Hades!

Please!

Help me!

Save me!

Hades' eyes immediately flew open and he jackknifed into a sitting position on his bed. He was sweating profusely, his entire body drenched in cold sweat. Even the palms of his hands were slick.

He took rapid deep breaths as his eyes wandered aimlessly to different corners of his dark bedroom, which was only dimly lit by the moonlight that travelled through the glass windows. He ran his fingers through his already-dishevelled black hair, making it even more messy.

Everything around him seemed so calm and serene, but his heart was not.

He could sense something off.

He could sense the distress of his wife. Persephone was in trouble.

"Persephone…." he whispered urgently under his breath, before throwing off the sheets and rushing off the bed.

I didn't care how exhausted I was. I did not stop running.

It may have taken me about half an hour, but I was glad that I was now halfway towards Hades' house. Thank Mount Olympus I had remembered the way to his reclusive house in the forest. Otherwise, I wouldn't know what to do.

But with each step I ran, I became slightly more afraid. I found that I constantly kept on looking back, to see if someone was following, waiting to drag me back to that prison that used to be my 'home'. Or even worse, drag me straight out of Heatherton into worlds unknown.

Please! Let his house be any closer! I prayed. I didn't know to whom exactly I was praying to, and didn't know why I was doing so (since I was a goddess), but I still prayed, because I didn't know what else to do now except run faster.

The road leading to his house was empty, silent and eerie. The chill in the air and the spookiness of the area left my exposed arms entirely covered in goosebumps, and I cursed myself for having shed off my cardigan in my room. But I tried not to ponder so much about it, and just kept my mind bent on running faster.

Be strong! Be strong! Be strong! I repeatedly chanted in my head, to try and give myself courage. I thought of nothing else but those two words as I kept my eyes locked on the empty stretch of road ahead of me.

Be strong! Be strong! Be-

SNAP!

Despite what I had told myself for so many times, I stopped in my tracks and looked behind.

There was nothing, but I could still hear it.

SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP!

It definitely came from the forest, and it sounded clearly like twigs snapping under heavy feet. But I was confused as to why there would be so much snapping at once. So as I remained still, I listened closely.

To my horror, I could detect a very distinct sound.

The low growling of wild hounds.

Panic overcame me in the speed of light and I dashed immediately. I willed my legs to keep going faster and faster, hoping that I would be out of the hounds' range in just a few seconds.

I knew that the road to Hades' house was dangerous unless I'm driving a car, because the forest was full of wild animals. Hounds happened to be no exception, and I could just be on the way to meeting a few now.

I knew they were chasing after me, since I so stupidly panicked and started running, thus getting their attentions and putting them on 'savage beast' mode. The snapping of twigs on the forest floor become faster and more clear-sounding and their terrifying growls became louder and more deadly as they ran to me. They must have been running very fast and heavy, as I could also hear the stomping of their paws.

RUN, PERSEPHONE! RUN! My mental voice screamed at me. I ran, hoping that my legs could manage to gain even more power for more speed.

Suddenly, I could hear the road behind me being scratched by something big, like an iron nail. Terror filled my heart and I continued to attempt to run faster. But even though I was afraid, I could not help myself from looking behind.

And my heart could have stopped beating at the sight of them.

There were four of them, formed in a diamond formation. Their pelts were black in colour; black as the shadows that surrounded the road. Their eyes, seen in the dim orange lighting of the street lamps, were pitch black orbs. And I could clearly see that their canines were exposed; sharp and lethal.

Their black orbs were focused on me, and I could clearly figure out that they think I was some sort of poor and weak creature that was about to be their next meal. I became haunted by the mental image of myself being bitten by the sharp canines of the hounds, seeing my ichor flow.

I doubt I could be killed by them, but I still couldn't help but be afraid. I didn't actually know how potent I really am.

But it didn't hurt to try.

I was still exhausted from what had happened in the house, and growing the rose barrier had taken up quite a lot of my stamina. With the little energy I had left, I collected it up in the palm of my right hand, and directed it towards the hounds, sending a wave of repulse.

The one in the front of the diamond formation, the alpha, then got knocked out as though it had run into a brick wall. I smiled to myself at first at the thought that maybe, I could manage to take them down. But unfortunately, it got back on its front and hind paws once again, and resumed its position. What's worse was that it looked even more determined to kill me.

Hurriedly, I tried to gather more energy to be used against them, but I am now officially feeling weak. It was as though my power was a lit candle, and the wind of exhaustion was constantly blowing at it, making the flame flicker until it could finally disappear.

As I tried to think of another way to get them off my tail, I suddenly felt a huge wave of power from ahead rushing through me.

This power. I knew who it belonged to.

"PERSEPHONE!"

I whipped my head around at the voice. To my complete relief, I saw Hades up ahead, running quickly towards me.

"HADES!" I shouted, and my legs started to move faster at the sight of him. But as I ran, the hounds still followed.

I could feel Hades drawing in more of his power to attempt to attack the hounds once again. If he was lucky, he would be able to kill them as well.

But just as he was about to unleash it, two orbs of lights suddenly appeared from behind him. I could tell that it was the headlamps of a car, and it was so bright that I was blinded from it for a split second.

I was still blind when I felt warm and comforting arms embracing me and holding me gently. I cracked my eyes open to see that it was Hades, and I wrapped my arms around his neck in response, desperate for his comfort.

However, my attentions were suddenly pulled to the car, which was actually an open jeep. It skidded loudly until it came to a complete stop, and a dark figure jumped out from the driver's side.

The hounds, I've noticed, too had stopped at the sight of the jeep. But once they caught sight of the dark figure advancing towards them, they snarled and launched at their competitor.

The stranger then screamed a cry. I thought for a split second that it was a cry of pain, but I soon realized that it was a cry of attack.

I couldn't see anything clearly, but I could make out the four hounds attacking the stranger mercilessly. However, the stranger seemed to be very strong, because I saw the hounds being thrown off countless of times and I could clearly hear their whimpers of pain.

The stranger seemed to have some sort of curved sword in his or her hand, or something. He or she used it to whack at the hounds, and I could hear the sickening sound as something heavy and hard like wood in contact with the snout of a black hound. I could tell from the silhouettes that the stranger was very skilled and powerful with whatever the weapon was.

Hades held me tightly to him as he too watched the fighting before us. None of us made a move to try and help the stranger, but it seemed to me that he or she didn't need help at all. In fact, they were so good, that the four hounds that had just now seemed so deadly were all now lying on the road, whimpering in pain.

Suddenly, I watched as the stranger pull out something long and thin from his or her back, held it against the curved sword (I think) and pulled it back. It was then I realized that it wasn't a sword. It was a bow. And the long and thin object was an arrow.

I could hear the swishing of the arrow as it was released, followed by a yelp of a hound. It went on three more times, each happening to the other hounds.

And finally, all was silent.

Until the stranger then said, "Are you alright?"

The voice was female, and my eyes widened at the familiarity of her voice.

The stranger walked towards us, and stepped into the flood of light from the headlamps of her jeep. When she finally came into the light, I gasped.

It was a girl, who looked probably a year or two older than me. She had peach skin, the same tone as mine. Her hair was quite long, probably reaching the half of her back, and wavy. Its colour was a mixture of black and brown shades, which reminded me only slightly of Melinoe's hair. Her eyes were a deep midnight blue, framed by thick lashes.

She was extremely beautiful.

The girl was wearing a pair of black hunting boots that went halfway up her shins, a pair of grey camo jeans, a brown tank top and a black hooded hunting jacket. Her outfit made it easy for me to tell that she had just came from a hunt. Slung on her shoulder was a leather quiver of wooden arrows, and gripped in her right hand was a wooden bow, which I had mistaken to be a curved sword.

Thanks to the bow, and her extremely beautiful looks, I knew immediately who she was.

Her mortal name was Diana Archer. But the goddess' true name was...

"Artemis…" I breathed.

I couldn't believe it. In front of me was Artemis, the Goddess of the Hunt, the Wild and the Moon, and one of my many half-sisters.

Her midnight blue eyes widened at the sight of me, and she dropped her wooden bow in an instant. Slowly, she took a step towards me and Hades, her eyes fixed upon me.

"Persephone?" she whispered. In response, I got out of Hades' embrace and walked towards her as well. Our eyes were glued on each other, and none of us broke the gaze. But when we were a good foot away, she came forward and wrapped me in a hug.

"I can't believe it," I heard her whisper breathlessly. "I thought I'd never see you again. I missed you so much."

Again, like those times with Athena and Hecate, I felt awkward hugging her, for I did not know her that well. But yet, I had the sense of familiarity inside me, because I knew that she was my family as well. So without hesitation, I hugged her back gently.

"I've missed you," I said honestly. It was true. For some reason, somewhere deep inside my heart, I felt like I had missed her so very much.

She pulled away and looked at me with a gorgeous smile. I studied her features, and was extremely struck by how beautiful she looked. Even though she was known as the wild goddess of animals, she looked so very much like a true princess. The only thing missing to complete the look was her legendary silver crown with a crescent moon centrepiece.

At that moment, Hades then spoke up from behind me. "Hello, Artemis," he greeted politely.

Artemis looked away from me to Hades. She then took her hands off me, walked closer to my husband and bowed slightly.

"Hello, Lord Hades," she greeted in a dutiful yet friendly voice. "It's been a long time since most of us saw you. And I am very glad that you've found Persephone once again. This will surely make all of us happy."

Hades gave her a small smile and bowed his head slightly. But as I made my way to his side, his expression turned serious as he asked Artemis, "How did you know Persephone was in trouble?"

Looking at me, Artemis answered, "I was hunting in the forest just a while before. As I was about to leave, I heard the hounds and felt a new aura. And I knew that something was going on."

Then, turning to me, she asked, "But what were you doing here, Persephone?"

I bit my lip and looked down onto the road as I recalled the reason why I was here in the first place. The thought of Demeter attempting to lock me up sent a sudden pain in my heart, and I winced.

In a whisper, I answered, "I just ran away from my mother."

None of them said a word, but I could feel the disbelief that came from both of them. When I looked up, I was right. Both were staring at me in disbelief. But Hades' black eyes held a hint of fire that threatened to blow up.

Artemis broke the silence then. "How about we go back to my house, and we'll talk about it there?"

Hades' eyes had been fixed on me when he suddenly turned to look at Artemis and he nodded. He then grasped my hand and led me to her jeep.

We both sat at the backseat while Artemis busied herself with chucking the bodies of the hounds to the side of the road, pulling out the arrows out of their bodies. She then picked up her wooden bow off the road before she jumped into the driver's seat.

When she had revved up the engine, she drove off in the direction that she had come from. As the wind breezed through me, I was thinking very deeply about what could happen next.