Chapter Two

Three days had passed since the prince's mysterious illness; Meg had taken to her room refusing to leave even for a meal. "Megara?" Her father gently pushed back the ragged piece of fabric he had hung up years ago when she had begun growing into a woman. He found her curled on her bed, her clothes were wrinkled and her hair was in disarray. He had never seen her looking so lost and forlorn. "Megara…please tell me what is wrong?" He sat on the straw mattress and gently pulled her into a sitting position; her eyes were raw from crying and shone with fresh tears. He had shed tears at the news of the prince's illness; it had reminded him of his own wife's sudden illness and imminent death. Could that be why his only child was so distraught?

"We were to marry," she whispered thickly. "The prince and I…he…I was in the forest that day because we were going to the temple to elope. He did not care that I was not worthy of him, that my dowry was not what he should expect. What he deserved. I love him father." Dyseus stared at his daughter, astonished that she could be such a fool. He fought the urge to strike her across the face, had she acted wantonly? Had she destroyed her chances of securing a marriage? Now is not the time, he told himself firmly.

"Megara...surely you could not have believed him? You are a smart girl, too smart I sometimes fear. Surely you know this is a marriage which would never have been sanctioned…his parents –"

"He did not care if they approved, or if anyone approved for that matter. He said he would suffer Zeus's wrath…" She choked, "do you think he has angered Zeus?" She jumped to her feet and began rummaging around her room.

"What are you doing?"

"I have to go to the temple…I have to pray for the prince." Fresh tears coursed down her cheeks but she wiped them away and straightened herself. "Papa please forgive me, but I must go to the temple of Zeus…I – I will pray for him to forgive the prince."

"You are being a fool Megara!" Her father scolded but made no move to stop her, perhaps this was what she needed to move on? He gripped her shoulders as she folded clothes into a large square piece of fabric. "You cannot travel to the temple alone –"

"I must papa, the prince has angered Zeus because of me…I will do anything to save him. Please, give me your blessing to go to the temple and pray. Please." Dyseus stared down at his daughter torn, he wanted to shout at her to stop being a fool. To accept the prince's fate and move on, to plead with her that she had not ruined herself. But he knew she was strong-willed. If he forbade her from leaving she would only sneak out when he was unable to stop her. He turned and strode from her small room, leaving her to nervously finish packing.

Meg stared at the flimsy fabric swishing in the air as her father departed, she folded the square fabric over a fresh peplos and other clothing into a bundle that would be easy for her to carry.

"Wait," she looked up startled as her father came back into the room. She stared into the deep amethyst eyes that she had inherited from him and a small smile passed her lips as he pressed a coin and loaf of bread into her hands. "Offer the temple this coin...it is not much, certainly less than a value of the prince's life. But it is all I can offer." Meg kissed his cheek and hugged him tightly, they both knew she would have gone without his blessing, but receiving it made her journey all the more easy to bear.

Doubts did not begin to settle in her mind until halfway through the first night, the air grew so cold she was sure her fingers would grow brittle and snap off from the cold. She built a small fire and tried to keep as close to it as humanly possible. "Please Zeus hear my prayer," she whispered rubbing her hands and holding them close to the flames.

"You won't make it," a high pitched voice made her jump. Quickly Meg jumped to her feet and grabbed the nearest fallen branch for protection, but she couldn't find the owner of the voice.

"The Temple of Zeus is five days, and that's if you're lucky," a second voice followed the first; it was just as high but had a throaty lilt to it.

"Who are you?" Meg called raising the branch above her head, her eyes darting around wildly.

"Somebody." The first voice giggled.

"Nobody." The second voice cackled. "If you continue your journey the prince will die, even if you make it to the temple Zeus will not answer your prayer. He has no power over the lives of mortals. You are going to the wrong God." Meg shook her head not understanding what the voice was saying, how could Zeus not have the power to save Adonis? He was Zeus! He was the King of the Gods, surely if any of them had the power it would be him?

"Zeus's domain is Olympus, much like Poseidon who controls the seas he cannot control something outside of his domain. Look to the God of the dead…only then will you have a chance of saving your prince."

"The God of the dead? The God of the Underworld?" Meg asked the voices sarcastically, "he would not answer my prayers…"

"If you would rather waste your time with Zeus then go ahead, you will only regret your foolishness." She saw something flicker in the distance, a blue flame. "There lies the Temple of Hades. If you truly want to save your prince you will go there."

"How do you know he will save Adonis?" Meg asked the voices her eyes never leaving the tiny flame, she had to squint to see it but the way it flickered in the air she was sure it had to be a flame. She waited for the voices to answer but there was only the hooting of the owl. Hades is a tricky God, a small voice in her head warned her. His temple is neglected for a reason. She had never heard of anyone who visited the Temple of Hades, he was rarely even mentioned. She turned to sit back beside the fire and gasped as she saw the flames had changed from a warm inviting red and orange, to a cold and unwelcoming blue. She held her hands out, but no warmth radiated from the flames. Biting her lower lip Meg thrust her hands into the heart of the flames, bracing herself for the scorching sensation. But although her hands burned, it was not from heat. She felt as if ice encased her hands, gripping them in a deathlike vice. She pulled them back suddenly from the flames and looked in horror as she found ice dripping from her skin. When she turned to look back in the direction of the Temple of Hades she saw that the blue flame had disappeared, but the flame of her own fire was still as blue as ice.

The interior of the temple was as gloomy as a cemetery, cobwebs graced every available surface. No torches were lit, the offerings at the feet of the statue of Hades had withered and crumbled long ago. Meg took out the coin her father had given her and studied it, it was bronze and dull with age, no bigger than a centimetre in diameter. She looked up at the statue of Hades, at the long chin and cruel smile. Shivering she placed the coin at the God's feet and dropped to her knees, pressing her forehead to the cold marble floor she bit back fresh tears. Hades will not heed me…not with this paltry offering. What chance did I have with Zeus? Had that been what the voices meant, why would Zeus accept such a meagre offering? No doubt he was offered precious metals for the most ridiculous of things. Perhaps a golden coin would buy someone revenge or a new pair of sandals. Would a bronze coin really buy her the life of a prince?

"Please Hades hear me prayer," she whispered thickly trying her best to choke back fresh sobs. "Please do not take the life of Prince Adonis, please accept my offering…do not claim him for your domain. Please." Her shoulders shook as she broke down into tears, she squeezed her eyes tightly shut desperately trying to hold them back. "I will do anything to save his life, I will give you anything!" Despite her best efforts she could not hold the tears back, one managed to break through the barrier of her eyelashes where it dropped onto the floor and splashed against the marble.

The torches roared to life with blue flames, still on her knees Meg looked up and watched in horror as one-by-one they flared with the icy-blue flames she had seen only a few hours earlier. A groaning sound made her look straight ahead and she cried out as the large statue of the God of the Underworld slowly came to life. Smoke whisped around where the stone feet had been only moments ago, the black toga shimmered like a thick black sludge and the stone arms rippled as the God stood up from the throne. The statue had stood at almost forty-feet, Meg had felt dwarfed by that, but the God quickly shrank himself to a somewhat less intimidating size, although Meg still felt dwarfed by him. She couldn't stand up, her eyes took in the God who was now at least seven-foot in height; his skin was an ashen grey, his teeth pointed and yellowed. But it was his eyes which frightened her the most, the colour of molten gold they held none of the heat she expected from a metal so hot, instead they were as cold as the blue flame upon his head. The God stooped down and Meg drew in a sharp intake of breath, fearing he was about to touch her, but instead he picked up the small bronze coin and stared at it with disdain.

"This is what you offer a God?" He asked her and for a moment Meg feared he was about to strike her down, but instead the God broke down into laughter. He clutched his belly and roared as if he had never encountered something as hilarious as this. "Oh babe, you have much to learn about Gods. Stand up." Shakily Meg obeyed and wiped her eyes quickly to try and hide her tears, whatever she had expected – it had certainly not been this. "Well…is this really what you were going to offer Zeus for the life of your prince?"

"H – How did you know?" She whispered too afraid to even deny it.

"No one ever comes here, look around you." The god brushed his long spindly fingers across the stone throne and Meg watched as dust and cobwebs were disturbed from their decades of slumber. "I am curious to see you here…"

"I…I heard voices. They said Zeus would not help me, that he could not help me."

"And they directed you here?" Hades nodded as if deep in thought, he stroked his chin with a long finger and studied Meg intently. "You would be the first person in at least six decades to have listened to those voices. Most people dismiss them and carry on their way, they end up in my domain soon after. Nothing to do with me babe," he shook his head and smiled at the horrified look on Meg's face. "The roads are dangerous, surely you knew that? Bandits lay their traps hoping to catch weary travellers." He paced around Meg and continued to look her up and down, his gaze lingering on her curves. "So, you want to save the life of your prince."

"Please," Meg whispered moving her feet in a small circle as the God moved around her. She clutched her shawl tighter against herself in a weak attempt to protect her from his lingering gaze.

"Is that any way to treat someone who is trying to help you?" Hades clicked his fingers and the shawl disappeared, he studied her for a few moments longer, a smile breaking out across his point face. "And this coin…" He looked down at it in disgust.

"It is all I have to offer…it is not even mine, it is my father's." She lowered her gaze to the floor feeling ashamed of her poverty, how could she hope to help Adonis?

"You have something much more valuable than a coin to offer." The God flipped the coin at her and she caught it clumsily.

"You said you would give anything to save the life of your prince. Did you mean it? Would you truly give anything?"

"Of course!" Meg cried standing straight, "I would die in his place." She swallowed a lump of fear suddenly aware that this was perhaps not the best offer to make to the God of the Dead. He laughed and waved his hand in dismissal.

"I do not want your life. It would be a waste for you to end up floating along the River Styx..." He nodded and began pacing around her once more, Meg tried to move so she could turn with him but found her feet rooted to the ground. "I will make you an offer though…your soul for the life of your prince."

"My soul?" Meg asked looking at him confused as he stepped in front of her, "is a life and a soul not the same thing?"

"No. The souls in my domain do not specifically belong to me; rather they come into my…care. If you give me your soul I will own you. You will not be dead; in fact it would work out for you. There are perks to signing yourself into my ownership, you would not grow old nor would you die of old age. You would still be mortal, should you fall ill you could die. If you were to be wounded, you would die. But you…you Megara would stay young and beautiful forever." The God stepped up to her and gripped her chin with his frozen hand; Meg suppressed a shudder at the contact. "What do you say?"

"I – I…" She shook her head faintly, "I need time to think…I…"

"You said you would give anything. Is a soul too much to ask for? What do you need it for anyway?"

"What do you need it for?" The question passed her lips before she could stop it and she gasped. "I –"

"No…do not apologise. You have guts babe, I like that. I am sick of being surrounded by death all the time, by its coldness and emptiness. You would bring warmth, life. So, what do you say?" Meg stared at him too stunned to even comprehend what he was saying. "Going once," Hades released her and held up a long finger, "going twice…"

"I will do it!" She gasped suddenly terrified that he would withdraw the offer and she would lose Adonis. "Please…"

"Good girl," Hades held out his hand and tentatively Meg placed her own in it. She marvelled at the differences, her skin was warm and golden to his cold and ashen, small and delicate compared to his bone-crushingly large hand. As he closed it over hers she cried out, it felt as if shards of ice were shooting up her veins, when they pierced her heart she fell to her knees once more, clutching her chest in agony. "It may hurt for a while," Hades soothed her scooping her up. "You should stay here and rest for a few days. The prince will not die, by the time you reach your little village he would have miraculously recovered."

"I should go home," she protested pushing against the God. "Please my father –"

"I own you Megara. You now do as I say, unquestioningly. Besides the Temple of Zeus is still four days away – would you rather go home now and admit to your father what happened?" Meg paused and realised in horror what she had done. How could she tell her father she had sold her soul? It cannot really mean anything, she told herself.

"Keep telling yourself that babe. In the meantime, rest here a few days." Hades set her on a small straw bed and floated from the small chamber leaving her alone. He closed a heavy wooden door, bolting it shut so she couldn't leave.