"HERE HE IS AT LAST. GIVE ME LEAVE TO TEAR HIM TO PIECES AT ONCE!"

Thanatos seethed, eyes glowing as he tossed a soul onto the floor. The man's form was more corporeal than other souls I had seen - more flesh than smoke, more light than darkness. Almost as if he was alive, as if he didn't belong in the room of the dead.

"Admit it, old man - I beat you fair and square -" the spirit grinned.

"Shut up!" Thanatos howled, his face ablaze with immortal fury. His kick landed solid on the shade's chest. "You... trickster!"

Charon lingered somewhere nearby his ghastly face split in a grin.

"Please, do not stop on my account. I would love to see him thrashed soundly. No offence meant, my Queen," he cackled, turning to meet my eyes. "But I would like to get a few kicks in, if that is alright-"

I held up a hand, the room falling silent, stiller than a grave.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Hecate, Minos and Thanatos began to speak at the same time.

"One at a time. Start from the beginning."

Thanatos glowered at the other two, colour almost drained from his face. Brow furrowed, he shoved the shade to the floor, who let out a howl that shook the earth. At my feet, Cerberus perked up, up on his haunches, eyes darkening.

"Easy," my hand stroked the bloodhound's velvet fur. "We must treat our guests with respect... before we punish them. Is that not right, sir?" I demanded, beckoning the shade closer with a pale finger. He moved forward, as if in a trance - eyes wide - before colliding with Charon's stick, even as the ferryman clicked his tongue disapprovingly.

"Too close for my liking, boy. Two steps back. Now!" Charon whacked him with his stick, his skeletal fingers reaching out to lash a few welts on the man's cheek before Minos shot him a glare.

"Thanatos. Tell me what happened."

"Behold Sisyphus," he spat. "The man who tricked death."

Eyebrows raised, I intertwined my fingers, resting my chin on them.

"Go on."

"It started when Posidon's granddaughter, Aegina - went missing. Apparently, Zeus took her away," Hecate's lips were drawn in a thin line, a furrow of disapproval shining bright on her brow. "Sisyphus revealed her hiding place to Aegina's father, Asopus - only if he created an eternal freshwater spring in his kingdom. An endless source of freshwater for generations to come."

"I was only looking out for my people," Sisyphus wailed, his complaint ringing loud and clear off the dark stone walls.

"And you betrayed her location?" I questioned.

"Of course. Fresh water is hard to come by, my Lady. Even more difficult to find with the plague haunting my lands."

"Not only did he name Zeus her abductor," Aeacus continued, "Asopus hunted down King Zeus, relentless in his pursuit - when the King's thunderbolts had him retreat at last."

"He asked for me to punish him," Thanatos snarled, his knuckles a bone white, his grip tight on the shade's reins. "Tell them," he snapped. "Tell them what you did then, Sisyphus!"

Sisyphus only grinned, holding up his cuffed hands, the manacles grating in an ear splitting screech on the floor.

"I asked Thanatos to show me how the handcuffs worked," the youth chuckled. "Before I slipped them on him."

The leash on Thanatos's anger snapped as he reached out to strike a blow on the prisoner's cheek, veins popping in his eyes. The sound of the slap reverberated in the full hall, echoing a hundred times before settling into silence.

I bored my eyes into his, ready to mete out punishment.

"Not only did he trick Thanatos, he locked him up for days in his house," Minos rose from his seat, face stern. "No one could die. No matter how grievous the injury. Children suffering from hunger, men bleeding from wounds, prisoners ready to be executed. Not a single human dying even as the plague continues to bleed the earth dry."

"Does that make you happy, Sisyphus?" my voice was sharp, cold, unrecognizable. "Having the disease torn, suffering souls walk the earth, endless in their misery and begging for release?"

"We humans are your sheep and you gods are our shepherds. You have us in the palm of your hand. I had no intention of succumbing to death like the rest of men, Lady Persephone. You, of all people - might understand what it is to live in a place you do not belong."

The armrest threatened to splinter under my ironclad grip.

"When Lord Ares finally released me from those chains, the first thing I did was to go hunt down this bastard," Thanatos growled. "By your leave, my Lady - let me deliver him the punishment he deserves."

"It would be illegal for you to take me prisoner," Sisyphus protested. "My wife did not bury me with any offerings. Charon cannot ferry me across his river without an offering, which he did nonetheless-"

"-because your smart ass needed a lesson, boy," the ferryman cackled, rubbing his palms in glee. "You do not get to hold one of our people captive without retribution."

"If I recall," Thanatos butted in, "he told his wife not to bury him with an offering. He planned it all along!"

"You must let me go, Queen Persephone!" Sisyphus continued, his voice louder. "It would not do for you to break your laws-"

"I will decide if a law is broken, Sisyphus. You do not get to ask questions here," I hissed at him. Cerberus let out a snarl in answer, baring his gleaming sharp teeth at the spirit before curling around my ankles.

"If you would give me leave, I would go instruct my wife to perform my last rites-"

"That will not be needed," Hecate snapped at him, her staff rapping twice on the ground. "You have no intentions of coming back if we let you go."

"I will. Please. Please..." Sisyphus pleaded, eyes gleaming. Palms folded in reverence, he fell to my feet. "My lady! My fair lady! Would a poor man's plight hold no appeal to your soft heart?"

"I do not have a soft heart, Sisyphus."

"You are the only rose in this bed of weeds and withered grass - if you would only let me go once-" he begged.

"You forget that roses have thorns, my dear," I put a finger under his chin, tipping up his face to bore my eyes right into his. The bloodhound at my feet growled angrily at him, his bark angry and murderous. "Lord Minos," I looked up, beckoning to the head judge.

"My Lady," he bowed low.

Sisyphus looked eagerly at me, palms clasped, awaiting release-

"Please escort our prisoner to Tartarus."

"With pleasure, my Queen-"

"You can't do this - you should have let me go!" Sisyphus pleaded.

"I am letting you go, darling. To a place you'll feel right at home with monsters like you."

"Monsters - monsters - I'll show you! You are the monster!"

Hecate struck him, her heavy staff knocking him to the floor. He gasped at his broken nose, blood dribbling from between his fingers, before breaking out into a high pitched wail, an incoherent stream of nonsense leaving his lips-

Hecate, Charon and Thanatos trailed after me, even as Rhadamnthys had his guards drag Sisyphus to the Forest, his screams piercing the air, sharper than a knife.

"Of course I am a monster. I'm the Queen of Hell, after all," I rose from the throne, the velvet of my hem slithering softly across the floor in a lover's hiss. "You should have remembered that before hurting me or my family of monsters."

ROYAL CHAMBERS, THE UNDERWORLD.

I found Hades pacing restlessly near the fireplace, the glow of the golden embers reflected in the depths of his endless eyes.

"I thought you'd be out late."

He looked up, and his face stopped me in my tracks. Never had I seen him so anguished, so frustrated. It was twisted in an expression of pain, crestfallen and lost. Heart pounding, I hurried to put my arms around him.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"No," he croaked, folding me close to his chest in a tight embrace. "No. I - I am... okay." Relief washed over me as I let his familiar scent cloak me in a blanket of security, safe in his arms. I looked up to find his gaze roaming over my face, eyes torn in helpless love - more lost than ever.

His hands were cold, and he smelled of too much wine.

"Hades."

"Perse," his smile was too tight, and for the first time - I noticed a hint of dark circles under his eyes, which seemed to have just been wiped. Glassy, even. He noticed me looking at his eyes, and smiled again - and I knew that smile was a lie.

I used to smile like that. Before. When everything I knew was just pain, and nothing but misery lived under my hands.

"How was court?"

"Hades," I whispered, breathing softly against his lips, pressing a kiss to his temple. He collapsed against my shoulder, his body warm and throbbing with sadness. I wrapped my arms around him in tenderness, and he rested his head on my shoulder, his cheek pressed against mine.

"I - I need to tell you something," he whispered into my ear, his voice barely above a murmur of silk. "You should sit."

I pulled back, taking in his forlorn appearance. Hades was almost on the verge of tears as I cupped his cheek, pulling him to the armchair before settling him into its depths. The fire roared beside us as I curled up on the plush carpet near him, rubbing the warmth of my body's fire into his hands.

"Tell me."

"It's - it's over. Everything is over," he almost sobbed, his voice barely more than bits of broken words.

"Why would you say something like that?" I pressed a kiss to his marble white palm, my hand wrapped around his shaking, bone white knuckles.

"Perse..."

"You can tell me," I coaxed, voice gentle.

Hades gulped, not daring to meet my eyes. Instead, his hands found the way to a bottle of very old vintage we had uncorked the night before, pouring out the rich amber liquid into a gilded goblet with shaking hands. Only after drinking a considerable amount of sips did his voice find a way out of his lips.

"Your - your mother. It's her."

"What is it?" my pulse raced in my veins, faster and quicker than a bird in flight.

"She's behind it. The drought. The plague. All of it."

I could have sworn that even the air in the room stopped moving.

"That's - that's not possible," I whispered, hardly daring to believe it. "She wouldn't."

"She did. To spite me. She - she won't stop." His voice was hoarse and weary, heavy with exhaustion. "Your father-"

"Has to stop her!" I protested, even as he wrapped a hand around my wrist, pulling me to him. "He has to make her stop-"

"Persephone," Hades whispered. "He tried everything. She... she refuses to back off until you are returned to her."

Speechless. I was speechless.

To even imagine that my mother would go to such lengths...

I held out my hand. Hades sadly offered me his wine. I shook my head. Wordlessly, he plucked the almost full bottle and handed it to me, his eyes filled with longing and centuries of pain.

The burn of the alcohol was a welcome reprieve from the slow throbbing slowly beginning at the back of my head. To go back - to live that imprisoned, sorry bit of life once more, where I was no more than a flower in a meadow, praised for its beauty and left to bloom and die -

I could not.

I could not.

Even death would be better than that.

My King watched me warily, the grey of his eyes now a near black that glimmered like a river of poisoned tears. Quietly, his fingers laced into mine, even as he gently pressed his lips to my shaking knuckles.

"I can't go back," I struggled to get the words out, lungs not filling with air quickly enough. "Hades, I can't."

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to," he sharply butted in, the ice back in his voice. "You are my wife and my Queen. No one, and I repeat - no one - gets to make that decision for you."

"But what of my mother?" I whispered, resting my head on his knee, terrible little shudders travelling down my spine. "Hades... she won't stop."

"I will find a way. Or make one," he said. Tenderly, he stroked my hair, rubbing my shoulder in little circles.

Cerberus pranced in, his tail dangerously high in the air as he padded to the fireplace. The ferocious beast looked askance at his master, who sadly smiled at him, like a tender flower wilted for need of water. Suspiciously sniffing, the bloodhound walked around us, before plopping down into my lap, his sleek fur shining like molten honey. Eyes wide, he reached up to lick my cheek.

I broke into giggles even as a tear dripped out of my eye. This. how could I leave this behind? This affection, this love - this place where I belonged?

"Will you help me write her a letter?" I whispered, looking up to him. "If it came from me... if I tried... maybe she would understand."

His eyes were filled with tears, and I could see myself reflected in the river of his grief.

"Maybe.. If I begged her - maybe she would understand. I... wish I could explain it to her in person, but... but I can't, Hades. I can't."

A tiny sobbed worked its way out of my throat as his fingers rubbed out the knots of tension at the back of my neck.

"A letter it is, then," his voice murmured in the darkness. "For all that is, and all that will be."

that's