Emperor of the Dead

Chapter 4

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Erel/Ariel
November 3, 1800

"Kronos, I highly doubt killing me or torturing me will get you anywhere with my father. Poseidon had never once treated me as a child. He cursed me, so I don't think I'll be of much help."

A dark chuckle erupted, bothering her right ear much more than her left. Erel rubbed the ear against her shoulder, trying to smooth out the imbalance of sound distribution.

With her eyes covered with a blindfold, she hung from the ceiling of wherever she was. Sooner or later, the blood rushing to her head would become deathly, but Kronos kept his timing right.

In just a few minutes he would let her rest horizontally against the floor, only to have her raised again.

"Ariel," Kronos said, his voice coming out dark, much like a demon. "He cursed you because he loved you. It was his way of setting you straight when you fell in love with Eric, am I wrong?"

"Yes, but I had already left Eric at that point. I had already realized my mistake, and now my story has turned into a fairytale that children read before bed. But more than a fairytale, the story was written as a tragedy."

Kronos replied, "Ariel, don't pity yourself so much. It's hard to break someone already broken."

"You don't have to break me," Erel forced. Speaking and breathing, two of the world's easiest tasks for her became hard when she was upside down, her fully-red hair mopping the floor. "I already told you many times that I will help you summon Poseidon. You can talk with him instead of me."

"What makes you think I want to talk to the destroyer of my home? I want to see him beg."

Erel laughed, feeling the strain in her head. "What makes you think you'll be able to make a God cower in fear."

"His child."

"Nonsense."

Kronos smirked. "Never underestimate the love a parent can give."

"Allow me to remind you that being a God, the parent of all, comes before raising a child of his own."

"Do you know who the Emperor of the Dead will be next year?"

"I have a guess, but please refrain from changing the topic." Erel shifted around, wanting to lay on the wet and wooden floor more than anything.

"Do you know who Poseidon chose to be his Empress?"

Not knowing how to reply, Erel said, "That depends if I am well-informed or not."

Kronos sighed. He dragged a chair across the floor, its pegs scraping against the floor. "I already know it is that auburn-haired companion of yours. I tried hard to give her a curse on her twentieth-birthday, but Poseidon blessed her before I could do anything to her."

Erel raised a brow as best she could. "You're the one who places curses on captains?"

"I have been. For the last century, at least."

"Why?"

"Because it is my curse to curse others."

"Why? What did you do?"

"I crossed your uncle."

Erel bit her lip, not knowing what else to do to distract her from the stress built up in her brain. "Which one? Hades or Zeus?"

"Hades."

"Is that why you are curious to see who the Emperor of the Dead will be?"

"Yes."

"You're revealing a lot more information than you're receiving from me, Kronos. It's not a very smart move, now is it?"

To this, Kronos rumbled in laughter. "What makes you think you'll remember any of this?"

"What makes you think I, the daughter of Poseidon, will forget?"

"It's simple," Kronos said before allowing Erel to rest on the floor. "It's not hard to wipe memories, Ariel."

"Then why bother telling me anything in the first place?"

"So when the time comes for me to kill your companion, all the memories will come rushing back, and you will feel so utterly broken for having the knowledge to save your precious Aeryn Branche. When you realize you could have helped her, you will collapse because you forgot."

Erel spat. "You are merciless."

"It's something I take pride in."

"Is that how you treat your children? E and N were no different from you."

Kronos gave no reply. He instead cracked his knuckles, the only sign he betrayed that he wanted E and N to be better than him. If they were his children at all considering they looked nothing like him. The twins were no different than the bunnies they held, and Kronos was a shark in a lake. 

"You know what, Kronos, do what you want. I won't tell you that you're wrong or that someone will stand in your way."

Erel heard the scuffle of his feet. "Why?"

"Because there is no point in trying to recorrect someone who's leading themself to their own doom. I'll let you fall all by yourself."

Kronos sighed before exiting the room, letting Erel lay on the floor with her hands tied behind her back and her eyes blinded by a cloth.

The second the door shut, Erel scurried into a sitting position. She rubbed her hands across the floor, searching for anything sharp. 

She needed to escape and she had had enough of this stinky, wet room.

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WORD COUNT: 870