Hope for the Underworld

12

When she finally felt solid ground under her feet and opened her eyes, Cora realised they were no longer in the palace. They stood high up on the cliff overlooking the Underworld. The sheer drop at her feet would have been utterly terrifying if it wasn't for Hades' steadying embrace.

'What is this place?' She turned her head a little and looked at him questioningly.

'I come here when the weight of my duties becomes unbearable,' he answered quietly, gently resting his chin on her shoulder.

The view was stunning; a vast plain bordered by the mountain range on one side and the sea on the other. From that hight you couldn't see the pain and misery; there was only the feeling of peace.

'Does it happen often?' she asked, feeling her heart breaking for him anew.

'The last time was not long before you arrived.' His voice was soft; his lips so close she could feel them tickling her ear. 'I was so... lonely... So desperate...' He sighed. 'I screamed in anguish and pounded the ground with my fists...' he stopped hearing her gasp in surprise.

She turned in his embrace to face him. 'Your hands,' she whispered.

'What about them?' He didn't understand.

'They were bruised and scabbed when I arrived,' she explained breathlessly. Then she reached behind and freeing herself from his embrace, brought his hands to her lips, kissing them gently. 'I thought then that you had been punishing someone,' she confessed, distraught. 'But you were only punishing yourself!' She stroked his handsome face, loosing herself in his soft eyes, breathing in his familiar scent.

But something was nagging at her, and she turned around to look again at the scenery. 'It looks almost a mirror image of the cliff I was on, when I fell...' she stopped abruptly, as something occurred to her. 'There was a sound of thunder,' she was speaking slowly, as if working it out. 'And a terrifying howl of wind. But it sounded strange, like a prolonged cry of pain... And then the earth shook under my feet and... I landed here.'

'What?!' he asked urgently. 'What did you just say?'

'I think... it was your anguish that brought me here.' She looked at him again. 'It was you, who brought me here,' she repeated, suddenly understanding everything.

Breath caught in his throat and Hades stared at her, speechless. Then he turned abruptly and stepped away a few steps. 'All this time you were stranded here, when I could have...' he groaned in anguish.

'We didn't know.' She stepped closer, trying to breach the gap between them, but he moved away again.

'It is my faut!' He pushed a hand through his hair. 'You were so sad, so miserable and all I had to do was take you home!' he exclaimed with pain.

'You didn't know,' she repeated. 'It is not your fault...'

'Come!' he brusquely cut her off. 'We must return to the palace!' He grabbed her arm and transported them back, not waiting for her response. When they materialised at the door to her rooms, he just walked away, leaving her alone and very confused.

'Lady...' she heard, as she entered her chamber. 'Lord Receiver ordered us... to pack your things...'

'What?'

'He intends... to take you back to earth.'

'I must see him!... Speak with him!' She looked around helplessly. 'Where is he now?... You must help me!' she begged miserably.

'Lady... follow us...'

The swirling mass flowed in the direction Hades had recently disappeared and she followed. It was a long walk, but eventually, they stopped in front of a door.