A/N: Hi there! I am so sorry that this is so late, but as I said in the previous chapter, I wanted to take some time to analyse the story a bit, gather my ideas and apply. Lol. So once again, I'm very sorry!
Special thanks to soundarch, ErikaCrotts, skele-gro, Fostersb, CuteANDSexxxy17! You guys are awesome!! ;)
I hope you enjoy this chapter!
The next day, Hades and Seph woke to share another heated moment, soaking up each other's presence like they had been starved. Too soon, there was a knock at the door. Hades huffed out his breath, aggrieved, and made his way to the door after ensuring that his wife was completely covered from sight. He opened the door to find Thanatos, smiling at him. He glared at Thanatos.
"Can this wait?"
Still smiling, he said,
"No."
Hades sighed and said,
"What is it, Thanatos?"
"Thanatos?"
Seph said, from the bed. She made her way over to them, much to Hades consternation, only covered by the sheet.
"Is Menthe settling in?"
"Your guest?"
Thanatos asked, gently.
"Yes."
Seph replied, nodding her head.
"She is settling in fine. She came to dinner last night, but she seemed a little overwhelmed by the entire staff, so she left rather quickly."
"The entire staff?"
Seph squeaked. The entire staff usually only gathered for special occasions. Thanatos nodded, smiling.
"We were very anxious to see our Queen. We have missed you."
Seph flushed, scarlet and said, worried,
"Oh dear! I'm so sorry! If I would have known..."
She trailed off and then began murmuring to herself about making it up to them by having a little get together. She ran off to get dressed for the day, ready to begin planning and Hades hit his forehead with his palm.
"Dammit, Thanatos, I just got her back! Did you need to mention the dinner? Now she's going to be away from me all day, planning."
Suddenly, Seph appeared next to him and kissed his cheek.
"No, love. I've missed you too much to be apart from you today. I can plan with you there. You could help me!"
She said excitedly. Exceedingly put upon, he shook his head, bid farewell to Thanatos, who waved, cheerfully and left, whistling.
"He's probably just happy that I am harassed..."
Hades muttered.
"What was that, sweetheart?"
Seph asked from near the bed.
"Nothing, dearest. Are you going to accompany me to the judgement today?"
Seph grinned and said,
"I love watching you judge, my love. Of course I'll join you."
He smiled at her before going over to hold her around her waist and nuzzle her neck. She sighed, happy and leaned back into him, cuddling for a moment before remembering they had to leave. She turned and pressed a kiss to his lips before going to get ready once more. Hades smiled as she rushed off and began dressing himself for the day.
Menthe left her room, making her way down the hall to explore the castle she was to call home from now on. Hopefully, if all went well, she would be Queen of this place. She touched the marble wall, her fingers lightly grazing the smooth surface. She turned a corner and entered the throne room. She had been here after dinner last night, staring at the smaller of the two thrones that sat against the front wall of the room. Now, she was shocked to see that both thrones had been moved. Perplexed, she searched the rooms of the palace for it, unable to find them.
Giving up, she decided to explore outside the palace. Once she stepped outside, she noticed the crowd that occupied the bank of the river Styx. She made her way towards the crowd, pushing her way through to the front of it. She realised only a moment later that the crowd she had just pushed through were souls waiting to be judged. She shivered at the thought of the corporeal dead brushing against her. How disgusting! She belatedly saw Seph and Hades sitting on thrones, with Seph's head on Hades' shoulder, their hands entwined, as Hades judged souls. Seph laughed as Hades murmured something to her and a flash of jealousy jolted Menthe.
She was gorgeous. Why couldn't she be a hag? It would have been much easier to steal Hades from her then. Why did she have to be nice, as well? Menthe grudgingly allowed that not only was Seph beautiful but her personality made her more attractive, as well. She frowned, her mind twisting thoughts together. Maybe she was not as nice as she seemed. She was probably selfish and horrible on the inside. That was why she did not share Hades. Yes. That was it. She was evil on the inside and he was keeping Hades with her through some sort of magic. Of course! How had it taken so long for Menthe to see it? Persephone was truly evil and Menthe needed to save her beloved Hades from her clutches.
Suddenly, Seph saw her and grinned, waving her over.
Look at her. Thought Menthe. She thinks we're all oblivious to her ploy. She'll see. They all will see. I will have Hades. She cannot keep him!
Plastering a smile on her face, she made her way over to where they sat. Hades glanced at her, preoccupied and flicked his wrist so that s seat appeared next to Hades.
Maybe he isn't as entranced as he seems! He thought of my comfort! Maybe he loves me as well, but it can't overcome this evil witch's spell!
Menthe grinned at the thought and Persephone leaned over, asking,
"How was your night, Menthe?"
Menthe held back the glare she wanted to give Persephone as a reply. She smiled instead and said,
"Oh yes! Thank you so much for bringing me, Seph! I love it here!"
Persephone grinned at her and it was all Menthe could do to not strangle her.
"Good! I'm so glad! I knew this was a good decision!"
Hades whispered something to Seph, making her laugh and Menthe felt the loathing she felt for Persephone bubble in her chest. She almost leaned forward to claw at her eyes when she saw Persephone kiss Hades' cheek and caress his jaw, but held herself back.
Soon, the plan would be seen to completion and she would have Hades all to herself. Until then, she would have to learn to share.
Seph had never been so happy in all her life. She had everything. Her husband and her best friend sat on either side of her and she was where she needed to be. She sighed, content and whispered,
"I'm so happy, Hades."
He smiled, gently at her and whispered,
"I am glad that you brought her, then, if she brings you such joy."
She laughed and said,
"You underestimate your only ability to bring me joy, Hades. You are my light."
He laughed, something he rarely did. He would chuckle or smile, but he seldom allowed himself to laugh unless they were alone.
""If I am your light, love, then you are the sun. I would be nothing without you."
She smiled, cradled his face gently in her hands and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. He should be embarrassed with everyone watching, but he had found he felt no shame when it came to Seph. He glanced over for a second at Menthe and was startled to see hatred glowing out of her eyes. He blinked and she noticed him looking at her. At once, the expression disappeared and she smiled, shyly at him. He shook his head, wondering if he had imagined it, before he went back to judging.
Soon, Seph yawned. He leaned over, to press a kiss to her temple and to whisper,
"I am sorry, love. I did not let you get much sleep last night. Go rest. I will come to you as soon as I am able."
She smiled at his concern and left, waving at her friend as she left to go to their chambers. He returned his gaze to the line of souls waiting for judgement, looking at them much more sternly than he had before, when Seph was present.
The transformation that came over Hades when Persephone left was almost instantaneous. All tenderness left him to change him into the cold, cruel King of the Underworld they all knew him as. Menthe knew that this was just more proof that Persephone had casted a spell over him. Even the souls noticed the change and quavered under his arctic gaze, whispering amongst themselves,
"Is the Queen returning?"
"I hope so..."
"Look at his eyes! She should come back..."
Menthe glared at them. Did they not see that this was the real Hades, not the entranced fool that Persephone dragged around by the nose? She moved her chair slightly closer to Hades, Persephone's throne still between them.
"Is it tasking, my lord?"
Hades turned to her with a slightly bored expression and asked,
"What?"
Not very polite. She thought, but shrugged it off and angled her body towards his, asking,
"Is the judging of souls very taxing to you?"
One eyebrow shot up, arching and he said, with no inflection in his voice to give away his emotions,
"It is my duty."
Before returning his gaze to the souls once more and saying,
"Asphodel."
To a young man in peasant's clothes. The peasant had been clutching his hat in his hands and wringing it in worry over the judgement. Now, a shocked look flickered over his face before he raced forward to kneel and kiss Hades' ring.
"Thank you, my lord!"
Hades smiled down at him and nodded. Menthe frowned as she realised that this single soul who Hades would never see again had earned more of a reaction from him than she ever had, even though she would be staying there. Confused, it dawned on Menthe that maybe this was part of Persephone's spell! He would not be able to express his love to other females while he was entranced. More determined than ever to break the spell, Menthe waited for him to finish judging, in silence.
When was she going to leave? Hades wondered as he looked out of the corner of his eyes at Menthe, who had not stopped staring at him since she sat down. He was feeling very uncomfortable under her scrutiny and for some reason he could not find it in himself to like her. He knew it was unreasonable. She brought joy to his beloved Seph, but he could not help but sense that all was not as it seemed with her. Seph had left and he had expected her to follow suit. However, she had remained seated and had even been bold enough to attempt to flirt with him. He knew what flirting was when he saw it. When he went to Olympus, all the unmarried Goddesses all but threw themselves at him.
He glanced at her and at once, a smile flittered across her face. Did she not have better things to do than flirt with a married man? A married man who was not even slightly interested at that. Sure, she was attractive in her own way, not that he had taken much time to notice. He had been busy with Seph. However, he could not help that his eyes took in every detail and committed them to memory. He knew she would have been attractive enough if she had not been standing next to Seph at the time. Alone, she was pretty, but next to the utter glory that was his wife, she looked like a sodden rag. He continued judging, trying and failing to ignore the close scrutiny of his wife's best friend.
After the judging was complete and Hades had given his verdict to the last soul, he got up to leave, nodded farewell to Menthe, without saying a word and turned to go to the library.
"Where are you going now, my lord?"
He turned to her, expressionless once more and said,
"To the library to log the placement of the souls."
She smiled coyly up at him and asked in her sweetest voice,
"May I join you?"
Hades stared blankly at her for a moment, then nodded slightly, before turning to continue along to his destination. Inside, she wanted to dance. He had acknowledged her! Maybe the longer Persephone stayed away, the more the spell broke. Overjoyed, she all but skipped behind him to the library. He entered before her and held the door open. She was overjoyed inside. If she needed anymore proof that he loved her, she had just seen it! He held the door for her and pulled a chair to seat her. She melted inside at the knowledge. She propped her chin in her palm with her elbow on the table and stared at him while he went about filling the journal he logged his souls in, with a quill and ink. He glanced up at her and frowned before asking,
"Do you wish for me to find a book that you may read? This process is quite boring."
She shook her head, overwhelmed that he cared enough to find her a book so she would not be bored. She gave a dreamy sigh before settling in to watch him work.
If she did not cease the staring, Hades was ready to throw the journal at her. He had allowed her to join him so that she would see how boring it was and eventually leave. Since his initial plan was not working, he had then tried to get her a book. Again, she showed no interest and even dared to give a little sigh, that he only heard from persons of the female persuasion when he either lifted something or removed a piece of clothing. He glanced at her from under his lashes and she sat there, smiling at him. Was she daft? Did Seph pity her daft friend and decide to bring her down to the Underworld so she would not be picked on? That sounded like something his caring wife would do.
Relieved, he smiled back at her. She seemed shocked and then, she grinned back at him. She leaned forward and touched his hand. His smile dropped and he pulled back his hand at once. She seemed puzzled before saying,
"I was going to rub your hand. You stopped writing, so I assumed your hand was tired."
Nonplussed, Hades smiled. Was this the usual behaviour of daft people? Since he never made it his business to hand around people in general, definitely not the daft ones, he said,
"No. I just wanted to make sure you were not bored."
She beamed at him and said,
"No. Not at all. It is far more interesting her than it was on earth. I just ran around with the other nymphs and played all day. It is so much more serious and peaceful here. I was never allowed to just sit and rest for a while there."
Am I supposed to listen while she speaks? Hades wondered. He had not heard a word she had said. He had looked over her shoulder and seen the painting he had commissioned of Seph, so that he would have her to look at while he was alone. She was wearing her wedding dress, with a bouquet of ruby red roses in her hands, her smile enchanting. He hummed with pleasure and then focused his eyes back to Menthe. She was looking eager for him to say something. Stuck, he said,
"Well, I am almost finished, so you won't have to be bored much longer."
She looked confused for a minute, so that he figured she had not asked him if he as almost finished. He smiled, playing it off as just a random statement and her confused expression dissolved on one more of those little sighs. He almost frowned at her, but realised it would be rude to frown at a daft person. They did not know better than to do the things they did. At least he thought they did not. Utterly confused, and reminding himself to ask Seph what was the proper etiquette to deal with daft persons, he went back to logging souls.
He was so perfect. Everything about him was just perfect. She grinned as she remembered how worried he was that she would be bored. She frowned when she remembered his reply to her statement. For a moment, she thought he had not been paying attention to what she was saying, but that was silly. He had been looking in her direction. He had not been writing in his little book. He had been fully focused on her. She wanted to shove that fact in Persephone's face. She knew the spell was wearing off. As soon as they were in the library, alone, he had treated her far more kindly than he ever had before. She was sure that it was her love that was nullifying the effects of the spell.
Everyone knew that true love would rid anyone of whatever evil spell had been cast on them. She just needed to be alone with him more often. That would happen only when Persephone was out of the picture. She needed to find a way to get rid of Persephone. She was a liability that Menthe did not need in her romance.
Menthe sat on her bed, quietly, planning a way to make Persephone leave her husband forever. Only then would she have a chance to lift the spell from Hades.
She smiled, suddenly. She had it! Persephone would not only leave, she would never want to see Hades again. She laughed, the sound morbid in the quiet room.
E/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm sorry if it did not have much Seph and Hades time, but this isn't exactly their fic. Lol. Please tell me if there were any mistakes!! Any comments, good or bad are very welcome!
