Chapter 3

As Belle reached toward the mahogany table, she heard her father call out to her. "Belle, come quickly," Maurice moaned and coughed as he called her. As Belle ran into his room, she noticed something different about him. His face was pale, and his lunch tray had remained untouched. He looked at her weakly, barely able to raise his head, hoping that she knew that now was the time for her to let him go. Immediately, tears began to stream down Belle's face.

An alarm went off loudly in the Underworld. Pain and Panic, Hades' short and small minions, panicked and ran in circles screaming at the top of their lungs.

"Alright, alright, what's the problem down here, boys? And who has the code for that alarm?" Hades strode irritably into the room, his threatening gaze fixed on his sorry excuse for minions. Almost every other villain in the world had better minions than him, well, everyone except Jafar; he had a "treacherous parrot", who was now teamed up with Aladdin and Jasmine. However, most villains hadn't had to create their own minions. Where had he gone wrong?

"We don't know. Maybe this is part of the change that the Fates mentioned, seeming how France is out of our range. And I think the code is your mother's maiden name." Panic, the more logical one, said factually. The range of the Underworld was only as far as Crete. No one knew that the Fates had intervened and extended the range to France temporarily, just long enough for Hades to meet someone who would change his life forever.

"Well, this is just great. As if I don't have enough problems down here. I must now deal with another country's problem."

"Should we take care of this, your flame fullness?" the minions faithfully asked, eager to leave the Underworld and have a break from always being scorched or burned whenever they messed up.

"No need to trouble yourselves, boys. I think it's about time I went to France anyway. I am really in need of a vacation and a break from Club Dead. I'll be back within the hour, unless someone else sets me off while I'm up there. "After a quick wave, Hades went up in a puff of smoke on his way to Paris.

When Hades got there, he immediately noticed how different the world above was and how much it had changed since he had last seen it. France was so different from Greece. At first, he thought that this was the wrong place, and then he realized. Paris and Thebes are two complete opposites. Hades noticed an open glass window in the room and could tell that it was cold outside and saw that there was sparkling white snow fresh on the ground.

Since Greece has a Mediterranean climate, Hades had never seen very much snow before or felt very cold temperatures. Not that he felt cold. Hades never felt anything, neither temperatures nor emotions, except anger, but now that he was turning into his younger self again, he was beginning to wish that he'd worn a cloak. Suddenly, Hades noticed that there was someone else in the room. A young woman was knelt down by her father's bed.

Belle continued to gaze at her father in sorrow. He was truly gone now. Just then, Belle became aware of someone else's presence in the room. Hades. Hades looked at the girl knelt down. Her hair was brown, tied neatly in a blue ribbon, except for that single stray strand of hair, near her forehead. She had sparkling brown eyes, with flecks of green in them, but right now, her eyes were filled with tears, which looked like tiny crystals. She was amazingly beautiful; she even topped Meg's beauty. The thought snuck up on him and startled him; who was he to notice a woman's, least of all a mortal's, beauty?

This must be her father. For the first time in centuries, Hades suddenly felt a flicker of an emotion. Guilt. This must be the diminishing of power that the Fates had mentioned earlier. He hadn't felt like this since he first became the Lord of the Underworld. He realized it was his fault she was in tears, but couldn't understand why he should be concerned about her. After all, she was only a mortal. Suddenly, the girl spoke to him, looking straight into his bold yellow eyes.

"Are you Hades, Lord of the Underworld?" Belle spoke softly, trying not to upset Hades. Despite not being properly introduced, Belle knew who Hades was, from all the battles Hercules, her brother-in-law, had told her regarding him against Hades. Nervously, she tried to gather the courage to look him directly in the eyes. Was it considered rude to stare at one of the most powerful Gods in the universe? From what Hercules told me about Hades, I should watch what I say or do. Who knows what this man is really like, if he is even a man at all?

When she looked up, Belle noticed that there were flames instead of hair at the top of his head and his skin was a dark shade of blue. His eyes were perhaps the most frightening part, instead of gentle look, they were a bold yellow that seemed to stare right through your soul. Maybe he actually could see through someone's soul. If he can, does he know what I'm thinking right now or how frightened I am? She could only look at him for a moment, before turning away quickly and closing her eyes, hoping he couldn't see right through her.

"How do you know who I am, if you're in France?" Hades responded, quite confused. Even Wonder Breath hadn't known who he was. Or maybe he had and had just pretended to not know him. After all, they had had lots of "encounters" when Hercules was a teenager. Just thinking about the hundreds of thunderbolts that had hit him during those awful years almost made Hades want to scream. Right now though, it seemed that the most important thing was to keep this girl talking. It seemed like another opportunity to strike a deal was well on its way.

Maybe she could become an ally instead of another enemy. So far, it didn't seem like she had any connections whatsoever to Jerkules. Maybe he could use this to his advantage for once. He was ready to make another binding deal, something he hadn't done in what felt like centuries.

"I read about you in this book about Greek mythology, but I didn't know you actually existed. I wasn't expecting that." Belle glanced quickly at her book, then feeling slightly embarrassed and somewhat guilty for lying to him. But she couldn't tell him the truth. If he knew who she was, he would never bring her father back to life and would probably consider it the ultimate revenge on Hercules. She refused to let that happen. Hercules and Meg had been through enough as it was, and she desperately needed her father back. She felt so lost without him.

Strangely enough, Hades didn't yell or lose his temper. Instead he held out his skeleton-like hand to touch the leather spine. It had been a long time since he had seen a mythology or historical book, least of all one about him. He used to love to read, and had even built a grand library in the Underworld, filled with all the books in the world, from every country and written in the most popular languages. However, those books had been neglected for years and were most likely were coated in several layers of dust. With haste, he handed the girl back her book and decided to do something he had never done before.

"Normally, bringing someone back to life after death is against my policy, but I am willing to make a deal with you. I'll give your father back his life in exchange for you staying with me in the Underworld for all eternity. Do we have a deal?" He held out his hand, knowing very well that she would accept the terms to the agreement. According to Hades, women were very predictable. How wrong he was to be about that.

For example, when Meg had lost her first boyfriend, Adonis, to a fatal illness, she had immediately rushed to the Underworld to beg Hades to revive him. She had been more than willing to sell Hades her soul and all had turned out well (in his mind anyway), at least until Jerkules came along. Hades couldn't help but wonder if Meg could have fallen in love with him if the hero hadn't come along.

Then again, maybe Hades was just rushing into another deal that could backfire on him. Perhaps he should think more about the possible loopholes of this contract. What if this girl also had a boyfriend who would do anything to get her back? He wasn't in the mood for another fight with someone over a girl. It had been painful enough with Hercules. But it was too late for that now, he would just have to accept the consequences and move on, no matter what happened.

After his failure to take over Olympus, nothing else could come close to that pain and suffering. And besides, having a living mortal girl in the Underworld might not be so bad. He certainly needed the company. Pain and Panic were so dull and useless compared to this girl. Despite the sorrow she was most likely experiencing, there was still spark and determination in her. But how could he possibly know that? It seemed as if fate (or the Fates) were against him and determined to make him feel some kind of connection to her. But if so, then having her be a new minion, as Megara had been, was definitely wasn't going to be the right fit. He would find a use for her later. Maybe just keep her around as someone to talk to, if she would be willing to listen. If you'll pardon the pun, the Underworld was dead.

Hades couldn't understand what was making him so different and weak towards a mortal, but he intended to find out soon. Maybe this girl held the key to unlock his heart of stone or maybe there wasn't a key. Was she the girl of the Fates' prediction? Could she be the one? Either way, the change in company would most certainly be worth it. He looked again; it was too crazy, and since when did he have enough patience or kindness to even consider falling in love? Besides, love was useless. He needed to remember what had happened before, no matter how much time had passed since then. Nothing had changed. Nothing would ever change.

"What's in it for you?" Belle responded quickly, snapping Hades out of his reverie. After all, she had to make sure she knew what she was getting herself into. She didn't want to be around someone who was just as arrogant and rude as Gaston, but she realized she might not have a choice. If nothing else, she had to remember who she was doing this for. She had to be brave for him.

Good question. One I don't even have the answer to. Hades thought. But he didn't say it aloud. He knew that would scare her off. Besides, he was far too hideous to ever be loved, as his brother Zeus constantly reminded him, subtly, while also reminding him that only someone like his magnificent son could find a beauty and be truly happy. Villains never had happy endings, ever. He had to think quickly though; she was obviously expecting an answer. He needed to prevent his confusion from being so obvious. He had a fearsome reputation to live up to, as Lord of the Underworld. He needed to start acting like it.

"Friendship," Hades said quickly. "It's extremely lonely down in the Underworld and it would help to have someone to talk to occasionally. Besides, dead souls can't exactly carry on a conversation very well."

Belle laughed a little at first, but then resumed her tearful look. "Alright, I accept your offer Lord Hades. My life for my father's."

In that instant, Maurice woke up, just in time to see his beloved daughter leave with Hades to the Underworld. He had a horrible feeling then that he might never see Belle again. He watched his beloved daughter disappear with the Lord of the Underworld and lost all hope.

No matter what it took, he would find some way to rescue Belle from that monster. But who would be brave enough to venture down into the Underworld just to save Belle? Normally Maurice would be thinking of Hercules, but he and Meg had already gone down to the Underworld more times than anyone else. Hades would be expecting him.

No, Maurice would have to send someone less obvious. Someone Hades would never suspect. Immediately, a name popped into his mind. Gaston. Maurice decided that he would go to the town's local tavern to beg Gaston for his help, no matter what or who the price was. After all, Gaston was a fine and well-respected young man, and Belle could do worse than him. It would be a good match for her.

As much as he hated to send the person Belle disliked the most to rescue her, there was no one else close enough that was qualified enough to make this kind of dangerous journey, and by the time Hercules would get the message, it might be too late for Belle. Maurice couldn't bear to lose her. Besides Megara, she was all he had left as a memory of his wife. But unlike Meg, Belle was almost the exact image of Jeanette, his beloved wife.

As soon as Maurice walked into the tavern, he went straight to Gaston and told him everything. Gaston seemed to be considering it for a moment when he finally said, "What's in it for me if I rescue Belle? After all, it's a death wish to fight with The Dark One."

"If you can find her and rescue her, you can marry her, Gaston. I'm counting on you." Maurice promised. Belle, please forgive for this, but I have no other choice.

"Of course, old man. No one takes anything that belongs to Gaston and lives to tell about it." Gaston smiled wickedly. Now Belle will have no choice but to marry me. Especially since her father now wants us together.

Meanwhile, Hades had already taken Belle to the Underworld and was beginning to feel more conflicting emotions by the second. He couldn't understand why he was feeling so guilty or why he suddenly wanted to bring the girl back to her father and forget the whole deal. It wasn't like him at all. He never showed kindness or mercy to anyone. The Fates were definitely torturing him. Maybe he really was going to die.