Son of Hades

Endless Bond

Xavier wasn't sleeping by the time I get back to the room. Despite the electricity in our room, he was sitting pretzel style on our bed reading a book. "Have you ever heard of the Orpheous and Eurydice tragic romance?"

         I shake my head, and he watches as I get into bed beside him with the box. He leans over to give me a kiss on the cheek, "Orpheus was an amazing singer, said to be the son of a great Muse. His wife Eurydice died by being bitten by a snake. He was heartbroken and traveled to the Underworld after her, knowing that he could die too. But he didn't. He followed after Eurydice, and even charmed Charon with his singing and Cerberus into letting him pass.

         "He made it here to the palace, and begged my mom and Hades to bring his wife home with him, back to the land of the living. They let him take her, but he wasn't allowed to look back as he returned to the land of the living. Orpheus grew suspicious and thought she wasn't there at all, because she hadn't made any sound. He looked back just before they made it, and she was right behind him — brought right back to the Underworld." His eyes linger on the box, but he gets out of bed to open the drawer of his side table. "Like Orpheus, I would follow you into the dark again and again and again. I love you, Ariel, and I couldn't let you do this alone." He produces a small sack and tosses it on the bed beside me.

           "W-what is this?" I ask, undoing the bags strings to find a bunch of drachmas and . . . And the biggest diamond ring I've ever seen in my life.

          "You're right, I shouldn't be acting like such a Princess. This is for Charon's toll, and that . . . That is my Grandmother's ring and it can be yours if you want it. This is my promise to you, Ariel, that no matter how bad things get I will always be here to protect and love you. This ring is a promise of a better future, one where we're both happy and you don't have to worry about a thing. You may never get to be a Queen, but you'll always be my Queen and an Underworld Princess. You'll never have to worry about anything. You're my first and only choice. He gets down on one knee beside the bed. "Will you marry me?"

           I don't waste a single minute leaning down to wrap him in a kiss. Everything just feels too right. His honey and blood scent has always pulled me in closer, and he leans away first with a smile on his face. "Is that a yes, or is this how you fight?"

           "No, of course I'll marry you." My fingers are shaking as he slips the ring onto my finger. "What about Castiel or your parents or Jasmine? Aren't you worried what they'll think or what they could do to us?"

          Xavier shakes his head. "No," he says. "For once, I'm more clear headed than ever and we will find a way out of this, Ariel. But for five minutes, can't we at least pretend that everything is perfect? That it's just you and me in our own little bubble." I envelop him in a kiss, wanting more than ever for everything just to be normal again.

           We don't have to be a secret anymore. He's my way out of the competition. He never makes me question his love, and he's fought hard for us to be here . . . Together. When we kiss, my world is complete and happy. My fingers are in his hair, and when I wrap my legs around him, he lifts me up onto the bed.

          "H-hey. What's this?" His gaze lingers on his mother's box.

           I sit up between his legs. "You should open it," I look at the box. "It was your mother's. She told me the phone was hidden underneath the bar, and that's where I found it. But you should probably see what was underneath it."

           "Snooping through mom's things?" Xavier has a curious grin, and kisses my cheek as he lifts open the lid to her box. He pulls aside her phone, and I wait to plug it into the wall outlet beside our bed. He sees the photographs first, picking them up as though they would break into a million pieces. "These are my . . . My-my parents." His shoulders relax and he smiles.