This is a sad chapter, so be warned. Hmm, I think I should learn how to write happy stuff. By the way, is forcing your wife to have sex considered as rape? Hmm…

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"These unending nightmares… will I ever be free from them? No—will I ever be free from him?"

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Chapter 4

~Mine~

Warmth enveloped Kore as she opened her eyes. With her blurry vision, she couldn't make out of her surroundings. After blinking and rubbing her eyes, Kore noticed ceiling above her. In the middle of it, hung a majestic lamp filled with many candles. It provided much needed light, but it didn't appease her confusion. She tried to sit, but then cringed in pain. Her body was so sore and she lay on her side in an attempt to ease the pain. It had no effect, unfortunately, and she wondered what had happened. It hurt, especially the area between her legs as if somebody had pierced it with a dagger.

She spent a seemingly endless time of weeping and hiccupping. The pain lessened with time, somehow, and she was able to sat, albeit very slowly. Her emerald eyes looked around to find that she was in somewhere… foreign. It appeared to her that she was sitting on a giant bed with a soft, thick blanket covering her. Across the bed were a chair and a hearth—an imposing hearth that appeared to be expensive to be owned by a mere mortal. To the left of the chair were a comfortable armchair and a table filled with books. Oh, there were bookshelves, too. She'd love to go there and read something, but it was not the time to sit and read…

To her horror, she was as bare as a newborn baby. Quickly she pulled the blanket over her chest, her whole body trembling. She didn't know what was going on. Her mother hadn't told her anything about this… this peculiar event of her waking up in a bed she didn't own. Naked at that! She was terrified. So terrified of the unknown.

The door was opened and a man walked in. He had a pale complexion, almost sickly, and long, incredibly unkempt black hair that reached to his lower back. He wore a sleeveless long robe and a fur cloak adorned his shoulders. All are black in color. He looked like an angel of death.

Noticing that she was up, he arched his brow as though he had expected the opposite. "How are you?"

Kore thought that he was using telepathy, seeing that his lips were barely moved at all. She clutched the silk blanket and watched him crept closer, "I… my body feels sore…"

"I see," he didn't do any telepathy at all. Kore caught his lips moved an inch when he spoke.

"My… lord…?" she gulped, feeling uneasy from his intense stare. Maybe a question would distract him somehow, "Where am I…?" he wouldn't stop staring and she was afraid that the way he looked at her might kill her. "I remember a man—the one with a helmet and an armor—rushing towards me with his chariot. Have you… seen him?"

"I have."

Kore gasped in surprise and happiness. She had begun to think that she bored him. "You have, my lord…? Where… where is he?"

He crossed his arms, a distrustful look on his face, "You appear to be concerned about him."

"No, it just that… I knew him…" she answered, "…I want to ask him why he took—"

"Kidnap," he interrupted.

"Yes, kidnap me in the first place…"

The man stared at her, still with the same looks. "Why did you trust him so much?"

Under his intense eyes, Kore suddenly found the blanket interesting. "I don't know… I believe that he is a good man… That's why I need to see him to clarify everything."

He frowned in displeasure and suddenly was in front of her, sitting so close. She caught his hot breath as he growled, "Why did you trust him? He kidnapped you and you have the gall to say that he is a good man? How trusting can you be?" His voice was so low and cold that Kore flinched and closed her eyes in fear. "Tell me, girl. What makes you trust him so much?"

"I… I don't know what you mean…!" she replied desperately. "What are you talking about? Please, I don't understand…!"

Those eyes, were once devoid of emotions, now were filled with curiosity. He blinked, trying to digest all the information he just got. She was innocent as well as pure. Ignoring her stare, he spoke, "Earlier you asked me. It seems that you are clueless about this place."

"Pardon my ignorance, my lord. I believe this to be the Underworld, but there is no way I could be here unless Uncle Hades has granted me the permission. Mother told me that he is… very unlikely to do such thing."

His left brow was lifted and a lively flame flickered in those dead eyes of his. Kore understood that as a sign that she had amused him, though she didn't know what part of her he found it so… funny. Or maybe she had offended him somehow? His lack of emotions confused her to no end.

He let out a belittling chuckle and pushed harshly to the bed. Kore screamed when he started kissing her, his cool lips felt like poison to her skin. She screamed in frustration and launch a thousand plead and mercy. She didn't know what to do. Her mother never taught her how to escape from a man and she didn't know how to respond to his act. Kore plead, plead and plead until she couldn't remember how many times she had done that. However, her efforts were in vain for she had been pleading to a wall—not a single word seemed to reach his ears as if he was deaf.

"Stop! Please, stop it!" she wept, desperately shielding her face from his assault. When he parted her arms that separated them, Kore's cry became louder. He grimaced, obviously was irritated by the high-pitched wail and then slapped her. The sharp pain made her weak and she lay helpless under him, knowing it the hard way that it was futile to fight back.

He tossed everything he wore carelessly, giving her a full view of his naked body. She shuddered, both in fear and trepidation. Kore sensed that something… evil was going to happen here, but she didn't know what that was. She was sheltered and thus did not know how a thing about the act of making love. Kore didn't realize that she was practically staring, unashamedly, at something between his legs. Why did it stand straight Kore had no clue whatsoever.

The man ran a hand trough her face. His long, calloused fingers were tracing along her tender cheek and finally stopped at her lips. "Do you know who I am?"

Kore bit her lower lip. Refusing to answer was a tempting idea, but she was afraid that he might slap her again. Her voice was merely a whisper, "…should I…?"

He sneered and licked her on the neck, making her flinched, "Good. I hate to introduce myself to a stupid girl who knows nothing aside of her flowers."

It hurt her. It really hurt her, yet she endured it and made no objection to his insult. Let him do whatever he wanted, but she would escape him later and she'd tell her mother about him. Anything, including his terrible treatment and this… this weird touching and kissing. She wished he would stop, but fear clamped her mouth shut.

Kore watched warily yet curiously when he positioned himself between her thighs. "…what are you doing?"

"This is what we call… penetration."

She tilted her head, and repeated, "…pene…tration…?"

And Kore instantly screamed in pain. He… he rammed her with that huge… huge thing and Kore felt like her body was torn into two. When he pushed himself again, the pain choked her and she cried miserably. Looking up to meet his eyes, Kore saw him groaned in ecstasy and she cursed. She cursed him for being so cruel.

"You are mine, Kore," he declared harshly, planting hot kisses around her neck. He was about to kiss her chest, but hesitation spread across his handsome face. Disappointed by the lack of volume on her chest, he focused on pumping her instead.

"Stop! Please, stop…! It hurts!" she cried, desperately pushing him away but the pain dulled her power. Tears clouded her vision, but Kore swore she saw hurt on his face, "…no more… no more!"

She heard him whispering in her ear, "Just a little more. It's close. So close."

Kore didn't even care what he was actually saying. Her mind told her to escape and her body was nearing its limit. Gathering her power, Kore moved her arms and clawed him, taking him by surprise. He jerked backwards to evade the attack, but she successfully left marks across his torso. The wounds were bleeding gold-colored blood, ichor.

The face he was making was enough to frighten Kore to death. Again, he slapped her; this time it was hard and took a handful of her hair, tilting her to look at him. His expression was ugly and twisted, and so was his voice, "Unless you want another beating, tell me why you did it."

A hand holding her sore cheek, Kore found herself trembling. She sobbed, feeling so helpless and little, "M-Mercy… p-please… h-h-have mercy…"

His grip on her hair tightened, "Answer me."

"It-It hurts, my lord… Please stop this… this penetration… Please?"

He left her hair and muttering darkly, "I told you. Just a little more. No need of tears; you have me."

It had the opposite effect, obviously. Kore sensed no happiness and safety in him whatsoever, only despair, pain, and suffering. The thought of him protecting her was… was totally ridiculous that she couldn't conceive of him doing it.

"I promise. Just a little more," he grasped her hands and gave her a reassuring squeeze. Kore didn't quite get what he meant, but as long as she could free from this multitude of pain, she'd do anything. When Kore nodded, the edge of his lips curved upwards.

He smiled.

…and it stole her breath.

"If you are in pain, bite me, dig your nails into my back; I don't even care. It is fine," he lifted her legs so that he could go deeper into her but then he caught sight of her shivering. He said nothing and repositioned her back, content with just parting her legs, and then pulled the blanket over them. "Better?"

Kore bobbed her head up and down.

"…must it…" she hesitated for a while, "…must this be done?"

He licked her earlobe; his hot breath sent a chill down her spine. Slowly he moved while observing her reaction. The pain was still there along with her virginity. He didn't even finish what he had started several hours ago. "Yes."

"…why? What for?"

He pushed deeper and slowed down when she sobbed, "To make you mine."

After what it seemed like eternity doing this, Kore gathered her power to ask, "…y-yours?" and she cried out when he thrust himself into her, this time deeper than ever. He let out a satisfied groan and Kore felt something hot in her lower region. Though exhausted, Kore was glad that he withdrew from her. Her happiness was short lived, however, as soon as she saw blood on the tip of his member.

"Y-You hurt me… th-that… you… you broke my… my…" her voice faltered when she finished, "…stomach… I'll die… I… I…"

He shook his head and proceeded to wipe it with a clean cloth, "You misunderstand, Kore," he put a finger atop her sex and murmured, "I broke…" he was struggling to find the right word, "the… the barrier inside you."

"…barrier?"

He nodded solemnly, "Yes. The only barrier that can be broken by… by someone who truly loves you," he refused to look at her.

Propping on an elbow to get up, Kore asked with a wavering voice, "Love? Love as love between a man and a woman?" then realization hit her, "…then, do you… do you love me?"

The ghost of a smile flitted on his face, "Do not hope, Kore. I cannot love."

Kore flinched when he put a hand in front of her face, and in an instant she collapsed on the bed, sleeping.

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When she was awake, she found herself sleeping in a different room. It had the same somber atmosphere to it, but she knew it was different, mainly because it was smaller and richly decorated with deep purple, silver, and black colors. The grandiose of the room stunned her as she hadn't seen such expensive furniture in all her life.

"My lady?" a new voice beside her made Kore jumped in fright. She saw a girl, maybe around her nineteen. Her hands were both clasped in front; her chocolate eyes were glowing with worry. She was beautiful, yet there was something amiss in the way she looked. Frowning, Kore observed her carefully before gulping. The girl's body was somewhat transparent…

When Kore spoke, her voice didn't sound as brave as she wanted it to, "…who are you?"

"She bowed politely, "I'm your personal maid, my lady. My name is Aletha."

"Personal… maid…?" Kore tilted her head, "I'm sorry, but… what is that?"

"I am a maid appointed by His Majesty especially to attend your needs."

"His Majesty…?" Kore repeated, "…do you mean the King of the Underworld?"

"Yes, my lady."

Kore had just found a ray of hope. She had never seen her uncle before. From the way people talked about him, she assumed that he was a scary, bearded man that one should never made fun of. Lord Hades knew she was here, seeing that he sent her a maid to take care of all her needs! It meant that he knew what pain Kore had gone through! She needed to see Lord Hades and demanded him to punish the man who violated her!

"Please, can you take me to him? I want to talk to him…"

The maid frowned slightly at her bad choice of words, "I'm so sorry, my lady, but Lord Hades is a busy person, but I'm sure he will come to you once he is free."

"But when?" Kore dreaded to experience another nightmare with that man.

"It depends on the number of the souls, my lady. But before you meet him, we must make you presentable. You don't want to embarrass yourself in front of Lord Hades, do you?" Aletha gently helped her to stand. She whispered when Kore grimaced from the pain, "Is it hurt?"

Kore nodded since there was no use lying. Aletha flashed her a sad smile, "It will heal, my lady. Gods heal faster than mortals."

Aletha helped her to remove Kore's tight clutch on the fur cloak after having a long argument with her. She was shy and not used to be served, especially with someone she hardly knew. Kore was hesitating to enter the bath because of the bubbling things on the water.

"It's okay, my lady."

"B-but…" Kore whined, "…but those things look dangerous…"

"Please, it's all right. Hot bath will mend your exhaustion."

"But I…!"

Somehow Aletha managed to force her to get into the bath. How happy Kore was to feel something as relaxing as this in her entire life! She was grateful to be able to experience this heavenly water…

She turned to her maid who was massaging her shoulders, "Do you know what kind of man Lord Hades is?"

The maid blinked, unsure how to answer, and asked back, "…you already met him, my lady. Did he refuse to talk about himself?"

Kore gasped, "Wh-When did I…? I saw no one, except…" she trailed off, feeling her body and mind empty. Frowning, she asked, voice laced with venom, "Who brought me here?"

Aletha saw an image of a queen in Kore but it disappeared as soon as she blinked. She shook her head, thinking that it was just a hallucination. "… it was Lord Hades himself, my lady. It was not him to do such a romantic thing. You must be special, my lady. He loves you."

Kore found it hard to believe.

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Kore gained much experience after talking with her maid. She was indeed ended up in the Underworld, the domain of her uncle, the dreaded Unseen One. Kore thought that time was almost nonexistent in this place, but in fact there were day and night, easily distinguishable by the temperature. The night in the Underworld was considerably colder and Kore mistakenly thought now as night, when it was actually around twelve in the afternoon.

She gathered as much information as she could, mainly to be used in her escape plan. Whatever the reason he wanted to keep her here, she wouldn't sit idly by and watch her uncle violate her again and again. Kore dismissed the maid and put on the fur cloak to keep her warm, to make her feel safe and secure—from what?

She didn't know.

Thinking that this was the time to flee, Kore opened the door and carefully tiptoed outside. She moved slowly, tracing her hand to the wall for guidance for the corridor was dark and only lit by the candles on the wall—she needed light to keep her alive in this unknown territory. She ventured aimlessly, just following where the corridor took her.

Kore wondered why everything was so gloomy and dark. She even saw fog outside the window. It was so thick that she couldn't see the surrounding. Maybe this castle was in a mountain or something…

She opened a huge door with all her might and jumped in fright when it creaked open. Kore ventured deeper and got lost. Every corridor looked the same to her; the draperies, the curtains, the hanging lamps, even the door looked all the same. Everything was so confusing.

She was glad that she found a stair going down. Maybe it led her to the exit. She hurriedly went down and run into whatever door she found. Her thought was that the door near the stairs must be the exit. However, the exit never came to her; or she dare say it was impossible for her to locate the exit as if this place was enchanted.

Suddenly a horrible, screeching sound startled her and halted her movement. Kore cowered herself against the wall with hands covering her ears. The more she spent her time the more she could hear it. She heard more and more screams as she crouched there, terrified beyond reason. Couldn't bear it no more, she ran. Tears were rolling down her cheek as she ran without direction.

She was lost; truly lost. Fatigue embraced her slowly and in this strange place, she felt alone and helpless. Waves of fear and terror slammed into her as she desperately trying to get back to her room, but she couldn't locate the stairs and was getting very despondent.

Slowly she fell to the ground bottom first and cried. It wasn't that long for Aletha to come and gently lead her back to her room, where she would spend her day crying in misery.