The goddess

Hades point of view

It was just another day. As I pull the door open with a file on one hand and a glass of water in the other, my mobile trills, I curse under my breath in old Greek a habit I must stop. As I press the button and put the phone between my ear and shoulder I hear a voice on the end of it. A soft lilting, fast voice travels down the handset and instantly my response is "Calm down Petronella, what's up?" I hear my assistant and niece (a lower level goddess) taking a deep breath then she says, slightly calmer than the first time but not much "Uncle Hades, I have found her! I have found Aphrodite!" The phone nearly drops from my shoulder as I open the heavy marble door to my office. I hang the phone up and speak out loud instead "How? Where?" So many questions form in my mouth and my head she puts her hand up and interrupts me "One question at a time Uncle Hades" she giggles. She walks to her desk and hands me a piece of paper and on it is an address in the human world, I wince slightly as the human world has unhappy memories for me. As I take the address from my niece he says something that surprises me "Uncle Hades, I'm coming with you! I won't take no for an answer and I am in charge of travel!" Now as much as I love my my niece she is directionally  challenged and the last time we travelled we ended up in a dustbin in Zeus's estate instead of Poseidon's how anyone can confuse my brothers is beyond me they are complete polar opposites of each other. I laugh at her forceful tone and take her hand as her sole sparked up pink and swirls round us and transports us to the human world. As I open one eye to peek out at where we had landed I notice a ransacked apartment I gasp "Well at least we didn't end up in an alleyway" I left out a low chuckle as my niece pouts and lightly slaps my arm and says "Well I appear to be improv..." I silence her with a look. I can hear two other voices and a door creak close by I stand behind the door and sense divine power! I step forward as the door opens and standing there but clutching her head stands Iona the girl we have been been looking for, I see her stumble and step forward as her body sways and she falls, her auburn hair still wet from the shower a towel wrapped around her. I hear a door click and realise I don't have time to fight whatever else is in the apartment I adjust my hold on the now unconscious girl in my arms holding her in a bridal carry and my niece nods grabs my arms and off we go back to my estate on Olympus (humans call it heaven).

I feel wetness all round and realise I am in river of Hesath. I struggled with this girl in my arms to try to swim to the surface. River Hesath is very deep and even with my fitness I struggle but there on the bank of the river is my friend Hera, she smiles and grabs Iona so I can swim up. Panting and gasping for breath I search for Petronella, she stands there blushing knowing her direction led to this. I ruffle her hair and smile the blush fades from her face. Hera hands me a towel, it looks like my ex sister in law had been sunbathing by the river and she looks at me questioningly as she opens her mouth to speak I simply say as I walk past her to Iona to check on her "I will explain everything later Hera. It's kind of urgent." I pick up Iona's limp body and stalk of to my estate. I enter the house shutting all the doors with my foot until right at the back at the top of the house and I enter my room, my sanctuary and I gently lie her on the bed, pulling the purples silk sheets up round her and I go to walk out of the room to change.

After drying myself off and changing into a casual t shirt and shorts I go to check on our new visitor as I open the door I see she is awake and she dives under the covers "What an unusual girl! Is she scared of me? People usually are. Being the god of death and the underworld comes with a price." I look into her grey eyes and she seems to have a million and one questions running round her head. I realise she may not even speak English. My head turns away as I hear a sound of my front door slamming and I instantly know that my brother Zeus has arrived I feel it in the air and the sudden change in power surges.