Disclaimer: I own nothing. Everything belongs to Descendants, or Ginny's AU. I'm just playing in it.
Honestly, you guys have no idea how I want to be done writing young Hadie already so I can move on to Auradon. I have some silly scenes I want to write. One of which involves a messy attempt between homesick Mal and Hadie trying to recreate that Crispy Garlic Chicken.
We are almost done with age 5 Hadie though. I wanted to fill up with more background before we finally get to more exciting bits.
Sorry this took so long. Had a lot of trouble writing it, on top of overtime at work. That, and I wanted to add some Virgil and his family.
Enjoy!
OceanBlueSeaEyes: I backed myself in a corner with chapter 3, saying Drizella was at the shop instead of Grandmother Tremaine. I figured Drizella would be at least somewhat polite to someone of station. She's probably just as unpleasant as we expect otherwise.
Ginnyrules27: I really loved them! I hadn't read all of them though, there's just so many! And Dizzy! The few scenes of her she just seems so energetic and sweet, so I wanted to emphasize that.
Picky: Glad you're enjoying it!
Today the restaurant would be run by Mr. Smee. His parents didn't expect it to be busy as the weather had turned poor. It was now only a couple weeks till the new year. Unfortunately, that meant the water around the Isle tended to turn choppy with freezing wind. There was never snow, but the waters would rise so high that people moved inland. Some even put aside their differences to huddle for warmth. From what Dizzy had told him of it, it was the closest the Isle would get to having the spirit of something called Christmas. Though Claude Frollo apparently had rather skewed views on what Christmas was.
"We'll be working Downstairs today, so Virgil will watch you," the Lord of the Underworld told his son.
"If we end up running behind, we'll send Panic up to let you kids know."
Hadie nodded as he ate breakfast. Virgil often came over to keep an eye on Hadie while their respective parents worked. Mal had her own education at Dragon Hall, even though ditching was pretty expected for growing villains. Since Dragon herself kept an eye on Mal's scores, Mal planned to make today one of her rare appearance days by the castle after school. Why they still expected kids to attend in this weather, Hadie didn't know.
"Y-you'll try to make it back up for lunch?" Hadie asked as he followed them out of the kitchen and towards the stairs that led to the Underworld proper.
His mom ran a hand through his hair, kissing his forehead. Winters on top of the already suffering Isle were the worst season for the Underworld. Persephone and Hades had already missed several meals with their children in addition to their private lessons.
"We'll do our best, my love," said Persephone. "Try to get some of your assignments done while we're gone, please?"
"I'll be sure to work on it, Mama."
As his parents swept out of the room, one last kiss from each, Virgil's father, Panic, stopped next to Hadie.
"I-I'll k-keep an eye on the t-t-time, young Highness," Panic mumbled quietly. He then scurried off to follow after the king and queen.
Returning to the kitchen, Hadie found his cousin Virgil placing the dishes from breakfast into the sink.
"A-are you ok with s-starting on your schoolwork?" Virgil asked as he began to wash the dishes.
"You don't have to do those, you know," Hadie said as he hopped up on a step stool to help Virgil.
"I-I imagine not, b-but I know your mom spends h-half her free time on them," his cousin laughed. "It's the only time she rants about m-my dad and Pain being useless as L-lord Hades' minions."
"True, Mom doesn't mind Underworld work, but she definitely dislikes chores," Hadie smirked as he began to dry and place finished dishes to the side. Ensuring the family had decent, clean clothes was already an arduous task in itself. Add that they need clean dishes to eat off, but were instead left to pile in the sink…Well, it was the only time the Queen wasn't her cheery self to the morons her husband called minions.
Whenever Virgil was around, he made an effort to keep the pile nonexistent. If there was a dish in the sink, it was immediately washed. It was clear that despite being quiet and constantly nervous, he was a hard worker with a sharp mind.
"S-so, homework," Virgil clapped his hands as the last of the dishes were set to the side.
"A few pages of practicing my letters, a couple for maths, read one book," the prince replied.
Virgil nodded. The assignments were about the same as they'd always been. Intelligent as Hadie proved to be, he was still only five. His parents would keep to a strong foundation but provide any book he wanted when his mom returned from Auradon. Even if it was above his reading level.
In fact, Virgil had been given a schedule by Hades so he could keep an eye on Hadie's assignments. They were pretty much the same amount every day. Mainly to keep their son from becoming bored. A bored kid on the Isle was a dangerous combination.
"Greek letters too?" the half-imp asked.
"Set three today," said Hadie.
"I-if you've got extra paper, I'll practice with you," Virgil started. "My parents are interested in me learning a bit too."
"I'm sure we've got spare sheets," smiled Hadie.
His parents had begun making extra effort to keep paper stocked. Though Mal tended to hoard most of it. Until the biting wind moved in, Dizzy had come by once every week or two. Sometimes she studied basics with him, other times they read or played games in the den.
Hadie missed Dizzy. He rarely got to go to the restaurant. So, he couldn't go visit the parlor. Even less so since he didn't have clothes to protect against the weather. Hades himself only had a light, long coat, but relied on his internal fire magic to keep him warm. Hadie was excitable well enough on his own. Adding Dizzy to the mix seemed to brighten him even further. But now, even compared to before he met Dizzy, the son of Hades had a meek energy about him.
The last time Dizzy had been by was when she'd explained Christmas to him. Almost three weeks ago. She'd been shocked to learn his family didn't celebrate it. But considering his family was ancient and full of their own tradition, she'd understood after he explained. The couple years he could remember celebrating around this time of year was for an ancient holiday his father grimacingly called Saturnalia. The reasons being related to Hadie's grandfather that everyone refused to speak about till he was older. The holiday itself was something his parents said they celebrated extremely toned down compared to the rest of the family.
'Utter debauchery,' Mama called it.
Hadie still wasn't sure what it meant after checking a dictionary.
Apparently, it was traditionally celebrated in the warmer months as Kronia. Since Hades was trapped and only saw Persephone during the cold months, they preferred to celebrate together with peace and quiet. It helped that this time of the year was considered a break for most mortals.
It was also the only time of the year they ate a meat that wasn't fish or chicken. His parents had painstakingly measured the magical cooler before Persephone left for Auradon. She managed to find a butcher that offered what Hades was looking for. Now tucked away were pieces of an entire lamb.
'I never really cooked, but I'd barbecue every now and again,' Hades worked away on a discarded oil drum. 'Long before I even married your mother.'
Hadie handed his dad the nearby metal piece that had been beckoned to. A bright fireball lit at the god's fingertips, slowly welding the piece over one of the openings of the drum.
Mal poked her head in.
'You almost at the painting step, Dad?'
'Almost, if you want to grab the specialized spray cans your mom brought,' he answered back as he began fitting a long pole and a grate inside.
'We can't just use the oven?' Hadie asked as his sister pulled back out of the room.
'We will, but that cooks different,' Hades began heating more bits together. 'Some will go in the oven, but I plan to cut up some scraps and make gyros over this, control some coals with my own fire. They'll take a long time though…'
'Got the cans!' Mal returned, arms laden with spray paint. 'What's different about these?'
Their mom hadn't let Mal take these on her tagging activities, much to his sister's disappointment.
'Heat resistant. We need to apply and then I gotta fire it to let it cure before I can cook anything.'
Hadie still wasn't sure why his dad wanted so much stuff this season, but if it meant more food, he wasn't it going to complain.
A couple hours later, Hadie was finishing up his last bit of homework for the day when he and Virgil heard a noise coming from the stairs to their parents' work. Hadie sighed when he made it out to be the tapping scramble of what was likely Virgil's dad.
"H-hey kids," Panic entered the Den.
"They're not coming again, aren't they?" Though Hadie said it like it was, it wasn't really a question.
"N-no! I-I mean yes!" Panic panicked. His eyes were wide and the imp began to hunch over, as if it was improper being larger than Hadie.
Hadie rolled his eyes, 'I should head this off, he's starting to get to Virgil.' He could see his cousin start to twitch out of the corner of his eye.
"Come on, Panic, it's almost lunch," the godling pouted.
"Lunch! Yes. L-Lady Persephone asks y-you to wash up for lunch soon," the imp finally said. "T-their Majesties will be up in fifteen."
"Excellent!" The five-year-old leaped to his feet and began jumping on the couch. It took a few tries before Virgil managed to remind Hadie to rush off and wash up.
A few days later, smells of many different herbs wafted through the Underworld home. The family of four had burned them in the morning before breakfast for some ritual Hadie didn't quite gasp. Then Hades had led them to the purifying basin. But instead of processing the water, the God held his kids' hands under the running salt water and chanted a few words. Their mother explained that it was part of cleansing their soul and magic. Keeping one's magic pure, was extremely important to the Gods. Where Auaradon looked to retire magic, the Gods saw it an intrinsic part of their existence.
Pain and Panic kept an eye on the kids in the Den while Vanessa assisted Hades and Persephone in the kitchen. Ursula declined to come, but allowed her daughter to join the mild festivities. Harry, Jay, and the three godlings laughed as they came up with stories for the clay figurines they were haphazardly molding.
Persephone had brought up some clay from one of the lower caves that were heavy with moisture. The source had been used originally to make the amphorae and a few of the dishes as jugs and actual plates were rare on the barge. If the other Islanders got a hold of them, they were oft broke in bar fights anyways. Hades would then use his fire to bathe the clay once it was shaped, fusing his magic to strengthen and harden the earth.
In fact, it was in one of these cave systems that Persephone finally managed to make something edible grow. With Mal now having more plant forward powers, and Hadie starting magic, they would practice to see if a small garden could be maintained while she was gone. Since there was no light, small lumen garden lights were placed in one of the systems to provide hopefully something. With Persephone still there, it was no issue. Supplying the Isle with the little resources she managed to grow was still another thing altogether.
"Me aarrrrrm," Harry moaned as Jay squashed one of the tentacles of a kraken he'd been building. "You'll pay for that ye scallywag!" The son of Hook brought up one of the many other arms and shook it menacingly at the bird-like monster Jay had sculpted.
"Oi! I didn't squash your entire monster!" The roc beast now lay deformed on the table. Jay leaned back over and slapped the kraken, causing Harry's creation to go from proud cephalopod to sad stump.
"An eye for an eye, mate," shouted Harry as the two boys began throwing lumps of wet clay at each other.
"Take cover!" Uma dived behind the couch, Mal and Hadie not far behind her. Virgil unfortunately took a whole gob to his shirt before he managed to slip out of the room.
"H-how about we not make a mess of L-Lord Hades' den," Panic scurried over.
"Yeah, let's just, uh, big pile of the clay and punch it," suggested Pain.
"Punch it?" Panic stared at his partner. Pain just shrugged.
"Why punch the clay when I can punch this street rat," Harry growled as he leapt over the table and tackled Jay.
"Enough!"
The imps threw themselves to the floor as the two boys scrambled apart.
"Lady Persephone, we're so sorry!"
The Goddess in question only frowned, clearly disappointed. Her brown hair, though pulled back had somehow still gotten flour in it. Matching it to the messy apron colored with food.
"You know I don't want any roughhousing down here. Particularly not in front of Hadie," she scolded.
"Sorry Lady Steph," the young boys moped.
"Honestly, you two made such a mess," Mal wrinkled her nose, coming out from behind the couch. Behind her, Hadie and Uma were laughing at the boys misfortune.
"Which they can clean up as an apology and then go wash back up. You three as well, I wanted your kids help to start dessert."
"Oo, what are we making?" Hadie rushed to his mother's side.
"A few different things, but since Hades needs the oven, we'll mainly be mixing things. Λουκουμαδες, certainly. I also kept a bundle of figs in the cooler that we can turn into a paste with nuts. Very simple, but a good old reliable with honey. I also made χαλβα after you went to bed."
By the time Harry and Jay joined the family at the counter, Persephone had already laid out an assortment of spices, bowls filled with ingredients and multiple trays with nonstick paper.
"If you boys still have some frustrations to get out, you can grind down these figs and walnuts." Persephone moved the bowls towards them.
"Glady, Lady Steph," they said in unison.
Mal helped Hadie try not to get honey everywhere as they dipped and placed each finished dessert on a tray. Uma carefuly rolled a dough into balls that were to be fried. Virgil, as the oldest, carefully cut up the halva to be dipped in melted chocolate.
"Vanessa, could you keep an eye on the children?" The woman in question was carefully stirring a pot on the stove. "I want to check how Hades is getting along."
"Of course, Persephone, dear, do go on." The human half of Ursula waved her hand as she continued working.
It was a few hours later that Hades lugged in a spit of gyro meat. The ribs were pulled from the oven, and a pile of pita set to the side. Potatoes, mushrooms, a slaw of cabbage and carrots were on decorated plates with an occasional bowl of grown spinach or canned peas. Chicken lemon soup, courtesy of Vanessa took up a part of the table in a large pot. Pain apparently knew how to make a good vinaigrette. A small tower of the desserts sat in the farthest corner away from the children's temptation.
With a grunt, Hades screwed the spit on a standing plate.
"I'll get the plates set up, while you wash up, hon," Persephone kissed her husband's cheek as he washed his hands.
"Sounds like a plan, doll," the God replied. He was covered in sweat from managing the fire for so many hours. Charcoal and juices from the meat stuck to his skin and clothes.
"You all can grab a seat while we wait," she spoke to the room as Hades left to change his clothes.
Minutes later, Hades returned and began carving slices of gyro on to everyone's plates. Vanessa passed out bowls of the soup. The hot food perfect for the roaring cold. Once everyone had a little bit of everything on their platter, Hades sat and began to speak.
"Today we are most blessed by this bounty, courtesy of my gorgeous wife," the god grinned at Persephone who bit back a giggle. "More importantly, we managed this year against struggles brought against us with the support of each other. To our family. To our friends. To our allies."
Everyone lifted their cups and drank deeply. Jay and Harry copied, with confusion evident on their faces. This was their first time joining the family around the holiday season. Harry normally working, or forced by Harriet to spend time trying to be a family with their abusive father and the runt. Jay's own father only saw a tool to be used than a son. He could never recall celebrating anything.
The adults swapped stories for the kids. Anything involving Hercules was avoided, but Hades did share missions where he praised the success of his minions.
"After we were all forced here, Panic recognized me as Ursula's other half." Vanessa twirled a glass of wine betwixt her fingers. "Came by and helped me on occasion, providing rations."
She ran a hand affectionately over Panic's head. His ears pushed back like a cat. "We just ended up spending so much time together, things took their natural course."
As bellies filled, food was stored to be rationed for later. A portion already prepared to the side for Vanessa and the minions to take to their home in the morning. The kids helped dole out dessert, the sweets they made accompanied by fresh pomegranate and figs. Shredded sprinkles of mint decorated much of the platters much to Persephone's delight. She had included them for her own selfish amusement. To Hades' detriment, the children had deviously included it pretty much everywhere.
The children returned to play in the Den while the adults finished clearing. Shouts of laughter slowly quieting as each one fell to the pull of sleep.
"I'm going to put Hadie to bed," Persephone came in, picking her son up from where he'd fallen asleep on the back of the sofa. Mal, still small enough to sit on her dad's lap, cuddled into Hades as he reclined on his chair. His traditional worm martini sat to the side, much to Uma and Jay's disgust. Harry sat on the floor nearby, questioning the protein benefits of the invertebrate.
Persephone and Vanessa chatted on as they watched the imps, Virgil, Jay and Harry play a messy game of monopoly. It was interesting to watch Virgil employ a sharp, strategic mind versus the swindling natures of the boys.
Everyone would sleep comfortably tonight, bellies overly full for once. Their Chthonic hosts had rooms aplenty. Mal's crew had one each for themselves. Even Pain and Panic had a room each when it was too late to head home. Though they were adept in moving in the dark, the combination of horrid weather and approaching food coma kept them inside. Plus, they weren't about to leave Vanessa and Virgil behind.
This was the time of year to prioritize family. And they would always be Ruthless yet Loyal.