Dark Shadows (#1 of Dark Shadows Series) |Old Version|

Chapter 13: "No One Believes Me"

(A/N: Honestly, I adore Lore Olympus, and I thought this scene really went with what Hades felt and how others saw him.)

Katherine sat in the maze, Cerberus curled in a little ball on her lap. He was so adorable; how could human's imagine this cute little ball as a massive monster that should be feared?

The smile on her face was still etched onto her face from this morning, the place where Hades kissed her still warm. At first she thought she imagined it, but when she felt his lips linger on her forehead, she realized it wasn't a dream.

He had stayed the entire night with her, holding her until she fell alseep, and even then, he never left. She wondered if he slept at all during the night, or stayed awake.

She didn't blame him for staying up.

Yesterday was intense for the both of them. Hades had found the photos Apollo had took of her. She thought that he would see her as used. But he didn't.

The look of hurt on his face when she never told him what happened, but the smoldering anger that burned in his black eyes. It was like coal burning; cold at first but it instantly burned the moment you lit it.

Katherine has never seen someone feel that much for her. No one ever really noticed her, not even her parents. She had never seen such an intense emotion before in someone.

In a strange way, it made her happy that someone did care for her. And out of all people, it was a god who ruled over the dead.

Cerberus yawned and stirred on her lap, letting out a soft howl. Katherine giggled at the pup before setting him down back on the ground.

"Ready to go back?" The small pup yipped in delight, jumping around on it's paws. Katherine got off the bench, dusted off her dress, and followed Cerberus out of the maze and into the garden.

The garden never ceased to amaze her. Jeweled flowers glistened in the light, a rainbow of colors cascading on the path. They were all colors from vivid red to the brightess white crystals. Katherine adored them all, but her favorite was one near the fountain.

It was a dark blue crystal that, in the light, glistened with a mulitude of colors, some that she never heard of. But during the night, it looked black as coal that sparkled in dim light. One of the nymphs told her that that crystal flower was the master's favorite. He had it planted soon after Persephone arrived to the Underworld during her first winter.

A pang of jealousy coursed through her when the nymph told her that it too was Persephone's favorite. By the way the maids and nymphs spoke of her almost seemed...sad and confused. Whenever she asked what happened to the goddess, everyone dodged it and went on their way.

Could she have possibly died, she thought. But how? She's an immortal goddess.

Whatever happened, it took a toll on the kingdom and Hades.

The pup yipped at the girl, tugging on the hem of her dress. She snapped out of her thoughts quickly, shaking her head to get rid of those thoughts. It was stupid of her to be jealous of a goddess. Katherine would never be able to compare to Persephone.

Even if she tried...

***

Like usual, Katherine went to visit Hades in the throne room. Despite the weird looks from the souls, she didn't mind being there. Most of them were nice and friendly, while there were some that...weren't. She tried to stay away from those souls.

While on her way to the throne room, Katherine heard hushed whispered from behind a closed door. She remembered that it was some type of meeting room on her tour of the castle.

Her curiousity peaked a little when she heard Hades' familiar monotone voice. It was evident that he was angry about something from the way he tried to keep his voice down. There was another  voice, female. Katherine didn't recognize the voice, but by the way she spoke told Katherine that she wasn't one to mess with.

Her curiousity got the better of her, and before Katherine knew it, her ear was pressed against the dense and cold door.

"What do you mean the Counsel denied assempling the court?" Hades voice strained to keep his voice down.

"I mean, they turned a blind eye to what happened." The female voice bit back.

Wait... Was this woman one of the goddesses? How did she know about Apollo?

Katherine tried to think about her times in the library, reading about some of the goddesses before the ball. Only one came to mind: a goddess of law and justice; Athena.

The woman was Athena.

"It's your word against Apollo, depsite the evidence you have. They won't assemble the court because they need to have her bring it to them, not you. They feel that you are accusing him in spite for--"

"I am not!" That time, Hades didn't bother keeping it quiet. "You saw those photos. She is still covered with those marks. Do they think I did all of that?"

"Some do, but like you, they don't approve of Apollo's activites with humans. Even Zeus isn't as bad anymore. I want Katherine to get justice for what happened to her, I really do. I can try to convice them to reconsider, but I can only do so much."

It grew quiet.

Katherine backed away from the door, the floor creaking under her weight. She froze, afraid that the gods in that room heard her.

The large wooden doors open, Hades standing in the doorway. His gaze softened when he saw Katherine, her face in disbelief. Hee hadn't meant for her to hear that. He knew that he misused her trust to tell Athena, but she knew more about this than he did. It seemed logical to him.

But it wasn't that; it was disbelief for the fact that no one was doing anything to help. Only Hades and Athena was doing something. The others decided to turn a blind eye, thinking that it was just another stupid girl that Apollo had for the night.

"Katherine..."

"No one believes us," she said, her voice cracking. "Your family doesn't believe me."

"I'm sorry."

They stood there, not speaking. The air was thick between them as they both got lost in their own thoughts.

Katherine wanted to cry and curl up in a ball; Hades wanted to comfort her so he could take her pain away.

He wanted to so badly. He just wanted to hold her like he did last night. It physically hurt him to see her like this; in the dark ll by herself with no one. No one deserves to live like that.

"Hades..."

He barely heard her tiny voice. It wavered and shook as she tried to control her emotions. What surprised him was when she held out her arms, like she wanted to be embraced.

He didn't hesitate.

Hades wrapped his arms around her, stroking her long hair. She sobbed in his chest, her whole body shaking. His arms tightened around her.

"We'll figure this out," Hades whispered to her. "I promise."

Katherine nodded. She pulled away enough for her to see Hades. She knew her eyes were puffy and red, but she didn't care.

In that moment, her feelings for the god only grew. It was only a matter of time before she would do something.

Or if he will do something...