Alright everyone, I'm back with another chapter. Ad I promise that things will get better from here, we've hit rock bottom (admittedly that was probably a chapter or two ago) and now we're climbing back to the light, fun, cute stuff that most of you probably prefer. And in the next chapter or two there will be some funny little gags that I hope will at least make you smile. So . . . we cover a few different viewpoints in this chapter and . . . yeah, I hope you all like it! Thank you to everyone for sticking with me thus far, this chapter's shout out goes to: Born 2 B A Vampire! Thanks!
Hades shut the door to Achlys' room quietly. After her breakdown at the funeral he had taken his daughter into his arms and brought her through the halls of Hades and back to her now single room. He had gently removed her scorched dress and bandaged her wounds; although he wanted to he resisted the urge to use nectar and ambrosia on them. He knew that she would prefer it that way; she was very similar to him in so many ways. Hades dressed her in her nightgown, a simple black dress with a ribbon under the bust with a skirt that billowed down to the floor. The dress had long sleeves that danced around whenever she moved her arms. Rhadamanthys had offered to watch her while she rested and Hades was grateful.
"I'll take good care of her," the immortal judge had said, laying a comforting hand on the god's shoulder. Hades had nodded and walked numbly from the room. He wandered through the hallways and finally arriving back at his room. He went inside and leaned against the door, sighing and scrubbing a hand down his face.
"Hades," a voice said. Hades' eyes popped open but no one else was in the room. There was only a small, grey barn owl sitting on the edge of his bed. "We need to talk," it said, its voice somber. The owl hopped up and there was a small flash of light and the owl transformed into a woman who perched herself on the edge of the bed. She was wearing a simple white wrap dress with a thick, jeweled band of gold under her bust.
"Athena," he said. "What brings you here?"
"I've come about Persephone."
Four little words. Just four little words that sent Hades over the edge. Tears welled uncontrollably in his eyes and spilled down his cheeks. Great gasps tore at his throat and a scream barreled against the walls of his chest. He spun and punched the door, mildly satisfied with the sound of splintering wood and with the golden Ichor that leaked from the scratches in his skin. He was angry with his emotions. He was the strong one, the rock. And yet in the past week he'd cried more than ever before. And now, just hearing her name made him want to cry until he was spent, scream until he was hoarse, bleed until he was dry and rage until all was destroyed. His heart felt like it had been dipped in acid and was being cut up by a dull and rusty blade.
Tears poured down his face and great heaving, body-shattering sobs assaulted him. It felt like hours passed before he collapsed onto the floor. Athena, never one for overly feminine displays took pity on him. She pulled a pillow off of the bed and knelt to the ground, placing the pillow over her lap and gently pulling his head onto the pillow. Slowly she began stroking his hair, petting it softly like she would a cat, in smooth, rhythmic motions that quickly became a subconscious effort.
"You haven't slept recently," she murmured. It wasn't a question but Hades nodded anyway, rubbing his face against the soft pillow. He closed his eyes. "You can sleep soon but I have to tell you why I am here. You know I wouldn't be here unless it was something very important, and it is. Pe-she has been completely and utterly lost without you. She stumbles around day after day; she won't grow flowers, she isn't humming little songs to herself like she used to, she doesn't smile. Hades there's something you must understand. She thinks you're dead." His weary eyes snapped open and he turned to see her face, it was set with grave determination as if saying this went against her very principals. "I understand why you let her go, and I know that if you hadn't that she would have died. But for her, thinking that you're dead is worse than death. It is a living death, a miserable, conscious existence with endless suffering. So, if for no other reason that merely to show her you still live, come to Olympus."
Hades was silent, he rested his head on the pillow in Athena's lap and a thousand thoughts whirled through his head. But one kept throbbing painfully. She thinks I'm dead. And that's making her unhappy; she wasn't supposed to be unhappy. He closed his eyes and said in a rough, scratchy voice, "I'll go to Olympus. But I cannot take her back with me."
"I know," Athena said. "You'll have to work that one out with Zeus and Demeter. But I swear on the River Styx that if you go to Olympus that things will work out. In fact, the wheels have already been set in motion."
"What do you mean?"
There were pounding footsteps coming down the hall and suddenly a frantic Rhadamanthys appeared in the doorway. "Lord Hades, Achlys is gone. I had my back turned for only a moment to help the naiad Styx and she disappeared." The judge quickly surveyed the scene in front of him and, rather than ask questions, simply bowed and said, "Please excuse me, Goddess Athena," before backing away down the hall.
Once he was out of earshot Athena bent down and whispered in Hades' ear, "Do not worry, she will be fine, Apollo assured me. Rest now and when you awaken and are more yourself, go to Olympus and reclaim your queen."
Before Hades could protest sleep had blanketed him and he blacked out.
***
Hades woke gently the next morning, opening his eyes to the soft light of the room and hearing the gentle crackle of the eternal fire in the room. The images of the past week were still vivid in his mind but he was at peace with what had happened and he knew what he had to do. He climbed out of bed and dressed himself with quiet determination in his finest robes, the same robes, in fact, that he had worn when he went to . . . meet Persephone. A red tunic with an "H" embroidered on it and a long black peplos that extended to the floor and was more for formal occasions than anything else. His hair spilled over his shoulders and he tied it back loosely with a thin leather strap, making sure it would stay out of the way before he left.
The halls were quiet and empty, almost as if everyone realized his intent and didn't wish to disturb. He quickly arrived at the empty Gates of Hades, and he realized that he would need a new guard.
But that would have to wait; he pushed open the iron door, ignoring the faint creak and stepped through towards the open fields where crowds of souls wandered aimlessly in the empty space but they parted immediately for him. He stepped into the center of the field and a wide circle of space opened up around him. He closed his eyes and waited for her to arrive. Soon enough he felt her gentle touch, slender, ghostly hands sliding up his back and winding around his neck, dangling loosely against his chest. Her body leaned into his, her soft body rubbing against him. But to him, it was merely a hug.
"I've missed you," a soft, feminine voice whispered. The hands slid back up his chest and settled on his shoulders. "You're tense," she commented, rubbing out the knots that had settled on his back. "She's beautiful."
"Our daughter? She got that from you," he mumbled.
"Yes, but her personality is all yours, she's just like her father," Hades could hear the smile in her voice. "I meant your Queen. She's beautiful and very kind. I know you miss her. Don't deny it," she said, a light laugh creeping into her voice, "I may be dead but I'm not blind."
"I hurt her, I almost killed her."
"Hades," she said, her tone suddenly sharp, causing him to stiffen and jump slightly. "If you would stop wallowing in self pity for one moment you would see that she loves you more than anything, and doesn't blame anyone for what happened. So stop making yourself miserable and go claim her. Claim her and make her yours forever."
"Are you okay with that?"
"Hades, I love you and I want nothing more than for you to be happy." She reached her arms up and covered his eyes. She snaked around to the front of him and, reaching up on her tiptoes, pressed her lips to his. Inside her chest her heat fluttered but she kept the kiss light, pulling away before he could move. She smiled; glad that he could not see the sad lines of her face or the tears hovering on her eyelashes. She knew that the kiss had done nothing for him and that, even though he would always love her, she would never be his lover again. "Good luck, darling," she said, her words tiptoeing on the air.
When he opened his eyes she was no where in sight; all around him restless souls shifted and grumbled. "I love you, too," he whispered, the words quickly fading into the crowd even as he faded into the shadows and disappeared from his realm.
***
I was up early the next morning, usually I rose with Eos, watching her sprinkle my flowers with morning dew, but today I was up even before she was, sitting and watching my garden. I was looking at the flower I had made. I hadn't stopped mourning him, and I didn't think I ever would. But I had to move forward, my mother was horribly worried about me and father was having no luck getting her to restore prosperity to the mortal world. I would move forward today, I didn't want to but I knew that if I kept putting it off that I would never advance. I started small; I would grow a flower, and then make a little patch of them.
I planted my feet firmly and linked myself with the ground. I lifted a stem up from the ground and then touched it with a stream of my own energy. But instead of my energy flowing straight into the flower as it did in Hades, it branched off, only a tiny amount of my energy left, not even enough for me to notice, and was fueled by the natural energies around it. I shaped the petals and the flower bloomed. I peeked at the flower through one eye and, satisfied with how it looked, raised a whole section of them. Little white daisies in a giant heart shaped patch. It was the first thing I had grown when I learned to use my powers.
Good, I said to myself. Keep going. I wrapped myself in a robe to cover the nightgown I was wearing and peeked out of the garden. When I saw the coast was clear I darted out and rushed down the pathway to Aphrodite's temple. And I couldn't deny the rush of adrenaline that rushed through my veins at the idea of getting caught. It reminded me of some of the better times with . . . him. I reached her temple and darted inside, panting slightly and catching Aphrodite slightly off guard.
"Morning Sephy," she said, deciding not to question me. "What brings you here?"
"Think I could borrow a dress," I asked, feeling a little life returning to me.
Aphrodite's face brightened and she clapped joyfully before running into a different room. I heard a lot of rustling fabric, some annoyed "NO"s and something clattered to the ground before Aphrodite reappeared with a dress in her hands and a pair of sandals dangling from her finger. She grabbed my hand and pulled me into a private dressing room off to the side. She pulled off my robe and helped me out of my nightgown before helping me into the dress. Aphrodite had been taking care of me since I was a little goddess so I didn't mind.
It was a simple black dress but it had corset laces up the back with light pink silk ribbons. The shoes were simple sandals with more pink ribbons; they crisscrossed twice around my ankles and then tied in a bow behind my ankle. She tied my hair back with a pink ribbon and kissed my cheek.
"I love you, Sephy," she said, squeezing my shoulders. "I know how hard this is for you but trust me; everything is going to be alright."
I nodded and thanked her for the clothes before leaving her temple and heading to the throne room. I found my parents sitting next to each other, mother was talking and not noticing how father was practically nodding off, clearly she had kept him up for days. A pang of guilt rang through my chest. I stepped into the light and was reminded of that first time I had gone into the Throne Room in Hades. As soon as she saw me, my mother stopped talking.
"Mother," I said. "Could you take me down to Earth?" Before she could protest I said, "It would really help me to go back there; I need to face this and leave my bad memories in the past. And I need to let the nymphs know I'm okay." I didn't bother to tell them that the bad memories were of leaving Hades and the betrayal of Aiakos, they didn't have to know that. I gave them a hopeful smile that must have worked on my mother because the next thing I knew I was being bustled off to Earth again.
We landed softly on the ground but I wouldn't have recognized the place at all if it weren't for the little village down the road with its trademark temple to the gods that was nestled at the edge of a group of trees. Trees that were bare and thin, the green leaves gone from their branches. There weren't any flowers and the grass was a dull green with large chunks of brown. But the strangest part was yet to come, some of the nymphs opened sleepy eyes when they heard us approach and when they saw me they instantly awoke and jumped out of their flowers. Suddenly there were ten or fifteen nymphs running towards me, and they looked just as I remembered, long skinny bodies with green skin and long hair that shimmered in every color of the rainbow. Except, now their skin was pale, their hair was knotted and had lost its shine and their feet were white.
"Persephone, we missed you," they yelled, rushing around me and enveloping me in a giant group hug.
I wrapped my arms around as many of them as I could, pulling them close and inhaling their delicious scent. "Why are your feet white," I asked them finally, I couldn't resist.
They looked down and Daffodil sighed. "It's just more of that – what's the word? Demeter, what did you call the white stuff?"
"Snow," my mother said, taking a break from her constant surveillance of the area to answer the question. "I didn't get a chance to tell you about that did I, darling," she said, crossing to my side and wrapping a protective arm around my shoulders. "When you were . . . when you were gone, I got very upset and was trying to make your captor show himself so I was punishing the land with freezing weather and refusing to bless the crops. Well, Zeus kept making it rain but it was so cold that the rain froze and formed these cute little white flakes. Actually it was the mortals who came up with the name. Snow," she said, getting a faraway look in her eyes.
I could almost hear Aphrodite whispering, so romantic, as the first few flakes fell down around us. Demeter smiled and took the hands of a few of the nymphs, dancing around in a little circle, green buds popping up even as the white snow collected around them. Soon everything was dusted with white, but something stood out starkly against it. Something tall and slim with a long black braid.
I started walking towards it, speeding up as I got closer; sure that it couldn't be a coincidence. And sure enough . . .
"Achlys!"
She spun around, her braid whipping around her and sending snowflakes flying. She wore a loose black dress, the same dress she had been wearing when I first met her. But now there was something different about her, something had happened. Her hair was messy and popping out of the braid; long strands of it framed her face, dotted with tiny white snowflakes. Her red eyes twinkled and shone with tiny tears and I could see she had been crying.
"Persephone," her voice was a tiny whisper and hovering on the edge of hysteria.
I could see now that she had some bandages, there was a large section of her leg that was covered and she looked paler and skinner than the last time I had seen her, like she had lost blood. I rushed forward and swept her into my arms, something I was sure she would have protested normally. But now she hugged me tight and I felt the first warm tears spill over and drop onto my chest. "What happened, Achlys? What's wrong?"
She said something, three words, but I couldn't make them out because of the sob that rose in her throat. I pulled back and looked her straight in the eye. "What," I said, praying that I had completely misheard.
"Calantha is dead."