The Path to Victory

Chapter 3

The following day, Hades felt well enough to rise from his bed and walk, as tired as he still felt. Whatever movements made by the creature presently did not cause him as much pain as they had before, and he was already through with bed rest. However, he was not looking forward to greeting his fellow Olympians.

As expected, his three sisters greeted him with a peculiar sense of joy. Perhaps they were proud of his accomplishment, or they were relieved that they did not take on his duty as vessel to what was already a wearisome creation.

“Future generations will remember this, brother,” Hera stated, hand on his shoulder. “You bear our victory against our horrific father.”

Hades would have wanted to point out that no victory should be taken out in advance, especially as there was a significant risk that he would perish and the creature along with him, if he hadn’t the strength to carry it to full term. However, Hades kept silent on this matter, knowing how close his siblings were to total despair at this point. Their only hope – literally – now resided within him.

A hand gently stroked his still-flat belly, and Hades could see it belonged to Demeter, who was touching him with something close to reverence. “I can feel it moving, brother,” she announced solemnly, and her touch became almost erotic. “It grows stronger even as we speak.”

Hades nodded, as he could hardly argue with that statement. He knew this from the simple fact that the exact opposite was happening to him. Something was draining his strength, and quickly.

As soon as Demeter made her announcement, her sisters gathered their own hands alongside hers, eager to feel the movement of this new life. Hestia was already offering him food and drink, reminding him that the creature would require sustenance. Hera chimed in and made the mistake of saying in jest that their brother would shrivel to nothing if he did not indulge his creation.

Hades did not like being poked and prodded, especially as he had never experienced so much attention in all the years he had been alive, let alone free from Cronos. Such close examination in his present state made him feel even worse, and he knew the treatment would exacerbate in no time.

“I do not require your assistance,” he snapped at them, breaking free from their touch and walking away. “I will manage by myself.” The three sisters could only stand in silent surprise, wondering what had come over their brother.

*

When Hades did not show up for supper the same evening, the three goddesses immediately voiced their concerns, urging their brother and leader to do something about it. Still offended at how blatantly he had rejected their attentions, none of them was willing to actually seek out Hades and talk to him, but if Zeus gave their brother a clear order, Hades would have no choice but to follow it.

Zeus snorted irritably at their request; the less he saw of Hades, the better, especially now when his sullen mood seemed to have intensified tenfold. However, if Hades neglected the needs of himself, he would also risk the life of the creature inside him, and that was something Zeus could not allow.

“Poseidon,” he said smoothly. “Go seek out our brother dearest and see if you can cajole him into joining us.”

Obediently the other male Olympian rose from his seat to do Zeus’ bidding and seek out Hades, but when he returned only a short while later, he was still alone.

“What is the meaning of this?” Zeus demanded.

“I could not find Hades,” Poseidon replied. “He was not in his chambers.”

Expression dark as a storm cloud, Zeus stood from his seat and his sisters rose in kind out of respect to their leader.

“Join our sisters and enjoy the food,” he said to Poseidon, walking away from the table. “I will find him myself. He is not too disrespectful that he would leave our sanctuary, and he is not above dining with his kin.”

As the four remaining gods ate their supper, Zeus wandered to the boundaries of the refuge first, making sure that he could find no sign of an exeunt from the fortress. Seeing no trace of departure, he wandered the hallways and soon began to impatiently call out for Hades.

Zeus finally found his eldest brother seated against a wall. He approached the god, ready to give him a harsh reprimand until he was close enough to see Hades was not sitting. Instead, he was unconscious, his body propped against the wall at what looked like a rather uncomfortable angle.

“Hades!” Zeus exclaimed as he knelt by his brother’s side, shaking him by the shoulders. “Hades, wake up!”

A soft moan escaped the older god’s lips and he drifted into consciousness, wincing at his harsh awakening. Slowly the image of Zeus’ scowling face cleared before his eyes, and he realized that he was cold. And his head not only hurt but felt separated from the rest of his body.

“What have I done now…?” Hades slurred, having absolutely no clue what could have provoked Zeus’ displeasure with him this time.

“What do you think you are doing?” Zeus asked harshly, trying to mask his worry as anger. “You have to take better care of yourself now, Hades. I will not have you neglect the needs of our offspring!”

Hades’ memories of the last few hours were either absent or hazy at best. He had been meaning to go outside to inhale some fresh air, and… And obviously he had never made it outside, as he was still inside the fortress.

Zeus grabbed his brother’s arm and roughly jerked him to his feet, but Hades was not ready to stand yet, as another attack of dizziness overcame him and dulled his senses like a wave of crude oil.

Zeus looked at his brother in grim and studious observation and finally took Hades’ full weight in his strong arms. “You were expected at supper,” he said as Hades composed himself. “The table is without us.”

“I was… hoping to step outside…” the older god muttered, hand over his eyes until he was able to stand by himself without fear of becoming disoriented. “Some fresh air… I was so tired and thought I might stop and rest…”

“You do need rest,” Zeus replied, hands still grasping his brother by the shoulders. “You cannot come and go as you please anymore, not without our weapon taking a toll on your strength. You must soon return to your bedchambers… but until then, you must eat.”

Hades gave heavy sigh, wanting to argue, but hardly feeling well enough to waste his breath. When he finally looked up at his brother, the dark bags beneath his eyes made him look as though he could fall over dead at any moment. “I’m not hungry,” he said, though he was lying.

“That is irrelevant,” Zeus snapped as he began to drag Hades back toward the dining hall, where their siblings were waiting for them. “What matters is that you need to feed the creature, and you cannot do that without feeding yourself.”

Hades practically had to run to keep up with his brother’s long strides, and it was definitely something that he did not desire to do in his current condition, so he jerked his arm from Zeus’ hold, glaring up at the leader when Zeus spun around to berate him.

“If you wish to walk with me, please do walk slower,” Hades said in a low voice before Zeus could get the chance to speak. “Forcing me to stumble in your grasp will only tire me further.”

Zeus felt the patronizing bite in his brother’s remark, and he scowled as he allowed a slower pace. “Very well, but you will dine with us,” he ordered.

Poseidon was about to describe his brothers’ behavior as childish to his sisters when Hades and Zeus finally entered the room, sharing reproachful looks with one another as they took their seats.

“We were growing concerned,” Hera stated, addressing Hades.

Hestia, who sat beside him, grasped his forearm for a moment in encouragement. “Eat, brother,” she urged him. “It will do both you and our weapon well.”

“Indeed,” Hades said under his breath before he joined his family in eating their supper.

For the most part the dinner went on in silence. Any attempts by the gods to initiate conversation with Hades did not last long, as he rewarded them with short, direct answers and nothing else. In truth he was too preoccupied with thoughts of something Zeus had said earlier.

Offspring? He had not thought of this monstrosity as such until Zeus had spoken the word. Logically the seeds planted by his two brothers had created life within him and made it… his own flesh and blood. His child? Yes, in a way it was a child.

*

Another day passed, and the creature inside Hades’ body had already grown enough to be noticeable even through his robes, if one paid close attention to his midsection. The pregnant Olympian had also, to his great horror, begun to discover grey hairs amongst the black ones that made out his impressive, voluminous raven mane. Petrified by this, but in no way surprised, Hades could only guess what other changes would occur before the creature was ready to leave its vessel and be ready for independent life.

Changes were apparent in his face as well as his physique; though his stomach was steadily bloating, the rest of him seemed to wither and become steadily more and more skeletal. Staring at his own reflection, Hades felt a sudden impulse to break the mirror to rid himself of the hollow-eyed being that stared back at him.

The mirror shattered when his bony hand impacted with it, and the ghastly apparition in it vanished, but a shard of the broken mirror embedded itself in the palm of his hand, causing him to cry out in both pain and despair.

Cursing his clumsiness, he carefully removed the shard with the help of a dagger, but he continued to bleed. Curling up his hand into a fist, he watched the blood run down his palm like a tiny crimson river, dripping to the floor. He closed his other hand around the wound and left his bed chambers, entering the bath so that he might clean himself of the mess his horrendous condition was causing.

Minutes later, as Poseidon was coming to ascertain the source of the commotion his brother was making, he heard a second, similarly agonized wail. Hardly taking the time to wonder if the collective fear of the Olympians was coming true, that Hades would fail to bear his creation to term, Poseidon hurried into his brother’s chambers.

Small droplets of blood still marked the floor, and a horrible moaning was coming from the baths. Poseidon entered, ready to ask his brother what was the matter, when a vase of white blossoms was thrown right at him. He barely had a chance to duck the hurled object.

“DON’T LOOK AT ME!” Hades screamed at him.

Poseidon, of course, did the exact opposite. He stared incredulously at his brother, surprised at the violent welcome. Had the other briefly mistaken him for Zeus?

“Get out!” Hades cried when Poseidon took a step toward him, and realizing his own undressed state, he did his best to cover himself up with his arms. “Get out this instant…”

The yelling and hurling of the vase had drained his already failing strength reserves, and Hades collapsed against the edge of his small bathing pool, his cheek resting against the cool marble.

“Hades!” Poseidon was by his side in an instant, pulling his brother’s lax upper body onto his lap and stroking the tangled, dry wisps of dark hair from his face. Even Poseidon could not help but feel appalled at the dry texture of Hades’ previously thick, glossy hair. It had only been three days, and the oldest male Olympian was inexorably fading on them.

“I… I don’t want you to see me like this…” Hades said in a mixture of a sob and a murmur, and he made a half-hearted attempt to turn his face away from his brother.

“It’s not bad,” he said. He was lying of course, but he only wished to bring his brother’s face out of hiding. “Sit up so that I may inspect you for injuries.”

Hades had just enough strength left to take a seat in the shallow pool. Somehow sitting half submerged in the water kept him just confident enough to allow his brother to scrutinize his already pathetic form.

Poseidon was careful in his examination, yet thorough. He found a wound, likely caused by the shattered glass in Hades’ bedchambers, but otherwise the elder god seemed unharmed… if one excluded the condition his veritable pregnancy caused him. Hades was indeed a pitiable sight, thinner than ever, excluding his swollen belly, and looking deathly fatigued by his plight. His skinny frame and graying locks of hair made him look older.

“I look horrible,” he muttered coldly.

“Nonsense,” Poseidon insisted firmly, determined not to let the rest of Hades’ fragile ego break along with his physical form. “Besides, this… change is only temporary. As soon as the creature is released from the confines of your body, you will go back to your old self.”

“Unless I perish…” Hades sighed, sinking deeper into the water. At least when submerged, he did not have to support the full weight of his growing belly.

Poseidon wanted to promise his older brother that he would not perish, but he realized it might as well be an empty promise. “I have faith in your ability with withstand, Hades,” he said instead.

“It is good that at least one of us does,” Hades replied and even managed a weak smile. “Would you join me, brother? You could let me wash your hair.”

“Would that lift your spirits?” Poseidon inquired, but he was already shedding his clothes, ready to join Hades in the bathing pool. “Perhaps I could wash yours, as well…”

Hades happily obliged, and his brother was the first to have his dark auburn mane cleansed. Poseidon’s hair would have been longer were it not so thick with curls, and it became curlier when wet. Already his kin were joking that he was like a part of the ocean in the form of an Olympian. When his thick mane was completely washed, he shook the remaining water from it and tied it behind him with a leather thong.

Assisting his brother did not completely lift Hades’ spirits, but he was grateful for the distraction. It amused him greatly to see his brother struggle with such a nest of dark curls, and he managed a small chuckle at the younger god’s efforts. He was fortunately pulled from his dark thoughts again when his brother’s hands were against his head, massaging his scalp and wetting his hair. Poseidon was only too glad to grant his brother a small reprieve from his misery until he pulled his hands away for only a moment.

The shock of what followed his hand when he withdrew it made Poseidon go deathly silent for a long moment, and he could only stare in absolute dread at the long wisps of dark hair that came off Hades’ head.

Hades found his brother’s sudden silence both odd and disconcerting, and he turned his head to look at the other. “Brother, what is the ma--” The tufts of hair, now floating in the water between them, made him shriek, and Hades did not have to guess twice who it originated from.

“No…!” he wailed miserably, tearing at the hair still attached to his head, his despair increasing further when his own hands came back covered in hair. “No, no no…!”

His hair had, up until this day, been his only physical source of pride. He was not tall and well-built like his brothers, but his hair, dark and thick as the night, had been impressive enough to make even his sisters envious.

“Hades, calm yourself,” Poseidon tried, catching the other’s wrists to stop him from tearing out the remainder of his hair. “Please, brother, you’ll only cause yourself further harm!”

“No, let go of me…!” Hades cried, his violent sobs threatening to crack his voice. “Let go of me…” No longer possessing enough strength to struggle against Poseidon, he instead collapsed against his brother’s nude, wet chest and let his fellow Olympian embrace him as he continued to weep softly.

Poseidon suspected that remaining in the water would only promote his brother’s unfortunate hair-loss, so he stood up, lifting Hades with him, and began to walk toward the bedchamber with his shivering bundle.

As luck would have it, Hades’ hair had been so thick that despite the considerable loss, it did not yet look obvious. This would sadly not last, and Hades felt overwrought with the idea of losing his once beautiful hair altogether. First it had grayed and become brittle, and now this? He curled up in a trembling ball when Poseidon placed him gently on the bed, quietly weeping and hiding his face in a pillow.

Poseidon sighed as he patted his brother’s shoulder. How ironic that he could not stroke the older god’s hair to comfort him when doing so would only make matters worse. He had no idea what to say in order to console Hades, so he remained silent, hand on shoulder, waiting for his brother to speak. Hades was still soaking wet, and thus with some concentration, his younger brother willed the water, the very thing he felt so attuned to, into himself. All of the Olympians had begun to develop their own abilities as the war with the Titans went on, and Poseidon found his own skills quite apt to further provide his brother with some small amount of comfort.

“Leave me.”

Poseidon gave Hades a sympathetic look. “Hades, will you require nothing to soothe you?”

“I wish to be alone.”

Worried the other might go into hysterics if his wish was not fulfilled, Poseidon caressed his brother’s shoulder one final time and left the room. Hades remained unmoving, though his fingernails were digging into the flesh of his stomach, in danger of breaking skin.

“I hate you,” he said to the creature within him.

As if it heard him, his unborn child responded by moving in a way that felt particularly uncomfortable to the Olympian, and Hades curled into an even tighter ball. He would not join his siblings for supper this evening. His appearance would only serve to shock them, and besides he was certain that whatever he ate would come back up shortly after he ingested it. All he could do was lie here and wait for the inevitable; that the creature would either be born or become the death of him.


TBC...