Chapter 12:

He sees her there, standing before him – naked. She is facing a setting sun, her back to him, body silhouetted with rays of orange and gold. He's frozen in place as he hears Cronus's cold whisper in his ear, Take her. Zeus would do the same thing.

Rage filling his chest, he yells, "I am NOT Zeus!" He looks to the sky and bellows out, "I am HADES! I am the Unseen, ruler of the Underworld! And I WILL NOT tolerate you in my dreams any longer!" The ground rumbles and green fire crackles around him as he tries to shake Cronus from his mind. A deep chuckle runs in his thoughts, You are a god, Aidoneous. You cannot keep me from your thoughts or dreams. Look at the girl in front of you. I can feel your lust for her. It runs through veins and burns you. Will you take her there now as she stands in front of you, naked? Will you take what you crave? Power, pleasure, body and soul? Another loud chuckle passes through his mind as he feels himself shudder. Zeus takes what he wants. He is a king – he is your king. You desire what he has. I can feel it in your heart. You want his power. You want his kingdom. You want HER. Can you not FEEL it?

He clutches his side, more out of habit than pain now, and begins to walk towards her, feet weighing like lead with each step.

"Persephone," he whispers, his hand reaching out to touch her shoulder. She turns to him, her cheeks streaked with tears and points to a mountain high up in the sky. "See that?" she asks, her words harsh and laced with venom. "That was Mount Olympus." Her eyes narrow as she screams, "You destroyed the gods! You let Cronus free, and now the world is in Chaos! Are you happy now?" He yells in agony when he looks down and sees that she's stabbed him, twisting the blade. She grabs his robes and pulls to her face. "I HATE you," she whispers, "and I will NEVER forgive you."

He feels his mouth open – he can't hear himself scream, but he knows that's what he's doing. The world around him is in total chaos: black twisters forming over the ocean, dark lighting striking from the sky, and he sees himself atop his black chariot, master of it all. She hates you, the gods hate you. Take what you want – take what is yours. Set me free, and you will rule over EVERYTHING!

Hades wakes with a start in his bed, clutching his chest, a sheen of sweat coating his body.

When Cronus had told him that he would not get any rest, he thought he was prepared for it: pain, madness, anything. What he had not been prepared for was the feel of Persephone striking a blade into his stomach, twisting and turning it until he was sure his insides had been churned to mush. She hates me, he thinks, running a hand through is disheveled hair. She's always going to hate me. Getting up, he moves to put his clothes on – a dark tunic pinned with a red cloak. Sighing, he makes his way to the throne room. This is going to be a long day.

After waking up that morning, Persephone had found herself surrounded by thousands upon thousands of beautiful dresses. At first she had thought that that the previous day had been dream, but a cold feeling began to creep over her as she began to remember where she was. Now, as she's running her hands over the dresses – all beautiful and ornate and rich – she can't stop the bile in her throat from rising. He was going to rape me. She feels her hand grip around one of the dresses when a knock comes at the door.

"Come in."

A servant walks in and gives her a low bow. "Lord Hades wishes to see you in the throne room, my lady."

Persephone rolls her eyes. "I see…And if I do not wish to see him?" Even as she's saying it, she knows it's no use. If Hades wants to see her he will make her come whether she wants to or not. With an irritated huff, she picks one of plainest dresses she can find: a white gown, etched with light, silver-colored patterns of flowers.

When she finishes putting her dress on, she turns to the servant and notices for the first time that her face is partially translucent. A shade?

With an uneasy smile, she asks, "Can you guide me to the throne room?"

The shade gives a low bow. "Of course, my lady. Follow me."

Walking into the throne room, Persephone feels her anger boil up as she sees her kidnapper leisurely sitting on his throne, chin resting against his left hand. His face is angry, and it looks like he hasn't shaved for a few days. She sees him take a drink from the bottle he's holding underneath his chin and feels her mouth curl in disgust.

"Hades." She won't give him the satisfaction of calling him 'my lord' or 'Lord Hades' – no, he doesn't deserve her respect.

His eyes turn to look at her, bleary and bloodshot and she can't help but notice how different he looks. After staring at her for what seems like ages – He's always doing that! Why does he do that? – he finally says, " Good morning, Persephone. Did you sleep well?"

Her eyes flare up in anger – she wants to bash his head against his giant onyx throne and run away. Away, far, back home to her mother, but something tells her that leaving the Underworld likely won't be so easy. Instead, she grits her teeth and nods.

"Good," he says, running a hand through his hair. He lets out a breath and nods to himself. "Persephone, there's a great deal you and I need to discuss-"

"I want to go home."

He ignores her comment and continues, "Today I will be giving you a tour of my realm." Grimacing, he takes another swig of the drink in his hand while Persephone crosses her arms and nods her head to the side. Eyes narrowing, she asks, "Why?"

He looks out at the wall of shades in front of him and lets out a pained sigh. "Because, my lady," he turns his head to her, "you are to be my queen. You must know the realm if you are to rule with me."

Persephone's jaw drops in shock. Me? A queen? A QUEEN OF THE UNDERWORLD? HADES' QUEEN? Taking a step back and shaking her head, she says, "No, no, no, no. This- this must be some mistake! I c – c – can't be your queen. I don't WANT to be your queen!"

He gets up from throne and walks towards her. At first thinking that he is about to strike her, she readies herself. Instead, she is surprised when she sees him hold out his arm for her.

"Come, the chariot is ready." He gives her an expectant look. You really expect me to take your arm after all you've put me through? She crosses her arms, sees that his icy-blue eyes are boring into hers. Will you quit staring at me? The two stand there, angry sparks flickering between their eyes. After doing her best to stare him down, she sees small corner of his lip turn up and she knows she's lost the battle. Gods I hate you! Looking at his face, she sets her jaw and reluctantly takes his arm.

As he lifts her into the black chariot, a plan begins to formulate in her mind. Just keep him happy, do what he says. Maybe you'll be able to figure out a way to escape this place on the tour. From the first time since her kidnapping, she feels herself begin to really smile.

A/N: So I'd like to say thanks to all you guys that reviewed. I'm that that the present-tense thing isn't too much of a problem. I'm going to be working full-time starting tomorrow, so I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update. Honestly, I'll still try to update daily or semi-daily, but I can't guarantee it. But yeah. Anyways, I hope you guys liked this chapter. As always, leave comments!