My Husband: The Devil

The Grape Peddler

I put on a black cloak and slipped out of the building quickly and quietly. I headed straight for Asphodel and slipped through the black iron gate. I had lost so much weight since I came here, it was relatively easy. I walked through Asphodel, and it was dark and quiet. I saw a spinning fire wheel suspended in midair, and I recognized it as Ixon, the sun of the Underworld. I had forgotten what he had done to get this punishment, but I know that he must spin that light wheel for eternity. I looked around some more, and I could see a man tied to a rock. Then a group of vultures came and to my horror, they started pecking at his liver. Moments later, his entire liver as gone, and the vultures flew away. Then to my amazement, hs liver slowly started to grow back. That's when I remembered, this man was sent here with this punishment because he had attempted to assault Leto, the mother of the divine twins, Apollo and Artemis.

Apollo used his mighty arrows to kill him and sentenced him to stay here. Then I saw another man who was pushing a big boulder up a hill. Then the boulder rolled down the hill, and he began to push it back up the hill again. Then I recognized it as a once mighty king who had stolen fire from the gods. I searched and found many others which bad punishments, but I couldn't seem to find Tantalus. Then I saw a giant cave with thick chains covering the entrance. Above the cave, it said, τάρταρος. When I blinked, it said "Tartarus." I forgot how to breathe for a moment because I knew that was where Kronos, king of the Titans were. Zeus and his brothers fought against him decades ago, cut him to pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his pieces here. I gulped and speed-walked far away from there, but then I felt a chill of cold air, I turned and I could see it was coming from the cave.

I don't know what it was, but something prompted me to go closer. I heard a voice, talking to me sweetly, gesturing me it was alright, it was a soft, soothing voice, and it lulled me in a way beyond contempt. I reached out and touched the chains to Tartarus. It was freezing ice-cold, which I thought strange since everything was hot here. It made me even more curious, so I tightened my grip on the chains, I was just about to figure a way inside when.....

Someone grabbed me by my shoulders and slammed me against the wall. "Are you out of your mind?!", a male voice said. "W-what...", I stammered in blatant confusion. "Who are you? What do you want from me?" "You almost released Kronos!", he said. "You could've destroyed the entire world!" He grabbed me by my shoulders and led me away from the cave. "Who are you?", I asked again. "That's not important Ree-Ha", he said. "What's important is that you get out of here, now." I pushed away from him. "Okay, first of all, how do you know me? Second of all, I can't leave. I need to find Tantalus." He stared at me curiously. "Why do you need to find Tantalus?", he asked. "Um, I need one of his grapes", I say slowly. Of course, that wasn't the whole truth, but I couldn't tell anyone here the truth. "You know there are easier and safer ways to get grapes, right?", he says. I shrug. "Yeah, but not much fun." I stare at him.

"Look, if you don't want me to assume that you're not some creepy stalker, would you please tell me who you are?", I ask. He sighs and pulls me aside. "You don't know me, but my name is Hwa Do-Hyun, but you may call me Dohyun. I was a servant of your father, Joo Shar-Kee. I recognized you when I heard you were going to be our new queen. I saw you coming in here and I followed you to make sure you wouldn't get into any trouble. And now I see that was a good idea." I grumbled and took his hands off me. "Well, thanks, but I need to be getting that fruit", I say. He grabs my hand and shoves me against the wall again. "You're taking this too lightly!", he says. "You almost released the king of the Titans! He destroyed the world once! And you were about to let him do it again!" I pushed him. "Get off of me! And I wasn't going to let him out! What are you talking about?!"

"Didn't you see what he was doing to you?!", Dohyun demands. "He took control of your mind and hypnotized you! That's what he does! He preys on the vulnerable! And remember Ree-Ha, you are a vulnerable half-demon, and that's the kind of people he believes he can control. And it could've been worse! He could have gotten you on his side! Kronos is not to be messed with!" I wave at him to stop talking. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. But I really need to get that Tantalus grape. So, take care." I turn to leave, but Dohyun stops me again. "You'll never find him. Asphodel, like Elysium, and many other worlds here, are endless. I'll take you to Tantalus. He's probably expecting me any minute anyway. I'm the one who waters the grapevines."

So Dohyun takes me to a sealed-off base, surrounded by barbed wire. Dohyun reaches out and touches the wire with one finger and the wire separated, creating a path for me and Doyun to walk through. I cling to him, a little afraid. Then, in the distance, I see a man, standing in the middle of a somewhat deep lake. He was thin, very thin, and his hair was long, white, and it looked as if it hadn't been combed or cut in centuries. The man stooped to get a drink with his goblet. But, the water receded. The man curses in Greek. Dohyun clears his throat. He turns to us, and he smiles with crooked, dirty, rotting teeth.

"Well, well, look who's back", the man says in a low voice. "And you brought.....vermin with you?", he asks, pointing a bony finger at me. "This just happens to be our new queen", Dohyun says. "This is Ree-Ha. Ree-ha, Tantalus." "Hello", I say. Tantalus smiles, takes a peek at the grapevines above him. Then he makes a wild grab for them, but the vines were too quick, and it went high out of his reach. "Damn it!", he says. "Um...", I say, starting to speak up. "Would you mind if I have one of your grapes?", I say, gesturing to the vines. "I hear they're very good." Tantalus stares at me. "Is that supposed to be funny?", he says. I close my mouth tight. "Sorry", I say. Tantalus sits down in the middle of the pond. He brings the goblet a little closer to it, hoping it wouldn't realize what he was doing, but it did. It sank down only moments after Tantalus brought the goblet close. 

He looks at me uncomfortably. Then he waves his hand. "Go ahead. I have a feeling the grapes won't run away for you." I chuckle nervously. "Thanks." I take off my shoes and step into the water. I reach out and pluck a grape from the vine. I place it in my coat pocket. Tantalus gently tugs on the edge of my cloak. I look at him. "Um, would you mind getting one more for me? Since the vines don't seem to like me very much." I shrugged, unsure it would work, but I picked one more anyway. Tantalus holds out his hand, and I put it in there. He looks at the grape as if it were the world's largest diamond. "Finally", he says huskily. He puts the grape to his lips, and it flies out of his hand, and back on the grapevine. He smiles at me coldly. "Thanks", he says. I swallow. "No problem", I say, and rush out of the pond. I put my shoes back on and I cling to Dohyun. "I would like to go now", I whisper to him. 

He nods. "Good idea", he whispers back. He waves at Tantalus. "I'll be back to water the vines tomorrow", he calls out to him. "Don't know why you bother', Tantalus says grumpily. "Not my fault old bean, you should've thought twice before you tried to feed your son to the gods!", Dohyun said and touched the barbed wire again. The barbed wire split again, and we walked through it. "Okay, you got your grape, although I am still highly suspicious that you wanted it for eating", Dohyun says. "Now you need to get out of here."

I was just about to let him lead me to the exit when I felt the presence of someone or something. It was strong, and for a moment, I felt my bitterness melting away. The only other time I felt that feeling was when..... 

"What's wrong?", Dohyun asks. I look at him. 

"He's here."