III. Mundane

I learned to be independent when I was little due to Dorian's long hour commitments to the U.O.G. Max was always out with his friends and hardly ever spent time with me, even when he did, I wished he didn't. He was the typical older brother, teasing me, making fun of me, taking my things, and refusing to give them back. Looking for any kind of reaction from me. I managed to simply ignore him most of the time and let him wear himself out until he stopped. So it was rare that I asked for help or expected help. I liked doing things by myself. Asking for help wasn't an option unless I had no other choice. And in this case, it seems I have no other choice.

My heart was pounding out of my chest. Standing in front of my new full-body mirror, I could see my chest rising heavily. I looked around at the new furniture reflecting in the mirror and the new room I was living in. Fixing the collar of my white button-up shirt, I wondered how I had got there. It was all surreal. Slowly the things I had always wished for were coming true and it was overwhelming. I wasn't sure if I wanted those things anymore. I never considered the pressure, the sheer anxiety of actually having those things and doing those them. Working for King Hades. Once in a lifetime opportunity. Once in a lifetime honour. But with the anxiety that had come with it, I was ready to throw it all away for my mundane life.

Despite the fear that replaced every other emotion in my body, I was ready to get to work. I was determined to do well. I brought my laptop with me, though I doubted it would be much help down there as well as two folders Hayden had given me the night before. He wanted me to have a look at the layout of the system and do a couple practise tests. He had given me some vague information and insisted that I rest for the night and return in the morning ready for work. I wasn't sure if I was ready, but I was determined to pretend I was if I had to.

I placed my bag over my shoulder and walked to the elevator looking for any information on where I should be going. I took a couple of deep breaths entering the elevator and going down to the lower floors where the reception was. It was already 8AM and I was running late. I came out of the elevator and walked into a large open space. The windows were bright, but nothing was visible outside, which made me do a double-take. They were transparent the night before. But I had no time to dwell on the weird tricks of the Underworld, already running late for work on my first day. I walked over to the counter and queued in line behind two tall guys.

I tried to hide my astonishment, examining their perfect skin tones, beautiful long hair, clean, expensive suits. Their clothes were all bright and colourful, unlike my usual bland, black and white duo. I looked like I was from the black and white world, while they lived in colour. Shouldn't it be the other way around? Supposedly, this is hell. The scary, breathtaking, soul-sucking Underworld. This is where people come to be punished for their crimes, live miserably, locked away in cages, and forced into slavery. The dark place everyone on Earth expects it to be. But it seemed Earth was the real dark place. The black and white. Colourless world.

I inhaled a deep breath, adjusting the plainclothes I was wearing. They both signed a large, black book on the counter and walked away, sliding their laminated badges through the door, before walking in. The woman behind the counter smiled, waving to them before her dough eyes landed on me.

She wore a beautiful flowery dress. Her hair was tied at the top of her head in a large knot. Strands of her hair had fallen over her back and shoulders as well as the side of her face. Her skin looked like wax. Perfectly snow white. Her lips were a deep purple tint and so were her eyes. She looked like an expensive China Doll. I could feel my mouth run dry and my tongue twist and turn, uncertain of the words that were going to come out.

"Hi." I cleared my throat, my voice hardly at a volume that she could hear. "I'm supposed to be working with Mr. Hades. Do you perhaps know where I could find his office?" I asked the seemingly sweet lady. My voice was still shaky and meek, despite trying my best to enhance the volume. I felt my cheeks fill with heat. I felt out of place. I was out of place. My clothes looked nothing like theirs and my face was salt on a shelf of spices.

"You mean King Hades?" Her long nails reached for the end of the counter, making me take a step back as she lifted herself over the counter. She leaned forward, giving me a oneover from my feet to my hair, before moving back into her seat. Her voice wasn't sickly sweet like it was a couple of minutes ago. Her arms fell by her side, as she looked down at a piece of paper on her desk. Her head snapped back up to look at me with her sickly, but fake smile returning to her face. "Give me one moment please."

After a short two minute wait I noticed her look drift into the hallway behind me. I turned my head only slightly to see who she was looking at, but a black brick wall was standing in front of me. I lifted my head, meeting the eye of the black soldier standing inches from my face. Their uniforms always frightened me. They looked like walking grim reapers, only bulletproof. A hiccup escaped my lips as I took a step back to make some space between us. I hadn't even caught up with the fact that he was there for me.

"Ma'am, could you come with us?" His voice made me jump. I looked over to the receptionist, confused why I was being asked to leave by a black soldier of all people.

"What? No. I really am here to work with King Hades." It's strange to think that even gods, all powerful gods, need soldiers to protect them. What kind of threat was I posing to a God as a human? I was confused as to how we had resulted in this. I had assumed she would have called Hades and just asked him whether I was or wasn't who I said I was. In my small human brain that seemed logical.

"Just take her back wherever she came from." The receptionist waved me away like I was an annoying fly.

"Just call him and ask him. I am here to work with King Hades, he invited me yesterday. I am staying on the 7th floor, apartment F." I insisted with a slight smile still on my face. It wasn't because I was being naive or was trying to be polite to the woman who was trying to get me kicked out, but because I was shocked at their lack of common sense. Call Hades, have him confirm who I am, have me confirm who I am, job done. Easy. So you'd think.

"I will do no such thing. I will not bother King Hades with such nonsense. The 7th floor is strictly reserved for King Hades and other Gods. Please leave or the black soldiers will remove you." It seemed we were way beyond me just leaving, with the black soldiers standing behind me. The 7th floor is strictly reserved for the gods. I felt my heart flutter in excitement for the first time since being down there. I looked up at the receptionist again, pushing the feeling to the back of my head so I could return to it at a better time.

"This is a misunderstanding, I really do work here."

"Ma'am, please." The black soldier's voice still made me jump as he gestured for me to exit the building. His face was gray, like he'd been dead inside for a long while and I suppose doing what they were hired to do, would make anyone feel dead inside.

"Please, could you just call King Hades and ask him. He will tell you himself." I explained to the soldier, hoping that perhaps at least he had some common sense, if not common, at least the sense to try.

"Just get her out of here." I exhaled a heavy breath. It was beyond mindblowing how it was so difficult for anyone to contact Hades, or to confirm my identity. It seemed that if I wasn't one of them, then I didn't belong and it didn't matter who hired me, even if it was the King himself. I was from a different world and powerful or not, somehow still a threat.

"Come with us." All options were absolite now, with the soldier no longer suggesting that I just leave, but instead suggesting I followed them. Follow them to where? The gates of hell? The dungeon? To be reintroduced to Hades pet - Mihai. I think not.

"No, please. Just call him." There was a part of me deep down inside that could not start laughing. Who did they think I was? Compared to even the weakest of their residence, I was still the mouse in their cage. There was nothing that I could do to them, that they couldn't stop without even using their powers. In the midst of what I can only describe as probably a mental breakdown, I felt a hand wrap around my wrist.

"Why is it so difficult for you to call him?" I chuckled, not knowing what else I could say, having repeated myself a million times. "Can you please let go of my arm?" The soldier's eyes narrowed down onto my small face. He was a whole head and shoulders taller than me. He seemed annoyed by my confidence and defiance. Like he wanted me to be afraid of him - which I was, but I tried my hardest not to give him the satisfaction of seeing it on my face.