I'm back dear readers and I hope you will enjoy the newest chapter of The Travelers Future.

'miei cari figli' means 'my dear children' in Italian.

Disclaimer: The Willard Hotel really exists and does not belong to me. The suite is completely made up.

Rating for this chapter: T

Summary: Death gained a whole new appeal the moment I became a daughter of Hades. Self-Insert

Have fun.


Edited on the 24th of June 2016


Chapter 5

Home Sweet Home


"Is it possible for home to be a person and not a place?"
― Stephanie Perkins, Anna and the French Kiss


Two weeks of vigorous training did wonders to our stamina. That doesn't mean that we would be capable of taking part in a marathon anytime soon, but we were certainly better than before. Our heritage had, most likely, something to do with our quick progress. Not that it mattered. I actually appreciated it.

But training wasn't the only thing we did in those two weeks. Father showed around the castle-he hadn't taken us everywhere the first time around- and some parts of the Underworld. I have seen some really freaky things down here. Like doors which had different deaths engraved into them. They were as beautiful as they were terrifying. Then there were the ghosts and zombies. As it turned out zombies were actually a part of the castle's staff. It was quiet weird to see a dead soldier in a confederate uniform serving us breakfast. I will never forget the day Bianca told our father that she would like to meet a real life princess. Only a few hours later we found ourselves sitting at a table across from Princess Alice of the United Kingdom. No kidding, father summoned her spirit so that Bianca could have her meeting with a princess. And so I met one of queen Victoria's daughters, who was a dead princess of England. Not something I ever expected to do.

Besides that we spend a lot of time with our father and enjoyed the moments we had with each other. Of course there were other instances where I felt like a fish out of water, but they were not worth mentioning.

Anyway, we were currently packing the things father had acquired for us; it was time to go home. Mother would be soon arriving in Washington, D.C., there we would meet up with her.

For some time now I had had this nagging feeling that told me that I was forgetting something important, but no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't remember. The only thing that I was certain of was that all would be probably revealed in due time.

''Are you finished?'' I turned towards the entrance of the room and looked at my father. He was standing there with a stiff posture, observing how we packed our things.

A small smile crawled onto my face as I closed the leather bag, ''Yes, papa.''

He was in his 'human' form, which meant that he wasn't meters taller than us. Well, I still barely reached his waist, but lets just ignore that.

Unsurprisingly, father came to my side and picked up my bag. When we arrived here we had just about enough things to fit into one bag, now that we were leaving, each of us needed their own container for their possessions. Father couldn't deny us anything. Even if we just indicated liking something he found it necessary to get it for us. Not that it was a problem for him, after all, he wasn't just the God of the Dead, but of Wealth as well.

So, he continuously spoiled us. I am not quiet sure that was a good thing.

''Are you sure that you haven't forgotten anything, Nora?'' He asked, putting a hand on my head. I was glad that he didn't ruffle it. The servants spend a lot of time preparing it that day. I swatted his hand away as a precaution, there was no need for me to take the risk of him destroying my hair. I did not truly care for the way I looked- I was eight years old, for the gods sake- but I did not want the forty minutes of torture the furies put me through to finish that hairstyle to be for nothing.

My actions seemed to amuse father. His hand went towards my head and he just couldn't stop himself from ruffling it. And there was nothing I could have done against it. Instead of crying or anything like that, I chose to glare at him. It wasn't even half as impressive as the one he gave his subjects but it was enough for now. Some day I would learn how to use his death glare. Did you get that? Hades and death glare. Hades and death.

Alright, I admit, that was a bad pun.

Out of the corner of my right eye I saw Nico sliding his large bag towards us. It was quiet the entertaining sight because he was only a little larger than the bag. My dear twin was hunched over his possessions and used all the strength he had in his thin arms to shove the bag across the floor. That certainly looked exhausting.

"Let the bag there, son. Someone will retrieve it later and bring it to your new home." Hades frowned slightly,"Come here. You as well, Bianca. We have to leave now if we do not want to keep your mother waiting."

There was a slight bounce in Bianca's steps as she came to us. Her cute emerald dress seemed to flutter with her every move. The servants had dressed us into 'modern' clothes today. Nico was wearing short trousers with long socks and a black blazer over a white shirt. My dress was similar to Bianca's, yet instead of emerald it was blue. Both were made of velvet which was considered to be 'fancy' now a days.

Even father dressed up quiet nicely. With black dress pants-according to the decade's style they were quiet high-waisted and slightly boxy.- and a white shirt, which was accompanied by a black waistcoat and tie, father presented us with quiet the uncommon sight. It was a style I was rather unused to, but that did not mean that he looked bad. Father was a god, they all looked good. While we girls wore sandals, father's and Nico's feet were adorned by a pair of Oxfords.

We must have looked like the perfect rich family, just the mother was missing.

Bianca and Nico clung to our father's legs, as he picked me up and let the shadows envelope us. Let me tell you, shadow traveling wasn't anything pleasant. If I had to compare it to anything I would say that it was like riding the fastest roller coaster in the world while being squeezed through a way to tight space. Horrible. I could only hope that it would get better over time. Maybe even funny?

Who was I kidding? Certainly not myself.

When we finally arrived at the back of a dark alley in Washington, D.C. I felt totally disoriented. Everything seemed to spin. Luckily, I did not feel like puking all over the place. That would have been disgusting.

There were some people there. In the alley I mean. I could not help wondering about what the mist made them see. They probably wouldn't have reacted nicely to a bunch of people suddenly appearing near them out of thin air. As it was, they did not even spare us a glance.

After father put me down on the ground again I dusted the imaginary dirt off my dress, then grabbed the hands of my siblings and raced to the entrance of the alley. Stunned, I froze in place. I had never seen anything like that. It was as if I have entered one of those really old black and white movies (minus the black and white part, of course).

Hundreds of people were bustling around the streets, all dressed similarly to us. Men and woman with hats on their heads and clothes I had once associated with carnivals. Different car models raced down the streets, one more extravagant than the other. People of different classes were on the streets; from the beggars on the sidewalks to the richest of the rich parading down the street with cigarettes in their hands. Once upon a time I was a small town girl, all this was overwhelming for me.

Our father came to us not long after we arrived at the entrance. He stood behind me and put one hand on Nico's and Bianca's, who were standing on each of my sides, shoulders. I stole a peek to see his face, I was very curious. Father looked completely unimpressed, as if he had seen things much more interesting than this, he probably had.

''It is rush hour. That's why there are so many people out on the streets. Most just finished their work.'' Explained father, steering us out of the alley and onto the busy streets.

I soon learned that people weren't as stupid as I thought they were. Be it beggar or businessman, poor or rich, all of them possessed an instinctual drive to survive. All parted before my father like the sea before Moses. No one bumped into us, no one touched us on the busy streets. Yet all this did not stop them from sending admiring looks our way. I have said it before and I will say it again; father was a god and all gods were beautiful. Our clothes were expensive, we gave off the picture of the perfect family.

We ignored them. None of them mattered. They were all just faceless people, whom we wouldn't remember the next day. Father didn't even spare anyone a glance as he expertly lead us through the streets of Washington D.C.

''Where are we going, papa?'' Bianca asked the one question which has been going through all of our minds.

A really weird expression appeared on father's face. ''Your new home.'' And wow. Did he sound almost...bitter?

I decided to interfere. ''Where is our new, uhm, home?''

His answer brought up the urge in me to rip out my own hair. '' Not far away.''

This time it was Nico who asked. Bless my twin. ''Where is 'not far away'?''

Yep, we were annoying little shits. It's a shame that father knew how to deal with us. In his years he acquired some patience, patience he rarely used, but patience nonetheless. His next 'answer' was the reason for the development of an ugly frown on my face. ''Nearby.'' He paused. ''Nora, you shouldn't frown like this or you just might get wrinkles.''

Fortunately, our questions were answered soon enough. The answer being one of the most expensive hotels in this city. A huge Beaux-Arts building known as the Willard Hotel. I did not know much about architecture, so there wasn't a lot left which I could tell you about the building. Besides it being white or having a few floors. Or being 'marvelous' and looking very expensive.

We stopped moving in front of it. People were still looking, but no one approached us. We stood there among ourselves and ignored the world around us completely. After all, we were waiting.

Our last family member arrived soon after in a black automobile. She got out of the vehicle and her gaze immediately fell upon us. Mother looked like a fairy tail princess, with her beautiful red dress and curled up hair. I could easily see what had drawn my father to her. Even now in her thirties she still looked young and lovely.

Her gaze found us without any problems. ''There you are, miei cari figli!''

We ran forward into her arms. Two weeks we had spend without our mother and missed her more than we thought possible. Despite the fun we had with our father in the Underworld, I was happy to be reunited with our mother once again.

Mother knelled down and welcomed us into her open arms. We collided with her like a train with a truck, it was a wonder that she did not loose her balance. ''I have missed you.'' She said breathlessly as if she had just gone through some serious work out.

''Mamma!'' I exclaimed, beaming a broad, happy smile up at her. ''We missed you as well.''

Her gaze lingered at us before moving to our father. Then she straightened up and said, ''Hades.''

The man in question nodded his head as form of greeting. ''Maria.''

The following silence couldn't have been any more awkward and oppressing. They behaved like a divorced couple in the middle of a custody war (Only without the shouting. Maria would never dare to shout at Hades. Insulting him was even less of a possibility.).

Deciding to loosen up the tense atmosphere, I spoke up, ''Is this our new home, papa?''

''Yes, Nora.'' Father answered and then looked at mother. ''Come.''

The receptionist was a young looking man. Like so many other males in this decade he was wearing dark dress pants and a shirt. He also had this horrific green tie, which all other workers wore as well. Pinned on his chest was a name tag with the name 'Jonathan Cornweller' written all over it.

Jonathan was talking to a pretty blond on his right, who immediately diverted his attention to us after she noticed the big entrance doors opening. Father strode forward and I saw the young man gulping nervously. Maybe he was clear sighted and could see through the mist?

Nah, father was just this intimidating.

''Good evening, Sir.'' Jonathan greeted, while we waited a few paces behind the god. ''How may I help you?''

''I have made a reservation under the name di Angelo.'' Was father's quick and professional answer.

The receptionist's eyes widened audibly, he looked as if he just found out that Christmas would be early that year but Santa wasn't real. ''The Exclusive Suit?'' Jonathan paused. ''The all year rounder?''

Father raised an eyebrow-I never managed to do that. Raising one eyebrow instead of two and not looking like a complete idiot, I mean- and nodded his head. ''Yes. I believe the payment has been already taken care of.''

Jonathan bobbed his head up and down in a nervous manner. ''Yes. You just have to sign a few papers, Mr. di Angelo.'' He set a pack of papers down in front of father and pointed at the places which needed father's signature.

Well, that was weird. Unexpectedly, father did not correct him. He probably did not want them to think that we were his bastard children-not that we weren't- and that he tried to hide us and his mistress away from the world. Besides they would treat us with more respect this way.

After the Lord of the Dead signed the papers, the pretty blond on Jonathan's right lead us to an elevator. The thing did not appear to be very stable, but it did its work. That did not mean that I planned on using it in the nearby future. Somewhere near the entrance I had seen a nice pair of stairs. Besides our suit was only on the second floor, which was probably a tactical decision to keep us out of Zeus' domain, so there shouldn't be a problem with us using the staircase.

Anyway, we arrived at a door with the number '248' written on it in golden letters. Home sweet home.

As the exited little child that I was I couldn't stop myself from instantly exploring our new home. The suite had two bedrooms, a bathroom, two living rooms, a dining room and a kitchen. It was decorated in a contemporary style, with marble and hardwood floors, and the windows overlooking Pennsylvania Avenue. While most of the rooms were painted in muted colors, such as brown and cream, the bathroom's walls were a dark gray, fitting perfectly with the mosaic marble floor. A large bathtub-it looked more like a small swimming pool-was carved into the floor in the middle of the room. One of the living rooms had a billiards table, a library and a cocktail lounge. The other one was more cozy with a large couch and one of those really old TV's. Gods, how I have missed watching my favorite TV shows. Now I would just have to wait for a few decades till they would air again, wasn't that fantastic? Note the sarcasm.

Where were we? The dining room, I believe. It consisted mostly of a huge, oval wooden dinning table. Compered to the other rooms, it wasn't anything special. Off of the master bedroom was a dressing room as well as an extra entrance to the bathroom. The room was filled with furniture typical for this decade and a very huge four poster bed. The second bedroom was actually quiet similar, only without the extra entrance to the bathroom and a slightly smaller bed. Lastly, there was the traditional 1940's kitchen, where even a small refrigerator could be found. Otherwise there weren't any modern appliances.

This suite and me, that was love at first sight.

My awed daze was stopped by father when he put his right hand on my head. Our eyes met. ''You like it, Nora?''

A wide grin appeared on my face. ''I love it, papa.'' I could feel slight sadness and irritation coming from him through our bond. I touched his hand with mine. ''You know that our home will always be with you, don't you?''

For a second an unreadable expression crossed his face and I felt a slight wall covering his emotions. Then he gave me one of those rare soft smiles. ''Go to your siblings, Nora. Someone needs to make sure that the suite will survive till tomorrow.''

Feeling nothing but love and affection through our bond, I decided to let go of the uneasy feeling swelling in my chest, thus never finding out about the troubling thoughts going through my father's head.