Chapter 2

Three hours later, I stood outside Hades’ study, growling. This was the only room I had not searched, and it was coincidentally the only room in the entire palace that I am not allowed to enter without being summoned. Banging on the large oak door, I shouted, “Hades, I’ve searched the entire palace. Twice! You better be in there!” I leaned close to the door, listening for an answer. I heard nothing.

“Fine!” I shrieked. “Stay away from me. I don’t care! Oh, and do not come crying to me when you want to spend quality time with your wife and she’s not here!” I stamped down the echoing black marble hallway towards my room, muttering under my breath angrily. I reached my room quickly and threw the door open.

“Gods, Ly, I have not seen you throw a fit like this since your twenty-third spring dance at Olympus.” I let out a small yelp of surprise when I heard the deep voice coming from behind the door I had just thrown open. Whirling around, I saw Ares stick his head around the door and grin, showing off his perfectly white teeth. I sighed in relief.

“Ares, you jerk! You scared the goddess out of me!” I glared at him heatedly. His grin got wider as he closed the door and stepped towards me. As soon as I saw his white toga, I groaned.

“May the gods damn whoever created white togas,” I mumbled while walking over to flop onto my bed. Ares chuckled as he perched next to me.

“Nothing could be quite as bad as corsets, My Dear,” he insisted tauntingly. Giggling, I agreed with him. Ares stretched out beside me and I smirked.

“Doll, I do not think you wish for me to see all that lovely skin,” I joked, poking his thigh with my bare foot. Rolling his eyes, Ares fixed his toga so it covered his tan, muscular thighs. Looking over at me, he smiled. I tried to smile back, but my mind was running through what had happened with Hades. I huffed quietly, and Ares reached out towards me. I moved into his warm embrace, settling my head on his broad shoulder.

“What did he do, Love?” Ares implored with a curious glance at me. I sighed a little, and recounted what had happened in the council hall, and the search I had conducted. As I finished, Ares huffed in frustration.

“Doesn’t he know what that does to you?” he fumed. I put my hand on his cheek, and Ares calmed down somewhat. I smiled at him reassuringly, and said, “We’ve spent thousands of years not interacting with one another, Love. Of course he does not know what his running away does to me. I’m quite sure only you and my mother know about it.”

Ares nodded in agreement and pulled me closer to his body. I poked his shoulder, and he grinned widely, sticking his tongue out at me. Giggling, I leaned forward and went through the motions as if I was going to bite his tongue. It was then that the door slammed open, and Hades sauntered in with a sorrowful look on his beautifully angular face. Immediately, I shot out of Ares’ arms onto the other side of the bed, blushing furiously. Hades eyed my blush, and then turned his gaze onto Ares, who was still lying on my side of the bed with his toga riding up his legs. Hades’ face instantly settled into a mask of pure anger.

“I did not intend to interrupt,” Hades drawled, setting his accusatory glare in my direction. My gaze snapped to Ares’ rising toga and my blush got infinitely brighter.

“We weren’t doing anything,” I insisted quickly. Hades scoffed, and turned to Ares.

“Do not touch my wife again, God of War,” Hades hissed. “I may allow you to visit the Underworld, but you should not forget this is my realm, and I do not appreciate your unseemly ways in my home. Now, leave. I wish to speak with the queen.” Ares stood up quickly, bowed to Hades, threw an apologetic glance in my direction, and disappeared. I curled up a little and looked at my hands.

“I am sorry, Aidoneus,” I muttered with a sad grimace. I felt the bed dip slightly, and I looked up to see Hades observing me silently.

“W-we weren’t doing anything, I promise,” I stammered quickly, running my hands through my hair in exasperation. “Please, say something. Don’t be angry with me.” Hades reached out and took my hands in his. I bit my lip hard, trying to stop myself from bursting into tears at the kindness of which Hades treated me.

“Lynus Inferis,” Hades started, “I could never be angry with you. I was just… unpleasantly surprised.” Unable to hold it in any longer, I started to cry, and Hades pulled me into his lap, wrapping his well-muscled arms around my slight shoulders. I clutched his leather jacket tightly and cried into his broad chest. Hades’ hands ran up and down my back slowly as he murmured, “Why are you crying, My Queen?” I sniffled, and cuddled closer to his powerful body.

“How could you not be angry with me? I-I hurt your feelings before, and I was so close to Ares just now. You should be furious!” I insisted. Chuckling, Hades pressed his lips to my temple. I closed my eyes, savouring his gentle touch.

“Lynus, please. In the council hall, I was only upset with myself for letting my violent side get the best of me. You did not hurt my feelings,” Hades crooned. “And, I am not upset with you for what you did, I’m upset with Ares for trying to fool you.” Curious as to what he meant, I looked up at Hades inquisitorially. He grimaced slightly when he met my gaze.

“Ares was trying to kiss you, My Dear,” he divulged. I could hear the undertone of anger that his baritone voice took on as he said that. Then, his words registered to me, and my jaw dropped.

“Hades, he would never kiss me!” I exclaimed. “He is my mother’s lover. That would be extremely unsightly; I would not allow it.” Hades let out a bark of laughter as I said that, and he tugged my small body closer to his. I raised my eyebrows at him, inquiring as to why he was laughing, and he snickered.

“You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that, Core,” Hades beamed as he pulled on one of my wide blonde curls. “But, I must state that, yes, he does want to kiss you. Have you not noticed how he and your dear mother have not had relations in quite some time?” Thinking back, I remembered all the new men that my father has had me kill in the past decade, and I gasped.

“So, just because Ares wants me now, my mother has had to revert back to her conquest of bedding every male mortal?” I said disbelievingly. Hades nodded his assent, and I groaned.

“I have not thought about Ares that way since my third century here,” I groaned, hiding my face in Hades’ chest. I felt his body freeze up, and I quickly added, “You started entertaining Persephone that century.”

“Yes, I know,” Hades murmured. “My Dear, I could never express the endless amount of sorrow I possess that I have caused you so much grief these last eighty centuries.” At his confession, I smiled widely.

 “Although I know eighty centuries for us is an incredibly short amount of time, it sounds so lengthy compared to the humans’ sense of existence,” I remarked. Looking up at Hades, I saw his face crumple slightly, and I set my hand on his forearm.

“Darling, don’t fret. Like I said, for us it is a very short amount of time, and I forgive you. Oh, and don’t brood over what I once thought about Ares, I’d never leave you for another god or goddess. You’re too wonderful,” I said, stroking his ego slightly. Hades smiled broadly, and I was pleased that I could raise his mood. 

“Now, My Dear, the reason I interrupted your love fest with Ares is because I have something to show you,” Hades informed me. I scoffed at his teasing, and he smiled.

“Close your eyes, please,” Hades said quietly, taking one of my hands. I obliged, putting my other hand over my eyes.

“Oh, and don’t peek,” I heard Hades whisper; his lips close to my ear.  I shivered, leaning towards him. Hades chuckled, and I heard him mutter a Grecian spell, and I felt us travel through the empty hallways, and out into the gardens that surrounded the palace.

“You may open your eyes now,” Hades smiled, gently releasing my hand.

I uncovered my eyes and gasped. In place of the black asphodels that usually adorned the field right next to the palace, there was an outrageously giant revolving wheel with passenger cars suspended on its outer edge, surrounded by other strange contraptions. One was like a platform with cars attached to it, which were placed on what looked to be a machine that spun the cars. There were also booths that were placed around the mechanisms, where I could see an assortment of different game-like apparatuses. One of the booths was filled with an arrangement of different foods, which let off an absolutely heavenly smell. The amazing sight ended at the river I knew to be Lethe, which Hades knew was my favourite. I turned towards him and saw that he was looking down at his black leather boots, his face slowly reaching a shade close to bright red.

“If you do not like it, Core, I could always change it to something you might like,” he murmured. “A nice flower garden, perhaps.” I gasped and shook my head vehemently.

“No, I don’t want another flower garden!” I exclaimed. Hades lifted his eyes to meet mine, and smiled. I blushed, realizing that I had shouted.

“I apologize, but I am not letting you take… whatever this is away from me.”

“You really like it, Core?”

Smiling, I said, “Of course I do, Aidoneus. Did you manifest this for me?”

“I had some help from Thanatos, but the idea was mine. This is what humans call a ‘carnival.’ It is supposed to be quite a lot of fun, according to the reapers,” Hades explained. “I thought you might like to experience what humans take for granted.” As he spoke, he took my hand and rubbed his thumb over my palm. I pulled my hand away and threw my arms around his neck. Surprised by my boldness, it took him a second to react, but he slowly slid his arms around my waist. I buried my head into his neck and smiled.

“Thank you so much, Hades,” I whispered. Hades tightened his arms around my waist, and said he was glad he could make me happy. I pulled away slightly and kissed his cheek before turning around.

“Can we eat first? I am starved. But, oh, we could ride that spinny thing, or the giant revolving contraption! What do you want to do? Oh, I know! We could play a game! I absolutely love games. Can we play one, Hades? Please?” I turned to him and batted my eyelashes, thrusting my bottom lip out. Hades let out a booming laugh and put his arm around my shoulder.

“Lynus, my darling, you can do it all, if you would like,” he said with a grin. “I do not mind what we do first.” I bit my bottom lip, realizing that I had been rambling before.

“I don’t know what I want to do,” I said slowly. With a knowing smile, Hades pulled me over to one of the games.

Throughout the next few hours, I dragged Hades from game to game, exploring each one with childlike enthusiasm. For many of the games, it took me several tries to figure them out, but I deciphered the mechanics of every one. I took a great liking to one that used guns to hit targets, while Hades’ favourite was one that used baseballs to knock down cups. He was especially brilliant at the game, and I quite enjoyed watching him pitch the baseballs with extreme precision. His grin got wider every time he knocked the cups down. I was not quite as good as he was, and he mocked me playfully every time I missed the cups. Of course, that gave me the chance to make fun of him trying to figure out how to work a gun. I nearly collapsed in hysterics when he tried to shoot with the safety on. After teaching him to shoot, he got better, but still could not hold a candle to my deadly accuracy. Though he teased me relentlessly, Hades always congratulated me every time I hit the centre of the target. By the time we were finishing up with the last game, the enticing smell of the food was distracting my other senses. Finally, I grabbed Hades’ hand and pulled him over to the booth that was full to the brim of delicious victuals. We both agreed to try something Hades’ called a ‘funnel cake,’ and walked over to the giant revolving wheel that Hades had explained was a Ferris wheel.

“After you, milady,” Hades said, gesturing for me to board one of the cars. I giggled and stepped into the car, carrying our funnel cake. I sat down, and Hades climbed on after pressing a button that started the wheel. I had sat in the corner, making room for him, but when he sat, he pulled me closer to him.

“You’re not keeping that funnel cake all to yourself, Lovely,” he said as an explanation. I blushed a little and cuddled into his side as the cars started to move. I gasped, and leaned forward as we started to move up. Hades set his hands on my waist to steady me, and I grinned.

“This is so amazing!” I leaned even farther over the front of the car. Hades pulled me back, and I swatted at his hand.

“Don’t pull me back, I want to look,” I said to him. He chuckled and tugged me back into the seat of the car.

“I do not want you to tip us over, Lynus,” Hades explained as he rested his arm on the back of the seat behind my head. I grumbled quietly and leaned my head onto his arm. Content with my concession, he reached over and took a piece of the funnel cake and held it out towards me. Grinning, I leaned forward and bit into the funnel cake. As the sugary substance that the cake was covered with hit my tongue, I gasped.

“Hades!” I exclaimed. “You absolutely have to try this. It is positively delightful.” I tore another piece off and offered it to him. He took it and placed it into his mouth. As I watched him chew, his eyes got wide.

“This is surprisingly exquisite,” he commented. I giggled quietly.

“You can just say it’s yummy. You don’t have to be so formal, Hades,” I encouraged. He smiled widely, and said, “Well, then, that was totally delish.” I covered my mouth, trying not to laugh at his mocking tone. Hades winked at me, and I could no longer hold it in. Hades had to take the plate from me because I was doubled over from laughing so hard. After my laughter had subsided, I looked up at Hades, who was watching me intently. His gaze flickered down to my lips, and I subconsciously slipped my tongue out to wet them. His eyes widened slightly, and he looked into my eyes. Slowly, he started to lean forward, scrutinizing how I would react. Hades stopped when his lips were within an inch of mine, giving me the decision to lean forward or move away. I could feel his breath hitting my lips as he waited patiently. I moved forward slightly, then my eyes widened as I remembered the eighty centuries that he had spent in the beds of other women. I know I had somewhat forgiven him for what he did, but I still felt betrayed by what he did. Turning my head, I moved away from Hades. I heard him sigh, then move towards the other side of the car.

“I apologize, Lynus, I was not thinking,” he said quietly. I shook my head, unable to cope with his regret. I stood up quickly, and transitioned myself back into my bedroom. I collapsed onto my bed as tears started to run down my cheeks. Wrapping my arms around myself, I curled up in the middle of my soft blankets. Suddenly, I felt the bed shake as a thundering howl resonated throughout the palace. I leapt off my bed and ran to the window, looking out towards where I had left Hades. I watched, horrified, as Hades started to destroy the wonderful carnival that he had created for me. He threw orbs of fire into the games and booths, setting them ablaze. Hades’ body started to glow as he lifted the Ferris wheel from the ground and launched it into the air. I gasped as the wheel exploded and each piece was targeted by Hades wrath and imploded upon itself. I watched him stalk away from the ruins of my carnival, the glow from his body dimming as he stalked towards the stables that were placed beside where Hades’ room was located on the right side. I turned away from the desolate sight and sagged onto the floor, my body heaving with loud sobs. I bawled until my body gave out and I succumbed to the heavy arms of Morpheus.