ΑΙΔΟΝ

ι

Dia was in the car going home when she got a phone call from Mr. Phaeton asking her to get to a certain apartment. She hadn't heard from either of her parents in a week and it started to bother her.

At least give me a call...

She started to miss her father. Even if her mother had never truly bonded with her, her father certainly had taken some amount of time off his busy schedule to spend it with her. She got out of her car and rode up the lift of the lobby, giving a bored look at the people in the lobby before rolling her eyes at them as the elevator doors closed. He had said 13th floor. She pressed the button and patiently waited. She never liked closed spaces anyway, somewhat agoraphobic in nature.

When the lift halted, Dia stepped out onto the floor and slowly approached the apartment door. The place was deserted and dark even though it was mid afternoon. She rang the door bell and it opened almost instantly, as if they had been waiting right at the door for her. Instead of Mr. Phaeton, she was greeted by that face she had grown to yearn for.

Aidon.

He stepped aside and let her walk in. The apartment was chic and classy, the only visible colours ranging from black, to many shades of grey, and finally to white furniture. Mr. Phaeton sat on one of his sofas calmly as Dia approached him.

"Ah... Dia, you made it." He smiled warmly at her. Warm was a word that went well with him.

"Why am I here?" She asked in a tone that exuded annoyance. Afterall, she had excelled in the art of bitchiness since she was 3.

"Well... You might not know this... But you're in danger." He began.

"Of what?" She scoffed.

"His," he pointed to Aidon who now sat uncomfortably in his seat. "Father."

"His who?" She wasn't sure she had heard him right.

"His father. The dad. Daddy. Papi. Otosan. Pere. Abeoji. Need anymore languages for you?" He snapped.

"I got it the first time." She snapped back.

"Well his father is after you now."

"What did I ever do?" She raised her eyebrows in disbelief.

"Not something that you did," Mr. Phaeton took a sip of the glass he now held in his hand. "The Moirai will now do whatever they can to protect you. And Lakhesis has ordered me to keep you safe."

"Lakhesis?"

"She's one of the Moirai. You'll meet them in due time. For now, I need you to stay with," he cleared his throat loudly. "Him." He cocked his head towards Aidon, causing a wild blush to spread across her face like wildfire.

"I what?!" She shrieked.

"Dia-Dia, please don't be difficult." Mr. Phaeton frowned, closing his eyes.

"B-But I can't! My parents would get worried an-" she began quickly.

"You don't need to worry about those mortal guardians." He began. "Their minds have been wiped of every memory they have of you. They will never worry about something they have no memori-"

"Wh-How could you do this!? They're my parents goddamn-"

"They're not your parents Dia calm the fuck down." Mr. Phaeton yelled, now angry. She sunk back in her seat, clearly aware of his pyro abilities and not wanting to anger him further. "We can't stop the Moirai Dia, no one can." His voice was softer now. "We had asked those two mortals to not get attached to you, and prevent you from getting attached to them, because a day would come for you to meet your real parents."

"My real parents?" Her voice was above a whisper, quiet and soft.

"Yes." Mr. Phaeton sighed. "Your real parents. Getting back to topic, you need to stay with him. His father can and will attack you when he finds you alone but he will never attack if you are with his son."

"What does the-no offense but-" she raised her hand apologetically at Aidon. "Guy have against me?"

"It's something to do with his past." He motioned at Aidon again. "He-need I remind you-very stupidly fell in love with a mortal, despite living with his parents. His real parents. No one knew the reason for him doing this. And all hands pointed to the goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite. She denied it. The Moirai played in mysterious ways... Especially Lakhesis. So this girl... Atropos grew furious. No? You don't-god dammit Dia why the fuck don't you pay attention in my class!" Mr. Phaeton was clearly annoyed. The look on Dia's face clearly read that she had no recollection of his lesson on the Moirai. "I'm not teaching some lame ass language alone in there I'm teaching you what you need to know. Just because I cannot legally assess you in what I teach does not mean it isn't compulsory or mandatory for you to learn." He raged. "Atropos is the Moirai that cuts the thread of life. Lakhesis controls the thread. Klotho spins it."

"Ok." She squeaked, letting him know she had understood.

"So Atropos grew furious. She knew who ever had meddled with the boy had intentions of pure evil but they could not point out who the meddler was. And since they couldn't confirm it was not Aphrodite, his father had his mind set on hurting her. The Moirai cannot be controlled but within the limits of their own strength, they can be told what to do. So his father asked them to do what he needed them to. Atropos-" he turned to Aidon. "I know this part hurts you now get the fuck over it-" he turned back to Dia. "Atropos, cut the thread of the mortal girl. Aidon had a huge fight with his father afterwards, regarding you actually. Then, he was cast out. Aidon was tired of all the injustice and pain caused to the mortals by the Gods when ever they felt like having fun. Hell they lived for it."

"So I decided I would protect the mortals as best as I could." Aidon interrupted them. "I promised I would not let my father hurt them or kill them in a way that would cause pain and is unacceptable. That day, when I tried to save that man by killing him silently, you interferred. When I kill, I am connected to my father. So I do it quickly and swiftly. The faster I claim the life, the quicker the connection breaks. It... It hurts. Physically... And mentally. When you interrupted me that day, the killing was prolonged. When I am extracting a mortal soul, the pain is bearable. When I lost touch with the soul, it left me in the hands of my father. The pain was excruciating. Nothing I've felt before..." He glared at Dia. "Because I was never interrupted before. Before it just used to be me preventing my father from doing injustice-painful deaths. Now it's become a game for him. A race. To see who finishes first. Who claims the life before the other."

"How do you know when someone is going to die?" Dia asked the question she had been itching to.

"It is my duty to know." He gave her a strong look. "I am the prince of the Underworld, son of Hades, God of the Dead."