Hades' Mistake

Chapter 8: Lydia and Hades

Lydia had been walking for what felt like forever by the time Hades released her to move on her own. She wanted to run but there wasn't anywhere to go so she decided against it. She pulled at the sleeves on her dress awkwardly as she waited for the other man to speak. No such speech came so she simply said "Now what?"

"We find the others" He stated, sunglasses firmly in place.

"And who would they be?" She cocked her head, just a little curious.

"Your companions as well as Eurydice"

"Like the Greek myth? Cool." Lydia used to love reading all about Greek mythology with her mom. The year her dead mom dressed as the ghost of Edgar Allen Poe she had dressed as zombie Atalanta from mythology. It had been something they enjoyed together.

"I suppose so."  The man consented.

"Wait... really? Damn." She couldn't help but think that if she ever got a girlfriend she better not be as naive as Orpheus. She just couldn't deal with that.

"Come." Lydia unhappily continued to walk, this time by her own free will. At least Hades, hopefully, didn't want to marry her. 

Eventually they made it to a large house which she entered cautiously. It was stone on the outside, but the inside was painted deep grey. Once they were both inside the building Hades finally removed his sunglasses.

"You need to avoid people while you're here. You are not to impact the events to come." Hades growled, tone low.

"Where's the fun in that? At least Beej could have fun."

"Stay." And then he replaced his glasses and walked out.

Lydia was left alone in the building. She carefully looked through each room. Behind one door was a large kitchen, behind another was a canopy bed with red sheets. Lydia wished she had her camera because she'd always loved old houses. She would've been able to take some incredible photos. After about an hour with no sign of Hades, Lydia decided to go outside.

The streets were bustling and people went to and fro. A couple of older women glanced at her dress disapprovingly so she just screeched and they quickly averted their judgemental eyes from her figure. Lydia noticed a small shop that had a growing crowd gathered and went to see. A short man with a brown hair stood and advertised the war. She supposed it must be the revolutionary war and continued to listen as the man talked of joining the army and risking everything for his majesty. She wondered what her dead mom would've thought. She probably would have loved exploring. She wiped her eyes as they began to tear up.

"Tell your husband's to join the war effort!" The man was grinning from ear to ear. A few women cheered. One woman held a small boy's hand as he said something almost unintelligible over the crowd about the stupidity of the colonies.

The man gave a small bow to his audience as they began to disperse, some with pamphlets. Lydia liked children, they were so innocent, so she walked up to the little boy. "Hello" she gave him a small wave.

"An American ma! Listen to her accent." The boy giggled and the woman looked apologetic as she pulled her son away.

Lydia sighed and made her way back to the building she was supposed to remain in. There wasn't much else to do so she picked up a copy of Macbeth from a tall bookshelf and sat down on a hard chair. She flipped to a random page "tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace from day to day" she reads. Now all she can do is wait for Hades to return.

-Written by Juniper-