Chapter 18:
"Give in-"
A loud sound in the distance.
Pounding. A headache…Pain in his side, pain in his head.
"Give in…" A voice - his voice - sounds far off and detached. The pounding in the distance grows louder.
"Give in."
A voice joins in with his.
"My lord."
"Give…in…"
The voice grows louder, closer.
"My lord!"
" I c- can't. I can't do this. I have to…give in…"
"My lord!"
When his eyes snap open, he's greeted with the ghostly image of a shade. He pinches the bridge of his nose and lets out a low groan.
"What is it?" he asks, his voice raspy with sleep.
"My lord Hades, your mother is here. She has requested your presence."
"Oh goody," Hades groans. He rubs his eyes and sits up on the bed, "Fetch me my robes, shade."
The servant nods, "Of course, my lord. But sir, may I make a suggestion?" Hades responds with a small nod.
"It would do you well to shave, my lord. You've been looking rather …unkempt lately. I mean no disrespect of course."
He gives the shade a cold stare and she promptly runs out. Rubbing his neck, he walks into his washroom and heads towards the mirror.
He looks at his own reflection, and though he's never enjoyed looking at his face because of its resemblance to Cronus's, he finds that he hates his image even more now.
He sees his own face, hair unkempt and in front of his eyes, and the makings of a very scruffy beard on his face, reaching down his neck. There are dark circles under both of his eyes, and for a minute he thinks his face his beginning to reflect his age like a mortal's. He lets out a small sigh, takes out a bronze razor, and begins to trim the hair on his face.
He's dressed simply. A dark tunic, laced with some silver thread at the bottom. Regal, but simple. He's trimmed his beard, though it's still there – slightly more than a 5 o'clock shadow. His hair is a mess, but that's always the case. He at least looks presentable. Somewhat.
The real problem is that he feels wretched – not only has his side been burning even more since his dream the previous night, but his skull has been throbbing constantly as well. Damn Hecate's potions and their side-effects, he thinks.
The less he sleeps, the more exhausted he is. The more he sleeps, his side burns. The more potions he takes, he will get headaches that range from 5-minute irritations to 5-day long agony fests. And to top it all off, now his mother is in his palace.
He tries to stifle a groan when he sees her lounging in his throne, but she manages to hear him.
"Ah, my son!" Rhea gets up and holds her arms out wide in front of her.
"Mother," he says, his voice cold, "what a surprise. I'm guessing Charon let you in. What are you doing here?"
"Now, now my son. Is that any way to treat your own mother?"
"It is when you've been sitting on my throne."
She gives a small, uncomfortable laugh, "I don't remember you being so rude. Are you sure you're not Ares's father?"
Hades crosses his arms, "Make your point and leave."
"Hades, I…"
"I'm waiting."
"Damn it, son! What have I done to earn your ire so?"
His eyes narrow at that, and in the low light of the throne room his glare becomes truly terrifying.
"Many things," he hisses.
"Hades, I'm worried about you. Zeus, Poseidon, Hera – we all are. Your family is worried about you." His mother moves close so that they're only about a foot across from each other.
He scoffs at that, "We're gods! What causes you to worry about me?"
"Hades," Rhea says, reaching out to touch his face. He flinches away from it.
He rudely brushes past her towards his throne and sits. "You certainly didn't seem worried about me when you let Cronus swallow me whole."
"Hades, please, I –"
She's walking back to him now, the first signs of tears beginning to form in her eyes. He knows he's hurting her now, but he just can't bring himself to care. Seeing her sit casually in his throne; her arms opening to greet him in a loving gesture – it's angered him to his breaking point.
"You certainly didn't seem worried about me when Zeus suggested that we draw lots for Cronus's kingdom, which was rightfully mine by birth."
"Hades! Stop! You're hurting me!" She really is starting to cry now.
"You most certainly didn't seem to give a damn about me when Zeus learned that I had intended to make a mortal woman my queen and so to stop me he killed her. He KILLED her! Right in front on me!"
She falls to her knees and buries her face in her hands.
"Hades, please!"
"And then," he stands up from his throne, " when I go to war to claim my rightful throne on Olympus…When I go to take revenge on Zeus – my own brother who wronged me, who I was ever loyal to – you abandoned me. And when he banished me from Olympus for my actions – a punishment Poseidon has never had to suffer because his attempts for the throne never get past the first gate - you never spoke to me again. Your son. Your first son! So now you come to me," he takes a step down from his throne, " and you tell me that you'reworried about me?"
"Hades!"
He takes a few more steps down and moves right in front of his mother. He crouches down and roughly grabs her chin, turning her golden eyes – Zeus's eyes...Cronus's eyes – up towards his. His side starts to burn, hot and searing.
"Don't you think, Mother," he hisses, his every word laced with bitterness and venom, "that maybe the time for worrying has passed you by?" He moves his head to whisper in her ear, "That maybe, you're too late?"
"My son," Rhea whispers, her voice raw and strangled. "I never want to see your face again. Never, do you understand me? Never. Get. Out," he growls.
"Do you know why you will never be king of the gods?" She imitates him by speaking into his ear, "It's because you're exactly like your father."
"GET. OUT!" he screams, only to find that she's no longer there, but disappeared into a light mist.
Puffs of smoke appear at his right and Charon walks out from them.
"My lord," Charon bows, "You're mother is requesting urgent passage out of the Underworld. Do you wish to keep her here like your young Lady Persephone or-"
"No!"
"I'm sorry, sir?"
"No, Charon. Get her out of here. Please. Just get her out."
"As you wish, my lord. I also thought I should let you know that Persephone did make an attempt to escape last night."
Hades sits back on his haunches. "And?" he asks, one brow quizzically arching up.
"Well, Hecate stopped her. If not for that she would have probably run into Cerberus at one point-"
Hades cuts him off, "Is she safe?"
"What? Uh, yes, yes, yes. Yes, my lord. Hecate is taking care of her."
"Good."
"Um…Yes sir. Ahh, will that, uh, be all, my lord?"
Hades looks back up at the ferryman, "Did you want something else, Charon?"
Charon holds his hands up in a peaceful gesture, " I was only going to suggest that you take a dip in the hot springs. You know, to relax."
Hades' lips move up a fraction, and for a second Charon thinks he sees his dark master smile.
"You know what, Charon," Hades says, his voice having lost all its cruelty and malice it had while he was speaking to his mother moments ago. " I think I may do just that."
"That is, uh…good, sir. I am glad."
"Good," Hades stands up. "Now get back to work and get my mother out of my kingdom."
"Yes sir," Charon says, disappearing into a cloud of smoke.
My mother is… too late, Hades thinks while walking towards the springs, located in the west wing of his palace. What if Persephone is too? He begins to disrobe when he gets there. What if I kidnapped an innocent girl for nothing? What if this was all for nothing? What if-
He's cut off from his thoughts with a startled scream and turns his head to the direction of the sound. Persephone…He smiles lazily at her … Hecate comes rushing in and starts to mouth 'What's wrong' until she turns to him and stops dead in her tracks, her expression one of extreme embarrassment and amusement ( he's fairly sure that if her skin was a lighter tone, he'd see it turn pink right about now) and then he begins to slowly realize why Persephone screamed.
He's naked.
A/N:
Woot woot, another update! Yay! Coolio. :D Reviews, comments, suggestions, the usual, yeah? Cool guys, thx.