The Path to Victory

Chapter 5

When Hades awoke, his first thoughts were of pain. Such a sensation was nothing new, but this time the pain was different. He felt it everywhere, in every inch of his body, and as he remembered the moments leading up to his loss of consciousness, the pain seemed to increase. As he began to move about beneath the covers, a figure leaned over him and a gentle hand caressed his face.

“Still with us, I see,” Demeter said. “Try not to move, you might start to bleed again.”

Hades groaned with discomfort as he took in his surroundings. He was in his bedchambers and quite naked beneath the blankets. The creature within him was surprisingly still.

“What… happened?” he managed to ask, his voice but a raspy whisper. The last thing Hades could remember was fighting a losing battle against the monstrous creature that had attempted to pull him down to the depths of the ocean, and now he was in his own bed, safe, and the thing inside him appeared safe too.

“Zeus slew the sea beast and carried you back to safety,” Demeter replied, smiling. “Rest, my brother. After an ordeal like that, you have earned it.”

Of course, Zeus… Hades was immensely grateful to his brother that he was still alive, but he could not help but fear that Zeus was very angry with him for exposing himself and the life inside him to such dangers. Had it not been for Hestia…

What had become of his sister? She had valiantly fought the sea creature to save him, and he could not remember what had happened to her. “Hestia… is she safe?” he asked Demeter, suddenly dreading the answer. The creature had reached out for him, but Hestia’s decision to get involved might very well have cost the goddess her life.

“Don’t worry, she is unharmed,” Zeus’ voice filled the room as he entered. Hades moved to sit up against the backrest of his bed, but the damned creature inside him was getting heavier by the hour, and he soon gave up.

“I suppose you are angry with me,” he said.

“Very much,” Zeus replied, frowning. “But far more important is the fact that Cronos shall know by now of your condition. Even if he does not know of our plans, he will not like the idea of us procreating. He once was concerned with defeating six of us, and now there shall be a seventh. He may act against us sooner than he might have planned.”

Demeter placed a protective hand on her older brother. “What will we do?”

“While one of us stands guard over our refuge, another will tend to the weapon and watch over it. That means you can no longer suffer in isolation as you preferred, Hades.”

Hades frowned at his brother’s words. “What do you mean by that? I won’t do it again!”

If Zeus believed that he was stupid enough to repeat his mistake, he really did not give Hades any credit at all.

“You may consider me feeble, brother, but never make the mistake of thinking me stupid!” the pregnant Olympian glowered at his kin, offended at the mere idea of being appointed a baby-sitter simply because Zeus did not trust him.

“My decision is final,” Zeus declared, lifting his hand to stifle any further protests. “And don’t give me that look Hades.” He snorted. “You might be able to sway our brother, but it does nothing on me.”

Hades felt his jaw tremble, but he bit down on his tongue to suppress the venomous reply on it.

Zeus turned to Demeter and put his hand on her shoulder. “You have been watching over our brother long enough,” he said softly. “I will relieve you and take the next shift myself. Go get some rest, sister.”

The moment Demeter left his side, Hades felt the creature move, and he winced in response. Clearly Demeter’s influence upon the unborn entity had been enough to keep it at peace, but not enough to remain so when she departed.

“Is there anything I may do for you?” Zeus inquired, noticing his brother’s discomfort.

Hades would have suggested the younger god castrate himself, but he was in no mood for the fight which would obviously follow from such an answer. “I only wish to sleep,” he finally said, turning over so that his back was to his brother. “I would rather pass through most of this state unconscious anyway…”

Some silence passed and Hades was about to slip into thankful slumber when his Zeus’ voice jolted him awake.

“Perhaps I can get you anything? Food, drink?”

A sword to stab through your head, Hades thought. “If you insist on making me happy, you can let me sleep,” he replied, annoyance clear in his voice.

“Hades…” Zeus sighed heavily and sat down on the edge of the bed, grabbing his brother by the shoulders. Hades defiantly stared back at him, with a thick crease between his eyebrows.

“With that attitude, you’re making it harder for us all. And you still have to feed both yourself and our weapon, and this is not negotiable. Have you eaten anything at all today, brother?”

Hades did not lower his eyes from Zeus’, but he could not give an affirmative reply without being untruthful. He had begun the day by throwing up, and shortly afterwards he had gone down to the sea shore, and… The rest was a mess he happily would have liked to forget about.

“I thought not,” Zeus said. “I will have something brought for you. As well as something to… ease your discomfort.”

“What do you possibly think could “ease my discomfort”?” Hades grumbled, not willing to believe his siblings had anything useful to offer.

“Our sisters have gathered several flowers and leaves,” Zeus replied. “Demeter especially has found several which can take the pain away. If we give you a small amount the poisons will help you, rather than cause harm.”

Hades eyes widened. “You would poison me?” he asked angrily.

“It would only be a small amount,” Zeus said, his patience wearing thin. “When taken in small doses, the poppy plant can dull the pain. It may keep the food down. Otherwise you can continue to starve yourself if you wish.”

As if on cue, Hades’ stomach growled a need for food. Rolling his eyes, he let his head fall back onto his pillow. “Fine.”

Zeus smiled and rubbed his brother’s side. The creature jerked in response to his touch in such a way that Zeus pulled his hand away.

“I don’t think it likes you, brother,” Hades mused aloud in observation.

To this, Zeus had no answer. He wanted to dismiss his brother’s remark as a poor attempt at jesting, but his touch obviously lacked the calming qualities of his sister Demeter.

Less than an hour later, a tray filled with food and drink was brought in for Hades by Demeter herself. The pregnant god would have liked to point out that there was no way he could ingest all that, but he remained silent, not wanting to appear ungrateful.

Zeus lifted his brother upright while Demeter brought a goblet of red wine to his lip, urging him to drink.

“Hopefully this will help ease your pain and soothe your worries,” she said, aware that the herb she had mixed into the wine also had a mind-dulling effect. A stern look from Zeus prevented her from explicitly mentioning the latter to Hades.

Hades took his time in sipping the wine, and breathed deep as he felt it take effect, resting his head against his younger brother’s shoulder until he felt ready to eat. “Let me try now to dine…” he said, hand out to take food from the platter.

At first he only sampled the blander foods, some grains and fruits, but Hades soon felt confident in eating meat, and as he swallowed, the creature wriggled in his belly, but did nothing else. The poppy plant kept the weapon’s movements from nauseating Hades, and he was able to eat until he felt full, even though the little amount of space presently in his stomach prevented him from eating much at all. He had still eaten, and this was important.

“Good,” Zeus said to him as the tray of food was taken away. “Good.”

“I am tired now,” Hades said.

The herbs and wine had not only dulled his discomfort but also brought him the need to sleep. Zeus chanced to place his hand over his brother’s belly once again, but he was met with the same reaction. The creature shuddered under his palm, and he begrudgingly pulled away.

“Sleep now, brother,” he said quietly, gingerly laying Hades back against the cushions of his bed. “Another day closer to when our weapon is born.”

*

When Zeus had ordered that Hades would have to be watched over at all times, this included nights. The other five Olympians shared this task by looking after their brother in shifts of typically five or six hours, and after Zeus was finished with his shift, he was relieved by Hera. Hades was asleep when the goddess entered and took a seat by his bed, under strict orders not to let her pregnant brother out of her sight.

Listening to Hades’ irregular, rasping breaths became both tedious and even a bit spooky after a while, as the nature of them suggested that the god had trouble getting enough air. Hera assumed this had to do with Hades’ swollen, heavy midsection putting immense pressure on his chest, and she wondered if he would be able to breathe more easily if propped up with another pillow.
She managed to try out her idea without waking him up, and to her great relief, his breathing immediately became less labored.

*

When Hades woke up, it was past sunrise, and he could see the outline of his sister Hera against the light from outside. Despite Demeter’s attempts to clean him from the sea beast’s fluids, Hades felt downright filthy and presently wished nothing more than to take a bath.

“How are you this morning?” Hera asked her brother as he strained to sit up.

“Unable to move,” he grunted as he rolled onto his side and used his arms to lift himself. “And in need of a bath.”

The goddess smiled, standing. “I’m certain we can manage that.”

“We?” Hades automatically replied, only to remember the agreement of last night a split second later. “That’s right. I am no longer allowed any solitude.”

Sighing, he tried to stand and failed. His child was of course much bigger presently than it had been last night and thus much heavier.

“Demeter advised that I should inspect your wounds first, before we do anything else,” Hera said, observing her brother’s failed attempts to stand.

Hades raised an eyebrow and lifted an arm. “My wounds are healing quite well. Unless you refer to…”

Hera nodded. “I’m afraid so. We can’t have you walking about so soon after that attack if it means you’ll end up bleeding again.”

Hades sat back down in the bed with a thud. Supposedly it would be easier for all of them if he complied without objections, but the Olympian was not thrilled to spread his legs and let his sisters inspect his most private entrance. He suspected that if he disagreed to let her do it, Hera would bring Zeus, and Hades wanted to avoid that at all costs.

“Fine,” he sighed, lying back down on his back and drawing up his knees, as far as he still could with the round, globe-like thing his belly had become in the way.

Hera’s inspection of him was quick and matter-of-factly; Hades reflected that she definitely did not possess the nurturing qualities of their sister Demeter. When she could find no traces of blood on the fingers she had used to examine his channel, Hera was pleased.

“It seems the bleeding has stopped,” she said. “Would you like me to bathe you now?”

Hades’ expression screwed into an annoyed grimace. “I believe I can bathe myself, thank you.”

Hera placed her hands on her hips. “At least allow me to help you get there.”

Considering the unpredictable nature of his present strength, as well as how heavy and unbalanced his body was, Hades had to give in to his sister’s offer. He held out his hand. “Help me to rise. We will take this slowly. The last thing I need is to fall.”

Hera could not help but give a small laugh as she helped her brother to his feet. She fully understood how embarrassing this all had to be, but the difficulty in so much as walking in the late stages of pregnancy was admittedly amusing in some sad way. She just could not help laughing, but it was not an encouraging sound to her brother.

“I’ll likely need assistance in getting into the water,” Hades said regretfully once the two Olympians had finally reached the baths.

“Of course,” Hera replied, her greatest concern at present was to have her brother slip and fall when descending the wet and slippery stairs that led into the bathing pool. Realizing that she would not be able to assist him without wetting herself, she sighed, pulling up her gown as far as she could with one hand while holding her brother’s with the other.

Hades snorted at awkward the display. “Surely you should not be embarrassed to undress in front of me, considering I’ve been naked this whole time.”

Much to her chagrin, Hera felt the colour rise in her face. “Are you certain that you do not require any further assistance?” she asked curtly once they were both standing in the bath, with water up to their waists.

“Very much so,” Hades replied, and was pleased when his sister left the pool to take a seat next to it instead.

The pregnant Olympian found it a great relief to clean the dirt and grime from his abused body, and he was almost finished and about to ask Hera to help him back up when Poseidon entered, looking pleasantly surprised.

“Hera, I have come to relieve you,” he announced, taking in her sullen visage. “Clearly you don’t mind, do you?”

At the sound of his brother’s voice, Hades sank down to his head, his eyes and nose above the water and his expression that of great irritation. Had he the luxury of his own choice, he would have had Hera herself leave the room so that he could bathe in peace and quiet, without the embarrassment of others seeing his current body. Even worse, now Poseidon was present and able to see his swollen form in all its glory.

“I don’t mind at all,” Hera replied, and she glanced in the direction of Hades, still mostly submerged. “As long as our resident sea monster does not mind either.”

Hades practically glared daggers at his sister and sank even lower, bubbles surfacing from his nose. If looks could kill…

Poseidon held back laughter and instead grinned at his brother once Hera was gone. In his hands were another tray of food and a goblet of wine. “I’ve brought your breakfast,” he announced. “Would you eat it here, or do you prefer in bed?”

Hades told his brother that he did not want to risk contaminating his bath water by accidentally spilling food and drink into it, so in order to eat, he would first require help rising from the bath.

“Get me out of here, and bring me back to my bed,” he requested, hating to be a nuisance but at the same time wickedly pleased to be the centre of such attention from his siblings. Hades, “the unseen one” was no longer unseen.

Rather than entering the pool himself, Poseidon reached out to his brother over the edge, tugging him into his arms and lifting him easily out of the water. A towel was immediately wrapped around his drenched, naked form, and Hades was grateful for it, his modesty resurfacing once more.

Poseidon was hesitant to help his brother when Hades brought the towel to his hair, but thankfully the once beautiful dark locks did not fall out. Though his hair was still tragically sparse, Hades would seemingly not go bald by the end of carrying the weapon. Arm against his brother’s back, Poseidon walked slowly with Hades until they reached his bedchambers.

Obediently the younger god held onto his brother’s skinny wrists as he allowed him to slowly sit back into the bed, then helped Hades lay down as comfortable as possible. Noting the pile of cushions Hera must have arranged, Poseidon made sure his older brother was propped up in bed. He had to put down the tray of food and wine in order to fully assist Hades, and so Poseidon left his brother’s side only to retrieve his breakfast.

“Thank you, brother,” Hades said, watching as Poseidon returned with the platter and placed it down next to him.

“My pleasure,” the younger god replied with a smile.


TBC...