The Underworld
Rowan glanced around and it wasn't what she expected to see. Hell looked like a really depressing corporate building. Was this where crooked business men went as punishment for cheating families out of money? As she began walking down the corridor with only paintings of really depressing images, she turned the corner and found a long line-up of people. The ling stretch on for what seemed like a mile or so.
She glanced at the souls and, if it was possible, she'd say they looked dead, as in dull and lifeless. They stared directly ahead, at the back of the person ahead of them. The moved only when the line moved forward, other than that they remained still. They didn't even seem to notice her standing there.
Then, as Rowan stared at them, she could sense why they were in the line-up as if she personally knew them. The one at the back of the line was a rapist, the one ahead of him was a child molester, the next was a murderer, the next was a sadist and so on and so forth. They were deserving of torture, but Rowan didn't understand the line-up.
"Milady." Said that familiar girl's voice. Rowan turned and smiled at Bjarni who seemed slightly stunned. "What a surprise to find you here. But here of all places?" she asked and Rowan arched an eyebrow at her.
"Exactly where am I?" she asked and Bjarni seemed stunned.
"Hell, Milady." She replied, which made Rowan laugh a little.
"I know, Bjarni. I mean where in Hell am I?" she asked and her Draugar glanced at the line of souls.
"Where souls get tortured, Milady." She replied and Rowan glanced at the souls with a surprised expression on her face.
"This is torture?" she asked and Bjarni stepped up beside her with a slight grin on her face.
"One of Crowley's renovations." She replied, glancing at the souls. "They wait in the line to reach the front of it." she added and Rowan tried to see it, but it was too far ahead.
"Then what?" she asked and Bjarni smiled wickedly.
"They go to the back of the line only to repeat." She said and Rowan nodded her head, understanding it.
"A never ending waiting line." She mumbled and glanced at Bjarni. "That's the perfect torture." She added with a slight grin. Her Draugar gestured for her to follow and they walked away from the line-up of souls waiting for absolutely nothing.
"So, there isn't much to report, except for the fact that Crowley has his hands full." Bjarni said and Rowan smiled, just thinking of him. Yes, she was excited to see him because she was anxious to start the Helheim project.
"Where is he?" Rowan asked, still with her smile.
"On his throne." Bjarni replied, which got a frown from Rowan. Bjarni was quickly to explain so her Lady of Death didn't get the wrong idea. "All those loyal to Abaddon refuse to swear loyalty to him. He's currently having difficulties with his council of demons. They know he didn't simply go off the grid; that something had happened to him and they find he's weak, unfit to rule. No matter what he does, they don't seem to be afraid." She said and Rowan nodded. She didn't really think he'd have such a hard time. She was envisioning some demons trying to hide or raise a rebellion, but many refusing to swear loyalty? She didn't think of it. That could become highly threatening, not just to Crowley, but to her project with Death. "I think he'll be quite pleased to see you." Bjarni concluded, glancing at her with a slight smile.
"I'm sure he will." Rowan replied and then had a little update of her own to deliver. "Now, I have some pretty big news. This is going to be the third time I repeat myself, so if I'm not clear, I'm getting lazy and dropping some details." She added which made Bjarni let out a small laugh, but also look highly interested and hopeful which was interesting. "I spoke with Death and we will be reshaping Helheim." She said and already Bjarni's eyes glistened. "Hell will still belong to Crowley, but there'll be some entrance where all souls go and then get sorted out; souls to Hell and souls to Helheim. We're also going to get the souls from Heaven and those trapped in the Veil thanks to Castiel who helped Metatron close Heaven." Rowan said so quickly, picturing it in her mind that she didn't even check if Bjarni was following her.
"Sounds amazing." Bjarni said, which Rowan hadn't seemed to have heard.
"And, of course, to get the souls in Heaven, we need something the angels want, like opening Heaven. I have to find a way to get to Metatron and that Angel tablet. And I also got Gadreel to help me." Rowan said and Bjarni seemed excited. "And I have to check in with Crowley because, as my partner, he's going to want to hear this." Rowan concluded, not sure she got out all the details. It didn't matter; telling Crowley all the details was what mattered.
"It'll cheer him up and the demons will be sure to shape up. I hate to say it, but they'll fear you and that'll be the only reason why they won't try to overrule Crowley." Bjarni said and Rowan glanced at her, thinking that over.
"He'll be alright. He's clever and I think torture is a thing of the not-so-long past. You know, out with the old and in with the older, back when it actually worked out better." Rowan said, getting Bjarni to laugh. She hadn't heard that from her Draugar in… well, never. Her Draugar being demons actually made them a little more fun.
They walked out of the depressing corporate hallways and into a more gothic looking set of corridors. The walls were stone with torches to light the way because it was a little obscure. This looked a little like Helheim, but with a sinister sense as you walked through. It seemed fitting.
They turned the corner into another corridor which eventually came to cross into another corridor. It was like a labyrinth, so unlike Helheim. They eventually came to a large set of doors where Bjarni stopped, turning to Rowan with a little uneasy smile.
"Please Milady, wait here while I announce to Crowley that you're here." She said and Rowan smiled. Did Bjarni think she'd be upset to be told to wait? It was Crowley's domain and, if he was on board with the project, it would remain his domain and she would be respectful as he would in her domain. This partnership might be a great thing.
Bjarni opened the doors and stepped inside, closing them behind her. Rowan looked around, suddenly feeling a lot of demon energy around her. It was like she was tapping into Hell. If she was aware of the demons, she was certain they were aware of her; after all, she was a Goddess and she radiated power. It would be like illuminating a spotlight among a crowd of little flashlights.
The doors opened and Bjarni closed them slightly behind her as she smiled at Rowan.
"He'll see you. He's currently talking to his council, but I think he could really use your company." She said, her smile growing.
"I'm sure he would." Rowan said and walked in as Bjarni opened the doors for her, closing them behind her. Immediately, all eyes fell on her with curiosity and a bit of uncertainty. All except Crowley who smiled at her, having none of his demons seeing the look on his face, as if he didn't feel comfortable enough to let them see how happy he was to see her. How his demons must be giving him a hard time.
The room was like the corridor, but musky like it had been some sort of workshop before it had become a throne room. The pillars in the room was a nice touch, separating the workshop look from Crowley's space which was, on the other hand, magnificent; behind his throne were iron floor candle holders which seemed very gothic. He suddenly seemed a little more intimidating, if she wasn't a Goddess.
Rowan walked through the group of demons as they parted for her, staring at her with a hint of fear as they must have realized who she was. After all, her aura of power was glowing, especially in her eyes.
"Thank you for seeing me on such short notice." Rowan said, giving Crowley a slight curtsy to show him some respect. Naturally, she wouldn't, but she sensed he needed a little help whether he wanted it or not with his demon ego. As she looked up at him, his eyes glimmered darkly as if he liked her little performance. He gestured next to him and she stepped up, standing next to him in his throne, which actually looked nice. So did the chair.
"You destroyed Abaddon." One of the demons said. She looked at them all with a darkness in her smile.
"Am I hearing a bit of doubt?" Rowan asked him, seeing them on edge. "Would you like a demonstration?" she asked and the fear increased as they shook their heads or glanced down at their feet. "Trust me, Crowley's a much better ruler than Abaddon would have been." She said and they looked at her as if they wanted to argue, but they didn't dare as she gave them a piercing glare.
"You're a Goddess. Why would you show him some respect?" another asked and Rowan arched an eyebrow.
"Him? He's your King." Rowan snapped, making the demons tremble slightly. Crowley lightly touched her arm and the demons noticed. Rowan calmed and adjusted her tone of voice. "I show respect because he's the right ruler for Hell." She said, letting the hint of anger showing in her eyes. There was a brief moment of silence and Crowley's deep voice penetrated through that heaviness in the room.
"You're dismissed. I have a business meeting." He said and they watched as his demons left the room. Once the door closed, Crowley stood up, looking at Rowan with a little smile. "Quite the performance." He said, narrowing his eyes slightly as if his demonic ego wasn't thrilled even if a part of him deep down was.
"There was a truth to my performance." She replied. "And you'll be glad to know that I don't have any intentions of coming in and making changes to Hell." She added which got his attention as his jaw seemed to clench a little, his eyes narrowing as he placed his hands in his pockets. "I spoke to Death and he's really insisting that we make Hell part of a much larger place. The Underworld." She said his expression remained the same, but curiosity sparked in his dark eyes as he listened to this. At this point, Rowan suddenly wondered if he was going to like this idea. "There'd be two parts of the Underworld, Hell which is yours, and Helheim which will be mine. Together, we sort the dead into their designated destinations. How does that sound?" she asked and she was beginning to feel that Crowley didn't like the fact that they both have their own place to rule. He should be pleased, but maybe her doubt was making her see things.
"And Heaven?" Crowley asked.
"Yeah, Death and I also discussed that. Since Heaven is closed, leaving the souls trapped in the Veil, and managing the souls they had very poorly, we were going to make a deal with the angels." Rowan replied, getting a slight arched eyebrow from Crowley. "Helheim gets all the souls from Heaven. Then, I deal with Metatron and the Angel tablet, opening Heaven. No more taking in souls; the Underworld will be the only place for human souls. Hell for those to be punished, who made deals, and Helheim for those deserving of a good place." she concluded and he gave her a slight nod, but she could see that what had him really interested was the Angel tablet. "What do you think?" she asked and he must have seen the worry on her face because he smiled, reaching a hand around her waist as he approached her.
"Sounds perfect." He replied and Rowan exhaled with relief. "I can't imagine where you got the idea to swindle Heaven from its souls." He added and Rowan grinned.
"Yeah, Death said it was obvious that I've been hanging around you." She said and he grinned with pride. Before she could say anything else, he pulled her in, kissing her with a kiss that seemed to highlight how proud he was, which was interesting. However, she was happy to know that he was on board with the project. He broke their kiss, his eyes dark with seduction as he stared at her, making her blush a little, which was weird. "I don't suppose you have a blueprint of Hell." She said and he snapped his fingers, having one suddenly appear in his hand. "Oh, convenient." She concluded and before she could take it, he held it out of reach, his eyes piercing as he stared at her. Were her knees feeling a little weak, about to give out?
"We do have some little details to go over." he said and she gave him a small smile.
"Such as?" Rowan asked, pressing her body against his.
"When to draw the line of souls deserving of punishment, the portal to the entrance where the sorting will be done and who's to be in charge, where to place this entrance and Helheim around Hell, and where we'll put our little private space for business and pleasure." Crowley replied which made her smile, especially that last part. That sounded good. His arm tightened around her and she wrapped her arms around his neck, their lips now so close she could virtually taste him.
"Sounds perfect." She replied and he pressed his lips hard against hers as he gave her the blueprints of Hell.