"How do you light this?" I asked, turning a video camera.
"Thanatos, that's it" Pandora said smiling tenderly at me.
"I'm sorry" I said smiling and running my free hand through her hair, she always knows everything.
However, something more important happened, focus on Hades, who was moving from one side of the room to the other with her hand over her mouth and babbling nonsense. He was undoubtedly nervous.
"Hades, calm down" Pandora said in a sweet tone "I'm sure everything is going perfectly" Hades stopped in his tracks and looked directly at her with his electric blue eyes that seemed to be glowing.
"Yes, of course, she's been in labor for over 6 hours, I'm sure she's fine," he said sarcastically.
"Hades, bringing a son or daughter into the world is not an easy task and much less painless" said Pandora a little more annoyed. Just at that moment a cry broke the silence, it was Persephone who was already feeling pain. Hades's face showed even more concern, and he paced from side to side.
Apollo's nurses (or rather his faithful priestesses who came to help) told Hades that it was better to wait outside, but that did not completely reassure him, on the contrary, it made him more nervous and with Persephone's cry it was enough. what did he want? to break down the door to check on his wife's status.
"Your father is going to explode" I said turning the camera to focus on me "if you don't get out of there faster and with less pain" I argued, however when I turned the camera they both looked at me wanting to kill me "what?" I asked without understanding.
"Bad joke, bad timing," Pandora said.
At that moment one of the nurses came out.
"Ready, congratulations, it's a girl," he said looking at Hades, "now they are going to bathe her and verify that everything is fine, his wife is somewhat weak, but it is normal, in a few weeks she will be so well." like new, "said the nurse.
"Thank you very much," Hades replied with feigned calm. The nurses collected their utensils and left quickly, not without first saying in which room they had left the girl so that they could go to see her. I'm going to see Persephone. Pandora, could you go see my daughter? " She said nervously and with some enthusiasm.
Pandora went to the room in which they left the girl, while Hades entered to check the status of her wife. I went with the camera behind Pandora, making sure to record every second.
We entered the room and found the girl lying down and wearing purple pajamas, she was white like her parents, had blood red hair and pink cheeks. Pandora approached, but not before wiping some tears of happiness, the baby was sleeping peacefully and was unfazed by Pandora's movements, cradling her in her arms and carrying her with her parents.
We entered the room where the boy's parents were. They both turned to see Pandora, or rather what she was holding. Pandora approached Persephone and gave her daughter, the girl moved a little, but did not open her eyes.
Persephone took her daughter and some small tears escaped her eyes, she smiled like she never had. She put one of her fingers near her daughter's small hand and, reflexively, grasped it with some force.
Meanwhile, Hades was beside his wife contemplating the beautiful scene.
"Y?" I asked. "What are they going to call her?" Hades looked at his wife, making her understand that she chose the name.
"Don't look at me Hades" Persephone said in a tired voice "We agreed that if it was a boy, I would name it and if it was a girl you would choose its name."
"Well," Hades said, drawing out the word, "I was thinking of calling her Selena," he said with a shrug, while looking at his daughter tenderly.
"Then Selena will be," Persephone said giving her a warm smile. However, fatigue was taking hold of him and he was about to close his eyes.
Pandora came over to take the baby before Persephone fell asleep, she was really exhausted. Hades got up, but not before placing a kiss on his wife's forehead, and left the room, followed by Pandora and finally I came out with the camera. Being outside we saw how Hades left his state of tension for a calmer and more relaxed one.
"Hades, you know you can take it right?", Pandora said approaching him.
"I'm afraid, it's just that, it looks so fragile" he said when he saw his daughter in Pandora's arms. She asked him with her eyes to extend his arms to give the baby, Hades extended his arms and grabbed the baby as if it were fine porcelain, he brought it to his chest and looked at her in amazement "Hello" he said to his daughter like this I could answer you. The baby shifted slightly and scrunched up her face in response.
Even though Hades had 3 more children (all of them demigods), he had never witnessed their birth or cradled them in his arms, because by that time the relationship with their mothers had ended. After these failed attempts at relationship, he met Persephone, his wife, the goddess of spring, the light in her darkness, and for the first time he was able to see one of their children born.
Hades tried to do the same as his wife, he put a finger near the baby's hand and she reflexively took it with what little strength she possessed. Hades had no place in his happiness and little tears ran down his face. She would be one more light in the underworld.
Pandora said goodbye not without first congratulating Hades and wishing the newborn good night. She really looked tired, she finally said goodbye to me and went to her room. As Hades prepared to take the girl to his room, I followed him with the camera until he reached the baby's little room, Hades walked over to the crib he had ordered made when he was born, and placed it there, but the girl was he moved and started to grimace. Hades looked at her worried that the baby would be uncomfortable. He was about to load it when he began to open his eyes.
Hades picked her up again and looked at the baby who was now looking him straight in the eye. The baby's eyes were different colors, one was the same as his father's, electric blue and the other was grass green like his mother's. Hades smiled when he saw them, they were the perfect mix between him and his wife. He grabbed the baby by the armpits and pulled her closer to him to give her a little kiss on the forehead. But the baby raised her plump little arms and with her hands explored her father's face, without taking her eyes off him.
Hades laughed a little and let his daughter play with his face. When he got a little closer to her to see her better, he managed to see some spots that went from the bridge of her nose to her cheeks, she had her mother's freckles. The baby stopped looking at him and started looking at the camera. Hades turned to see what he was seeing and brought it closer to the camera he was holding. He put it very close to the camera, but not so close that it could damage it, the baby moved her arms trying to touch the lens.
"You can turn it off now," Hades said. Turn off the camera and place it on the nearest table. The girl turned to look at her father, almost asking him where the strange artifact had gone. She turned again and this time she looked at me and spread her arms.
"Oh no, don't even dream about it" I told Hades reading his intentions "I'm not plasticine or clay so they're trying to mold my face" I said making a face at the baby, however, I think he's scared. her because she turned to her father and started screaming. Hades tensed and looked for something to help calm his daughter, saw on the table a stuffed rabbit, almost as big as the baby, and put it next to him as he tried to cradle her in his arms. Little by little the girl calmed down until she fell asleep, hugging her new friend, the stuffed rabbit.
Hades tried again to leave her in the crib, this time the girl did not complain and slept peacefully, her father contemplated her for a few seconds, kissed her on the forehead and wish her good night. We left the room and went to sleep ...
It would have been better not to have left her alone ...
Around midnight the underworld was calm, until a cry, somewhat louder than normal, woke up the entire castle. I got up as fast as I could and ran to where the scream was heard. As soon as I saw the open door to Selena's room, I knew it had been taken. Hades was already inside crying uncontrollably. As soon as he saw me, he sent for his daughter, both in the underworld and in the mortal world.
Weeks passed and the girl did not appear, Hades asked her brothers for help with great shame. Poseidon offered to search the oceans and Zeus asked Hermes to search by land for the whereabouts of his granddaughter's niece. For the first time, Olympus met Hades at his worst, while when he was alone, he cried in his daughter's room with the stuffed animal in hand that Persephone had slept with cried like never and every spring he looked for his daughter in vain, the person who finds him is not afraid or does not really know Tartarus.