Beautiful Curse [Beauty And The Beast Retelling]

Beautiful Curse

Destiny was supposed to be measured by a brave heart, and not by the will of one's selfishness.

There were three things that I should do to save that mortal. First, I had to get his soul in Underworld.

I was never a dauntless warrior but I had to fight for the knight in distress. A strong curse had just begun, when a selfish goddess wanted him for herself. It must be his compelling charm that caught the goddess' attention, or his mortal perfection that made her went head over heels. But whatever the reason - one thing was for sure- I had to do something to save him, before he would run out of time.

His eyes were midnights black, which were framed by graceful brows. This god has prominent cheekbones and well-defined chin and nose. He stood nonchalantly, with a perfect body that any woman would dare to touch. He was stunning, yet deadly. Hades had a presence that truly suited the god of Death. It sent a ripple of fear over me.

"You went here without a sword." The Greek god of the Underworld uttered in his disappointing tone.  "And you actually believe that you can defeat me with nothing?" he continued.

We were in the river of Styx, acrossed Acheron, which divided the world of the living from the world of the dead. I hadn't die yet, to enter into his beloved kingdom. But even so, I could still hear those loud screams all over the place. Some ill-fated souls stranded on the riverbank for centuries. I could feel their long sufferings, and their timeless agonies.

A saner goddess would wait to deal with Hades after Persephone's return, when he was more reasonable, but I was too desperate. A soul was in need of my help.

"You have something that I need." I spoke candidly. "I want it back. I don't want to fight."

Hades narrowed his eyes. He started creating a grayish smoke combined with crimson fire in his hands. The beauty it had was like an implacable poison in my eyes. He aimed his fire ball towards my direction. My feet instantaneously moved and headed to the nearest huge rock, before he finally threw it away. My heart pounded from my rushing adrenalin as I scrambled to reach the safety spot. For a second, it exploded like tiny lava covering the dry soil. I could barely breathe. Heat rose all over the place.

If bravery was one time of gross stupidity, then I had to accept that my world had come crumbling down around me. He was serious as dead.

"I don't give something back without any contracts. I believe you go in here with nothing. If you want it so bad, then defeat me now, stupid girl. Your bravery won't save you. Even your own mother, Psyche can't help your soul."

Not far from I was, I watched Charon's boat with so much determination to use it, without giving any obolus or danake as my ticket on his ride. He was the one who carried souls of the newly deceased ones. I knew that I wasn't too late, thus far. I could still save that soul in time.
But hell, if I needed to take that boat from Hades' ferryman, I had to look for a way first.

"You're not going anywhere!" More fireballs in his hands, Hades tried to block the pathway using his own fire. He created a fire barrier and I got imprisoned by it. He bolted to his feet and quickly approached me. It was so fast that I could not even fathom how he held my arm and threw me off from the ground.
The force was too great that I almost couldn't move.

"Okay, Hades." I spoke slowly, choosing my words carefully. I tried to stand up without losing any eye contact from him. "I know that I don't have much to offer."

His dark eyes were completely devoid of emotions as he arrogantly cocked a questioning brow. "Every single bargain has a price to take. I don't give anything for free."

"How about his soul, in exchange of my service?"

Hades gave me a sarcastic half laugh, "How about your soul in exchange of his?"