Work, No Play
Rowan shook her head at her brother, too tired to really care how the Winchesters tamed her wild brother who was rude to everyone, not just her. She turned and was about to walk out, heading to her room, when she sensed and then heard those footsteps behind her.
"Rowan." Sam whispered softly. She stopped, giving him a warm smile.
"Sam." She replied, getting him to smile. He was pretty cute when he smiled.
"We haven't touched anything in your room. We found your cell phone in the kitchen, so I placed it on your nightstand." He said, a little nervous, which Rowan found cute. "Just thought I'd tell you." He concluded, which Rowan knew was just a cover. He really wanted to talk to her. Just talk.
"Thanks, Sam." She replied and he seemed really nervous, like he was running out of things to say.
"You can always stay. For as long as you need. Whenever you need." He said, screwing up a bit, judging by the redness in his cheeks. "You're always welcome here." He added, which seemed to be what he wanted to say. Rowan couldn't see her ever staying in the bunker, unless Crowley and she had a disagreement, but she couldn't say for sure if something like that would ever happen. She knew it was just a kind gesture from Sam and she really appreciated it.
"Thanks, Sam. I appreciate your kindness. If you had been like Dean, I think I would have refused going home with you that night." Rowan said, which got Sam to let out a small laugh. Yeah, he was cute when he smiled, but adorable when he laughed.
It was a little awkward how silence feel heavy on them, but Sam handled it quite well.
"I'll let you rest." He said and she smiled.
"Don't forget to do the same." she said, seeing that smile on his face before he turned away. He cared about her, but he also knew there was something between her and Crowley. He was a good man and if he had been in her life sooner, she wouldn't have struck a deal with Crowley. Sam was the good guy that she would have wanted after leaving foster homes and entering college.
Rowan continued to her room that was still untouched. She closed the door behind her, quickly getting out of her shoes. They were fabulous, but a pain in the ass. She pulled her blankets down and get in, dress and all, and quickly fell into sleep. Only, now since she remembered she was a Goddess, all those humans requirements simply became pleasures; like sleeping was now a pleasure.
However, now was a necessity as she was just adjusting to being Hel again. She drifted into a dream that she knew wasn't a dream at all. She was astral projecting in her room, looking at herself sleeping. Then, it would appear as if someone was summoning her; a pull that seem to nag at her until she cooperated.
She was standing in a dark room with gold trim going around on the walls furnished with some antique chairs, tables, cabinets of oddities and shelves full of old books. There were just old things in that room, but there was also an old man sitting in one of those chairs, reading a book. He had very sharp features and just looking at him, Rowan knew he was powerful. He was like her; she could sense death.
He looked up at her and meeting his eyes, she knew who he was even if she hadn't met him before.
"I thought it would be best if we sat down for a discussion." He said, closing his book. Rowan couldn't help but feel a condescending air about him. She arched an eyebrow and he gestured to the chair next to him. She walked up, still in her black lace dress, and sat down in the chair opposite to him, making her feel like they were on some talk show.
"So, what is this exactly? Meeting of the death deities?" Rowan asked with a slight smile that didn't have any effect on the old guy.
"My name is Death. I am not a death deity. You are Hel, ruler of the realm of the dead, named Helheim. Also not a death deity." He said and her smile vanished, replaced with an unappreciative frown.
"We're becoming fast friends. I can just feel it." Rowan said sarcastically, still wearing her frown.
"My job is to oversee the living that have reached their time of death. My reapers collect their souls. You are to keep them in the Underworld." He added, still being a condescending jerk.
"Thanks for the History lesson. Here's one for one; Lucifer took Helheim and changed it and my father took away my memories. I just got them back, but Helheim is now Hell, so good luck with that." Rowan replied, adding a frosty glare in her eyes.
"Which is why we're having this discussion." Death said, which confused Rowan.
"What?" she asked and he simply looked at her as if he was getting impatient. Really? She lost her patience since he starting telling her what her job was as a non-death deity.
"We are both ancient beings that contain more knowledge than the most powerful creatures ever created. We have had our roles since the beginning of time – well, I have." He replied, reaching another level of asshole. "The point is, Rowan, rebuilding Helheim would take much more time that it did to destroy it. You cannot do it alone." He added and, besides the surprise she felt that he knew her current name, she was surprised to hear she couldn't do it alone.
"My partner Crowley will help, I'm sure." She replied and he only stared at her as if she had said there were dancing purple dotted elephants in front of them.
"What can a demon do?" he asked and she frowned at him.
"He does know more about Hell than I do." Rowan replied, like it wasn't obvious. Death just stared at her as if her words went through one ear and out the other.
"Are you familiar with the Greek version of the Underworld?" Death asked and she arched an eyebrow at him with a slight irritation.
"I suffered a memory loss, not a blow to the head making me stupid." Rowan replied and he gave her this stare as if she was being unreasonable. "The souls entered the Underworld, faced three judges, and were sorted into either the Elysian Fields for the good or the not so fun place for bad deeds." Rowan added as she expected Death to give her a gold sticker for being a smart cookie.
"Helheim accepted all, allowing the souls to continue living as they had on earth. The unruly were dealt with in a reasonable manner in a darker place of your realm." He said and she tried to bit her tongue from exploding at this old bugger. Look at him sounding like he was the ruler of Helheim! "I know this annoys you, but the importance is that things have changed. The best solution in restoring Helheim is to fashion it after the Hades' version of the Underworld." Death added and Rowan looked down at her nails to keep herself from digging them into his face.
"Yes, all those cultures with similar tales of the Afterlife; judged in death and sent to the appropriate location to spend eternity. All bullshit. Helheim was the only place and because it was ruled by a Goddess, those humans thought that was bullshit and they created their own stories." Rowan said and, once again, it went through one ear and out the other in Death's old head.
"Now, Crowley may be free to preside over Hell, taking wicked souls and those who have sold it out of greed. You, my dear, will take the rest. All one Underworld. Hell and Helheim." Death said and Rowan looked at him, knowing that that was the only way Crowley and she could rule together without uprising demons or arguments in their relationship. "I suppose you'll want to continue going by Rowan as to not confuse Hel with Hell." He added and that went through her ear and out the other.
"So this is where you offer to help me?" Rowan asked and Death gave her this little impressed smirk. "I can't stand you as it is; what makes you think we can work together on this project?" she asked and he took no offense, which surprised her.
"I have no concerns of us working together, as you realize that this is the best solution. Now, I highly recommend that you employ an angel named Gadreel. He is deserving of a second chance and requires sanctuary." Death said and she cocked her head at this idea. "You have not heard of him through your sheltered childhood amongst the Gods, but Gadreel was the angel responsible for the fall of Eden, tricked by Lucifer. He's been tortured and kept prisoner in Heaven until the recent closure, thanks to Castiel." Death said and still Rowan stared at him with confusion. "That would be Dean's private guardian angel." he added and Rowan could tell there was sarcasm to that remark.
"Where is Gadreel?" Rowan asked, not interested in hearing about Heaven's doors shutting closed due to Dean's angelic friend. That wasn't her department, but with the fact that souls go to Heaven, she had a feeling it would become important to this project with Death.
"Safe. He's currently portraying himself as Ezekiel, a highly respected angel." Death replied and Rowan couldn't help but want to help him, regardless of how Death was trying to convince her he could help rebuild Helheim. "He could help you while I'm attending to my job." He said, more or less saying that he would be a part of this project, but like some sort of a silent partner. Rowan could work with that.
"Alright. Now, I have a feeling we're about to discuss Heaven. So, what about the souls already there?" she asked and he nodded his head, as if he was finally talking to someone equal to his intelligence. The guy was an asshole, but he was right. She just didn't want to tell him that.
"The angels were never meant to oversee the souls. Heaven was meant for God and his angels. The souls used to have their own personal space in Heaven, but now they're stuffed into little boxes of their former homes. The angels have no clue what they're doing. I would like to see those souls relocated to your Helheim once the construction is complete, but I fear the angels won't be cooperative." Death replied and Rowan let a wicked grin spread across her face as a dark idea formed in her mind.
"Not if we can promise a way into opening Heaven." She replied and he glanced at her with a dark sense of curiosity in his eyes.
"It is apparent that you've been around Crowley." he replied, which made her smile with pride. Even Crowley would have been proud of that. "However, striking a deal they cannot resist would be the right answer. Kevin is busy trying to find answers as is Castiel. They aren't aware that Metatron has the Angel tablet and that is what keeps Heaven closed. The souls are currently trapped in the Veil." Death said and Rowan smiled, a light bulb appearing over her head, so to speak, despite not knowing the people attached to all the names Death just dropped on her.
"That's why you're discussing this with me." Rowan said, staring at Death's blank expression that was obviously hiding his true emotion. "The souls have nowhere to go and reopening Helheim would solve that. Combined with the deal to solve Heaven's problem, we get the rest of those souls." She said and let out a little laugh. "So, how do we deal with Metatron?" she asked and, still with his blank and difficult to read expression, he answered her.
"We don't. You do." which surprised Rowan, but then it gave her all the control. Even better.
"You know, I rather enjoy this meeting." She replied and glanced over at him with a smile. As annoying as Death had been, this was a brilliant conversation.
At that moment, Rowan could hear someone trying to summon out of her astral projection. It was Sam. She could hear the worry in his voice as she wouldn't wake up.
"I have to go before Sam Winchester has a heart attack." Rowan said, standing out of her chair. "I'll see to Gadreel and begin working on Helheim, not to forget to mention Metatron. It's been a pleasure, of which I mean the end of our meeting." She added with a little grin, about to leave.
"Oh," Death said, getting her attention before she returned to her room in the bunker. "Well done on preventing what could have been very catastrophic." Death added before their little meeting was concluded, Rowan arched an eyebrow at him, not quite following. He seemed to think she had returned to the unreasonably stupid Goddess within the first minutes of their meeting. He clarified with a hint of agitation. "That Mark of Cain is a terrible burden. It's a key. Long ago, God's sister, the Darkness, Amara, had been locked away or she would have destroyed everything in creation. The Mark was the key, given to Lucifer." He said, which made Rowan's face go blank as she listened to this huge bit of news. "The Winchesters like weapons they can't handle, but if they had figured the way to remove the Mark, it would have opened her prison and set her free." Death concluded.
"I had no idea." She whispered. Rowan blinked, focusing her attention back on Death rather than hearing Sam trying to wake her. "Thank you for telling me this." She said and he looked at her with curiosity, as if he didn't know why she was thanking him, but she was sincere.
This was huge and she was so relieved she got involved or else the Winchesters would have been faced with a monster they couldn't have handled. No one would have.
But that didn't happen.
Now, Rowan had a lot of work to do and not a second to waste.