He lost his heart. Shattered, torn apart by those who he loved... Those who he thought loved him. He gave up all hope of ever finding it again. Yet he did, but he would have never thought that he would have to go tens of thousands of years to the pa...
We chatted for a while and then I prepared to leave. It would have been over six hours since I left for the market, three of which I spent here. "So what's your plan for now?" Hades inquired as we waited for Persephone, whom Hades had sent someone to call over to say goodbye.
"Go with the flow, I guess... I have to decide what to do with that stupid fatty before Mael gets his claws into him." I answered with an unconcerned shrug as Persephone entered the room. "Stupid fatty?" she repeated, with interest.
Me (rolling my eyes): He's a perverted fatty who wanted to force himself on me just because of 'mental trauma'...Those five henchmen who came after you belonged to him...
Hades (glaring): WHAT???!!!! Who is he??? I'll...
Persephone (stopping him by touching his arm, worried): It is forbidden for you to kill; you know that, My Lord.
I noticed the trail of ichor dripping down his palm as he clenched his hand and poked his nails into the skin. I guess there are times when even gods feel powerless. He couldn't even punish the fatty because of the ancient laws. "Just wait till he dies!" he growled softly before asking me in a hopeful tone, "Do you plan to take care of him any time soon?"
I sighed, unhappy with my situation. "I don't know... I'm not used to giving out revenge and the fact that killing humans does not disgust me or scare me out does not help. Not to mention, the way I am now, I can't exactly get full justice for those girls."
Persephone (dreading my response): Girls?
Me: Ya... According to a friend, he's been raping every girl he can get his hands on, even if they are less than fourteen years old. Many of them have committed suicide without receiving justice because of their family backing and powers.
Persephone gasped in horror after having barely escaped from the same fate; she couldn't help sympathizing with those girls. We stayed in silence for a while before she started jumping in excitement. "Oh, ooh, I know! Why not ask Sister Artemis? She'd be the best person for the job."
Me (sighing): I considered that, but...
Hades (trying to come up with a better plan): Honestly, that might be your best bet. I know that you can't exactly ask and wouldn't want to after everything they've done but if there's one thing Artie despises above all else, it's men abusing women. She'd give him what he deserves and much, much more.
I hated having to ask her for a favor. After everything that had happened in the past, the very thought of relying on her or any of the other gods (save for the three who were on my side till the end) made my gut churn. But, like Uncle Hades said, she was my best bet. She'd make sure he suffered for what he had done without any regret.
"What about Persephone?" Hades asked, noticing my struggle and wanting to change the subject. "What if whoever kidnapped her tries again?" He was clearly worried about her coming to harm again, and seeing that she was hidden from the two gods made the situation more dangerous.
"Well, I could place one of my knights into her shadow, so if ever she ends up in danger, the knight can take her place and transfer her into my domain." I offered, my eyes brightening as the idea popped into my head after we had mused over multiple other ideas. Persephone looked confused at that but Hades nodded excitedly. To make sure that she wouldn't be rejected by the domain, Hades showed me how to give someone access to my domain. All I had to do was bite my index finger and draw a trident symbol in between her forehead using my blood, fusing my powers into it, which disappeared within a second.
I placed a knight in her shadow, and although it may not be able to stand against an immortal, at least it can switch places with her and she'll be safe in my domain. "Will I see you again?" Persephone asked with a pleading look on her face, to which I grinned. "Sure, we can have a girls day out and I can show you all the good stuff in the mortal world." Her face brightened instantly and she gave me a big hug.
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A few minutes later, I was standing in front of my courtyard. Quan, who was sweeping the path, on seeing me, dropped the broom and engulfed me in a hug. "What took you so long, miss?? I was so worried!!", she cried out, relieved to see that I was okay.
I patted her head affectionately and said, "Sorry for coming so late. There was so much to see that I lost track of time." I used an excuse to convince her, although she stared at me suspiciously but accepted my excuse. "Did anyone cause trouble?" I asked, to which Quan shook her head.
I walked over to the willow tree and poured some water into the surrounding soil from a watering can that I placed beside it. I could tell that it hadn't been watered all day. The leaves rose with the wind and stroked past my cheek (Yángli's way of saying 'thank you'), making me smile as I walked into my room and flopped onto my bed. The sun had started to set, and dinner wouldn't be ready for another two to three hours.
I laid on the bed for ten exact minutes. Going through the memories of the original owner—about all the times she had been whipped, the times she was poisoned, the bullying, the betrayals—I recalled how she had almost been raped. Exactly ten minutes later, I jumped up from my bed and walked over to the table, summoned a piece of paper, and wrote something on it. I reread what I had written and signed it under an alias. As an afterthought, I summoned a smaller slip of paper, wrote something on it, and tied it around the hilt of a dagger I had previously created, representing one of my many regrets.
I summoned my commander knight (since it was the only one who could communicate) and asked it to deliver the letter and dagger to Hades, along with a message. I watched as it disappeared into a wisp of shadow and wondered if I would come to regret this decision. "Nothing I can do about it now..." I muttered to myself, walking to the bed and plopping down onto it as my eyelids drooped and sleep took over.
******
(So here's a question for those interested: any idea on what Percy meant by 'one of my regrets'?)
