Lexi's Fate

~11~

"Jackie O, I missed you so much." The words choked from Lexi's throat, and Hades knelt next to the pair, stroking both their heads. "I have been so selfish. What have I done to you?" Lexi looked at Hades, her eyes pleading through a fountain of tears. Was she asking him to heal Jackie O? Did she know that was not within the realm of his gifts? Or was she asking him to do what he had promised? To make her visit a happy one?

"See if there are any carrots in the treat bag, please Hades."

Her command gave him something to do besides lament alongside her, and he dug his hand into the bag, coming up with two carrots that were probably just put there. He handed them to Lexi and she coaxed Jackie O with them.

"Please eat, Jackie O. We need to get you standing, and you need your strength to stand. Remember how much you begged for carrots when we first met? You didn't want the apples, you wanted...the...carrots." Lexi sobbed against Jackie O's neck, and her horse blew air through her lips, as if she knew just how Lexi felt.

Finally, reluctantly, Jackie O lifted her head to accept the food, and Lexi sniffled as she encouraged her friend with praise. When the carrots were gone, Jackie O attempted to stand, and, together, Hades and Lexi helped her up. After a few minutes of finding her feet, Jackie O stepped determinedly up to her trough, which had been recently filled with fresh hay, and Lexi fed her by hand.

"Good girl," she crooned. "I'm here now, and I won't leave until you're back to your spunky self again. I promise."

As Hades listened to Lexi comfort her horse, a terrible foreboding came over him. Perhaps Z did not have to go out of his way to discourage Lexi from returning to the underworld. Lexi's compassion could prove to be Hades's undoing, but he had a duty to fulfill to his beloved, which meant assisting the reunion of these friends.

"I have an idea," he said. "But it will take me away from the stable for a few minutes. Will you ladies excuse me?"

Lexi nodded mutely, and he brushed a kiss across her forehead, wishing he had more to give her than sympathy. When he reached the house, Lilith saw him enter, and he gestured her discretely away from a conversation the group was having on weather predictions.

"Lexi has decided to hunker down in the stable," he told her. "Can we accommodate her and Jackie O and bring the family together at the same time?"

"Of course. I will have the wait staff set-up a buffet table in the stable. That's a wonderful idea. Thank you, Hades. Your insight is uncanny."

"A side-effect of eternity, I suppose." He turned to leave, but Lilith stayed on his heels, waiting until they were away from the others to speak again.

"I hope you don't think we're angry with you," she said. "Zeus has kept us separated from you and Lexi. I think he had hoped she would bargain for her freedom if she was totally cut-off from her family. He's taking full credit for making this occasion happen. It's sickening."

"I am very sorry, Lilith. I know what we did was terribly impulsive and irresponsible. But, please know this. I am completely enchanted by your daughter. She is witty, kind, and she challenges me at every turn. If anything, she has made me a better god."

Lilith offered her understanding with a smile. "Please don't apologize. I remember what it's like to be in love for the first time, and Lexi seems happier than I have ever seen her. She's practically glowing, and I thank you for that."

"I will not take credit for the glow," he offered. "She had that when I met her, and I hope you don't think Lexi isn't free. She can choose to leave the underworld any time, and she knows this."

He reached for the door, and Lilith let him escape back outside. He had noticed the moisture collecting in her eyes, and he didn't want to be responsible for making two females cry in the same day, but he had meant every word he said to her. Lexi had become the kindling to his fire. The dawn to his dusk, and he watched the sun set on the horizon as an image of Lexi danced in the foreground of his mind, teasing him with wonderful possibilities. Whatever it took to keep her dancing there, he would do it.