Page 32 of Tempted By Hades

“Hades?” Persephone said as she slowly stood up from the chair she occupied.

He should really tell her to stay seated and keep out of his affairs, but for some reason, he didn’t utter a word.

“Surely you must be able to find her and bring her back.”

“I can find her, yes. But once she had crossed the River Styx, she must remain here. You heard him; she died, bitten by a snake, and is therefore now part of my realm.”

“Yes, it’s your realm. Therefore, you can also send her back, right?”

“It doesn’t work that way. I’m afraid she’s gone. I don’t have a final say in such matters.”

“You don’t’?” Her delicate eyebrows knitted together. “But I thought that you, as the ruler of the Underworld, you can decide on who stays.”

That’s what most people thought—that he was the final judge of who came to this place. “It’s much more complicated than that. I am but the caretaker of this place. It’s my duty to keep things running smoothly, but ultimately it is fate—The Fates—who have the final say on life and death.”

“The Fates…as in The Fates? The Three Sisters?”

“Yes.”

“Then why not summon them and ask for their final judgment?” She glanced over at Orpheus, the compassion obvious on her face.

“Summon The Fates?” Was she mad? “I can’t just ask them to drop everything to come here for such a trivial matter. Besides, the rules are clear. Mortals stay in their world until they die, then they come here.”

“But Orpheus has come all this way,” she reasoned, gesturing to the young mortal. “If he was not sure Eurydice’s death was a mistake, surely he wouldn’t have found his way here. Surely, fate would have brought him elsewhere?”

Hades, for the life of him, couldn’t find a way to counter her logic. Still, he didn’t make the rules. However, just as he was about to deny her request, she turned those beautiful doe eyes of hers on him with a plea.

“It can’t hurt to ask. Please?”

As he stared into the depths of the rich brown orbs, Hades found himself mesmerized. She truly felt passionate about this case. “I…alright,” he relented. Pushing himself up, he walked around his desk and stood over the mortal. “Orpheus, do you wish for The Fates to grant you their final judgment? I warn you, once they make their decision, there is no turning back and no further arguments.”

Determination glimmered behind those haunted eyes. “Yes, Lord Hades.”

He glanced briefly at Persephone before he closed his eyes and called upon the most ancient of ancient beings.

In a swirl of mist and shimmering threads, The Fates materialized before them, their arrival accompanied by an ominous hush that echoed through the chamber. Cloaked in ethereal garments that seemed to shift and weave like the very fabric of destiny, the Three Sisters revealed their ancient and enigmatic presence.

They always had a penchant for the dramatic, he thought to himself.

In their mysterious and ageless visage, the Fates bore features that transcended the boundaries of any singular race or origin. Each sister was a manifestation of universal elements, an embodiment of the fabric of existence itself.

Clotho, the Spinner, possessed an otherworldly elegance. Her long, flowing hair seemed to be woven with strands of starlight cascading down her back like an ethereal waterfall. Her eyes held the luminescence of ancient wisdom, reflecting the eons of knowledge embedded in the threads she spun.

Lachesis, the Measurer, stood with an air of timeless grace. Her features bore no distinct ethnicity as if she were a living representation of the diversity of mortal lives. Her ever-measuring gaze held the colors of countless cultures and histories, a reflection of the myriad threads she held in her cosmic hands.

Atropos, the Inevitable, carried an enigmatic aura. Her skin bore a hue that shifted like the ever-changing hues of twilight, embodying the inescapable fate she represented. The shears she wielded, capable of severing the threads of life, gleamed with a metallic luster that seemed forged from the very essence of existence.

“Thank you for coming, ladies,” Hades greeted. “I know you are very busy so I’ll dispense with the formalities. Besides, you already know why I asked you here.”

“Indeed,” the three of them replied in unison. “Nothing is unknown to the Moirai.” Their movements in synch, they walked over to Orpheus and stood in front of him.

Hades, begrudgingly aware of the necessity of their existence, awaited their pronouncement with a mixture of impatience and reverence.

Clotho, the spinner, grinned mischievously. “Ah, Lord Hades, dancing on the edge of fate again, I see.”

Lachesis, measuring the unseen threads, chuckled. “Do you not tire of this eternal game, Hades? Mortals may find it fascinating, but we find it rather predictable.”

Atropos teased, “One might wonder if you enjoy the chaos, Lord of the Underworld. Or is it merely the company you keep?”

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