"Brother, listen to me."

The dark-haired man slowly swiveled around, his midnight-blue gaze empty. His reply was constrained by years of unending turmoil.

"What?"

His brother let out a long breath, his voice heavy. "Do not look at me like that. We are as upset by this turn of events as you are."

Disbelief flashed through the dark-haired man's eyes. "How can you say that? How can you look me in the eye and say that?"

"How were we to know?" The other's wizened features furrowed in frustration. "You did not show any indication you had feelings to be hurt. Even now, after everything that has happened, you have barely revealed your true thoughts. It is a rather frustrating quirk of yours."

"Forgive me then. I did not realise it was all my fault."

"Come now, Hades. We do not deserve your anger. We have acknowledged that this is not completely your fault. What more do you want?"

"You know what I want, Zeus." Hades turned away so his brother didn't see the pain flashing through his eyes. "It is more than a worthless acknowledgment."

Zeus' shoulders dropped, as if those six words bore a burden heavier than the world on his shoulders.

"And you know we cannot do anything about that, Hades. She is gone. To force her to return after she..." He shakes his head. "It is too unkind."

"Yes, I am well aware of that fact." Hades' voice clouded with anger. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat to prevent himself from doing something he would later regret. Blackened clouds started to roil around the two, boiling as violently as the fury seething through the dark god's veins. "I unfortunately had the luck to witness her escape, to watch as her eyes filled with unfiltered hatred the moment she saw me walk through the door. It is not a moment I will ever forget."

Zeus paused, his eyes flickering up and down his brother's hunched form. Understanding dawned on him; it was almost like he was seeing him for the first time. Moments passed. When he finally spoke, it was with slow, calculated precision, like one does when they're talking to a snarling beast. "We may never be able to understand your pain brother, I realise this now. But we do hope we can alleviate it somewhat."

"How?"

"We have a proposition."

"Yes, because your propositions end so well." Hades' voice dripped with venomous sarcasm.

Zeus gave him a look. "Come now, Hades. You know we never intended for it to end the way it did. The new proposition is not without consideration to that. If it bodes any reassurance to you, it is not one constructed by myself or any of the other twelve."

All muscle activity seized in Hades. His head slowly rose. "The Fates?"

"Yes." Zeus affirmed. "The Fates. They have a new prophecy, and it is for you."

Hades twisted to face his brother. Zeus was shocked into silence by the dangerous look darkening his features. A low rumble echoed around them.

"I trust the Moirai's propositions even less than yours." Hades spat.

"Hades—"

"No." Hades snapped. "They are the reason I am in this situation. They planted the seed of doubt in her mind. They are the last creatures in the universe that I would trust to prophecise the outcome of my future."

"You do not trust anybody Hades." Zeus replied sharply. His tone lost its hard edge when the clouds surrounding them began to rumble menacingly, growing thicker and darker than tar. "You know better than anybody that you cannot ignore their prophecies. The future they have seen will happen, whether you accept it or not."

Hades' jaw clenched. His words came out clipped. "What makes you think this prophecy will benefit me more than their last?"

"You and I both know that you cannot rule alone, and we don't want you suffering more pain than you already have." Zeus said. Hades scoffed disbelievingly. "We don't, brother. Already you are forgetting your duties; we can all see that. You and I both know that you will fade if you continue like this, and we cannot stand seeing you so despairing and lonely. Not even the King of the Dead deserves that."

Hades paused, studying the determination his younger brother was trying to prevent from filtering into his expression. "You are not going to relent until I listen, are you?"

Zeus smiled. "Of course not."

"Fine." Hades sighed, sounding tired. "What is their prophecy?"

"They have prophecised that you will find a queen. A mortal, this time. Perhaps the presence of a human soul will allow for more compassion and understanding—"

"Zeus." Hades cut him off, frustration lacing his expression. "I want their exact words. Not yours. I trust your word even less than theirs."

Zeus finally failed in keeping his own anger in check. A jagged bolt of lightning cuts through the black sky, tearing a gaping hole in the bubbling black clouds. But, all too aware of the boundless limits of his older brother's obstinacy, he grudgingly subdued his frustration and submitted to his brother's barked request.

"Hair of autumn, eyes of green, she is a treasure the world has not yet seen. For four months and not one day longer, your heart of ice this mortal must try conquer. Upon the 120th day, should she decide to stay, this hardened resilience to love will melt away."

Hades did not move a single muscle, for several long minutes; a reaction that would have terrified any other person — or divinity — to their very core. Finally, he met Zeus' gaze, his expression harder to crack than a wall of ice. "You are telling me that they have destined a mortal to try and find it in herself to love the God of the Dead?"

"Yes."

"Even a goddess could not bring herself to." Hades replied, his voice tinted with incredulity. "What makes any of you think a mortal will?"

Zeus smiled benignly at his brother. "Mortals can be surprisingly compassionate, Hades. You have only seen them when they are dead or in their Elysium. When they are alive they are quite different."

"You are still asking me to expect them to do exactly what she did." Hades closed off again, his midnight-blue eyes blank. "I will not put another through what she did, or watch them suffer a life they do not want because of me. I may be a god, but I am not immune to pain."

"And I will not watch you let yourself fade away because of what happened. We may not have had the best relationship in the past, but we are still family Hades." Zeus spoke sternly. "Which means I will not stand idly by and let you brush this prophecy off as folly. I will do what is necessary to ensure you do not fade into nihility."

Hades' eyebrow shot up. "Are you really blackmailing me, brother?"

The air around Zeus started to crackle with power as his wizened face grew serious. "Yes I am, Hades. But I am doing it for your own good."

Hades pressed his lips into a thin line. "Very well. I will not ignore the prophecy."

Zeus doesn't stop the relief from showing on his wise features. He placed a reassuring hand on his brother's shoulder. "Thank you, Hades."

"I will not ignore the prophecy," Hades continued, holding his finger up with a frosty glare before Zeus could interrupt him a second time. Though he had the more youthful appearance of the two, he was still the oldest, and could beat his younger brother into quiet submission with a single, hard look. "On one condition."

"What is it?"

"That she choose this voluntarily." Hades said. Understanding lit up the other god's face. "She must not be forced into any of this, nor know anything about the prophecy except from my own lips. If, for some reason, she finds it in herself to... care for me, without being forced or coerced by any deity, then I will accept that the prophecy has the potential to come true."

"Of course." Zeus nodded. "If she falls for you without the force of a god acting upon her, and she willingly chooses to, then she will stay in the Underworld and help you rule. If your condition is broken however, then she must return to her former life, and all memory of our existence will be wiped from her memory."

"Very well." Hades inclined his head, turning on his heel to disappear into the night. Zeus caught his shoulder before he had the chance to do so, giving the other god a firm look.

"It will work out this time, Hades. You just need to find the right girl."

Hades shrugged his hand off, his expression darkening. He vanished from sight, his words fading as he did. "I hope, for the sake of both you and the mortal, that you are right."