As Hades made his way through the misty clearing, his mind churned with anger and grief as his thoughts reflected on the information he had just learned. He may be God of the Underworld, but he had limitations; the True One made sure of that. He made his way toward an ancient well, and once he had perched upon its edge, he allowed the anger to take over. With frustration and rage, Hades screamed into the emptiness, startling the nearby ravens who with their answering cries, took flight to escape the grieving god.
This should be a time of celebration! All of Creation should be at its peak of beauty, all creatures twitching in anticipation as glory radiated from the Gods. The Heavens themselves should have been rejoicing and readying themselves for the coming days, filled with light and joy and love. No-one should have been mistaken that now was the time he had waited for, the time he met with anticipation; instead, the earth mourned and heaved in melancholy with empathy for their Dark Lord.
Hades had anticipated this time for many ages. He had waited, for so long he had waited, and finally he had found the one to help bring about his dream. She was beautiful, especially so for that time, with hair a bright shade of auburn and eyes which were a brilliant hazel that seemed to be able to look deep within him to his very soul. They would change colour with her mood, the flecks of green Hades was especially fond of, becoming more prominent with stronger emotion. Her smile held both innocence and boldness and her laugh would have been able to make even demons rejoice. From the moment he had laid eyes on her, Hades had known that she was the one he had waited for.
Their courtship had been long compared to the Gods of old. Hades had not wished to take from her that which he needed, preferring instead to win her as a woman such as her deserved to be won; pursuing her until she had come to him willingly. Her spirit was fierce and full of life and the more time he had spent with her, the more he found himself drawn to her, caring for her and dare he say it, loving her. Love was an emotion that Hades had been a stranger to for all his long life. He had felt it was a weakness that brought down Gods and strong men and encouraged destruction where-ever it befell. He had shielded himself from any who could weaken him, building his power, biding his time for his plans to be brought to fruition, all the while growing lonelier as the millennia passed. Once he had found her however, he knew finally that he had been wrong. Love was not a weakness, but a strength, that if wielded by lesser men, brought the destruction he had so feared.
Not long into their courtship, she had whispered to him the secret she had long guarded throughout her life, fearing for her future should others learn of it; she was gifted with The Sight. Since childhood she had seen future events, sometimes being able to even prevent certain calamities if she felt that the future she saw was incorrect. Few had the gift of both Sight and Intuition but she was doubly blessed having been born with both. Her Sight would show her events as they were going to be, her Intuition would allow her to know if this was an event that Should be or Will be. Through this knowing she had saved the life of her sister, but had allowed the death of her mother. The Sight showing her to plant for her family early, thus reaping earlier, while others in her village lost their crops to a storm that had fallen late in the season. It was this same Sight that had shown her when she was a child that she would draw the attention of a God, and marry the Chief of her tribe.
An illness that had befallen her husband as a young boy had left him unable to bear children, but in this time, infertility was blamed upon the woman. As their marriage had seen the changing of the four seasons, and yet not blessed with the birth of a son, rumours began to circulate. The chief had begun negotiations with another tribe for the daughter of their Leader and once she came of age, if a son had not yet been born, she would be added to his household and elevated to First wife upon the birth of a healthy child. It was during this time that Hades had found her, alone and weeping in the place he found himself now, and he looked upon this clearing with both joy for having found her here, and grief for what he had just learned.
The sound of soft footfalls brought his attention back to the present, and he turned with a soft smile upon his lips. As she neared, he found himself once more drawn to her beauty; her full lips, her soft smile, the fullness of her breasts and roundness of her hips. None of this however, compared to the extraordinary beauty that was the swell of her belly, full and ripe with his child. Laying his hand over the thrum of their babes’ heartbeat as she drew to his side, Hades was once again almost brought to his knees by the miracle that was their child. Women, he had realised, were the true keepers of the mystery of life. Through women alone could Life truly be born and the strength they bore to carry this life was rivalled by no other. He had seen men in battle and warriors fall. He had witnessed the Creation of lands and the raising of great nations. Hades had seen much through his long life but it had taken the love of this woman, her selflessness at the giving of her own body to their child, for him to truly learn where power had lain.
Placing her hand softly over his own, she tilted her head upward toward him, and left the ghost of a kiss upon his chin. Not content with such chaste an affection, Hades captured her lips with his own and deepened their embrace. Feeling her own heart-rate quicken, Hades smirked as he drew back and cradled her in his arms. For a time, they allowed themselves to simply be with each other, shutting out all external distractions and thoughts. In this moment, they were a man and a woman, deeply in love, and rejoicing the imminent birth of their first-born offspring.
When she had finally shared with him that his long held dream was to be fulfilled, Hades had celebrated first by making love with her and then by holding a great feast in the Underworld. Never before had such a celebration been seen and he believed that no other shall ever meet its energy again. He had long since gone to her husband and told him of his role in this event, and knowing that he was to be step-father to a half-god had seen the man relinquish his claim upon the young girl chosen to be his wifes’ replacement. He cared for his wife, deeply, though had never loved her yet he had respected her enough that he had hated the thought of taking another wife, simply to produce a son. Upon learning of his wifes pregnancy, he too had celebrated along with his tribes Patron. A blessing such as this could not be ignored, and a feast had taken place among his people also.
It had seemed that all would happen as Hades had envisioned. Upon the birth of his child, he would take them both with him to the Underworld, where they would sit beside him for all eternity and rule beside him through the ages. Hades would finally know the true meaning of family and no longer would sorrow in his loneliness. Hope had been birthed inside of him, and he found that it was something he no longer wished to live without. As God of the Underworld however, he should have known that darkness and despair were to be his companions throughout his long life.
Pulling away from her gently, Hades gazed into her eyes and silently begged for her to retract what she had told him a few simple hours ago. Looking up at him with such pity and love, Hades heart clenched as he fought to control his anger. None of this was her fault, she had simply been born with a gift; a gift he now found himself despising.
“My love. You know I speak the truth. You know I do not tell you these things to hurt you but to prepare you”.
Her softly spoken words brought Hades back to this moment.
“But are you certain? Perhaps this time you are wrong? Perhaps the pregnancy upsets your gift and your visions are not to be trusted at this time?” Hades knew he was grasping for the cliffs edge, but his mind fought for anything that could restore to him hope.
Placing her hand gently upon his cheek, she spoke once more.
“My beautiful Dark Lord. You know I would change what I have seen if I were sure it were not a true thing, but I have seen this since I was a young girl. I knew of you. I knew of our child. I knew what we were to be to each other and what we were to accomplish, but I have also seen that which I Have told you. I have known this for longer than I can tell you. I am saddened by this, for it brings you pain, but I am also filled with such joy and celebration, knowing that what you will gain will far surpass that which you will lose.”
Hades grasped her face with his hands and fixed her with a look of such intensity her knees weakened under the power of it.
“Nothing, NOTHING can make up for the loss of you. Do you not understand that? I have lived millennia alone and it has taken until now to find the one person who could bring me happiness. I refuse to lose you now if I can do something to prevent it”.
Shifting gently within his grasp, she carefully lay twin kisses on the palms of his hands.
“The pain that will befall the world should you change this vision, is not worth my life. I am but one and the future is a number I cannot fathom. My death for this life. This is something I am prepared to give. Much pain and suffering you must both suffer before the rewards you are to be given. Great joy cannot occur without great pain, otherwise how will you recognize the good? Our child will live! He will be raised by his earthly father and upon this earth, he will find his reward. He too must suffer before he can be rewarded, but I promise you, that which I have seen is worth this short-term pain. The length of the lives you live mean your sorrow is drawn out over centuries, but your happiness will be millennia.”
Hades hung his head in defeat as he allowed the words she spoke to sink in. She may be so very young in comparison to him, but at times, her wisdom far exceeded his own.
“But you understand that you will not be joining me in the Underworld? We will lose one another. Your sacrifice means great reward and that is a different place to that which I rule.”
She nodded sadly, her hand once again finding a home upon her belly. For long moments, she seemed to withdraw within herself and he knew that she was drawing upon her gift once more; attempting to see if the vision could be averted. Gradually, he could see her coming back to herself, and her eyes cleared as she looked over her shoulder, gazing into the trees made grey by the mist. From the set of her shoulders and angle of her head, Hades knew what she had just seen merely confirmed what she had long ago accepted. No longer able to hold back, Hades choked out a sob as he stepped forward and pulled her into his embrace. Falling to his knees, Hades kissed the child beneath her skin and whispered words to him in languages so ancient they had been long forgotten by man. Spreading both hands across her stomach, Hades closed his eyes and rested his forehead against her. He felt his acceptance of her vision settling over him, and while he wanted to fight it with all that he was, he did not wish to spend these last few weeks with her angry and grieving. His grief could wait for another day. For now, he weeks left to him with the woman he loved; weeks left to watch her grow even heavier with their love. He would not spoil her last days with his tantrums. He knew the The One must have a greater plan than his own weaker ones if this is what was to happen. Getting back on his feet, Hades captured her lips with his own once more, this time in a kiss of love and longing, Had had time yet for loving her, spoiling her, making love to her. They had time to prepare her husband for what was to come, to teach him what he would need to know to raise a half-god and to show him what he would need to do to help him survive. She was right; their child was worth their pain.
Hades realised suddenly that he had been gifted with this woman before him because no other woman could have born the weight of being loved by a God. Her visions and gifts had been given to her so that she would be prepared for him. A lesser woman would have been crushed beneath his encompassing affection not able to handle the knowledge that birthing a god would bring. Hades knew then without a doubt that the visions she saw were true, and that he just had to believe for all that he had waited for to come to pass. He just had to wait a while longer than he had anticipated.
Sensing her growing weariness, Hades took her by the hand and gently steered her back toward her village. As they began to move away, she suddenly stopped and turned back toward the well. Pulling a dagger from her bindings, she stepped toward the wells edge and began to carve in the ancient wood. Minutes ticked by as she scratched away in the language of her people. Once she was done, she ran her fingers tenderly and lovingly over the wood as she reached back for Hades to help her stand. Looking at what she had written, Hades smiled at her beautifully female display.
“Here I loved and was loved by the power of god”
As they once again began their journey back to the village, Hades smiled knowing that she had finally revealed to him the final secret she had been keeping from him: the gender of their child. So many secrets and promises lay within the words she had written: the love they had for one-another, the love they both had for their child and the sorrow for their parting. Knowing she had revealed the most precious secret within her words moved Hades as nothing else before: the name of their unborn son. It was a strong name, a name filled with promise and destiny and strength. Truly a name worthy of the son of Hades.
A son that shall be called: Godric.
