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War meets Death - Ch. 2

This is an AU!AHS with Michael as the son of the Greek gods, Hades and Persephone.

Pairing: Michael x O/C Female (Emersyn)

Rating - eventual NSFW (not super slow burn but wont start for a few chapters)

Type- multi-chapter story

Chapter 1

***********

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

Emersyn rolled over and looked at the clock on her night stand. 7:00 A.M. With a groan she hit the snooze button and curled deeper into the bed.

It was Thursday morning, just a few days after she’d been accepted as part of the Langdon staff and given a room in their mansion. Each morning she got up around 7 o’clock, got ready and met Ms. Mead down in the kitchen no later than 8 o’clock.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

7:15 A.M. A louder groan rippled through the room. Emersyn shut the alarm off and sat up in the bed. The sun was starting to peak through the curtains in her room illuminating parts of the room the dying fireplace could not.

Forcing herself out of the warm cocoon she’d made, she shuffled her feet across the room to the joining bathroom. As the sink water warmed up Emersyn looked at herself.

Well that’s attractive, she thought dryly. Half glazed over eyes and tangled bed head stared back at her. Even with that she felt good. Lighter. The only way she could describe it was like getting to breathe after being denied air for so long. Deciding she needed to shake a leg, she brushed her teeth, smoothed her hair some and started the shower.

She still couldn’t get over how big and fancy her room and bathroom was. Same walls and floors as the rest of the house with black furniture laid out. Her bathroom was sleek and beautiful, with an extra large tub and separate large shower with a rainfall shower-head. Emersyn could stay under the hot water forever but knew Ms. Mead would have her hide if she was more than a couple minutes late, so she forced herself to leave the warmth yet again.

Wrapping her body and hair in a towel she left the homemade sauna and went back to her bedroom. Turning on her bedside lamp, she glanced at the clock.

7:40 A.M. Shit.

She quickly stepped into her walk-in closet and started grabbing things to wear. Most of the closet was empty as she had only brought about half of her clothes. She’d left in the dead of night from her mother’s house so she had to limit what she could carry in one trip without making a lot of noise. A few bags of clothes and some precious momentous she couldn’t bare to leave behind was all that left with her.

The season’s had started to change so to fend off the chill rising in the air she put on some skinny jeans, a loose grey and black sweater, and combat boots. Rushing back into the bathroom, she quickly applied some concealer under her eyes to try and hide her lack of sleep. Knowing she was running out of time she yanked the towel off her head, brushed the tangles out and threw it up into a messy bun.

That’ll have to work, not like I’m trying to impress anyone. She thought when a picture of Michael flashed into her mind causing a blush. Stop it. That’s not why you’re here.

Pushing his image from her mind she tossed the wet towel in the hamper and sprinted out of the room. Moving as fast as she could without actually running she went down the hall and staircase, to the back of the house where the kitchen was. Emersyn had just sat down and started nibbling on the left over breakfast when Ms. Mead entered the room. Raising an eyebrow, she glanced at her watch then back at Emersyn.

“8:05, cutting it close. Between you and Michael waiting until the last minute I’ll be sent to an early grave.” She grumbled as she started cleaning up.

Emersyn cleared her throat, “Well I can’t speak for Michael but I’m working on being more on time. I’m not a morning person.”

“At least one of you is working,” Ms. Mead responded.

“What do you mean?” Emersyn got up to help clean-up. Ms. Mead nodded in thanks, sighing slightly loud.

“Have you started any of the books I gave you?”

“I started the one about the three main families and all the sub-families. I’m halfway through Zeus, he’s got a lot of...connections.” Emersyn decided that sounded better than bastards.

“Alright, well this is how the Langdon’s, meaning Hades, runs their family. Most people have a particular God or Goddess they worship, but whether or not they worship Hades they have to figure out what awaits them in the Underworld. That’s where our business side comes in. For the right price one can ensure a cushy place, regardless of bad actions done when they were living.”

Emersyn thought on that for a minute. “So basically they buy to have their “sins” forgotten?”

Ms. Mead shrugged, “In a way. The ones that use it for that the most are the elite of Zeus’ followers. Debauchery and little to no morals runs in the group like an STD. Some people use it to ensure their whole family will be together in a happy place, sort of an eternal reunion. Then there’s the one’s that pay so that a loved one can get a “pass” to visit the living so to speak. Maybe for a business deal or family event, we don’t care really. Makes sense?” She watched Emersyn as she digested it. After a couple minutes of silence Emersyn turned towards her.

“It does. Some of those I can understand and even see it as a good service. But not everyone should be able to throw money or whatever into the pot and get the same treatment as people that legitimately work to keep a good soul their whole lives. It’s a business and feelings shouldn’t be a huge running factor, but that doesn’t feel right to me.” Ms. Mead gave her a half smile.

“You and Michael both it would seem.” Emersyn gave her a puzzled look, so she elaborated. “One of the duties of being the King of the Underworld is to keep the business, meaning payments, flowing and balancing the relationships within the families. If a family feels their worshipers are being snubbed then they feel snubbed. It’s a constant balance of politics with them. And when you have worshipers that don’t pay that becomes a delicate issue to address.” Ms. Mead motioned for Emersyn to sit back at the table with her.

“Michael has to learn the balancing act.” Emersyn knew she’d guessed right when Ms. Mead nodded her head. “Can’t his father help him?”

“This is his way of helping him, by making him figure out for himself. He has to have a proposition ready by tomorrow morning and he’s no where near done. He’s too worried about screwing up that he can’t pick a path and follow it.”

They sat in silence for a couple minutes until Emersyn found herself speaking before she could stop herself.

“Could I help him? I mean maybe come up with a few suggestions or a pro/con list. A fresh pair of eyes might see something he’s overlooked.” She felt her cheeks grow red from the scrutinizing look Ms. Mead was giving her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think before I spoke. I’m still learning and even if I wasn’t it’s not my place to-”

“I think that’s a wonderful idea.” Ms. Mead cut off her rambling. “Go to my office and I’ll meet you there with the spare files.” Emersyn sprang up and flew out of the kitchen doing as she was told.

Ms. Mead chuckled at the girls enthusiasm as she left the room at a slower pace.

***********

Hours went by before Emersyn decided she was done with her evaluation of the files. She grabbed everything up and went in search of Ms. Mead. She found the older woman in the kitchen once again.

“Are you done?” Ms. Mead asked, not turning away from the oven to look at her. Emersyn nodded anyway.

“I think so. Wanna look at it?”

“No. Go talk to Michael about it and I’ll finish making lunch.” When she didn’t get a response, Ms. Mead turned around and saw Emersyn staring at her like a deer caught in headlights.

“What? Why can’t you talk to him?” She gripped the edge of the table to try and calm the sudden burst of nerves.

“For one, I’m cooking lunch for all of us. And most importantly, if you’re going to take over my position you have to become comfortable talking to Michael about all of this. He’s stubborn so the more practice figuring out how to do that, the better. Go on.” Ms. Mead’s voice left no room for argument and Emersyn didn’t bother trying to come up with one.

Taking a deep breath in she gathered her thoughts and papers and walked out. Sooner than she wanted, she stood in front of door to Michael’s office. Emersyn bounced on her heels a couple times trying to calm her nerves. She thought about just turning around and coming back later but knew Ms. Mead would raise hell if she did. Before she could talk herself out of it Emersyn knocked on the door and waited. A moment passed then she heard a low “come in” from the other side.

Emersyn quietly slipped into the room, closing the door behind her and let herself take the room in. The walls were darker than the rest of the house, everything was black and gleaming in the light making it slightly intimidating to be in there. Probably the point, she thought. The fireplace was going with a coffee table and two chairs in front of it. Michael sat at the desk on the other side of the room, curtains open behind him to show the balcony over looking the grounds. Cerberus got up from his spot next to Michaels desk, walking over towards her with his tail wagging.

For being one of the most feared creatures in the world, he sure was nice to her. Emersyn couldn’t stop the smile on her face at his greeting and bent down to reach him better.

“Hey, who’s a good boy?” She spoke lowly, still trying to stay unnoticed. Cerberus gave her a lick in return and kept wagging his tail.

At her low murmur Michael looked up from his laptop. He’d thought it was Ms. Mead with lunch, but did a double take at seeing Emersyn crouched down petting Cerberus. The way the Underworld protector took to her still surprised him. Michael was certain it was connected to the fire he’d sometimes see in her eyes and the simmering feeling he’d had the first time they’d touched. He was determined to figure out what it all meant when he got some free time.

“He’s usually not that much of a good boy,” Michael spoke startling Emersyn to look up and make eye contact with him.

Cerberus was not pleased at having his pet session disrupted and gave Michael a side-eye. As the dog went to lay down by the fireplace Emersyn laughed.

“I think you offended him.” She smiled, standing up.

Michael gave a small laugh. “He’ll get over it. I’ll give him a treat later.”

“Ah, bribery. Works wonders.”

“You have no idea,” Michael made eye contact with her again and they just stared smiling at each other for a moment. Once he realized what they were doing he cleared his throat and stood up, motioning to a chair in front of his desk. “My apologies at not greeting you. I thought it was Ms. Mead.”

Emersyn nodded in thanks as she took a seat. “It’s okay. She should be up here in a bit with lunch. She, uh, actually sent me here to talk to you.”

“Is everything okay? Do you need something for your room?” Michael gave her a slightly worried look as he sat back down.

“Oh, no! Everything is perfect, thank you. I love it. It’s, uhm, actually about...well...these.” She hesitantly sat the files on the desk, pushing them towards him.

He grabbed them, scanning quickly. His curiosity gave way to confusion as he realized these were copies of the files he’d been working on for weeks. Trying to keep his voice neutral he spoke, “How’d you get these?”

“Ms. Mead gave them to me.” The look Michael gave her made her hurry along her explanation. “She was teaching me about the business of being Hades and your family so I could understand it better. And then she mentioned you’d been struggling a little with some things and I asked if I could help, so she gave me these and then told me to talk to you.” Emersyn started to feel warm from the heated gaze he was giving her, as if he was picking apart every part of her soul.

Finally he sat the files back down, leaned forward slightly and cocked his head to the side thoughtfully. “And what do you need to talk to me about, concerning these files and my family?”

Gulping down her anxiety she dove straight in. “Well I understand that each account has to be handled tactfully because of who they’re connected to, however that can be used to your advantage. Now these two families, they’re only a couple weeks behind and not high in status. And this other family is lower than them and roughly a month behind. They’re connected to your uncle, Poseidon, and just seem like decent people. Their accounts are so they can have certain family members visit for whatever occasions. Now I’d say charge them a fee, like three percent of their late balance and give them a hard deadline with a payment plan or something. They don’t need to be cut off because if you look at their records they pay 95% on time so it’s probably some type of work or economy issue for the lateness.” Emersyn paused in her presentation, hand hovering over the files she’d opened and laid out in front of him. Michael’s eyes flitted over them, taking in her words and then looked up at her silently telling her to continue.

Getting a small confidence boost from not being told off yet, she grabbed the other two files. “So then we only have these two. They’re connected to your other uncle, Zeus, and in the super rich category. The families are actually cousins so it kinda makes sense that they’re pulling the same crap. They’re several months behind on all accounts. They pay for the cushiest spots in the Underworld and visitation services with old family members. I’m assuming it’s for company deals because they still have things signed by members of the board that have been dead for several years. I say cut them off, completely. Put their accounts totally on hold and don’t allow any lee-way. Tell them they have to pay all their past debts, plus a high late fee, otherwise all previous wrong doings in their lives will be accounted for when they cross over. They have a huge merger deal coming up in a couple weeks and by not having the rest of their board members there to sign off on it, it would cost them billions. That should motivate them to pay up the few hundred thousand they owe. By making an example out of them you should be showing that no matter the status or connections, everyone needs to keep their agreements in this life or it’ll effect their afterlife.” After finishing her speech, Emersyn sat back in her chair and waiting for Michael to say anything.

Silence stretched between them. Emersyn had to focus hard on not fidgeting too much as Michael kept glancing over the files. Finally he gave a loud sigh, sitting back in his seat.

“You’ve definitely put a lot of thought into this. I’m impressed, honestly, and even agree with some of it. But why should I come down so hard on these two and let the other three slide?” He crossed his leg, propping his arm on the armrest with his head in his palm.

“You aren’t letting them slide. You’re just taking into account their good payment history and the fact they’ve never given you problems before. You’d still get paid, but you don’t need to go to such an extreme length to get it. I’m sure your uncle would appreciate the thoughtfulness.”

“And my other uncle? I don’t think he’d appreciate the heavy handed approach much. And that thoughtfulness would be perceived as weakness.”

Emersyn sat up a little straighter and had to tone down her voice some. “No disrespect to Zeus, but the people that follow him are use to always getting their way. Of never having any consequences for their actions. By being “heavy handed” you send the message that even the most elite can’t wave a hand and get whatever they want. Honestly that might be a good message to send to your Uncle as well. That the future King of the Underworld wont be pushed around by status and wealth. And showing some compassion and understanding is not weakness. Weak people who can’t form true connections to others use that as an excuse to be mean and unjust.”

On the outside Michael kept his expression blank, while on the inside he was all over the place. He was agitated at how simple this all seemed to her, not because she was wrong. Oh no, she knew the game quite well for having never played it. Michael was agitated because she came to this conclusion as if it was the easiest thing in the world and didn’t consider any other outcome. It was so black and white to her and he envied that. He’d come to that option days ago, but knew that there were repercussions to going along with that. This would be one of his first decisions on the way to becoming the new King and he had to play it cool, not go in blazing on two elite families connected to his uncle.

Along with agitation, Michael was also feeling admiration. He could feel her nervousness when she’d started talking but the longer she went on, the more confident she’d become in her plan. She stood firm when he’d questioned her and didn’t show any weakness at his scrutinizing gaze. It honestly reminded him of the few times he’d seen his mother and father have a sort of stand off on this issues when he was younger. With a small sigh, Michael brought himself back to the present.

“I thank you for your time and dedication to helping with these issues, but I’ll have to look deeper into these and find a more tactful approach. You’re still new and I’m sure with time you’ll get a better handle on the politics of it all.” Michael have a tight lipped smiled and turned towards his laptop, signalling to Emersyn it was time for her to leave.

She gave a small nod and got up, making it half way to the door before she stopped and turned back towards him. Emersyn didn’t know what came over her, but she felt a huge surge of confidence and that tingling feeling that made her speak her thoughts without thinking first.

“Excuse me, sir, but I think you’re wrong. You know my approach is the best one to ensure the higher classes don’t jerk you around later down the line and so the lower classes don’t look at you as a greedy monster.”

Michael gave her a hard look. “I appreciate your input, but I think I can figure out the best decision for myself and my family’s image. I have been in this world longer than you and there’s always more than one way to handle something.”

“Then why has it taken you weeks to come up with one and it only took me a few hours?” If Emersyn didn’t have whatever these feelings were coursing through her, she knew she’d have ran out of that room once those words left her mouth. However she stood her ground as he got up from his chair and walked around to lean on the front of it and stare at her.

“Maybe because I know there’s more things to consider than just setting examples. This is my family’s image we are talking about. Something you are not a part of.” Michael bite out, being harsher than he meant to be but also trying to retain some of his bruised ego.

“That’s bullshit. You’re not worried about your family’s image. That’s been cemented for centuries. You’re worried about your image. You’re scared that you’ll be seen as weak and will be biting off more than you can chew You’re scared of failing.” Emersyn crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. Michael mirrored her, before pushing off the desk and stepping closer.

“I’d suggest being careful what you say. You’re in my house and in my house it’s my rules.” Michael saw the fire spark in her eyes. As the flames grew, the room also grew warmer. He realized the heat was coming off of her when she stepped closer to him.

“I wont be intimated by a bratty prince throwing a tantrum. You know I’m right. You’ve come to the same conclusion but are too scared of what your father and everyone else will think. You wont be a true King until you realize that following your heart and doing the right things are what makes a King worth following. Until then you’ll just be a boy playing dress up.”

They stared at each other, neither willing to back down. Emersyn felt like someone was in control of her body, but also that she was actually free of whatever usually held her back in confrontational situations and loved it. Michael was pissed. Pissed because how dare someone that didn’t know him speak to him that way. But also how dare she hit the target dead center. He was scared of disappointing his father and not being able to handle the pressure of being King. And he was slightly scared that this girl could see through his facade so easily. Instead of admitting she was right, he held onto the anger. It was easier for him.

Moving right into her space, Michael stared her down. “I wont be spoken down to by someone who’s only good enough to be the help. Learn your place and leave. Right. Now.” His voice was lowly and dangerous. A few pieces in the room started to shake from the energy radiating off of him. The room became more heated as the fire raged on in Emersyn’s eyes. The other thing Michael would never admit was how badly he wanted to ravish her in that moment. Worship her and rule her all at once.

Cerberus stood up and started growling, looking at both of them. A warning that someone needed to back down and step away. The noise reigned Emersyn in slightly, as the flames and heat lowered some. She gave Michael one final hard glare and spun around, slamming the door after her. Michael closed his eyes and focused on his breathing to calm down. Slowly lowering the energy levels of the room back to normal, he noticed how she seemed to have taken all the warmth from the room with her when she left.

Michael turned the fireplace up a notch, trying to get the chill out of the air and then sat back at his desk. Feeling eyes on him he glanced over at Cerberus. The dog, wise beyond Michael’s few years, gave him a look that could have passed for disappointment at how that situation was handled. Michael ignored the look and turned back to his laptop. He deleted the proposition he had started and sat staring at the blank page until another knock broke the silence once again.

“Come in.” He half hoped it was Emersyn so he could apologize but also not, because he wasn’t ready to admit he handled that badly. Instead it was Ms. Mead and from her look he knew he was in deep.

However instead of saying anything, she sat the tray of food on his desk and just looked at him. Michael shifted in his seat a couple times, trying to ignore the woman’s heavy gaze. Finally he couldn’t take it anymore.

“You going to yell at me too or what?”

Ms. Mead shook her head. “No. I think whatever she said was enough, probably more than was needed.”

Michael scoffed, “So you’re siding with her?” He crossed his arms and looked at her. He knew he looked like a toddler pouting, but he didn’t care. Ms. Mead had known him his whole life and had seem many tantrums.

“I’m not siding with anyone. From the energy I felt I think you both crossed some lines, but that had to happen at some point. You will have to learn to rely on her like you rely on me, and I’ve never sugar coated things for you Michael. She has a good eye for these and seems to have the same idea’s as you on how to run it. Trust her and trust your gut. Even your father wasn’t always as intimidating and deadly as he could be.”

“That’s because mother nearly skinned him to make him do something different.” Michael rolled his eyes.

“The right woman can bring out a better side from the darkest of places. But only if the man is willing to listen.” Ms. Mead left after a final hard stare.

Well what the fuck? Michael resumed staring at his blank screen, replying everything that’d happened in the last hour. After deciding what he wanted to do, he started typing the proposition once again.

Time to sink or swim...

***********

I’ll get started on the next chapter in a couple days but I’d love to hear what y’all think! And if you want to be added to the tag-list! Thank you to everyone that reads and enjoys, I’m having a blast writing this.

Requested tag-list: @jamesbuckybarnes13 @frozenhuntress67

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