Choosing Family

Chapter Six

Hades sighed as he walked past the empty nursery; the crib still lying on its side. It had been two weeks since Maleficent had stolen Mal back and Hades hadn't had the heart to clean the room. It was if it had been frozen in time, the only difference being the lack of feather on Mal's pillow. Hades had put that away for safe keeping in case he ever needed to bring up an accusation against Maleficent.

Persephone had been avoiding Mal's former room as if it had been the plague but Hades couldn't fault his wife for that. Every time he came across one of the toys Persephone had brought for Mal from Auradon scattered on the floor of the den, his heart broke.

Was there something more I could be doing? He thought as he closed the door to the nursery. He didn't know how it had opened; he had given orders to Pain and Panic that the room was not to be disturbed.

His minions had been making themselves scarce ever since Mal had been taken; what normally took one angry bellow of their name now took at the very least three before they would rear their heads. Persephone had suggested that maybe they thought Hades blamed them for Mal getting kidnapped—after all, they were in the room.

Pain and Panic versus Maleficent's goblins, Hades thought as he made his way to the kitchen. Unless they had their shape shifting abilities, Pain and Panic would be toast. I heard the stories about how exuberant those goblins were in tying up Phillip. As much as I hate to compliment a hero, Phillip seems like he's fairly competent from the reports Persephone brings back from Auradon.

He grabbed a chipped mug from the cupboard and sighed as he put the water on for tea. The tea helped; it gave him something to do that didn't involve hunting down his ex-wife and eviscerating her to the point that her soul wouldn't even wind up in the Underworld. Well, or at least that's what happens in Hades' dreams. But then he has to wake up and remember that anything he did would potentially put Mal at risk.

For not the first time since Mal had been taken, Hades cursed the fact that he was on this gods forsaken Isle. If he had been in Bore-adon, he could have petitioned Zeus. Actually, it wouldn't have even gotten to that point since Hades would have had full access to his chariot and his powers. Cerberus would have liked using Maleficent as a chew toy, Hades thought with a grim smile as the water boiled.

"Your water's ready," Persephone's soft voice broke Hades from his thoughts. He turned around to see his wife standing in the doorway. It was a rare sight for Persephone to be out of their room; the inability to do anything seemed to be affecting her more than Hades thought possible.

"Can I make you a cup?" Hades asked, reaching up on the shelf to get her one of the few non-chipped mugs that she had brought from Auradon a couple of years ago.

"No thank you," Persephone said and sighed. "I'll be up at all hours otherwise. That's the last thing I need right now."

Hades nodded as he poured the water over his tea. He would have preferred loose tea but the tea bags were easier to fish out of the barge deliveries.

"I wish I knew what brand that was," Persephone said as she leaned over on the counter. "I'd be able to get you a box of fresh bags in Auradon."

"I'm used to these," Hades told her. Sure the tea was weaker than it should have been but it was still tea.

Persephone frowned. "I know, but it'd be nice to be useful for something. I haven't heard anything from the gossip chain regarding Maleficent when I go on my walks. Then again maybe no news is good news."

"She's still holed up in her castle," Hades told her. "I've been keeping an eye on Mal through the ember."

"How does she look?" Persephone asked, leaning on the counter as if trying to hang on Hades' every word. Hades didn't blame her; his favorite time of day was quickly becoming the hours he spent staring through his ember keeping an eye on his daughter.