ELEVEN

The blinding light did not last long. The moment she adjusted her sight, she realized she was not inside that cursed room anymore.

The walls were awfully familiar and as she roamed her eyes around her, her stomach churned as she recognized the place.

She's back in the underworld.

"Well, your return was certainly not welcomed back there."

She whirled to see the dais where Hades was seated. His throne looked bigger than she remembered and just like before, she felt powerless and scared. But unlike before, she's not unfamiliar with the place. Unlike before, she knows the man sitting on the throne in front of her.

Hades saved her from those monsters but she doesn't want to acknowledge him as her savior. Not when he's the reason why it all happened to her in the first place.

"I know that look," he said. A slight grin curved his lips. "You look like you're moments away from blaming me for everything or raising your clenched fists at me but you know it is futile. So you just stand there and give me that look of helplessness."

"You're a monster," she spat, clenching her fists even tighter.

"Oh?" He tilted his head to the side, resting it over his hand. "Last I checked, I saved you from those miscreants who took pleasure degrading you. Tell me, am I still a monster to you?"

"You were the reason why this is happening to me! You took me and killed that man. Who would believe me when I say some lord of the underworld killed him and not me? Is that the reason why you allowed me to go back there? Because you knew it would be hell for me anyway? Because you knew I would be blamed and discriminated against and harrassed and then you can come into the picture to save me? Is that it? So you could become the hero?" She took a step forward and looked t him straight in the eye. "That is not going to happen, Hades. Over my dead body--"

One moment she was standing there in the spacious hall and the next, she found herself pinned to the wall. Her hand instinctively went to grab his wrist as his fingers tightened around her throat.

"I think you know very well how I can take someone's life without the need to lift a finger, Guinevere," he said. She could feel his warm breath on her cheek as he whispered those words to her. She willed herself not to be scared but the memory of the people he made suffer before her eyes came rushing back to her. She doesn't doubt for one second that he couldn't do the same thing to her life. She looked him dead in the eye. All she knows is that fear might be visible in her eyes but dying was probably the best thing that could happen.

Hades looked at her too, as though trying to read what was going on inside her head. Or maybe he already know what she was thinking about because she felt his fingers loosen around her throat.

Of course, he was not going to make it that easy for her. Dying is her only escape and letting her escape is not something Hades would allow.

You belong to me. He'd said when he told her everything that's happened before she was even born. She slumped on the floor as Hades finally let her go. The next thing she realized were tears streaming down her cheeks. Her vision blurred and she couldn't stop the tears. She was certain Hade's fingers have left some marks on her neck and the back of her head hurts as she was pinned on the wall. But she couldn't care less about it.

Then she felt cold fingers touching her chin and lifting her head up. Her eyes brimmed with tears and then she felt his other hand gently wiping her cheeks.

"Shh. Don't cry now," he said, almost a whisper. As she looked at her, he didn't look like the man who could kill several men inside a room without lifting his finger. He looked at her as though she was the only thing he could see.

But then his gentle hand caressing her cheeks felt toxic. She slapped his hand and scuttled as far away from him as possible. When she looked at him, he was still crouching on the floor. He tilted his head to the side as he stared at her. She wrapped her arm around her body. For some reason, she felt bare in front of him when she was still fully clothed.

"Such hateful eyes, Guinevere." He stood and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "You look at me with such hatred when all I ever did was save your life many times."

"You made my life like this," she hissed angrily.

"I didn't. Your parents did that for you. They offered you to me and I just accepted what they can offer to satisfy their want to have a child. I merely gave them what they want. It's what I do. You can't blame a lion for killing a deer."

"Fuck you and your rules. Fuck you and this place." She couldn't believe she said those words but she was in so much pain and frustration that screaming those profanities were the only thing she thought could make her feel better. Maybe if she piss him off enough, he would kill her. Perhaps if she made him mad enough, he would end her life.

But she watched as Hades turned his back on her and walked to his seat. He looked down at her as she was still on the floor.

"It's funny how you were so meek and silent when they oppressed you and now you're talking back to me." He rested his chin on the back of his hand. "You need to sort out whom you should be more afraid of."

"I am not afraid of you and I am not afraid of whatever you will do to me."

Then Hades smirked. And she knew instantly that she may have gotten herself in a situation she could never escape.

"Well then," he said as he stood. "Guinevere, I order you to come to my chambers later tonight. Let's see how far that bravery of yours takes you."