soon spotted her big sister standing with her daddy's two imp minions Pain and Panic as Charon unloaded a boatful of souls. Macaria hung back as the dead souls of mortals always made her feel nervous… she didn't know why but something about their slimy see-through bodies was very disconcerting to her.
After a little while the souls all filed off towards the three judges to be sentenced, Macaria then padded softly forwards until finally the skeletal boatman spotted the tiny immortal toddler lurking near the first jetty post.
'Uh-oh… here comes trouble.' Charon groaned wearily as his black hollow sockets rested on Hades' youngest daughter who was clutching her dolly. 'She's all yours..' He wheezed before picking up his oar and paddling away from the jetty as fast as he could row.
'Macaria..' Panic gasped as the three of them turned to see what the boatman had seen. '-what're ya doin' outta bed..'
'Yeh, you don't wanna make your daddy mad do ya?' Pain sounded worriedly.
'But I'm not sleepy..' Macaria sounded insistently, sincerity clear in her odd eyes.
'You think that's gonna matter to him? Now come on kiddo, back to bed..' Panic sounded instantly, walking over to the tiny goddess and trying to pull her back in the direction of her bedroom.
'No..' Macaria squealed wrenching her arm away from the imp, causing him to ping backwards into Pain and the two imps collapsed in a heap on the black jetty.
Melinoe groaned heavily at this then turned to her baby sister who was now looking at her pleadingly.
'What? You know their right squirt, dad'll explode if he finds you outta bed after bed-time.' Melinoe flashed her sister a green-eyed scowl and placing her hands on her willowy hips.
'Would you sing me a lullaby?' Macaria asked sweetly to her older sister.
Melinoe sighed heavily as her electric blue hair swished in some unfelt breeze. She really didn't want to sing a lullaby… she had never sung a note in the House of Hades because she didn't want her parents to discover that when she sung her voice caused dead souls to flock around her. Hecate had promised to keep her secret and she practically had to beg Thanatos not to tell their parents, especially Hades… she didn't think she could live it down if her father found out about her 'gift'.
'I'd rather have my tongue cut off and fed to a manticore..' The gloomy pale-blue-skinned goddess responded jadedly.
'Oh please Mel..' Macaria clutched her dolly and threw her sister an adorable pleading look out of her mismatched eyes of yellow and green.
'Urh, no squirt, I have work to do..' Melinoe pouted moodily, she was covering the graveyard shift for her father because 'something came up' in Tartarus that needed his urgent attention.
'Pleease, Than won't read me a story..' Macaria sounded persuasively.
Melinoe banged her fist against her head in frustration at this point, trust her selfish, egotistical flame-haired brother to leave dealing with 'squirt' up to her..
'Do you swear by the Styx that you'll stay in your room afterwards?' Melinoe kinked a brow at her little sister. Macaria beamed widely at her older sister's words.
'Only if Pain and Panic kiss Mary-Sue!' The tiny toddler sounded brightly, holding out her dolly to her father's minions.
'What?' Pain sounded dimly, picking himself off the floor and untangling his tail from around Panic.
'Ewww, I'm not kissin' her dolly, the Fates only know where it's been..' The green imp grimaced at the pink-haired Persephone look-alike doll his boss' daughter was holding out to him.
'Mary-Sue want's a kiss!' Macaria demanded stubbornly, insistently shaking her dolly roughing it's pink hair up.
'Well Mary-Sue ain't gettin' a kiss..' Pain sounded immaturely while folding his arms tightly across his chest.
'Kiss her!~!' Macaria suddenly screeched, her little pig-tails suddenly blazing into flames of annoyance which caused Pain and Panic to wince… they knew she wouldn't hurt them physically but they were so used to reacting to Hades' fiery temper this way that it was just a natural response.
'I'd do it if I were you..' Melinoe drawled with the faintest hint of amusement to her father's imp minions as they looked warily at the doll in Macaria's outstretched hands. Both Pain and Panic blinked at Hades' middle child slightly bewildered by her words.
'You would?' Pain asked her.
'Duh. At least this way she'll go to bed peacefully..' Melinoe rolled her eyes at the dense-duo beside her.
'Uh, alright, alright..' Panic sighed heavily before turning little Macaria and adding sternly. '-we'll kiss the stupid dolly if you Swear by the Styx to stay in your room and not bug us again for the rest of the night.' Macaria's flaming pig-tails instantly returned to normal as a sweet smile replaced her scowl… since she was getting her way she had no reason to stay mad.
'I, Macaria Chthonos, Swear by the Styx to stay in my room and not come out for the rest of the night, only if Melinoe sings me a lullaby and Pain and Panic kiss Mary-Sue.' The little toddler recited as she rocked back and forth on her heels holding her dolly to her chest.
Pain and Panic's jaws both hit the deck at the same moment, they had no idea you could make attachments to the oath of the Styx.
'Well, that's it boys, we've been drafted..' Melinoe sighed pouting her bottom lip in a slightly gloomy fashion. She didn't know if she should curse her father or her brother for this, clearly one of them had taught her to close all loop-holes when making a deal. '-go ahead, kiss the doll, let's get this over with.'
Pain and Panic winced at her words then threw each other a grimace, as if trying to support each other while being nervous at the same time.
'Here goes nothing.' Panic relented, his little green shoulders sagging with defeat.
'Time to pucker up old pal..' Pain added, still wearing a sickly grimace as Macaria pushed Mary-Sue closer to their faces so her blank greenish-blue eyes were staring right at the imps. Each imp leant into the dolly named Mary-Sue and swiftly kissed each cheek before pulling back quickly screwing up their faces in disgust.
'He-he-he-hehe..' Macaria giggled girlishly before dancing on the spot with her dolly, chanting excitedly, '-you's kissed her, you's kissed her..'
'Ok settle down squirt, don't have a spazz attack or anything..' Melinoe drawled to her little sister who stopped bouncing on the spot at this. '-now let's get you settled in bed because I'd like to get this lullaby sung quickly so I can get back to work, ok?'
'Ok, Melinoe..' Macaria sounded brightly then raised her little white fingers to take her big sister's dainty pale-blue ones and the two daughters of Hades vanished into a curl of pale-blue smoke.
After brushing her teeth the little white-skinned godling scrambled into her bed and pulled the covers of her pink and black bed sheets up to her chest.
'All settled squirt?' Melinoe sounded to her sister as she wandered casually in the door behind her.
'Yep.' Came the response as Macaria smiled up, the room was filled with a soft orange light from the torch lit by her bed… Macaria couldn't sleep in the dark so Hades always kept a light on and only snuffed it out once his daughter was fast asleep.
'Melinoe?' Macaria sounded softly from her spot in her bed as her sister tucked in Mary-Sue beside her.
'What?' The pale-blue eleven year old goddess sounded.
'Can you make it a nice song?' Macaria asked her gently.
'Sure squirt, why not?' Melinoe sounded softly before uttering under her breath. 'If I'm gonna make an imp out of myself I may as well go the whole nine yards..'
Down in the throne room a pillar of flames appeared beside the chessboard where Thanatos was still studying Death's List, working out all the final details surrounding King Admetus' 'death' before he was due at the Feast of Apollo. As the pillar of flames died away Hades reappeared into the room waggling a finger in one ear and looking confused towards his teenage son.
'Yeesh, I'm sorry Than, must've had a lump of brimstone the size of Crete wedged in my ear..' the blue-flamed Lord of the Dead dug out a small glowing lump then flicked it away with a casual glance. 'Now what were ya sayin' about little Mac?'
'I said Macaria won't go to bed.' Thanatos replied nonchalantly, not even turning his eyes away from his work.
'What?' Hades responded sharply. 'I put her to bed an hour ago, what's she still doin' up?' The tips of his blue-flames turning white in annoyance, he'd told his daughter to just go straight to sleep.
'No idea..' Thanatos shrugged nonchalantly before getting to his feet so he was now stood on the chessboard and at eyelevel with his father. 'Now if ya don't mind, I gotta soul to axe at Pherae in the Park..' Then instantly the God of Death-in-training turned into a swirl of smoky darkness and shot up through the circular hole in the ceiling of the throne room.
Hades glared upwards to where his son had disappeared, about flare off the handle when the sound of faint eerie singing could be heard from somewhere above them.
'…So slumber deep within the night, while fires make your dreams shine bright..'
Instantly forgetting about his son Hades' flames returned blue as the Lord of the Dead looked up bemused. Not only did he not recognise the tune of the song, he didn't recognise the voice either. It wasn't his wife or any of her minions… so who was it?
'Close your eyes… and let Morpheus flow..'
With his curiosity peeked Hades instantly curled out in a swirl of black smoke.
…The blue-flamed Lord of the Underworld appeared silently in the hallway outside his youngest daughter's bedroom and peeped in the doorway. Whatever the fiery god had been expecting was clearly not what he saw…
'You can't resist… the song of Melinoe..'
Melinoe was stood with her long electric blue hair swishing in time to her lullaby as she sung with such a beautifully haunting voice. Amazingly little Macaria had already dropped off to sleep with her face buried into her favourite dolly, which she'd named Mary-Sue for some unknown reason.. It was only a little while after his eldest daughter had started humming her melodious tune did Hades notice the dead guys hanging around his daughter's bedroom window. The god's round golden eyes narrowed since he knew that the only souls his youngest daughter wasn't shy around was the souls in the Elysian Fields… which was none of these guys.. But that wasn't his main concern right now.
The blue-flamed Lord of the Dead scowled as the souls at the large rounded window, they were smiling and swaying in time to Melinoe's song and enjoying it. Hades could only tolerate this for a few moments before his flames flared irritably.
'Alright, that's it..' The fiery god declared angrily, vanishing out and reappearing by the large bedroom window in a tower of angry flames. '-go on, back to the Styx, shows over ya perverted poltergeists..' Hades flared nastily, his flames turning orange as he batted the souls away from the large round window sill. He wouldn't dare blast them away with a fireball and risk waking up his sleeping two year old daughter now that she was finally asleep..
Melinoe blushed fiercely the moment her father appeared in the room and instantly yelled at the souls who were listening in to her lullaby, she had realised in that moment that he must have been listening to her sing… this was so embarrassing.
'Mel, Mel, Mel my gloomy li'l bluebird..' Hades crooned softly as his daughter scowled at him with her arms crossed tightly across her chest. '-I didn't know ya could lure the souls right outta the Styx..'
'Daaaad..' The pale-blue goddess groaned slightly exasperated. '-what are you doing here, I thought you were in Tartarus.'
'Ahh, Than was kvetchin' about little Mac not goin' to bed but it looks like ya beat me to the punch, huh bluebird?' Hades' yellow eyes narrowed as a wide smirk of amusement crossed his full blue lips. Melinoe on the other hand kinked a brow at her father, so Thanatos had not just left her to deal with 'squirt' he'd actually gone and summoned their father from Tartarus meaning that she could've just carried on with her work and let him deal with her, avoiding this exact situation… Melinoe smacked her head in annoyance at this realisation.
'Alright Mel, I think ya better walk 'n' talk with me baby girl..' Hades sounded amiably, moving towards his eldest daughter and sweeping her around the shoulders, forcing her to walk out of Macaria's room with him as he shut the door over leaving the torchlight on…
Little Notes:
Hey peepz, this story contains all the bits that were missed out of TioT due to the fact that they just didn't fit in. Just a little reminder to some that The Importance of Thanatos is actually a story that evolves around the deity of Death himself and that even though he has sisters and they will appear from time to time, this is about him. Unfortunately I can't write everything I want to write on his sisters but I do have some ideas for a couple of eight chap ficlets on them… and I am taking suggestions too.
Thanks for reading..
~Ditzy x
