i should hire someone to name these for me

"You!" I cried out, surprised.

"Me?" He said sarcastically.

"Yes, you. I recognise you!" I said, crossed.

"Hmm… seems like this problem is bigger than I thought." He mused.

"But you look younger…" I questioned.

"That's because I'm not my father." He said with a roll of his eyes.

"Then who are you?" I said cautiously. "What is your name?"

"I am a prince." He responded, not saying anything else.

"I asked what your name was." I said more confidently.

"You don't need to know what my name is." And with that, he walked away.

"You're Hades!" I called out.

"Wrong! I am the son of the god of the Underworld!" He called out back.

'Hades has a son?' I thought.

"Yes, my father has a son." He sighed.

'How did he know? Can he read minds?' I thought again.

"Yes, I can read minds." The teen walked towards me.

'Ugh, a mind reader.' I thought in my head, so only he could hear it. He shot me a look saying that he was annoyed. Then, I heard a voice in my head that sounded like his.

'I can also make others read my mind if I need them to.' He thought. His thoughts bore into my head and I rolled my eyes.

'I don't care.' I thought again.

"Well, you better." He said aloud, angrily. He began walking away again and guards came out from behind giant cartons and took me by force, throwing me into the back of the van again, this time, without the sack on my head, but my hands were still tied behind my back. The vehicle started driving again, and I heard a whoosh and then my ears popped.

'We can't have driven up a mountain that fast, can't have we?' I thought.

"No, we traveled through a portal, idiot." The mysterious boy said, turning around to look at me. "I can teleport too. We call it 'shifting'."

"I don't care if you can teleport! And don't call me an idiot!" I snapped.

"Then stop thinking!" He snapped back.

"I can't stop thinking, it's what a human does!" I retorted.

"Well, technically, I'm not human! And neither-" He began, but I interrupted him.

"Well, I'm not the one who can read minds!" I began yelling now. "Wait, what were you going to say?" I stopped. Unfortunately, for me, he just ignored me and turned back to the front of the van, looking towards the vast, ugly landscape in front of him. I soon felt some earthquake sensation and then the van stopped in front of the huge palace I saw in my flashback.

"I've had enough!" I shouted. "I need answers now, because I am sick and tired of no one talking to me and not giving me answers!" I folded my arms and stared into the eyes of the teen, who had gotten out to open the back door for me. Man, if looks could kill, that boy would've been dead by now.

'Tell me your name,' I thought angrily. 'Now.' The boy sighed.

"My name is Stefano, but everyone calls me Stefan. I am the prince of the underworld, part demon, inherited from my father, who goes by many names, such as Hades, one which you named. I don't know my mother, as my father said she died when I was a baby. I can read minds, which you already know, a gift from my mother and I can produce portals with an amulet my father gave me. I have no siblings, as I am an only child, soon to take over the throne when I can find a wife or if I come of age." He said. "Happy now?" Stefan crossed his arms, clearly annoyed.

"Yes, that was more than enough, thank you." I said sarcastically. "Now, can you please answer my question?"

"What question?" He said, pretending to not know what I was talking about.

"You know what I'm talking about." I said as I climbed out of the boot of the van. Stefan sighed again, but this time, didn't give me a straight answer. I don't even know if it actually counted as an answer.

"I shouldn't have said anything, and besides, it's not my place to tell."

"Then why did you mention it in the first place?!" I began raising my voice, to see what his reaction was.

"Because I was angry, okay?!" Stefan shouted. He calmed down then looked at me, suspicious. I smiled mischievously as he walked towards me, and I felt his warm breath on my skin. "You were trying to make me angry weren't you?"

"Guilty as charged." I put my hands up, mockingly. "By the way, your breath stinks." Stefan jerked his head away from me. Actually, his breath didn't smell, I just wanted to infuriate him further. Stefan then began walking in circles around me, amused.

"Why do you even try, Arrabella?" He said. I straightened my back to look more confident than I felt.

"B-because it's fun." I stammered, not able to contain my nervousness toward him. I mean, give me a break, he's hot! "Wait, how do you know my name?" I said more confidently this time.

"Oh, Arrie, I know everything when it comes to you. I've been looking for you for half my life." He leaned towards me.

"Don't call me Arrie. Only my friends can call me that." I said sternly, not taking my gaze off of him.

"But is your sister your friend? What about your parents? Are they your friends too? Or should I say, adoptive parents?"

That's a pretty good question. I thought. But something didn't feel right. WAIT!

"What do you mean, adoptive? As far as I know, they're my biological parents." I said cautiously, slowly backing away from Stefan. He laughed.

"As far as YOU know." Stefan pointed at me. Then he turned around and walked away, motioning for me to follow him. I hesitated at first, but from stories that I've heard about the Underworld, I didn't want to be waiting as a snack for the frightening creatures that lived here. I quickly ran up behind him and we slowly approached the inside of the humongous castle that loomed before us. Before we entered, the thing I saw in my dream holding a clipboard bowed down to us, well, I think it only meant to do that to Stefan but, nonetheless, it felt great to be 'important', or least to be bowed down to. Stefan and I walked in an awkward quiet, so I decided to destroy the silence, and I ran up beside him.

"So you're that important, huh?" I said. Stefan shrugged.

"Well, yeah, I guess. But I think it's only because my father can see everything that goes on around here."

"So kind of like a crystal ball?" I asked.

"Perhaps, yes, but I don't know. I hardly ever see him." Stefan responded, fixing his gaze ahead of him. I walked up in front of him and turned around, to stop him from walking. He didn't stop, but slowed his pace.

"Can you block out other people's thoughts?" I asked curiously. Stefan didn't answer and gently pushed me aside to continue walking to wherever he was going. I followed, this time without hesitation. We ended up in the throne room and he bowed down to the person in front of him, who had his back to Stefan. I, however, did not. I didn't belong in this world so I refused to do so. Stefan kicked my shin and I nearly toppled over, but still standing my ground. The person turned around. I immediately recognised the dude as the male I met in my flashback.

Stefan's father. I thought.

Yeah, my dad. Stefan thought back to me. I nearly forgot that Stefan could read and send messages to another's mind.

"Ah, Arrabella. It's nice to meet you, finally." The crowned male said as he walked down the few stairs standing between me and him. I crossed my arms.

"Don't you mean, it's nice to see me again?" I said matter-of-factly. The king furrowed his eyebrows.

"Ahh, you seem to remember me… From your other life." He said. I narrowed my eyes.

"Jillian!" The king called out. A young servant girl came running up to the king, curtseyed, then faced him. "Escort Arrabella to her room, please."

"Of course, sir." Jillian said, rushing towards me.

"Room? Why am I staying here?" I demanded. The king waved me off and motioned for his son. I left the room with a frown on my face and followed Jillian, and she escorted me to the room I would be staying in temporarily. I refused to call it my room because I did not belong here. I belonged up above, where normal people lived. I questioned that last sentence.

Was I normal? I thought.

No, you're not. I heard Stefan's voice in my head. You never were.

What do you mean? I asked, confused.

I'll tell you later. Stefan said. My dad is still talking to me. I sighed and continued to follow Jillian. After a tiring walk up three flights of stairs, we finally reached the room I would temporarily be staying in. Before I entered, I asked Jillian,

"Aren't there any elevators around here?" The young servant shook her head.

"Afraid not. Unless you are of high court, you have to take the stairs." I thanked her and told she could go. I slowly opened the door, thinking my life was ruined. Finished. But little did I know, my new life was about to begin.