Hades' Halls

Heady Days

Seventeen and a half ticks later, Hades emerged from his walk-in-wardrobe (AKA the spare en-suite). Smelling faintly of wood smoke and herbs, he looked every inch the devil about town, black roll neck doing wonders for his cheek bones, pinstripe trousers elongating his legs and shadow black crushed velvet slippers supporting his aching feet – sure, he was the causer off all things monstrous and evil, but it had been a rough morning.

Striding the short distance to his office, Hades, slicked back his hair and reached up a hand to stroke his goatee into position before remembering that sometime during the night he had shaved it off. That was going to take some getting used to, but what the hell, Hades checked himself in the hallway mirror, he looked good.

"My dear Emily", Hades said as he swished around his desk to sit in his armchair as Mathias faced him from across the expanse of polished mahogany. She did not return his greeting.

Instead, Mathias said absolutely nothing. Arms folded neatly across her chest, she tapped her foot menacingly on the carpet. Hades had not been aware one could tap your foot menacingly, and he should know, so the fact Mathias was doing so caused him no small amount of unease. So too did the stretching silence which went on and on and on until Hades thought he could bare it no longer. But he was strong, so bare it he did. Pursing his lips, Hades twiddled his thumbs as he swept his gazed over the room, taking particular interest in the spot a foot to his left which looked exactly like every other part of ceiling.

Finally, when Hades had turned his attention to making sure his fingernails were all of the right length, Mathias broke the silence like an officer releasing the mournful shriek of a whistle which signalled the men to go over the top and away to death. She sighed.

Internally, Hades flinched.

"Well", Mathias said, with a warning note in her voice.

Hades, tactfully, chose not to respond.

Mathias raised her eyebrows. "I gave you the chance to start talking first and you had ample opportunity to take it and by Jove if you won't be regretting it by the time I'm through with you."

Hades wished he could think of something clever to say. He usually could but something seemed to have happened to him these past weeks to make this impossible. Instead, Hades said something desperate and a little bit stupid.

"So you swear by Jupiter then? Doesn't that make you a traitor to your profession (Footnote 1)."

Mathias leaned back in her chair and Hades sucked in his breath.

'She's going to kill me' he thought, immortality standing no chance against a woman like Mathias. 'I am actually going to die. How very awkward'.

The tapping of the foot halted and Mathias held up a finger. "Strike one", she said, making it clear that this was the first and only strike.

Hades thought about it. As in, he really truly thought about it. Maybe he had been a tad harsh on them, they were after all, only children, away from home for the first time. True, he was trying to damn their souls for all eternity but that did not mean he had to be vicious about it. And, when Hades thought about it, it was not as if these were particularly dreadful people – that of course was the point – but they were all clean and neat, caused no damage, were all at home by ten o'clock at the latest and overall had responded to his torments with a quiet dignity which Hades admired. They were so unlike the demons back home, Hades realised he had actually been comfortable these past few weeks at Persephone's Grove.

But on the other hand, they were little menaces who were resisting corruption with frustrating dedication.

"I know", Hades said, rubbing the tension between his eyes whilst leaning back in his chair. "It's the job you see, nothing personal or malicious, it's just the job. But I have been cruel and that is not in my nature. I can read in your eyes my dearest Emily, that you think me low and if I were not so remorseful, I would make a pun about being from the low depths of Tartarus, granted it would be a bad pun but that is beside the point. I have realised now that since September I have been the job, taken it on and nourished it, fed it the finest crumbs from a golden platter, but no more. I cannot release the students from their contract and not only because the paperwork is horrific. I will be failing at my job if I do, but I shall be kinder, or as kind as one can get when one is Beelzebub."