"So Hades actually brought you back to the Underworld?" Serenity asked.
"Yes, of course," Minako said. "Hades does not have to swear by the Styx – he always keeps his word, no matter what. He said it pained him to do so." Minako shook her head angrily. "I don't believe him. Beryl came and told me what happened after I was taken back here. But she doesn't keep her promises. I was never brought back to the upperworld – I remain here, but life was restored to me. If I were to escape, I could survive above ground. But...Beryl and Hades make sure I will never escape."
"Minako," Serenity said, placing a soft hand on Minako's arm, "what can you tell me about Hades' relationship with Beryl?"
Minako smiled devilishly. "All have one above them, except Zeus," she said. "Hades is Beryl's master. And she...is his mistress."
Serenity's eyes widened, a strange, almost-smiling expression coming over her face. "Are you serious?"
"Yes," Minako said, bobbing her head. "One picks up many bits and pieces living here, and I have pieced it together into a story. Beryl has always lusted after Endymion, from the day she laid eyes on him, but he would have none of her. So Beryl decided, after her father died, that she would terrorize Endymion into agreeing to marry her and unite their kingdoms. She also lives to conquer the world, as her father always wished to – Erebus was a small and weak kingdom before Beryl made it strong. Most of all, her father hated the Moon Kingdom, and I imagine she hates it even more, since you are from there and have taken Endymion's heart. So she has three wishes in life. One, to obtain Endymion for her own; two, to continue her father's dream and gain the world for Erebus; and three, to destroy the great Moon Kingdom.
"Hades, like all his evil servants, knows how to strike a good deal. He admired Beryl and wished to have a beautiful mistress. So he agreed to a bond between Erebus and the underworld, to give Beryl dominion over souls and great powers like a sorceress. But he wished only one thing of her."
"And that is?"
"That she eat a pomegranate."
Serenity laughed. "I'll bet Beryl jumped at that."
"She did," Minako said. "She ate the pomegranate and swallowed six of its seeds. Beryl didn't know about the mandate – her father despised the gods and was a converted Christian – that if you eat in the underworld, there you must remain. Because she swallowed six seeds, Beryl must remain under Hades' control for six months of the year, and the rest of the year, she is free to do as she pleases."
"Wow," Serenity said. "I suppose now Beryl can do as she pleases."
"Yes, and she has one more month as such. But then Hades controls her, just as she controls everyone beneath him."
"What does he do with her when she is under his control?"
Minako gave her a look, and Serenity shuddered.
"Minako," she said, "the Time Guardian told me to speak to Tereisias, the blind prophet. Why must I?"
"She believes you are the one who will save us," Minako says. "I will take you to Tereisias, but we must hurry. Beryl does not like the Underworld and does not come here often, nor does she look upon it. But Hades will know. He has no use for any of the rest of us, only Beryl, and he will destroy us easily."
Tereisias was not a handsome, playful oracle, like Apollo. He was an old man with a wrinkled face, and two hollow, rapidly moving eyes that focused on nothing. He sat in a corner of the Dark Palace, rocking himself. But he sensed with Serenity and Minako arrived, and he stopped rocking, lifting his unseeing eyes.
Serenity looked at Minako questioningly, and she nodded.
"Queen Serenity, of Elysian," he intoned. "Or, Princess Serenity, of the Moon Kingdom. And my Golden One. Come, sit."
Minako led Serenity to sit before Tereisias, and he laid a hand on her arm.
"The Time Guardian sent you," he said kindly. "What does she want me to tell you?"
"I...I don't know," Serenity said, her voice trembling.
"You are frightened," Tereisias said. "Do not be frightened of me. I will not hurt you, only tell you what you need to know. Tell me, child, what she told you."
Serenity looked at Minako, and she smiled. "He already knows," she whispered. "He wants to see if you do."
Serenity sighed. "The Death Soldier told me that Hades and Beryl took everyone's souls, except for hers, the Time Guardian's, and the Golden One's. She said that Beryl steals them steadily by the various tasks they do. She told me that Beryl had more power than I could imagine.
"The Time Guardian was not as clear with her statements. She said that Beryl is searching, but for what, I don't know. And she said something about me being 'born of the crystal'. And then she told me to come see you. And the Golden One told me of Beryl's power and her agreement with Hades." She paused. "That's all I remember."
Tereisias gave pause, his head bowed low to the ground, deep in thought. Then he raised his eyes to Serenity.
"My child, there is much to tell," he said.
Then he began to spin his story.
"What is taking that girl so long?" Beryl said, walking through the hallways of Golden Palace alone. Serenity had not returned from her quest yet, and the Erebese queen had mixed feelings about that. If Serenity had indeed died on her quest, she would be glad to be rid of her, but Endymion would hate her forever.
She had to find a way to transfer that hate away from herself to someone else.
She looked around her. She had reached the palace's sanctuary, a temple that Helios had set up for Endymion's worship to the gods. She had rarely been in a sanctuary, her father being a confirmed Christian and in the process of getting everyone in the family that way, but she had never taken to Christianity and preferred the beautiful haven of the gods and their worship.
Besides, she knew firsthand that they existed.
She shivered. She only had one more month to make her plans work. She refused to ever again go back to Hades and be subjected to him and his hard, cold lust.
The next time someone entered her, she wanted it to be Endymion.
"I wish I could get out of here," she heard. It was Helios' voice, coming from the sanctuary, where he had been locked. Beryl knew Helios had the power to turn into a pegasus, and she didn't want to risk him flying away and doing something stupid.
"Me, too," she heard Endymion respond, and she stopped in her tracks and decided to listen to their conversation. "If I could find a way to get you out, even if Beryl tortured me for days I'd still do it."
Beryl's eyes widened. Their friendship was that strong?
"Thank you, my prince," said Helios sheepishly. "I would gladly do the same for you...but it seems I am the one who is bound. Funny, I'm supposed to be the one watching over you," he added embarrassedly. "The guards won't even let me go to the kitchen. I'm glad you brought my food, but I wish I could eat with you."
"No, you don't," Endymion said, exasperated. "I have to eat with Beryl at my side. The choir's voices fade as they watch her walk in. And she is so pushy it's amazing. She's trying to get me to sleep with her..."
"It may lessen your pain."
"I could never betray Serenity like that. And I will never touch that snake."
Beryl hissed. How dare he. He could never betray Serenity? What about his betrayal of her? She saw him first!
"You ought to get her with one of your lead-tipped arrows, Endymion. She'll never look at you again."
The two of them laughed.
Suddenly Beryl smiled, and crept away from the sanctuary.
"This is stupid."
The guard looked at his companion as if he had suddenly turned into a three-headed dog. "Are you crazy? Beryl could still be around."
"She's asleep. Or trying to get the prince to sleep with her. Are you sure you didn't think of this yourself?"
"Hey, I'm tired of watching the this guy too, but not that tired. Anyway, she didn't tell me what she meant by this, and this might not even be Endymion's arrow. And even if it is, it may not be that kind of arrow. I was only assuming."
The other guard snatched it from his friend and held it in his face. The arrow glowed brightly in the moonlight, a brilliant gold color, with an even more brilliant tip.
The first guard stepped back. "Okay, point taken. Be careful with that thing, will you? I'm not trying to get struck."
"No..." The second guard grinned devilishly, and the two of them burst into laughter.
"What is it that makes a guy want to make a weapon like this?"
"I don't know, but I don't know why Beryl just doesn't stick him in the ass with it and be done with it."
"Someone's own magic won't work against himself, stupid," said the first guard, shoving his friend. Then they continued towards their guard stations. Their charge was sleeping, well-bound.
"All right, remember the plan," he said. "Be careful when he wakes up. You don't want to be the first person he sees!"
The second guard grinned. "Don't worry. I got this down."
There was the sound of feet running, and then two large thumps.
Helios woke with a start, then shook his head, his cloudlike hair shaking around his face. What the...? He rubbed his face with his hands.
His hands!
He quickly looked down and about himself. His hands and legs were unbound, the ropes laying on the floor. He almost let out a cry of joy. Endymion. He had freed him!
But how?
Helios shook his head of questions. No time to think. There was no reason anyone else in the palace would have saved him – everyone was closely guarded at this time of night, except Endymion. He turned over, spotted the slip of paper, squinted, then read it.
Of course!
He jumped up and ran out of the room. There was a magic block on the room, so he couldn't assume his pegasus form until he was out. Until then, he was vulnerable. He must remain quiet.
The first guard, apparently knocked out and sprawled across the floor, had his hand in the path of the door, and Helios stepped right on it.
He awoke with a jolt, then cried out to his partner. They jumped up and started to chase the priest. His eyes widened, and he ran from them, struggling to get away from the magic block.
Free! He quickly initiated his transformation.
The first guard stood behind the priest and stuck him in the leg with the golden-tipped arrow. Helios howled with pain.
The second guard waited. He dodged Helios's emerging white wings and ran to the front of the pegasus, avoiding the sunset eyes. They elongated along with his face, and he jumped on the pegasus's back, slinging a white cloth around his eyes.
Helios whinnied and bucked, and the second guard secured the knot and fell off his back.
Taking a running start, Helios flew out of the window.
The two guards watched him leave, stunned.
Then they turned to each other and slapped hands.
"You think he suspected anything?"
"Nah, he was in too much of a hurry."
"Good. What'd you write to make him so hurried, anyway?"
" 'She's in the Underworld. Hurry!' "
"That was incredible!" Serenity said, her eyes opened wide.
"I know," said Minako, frowning. "But we have got to get out of here, quick. Tereisias is going to distract Hades with a pleasing prophecy. We've got to hurry. We won't be safe until we're out of the Underworld; Hades can't track us once we leave, since we're both alive."
They passed through the gates of the Dark Palace. The Time Guardian's eyes filled with hope when she saw them, but she said nothing to slow them.
They rushed towards the Death Soldier. She was making an exchange with a new soul, sending him on his way towards the Time Guardian. When she lifted her eyes, she was greeted with the sight of Serenity and Minako.
"You're here," she cried.
"Quickly, we need to get across the Acheron," Minako said. "Can you ferry us both at once?"
"No," the Death Soldier said. "There's no room, and besides, the power signature from the both of you would set Hades off wondering why there's so many alive in the boat. He's expecting Serenity to go back; there can only be two live people in here at once. But I can ferry you across one by one."
Minako and Serenity exchanged glances.
"Serenity should go first," Minako said. "I've got to protect her at all costs. That's what Tereisias said."
The Death Soldier nodded, and motioned for Serenity to get in the boat.
Serenity stared at Minako for a long while as they rowed off. "She'll be all right," the Death Soldier finally assured her, and she could see Minako no more anyway. She turned towards the front and faced the opposite shore.
The Death Soldier reached the other side in record time, then set Serenity upon the banks. "Wait here for Minako," she said. "I don't want you two to be separated."
Serenity nodded, then watched the Death Soldier row off towards the other side, the screams always accompanying her.
The arrow stuck in Helios's leg was extremely painful, and the blindfold over his eyes hindered his flight, but in order to remedy both situations, he'd have to have hands, and he it would've taken too long to transform back into his human form, get the arrow out, and fashion a tourniquet for the wound. At least the arrow, however painful it was, was inducing pressure on his veins so he wouldn't bleed out.
Besides, even a blind horse could find the way to the underworld.
Helios flew over the dark valleys, unseeing, until he knew he was almost near the giant hole in the Earth. He alighted, pawing his hoof around until he felt the edge of the hole, then dropped down it on outstretched wings, floating to the ground with a thud.
Serenity whirled when she heard the thud behind her, and her mouth dropped open when she realized it was Helios. "Helios! Oh my god," she whispered, running to her friend. "What happened to you? How did you know where I was?"
"Endymion," Helios gasped. He slumped on the floor, sprawled in pegasus form. His power started to give out – his leg was beginning to bleed out – and his form flickered, then he slowly transformed back into his normal human form.
"Helios! Oh, you're hurt!" She ran to him, kneeling besides his prone body. "You've got something around your eyes...a blindfold? Who did this to you? Let me get it off."
She reached behind his head, and untied the blindfold.
Helios weakly opened his eyes and looked at her.
"DAMN YOU!" Beryl yelled, stomping her feet and waving her arms in the air. She was putting on quite a show. "How did you manage to let him get away!?!"
The guards appeared frightened. "Someone came in the middle of the night and cut his cords, m'lady. He escaped the magic block and flew away!"
"AND NOW THE PEGASUS IS IN THE UNDERWORLD WITH THE MOON PRINCESS!"
Endymion stopped in his tracks, backtracked quickly, and joined the room where Beryl and the two guards were.
One of the guards shifted his eyes in his direction.
Beryl looked discreetly, and smiled inwardly. Then she started the viewfinder in her palm. This was going to zap her power, but it was well worth it.
She smiled when she saw the scene. The show had begun.
"We don't know that for sure, m'lady," one of the guards said, trying to control his laughter.
"See for yourself, you dimwits!" she said, and swung the orb around so they, too, could see the scene unfolding – and so Endymion could benefit as well.
Serenity was holding Helios's blindfold, and Helios was staring at her as if he had never seen her in his life.
"My queen," he whispered.
"Helios, I'm so happy to see you," Serenity exclaimed, throwing her arms around Helios. "What happened to you? Are you hurt?"
"Not anymore." Helios lifted a finger and started to trace a pattern across Serenity's cheek, wrapping the other one around her waist and drawing her closer to him.
Endymion recoiled.
Serenity looked down and took Helios's hand tenderly. "I was so worried when I saw you drop out of the sky like that. I thought I was about to lose you for good. Are you sure you're okay? "
"Yes," Helios breathed, his eyes sparkling. "You're beautiful."
Serenity blushed. "Thank you," she said.
"I love you, Serenity," Helios blurted out.
Serenity looked up at Helios in confusion; to Endymion, it appeared to be wistfulness. He watched with burning jealousy as Helios took his finger and tipped up Serenity's chin, bringing his lips down to kiss the moon princess.
"No," Endymion whispered.
Beryl and the two guards whirled as if they had just noticed Endymion in the room. Beryl's eyes filled with surprise, and in her "surprise", the vision popped out of existence. "Endymion," she said.
"Traitor," Endymion said, his eyes filled with hurt and hatred. "Liar...traitor...ungrateful bitches!"
He turned and ran from the room.