Plans and Preparations

A Special Gift

While sitting on the floor with his legs crossed and his eyes closed, Erebus meditated in front of a burning fire. Meditation was an activity he did quite often; it would usually help clear his head and remind him of what's what, but today he was calming himself down. He knew Hades and Maleficent's wedding was coming up and he was meditating to calm his nerves and excitement. As he sat and focused on his breathing, he heard soft footsteps approach him.

"Hello, Maleficent." He said calmly, keeping one eye slightly opened.

"...How could you tell it was me?" The Mistress of Evil asked as she stopped a few feet behind of him.

"Your footsteps." He replied with a chuckle.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, Erebus. I just came to..." She started.

Erebus opened his eyes, stood up, and turned towards her. "To what?"

"I... wished to ask you an important question. But I can see you are already busy. Perhaps I should come back another time."

She was about to leave, but Erebus gently grabbed her hand to stop her. "Maleficent, it's alright. What's your question?"

Maleficent paused. "Well... it's about the wedding. You know the tradition of a young bride walking down the aisle with her father, yes?"

"Yes, I'm familiar with the tradition."

"And... you're aware of how my own father disappeared and died when I was still quite young."

The God of Darkness paused, not expecting such a remark. He said nothing, but gave her a solemn nod. She sighed and continued.

"My... father would not be able to honor that tradition with me, walking his own daughter down the aisle on her wedding day... but that's why I've come to you. You and Hades seem to be quite close, even though he isn't your son."

"Yes. His own father, Cronus, was a terrible father, not just to Hades but to all three of his boys. I did what I could make Hades feel loved. Cronus never approved of his sons' behavior. Then again, he hardly approved of anything."

"Do you think he would approve of me?"

He scoffed. "I doubt it. But you're lucky you'll never have to meet him."

"Yes, I suppose you're right. But we're getting off track. I just want to let you know I appreciate what you and the other Gods are doing for us, me and Hades. And I feel it would be appropriate for someone like you to..."

Erebus raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying what I think you're going to say?"

"What I mean is..." She took his hand and looked him dead in the eye. "Erebus... would you do me the privilege of escorting me down the aisle?"

His eyes widened in shock, then they started to fill with tears as he smiled. "Maleficent... I-I would be honored." They shared a hug before Erebus had an idea. They parted. "Oh! I just remembered. Wait here." He hurried off to another corner of his room; he opened the door of a small closet and rummaged through a few boxes inside it, looking for something. "Where is it? It's in here somewhere; I just saw it the other day. Aha!" After a few moments, he exited the closet with one hand behind his back. Maleficent walked over to him as he moved his arm; she noticed he had something clenched in his fist. "I had intended to one day pass this on to one of my daughters..." He then took out a stunning black ribbon choker necklace with a shining black jewel pendant. "...but I would like you to have it. This necklace used to belong to Chaos herself, my mother."

Maleficent stared at the trinket in awe. "It's beautiful..."

"Yes. And..." Erebus snapped his fingers; the pendant glowed and in an instant, a shard of sharpened black crystal the size of a pen shot out of it. The shard flew through the air and stuck itself into a wall before it disappeared after a few seconds. "...functional." He smiled and handed her the necklace; as she gazed at it, she realized that this would be the perfect accessory to wear for the wedding.

"...I love it." She said before she and the God of Darkness shared another quick hug; Nyx and Hades were watching the whole exchange from the doorway with big smiles on their faces.