A/N: This chapter, I give new costumes to both Hades and Maleficent. Maleficent's outfit should be pretty easy to picture, but think of a palette swap of the Martin Gates Snow Queen design. Hades's design was really hard to describe so you might not be able to picture it as well. Basically just take Loki's outfit in the Avengers movie and give it a black and blue palette swap and you've got Hades's new clothes.
Hades awoke the next morning, laying on his stomach on purple silk bed sheets. The silk felt cool against his stomach and the sheets smelled strongly of Maleficent. Hades breathed in the smell and sighed as a feeling of contentment washed over him. Hades rolled over and gazed upon the woman lying in the bed next to him. Even laying asleep, she still maintained a regal and elegant appearance. She was truly everything that Hades had ever dreamed. Maleficent slowly began to awaken as well. At the sight of Hades she smiled.
"Good morning, Hades," she said as she leaned in to kiss him.
Hades's lips met hers as they kissed. Strangely, Maleficent did not suffer from morning breath. Her lips still tasted like a cold rose, just as they did last night. Hades suddenly became consciously aware that his own breath probably reeked of sulfur, but he quickly forgot his concern as he just sank back into his enjoyment of the kiss.
"I love you, babe," Hades whispered as their lips separated.
"And I love you as well," Maleficent whispered back.
The two just gazed into each other's eyes for a few seconds, both of them lost in their affections. Maleficent was the first to break the silence.
"It's All Saints Day," she stated, "We should be getting ready for the war council."
"Screw it," Hades said, "I've got other plans for the day."
Hades leaned in and kissed Maleficent's lips once again. All that he could feel in his body at that moment was love, happiness, and desire.
"No," Maleficent vocalized much to Hades's dismay, "We've been planning all of this for weeks. We have to see it through. Besides, after the meeting, we can always come back here for more fun."
Hades smiled devilishly.
"I'll hold you to that," Hades chuckled as he slid out of bed.
He slipped on his robe from yesterday that was laying in a lump on the floor, reignited his hair, and slipped out of Maleficent's bed chambers. Once Hades exited the room, Maleficent herself emerged from her bed. She walked into her washing room and used her magical powers to draw herself a bath. She slid into the immense tub and felt the hot water slosh against her ice cold skin. The heat reminded Maleficent of Hades, of his touch. It brought a feeling of relaxation to her. She leaned her head back, allowing her ebony hair to float gracefully in the water. Maleficent closed her eyes and allowed herself to be at rest. A knock came at the door to the washroom.
"Who goes there?" Maleficent asked as she raised her head from water.
"Grimhilde," the voice on the other side of the door answered, "Are you dressed?"
"No," Maleficent answered, "But it certainly is not as if you have never seen me this way before, and I wish to speak with you. Enter."
Grimhilde walked into the washroom. The Queen was wearing a simple scarlet dress today that showed off her cleavage. It looked very much like a palette swap of the dress that Aurora was wearing when Maleficent had put the princess to sleep. Grimhilde was also wearing a black cape, but, unlike her usual cape, this one did not have a hood covering her hair. Instead, the Queen's black hair was worn down and her golden crown sat on top of it.
"Good morning, Maleficent," Grimhilde said as she sat in a chair by the bathtub, "So today is the day of the war council?"
"So it is," Maleficent replied, her voice was laced with happiness.
"Well you seem quite cheery," Grimhilde noticed, "What happened?"
"It's Hades," Maleficent answered, "I'm in love with him."
"Love? You?" Grimhilde asked in surprise, "I never would have thought I'd see the day. Maleficent, the Mistress of All Evil, is in love. Have you told him?"
"Yes," Maleficent nodded, "Well, he actually told me first. And last night we physically professed that love."
"I see," Grimhilde nodded, "Well, I am happy for you, Maleficent. I know how special love is, and I'm glad that my closest friend in this world has been able to experience it."
Grimhilde smiled and exited the washing room. Once she was gone, Maleficent lifted herself out of the tub and dried herself off with her magic. She proceeded to walk over to her wardrobe with a dragon motif carved into it. She opened it up and glanced over the dresses and robes within. She picked out a black dress that, while form-hugging, was considerably more modest than Grimhilde's dress. The sleeves of the dress opened at the elbows, and the fabric, from there, flowed down to her waist. Maleficent then took out a black bear skin fur cape with purple silk lining. To complete her outfit, she slipped on her iconic horned headdress. Glancing in the mirror, Maleficent smiled, quite pleased with her new outfit and her new demeanor.
Hades returned to his own bed chambers after leaving Maleficent. He wanted to look his best for the war council. He flipped through the robes in his own wardrobe but couldn't find anything that would fit the definition of formal. As he looked over his robes, he caught a glimpse of something in the corner of his eye. As he turned around, he found that the object was an immense black trunk. While he had no intention of invading Maleficent's privacy by looking through a personal trunk of hers, his curiosity got the better of him, and he opened it. Inside, he found a black and navy blue leather tunic with an angular design to it. The tunic was simple but had navy blue lining on it's edges and had a very regal look to it, created by the raised collar. Folded beneath the tunic was a pair of tight black linen pants. The next article of clothing in the trunk was a heavy black leather cloak with a regal design and blue lining to match the tunic. Last in the trunk was a pair of black boots. When Hades slipped on these articles of clothing and looked in the mirror, he felt more like a god than he ever had before.
"Do you like it?" Maleficent asked as she entered the room.
"Yes, I do," Hades answered, "Why do you have this?"
Maleficent laughed lightly.
"I had my tailor create it especially for you," Maleficent answered, "I was tired of seeing you in those rags that you usually wear. Now, you look the part of a god."
"You look fabulous today too, babe," Hades interjected, "The outfit is sexy, but it definitely says that you're in charge."
Hades and Maleficent's eyes locked once again. The happy feelings flooded back inside them both. Hades kissed Maleficent's lips, and she ran her hands through the flames of Hades's hair. Thanks to her magic, the fire did not burn her.
"Come along," Maleficent said, "The council meeting is about to begin."
"Lead the way," Hades requested.
Maleficent and Hades walked together to the meeting hall of the castle. The leaders of the armies were already seated at the conference table. On one side of the table sat Echidna (who had shrunken down via magic), the Kelpie leader, and Grimhilde. On the other sat Zurg Hafednir and the Banshee leader. Maleficent and Hades each took a seat at the heads on the table.
"Has anyone seen the Horned King?" Maleficent asked, noticing his absence.
Everyone simply shook their heads.
"We'll simply have to wait for him," Maleficent stated, "After all, he is the general of this army."
"Don't bother waiting," the voice of the Horned King hissed as he entered the room with Vanessa by his side.
"Who's the chick?" Hades asked, earning a glare from Maleficent.
"The woman who I now serve," the Horned King declared.
"Are you breaking away from our faction?" Maleficent questioned.
"No," he answered, "I'm taking control of it."
Maleficent and Hades both jumped to their feet in rage.
"It's true," Vanessa spoke, "After all, your powers rightfully belong to me!"
"What in the world do you think you're prattling on about?" Maleficent asked, "You have no claims to either of our powers."
"Oh no?" Vanessa replied as she pulled a glowing golden scroll from the folds of her robe, "This contract says that if any party mentioned in the deal betrays another, their powers are forfeited."
"Ursula!" Hades and Maleficent spoke in unison.
"That's right!" she nodded, "You both betrayed me back on Pleasure Island, so, by the fine print of the contract that you both signed, both of your powers are mine for the taking!"
"Come and take them, sea witch!" Hades dared.
Vanessa smirked as the contract morphed into wisps of light. The light wisps swirled over to Hades and Maleficent and circled around each of them like miniature tornadoes. Vanessa's evil cackling echoed throughout the chamber. Zurg Hafednir immediately rose to his feet, and lunged across the table towards the sea witch, intending to slit the witch's throat. However, before he got the chance, the Horned King ran him through with his sword, causing the king of the dark elves to cry out in pain as he dissolved into a cloud of darkness. None of the other war leaders moved after that. After a few seconds, the wisps of light dropped Hades and Maleficent. Hades's flaming hair was out, and he strangely could not reignite it. The wisps of light flowed back into Vanessa.
"So much POWER!" Vanessa yelled as she reverted back to her octopin form.
The other war leaders gasped, and even the Horned King was taken back by the hideous reveal of Ursula.
"God-like power was handed to you both on a silver platter," Ursula spoke as she felt the surge of power within her, "But, me, I've worked all my life to make myself more powerful. Yet, none of it could hold a candle to what you both were born with. But now, my hard work has finally paid off! Now, Ursula is the most powerful being on EARTH!"