Fall From Grace

Chapter Nineteen

Hades, Olympus. Cults? It's all picking up!

Chapter Nineteen

Sterling and I don't have time to talk about what he just revealed any further, because two guards come to lead us to whenever the court is reconvening. I've peeled off my layers and I feel kind of ridiculous holding them as we are lead through this regal looking place to a much smaller but similar looking room as before.

His name isn't even Sterling, it's Hades. I should probably get used to saying Hades. I'm not sure that will be so easy. Honestly, a part of me is still thinking I'm high.

Zeus is in the front again, with Aphrodite and not Aphrodite, as well as four other male Gods. It's a lot to take in.

"Brother," Hades respectfully nods at Zeus.

Am I supposed to curtsey?

"You claim this is not your will," Zeus gets right to it. "Yet they claim to be your worshippers. What do you suppose we do? It is your word against their beliefs."

"Why wouldn't he have a cult? This human culture, for whatever reason, confuses him for the devil. Gods knows how many ridiculous cults the humans have to this Satan creature." One of the male Gods speaks up.

I can't help but snort and say, "Tell me about it," under my breath. The amount of satanism sites I had to sift through... But sorting was a mistake. It called attention to my presence. Before I spoke, it was if I wasn't there.

"Remind me why this little one is here?" Aphrodite asks Zeus.

"It was an oversight." Zeus replies, but gives me a look I don't particularly enjoy. It's as if I'm a small animal who has gotten in the way of his big hunt.

"I came here freely. I accepted the call." Sterling/Hades begins his plea of innocence. "Would a guilty one have done that?"

I doesn't seem like anyone in this room believes him. That makes sense, following the lines of Greek Mythology, he doesn't have a fantastic relationship with his family, and I remember him telling me the same. But he is extremely calm, holding himself upright, and speaking even more formally than usual.

"Little One, what do you say?" Aphrodite walks over to me, her slit in her dress revealing her legs for days, and picks up a lock of my hair, as if examining it. She smells of honey.

Unsure of what to say, I look to Sterling but then remember his comment earlier about not being weak. So I take initiative.

"I know Sterling to be a good man." I answer proudly.

The room erupts to laughter.

Sterling doesn't reveal any emotion but I can tell it was the wrong thing to say.

"Man, how adorable." Aphrodite smiles, showing her perfect teeth, then strolls back over to a seat. There are plenty of seats, but only she has her leg draped over her knee.

"What I'm sure she meant was that Hades would not lie." Another one of the male Gods speaks up.

I don't like being in a room where I don't know who pretty much everyone is. It's uncomfortable, and really bad for my self esteem.

"Despite that, despite his rejection of the cult, that does not change that they are acting in his name." A female God, not Aphrodite, standing to the right of Zeus remarks.

Where is Hera? I would think she'd be important in this court. Or Athena? I'm assuming the one who just spoke is Artemis. She is wearing more of an armor styled toga, and her hair is braided similar to how it is in artwork.