chapter 12

“Persephone” he called in the softest voice possible and for some reason, it did not sit right with me.
“hi love” she said, coming to kiss him on the lips
I blinked once
Twice
Several more times
“excuse me!!!!” I yelled despite myself, unable to keep it in. I felt jealous
‘you have no right to be though’ a little voice said at the back of my mind, which caused me to kiss my teeth in anger
“hades, I would like to go home” I said, looking at the back of his head as he had turned to completely face the woman.
“now!!” I pressed when I saw that he was unmoving
“you will not speak to him in such manner!!!”
“I will speak to him as wish!!!” I snapped, completely losing my mind for a split second.
How dare you challenge me?!!" Zeus's voice was a thunderous roar, echoing through the hall. "You, a mere mortal… I should smite you"

I trembled, but looking around with all eyes on me, I knew for sure that I could not back out at the moment

Zeus's eyes narrowed, and he raised his hand, summoning a bolt of lightning that danced menacingly at his fingertips “I should smite you right now, and end it all
None dared to intervene, knowing the extent of Zeus's wrath. The lightning in his hand crackled with fierce energy, ready to strike to hit
“you are too hasty Zee, we already know how that is going to go” she had this knowing look on her face, one that infuriated me. In fact, the one that infuriated me to no ends was that they all had the same look, all except Hades who had this love struck puppy look in his eyes.
“get out” Zeus said, this time, there was this look of pain across his face and also in his voice.
Was….
I looked around ‘was there something going on?’
I felt the feeling of rejection sound in my chest, even though I barely knew these people.
“Hades” I hated how my voice broke “can you please take me back now? “ I pleaded, looking at the hostility in Zeus’s eyes.
He seemed to have snapped out of whatever daze he was in an looked around
“I believe we shall be leaving first” hades said to his brother.
“no!” he thundered, freezing Hades who was mid bow
“you seem to have forgotten your manners baby brother” Hades growled, shocking me. He looked young, too young to be the eldest. He looked no older than twenty five at most. “that is not how we treat guests. No matter how unsightly they are”
I could not help but let my mouth go unhinged
“unsightly!!!! S…s…ahhhh” I was huffing, not even able to make a single word. Luckily, he took my hands and the air around us began to get colder, similar to how it was when we were coming here.
“it was nice to see you again Valerie” the girl, Mene, said. I could not help but let the words ring in my head
‘again’
She said that word when she first saw me.

We were back to the dark and gloomy place In a matter of seconds and I could not help but notice the large space between Hades and i
Hades approached me, his dark eyes holding a flicker of irritation.

"Valerie," he began, his voice cool and measured. "I must say, your presence here is very unpleasant. For one night, you could not even behave"
“well if had not been for your might I say very rude brother” I could feel my face getting flushed with anger, just remembering how he talked to me rather rudely in front of everyone
“how he talks to you should not concern you, after all, you were talked down on very often. Am I wrong? Leave my presence, you staying in my presence might only lead to me having bad dreams
His words stung, a sharp reminder of my outsider status in my family. I nodded, trying to hide my hurt. "Of course, my lord. I will take my leave. Its not like staying in your presence is any different from a nightmare!."
Hades turned away, his dismissal clear. I watched him go, feeling a mix of relief and humiliation. As I made my way out of the grand hall, the reality of my situation weighed heavily on my shoulders
I had just made a fool out of myself in front gods. But most importantly, why did it all feel like a sense of déjà vu?
Like they all knew me before?
I hugged myself as I made my way to my room. it had been a long night. I laughed.
For some reason, I told the lesser demon and Kharon to put in more effort just for the night.’ What was I thinking?’
He never once acted nice to earn a soft spot from me, so why was it that each time I saw him the yearning only seemed to increase?
“welcome my lady” Kharon said, giving me a smile that instantly made me smile back.
“Kharon” he followed me into the room, helping me remove my hair from the way I had packed it earlier
“shall I give you a massage, you seemed tensed up" he said looking at me with a warm smile. i looked over his body, for injuries
"..." i said nothing, just giving him a sigh, not complaining as he moved towards me