Leia and The Underworld

Chapter 21: Unity

 
I kissed Hades with a ferocity I didn't know I possessed. It had been a long time coming, and I was desperate.  

"Wait, wait, wait … " 
"Why?" I said, tracing his neck with my tongue in a way that made him groan. I could tell his brain  was shutting down. 
"We can't, " he said. "You don't want this life. I promised…"
"Hades, you experienced what I just did, right?"
"Yes."
"You know we are soulmates,  right."
"I don't believe in soulmates. "
"But do you believe in us," I asked. "Do you believe in me?"

"I do," his eyes met mine. "More than anyone or anything in existence.  I love you, Leia." 
"I want you, forever. I want the future we saw- the house, the kids, the passion. I want you."
"And this is just your heart, not because of the catastrophe?"
"That spurs me to be quicker," I said. "But no, as selfish as it is, I could not choose you to save the world. I had to want it. I want this, us, you."
"You're sure."
"Positive?" 
"Yes," I whispered. "Besides, if we are totally honest…"
"Yes," he whispered.
"I've been dreaming of you for a while, and it's gotten to the point where I really need to have sex. I keep feeling it but not feeling it- it is absolute torture."

He pulled me towards him, picking me up with his arms so I could wrap my legs around him. 
"Tell me," he whispered as he moved to kiss me. "What exactly do you need?"
"I need your lips all over me? I need to feel your skin pushed up against mine."
 He groaned as his lips found his way to my neck, and his hands moved to rip off my blouse. I could have snapped my fingers, but that wasn't the point.  The point was to be slow and deliberate. He kissed my neck and down onto my collarbone, and I felt my temperature rise. This was happening. 
"I need you," I whispered.  

Everything blurred together and moments slipped away. Our clothes disappeared and so did everything else. We fell backwards, our hands and got lost in a frenzy and I stopped to breath for moments in between touches. I could feel the weight of Hades between my thighs as he kept slowly and deliberately kissing my neck. 

"Please… now…" 
"Don't rush," Hades whispered, pausing to look me in the eyes. 

Some part of him was still nervous, uncertain.  He must have thought this was about the crack or my guilt. But I would not, under any circumstances,  betray my own heart to save the world. Perhaps that was selfish, but it was my nature. I wanted Hades because I wanted him. It just happened to be convenient that what I wanted was also necessary to protect the cosmos. I tried to press the thought into him with my kisses. He reacted by returning with matched intensity. Still, before the crucial moment, he hesitated. 

"Wait," he whispered.  "I'm not certain about this. Is this too fast? We are not married."
"Hades, we are soulmates."
"You are so young," he whispered.
I turned his chin with my hand so that our eyes met and his irises burned a bright red, glowing as I stared into the fires. 
"I am, but I know what I want."
"I don't want you to feel pressure," he said to me. 
"Hades, the only reason I am here is because…" 
"Because…" 
"I love you, Hades." 
His eyes stared into mine and suddenly it dawned on him. This wasn't a phase or a mistake. This was real. I loved him and he loved me.

He did not say the words back to me since I did not need to hear him say it. Our lips met and soon, there was no distance between us. We connected and  I could feel more than just the waves of pleasure wash over me. I could sense the bond we had solidifying and the connection I had to the underworld and to Hades. It had always been described to me as a weight, a tether, a shackle. But as I made love to Hades, an  act that eternally bound me to another person, I had never felt more free. 

*
*
*

"I cannot believe I let you trick me," Hades said. His arms encircled me and I rested my head on his chest, content. 
"I did not trick you."
"Call me traditional,  but I assumed this would happen on our wedding night."
He watched me with new eyes, as if he knew all of my secrets now. I supposed he did, in a way. 
"We probably need to go back and check on the world," I whispered. "But I want to be here, probably forever."
"We do need to see if the world order is restored," Hades whispered. "But Leia, we just…"
"I know."
"I didn't mean to have things happen so fast. Are you… happy?"
"Very much so," I whispered.
"Leia, I have to say something.  I didn't before but I think you know my heart."
"I do."

"I love you, Leia."
"I love you too," I whispered. 
"And since you are tethered here now, I feel as though nothing is holding me back. I want you, Leia, forever."
"I feel good," I said. "Like I'm home. Like we are not bound, but rather  connected. You described it like a chain, but it is different. It feels more like this perfect unity."
"Is this the part where we say our Jerry Macquire lines, you complete me."
"I'll hold up my boombox outside your window, Hades."
"Well, I don't have a boombox or a line, just a question. Leia, I want to ask…"
"Anything?"
"Will you marry me?" 
I felt a goofy grin creep over my face and I nodded, kissing him. 

"The world can wait for a moment," I whispered. "Let's just make sure we have sealed up the underworld."
Hades nodded, pulling me close again. The world would have to wait. 

***

We transported ourselves to earth, where Leto and Artemis were standing in times square as everyone panicked. 
"Don't even show your face unless you have sealed the underworld, Hades," Artemis shouted. "This could have been averted if you just did what I asked weeks ago."

"Done," Hades grinned. Artemis looked at me, her eyes narrowing with disbelief. Did she notice the tiny Ruby ring that Hades had conjured for me before we left? Did it matter?
"Where is Chaos?" I asked. 
"Moving constantly, " Leto said. "He needs a vessel, and he is searching. He needs someone sturdy and strong enough to contain him. But he cannot take over a God. He is prone to using demigods, and he is attracted to darkness."

"You said he is not evil," Artemis said.
"Not on his own, but dark souls breed Chaos. They are like magnets for each other." 
"So, we are looking for a vessel, an evil demigod who breeds chaos wherever he goes."
"David De Silva," I said.
"You're sure?" Leto said. 
"Even if Chaos doesn't find him, David is up to something.  He always is and it is my responsibility to stop him."
"Here," Leto said, handing me a necklace as she lifted it off her neck. "This is an amulet. I have others but it can contain the energy from the Gods. It's how I captured chaos before, by trapping his essence in the token."
"So you think Chaos will go to David?" Hades asked.

"There is no way to know, but it sounds like David is just as dangerous. You can't kill David, but you could harness his god powers."

"Meaning what…" I asked.
"He would be nothing more than a mortal," Hades said. 
"Amazing," I grinned. "Let's go."
"Where to?" Hades asked. I pulled out my phone, which was getting a very spotty signal with everything going on. Still, it went through long enough to check David's campaign website. He was at a rally tonight in California,  trying to raise money for the campaign. 

We said our last words to Leto and Artemis and moved on. I didn't know where Chaos was, but my mission was clear. David De Silva had used my own power to hurt people,  unleashing cosmic consequences. He had taken away my voice and my dignity. It was time I took something from him.