Once Upon a Winter's Spring

5. Tangled

Kori sat up straight, not staying long enough to see the soul being taken away. Selene was right. He was fair and just in every. Whatever; she wasn't sleepy anymore.

Kori snuck out of her room and checked in on her mother, fast asleep under the influence of her poppy seed potion. Grabbing a cloak, Kori ran down the tower, coming out into the open night. Even as a child, she recognized the beauty of the darkness. Selene's lantern hung full circle amongst the stars. As she strayed the halls of Olympus, snacking on berries and nuts, she came to find herself standing at the doors of the 'forbidden' room.

Something drew her in, like secret whispers only she could hear, and in she went. In to the room mazed with pillars, hiding a still burning flame at its center. Kori walked to the fire and warmed her hands over it. As she closed her eyes, she heard the voice. The calmness, the masculinity, the butterflies; the butterflies came back and she quickly opened her eyes.

Oh she had to hear him again! But what would she say? Why had she summoned him? A memory crossed her thoughts to answer her questions. He had summoned up the soul of an inanimate object. Perhaps she could need him to do the same with a plaything of hers. Fates know how alone she feels when mother locks her away.

Set on her plan, Kori ran back to the tower, arriving two minutes later. She stood outside her home, panting to catch her breath. No way was she going to run up a million steps in the middle of the night! Cleverly, Kori closed her eyes and wished up a vine of moonflower and guided it up the tower wall to the window of her playroom. She controlled the vines like tendrils, like extensions of herself. If only mother could see her now! Perhaps she'd leave the vines as evidence. The vines blindly searched her room for a toy, and returned to her with a gladiator riding his chariot. Kori hugged the toy and bid the vines carry her back to the room; it was like riding waves as the vines swam back to the place.

Kori quickly passed the maze of pillars, finding herself halt at the fire. She was really going to do this, wasn't she? Hey! Anyone would have to think a million times before conjuring up the God of Hell to do your bidding. Good thing he liked her; he had to, right? She was Kori, everyone's favorite. She closed her eyes and recalled his voice.

Oh she was doing it! Kori thought hard to remember the steps her father had taken. This memory thing was new to her, but she finally recalled the bits and pieces; the useful ones. She found the indigo growing near and pulled off a hand full of leaves. The fire sizzled and flared at every leaf that landed in it. It took quite a few of them to turn the whole fire blue, like the fire she remembered in glimpses from her childhood.

Kori dropped the toy to the floor and made quite the effort to pummel the chalice over. The angry roar of the fire scared her to run behind a column before the portal could take form. She was giddy with her achievement. He wouldn't be mad, would he? After all, she was just a child experimenting. And he was nice to her, she thought.

"WHY must you torment me twice in one day, brother?!" His voice filled the room, seeping into her spine. "You may be the king of the gods but you forget that my work is equally important, if not more. Have I not promised my appearance at your beloved's..."

He fell silent, probably acknowledging the empty room, she thought. But it was just the opposite. He sensed her presence, her aura hiding behind a pillar. He sensed her mischief.

Hades made to walk over, but felt his foot knock over a thing. He bent to pick up the gladiator felled from his chariot.

"Oh what tragedy has befallen thee, warrior? Abandoned by your king to a lonesome death."

Kori tried hard not to giggle at the feigning voice.

"Shall we see what stories you'd have to tell?"

Kori snuck a glance and watched as the toy's blue soul rose up, a ghostly blue chariot along with it. The toy gladiator stretched as if awoken from a long slumber.

"Bless your hand, my lord. I am in your debt."

"It is not I you're indebted to."

"Aah, a maiden's favor, then?"

Damn! Kori knew she was exposed.

"Very right you are. Now, go win it."

"How shall I?"

"Befriend her, I suppose. Keep her entertained. I suspect she is quite bored. But I do not have every second spare to entertain, Kori!"

Kori stepped around the pillar, her gaze locked to the floor as her hands stayed behind her back.

"This isn't a toy, little Sapphire," he scolded, mentioning the portal.

The girl still whimpered to the floor and it irked him.

"Look to me when I speak, pet."

The young goddess slowly dared to look up with tears in her eyes. The wet glimmer across her blue irises reminded him of the beautiful blue gemstone that grew under the ground. He had a never ending supply of them. Each as beautiful as....

"But you're so much more interesting than everyone else." She burst out despite the fear grabbing hold of her heart. "The Olympians just eat and sleep and party and do the... other kind of sleeping."

Hades laughed heartily at her naivety.

"Ko–" Hades started again, but was silenced by the gladiator.

"Do not be cross with my maiden, good sir. She is but a girl. Come maiden, let us to your chamber."

Kori quickly forgot everything and went away with the toy soldier. Hades stood amazed at her, then shook his head and returned home.

Kori skipped back to her home in a leisurely mood, as if she hadn't just now been scolded by the God of Hell. As she neared the tower, she stopped, looking at the wall. The vines that she had cut at her departure still clung to the wall leading up to her window, instead now they were dead yellow as opposed to the lush green they had been before. Still so full of life, Kori thought up a playful thought and ran to the vines, using the rushed momentum to climb up the dead vines. She needed all the muscles in her body to walk up the tall tower, and was quite so whirled out of fun she collapsed on her bed and soon fell asleep.

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Her eyes are blue now. When she was a baby, she had golden eyes, like every newborn god does.