Valentine.

It Takes Two to Tango.

🎵.

I am in the midst of carefully observing a small, beaded bracelet laced with swirls of porcelain, when I hear a soft knock echo across the bedroom doors. Restoring the trinket, I cautiously shuffle out of the closet and trudge to the door. "Who is it?" I call out sheepishly, still getting used to the notion that this was my room... and that that was my husband.

"Violetta, your highness" comes an exquisitely thick accent from the other side. Violetta will retrieve you for dinner, I remember Hades uttering before leaving me with my wildly beating heart. "Oh! Please, do come in" I reply swiftly, backing away from the doors. They creak open, revealing a short, stout woman. She appears to be in her mid-50s, and her hair has been elaborately tied back into a perfect bun, completely devoid of all flyways.

Upon entering, she bows before easing the doors closed behind her. "I am here to assist you with your preparations, your highness" she curtsies again politely. "Oh please, you- it's just... Lillith" I chirp at her awkwardly, still getting accustomed to my own name. Another bank of questions threatens to resurface and spray from my lips, but I quickly put a lid to the funnel.

"It's okay your hi-. Lillith. I understand." she offers giving me a warm smile. Understand what? But I don't say it aloud. I return the friendly smile instead and allow my gaze to settle back down to the floor. Finally working up the tenacity, I redirect my attention to the waiting lady. "Can I ask you something?"

Rapidly nodding her head, she ushers me towards the wardrobe- I'm assuming to change. We begin to stroll towards the momentous mahogany slabs, but I pause halfway.

"What happened to me? What really happened to me?"

"You must still be feeling a bit unwell after your accident" she smiles, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes like it did before. A faint glint in her brown eyes tells me I should ask again.

"Dinner will be set soon. Let's get you to your husband" she interjects, guiding me the rest of the way to the closet before I can press any further. I quell my probing for now, but this conversation was certainly far from over. Especially with the way she had just reacted.

20 minutes later, she opens the doors and leads me down the vast corridors. Similar to the themes in my chambers, everything in the castle donned an obsidian hue. Yet –if one looked close enough, subtle layers of sparkles could be seen dusting the various posts and door hinges. Crystal-red chandeliers hang high above our heads in the ceiling, giving dim light to countless, masked-soldiers marching about in uncanny unison. An overwhelming feeling of Deja-vu beholds me and it takes all of my willpower not to cringe at an intrusive thought. A flashback? A knight, sprawled on the floor – his casque twisted away from his body at the oddest of angles with a sickly red hue pouring from his neck and onto the ground. Lightly massaging my temple, I force myself to shake off the weird rumination.

After a few more minutes of walking, we finally reach what I assume to be the dining room. Anticipation courses through me as we enter the huge hall. Hades is already seated on one end of the long table when we arrive. He seems to be upset about something. One of the guards pulls a chair out for me as Violetta bows once more.

She clears her throat and begins: "Your majesty, I present to you-"

"Leave." grunts Hades interrupting her all too calmly, without even sparing a glance in her direction. At the pure sound of capped rage in his tone, everyone in the room immediately shuffles out, including Violetta.

Confused, I motion to follow, when he cuts sharply: "Not you."
I shoot him a curious look before glancing over to Violetta. She gives me an encouraging nod and curtsies before leaving the two of us alone.

Some time passes as we sit in complete silence. The dining room puts my chambers to complete shame. Swirling marble in various shades of grayscale makes up the entirety of the hall's flooring. Huge pillars adorn the corners and majestic statues decorate every possible edge. From great warriors on horseback to creatures I hope I never get the chance to encounter, all carved into obsidian figurines so shiny, they almost seem to move.

A fresh plate of food has already been set for me, but I had been so shaken up by the course of events from the day, I was far from an appetite. I had questions that needed answering. I was antsy.

I glance up at Hades and meet his translucent eyes, staring coldly at my untouched plate. Ignoring the stone in his regard, I attempt to make some small conversation to hopefully loosen him up. It appears something had gotten him worked up between his visit to my chambers and now. What? I couldn't possibly know. Maybe if I warmed him up enough, he would tell me?

"Violetta is a very nice woman" I say tenderly, thinking back to the glint in her eyes as she dismissed my prodding. Nonetheless, I did not count it as a mark against her character. For all the time I had know her, she had been extremely friendly and a comfort in a time where my brain couldn't seem to tell reality from imagination. Even now as I sit here, my sanity threatening to spill over, I still have to clasp my hands together to ensure I am not trapped in some sort of dream. Some sort of fantasy in which I am married to a mysteriously brooding man who seems incapable of mustering more than a few words at a time.

"You've been brought here to eat, not to talk" he scolds curtly, keeping me pinned under his heavy gaze. I blink a few times, a bit taken aback. "I beg your pardon?" I let out before thinking it through, my annoyance already on the rise. This in turn, causes him to cock his head to the side. He pauses in thought for a moment, as if deciding on something. His jaw ticks as he seems to push whatever crafty thoughts he'd been baking away and repeats himself instead.

"Eat."
I scoff aloud.

First it was his staff. And now...me? Was there anywhere his attitude couldn't reach?

"I'm sorry, but this isn't a circus. Do not speak to me like I'm some sort of dog" I snap at him, hoping this humbles his behavior and centers his emotions. Judging by the look on his face, it has done the complete opposite.

Who does he think he is?

Straightening his back, he narrows his icy glare before folding his hands under his profusely ticking jaw, his elbows pressing into the table.

"And might I add, it is exceedingly improper to have one's elbows on the dinner table. For whatever my memory might serve, at the very least I can confirm it is something all Lords are taught at a rather young age...especially one as high and mighty as yourself, No?" I add, rubbing salt unto the wound on his pride.

He shoots me a heated gaze and remains completely still.

"You're not a man of many words, are you?" I continue knowing all too well that he won't respond. "Well, that being the case surely you can still understand more phrases than you can muster. I'm not hungry, and I won't touch anything until you've answered my questions."

With that, I cross my arms over my chest and lean back into my chair. Moments pass before he finally shakes his head and speaks. "It would be rather shameful if I were to have to repeat myself for a third time." He says it all too calmly, all the more making his rage much more apparent. Like a bright red 'STOP' sign. But this was nothing to me. I have said what I needed to say, and it was better he learned earlier rather than later, that I was one to put, and keep her foot down.

Ignoring him, I gently push my chair back and rise. Though he studies my every movement like a preying hawk, he still says nothing. "It appears this conversation is going nowhere. When you are ready to talk like an adult, you may send for me." I cross over to exit the dining room when his voice comes again:

"If you leave this room-"

"Do your worse" I snap, stopping him right in his tracks.

I slam the polished dining hall doors behind me as I march through the corridor, pass the guards, and sashay my way back up the stone staircase. I burst into my chambers frustrated, rage twisting at my stomach like knots. "Who would marry such a thing?" I ramble aloud, completely oblivious to the dark figure calmly perched atop my bed, waiting quietly. Startled, I come face to face with Hades' translucent glare.