Hades' Halls

Death

Folded in his armchair, Hades took a sip of Chamomile, eyes never leaving the screen.

Hades tried to keep up with current events while he was in his kingdom of death, but what with one thing and another he could miss a century without registering it, only noting later that the calendar had changed. Sometimes it was not even that. Humans lived their lives too quickly, flittering around like butterflies, never resting in one place for long, fearing they would miss the next best thing if they only took a moment to appreciate what they already had.

Long story short, Hades was well behind the times and doing his best to catch up. It was going well. He now knew who Liz Taylor was and how to dress grunge (not that he wanted to – can you imagine) and was starting to understand the joys of romance novels. Presently, he was going through the cultural classics of the cinematic world and was rather enjoying himself. Metropolis had been a maelstrom of emotion and Some Like it Hot had had him rocking back and forth, beset by laughter. What was currently on the screen, however, was something else entirely. The action, the high stakes, the romance, the balance of light and darkness, the outfits, the –

"NO!"

Hades' cup smashed to the floor.

Hands on his head, Hades watched the scene unfold before him. It made no sense. None at all. How could this be. It completely upset the balance, it changed everything.

"Gov?", asked Spike running in from the kitchen.

"Spike", Hades said, his voice shrill. "The world has gone mad."

Spike looked at the television screen.

"Star Wars?", he asked.

"Yes", said Hades.

"The Empire Strikes Back?"

"Yes."

"When Luke and Darth Vader...?"

"Yes."

"So you've just found out that...?"

"Yes."

"Didn't see that one coming did you."

"Not really", said Hades, voice high.

Outside a dog howled.

Spike grimaced, then shrugged. "Sorry about that Gov. You'll just have to get over it like everyone else."

Hades stared daggers at Spike, then looked away muttering to himself. Spike rolled his eyes, "Drama Queen".

"What was that?", Hades said sharply.

"Nothing", Spike said as he left the room. "Do you mind picking your own cup up this time. If I leave the pie in a second longer, it's ruined."

Hades scowled, smouldering quietly but only from his hair and not enough to set anything alight. He let Spike get away with too much. It was not right. The demon king of the underworld should not have to put up with this kind of abuse from his PA. It was not on. He would not do anything about it though.

Hades lent down to pick the fragments of his cup up with a sad sigh. Maybe he should start investing in mugs.

Ears pricking, Hades heard the youthful notes of students coming up the road. It could not be his students though, not at this time, they were far too early. But wait, that was Eloise's booming tones and Advik's laugh.

Hades stood up, hair smoking as the flames went out.

'Why are they back so soon', thought Hades. 'Could something have gone wrong? What if they are hurt, or they were discovered, or someone got hit by a car, or one of them has food poisoning. Yes, that explains it. Damn Spike and his experimental baking, he's killed them.'