Kore woke up in an unfamiliar setting. Last she remembered, she had made it through to Hades's palace. Now, however, she was lying in a bed that was not her own in a place she had never seen before. She sat up frantically, taking in her surroundings. The room was rather bare; a wardrobe on the opposite wall of the bed, next to the door, and a small table next to her. The room and furniture were charming. The woodwork of the wardrobe and the table was marvelous and extremely detailed, painted black to match the trim of the grey stone walls. Kore looked at the table again, noticing her basket of hyacinths. The flowers were strewn about the basket, slightly damaged from when they fell out. She remembered what had happened, how she had passed out almost immediately after entering the palace.

Kore got out of the bed frantically, he sheets falling to the ground after her. She opened the door quietly and slowly, only enough for her to look out. Seeing nothing but a long, empty hallway, she walked out. As she started walking down the hall to explore a bit, she was stopped by a voice from behind her.

"Ah," the voice, deep and smooth, said, "I see you are awake."

Kore turned around to see a very handsome man standing behind her. He was tall and dressed all in black. A sword was attached to his side and black wings, even darker than his clothes, were perturbing from his back. The man smirked at Kore's confusion and bowed with elegance.

"Forgive me for being so rude." The man stood straight. "I am Thanatos."

Kore gave a curt bow, still staring at the man. "Kore," she whispered, noticing how weak her voice sounded.

"I am aware." The man chuckled, then continued, "Image our surprise when we found you passed out at the entrance."

"My apologies," Kore replied. Does this mean it was Thanatos who carried her to the room she just came from? It surprised her that she would experience such hospitality in this place, considering the fact that she had practically broken into the place and that this man, this god, was Death himself.

"There's no need for that, m'lady. We find your presence her quite a treat."

Kore was shocked for a moment. She found it hard to believe that any of the gods would be honored to be in her presence. Except maybe Apollo, but he would only say that because he enjoyed dramatics and poetics.

"You seem surprised," Thanatos said with another chuckle. His laugh was smooth and pleasant. Kore nodded, unable to form words. "Come," he said, turning on his heels and walking down the hall.

Kore ran to catch up to Thanatos and fell into stride next to him. "Where are we going?" she asked.

Thanatos merely glanced at her with a smirk and continued walking. Kore looked around the place as they walked down the hall. It was decorated in a simple way. Column lined the walls with doors between them every now and again. Everything was black or grey. She laughed to herself. It seemed so typical that Hades would favor such a dreary, monochrome color scheme.

"What do you find so amusing?" Thanatos asked, yet there was no accusation in his voice. He seemed genuinely curious.

"Everything here is black," Kore stated simply. "Is Hades so afraid to ruin the image of the underworld by adding some color?"

"Perhaps. Yet much of the place is trimmed in gold or decorated with gemstones of varying colors. It's hard to notice if you are not looking closely to the details of the place." Thanatos stopped walking and faced Kore. "Yet I must agree with you. The place could use a touch of life." He smiled at her and place a hand on the door in front of him. Kore hadn't even noticed they reached the end of the hall, though upon looking closely at the door, she could see glimpses of sparkling color in the fine detail engraved in the wood. "Wait here," Thanatos instructed and pushed the door open. Kore was barely able to glimpse the inside of the room before the door flew back and shut in front of her.

Waiting had made her impatient. Kore paced back in forth in front of the door for a while before she got bored of that, then leaned against the adjacent wall, studying the detail of the door some more. She got bored of that as well, and set on the ground against the wall. She stared at the columns flanking the door and noticed they weren't completely black. They were made of a black granite and held traces of white a pink. Kore smiled to herself. This place held more and more surprises.

The door opened, finally, and Kore rushed to her feet. Thanatos smiled at her and gestured for her to enter. She walked passed him and nearly fled the room. Sitting before her in a brilliant throne made up of precious metals and gemstones was Hades himself. She found her knees to be weak with fear for she had no idea what to expect from the god. She felt Thanatos place a hand on her back and nudge her forward slightly.

"Don't be frightened," he whispered in her ear.

Kore walked forward some more and fell to the floor, bowing before Hades.

Hades hadn't been paying attention to the visitors before him. He was reading over a scroll before Thanatos coughed quietly to get his attention. Hades looked up and his eyes fell upon Kore. Thanatos chuckled which caused Kore to look up and see the expression of surprise on Hades's face.

Hades cleared is throat. "I see you've finally regained consciousness."

Kore nodded, not moving her eyes away from Hades.

They stared at each other for a moment; Kore with a sense of caution and Hades with interest. Neither spoke.

Hades looked to Thanatos who nodded in silent understanding and left the room.

"So," Hades said, trailing off for a moment before continuing, "I'm curious to know the purpose of your unexpected presence here."

Kore finally stood, trying her best to seem confident. "I know not."

Hades gave a quiet hum before standing and walking towards Kore. He stopped a few feet in front of her and looked her up and down.

"Demeter's daughter, yes?"

"Correct, m'lord."

"What is your name?"

"Kore, m'lord"

"An appropriate name for a goddess of the earth," Hades muttered to himself. He looked Kore over once more and sighed. "Make yourself at home." Hades's tone was devoid of any emotion. He said these last words as though they were routine. He turned around and walked back to his throne, sitting down and focusing his attention to the scroll once more.

Kore took this as her cue to leave and bowed her head briefly before leaving the room. The door closed behind her as she leaned against the adjacent wall with a sigh of relief. She was expecting Hades to be much colder than he had been. Sure, he wasn't exactly welcoming, but he had atlas been civil. She expected him to be angry with her for entering his palace and his domain without a purpose. Hardly any of the other gods spoke of Hades, so she had little knowledge of his temperament and was surprised to find him so collected.

Pushing herself off the wall, Kore walked down the hall to explore the area some more. She wanted to find Thanatos again and ask him about Hades. Perhaps he could explain to her why Hades seemed so cold and distant. Kore smiled to herself. While she was down here, she would make it her mission to appeal to Hades. The other gods always seemed so afraid of him. What could possibly be the harm in having the god of the Underworld as an ally; perhaps even a friend?