Discord & Death

Based on the characters from Disney’s “Hercules” film & TV show

Chapter 3

‘Release the daughter of Demeter…’

‘Send her back to the Land of the Shades…’

‘A curse upon you, mighty Zeus, until you abide the laws of Fate…’

‘Release her…’

“CRAWGH!”

Zeus awoke with a start and looked up in wonder as a huge, dark, winged creature tore through the canopy of cloud above, and dived down upon him as he lay in bed, its claws a-blazing, it’s mouth agape. It fluttered above him for but a brief moment, clawing at his bearded face, and slashing toward his muscular chest. Zeus flung a powerful arm out toward it, “Away with you!” he cried, attempting to knock the scaly lizard-like bird away. The beast dodged his assault, its eyes glowering at him, seeming to jeer at his clumsiness. It prepared to dive again, squawking loudly, when suddenly Hera awoke.

“Zeus, what on Olympus is going on?” she asked cantankerously, having been awoke from her slumber by his shout. She sat up straight to look at him.

Briefly distracted from the fearsome intruder, Zeus turned to Hera, “A Fury! Look, a Fury!” he shouted, pointing to where the beast had been, before turning back to it.

But it had gone. And there was no sign of any pandemonium around him.

Zeus stared at the undisturbed room in complete shock. “Where is it…?” he whispered incredulously, “Where’d it go?”

Hera looked about the bedroom slowly then looked back to Zeus. “What Fury?” she asked, “I see none, nor hear any.”

Zeus leapt out of bed and made a search of the room, looking for the creature he knew he’d seen. “There was one! I saw it!” he thundered, his mind unable to comprehend how the creature had suddenly vanished.

“Well, if there was one here, I see no traces of it... unless it visited you in your mind. They can, you know,” Hera went on in a measured tone, watching Zeus search their room from top to bottom.

He scoffed at her. “Are you saying I’m mad?” he snorted.

“No… but the Furies can drive many to madness. You know they contributed to your father’s insanity,” Hera continued. “Did you hear voices?”

Zeus stopped his search and looked to Hera, thinking about her question, “Yes…” he admitted, “Before I awoke. There were voices telling me to release Persephone to Hades.”

Hera nodded, “It is the Fates, Zeus. You’ve angered them.”

“I've said that she will not be returned to my brother, and that’s final!” he snapped.

Hera looked down for a moment before returning her line of sight to meet that of her husband’s. “Zeus, you cannot disobey the laws of the Cosmos, even if it is wrong to allow her back to Hades. I’m not taking Hades’ side, Zeus, I’m just being truthful. Let her go.”

“I can not!” he hissed with a tone of finality.

“You must, or forever will the Furies haunt you. And you then tempt your own overthrowing,” Hera added before turning back around and laying down in her bed.

Zeus watched her with bitterness, but he knew that she spoke the truth. He just didn’t want to face it.

Cronus overthrew Uranus. He had overthrown Cronus. He would not be overthrown himself.

Life sucked. Especially when it decided not to go the way you wanted it to.

Hades glared blankly at the rocky, jagged ceiling above his bed, unable to sleep. He knew that Persephone should have been returned to him by now – he’d counted the days by religiously - but she still wasn’t here. He was still alone.

Had the Fates lied to him? Or had they gone soft and allowed Zeus to overrule their commands? Persephone had counted upon what he had said as being true, and she had trusted that she would be returned to the Underworld after six months. He couldn't fail her like this.

That's if she even still loved him. Six months was a long time, and seeing as he’d not been summoned to Olympus since he and thunder boy had had the ultimate 'contretemps', anything could have happened in that time.

He shook his head – he couldn’t lose faith. He trusted Seph wouldn’t either. He’d felt all along that their union was destined, and he still felt that. He was confident that she still loved him.

He threw of his duve, and got out of bed – it was time for a word with the Fates. He was not a happy god at the moment.

It was fair to say that Morpheus hadn’t blessed Persephone's slumber last night, either, and she had barely been able to catch a nap. Her mind was boggling with bad thoughts as she wondered how her life was going to turn out, and she was beginning to worry that she'd never escape from Mount Olympus. She had thus been up before the moon had waned, and was now helping Apollo tack his horses up ready for the daily sun-run. Apollo had two stunning equines, both with deep red flanks and flaming manes. Their hooves were golden and hard as diamond, whilst their builds were much more elegant than those of Hades’ two black stallions.

“I thought you didn’t like hoses, Seph?” Apollo said as he placed a bridle over one of the horses and allowed Seph to do the other.

“I didn’t… until I went down below,” she replied, tightening the forehead strap about the horse’s head. “It was just a silly fear I had, and Hades helped me overcome it…”

Apollo smiled gently – he wasn’t an overbearing guy, and one of the nicest gods around. Demeter had always seemed to fancy him as the perfect god to pair with her daughter, but Persephone had gone to the other extreme and chosen her mother’s least favourable guy. “I just can’t imagine a ‘charitable’ Hades…" he smiled, "you’ll have to excuse my amusement…”

Seph smiled back. “It’s okay… I’ve had a lot worse thrown in my face,” she replied.

Apollo nodded, checking the harnesses on the horses. “Thanks for the help, Seph,” he said.

“No problem…” she replied, “I’ve got nothing better to do.” She then patted the horse she’d been attending, and walked back toward Apollo’s golden chariot, noticing a fine scratch drawn along the side. She frowned. “Did you know you’ve got a rut in your chariot?” she asked, running a finger along the furrow.

“Yes" Apollo replied, walking onto his chariot and taking up the reigns, "I think your man did that at your mom’s last Harvest Festival…”

“He did?” she asked, glancing at him to gauge his reaction.

Apollo was smirking. “When you next see him," he said, "tell him he owes me for it.” He then lashed his horses on forward and went to collect the sun from its nightly resting place.

“Sure…” she sighed once he was gone, looking away. She wandered to a nearby balcony and leant over its firm, cloud-formed edge, looking to the world below as it neared the dawn. She wanted to go home.

The crooked, twisted mountain of the Fates loomed up in the distance, piercing the horizon with its sword-like edges. Hades lashed his black griffin on, his flaming hair billowing out behind him and the wind gusting through his chiton as he tore toward the Moirae sisters’ home base. He gritted his teeth in determination and his eyes blazed – he was fired up! Wrenching the reigns to a halt at the entrance to the Fates’ cavern on a ledge thousands of feet above the valley below, Hades leapt out of his chariot and entered the home of the dread sisters, his fists tight and his temper raging.

The Fates had foreseen his arrival. They all turned to look in his direction, the eye of destiny hovering before them, as the Lord of the Dead entered their alcove.

“Ladies,” he growled, his fiery hair tinted red-orange, “We need to talk.”

“Hades,” Clotho greeted him with a somewhat mocking smile, “We knew we’d be seeing you today.”

“Yes,” Lachesis agreed, “Your temper has taken hold of you, and your mind has been usurped by your own rage.”

Hades felt his lip twitch as he picked up on the taunting edge of the Fates’s voices. “Are you mocking me?” he hissed, gliding slowly toward them.

“No, why should we?” Atropos smiled wilily. “It is only that we know that your visit to us is in vain.”

Hades brow furrowed deeply. “Come again?” he asked, his voice incensed.

“You have come to enquire about young Persephone, have you not?” Clotho queried.

“Yes," Lachesis continued, "about how you feel that we have failed you. About how you think that we will not allow your precious Persephone back to you.”

“All this from the god who once claimed to hate love!” Atropos grinned, chuckling.

“Enough teasing!” he yelled, throwing his hands out to either side and launching random flames about the cavern walls, lighting them up with shades of orange and red. “Get to the point! What is going on?”

The Fates looked to him blandly, enjoying keeping him on the end of a thread.

“I know that it is law,” Hades continued, opening his hands toward them, “As do all the gods and mortals of the world, that he or she who eats so many seeds of the pomegranate, spawned from the Underworld, damns their-self to Tartarus annually for as many months as seeds they ate – am I right?”

“You are, Hades,” Lachesis nodded leisurely.

“Right,” he nodded, his patience wearing thin. “So explain the situation at hand: Seph ate six seeds, Seph should be in Underworld for six months of the year, the six months which are due to begin now, so where is Seph?”

The Fates paused a moment, taking their time; “She will come to you, Hades,” Atropos said.

“We have done more then you credit us for,” Clotho continue., “The Furies have been set upon Zeus.”

“He cannot hold Persephone when she has damned herself to your world, Hades,” Lachesis added. “You ever doubted us?”

Hades looked to each of them as they spoke, frowning with confusion, “Why did you do that?” he asked, his lighter tone resurfacing, “Why were you toying with me? Couldn’t you jes' have been nice to a guy in a situation like mine and given me the answers straight?”

They chuckled amongst themselves. “You know us better than that, Hades, Lord of the Shades,” Clotho grimaced, pointing a finger at him.

“You know that none escape Fate as we have set it, nor break the rules which were made before the birth of your grand sire,” Lachesis smirked.

Hades sighed, rolling his eyes, “OK, my bad. Can I ask when I’ll see her, then? When are yer gonna put me out of my misery, eh?”

“Soon, Hades…" Atropos nodded, "very soon."

Hades grinned with excitement. Zeus wasn’t gonna win this round! This round would go to Hades!

“Girls, I can’t thank y’all enough!” he said, “I almost thought yer were gonna let me down!”

The Fates looked to him. “We favour no one, Hades, as far as Fate goes,” Clotho reminded him. “Joy may befall you now, but chaos may befall you later. It is the way of things.”

“Right, understood,” he nodded, only half listening. “Many thanks, ladies…” He then turned to go.

The sisters watched him leave and smirked knowingly.

‘To none shall their future be completely told,

Not even the Lord of the Underworld…’

To be continued…