Aidoneus

The Light

They were back in the library and he was showing her some of his favorites in the collection. Overall dinner had gone well. With exception to Minthe. Perhaps Hecate was right about her. Minthe had briefly been a distraction when he first came to the underworld. Alone and angry with his lot of the Kingdoms, she had taken advantage of his loneliness which led to a brief affair. He always had lingering doubts as to the purity of her affections towards him. During their, whatever it was, relationship? No, tryst. He found companionship in her bed while she saw an opportunity to be Queen. To gain power and wealth. Within days of their first sexual encounter she started wielding her self-assumed authority over members of his court.

In retrospect he likened Minthe to an emotional terrorist. If things did not go her way she would exploit her affection. Picking fights with Hades over little things, preying on his weaknesses, then somehow making it all his fault. She never apologized and the only apology she would accept from him was in the form of gifts or drachmas. A breaking point was reached when Minthe attempted to banish Hecate, the two never being friends. Hades banned the troublesome nymph for a few years to the far edge of his kingdom but eventually she worked her way back into the palace. She claimed she recognized the error of her ways and just wanted to work in the palace and be among her friends.

He was reluctant at first but for the past few years things had gone okay with Minthe back in the palace. Occasionally she would attempt to seduce him but he was firm and immediately after his rebuff she would laugh it off as a joke. But tonight, when she tried to give Kore the wine, his doubts returned. They were then confirmed when he sipped the wine. It had been touched by hypnoses, the god of sleep. When he had confronted her in the kitchen she denied knowing it was drugged wine of the underworld. Even started crying which normally would have softened him. But not today. He banished her from the palace. As she left she threw insults and threats at him.

When he returned to the table he saw Hermes peppering Kore with questions. Hades wanted to explain what had just happened but was interested in her answers to Hermes about her role in the Spartan army. Hermes was a flirt and it did not surprise him that the messenger of the Gods would be curious about her. From what he could gather, Hermes was there when Zeus took her from her Father. A twinge of jealously sparked when she smiled at Hermes but he quickly realized that she was annoyed by his short attention span and jumping from topic to topic. 

While everyone at the table was intrigued by the goddess there was one, besides himself, who seemed to pay the most attention. Thanatos. Oddly, he chose to remain far enough down the table that he could not converse with her. But he saw the way he watched her. He felt oddly possessive of her when he had no reason to. He was thankful when dinner ended and the two merely exchanged a brief goodbye before she left with Hades to the library. Unable to not feel a little smug about it. Now he and Kore were alone again. But this time, perhaps with the help of the ambrosia, both seems more relaxed. He tried not to ask too many personal questions as she seemed to tense up at those with Hermes at dinner. So instead he asked about the battles she fought in and Sparta's new Republic form of government.

After several hours he saw her yawn. Selfishly he wanted to spend more time with her but he knew he had to be considerate. At his insistence she picked a few books, included the Titanomachy from earlier, and he walked her to her room. He paused outside her door. "If you'd like I can give you a tour of the rest of the kingdom tomorrow." Annoyed at the obviously amount of hope in his voice as he asked. She smiled up at him, her arms full of books. "I would like that very much. As long as I am not keeping you from anything." Success, he would have to thank Hecate not only for sending him to get her for dinner but also saving her from the wine at dinner. "Great. I have a seamstress who can stop by in the morning with some fresh clothes." With that he smiled and nodded. She returned the smile and stepped into her room. It was then that he realized that in one day this little goddess had made him smile more than he has in decades.