Fighting Fate

P R O L O G U E - Dilara.

There weren’t many things that I wasn’t aware of in that moment, despite the fact that my eyes were closed, that I was waiting for something bad to happen. There were many factors that I needed to consider at this point in time, and none of them were good ones.

There was a sea of people gathered around me, like some judgement chamber in a parliament-like building—and the worst part of it all? I was the centre of attention, which could only mean that I was the one who was being judged. I was taking deep breaths, telling myself that there was nothing to worry about—because I had seen Hades in the crowd.

I wasn’t entirely sure if it would actually make a difference in terms of my safety, but I found that there would be no difference made by the fact that I was feeling as I was. On the contrary, it would make no difference at all.

The fact that Persephone was standing over me, looming like some kind of dictator, did not bode well with me. But what was I to do? Was I to stand up and try to fight for my life? Or what was I to do? All of these questions were flying about in my mind, but even so, I was all too aware of the fact that there were other things that I needed to think about, other factors that would also be posing a threat. It was like there was never enough in my mind, never enough to consider.

And another thing that kept me completely still, was the fact that Hades wasn’t doing anything. He was sitting there in silence, although he looked a lot more frightened than the rest of them, but I assumed that that was because he knew me. He knew that this was a lot more than whatever these other people were thinking.

He was staring directly at me, almost like he was waiting for me to do something, like he was waiting for something to happen. And honestly, I couldn’t blame him, because I found myself waiting for the exact same thing. I wanted to know what was going on, and why Persephone had decided to do this. I wanted to know what was going to happen to me.

Had Persephone realised that she had failed in her attempt to kill me, and now she was going to get help from someone else? I hoped that it was not the case, because I knew that none of these people would care for me. They wouldn’t hesitate to take her side and to get rid of me, to make things easier for her.

And the worst part of it all?

I didn’t even know if Hades would be able to stand against any of these people, or if he would even be willing to. This was all a big mess, and I felt like I was watching all of it happen from a back seat—which wasn’t really fair, considering the fact that it was influencing me. I was the one who was mainly being affected here—not Persephone, despite what she was trying to convince these people of.

I wasn’t sure what it was, but something made me realise that Hades was not my only supporter in this crowd. Sitting in the front row, a few seats in front of him, was no one other than Athena—and to state that she looked upset, was nothing more than an understatement. She looked like she was ready to murder Persephone, and I was actually considering the fact that it was possible that she might follow through with her desires.

    “Persephone. What is the meaning of this?”

My eyes snapped to man who had spoken. He had a trident in his hand, although it didn’t look like the ordinary trident that you would see on television. It was literally charged with electricity, short bolts of lightning shooting out of it every few seconds. I couldn’t help but find it strange, although I assumed that it had something to do with his attribute. I was no genius, but perhaps the man who had spoken, was Zeus.

    “I want to find out whose cross-breed mutt this is.”

As if to prove a point, Persephone shoved her foot into my back, causing me to lurch forward. And it was in that moment that an incredible fury started to course through my veins—it became so intense that it felt like I was losing control of my emotions, like there was something that I was missing, that I hadn’t quite gotten just yet.

I was standing on my feet in an instant, and I knew that my movements had caught Persephone off guard, because when I turned around to face her, she was no longer standing close enough for me to touch—meaning that I would need to make an effort to go and hurt her, and she would have to do the same if she intended to do anything else that might be detrimental to my dignity.

    “A cross-breed?”

There was a strange tone to the voice of the man who spoke, and I could only imagine what his face would look like. And judging by the way that Persephone had begun to smirk, I assumed that this was exactly the reaction that she wanted. She wanted people to know that I didn’t belong here, and it seemed like these might just be the people who would call the shot to get rid of me.

    “Yes. She’s a cross-breed, but I do not know whose child she is. What I do know, is that she has been trying to ruin my marriage.”

There was a chorus of gasps that filled the air, and I could do no more than to clench my jaw. She was painting me as the villain here, when in actual fact, I hadn’t done anything. I hadn’t done so much as attempt to win over Hades. Everything that had been happening between the two of us, had been prompted by him. He had been the one courting me.

But if she planned to paint me as the villain, then so be it. I doubted that there would be anyone to stop her from doing so, and even if there was, I doubted that any of these other people would listen—although I was starting to believe that they were the other gods.

    “Hades, is this true?”

I had to resist the urge to turn around and to look at him. I wanted to see what he was going to say, but it seems like the fact that he was involved, that he was asked for his opinion seemed to trigger Persephone to the point of no return, because she raised her voice, stepping towards the crowd—and essentially stepping closer to me. I couldn’t deny the fact that I was fighting off my own urge to shove her back, but I was managing to keep my urges under control.

    “Why are you involving him? All that he’s going to do, is lie to you. He’s going to take her side in all of this—“

    “Do you believe me to be foolish enough to be convinced of something that is not true, Persephone? Is that what you are trying to say?”

Judging by the way that Persephone was pursing her mouth shut, I felt that it was safe for me to assume that there was something wrong with implying something like that to him. For all I knew, there was something that I was missing here. But there was no point in worrying about that just yet.

    “I thought so. Hades. You were about to speak?”

    “Her name is Dilara, and yes. I have announced my intention of separating from Persephone in order to be with her—but, she is not the one who initiated our relationship. It was me. I was the one who dragged her into our world.”

    “But she is of our world, Hades. Do you have any explanation for that?”

My heart felt like it was about to feat out of my chest at any moment now—but that was impossible. After all, I had watched as Persephone had ripped my heart out of my chest, and I knew that there was no longer anything there. But I could still hear it drumming in my ears, still feel the pulse of it in my neck. It was like it had never been removed—and that wasn’t possible.

    “I do not have an explanation for it. I have tried to find one, but all of the routes that I took, did not lead to an answer. It had been nothing more than a suspicion, but Persephone ripped her heart out of her chest, and I’m sure that you can understand that she should have been dead if she was a human, or a half-breed, for that matter. I do not believe that she is a cross-breed of any sort. Do not believe what Persephone is saying.”

I had to admit that I was surprised to find that Persephone hadn’t tried to cut him off or stop him from speaking again, especially since he was speaking against her. But one thing that I wasn’t surprised by, was the fact that Hades was speaking the truth. He had acknowledged his role in all of this and admitted that it had not been some ill-hatched plan on my end. I could only hope that these people believed him.

There was a long length of silence, and I could tell that it was busy bothering Persephone just as much as it was bothering me. I wanted to know what was going to happen next, I wanted to know what the judgement was going to be, and I wanted to know what was going to happen if they chose not to believe Hades. I knew that it was pointless for me to worry about all of this as I was, but there was nothing for me to do about the matter. I just knew that I would end up in a heap load of trouble, and the only person who would be to blame for it, was Persephone.

I just hoped that Hades and Athena would continue to stand by me, as they had done before, because I knew that I wouldn’t be able to make it out of here on my own. And that was all that I wanted to do.

I wanted to make it out of here, and go back home, and pretend that none of this had ever happened. There was a very slim chance of that actually being able to happen, but that didn’t stop me from hoping that it would.

    “She’s a pureblood. I’m not quite sure how all of us could have missed her existence, but I’m certain that there is an explanation for it. After all. Her blood is blue. She is as much one of us as I am.”

I didn’t want to turn around. I didn’t want to do anything to show them that I was as shocked by the words as Persephone was, although, it was for a completely different reason, I was sure. And the moment that she started speaking, she confirmed that fact.

    “I don’t care where she is from, or what she is. I care about the fact that she is trying to ruin my marriage.”

    `”Persephone. You ruined your own marriage. You might not have realised it yet, but all of this is your own fault. You are the one responsible for all of this, but you’re so stuck in that shell of yours, that you don’t even realise it.”

I couldn’t deny the fact that I was shocked by the voice that had shot up out of the darkness, and this time, I hadn’t been able to control myself. I turned to face the voice, finding that it belonged to no one other than Athena, and she looked like she was ready to kill Persephone, just as Hades was. They looked like they were out for blood, while everyone else looked as though they were watching a show.

They didn’t care for what was happening, they only cared for the entertainment that it provided them with. And it was in that moment that I realised that this wasn’t going to work out fairly, not for me, and not for Persephone. Neither one of us was going to win fairly here… I just hoped that she didn’t realise that, or else she would start to play dirty, just as I was now planning to do. I didn’t entirely know what it was that I was going to do just yet, but the truth would not be coming out of my mouth.

But I wasn’t the only one here, whose voice mattered. Athena and Hades needed to look past us and realise what was going to work in favour of their peers. But I didn’t think that I would manage to tell them myself. It was going to be them against themselves…

    “Athena, are you aware of some information that needs to be shared with the rest of us?”

The man addressed Athena directly, but I didn’t think that he had managed to get her attention. It was like she hadn’t heard him, and she seemed to have no intention of hearing him either—but I knew that it was only a matter of time before he would demand it.

    “As a matter of fact, I do. But I do not believe that I should be the one to reveal this information. It is something that Persephone needs to admit herself.”

There was nothing more than silence that drifted through the air after the statement that Athena had just made and it seemed to me like everyone was waiting for something to happen, for someone to say something. I turned to look at Persephone, deciding that I had allowed my attention to stray from her for long enough. Maybe the next time that she tried to kill me, she would actually succeed. I needed to be careful.

And I needed to keep an eye on her. That was something that I needed to make sure of.

    “Athena… I fear that I do not have time for games, and I do not wish to deal with this matter any longer. It is tiring and frustrating, especially since no one can tell me what seems to be going on—but it seems like you can.”

Before I had much time to process what was going on, I found myself seated in a chair in the crowd. Fear struck through me like a lightning bolt, and I clutched onto the armrests—that was until I felt a hand settle on mine, and I came to realise that I was seated on the chair beside Hades.

I looked at him, desperately trying to gauge his reaction, to try and pick up on a tell-tale sign on how he was feeling, but I found that I couldn’t pick up on anything. He was the perfect image of composure, but judging by the fact that he knew that he needed to comfort me, I was far from it.

My eyes scanned the crowd, and I found that Persephone was now in the place where Athena had been sitting, and Athena, was now standing in the centre of the room, just as the two of us had been before. But the difference between us, was that she looked like she belonged there. The only thing that tainted her image of perfection, was the blue blood that was pooled on the floor around her.

It was also in that moment that I realised that I was still bleeding. The hole in my chest hadn’t stopped pumping out blood yet, and the worst part of it all? Was that I felt perfectly fine. I felt like there was nothing wrong with me, like there was no hole in my chest. But there was, and it was a very big one…

    “Athena… The stage is yours.”

Hades squeezed my hand, and I forced myself to look at him. I didn’t want to. I wanted to give Athena my full attention, so that I would be able to hear everything that she said, so that I didn’t miss a beat.

    ‘Are you alright?’

Hades mouthed the words to me, making sure that he spoke slowly so that I would actually be able to read his lips. I nodded my head in a yes, even though I wasn’t entirely sure that that was true. But even so, there was nothing that I could do about it. Whether I lied to him or not, it wasn’t going to make a difference.

I turned back to Athena as soon as I was able to, desperately trying to figure out whether or not she had said anything to anyone yet, but it seemed like she hadn’t. I hadn’t missed anything.

    “Centuries ago, I watched someone abandon a child. This god knows who he is, because I confronted him about the matter as soon as I realised what was happening, and he assured me that I had nothing to worry about.”

    “And do you suspect that this goddess is that child that you saw?”

Athena nodded her head, and I had to admit that she seemed to be quite sure of herself. The only flaw in her statement, was that I definitely was not centuries old. I knew that for a fact. After all, I had grown up with my siblings. I had aged just as they did…

    “And who was the god who you had seen, Athena?”

There was a moment of silence—although it felt like it was a lot more than merely a moment. I was actually starting to wonder whether or not Athena was even going to say anything at all, or if she was going to state that it is not her place to talk—but she proved me wrong.

    “Poseidon.”