Time slows down and the air around me feels intense, which makes it hard for me to breathe. I stop in my tracks, placing an arm on the boy to pull him behind me. I feel responsible for the boy and I didn't want him to get hurt.
Hades' face bears an angry look, more angrier than the one I'd seen earlier on.
My heart starts thumping wildly as none of us do anything other than stare at each other.
"Why?" Hades finally breaks the silence. "Why did you leave?"
He did not just ask me that.
I look him in the eye and say, "I wasn't in the mood to get raped."
He grits his teeth. "Everything could have been fine if you had just let me kiss you. Alas, you did not comply and I was forced against my will to behave in such a manner."
Uh excuse me?
"Comply?! You wanted me to frigging comply? Do you even hear yourself?" I scream. He really expected me to agree to all that?
A confused expression crosses his face. "But, of course. Did you not find me attractive?"
"Well, of course i did! But that doesn't mean I give you the rights to rape me."
Suddenly, he doesn't seem too scary now.
"Never matter. I will have you, even if I have to work for it," he says.
Okay, what.
"Listen, dude. You can't force me to do anything against my will, okay?" I say, and cross my arms across my chest.
"What if it was with your consent?" he asks, a smug expression on his face.
"Why on earth would I--
"Turn around," he interrupts, gesturing to something behind me.
A spark of realization hits me. The boy!
I turn around just as a massive wall of black fur slams the boy to the ground pinning him with its strong paws. The boy lets out a scream of terror and I long to lunge forward and pry its dirty paws off him.
Instead, I turn back to Hades and say, "This is how you're going to let me agree? Through blackmail?"
"It needn't have to be that way, Sydney. But you did not give me a chance."
I turn back to the boy, who has his eyes shut, chest heaving heavily. The hell-hound lets out a low growl that makes me take an involuntary step back. Its eyes are fixed on me, the red eyes seeming to glow brighter by the second.
I look away.
I don't have to do this. I can let the boy die. Who was he to me anyway?
But I knew that I couldn't. That boy risked his life to get me out of the palace. The least I can do for him is to risk my own. I take a deep breath to respond, but I'm interrupted by ragged breathing.
"Miss, you d-don't have to listen to him. You need to save yourself," the boy pants out just as the hell-hound pins him down further. I let out a gasp and say, "Okay! Okay, I agree, Just let him go. Please."
Hades' face contorts to bear a smirk and I feel revolted at the sight of it.
With a wave of his hand, he orders the dog off the boy. It runs away and I sigh in relief. The boy sits up and coughs.
Lifting a finger, Hades beckons me towards him. I stand rooted to my spot. Shrugging his shoulders, he walks towards me and places his hand on my cheek, thumb tracing circles across it.
Under normal circumstances, this might have been romantic. But having known the cruel intentions behind such sweet acts makes me feel anything but warm and fuzzy.
He places his other hand on my waist and tugs me forward. I look down, not wanting to even have a glance of his face up close. With a jerk, he lifts my chin to turn my face towards him. I close my eyes shut.
All of a sudden, I feel his hands drop from my face and waist. Stunned I open my eyes and gasp at what I see.
Cars whiz by me and and I hear two people quarrelling in the distance. I turn around and face the building in front of me. It's my apartment buiding.
I'm back!
I can't believe it. I'm back. But, how?
"Well, that was close wasn't it?" comes a voice from behind me and I turn to face a beautiful woman with long, golden hair, wearing a golden, flowy skirt and a white top. Her face is so divine, I feel calm inside.
"Who are you?" I ask the woman.
"That's my mother, Demeter," comes a second voice and Persephone steps from behind her mother, wearing the same jeans she was wearing yesterday. I smile weakly at her. Wait-- her mother?
"You're the one who unleashed the botanical garden in my room last night? Dude, you almost killed me!" I scream.
Demeter winces. "I wouldn't have let anything happen to you. Let us leave the past as it was. You are saved, my dear, that is what really matters at the moment."
"Yeah, how did I get here?"
"That would be because of me," comes a third voice, and a man with blonde hair and striking features steps out of the shadows, adjusting his suit as he does so. He is followed by another man, short with no hair, wearing tattered clothes.
"Who are you?" I ask the blonde-haired guy. Man, didn't he look gorgeous.
"I'm Hermes, God of Messengers, at your service," he says and bows.
Whoa whoa whoa wait. Too many names.
"So wait, let me get this straight. You're Persephone," I say, pointing to the black-haired woman. "And you're Demeter," I say to the golden haired woman.
"You're Hermes," I say to the blonde-haired man. I turn to the bald guy. "And you are?"
"I'm just a hobo from across the street. I just wanted to see what all the ruckus was about," he says and shrugs, turning around and walking back the way he came. We stare at his retreating figure.
"Okay," I say awkwardly. "Anyway, how did you save me?" I address this question to Hermes.
"I was the one who was supposed to take you back. But you see, Lord Hades was there even before I reached, and I had to hide, so as to save you when the time was right. I saw the opportunity when he was so engrossed in you, that I took it. Now, you're here."
"Wait, can all Gods travel to Hell and return?" I ask.
"No, just me, Goddess Demeter and Goddess Persephone, here."
Oh.
Wait a second...
"Hades can also travel from the Underworld. Why isn't he here chasing me down?" I ask, warily.
All of a sudden, the sky turns dark and a distant rumbling of thunder is heard.
Pop!
Following the weird noise, a shape starts to take form, right in the centre of the little circle that we formed. I back away, knowing just what it is.
All too soon, Hades steps out of the cloud of weird haze and glares at all of us.
"What is the meaning of this?" he roars. Then he looks around and notices his wife, mother-in-law and Mr.Hottie and he frowns some more.
"I should have forseen this," he says at last.
"Lord Hades, may we ask you, what is the meaning of this?" Demeter speaks up.
He doesn't say anything and fixes his eyes on me. I look back, not really afraid with all these people around me.
"Lord Hades, please leave her alone. There are so many other women in the Underworld. Let her be," Persephone quips. I look at her with my mouth open. Did she just give her husband permission to rape other women?
Okaaay. Greek Gods are weird.
"Leave, Jared. Please," I tell him softly, my energy completely drained out. I don't think I can fight him anymore. His eyes widen at the choice of name and he looks away, lost. After what seems like eternity, he simply bows and vanishes into thin air.
I let out the breath I hadn't even realized I was holding and sag against the lampost beside me in relief.
"Is he really gone?" I ask meekly.
"We can never be too sure when it comes to him. You aren't really safe for the next few days. I will stay with you, just to make sure you are out of harm's way," Persephone says, laying a hand on my shoulder. I look at her with gratitude and nod my head.
The sun was just beginning to set. What a tiring set of two days.
"Let's go," I say and guide Persephone to my apartment, waving goodbye to Hermes and Demeter.
******
"There you are, Sydney," Hermes says, dropping the bag I'd left in the Underworld, onto my couch.
"He isn't going to pop out of nowhere and hurt me, is he?" I ask, for what seems like the umpteenth time. Over the last couple of days, things were pretty normal. Well, aside from the whole Greek Gods thing.
I hadn't gotten any unexpected visits from the God of the Dead, although that didn't stop me from being jittery and jumpy all the time.
"No Sydney, he isn't going to. I really have no clue as to what happened, but he seems sad lately. Not that I am his close friend or anything. Being the God of the Underworld, it is alright for him to be angry. But sad? This seems to be the first. He must have been really infatuated by you," Hermes muses. I snort.
That was so not true. In the distance, I can hear Persephone as she sings in the shower. The week with her was a blast. Fortunately, she did know how to use the toilet and boy, did she love using it. For some reason, the sound of the flush really fascinated her. I introduced her to the twenty-first century modern technology and, she grew flowers on my window. So, I guess we were both happy in a way.
"So, I am safe?" I ask, opening up my bag to unpack.
"As long as you're in this realm, you are safe," he says and I jerk my head at him in panic. He has an amused expression on his face and I almost want to throw my bag at his pretty face.
As I'm unpacking, I notice something weird. One of my sweatpants seem to be missing. I remember packing four pairs. Now there seems to be only three. I try to recollect which one it is that went missing.
And then it hits me. The one missing is the one I wore when I first met Hades in my school, a week ago. The one he called hideous.
Not infatuated, my foot.
"Fair Sydney, tell me this, for I cannot seem to understand it. Any maiden in your place, mortal that is, would have been over the moon at having being chased after by a God. Yet, you didn't seem to want any of that. Why?" Hermes asks, interrupting my thoughts.
Why, indeed.
"Because I'm not any 'maiden.' I'm me and he's Hades. It wouldn't have worked out, trust me," I say simply, when in reality, I had no idea why I didn't want any of that. It just didn't feel right, I guess.
Hermes leaves, a short while later and I go to my room and lie on the bed, contemplating about everything. I'm staring at the ceiling and all of a sudden, it appears bright, as if swathed in a ray of light. I sit up straight and find the rainbow-lady who was talking to Hades when he was here, smiling at me.
"Lord Hades has sent a message to you, maiden Sydney," she says with a warm smile. I gulp and nod wordlessly.
"Dear Sydney," she begins and my heart beats in my chest. "I am more than sure that you might have been wondering, just why I haven't shown up in the middle of the night and claimed you as mine. Truth be told, I ask myself the same question everyday. Would you believe me if I told you that it was my heart that was preventing me from doing so? That is the thing about the heart. It never agrees with your mind. When you called me by that horrendous name, something happened. Something shifted inside of me and I cannpt describe what it is that I was feeling then. I couldn't harm you then. And I can't harm you now. My foolish heart prevents me from doing so. I have erred in many ways. Oh, how I wish I would go back in time and woo you properly like a gentleman would...It may be a stretch to ask you to forgive me, but I ask you to not be scared. Don't be scared, dear Sydney. How it hurts me that you're scared because of me. Alas, I cannot change it. Live a happy life, a life I will make sure not to interfere. Take care, sweet Sydney.
P.S. I have your trousers"
I feel warm and a little bit sad on hearing that. I open my mouth to say something when there is a blinding light and before I can react, she's gone.
I flop back ont to the bed, not really sure as to what I'm supposed to be feeling now. I think of the boy who was one of the whole reasons I was still here. I wonder if he's alright. I never even got his name.I pray that he escaped and that he's doing fine. In the end, I decide that I'm happy. Happy that Hades finally realized his mistake, happy that everything will be alright from now on.
The End.
********