My bedroom's cold air clings to my exposed skin and nestles its way into my bones.
Behind a paper-changing screen in nothing besides a pair of underwear, I shift through the outfits and dresses Hades has provided for me. Each one is gorgeous, something I would have never have dreamed of wearing as a mermaid before. However, I can feel the fabric of the garments, something is lacking; these outfits don't scream me.
Making my decision I choose my outfit. I'm about to dress and cover my exposed self when a quick knock comes at my door. I perk behind the thing changing screen as the door opens and there stands The lord of the underworld.
"(Y/N), I was thinking about your outfit and-" Hades pauses and his eyes go wide seeing the silhouette of my exposed form. His eyes linger on my shadow.
"(Y/N), I was thinking about your outfit and-"
Hades pauses and his eyes go wide seeing the silute of my exposed form. His eyes linger on my shadow.
(Basically what Hades sees)
"Hades?" I shout, snapping him out of his state. His face changes from blue to a slight dusting of pink. He quickly averts his golden eyes.
"I-I'm sorry." He stutters. Wait. Stutters? 'Is the God of death flustered by me? I wonder. Seeing an opportunity to get in Hades' head, my lips form a mischievous smile.
"Lord Hades," I say, the god slightly peaks through his fingers at me. "In all due respect, I would think an all-powerful God like yourself would know to not enter a lady's chamber unless she answers."
Hades continues to stutter "I-well-" He won't look me in the eye.
I quickly pull my head behind the changing screen as my stomach turns in a wonderfully awful way.
"Unless you wanted to see me that badly you forgot."
The blue God shifts uncomfortably and continues to stutter and ramble, "It's-It's not that I didn't you know, but-"
I giggle. It's a good thing Hades can't see my face because I'm sure my face is a blushing mess. Part of me knows I might be taking this too far, but messing with Hades is just so fun. It just feels right. My heart races and I bite my bottom lip thinking about Hades' reaction to me.
Hades grumbles. "Here," he says, continuing to cover his eyes. "You'll want something, we'll not like my style or not your style per se, unfortunately." The flustered god snaps his fingers and beside me, hanging with the rest of the dresses appears a new more traditional Greek goddess dress. The dress is nice but it's not my fashion type.
Hades clears his throat, "Just a bit of advice, if you want to please all those high and mighties, you wanna look and act like them." Hades sighs. "Trust me I know how selective they can be to those that don't meet their petty standard. Also, I don't want you to feel like an outcast. You only deserve to be treated fairly as anyone else."
That wonderfully awful feeling in my stomach gets stronger. It feels like live fish swimming in my stomach but in a good way. 'Is the lord of the underworld concerned about my feelings?' Now it's my turn to stutter.
"Thank-thank you Hades for looking out for me," I say. My heart pounds in my chest.
"Thank you, (y/n) for being a good friend."
And my heart goes flat. Friend? The word friend from Hades puts a bad taste in my mouth. Then again, what else would he call me?
I shake off the off feeling for the sake of my sanity.
"Of course." I quip.
Hades chuckles, "Are you going soft on me, my little fishy?"
"In your dreams, Torch Breath."
"Good, because I don't just like you for your kindness."
I playfully roll my eyes, "Pftt."
"I'm serious. I admire how you are both as gentle as a flower, but as strong-willed as any titan."
At Hades' comment, my cheeks heat up even more.
"Thanks, Torch Breath."
The God places his hand on the changing screen, I place my hand on his. Only the thin sheet of paper of the changing screen stands between us.
"Any time my, little fishy," Hades mutters.
We stay in the quiet of my room for a few moments. Neither of us can see the other's face. Unable to fully touch one another, yet my soul or whatever I have as a dead mermaid feels complete.
Hades sighs, "I better leave you to get ready. Women always take forever to get ready, you know what I mean."
I playfully grumble, "Yeah, yeah see you in a bit, big blue."
Hades chuckles turning to exit my room. That's when I make a bold move.
"Oh and Hades~" I coo. I giggle and place my naked leg outside of the changing screen. "I hope you keep the image of my frame in your head for a while because you won't be seeing it again anytime soon." To emphasize my point I pull my leg back behind the changing screen.
Hades nervously chuckles, "Haha, very funny." In a haste, I hear him hurry and close the door.
I can't believe what just happened.
With the God gone, I try to distract my flustered self and look at the new dress Hades brought me. The dress is definitely more, spunky? Is that the word? I don't know, but the style is not me. Then again, Hades said he wanted me to dress more like the immortals so maybe I should wear it. My fingers feel the fabric, nope still not for me.
"Oh, this will not do." I grab a short robe and throw it on and exit behind the changing screen. I pace inside the room. "What am I going to do?" I rub my temples. "It's not like I'm big into fashion but, this time I want to look nice, feel confident, and like myself with what I wear."
I sit on the bed, the soft mattress dipping with my weight.
"What am I going to do?" I ask no one in particular. Yet, invisible raspy voices answer.
"Well, you could let us help."
"We can see the best option and future for you."
"And finally get that Hades a life."
I pull my robe tighter around my body and my head whips all around the bedroom. "Who's there?" I ask.
A glowing eyeball appears in front of me floating. The voices echo from the eyeball. The glow fading and brightening with the voices.
"You've lived in the underworld for how long and you don't know us?"
"Guess that makes sense sister. You know she wouldn't."
"Can we just reveal ourselves and get on with this makeover?"
I hesitantly tap on the eyeball, the orb making a squishing sound.
The eyeball shifts grows, stretches, and swirls around me. In an instant, three wrinkly gray hags wrapped in black cloaks appear before me. Each hag is a different color and stature.
With blue skin and a long pointed nose, Lachesis stands the tallest of the three Fates. Her job is to measure a person's Thread of Life, so she knows everything about the past.
Clotho is the middle-sized Fate with green skin, yellow worm-like hair, and a long pointed chin. Her role is to spin the Thread of Life, which allows her to see everything happening in the present.
The final Fate sister is Atropos. She is short and plump, her skin a shade of dried lavender and green serpent-like hair, and a single eye socket like a cyclops. Her role is to cut the Thread of Life, so she can see the future.
The green hag with blonde worm hair, Clotho, crosses her arms bony arms and speaks first,
"Please watch the eye, because I personally threaded the part of your life when your mom told you to not touch a stranger's eye."
My mouth drops open.
"Are you the-"
"Fates." The short stubby Fate, Atropos, answers, the eyeball in her hand. "Yes." She squishes the eye into her eye socket. "And we're here to help you."
The tall, lanky blue Fate, Lachesis, grabs a lock of my hair. I cringe and try to move away. "Me?" I ask.
"Stop squirming," Lachesis utters. My body instantly freezes. I do as I'm told, and sit still. These are the Fates after all. The sisters are more powerful than even the Gods.
The three Fates gather around me, their breaths are putrid as if they haven't brushed their teeth in eons.
"Listen, we're messing up the timeline a bit but,"
Clotho takes the eye from the stubby one and pops the orb into her socket as she speaks.
"But we want Hades to get a life and quit bothering us."
The lavender stubby Fate steals the eye back. "If he gets a girlfriend he'll finally have a social life and stop moping about not ruling Olympus."
Heat creeps its way up my neck. The Fates, the sisters that decide, the well, the Fate of everything and every event is here to make me look good and to set me up with the god of the underworld?! I feel so small under the gazes of the sisters. They stare at me with mostly empty eye sockets and their single shared eyeball. I open my mouth to speak but nothing comes out.
Atropos tsks at me. "Since when have you lost your spark?"
Again my mouth opens, "I-I haven't!" I protest. "Just let me get this straight, you want me and Hades, one of the most powerful gods in the cosmos, to get together?" I ask.
The three gates turn to look at each other and then focus their attention back on me. They speak in unison, "Pretty much."
I cross my arms over myself suddenly feeling self-conscious about myself in my small bathrobe.
"Hold on, don't I get an opinion about this?" Wanting nothing more than to get away from whatever they have planned I try to scout away from the enclosing sisters.
The Fates speak in unison again, "No!"
The sisters enclose me even more, and so does their horrid stench. My arms try to push them away, but they manage to overtake me. As one sassily begins brushing my hair, my scalp hurting like hell, I know my fate is sealed. To be doomed to a makeover.
Timeskip
My face hurts from one, all the makeup, tearing at my hair from the Fates, and all the smiling I've been doing. Finally, I'm wearing something that screams me!!
"Hell yeah, that's what I'm talking about!" I shout giving a twirl in my new dress.
(Ok, dress attack, pick your weapon!!!)
Hades is on his way now. If something is missing we better figure it out now."
"Wait, I've got it." The stubby purple fate snaps her fingers.
I wait for something to happen. Nothing does and after a few moments a blurt,
"What did you do?"
Atropos again snaps her fingers and in her hand appears a silver mirror.
"Here, take a look." She utters and hands me the mirror.
(The flower in your hair only more realistic looking.)
I gaze into the mirror and gasp. Tucked behind my ear and nestled in my (h/c) hair is a gorgeous blue, purple, and silver/gold flaked flower.
The flower is a galaxy orchid.
"Also," Again Atropos snaps her purple bony fingers, and in my hand appears a blue and purple flower boutonniere that matches the flower tucked in my hair.
"For your date," Atropos says.
My cheeks heat up at the Fate's words. My fingers twist and scrunch up my dress's material in nerves, yet I shake my head.
"I don't believe he's my date. He just called me his friend." In unison, the fates shake their heads.
"We've known Hades for years, and he hasn't been this smitten for years. And we already know that you and he have some chemistry. Am I wrong?"
I think about my time with Hades. How his golden eyes captivated me when I first saw him. When he transformed me into a human. When I collapsed atop of him. When Hades brought me to the garden, we shared so many endearing moments. And just recently, in my bedroom when our hands were on the changing screen.
I think about what the Fates have said, and they are right. I can't deny the chemistry between the God of Death and me.
"No," I say. "I can't deny it. Clotho puts her green hand on my shoulder,
"Then you see?"
Open my mouth to speak but
A series of quick knocks hit against my door, interrupting me.
"Welp, that's our cue to leave," Clotho says as she pulls away from me. She pops out the eyeball from her socket with a squish. The hag throws the eye in the air again before somehow leaping into the eye and disappearing.
"Good, I'm sick of playing fairy godmother."
"Have a fun night, but not too much fun. That doesn't come till later." The purple fate winks at me without any eyes in her sockets.
Sweat peaks through my skin. "Ummm, thank you."
"And one more thing, don't let her get underneath your skin tonight."
Hades continues to knock at the door. My heart races with anticipation.
"Who's her?" I ask.
"Trust me, you'll know," Atropos says.
I sigh, "Ok, but thank you for everything."
"You're welcome. But don't expect us to be this generous all the time. We have a reputation to keep."
I nod as one of her sisters yells for her, "Atropos, come on."
Atropos chuckles, "See you around, flippers."
"Bye," I wave to the lavender Fate before the portal closes, leaving me alone.
Another knock sounds at the door.
"One sec," I call to Hades while taking one last look in the mirror at myself. My hands fix up any loose hairs and straighten out any ruffles on my dress.
My ears perk to the sound of Hades muttering as he impatiently taps his foot.
"What is it with women and always being late?"
With a large inhale, I breathe in as much air and confidence as I'll need for the night. Shaking off any nerves, I slowly make my way toward the door. Hades knocks on the door again as I turn the cold doorknob.
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🛑 IMPORTANT!!! 🛑 Go to my profile and you'll find my "Hades x Reader of Styx Mermaid" Book published separately on my page!! The previous 2 chapters have been rewritten with extra fluff and moments between you and Hades!! CHECK IT OUT!!!
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Published as one-shot #29 (I think I can't keep track anymore)
Published August 17th 2022
Last Edited August 17th 2022
2,547 words