Hades sighs as he watches the child approach him, clumsily grasping a sword and trying to look threatening, when in fact, he was just adorable.
Hades was angry with the other gods. They left him alone down here, treating him like a freak, when they were the ones sending children on fatal missions.
āIām going to kill you!ā The boy squeaked. He was waving his sword in the air, but Hades could see his trembling hands and the way his knees shook beneath him. He was terrified, the poor child.
This wasnāt the first kid that had been sent on some random quest down here. There had been manyāall orphans, all treated poorly. They came down here, threatening, waving their spears and swords. And Hades felt bad for them. He knew the ways of Zeus, of the other gods that sat up on their golden thrones in the sky and paid no attention to the problems down on Earth. These kids had no idea.
So, slowly, Hades had been, well, adopting these kids. There was really no other way to put it. He had at least ten kids now, all happily spending their days playing with Cerberus and pulling pranks on Charon. It had been Persephoneās idea at first, but Hades had taken it further than she expected, practically taking in every terrified child who was sent down.
Apparently, the gods thought he had been winning. Killing them, even. Hades couldnāt imagine killing a child, but he knew how the gods saw him. In their eyes, he was a cruel, cold-hearted king who murdered and tortured for fun. In fact, the torturing was his job, and he didnāt really enjoy it. But, at least he did his job.
Hades kneeled down in front of the child, who began to shiver. He had no doubt been told terrible stories about the lord of darkness, god of the underworld, torturer of evil souls.
āWhatās your name, kid?ā He asked, his voice soft.
The kid froze. āW-william.ā
Hades smiled. āThatās a nice name. Would you like to join me, Persephone and our kids for lunch, William?ā
William stared at Hades. He was shocked. āErm. Well. Uhā¦ā He paused to gather his thoughts. āZeus told me that y-you would tuh-try and k-k-k-ā
āKill you?ā Hades chuckled. āI donāt kill anyone, kid.ā
āB-b-but where do all the d-dead people come from?ā
āTheir already dead by the time they get here, Will.ā
āOh,ā William muttered, thinking to himself that that should have been obvious. But Zeus had saidā
āYouāre evil?ā Except it wasnāt a statement. He said it with such uncertainty that Hades had to stop himself from laughing again.
āIām not, promise,ā Hades grinned.
āSwear it?ā Will asked, beginning to smile up at the god.
āOn the river Styx,ā Hades confirmed, and held out a hand for William to shake.
Then, side-by-side, Hades lead the boy out to the gardens, where Persephone would greet him with a warm hug, a delicious lunch, and about ten kids who would be delighted to meet him.
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