Hades and Persephone

Problematic Zeus Sons

"I cracked the case," Hecate announced upon seeing Hades leave his office at the end of the day. He started to head down the corridor, and she hurried over and fell into step beside him. "The gold girl case, by the way."

"Yes, I gathered, since that was the task I set you this morning," Hades said. It seemed the good luck Persephone had wished him just moments ago when he had gotten off the phone with her had truly worked.

He was, of course, attempting to push the other part from his mind.

"She's called Zoë, or, was called Zoë. Depends if she's dead or not," Hecate said. "Daughter of a man called Midas. Word on the street is he helped out a satyr by the name of Silenus. Showed him hospitality and shit when he'd gotten lost."

"A satyr? So, Pan's domain?"

Pan. A god Hades had not seen in a long time and did not plan on seeing again any time soon. There was a reason 'panic' derived from his name.

"No, no. Not every satyr is under Pan's domain anymore," Hecate said, and even she shivered at speaking his name—more out of disgust than anything. "This one is under Dionysus' domain. It was his tutor."

"Dionysus?"

Hecate rolled her eyes. "Your nephew, remember? One of Zeus' sons."

"I do apologise, but I can barely remember all of Poseidon's children. Do not expect me to remember all of Zeus'."

"Dionysus is the god, you twit," Hecate said, jabbing him with her sharp elbow.

Hades rubbed at his side and frowned. "The god? Oh, the one in which I avoided going to the naming ceremony several years ago? Somehow born of a mortal mother. How old is he currently? Five? I cannot imagine he turned someone to gold."

"Fourteen," Hecate said, rolling her eyes again.

"Oh..." Hades sighed. He ought to attempt reconnecting with his family. Evidently, he was not as aware of the goings on in the pantheon as he should have been.

"Am I going to need to give you a printout of all the gods and their domains?" Hecate asked, and she pulled out her phone. "You need to get outside. Anyway. Dionysus. God of wine, fertility and, uh, it says here ritual madness and religious ecstasy."

"A fourteen-year-old is the god of ritual madness and religious ecstasy?"

"Hey, I don't pretend to understand either," she said, tucking her phone away. "So, word on the street is he wanted to award Midas something for looking after the satyr, as you do, and Midas, the idiot, wanted everything he touched to turn to gold."

"Ah. Hence the gold girl."

"Yes. Zoë. So, technically she's not dead yet. Kinda just... cursed."

"And Dionysus didn't think about reporting it to me?"

"To be fair, he's still a kid, and quite a bit younger than you, so what does he know?" Hecate said, and they rounded the corner of the corridor they were heading down. Upon seeing other workers there, she pulled Hades back and spoke in a quieter voice. "But you want to know the best bit?"

Hades sighed. "Go on."

She flashed him a wicked grin. "Dionysus is currently in Hermes' care."

Hades snorted, then held a hand to his mouth and said, "Excuse me?"

"Well, you know Zeus. Didn't want to look raise a kid, obviously. Only Dionysus' mother is dead so he can't stay with her. Semele. It was an annoying case, remember?"

Hades sighed again. "Yes, I remember. All cases regarding Zeus are annoying."

"Well," Hecate said, hands pressed to her cheeks as she continued to grin wickedly. "He's in Hermes' care because you know how the gods are. They don't like Hermes because he's the youngest and annoying, so, to keep him busy, they gave him Dionysus to raise. He couldn't exactly say no, now. It's his half-brother after all."