Chapter 2: Date Night Plans
Pain and Panic noticed that something was off about their boss. It wasn't that he was any different with punishments concerning the mortals and their own. And he still focused on finding alliances for the uprising in 17 years, 11 months, and 16 days. But now he was looking at himself in the obsidian mirrors, checking out different togas while asking Nyx and Hecate for fashion advice. The two goddesses twittered about, holding out various shades of blues and blacks, a few grays... but seriously, the blues would only clash with his light grey-blue skin, the greys would bring out the blue in his skintones, and blacks were just...too much of the same to satisfy them all. It wasn't like their boss had a huge range of colors to chose from when it came to his closet.
However, the two minions didn't understand what was such a big deal. The boss very rarily attended functions on Olympus and almost half a month ago, he had gone to make an appearance at Hercules' party so he wasn't due to go back up there for at least another six months. They tried their best to decide what had changed so recently for Hades to want to go to Zeus' and Hera's anniversary when aforementioned boss barked at them.
"Boys! What about this one?" They both flinched and looked up to see the god of the Underworld in a toga so dark green, it appeared black. The usual skull-shaped pins were in place and his flaming hair was slicked back as much as possible. It looked like him but there was still something strange.
"Boss, you look fine. But why all the fuss? It's just their anniversary..." Panic waited to be electricuted by Zeus' thunderbolts. But when nothing happened, he took a few deep breaths to try to calm his anxiety.
Pain took the pause as a sign for him to butt in. "Yeah, it's not like you have a lady friend to impress or somethin' so why bother?" A flash of flames charred him to a crisp and he whimpered in the pain.
"As a matter of fact, you pinheads, I do have a date. And I'd like her to see me as more than just some Underworld deity. I mean, I know I'm numero uno down here but she doesn't know that. And I need to keep it that way for now..."
"For now?"
Hades sighed and rubbed his temples. His hair was already rising back to it's full flaming glory. "Yes, until she knows me as more than just the head honcho, the big kahuna down here. So I gave her my actual name instead of what everyone calls me. And if you ever meet her before the plan is complete, just stick to calling me Boss or something, capiche?"
Nyx, the goddess of the night, moved to his side and attempted to tame his fiery locks as Hecate stroked the head of one of her own minions, a hellhound named Mayhem. Havok, the other minion, lay curled at her feet, not at all interested in the fashion fiasco. The goddess of witches and magic was curently in the youngest of her three forms, the maiden that appeared to be 16 years old with pale blond hair that fell to her waist in gentle waves. Even her voice was girlish as she asked, "But my lord, what will happen if you meet with her around the other gods and godesses? Surely they will not all call you by any other name than your kingdom?"
He opened his mouth to reply but froze. He hadn't thought of that. Shit... how was he going to meet her and dodge all the nosey gods who disliked him...but also pay his due to his brother and his sister-wife whom was always being cheated on? It appeared to be a monumental task when a soft giggle knocked him out of his thought process.
"My lord, perhaps I may be of service... you need only tell me her name and what she looks like and I can fetch her for you. After all, none of the others hate me as much as you..." Her soft voice did little to hide her almost snarky comment but he wasn't bothered by it. No, his mind was too focused on grasping at the spider's thread of chance to see her again. So he told her the young lady's name and she laughed outright. "Demeter's daughter?! That Persephone?! Oh, my Lord, you certainly are plucking from the family tree and on the side that gets all the Sun whilst you remain in the shadowed side, oh goodness me!!"
Hades was starting to lose patience with her laughter but before he could wind up a fire ball, she held out her hand. "I will help you separate the girl from her mother. Lucky for you, I am in Demeter's good graces. It helps being a female when it comes to that mother-- more like 'smother' but I digress. I will go to the celebration before you make your entrance and will ask Persephone if she would like to go for a walk with me whilst Demeter is chatting with one of the gods...perhaps Apollo-- she always talks a lot with him since the growth of the crops is reliant on his driving of the Sun chariot. This way your "cover" will not be blown. I must admit, I have been curious as to Persephone's garden on Olympus. Rumor has it that it is filled with several darker plants that I would like to experiment with. And then, you, my lord Aidoneus, shall happen upon us..."
xx.xx
The next day, the anniversary feast on Olympus was THE party of the year. It appeared that everyone was going out of their way to have as much fun as usual but it was painfully obvious that the missing Hercules weighed on everyone's mind. By this time, everyone there knew that the child had been turned mortal and was being raised by an older mortal couple instead of his true birth parents. Zeus and Hera strived to keep diamond tears from their eyes but it was clear that their relationship was strained. Hushed gossip was that Hercules had been Hera's greatest hope that her wayward husband would honor their marriage and stop straying to other women's beds. And during her pregnancy and the birth of their son, their king hadn't even looked at another mortal or goddess with anything related to lust. He loved his wife, sure, but the thrill of the chase and his power as king of the gods went to his head (not the top one).
Persephone stood dutifully by her mother's side as the harvest goddess chatted with Apollo, laughing at his jokes and discussing business as they sipped spiced wine and dined on ambrosia (Aphrodite's recipe). But the young lady couldn't pay attention to Demeter's words. Her eyes strayed over the crowd, searching for the unique form of Aidoneus. He had yet to arrive. She wasn't losing hope since he had set up the date. Her tan cheeks flushed at the implication of the word. Was this a date? If so, it would be her first. This man seemed to be the catalyst of several of her firsts-- this date, inviting a man into her personal grove, talking to a man without her mother hovering and disapproving of him without any true fault.
A flash of pale hair drew her attention and she saw the youngest of the three forms Hecate took. The older woman was approaching her and she had a coy smile on her crimson lips. Demeter looked at the goddess and, after a quick greeting, returned to her conversation since her little girl wasn't being stalked by a male. Persephone wasn't nearly so reserved as she happily hugged the witch goddess. She greeted all of her friends this way as it was a rare treat to be allowed to converse with someone other than her mother or her mother's nymphs. She saw Athena when the woman wasn't busy with wars or other such acts and Artemis was the only other goddess she saw almost as much as Demeter. But the only reason why she saw Athena and Artemis as much as she did was because they were virgin goddesses and therefore would not corrupt her with talks of men and what they could do to a woman behind closed doors. As it was, she hadn't seen Hecate in so long so her excitement was practically flowing from her and the flowers in her hair turned from violets to daisies. Good thing her mother insisted on her always wearing white dresses that displayed her as a young child when she was a young lady. White went with everything.
"Lady Hecate! How are you? It's been so long!" she greeted happily. "I have been working on different poisonous plants. Would you like to see them? I'm sure you can find a use for them as either a poison or an antidote or medicine... perhaps even fodder for a spell or potion?" She looked around for a moment and, not finding who she was looking for, drew her attention back to the goddess of witches. Her red lips had been drawn into a smirk and she nodded, expressing her desire to see the plants. Persephone turned to ask her mother and failed to see those smirking lips turning down in a soft frown. But after a bit of light begging and promising not to get into trouble and to stay beside the older goddess, permission was granted and the delighted spring goddess returned back to her now smirking friend, taking her hand and guiding her quietly away from the festivities. She was so focused on the task at hand that she failed to notice that the chatter behind them suddenly ceased to exist at the arrival of the terrible Lord Hades.
xx.xx
Hades was his usual self, making corny yet inappropriate jokes, complimenting Aphrodite's dress, and trying to get out of his youngest brother's friendly one-armed hug. But everything he was doing was basically on auto-pilot. His eyes were looking for the pretty brunette or the light blond hair of Hecate. He half-expected the plan to separate Demeter and Persephone to fail. But the only one by the harvest goddess was the Sun-bearer Apollo and both of them were giving him very dirty looks. Oh well, it wasn't like he was trying to please them. No, he had a little lady to find after this quick meet-and-greet. The lord of the dead greeted Hera and wished her a happy anniversary. His yellowed eyes took in the strain on her face, the tears held back for the sake of appearances, and he took in the negative emotions starting to build from her towards Zeus, who was looking into his wine with way too much interest for it to be a simple glass of alcohol. No, he would bet his invisibility helmet that the thunder god was using the liquid as a way to spy on his next mortal bedwarmer. He made his excuse to leave. "You know, things to do-- souls to judge, guilty ones to toss into eternal damnation, the blessed go to the Isles..." No one said a word as he made his exit, most were more than too happy to be rid of the dread lord of the Underworld. One set of darker blue eyes watched him closer than the others, honey blond curls falling in front of them. Her mouth was open in surprise as her unique senses tingled. Looks like she had work to do...
