The Path to Victory

Chapter 18


Thankfully Hades did not move from his spot until morning. Poseidon had awoken to find his brother right where he left him, and carefully disengaged from him to relieve himself, though he heard a rustling that meant Hades had stirred from his sleep. Before he returned, the younger god heard a moan, long and low.

“How are you feeling, brother?” he asked, walking back to the bed where Hades was holding his head and continuing to groan.

Hades peeked out of one bloodshot eye and looked like he would kill his brother were he able. “My headddd…” he finally moaned. He rolled onto his side, decided this was even more uncomfortable, and return to lying on his back.

“I’m not surprised,” Poseidon said, pouring some water for his brother. “You had quite a night.”

“I’m not sure I want to know the details,” Hades replied, his face lined with a sick, miserable look as he sat up and took the chalice of water. Peering past a curtain of dark tangled hair, he saw a bundled up lump of familiarly colored fabric on the floor.

“What is… oh no…” Recognizing his robes, he snatched up the bundle, ignoring the way his brain swirled at the movement, and winced at the smell of dried vomit. “Oh no,” he repeated. He put a hand over his eyes and images came back to him.

He could remember Prometheus, the Titan who had offered him the strikingly green beverage, and he could remember himself consuming it in excess. What had Prometheus called it? Absinthe? That did not matter now. What mattered was what had he had done while under its influence. Hades only had fragmental memories of the night after he had turned to drinking absinthe, but one particular image of himself on the floor, howling with laughter, penetrated his nothing short of chaotic recollection of events.

“Po---Posei…don…” Hades dropped the bundled up robes he had worn last night and leaned against the frame of his bed, suddenly with the urge to throw up again. He had a feeling he did not want to know the rest of what had happened.

“I’m here, brother,” the sea god said gently and knelt beside his brother, stroking Hades’ sweat-tangled hair from his forehead and dabbing his face with a damp piece of cloth. Despite the tenderness of his brother’s actions, Hades could not help but suddenly wince from pain.

“My… my face… really hurts,” he managed to say, and indeed it felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to his features, not just his head. Had he perhaps fallen in drunken stupor and landed flat on his face?

Sighing in dread, Poseidon could only assume that the older god did not recall his physical scuffle with Hera, either. “You truly don’t remember, Hades?” he asked, his hand now stroking Hades’ back rather than his face. Poseidon figured that once the truth dawned on him, his brother would be in need of some reassurance.

“What, Poseidon? What did I…?” Hades’ crestfallen expression was suddenly replaced by one of anger and resentment. “Zeus…” he muttered. “Did Zeus beat me for whatever reason?”

“Well, no…” Poseidon said pensively, hesitant to tell his brother the entire story. “But you could say that Hera did.”

Eyes wide, Hades received an image of blurred memory at the mention of his sister’s name. He remembered getting tackled to the floor and his face being hit several times. “That explains the pain in my nose,” he mumbled regretfully. “How is it?” he asked, hand automatically going to his face, nervous to find how mangled his nose was.

“I set it back into place and healed it for you,” Poseidon said, hand up. “Had you tried yourself last night you might not have a nose at all.”

“I…” Hades hesitated, already knowing the answer. “I looked like an idiot last night, didn’t I?”

Poseidon took his brother’s hand in his own, giving a sympathetic look. Hades’ expression made him look like he had been hit in the face again, and he took a gulp of the water offered to him.

A loud rustling and heavy footsteps reached their ears from the hallway and Zeus entered the room, his face quite severe. “Hades, come with me. You owe someone an apology.”

Hades’ already miserable state of mind increased further when he heard his youngest brother’s voice calling out demands, and he buried his face in his hands again, as if that would hide him from Zeus.

“Please, not now, brother…” Poseidon requested, hoping that Zeus would show even a speck of sympathy for Hades’ plight and not press the matter right at this moment. “Hades is not well.”

A contemptuous snort sounded from the lightning god, and Poseidon’s hopes of sympathy or reprieve were instantly crushed. Zeus approached his two older brothers, his face practically a storm cloud, suitably mirroring his abilities.

“Leave us, Poseidon,” he ordered. “There are matters I need to discuss with Hades.”

When passing the vomit-stained bundle of Hades’ once beautiful robes, a look of disgust came over Zeus’ face, but he did not comment on the mess his drunken brother had made. Poseidon stood up, and Hades briefly looked up toward him, a silent plea in his eyes asking his brother not to leave him alone with Zeus.

“You must not hurt him, Zeus,” Poseidon warned before regretfully leaving Hades’ bedchamber. He would remain outside, attentive for sounds that might indicate his older brother was being hurt. Though Hades deserved to be reprimanded for his behavior last night, hitting him would solve nothing, and Poseidon could only hope that Zeus shared this viewpoint.

“Look at me, Hades,” Zeus demanded as soon as the two gods were alone. He was standing up, looking down at his brother, while Hades remained crouching on the floor by his bed, hiding his face behind his long hair.

It infuriated Zeus to no end that Hades still refused to look at him, and his patience spent, the Olympian leader bent down, grabbed Hades’ slender, naked arms, and lifted him. A pained groan escaped the older god when Zeus’ fingers dug into his flesh, his feet dangling helplessly several inches above the floor.

“You’re hurting me…” Hades croaked out, pain exploding behind his eyes as a response to the sudden movement.

“Good!” Zeus growled. “You robbed me of my wedding night, you pathetic wretch! Hera was so angry she wouldn’t let me touch her, and that is all your doing!”

“That is not my fault,” Hades argued, hardly confident to dispute the younger, far more powerful god.

“Not your fault??” Zeus retorted, baffled at the boldness of his brother. He shook the elder god as he shouted. “WHO became drunk to the point of senselessness and embarrassed the lot of us?!”

Hades could only groan at his brother’s shouting, the noise ringing in his ears and bouncing around in his head. “Ohhhh, I don’t feel well…” he said.

“You’ll feel much worse if you do not obey my commands and apologize to your sister!” Zeus yelled back, his anger dulled only slightly by the discomfort he caused the older god.

Hades only winced and his complexion shifted to an unsettling pale pallor. “Please put me down before I vomit.”

The rank odor of the drying vomit on the ruined robes made the atmosphere putrid enough. Hardly wanting the offensive substance on him, Zeus let go of his brother and let him land on the bed in a crumpled, moaning heap. Hearing footsteps behind him, the leader was not surprised to see Poseidon enter the room once more, his expression dark and eager for providing protection by any means necessary.

“Do not fret, Poseidon,” he said, annoyed at how easily the newly appointed sea god’s temper could flare. “I hardly touched him.”

Both gods heard a snort of disagreement.

“So you wish me to make things better between you and Hera by apologizing for your folly?” Hades asked his youngest brother.

“You shamed me in front of my consort, not to mention the rest of our family and our new allies!” Zeus shouted, his fury too great to be contained. “The only reason I waited until the morning before dealing with you was because I knew you would hardly even be conscious after all you drank!”

“I refuse to apologize for merely speaking the truth!” Hades yelled back, frightened of his brother but nonetheless very angry himself. “You raped me, and the fault is mine?!”

Hades attempted to rise, but a hard backhand blow delivered by Zeus threw him back against the mattress, and though dazed, Hades could now taste blood on his lip.

“Zeus, what in the name of…!” Poseidon lunged at the younger god for daring to lay a hand on their already weakened brother, but Zeus was prepared for the other’s involvement and gave Poseidon a shove hard enough to knock him into a wall.

“Stay out of this, brother,” he hissed, his eyes flashing dangerously. “This is between myself and Hades!” To prove his statement, Zeus proceeded to grab Hades’ arm and tore him from the bed, dragging the disoriented god out of his chambers and totally disregarding the fact that his oldest brother was not even dressed.

Poseidon had hit the wall at such an impact that he was in a daze. He would have been surprised that the wall did not give, had he not been so distracted by the sight of Hades being dragged out of the room by Zeus, unclothed and writhing in his brother’s hold. Shaking his head of the daze, Poseidon struggled to his feet and gave chase, though he did not go as quickly as he would have liked.

The sight of Hades flailing his arms and legs and shouting out ignored objections was pitiable, but Poseidon knew that in such a state of anger, Zeus would only cause serious harm if Poseidon interfered. Instead, the sea god grabbed a bed sheet from Hades’ bed and brought it with him.

Upon reaching the quarters which were now shared by Zeus and Hera – though Zeus had the misfortune of being prohibited from sleeping within it on the previous night – Hades was shoved inside and pushed towards Hera, who was reclining in bed upon her sisters’ orders. Poseidon stood close by, sheet in his arms, ready to cover up the elder god’s nakedness.

Hera’s face took on a look of anger when her eyes spotted Hades, naked and shivering in Zeus’ grasp, and she instantly sat up, itching to finish what she had started last night.

“What in the name of Gaia is he doing in my quarters?” she demanded, her scowl deepening when Zeus dragged the raven-haired god toward her. “Answer me, brother!”

She purposely chose to refer to her new consort as “brother” rather than “husband” to show her disdain of him and his betrayal of her, but if Zeus took notice of it, he at least didn’t let it show.

“Hades is here to apologize to you for the offense he caused at our wedding,” Zeus informed, his expression mirroring the icy tone of his voice. His large hand squeezed down on his oldest brother’s neck, and pressing down, he easily forced Hades onto his knees, not caring that the action hurt his brother.

“Kneel before your queen!” Zeus barked, still not releasing his hold on the other.

Hades of course hesitated and only kneeled when Zeus’ grip pulled him to the floor.

“Now apologize!” Zeus commanded. “Apologize before I drag you out by the hair and we try this all over again.”

Grimacing, his face hidden by his hair, Hades resented the idea of willingly bowing to Zeus’ every whim, but what other chance did he have? Defy and be punished? He glanced to the side and saw a gentle, apologetic sort of sadness to Poseidon’s face. Hades would not willingly apologize to Zeus, but Hera had been treated wrongly by their brother as well. She did not ask for Zeus to be so unfaithful after empty promises of never straying from her.

“My actions were foolish, my sister,” he muttered. He had to repeat what his words when Zeus barked out a remark that Hera could not hear him. “I even promised myself, promised Poseidon that I would not get carried away with my drinking, and I made a spectacle of myself. I apologize wholeheartedly, dear Hera, and I can only hope that you find it within yourself to forgive my error.”

“Don’t you have something else to apologize for as well?” Hera asked coldly, and no one present had to ask what she was referring to. The goddess also wanted an apology for her husband’s presumed infidelity with their brother.

Hades felt tears of anger and shame burn behind his eyelids while three pairs of eyes stayed fixed on him, and though it was a useless move, he wrapped his arms around himself in a vain attempt to cover up his nakedness.

“I am sorry if you feel I have wronged you, sister,” he spoke quietly, “but you must know that I did not initiate anything with your husband and our brother.”

At this, Zeus’ hand on Hades’ neck tightened as a warning not to mention the rape, and Hades had no choice but to take that warning seriously, even though he wanted Hera to understand that he did not “seduce” the younger god.

“But nonetheless, I am sorry that he lay with me.”

Hera’s eyes passed between her two brothers, and for a moment her visage was unreadable. Hades started to fear that she would demand he be punished despite his apology, when their oldest sister spoke up again.

“I accept your apology, Hades,” she said, her voice still devoid of feelings.

“Good,” Zeus simply said, his grip still firm against his brother’s neck as though holding onto the scruff of a puppy. “Now…?”

Hades looked up questioningly at Zeus. What else could there be, he wondered.

“Thank her for her graciousness,” the youngest god urged, and he jerked Hades by the neck for emphasis. Hades grimaced, feeling worse than a mongrel pup, worse than one of the Titans trapped forever in Tartarus. At least the Titans were being punished for their misdeeds. The way Zeus treated Hades now felt as though the elder god was of barely any significance.

“Thank you, sister Hera,” he mumbled. Finally the steely grip on his neck let go, and he felt someone rush to his side, wrapping him in a sheet and closing strong arms around him. Hades instinctively leant against Poseidon’s familiar, gentle touch, though the pair of electric blue eyes scrutinizing him kept him from feeling completely safe. Even with his immeasurable powers, Poseidon was no match for the god of the lightning and heavens.

“Thank you, brother,” Hades whispered as he nuzzled Poseidon’s neck, kissing a soft place just behind the ear.

“Think nothing of it,” his younger brother whispered back, hand stroking Hades' long hair.

“May I go now…?” Hades asked in a subdued voice, not looking at either Zeus or Hera. This whole grim ordeal had made him feel sick again, and he prayed his stomach would not rebel and make him throw up on the floor of Hera’s quarters. If he did, his sister might feel compelled to reject his apology.

“Please do,” Hera replied before Zeus could say anything. “I’d rather not look at you right now.”

Poseidon kept an arm around his older brother’s shoulders as they stood, making sure his legs were steady enough and that the sheet remained wrapped around his naked body. Hades was grateful for the fact that at least one of his siblings was on his side, and though his severely wounded pride cried for solitude, Hades would rather not be left alone now.

“Are you hurt, brother?” Poseidon asked while they were walking slowly back toward Hades’ chambers, arms around each other.

“I suppose not… But my head still aches worse than ever before…”

“You need to eat something. You didn’t eat anything at all yesterday, did you?”

“I’m really not hungry for food…” Hades objected, as the thought of eating now made him want to throw up again.

“Nonsense,” Poseidon said with a wide smile as he wrapped an arm around his brother’s shoulders. “Drinking on an empty stomach was where the problem started. Once we get you something to eat, you should be feeling better in no time.”

“Are you certain this is a good idea?” Hades asked, gathering the sheet closer to him. “I don’t want to attempt eating if it means I shall only vomit everything up again.”

“If you wish, we will take it slowly,” Poseidon answered. “Now come. It is time we had some breakfast.”

“As long as I can put on some actual clothes first,” Hades replied, warming to the idea.


TBC...