Chapter 4 - I am Only Human!

"A man’s power lies in his ambition and determination."

ANGELIQUE opened her eyes to an unfamiliar room. The overwhelming colors of black and red caught her eyes in an instant.

“Persephone, you are awake.”

She belatedly notice that Hades was seated on her bedside, holding her hand. His voice does not have a hit of emotion in it but his furrowed brows give him away. Is he worried about her?

She slowly pulled her hand away and nodded.

“Charon, call Asclepius.”

A middle-aged man entered the room. He strongly smelled of herbs which had a calming effect on Angelique. His face was covered with beard that flows down to his chest. He reminded Angelique of Santa Clause except for the black color of his hair.

“My lord, my lady..” The man bowed to them. “Madam, I am Asclepius, son of Apollo and god of healing.”

“Is she going to be alright?” Hades asked.

Asclepius examined her face, nails, and pulse. “She fainted due to shock. She needs proper rest and good diet. If madam will follow the routine that I will set for her, she will be perfectly well after a few days.”

The doctor took out a strange pen. It was white with a snake entwined around it. He used this pen to write on a paper. “Please make sure to acquire these herbs and boil it for the mistress.”

Her “husband” handed the list to his right-hand man, “Arrange for lampads to take care of my wife’s needs.”

“Right away, my lord.” Charon bowed. “Doctor, let me see you out the mansion.”

Hades arranged her comforter, “Are you okay,:Persephone?”

Angelique waited for the doors to close. “Where am I?”

“This is my room.”

Angelique tried to get up but he pinned her to the bed.

“What is wrong?”

Angelique did not answer him. Instead, she wrestled and tried to overpower him.

“Tell me what is wrong, Persephone. I--”

“My name is not Persephone.” She interrupted. “My name is Angelique!”

That stopped him. His grip on her arms loosened. She sat up.

“Okay. . I have seen those souls and creatures with my own eyes and I do not have anyway to deny it. This is the underworld. That old, wrinkly man is Charon. And you are Hades, the god of hell. But--” she threw her arms in the air, palms up. “I am not Persephone, that just cannot be. I am Angelique. I have been Angelique the moment I was born. I am a mortal. I do not have any power. This is just impossible.”

“You were a mortal, and technically you still are. You have yet to undergo your immortality ceremony. But you have to face the truth sooner or later. You are Persephone, my wife.”

His words just infuriated Angelique. How could he force her to live differently from what she is used to? How could he just insist that she forget everything she ever was?

She laughed bitterly, “Do not ever call me that name. I am Angelique. And I am definitely not your wife!” She glared at him.

He smirked. There is a sinister look in his eyes that told her under that cold exterior is something even more dark and chilling. He stood up and walked to the window to look at the guests still enjoying themselves outside. “You seem to be confused. You are not my wife because I picked you or anything. I am forced to accept you as well. Do not flatter yourself. I do not have any kind of feeling towards you. The only reason I am doing this is because I am responsible for your well-being.”

He faced her, “In private, you can be Angelique. You do not need to keep me company. But in public, you are still my queen and wife. That is a fact you would come to realize. I will perform the duties and responsibilities of a husband. But I will also respect your private space. In return, you have to keep the facade of a wife and queen. This will put my guests at ease.”

Hades picked up some things from his drawer. “If I kick out a patient out of my room, it will make me look like a bad husband. I will stay in one of the guest rooms. I will have the lampads arrange a room for you to move in when you get better.”

He walked out and closed the door behind him. Once again, she was alone.

-+-

THE NEXT DAY, Angelique was greeted by a woman when she woke up. She had fair skin, blue eyes and dark brown hair.

“Good morning, my lady. I am Rheie, your personal servant from now on.”

Rheie was supposed to change her clothes but Angelique insisted she change her clothes herself in the bathroom. She just cannot get used to being naked in front of others. Afterwards, her handmaiden combed her hair and put on light make-up on her face. She also applied lotion and perfume on her mistress.

“Your breakfast is ready downstairs, madam.”

They passed through the long hallways, down the glass staircase, went through the left wing and reached the dining room. The walls were white and unadorned except for some plants. In the middle of the room was a long, rectangle, wooden table with about a dozen white chairs. Above it is a big, circular chandelier with wooden rim. Long, white curtains were drawn open to let natural light in. In the middle of the table were a few white tulips in a vase.

Rheie pulled the chair at the end of the table for Angelique while other servants prepared dining utensils and laid food on the table.

“My lady, as it is your first meal in the mansion, we were instructed to fill the table with all available food in the territory. We have grapes, figs, olives, almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios, apricots and grapefruits.” Rheie proudly said.

Angelique struggled to reply, “Uhm.. Don’t you have rice and meat? Maybe egg and hotdogs?”

“Rice, egg, and hotdogs?” The handmaiden furrowed her brows, “For centuries, the food in the underworld is solely sourced and grown in the orchards. Though mortals often offer black pigs to the master during the Golden era of Olympus, he would only feast on it in the mortal lands. In the underworld, the master is used to eating fruits and nuts since the ancient times until the present.”

Angelique smiled awkwardly. This would not make her full. “What about Hades?”

Her servant was shocked for a moment when she heard Angelique call Hades’ name. But she respectfully replied, “The master had his breakfast taken to his office as he had a lot of work to do.”

Angelique raised her eyebrows in disgust. “What work can he possibly be doing right now? He is the lord of the underworld. It is not like he is some CEO of a company.”

“But madam, the master actually revolutionized the underworld. When the current master assumed lordship, the underworld was in a state of chaos.”

“Current master?” Angelique clarified. “Hasn’t Hades always been the god of the underworld?”

“The answer to that, my lady, is both a yes and a no. .” Rheie further explained, “The underworld has only one master. However, just like you, he is a reincarnation.”

“Oh..” This made Angelique curious about this Hades. He used to be a mortal, just like her. Who is he, exactly? “What happened? I mean, how did his former die?”

“To tell you the truth, mistress, I do not know the details of the death of the gods. I have only lived for a hundred years, after the sorrowful death of the gods. For the specifics, I am sure Sir Charon and the other minor deities are well-aware as they were witnesses.”

After her boring and unfulfilling meal, Angelique decided to walk around the mansion. She needed to learn the layout of the mansion. Though she did not feel that her life was in danger and everybody treated her well, she wanted to go back to her old life. As Rheie was always with her, she cannot make any moves yet. She would find the right timing later.

She discovered that Hades’ office is on the right wing. The door was a left ajar and she took a peek. Hades was seated in front of a large black marble desk. He was reading through a folder. It probably was a bunch of data.

“He used to be a mortal? I wonder. .” But Angelique stopped herself from being curious. She was about to leave anyway. Why should she bother herself with thoughts of him?

“SIR, HERE IS the annual report. We have successfully gathered and identified 87% of last year’s guests. A graph below accounts the continent were the souls were found. Only 13% of our clients are left roaming in the mortal lands.” Charon explained as his master flipped through the report.

“Assign someone from the lobby to provide an analysis as to why souls do not immediately head to the underworld. 13% is still a big figure. I do not want to see roaming souls when I visit the mortal lands next time.”

“My lord, reaching 100% will be too difficult. Last years performance was already impressive compared to the previous decades.” Charon reasoned out. Ever since the current lord ascended, everyone was worked to exhaustion. However, the master just cannot be satisfied.

“That is why I need an analysis report. There must be a reason. When we understand the root cause of the problem, we can eliminate it. In addition, I want a satisfaction survey for the clients in Elysium. I want to know their take on the entertainment we provide.”

“Yes, sir.”

Hades put down the report and turned his chair to face the windows. He saw Angelique walking around the orchard with her servant following her. “How is she?”

“She seems to be well-recovered, my lord. Though at breakfast, I heard she was not satisfied with the food. She only drink the milk and did not even touch the fruits.”

“Send someone to the mortal land and buy some meat. She is not accustomed to our food here. Order her servant to find out her preference for her meals. I do not want her starved.”

“That is very thoughtful of you, master. I am sure the mistress would be moved.”

“Do not tell her that I arranged this. I do not need her appreciation. I am just doing my responsibility.” Hades looked on as Angelique stood on tiptoes as tried to reach an apple while her servant frantically stops her for fear she would fall. She was smiling. It made him wonder why she frowned a lot when smiling looks better on her.

“MISTRESS! Please get down! You might hurt yourself.” Rheie worriedly called after Angelique.

She saw a beautiful red apple and suddenly wanted a taste of it. Though the fruit is not that high up, she is a bit short as a 5’2” woman. “Oh, do not worry about me Rheie. I climb up trees all the time where I grew up.”

But Rheie did not listen to her. Instead, she called up two more lampads to come and pull her down the tree. After they successfully forced her down, they picked an apple and served it to her.

Angelique looked at the apple handed to her and decided to leave it untouched. She lost the desire to eat it as she was not the one to personally pick it.

“Madam, I do not dare let you hurt yourself. The lord would have me punished.”

“Oh, please. He does not have a say with what I can and cannot do.”

Rheie can only bitterly smile. In the servant’s mind, she can only worry for her mistress who does not know the power held by the master, yet.

Oblivious of what her servant was thinking, Angelique smiled smugly. As she glanced around, she noticed Hades looking at her from inside the mansion. He was laughing at her as if she was a stupid clown. She immediately frowned, folded her arms and glared at him.

“What are you looking at?” She mouthed. Though he will not be able to hear her, he would surely know what she mean just by her gestures.

“Madam, shall we retire to your room?”

“I would like to look around a little bit more.” Angelique was only able to view the inside of the mansion. She needs to find her way out of the estate after getting out of the mansion.  

The mansion was wonderful. It is a two-storey building. The foyer was dominated by an oil painting of the current master. There was also a sculpture of an owl and a grand piano in the far back. The spiral glass staircase which leads to the second floor can also be found there. It has a door at the back leading to the swimming pool outside.

In the right wing of the mansion is Hades’ office. Angelique was only able to peek for a little so she does not know the layout of his office. However, it seemed that the second floor area of the right wing is also attached to his office.

In the left wing, there is a long hallway with different statues and tapestry. There were three doors on the right and two doors on the left. The parlor is an open area immediately found upon entry of the left wing. Beside the parlor is the comfort room, then the kitchen and pantry, with the private dining room at the end. The other side is a big, center hall for events. The throne is also stored there. Through the private dining room there is a door leading to the conservatory.

Rheie told her there were beautiful flowers in the conservatory but Angelique was not that curious about it. She was busy completing the floor plan of the mansion in her mind.

Upstairs, there are four guest rooms and a master’s bedroom. There were also two comfort rooms excluding the exclusive comfort room in the master’s bedroom. The master’s bedroom also has a walk-in closet. From the master’s bedroom, there is a terrace which oversees the swimming pool and orchard below. Right above the foyer is the family room. It has an upright piano and a few books. A smaller terrace is accessible from the family room from which the entrance of the mansion can be seen.

It is a lovely house. If Angelique becomes rich, she might build a similar one for her family. But this is not her home. That is why, she is determined to find a way out.

She was about to comb through the orchard with Rheie following her when she noticed a young man watering the trees. She instantly stopped and looked for somewhere to hide.

“Mistress, please..” Rheie called out.

“Shhh! Stay behind me.” She ordered the servant.

Angelique observed the young man. He was quite handsome but not in the devilish, overwhelming handsome way that Hades is. Instead, he looks like an innocent charming boy in the body of an adult. He has light brown hair with streaks of dark brown. And his eyes, are the color of gold. He has a pointy nose and full lips. He smiled as he talked to the trees and dimples appeared in his cheeks.

“That one sure is easy on the eyes.” Angelique commented when the man left, unaware that he was watched. That’s the end of her sight-seeing. Now she must plan her escape. “Rheie, let’s go to my room.”