Queen of the Dark

Chapter 6

Hades woke up the next morning to find a large box on his bedside table. Curious, he opened it.

"Finally! You've been sleeping forever! Get me out of here, dumb human!"

Hades yelped but did as told, taking the meter long snake out of the box. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"A Speaker?" the snake hissed. Its voice was distinctly masculine. It curled around Hades's shoulders and nuzzled his cheek with its head. "You are mine now."

"Pardon?"

"I will be your familiar," the snake decided, "and you will be my master."

"How did you get in here?" Hades asked, not bothering to argue with the large snake.

"Other Speaker sent me."

Hades sighed tiredly. Of course Tom had sent him a snake. Why, Hades didn't know, but he had been missing having a familiar bond after Hedwig died.

"Alright. Do you have a name?"

"Not yet. Other Speaker said you would name me."

"How about... Asura?"

"Acceptable."

Hades chuckled. "Asura it is." He climbed out of the large bed and headed to the restroom to shower, leaving Asura on the warm bed.

After his shower, he dressed in a nice black robe and finished getting ready. He then sat down to wait for Blaise to bring breakfast at eight, as usual.

Sure enough, Blaise entered with food right on time, though he faltered when he saw the large snake coiled around Hades's shoulders. "Where'd the snake come from?" he asked, setting down the food.

"Tom," Hades said casually, feeding Asura a strip of bacon. "This is actually the third gift he's given me. It's odd."

Blaise snorted. "He's courting you, Hades."

Hades's jaw dropped. "Courting me?"

"You have a mate, Master?" Asura asked curiously.

"In a way, I suppose," Hades responded. He looked up at Blaise.

"Yes, courting you," Blaise said, ignoring the parseltongue. "You're his queen. It really shouldn't surprise you that he is courting you."

"You didn't tell me you are a queen!"

Hades ignored Asura in favor of answering Blaise. "I didn't expect it," he admitted. "He already has me, so he really doesn't need to try and court me."

Blaise sighed and shook his head. "He's trying to do this properly. He wants you to choose him."

"Oh," Hades murmured. "Okay then." He quickly ate his food. "What's on the schedule for today?"

Blaise accepted the subject change easily. "You've finished etiquette training, so now you'll be training with the Dark Lord in duelling. Draco is also moving in today, as is Theo, who will be working for Draco like I work for you."

Hades nodded and finished his food slowly, so as to not push his limits. When he was done, Mizzy came and cleared it away and Hades stood up. "Would you please escort me to Tom's study?"

Blaise led the way before leaving him to enter with only him and Asura. He knocked lightly.

"Enter."

Pushing open the door, he entered his king's study. "Tom?"

"Good morning, Hades. Did you like my gift?"

"Yes, thank you. His name is Asura."

Tom smiled. "Are you ready for training today?"

Hades nervously nodded.

Tom's smile grew and he gestured for Hades to follow him as he exited his study. He led Hades through the castle and to a large empty room. "This is where we will train."

"Will Draco be joining us?" Hades asked hopefully.

"No," Tom said. "Draco will be learning the political aspects first. Now, let's begin, shall we?"

The training was intense, but Hades loved it. The feeling of dark magic flowing through him was comforting and natural. It came more easily than light magic ever had.

Throughout the training, Asura was coiled in the corner, calling out words of encouragement as he watched on gleefully.

It was lunchtime when they finally quit, and Hades was dripping with sweat and utterly exhausted. "Thanks, Tom," he said. "That was nice."

"You're a natural," Tom said in return. "Now, I need to begin training Draco, so you may return to your rooms if you'd like."

Smiling gratefully, Hades returned to his rooms and hopped in the shower while Asura went off to hunt for some food in the surrounding forest.

When he exited the shower, Hades dressed in a new set of robes and sat down to eat a small lunch. After he ate, he grabbed his book on Elven Culture and continued reading it.

He finished it quickly and started a new book, this time about vampires and their culture.

Asura returned shortly after, seemingly satisfied. He curled up around Hades's shoulders and fell asleep to the sound of his heartbeat.

Hades chuckled and stayed as still and quiet as he could, so as to not disturb his familiar's rest. "Sleep well, Asura," he whispered. "Sleep well."

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Sorry for the short chapter. 😕