Hope for the Underworld

9

'Are you ready?'

'Yes. But am I dressed appropriately?' she asked, eyeballing his elegant suit.

'Of course,' he confirmed. 'It's just a small outing. No need for ceremony.'

She rolled her eyes. 'Fine.'

'Shall we?' He offered his arm and they transported to a meadow.

She was surprised to see that a spot had been prepared already, with a blanket spread on the ground in a very picturesque location. The image of the green grass and blue water bubbling away over the pebbles was stunning after the desolate plain outside of Hades' palace, and Cora paused for a long moment, enjoying beauty of the scenery.

Then she slowly closed her eyes, opening herself to the emotions that crashed into her with force. He watched in awed wonder as she breathed deeply and acknowledged each one, allowing them to wash over her, as if they were waves of the ocean. Then she seemed to recall what he'd said to her once:

'You have a choice of how you respond to life's challenges...'

Hades could almost hear her internal monologue, when she acknowledged it truly was her choice how she responded to the circumstances. She made a firm decision to stop wallowing in self-pity and to embrace her reality, no matter what it was: brain injury or mythical lands, it was her life and her choices...

'May I ask you a question?' she spoke reluctantly some time later, after they settled down on the blanket. 'Why did you build your palace in that dismal place, instead of here?'

For a moment he considered how to answer her. 'When we defeated the Titans and our father, Kronos, we divided the realms.' His tone sharpened unexpectedly. 'I received the Underworld, despite being the oldest and the most suited to rule the others...' he stopped himself and breathed deeply a few times, then continued, calmer. 'Even then, the others still begrudged me that I would eventually rule over all mortals. They shunned me, spreading rumours and outright lies about me. So, I withdrew into a place no one can enter.'

'That's a very lonely existence,' she said.

'Yes. But then, you dropped at my door.'

'Surely, more trouble than I'm worth,' she tried to jest.

'That remains to be seen.' He smiled.

She caught herself staring at his lips, thinking how handsome he was when he smiled like that. In response, a slight blush coloured his usually pale complexion, and she reddened as well, remembering he could read her like a book.

'Hmm...' He cleared his throat, clearly embarrassed. 'Let us see what we have in here.' He opened the food basket.

'No, wait!' she stopped him. 'First of all, you need to loosen up a bit.' She rose and motioned for him to follow. 'Who wears a three-piece suit to a picnic?'

'This is how I always dress,' he tried to protest.

'Not today!' She shook her head, determined to have her own way. 'Take off your jacket.' She was already pulling it off from his broad shoulders. 'And the vest.' She laid them on the blanket. 'And now the shoes.'

'What?'

'Have you ever been to a picnic?' She rose an eyebrow inquisitively.

'I can't say that I have,' he admitted grudgingly.

'Then you must defer to me on this subject. To truly enjoy the experience, you need to run barefoot through the grass. It's very pleasant, trust me.' She waited for him to take off his elegant and highly polished shoes, then grabbed his hand and pulled him off the blanket.