The Immortal Heart

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Chapter 9

Watching his brother sleep was something that Zeus enjoyed profoundly. Hades’ visage, often riddled with worry, apprehension or modesty during his wakeful hours, became completely relaxed only when he slept, making the raven-haired god even more beautiful.

Zeus carefully removed the sheet covering the other’s nude form and spent several minutes simply gazing him over. He had already made his decision and would not deviate from it, but there were elements in his brother’s physique that he would miss, and Zeus wanted to imprint every detail of Hades’ current form into his memory, as his fellow Olympian was about to undergo a dramatic transformation tonight.

Hades shivered; without Zeus to hold him or anything to cover him, he quickly became chilled, but he did not awaken. Unaware of the hand stroking his cheek on a conscious level, Hades still responded by leaning into the touch, so familiar by now that his subconscious mind welcomed it even in his sleep.

Zeus passed his hand over his brother’s entire body; his shoulder, his arm, his side, his hip and finally his long, shapely legs. The god’s legs would stay as they were, but Hades’ member, now soft and resting limply against his thigh, would soon be replaced by something else.

“I love you, brother. Surely you will understand why I have to do this…” Zeus whispered, kissing Hades’ brow before he decided that he had wasted enough time already on being sentimental.

Placing both hands on the smaller Olympian’s sleeping form, Zeus closed his eyes and his face took on a look of deep concentration as he willed his brother to transform from male to female.

Even beneath his touch Zeus could feel the subtle changes taking place. Lithe muscle became softer and curves replaced slightly harder lines. Some places became softer than others, and as the change came to an end, Zeus felt his brother’s chest, smiling at the flesh which had formed there. Already a beautiful god, he hoped Hades would be just as beautiful as a goddess.

*

Hours passed before dawn, and Zeus had fallen asleep whilst waiting for his brother to awake. He remained sleeping when dawn broke and the sun’s rays crept through the window, falling on Hades’ face and waking him. Sighing, he turned over and saw Zeus sleeping by his side, and he smiled at the sight. Watching the peaceful expression of his brother and leader, his hand absently trailed over his own chest.

And abruptly came to a stop. Was something wrong? Why did his chest feel so strange? Confounded, he lifted the sheets off of himself to take a better look and instantly he felt his stomach drop out.

What had happened to him?!

Jumping out of bed, he rushed into Zeus’ bathing quarters where a full length mirror stood. Hands exploring his naked form, Hades realized what he saw in his reflection was no illusion. He was female.

Zeus only awoke when he heard his name being frantically called in a panicked voice. He could have sworn it sounded like Hades, but the voice was unmistakably feminine.

“Oh my…” he said, and he hurried into the baths where the source of the voice echoed.

“Zeus! Zeus, what’s happened to me?!”

Hades sounded close to hysterical, and Zeus grimaced at the high-pitched voice that had replaced his brother’s previous soft tenor. He had expected a reaction, but to be awoken in this fashion was not pleasant at all.

The naked god, now technically a goddess, stood before the mirror, hands pressed to his face in absolute shock as he took in the sight of his transformed body. The changes were not monumental or even great in most places, except for the transformation of his sex from male to female, and the small, budding breasts that had replaced the god’s previously flat chest.

“Be calm, Hades,” Zeus said, standing behind his brother and wrapping his arms around Hades’ shoulders. The nigh hysterical wails exiting the other’s throat did not cease. “I did it for us, so that we can be together and start a family. I didn’t think you would…--”

“What?!” Hades shrieked, freeing himself from his brother’s embrace as he turned to face Zeus, staring up at him incredulously. “You did this to me? Why? How could you? I am not a woman, Zeus! Why did you do this to me? What gave you the right?!”

“Hades…” The Olympian leader grabbed his brother again, holding his flailing arms still, but Hades resisted him and attempted to break free once more.

“Let go of me!”

“Not until you listen.” Zeus tightened his hold, easily restraining Hades. Possibly his brother was even weaker now than before, and holding him still presented no challenge. It was the mere surprise of Hades resisting him that took Zeus aback, and he was even more surprised to see his brother’s face, still virtually the same, only slightly softer, crumple up in anger.

“I did it so that I could make you my consort and you could bear my children. You should feel honored! I love you. What difference does to make to you whether you are male or female?”

“WHY WOULD IT NOT MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE?!” Hades screamed, wriggling out of his brother’s grasp, only to be grabbed again. “Why would it not matter?? I was born male and I am meant to be so!”

“Hades, be still!” Zeus roared, and he tightened his grip enough to cause pain.

Hades’ rage was quickly spent, and though he was still angry with his brother, he fell to the floor sobbing. Zeus soon followed, arms around him both out of comfort and to restrain him in case he should fly into a fury once again.

“But you did this without so much as telling me. You did not ask…” Hades cried, tear rolling down a much softer face.

“You are still the same,” Zeus insisted. “This is only a façade, dear brother.” He wiped away his former brother’s tears with the knuckles of his hand, cupping Hades’ face so that they would look in each other’s eyes.

“You are still Hades,” he said. “And I care very much for you, even now.”

Closing red, teary eyes, Hades tried to stifle his sobs. How he hated the sound of his new voice already. “You said… you love me…?”

Zeus gave his brother-turned-sister a warm, patient smile. “I did. And I would not say it if I did not mean it with all my heart.”

Hades did not know what to think. Zeus loved him? More than just physically? If he loved him so much, why did he not alert Hades to the planned transformation? Zeus’ character likely did not allow such sentiments as asking for consent to judgments like these, but he could have at least told the older Olympian. Raising trembling hands and inspecting their more graceful appearance, Hades placed them over his breasts, suddenly shameful to be seen unclothed all over again.

This was not him. This body was alien to him, and hardly even felt like his own. Almost fearfully, Hades brought one hand down between his legs to inspect his new anatomy. The familiar feel of his phallus was gone, replaced by a moist crack covered in hair that felt almost like an open wound to the god. Apart from briefly exploring his sister Demeter many months ago, Hades had no previous experience of the female sex, and what his fingers touched felt appalling.

Before he could stop himself, Hades broke out in tears anew, and though he normally loved feeling Zeus’ arms wrap themselves around him, they did nothing to console him now.

“Accept it, Hades…” the leader said softly, rubbing his brother’s back in large, soothing circles. “The sooner you accept it, the easier it will be.”

“You could turn me back, could you not?” Hades murmured while being held by his youngest sibling. “Zeus, could you please turn me back into myself?”

“Oh, Hades…” Zeus held him at arm’s length and proceeded to cup his fellow god’s flushed, tear-streaked face, giving him a reassuring smile. “This is you now.”

Tears were still leaking from his eyes when Zeus’ hand suddenly moved lower and Hades felt it grasp his left breast, giving it a gentle squeeze. Not used to the sensation whatsoever, the older god winced forcefully and once again tried to withdraw from Zeus.

“Don’t fight me, Hades,” the leader implored, drawing his brother closer despite Hades’ reluctance. “Come with me back to bed and allow me to explore the new you properly…”

“Wait.”

Zeus paused at the hand against his chest and looked at Hades inquisitively. The older Olympian looked down, avoiding the other’s gaze.

“I think… I will need some time. To get used to all of this, I mean.” Hades bit his bottom lip, fuller than it had been before. “Maybe… we should meet again this evening…?”

Zeus gave the suggestion some thought, long enough to worry Hades that his leader would decline his request.

“Alright,” he said, trailing his fingers over a long, slender neck. “Take the time to become accustomed to your new body. This morning has been quite a shock to you, dear sister.”

Hades tried not to wince at his new label, and could only hope his displeasure could not be detected.

*

The newly made goddess was keen on not being spotted by anyone else but Zeus. Surely Hades would have to reveal his new form to his other siblings, but a part of him insisted that he might still have a chance to convince his youngest brother to reverse the transformation. There he remained, not even coming out to dinner when it was announced by Hestia. He could have been imagining things, but Hades could have sworn he heard Zeus’ voice call their sister away from his door.

The other five Olympians finished dinner without him, and Hades lay still in his bed as the hours passed, only rising once to empty himself. This experience turned out to be the most awkward so far, when the former god realized he could no longer urinate from a standing position.

Hades had completely forgotten his promise to visit Zeus in the evening, but he was instantly reminded of it when his youngest brother entered his quarters with displeasure obviously written on his visage.

“I do not respond well to being ignored,” Zeus said grimly, seating himself on the edge of Hades’ bed.

His brother-turned-sister gazed up at him with large eyes that were part apologetic, part fearful.

“Sulking in here by yourself will not change anything,” he continued, touching Hades through the sheets. “Besides I do not see what you are afraid of. Your sisters greatly enjoy coupling with me, and have done so for years. Why would it be any different for you?”

“I was not intended to be this way…” Hades muttered into his pillow, the bitterness he felt for his brother saturating his voice. “I still wish you would change me back.”

Zeus did not even dignify the plea with an answer and abruptly stood up, holding out his hand. “Come with me, Hades. You have legs of your own. Don’t make me carry you.”

For a moment, the image of being carried back to Zeus’ quarters filled Hades mind. However, the way he imagined it was romantic and gentle, likely not how Zeus might intend should his brother refuse to move. Perhaps with sentiments like his, Hades should have been born female.

“I apologize, my brother,” Hades said, his guilt genuine as he rose from bed and grabbed his robes. “I did not mean to forget.”

Zeus only gave a grunt of annoyance and took his fellow Olympian’s hand, leading Hades from the room. “Do not worry,” he said as he felt his brother-sister stiffen as they wandered the halls. “As far as I know, our siblings are all retired to their quarters. Not that you can hide from them forever.”

“I know…” Hades replied sullenly. So he was to remain this way after all… If this was true, he would have no choice but to get used to his predicament. The god had a feeling growing used to this would take years, and he hardly knew if he would ever learn to enjoy it.

“Some wine before we proceed?” Zeus asked as they entered his bedchamber. “Perhaps it will improve your mood.”

Yes, perhaps it would, Hades thought, and he eagerly took a full chalice, gulping the wine down immediately. Zeus hardly touched the drink himself, focusing instead on caressing and nuzzling his newly made sister from behind.

“I want you,” he whispered. “I want to make love to your new form. Every inch of it.”

Flushed from the sudden intake of wine as well as the response to his brother’s touch, Hades’ breath began to come harder. Zeus’ arms wrapped around his torso and the hands whose touch he normally cherished squeezed the small mounds on his chest, rubbing his nipples, now larger, through the fabric of his robes. The nubs stiffened in response to the touch, but Hades was in far too much distress to take pleasure in it.

“Zeus…” he whispered, turning to look at his brother over his shoulder. “Perhaps we could wait one more day…?”

“No, Hades.” The leader’s voice made it clear that the issue was definitely not up for debate. “Undress for me.”

Having no choice but to obey the younger god’s command, Hades stood up from the bed and shed his robes, looking down at himself and loathing the new appearance of his body. Indeed, it felt as though he had been castrated in the most humiliating of ways.

“You are beautiful,” Zeus commented, even though he had to confess that Hades was not as breathtaking as a goddess as he had been as a god. With his angular shoulders, still relatively flat chest and slender hips, he rather looked like a female who had not yet reached adulthood.

“If you say so, brother…” Hades murmured in reply, and when Zeus beckoned to him to join him in bed, he passively obeyed, his face as stiff as a mask while Zeus’ curious hands explored him from head to toe. Hades did not know if he would even be able to feel arousal in this new form, or how such would manifest itself if it happened.

“Lay atop me,” Zeus commanded, and Hades quickly did as told, straddling his brother’s waist and leaning over him. Zeus’ hands reached upward and closed easily over the small breasts, massaging them for sake of his own pleasure. He found more satisfaction in touching them than Hades did in being touched. Tilting his head back, Hades moaned, hoping he would sound convincingly aroused, though he felt entirely the opposite. In an effort to distract his brother, he teased the younger god’s own chest, rubbing against nipples and caressing the lines made by muscle.

“Ahh, yes…” Zeus groaned, his hands moving down Hades’ sides and gripping hips with a more pronounced curve. “Yes, that is good… now…” he trailed off, and he sat up, guiding Hades onto the bed and looming over him. With one hand, turned the god-turned-goddess onto his stomach and with the other, explored the new organ between Hades’ legs.

Hades shivered when he felt the hand investigating him. He was not sure of how Demeter had felt so long ago at the spring where he explored her, but the sensation could not have nearly been like this. Deep inside he felt himself constrict, and he hardly felt any moisture form in response to Zeus’ touch. But surely Zeus would notice and think to supply oils… wouldn’t he?

Zeus merely laughed when he felt the new orifice tightening around his fingers and pushed in deeper despite the cry of obvious pain leaving Hades’ mouth. “We have been through this once before, my sister,” he said. “You have to relax, or it will be even more painful for you.”

“Zeus, brother…” Hades stammered, dangerously close to sobbing. “P-perhaps you c-could… take me the usual way…? You still could…”

At least being penetrated in his rear entrance was something he had become accustomed to, and also received great pleasure from, unlike what was happening now. Hades was certain that he would never be able to enjoy being taken as a woman.

“I could but I will not,” Zeus replied curtly. “You will just have to endure, Hades. Trust me, in time you will come to enjoy it.” Leaning over the other, he guided his hard phallus to the snug but unfortunately dry slit between his brother-turned-sister’s legs and started to push into him, slowly but relentlessly.

Hades failed to hold back a scream when Zeus finally entered his body through the new feminine entrance, and had his brother not been holding him down with his much bigger form, he would have attempted to crawl away. The pain was nothing he had ever experienced before, it was worse than when Zeus took him for the first time as a man; worse than anything he could have imagined. Would he even survive this? Sobbing incoherently, Hades could only bite into the pillow beneath his face as Zeus began to move.

The pain! Hades desperately wanted to ignore the pain, to focus on something else, but how could he when the agony was so great?

Zeus however was in no pain at all. Quite the contrary, he was enjoying himself greatly, and he seemed completely oblivious to his fellow god’s plight. If anything, he seemed to be pouring tenderness on Hades despite his rough nature. On occasion Hades would feel a kiss against the back of his head beyond the waves of pain, or whispers of gentle, loving words. Zeus could not be cruel enough to mock his agony, could he?

“Yes, so good…” Zeus mumbled between thrusts. “Ohh, I’m peaking… can’t you feel it…?”

Were Hades in a position to think the situation through, he would have assumed Zeus had no idea how much he was hurting him. He had to have no idea whatsoever.

Thankfully Zeus went through the act quickly, not allowing any pauses between thrusts, and hence the pain of one thrust dulled Hades’ nether regions to each new one. Biting hard, he tried to keep his sobbing to a minimum, and hoped that it would only sound like arousal.

Less than ten minutes passed, but to Hades the minutes felt like hours. Zeus groaned loudly as he came, and he all but collapsed on top of the other god, rolling off as he disengaged from him. Breathing heavily, he edged closer to the older Olympian and gathered him into his arms. Hades’ body fell slack, but only because he knew his brother was spent and thus not likely to lay with him again for the night. But what about the following morning? Hades’ shivers at the fear were misread by Zeus, who only held him closer.

The younger god was soon deeply asleep, but Hades had no choice but to remain wakeful. He would not have been able to sleep even if he wanted to for the throbbing, aching pain, but it was the fear and absolute dread of what Zeus had done to him that kept him from finding rest. He knew that if his brother wanted to do it to him again, Hades could not refuse him. No one could; none of his sisters would even try. It puzzled the god how Zeus could claim to love him and yet hurt him so.

Hades carefully shifted in his brother’s arms in an attempt to find a more comfortable position, but the movement caused another stab of pain in his nether regions, and forced him to bite back a cry of agony. It was then he felt something wet and slippery pour out from between his legs.

Briefly horrified that he might have lost control of his bladder, Hades sat up and threw the sheets aside. The fluid escaping him, however, was not urine but blood. It stained his thighs and steadily seeped out of his new orifice, already forming dark crimson stains on the sheets beneath him.

Until now Hades had not considered the possibility that Zeus had seriously wounded him, but it was something he was forced to rethink. This amount of blood only came from serious injuries, and he must have acquired one from lying with Zeus.

But why would Zeus’ organ wound me? Hades wondered. He does it to my sisters all the time, and they don’t hurt from it. Is it because I am not supposed to be a woman? Is there something wrong with this transformed body of mine?

Hades had no answers, but even though it was in the middle of the night, he was determined to go see the one he believed might have. Rising from bed and hurting with every step, the god wrapped his robes around his trembling form, not even bothering to put them on properly before leaving the room to seek out his sister Demeter.

*

Rudely roused from sleep by the frantic knocks on her door, Demeter struggled out of bed to let in her visitor. No one, not even Zeus would visit his siblings at this hour, so this could only mean that it was truly an emergency.

“Hades!” she goddess softly exclaimed upon discovering who was behind the door. “Hades, dear, what is wrong? What’s happened to you?”

Even though her brother was trying to hide behind his curtain of long hair, she could instantly see that something was very wrong with him. His stance suggested pain, and when he approached her, there was a pronounced limp in his step. Also…

“I… I need your help, sister…” Hades pleaded, quietly sobbing in a voice that did not sound very much like himself.

“Hades, what…” Demeter brushed aside her brother’s hair to get a better look at him… and saw that she was really talking to a sister. Demeter could not speak in her surprise, and only stood staring for several seconds until Hades’ freely flowing tears brought her back to the situation at hand. She placed careful hands on the other and led him into the room.

“Gaia’s green earth… Hades, what has happened to you??”

Hades wept too hard to speak clearly, but as she looked behind him – or rather her – she was frightened to see the trail of blood droplets in the god’s wake. Quickly she laid out a blanket on her bedding, guided Hades onto it, and hurried to fill a wash basin with water. Hades of course moaned in pain as he was set down onto the bed, and when Demeter inspected the source of his bleeding, she shut her eyes in immediate recognition.

“Brother…” she quietly addressed him. “Zeus has done this, has he not?”

Eyes squeezed shut in pain, Hades nodded. “He changed me without warning,” he finally managed to say. “I awoke like this. And this very evening, he… Ohhh it hurts so much…”

“I understand, darling,” Demeter said, truthful. Zeus had made love to Hades – if it could even be called that – shortly after transforming him into a goddess. And she believed her brother-sister fully at the idea of Zeus not even asking to do so.

“Why don’t I give you something for the pain,” she offered. “And then we may clean you…?”

“But why do I bleed so?” Hades asked, panic in his voice. “What if something terrible has”—

“Do not worry, brother,” Demeter interrupted her unfortunate sibling. “You were a virgin when you were transformed. There is blood when the maidenhood is broken. It happened to the three of us the first time we were taken to bed.”

Though she exaggerated, Demeter was for the most part telling the truth. Neither she nor Hestia and Hera bled nearly this much, but the first thing to do with Hades was to try and calm his nerves after such a traumatizing experience.

“I’ll make you something to drink. It will help take the pain away.”

Hades’ eyes remained closed while Demeter prepared a herbal concoction for him, and though he was familiar with his sister’s healing magic, he was not fully convinced that she would be able to make anything that would take the pain away.

When the goddess returned to his beside, she helped Hades into a sitting position and placed a cup at his lips. “Drink this, brother,” she urged. “It will ease your pain and hopefully also the turmoil in your mind.”

Trusting his sister, Hades drank all of the bitter fluid she offered him and lay back down on his side. How could this be normal? he wondered. It had felt as though Zeus would split him in two, and his body still bore evidence that his plight had not been exaggerated.

Demeter quietly observed as her brother’s rapidly beating heart gradually assumed a more regular pace and his frantic, labored breathing slowed down as well. The drug she had given him was taking effect, and she had deliberately chosen something with both analgesic as well as sedative qualities.

Carefully arranging his legs so that she could access the source of his pain, Demeter began the awkward task of cleaning her brother. After what Zeus had done to the poor god, she knew very well that Hades was not too keen on being touched between the legs, even though she kept her movements beyond gentle. Anger started brewing within her chest as she wrung out the washcloth and watched her brother’s blood color the water red.

Though the concoction was taking affect, Hades was brought back into the memories of lying with Zeus every time he was touched between his legs. He gasped at the touch, not only pained, but fearful and ashamed, despite his sister’s soothing words of comfort and encouragement. He just wanted to forget of this night completely.

After cleaning the tearing and applying some salve, Demeter was confident that Hades would heal in no time. She would have laid Hades on his stomach, but such a position reminded the injured god too much of how Zeus penetrated him, and so he was placed on his side. Once he was tucked in and made as comfortable as possible, he curled up into a tight ball and quickly fell asleep, the drugs placing him in a numbed fog. Hopefully the drink would keep him from remembering any nightmares which might invade his sleep.

Once she was positive that her unfortunate brother was in a deep slumber, Demeter quietly left her quarters, in search of none other than Zeus. She did not presently care that he could easily strike her down for as much as an insolent word. She had certain matters to discuss with her brother, and he would hear her whether he wanted to or not.

*

Blinking in the dark, the Olympian leader could hear someone not only knocking but banging on the door to his quarters, despite the fact that many hours remained until morning. Annoyed at being disturbed at this hour, he turned to tell Hades to deal with their visitor only to discover that his brother was gone.

“Yes… enter…!” he growled, still mostly irritated but also puzzled at Hades’ mysterious disappearance.

The door was flung open by none other than his sister Demeter, and Zeus was about to demand an explanation for her outrageous behavior, but the goddess, however, beat him to it.

“Zeus, you ought to be ashamed of yourself!” she shouted at him, walking briskly toward his bed even though he had not given her permission to do so. “We are your family, not playthings that you can do as you please with!”

Rising from bed to face the furious goddess, even though he did not yet know the reason for her wrath, Zeus demanded to know what was going on, too flabbergasted to even punish Demeter for her insolence and lack of respect.

“Do not play dumb, brother,” she coldly replied. “You are fully aware of what you have done to Hades, and after he came to me for help, I am as well.”

A confused scowl replaced the look of surprise on Zeus’ face. “Came to you for help? Why would he need your help in the middle of the night?”

Demeter did not know if she should be relieved or angered further by her youngest brother’s ignorance, but she was strongly determined to make sure he did not remain ignorant for long.

“Look down at yourself,” she said. “Our brother’s blood is still on you.” And she motioned to his phallus, which still bore traces of now congealed blood.

Zeus looked down at himself and was taken aback when he realized his sister was right. He glanced quickly back at her, then at the ruddy stains, then at her a final time, his mouth agape in silent surprise.

“Is she alright?” he finally asked.

“HE,” Demeter corrected him, hands resting on her hips impatiently. “And do not get me started on THAT tirade just yet, brother. Hades came to me because he was bleeding. Profusely, I might add. There is still a trail of it leading from this room. And HE is alright at the moment, but I had to drug him, his suffering was so great. He lies asleep in my bed.”

Staggered at the news, Zeus shook his head. He had no idea he had caused such harm, and he did not know what to say in response. “I assure you I did not mean him any”—

“I’m sure you didn’t,” Demeter interjected crossly.

“Now, just one moment,” Zeus said, feeling defensive and now a little angry. “He did not speak of his pains, and said nothing when we were finished. I only assumed he was crying out in pleasure.”

Demeter placed a hand against her face. Zeus thought she was only further annoyed with him until he saw a shudder pass through her. When she finally looked up again, his sister allowed one tear to fall, and none more.

“How could you mistake that for pleasure?” she asked.

“I… I guess I was not paying enough attention to Hades,” Zeus admitted, now thinking back on how his brother had acted during their coupling. The behavior which he’d believed to be an attempt at showing restraint had to in fact have been a desperate attempt to hold back cries of agony.

“No, I think we can agree on that, brother,” Demeter retorted. “Why did you even do it? Why turn Hades into a goddess? Do you even know why you did that?”

“Watch your tongue, sister,” the younger Olympian hissed, not fond of being questioned and even less fond of his sister’s insolent choice of words. “I did it because I love Hades, and I plan to make him my consort.”

The goddess’ eyes widened at the confession, and Zeus felt the need to elaborate.

“I need a consort who can bear me children. As a god, Hades would not be able to produce me an heir. Do you understand now? I did it because I love him!”

“You have a strange way of showing your love,” Demeter said tersely. “If you truly loved Hades, his sex would not matter to you. However, it matters a great deal to him, so I beg that you will see reason and change him back to his real self.”

*

Hades slept until noon the next day, his trauma in combination with the herbs provided by Demeter keeping him asleep without interruption for hours. When he finally awoke, he did not immediately remember what happened the previous night until he realized whose bed he had slept in. As he moved to turn over and look for Demeter, the ache in his nether regions proved to him that he was not yet fully healed.

“Ohh…” he moaned. The pain was hardly what it had been hours ago, but the memory which accompanied it brought tears to Hades’ eyes, and he called out for his sister. “Demeter…? Are you there?”

“I’m here,” he almost immediately heard, and the shuddering of the bed beneath him indicated she had slept right behind him. One of her hands began to gently stroke his hair and he was soothed by her presence.

“How do you fare today, my brother?” she asked. “Are you in pain?”

“Not as I was before…” Hades answered. “But I still wish it had not happened…”

Demeter knew what her brother-sister was referring to. “I know, darling. I wish it had not happened either. But now you are healing. And you are safe.”

“Are you so certain of that?” Hades asked resentfully.

He was rewarded with a kiss against his temple. “I am. I paid our brother a little visit while you slept.”

“What??” Hades eyes widened but Demeter was quick to reassure him.

“He truly thought you would take to him as easily as we had. He did not know how deeply he had harmed you. And considering the… logic he has, I would believe him.”

“He will not… punish me?” Hades asked, still fearful of Zeus. He knew how badly their brother reacted to having his decisions questioned.

“He most certainly will not,” Demeter said firmly. “If anything, he is going to apologize to you.”

“W-what did you tell him…?” Hades was truly amazed at the mere thought of Zeus apologizing, but what amazed him even more was that Demeter had succeeded in scolding Zeus and gotten away with it.

“I let him know how unfairly he’d treated you,” the goddess replied, soothingly stroking her brother’s arm. “I also told him that the only right thing to do would be to transform you back into a god.”

A faint glimmer of hope flickered to life in Hades’ heart, but he feared that it would only result in the deepest disappointment. “And what did he say…?”

“He would not give me an answer. Perhaps he needs some time to think it over. But I can promise you this: Zeus will not touch you again until you are fully healed.”

Hades sighed, squeezing his sister’s hand and guessing that he should be happy for small favors.


TBC...