Good bye
"But father-"
"I don't want to hear anything, Aria."
I sigh as I nod my head and stand up.
"So not only do you want me to go to the upper world, but also go and hunt Dianthus which is very rare!"
He tsked.
"You forgot something. Selene told me that you have a mate out there, use him to get to the King. The King will know very well where it is."
My head snaps towards him.
"Are you serious right now, dad?!"
He nods his head.
"I am sorry sweetie but you need to use him."
"That's absurd! You want me to find my mate, heaven knows where, and then you want me to use him like he is some object!"
Hades comes to stand in front of me and lifts my chin with his finger.
"Stop being so sensitive Aria. Only the Dianthus can heal Persephone before she has to leave the underworld to meet her parents. It is up to you whether your mother survives or not. Choose one, your mother or your mate."
"She is not my mother."
I grit out and he sighs in frustration. He walks back to his chair and sits with grace.
"I think we have gone through this already. No matter who is your birth mother, here in the underworld, Persephone is."
"But my mom is-"
"Stop it."
My eyes fill with tears but I blink them away as I stand straight, looking at him with cold eyes.
"Yes sir."
"Good. Here, you might need this."
He takes off his string of a helmet and hands it to me. I frown but take it nonetheless. I put it on my head and it shrinks to adjust on my head.
"You are dismissed. Meet Persephone before you leave."
"Yes sir. I will be leaving tonight."
And never return.
A few hours later...
I knock on the black wooden door and hear a weak come in. I roll my eyes as I enter the room. Trust me, I love Persephone but is it my mistake that she thought helping a dead soul leave will be good? Hades didn't recognize her and, well, you know, punished her with his powers.
"Oh, it is you, Aria. Come, have a seat."
I shake my head as I keep standing, hands clasped behind my back, legs spread apart.
"I am short of time, Persephone. I just came to bid my goodbye in case I never return."
She gasps as she sits up.
"Hey, careful there! Otherwise, your hubby will have my head."
She laughs a bit but turns serious again.
"What do you mean by never return?"
"If I get the chance, I will get off the radar of Hades, return sneakily, hand you the flower and dash out of this hellhole."
"You know he will find you nonetheless. You are bound to Hades as his daughter. He will find you easily."
I chuckle at that.
"Not if I was never bound to him."
"What do you mean?"
"I never ate anything from the underworld."
"Then how did you-?"
"My mother is a witch, remember?"
She grins.
"You are one hella thing."
"I must leave now."
She nods her head and opens her arms to hug me. Even if I hate to admit it, I did look up to her as a mother figure. I hug her tightly before leaving the room. Being a part witch has its own benefits, I can change my size to match the gods', and then I can shrink back my size to the human form. But in here we don't need to stay in the size of the gods'. Even Hades stays in the small form as the majority of the souls coming in here are humans.
I rush towards my room and open the door, looking around. No one has been here yet. Good. I had packed my clothes last night but I didn't pack the potions that I might need. I pack them in the same bag as my clothes, the less baggage, the easier to travel. Who knows for how long I might be gone. There is a knock on the door just as I zip up my bag. I sigh in relief as I swing my bag over my shoulder. I extended its space like in Harry Potter Hermione extends the space of her purse.
I open the door to find Merrin standing there.
"Hey, what are you doing here?"
"I am here to escort you out."
"I can go on my own very well, thank you very much."
"Hades sent me and I don't want him to get angry at me that I went against his orders."
I sigh as I start walking with Merrin behind me.
"So... I was wondering if-"
"Merrin. No."
I cut him off as I passed Hades' office.
"Oh come on! I didn't even say anything yet!"
He whines making me roll my eyes.
"You will not come with me."
"But it will be so much fun and-"
"Merrin."
I turn to glare at him. His head dips down as he whimpers.
"Please, Aria. I need to see my father, please."
Merrin is a human, not dead, but alive. Hades captured him when he came to know that Merrin has a connection to one of his enemies. He was thinking of using Merrin as a hostage but I saved the poor boy by killing the enemy myself. Hades was angry so to punish me, he kept Merrin with him. I keep apologizing to him but every time he waves it off and says that he is glad to be alive. Merrin is a year younger than me. I am 18.
"Fine. But what if Hades finds out?"
"He won't be able to do anything about it until I return. And after I do, I'll gladly give away my life to him 'cause I will have met my father by then."
I sigh defeatedly as I take one last look at myself in the mirror that is in the hallway. I have white hair, blue eyes, and fair skin. I am wearing a black shirt that is tucked into black jeans with brown ankle leather boots. I have hoop earrings with a locket around my neck. It is a magic locket that I use when I am in danger. I am unknown to the outer world. Even Zeus isn't aware that Hades has me. I turn to look at Cerberus who is guarding the stone that has a tunnel behind it that leads to the outer world.
Cerberus growls when he sees Merrin who cowers behind me, when Cerberus sees me he jumps and extends one of his heads toward me. I pet it and he howls in delight.
"May I, Cerberus?"
He steps aside, still eyeing Merrin.
"Cerberus."
I warn him but he is still looking at Merrin like he'll jump him any second.
"Cerberus, you are a good boy, aren't you?"
I say sweetly to which he howls and I throw a sweet at him, which he hungrily chews on. I bend down to pet him with sad eyes.
"I am going out. Take care of yourself, hmm?"
He howls as I stand up again. I take out a pack of sweets and keep it behind a stone.
"Eat it one by one. I don't know for how long I will be gone. I know they will not feed you while I am gone."
I sigh as I turn back around to face Merrin.
"Let's get the show on the road, shall we?"
He nods as we both walk towards the really big stone. I mutter a Greek spell and the stone shifts. We enter a dimly lit tunnel as the stone takes its place again.
Here goes nothing.
