shadow of hell || a dc/jason todd oc

― 10 | special woman.

YEAR: 1924.

Six years. That's how long it took Roni to gather the strength to return to Greece. During those six years, she wrote. Living on an island all alone, she wrote about her life just to get it out of her system. About Themyscira, Greece, Melaina and everything after that up until she decided to go back.

When she knocked on the door of her old home, Marcos opened. It took him some seconds but he finally recognized her. He didn't even say a word: instead he hugged her and sighed in content.

"Hadronia? I can't believe you're back." He smiled as they pulled away.

"Actually, it's... I just go by Roni now." She pointed out timidly. The smile on his face vanished slowly. "Can I come in?"

"Of course." He stepped aside and closed the door when she had entered. They sat down on the couch and the silence ate her up. Aside from them, the house was quiet. Nothing. Then the feeling crawled up on her. The heavy darkness that lurked in the corners, the smell of tears and poison. The cold breeze that shouldn't even be possible to feel in a closed house with no windows open grazed against her skin.

"What happened?" She asked with thick tears in her eyes. Marcos rubbed his face and then supported himself by having his elbows against his lap and his chin against his intertwined hands. "Marcos, where is she?"

"She's gone." He finally answered with such heaviness on his shoulders. "She got sick a few years back, maybe three years ago. No doctor knew what was wrong with her so no one could cure her. I'm so sorry, Roni. I wanted to send you a letter so many times to tell you but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. You deserved to know but I couldn't. She loved you, so much. She asked me to tell you in case you ever came back."

Roni broke down. Not in the crazy, sitting on the floor and screaming way. The tears simply streamed down and her throat felt like it was going to explode because of all the lumps she choked back. Marcos quickly pulled her close and simply held her while she coped with the news. Guilt crippled into her. Three years ago... had she stayed, she might've been able to save her.

"Oh, honey." A too familiar female voice whispered. Suddenly that cold breeze was still, in front of her and holding her knees. She didn't want to open her eyes — that'd be the ultimate acceptance and proof. "Look at me."

Roni reluctantly opened her sticky eyes and choked back a last sob as she watched Melaina's ghost smile sadly at her. It was like a movie effect. Melaina wasn't ghostly, she glowed. Golden lights shining from her, she sat there, half transparent and thumbs caressing Roni's legs.

"I could've saved you." Roni cried. Marcos frowned at first but then remembered Roni's story and the fact that she was Hades' daughter. "I left Germany six years ago. If I had just returned instantly, I..."

"Maybe." Melaina mused. "Maybe not. You need to stop filling yourself with guilt that you shouldn't be feeling. Even Hades has trouble controlling life and death. Don't overthink the what ifs. Life is just... life. Things happen and there's nothing you can do about it. Not even you."

"You didn't deserve this. To die of sickness." Roni wiped her face even though it didn't make a difference.

"No. But I'm okay with it." Melaina cupped Roni's cheek and caressed it with her thumb. "I've accepted it. I was happy, I had a good life. I had a woman come into it and change it for the better, one who made me feel so many things and taught me so much. I got to marry someone I love. If anything, I've done so much that... it doesn't really matter that I died early."

"I miss you." Roni cried and let her head fall a little as she cuddled into Melaina's embrace. "I've missed you so much, Mel. I really thought I could come back and see you again. You and Marcos. I've missed you both."