Chapter 9
Zeus has nothing to really offer us. Yes, we have once felt before that the Underworld was once a desolate wasteland. We were hiding and there is a great shame in admitting it, but since Hades had arrived I don't feel that shame in fact I feel elation in following him. Hades himself had transformed the END into a paradise for his people. It is filled with colors and structures that I have never seen before. We never wanted a king until he appeared and became our leader. I questioned many of his decisions about his rule. He has always explained his reasoning, never once raising his voice. When he freed the Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires from Tartarus once he had met them. I explained to Hades they were imprisoned for a reason. He told me they are right there in his territory chained for no reason other than fear and if he was in their places he would want to escape the despair and be angry as well. He was always putting himself in the shoes of those that were in the END. I guess that is why we follow him.
Hades has never really cared about his family beside Hestia, he has always looked to us as his family. I found it strange, I asked him once if we should rescue his siblings and he straight out said he was not interested. Hades was powerful enough to rescue them by himself and with his domains he would be able to easily escape any trap or seal, but he just did not feel any connection to them. I feel that I could understand him more though. He was the type of person that cares for only those closest to him and in his eyes, we are all close to him. I feel as though if anyone of us were captured he would immediately rescue us. His siblings were not really close and he had never met them so he did not have an interest in them.
Zeus has raised points of what the future may hold like a council that would govern all with a leader as king. I never questioned the idea of a king, but I would not want Zeus as mine. He just did not have the same excitement when it came to being around him. Hades was spontaneous, one moment he was bored and the next he has this spark in his eyes. That spark had led to many projects we have today, such as the obsidian highway that is calculated to map out the entire continent. It is still a work in progress, but when completed you would be able to open a portal anywhere in the world from there. The road will be enchanted to remain a certain temperature so it would not be affected by nether and frost biomes. I only saw greed in Zeus's eyes, and when he looked at me l.u.s.t I
Hades also questioned who would be on the council. I never really thought to question the idea of a council, as Hades basically has one with all the ENDs residents pitching in ideas and reformating them to make them work. I never thought that how Zeus's council will work. It actually made me think, while Hades may appear childish, he has never really made any terrible decisions. All his decisions were made after hearing from everyone's opinions, I never really looked at how wise he actually is. Hades's questions were honest questions while Zeus's were accusations. While Zeus evades his questions, our king openly admits his reasons and is blunt as a hammer. Their temperament are so different, I could not see how they are even related.
Demeter POV
When taking us through to his city it was so full of life, not people, but life. There were flowers and trees everywhere, but really took me away was the gigantic blue tree in the center of the city. This was Hades's home, when I went up to it I noticed something, even this tree was alive. It felt like a community of trees singing to each other in harmony. I don't have the power to create something like this. I later found out, Hades built the tree from different trees combining them somehow. I would not have thought of that and some part of me wants to try and make a tree like this.
I found out Hades knew about us and did nothing, I mean he admitted it on the beach, but to hear him say it so bluntly hit home. I look around and see and feel the vegetation around me and the only emotion I have is jealousy.
Zeus has talked with them before about electing a king after this war and creating a council. Someone to lead us and guide the other G.o.ds. He talked out how we, his siblings, would be this council and the wisest one among them its king. I always felt we owed Zeus for freeing us and he would be the next king. He just felt so sure of himself and I wanted that confidence. I felt angry at Hades for questioning Zeus as if he even wanted to meet us.
When we were escorted to our rooms I noted how luxurious everything was. I felt anger from the way he lived his life. Hestia came to meet us. Apparently she wanted to rescue us along time ago, but she could not without the power of Hades. She was so excited to meet us. She talked and talked about how she wanted to meet mother for so long and how much she missed her. She cried and cried asking for forgiveness. Through our mother's persuasion, we could not help but give it. Hera, Hestia, and I just talked about our lives after we escaped. We learned the END was really a wasteland with one mountain at one point. Everyone lived in caves until Hades came and became king. Apparently Hestia doesn't really know how he became king, but the Underworld just accepted him as its ruler. He was just given the position and did not even have to work for it. The dwellers of the realm just had to follow him since then.
How is that fair? He just has everything handed to him. We were already pretty furious with him when we learned he was just made king, but to just be handed the realm like candy. I thought when Hestia told us he was made king that he at least proved himself or something. I then noticed Hades leave the tree and started to walk somewhere. My siblings and I tried to follow him. He took a greenish orb and threw it far into some direction and disappeared. We asked Hestia what he threw. Her explanation made no sense. The orb would allow for teleportation for where it landed. She told me us to hold on as she threw an orb herself.
Next thing I know I am standing in a forest in front of a huge black and grey wall at least a kilometre tall. Then I saw the Arc Hades mentioned earlier. It was so big I cannot describe its magnificence. The Arc itself was two kilometres tall and three kilometres wide. It has depictions of cities and all the residents of the END. It tells a story through pictures of how this place was formed. It even has a depiction of the city tree we were just in. Hestia explains that Hades wants to have a border around the first city and the first Nether biome.
Hades noticed something. Without knowing I created a tree to hide from him. Hades immediately spotted us. "I have never seen brown trees before or have I" He looked around and spotted us. He then turned to me with a gleam in his eyes. I have been looked at by many men since I was free, but his was different. He looked interested more in my ability than my looks even ignoring Hera.
For the first time, I see another emotion than indifference and boredom. He goes off to explain he was looking for a different color palette and if I could make more brown trees or white ones too. I said I could make any color. He seemed more interested in me. I think Hera is jealous that I am receiving attention that she was not getting. Usually, men approach us for our looks and Hera loves the attention. I make a couple of trees of different shades and afterword he pulls me away from the group and asks for me to make a forest and a garden. He seems nicer now, it feels good to be appreciated. I may still be angry with him, but he is also different from anyone I have ever met. Hera tries to get his attention feeling jealous, but he ignores her. My brothers seem furious at my and Heras actions and I feel conflicted about how I should treat Hades.
A/N
I feel like I just can't just jump into the war without having people's thoughts on how the meeting went on.
I wanted to give two perspectives. Someone who knows Hades and someone who doesn't.
Between Hera and Demeter, I picked Demeter because trees.