Between Worlds (TEMP HOLD)

Twenty Four: Immortality

The food is delicious, but I refuse to let any of the servants wait on me. They are my equals now, but still cast strange glances in my direction. Castiel's previous personal servant ended up in the dungeon, and she also turned out to be his girlfriend.

       After I eat, I wonder what it will be like when Castiel is gone. They'll know it was me that gave him the watch, and there will be nobody here to save me. Xavier is in the Infirm, so is Xander, and here I am enjoying a nice private meal with the Prince. But this is his last night alive, and Lola is leaving already. Tomorrow he'll at least wake up with a sliver of hope, hope and that brand new watch of his.

The meal hall was empty except for us. I tried not to think of this as our last meal together. "What's wrong?" Castiel asks, his voice is soft and low, leaning forward towards me, hands folded on the table. It's not hard to imagine his as a God, as the new Hades, ordering servants around, refusing to allow the other Gods to visit. There's an air of power and arrogance that sometimes fades when he's around me. This is the real him, and if this side of him had come out sooner, this is someone I could have learned to love.

I keep my hands folded in my lap, and I look away, anywhere but him. "You're going to leave this place," I felt a guilty lump in my throat. "But Hades will know that I gave that watch to you, and I wouldn't be surprised if he'd have me thrown into Tartarus." There was fear clear in my voice, and I hated being so afraid.

Castiel gets up slowly from his chair, and comes to kneel down beside my chair. The prince is on his knees for me, and he brushes a stray piece of hair behind my ear. "My parents know how much you still mean to me," he demands. "They'll punish you — yes — at least my father will try. But they will not throw you into Tartarus. I can promise you that."

I wonder what he would do if he knew that the watch was automatically programmed to take him right to Knox. I still had a million questions running through my mind. Who was Knox to Cas? What would happen when they meet? Would he get to see the sun again, or the stars, or feel the wind blowing through his hair, or hear the pitter patter if the rain? I feel so guilty giving Castiel false hope, knowing he'll still feel like a caged butterfly even when he makes it to their world, or to Knox's world, whichever comes first.

I shiver when I remember that gunshot that echoed in the background on the phone.

The doors to the meal hall are shoved open, and Xander is standing still in the doorway. There's a ravage look in his eyes, and he looks between the Prince and I with narrow eyes. The prince, however, recovers immediately and gets to his feet. "Was I interrupting something?" He asks. His voice is full of suspicion, like he could see right through me.

"No." I get up, the chair squealing as I do. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"It's Xavier. The Infirm nurse slipped me something that would help me fall asleep, but when I woke up, Xavier was writhing and screaming in pain. The nurse kicked me out as soon as Hades — "

Hades bounded through the doors now. "Nectar of the gods?" He screams, "he cannot be a half god, he is not a mortal! That nectar is for our use only, and Xavier cannot die again! I refuse to have a servant become a God. There is absolutely no way I will allow that. Someone slipped him nectar of he gods, and I want to know why. She must of had something to do with this." Hades points accusingly right at me. "When there's trouble, you always seem to be in the middle of it."

I shake my head. Lying. "How? I have been with Castiel all day."

"You cannot lie to me," Hades sneers. As soon as he whistles, guards come into the room, almost knocking Xander down. "Search her, and search my son too."