Hope for the Underworld

31

'It has come to my attention that I had been quite remiss.'

Cora was sitting at her massive desk, reading from a hefty tome, and from time to time absentmindedly popping grapes in her mouth. She liked that particular type; they were sweet and juicy, like nothing she had ever tasted before. She was so engrossed in the tales of the Greek gods that she had not even registered when Hades walked in and stood right next to her. She looked up at his towering figure and smiled.

'What do you mean?' She rose from her chair and stretched, then hopped on top of the desk, swinging her legs over the edge.

'I have not expressed enough my appreciation of you.' He smiled and offered her an ornate box he had been until now hiding behind his back. The box was onyx black, with an intricate design woven around the edges, coming together at the front to form a lock.

'What's that?' she asked suspiciously.

'A small gift for my Queen.'

'I thought we have already established that I am most certainly not your Queen.' Her eyebrows furrowed slightly.

'Then, how would you like to be referred to?'

'Do I need to be referred to at all?'

'Unfortunately,' he sighed with mock exasperation. 'As we are going to Olympus, that will be somewhat necessary.' He sat beside her. 'Why do you resist it so much?' His steel-grey eyes appraised her with curiosity. 'I thought...' he did not finish.

But she understood. 'You know that I love you.' It was her turn to look at him, holding his gaze. 'I will always love you, and I will never leave you again.' There was strength in her voice. 'But I am just an insignificant mortal. I do not really belong on Olympus, with the immortal crowd.'

'You are most certainly not insignificant!' he protested immediately, as he always did at her self-deprecation.

'Not to you, no,' she agreed. 'But to them... They will never see me as anything else but an upstart, who is trying to worm her way into the pantheon! That is why I do not wish to appear as a power-hungry human,' she concluded.

'My dearest Cora.' He set the box down beside them and took her hand in his. 'You should believe when I say that you are the most magnificent and inspiring person, god or otherwise, I have ever met.' She knew he meant every word. 'And you are destined to bring change...'

'Ah, the prophecy,' she interrupted, mocking the Oracle.

'Yes, the prophecy.' He nodded. 'But even without it, you have already brought immense changes to my realm and into my life. I love you. And I want everyone to know how extraordinary you are!... Hence the gift.' He smiled and picked up the box again, placing it in her hands. 'Please, accept it.'

She looked at him for quite a long time, before answering. 'You have given me already everything I have ever dreamt of. And I don't need gifts to tell me that you are happy with me.'

'Yet, you will make me infinitely happier, if you accept it.' His eyes compelled her to open the box.

'Fine,' she sighed with resignation. 'But know, that I'm doing it only to please you.' She slowly lifted the lid of the box and peered inside, gasping in surprise when she saw it was filled with gold jewellery.

'I wasn't sure which dress you were going to wear, so I picked several necklaces for you to choose from.' He looked almost giddy with excitement. 'There are also some armbands; depending on the dress, you could wear them as well.'

When she lifted her face towards him, there was a strange expression in her eyes. 'Will this really please you, if I wear all of that?' she asked, with a hint of doubt.