MEDIA is "Hades and Persephone" by Abigail Larson. Isn't it cute? Although, he looks a little bit like Snape...
I try not to squeak as Hadrian descends the steps into the basement.
Why do you have to pick the cliche location to sleep, dear husband? Why must you scare young virgin maidens on their wedding night by bringing them in the lowest part of the Underworld possible?
Inconspicuously, I sneak a glance at Hadrian the Handsome's face. He's not looking at me, but there's a smirk flickering along his jaw that I'm certain is gloating at my mesmerized state. His chin is so chiseled it's like a goddamn chess board; all lines and carvings. I just want to run all my pieces across him.
And therefore, I have my answer as to why he resides in the basement of a perfectly roomy castle.
He's an ass.
I snort and roll my eyes. Hadrian's answer was to tilt his cunning lips towards me, and I return his bemused look with a glare.
'Put me down,' I demand.
Another smirk. 'Pregnant women shouldn't put themselves under so much strain.'
Another glare. 'Walking isn't strenuous. Dealing with idiots is.'
Hadrian chuckles. 'Dear me, I should have carried you from that room sooner, my little wife.'
'I'm not your little wife,' I say through my teeth, hissing out each word.
'You are shorter than me, little wife,' Hadrian beams, and I see he's reached the bottom of the steps. His grip, however, does not loosen; if anything, his arms tighten around me as he kicks open the door.
And his chambers filter in slowly. I blink, taken aback.
Waterfall.
His room overlooks the waterfall. I begin to laugh, feeling my sides hurt and yet no humorous joke was told. I laugh because of the terror welling inside my chest, threatening to make me scream and cry.
Hadrian looks at me, alarmed. 'What's so funny?'
I continue to laugh as my eyes water. He narrows his eyelids, peering at me.
'What's scaring you? The waterfall?'
As he mentions it, I stop laughing, and go mute.
Roughly, Hadrian strides towards his bed; a large, four poster in the other corner of the room, covered in plush velvet blue and dark mahogany. He places me down upon it, not even looking at me.
'If the waterfall scares you, you won't stand a chance at being my little saint bride, Nerissa,' he says, facing away from me. He sits at the foot of the bed, staring at the rest of the room.
Bookcases line the walls, along with strange tables filled with vials and bubbling liquids. Markings and runes clutter shelves, and there's chalk markings along the floor. If I had to guess, Death dabbled in magic-- and not the good kind.
In fact, my eyes spot the locked cupboards, the skulls on display, the painting of Cerberus upon the wall, and I worry that I can't overpower this man. He's direct, and he knows that I'm here for something other than to become a devoted wife.
'I'm not little,' I say automatically, my mouth forming the words before I could filter them. My sass was really going to get me into trouble this time; unable to keep my cover and unable to retrieve it!
'We're all little compared to the waterfall,' he says vaguely, and I don't know what he means. He's staring out at the water, entranced.
'I just want to be your wife,' I repeat, a pleading note forming at the edge of my voice.
'We both know that's not true.'
I bite my lip. 'Just have sex with me, then.'
Hadrian whips his head around to look at me. I'm amazed that a pink blush has flooded his cheeks, making him appear puffed out. He gapes at me.
'Has nobody told you?'
'Are you gay? I mean, I suspected, but--'
'Nerissa. Once I "form a bond" with one person, man or woman-- that is, sleep with them-- then we're bound together.'
My continued puzzlement must have showed through my stumped silence, because Hadrian sighs and turns back towards me. Looking at me gently, he says, 'Forever, Nerissa.'
Oh, Holy mother of Hadrian.
'What?' I screech, and my hands ball into fist. 'I have to stay here? Forever? Bound to you? What does that mean?'
Again, Hadrian's mouth forms a smirk, but this time, it's half a grimace. 'You know, it's never happened to me, so I don't really know.'
Groaning, I flop back onto the bed, staring up at the dark, domed ceilings. The noise of the waterfall pouring is oddly calming. Perhaps that's how Hadrian kept his sanity, all these years alone, doing...deathly things.
We don't talk for a few seconds. Then, I say, 'If you don't know, how do you know that it's forever?'
'There's lots of prophecies, books, writings...' Hadrian gestures with a glum demeanor towards his bookcases. 'I've looked for everything to end this curse. But there's nothing, nothing at all to save me from it.'
'Save you?' I ask hotly, sitting back up again with a jolt. 'Why do you need saving?'
'I have spent nearly one thousand years collecting the souls of the dead,' Hadrian replies, and he turns away from me once more. I don't need to see his face, though. I can hear pain in his voice as he speaks.
'One thousand years? Here, alone?'
With Jefferson, maybe, but that's no company.
'Yes,' he says, 'Alone. And there's no escaping my fate.'
I edge towards him, my fingers touching the small of his back. He's cold, and my touch makes him jump.
'Not alone,' I say, 'I'm with you.'
Please, just give me your power!
Hadrian moves my hands away. 'No, you have one month. And then you follow the waterfall.'
My hands move to touch him once more. 'I don't have to. You can pick me. I'll stay. Forever.'
Or at least until I take revenge on whoever thought it was a good idea to bring my brother back to life.
'Have you not been listening?' Hadrian growls, and he grabs my wrists forcefully. I pretend to simper, wondering if that will stroke his ego. 'I can't force this curse on you too. Trust me, it's hell.'
'Of course it's hell,' I laugh, 'We're in hell, aren't we? I signed up for this, Hadrian!'
At the sound of his name, I see his pupils dilate. His thumbs stroke the bones of my wrist, sending funny impulses down my arms that lead straight to my chest. His mouth opens, and my eyes focus on it, recalling kissing him earlier, and how much I'd enjoyed it.
How much he had enjoyed it.
He leans closer. 'You signed up to be a bride. A bride is not what I need...'
His breath tickles my lips, making me inch closer too. His words are buzzing against my ears, but I'm not really registering them. What had he said? He has the cutest freckles on his nose...
'Not a bride?' I mumble, leaning closer again.
Hadrian leans in, so that I swear he's going to kiss me, and I let my eyes flutter shut. All in the name of revenge, I tell myself.
Hadrian says, 'I need your soul...'
Reflexively, I smack him on the jaw and scream at him. When I realise he's laughing, I stop trying to kill him and instead sit as far from him as possible, my arms crossed.
'That wasn't funny,' I snap.
'That's the Nerissa I met out in the wasteland!' Hadrian chuckles, rubbing his chin. 'Hell, that hurts.'
'That wasn't funny!'
'Well, that's getting you back for telling everyone I'd gotten you pregnant. That wasn't funny, either.'
I think I'm reinventing the word glare when it comes to Hadrian. I reach for his bedside table and chuck the first thing that comes to hand.
The glass smashes behind him as he ducks at the last moment. His eyes pop.
'That could have hit me!'
'It was supposed to, you big idiot!'
'So you admit I'm big, huh?'
'A big, massive liar yes!'
'How well we suit each other,' Hadrian says sarcastically, sighing at the shattered glass. 'At least mine was a half truth. I do need human souls to survive, and if you "bond" with me, so will you.'
'So that's why I'd have to stay here forever,' I murmur, feeling my heart clench. I'd never be able to go beyond the waterfall.
I'd never see Nate again.
'It's best you don't come near me for this whole month,' Hadrian says,'and then go and wait for your friends on the other side.'
I think about it for a moment.
What if Nate isn't there? What if, because of what happened, he can't?
What if only I can help him get there? My answer, like always, is the same.
Saddened, I lie back down onto the bed, curled into a ball.
'I can't.'
Hadrian looks at me. 'What?'
'I can't go to the other side,' I repeat, and I pray that whoever brought back my brother, it wasn't Hadrian. I'm almost certain that it wasn't, but only through instinct, and that isn't something to guarantee. 'If I can't have your power, then I need your...assistance.'
He kicks back on the bed so that he's facing me, lying a few inches away. 'I'm listening.'
I lick my bottom lip, feeling how dry my mouth is. Hadrian's eyes flicker downwards as I do, then pauses, seemingly staring at my mouth.
'I, uh, I've met you before,' I say, and that distracts Hadrian. He frowns, his eyes looking back into mine.
'When?'
'Five years ago. I was only a young girl, but I saw you come for my brother's soul.'
Hadrian is astounded. Shock fills his features; he raises his light hawk eyebrows, and his perfect mouth opens into a little symmetrical "o" shape. 'You shouldn't have been able to see me.'
'I saw you. I heard you. You were kind to him, told him he was going to be okay. And you said I'd see him again someday.'
Hadrian stares into the distance, recollecting the memory. 'I remember every soul I've ever taken, Nerissa, and your brother was no different. Nathaniel...but his twin sister was calling him Nate as I came to collect him. I didn't realise that you were her, that you could see me. No human has ever seen me.'
I swallow, but find my mouth is still dry. 'I saw. I remember your dark suit, but you wore that mask...'
Why was he wearing a mask, if humans can't see him?
Why bother?
Why does he need the mask, unless...?
'You became my bride because you'd seen me before?'
'I hated you at first. I researched everything I could find out about you, but it was all speculation. I decided that there was only one way to meet you...'
'And then help you? With what?'
'With...finding out why i can see you,' I reply slowly, my mind inventing the best possible excuse.
'I have no idea,' he says, rolling onto his side to face me.
I flutter my eyelashes coyly. 'Could I come watch you collect a soul? Perhaps that would help.'
Hadrian still seems suspicious, but for some reason, he softens and nods. 'And then you'll go through the waterfall, if you find out the reason?'
'Of course,' I lie. 'As soon as I do. So when do we start?'
---
Helloooo, and this is an update after a long while, and it's still shorter than usual! I'm sorry! I've officially finished my exams and I'm celebrating freedom.
The good news is that I WON THIS JULY'S WATTPAD4 CONTEST and WAS CHOSEN AS THE GRANDE PRIZE WINNER oh my gersh, I'm still grinning. Nerissa thinks it's all down to her and her sass, but she's letting me take some credit...
The bad news is that I'm going on holiday (sob) for a week (double sob) and won't be back until a week tomorrow (triple sob) and therefore there won't be any updates for that length of time.
I'm sorry!! I will be back to posting regular updates once I'm home, and I'll have cooked up some more plots while I'm free to think.
Enjoy your weeks!
lots of love
Larissa xxx