Thanatos

Chapter 7

Word Count: 1273

I could feel three pairs of eyes looking at me and it made me feel even more embarrassed. Which didn't help me calm myself down at all.

Eventually, Persephone ended up shooing the two men out of the throne room. Gently she placed an arm around my shoulder as she sat down next to me. We were still pressed agains the cold stone floor and wall but she didn't seem to mind at all. But then again she lived down her for half of the year so I guess that she was used to it.

"Do you want to talk," she asked me. Her voice was soft and gentle like it always was and she gave my shoulder a soft reassuring squeeze.

"No n-not really," I muttered in to Celeste's fur. I hated the fact that I would stutter when I got anxious. It just seemed to make things so much worse and harder.

"Well if you ever need anyone to talk to about anything I'll always be here fo you. okay?"

"Okay," I nodded as I tried to get control over my breathing.

Persephone seemed to catch on pretty quickly. She got me to copy her breathing as she took deep breaths which greatly helped me calm down. I was thankful that she was here otherwise I don't know what I would have done.

Once I was one hundred percent sure that I was okay I pulled away from Celeste. She laid down and set her head on my legs and Persephone moved her arm away.

"Is it okay if Thanatos and Hades come back in here now or would you rather I finish giving you a tour of the Underworld. Then you can talk to Thanatos in private. I'm pretty sure you two will have to talk about some things eventually."

"How about you finish showing me around," even I could hear the slight hopefulness in my voice.

"Alright then I'll go let Hades and Thanatos know."

As she stood and walked away I couldn't help but wonder how I already had so much trust in her. I almost couldn't imagine not trusting her. Persephone radiated kindness and safety. She also has a slight edge to her personality that showed she would protect anyone that she was close to. Hopefully she already considered me to be close because I don't know what I would've done without her here. It felt odd to trust someone so much so quickly. But at the same time it was also comforting.

Persephone opened the door on the other end of the throne room and quickly told Hades and Thanatos that she would be the one to show me around. When she walked back over to me she helped me up and linked her arm with mine. Just like she had when she walked with me in to the Underworld.

Celeste stayed right on my heels as Persephone and I walked through the other door that was in the throne room. I felt much better this time. Maybe it was because Persephone was a woman like me. Not that I considered her weak, she still had a lot of power and that should terrify me. But it didn't.

It could also be the fact that Thanatos was the god of death. Persephone was the goddess of spring. Those were two very different things.

____________

As Persephone showed me around I quickly realized not all of the Underworld was made of stone walls and resembled a cold and empty cave. Most of it was actually quite the opposite.

The first place Persephone led me to was the kitchen. The floors were made of white marble just like the countertops. The counters themselves were painted black. It looked much more modern than I had expected it to be.

She also showed me various dining rooms, ball rooms, and the hall where most of the bed rooms were. The Underworld actually had multiple levels. There was even an elevator.

Persephone suddenly got much more excited as she pulled me into the elevator and pressed an unmarked button.

"Where are we going now," I asked her, my curiosity getting the best of me.

"You'll just have to wait and see," she smiled mischievously, "but trust me your gonna love it!"

I nodded and smiled, amused by her excitement even though I hated surprises.

___________

Persephone had been right. I did love the surprise.

"I only allow a few people to come here," she told me smiling fondly as she showed me around her extravagant garden. "Also please be careful not to touch anything. The majority of the plants in here are poisonous, and with you being mortal..." she trailed off.

"Noted."

"Hades gave me this space when we first met. I had gotten a little homesick and bored so he gave me my own space to do whatever I wanted with. Naturally,
I planted this garden. It's obviously grown a lot. At first I didn't let Hades in here. I wanted it all to myself a space just for me, but as we grew closer and fell more in love I decided I wanted to share it with him. Then over the years it became a place where I like to spend time with friends at."

I was touched that she already considered me a good enough friend to show me this place. It obviously meant a lot to her. As we walked along quietly she would occasionally caress the petals of flowers. They almost seemed to follow her as she moved her hand away from them.

We had walked all the way around the garden before we went back to the elevator. "There's just one more thing that I need to show you," she said grabbing my hand as the elevator stopped once more.

We were in what I guessed was a lobby. The ceiling was way up high and appeared to be made of gold. There were beautiful and intricate designs carved in to it. The carpet below our feet was soft and a lush red color.

What got me the most was that the lobby was filled with people. Dead people. And lots of them.

"Ignore the spirits," Persephone told me quickly like it was the most normal thing ever. Which I guess in her case it was. But in the end none of the spirits even glanced in our direction.

She pushed through a door and it suddenly became a lot colder before. Immediately, I began to shiver and my teeth began chattering after a second. When I looked up though I didn't mind the cold anymore.

"It's just an illusion but I think it's beautiful," she told me.

We were both looking at a inky black sky covered with stars. Occasionally faint white light would connect the constellations, making them stand out.

After a moment I realized we were standing on a balcony and below us there seemed to be three completely different...territories or realms.

"Oh yeah," Persephone spoke up when she realized what I had been looking at. "Over there," she pointed to a land with bright green grass and beautiful blue waters, "is Elysium. Over there," she pointed to a field that looked gray and barren with light blue spirits slowly moving around, "is Asphodel, and-"

Suddenly black feathers covered my line of sight.

"I think it's best if she stays oblivious to what's over there," Thanatos' voice was stiff and he seemed a lot more tense than when I had first met him. Then he grabbed my hand and I felt a falling sensation as the floor fell out from under me.

A/N

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Also I have another story up if you guys want to go check it out. Anyways let me know what you think!

Happy MLK day as well everyone. I was lucky enough to have written the majority of this chapter over the weekend and finished it up today. At this point I'm pretty much just updating whenever I feel like it. So sorry if I'm not posting consistently but sometimes I just get random bursts of inspiration. Other times I just want to lay in bed, eat my ramen, and enjoy my Netflix.

Anyways I hope all you have a good day, a good week, a good month, and a good year!