Chapter 51: Part Fifty-One

At the castle's dining hall, I saw my least favorite person accompanied by some of the ladies of the court.

“Did the war start?” Minthe asked from the table with the women, some of them laughed.

“Only in Hades’s bedroom.” I winked at her. Some of the ladies now laughed at her. Minthe’s face reddened.

I drank not one, not two, but four glasses of sweet ambrosia to quench my thirst and refill my power. I filled a plate and sat down to eat.

Suddenly someone threw their arms around me, I grabbed the body and flipped it over my shoulder, only to see it was my friend, Nyx.

“Nyx, I’m so sorry!” I said, helping her stand back up. We sat back down at my table together.

Nyx laughed.

“It’s okay Kore.” She said, brushing herself off.

“Wow, what did you fight off an army today?” She asked me.

“Hades.” I explained to her, grabbing a muffin and eating it aggressively.

“It looks like he nearly killed you.” She said, observing as I scarfed down food and more drink.

“You should see him.” I winked at her playfully.

At that moment Hades walked into the courtroom, looking devilishly handsome, put together, and clean. His hair was slicked back and he wore his iconic black suit.

Andre was at his side, also looking put together. Andrea, his royal advisor, and several other high members of his court.

“A total mess.” Nyx teased me back. Hades took the front of the room and prepared to address all of us.

“Friends, Kore.” He began, shooting me a wink.

Today we welcome Prince Jacaerys, our uncle, cousin, friend and ally. Hosting him is a vital part of winning the war to come in Tartarus. I expect the court to be on it’s best behavior, welcoming and kind.” He said. He was so noble and valiant.

“My finance Persephone will host afternoon tea for the women of Prince Jacaerys.” Hades said.

“Oh fuck.” I accidentally said out loud. I had completely forgotten. Everyone, including Hades heard me.

“Ahem, after this, war strategy and stories will be shared over dinner, followed by dancing and an infamous party.” Hades said. Some people clapped and cheered.

“Thank you very much for your time.” Hades ended. I looked back to Nyx in fear.

“I forgot the tea.” I whispered to her.

“Well you did tell the caterers that you needed it set up at least, right?” Nyx asked me.

My eyes revealed it all.

Nyx shot up and grabbed my hand.

She pulled me towards Andrea. Andrea was engaged in conversation with someone else but Nyx also grabbed her wrist and pulled her away too.

“Ladies!” Andrea scolded us.

“I-I forgot the tea party.” I said to Andrea sheepishly as Nyx pulled us towards the kitchens.

“You forgot that you were hosting TWO HUNDRED people in less than two hours?” Andrea scolded me.

“Melissa, we have an emergency.” Nyx said to what seemed to be the top chef.

“I-I may have forgotten to organize the tea party.” I said to the chef Melissa.

“You didn’t order catering from the city?!” She asked me.

“I’ve been so busy training for the war.” I said to her. It was an honest answer.

“As Hades finance, fine, I will do it. Consider it an engagement gift. Now, how many people are coming?” She asked me,

“Two hundred ma'am.” I said to her, She dropped a pan.

“Princess Kore, excuse me but, are you fucking kidding me?” She asked.

“And that’s not including the women from our court.” Nyx said, even though she looked nervous now.

“Yo Kore, do the diamond thing.” Nyx said, poking my stomach.

“Of course, yes.” I said, putting my hands together and creating a large diamond stone. Melissa picked it up and looked it over.

“Give me two more now, and one for each of my staff.” She said,

“Of course.” I said to her,

“And where shall we set up?” She asked me,

“Persephone’s garden of course.” Andre winked at me.

“Okay we will make it happen. Never again princess. NEVER. AGAIN.” Melissa said to me.

After sprinting to and from my bedroom, annoying and rushing Aerin, Anwin, and Angeni I finally emerged from my room and out with my new best friend Nyx.

We were now standing hand in hand in the gardens, welcoming hundreds of the strangest women I had ever seen in my entire life.

“Nyx.” I said nervously through my teeth as we smiled and waved at my gardens gates.

“I know, just keep smiling.” She said back to me.

Minthe stood by our side too, smiling and hugging lots of the Tartarus court as they approached.

She didn’t bother to introduce me to anyone, but Andrea, who was also very unhappily stationed at our side, introduced me to the important ones.

The couture was fantastic, and despite being scary and different, the women were beautiful. Some resembled humans much more than others, but some were just outright other creatures entirely.

Women with snake heads, scales, pointed ears, blank white eyes, every horror and strange version imaginable walked through in high fashion.

As the last of the women entered, I took Nyx’s hand in mine, and Andrea’s in the other, and we entered the party together.

The elegant tea party had become a lace black whirlwind of ill-behaved women. Some were sitting on the tables, dancing on the tables, pouring champagne straight from the bottles and demanding the servants bring more. Cards and gambling had begun at many of the tables as well as some broken out arguments.

If lady Elysium could see this she would probably feint.

“Andrea, why didn’t you warn me?” I asked her through my teeth again, watching the behavior in horror.

“I’ve never been to a tea party with these women. I run the country's finances.” She responded to me calmly.

“Nyx?!” I asked,

“They’re from the pits of hell Kore, what did you expect?” Nyx responded.

Someone began tapping on their glass, everyone went quiet and turned their attention towards Minthe.

“Hello everyone, why don’t we give it up to our host, Princess Kore.” Minthe said, fake smiling at me from across the white tea tables.

Everyone turned to look at me.

I didn’t have a speech prepared and Minthe knew it, that sly little bitch.

“Thank you Minthe, and thank you all for coming.” I said awkwardly, everyone was staring at me oddly. I had to establish power, or connection, something with these strange hell women.

“We welcome you here and hope you enjoy the festivities we have planned.” I said, wow did I sound stupid. Minthe smirked.

“I know we’re here on bad terms, scary terms. I know I am a stranger and it is hard to trust me. I promise you that I have spent every day fortifying my power to protect and serve the king of the underworld. That realm includes you and your home. I know your home is being threatened, your stations, your livelihood. But to that I say,” I said, grabbing a bottle of unopened champagne.

“Let’s remind these invaders just exactly how strong us women actually are. Let’s fucking drink!” I said, popping open the bottle of champagne and tilting my head back to drink straight from it.

The crowd was completely silent, but only for a moment.

Just as quickly, everyone erupted into cheers.

The response was amazing. It was even better than what I could have asked for. Everyone clapped and cheered at my frankness, and I swear some women just full on screamed out a battle cry. One of the snake heads hissed.

I winked to Minthe, whose arms were crossed in annoyance.

“Excellent strategy. I’m proud of you.” Andrea said.

“Yes bitch you won them over.” Nyx said to me, patting my back.

“Okay I’m going to get a glass” I sighed to them, I was exhausted from the anxiety of that entire on the spot speech.

“Play with us princess Kore.” A woman who Andrea had introduced me to earlier said, calling me over to her table.

I spent the afternoon making friends and allies. My animalistic behavior at my previous speech had won over the women of Tartarus. They taught me games, I lost a fortune of diamonds, drank with Nyx, and even at one point showed off some of my powers to curious onlookers.

Finally Andrea, Nyx and I sat exhausted at a table. The tea was coming to an end.

“That was a success.” Minthe said to me as the tipsy tea goers left for their afternoon naps.

“Thank you Minthe.” I said to her, Nyx rolled her eyes next to me.

“We’ll see you tonight.” I said to Minthe.

“She’s not your friend.” Nyx warned me. I watched as Minthe left.

“I know.” I said to her,

“Alright girls. I’ll be seeing you. Great job today Persephone. We’ll have to get you a royal advisor soon.” Andrea said to me.

“A royal advisor?” I asked her.

“Well of course, you’ll be queen.” Andrea said to me.

Queen…I thought to myself.

“Catch ya later.” She said to me,

Nyx giggled.

“I have known Andrea for decades, never have I seen her that happy.” Nyx told me.

“Nyx…” I said, fear creeping up on me.

“I’m going to be a fucking queen.” I said to her, I thought I may have a panic attack.

Nyx just stared at me in worry, and I stared back, until the two of us simultaneously cracked a smile and began intensely laughing. I even fell off my chair.

Queen of the Underworld.

Hilarious.