The Girl that Hades called Persephone

-14-

~Persephone~

My head was pounding when I opened my eyes. The world around me felt so dark. It all must have been a dream. I started to remember my date, and Hades . . . it couldn't have been real. There was no possible way.

When I sat up, I quickly realized I wasn't in my dorm. I had no idea where I was. As I sat on the bed, I looked around the room, trying to figure out clues.

I got up, and started to walk towards the door, and walked into the hallway. It was well lit, unlike the room I was in. The area around me looked like a rather large house. My mouth hung open as I stared all around me in awe.

"Hello?" I asked out loud, hoping someone could hear me.

No one answered me back. I picked a direction and went with it. Large paintings hung on the never-ending long hall. Maybe I wasn't in a house, maybe I was in a museum. That would have made sense.

But why would I wake up in a museum?

"Hello?" I called out again, a little louder than normal. I heard footsteps echoing. I turned to the direction of the sound and saw Hades at the end of the hall. "Hello?"

"Steffi? What are you doing out of bed? Are you feeling better?" he said, walking up to me. When he approached me, he placed his hand on my forehead, but I waved his hand away.

"I'm okay, really. Where am I?" I asked.

"My home."

"This is your home?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He rubbed his neck. "Yes, I didn't know where else to take you, so I thought till you were better, I would bring you here. Was that alright?"

"Yeah, but H, what happened?"

"You passed out."

I shook my head. "No, H, what happened before that? Was I dreaming? Am I still dreaming?"

"No, you're not dreaming. And a shapeshifter was about to make you his meal. He was a child of Echidna. He zeroed in on you and was trying to get you alone. By the way, why were you alone?"

"Well, he was my date. I was on the double date with Debbie, but she asked if it was okay not to drop me off at home-"

"Oh, I see," H cut me off. "No, no, that wasn't her."

"What do you mean?"

"That shapeshifter more than likely made her say that so that he could have his chance. They are sneaky bastards, really. You have to be careful. It really wasn't your friend, it was that monster."

I put a hand on my head. "So . . . Debbie didn't really want to abandon me?"

"I can't speak for this Debbie, but that sounds like it may have been the case."

"She must feel bad."

Hades shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe, but she will be okay. Come, did you want to see the house?" He held out his hand for me and started to take me down the hall. We even walked passed the room that I was in. It seemed to never end, this damn hallway.

"So, where is here?"

"What do you mean?"

I tried to think of how to explain that. "Well, I'm new to town, so I don't know the area. But where are we actually? What part of town is this?"

He didn't say anything, and when I looked up, I could tell he was a bit nervous. "It's . . . a bit out of town. Don't worry, I will personally take you back home."