A sound of whispers and giggles nagged at her subconscious. A sound of something breaking had her sitting up slowly as feet shuffled in the next room. Persephone hadn't realized that she'd fallen asleep. Stiffly pushing herself to her feet, she found she had been asleep on the bear skin rug on the ground next to the bed. The sheets and duvet were twisted as if she'd had a nightmare and she'd fallen out of bed. Jerking upward her eyes ravaged the room as she looked around, trying to figure out where she was. Images of the previous day came into her mind and she frowned softly. So it wasn't a dream. Shaking her head, Persephone stumbled across the room to the left where she vaguely remembered the bathroom being mentioned.
Opening the door she nearly let out a scream at what she saw. Two young women were in the process of drawing the bath, but what scared Persephone was that she could see through them, as if they weren't entirely there. They were almost transparent. The two young women jerked back from the bath when they spotted Persephone and for a moment they stared at each other. The smaller shade had a jar of ointment in her hand and was in the process of scooping some out. The taller shade had her mouth open at being caught, a handful of bath salt ready to be thrown. The two had been in mid-argument and their choices of weapons were all over them, pink smears here and there as oil dripped off their shadowy clothing.
The bathroom was in a mess with soaps, salt, oil, and water everywhere. Both of the shades put their weapons down, scrubbing themselves free of the salt and oil splattered all over them. For a moment it was quiet until a small bought of giggles started. The two shades stared at the new comer in surprise at the sound they were hearing. Persephone held her stomach as the giggles erupted into laughter at the looks on their faces. After all of the stress, the worry, and regret, Persephone was emotionally exhausted; it was no surprise something silly like throwing bath mud would make her laugh. "Y-Your faces! You look so… so silly!!" The two shades looked at each other and grinned before joining in on the laughter, seeing as they weren't in trouble. Yet.
"We're sorry if we disturbed you. We were having a… a disagreement."
"Which I was winning."
"No you weren't!"
Persephone continued laughing as salt was thrown and more lumps of perfumed bath cream flew across the room. The once pristine white bathroom now had pink salt and goo everywhere. The taller shade was a young woman of the mid-twenties range and had black hair wound into a bun, her skin pale and white underneath the white shift she wore. The smaller shade, barely older than a ten year old girl, had short curly hair and freckles all across her nose. "I was right Arisa!" The older shade crowed in delight at the ruddy blush that appeared across the little girl's face, even though she was dead.
The younger girl, Arisa, frowned and glared at her. "No, I was right Helena!" The throwing began as Arisa threw with all her might a large wad of the pink bath cream. A miscalculated throw from Arisa had Persephone's neck and shoulder covered in pink, scented goo. For a moment there was a brief pause as Persephone looked down at herself, then at the two shades who looked mortified for actually attacking her. She was going to be queen, and they'd just attacked her! They exchanged panicked looks and immediately went to a knee, dropping their weapons. Hades was going to be furious if they displeased this woman. He'd held a meeting while she'd been asleep, telling them that she was to be queen, and anyone who displeased her would be sent straight to Tartarus. A shudder rippled through the two women as they looked up at Persephone.
"M-My lady, we're s-sorry, we didn't mean to—" A resounding splat filled the air as Persephone threw the goop back at the shade closest to her, hitting Helena in the mouth. They stared at her in shock before smiles curved all of their mouths and the war began in earnest. The bathroom erupted into giggles and squeals as the three of them threw salt, bath oil, and many other cosmetics at each other. The squeals of delight echoed through out the hallways and floors, all the way to the main entrance.
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Hades heard the echoes of the laughter and looked up towards the ceiling. Raising an eyebrow he stood from the throne he was sitting on, a matching smaller one being placed next to him. The entire bottom floor had been decorated by now and the shades he sent up were supposed to be getting Persephone ready for the wedding tomorrow. She had slept through the entire night and that afternoon, actually. He'd checked on her this morning and she'd been dead asleep on the floor. He'd moved her to the bed and, though he would never admit it, had tucked her in. He didn't know how she'd ended up on the floor the first time but assumed it was because she slept in fields and not in down feathered beds. Shaking his head lightly, Hades ran a hand through his hair before heading upstairs to check on the noise. The black and gold marble thrones were being polished, the floor in the throne room a rich gold color. Curtains hung between every other pillar as flowers were hung every where. Even Charon was helping decorate by over seeing everything, being the closest thing to a friend Hades had ever had. Charon barking orders faded into the background as he headed upstairs.
His footsteps echoed in the hallways as he headed up different stair cases to reach the upper floors. Every stair well was made of marble with gold or silver railings. He wasn't called the rich one for nothing! His palace had been built with nothing but the finest jewels, stones, and marble. He had pelts and furs from the animals that died and went automatically to the Elysian Fields. He had fountains that ran down the walls in the main hallways, making the walls shimmer from the water. The hallway that he had built onto the library wing had mosaics of glass and slivered gemstones of the great battles past, including the one against the titans and his own father.
Giggles interrupted his train of thought as he arrived at his room and he frowned. Persephone was giggling? He opened the door, frowning more that the shades had left it unlocked. He didn't need Persephone running around loose in the castle before he'd shown her the grounds! With a reprimand on his tongue he entered the bedroom, only to be met with an empty space. For a moment he felt panic seize him before he heard someone slip and fall in the bathroom. Sighing slightly in relief, Hades moved into the bathroom doorway. He was surprised to see the bathroom was in ruins and that his bride to be was covered in goo and crystallized salt, as were the other two shades.
Arisa quickly ducked out of Hades's way as he entered the room, giggling loudly when Helen was hit. Persephone, who had been ducking behind a changing screen, quickly jerked out of her hiding spot and threw a ball of cream and salt she had mixed together with soap shavings at where Arisa had once been standing behind the wardrobe near the door. Hades felt surprise alight on his normally stoic features as the large glob hit the side of his face instead of Arisa's. The bathtub that was inlaid into the floor was half filled with steamy water, the faucet for indoor plumbing pumping water out furiously on the other side of the room. Its loud pumping was the only sound as Persephone chuckled to herself.
"Ha! I got… you…" Her triumphant look quickly faded from surprise to shock as she dropped the second soap ball in her hands when she saw who she had hit. Oh no... Hades wiped the offending pink goo from his temple, looking at it on his hand then up at Persephone. She gulped softly as Hades turned towards her and started forward, his boots sliding a little in the muck on the floor. Persephone's backbone straightened as she put on her bravest face as her kidnapper and self-proclaimed king stepped forward.
Inwardly he approved when he saw the backbone straighten but didn't let it show. He held up the goo in his hand for her to see, a questioning look in his eyes. "Persephone… what is this?"
Arisa and Helen came behind Persephone, looking demure and quiet as they dipped in half bows before standing behind their lady. "Its soap, bath salts, and bathing lotion mixed together." Her answer was no nonsense and he looked from the concoction that was perfuming his hand to her face.
Hades's brow lifted slightly as he glanced at the pink that was covering Persephone literally from head to toe. His finger ran down her cheek and streaked through some of the goo as he withdrew his finger to look at it. "You were supposed to be bathing." The two shades glanced at each other nervously before glancing at the floor again, waiting quietly to be dismissed or ordered to clean up.
Persephone crossed her arms over her chest, her chin tilting up a fraction. "I will when I'm good and ready. I was having a bit of fun, that's all!"
Hades could feel the oily texture sliding down the side of his face and he quickly wiped it off, forming a mass of it in his own hands. A small idea spark and he eyed Persephone critically. "Oh really?" She frowned at the drawl in his voice and bristled even more.
"Well of course! You should try it sometime, Lord Hades. Perhaps it would brighten up your prison."
He let the insult slide off his back like water and looked at her for a moment to watch her. She squirmed for a moment but tried showing no discomfort at his blatant gaze of silver. The quick twitch of his lips was Persephone's only warning before he was smearing the oily mess of goo down the side of her face and over her neck and shoulders. She let out an indignant shriek at the satisfied look on Hades's face and her eyes narrowed. "You know, this means war."
His lips quirked again when she went for a brand new bottle of white, vanilla scented bath goo and he grabbed the half used container of pink cream, scooping some out. Persephone threw a wad of it at Hades who neatly ducked it, quickly crossing the bathroom's slippery floor to get to her again. She squealed when he got close and quickly moved to the other side of the bathroom, a vanity table in the center of the bathroom separating them. Persephone was careful of the steps that led down into the floor for the bathtub and Hades paused, thinking over his strategy. He ducked another wad that was thrown at him, another idea quickly forming in his mind.
He tossed the cream can at Persephone and she dropped her own metal container to catch the new one as its contents flew across the room as well. While she was preoccupied, Hades slid under the high vanity table and crossed the room so quickly that Persephone had barely blinked.
She missed catching the second metal container as Hades's hands gripped her elbows and picked her up, slinging her up into his arms with careless grace that only years of experience could produce. The shock written over her face amused him as he purposely strode across the room towards the half filled tub. The tub was more of a small pool, his bed could float in it! It was perfect for what he had in mind for her. Persephone's arms wound around his neck as she saw the bathtub he was approaching. It took her a moment before she caught onto his plan and she clung on tighter. "Hades!! Don't you dare—" She let out another squeal as he detangled himself and tossed her into the bathtub with one neat and careless toss. The water swallowed most of her up as Persephone's head went under for a brief moment before she scrambled up and righted herself.
Hades grinned slightly at her drowned appearance, her brown curls turning darker with the wetness and sticking to her face. She coughed a little as some of the soap got into her mouth and she gave him a sour look through her lashes and wet bangs, trying valiantly not to smile. Her mouth settled into a firm pout as he crouched on the stairs leading into the bath tub, smirking in victory. "What did we learn today Persephone?" Her name came out in his deep voice and Persephone stared at him, a thrill going up her spine. Who knew that a person saying her name could sound so… exciting. Despite the hot temperature of the bathtub she let out a small shiver, which did not go unnoticed. The smug look on his face derailed that train of thought and Persephone's hands reached up and grabbed his shoulders, pulling him in with a quick jerk.
Hades's head bobbed above the surface as his smug look turned sour and Persephone's laughter rang out in the bathroom. A splashing war occurred and the two shades quietly slipped out of the bathroom, shutting the doors behind them with grins on their faces. Not only had they gotten out of being scolded, but they'd just gotten a giant, juicy piece of gossip for the underworld.
Hades had a soft spot.
However, as the two shades raced down the stairs to clean themselves up and spread the news, they didn't account for one thing. Not everyone in the Underworld was so friendly towards their king…
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Short, sweet, just filler for the next chapter. You get two hints: Bells and Whistles.
RR? I like hearing things from you guys! The most common used phrase I see is 'update nowz!' :D
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