Hades steps sounded against the wooden floors of his apartment building. The long hallway settled in a dim glow from the candelabras that hung on the gray wall.

Down the narrow way sat Cerberus, hunched in front of the apartment door. His right forearm hung with a bloodied rag slung over it, his left hand clutching a bottle of whiskey.

Hades slipped out a packet of cigarettes from his jacket pocket. lit it and handed it over to his friend who plucked it away and took a long deep drag.

"We've definitely underestimated her," Cerberus said, a cloud of smoke leaving his mouth. He lifted his head and sighed.

Reaching to the floor, he lifted a black 45 and handed it to Hades. Hades waved off the gun and went to the door. If he was going to have any chance of making her feel secure, he didn't need to approach her with a gun held in his hand.

He went to trun the knob and Cerberus grabbed his arm.

"It's been an hour. She probably found something more damaging."

Hades shook his head. "Everything's locked up. A knife is as bad as it'll get."

He opened the door and went inside.

The lights were off. Flipping the switch in the hallway, he slowly crept ahead keeping himself well aware of each room, closet and corner. Onyx trotted out of the darkness just ahead where the living room stood. He purred and rubbed against his jeans in greeting. When the cat's welcome was over, he walked forward toward the kitchen and sat on the outer edge between the hall and kitchen entrance, staring into the shadows with a twitch of his tail.

Just when Hades reached his hand to turn on the kitchen light, Persephone sprung on him from the darkness. Knife held next to her head, she sliced the air between them and screamed. Hades expertly dodged each attempt. When she made another mad slash toward his chest this time, he grabbed her wrist and pressed his thumb to her arm, activating a pressure point. She yelled out and dropped the knife. Hades caught it with his free hand and waved it around with a victorious smirk.

"I applaud your bravery," he stated. "But your skill is lacking."

He let her wrist go and she ran past him to the front door. She tried the knob, but it wouldn't budge, she then banged against the door with desperation pleading for anyone to help her. Deciding to ignore these fruitless efforts, Hades returned the knife to the kitchen and proceeded to open the refrigerator. It had been a long day and promised to be an even longer night if she decided to continue these toddler tantrums. He needed food.

"You must be hungry," he called out, still examining the refrigerator. "Actually, maybe not," he said, spotting a litter of snacks in the formal dining room. Along with some leftover sushi he had been looking forward to eating. Closing the fridge, he turned. Persephone stood in the hallway, her face was blotched, and her chest rose and fell with labored breathing. She glanced at the knife laid on the counter, reaching distance from her. Hades quickly caught onto what she was thinking and crossed his arms.

"You can try it again, but I promise you, the exact same thing is going to happen. Especially now that I know your fighting style: sloppy."

At his words, her anger seemed to melt into a hopelessness. Her shoulders eased and her eyes widening as she looked over the apartment, wrapping herself with shaky hands.

He guessed she had spent most of her day searching for any means of escape. Realizing quickly that there was no way out.

After a time of awkward silence, he made an attempt at comfort. "I have no intention of hurting you," he said.

She looked at him bewilderment and spoke with a rasped voice, worn from screaming. "Then why am I here? Why are you doing this?"

He pulled out two frozen pizza's and pre heated the oven. Filling them both a glass of water, he set hers on the counter and put the knife back into the large wooden block. She didn't move and he made sure not to crowd her. They stood in silence until the oven beeped. Hades slid the pizzas onto the rack and started the timer.

Leaning against the counter, they continued to watch each other. A mess of curls had freed themselves from the hairstyle she had at the party, she looked rough and probably felt even worse. Understandable. While he looked her over, he saw she was shivering.

"There's a blanket on the couch if you're cold," he said.

She looked up at him with frustration in her eyes. "Stop dodging my questions. Who are you and why am I here?"

"My name is Hades," he said.

He could see that his name triggered a memory. Her eyes instantly widened, and her hand raised to her mouth. "The stranger in the garden."

He nodded. "And you're the caterer, right?"

She gave a small scoff under her breath and ignored him, demanding again. "Why am I here?

He took another drink of his water and turned to pull out two plates. "You're here because your mother owes me a large sum of money and I needed assurance she would pay."

Persephone's face dropped "Who kidnaps someone's daughter over something like that? She works in produce, what does she owe you? A couple thousand for barrels of apples?"

"Five hundred thousand to be exact. And that's not counting the interest that's collected over time."

Persephone shook her head and felt for whatever contraption held the rest of her hair back. She took it off and a delicate sweep of tight golden curls surrounded her like a blanket. She fiddled with the clip held in her hands, her mind busy with thoughts.

"She's going to know it's you," she stated. "She's going to come for me."

"That's my hope." Hades stated. The oven beeped and he pulled out both pizzas and cut into them. He filled her and himself a plate and set hers on the counter. She started to reach but stopped and looked at the food with hesitation.

"You watched me pull it from the freezer and slide it into the oven. It's not poisonous. And you won't be weak or wrong for eating it," He grabbed a piece and took a bite. "If anything, it'll build your strength for the next time you try to kill me."

She pulled the plate closer to her and tore off a small bit of crust. "Are you planning on killing me?"

"You're worth more to me alive."

She messed with her plate, contemplating something. "So, you'll let me leave when you get paid?"

He nodded.

"Then this will all be over soon," she said more to herself.

He shrugged and finished his water. "I guess we'll have to wait and see."

Persephone left the kitchen, plate in hand and walked upstairs.

She used her shoulder to close the bedroom door and shuffled to the fireplace, wasting no time devouring her pizza in front of the hearth. Her face warmed close to the flames she'd been feeding all day.

As she chewed, she thought over her conversation with Hades. Trying to grasp any morsel of hope of getting back home.

He seemed honest enough for a kidnapping criminal and he probably would have killed her when she attacked him if that was his intention. Even though she was still terrified, she did feel secure enough to accept that she at least wouldn't be murdered. She chewed on the last piece of crust and dusted a crumb off of her knee. She had dark smudges down her legs, it looked like the monster sized idiot that attacked her at the party may Whatever the reason, she needed a shower.

She stood and slid the armchair, breakfast cart and side table in front of the locked door. Taking a pair of leggings and a large cotton shirt from the dresser she showered quickly, scrubbing her hair and body with a rosemary and mint shampoo. The smell helped calm her nerves and the hot water was rejuvenating.

Dressed and clean, she put the furniture back in its place and combed through her hair. Back in front of the fire, she stared into the dwindling flames. How had her mother gotten so desperate that she felt the need to get involved with people like this? Her mother who never let her run and be free. Who was so cautious and meticulous over every little thing? If she was hiding this, what else had she been dishonest about?