Temple Of The Forgotten Gods Night Visit
"You haven't been out in the woods for the last few nights, I thought I'd come see you instead." She shut the door and turned around, putting her back to it. "Open the door Eris." He pouted. She pursed her lips and stepped away. She put knife on the counter and slid it away. "I just want to talk to you." He stated. She turned on her heel, facing the door and grabbing the door handle. She pulled dulled the door open and stared at him Impatiently. She stood aside putting her hand out welcoming him in.
"Don't let my father see you." She told him, and hung her head as he looked around the kitchen.
"Yellow Apples?" He asked, looking at a fruit she had cut in half before answering the door. She looked back at him and approached the counter, grabbing a slice and handing it to him. He took it from her and looked at it. "I must admit, sometimes when I look at you, you remind me of myself." He told her. She chuckled at him and turned around, leaning back against the counter.
"How so?" She curiously asked. He crossed his arms, his toga shifting across his chest.
"You're always alone, but you try to make the best of it." He told her, quietly. She ducked her head down and sighed.
"I'm not always alone, My father's home in the morning and on the days he doesn't have to work." She said silently. Hades smiled at her and shook his head. "Besides, I don't have to be alone, and neither do you." She began to suggest. He placed his hand on the counter, than looked at it.
The counter felt cold under his hand. " It's marble." He told himself. He had never gotten to touch marble, even though it had been used to build temples and shrines to his brothers and sisters, even one for himself, that no one ever visited.
He heard her approach him, but ignored it, as he looked at the marble. Her hand grazed his cheek and this startled him, he stepped back from her and she sighed.
"We've done this before, touching you won't kill me." She stated.
"You're counter, it's marble." He said.
"I know it is " she mused.
He looked at her, unamused and ran his hand over it, slowly. He liked the way it felt under his skin. He felt that even just for a moment, it brought light into his life, just to feel the smooth cold surface.
"Are you alright, Hades?" She questioned.
Hades nodded and pulled back from the counter. She smiled and shook her head. She had grabbed the knife she had earlier and turned away, returning to the apple she had been cutting up earlier.
"Why are you eating that?" He asked curiously.
"I'm watching a movie and I wanted something small to snack on. We don't have any popcorn." She sighed.
Eris grabbed the apple and went back to cutting it into slices. As she did this this, she could feel him watching, wondering. He found he was curious about what she doing.
"Would you like to join me in the living room, my father should be in bed." She asked, with a mild hint of suggestion in her voice.
He agreed and she pulled open a cabinet, grabbing a bowl. She picked the apple slices up off the table and dropped them into the bowl. Then picked up pieces she had cut out of those slices and dropped them into the trash can beside her. She grabbed the bowl and turned to him. She approached him, put a hand out and looked up at him.
"Well c'mon." She hassled and motioned for his hand. "I promise you won't hurt me if you touch my hand." She moved her sight down to his hand as he hesitantly reached for her hand, and grabbed it. She smiled and turned, pulling him through the kitchen.
She guided him to the living room, then sat down on the couch and urged him to do the same. He stared down at the piece of furniture she had sat down on and she put her hand out once again. She stood up from where she had sat and grabbed his wrist and pulled him down, as she sat back down.
He looked at her as she sat beside him. " Nyx, she looks just like you, how is she daughter of a mortal?" He mentally asked himself.
"By the way, the couch has a couple springs loose, so be careful when you put your hands down." She mentioned, distracted, trying to think of a movie to watch. He adjusted his body on the couch and she looked at him for a moment, before looking back to the television.
Hades placed his hands in his lap, and looked down at them, then glanced over at her. She put down the remote and looked over at him.
"I don't know what a god would like." She admitted with defeat.
"I've never seen a movie as you call it." He admitted to her. She smiled and turned to him.
"Maybe a scary movie then." She cheerfully said and picked up the remote.
She picked a movie and brought her knees to her chest. The heels of her feet planted on the edge of the couch. He watched her eyes as they shined in the dark off the room with only the light of the television.
" I wonder, what her life is like when her father is not around and she is alone, Does she have something she likes to do, Does she read scriptures and practice writing them." He wondered and continued to wonder. "Does she dance or listen to her native music? Does she bathe in a tub of flowers as steam rises from the water?Does she attend or participate in her favorite theater plays? Does she walk with no where to go?"
She nudged him and he looked at her startled. "it's your first movie, you should be paying attention to it, not me." She teased and he looked at the screen.
At the end of the movie he glanced over at her, hoping to find out if she was the weight he felt against his body. He was surprised to find that she was. She had fallen asleep on him, he fought to smile and slowly moved her up into a sitting position so he could stand up. Once he was on his feet he leaned over her and wrapped an arm around her back and the other under her legs and lifted her up from the couch. He moved slowly to avoid rousing suspicion of there being an intruder in the house. He searched to house for the stairs that led upstairs to her room, where he had once seen her standing at the window as he walked by at the edge of the woods.
He had finally gotten her upstairs to her room after twenty minutes of wondering around the house. He placed her in the bed and sat on the edge, looking at her, pondering what she was like when she wasn't with him while her father was home. He grabbed her hand, now knowing that he wouldn't hurt her with his touch and held it. He moved his eyes to her chest, as it rised and fell, he hoped that perhaps she could show him what it was to be mortal and enjoy the the smallest of things.
He let go of her hand and stood from the bed, looking around. By the door were certificates and rewards from writing contests and school participation. He turned to her book shelf and looked at it, books of many different genres littered the shelves and small figurines, as well as a small statue of the goddess Aphrodite. He smiled and looked back at her as she slept. He found she was a wonder and wished to keep her company for as long as he possibly could before he had to return to his domain and remain there for the rest of the day. He considered leaving her something that told her to find him or wait for him tomorrow at some point, but knew she wouldn't understand his writing, he would have to leave and return.
He turned to the door, ready to leave and he heard her mumbling. He didn't know her well enough to know if this was normal but he decided to stay a little while longer, perhaps this would help him get to know her more. He sat on the edge of the bed and grabbed her hand once more and held it. She looked peaceful. He reminded himself of why he was drawn to her and it was that she had looked much like another goddess, but as time had gone on he thought differently. He had gotten to know her as a mortal from spending time with her, even if it was in their own ways. If she brought a book he had a scroll of names he would work on, sometimes she would lay beside him in the dried leaves on a blanket. He enjoyed her company and he didn't want to change that.
In some small way Hades found that he enjoyed her company a lot more than the company of the shades and their wailing. He pushed back some hair that had fallen over her face. Her eyes moved rapidly under her closed lids and she turned the other way, groaning. He squeezed her hand and leaned over her, rolled her head so that her could see her face. He touched his forehead to hers and took in a deep breathe.
"It's alright, Eris." He told her calmly, knowing it wouldn't do a thing for her. "I wish I could do more for you." He whispered to her and pulled back away from her. He squeezed her hand tightly causing it to turn red.
Outside her room in the hall, he heard footsteps approach the room and he stood from the bed, releasing her hand. He had left the room without having the leave the house. He wanted to go back to her, be with her and help her through the loneliness of her day to day.
Hades stood outside the house and looked towards her bedroom window, watching as the light turned off and he it became dark. He hung his head and walked away, going back into the woods to ponder what mortality must be like.
Writers Notes:
I'm a fan of Greek mythology and wanted to write this, I began working on a bigger story for this but instead I ended up writing side stores that will eventually lead to me finishing the main story.
I always felt bad for how Hades was portrayed in Greek mythology and that the mortals were afraid of him. I wanted to give my main character Eris Driscoll a friend who was immortal. Someone she could spend time with when she was alone.
Eris is the daughter of a widowed father who works as a dentist. She is home schooled, I have not worked in why, not have I thought of a reason. She meets Hades during a middle of the night walk through the woods behind her house. While she's walking through the woods she seeing flickering light spilling out of a cave. When she approaches the cave she See's a handsome man in a black toga, black sandals and he's got black hair. He catches her watching him and grabs her arm trying to get her to confess why she was spying on him.
She does end up becoming friends with him after the incident and he ends up spending time in the mortal realm to be with her.
I have written other side stories to go with this one, even though they're separate stories.
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