Green Eyes and Blue Flames

Memories and Secrets

Hades gazed up at the house and let out a whistle in appreciation; he was greatly impressed by the design, structure, and overall feel of the house. If he had his way, he would definitely want to live in a beautiful place like this, or at least have it as a nice vacation home. "Nice place."

Maleficent furrowed her brow and narrowed her eyes. "...We are not here to admire the house. Let us just fetch what we need and go." She said in a stern voice, walking closer to the house.

Not knowing what to do, he remained silent and followed her. Hades could tell his friend wanted to leave right away, but he couldn't understand why. This was her childhood home, the place she grew up in; something very messed up must've happened around here that made her want to avoid this place like the plague, that much was clear. But he didn't know what could've happened that caused her to make such a decision, so he wisely kept his thoughts to himself. They walked around to the very back of the house where the remains of a small vegetable and herb garden was; the wooden fences keeping it in place were broken apart, most of the garden was dry and withering away, and everything was overgrown with crabgrass and weeds.

"Uh... how are we supposed to find the Heart Ivy in this mess?" Hades asked.

"Give me the jar." Maleficent said, holding out her hand expectantly. He took the empty jar out of the folds of his chiton and handed it to her. "I will find it. You just stay here and keep watch."

"Watch for what?"

"Just to see if anyone comes by. We cannot afford to be caught."

He nodded, not wanting to argue. Maleficent knelt down on the ground and rummaged through the weeds and grass to find the Ivy while Hades was standing to the side on the lookout for any intruders or trespassers. He then heard a quick squeak to his left; he turned his head and saw a white rat squeezing its way out of the slightly opened back door of the house. He glowered down at the rodent, pointed his finger at it, and shot a bit of fire at its tail, causing it to jump and squeak in fear before it scampered off into the undergrowth of the forest beyond.

'Ugh, I hate rats.' He thought before he noticed the tiny crack in the door had gotten slightly bigger.

Seeing that Maleficent's back was turned towards him, Hades thought it wouldn't hurt to try and take a peek inside the house; his curiosity was already getting the better of him at this point. Smiling a mischievous smirk, he turned himself into a puff of smoke and slunk into the house through the crack in the door without the dark fairy even noticing. After a minute or two of shoving past weeds and ripping up crabgrass by the roots, she finally found the Heart Ivy. She started picking handful after handful of vines and leaves and carefully stuffing them into the jar when she heard someone out in pain followed by a crash. Maleficent nearly jumped and turned around, only to find Hades was no longer behind her. Then she noticed the crack in the door; she sighed, shook her head, and pinched the bridge of her nose before making her way to the door. When she opened it, she saw Hades in the middle of the room holding his right leg in pain.

"Agh, ouch! Right in the shin! Geez, that smarts!" He cried out in pain.

"Ahem!" Maleficent said, clearing her throat.

Hades paused and turned to see his friend standing in the open doorway; her scepter and eyes were glowing in the dark. She waved her scepter and a few torches lining the stone walls lit up, lighting up the room. Hades looked and saw the thing he hit: it was an oak coffee table that had fallen over onto its side when he collided into it. He turned back to Maleficent and gave her an uneasy smile; she narrowed her eyes.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Uh... nothing?" Hades lied.

"I told you to keep watch, NOT to go inside."