Don't Mess with Gods

@ Mother.Of.Dragons

Hades looked over at her and nodded, standing slowly as he walked over to her. "Of course, Persephone.. Lead the way." He gestured in front of him with a small smile, waiting for her to lead him.

---

Once Ares left Bernadette finally broke down, weeping into her pillow. The day's events had been too much for her, and she was afraid of what Ares would do to her or her family. She wished she could just disappear, leave her family and Ares and be fine without them.

@ Another.Chance

Persephone headed out of the castle and lead him into the courtyard. The gardens were overflowing with plants. Though it all was taken care of with a sort of organized chaos. She led him farther in. "I hope you like it. I was able to grow a lot of plants that were already in here to full bloom. And I even found a few that stay alive down here." The garden was quite beautiful, especially since everything was healthy and in full bloom. "Also I made a small maze in the middle." She let out a small laugh.

---

Ares headed back to sleep with ease. Then in the morning he made he way down to breakfast early in the day. He had things to do, like going to the council to see what their plan was for the attack yesterday.
Ares had one of the servants cook him something and then he headed to the dining room and sat as he wanted for the cook to be done with it.

@ Mother.Of.Dragons

Hades looked around the garden with wide eyes, surprised that she had managed to grow so much in the normally dead garden. "All of this in three days? That's pretty impressive.." He smiled a little as he followed her through the garden, careful not to touch anything in case he would destroy the whole garden.

---

Bernadette felt ill in the morning, sleeping in and refusing to get up when her mother came to get her. After she spoke to her her mother came downstairs. "Good morning Gaius, did you sleep well? Can I get you anything?" She asked, hoping he wouldn't expect to see Bernadette right away, not wanting to have to fight her daughter.

@ Another.Chance

"Well it's a lot easier when you can make anything grow quickly," Persephone told him with a warm smile. She headed to the middle of the garden, which consisted of a large pomegranate tree. It had grown larger than before. But around it was black flowers with purple in the middle. "And I found that these flowers grow." She turned to him. "Why do you have a garden down here?"

---

Ares smiled warmly st the woman. "No I don't need anything. Thank you though." He said as the servsnt set down the food in front of him. Immediately he started to eat. "How is Bernadette doing after yesterday?" Ares asked. He was sure that she had checked in on her daughter. Ares was more concerned that Bernadette had said something.

@ Mother.Of.Dragons

"My brother thought it would be a good idea, seeing as how everything was so gloomy down here. Thought it would brighten the place up a little." Hades chuckled, looking at the pomegranate tree. "This thing has been around since before you were born.. I'm glad it's still alive." He chuckled slightly, looking at her.

---

Her mother sat and a servant brought her her own food. "She's still a bit shaken up from last night.. I think she's made herself ill with worry." She sighed, asking one of the servants to bring her daughter some water and a light meal in case she wanted something.

@ Another.Chance

Persephone looked up at the tree with a small him. It was a sight to see. And the fruit on it looked delicious. Though he had already warned her about the fruit so she had no plans on eating it. "I am glad that it is still alive too." She smiled up at him. "Though maybe there are other ways to brighten the castle up, if you want to that is."

---

Ares nodded when the woman talked. That meant that Bernadette had not said anything about his godliness. Which was good because it would only cause more issues for them all. "If you want, I know a drink receipe that calms the nerves. It is often used throughout camps for soldiers."

@ Mother.Of.Dragons

Hades carefully reached up and plucked one of the fruits off, breaking it in half before popping a few of the seeds into his mouth with a small hum. He smiled, looking down at her. "It tastes as good as it looks.. I'm not sure that would be a good idea, Persephone.. If you did anything to the rest of the castle, and the other gods came down here to look for you, it would be obvious that you are here.." He frowned a little.

---

Her mother smiled, nodding. "Of course, you're welcome to help yourself to anything you need." She finished eating and excused herself, heading upstairs to talk to her other daughters while she left Ares to do what he wished.

@ Another.Chance

Persephone thought about it for a moment before giving Hades a small nod. "You are probably right. Even after I head back up I can't let them know that I came down here at all. I wouldn't be allowed to visit you even more so after running away. And if I ever did come back down here, it would have to be a secret." She smiled at him warmly before reaching over and taking Hades' hand. "I have one more thing to show you." Persephone brought him towards the end of the garden, which had a small fountain. The fountain was gorgeous, and had small details of Hades and the underworld. "I also found this fountain while going through the garden and I got it to start working again."

---

Ares blinked a few times, thinking that the mother did not understand what he meant. Though after eating, he got up and headed to the hall.

After several hours, Ares came back to the house. While no one was looking, he snapped his fingers and caused the calming drink to appear in his hands. With that done, he made his way through the house as he went to go find Bernadette. Even with what happened last night, Ares wanted to talk to her and maybe help her. At lest he knew the drink would calm her down a bit.

@ Mother.Of.Dragons

Hades nodded slightly as she spoke, frowning a bit in confusion as she mentioned coming to visit him again. "You.. You would come back?" He asked, surprised that she would enjoy the Underworld so much. He blushed when she took his hand and led him to the fountain, looking it over with a small smile. "It's lovely.. You didn't have to do all of this work, you know.. I have nothing to give you in return."

---

Bernadette was still in her room, lounging by the fire while she read. She liked being home alone when the house was empty, preferring the silence and peace to the talkative nature of her family, especially her mother and sisters. They never left her alone it seemed, so she was glad she could get away for a bit.

She looked up in surprise when Ares came into the room, a small frown appearing on her face. "I'm not feeling well.." She mumbled as she looked away, as if that would get him to leave.

@ Another.Chance

Persephone looked back at Hades, shaking her head a bit. "I want to do it. You have been kind to me and let me stay here. And you didn't even tell Zeus when he did come here, looking for me. It isn't much, but I wanted to thank you somehow." She gave him a warm smile. "And I would want to come back. You are good company, and are very kind....The other Gods and Goddesses always say that you have such a temper or that you are horrifying, but they lie harshly about you. "

---

"I was told." Ares said as he came farther into the room. "Though I do not think that you are truly ill. However, yesterday and last night might have scared you into wanting to stay in bed." He then offered the glass of juice. "It is a remedy that soldiers' often use to calm their nerves, I think that it will help you, Bernadette. I promise that it actually tastes quite good."

@ Mother.Of.Dragons

Hades chuckled a little as she spoke, running a hand through his hair before he brushed his fingertips over the fountain, most of the depictions of him at war. "You've never had to fight me.. Lies generally have a bit of truth ingrained in them somehow, Persephone..." He sighed a bit, eating some more of the pomegranate seeds before turning to walk through the garden, admiring the flowers, although he was careful not to touch any of them.

---

Bernadette frowned a bit as he offered the glass to her, setting her book down carefully before taking it. She took a small sip, scrunching up her nose in surprise at pleasant taste, taking a few more sips before setting it down again. "I'm not a soldier.." She murmured, lifting up her book again, trying to ignore him.

@ Another.Chance

Persephone looked closer at the fountain for a moment before turning and following Hades closely. She had not been around when the war of the brothers had happened. Though she had heard that it was quite nasty for all of the Gods and Goddesses involved. "I have heard stories of your wars." She told him as she moved her hands behind her back.

---

"You are not a solider. But aren't you feeling nervous?" Ares asked her as he headed over to the chair in her room. He sat down in it. "I just know about the drink because soldiers use it to calm themselves before or after the battle. And you have dealt with a lot yesterday. So I assume you may be having some of the feelings they had, but for different reasons." Even though she was trying to ignore him, Ares was not going to allow it to happen. "Why do you hate me so? I have done nothing wrong to you."

@ Mother.Of.Dragons

Hades sighed, closing his eyes as he remembered the battles. Zeus and Poseidon, his brother's, had combined forces to keep him down in the Underworld, nearly killing him in the process, before fighting against each other for the title of King of the Gods. The other gods and goddesses had all taken sides, but none had taken Hades, and he had never been able to talk to any of the others as an equal after that, all of the others looking down on him because of the fight between him and his brothers.

---

Bernadette frowned, looking at him as she adjusted the blanket that was draped over her. "You should have let me die. It wasn't in your interest at all to stop them, they probably would have sacrificed me to you in the hopes of getting your favor for their side of the war. But you did, and I'm sure there are a few gods that'll be upset with you for stopping a war that they could of had a part in, all over some stupid, ugly girl who just wants to be left alone." She glared at him before shifting so her back was turned to him, staring down at the pages in her book as she tried to get back to her reading.

@ Another.Chance

Persephone frowned a little when Hades did not respond back. She felt like she had hit a nerve by bringing up the disdain that the others had felt for him. She lowered her head before speaking. "I apologize. I should not have said anything. I will let you be now." Persephone said softly before quickly making her out of the gardens. She had not meant to upset her host so.

---

Ares watched her for a moment before standing up. "If that is what you want, then I can fix this." He walked over to Bernadette's bed and threw her over his shoulder and he transformed into his god form. "I will bring you to the solider's camp and tell them to sacrifice you to me, but first will allow them to do with you what they will. Afterwards, I will have them burn this town to the ground in my name and burn the surviving men. Then a war between the two provinces will start due to the death of this town. And once the war starts, me and the other gods will have something to do for the next few years." Ares started to head out of Bernadette's room.

@ Mother.Of.Dragons

Hades frowned as he opened his eyes, watching her walk away. He opened his mouth to call her back but stopped, knowing it was better to not get too close to her. In just the few days that she had been here, he had already started to develop feelings for the young goddess, but he knew that his brother and sister would kill him if he ever laid a hand on her, no matter how good his intentions were, so it was best for him to keep his distance. He knew that he should probably start behaving like how the other gods perceived him to be: cold, cruel, evil, that way Persephone would leave and never come back, and she'd be safe from any harm he could bring her.

He sighed, taking one last look around the garden before he moved back into the castle and to his throne room, getting back to work.

---

Bernadette gasped when he lifted her up, squirming in his grasp as she tried to free herself. "Let me go!" She cried, kicking him as best she could as she tried to get him to let her go, although she knew it was little use against a god. She grabbed at his hair and pulled hard, hoping it would surprise him long enough for her to wiggle free of his grasp find something to defend herself with.

@ Another.Chance

For most of the day, Persephone was able to find something to do. Though at the end, she was quite exhausted. She had wanted to go to sleep, but decided that she wanted to talk to Hades once he was finished with work. So she made her way to his room, lit the fireplace and laid down on the love seat in front of it as she waited. However, by the time that Hades finally made his way to his room, Persephone was sound asleep on his couch. The couch and Persephone was completely covered in flowers, almost like a blanket.

---

Ares stopped walking when Bernadette started to fight him. Though he kept his hold on her. "Really, do you not listen to a word anyone says?" He asked as he looked at her. "I am a god, you can not hurt or surprise me. Though what surprises me is that you are now trying to fight me in order to get away from what you said you wanted. Are you truly upset that I saved you? I will bring you back to your destiny if that is what you want. Though if you wished not to be killed by your enemies, maybe you should stop saying you were."

@ Mother.Of.Dragons

Hades was exhausted by the time he went to his room, nearly tripling over some of the flowers that had spread across the floor from the couch where Persephone lay. He smiled a little as he looked at her, walking over quietly to brush a strand of hair out of her face. He hesitated a moment before pressing a light kiss to her forehead, moving over to the fire to get it going again, wanting to make sure she was warm and comfortable.

---

By now tears had started to well up in her eyes, no matter how hard she tried to will them back. "You don't listen! I said I want to be left alone!" She shouted, still trying to squirm out of his grasp. "Are you so arrogant that you can't believe that a mortal wants nothing to do with you?" She spat, managing to squirm down far enough off his shoulder to press her hands against his chest as she tried to push him away from her.

@ Another.Chance

Persephone felt herself become slightly conscious as the room warmed up. She stirred slightly on the couch but then went back to being completely still. "Hades?" She whispered. Even though she was speaking, her eyes were still completely closed and it was quiet obvious that for the most part she was still sleeping. When he didn't answer right away, Persephone continued. "I am sorry..." She murmured to him. "I didn't mean to upset you."

---

Ares let out a sigh before walking over to the bed and laying her back down in it. "No." He said easily. "Though what I am surprised by is the fact that I saved you and you seem ungrateful for it. At no point have you thanked me, or seemed glad that I saved your life." He shook his head. "I wash my hands of this issue. I will leave your house tonight, and I will not come back to save you or your town." With that, Ares started out of the room.

@ Mother.Of.Dragons

Hades looked over his shoulder at her with a small frown, slowly standing from his crouched position in front of the fire. "You didn't upset me, Persephone... I was just remembering some unpleasant things, but you could never upset me.." He murmured softly. "Go back to sleep, you need your rest."

---

Bernadette wiped her tears from her face after he had set her down, sitting up to watch him walk away. She sniffled, looking down at the floor as she mumbled a quiet "Thank you." She would never admit it, but she was grateful that he had saved her and her town, and was mostly angry at herself, but was redirecting her anger at him.

@ Another.Chance

Persephone let out a small, long hum before quickly dozing back to sleep. It was too easy for her to listen to him when she was already so dead tired anyways. Once she was fully back to sleep, Persephone's face completely relaxed. The flowers around her slowly moved into half bloom as Persephone's powers also charged themselves when she was asleep.

---

Ares headed to his room, sitting down on the bed. He was quite annoyed with how it all worked out. He thought that saving her would at least cause Bernadette to be thankful, not to scorn him. However, it seemed that there was no longer a point in staying in the town if there was no war to play a part in. Though, he found it best not to leave until later that night.