¤Natasha¤
The underworld was nowhere near how I imagined it to be. Besides there being fire everywhere, everything seems to be... Nice. "This place is different," I say to Odessa as I walk behind her. "Did you create it?"
Odessa chuckles slightly, glancing at me. "I wish I had created it. I'm just married to the person that it belongs to." Her hips sway back and forth as she walks.
"Who are you married to?" I ask. "And how exactly did he create this place?"
"His name is Hades." She answers. "The underworld belongs to him because his father simply gave it to him." She points to the separate flowing rivers. "The underworld of Hades is surrounded by five rivers, each representing an emotion connected with the underworld: the Styx (hatred), the Acheron (pain), the Lethe (forgetfulness), the Phlegethon (fire) and Cocytus (wailing)." Odessa smiles. "He created it like this because I asked him to."
I smile. "He must really love you."
Odessa smirks. "If that's what you want to call it."
"Is the underworld only for supernatural creatures?"
She shakes her head no. "Of course not. The underworld is for both humans and supernatural creatures. Everyone who dies and goes to hell ends up here." She looks at me. "They go across whatever river Hades thinks they belong."
I gulp, looking down at my fingers. "When I die, am I going to have to go through one of these rivers?" I question.
"You're not going to die my sweet creature." She places her arm around my shoulder, pulling me towards her. "One of the kinks of being a hybrid is that you're now immortal. You'll never die and you'll never age. You're just like me."
"How old are you?" I ask without thinking.
Odessa glares at me, then pushes me away. "Never ask a lady her age, it's rude." She huffs. "I've been alive since this world was nothing but a star in the cosmos."
Before I can ask another question, someone interrupts me. "Odessa are you the reason why my book of spells disappeared!" A woman accuses, walking towards Odessa and me. I looked up at the woman fascinated. Her warm brown face glared at Odessa, before turning to me. "Why are you naked?" She asks. I didn't answer, I was too busy taking in her beauty. "Odessa who is this girl?" She asks, her nose stands up just a little at the tip. She has slim cheeks and a high smooth brow, with large brown eyes. Her hair is long, resting just past her shoulders. She has so much hair on her head that I somewhat envy her.
Why can't my hair be like that? I thought to myself.
Before Odessa can say anything, I speak. "I'm not a girl." I blurted out, instantly regretting my words.
Stupid!
I sound so stupid!
Odessa and the woman both looked at me confused. The woman's brow raises. "You have boobs," she states, looking down at my body. "A butt and a private feminine area. I think that makes you a girl." My mouth opens to explain what I really meant, but she silences me, looking back at Odessa. "Who is this girl Odessa?"
Odessa rolls her eyes at the woman. She points at me. "This here is Natasha," Odessa says, smirking. "The first hybrid to be successfully created."
The woman let out a gasp, looking back and forth at Odessa and me. "You crazy bitch! You actually did it." The woman says in shock. "After all these years, you've finally done it." I frown not knowing if the woman was happy or mad. She looked me up and down, before sticking her hands out for me to shake. "I'm Raine." She introduces as we shake hands. "I was the first witch to have ever been created." She smiles a bit. "The queen of witches actually."
I smile. "It's very nice to meet you." I blushed a bit. "Forgive me for my accent. I know it may be hard for you to understand what I'm saying."
She smiles. "Your accent is fine. Never be ashamed of it. It's what makes you, you."
Odessa groans. "Okay, enough of the sentimental crap. It's making me sick."
Raine rolls her eyes at Odessa. "This bitch." She mumbles. "Where's my book?" Raine asks. Odessa snaps her fingers, and the ancient book appears in Raine's hands. "Thank you, Odessa and final warning, stop taking my book!" She says sternly. Raine touches my shoulders and suddenly I have clothes on.
I look down at the set of clothing and smile slightly. "Thanks."
Raine smiles. "No problem."
Odessa clears her throat. "I'm gonna go find Hades. Raine shows Natasha around. Make sure you introduce her to all the Originals."
Raine sighs. "Just when I thought my years of slavery were over." She says looking at Odessa. She turns to me and smiles. "Come on Natasha, let's introduce you to everyone." Raine grabs my hands and together we walk.
"You were a slave?" I ask, after a few moments of silence. I knew slavery was going on back on earth, but I didn't know that it dated back more years. No one in my village really knew when slavery started.
Raine nods. "Yeah, I was a slave back in my day. More like during the B.C. era." She clarifies."I was born in Egypt, close to the Nile River. When I was about eight years old, I was enslaved by the Pharaoh, Khafra and was one of the thousands to help build his pyramid."
I look at her in shock. "I'm sorry you had to go through all that," I say sincerely. "How did you become the queen of witches?" I ask as we keep walking. My eyes take in everything, and I make a note to myself to remember this path.
"I got lost in the desert. Pretty much almost died of the lack of water." Raine says. "Just when I thought I was going to die, Odessa came out of the middle of nowhere offering me a gift."
"Are witches immortal as well?"
Raine chuckles. "No, witches are not immortal." Raine pushes her hair behind her ears. I'm saddened by her response. I was hoping she'd be around forever. "Witches can only live up to the age of one hundred. I, on the other hand, created a spell that makes me immortal."
"I'm happy to hear that," I said truthfully. "I have a feeling that not having you in this world would suck."
Raine laughs, making me smile. "I'm glad you think so." Raine opens a door to a room and instantly the sound of chatter can be heard. People stare at me as we walk in the spacious area. I look around, taking in my surroundings. Everyone looks so different. You can tell they weren't human. "Guys, this is Natasha." Raine introduces to a group of people. They glance up at me, before going back to their conversation. Raine rolls her eyes. "Stop being rude guys and bow down to your queen!" She orders.
I look at her confused. Queen? I'm not a queen.
A male from the group stands up. His eyes connect with mine before he stares back at Raine. "Who is she?" He asks. His voice was so deep, that it made me feel chills. I've seen people like him before on earth. It is said in my village that people like him were here first. Even before the colonizers. Native Americans are what I believed they were called. This male was tall and strong. He had a darkish tan skin and amber eyes.
"This is Natasha." Raine states. "The first hybrid ever to be created."
People all around gasp, looking at me intently. I look at them confused. Is being a hybrid really such a big deal?
The male looks at me for a moment, a glare present in his features. After a couple of seconds, he bursts out laughing. "My name is Yiska." He says, "Walking up to me. "King of the Lycans." He takes my hand into his and kisses it. I blush. A man has never kissed my hands before.
"Yiska moved out of the way." A woman says, pushing him back. She grabs onto my hands and I instantly start to feel... Love? The woman smiles at me. "I'm Celine." She says, a clear accent in her voice. "I'm not the queen of anything, just a plain old siren." Her hand touches my cheeks, and she analyzes me. I could feel myself being drawn to her. "You're beautiful."
"Celine let go of her. You know she's not immune to the siren call." Raine scolds.
Celine huffs before letting go. "Sorry about that Natasha, I couldn't help myself."
Someone scoffs. Another woman appears before me. She has something that covers her eyes. I can't really decipher her appearance. "Do you guys want this young girl to be your queen?" She questions angrily."She's a damn outsider who knows nothing about our way."
"She will learn our way, Ying." A familiar voice says, walking into the room. All eyes snapped to Odessa, but I was more focused on the man behind her. He looks like a God. "Bow down to your queen!" Odessa orders. I watch as everyone looks at me before dropping down to their knees, including Raine.
I gulp.
Was this all really necessary?
"I bow down to no one!" Ying snaps before walking away.
"Now I'm on Medusa's bad side," Odessa said.
"You may all rise." A new voice speaks. I looked at the godlike man and instantly knew he was Hades. His eyes are on me as he walks closer. "You must be Natasha." He says, smiling as if he knows something that I don't. "I'm Hades. Welcome to my home." He was a very tall, muscular man with broad shoulders. His nose was a little bit crooked.
I look up from his hands and into his eyes. He has remarkable leaf-green eyes. "Thank you for having me," I say feeling uneasy.
"Come." He says, latching onto my arm. "Let's go somewhere private to talk." We started to walk away, but I stopped and turned around to see that Odessa wasn't coming with us. "Don't worry, you'll see Odessa later on. Right now it's just us that needs to talk."
"Why?" I question worriedly. He ignores me and opens a door that leads to some kind of room. The room was dimly lit. Two antique couches are on opposite sides of each other. A handwoven rug is in front of the Ashen fireplace. I frowned. This place was surrounded by fire, why did he need a fireplace? "Why am I here?"
Hades leans up against the wall. "You are here because I need a favor from you, Natasha." He says. "I need you to set everyone a part of the underworld free. Only you can do it, Natasha."
"Why me?" I ask.
"Because you are a hybrid." He takes a step closer to me. "You have the blood of five originals pumping through your veins. That and of course you're still human."
"I'm... I'm still human?" I stutter.
"Yes indeed, but you really won't feel the human side of you. Not with all that power you carry." Hades sighs. "I know that this is a lot for you to handle, but without you, we can't be free." He takes a seat. "My father didn't give me the underworld. My brothers Zeus and Poseidon cursed me down here. And as a part of that curse, me and everyone in the underworld cannot live on earth."
I was starting to feel uncomfortable. It was all too much to handle. "Why would they curse you down here?"
"We didn't agree on certain things," Hades says.
I can tell he was holding something back. "If I set you guys free, wouldn't your brothers just put you back in here?"
Hades shakes his head. "They can't. My brothers are only strong because they are Gods. You, on the other hand, are half a God along with many other things. They wouldn't stand a chance against you." Hades takes my hand. "You my queen will be a goddess if you do this. You will be unstoppable and everyone that's ever stepped foot on earth will know your name."
"What about the dead souls in the underworld? What happens to them?"
"They will stay in the underworld and continue to burn. I will continue my duty in placing the bad souls where they belong." Hades's answers. "I'll always take care of the underworld. I just want me and my beautiful creations to walk on earth whenever we please."
My mind was racing with all the information I just got. I've never seen myself being a queen. To be honest, I can't even believe I have this much power. So many things can go wrong. "Give me a minute, I'm thinking things through," I say to Hades. I released a breath, leaning against the couch. Doing this will help them be free. Freedom is such an important thing. Humans and supernatural creatures living in the world as one wouldn't be so bad. "I'll do it."
Hades smirks. "Thank you, Natasha. I'm glad you've decided to help us." He stands up and leaves the room, leaving me to myself.
I sigh, thinking about what I just agreed to.
I'm doing the right thing... Right?