Hades is fun to write. I might do one more chapter after this or possibly two more chapters. I'm hoping to get a little heartbreak and angst into this story and overall just crush any hope I build up with as realistic an ending as possible. I'm hoping to blend together some myths and portray Hades a little more sympathetically but keep him in character. So far this experiments been fun. Let me know what you think.

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Emily wondered how the bitterness had crept into Hades's heart. His life could not have started so hollow. She wondered where the turning points were. When she was forced to interact with Hades she carefully spoke of his future plans and future outcomes. She never revealed too much and as a result she remained valuable in his gleaming yellow eyes. He had yet to find the couple raising the infant Hercules, but Emily had no doubt the god would find the child soon enough.

After a month, Hades located the child but refrained from acting. Zeus and Hera's attentions were too focused on the child. However, Hades was a patient god. He could wait to kill the kid once Zeus looked away. He knew his brother's attention span was short lived.

Over the month, Emily realized a distinct fact the stories left unstated. Hades was an excellent ruler. He kept order, quelled grievances between his subjects, and was a more than fair judge of the deceased. The contradiction was disturbing. She expected Hades to torment the souls he held domain over without discretion. Instead, his verdicts were designed to punish the souls by their misdeeds and reward the souls by their good works. He worked endless hours and rested once every seven days.

She quickly understood why his temper was so easily provoked. He rarely took time to sit down and eat or enjoy a moment of respite. In the mornings, Hades signed paperwork; in the afternoons, he judged souls sitting on his throne eating marinated mealworms and pickled eyeballs, and in the nights, he spent hours actively expanding his domain to include more souls, more monsters, and more territory. When he did spend time alone in his chambers, he read over contracts and made inventories of his currently active deals. In an odd way Emily understood why he would not want to be in charge of the Underworld. The dead souls were lifeless and weary, his tasks were thankless, and each day seemed to heighten his spite for Zeus.

She did not know how their routine intertwined, but somehow Hades adapted his schedule to accommodate breakfast and dinner. The routine started a little past the day she insisted on getting supplies from the above ground. She was growing ill from eating the marinated silk pupa and mealworms Hades was so fond of ingesting. Hades originally narrowed his eyes at her request and demanded she return to the Underworld within the day. The timeframe provided was short, but she had time enough to purchase olive oil, dried fruit, nuts, flour, eggs, preserved olives, onions, cheese, honey, and a hearty portion of cured meat from the nearest merchant. The eggs would last longer than a week, but the rest would likely keep from spoiling without refrigeration. She dearly missed her fridge as there was little food in ancient Greece which could remain edible without a large quantity of salt being added to the product.

She returned later than expected and Hades was displeased. He shouted and heated the entire room unbearably with his outburst. She cowered under a table begging Hades to calm. She had been terrified to use his kitchen that night, but her hunger persuaded her to tempt fate. She borrowed a hallway torch which glowed blue with Hades's flames and started a fire in the kitchen hearth. She didn't have milk to make pancakes so she substituted several cuts of cheese to add into the egg and flour batter. She chopped a portion of an onion to carmelize the vegetable in an oiled pan. Eventually, she pulled the pan off the fire and added the cooked onions into a bowl. Then she chopped up a handful of dates and figs and toasted the fruit under the fire. Afterwards, she placed the toasted fruit into a separate bowl. She divided the batter in half and folded the fruit into one part of the batter and the onions into the other. The dish came out as messy but tasty disks.

After eating she noticed there were leftovers. She did not know why she bothered to place the warm disks onto a separate plate as she walked towards the one place Hades insisted he not be disturbed. She reasoned the bravery was in part selfish. She needed to properly apologize for being late. Otherwise, Hades would never again allow her outside the Underworld to grocery shop. The negotiations would require some deference.

She knocked on his door and held her breath. She could feel the temperature rise through the door and steeled herself for his coming rage.

"What!" Hades was partially red in the face, eyebrows aflame.

"I'm sorry for being late." She bowed her head in respect, knowing that even a slight gesture was sufficient to placate Hades's ego.

"You came to interrupt my very tedious work schedule to apologize?" Hades growled trying to keep his temperature cool. Mortals were delicate and he knew a little too much emotion from his end could result in an impromptu barbecue. "What's with the plate?" Hades noticed the plate of food, but did not expect her to make him an offering.

"It's an apology." She knew her hands were impossibly close to shaking and showing she was scared out of her mind. She still had scars from one of Hades's previous temper tantrums. She just hoped he would consider the thought behind the act even if he did not enjoy the taste.

He eyed the dish with a mix of suspicion and surprise. Gods could not be poisoned, but poisons still left a bad taste in the mouth. He was not used to receiving offerings as the sacrifices to his own temple were in scarce supply. The only worshipers who came to his temple were desperate souls with no other options. "What is it?"

"It's basically a pancake." She did not know what else to call the dish. There really was no better description.

"Pan-cake?" He took the plate and inspected the food. He sniffed at the stacked disks and found they did not smell half bad.

"Like bread but from a pan." She motioned her hands in a circle to refer to the shape of the food.

He did not say thank you but accepted the plate nonetheless. "Next time, don't bug me unless it's important."

The words Hades spoke were discouraging but Emily was starting to better understand the god. He was only charming when he needed something, he told jokes when he felt insecure, but when people were kind he built space.

The next morning she made an omelet with olives, cheese, and eggs. She set aside a second portion to carry to Hades's chambers. She knocked on his door and felt the temperature rise again. She stood to the side the door when she noticed the flickers of flames and smoke peaking from outside the bottom of his door.

"This better be important! I just burned through half my contracts!" Hades was now hours behind in work and was going to need to rush through the afternoon verdicts if he wanted to get momentum going on his plan to overthrow Zeus.

"What did I say about not bothering me?" He looked incredulously at the blonde carrying the outstretched plate. The surprise of her presence had shocked him back to his lower temperature.

"It better be important." She repeated exactly what he told her the night before, relieved to see the red flames abate to blue. "And breakfast is the most important meal of the day." The presence of the blue flames on his head gave her enough courage to form the quip.

"What is it this time?" He leant down to inspect this new offering, thin blue lips cracking a smirk with open rows of sharp teeth.

"An omelette." She answered automatically.

He rose an eyebrow and rolled his hand, clearly expecting more information. "Give me more to go on than that, blondy."

"It's eggs, fried with cheese and olives." She listed the ingredients quickly knowing he was more impatient in the mornings. She was determined to build rapport with the cranky god despite his volatile nature and guarantee she never again ate marinated insects.

"Alright, I'll bite. Why are you acting domestic? What do you want? I am not altering our deal for a couple home cooked meals." He pulled away from the offering feeling foolish for accepting the paltry token of last night's meal. He was no schmuck. Women only started buttering up a guy when they wanted something.

"Look. I appreciate you letting me get supplies and paying for them. I am just returning your generosity." She talked circles around the truth, purposely avoiding the fact she hated the alternatives to her current meal plan. The food he allowed her to retrieve from the above world was an important staple of her diet.

"Fine, fine. I get it. You're grateful." Hades rubbed his temples and wiped a hand across the blue flames on his head. "New rules. You bring me the meal same time, every day." He was getting sick of getting his temper sparked over a little tableside service. Besides mortals were supposed to make offerings to him with more regularity than he currently received and the meal yesterday went down the hatch without issue. There was no reason not to take advantage of her gratitude. He was owed that much for supplying the coins to buy the supplies.

The routine developed nicely without much of a hiccup afterwards. Emily brought him breakfast at seven in the morning and dinner at six in the afternoon. In return, Hades allowed her out of the Underworld for half a day to collect supplies twice a month. Occasionally, Hades dictated she make the journey in the company of Pain and Panic and occasionally she made the journey on her own. Traveling through the Underworld was precarious, but Hades directed her to never wander outside of the thin vein-like trails which outlined the Underworld. She heeded his warnings and returned to his domain without issue.

It was on her third return trip that she returned to a tempestuous Hades awaiting her arrival. "What gives? I recall you agreeing to bring me breakfast same time, every day."

She looked over Hades's folded arms and annoyed expression and realized the god likely was not actually upset and just hungry. She was surprised at his approach as she usually skipped the breakfast routine on supply-run days. "No ingredients. No breakfast."

His expression snapped from annoyed to shrewd. "Ingredients." He pointed to the newly purchased sack of supplies. "Breakfast." He vanished into the shadows to reappear directly in front of her body and snapped one pale pointed finger into her chest.

She looked down at his pointed finger prodding into her chest and up at his calculating yellow eyes. She laughed. The sound was an odd thing to her ears. She had not laughed since the start of her stay and she was surprised she retained the ability to find humor in her unfortunate situation. "Coming right up, boss. But, you have to help."

"No can do babe. I'm not the cooking type of god." He was grinning from her suggestion and felt encouraged by her laughter to engage further.

"Not asking you to cook. Just need you to start a fire." She pointed to the hearth as she moved to pull out a pan from a nearby storage chest.

"Done." He snapped his fingers at the hearth and bright blue flames erupted hot and bright in its center. He allowed the flames to burn hotter and brighter than was strictly necessary as he was unable to resist showing off his power. He felt his ego grow as he watched her eyes widen at the roaring flames.

"Take it down a few degrees. I'm cooking breakfast not cremating a body." She was wary of exchanging jokes between the god, but felt it was appropriate as Hades lit the fire so bright solely to acquire a reaction.

Hades chuckled, waving his hand at the hearth lowering the temperature and height of the climbing flames. "Be careful when making requests of gods."

When the eggs cooked completely she immediately pushed his portion onto an available plate and handed him the food. He clearly was awaiting her return with the expectation she feed him as soon as she arrived within his domain.

Hades paused uncharacteristically. He was surprised the mortal had the sense to serve him first. For Greeks, the gesture was a great sign of respect. The head of a household was symbolically served before any other person at the dinner table received their portion. The head always received the best portion of the provided meal. He did not expect the show of respect as mortals were the least respectful of his divinity. Even at Zeus's table he was served well after the other gods of Olympus. Feelings of bitterness mixed insidiously with growing pride and the blue flames within the hearth crackled loudly to echo his sentiments. "Grab the food. Follow me."

Emily was shocked when Hades gestured for her follow him and take the breakfast with her. "Where are we going?" She was carrying both plates, trailing nervously behind the smokey tendrils of Hades's chiton.

"My chambers. I'm a working god, what can I say?" He waved a smokey hand behind his back to indicate she walk closer to his side. He liked looking at facial reactions when he spoke. He hated to feel like he was talking to empty space.

"Why?" She kept her eyes intently focused on the plates. She tried to keep pace with Hades without jostling their meals onto the ground.

"We're both hungry. I eat in my room. You haven't eaten breakfast yet. Do the math." He was gliding across the floors as he paced through his words with the cadence of an auctioneer.

As they entered his chambers, Hades allowed the smoke of his robes to billow low against his marble floors. From the smoke rose an ornately carved black table and one simple chair. Hades gestured for her to set the plates on the table before the god pulled the remaining wisps of smoke to his side to form an elaborate throne for him to rest against. "Better than sitting in some dumpy kitchen, right?"

The question was obviously rhetorical as Hades immediately went to eat with no modicum of decorum. He ate nearly as quickly as he spoke. "Yes, your room is the better place to eat." She noticed her response made Hades slow his pace for a brief moment.

"Thirsty?" Hades made the offer without thinking. He was not expecting her to make conversation. He assumed she would not want to speak with him.

She nodded not knowing what to make of his offer and was too startled to request anything particular. She was surprised at the taste of wine on her tongue as she swallowed the drink he provided. The wine tasted buttery and crisp with a flavor her tongue struggled to name.

Hades mockingly rose his glass towards hers and winked. "This is the good stuff. Trust me. Dionysus doesn't like to share many barrels of his private collection, but after a few drinks you'd be amazed what gets by the drunken sap." He knew there was no real reason to try and impress a mortal, but her appreciation was doing his ego wonders. He could not help himself, it had been centuries since anyone paid him any positive attention.

"This is the best wine I've ever had." Emily would have forced the comment from her mouth if the wine had been of average quality. However, the white wine was without doubt the best she ever tasted. She knew to pace herself, but found no harm in indulging herself with a few more sips. She could handle more than a few glasses of wine without becoming drunk.

He smirked, slurping his cup down in a few gulps. As an immortal he could not get drunk without serious effort, although any drink crafted by Dionysus could intoxicate a mortal after a few sips and a god after a few glasses. "We should do this again." He poured himself a second cup, planning to draw the meal out longer. He wanted to wait for the drink to take effect so he could gather more information from the seer. He would not drink the second cup until after she left his chambers. While a second cup would merely lower some of his inhibitions, Hades knew full well where his drunkenness could lead. If she remained in his proximity he would be tempted to drink to excess. In a stupor he would without doubt exercise the priveledges a lord held over his chattel. However, he was unlike his brothers in many respects.

She felt her mind grow dizzy and was confused. She had not drank more than a few sips of the beverage. "I feel like I'm getting drunk." She blurted the thought aloud carelessly.

"Hello, Dionysus, god of wine, lush extrordinare. Ringing any bells. Of course you're getting drunk." He took a small sip of the second cup purely for show.

"Why aren't you drunk then? You drank way more than I did." She could not help the exclamations coming from her mouth. Her lips were moving too freely.

"Hi Hades. God of the Underworld. Nice to meet ya." He took a second pointed sip to emphisize his following point. "I'm a god. It takes a little more than a glass of wine."

"How much more?" The question exited her mouth as soon as it entered her head.

"Three maybe four glasses if it's brand Dionysus. An entire barrel if it's your mortal swill." He took one last sip savoring the flavor. He could always drink more later.

"I bet you're a fun drunk." She grinned picturing Hades making inane bets with anyone who cared to listen.

The glass in his hand felt heavy. He wanted to drink more. He restrained himself from his inclination. "Trust me. You don't want to go there." He set the glass down onto the table.

"I bet you make lots of bets and win more than your fair share of them." Her words had the perilous quality of a drunkard. She was making small talk on a subject she had no care to know.

Hades gave the blonde woman a smug look. "Maybe." He could not help but encourage the view of him as a victor over the Olympians. In truth, his intoxication around the Olympians resulted in slyly spiteful behavior and his words became shrewdly biting. He stole, manipulated, and cursed without restraint, but he did not make bets unless he was fully sober. He learned his lesson on taking and making bets when he took his first steps outside the stomach of his father.

"Do you cheat Hades?" She was only teasing. She expected he cheated often.

"I'm not the type of god to cheat." He frowned and slugged down the remaining wine pouring himself a third glass. "Do I give myself an unfair advantage? Always." He took a sip of the third cup bitterly remembering how he was originally cheated by Zeus.

Zeus rigged the game from the start. The second dear father coughed up he and Poseidon, Zeus suggested they divide the world in lots. At the time, Hades had been too dizzy from the assault of sensations the new world had to offer to gather his wits. He accepted the stakes of the game and rolled the dice Zeus provided. He never bothered to look closer at the objects handed to him. He only bothered to look at the dice Zeus left behind after the game ended. He won the worst of the lots. He rolled the dice again and again, bitter about his lot. He got the same number every roll. Hades discovered then how deeply his temper affected his body; it was the first time his body glowed red. He burned many holes through the clouds of the unbuilt Olympus. "Now, tell me doll. How do I win against my sweet cloud-headed brother?"

"Well, you're current plan is fucked." She eyed him seriously for a moment and proceeded to giggle.

"What!" The rage and fire blast thankfully pushed up from his head like a volcanoe. The wine was not his best idea. Alcohol made him more flammable than usual. "I'm okay. I'm cool. Promise." He waved his long spider-like hands at her to indicate he could keep himself calm and contained.

Emily felt the fear bubble up quickly. Her bottom lip to quivered and her body shook. She could see how deep the scorch marks scored the top of his ceiling. "Please don't be mad. I'm trying so hard to not make you angry." She was close to tears. Alcohol always made her emotional.

Hades sucked down half of his wine glass. "No crying. I hate the tear gimmicks. I get enough of that from the stiffs in the River Styx." He pushed himself out of his chair not knowing what to do and ended up slapping the blonde on the back with three heavy handed pats.

"Ouch." His pats knocked the wind from her lungs.

"Babe, details. I can take it. See, completely blue." He passed an errant hand through the blue flames on his head to indicate he retained his self-control.

"You lose because you use a mortal woman, Hercules's only weakness, to stop him from fighting. You promise Hercules that the mortal woman will not come to harm during the battle. In exchange Hercules relinquishes his strength. The mortal is harmed during the battle and dies. Hercules gets his strength back, he fights, you lose." She could see Hades first thoughts forming. "Relax. The mortal is not me."

The wine was boiling in his hand. The heat of the drink did not bother him as he drank the remaining liquid. At first, he was angry because he thought she was the mortal she spoke of and then he was enraged she dared suggest he would fail. "Alright, in the interest of full disclosure, you have until the count of ten to get on the other side of that door." He was not sure he would actually make it to ten.

"You said you could take it." She was too drunk to see logic.

The wine and rage was sinking into him too quickly. He had more self control than his younger brothers. He needed an outlet and he was unwilling to use the mortal. "Leave!" He went red in hopes she could see the danger clearly and allowed the burning flames to funnel from the top of his head. The release was not enough.

She stumbled towards the door, heart pumping with adrenaline. Once she got on the otherside of the door she felt burning heat radiate from his blackened door as red flames licked at the bottom of the door. The heat was too intense to stand in close proximity of the door, so she took several steps down the corridor.

When the door reopened, smoke funneled out from his room and caused her to cough.

"Memo to me: do not drink while discussing delicate business details." Hades's eyebrows rose to see blondey lingering in his corridor. He expected her to run back to her room.

"You alright?" She could hardly make out his flames among the smoke.

"A little drunk, a little pissed. Just another day at the office." He waved a clawed hand at the smoke and instantly it circled away from his body.

"I'm going back to my room." She noticed the low glow of red flames atop Hades's head. He was still upset.

He grabbed her hand with a sharp snatch of his claws. He could feel the wine clouding his thoughts. He was burning with anger and arousal. The flames on his head burned a dull red. He was nothing like his brothers but he still wanted to take her. "We will have to do this again. I will see you for dinner." His command was dressed as a suggestion, as though she had any option outside of total obedience.

He let her go and walked away to his awaiting work.