Hades POV

Women. How do they work? What attracts them? Zeus just went after anything that moved, whether they wanted him or not. Adonis had those sparkling abs, and no one knew what on Earth attracted Aphrodite to Hephaestus. I had my rugged good looks and my cutting wit, but for some reason Elsa wasn't going for it. What more did she want?

Aha! I had it. Chicks didn't just want a handsome man. They wanted a rich one. They wanted jewels and sparkly baubles and all that other garbage. They wanted to be showered in presents. I could do that. But what would Elsa go for?

I hunted around the palace for something ladylike and fancy. Most of my stuff was dead or dying, and Meg didn't go for pretty things, so it wasn't easy. Then, underneath a pile of junk I'd forgotten to throw out, I found something that might work. It was a silver urn with a woman's face etched into it. Somehow silver seemed to suit Elsa more than gold anyway, and it was either that or a moldy belt. I polished the metal with my sleeve and held it aloft. I carried it down the hall and knocked on Elsa's door. She opened it a crack and peeked out at me.

"Hey Toots, I got you something," I said with my most charming smile. I held up the urn. She opened the door enough to take it and looked it over.

"What is this for?" she asked. Even with her gloves on she avoided my fingers. I'm not that slimy. Her eyes fell on something etched inside the urn and she tilted it for a closer look. A cloud of gray dust fell out all over her hands, and a soft moan emanated from the urn.

"What was that?" she gasped.

"The last occupant, I suppose," I said. I saw the realization dawn in her eyes and she jumped back, drew in her breath sharply, shoved the urn at me, wiped her gloves on her skirt and slammed the door shut.

What happened? Everything was going so well, I thought. Crazy dame.

Anna POV

I hauled myself up the rocky slope, ignoring the cuts on my hands and the chill in the air. A few locals had shouted at me when I started, warning me that it was forbidden for mortals to set foot on the mountain and that the gods would strike me down. Let them try.

I didn't have any mountaineering skill or equipment, so I wasn't far up the slope before the sun set. I leaned against one of the few thin trees and stopped to rest. I didn't plan to spend the night, but I barely had enough energy to keep crawling. It was so dark I could hardly keep from falling anyway. I didn't sleep as much as wait for the sun to rise so I could keep going.

Before I climbed much farther the next day I noticed the air was getting thinner. It was harder to breathe, and I had to stop more than I wanted. I pressed on with aching muscles and stiff limbs, cursing myself for being so weak when Elsa needed my help.

As I was pulling myself up a sheer cliff, I heard something above me. It sounded like an animal, and I hoped it wasn't a bear. I got to the clifftop and peeked over. A grassy plateau stretched out in front of me. There were no bears in sight, but there was a herd of horses. That would have been odd enough, but that wasn't all. They also had wings.

What on Earth are those? Can they actually fly? I thought as I tipped forward on my stomach and slid onto the grass. A brown horse flapped its wings and rose into the air, answering my question. The movement stirred my hair and I watched it soar over my head. It gave me a most wonderful idea.

"Hey, horse! Giddy up!" I yelled as I ran toward the closest one, a small horse with white and brown splotches. I vaulted onto its back and it whinnied, tossing its head and trying to buck me off. I grabbed onto its main and pressed against it. Like it or not, this horse was going to take me to the top of the mountain. The horse jumped up and flapped around, twisting and dipping. My stomach lurched but I rode it out until the horse tired and landed back on the ground. It curled its neck around and looked at me forlornly, like it was awaiting its fate.

"That's better. Sorry I jumped on you. I'll let you go as soon as I'm done, all right?" I said as I tugged on its mane to point it toward the mountaintop. I spurred it on with my heels and we were off like a shot.