Ariadne and the Flaming Torch : The Quest

Book 1 : The Quest

Chapter 11
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I softly hummed under my breath as Gorna, a troll – he was desperate for money, so we hired him – cleaned the floor. He had pushed Solis’s lifeless body to the side and was cleaning up all the blood that was currently occupying the kitchen floor. The light coming from the bulbs overhead painted curious patterns in the bright red life force. I traced all the patterns in my mind and fit them all into a puzzle.

I heard the sound of singing from nearby and smiled. Repeat was hyperventilating and had been screaming at me for the past five minutes. She had accused me of being senile and said that I should go to a mental hospital for killing my own brother. If only she knew. I had killed my brother many times before this incident, but the tricky bugger kept coming back. It was annoying, to be honest. But then again, if he didn’t keep coming back, then who would be my punching bag?

Repeat was praying to her Gods, hence the singing. Her beautiful, soprano voice merged the melodies of each note she sang into a beautiful melody. Tears were running down her cheeks and her shoulders were racking with sobs. I rolled my eyes. Jeez, I didn’t know she was that attached to him. If I’d known, I would’ve told her ages ago. Naïve little faerie. If only she knew what he’d done. Then, perhaps, she would side with me. I heard the sound of cracking bones and smelt the stench of rotten flesh. I looked at Solis and for a second, I felt that familiar sense of fear I felt every time I looked at his true form.

Bright red eyes fitted into a gaping skull with molten, rotten flesh surrounding it. Skeletal bones barely sheathed in that same rotten skin with only a red piece of cloth wrapped around his waist to save his dignity. A living, breathing skeleton replaced his healthy, flesh covered body. His sunken eyes rolled to me and he glared at me.

“I hate you”, whispered a voice in the wind. Repeat screamed. I turned towards her and saw her scrambling away from her “beloved”. What happened now, Repeat? I thought you loved him. So, why are you running away from him? This is his true form. This was the result of his sins. This was the consequence of his mistakes. This was the reason you two could never be together.

“What the fuck did you do to him, Ariadne! I swear, if you did anything to him I’ll – ”
“Before you shout any more death threats at me, let me tell you one thing. I did nothing to him. This was his own choice. His decisions led him to be like this.”, I interrupted her.
“What do you mean this is the result of his decisions?”, she asked, her eyes moving back and forth from me to Solis.

“You answered your question. I mean exactly that. This was the result of his own decisions.”, I said, pointing towards Solis.
“But...that’s impossible. What happened?”, she asked.

I hesitated. Should I tell her? I mean she has been with me for thirteen years. She’s been with me through all my emotional imbalances and through all my sins. She’s been my companion, my best friend, my sister. Could I tell her? Wouldn’t it be betrayal to my brother? Moreover, should I care? My brother has betrayed me more times than I can remember and he’s also killed me numerous times. He’s always been there, always a shadow of misery, an ever watching guilt. The fact that he’s still alive, the fact that I’m still alive, is a curse as well as a miracle. It’s against the law of nature. We should be dead. Our rotting remains should be nothing but dust in the carcass of ancient Greece. Should I reveal my secret and go against every thing we stood for and protected? Could I betray my brother like that, even after all he has gone through? If I tell without his consent, surely it would mean the end of me and therefore, the end of him. Could I take that chance?

No, I couldn’t. I loved life too much to put a death sentence on my head. I simply couldn’t do it. And that means, I have to betray Repeat. That in itself means that I have to betray myself and my honor. It’s going against everything I believe in. Sure, I was a bitch. Who isn’t in this age? Even the weak are bitches. They are always looking for a way to excel even if it means stepping on and crushing someone’s dreams and aspirations and hopes to do so. Everyone wants to live a comfortable and happy life. That being said, almost everyone would do practically anything to get their happily ever after. Even if that meant, they have to be selfish bitches to do it. I was a bitch and I liked it. It made me feel stronger, invincible. I didn’t feel like the pathetic and weak human I once was. I liked being a bitch. But even I had morals. And betraying my one and only friend was not on my list of things to-do. It was immoral and unpractical. I didn’t like it. Not even one bit. But I had to do it if it meant that I could live. I was selfish like that.

“She can’t.”, Solis’s voiced said. “She made an oath. She swore to never reveal our tale. I’m sorry Repeat but if she tells you, she will die. And we all know how much our little Ari likes life.”

Thank you, asshole. You saved me from a long bout of soul searching and all that shit. But you could’ve been more polite about it. But then again, I did kill you. So I suppose the rudeness is justified. Oh well, like I said before, you win some, you lose some.

“Solis, you’re alive!”, Repeat screamed in joy before she flung herself at him. Solis frowned and side stepped her so that she ended up missing him and landed on the couch instead. She raised her head from the couch and spit string from her mouth and pouted at Solis.

Okay, blond much? How could she like someone like Solis? He has no redeeming qualities, whatsoever. He’s a rude bastard and sexist to boot. He likes bitches who lay down at his feet and take his every command with little complain which is the complete opposite of Repeat. She’s a feisty bitch who can swear one’s mum to hell and back and has a kinky assortment of whips and knifes in her closet. She uses a fucking statue of a tengu as a bloody sex toy! She’s demented, rude, a total dominatrix, has typical daddy issues, has had a lesbian phase in her life – let me say something, it was totally not the most pleasant time of my life because she tried seducing me more times than I can remember – and is a downright man-hater. She likes men who keep quiet – she says it gives them that entire sexy, mysterious effect – men who are polite – you know, the ones who pull out the woman’s chair and open the door and other shit – and men who do not try to assert the fact that they are the ones wearing the pants in the relationship by paying the bills. She likes men who shut up and let her have her fun when she’s off in her la-la land, something which is the complete and utter opposite of my brother, Solis. They were completely incompatible and liked and preferred completely opposite things. It was like trying to mate a bird with a dog. Not to mention Solis “complication” further impaired the chances of them having a relationship together. It was impossible, unimaginable, incomprehensible. And it was exactly why they would work well together.

God, help me. I don’t know if I can take another Vivian because, let’s face it, Solis is going to screw up. Then Repeat is going to get pissed. Then Misery’s going to come back into the equation and fuck it all up to degrees of royal pain in the ass and then some. And I did not need that. Our souls survived once. They weren’t going to survive again.

I need some Vodka. And some chocolate. Yeah, vodka and chocolate sounds good right about now. I groaned and moved out of the kitchen when I saw that Repeat was about to make her move. Seriously, she’s hornier that a bitch in heat. And that’s saying something because the last time one of the hell hounds had gone into heat, she was backing up to anything and everything with a penis, including Solis. It was rather comical actually, watching Sin back Solis up against a tree and try and dry hump against his leg. Gross but funny.

I laughed in remembrance but then sobered up. That was also the day that Grandpa Elliot died. This was the exactly why I didn’t want any memories of the past. It just wasn’t worth it. What was the point of remembering what color brooch my momma had given me if that was the day she died? What was the point of remembering that slight moment of bliss if it was only going to be accompanied by a torrent of pain and anguish that I didn’t want to feel? Wasn’t witnessing them once enough? I wasn’t that stupid. So I didn’t remember. And I wouldn’t remember. Not now, not ever.

I opened the door to my room and flung myself into my soft, round bed. My body sunk into the soft foam and the velvet sheets hugged every nook and cranny of my body. The feathery pillows were probably the best friends I have ever had. Of course, they were. I was lazy as hell and looked forward to every moment I had with my pillow. I liked them even better than Repeat. I could insult them and they’d never insult back; I could hit them and they never hit back. It’s genius, really.

I stretched out my hand and snatched the TV remote control that was flailing on my bedside table – yes, flailing; everything in this house is either enchanted or spelled and the remote starts vibrating every time there’s news being read on the TV. I don’t like reading or watching the news. It’s boring as hell and the show anchors are fake, plastic dolls who try too hard. Besides, just staring at a monotonous TV screen makes my eyes sting. The only reason I watch it because, that way, I can track the God’s and their minion’s activities.
The news anchor woman with the fake smile kept blabbering on about some gaytard named “Justin Beiber”. I’d heard that kid sing and man, I wish I hadn’t. He sounded like he was missing his right nut! Maybe the squirrel from Ice Age stole it – you know, the one who always chases around the nut; I love Ice Age. The anchor, Judie, then said something about a murder in an apartment near Trafalgar Square and I swiveled around and forced all of my attention onto the screen. I slapped myself when my eyes started to get unfocused and my mind began to wander. I forced myself to listen to the words her lips were forming.

“Today, in Trafalgar Square, London, in a broken down apartment in the shady alleys, a crime has been committed. Juenos Argos, a Hispanic elderly of sixty-six, was brutally butchered and burned to death by an unknown culprit. His body is mutilated beyond repair and was only recognized because of his elderly landlord, Mrs. Sanchez. T seems to be the work of a deranged psychopath and the police are searching high and low for him. Is this the work of another serial killer? Do we have another Son of Sam on our hands? Only time will tell. On a more cheerful note...”

I switched it off as she started blabbering about sports and snorted. Of course, they would describe the perverted rapist as an “elderly Hispanic”. Such a disgrace that man is to the human name and civilization and now, they won’t ever know. It’s rather annoying, really. But then again, it was none of my business. That fucking perverted old bastard was dead and that too by my hands, Mimi was at peace with her dead mom who had died at the hands of that same perverted bastard and I was once again left in my own perfect, little world were I have to search for the missing parts of my shattered – sorry, scattered – soul. Yep, every thing was perfect in the “I’m going to throw more shit into Ariadne’s life”, “I’m a bullshit piece of trash hooker run by the fates and retarded gods” life. Yep, just peachy.

“Hey, shitface dinner’s ready.”, Solis barged into my room and shouted into my ear. Yah, what the fuck? I‘m not deaf, you retard.
I threw a pillow at him and smiled as he cursed. Served him right.

“Bitch, what happened to your fire?”, he asked, throwing the pillow back at me. I caught it with one hand and shrugged. I still hadn’t been able to figure that out. Was it because the level of thaumaturge in the world had gone down the past few days because of the new moon? Or was it because Hades decided to play some let’s-bullshit-Ariadne game with me and taken away the flame he so kindly gifted me in the first place? Who knows? It’s probably the latter considering the fact that he throws major fits like a menstrual bitch and that my fire was just fine the past couple of days and only started flickering after I did Hades’s dirty work. Bitch was probably having a heart attack over how I didn’t “dispose of the body and thus caused a major uproar in the minds of the mere human beings” or how I didn’t “make sure that the meat was perfect because it gave the hell hounds a tummy ache”. Dang man had more bitch fits that my cranky ass grandma and that’s saying something considering the fact that she spit in Annie’s milk just because her tea didn’t have enough sugar and tasted like “a bowl of shit”. That woman had issues but it was nothing compared to the issues Hades had. At least with her issues and fits, nobody turned out dead. The same, however, couldn’t be said for Hades.

“Man, stop zoning out on me. It makes me feel boring and old.”, Solis whined. I rolled my eyes and snorted. Boring and old, indeed. We were older than dirt so that’s an appropriate comparison. Idiotic baboon. I feel like we’re in some sort of sitcom or some shit. It feels like all the shit in the world is waiting for us or something. I hate this shit! I’m saying the word “shit” a lot today.

I wonder...What happens if a star farts. Scientifically that isn’t completely plausible but looking at it religiously, who know what the Gods will come up with next! Would it cause some sort of gas apocalypse or some shit? Or would it simply fly the many miles it takes to reach Earth and crash into it, forcing the entire civilization into extinction?

Okay, seriously, what the fuck is wrong with me? I’m going mad. I seriously am. I’m thinking about farting stars and the apocalypse and am somehow mixing them together. That’s just taking the term “overactive imagination” to new heights and making it the understatement of the year. Or may be I’m going mad. Yup, that’s it. I’m going loony. I’m turning into a nutter. Can’t say I didn’t expect it with all of the bloody shit being thrown in my direction. I mean, bloody hell, what the frack? A scattered soul, a pervert who looked up little girl’s skirts whom I coincidentally killed, a brother who I can kill again and again and a body which is immortal. I fucking love my life! There isn’t one single boring day. It’s awesome as hell, sometimes shitty, yes, but still awesome.

“Earth to Ari, come in Ari. Seriously, what the hell is up with you? Am I really that boring that you have to zone out every single time I say something?”, Solis asked.
“What? That’s awesome.”, I answered absently. My life is awesome from one point of view, but from another perspective, it completely and utterly sucks. I prefer to think of it s awesome. Now if only I could dye my hair red. But my fucking skin tone doesn’t allow me even that! Fuck you, stupid dark honey skin of mine!

I’m hyper. That’s it. That’s why I’m thinking of all of this shit. I really should’ve resisted the urge. I really shouldn’t have eaten all those Mars bars but they’re so yummy! And the Cadbury Dairy Milk. I shouldn’t have eaten that either. But, damn, man, I had just killed someone and was, obviously, depresses and slightly guilty – hey, I may have killed a lot of people but I’m not a fucking monster – and I really needed something to cheer me up and the chocolate bars were just there! I simply couldn’t let them go to waste. I was a sugar junkie and still am so of course I ate those bars. And what did that result in? A damn wandering mind and a feeling in the pit of my stomach that was just begging me to jump about the room for absolutely no fucking reason. Chocolates a fuckwad, but it’s a yummy fuckwad. That sounded wrong. And gross. Ew.

A bat slammed into my head with traumatic force and I flew of the bed and landed on the carpet in a heap of bone and flesh. My head was pounding and I felt the life drain out of me. Consciousness evaded me and death whispered me name. The axe of Grim Reaper hung above my head and he beckoned me forward with a seductive sultriness in his movements. He reared his blade up high and forced it down. But with a clang another blade fought against his. Hades held his head high and with his blade sliced my death in two. I blinked my foggy eyes at him and he spoke in that same crisp and sarcastic voice.

“I tell you to die a thousand years ago and you don’t die. I tell you to live now and you die. That makes me so happy that I want to dance about in a frilly pink dress with pigtails in my hair and sing along to ‘If you’re happy and you know it’.”

Sarcasm noted. Your request is now being processed. Please wait for a few moments while we take care of our dying body. Thank you.

That was a funny as hell mental picture right there! Hades in a yellow tutu with pigtails and singing “If you’re happy and you know it”. Hilarious. Imagine a steroid ridden grandpa with huge ass muscles wearing a spaghetti strap yellow tutu with pigtails while he’s singing “If you’re happy and you know it” with half his ass and balls hanging out and his arm pit hair is showing and other shit that really should not be made public. Like I said, hilarious. It’s hilarious only if you have a twisted sense of humor like I do which is rather impossible considering the fact that cynical humor is a learned art. Ew.

“Stop. You’re making the cockles of my dead heart warm up with your perverted old-man fantasies.”, Hades cried out, dropping to floor dramatically with his hand against his eyes as if he was shielding them from an attack. Like I said, he’s a complete and insufferable drama queen. Asshole. I got the cynical side from him. If you don’t want the images then you shouldn’t have thrown it into mom, you horny bag of sleaze. Yeah, I find fun in changing all the curses ending with the word “bag” into differently worded curses which begin with said word. Like, “douche bag” gets converted into “bag of douche”. I add verbs , articles and prepositions wherever necessary. I should stop thinking in this robotic manner.

“I’m really hating Solis right now.”, the drama queen groaned. “Drama Queen? That’s a nice one. Unfortunately, I don’t prance around in tight tights that nearly cut my fucking balls off with white wigs on my head. Sorry, I am not a one man queer machine.”

Okay. Why does he twist my words around so much and why does he make something out of nothing? It’s just bullshit and a real annoying pain in the ass. Not to mention, the stupid bugger can read my eyes and thus, my soul, so he knows every damn think I’ve thought, am thinking and will think. Stupid assfuck. Why doesn’t he just take out the cock that’s stuck so far up his ass and think clearly for a minute? Idiot.

“I don’t have a cock shoved up my ass. I have your sense of humor shoved up my ass. Got it, bi-yatch?”

Oh my god, please tell me he didn’t just say the word “bi-yatch”. I mean, seriously, dude, that was totally not ghetto of you. That was like a white ass albino boy trying to do hip hop with his dysfunctional and long ass legs and ridiculous boy band hair while rocking to Eminem with a cigarette popped into his mouth and doing things only a single-jointed dog could do. Actually, that was worse than that. Lord, help me! Please tell me I didn’t get this lame, queer, duckweed, fuckwad, buttfuck, asshole - there’s more but I can’t remember them right now – as a father. Then again, it wasn’t completely his fault. I mean, it wasn’t like he asked to be thunked on the head with twelve consecutive basket balls from Solis when he got into his “NBA” mode. Bloody idiot gave almost everyone a bruise. Speaking of that, it’s because of Solis that I’m here and dead, in the first place.

I was pretty sure this was hell by looking at the current room – long, arched windows with thick silver outlining and crown molding; smooth, silken, black marble floors with intricate scenes of various Gods’ ascensions engraved into its body; deep, rich red walls with conflicting blue, angry swishes and strokes against the red to provide some contrast; low, circular ceiling with deep, ruins etched into it with a seemingly blunt knife; pillars standing tall and supporting the walls with their gold and silver wrapped plants and deep blue exterior; a single arched door on the southern point of the circular room; modern French accented furniture with contrasted with yet complimented the entire room – I had to admit, the man had taste.

“Thank you. I try. And no gay references please.”, he said, smiling. Huh, the man really did know me. I wasn’t going to use the gay reference but now that he mentioned it...I really should use it. Hades, you’re a gay ass turd who wears Gucci and Chanel clothes and prances around with his pinkie finger high in the air and one hand on your hip. Hades, you are gay! Whatcha gonna do ‘bout it, bitch?

“Honey, you don’t want to know what I’ll do about it. You’re the product of my sperm mingling with your momma’s egg and that’s the only reason for me not grilling your ass. So, now, shut up before I take back the word I gave you a thousand years ago. Don’t make me do it.”, he warned. Little bitch even added the little “finger wag” thing that parents do to five years old. I mean, seriously dude.

Wait, what did he say? Oh shit. Please tell me I didn’t...Shit! He can’t take back his word. It would mean the death of me and the death of Solis – permanently! I can’t have that. I can’t let Solis have that. No matter how much I hated – or said I hated – the little bugger, I couldn’t do that to him. He’s already gone through so much shit. I’ve already gone through so much shit and I can’t just let my big ass mouth get in the way of your lives and ruin it. I couldn’t. I didn’t have that power, nor did I have the judgment or the right of that judgment. I can’t ruin our lives like that and if saving our butts meant keeping my big mouth shut...then I would do it.

“That’s a good girl”, he said. He even patted my hair! The little...Okay, calm down Ari. Woah, am I really calling myself Ari? That’s something...Okay, focus! Curse my small attention span! Goddamn it! What was I talking about again? Oh, yeah, keeping my mouth shut and behaving like a good, little girl...I feel sick just by thinking of it.

Being nice to Hades is like...Chandler and Rachael from Friends getting together. It’s impossible, it’s unimaginable. I feel like vomiting every time I about it. It’s a gross offense against nature! But I’ll have to do it. Hey maybe I’ll add a burning building and a smile just for shits and giggles. God, I can’t do this! This man was the reason we were cursed. He was the reason Solis was damned to live his life without love and happiness. It was because of him that Repeat wouldn’t be able to get what she wanted – and she gets cranky when she doesn’t get what she wants; she’d probably bust a vein if she hears that she can’t have the “love of her life”, as she refers to it or the “flavor of the day”, as I refer to it. I’d have to do it. And that meant putting away the whips and claws – that was probably something Repeat would’ve said. I pouted.

“Thank you. Now that you are already here, I’ll give you a...little tour of...something. Come with me, daughter.”, he beckoned me forward and I followed. I hate it when he calls me that. It’s as if that’s my title and I don’t have a real name or something. It’s bullshit. He hasn’t treated me like a daughter since...well, never! What does that say about him, exactly? Nothing! He’s a terrible dad! He’s the one that cursed me and pulled my wandering soul back into this hell and smashed it into Persephone’s womb. Asshole. And he has the nerve to call himself my dad!

Hades looked back at me and raised an eyebrow. Right! No shit, no calling him names, be nice. Altogether an impossible task but I can do it. Yup, I can do it and I’ll prove it!
“Okay, daddy! Let’s go!”, I beamed. Somehow that sounded sarcastic. Great. Okay, Ari say it nicely. “Come on, dad”, I tried again and, thankfully, my voice came out soft and forgiving; it was the exact opposite of what I was feeling right now. He smiled at me and I studied his profile. It had been a long time since I had seen him. Almost nine hundred years, I think. I definitely hadn’t seen him since my birth. I walked behind him and through the corridors. I’m sure I looked pretty much ridiculous strolling in my pajamas; a thin, white cotton wife beater with a black bra – yeah, I liked being naughty – and some soft cotton shorts that almost reached mid thigh. The medieval castle reflected its deep and rich heritage. It had taken a lot to win this castle in the olden days. Crumbling yet sturdy light brown walls decorated with engraved ruins and painted portraits, high arched ceilings with pointedly arched stain glass windows through with a rainbow of wondrous dreams floated through. High and mighty marble pillars with shone like the black sea of Uruna in the midday. Open fields of black grass which looked like they held some kind of deadly secret and were dying trying to protect it. The entire castle, if looked from bird’s eye view, looked like an oppressing yet awe inspiring black nightmare of glass and ancient ruins in a sea of sorrow, despair, blood and lost dreams. A beacon of beautiful horror in a land of broken thoughts and despair – that was what the very castle stood as. And I hated and loved it at the same time. Did that make sense? I know it doesn’t in my head. It’s like I want to hate it but I can’t. This place is my home – it always was and always will be. Even in the BCs, it was my home. I just didn’t know it yet.

I trailed after him and entered a room. Ah, I remember this place. It was where I had first met Oonuk, the minotaur who had served Hades with his life. I still remember the hypnotic music that was played here on that day. Ah, the dancing! The red and gold gowns, the men dressed in green and black, masks, the mystery! I remember the swift moves, the seductive twirls. I remember the black and red dress I had worn with the gold mask. I remember the man I had danced with. Oh, he was hot! Eyes as deep as the Caribbean Sea, skin as dark as molten honey with a slight stubble on his face from not shaving for a day or so. Strong, broad shoulders, muscular chest peeping out, tall, towering, body, chiseled features and full, ruby red lips and a head of thick, black hair. I sighed. No point in remembering. It’s all in the past. I just wish I could hear that music again. It had lit my soul and ignited my fire.
“Wish granted.”, Hades smiled at me and clicked his fingers. Once again that hypnotic music floated by and seemed to fill the very hall with its essence of mystery and peril. The music crescendoed into a rich hum; it was a beautiful lullaby of olden days.

“May I have the honor of this dance?”, Hades asked. Was he serious? I looked at his profile. Black hair, red gold eyes, chiseled features, strong, muscular body and a charming smile. I saw how he finally managed to convince mom to sleep with him. It wasn’t really that hard to figure out – Hades was handsome and charming and Mom was lonely and scared and needed support, even if that support came from the man who had put her into this situation in the first place. Should I dance with him? He’s my father, my “sperm donor”. Ew, that’s gross just thinking about it.

“No.”, I told him in a flat voice. Dance, my ass! How about I hit you with my shoe and you run around and I consider that dancing? Would that work for you? I don’t think so.
He rolled his eyes and muttered to himself about “disobedient kids and their tantrums” and how it was “so much better in the BCs and ADs”. Like I said, he’s an asshole and then some.

“Fine”, he sighed and clapped his hands. There was the feeling of death that seemed to hang in the room the moment he clapped his hands. I heard the sound of pounding feet and panting breaths from behind me and I swiveled around only to see a gargantuan mass of flesh and bones and fur fly straight at me. My battle training kicked in; I stepped to the side and slammed my left leg out catching the dog’s ribs and flung it back, using it’s own weight and momentum against it. The dog slammed backwards and hit the wall with a thrashing force. It whimpered as it fell to the ground and I gasped. Fuck! Shit! Fluffy! Oh, God, don’t tell me I hit Fluffy!

I ran towards my pet dog – yeah, I named a hell hound the oh-so-original Fluffy, get used to it! I sprinted towards the body whimpering on the floor and leaned down. I gently touched it’s furry coat and rubbed it affectionately. “Fluffy?”, I whispered, afraid to speak too loud. Oh God, if I kicked him, I am so letting Hades slam fireballs at me. Fluffy was the one and only token of affection I had ever got from my parents. The pathetic body of the dog whimpered and licked my hand while tears stung my eyes in remembrance.

It had been a sunny day and I had been chasing around some cats from our front lawn. I was three and I had never liked cats. They were far too skinny and furry and un-lovable in my opinion. I had ran after the cats with a baseball bat in my hand like a mad woman; now that I think about it, that would explain why all the neighbors were staring at me like I had grown an extra head and was dry humping a dog or something. The cats – there were three; yes, I was chasing three black cats across the street and no, that isn’t weird at all – were screeching like all bloody hell had broken loose and were hissing at me. I had chased them across three neighborhoods – I had liked to run even then and had found intense amusement at the fact that I was a hunter and I was running after my prey – and I had managed to whack all three of them at least ten times. I had run them into a dark alley and was just about to take them out when I had heard a growl beside me and me being the person that I am chose to abandon the cats and run towards the growl. And lo and behold, there he was! His fur as black as ebony rain, his teeth glistening with saliva and venom, his ruby eyes glaring menacingly at me while he wagged his ramrod straight tail, he was challenging me. And I accepted it. I, the three year old toddler in the white cotton dress with green clovers on it, had decided to fight the dog that every kid in the neighborhood feared and was every adult’s annoyance. I had swung my bat around and had told the dog through my little mouth, “Bring it on, bitch!” I had a swearing problem – blame my five year old brother who went rifling through Momma and Daddy’s mafia movie collection; the poor things corrupted Solis and turned him into the bullshitting asshole he is today.

Needless to say, I had won. Albeit it had taken me most of the day and has resulted in several scratch marks, two bites, bruises and a broken arm, not to mention the shots I had to take afterwards for fear of infection, but I still won. I had laid that bitch down like no dog catcher had been able to. I still remember the number of cookies that had flooded into my house as a thank you gift for getting rid of the pestering dog. The pound had taken the bloody dog in and the funny thing that everyone discovered was that the dog that everyone had thought to be a testosterone fuelled mutt that needed his balls chopped off, turned out to be a bitch with a big ego. It was hilarious, really, watching the reactions of the town’s women and listening to the howling, hysterical laughter of the town’s men.

That bitch that I had taken down had, in the end, taken a liking to me in the end and had busted out of “jail”, as I liked to call the pound, just so that she could hang out with me. After the fifth time she had escaped, the townspeople decided that the dog was too much of a hassle and a waste of their time so they let me keep her. That was when my fondness for dogs grew. I had always liked them but that was the turning point. I had spoiled that bitch like no other and that was when my three year old self had denoted the name “Fluffy” to her. I don’t think she liked it much but she bore with it.

Fluffy had died on August 3rd, 1990. I had been heartbroken. I was five then. The dog I had loved so much and the dog that had been more of a sibling to me than my own brother could, had died because some speeding asshole decided to go on a homicidal hit and run mission on my dog. She’d been out wandering like she always used to – she was a kindred spirit and hadn’t liked the confinement of home much so she used to take walks – and I had been waiting for her to come back. She always came back. When night began to stain the sky with its oppressive presence, I had known something was wrong. My dad and I had searched the entire town while Solis had gone looking through the alleys she usually wandered of to. Momma had stayed at home, hoping she would come back. In the two years that Fluffy had stayed with us, she had left her imprint on everyone. I had searched high and low, but there was no Fluffy.

Finally, I had had the sense to go back to place where we had first met – the dark alley beside the blue mailbox. I had run as fast as my legs could carry me with my dad trailing after me. When I had finally reached the alley, I had proceeded cautiously. I knew something was wrong and I knew I would feel unimaginable pain once I went in. So I had taken in a deep breath and had marched through the alley.

She wasn’t there. I searched behind every trash can and every broke ass drunk’s play house, but she was nowhere to be seen. I had begun to give up hope when I had smelt a disgusting smell. It was the smell of burning flesh and something had told me to run towards it. What I found was not was I expected. I had expected a dead body. I had expected a corpse. But I had not expected this. Drunken teens were burning Fluffy’s run over body and her choked whimpers and cries were enough to send even the most seasoned of officers to tears. I had screamed making the teenagers look at me and Dad and scramble.
That was the first day I had been able to form fire on my own – I had always needed Hades’s help before that. I had hurled the fire at the kids and I had reveled at the power I felt. The freedom was mind numbing and adrenalin was pumping in my veins. I had run after them before Solis had finally come running and had put a stop to me. He had touched my hands and my flames had extinguished. I remember I was confused about that at the time. I now know the reason behind this phenomena. I remember screaming like bloody hell. I remember punching Solis and my Dad when he had finally snapped out of his trance like state and had come running to me – he knew I could produce a flame but never knew that I could do it alone. I remember crying and screaming and clinging onto Fluffy’s body. I remember going after those teens all to no avail. I remember becoming almost mute for ten days. I remember the pained silences and the awkward conversations. I remember the sympathetic voices of the neighbors and the comforting glances of my family. Most of all, I remember feeling oddly empty.

That was when Hades had come and showed himself to me. That was when Persephone had hugged me and that was when Hades had told me that Fluffy wasn’t actually dead. He had taken Fluffy under his care. He had turned Fluffy into a hell hound. Later I found out that Fluffy was always dead. Hades had just fashioned a hell hound in the form of Fluffy and had named him as my own. But still, it is the sentiment that counts. I had kissed him on the cheek and my five year old self had been happy ever since.

So, as I looked down at Fluffy replica#1, I felt a sense of horror creep up on me. Albeit hellhounds couldn’t die – hell hounds were born and they never died; nothing could ever turn into a hell hound hence the reason Fluffy was permanently dead and I knew Hades had lied after I had researched and read about them – I was still scared. This dog, Fluffy, was the only thing nice my parents had ever done for me. He – yeah, Hades messed up the genders - was the only thing I could talk about to others whenever someone asked me anything about my parents; I didn’t want to mention Rita’s name because then I would be defiling their memory with my ominous and oppressive presence. I could tell others that my parents had bought me a dog whose name was Fluffy and it wouldn’t be a lie. I would be able to say at least one thing about my parents that is true and I am proud about.

“Fluffy, are you okay?”, I whispered as I hugged the dog to my chest. I got a whimper and a lick in the face as a reply. Yep, he’s okay. Thank God for that! I flicked his nose and scratched him behind his ears.

“If you’re done playing with him, I’ll take Fluffy thank you very much.”, Hades said with his nose high in the air. I rolled my eyes and smiled. The asshole still doesn’t know that Fluffy was a girl and not a boy. I hear Persephone’s laugh every time he refers Fluffy as male; come to think of it, that was probably why she was practically shitting herself because she was laughing so much when Hades first gave Fluffy replica#1 to me. What do you know, Hades can be nice! I handed Fluffy off to Hades and he wrinkled his nose in disgust before dumping Fluffy on his ass onto the floor.

Why that mean jerk off! How dare he hurt my baby! Mean asshole. That was rude and then some and judging by the numerous growls and snarls coming from him, I guessed he wasn’t too thrilled about it either. Fluffy charged at Hades and bit this ankle. Hades swore and shot a fireball at Fluffy who dodged out of the way and once again began attacking Hades.

“Insolent mutt! Ariadne, call him off, I say! Of course he would not be trained considering the fact that he belongs to you. I curse the day I wrote him of as yours! If he were with me, I would make sure he had better manners! Call him off, Ariadne or I shall have your head!”, he shouted at me, his long lost Greek accent returning in his fury and his words turning more proper and olden. Okay, I take it back, Hades can never be nice or sweet or dad like at all! Man, I have Daddy issues.

“Fluffy, its okay. Leave the asshole alone.” , I said even though every fibre in my body was screaming at me to give the opposite instructions to Fluffy. Remember Ariadne, you have to be nice. No bullshitting – though the fact that I called Hades an asshole to his face kind of disrupted the entire purpose of my silly pep-talk. I really need some ice-cream. Solis is dead. It’s because of him that I’m in this situation and it’s also because of him that I can’t even insult Hades right. It’s all his fault, damn it! I’m so killing him when I get home – again!
Fluffy – I really need to give this dog a new name; there can only be one Fluffy and I just feel odd calling the hulking mass of a dog “Fluffy” – backed off and started whimpering and rubbing against my leg. “Not now, Fluffy. How about later?”, I asked, scratching behind his ears.

“And while you’re at it, call Persephone for me, will you?”, Hades shouted after him as he bounded out of the room. His reply was a bark followed by a snarl and a loud farting noise. Ah, Fluffy, this is why I love ya. Hades scowled as Fluffy howled and snorted. I laughed. I just wish he’d farted in Hades’s face! That would be so much better! So...now we’re alone again. Hades turned his head to look at me and smirked mischievously. What’s the assho-I mean dad planning? He snapped his fingers and I heard a loud, girly squeak. He didn’t! His smirk grew wider and I growled.

Standing behind me, decked in pink and blue with designer clothes and perfect hair and nails, stood Aphrodite, Goddess of Beauty. I scowled at Hades. I knew that wasn’t actually Aphrodite – the real one wouldn’t be able to enter the underworld without having to die first. Hermes, as far as I know, is the only God who can come and go into hell easily. He’s lucky that Hades doesn’t fry his ass or else I’d do it myself. I hate that asshole. He gave me information that an Empusae was coming to infiltrate our hide out. Solis and I had had everything prepared and had fled from our safe house back in Greece in the early ADs when there was actually nothing there. We had to abandon a perfectly good safe out just because of that fuckwad. And it was because we abandoned that house that the soldiers had found us. We had died that day and it was all because of that asshole. If I ever get a hold on him, I swear on the River Styx, I’ll grill his ass so bad, that you could make piranhas become revolted by it!

“Ah, so you hate someone more that you hate me. That’s rather...refreshing.”, he said. Huh, now that he mentions it, I do hate Hermes more than him.

“Yup. I mean, he did me killed after all. And could you please move this pink tromping Barbie wanna be reject out of here? I get that you have fun annoying me with her projections and all, but it’s really not funny anymore. It’s been a century Hades, get over it.”, I said.
“Why is it that whenever we talk, I say some words and you say some paragraphs?”, he asked in that condescending tone of his. Bloody bitch took that from my arsenal! I had used the same line on him ten years before my birth! Yeah, very creative, dad! Use my lines, why don’t ya!

“You answered yourself. You only say some words where you are not able to completely articulate your thoughts and are not able to fully express your point. Whereas I say paragraphs which describe my emotions, points, arguments and will freely and completely and it gives me the sense of satisfaction I feel only when my point is properly understood and described. Therefore I use paragraphs. Not to mention, it also shows my intelligence for you, Hades, cannot fully express your point with a few words and therefore you use my lines against me, hoping to prove yourself clever and witty. I daresay, Hades, but you failed. See, both of my points are proved through this and that’s just because I talk in paragraphs.”, I finished, smiling. I may swear a lot and form semi coherent sentences but that doesn’t mean I can’t talk and that I’m stupid. I have a genius level IQ and I will not be undermined by my lunatic father who thinks he can best me.

Hades smile slipped off his face and I smirked and said, “Persephone’s here.”

Indeed, she was here and she still looked beautiful. Thick hair a shade of ebony so deep that it out shined the color of a raven’s feather, perfectly smooth dark honey skin, deep blue eyes with a ring of violet in them, full, ruby lips, an attractive figure and royal features, she out shined all other beauties except Aphrodite herself. There was this liveliness in her steps, this in that shone out of her bright eyes and this aura of serenity that she radiated that attracted men to her like flies. There was a bounce in her step and a smile on her face as she bound down to me and came crashing onto me. She hugged me with all her might before taking my face into her arms and kissing both my cheeks. At least, someone’s happy to see me! “Mother.”, I greeted her with a smile and her face faltered. A deep look of sorrow latched onto her face and her deceptively communicative eyes lost their usual glow only to be replaced by to hunks of dead stone which looked as if they had seen all the world’s pain and sorrow in their lifetime. I heard a sharp intake of breath from behind me and I swiveled around.

Hades was glaring at Persephone with anger I had never seen distorting his perfected face. I frowned and looked back to Persephone and I raised my eyebrows, waiting for her to explain. Her expression had changed. It was once again the face of eternal joy and oblivious innocence that always graced her face and the smile that was almost always there was back. I wrinkled my brow in confusion. What the hell? Did I imagine that or something? No, I know I didn’t. It wasn’t my imagination – I specifically saw the sorrow on Persephone’s face and I specifically saw the anger on Hades’s one. It wasn’t just some silly shit I was imagining. Then what were they hiding from me because they definitely were hiding something from me.

“What is it?”, I asked them. I carefully noted their faces. Hades remained impassive but then again he was a learned and seasoned liar wasn’t he? He was used to lying through his teeth, he was used to deception and he was used to deceit. He lived in hell, for god’s sake! He witnessed murder, rape, suicide, and then again murder. He witnessed deceit, deception, seduction, wrath, pride, betrayal, passion – all the dark emotions that make us the people that we are, he witnessed them. His face didn’t give anything away but Persephone’s did. It was once again that mask of sorrow that divulged the emotions behind her deception; misery and death haunted her pearly eyes and despair brought down the lines of her face; lost, abandoned hope pulled down the corners or her mouth and betrayal made it tremble; her stiff shoulders reflected a guilt and remorse so deep that it seemed as if it weighed the world to her; the way she crossed her legs was a tell tale sign of mixed judgment; her arms were crossed across her stomach with showed her anger and frustration at something and her eyes, they were the most communicative of all. They flashed with an anger so deep that the depth of it was unimaginable and sorrow was a companion of that anger. Deep, unbounded sorrow caused a thin film of salt tears to obscure her vision and clear her emotions. Her dilated pupils shifted from between me and Hades and when they perched upon Hades, they were filled the terrifying anger and when they landed on me, they were once again filled with that agonizing anger.

“Ariadne...”, she whispered. “I’m so sorry-”, but her words were cut off by a voice that sounded like the crack of a whip.

“That is enough, Persephone!”, Hades snapped at her, his black on black eyes glaring holes into her very will. I saw her falter before she collected and composed herself and retaliated with just as much force.

“Enough! Of course it is enough! I have had enough! You toy with people’s emotions, Hades and you have toyed with mine for far too long. Tell my daughter of her predicament, I tell you or the very foundation of that on which you stand shall be shaken to the very roots until it is no more!”, she commanded. I had never seen Persephone’s face so determined, nor had I ever seen her eyes filled with such a vast amount of hate and anger.

Hades hissed in surprise and anger. “You dare question me! You dare challenge me, you insignificant woman! How can a vile and useless creation such as you have the audacity to question me and threaten my authority! You are nothing without me, never forget that foolish woman! You cannot harm the roots of my foundation; look around you! What have you, a mere creation useful only for us men’s amusement and for bearing children, done to contribute to a kingdom such as this! Nothing, I tell you, nothing! You are useless, pathetic and you are a blood sucking whore that sucks the very essence of man and god alike until they are nothing more that mere flesh and bones! You are a problem and a plague! You are nothing to me and have no power whatsoever over my vast and powerful empire, so control your tongue, vile creature or I will show you the hell you deserve to rot in!”, his words held a passion so strong that it unarmed even me. Does he honestly believe that bullshit?

“A woman I am and I am proud to be one! A woman is something the likes of you shall never understand. A woman is pure, innocent and the embodiment of all that is graceful and beautiful in this entire godforsaken world that we live in. A woman is the complete and utter opposite of the disgusting, vile, rude, narcissist, egotistical and moronic pigs that men are! A woman I am but insignificant I am not! A woman I am but useless I am not! A woman I am but pathetic I am not! You, oh fearful Hades, the bringer of only destruction and tears, what can you ever understand of a woman? You are correct, I would never be able to build an empire like you for building something so useless, so pathetic, so filled with sorrow and despair, is completely out of my bounds. I cannot create death. That is your job Hades. You say that I cannot live without you but you are wrong till the end. It is you who cannot live without me! If life were null, then were would you get death from, Hades? Life can survive without death, although it would be a meaningless existence, it can still survive. However death! Death feeds off of life and is only an echo of what life can create. Death depends on life to fuel it; death cannot go alone! So it is you, bringer of death, who needs me, bringer of life. It is you, essence of despair, who needs me to fill this empire of yours with life and free will. So, don’t you dare go spouting off on me about my uselessness, you worthless piece of filth mongrel!” , Persephone shouted back.

Okay, this is turning into a full on pissing contest. Normally, I would get some popcorn, find a comfortable place to sit on and enjoy the show. But I knew these two. I had spent nearly more than a thousand years with them. I had watched them day and night. I had watched as they quarreled as all hell. I had watched as they flirted as all hell. I had torturously listened to their moaning as they made “wild love” in their secluded bedrooms. I knew that these was one of those serious fights were they both felt the need to prove their points and win the argument – I guess I got that from them – and they would go to the ends of the earth to do it, even if that meant bringing the apocalypse down on humans! They’re both assholes, in the end, no matter how much they tried to deny it and they both knew they would kill someone if it meant they could win the argument.

Hades began, “Worthless piece of filth! Mongrel! The hell I am! I am the bringer of-”
I interrupted the sucker. This was entertaining and all but I’d rather my mother didn’t catch on fire.

“Bringer of death, harbinger of destruction, the very essence of evil, we know, we know. You are death, Hades, you’ve already mentioned that. And Persephone, you’re life. You’re innocent, graceful, beautiful, the bringer of life, the embodiment of all that it good and holy, you’re pure...shall I continue? Yes, we all know that. You two being the pompous assholes that you are, haven’t forgotten to remind us again and again that you are, indeed, life and death and that you couldn’t be more opposite and blah, blah, blah. Yes, Hades we all know how you are so cruel and vile and vicious and manly and how it was so great of you to build this empire of death and despair. Yes, Persephone we all know how cruel Hades captured innocent, little you when you were just picking flowers and defiled you and insulted you and beat you and hurt you and did shit to you. We all know how you both cannot stand each other. We all know how you hate each other with a burning passion that simply cannot be compared with any of man’s creations.”, I began, my anger starting to get more heated and it began fueling my mouth.

“We all know how you are the only two people, oh, sorry, let me rephrase that. We all know how you two are the only Gods in this universe. We all know that you are the only ones that feel. We all know that you are the only ones that hurt. We know that you are the only ones that have ever been wronged. We know how you are the only ones that have ever felt anger and have thought the game of fate to be cruel. We know that you’re the only ones in the entire world to have been raped, beaten, neglected, murdered, hit by a car, thrown acid on, drowned, dunked into hot oil, trampled, cut, hit, slapped, punched, kicked, stabbed, molested, thrown into glass, heart broken, sad, guilty, hurt, eternally damaged and we all know that all the shit in the world only happens to the two of you!”, I roared out, tears leaking from my eyes and trailing down my cheeks in abandonment. Hades and Persephone gawked at me. Persephone had tears falling down her face rapidly and Hades looked disturbed and mostly angry, no doubt at the fact that I had, once again, stolen his spotlight.
“We know how you are the only ones to have shit thrown at you and we know that you are the only ones to have their souls dunked again and again into borrowed bodies and cursed lives. We know how you’re the ones that have been killed again and again and again whether by parents, husbands, total strangers on the road, gangsters, etc. etc. We all know that all the shit in life is only thrown at you and we know how much you’ve suffered. You’ve made sure to constantly repeat your worries and tell your tales to us and that is why we know. So please, I beg of you, shut the fuck up!”, I sobbed. What the fuck am I doing? This is why I never want to come in front of these assholes! This is why I never want anything to do with them. They make me hurt, they make me feel like shit. Somehow, in their own twisted ways, they break through my wall of ice and make me face reality and all the hurt and pain that I have ever felt. They do this to me and I hate it. If I wanted to feel pain I would do it on my own free will. I didn’t need shit from them and I definitely didn’t need their help.
Persephone was still crying but thankfully she kept her distance. Hades was still standing, back ramrod straight. How did this all turn into a soap opera? Add the twin sister I never knew I had and the moment would be perfect!

I sobbed on the floor and tried to compose myself. Just then I heard approaching foot steps. A tall, imposing body with provocative curves and a slim figure came striding through the door. Long, black hair, fierce, sultry features, tri colored eyes and ruby red lips, she came striding in and said, “What is with all this noise?”
Then her gaze zeroed in on me and she was visibly struck. What the fuck? Is this my twin sister I didn’t know about or something because standing right there, in front of me, was a carbon copy of me! That’s it, I quit!
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