The Curse of a Godess

4.

   Spring flourished, and the sun peered through the windows each day. Somehow the doors and windows are unguarded, but each time I try to step out, it feels like an invisible wall blocks me. Mother occasionally comes and brings me food. The pride she passed down to me has caused me to give her nothing but silence for the last six months. I would feel guilty if she hadn't been doing the same thing.

The wedding is tomorrow, but I haven't heard a peep from Hades. My mind occasionally drifted towards him, and I wondered if he had thought about it like I did. He was probably enjoying the last days of his single life before being chained down to me. Marriage between the Gods was scarier than the marriage between mortals. Mortals were able to escape marriage through death, but Gods lived with each other for all eternity.

The night sky holds the large full moon, and the oil lamp flickers to keep the room lit. I leave the lamp on, and head upstairs to my bedroom before curling into my soft sheets. The night stretches and as I try to sleep, the anger flustering in the pit of my stomach keeps me tossing and turning. As I sit, the smell of smoke creeps through my room, and I take a deep breath in.

I open my door, and hear a slight crackling sound emitting from downstairs. I rush down the steps to see a small fire burning on the shelf. I shriek and use a cloth thrown on the floor to suffocate the flames. Instead of snipping the fire, it begins to grow and the heat stings my hands. I rip my hands away, and the flames continue to eat away at the wooden furniture. I look down at my hands, my skin is red and blistered from the heat.

I rush to the doorway, and try to throw myself out of the house. I hit an invisible rock hard wall, and I begin to shout for help. I beat the surface with my fists and fly to the window after a failed attempt to escape. The smoke begins to cloud the room, and the air grows thin. Before I can throw the vase against the window, a dark figure appears in the living room.

Another shriek of mine tears through the air, and the figure grows larger. The fire is suffocated by a dark cloud, and the smoke in the air is finally fading. My feet frantically step back, and I loose my balance before landing on my butt. My eyes slightly burn, and my clouded vision locks onto the dark figure. My chest aches from the sudden jolt of my nerves, and I clutch my chest to ease my heart. A few coughs scratch my throat as my body tries to get the scent from out my lungs. The light from the flames are gone, and sit struggling to catch my breath in complete darkness. I slowly look up to see a familiar dark grey skin tone. His set of strong bronze eyes slightly shine through the darkness and his hand reaches out to me.

I want to be afraid, but I'm relieved he was here to stop the fire. What if he has come to tell me the wedding was off, and that I'd be stuck in the underworld forever. The darkness hides his facial expressions, but I can already predict on how low and quite his voice will be.

"Are you okay?" He asks quietly.

I nod, and he reaches out his hand to help me to my feet. I take his hands, and a gasp escapes my lips when I pull my hands away. Pain erupts from my singed skin, and I slightly wince from the sting. I look to my hands, and they tremble with agony.

"I'm sorry, my hands are burned." I admit.

"Don't worry. I can help." He says plainly as he crouches down with me.

"Let me see your hands." He asks and holds both his hands out.

I hesitantly reach out both hands, and my muscles clench when he places his own over the burned skin. For a quick second the burning spikes, but the coolness of his hands soothes the burn. I let out a deep sigh as the pain begins to fade, and I try to look at my skin. The darkness blocks my vision, and he stands to his feet.