Chapter Three

Thorns

Protect me

From Hell's embrace

And promise me,

That you'll stay

"There you are!"

It was a Goddess's voice. I turned to see a woman with flowing long hair that went to her ankles and that was wearing a black tunic that looked as if the stars had been laced into the fabric. Her silvery moon eyes were staring into my eyes as she smiled lovingly. Large breasts were traced out by the fancy dress (every goddess seems to have large breasts except for me and yes, I do have a little bit of a complex with that).

"Even Helios had trouble finding you, but do not fear children, you are safe now." The woman explained as I felt my blood boil.

I smiled a little, "Children?"

I could already tell that I wasn't going to like her. I relaxed and let my powers make vines grow and wrap around her ankles as chains. She simply raised an eye brow at me and just snapped her leg up into the air to break them. I winced when I heard the vines cry in pain, making my anger all the more visible.

"Nyx!" Eros yelped nervously. "The goddess of night!" I hadn't noticed that he had followed me out here and if I wasn't so worried about getting caught I would have yelled at him. The goddess of the night was staring at me with a soft smile. I never actually met her before and had only heard rumors about her. She supposedly didn't like to be social and no one dared to force her to come with her lovely husband. I guess I understood, now that I could actually say I met her. She was beautiful, but I could tell she was intimidating.

She looked as if she was just going to ignore everything and snag both Eros and I away which I would imagine wouldn't bother her.

The Egyptian prince guarded me, "Who are you?" His arm was wrapped around my shoulders.

"Wait-" I began to say, but he was now protecting me.

"Don't you dare think you can take her away from me, I am a god." Oh boy, I wished more than anything to just shut him up at this moment. It goddesses were especially known for losing their temper when it came a human's oversized ego.

"Oh I love Egyptians. They have such interesting ideas." Nyx said, her lips twitching. I could tell she was being sarcastic. I took a few steps back and put myself in front of the prince. No matter what, I was not going to let this prince get hurt. I hoped she could see that on my face, but the thing about some goddesses is that they don't care about anything except getting what they wanted. I'm sure my mother might have promised something very large

"Go inside my lord." I whispered to him, "I can handle it from here."

He didn't budge. What happened to my goddess abilities to at least control a human? I tilted my head up slightly and tried to look as attractive as Aphrodite did whenever she was tempting a human to do something.

"Please." I whispered as he blinked a few times. He turned to leave after placing a kiss on my forehead. I was blushing like crazy at the moment as Nyx stared at me curiously. A soft little smile was playing on her lips like a child might have when they knew a secret about their siblings that they were going to reveal to the parents.

"So," she stepped forward, "this is what you two have been up to. Running and making princes fall in love with you! Isn't that just funny?" She giggled lightly as her dark hair blew in the wind. I was feeling defeated, suddenly when she walked over to me and snatched my wrist and then caught Eros by the wing.

"Let go! That hurts!" Eros whined as I mimicked his whining.

She sighed before answering, "Oh please, what I'm doing right now is nothing compared to what your mothers are going to do."

I paled as Eros snorted, "My mom isn't going to do a thing."

This was probably true, but my mother…she was going to throw such a fit. She was probably going to yell at Leuke for not watching me then yell at everyone else for not being able to find me. She might even cause the world to go hungry for a few weeks before she got over this. Oh, and she might even take her revenge on the Egyptians. No, never mind on the might part. She will take some sort of revenge on the Egyptians.

"Nyx, please don't tell my mom that I was here. Tell her she was in some foreign desert where no humans were. Don't tell her a thing!" I begged, thinking about the prince.

Her eyes softened on me for a moment, but then Eros ruined it when he said, "You got nothing to be ashamed of. Do you know how many goddesses screw humans? Think about it."

Nyx's eyes narrowed as the wind blew around us almost as if she was slapping us. I blinked a few times as a warm fuzzy feeling bloomed on my face and traveled throughout my body. It reminded me of the weird warm feeling that the prince had caused in my stomach, but it was a little different. How can I describe such a warmth? When my mom wasn't angry with me and was letting me be myself for a while.

Yes…it was more to something like that.

I could feel myself stumbling as we kept walking. The sweet smell of alcohol and flowers kept buzzing in my head.

"My dear," A deep voice echoed in my ears, "did you really find them?"

I tried to look up to see who it was, but my head was too heavy.

"Catch her," Nyx demanded as her grip on my wrist loosened and the next thing I knew, I was falling. Warm arms caught me and lifted me up. From the corner of my eyes, I watched Nyx carefully pick up Eros in her arms. I blinked, but this time, my eyes didn't stay open.

A cool hand was on my forehead, pushing the hair out of my face.

Actually, my whole body felt a little cold, but I still didn't want to move or open my eyes. Mainly due to the fact that my mother was probably hovering over me right now. I didn't want to think about what happened last night, but the memories overtook me like Odysseus's men overtook Helios's cattle.

"It's safe to open your eyes."

Huh?

I snapped my eyes open and sat up instantly when I heard that voice.

"Hades? What? Where am I?" I looked around to see that I was on a huge bed with white linen sheets. Eros was sitting next to me, snoring as loudly as ever. His fluffy blonde hair was messed up and I was tempted to try to tame it at the moment, but then I remembered how my mother always complained about my own hair so I doubted I was the person to take on such a task. The room was dark with black crystal looking roses in a painted vase. There was dark smooth looking fabric hanging around us, possibly as a protection against the other residents of this place.

My skin prickled and I felt a little light headed, but other than that I was doing alright, I think.

He smiled gently at me and I realized that he was wearing his usual black tunic.

"In the Underworld, child."

"Underworld?"

He nodded.

"As in your domain?"

Again, he nodded.

"Where all mortal souls go in the end?"

Another nod.

"Where you live?"

He gave me a small smile as he nodded again.

"Oh, okay." I said, thinking about this. So, I was in the Underworld where all souls go after they die. The place that my uncle rules with an iron fist and where other goddesses and gods live too like Hecate, Nyx, and her husband along with the judges of the dead, but how can I even be here?

My mind wondered back to the fact that I was in the Underworld and a scream suddenly erupted out of me, "WHAT?"

"Should I be worried about the delayed reaction?"

I stared at him, "H-How did I get here?"

"Nyx and Erebus brought you here. They found you in Egyptian with a human prince." His voice simply stated as a fact and didn't have the judgment like Nyx's had. "Speaking of which, what were you two doing in Egypt?"

"We wanted to see the art." I lied.

He raised an eye brow, "The art?"

I sat there, unsure what to do. We weren't close or anything. Actually, now that I think about it, I rarely even talked to my uncle Hades. He had always been quiet and I liked watching him because of his quietness, but other than that, he had always been just another God to me. He never scared me like Eros seemed to think he was, but there was always something heavy about it.

"Yes," I explained, "art makes me feel better after I've been stressed out a lot." I glared at him, hoping he would get the hint about leaving it alone. "So why am I here instead of with my mother?" Not that I was complaining.

"I thought that you would like a break from your mother. Personally, I didn't want to deal with her yet either." A grin bloomed on his face and it was…beautiful. I had never seen him grin like that before and I wished I could just sit there and study it. My hand tingled with a weird urge to touch his smooth face.

My face tinge pink and I shook my head as I curled my knees to my chest.

"Kore, what's wrong?" He reached over to feel my forehead.

"Nothing, I'm just not feeling well." Which now that I was thinking about it ,was true. My stomach was feeling a little queasy and my head was killing me. I could feel that a small sweat had broken over my face. I felt like I was suffocating.

"Yes, you are a goddess of the spring and the underworld doesn't have the sun that a young rose like yourself needs." He got up and pulled his hand away from me. "I'll get you some flowers from the world above and then you'll be fine, I'm sure."

He left me there in the room which was creepy now that I got a good look at it. There was no real light. Most of it was coming from candles. I got up, refusing to stay still and this was a good place to explore. I'll admit that my stomach didn't want me to move, but how many chances will I get to explore the Underworld?

The floor was cold and I shivered a little, but I didn't weaver. I walked through the large dark room until I saw the white door that he had gone through. I push it open and I hear a strange click that echoes throughout the room. I poked out my head out to see a dark hallway.

I walked quietly and ignore some of the creepy sounds that were coming everywhere. The hallway was really a bunch of pillars that showed what the Underworld was really like. I could see the river of Styx and some strange looking things sparkling in the dull, grey light of the Underworld. I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach that there was more to this world then I could see. The air kept getting thicker, making my head dizzy, but I couldn't let this opportunity pass.

I saw a few small steps and quickly went down. There was a narrow passage that when through the sparkling things. I sat down to get a closer look at them. They were…flowers, but they were carved out of crystals.

Oh beautiful Goddess. One called to me.

Again, this was one of the perks of being a goddess of the spring. I could easily here the flowers and the other plants in my head, but I didn't tell my mom that. Actually, now that I thought about it, Eros was the only one who actually knew.

"Yes?"

What are you doing down here? I searched and found that the flower that was talking to me was a rose shaped ruby. I picked it up and cupped it in my hands.

"My uncle, Hades found me in Egypt."

Was it beautiful?

"Oh, you mean Egypt?"

No, the sun. Are the fields beautiful? I've been to Egypt many times, my lady.

"Huh? What you mean you've been in Egypt?"

I noticed that a small flame was burning in the crystal flower.

Oh dear child, I'm Isis. The people of Egypt are my children.

I jumped, standing up and almost dropping the rose in the process.

Be careful! I'll die if I break.

"W-What? How is that possible? I don't understand. No, Zeus and the others are the only gods and goddesses in this world." I stated firmly.

Do you honestly think that Zeus and the others could keep this world alive by themselves? The voice was sounding a bit more threatening than before. Things change and things happen. That's all.

"What? I don't understand. Hera would throw a fit if there was another mother goddess like you, my lady." Now that I think about it, I have never seen my aunt happy. Never ever. She was always throwing some fit about something. Even at the party yesterday, she was unhappy about how much Zeus was drinking and maybe a rumor that he had slept with another human woman.

Oh trust me, she did.

"But-"

Child, someone is coming. Put me back before they see you.

"Wait, I have so many questions and…" The fire turned suddenly vanished in the crystal. I put her down and stared at it silently. "And I wanted to tell you how much I envied Horus to have you as a mother."

I turned to see who was coming, but I didn't hear anything. I followed the narrow path as I started hearing more voices.

Can she hear us? A masculine voice asked.

I think so! She was talking to Isis just a moment ago.

Horus be quiet!

How can I? Someone can finally hear us!

Who is she?

She must be a goddess of the spring to hear us. No one has been able to hear us for the past thousands of years! If only I were in my body!

She is much too young for you, Set!

Oh shut it, Osiris.

I started running until I found a cave, but this time I heard other noises. It sounded like angry growling of some kind of animal. My curiosity perked and cautiously walked over to the mouth of the cave. I walked in when I heard the same kind of noises. I followed, ignoring the crystal roses that kept screaming and calling for me.

ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR

"Eeeek!" I yelled, jumping back from the three headed dog that had tried to use my arm as his new chew toy. I pressed my back against a cold stony wall as the dog growled at me. His gigantic paws slowly padded over to where I was.

Okay, think of something. This had to be Hecate's dog, Kerberos. He probably only listened to Hades and Hecate. He was the protector of the Underworld. He made sure that no souls left and no living mortals could enter. I was starting to wish that he didn't do his job so well.

I bit my lip nervously as the dog's noise gently pressed against my stomach. He took a big whiff of me and then growled.

"There, there doggie." I whispered as I slowly lifted my hand to pet his nose, but he growled so I stayed frozen for a moment. "I'm not trying to hurt anyone." I'm also immortal… even with this fact in mind I didn't want to be torn to shreds. Being immortal does not make one not feel pain.

The dog walked away into another corner of the cramp cave and stared at me. All three heads growled whenever I moved. I sat down and stared at the dog for a long moment.

"So you're not going to let me go, are you?" I asked as the dog growled with response. Well, I guess I should have predicted this. I wasn't in my element so it wasn't like I could call upon some vines to get this dog tangled in. I put my hand on the ground and concentrated for a moment.

Not even a pulse. There was nothing here that could help me.

He was a very large dog as you can very well imagine. His three heads hit the ceiling of the cave. His fur was jet black like a starless sky and his eyes were bright red like the smooth petals of a crimson rose.

Again, I stared at the monster for a long moment. He kind of reminded me a bit of Artemis. This was because the huntress was very scary when I first met her. She just glared at me and pushed me away. If I remember correctly, she even growled at me. I hid behind the trees whenever she came on my island to hunt, but then one day Apollo came with her. He saw me and caught me hiding behind a rose bush. He had gently pulled me into his arms and whispered, "Just get to know her slowly. Like a wild animal. Earn her trust slowly and soon she'll get used to you. I swear it on the River of Styx."

Now for the gods and goddesses, swearing something on the river of Styx is a big deal because no matter what we can't break it. This has caused some gods like Helios and Zeus some troubles in the past from what Leuke had told me.

That's it!

I scooted closer to the dog just an inch and he lifted his three heads. All six eyes were on me before he growled at me and rested his head on his paws again. After about a few more seconds I moved a little closer this time. He lifted his head and glared at me with his six eyes, but this time there was no growl. I scooted closer and closer and soon he didn't respond. I was soon sitting right in front of the middle dog's nose.

His eyes were open as were the other two heads, but they didn't flinch. They just kept staring at me like they weren't a hundred percent sure what to do with me.

"Really, it's okay. I'm not trying to leave." I touched his nose of the head in the middle. "See? I'm not going to hurt anyone." I carefully and slowly reached out to scratch his ear. He growled and I jumped a little, but then his large nose gently nuzzled my hand.

Well, I'm sure that was a good sign.

"Good boy. What cute little puppies you are." I whispered. "What a pretty little thing you are." Okay, so the dogs weren't that little, but at least they didn't find me a threat. "Is it okay if I go now?"

The dogs looked uncertain and suddenly walked in front of the opening and sat down in front of the opening to the other side of the Underworld. I slapped my forehead with the palm of my hand. You have got to be kidding me. I get his trusts and I still can't go. Well, on the bright side, he didn't seem to want to eat me.

"Good dog."

I turned around, blushing insanely when I saw my uncle Hades with Eros who looked just as annoyed as he did. Though, to be honest, I was pretty sure that Eros was just trying to act all masculine like my uncle. He had his chest all puffed out and his arms wrapped over his chest with a harsh glare on his face. The scene would have been funny if Hades wasn't narrowing his black eyes at me.

The dogs whined a little as Hades knelt down and picked me up. For someone who lived in such a cold place and having such cold hands, his chest sure was warm. I could feel my own face burning up a little and my head getting light headed. I rested my head on his shoulder and that weird feeling in my stomach made me a little sick again. This was so…odd.

He raised an eye brow as he looked at me and the dogs. "What have you done to my guard dogs?" Eros looked a little pale and took a few steps so he was behind Hades.

I shrugged, "He was lonely and I wanted to explore."

He grinned, "Oh really? Leuke was right that you are, indeed, very curious, but you are not allowed to go down there." He said this as he squeezed me a little harder. Before I could ask why, he simply kissed my forehead and said, "You are much too innocent to see such misery."

"Misery?" I asked as I saw Eros shrug at me.

He tenderly stroked my head. "Yes, a lot of misery. So much that would even suffocate the purest of roses."

I couldn't help, but think that Hades chose a very poor example of a weak flower. Roses are pretty, but they aren't weak. They have thorns that can pierce and even rip pretty white skin.

Sailor Ra: Six pages! Yeah! I was trying to make this as long as I could make it, but I hope you all like it. I guess if you take a close enough look you can see Kore getting a crush on Hades. The relationship between Hades and Kore begins. You can tell that he feels some affection for her. It could be because he is her uncle and possibly feels pity for her because of what he's heard from Leuke.

I really can't believe all the compliments I'm getting on this story. (resist crying). Really, I love how much you guys like it. That's why I keep working and revising how the story is. I'm sorry how long it takes me to update, but I hope its worth the very annoying wait. I'm glad that everyone likes Kore so much and Hades. Even a cocky Eros is getting some attention.

Wahaha, the Egyptian gods and goddesses do actually play a part in the story. I got the idea from reading "Paradise Lost".

Thank you all so very much for reviewing. I mean it. They make me squeal with joy and make me work harder and harder. They are my fuel.

Playlists

Just a Little Girl by Trading Yesterday

Long Song Requiem by Trading Yesterday

Broken Hearted Soul by Ra