Part Forty Seven
“You're going to be my future wife?” He asked me, I sighed a breath of release.
“Did I say that?” I asked him, giggling as began to tickle my stomach.
“Hm, I think you did.” He said, tickling me more.
“Hades stop!” I plead, only causing him to kiss my neck. He picked me up and placed me on the empty middle of his long dining table.
“I love you.” He said,
“I love you too.” I said back.
Hades and I returned to his room. We chatted and played chess for the remainder of the night, stealing kisses and holding hands.
I fell asleep on his chest in front of the fire and woke up in his bed.
“Good morning.” He said to me, kissing my nose.
We had breakfast together out on his terrace. I wore one of his oversized work shirts with the top buttons open and my shoulders out.
“You know, for hell, the temperature here is really incredible.” I said to Hades. He looked up from his tablet.
“Just curious, how do you replicate the climate on earth?” I asked him.
“Well how do you know that earth wasn’t replicating my climate?” He asked me seductively, leaning into me.
He began kissing my neck as I titled my head up, still confused by his replica sun.
“But Hades, how do you create the sun?” I asked him.
Before he could respond Andre interrupted us.
“Yes Andre, what do you want?” Hades asked, biting my ear and feeling my thigh.
“It’s urgent.” Andre said, Hades stopped kissing me and looked at him.
“You can involve Kore.” Hades said, letting him know it was okay to speak freely in front of me.
“It’s Archeron.” Andre said.
“My distant cousin, one of the rulers in Tartarus.” Hades explained to me.
“You have allies in Tartarus?” I asked him.
“Well of course I do. He is the lesser of several evils, but he still is, pretty evil.” Hades said.
“He wishes for an audience with you.” Andre said.
“I might kill him after the war.” Hades said.
“What?!” I asked Hades,
“Hey I never said I wasn’t evil.” Hades protested, I fake hit him and he spun me around.
“Your majesty NO OFFENSE BUT WE’RE KIND OF TRYING TO WIN A WAR HERE.” Andre said, snapping Hades and I out of our honeymoon phase.
I thought Hades might be mad, but he gathered himself and smoothed his shirt.
“You’re right Andre, I’ll meet you at the war table in ten minutes.” He said.
Andre didn’t respond, just turned on his heel and left.
“Go and get dressed, something appropriate.” Hades said, his serious and composed self returning.
Sometimes I forgot he was a king with a duty to his realm.
I returned to my room, luckily my handmaids were there.
“Any preference on your dress today?” Angeni asked me,
“What are the colors of house of Hades?” I asked her, she smiled proudly behind me.
“Black and emerald green miss.” She said.
“Black then.” I said to her.
“Right away.”
—-
I hurried down to the war room, escorted by some of Hades soldiers. There were four of them, two behind and two in front of me.
When I arrived at the room, Hades, Andre, Andrea, and several other members of his royal court stood around a large black table.
Everyone stopped talking and stared at me.
Angeni had put several small braids in my hair, keeping it out of my face but allowing for its length to still fall over my shoulders.
My dress was black lace, with a lace collar on my neck and two slits in the fabric for my legs.
It was clear I was representing Hades and his house.
“Join me, Persephone.” Hades said, breaking the silence and beckoning me to join him at his side.
I received some ugly looks from his royal advisors as I took an open slot by his side at the base of the table.
They began their discussion, but I however was completely enamored with the large black table that we stood foot at.
It was a large map of Hades entire realm carved into a black marble table.
The engraved writing of various locations in the underworld were sketched through in white marble, as were mountain ranges, rivers, and borders of towns.
There were three large sections of the underworld.
Elysium, where Lady Elysium and her husband ruled was to the bottom left of the map, closest to the entrance of the underworld.
Meaning Elysium was closest to earth.
Asphodel Fields, where we were. This is where spirits who were neither particularly good nor bad resided, and also where Hades castle lay.
Just past the castle and around a lake was an etching of the capital, Hades modern city. This is where his high rises and businesses were. His capitalist economy for the people who were neither too good nor too bad, he said.
Above the city was a large forest, the forest was very, very large. The city and Hades castle were just dots on the map compared to the long stretch of forest and mountains.
I had never realized how big the underworld was…
And then the top part of the map, closer to the core of the earth. Hell.
House of Hades was etched in at the front, followed by a river, more forest, then the etching in of Tartarus.
Tartarus was surrounded by a perfect circle of mountains, appearing almost like a crater on the map.
Further past Tartarus, at the very top of the map was the final place,
Abode of the Accursed, I read.
The deepest part of hell, I thought to myself. That must be where the titans are kept.
“Princess?” Someone asked, I looked up to see Andrea asking me a question.
“Excuse me?” I asked, I could almost feel the disapproval from the men.
“Are you comfortable hosting afternoon tea with the women from Tartarus?” She asked me, I broke out laughing, then covered my mouth.
“Afternoon tea? In a war?” I asked her, she looked around the room uncomfortably.
“I will be hosting the men from Tartarus for a day of meetings, and I’d like you to host the women.” Hades said.
“Oh,” I said.
“Sure.” I responded, a little disappointed that this was my role.
“Give us a moment.” Hades said, dismissing his advisors from the table.
“So you see, my cousin rules Tartarus, here.” Hades said, walking around to the top of the table.
I walked closer to it and saw that there was a castle etched into it as well.
“He has plead his loyalty to me time and time again, but he’s facing a war from the north.” Hades said.
“From the Abode of the Accursed.” I said quietly,
“Exactly.” Hades said.
“There were three competing rulers here, and since they were fighting among themselves for hundreds of years, so my troops presence lightened up. They all wanted to rule this area, and as long as the titans were still in their graves, I didn’t care much for the conflict.” Hades said.
“But one ruler rose above and actually united a front, they are planning an attack on my cousin here.” Hades said.
“If they take over this castle, we are not in a good spot. The castle is a prison for some of the worst evils in the world, consistently tortured.” Hades said, ew creepy, I thought.
“So my cousin has a strong perimeter around the front half of the mountains, with of course the advantage of being on top of the mountains.” Hades said, dragging his finger across the top half of the circular mountains.
“But my troops, as well as some from Elysium, are needed on the sides and back end of the mountains too, as well as back up troops surrounding the castle as well.” Hades said.
“And what are the numbers like?” I asked him.
“If I said it you wouldn’t believe it.” Hades said.
“Try me.” I said.
“Well remember that I house, all the dead.” Hades said.
“Yes.” I replied, trying to compute in my head the death of all beings of all time.
“I have twenty billion soldiers, Tartarus has six, Elysium four.” Hades said.
I took a step back, trying to process what he had just said.
“And, and the Accursed people?” I asked him.
“They have ten.” He said.
“BILLION?!” I asked him.
“Oh my god! What are we going to do?!” I asked Hades, he chuckled.
“Persephone it’s okay.” He said, cupping my face and laughing slightly.
“You’re laughing at me.” I said to him.
“No, I’m not. I’m not.” He said, straightening his face.
I took a deep breath. People seemed to stop staring.
“So you’ll host the women.” Hades said calmly, I felt like I was going to have a panic attack.
“Yes I will.” I said, maybe a little too loudly.
“Great.” Hades said.
“Great!” I said, probably a bit too loud again.
“So back to strategy, everyone back.” Hades said.