Chapter 14:

"Good afternoon, Dionysus. Isn't a bit early for wine?"

Dionysus feels himself nearly jump out of his skin when he hears the gruff voice. He sets his wine down on the large granite table, and slowly – shakily – turns his head around; carefully taking his time to remove all traces of fear from his face.

"Ha! It's never too early for wine, Uncle. Well, at least for me." Dionysus tries to give a happy grin, but he feels the muscles in his face twitch and spasm at the attempt. He, like most of the other gods on Olympus, has never been fond of the Lord of the Dead. After his banishment, the man was even easier to dislike, and throwing curses in his name became the pastime of gods and humans alike. But, even after all the jeers and hatred, there was one thing that the gods knew Hades still had: power. Zeus never said anything, and neither did Poseidon, but the three brothers knew, along with the rest of the gods, that they were the most powerful – and that their strength was equal to each other. Zeus may have been made King of the Gods, but that was only possible because of his brothers'(albeit reluctant on the part of Poseidon) acquiescence for the throne.

Each god had a third of the universe, and the realms of sky, sea and underworld given to them as rewards for their defeat of the Titans in the Titanomachy.

And for this, though the gods cursed his name and rejected him, Hades was still feared for the power he had over the world. On the days he was allowed on Olympus, Dionysus had paid special attention to the god, so as to avoid him – at least, that's what he told himself. In doing so, he would categorize every detail –dark, unkempt hair, piercing ice-blue eyes, chiseled features, a strong jaw – overall, a handsome face, but Dionysus was always bothered by his expression. Or rather, lack thereof.

Hades never had a hint of emotion on his face. Even when the gods would sneer at him, or openly insult him – which is something only Ares had foolishly decided to once (he was promptly reduced to a pile of blithering cries after Hades chose to stare at him, his countenance never changing from simple indifference) – Hades had never made a face.

It had always been like that for centuries – until the last winter solstice, when Hades had lifted Demeter in to the air with his hand tight around her neck. Dionysus had been drinking wine all night, but his thoughts had immediately cleared when he saw the look on Hades' face. It was fascinating, at first, to see so many things in one expression: love, confusion, hatred, rage…madness. And just as quick as it came, the expression was gone, drained from his face as if it had never been there to begin with. Hades had set Demeter back down, walked over to Persephone, and disappeared in shadow.

And, ever since that night, Dionysus had felt himself grow ever more curious, and ever more afraid – finally seeing an expression on the Lord of the Dead's face, a mad expression, was unsettling to say the least.

But now his uncle is just lounging on his pile of pillows near the fireplace, not a single hint of anything on his face, and Dionysus feels himself relax just a tad. He quietly clears his throat and pours his wine into a goblet, his back turning to face Hades as he does so. He hears some movement behind him, and clears his throat once more. "Every hour is the drinking hour, Uncle. Would you like some wine?"

"No. I've had enough today to last me a few centuries." Dionysus looks back over his shoulder to see Hades hold up a dark glass bottle, the liquid swishing back and forth. Dionysus turns around with his goblet in his hand and attempts another grin. "Well then, I suppose that leaves more for me." He moves to sit across from Hades, doing his best to gauge the god's mood while all the while trying to keep a safe distance without being overtly rude. He lies down on his favorite pillow and takes a small sip of wine.

That's when he sees it – a crack in Hades' façade. It's quick, but it's there: a grimace, followed by a darkening of the eyes and a clench of the fists, and Hades takes a sip of the wine he's brought – and just like that, the indifference returns, cold and calculating. My, my, my, how…interesting. Dionysus can feel the corner of his lips turn up. What has you bothered, my dear Uncle Hades?

"You know, I never took you for a drunkard like me, Uncle."

Dionysus can see Hades' eyes flick up, another dark spark passing over for a fraction of a second.

"People change, Dionysus." Oooh, was that a little bit of anger I heard?

"People change, yes," Dionysus says, taking a sip from his goblet, " but gods do not."

Dionysus know he should be feeling fear, he knows he should be quaking, and some part at the back his mind does remind him that he is afraid, and that he should not deliberately be trying to irritate Hades, but some part of him – some insane part of him (probably some unfounded courage from the win) – is just too curious. And when he sees Hades give a quick clench in his jaw and take another sip of whatever he's brought with him – Dionysus is sure it's not wine now – he feels his curiosity begin to outweigh his fear.

He leans in closer to Hades, and gives his most deviant expression. "Why are you here, Uncle?" He knows the answer, but he wants Hades to say it – to admit his weakness. He waits, but Hades seems to be arguing with himself. C'mon, you old fool, I know why you're here, just say it. SAY IT, DAMMIT!

"Hades," his uncle looks up, " Why. Are. You. Here?"

Hades' brows furrow and his eyes turn dark, and for a moment, Dionysus wonders if he's made a mistake. I'm too deep into it now; might as well go all the way. "I figured you would already know, Dionysus."

"Oh, I know, alright. I know." He feels his growing grin begin to falter as he sees Hades' expression grow darker. Now you might be pushing just a tad too hard here, Dionysus.

"Then why are you asking me?" The words come out through clenched teeth, and Dionysus thinks that perhaps he's had bit too much wine because even with his fear and his heart pounding in his chest, he throws Hades another grin and moves to sit right in front of him – his face inches away from the Lord of the Dead.

"Because, my dear, dear uncle…I want you to tell me. "

He's looking right into Hades' eyes, and he can see it. See the anger and the rage and the hatred and the madness threatening to take over, and Dionysus knows he's never seen such a frightening sight – and beautiful sight – in his life before. And it's a strange feeling to be scared out of your wits and yet so entranced by what you see.

He almost feels time stop as he hears Hades say, with as much controlled anger as one could possibly muster, "I'm losing myself, Dionysus." Hades takes a long breath before continuing, "I can feel my control slipping every day. I'm falling into madness." He looks up at Dionysus, eyes piercing as he says, "You're the god of madness…Will you help me?"

Dionysus gives the happiest, loudest chuckle he's had in centuries and takes a large gulp from his goblet. "No."

He gives another loud chuckle when he feels shadows grip around his body and face, tight and strong. He doesn't know where his fear has gone, because when Hades peers down at him with the most malicious look he's ever seen, he just feels his chest fill up with glee.

"Why," Hades grits out, "not?" And the sharpness of Hades' words are enough to make the room chill and the fire go out.

That's it – the façade is completely cracked, and Dionysus has never felt so happy in his life. It's dark, it's angry, it's chaotic and it's powerful; he sees Hades breathing hard, right at the edges of his control, and it is simply glorious. He feels a strong kick to his chest and falls back, laughing as a mixture of pain and arousal courses through his veins when Hades gets his face between his thumb and forefinger and starts crushing his jaw.

"You will help me, or I'll tear off your head and feed it to my dog."

"What of it? We gods cannot die."

"No," Hades sneers, "but we can feel pain. And you will feel pain if you do not cooperate."

"Temper, temper," Dionysus chokes out, still keeping his stupid grin. "I quite like this…emotional side to you, Uncle. It gets me quite excited." A hard punch to the face and Dionysus feels his head start spinning.

He grabs Hades' wrist and digs his nails in, drawing ichor, and he sees Hades lose just a fraction more of his control.

"Why don't you just give in, Uncle? It's no use trying to stop it. I can see you losing each ounce of control as we speak. Just let go – your madness will be glorious."

"I will destroy Olympus if I give in, you fool! I – I will have no control over myself!"

And Dionysus is laughing now, uncontrollably – all he needs is just. One. More. Little. Push.

"Then do it." Dionysus hears a scream pierce his ears, but whether it's one of anguish, anger or mania, he's not sure. But when the scream stops, he knows Hades is gone, disappeared back into his shadow the recesses of his realm. He smiles. "I suppose a visit to Ares would be a good choice at this point – glorious war fueled by glorious madness is coming. How exciting."

It surprised her, but as the day began to wear on, Persephone felt herself losing her anger. Looking across the fields of green and running her hands through the grass had given her a sense of determination and focus, no longer fueled by her anger at Hades, but rather her love for her mother. I'll be back home soon, Mother. I promise.

It was then that she felt the air grow colder around her and the sky (there is no sun here; it must be an illusion for the shades) begin to darken.

"I guess I've been out here long enough…" She can't shake the feeling that something is just…off. Wrong. When she feels the ground rumble beneath her feet, she makes the quick decision to head back to the palace. Time to go.

"My lord Hades, you need to calm down. You are in no state to –"

"Do NOT tell me what I can and cannot do, Hecate!"

"But sire!"

"Enough! Go back to your duties, and leave me to mine."

Hecate gives a low bow and says, "As you wish, my lord."

"I do wish it. Now leave." Hecate sees Hades take a large swig of the potion before sitting on his throne, motioning his hand to call up the nest shade. She gives one last sad glance at her king before walking out of the throne room. As she passes through the corridors leading to the outside of the palace, she sees the girl Hades had kidnapped the day prior. She takes note of her green eyes and dark auburn hair and smiles to herself. The king is like any other man, after all.

"Who's there?" the girl asks, her voice light and cautious.

"There's no need to fear, my lady. I am Hecate, goddess of crossroads and witchcraft, at your service."

As the mysterious woman walks out of the shadows, Persephone feels herself relax. Though she looks nothing like her mother - with her dark curly hair and dark skin – she sees kindness in her brown eyes, as well as power. The woman – Hecate, she says – holds out her hand and gives her a kind smile, which she can't help but return.

"I have introduced myself, young one. Now it is your turn. What is your name?"

Persephone pauses, and nods her head to the side; her brows scrunched in thought. "My mother calls me 'Kore'," she begins frowning, "but I am mostly called Persephone –goddess of spring." She gives Hecate a smile.

"Persephone, hmm? What an interesting name for the goddess of spring."

She gives a small laugh, "Interesting? Why is that?"

Hecate just gives her a small smile, "You'll see." But before Persephone has a chance to ask her more, Hecate disappears in a cloud of purple smoke, leaving Persephone coughing and choking. She rolls her eyes, Underworld gods and their disappearing tricks…

She makes her way into the throne room and once again sees Hades there, bottle tucked under his chin. From the looks of things, he's judging a shade. She hears him say, "Tartarus" and notices his right hand grip his armrest and sees his teeth clench. She also notices that his short stubble has grown much scruffier looking over the course of the day. She clears her throat and says, "You could stand to shave, Hades."

At that he looks up at her, and at first she's afraid he's going to be angry, but he just looks tired. And, as she looks closer, she sees a small corner of his lip is turned up, and it infuriates her. Damn him! How dare he smile at me? Was that even a smile? What was that? Damn you, Hades, with your half-smiles! She knows she's got a sour look on her face, and she feels it grow when she sees Hades break into a full-on smile.

And it's odd seeing him to that, because it makes her breath catch with just how genuine it looks. Get ahold of yourself, Persephone! He's just trying to charm you-

"You're quite cute when you scrunch your eyebrows like that, you know. Don't blush – you are."

Blush? I am not blushing! In an attempt to get control of the situation and keep herself from tearing her hair out, she says the first thing that pops into her mind, "Yes, you're! You're – you're quite handsome when you smile like that! Yes, quite. Wait-" I'm such an idiot. She feels her cheeks heat up more as he gets up from his throne and raises an eyebrow at her. Oh no you don't – just because you're handsome doesn't mean you can just wipe away my anger with you. But she sees him blushing now, and she thinks that maybe what she said wasn't so dumb after all. "Now you're blushing," she says, and she can't help the triumphant note from entering her voice.

"I am not," he says, brows furrowing. She doesn't notice how close he's gotten – she's too caught up in their game of teasing, and she knows she should be angry with him, but at the moment she just feels a light buzz at the back of her neck, and her anger be damned – she's going to have fun tormenting her kidnapper.

"Yes," she says, and she feels a smile tugging at the edge of her lips, "you are."

"Gods don't blush," he says, a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

"You do." She's smiling full-on now, and it's the first time she notices that he's really quite close, and she hears his breath catch.

"If I'm handsome when I smile, you're beautiful when you smile." Somehow, he's managed to walk up to her so that their faces are inches apart. She can see his icy-blue eyes from underneath his bangs, feel his cool breath on her skin, and before she knows what she's doing, she grabs his face in her hands and kisses him.

Hades completely stunned. He didn't even realize that he had gotten so closer to her, being too distracted with their banter, and being too relieved that his side had stopped throbbing. And now, with her lips on his, he's completely frozen like a statue. His eyes flutter when he feels her lips begin to move against his, and he reciprocates, wrapping his arms around her, and nudging her lips slightly apart. His head starts to swim as he hears her gift a soft moan and feels her hands begin to run through his hair. And when he feels her tongue on his, he practically feels his skin set on fire, her rubbing hands sending jolts of electricity down his spine. He pulls her closer and feels her soft body against his, her chest on him, rubbing on him, making him groan and he knows that things are moving way too fast. He stops, his breathing ragged and his head resting against her neck, and he realizes that's pushed her against the dark wall of the throne room. It's then that he notices two coins are missing from his coin pouch. Distracting me to get money for Charon, hmm? Clever girl. Hades feels the corner of his mouth turn up. Clever, but you won't get far.

He steps back from her, sees her swollen lips and disheveled hair, and he shuts his eyes, because he knows that if he looks at her, he'll take her right against the wall – and that is not how he is going to treat her.

He clears his throat and turns around. " Dinner should be ready by now. Would you like to join me?"

"No, Hades. It's been a long day – I think I'll turn in for the night."

"As you wish." He nods and walks away, disappearing into the shadows. And, when he's finally gone, Persephone smiles to herself. She holds up two gold coins – drachmans. Her grin grows wider as she thinks, Now I have money to pay the boatman. And all it took was some kissing of the incredibly handsome Lord of the Dead. She frowns to herself. Incredibly handsome? Don't lose your head here, Persephone. But still, she can't help but feel a little light-headed. She's only kissed a man once before, and it was him, but this time was incredibly different – and much, much more pleasurable. In fact, when he had hugged her close and pushed her against the wall, she had actually found herself enjoying the feel of him against her body. She furrows her brows. None of that matters. He kidnapped me, and tonight I will pay Charon and make my escape. I will return to my mother. And Hades will not stand in my way.

A/N: WOO HOO! ANOTHER WEEKLY UPDATE, MY LOVELIES! I hope ya'll liked this chapter. It's a rather long one – well for me, anyway. But, um, yeah. So leave reviews! :D I wuv dem! :D