Identity Crisis

When most people hear that I haven't seen daylight once in my life they look at me like I am insane. But they don't know of the horrors I had to go through. They think I'm mad but if they saw my "dad" they would think I am an angel compared to him. See my "dad" is Hades. God of the underworld. He is insane. All he cares about is glory and power, and I know it's because Zeus got all of the attention but honestly he needs to calm down. If I have to hear about how he has better abs than Zeus I swear I will dip my head in boiling water, so I never have to hear anything again. For seventeen years all I've listened to is his pitiful story and let me tell you it gets exhausting really quickly. He thinks nobody's life is as bad as his and the worst part is he has seen literal trials of people who have died and seen the horrors they have had to face and still thinks his life is so much worse.
Then there's Poseidon. My dad doesn't talk about him very often. But on the few occasions that he does he sounds like he wants to give him a dip in the River Styx. It's never made much sense to me. I mean I get why he hates Zeus. But Poseidon doesn't have nearly as much authority as Zeus. It makes me wonder what could have happened between the two of them or if anything happened at all. The gods sometimes hold grudges against people for absolutely no reason at all. Honestly it amazes me how this world hasn't spontaneously combusted yet. You'd think from all of the chaos the Greek gods create this world would have been destroyed a long time ago. But miraculously it is still here. Honestly, I thought after what happened today it was going to. What happened? You ask. Well, let me set the scene.
I had just finished tending to Persephone's Garden when I heard a loud, bang. Intrigued by the noise, I went to go and investigate. As I got closer to the area I heard the noise, it was getting harder for me to breathe. There was smoke surrounding me. Every second I could feel more smoke compacting into my lungs. Bang. Right behind me I heard the noise again, this time it was ever louder. But as I turned around and looked behind me, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary. I couldn't help but think how strange it was. Even for Underworld standards. I held my breath, waiting for the noise to come again and surely ten feet behind me I heard it once more. I turned around. Nothing. At this point I was beginning to get angry. What was going on? This had to be some kind of joke.
"Who's there?" I called out.
I was sick and tired of being messed with. I knew somebody was trying to annoy me and it was working exceptionally well. Everyone in the Underworld knows I have no time or patience for practical jokes. I tried to think about who it might be. The little kids who always beg me to let them leave the fields of Asphodel, the blind old man who always mistakes me for his wife, or even one of the furies just trying to get a laugh at me. But none of these suspects made any sense. None of them had a reason to hate me, and as far as I'm aware I don't have any enemies which is surprising considering Hades is my father. But I suppose I'm not much like him. When everyone hears I am a child of one of the gods they usually guess Dionysus or Poseidon. I don't mind Poseidon but being called a child of Dionysus really gets under my skin.
Suddenly, the air around me began to burn my nostrils. My whole body began to get exceedingly hot. I then heard a wispy voice speak out to me.
"Shouldn't you know who I am, Aleah?" The voice sounded both surprised and angry, like it was horrified I did not know who it was. But it being mad was just making me mad. How on Earth did it expect me to know who it was by its voice?
"Of course I do not know who you are. It's not like I don't see thousands of souls every day and decide their fate. How do you know who I am?"
This seemed to anger the voice even more. Apparently, it didn't take criticism very well. Who knew? When it spoke next its voice was shaking and it was hard to hear what it was saying. I had to think for a few minutes what it was saying then I finally understood.
"You better be nice to me, Aleah. You're lucky my body is in the depths of Tartarus or else I would incinerate you into thin air."
That's when the realization hit me.
"K-Kronos." I said nervously. The air became even more humid, which I did not think was possible. I looked at him, creeped out I mean I knew he was a titan and he knew everybody but it still freaked me out that he knew my name.
"Very good child." Kronos said impressively. "Now I am sure you are wondering why I am here speaking to you."
"Not really. I bet you are here to try to convince me to help you get your body back and defeat the gods. Am I correct?" Even without a face I could sense he was paying very close attention to me. He seemed to be thinking deeply, like he was choosing his words carefully, as if what he might say could offend me and ruin his entire plan.
"Half correct." He said slowly, "I am not here to get you to get me back to my remains. However, I would like to convince you to help me. With something else" He said all of this very carefully, like he wanted to make sure he didn't say it in a way that would reveal too much.
"What do you need help with?" I asked him cautiously, "And why would you want my help?" For the next few moments there was silence. The only thing that could be heard was the breaths of all of the souls trapped within the Underworld. I could practically feel their misery sweeping onto me. It didn't help that I could feel Kronos's presence watching me. It felt like ages before he spoke again.
"I would think that would be obvious." He said, critically "But alas I suppose some of us can't think as well as me. No, what I need from you is something only you can do." I looked at him, surprised. What was so special about me? For a while I didn't know what to say. My whole life I have felt like a failure. My father told me I had no purpose in life, and now some stranger is telling me that I am the only person on Earth that will be able to solve this complication.
"Why would you want my help?" I asked, "I can't even lift a sword off its mantle." Kronos rolled his eyes at me. He seemed to think I was being ridiculous.
"Oh child." He said, annoyed "You demigods always think, everything is about strength. No, what I want from you is much more important."
"Yeah, and what's that?" I stared at him, lost for words. Nobody with a higher power like Kronos had ever told me that strength was utterly useless. The weirdest part was I could tell he meant it. He wasn't just saying it to manipulate me or to make me rethink life decisions.
"Wow you really are more incompetent than I thought. Maybe you aren't the right person for the task after all." My heart sank. He was just starting to see my flaws like everybody else. He seemed to notice he had hit a soft spot and just rolled his eyes.
"Look kid, for centuries I have been waiting for the right demigod. Every single time I find one they turn out to be just as weak and pathetic as the rest. It's nothing to do with you. I just have high standards, and maybe one day if you become more competent, I'll want you to be a part of my mission." Again, my heart dropped but this time I felt another emotion. Rage. Who did this guy think he was telling me I was a failure? I heard it enough from my father. I didn't need to hear it from the guy who was sent to the depths of Tartarus, single handedly, from his eldest son. My hands began to shake, I could feel my head spinning. I don't even know why I was so angry. I suppose it was his aura. It had a terrible effect on me. I knew Kronos was trying to provoke me, to prove a point and somehow it was working even though I desperately tried to prevent it.
I began punching the air, hoping to hit the titan. But no matter how hard I tried I couldn't seem to find his face. It could only seem to find the air. He began to laugh maniacally, the noise ringing in my ears, repeatedly. It felt as if someone had made my eardrums bleed. I swiped my hand in the air trying to hit Kronos, to no avail. He laughed again, psychotically.
"GO AWAY!" I told him, with rage, "Nobody asked for you to be here, in fact, I wish you would leave." I know I sounded like a pathetic child, but Kronos's aura seemed to make me have emotions I didn't even know were possible. It was like being on Anesthesia while dentists remove your teeth. You have no control of what you say or do. The longer I was near Kronos, the more anesthetic I seemed to feel. I turned my body in the opposite direction and began to walk away swiftly. But a few steps in I felt a tug on my sleeve. When I looked around there was nothing. I knew Kronos was trying to mess with me, but I wasn't going to let him. I rolled my eyes and turned the other way.
I started stalking out of the garden, blood filling with rage. I took a few deep breaths. I was not going to let Kronos get to me. I creaked the door to my father's palace open and shut the door behind me, annoyed.
As I wandered around the tavern walls I thought about my conversation with Kronos. I didn't understand what he saw in me to ask me for his help. For one he doesn't even know me. He might know of me but it's not like we are close friends. Does Kronos even have friends? Anyway, it logically makes no sense for him to ask me. Second of all, I'm not smart, and yes I have heard the saying: "Everyone is smart in their own way." but I am not the kind of smart Kronos needs. He needs a demigod that can fight a Hydra, or intercept a sword at the exact right second. The only thing I am capable of doing is singing at the seashore, and that's usually because of the nearby Sirens.
I pressed my foot onto the staircase and continued forward. Every step I took a small creak could be heard in the distance. When I reached the top landing I held onto my knees and panted. Those stairs always wear me out, because of how steep they are. I continued walking and turned right. I opened a door with a sign above it that read: Library: HADES ONLY. I looked both ways before walking in and shut the door cautiously behind me. If Hades saw me come in here he would kill me. Even though I was his daughter he refused to let me read his private collection. But after my conversation with Kronos I thought there might be something in there that could help me understand what Kronos might be up to.
I scanned the shelves until a book on the top shelf caught my attention. It was a blue, leather bound book with Greek symbols and sword etched upon the spine. I looked around, looking for a way to grab it. I am extremely short for my age so there was absolutely no chance I was going to be able to reach it. I looked around the room, inch by inch until I finally found a ladder on the other side of the room. I picked it up and almost dropped it on my toe. It was way heavier than I was expecting. After about five minutes of excruciating difficulty I finally managed to get the ladder to the correct shelf. Gently, I set it down and began to climb the ladder when suddenly my toe was just a little short of the step and my entire frame went falling down with the ladder. A loud bang could be heard throughout the palace. My heart began to race. How on Earth was I supposed to explain this to my dad? I tried to pick up the ladder and get it off of me but it was no use, it was too heavy.
"It's no use." Kronos said. I jumped.
"How did you find me?" I asked him, nervously. A cold chill blasted through the air as he spoke.
"My dear child, did you really think walking away was going to do anything? Afterall, it's not like you can see me."
"Yeah, I know." I retorted, scathingly. I wish I could see him just so I could punch that ugly titan in the face but even if I could there was still this stupid ladder cramming me onto the ground. The edges of the ladder were digging into my skin to the point I could feel blood drawing.
But then-wait. Was the weight becoming less and less? Suddenly the ladder floated in the air and held itself against the wall. I stared in shock at the empty room, where I thought Kronos would be standing.
"I can't have you execute my plan if you're lying under a ladder." He said simply, "Now come on." I wanted to tell him I wasn't interested in helping him but I couldn't help but follow him, as a gust of wind led me to where he was heading.
As we pushed forward I had no idea where he was taking me. From what I could feel, he walked in long fast strides and only stopped when I got far behind. The air would suddenly get light and then as I walked further up the path it would blow harder and get colder. He walked outside of the palace and headed towards Persephone's Garden. He went to the back of the garden and grabbed a tarp that was covering some plants. He lifted it up and my jaw dropped drastically. There was a tunnel right under where the tarp was laid, clearly in disguise to camouflage whatever that tunnel was hiding. I sighed, looking at the ground dreading whatever could be down there.
"What's down there?" I asked him, fear was detectable in my voice. It was a few moments before I heard his raspy voice.
"That is what we are here to do." He said simply, "To find what I have been searching for ever since Zeus sent me to Tartarus." I looked at the air, eyes full of curiosity. I could sense greed, like he was desperate to get his hands on whatever he was searching for. I let my intrusive thoughts take over and asked:
"What are you looking for?' For a while it was quiet. The only thing I could hear was the whistling of the air. When he finally did speak it was in a dull voice, like he wanted to withhold his excitement from revealing too much.
"You'll know when you see it." And that was when he shoved me. My body rolled down the tunnel, my mouth getting a good meal of dirt. When I reached the bottom of the cave there was one single thing worth glancing at. A dark wooden chest, polished, gleaming and sparkling with what looked like Diamonds. I pressed my fingers on the latch and it made a popping sound as it opened. When the lid swung open even more dust littered the room. I coughed violently and looked inside the box. Inside lay a single piece of paper. I took it and read.
Dear Aleah,
You are probably very confused reading this letter. Wondering why this letter is written to you if Kronos has been searching for his treasures for centuries. Truth is, none of that is true. You have never met Kronos. He is still deep within Tartarus, wondering if he'll ever escape. No, the real reason I am here is to tell you the truth, and I knew if Hades knew what I was up to he would stop me. I am here to tell you that for most of your life you have been lied to about your parents. Hades is not your father. Never has and never will be. He took you from me after we had a serious argument. He erased you from my memory but a friend of mine returned you to my mind and I formed a plan to get you back. Hades could care less about you he just wants to get back at me even if I don't remember it or so he thinks. But I am here to return the favor, if your willing. All you have to do is hold the paper and say three words. Return to sea.
Your Father,
Poseidon
I stared at the paper, eyes darting across the paper, shock evident in my face. Suddenly everything began to add up. Why I was so lousy at raising the dead, why Hades hated me so much. It was all a lie. A sick lie to get childish revenge on his brother. As y heart raced and tears fell from my face I said:
"Return to sea." And for the first time in years I stared into the eyes of my father.