Chapter Two: The Aftermath

The atmosphere was tense that year on Olympus. Last summer, the demigod daughter of Zeus had made her final stand at the top of Half-blood hill, after facing an army of monsters all by her own; an army that Hades had sent against her.

A confrontation between the Lord of the Sky and the Lord of the Dead had been expected for several months on Olympus. So, naturally, when the god of the Underworld emerged through the doors of the Throne Room during the Winter solstice, the tension escalated to astronomical levels.

Zeus stood up angrily at catching sight of the god of the Dead, but Poseidon held a hand up and Zeus sat back on his throne, glaring fiercely at Hades. Suddenly, the smell of ozone inundated the air.

Hades made his way slowly to his provisional throne among the already seated Olympians, his black robes contrasted with the white marble floor of the bright palace. He knew what the others were thinking. 'Heartless', 'monster', 'evil', were some of the adjectives that circulated through their minds. He could see none of them was excited for his arrival.

Apollo seemed afraid of him, as did Hermes, Hephaestus and Aphrodite. Artemis gave him a look of pure loathing, just like Demeter. Hera stared at him with a blank expression. Dionysus pretended to be bored. Ares regarded him coldly. Athena looked at him as if she was trying to analyze him, while Poseidon avoided looking at him at all; the Sea God seemed nervous for some reason. In the middle of his lonely parade, Hades did not miss Hestia gazing at him with sadness.

He stopped in front of Zeus and with a small nod of his head, addressed the King of the Gods. "Brother", the eldest son of Kronos greeted.

"Hades", Zeus spat his name as if it were venom. "Why are you here? You shouldn't have come".

"It's the Winter Solstice, is it not? I thought I was allowed to come to Olympus during this day", the god of the dead observed.

"You tried to kill my child", Zeus accused his older brother.

You tried to kill mine, Hades wanted to counter. But that would only make him seem weak and pathetic, like a kid arguing with his siblings over 'who started it first'. Besides, no matter what he said, the other gods would always consider him the villain. Or worse, they would begin to feel sorry for him. Quite frankly, he didn't want anyone's pity; he much preferred to let the others think he was a heartless monster. Thus, he chose the harsh answer.

"You broke your oath brother", Hades replied nonchalantly. "An oath you swore on the River Styx. I couldn't let that go unpunished.

"So you judged fair to punish an innocent child?" the Lord of the Sky questioned.

Now he cares for innocent people getting punished. The hypocrite.

"I did what I had to do", Hades defended himself. "You cannot break a solemn oath and expect no consequences because of it. Laws are to be obeyed. Otherwise, the entire world would turn into chaos. You, as a ruler, should know that better than anyone".

Electricity crackled around Zeus' immortal body and the smell of ozone became more intense.

"Get out", Zeus growled.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, Hades. Get out of Olympus. Now" Zeus demanded.

"You can't expel me. I have a right to join the Council of the gods on the Winter solstice", Hades protested.

"Yes, unfortunately, you do", the King of the gods said, rising from this throne. "However, as you wisely pointed out, I am the ruler. And if I order you to leave, you must obey".

"Fine. I will go, then", the god of the Dead told Zeus after a moment of silence, trying to hide his bitterness. Without bothering to walk out of the door, he summoned the shadows of the room and went to the Underworld enveloped in them.

Sitting in the throne of his own palace, surrounded by darkness, Hades pondered on what happened at Olympus. He wondered whether he had gone too far this time. The hostility of his family towards him had increased. Maybe if he had apologized instead of coming off as a coldhearted murderer… No. The cynical part of him quickly brushed that thought off. Why should he apologize? Zeus was a vicious, immoral and cruel god who wouldn't hesitate to kill little children. He deserved it. And considering how upset Zeus seemed, Hades was certain he had achieved his goal.

Although the Lord of the Underworld may acknowledge the unfairness of that girl's fate, albeit only to himself, he didn't regret causing Zeus some sort of suffering. He would never regret it.

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