Chapter 47 Sleeping beauty in Hell

Chapter 47 Sleeping beauty in Hell
Hades

Daphne passes out right into my arms. I hold her firm, momentarily defeated. I’ve been through this revelation with her a million times and in each cycle, she always reacts the same way. She always rejects me. If only I had enough time, just enough time to convince her I am not the monster she believes me to be.

I caress her cheek slowly, soft and beautiful. With the other hand, I summon the portal back to Hell. I lift her sleeping form into my arms and carry her into the portal. In Hell, I walk straight into her suite and deposit her on the bed.

For hours, she sleeps quietly, peacefully. Her figure barely moves. I sit by her side, waiting for her to wake up. Anticipating her reaction to being taken to Hell. Waiting to be rejected yet again.

After a couple of hours and she still isn’t waking, I summon Hypnos.

He arrives yawning lazily, angry to have been woken from his sleep. “Hades, how can I help you today?” he asks.

Hypnos glances over at Daphne on the bed. “Is that…Dalia’s daughter”

I nod. “Please wake her up.”

Hypnos hesitates. “I love nothing more than to help you but you do realize that your brother, Alex, will punish me for helping you. He’s already summoned me to Olympus for helping you defy death. Every cycle you chase after her, you break more rules. It’s all adding up. You are shaking the order of things and Heaven is not happy with it neither is Hell. You may not see it because you are always gone, but your demons here are starting to rebel. One day, it’ll all come crashing down,” Hypnos says. He’s speaking more words than he had ever done in his entire life.

“Well, Hypnos, let’s hope that something’s different this time.”

Hypnos sighs. “And if it isn’t?”

I glare at him even though I know he’s right. I’ve burnt every bridge, broken every rule, incurred all the wrath I can just to be with her. And I don’t mind. I would do it all over again but what if it doesn’t matter?

What if everything I do will never be enough to keep her? What if my fate will never be changed? What then?

Am I really destined to spend eternity here alone? It can’t be. This time, it has to work. This time, she has to accept me, to choose me, to love me unconditionally enough to choose Hell.

“Just wake her up, please.”

Hypnos closes his eyes and waves his hand, descending into her sleep to guide her out. She wakes up coughing, frightened.

“Hey, hey, Daphne, I’m here.”

She scrambles away from me, slapping my hand away. “Get away from me!”

She glances around. The room is the only one with some sort of color in it. It is painted white with pink beddings. Every where else in Hell is pitch black. Darkness, the symbol of my realm.

“Where am I?” Daphne asks.

Hypnos and I share a worried glance.

“Did you kidnap me again? Where the hell am I?” she screams.

Hypnos chuckles. He can never get over the irony. “Funny you should say that because you are indeed in ---”

“Shut the fuck up, Hypnos. What are you even still doing here? Get out!” I bark at him. He bows and exits the room.

I turn to Daphne. “Daph, listen to me, what do you remember?”

She pulls herself to the far corner of the room, protectively. I can see it in her eyes that she is afraid of me. All the love and desire are gone, replaced by fear. Horrendous fear. And maybe a little disgust.

“You turned into a monster. You turned into a devil. You ripped Randy apart.”

“He was going to kill you. He was likely sent by my brother to eliminate you. I was protecting you.”

Her eyes widen in shock. “Protecting me? What the hell is going on? What was that? What did Randy turn into? Where am I?”

I reach out a hand. “Come with me, let me show you. We have a lot to discuss.”

She shakes her head vigorously. “No, I’m not going anywhere with you. Tell me right now!”

I walk over to the blocked window. In the past, I learned my lessons when she kept jumping out of windows, or when the cries of the perishing souls in Hell drove her to insanity. Now, the windows are protected. But for the purpose of this conversation, I open it up for her.

The screams filter in first. Undying cries of lost souls. The fire follows. Then, demons working in hell. In the distance, I can see the Reaper bringing in more souls on his boat.

“Come and see,” I say to her. Daphne is reluctant. She doesn’t trust me, but her curiosity takes over her. She takes tentative steps, slow and steady. When she peers out of the window, her legs almost give away. She buckles. I reach out a hand and catch her by the waist, holding her steady.

“What the ---? What’s that? Where am I?”

I take a deep breath. This is where I’ll definitely lose her. “You are in Hell.”

Her jaws drop. Fear envelope her. Primal, raw, unfiltered fear. It’s distinct from the fear seeping out of the burning souls. It’s so real, I can almost taste it.

“Am I dead?” she asks. Her voice cracks.

“You’ve been dying a million times in different life cycles and you always end up here with me but no, you are not dead yet. I brought you here. I had to show you.”

She pushes me away. “No, this is a nightmare.”

“Do you remember how we met? The night we met?”

“That was another nightmare. I’ve been having unthinkable nightmares since the day I met you.”

I try to hold her hand but she doesn’t want that. She slaps my hand away. “Stay away from me.”

“Daphne, those were not nightmares. I have not lied to you. I’ve simply not told you the full story,” I pause.

Tension thickens in the air. Her breathing rises and falls unevenly. She leans forward, waiting. I take a moment to prepare for this. Everything she knows is about to be turned upside down. I almost don’t want to do it.

“My name is Hades; I am the ruler of Hell.