Chapter 6
Mal had to be in the room with Audrey when her father showed up… She had to be strong, to show she hadn't been crying… Here they were trying to save Audrey, while Ellie was… Ellie was- Mal looked up at her father as Hades was led into the room, chained and surrounded by a dozen guards. "Thank you for coming."
He shook the chains binding his hands and feet together, "Didn't have much choice."
Ben came up to Mal's side, "Can you wake her?"
"Since when do Heroes care about Villains?"
The King glanced back at Audrey, "She's-"
"One of your own?" Hades chuckled humorlessly. "Right. When you guys try to destroy the world, it's an error in judgment. But when it's one of us- lock them up and throw away the key." He glanced over at the former King, "Right, Beast?"
Hades lifted his hands up, only to have both his arms grabbed by the guards. "I'm gonna need to use my hands." The guards looked to King Ben, who nodded, and they unbound Hades' hands… He held his hand towards his daughter…
Mal dropped the ember back into his hold…
And in an insanity, Hades' hair lit aflame.
"Ah," he cracked his neck. "Still got it." the god turned, coming face to face with Beast… A low, clicking growl left his throat, causing the former King to growl back in relation.
"Dad." Mal called, drawing the god's attention away. Hades stepped over to the foot of Audrey's bed… He stared at her for a moment, before holding his hand out with the ember in it… A deep blue glow filled the room, pulsing…
Before it broke…
And Audrey opened her eyes.
Hades took a step backwards, flicking the ember between his hands, his hair going out. The Princess gasped, looking at her grandmother, then Ben and Mal… She sat near the foot of the bed, "Tell me all it was a bad dream."
Ben sighed, "I wish I could… But it's over now."
"I'm sorry… I… I wanted to hurt you both…" Audrey turned to look at the others in the room. "I wanted to hurt all of you." And they could all see it; just how truly sorry this girl was… How much guilt she felt over her actions.
Mal reached out and took both Audrey's hands in her own, "I have owed you an apology for a very long time now."
Ben stepped forward, "And so have I."
A sad, yet grateful smile pulled at Audrey's face. "And perhaps…" Leah began, turning to face Mal. "I have owed you one too." She bowed polity at the waist, Mal curtsying in return…
The future queen raised her head… A weight was lifted, yet one still remained… It lingered and lingered, growing stronger with each minute passed… Audrey was dying… but she was saved by her father…
Maybe… just maybe…
Mal looked over at her father, hope filling her body, "I…I know you only came here to wake Audrey, but, Dad, I… There's something I wanna ask you." Hades could see the sheer worry in his daughter's eyes, making him bristle. "Could you…
"Could you see if you could heal Ellie? Please, Dad…
"She's… She's dying."
It was the first time any of them had said it out loud…
But none of them knew if Ellie was going to make it…
Dying… the word echoed throughout Hades' mind… Ellie… Ellie… his Ellie? It was an odd swell of emotions that cropped up in the god… ones he wasn't sure he could feel… worry, concern, fear…
Even without Mal asking, Hades would have done it in a heartbeat… But Mal had never asked for much from him, only his help when her world was in danger… and it still was. He knew he would do anything for her…
Hades gestured towards the door, causing Mal to smile.
Evie knew this was always a possibility…
She sat at her sister's bedside, holding her hand tightly on her own… But it did little to hide the tears slowly falling down her cheeks. Carlos was on her other side, Jay sitting past him on Ellie's bed… None of them took their eyes off the girl…
They watched her breath rise and fall… Her chest was rising and falling rapidly, her breathing erratic and uneven…
Her entire face was flushed, sweat dripping down her forehead as she tried to fight the fever off… Ellie's hands were almost too hot to touch, they almost burned to touch…
But Evie wasn't about to let her twin go through this alone…
"Please, El… keep fighting… stay with us…" the words were a mere whisper, and Evie reached up to whip the tears from her face…
The door creaked open, causing Evie's head to lift up…
Mal stood there with Ben. The future queen's eyes scanned Ellie's form, "How's she doing?"
Jay shook his head, "She's not…" she wasn't getting better…
Mal entered the room with Ben, followed. They walked in the room, followed by Belle, Beast, and Fairy Godmother, and then by someone none of them expected.
Hades.
Jay and Carlos were on their feet in an instant. Evie looked at Mal worriedly, "M…"
"I… I know it's a long shot… But it's our only chance…" Mal looked desperate then… they all were. Ben put an arm around his fiancé's shoulders in comfort. The guards were close behind Hades, but the only thing he could see was Ellie's unconscious body lying in bed…
Her hair was out of the french braids she had in the last time Hades saw her… It spread out around her like a halo… But worry immediately filled his chest at the sound of Ellie's heavy breathing and the flush of her face…
And more importantly he could feel it…
He could feel the death waiting at the edges of her soul…
It pulled at her, drawing her in, yet she fought every step…
Hades stepped forward, coming to the edge of Ellie's bed. He made a single motion to move, and the guards yanked him backwards. Hades stiffened, his hair flashing aflame for a split second… His mind whirled… he could kill them all, escape, and take her away…
But then he nor Ellie would ever get to see Mal again…
And yet the words fell from his mouth faster than he could blink, "Try to keep me from her again, and I'll rip your intestines out and feed them to you."
The guards flinched backwards, allowing Hades to crouch down at Ellie's side. He reached out a hand, pressing it into her stomach, spreading his fingers out… She was so small against him… Hades looked at Evie, who was staring at him with a shocked expression on her face.
He ignored her, looking back down at Ellie… Hades cursed under his breath as he felt her magic… It reached out to him… The god looked at Evie, "You're her sister. Tell me about her magic."
Evie shook her head, clutching her hand tiger around Ellie's own. "It's Alchemy. Our mother used it, and she taught Ellie when we were young. I never had the talent for it. But the thing is… Ellie can use Alchemy even when she doesn't use her drawn circles… She-she can just will things into existence almost…"
Willing things into existence…
The god tensed… Hades' eyes narrowed, returning them to Ellie's form.
No, she never should have been able to do that… At least… not now…
Guilt began to chew at him… "She's been getting worse, hasn't she?"
Evie pursed her lips, but nodded, "Yes… Ellie's never had episodes this close together… She normally gets an episode after using her alchemy too much, but last week, she just… There was no warning. Ellie was laid up in bed for two days after…
"She doesn't pass out though… On-only once before… We were six."
Mal hugged herself around the waist, "I was there, Dad. Ellie's fever ran so high… No one knew what to do… It was the first time Ellie's episodes happened… For six weeks we didn't know if she'd wake up. We didn't know if she'd survive."
Carlos and Jay knew the weeks they were talking about… It was the scariest moment of their lives… They had known each other their entire lives, but for those six weeks, no one knew if Ellie was going to live… or die…
Hades sighed… He looked back down at Ellie, "I've got a hunch as to what's wrong with her… And we've got three options." His eyes looked to Evie and his daughter, then to the others in the room. "My preference, not that you probably care about that, is also the safest.
"Take Ellie to see Hera, my sister."
"You…" Mal blinked. "You have a sister?"
Hades rolled his eyes, "Yes, don't you know anything about your gods? I wasn't exactly kidding when I said I'm a God. I've ruled the Underworld for… eh, a long f*king time."
Belle frowned, "But isn't Hera the Goddess of Marriage and Family? Why would she be able to help?"
"Well, someone's done their homework," He glanced at her, causing Belle to turn away slightly. "Hera's also the goddess of woman. If anyone knows what's going on with Ellie, it'll be her." Hades' eyes fell back to Ellie's form. "Problem is, I'm technically a criminal in your eyes, and neither you nor your guard squad could go with us. Mal could, but not the rest of you."
Ben swallowed thickly… He wanted to do what was best for Ellie, but at the risk of his kingdom? And yet… yet was Hades even as evil as they all thought? He had willingly saved Audrey, and now… "And the other options?"
"Well, I could try to stabilize her here… But healing magic is not my strong point. I can give and take souls with ease, nullify magic power, and other stuff, but healing? Uh-uh, nope."
It was the truth…
Healing magic wasn't Hades' strong suit…
But this… this isn't healing magic that was needed to help Ellie.
And Hades didn't want to saddle Ellie with that so soon…
She didn't deserve it.
"And the third option?"
Hades waved the King off, "That's not even really an option. I may be a convicted criminal, but even I'm not that much of a b*stard to do that."
Ben bristled, "Then why even say it?"
"Because I figured you'd cast a truth spell on me. Those things hurt like a b*tch when-" Hades raised an eyebrow at their confused expressions. "You don't have those? Huh, must've gone out of fashion. It was four hundred years ago." He turned back to look at Ellie, running his thumb back and forth over her upper stomach.
Ellie's drained power slowly reached out towards him… And Hades pushed a small amount of power into her body… She shifted, making a small whining sound, inadvertently making Hades' heart ache…
He hated seeing Ellie like this… in pain…
Dying…
All because of him…
Beast looked at the unconscious girl, then at the god, "We're going to have to take our chances on your healing magic then."
Ben's eyes widened, "Dad!"
"We can't let him loose, Ben."
"That's not your decision to make!" Ben had seen how much Ellie being like this hurt Mal and the others… If there was a way, anyway, to save her… He looked over at Mal, making a motion for her to join him. His eyes then landed on Hades, "We'll have a quick discussion, then make our choice."
Evie stood quickly, her entire face hard, "Ellie's my sister, I get to have a say in this."
"Us too." Carlos gestured between him and Jay. "Ellie's our family. She's my best friend."
Ben knew there was no arguing with them…. Not to mention, they should have a say as her family… The King nodded, "Of course."
The group, as well as Beast and Belle excited the room. Fairy Godmother stayed behind with Hades and the guards… She looked at the god for several long moments, a thought coming to her, "If healing magic isn't your strong point, perhaps you could teach me the needed spell?"
Hades chuckled, glancing at the woman from the corner of his eye, "That's not gonna work. Divine magic is too much for your mortal body to handle. It'll kill you."
Fairy Godmother bristled, her grip tightening on her wand… Brushing her off so easily… She had never been treated in such a way, "I only wish to save Ellie's life…" Her eyes narrowed at the god, "I can question your motives, however. Why are you even offering to help Ellie? If you are the god of death, then from my knowledge of our deities, you know when it's her time… Why do you not wish for her to pass?"
Hades let out a breath… He kept his eyes on Ellie's form, "I have my reasons."
"And I would like to know them."
"You have kids?"
Fairy Godmother nodded, unsure, "Yes. A daughter. Jane."
"Then you can understand why I agreed."
It was at that moment, Fairy Godmother wondered if the God of Death was just as awful as all the legends written about him…
Ben chewed on this thumb nail, before looking out at the VK's. "I want to do what's best for Ellie, but we can't jeopardize Auradon's safety."
Mal frowned, looking down at the floor… Her mind whirled with the interactions between Hades and Ellie… "I'm not sure he will… Though we're probably not going to be able to get him back on the Isle if we let Dad take Ellie to his sister."
"Which means we can't let Hades free." Beast said. "I know you all want to save Ellie, but for the safety of Auradon, we can't let Hades roam free. Out of all the villains, he's the most dangerous… I tried for years to track him down to send him to the Isle…
"He killed dozens of guards, and the only reason he was caught was because he was drunk as hell that night… Twenty years ago, just the mention of his name sent people running in fear… they feared death, and they feared him.
"They still do."
They knew it was true… for even on the Isle, no one spoke Hades' name… The crowds split when he was out and about, fearing for their very lives… Maleficent scared people… But nothing sparked fear into people's hearts like the embodiment of death.
Evie leaned back into the door, "I… I think we should let Hades take Ellie to Hera." Belle and Beast exchanged worried glances. "I…" the blue-haired girl hugged herself around the waist. "I almost lost my twin sister once before… And-and I'm losing her now…
"I can't lose her…
"Hades is Ellie's only chance at survival…"
Mal pursed her lips… "I… I agree with Evie. I think we should let Dad take her. I'll go too, make sure he doesn't try anything. Maybe get him to come to an agreement or something…"
"But Mal-" Ben protested. "If we let him go, we're probably not going to get him back in-"
"She's dying, Ben!" Mal snapped, her frustration and fear growing. "Ellie's dying! I know we haven't wanted to say it, but it's true! Ellie's dying! And the only chance we have is Dad!"
Carlos and Evie visibly flinched at her words… They knew it, but they didn't want to hear it said out loud… Belle put her hand on her husband's arm, "What if we let Hades try to heal Ellie here? And then, if that doesn't work, we let him take her… Meet in the middle…"
Beast looked shocked, "Let him go? Are you insane?! We can't!" the former king turned his gaze onto the girl that would soon be his daughter-in-law. "Mal, Ben, you wanted to close the barrier permanently. We won't be able to stick Hades back inside if you two do this."
Mal was willing to do anything to keep her family and her people protected… Her values hadn't changed… but her family. They came first…
Ben squared his shoulders, "Then we take that risk."
Jay closed his eyes tightly, "Let's try it… I want Ellie to be okay more than anybody, but I know you'd never be able to forgive yourself if you put the kingdom in danger, Mal."
"But I'll never be able to live with myself if she dies, either…" Mal's voice was a whisper…
Evie grabbed Mal's hand, and the two looked at each other… they were willing to let Hades go all to save Ellie… If it came to that, then they still would…
Hades didn't move from Ellie's side… he slowly fed power into his soulmate's body, her fever still raging wildly…
He knew what he needed to do… As selfish as he wanted to be, he knew what needed to be done… In a way, it was still selfish… But this way…
He wouldn't be a part of Ellie's life.
He wouldn't darken it.
Ellie would continue to be around the people who cared about her…
The people who loved her so much they were willing to let him go free just to save her.
The door creaked open, and Mal and Ben entered first, Hades looking over his shoulder at them. The dragon looked at her father sternly… or well, as sternly as she could with how worried she was at that moment. "We want you to try to do what you can for her here. If… if it doesn't work, we'll go see Hera."
Hades' attention returned to Ellie, and he took a deep breath, "Sto ónomaádis. (In the name of Hades) Theós ton nekrón. (God of the Dead). Árchontas tou Káto Kósmou. (Lord of the Underworld)."
Darkness spread from Hades' feet across the floor of the room. It reached over the furniture, coating it in pure darkness… It spread up the walls and windows, blocking out all the light, before encapsulating the ceiling…
They were all trapped in a realm of darkness…
Not an ounce of light existed…
Hades' pupils blew wider, the dark blackness passing his iris and coating his entire eyes pitch black. His hair lit aflame, providing the only light in the darkness… His ember glowed, and blue stitches of power danced across the skin of his arm that was still pressed into Ellie's stomach.
It sank into her form, her own skin sparking to life with the same power… It looked like she was floating in mid-air, her bed coated in the very same darkness…
"Na tin anagnoríso os ísi mou. (Recognize her as my equal.) Dóse tis ti dýnami tis Vasílissas mou, giatí eínai dikí mou. (Grant her the power of my queen, for she is mine.)
"Déste ti dýnami kai tin psychí tis mazí mou gia óli tin aioniótita. (Bind her power and soul to me for all eternity.)"
The darkness suddenly slunk away from the walls like tentacles, coiling back towards Hades, but instead of coiling back inside him- it sank into Ellie's form. Light shone through the windows, making the bystanders recoil from the onslaught.
And as their eyes adjusted… they could see Ellie.
Her breathing was now soft and steady instead of ragged and harsh… Her face was no longer flushed with a high fever… it merely looked like she was asleep… peacefully asleep…
"It's done." Hades almost hated the words he spoke… "She'll be fine."
Fine… Yes… Ellie would live now…
But he'd never tell her what he'd done to keep her with her family…
To keep Ellie with Mal…
There were multiple sighs of relief from everywhere in the room. Jay sunk back into a chair, Carlos letting out a relieved laugh, Mal hugging Ben tightly.
Evie hurried to her sister's side, pressing a hand to her forehead… Cool to the touch. Evie breathed a sigh of relief, "Her fever broke. Thank goodness." She turned to Hades then, unable to hold it in. "Thank you. Thank you so much."
"Yeah, well, she's still gonna need to rest for a few days." Hades kept his eyes trained on Ellie's sleeping form, her shifting once more. "She shouldn't have any more of those episodes now."
Hades made the move to pull his hand off Ellie's stomach, only for the girl to shift some. He paused mid-movement, yet continued to pull away from her…
It was the hardest thing he'd ever done in his life…
Ellie settled once more. The guards hauled Hades to his feet, then began to lead the god from the room. They bound his hands behind his back, the clicking of the cuffs echoing in the hallway. Mal hurried after him… they were already leading him away…
"Dad!"
Hades paused, turning back around to face his little girl. Mal's smile was watery, "Now I'm gonna have to miss you all over again."
Hades had done something Maleficent never would have… He saved two people, gave them life… Because of Hades, Ellie would live… He wasn't anything like her mother said… Hades cared…
He wasn't as bad as anyone said he was.
The god shrugged as much as he could, "Thanks for a glimpse of the sun."
Hades smiled at his daughter, and Mal came closer, pulling his head down to give him a kiss on the cheek. And as he turned back around, the god slid his ember between his daughter's fingers…
Hades glanced at Mal from over his shoulder and winked…
He may not be able to be there for her… for them…
But at least, with his ember, they'd be able to be safe.
Mal clutched the ember tightly, holding it to her stomach, and even as she smiled… She still cried…
Because even as much as she didn't want to admit it…
She still loved her father…
And she always would.