The Prince of Shadows

Chapter Two||Alice

Alice wasn't exactly what you would call an ordinary girl. In fact, she was quite the opposite with her long, silvery blonde hair and upturned nose, her eyes moonlike orbs. It was something she was born with, and the doctors were puzzled with her rather strangely ethereal features. She had a sort of charm about her; this impeccable grace that drew you toward her. Obviously, this could evidently cause her to fall into all sorts of trouble, exhibited at this exact moment. For you see, Alice had never once thought that she would end up bound and gagged in the Underworld with three other humans; the underworld didn't exist for crying out loud! Even with her lust of knowledge and her passion for intelligence she could never quite imagine a scene where myths would become reality around her. It simply wasn't possible, which is why when she saw an impossibly handsome man with sadism glimmering in his gemstone eyes she practically fainted into that boy Elliot's lap. With a grunt Elliot shoved her off, his hands rough and ungentle against her slightly bruised skin; perhaps just from the harsh ropes. "You don't have to be so rude." she said crossly to the bigger boy, crossing her slender, willowy arms over her chest as she gazed up at Hades, enthralled, Elliot merely rolled his eyes and bit gently at his lower lip. However, she was evidently the only one as transfixed. A small cough left Zia's lips as she stood up, striding toward Hades with confidence despite her almost tiny stature "You're Hades? I expected him to be less...." She trailed off, Alice's eyebrows raising higher and higher at her brash attitude toward a God who could turn her into a little cockroach. "Less handsome? Charming? Devilishly amusing?" Hades supplied with a lazy smirk, leaning against a crumbled pillar made completely of obsidian. James scowled deeply at this, his hands balling into fists. What was his problem? Couldn't the newest guy just try and keep up? Alice thought with a sigh, thinking it best to merely keep her mouth shut. "I was going to say less Vegas playboy and more GOD OF THE UNDERWORLD." she stressed with a dismissive glance, sauntering back to Elliot and James, her gaze lingering on the latter. Hades merely chuckled, his eyes roaming between each of them "Oh, if only you saw the irony here." he mused, his voice a hypnotic purr "But it doesn't matter now. You'll find out soon enough anyway." he crooned softly, looking at them with the air one would use if cuddling a beloved pet. "Okay mate, you're just creepy." James shuddered, his scowl deepening as his dark hair fell into his eyes. "Can't you just tell us why we're here?" he asks with a roll of his perfectly shaped eyes, his hands still shoved in his pockets. Hades merely laughed again, black smoke slowly gathering around him as if he was delaying the act he was about to perform "Oh but that would spoil the fun. I do hope that you find your way out...I would hate to ruin his plan with a few angry Titans or two." he purrs as new footsteps grew louder and louder, more of them echoing unevenly around the room. "I will, however, tell you this: On the winter solstice, when the moon is at its highest point in the sky, the man will meld out of the shadows and no world will be safe from his wrath. Only you can stop him, but that's of course if you survive my little tests. Toodles!" he said with an insane, positively wicked grin that stretched his lips to the point where they looked almost broken, suddenly disappearing in that whirl of blackness. Alice looked around, confusion on her face as the footsteps seemed to grow even louder, sounding like thunder inside her head. "W-what's going on?" she managed to say, her lilting voice uneven with nerves. "I don't know, just run!" Zia yelled as she grabbed Elliot and James, starting to sprint toward another opening in the large cave, leaving Alice to run helplessly after them, away from the things that were older than the universe itself.

a/n: still working out the plot line, but I think that the way I will update this is by publishing chapters 1/2 at a time.
q: should there be a gay ship?
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Alice's breath came in great heaving gasps as she pushed and pumped her legs, her cheeks flushed scarlet and her lungs on fire. She was never one for any sort of athletics, but then again running from things older than creation itself wasn't exactly on her bucket-list either. She was never anyone for any sort of athletics; no, she'd rather be at home doing what normal people would do for recreation on a lovely Friday night. Where even was she? She certainly wasn't anywhere on earth, that's for sure. And that upstart, Zia or whatever her name was wasn't helping. She kept going on about how she knew exactly what was going on, but honestly if she didn't shut up soon Alice would just feed her to the Titans.

Abruptly she was brought back to whatever hell she was in by one of those mightily attractive boys yelling from the front of their running line "Quick! In here!" Elliot yelled, gesturing wildly to a small opening in the huge mass of rock that seemed to never stop ascending. They could probably fit in, but the taller boy, James, would have some trouble squeezing in. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she crawled through the small crevice in the huge wall of rock, gasping slightly as she practically collapsed on the rough and filthy floor, her chest heaving. A small snort escapes Elliot's lips as he watched her, nudging her with his foot and offering her his hand to stand up "Thanks." she breathed, a smudge of dirt on her nose. "Anytime, love." he mumbled before walking over to the entrance and poking his head out, glancing around for the Titans who seemed to be nowhere in sight. Alice sunk against the wall, chewing at her lower lip as it trembled slightly, her brain unable to wrap around the simply impossible reality happening around her. James and Zia sat merrily conversing on the other side of the small cavern, like old friends who hadn't seen each other in a very long time. Jealousy sparked within Alice that she didn't even know existed; of course the girl with flaming red hair got to talk to the insanely attractive boy. "If you'll excuse me, but i really would like to know what is going on." The words tumbled from Alice's lips without her even hearing them, a part of her wanting to just go back home to Boston and curl up for hours, forgetting everything that had transpired in the last few days: the kidnapping, the mental torture and so on. Why was she valuable to them? For that's what they said, exactly what they said. "You are more valuable to us, Alice, than a thousand stars in a night sky." Well, they must have the wrong person then.

Zia's lips curved into a perfect smirk as her head turned slowly to face the other girl, cruel amusement flashing in her green eyes "What, you don't know? I mean we were all doubting you, but..." She was cut off by a quick noise of warning from James, his eyes flashing "Enough, Zia." he said sharply to her, a hand laying on her forearm before standing up and starting to pace the floor, deep in thought before finally answering all the questions Alice had for him, spoken and unspoken. "As children, we are all told legends and fairytales that captivate and enchant our mundane brains in such a way that spark our imaginations. The cultures of old, too, had their stories and lore that inspired awe and fear. The Norse, the Greeks and Romans, the Egyptians, the Chinese... the list goes on and on. For most of history we have let ourselves believe that they are legends, until now. Now they're alive, now they're back and with more power than ever, thanks to that shady bastard." He scowls deeply, his fingers twisting slightly and playing with a ruby ring on his index finger. "So now, we're siting here in the Underworld, trying to survive the Titans. You just met Hades, the charming but surprisingly gay lord of the underworld. He won't be the only man of legend that you meet on our quest, if you want to even call it that." He finishes, glancing back at the flabbergasted and dumbfounded look on Alice's face. "But that's not possible..." She stuttered, her face flushing greatly "Even i-if... I mean... what even is our quest?" her voice slowly began to drastically rise an octave, her eyes wide and full of primeval fear. A throaty, hoarse laugh escaped the British boy's lips, his eyes downcast "To stop the Prince of Shadows at all costs." He said softly before glancing at Alice, pity in his eyes and turning away from her, silence descending upon the room as everyone was left to ponder their thoughts, the light fading from the cave.