Chapter 28:

Hades had been in his office working on things that needed his attention, but it was hard to concentrate when his daughters were right outside playing, and he couldn’t be there to see it.

When Hera had walked in with Helia, he swore his heart stopped for a moment. She was even more beautiful up close than he remembered. Of course, the last time he saw her so close, she was but an infant, but there she stood, a miniature version of her mother.

***

“Hi, there, come on in,” Hades’ deep voice rumbled through Hera’s core, causing an effect on her.

“Thank you, Hades. You remember Helia, don’t you?”

“Yes, of course. It’s nice to meet you again, Helia.”

Helia stared at him for a moment. It was weird that she felt an almost tugging sensation, the same feeling when she was near her mother. She never mentioned it to Hera because she didn’t want to come off as weird or clingy, but now that she and Hera had been claimed as mother and daughter, she had no reason to bring it up. Besides, the Moirai said they were in each other’s lives for a reason, and maybe that was a part of it. However, feeling that same tugging sensation coming from the King of the Underworld made Helia curious about what it could mean.

“Hello, it’s nice to meet you again, Lord Hades.” Hades smiled at his daughter’s politeness; it reminded him of his other daughter, Melinoe. So, sweet and innocent, something he hoped would never change in them.

“Thank you, but please, call me Hades.”

Once again, Helia made sure she wouldn’t cross any lines and looked to her mother for confirmation.

Hera smiled at her daughter, “It’s okay, little cub.”

“You sure, mama? He is the King,” she whispered as though Hades was not there and had not just given her permission to do so. Helia turned to Hades, seeing as how he was, in fact, still there, and directed her following words to him, “I wouldn’t want to disrespect you.”

“It would be disrespectful to not call me Hades since I have given you permission,” Hades laughed. Helia smiled and felt a little weight that had been on her shoulder lift.

“Okay, nice meet you again, Hades,” and this time, she added a little curtsy at the end jokingly. Hera and Hades laughed at her and then headed to where Persephone and Melinoe would be.

They walked into the kitchen, where they saw Persephone laying out food and desserts.

“Hi, there you two, come in make yourself at home,” Persephone greeted.

“Hi, Queen Persephone.”

“Hi, there precious, and please, call me Persephone.”

“Okay.”

“Hilly!!!” Melinoe yelled as she ran and tackled Helia in a bear hug.

“Melly!!!” Helia excitedly returned the hug and nickname.

All the adults laughed at the children and loved how close the two already were.

“Why don’t you two head outside,” suggested Persephone.

“Okay, mama. Hilly, I have to introduce you to Cerberus. He’s our three-headed guard dog.”

“Really?! Let’s go!” With that, the two girls ran off towards where Cerberus was resting outside.

“I’m glad those two have become fast friends,” stated Persephone. She knew her daughter was shy and stayed to herself a lot, but since she became friends with Helia, she had seen a change in her, and that was only after one day.

“So am I. Oh, I almost forgot, I brought brownies,” and before Hera could finish her sentence, Hades had snuck a brownie, or two, not before Hera slapped his hand, “for the children.”

“Hey, I’ll be crammed in my office all day; the least you ladies could offer me is some dessert,” though he knew he could opt out for a different kind of dessert if he and Hera were alone.

“Fine, sweetheart, take some sweets and food with you on your way to the office,” Persephone told him. “Hera, would you mind helping me take this out to put on the table on the lanai?”

“Not at all, see you around Hades,” said Hera, and before Hades could answer, he heard knocks at the door signaling the arrival of the other invited guests.

“Hades!” Persephone yelled, “Could you....”

“Yea, I got it,” he replied and went to let in who he knew would be Amphitrite and her son, Triton.

***

“Excuse me,” Hades hadn’t realized he had been lost in thought until he heard a voice and turned to see his nervous-looking daughter standing shyly in the cracked doorway.

“Oh, Helia, is everything alright?” he asked, concern laced all in his voice.

She bit her lip in the same way her mother did when she was nervous about something.

“I, um, seemed to have gotten lost. I thought I knew the way back outside, but I guess I don’t,” she chuckled lightly.

“It’s okay. I know the palace is pretty big. I’ll help you get back outside.” Hades was glad the Fates answered his prayers; now, he got to spend some time with his daughter, even if only for a little bit.

“Thank you.”

Hades had instinctively grabbed her hand and walked her out of his office. Helia was taken aback by how the King of the Underworld just grabbed her hand as if it were nothing. Though she wouldn’t voice it, Helia wondered why holding his hand somehow felt right to her. So, she continued to let Hades hold her hand as he walked her back to her playdate.

Hades was about to say something to Helia to break the silence when he finally looked down and realized that he was holding her hand as he would Melinoe’s. He was a little embarrassed and was about to release it when he felt Helia tighten her grip on his as if she sensed what he was about to do. He looked at her and saw how she was smiling at him, and he could not help but return a smile of his own toward her.

“So, Helia, how are you liking the Olympus life?”

“It’s great, everyone is friendly and nice for the most part, and I get to have an actual family, so that’s a big plus,” she happily said.

“Family, huh? So, Zeus is treating you well, like a father?” He was fishing at this point. He wanted to know how Zeus was treating his daughter and if he needed to intervene in any way, damn with keeping her a secret of Zeus had harmed her.

“I don’t like Zeus honestly and don’t consider him a father figure,” she must have realized what she said because she tried to backtrack and apologize, “oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say that to you. I forgot he is your brother and...”

“Helia, sweetheart?”

“Yes?” she shyly asked.

“Breathe,” he laughed at her, which seemed to help calm her down because she started laughing too.

“Sorry, mama has to tell me that sometimes too when I start rambling,” she informed.

“Well, I’m glad she is making sure that you get plenty of oxygen,” he laughed at her. “To tell you the truth, I don’t care for Zeus either.”

“Really? Is it because he’s a big butthole?”

Hades looked at her, confused at her choice of words, and when she saw this, she elaborated, “Grandmother Rhea said I am not to call him the actual swear word, even though she and aunt Tethys say it all the time,” rolling her eyes at the memory.

Gods Hades loved this little girl, so much like her mother, very blunt and outspoken. He calmed his own laughter down so that he could answer her, “Yes, it is because he is a butthole, as you put it, but other than that, Zeus hasn’t done anything to you, has he?” Hades asked seriously.

Helia wondered where this sudden feeling of protectiveness was coming from, but she saw genuine concern in his dark-hued eyes, and for some odd reason, she felt like she could trust him.

“No, he hasn’t. He’s never there, really, which I’m grateful for.”

“Why is that?”

“Well, any time he is around, I get this weird feeling. It’s not a good feeling, and it’s almost suffocating in a sense, almost like a bad aura is coming off him. Even when I look at him, it’s like I see darkness around him, and when he is around mother, I don’t know; it’s like his aura is suffocating her.”

“Aura? So, you can see people’s spirits?” Hades was intrigued by this information and wondered if anyone else knew about this.

“I guess you could say that I’m not sure what to call it. I have never told anyone about this,” Helia looked at Hades, hoping he could silently read her mind.

“It’s okay, I won’t tell anyone,” well, there goes his answer. “What did you see when you first saw Hera?”

“She had a white glow around her. It was dim at first, barely visible, kind of like she was losing her spark, but now it’s brighter, not as bright as it could be like something is holding it back, but it’s definitely there.”

“Huh, and what do you see when you look at me?” He wanted to know what his daughter thought of him; hell, he wanted to know about himself.

Helia stopped and turned to look directly at him. “You have a white glow around you too, but it is like how mama’s aura was when I first saw her. It’s almost like you’re sad. It seems like it wants to shine bright, but something is holding it back, just like mama’s.

Hades couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His child could see the turmoil within him; he had been dealing and struggling with it since long before she was born, and he was amazed by this.

“Oh, there you are. Did you get lost, little cub?”

Helia paused before looking at both her mother and Hades standing side by side. She saw how the glow around them flickered wildly when they were near and how the color of the glow now looked pink instead of white. She hadn’t paid attention to it when she first saw it, but now she wanted to know what all this meant, what they meant.

“Little cub, are you alright?”

“Oh, yes, mama, I’m fine. I got a little lost on my way back from the bathroom and asked Hades for help getting back. I guess I should’ve let you stay and walk me back,” Helia said with a slight blush at her embarrassment.

Hera, not entirely convinced of what her daughter was telling her, wanted to explore the truth; however, the look Hades gave her reassured her. It let her know that everything was fine, so she trusted his judgment. After all, she was his daughter, too, and knew that he would tell her if something was of great concern.

“Okay then, well, Melinoe and Triton were worried about you, so I guess we should return you back to them.”

“Okay, mama,” came the child’s happy reply, “see you later, Hades.”

“See you later, Helia.” Hades turned to walk away, back to his office, but he wanted to let her know something before they were separated again. “Hey, wait!” he yelled after her, jogging to catch up with them. He kneeled down to Helia’s eye level as best he could and whispered to her, “Any time you need me, no matter the time of day or night, just pat the ground twice, and I will be there, okay?”

“Okay, Hades,” and like before, he watched his love and his daughter walk hand in hand back to their respective ‘dates’ before he headed back to his office.