In the Cold, I'm Warmest With You

Stranger in a Strange Land

Kayre wasn't sure how long she had lost consciousness from the moment she fell into what seemed to be perpetual darkness. The first thing she noticed when she woke up was a pitch-black night instead of the familiar warm and bright sun rising from the horizon. It wasn't like her to take naps often back home, as she lived alone in her cottage in the mortal realm.

'This must be a nightmare.' Kayre thought. She immediately slapped herself on the cheek, checking if all this was real. She quietly cursed the fact that she was completely awake now.

The second thing she noticed was the smell of the environment's atmosphere, which was heavy and earthy instead of the fresh, cool, dewy grass. She could still breathe, yet the air was not as light as she was used to. Yet despite that, she also noticed a third thing: the domain's chilliness. How strange and beyond it was for her. Cold, yet somber, as if the place was a sorrowful one.

As her eyes adjusted to the dark, the Maiden felt the surface she was lying on. It was comfortable, more comfortable than her bed back home. She certainly did not remember hitting any hard surfaces, either because she did not when she fell or she was too unconscious to notice it. She felt her own body, which was miraculously clean and unscathed.

When Kayre regained the strength to get up, she started exploring the place. As she got down from what she felt to be the most comfortable bed ever laid on, the goddess was surprised at how perfectly smooth and cool the ground was, no matter how wide she swept her feet.

She walked out of the bedroom, and there was dim yet sufficient and warm light of torches in what looked to be a grand hallway. Dark pillars stood tall to hold the ceiling away from the floor like the vast separation between Ouranos and Gaia. She sauntered down, taking in every minute detail of the place. It was empty, with nobody guarding the halls as within the divine mountain, yet it felt surprisingly secure. Perhaps it was the air of the place, commanding respect and fear, and she certainly felt that.

Kayre walked on and kept feeling fascinated with her new surroundings. There was a massive lounge, the first she had ever seen, at least an indoor lounge. The one on the mountain had an impressive view of the mortal realm below it.

There was also an even more gigantic room where she saw many apparitions handling paper. 'An office.' She noted.

...

Wait.

There was darkness, an earthy smell, a cold atmosphere, and apparitions.

Oh no.

The Maiden's stroll turned into a panicked escape dash out of the expansive estate. Despite the dense floor not having a speck of the fertile earth she knew in the mortal realm, monkshood still managed to sprout and take root from where her feet were.

After a few run-ins to dead ends, the goddess managed to exit out of the property. It was still dark outside. The firmament lacked any bodies of light, not even Selene nor the stars. Yet she heard the rushing sound of water. A river! It sounded like a river! So it was as the mortals she eavesdropped upon believed.

She kept running, adrenaline blocking out her sense of pain on the rougher lands outdoors. She sprinted upstream, desperate to search for the way home, and the moment she thought to have found it, she heard a bark that almost burst her ears. Her figure stood frozen as the barking went on before turning into growling that shook every fiber in her.

Three dark, gigantic snouts aggressively bared their fangs up close to her. Six eyes and the flames that burned from their mouths were the only sources of light, and Kayre instantly understood that she was face-to-face with the guardian hellhound of Hades. She cowered in terror as her legs struggled to move backward. She couldn't think of anything or feel anything as the heat slowly cook her skin and clothes.

Suddenly, her ears picked up a voice that stopped the giant dog in its tracks. Seeing it turn silent and shrink as it whimpered calmed her enough to listen to what the voice was saying.

"Cerberus! Enough! You're scaring her!" It was the voice of a man, commanding yet gentle. His fair hands reached to hold two of the canine's snouts, and Kayre felt the air turn chilly again.

"That's it. Good boy." The voice became still as Cerberus calmed down under his touch. Kayre watched as the fearsome hellhound got reduced to a docile dog. She looked on for a few more moments before a hint of courage sparked in her heart, and she turned around to look upon her savior.

"Are you okay?"