Thanatos : The Red Dawn

(36)Unforgiving Scarlet (Part 2)

Unforgiving Scarlet Part 2

I was sat in the great hall, awaiting Hades and his irate scowl. I glanced at the window, examining the shadows on the black marble floors. He was late.

I inhaled softly and closed my eyes.

If I were lord of the Underworld, efficiency would not be lacking. Unfortunately, none of the members of the current royal family shared my love for punctuality. Hades was disinterested in the value of time and the benefits of adhering to a strict schedule, Poseidon was frankly unbothered by even showing up when asked and Zeus bent time to suit his will- amongst other things...

I wondered then if it was somehow a strange way of them showing a large middle-finger to their father, Cronus- god of time. But then again, I doubted they'd ever really given the old god much thought after he'd tried to have them killed and eaten when they were younger.

Shadow floated down from the rafters of the vast dome and hovered beside me, his glowing eyes drawn up and confused. I could feel his presence, and opened my eyes to stare up at him. "Yes?"

Shadow curled himself around my forearm and made a cooing noise. I sighed and nodded my head, knowing exactly what he was after. "First meeting, then lunch."

Shadow purred and rested himself on my shoulder, like a hairless and semi-transparent cat. He nuzzled my neck. I allowed him to get comfortable and glanced to the side, to gather if I saw any movement from the corridor. There was none.

The annoyance hit me like wave and I had to push down the urge to stand up and leave. I did not like for my time to be wasted and I did not appreciate the lack of order Hades often displayed in his own domain.

A domain I once was set to rule...

I sighed and closed my eyes. Those types of thoughts were unhelpful and only brought back bad memories. Horrid memories, in fact. History I wished to forget and leave in the dark, icy fields of the tundra I once called home.

No doubt mother thought of these past mistakes often... Gods. Mother. When's the last time I thought about her?

I was shaken from the gloomy rabbit hole of my childhood by the soft snoring of Shadow on my shoulder. For once, I was grateful for his knack to almost instantly fall asleep in the oddest of places.

With my eyes still closed I leaned back into the chair and tried to rest as best I could. Sleep evaded me, as usual, but I didn't need to slumber to rest. All I needed was quiet and comfort. As I waited for the heavy footsteps down the hall to turn into the corridor, my mind wandered...

Aurora.

She'd disrespected me last night. Again. She'd spoken coldly towards me, she'd insulted me and she'd been spiteful. I hated it.

I didn't hate her for it though and I couldn't fathom why not. Was this silly dance going to go on forever? Was she going to annoy me with her words and her deeds every time I saw her? Why couldn't she just... learn to surrender.