I am so sorry, my beloved granddaughter. Please forgive them.
Hali awoke with a sudden gasp.
Her eyes snapped open as she lurched up in her small bed. The awful sinking feeling in her gut that had less to do with the rum from last night and more to do with the remnants of her dream followed her into wakefulness. Harsh light penetrated the ragged curtains covering the window over her bed and stung her retinas to hell and back, but she knew the tears welling up in her eyes had nothing to do with the light.
With a pained groan she dug the heels of her hands into her eyes. Her head pounded like the titans themselves were trying to escape their prison.
"Oh gods. Please don't let it be true."
She wanted to scream. She wanted to vomit. She wanted to cry.
"This isn't happening." The rawness of her voice echoed thunderously in her ears.
She covered her mouth with her hands to keep the screams in to no avail. Violent tremors shook her thin frame with each heaving breath that managed to somehow slip between the crevices of her trembling fingers. No, that wasn't quite right. Someone else was shaking her.
Her eyes cracked open through shining tears to see a concerned Hadie staring back at her. In an instant, she threw her arms around him and she buried her face in his shoulder. The blue haired boy was startled by the action. He had been woken up by what sounded like a dying cat only to find his sister falling apart on the other side of their room. He had been trying to get her attention for a while until she finally noticed his presence. Something was definitely wrong if she was reacting like this.
"Hali? What is going on? Are you okay?"
He sounded frightened and confused. She knew exactly how he felt. Hadie stared wide eyed at her from where she held him in place at arm's length, completely lost with what she was doing.
"Hali what-" he started to say.
"Did you know?" she cried, interrupting him.
Hadie did not like watching how she furiously blinked back a fresh wave of tears. This was completely new territory concerning his sister and he hadn't the slightest idea how to navigate through it. "Know what?"
Tears temporarily abated, she fixed him with a stern look that pinned him helpless to the spot. "Hadie, please. Tell me the truth."
She was shaking him now, setting off warning bells in the younger boy's head. "Hali, you're freaking me out right now!" He wriggled out of her grasp and scooted back frantically. She didn't take her eyes off of him. Her blue eyed gaze was searching. Not finding any traces of play acting or deception, her arms fell limply at her sides.
"Are you telling me you don't know, then?" she demanded flatly.
"Know what? You're not making any sense."
Her shoulders became hunched as she bowed her head in defeat. The time finally came that she felt that the boy truly had no idea what she was talking about. Now, she realized that she had to be the one to tell him. "Oh, Hadie. There's-" her voice became strangled- "there's something I need to tell you. Something I haven't been completely honest about."
And so she told him everything about the dream. At the end of it, she probably should have assumed that this would happen, but she never could have predicted the way Hadie was now seeing her a little differently. She stared into his eyes and regretted ever opening her mouth. In that moment she felt a flare of hate for Hades, the one who had caused this new rift between siblings.
On the bright side, Hadie appeared thoughtful. She hoped that that was a good sign with the truth revealed, things between them weren't forever changed.
"Why didn't you tell me about the potion sooner?" he asked quietly.
She let out a frustrated sigh, trying to find the right words. Merely talking about the lengths she went to keep everything bottled up felt like unraveling her heart so it could be twisted into a tangled mess. She wrapped her arms around herself protectively. "I just didn't want to deal with it, Hadie. I wanted to pretend that nothing was… off. After a while I got used to it and it became this normal routine I had," she admitted.
Hadie resisted the urge to point out how obviously unhealthy the choices the other girl had made were. However, he still had a dozen pressing questions that forced their way past his lips. "What changed then? Why didn't you take the potion last night? I know it's none of my business where you go and what you do, but I was already asleep when you must have come home last night. Where did you go? I mean seriously, you never stay out late. Does this have anything to do with why Gil was in the restaurant yesterday?" He was breathless at the end of his last question.
Hali waited patiently for the boy to catch his breath. "Hadie?"
He blinked at her. "Yeah?"
"Chill. You're doing that thing where you ask a million questions all at once before I can answer. I was with Harry last night. I don't know how, but he knew about the potion and the dreams somehow."
There were those warning bells going off in his head again. "Wait. Harry? As in Harry Hook? Why the Hells were you with him?" He had known for some time the older girl harbored a tragic crush on the pirate since they started going to the same school and knew that no good would ever come of it.
She brushed his obvious panic off easily, only too used to his reaction whenever Harry was so much as mentioned in passing. "Look, it doesn't matter. What matters is what I'm going to do next."
"Uh, which is what exactly?" He braced himself for her answer.
"If I told you, you would try to stop me."
Hadie watched, perplexed by Hali's cryptic reply, as she rummaged under her bed and began to lace up her sandals. "Wait. Where are you going?"
Narrowly avoiding stepping into a pile of glass from the broken vial Hali had yet to clean up, he rushed to lace up his own sandals as Hali stood and stalked out of their bedroom. He ran after her with a huff, hoping against hope that she was not going to do what he thought she was.
Hali stormed out of their small, rundown apartment with a purposeful stride. Hadie could only imagine what was going through her head as he trailed behind her a few steps. Her entire world was just ripped apart and tossed in a broken blender for good measure. Now she was making a furious beeline through the mostly abandoned Isle streets for the god responsible. The younger boy prayed to any good deity listening for something to stop the older girl from frightening showdown sure to greet her at his father's shop.
Gil had just been doing his self appointed rounds collecting Harry's cut from each shop's profits on this side of the Isle when he spotted the demigods. He was curious as to how Hali was faring after her date with the first mate. The blond haired boy had wanted to be there for when Harry let the cat out of the bag, but the son of Gaston knew that sharing such information required a more sensitive touch than his oafish self struggled with. So he agreed wholeheartedly that Harry be the one to talk to Hali. Gil had yet to make it to the ship but he assumed that Harry would most likely still be passed out this early in the morning.
Eager to see her, Gil diverted from his path and dashed over to Hali.
Thrown by the cheery sight that was Gil, Hali paused long enough for Hadie to catch up to her.
"Oh hey guys!" Gil greeted.
Hali made a noise of acknowledgement that probably sounded more like a groan. She shuffled her feet anxiously, continuously glancing at where Hades' Souvlaki was placed between two other crumbling buildings across the street. Even though every cell in her body wanted to simply ignore Gil and continue on her war path, she couldn't just leave the boy hanging with the curious way he was looking at her. Meanwhile, Hadie thanked whatever god had answered his prayer by planting Gil firmly in Hali's way.
Exasperated by the interception, she absolved herself the slight guilt that came with brushing the blond haired boy off. "I can't talk, Gil. Sort of in the middle of something important," she told him briskly.
The two boys watched her, Hadie with growing alarm and Gil with utter confusion, as she brushed past both of them. Hadie bit the inside of his cheek when Gil turned turned to him for answers.
"Should we follow her?" he asked awkwardly.
The blue haired boy made a noncommittal noise before he started shuffling towards Hades Souvlaki.
Hades was seated comfortably in the sturdiest chair in the shop, his feet up on a table. He was sorting through a pile of cash, carefully counting each cent and updating a careful log of his finances on a series of scrolls. Pain and Panic were dozing not far away from their master, slumped over in a couple of chairs that were too small to seat them comfortably. The once shapeshifting demons were now perpetually stuck in hulking and monstrous forms since they were sentenced to the Isle. If only Hades could actually trust his minions to hold a working brain cell between them or else he could actually use them for important tasks rather than as muscle to keep other villains off his back. Regardless of their low intelligence, they were still terrifying to behold when one gazed upon them.
Disrupting the otherwise quiet shop, Hali threw the shop doors open with a bang. "Hades!" she raged upon her abrupt entrance.
Unfazed by the unwelcome intrusion, the god of the underworld didn't look up from his cash as she made her way towards him. ""Hades"? Really? What happened to "father"? "Dad"? "Pops"?" he chuckled.
She snapped at him, "It ends now!" The demigoddess stood her ground, though she made sure to keep a table between them. "You lied to me. My. Entire. Life," she ground out spitefully.
Nonplussed as to what they would be walking into, Gil and Hadie entered the shop. Hali and Hades paid them no mind. Still confused as to why Gil had wanted to follow him into the shop, Hadie hovered nervously near Hali. Vibrating with unease, he took in the unfolding scene with trepidation. What he wanted most was to grab Hali's hand and make a run for it before the confrontation took a turn for the worst. If only he could bring himself to move from where he was rooted to the spot.
Gil took in the scene cautiously. He was just starting to realize he was the only mortal in a roomful of gods and monsters as he eyed the stirring demons, obviously sensing the brewing conflict in the room.
Hades set aside pen and paper. Giving Hali his undivided attention, he steepled his fingers. "What makes you say that?"
He was humoring her like she was a petulant child clamoring for his attention. She wondered if the bomb she was about to drop would make him take her seriously for once. "Zeus told me everything about your deal with my real parents. So you can drop the act."
Without missing a beat, he responded, "Did he now? That's my brother for you. Always making my life a living hell." He laughed at his own joke, baring his sharp teeth so that they flashed in the dim light. "Finally decided not to take the potion, huh kid?"
She flinched, not expecting that kind of response. He was supposed to be freaking out, wondering how she had come to expose him! The one thing he was not supposed to be was completely unaffected. "You-you knew about the potion?"
"Of course I knew about the potion." The familiar all too knowing look in his eye made her heart sink. "Who do you think had it delivered to you when you were at Serpent Prep?" He jerked his thumb in the direction of the demons.
She glowered at Pain and Panic who each waved at her, wiggling their tapered claws while they sneered. They made the otherwise innocent gesture appear threatening with their sharp teeth and sharper claws. Despite being practically raised by the demonic pair, Hali knew better than most how horrifying they could be. Catching the twisted sight, Hadie and Gil became a little pale.
Scrambling to keep her cool, she turned back to Hades. "Why would you do that?"
Hades guffawed. "To avoid hearing you whine about how "you're not my dad"-" he imitated her voice in a high pitched tone- "or something along those lines! Kind of like how you are right now," he told her drolly.
She wanted to scream in frustration. Her black nails dug into her palms so hard until blood began to seep around her fingertips."Why would you tell everyone that I was your daughter at all!" she demanded hotly.
"That was a favor to your parents. They managed to fit that much into the deal," he waved his hand dismissively.
She was desperately fighting back a wave of tears. "I don't understand how deceiving me and everyone else for seventeen years is a favor to my parents."
"Just imagine, for a moment, what would happen if word got out about the deal your parents made. Can't trust anyone on the Isle to keep their trap shut. The heroes of Auradon would eventually try to interfere and break the deal. You'd be dead. But you're not dead, so I wouldn't mind hearing some gratitude."
Gil and Hadie were startled by this new piece of information. Hali could have died if everyone knew Hades' secret? More than ever, Hadie wanted to leave the shop before his father stopped deciding to humor them. Gil wanted to ask what exactly the god had meant but the boy knew better than to interrupt and gain his attention.
Hali knew the boys were staring at her; could feel their eyes boring into her back. She wanted to turn around and scream at them to leave so they didn't have to witness her humiliation. Instead, she summoned all her frustration and aimed it at Hades. "Gratitude is the last thing I feel towards you! You're the whole reason I had to grow up in this prison!" she exploded.
The room became deadly silent for a heart wracking moment.
The grey skinned god snapped his fingers at the two demons standing eagerly at the ready. "Boys?"
Sickeningly gleeful at the turn of events, Pain and Panic surged towards Hadie and Gil. The demons moved so fast, Hali watched helplessly as the fearsome creatures grabbed hold of each boy in an iron lock. They both shouted and struggled to escape until the explosive blue flames on Hades' head reached to burn through the heavens. Everyone stilled in shocked silence at the fiery display.
When the wrathful god clasped his spindly fingers around Hali's wrists did she finally take notice of how his patience had officially run out.
"You're hilarious kid. I'm the reason you grew up in this dump? No, no, no. Your parents, Hercules and Meg, are the ones who wanted to make a deal."
His hands were impossibly warm against her skin, scorching almost. She tried to pull away but that only made his grip tighter around her wrists. The length of his fingers wrapped around her small wrists and his touch burned. This was bad.
"Unhand me!" she demanded, trying to make it sound like she hadn't completely lost control of the situation.
Hades towered over her. He did not look amused by her tone. "I raised you, little girl. I put a roof over your head, clothes on your back. I didn't have to do all that, did I?"
Hades hands gripping Hali's wrists burst into cobalt blue flames. She screamed at the sight and the searing pain of her skin burning. The demons were cheering on their boss, adding cruel commentary about how to show the demigoddess her place. Gil and Hadie struggled harder than ever to escape their captors, breaking out in a cold sweat as they were forced to listen to Hali's screams.
Hades relished the sound. "What did you parents ever do for you besides trade your life for theirs? They even replaced you with that budding tourney player, Herkie, your actual brother."
His words seared into her as painfully as his fire. Hali's legs caved and she was forced to her knees. The fire was traveling down the length of her slender could smell her own burning flesh. She had thought the torment of Zeus' desperate messages in her dreams were bad. This was a waking nightmare. Blue fire, and rancid yellow and glowing red eyes filled her vision.
"Let her go!" Gil cried, his heart hammering in his broad chest
Hades hardly spared him a glance. "This a family matter, so forgive me if I just continue to ignore you. Great. Nice to meet you."
"Dad please!" Hadie begged.
The god ground his teeth together in annoyance. "Son, I am teaching your not-sister a lesson. I won't tolerate backtalk. I just won't," he growled.
The flames disappeared as quickly as they were summoned. Hali immediately scrambled away, setting her back heavily against a nearby table leg. She couldn't bend her arms without shooting pain racing up and down her limbs. Curling in on as much of herself as she could, she withered away from Hades who scooped his money on top of the table into a draw string bag.
"We're done here boys. You can let the kids go. By the way, Hali dear, don't bother coming home," he told her pleasantly, smoothing back the flames on his head.
Bored now, the demons complied and followed their master out.
Hadie and Gil ran to Hali's side. She refused to open her eyes or answer their frantic questions on whether or not she was okay. The girl was shaking like the last wilted leaf on an autumn tree caught in a strong gust.
"W-we have to get her some help," Gil stammered.
Hadie instantly thought of Yen Sid. The good professor from Dragon Hall would know what to do. He always knew what to do.
Gil scooped up Hali in his arms in one easy movement. He was extra careful not to touch the blackened welts running up and down her arms. She didn't make a sound.
Hadie held the door open for them and they made their way to the shipyard, garnering a few curious looks from the locals littering the streets. The younger boy pushed down his apprehension for their destination. He wanted to argue that they should go to someone better suited to heal his Hali's burns, but he was too afraid. He had never seen Gil look so grim.
Hadie followed him nervously. "Where exactly are you taking her?" he asked hesitantly.
Gil ignored the looks he was getting from the goblins in the street. His only thought was to get Hali help. Part of him felt responsible that she got hurt and he was still reeling from allowing it to happen. He knew that the demon, Panic, had stopped him from being able to help. Yet, he still felt guilt welling up inside him that he hadn't been strong enough to fight back. The one thing he had going for him was his strength which he relied on to keep those he cared about safe. Only this time, he had failed to do so. He hoped that Hali would be able to forgive him.
He answered in a daze. "The Lost Revenge. She'll be safe there." Harry will know what to do, Gil reassured himself.