The eerie voices whispered faintly around ears contently listening. Deep, violet eyes stared into the pool below, watching spirits moan and twisted into each other as fingertips traced loops a centimeter above the water, tempting fate. Every day in the same morning, the young woman would sit there and talk to lost spirits calling for help, trying to give them comfort in the hopes of continuing her search for her unfinished business.
Time was no longer a concern in the Underworld, she stopped caring hundreds of years ago that the sun would forever stay the same, laying an orange tint throughout the air.
Nadri breathed in deeply, closing her eyes. She wanted to let her fingers drop into the water, disappear into the depths for the rest of her soul's eternity. Her old soul had lingered for so long, tired. Her soul was one of the oldest residents in the Underworld, so long forgotten but yet so powerful to some. She leant over on her knees, watching as the magic ties around her wrists dangled into the water, unaffected by the power the spirits held. Nadri wondered, what would happen if she just touched it?
What would happen if she could just be lost to the river, forever a tortured soul, instead of an eternity bound slave?
What would truly be better?
"I wouldn't get too close."
The voice suddenly disclosed from behind her. Nadri jumped at the old voice that had spoken from behind her, almost losing her balance to fall into the water. She gripped the slabbed ledge tightly pushing herself back to balance. She moved her head up and peeked over her shoulder through the bundles of deep black curls that laid below her shoulders and up at the statue of the God behind her. Her heart-shaped, radiant face held bright, glittering violet eyes, set graciously within their sockets, studied him intently, a lightning storm that had no fight left. Smooth pale skin gleamed from the reflection of the deep ethereal blue waters.
The Lord of the Underworld stood so proudly with his darkness humming within him. Nadri groaned quietly, exhaling through her slim nose knowing that Hades had now in fact found her. Regret filled her soul, the feeling of impending dread washed over her like waterfall. She had kept to the shadows, stayed deep within the ruins beyond the sight of a single soul and where Hades didn't bother to venture. Nadri had all the help she needed and now after all this time, she had been found.
A deer caught in the headlights wasn't enough to describe Nadri right now. She should have jumped in while she could. Nadri had been a slave for so long, she almost couldn't tell if it was true or a dream anymore. She silently congratulated Hades for finally finding her. Hades couldn't find a rogue soul in his own house. Nadri was a soul bound to serve him, Hades just let her go long enough to get a taste of being free before he yanked her back within the darkness.
"Nothing to say, my dear? How about…hello?" Hades approached Nadri leisurely, his cane tapping along the stone floor of the ruins. The ruby skull on top of the cane glowed ominously as he stepped closer. Nadri stared up at Hades towering above her, a formal black suit with a red silk handkerchief in his breast pocket and cocking his head at her as if he was expecting her to bow down to his feet graciously.
"Hades." Nadri greeted, forcing a smile on her pale pink lips but underneath she felt as if the blood running through her veins had turned to ice the more and more he stood in her presence. Hades extended his hand, waiting patiently for her to take it.
"Please, Nadri. I'm a busy man." Hades continued to wait, growing impatient before Nadri hesitantly took it his hand. He lifted her up effortlessly, her bare feet touching the stone cold ground and the thin material of her mystical purple dress no longer scrunched up around her legs but flooding the ground neatly, flowing around her feet. "You didn't think you could hide for much longer, did you?"
"It worked so far." Nadri coldly shot back, pulling her hand away. She brushed the dust from the perfectly sewn, scaled lace dress wrapped around her body tightly it could have almost been her own skin. The tops of her arms and her back were exposed, the scaled material covering breasts and midsection spreading out. The scaled sleeves started half way down her forearms and stopped just below her wrists. Nadri pushed her hair back, exposing the gold-plated necklace that sat solid around her neck. Tiny diamonds were placed decoratively around the area where a marquise shaped gemstone should have been, leaving an unoccupied crevice in the necklace. "It's been a long time." The pale-faced woman acknowledged, trying to stay calm within herself.
"You are very careful. I commend you for that." Hades commented smoothly, complimenting her escape plan. "Getting past Cerberus though, that was smooth work. Have help did you?" His dark, almost piercing black, eyes stared into her soul. Her stature compared to his were dramatically different, Hades loomed over her whilst she tried to keep her calm and proud posture.
"He's a big softie really." Nadri retorted back sarcastically, dismissing his inkling about her having any help towards her escape, her usually soft-spoken voice harsh with impatience. "What now? Are you going throw me in? I welcome it." She asked shakily and Hades just laughed softly. He looked back down at Nadri darkly, enjoying toying with her fear.
"What do they call you again, The Lonely One now?" Nadri forced an annoyed smile, exhaling and shaking her head. "Nadri the Lonely." He trailed off, a smug, sickening smirk on his face. Hades looked at the young woman in front of him, her body shaking ever so slightly. "Time ticks away so fast when you're a lost soul."
Hades left her to wonder the afterlife like a child learning how to walk for hundreds of years. Her soul could not tether to unfinished business because what else could there be in this life? Nadri lived a life confined to the mountains in Asari, a land full of many mythical creatures some had thought to never have existed, looking after the King's riches and jewels, a lonely life. For every person who appeared in that mountain she would ward off, dragon slayers, adventurers, dwarves…anyone who became a threat to her and the royalty she was enslaved by.
"Repenting for all of those things you've done in this life?" Hades brought a hand up to Nadri's slender jaw, tracing it with his fingers as she visibly became uncomfortable. She clenched her jaw, feeling burning hot finger tips along her skin. "All those innocents?" He continued to stroke her face, smiling perversely. Hades enjoyed making her suffer, just like he did with the other souls that had entered this realm, but with Nadri his aim was to snuff out any sort of fire that kept her so lenient towards disobeying.
Did he really expect Zeus to take care of this souls, show them guidance? How wrong he was.
"Dragon-slayers are not innocents. You heard the wrong fairy-tale." Nadri barked, repulsing away from his hands. Hades chuckling wickedly, relishing in playing with her mind. She narrowed her slim eyebrows at the older man, feeling her rage beginning to stir further around deep inside her. "How dare you insult me?" She spat with disgust.
"I branded you as a slave, Nadri. I can do what I want with you." Hades shrugged. "You couldn't hide from me forever, I would always find you."
"You did a pretty piss poor job of it for years."
Thwack.
Hades cane whipped Nadri across the face suddenly, the top end smacking her in the jaw at her comment. Nadri gasped, feeling the sting ripple up her cheek as she brought a hand to her face out of shock, cradling it. Hades steadily cleared his throat, as if he hadn't just violently struck her.
"You understand I have to punish you Nadri." False sympathy littered his voice. She slowly turned her head to look at him, the beginning of a horrendous bruise marked her cheekbone. "What happened to the dark young woman who came into my realm long ago? Full of anger, the dark energy that vibrated through the night." Hades raised an eyebrow at the young woman, admiring her slender body fitting well in the long, elegant dress that she had fallen into this realm in. It wrapped around her curves, detailing every inch of her body. "You strove for destruction."
"Anger fades Hades, heartbreak fades." Tears threatened to spill from her eyes from the soaring pain spreading in her cheek.
"It does not." He slammed his cane into the ground, Nadri touching a nerve deep inside of him. You couldn't expect to come into this realm, a powerful being like you, and expect not be used?" Nadri swallowed hard, recalling every torment Hades inflicted when her anger towards her killer had ceased.
She had been beaten, fondled, used against other souls as a terror tactic and protecting Hades most valuable treasure in both forms. Hades would relish in his slave's powerful and ancient magic.
"Let's go home." Nadri solemnly nodded as Hades flicked his wrist, red and black smoke circling around their feet and engulfing them like a poisonous cloud.
They appeared into another room underneath the city of the Underworld. Great braziers hanging from one side of each of the eight obsidian columns light up most of the throne room and covered the room in warm oranges and dancing shadows. They stood upon a golden rug that split part of the room in half from the throne. Wide, stained glass windows depicting ancient legends are shrouded by curtains coloured the same golden as the rugs, beyond the windows were pure darkness. Hades throne was covered in textured and layered illustrations and fixed on each of the broad feet is a gilded petal. The modest pillows are a dark red and were adorned with golden corners. The last time Nadri was inside this room, she had dissolved the chains bounded to her with the water from the River of Souls.
Hades thought better of that this time.
"Happy to be home?" Hades strutted up to the table next to his gleaming throne, the decanter full of a rich red wine that he had been saving for this occasion. As he was pouring, Nadri analyzed the chains in the corner of the room, Hades had gone through a lot of work to make sure they could bind her. The collar itself was made from obsidian, a trick he had since learned after she escaped the first time, it was engraved with ancient Dragon language to keep her bounded as a slave to the chains.
Why couldn't he just obliterate her to Hell? Why does he need a pet to play with?
"Just turn me, already." Nadri murmured, still standing there like a blank statue. Hades had complete and utter power over Nadri, as soon as she was back into her chains as the form she once was then she would never be able to leave again. He would make sure that she would never see the light, feel the freedom ever again.
"You see, I would." Hades told her with a chipper tone, finishing his glass and approaching her with his cane. "But, you ran away." He pointed it at her threateningly with his cane. "Insubordination will not happen." Hades swung the cane, Nadri standing there firm in her stance and bracing for the impact that was about to knock her off her feet.
It hit her in the face again, the young magical being falling to the marble floor with a cry. Nadri felt her face seer with the impact before Hades raised his hand and her body flung across the room with magical energy, her body tumbling through the air and hitting the tiles with a cracking thud. The entire of her body shook as she attempted to pull herself up from the floor but the blow had immense impact to her frame. Hades slowly sauntered up to her with a menacing demeanor as she pathetically tried to crawl away. Nadri sobbed into the tears, fraught for breath.
"S-Stop." Blood dripped from her lips, spitting it out onto the tiles. Nadri could barely hold herself up, feeling the shredding and tearing inside of her from her injuries. "Hades."
"Beg." He stood over her, bringing out the handkerchief and wiping the end of his cane where the blood from her mouth splattered up the ebony wood. Nadri firmly bit her lip, blood dribbling down her mouth. "Beg…and I might stop." She dragged herself up, purposely spitting blood onto his freshly cleaned rug.
"N-Never."
Hales scoffed, dissatisfied.
All of a sudden he wrapped his hand within her curls, Hades wrapped his hands within the curls of her hair and yanked her up from the ground aggressively. Nadri whimpered, flailing her legs out and scratching at Hades hands whilst he just bemused to himself. The lengths of her dress tangled between her legs as admired her from above, tears streaming down her face as her eyes silently pleaded with him.
"Once Upon a Time… I was something that Zeus… would have dreamed to have in his court." Nadri managed to get out, gurgling on her own blood from the internal cracking from the pillar. "P-Protecting his riches, his people." She spat the crimson liquid up at him, hocking it in his face. Hades flared above her, moving his hand across to her throat and traced the outline of the river of scarred flesh that ran along her neck and down to her chest before bringing it back up and slowly narrowing his grip. Her eyes widened, the blood trapped in her throat as she choked and drowned on it.
"S-Should have left me… at the River." Nadri breathed out painfully before yelping out when Hades began to drag her along hastily towards the fireplace. The hair on her head felt as if it was slowly being pulled out as he pulled her along like a disobedient dog.
He discarded her to the ground, her dress tearing as she fell, and blood sticking to the material like glue. Another kick to the ribs. Nadri gasped for air, feeling the blows to her back and inside of her body. It wasn't real. It couldn't be real, she was already dead. It felt like it had continued for a lifetime, by the time Hades had stopped, Nadri was in writhing agony at the Lord of the Underworld's feet as he panted. Her vision went blurry as tears streamed from her eyes. Biting the pain was barely an option as agonizing cramps seemed to crush her insides from within. She was unable to block out the pain entirely. Her vision darkened as the battle took on her body.
Hades held up a glittering, purple stone within his fingertips. The gleam that shone off the stone winked at Nadri as she laid on the floor, sparkling with a dark magic so powerful that even Hades wouldn't be able to conjure such a curse.
"You won't be able to escape so easily this time."