Kore closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She heard the guests whispering around her. "She's lucky they didn't have Aidoneus kill her on the spot!" "Who in the world is she to speak to them that way?" She felt a slight tug on her waist and Aidoneus placed his forehead on the back of her head. She'd normally slap anyone to do this, but she felt protected. She felt a light jolt go through her body like she was meant to be here.
"Let's head outside for some fresh air, shall we?" Aidoneus let go of her and gestured towards the outside patio. Kore caught a slight turquoise glow in Aidoneus's eye. She walked ahead of him and headed towards the outside patio as all eyes followed her.
"Peter..." Aidoneus stopped by his bodyguard. Peter was perfectly standing upright, hands clenched and ready to throw everything away. "Don't let anyone outside." Aidoneus glared at Hippio and Zen. Peter nodded in agreement and followed Aidoneus to the door. He would die before he let those fools through that door.
Kore leaned on the water fountain and looked at her reflection. She traced the red mark that was slowly fading from her face. She felt goosebumps run up her arms, her cardigan that was hanging off her shoulders was not providing any warmth at all, the cool air was causing her red mark to disappear faster. She felt a warmth overcome her and noticed Aidoneus placed his coat on her. She wrapped herself up in it and took a deep breath, she turned red when she realized how good his coat smelled. She looked up and saw him looking at her.
"Sorry," she said quickly while pulling her face out of his jacket.
"Agapité*, I should be the one apologizing" he walked up to her, grazing her cheek with the back of his hand. He knew he wanted to hug her, but didn't want to push it. He had a new respect for this girl. She sheepishly looked at him.
* Agapité: Dear*
"It's ok, I'm used to it. I'm a no one" she shrugged "It doesn't matter what they say about me" she trailed off and looked up at the stars. Aidoneus was at a loss for words. The moon reflected off her eyes showing how blue they were. It reminded him of the oceans he would lounge in while staying in Hawaii.
Aidoneus walked up and sat down on the fountain's edge. He patted the seat next to him with a warm smile. "Don't worry, I won't tease you anymore tonight".
She looked down and then back at him. The moon reflected off his smooth skin, showing his features more clearly. Kore didn't pay attention to his looks at first, she kept looking away and finding other things to look like, like how a girl with a crush would do. She now more clearly saw how handsome he was. His face looked smooth, but you could see those small scars from the brawl's he was in on his face. She noticed the scar on his right eyebrow. 'Scarred but smooth' she thought to herself 'make that make sense' she went to take a seat next to him.
"So, tell me a little bit about yourself ero̱mai" he said while learning forward to look back into the hall room that was filled with dancing guests. The music faintly lulled out into the patio.
*love*
Kore sat there looking in the same direction as him. "Well, I grew up here, couldn't hold a job till Mrs. Roe found me because of my attitude" she giggled softly. He turned towards her and smiled. "Yes, that attitude of yours is quite feisty".
"Hey!" she pushed into his shoulder playfully "You said no teasing".
"Sorry, can't help it," he shrugged hopelessly. "It's my attitude that landed me in this position" he laughed.
"More like that green monster in there landed us here" Kore said nodding towards Minithe dancing on the floor with Hippios. She looked to her right to see Aidoneus slump his head.
Aidoneus, at one point, did like Minithe. Her attitude matched his job, and he felt that the tyrant of the underworld deserved to have a woman like that by his side. He felt the warmth of her hand touch his shoulder.
"I don't know what happened between you two, but I'm sorry." Kore looked at him softly, seeing the hurt on his face. Kore didn't know what this man has done to deserve such treatment from everyone.
Aidoneus wanted desperately to lean his face into her hand to be comforted. "You are apologizing for something you didn't even do," he said as he turned his gaze to her. He noticed that her face had light freckles scattered across it. 'Like a constellation' he thought as he got lost looking at her. Kore blushed.
"So, I think we all need more drinks, but do we dare enter the hall again?" Kore asked while fidgeting her fingers under his jacket.
He stood up and gave his hand to help her up. "Nothing would bring more pleasure to me than to see my brothers seething at us having fun." A smile formed on his face.
"Why can't I go and get him back!?" Minithe cried while watching the two walk back in from the patio. Kore was handing Aidoneus's coat back and Minithe did not appreciate her wearing his clothing.
"Because you i̱líthios* woman, it'll cause for the night to be ruined, and we need the donations to continue our devices installation." Hippio was losing his patience with this woman. Why did he have to bed her? He rolled his eyes and started scanning the ballroom for anyone else to take home that night.
*ilíthios: fool, idiotic, dumb, goofy, moronic*
Zen watched the two head over to the buffet. There was something about Kore that was alluring and familiar to him. Hera, sitting next to Zen watching the two, she didn't appreciate that this woman was taking everyone's attention away from her.
Aidoneus and Kore stood at the buffet for a while, eating a few hors d'oeuvre and making fun of the guests out of ear shot. They slowly made their way over to the refreshment section and continued their antics. The night melted away without them noticing.
After having more than her fair share in drinks, and poking fun at guests, Kore ended up snorting so loud from laughing, she jolted up and forced herself to act all prim and proper till prying eyes left her.
"Aidoneus, this is so much fun," Kore leaned into him slurring her words. "I don't know how you don't find this fun".
"Eísai asteío*" he said while letting her push into him. He had a huge smile on his face. He felt the champagne starting to hit him, not as much as Kore was though.
*Eísai asteío: You're funny*
"You know what would really piss everyone off" she said while swaying a bit. Aidoneus cocked an eyebrow at Kore.
"We should dance, but we should do.... "She punched his arm while laughing "We should do the chicken dance" she snorted. Aidoneus spat out his drink and laughed.
"Ero̱mai! We should" he laughed along with Kore. Kore pushed herself away from the wall and did a little shimmy towards the dance floor. She stopped and did an over exaggerated curtsy.
"Sir Aidoneus Doukas" she announced loudly "Will you have this dance with me" she scrunched her nose up while laughing.
Aidoneus pushed away from the wall and pranced up to Kore. "Why yes, milady" he met her with a bow. The guests around them stared, completely flabbergasted.
"This is supposed to not be saying anything for the rest of the night?" Hippios growled.
Aidoneus and Kore both were on the dance floor, pulling off their best chicken dance moves they could. Aidoneus didn't care anymore at this point. This was the most fun he had at any ball.
"We should join em'" Peter said leaning over to Iris.
"Oh... No... I don't want to lose my job" Iris stated. Peter handed her a glass of champagne. "You can't get fired by Aidoneus." Iris looked at the glass, looked at Peter, looked at Aidoneus and Kore, then took the glass and chugged it.
"Screw it, let's stick it to the man" Iris said while doing a silly dance onto the dance floor. She took a spot next to Kore and started dancing at Kore's pace. Peter joined.
Kore was laughing while she watched sober Peter attempt to dance silly with his expressionless face. She hooked her arms with Iris and leaned her head on her shoulder, Iris laughed like she's never laughed before.
"Iris! I didn't expect to see you here" she snorted again. When Kore looked up more people were joining in with them. Everyone seemed to be having fun. The judgmental whispers stopped while everyone was able to be themselves for the last song of the night.
Everyone started to file out of the hall, whispers started up again.
"That was the best ball ever!" someone said "Right? I didn't expect this they need to throw more like that, I'd spend more money if people weren't so ridged" another said. Zen was fuming when he heard this.
Kore was slumped over in a chair, beat red, breathing heavily in and out.
"Oh my gosh! It's so hot" she said trying to tear at her dress.
Aidoneus quickly stood in front of her. "Anói̱tos, you can't strip in the banquet hall" He chuckled. He wasn't too worried she would but just in case he wanted to provide her with some cover.
*fool*
"You..." she pointed at him while swaying in her seat "You don't understand how constricting this thing is" she flopped her head onto the back of the chair "Ugh! Aidoneus! "She sat back up and reached her arms out for him. "Rip this off of me, it's so hot" she whined.
Aidoneus turned red and put his hand over his face. "I... I don't think you understand what you just said..."
Kore stood up and wobbled away "It's fine, I'll Walk home" she kept trying to unzip herself. She knew she only wanted to do it a little bit to gain some more movement, but she was such a light weight, her body and brain were not cooperating with her.
Aidoneus glanced at Peter. Peter knew it was time to grab the car. Peter exited right while Aidoneus followed Kore to the left. He quickly caught up with her and placed his jacket on her.
"Noo! It's too hot" She tried shoving him away but fell over. Aidoneus grabbed her gracefully before she made it halfway down. She looked at him with a look that made Aidoneus feel like he would burn this world for her. She bopped his nose.
"You're cute" she scrunched her nose and teased him
"Agápi̱ mou, did you just poke my nose" he said with a smile
"Yes! And I'd do it again!" she hollered. Aidoneus quickly scooped her up to carry her outside.
*agápi̱ mou: my love*
"Hey! I... I can walk" she folded her arms angrily "Put me down!" she whined. Aidoneus shook his head and carried her out to the car. Peter opened the door for the two. It was quite a sight to see Aidoneus carrying a woman through a door and down the steps. As Aidoneusreached the car, Kore was already sound asleep in his arms.
Peter closed the doors behind Aidoneus and Kore, just to turn around to be met by Minithe.
"Let me in" she demanded.
Peter quickly hit the lock button on the S.U.V, locking the doors.
"No fídi" he firmly said.
* fídi* snake*
"What did you just call me?" She looked at Peter with a burning rage. Minithe tried to reach out for the keys in Peter's hands. He quickly side- stepped and she ended up falling into the side of the car.
"How dare you!" she exclaimed while pulling herself up back onto the curb.
"Oh Minithe! Zen wants to speak with you!" Iris yelled from the front door.
"This isn't over" she pointed at Peter and walked off. She passed by Iris who was already making her way down the stairs. Peter took advantage of this and hopped into the car. He rolled the passenger window down and mouthed 'Thank you" to Iris who giggled and waved them off.
Aidoneus had Kore's head in his lap while she softly snored. He gently pulled her hair through his fingers. Peter glanced at them through the rear-view mirror, he couldn't help but smile at the two.
"Where too afentikó?" Peter asked while pulling out of the long driveway entrance of the Grand Terrance. Aidoneus leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
"Home, o fílos mou "he didn't know where Kore lived. He knew she'd be mad waking up at his place, but he had no other choice.
Peter pulled up the long gravel driveway towards a grey-looking mansion. It was considerably smaller than Zen's, with perfectly cut shrubs and an old gothic look to it. Aidoneus preferred things to not draw passer-byers eyes. As they pulled up in front of the doors there were already people outside to greet him.
Peter exited the car and headed over to Aidoneus's side to open the door. As he headed over there, he spoke Greek to the people outside who hurriedly went inside after they exchanged words.
Aidoneus slid out of the car with Kore sleeping in his arms. "You told them to set up the guest room?" He whispered to Peter. Peter nodded.
"I also told them to not bother you at all till morning" He added as he closed the door softly as to not wake up the sleeping woman. Aidoneus nodded and started making his way through the doors of his mansion.
He gently put Kore down on his guest room's king size bed and started working on turning the sheets down. Kore grabbed onto Aidoneus's neck pulling him down with her.
"Agápi̱ mou, you have to let me go" he softly said "We only just met" he grinned.
Kore was in and out of sleep, she only grabbed him unconsciously due to him feeling so warm. He gently got her to release her grip, and she rolled over with a groan. He went and removed her shoes, placing them by the edge of the bed. He tucked her in and kissed the top of her head. He softly closed the doors behind him, not wanting to leave her alone, he leaned against the doors and let out a long sigh.
Aidoneus started undoing his tie as he walked off from the guest room. He headed down the hallway and made a sharp left towards his room that was just down the hall. As he entered, he took his shoes off and neatly put them in his closet on his shoe rack. He went to the bathroom, turned on the sink and splashed water on his face. He looked at himself in the mirror.
He stared for a while, going over tonight's events in his head. He scoffed and turned around while unbuttoning his white shirt. As he was taking it off, he stopped and inhaled. Kore's floral scent still lingered on his clothing. He clenched it in his hands for a moment longer and then tossed it in the laundry basket. He made his way back over to his closet to grab a new pair of clothing and an extra pair to leave in the guest room for Kore. Aidoneus only had some garments left that Minithe left behind, but he refused to let Kore wear them. 'She's worth more than that' he thought as he threw on a grey long sleeve shirt and black sweatpants.
Aidoneus exited his room and made his way back to the guest room. He saw a few of his employees peeking and looking at the guest room.
"Oi fíloi mou*, may I help you?" he teased. They stood up straight, bowed, apologized and left. Aidoneus laughed to himself. He softly pushed open the doors to enter the room to see that the bed was empty, and the bathroom light was on. He heard Kore regretting how much she drank that night.
*Oi fíloi mou: my friends*
Kore leaned her head on her arms as she was next to the toilet groaning. She heard the doors open and weakly picked up her head. She saw Aidoneus enter with some clothing.
"Agápi̱ mou, are you alright?" He headed to put the clothing on the bed.
"Go away, you don't want to see this" she said weakly. She threw her head into the toilet and let the contents of her stomach out. Aidoneus crouched next to her and pulled her hair back.
"No seriously, this isn't the first impression I want to leave on you, plus" she took a deep breath "It's gross" she said while putting her head back into the toilet.
"Agapi̱tós*, believe me" he said with a soft smile "I've seen worse" he rubbed her back.
* agapi̱tós: my dear*
His touch was a welcoming warmth to Kore. She didn't feel the need to pull away or run like she felt towards anyone else. She felt assured and cared for, which was a feeling that scared her. 'Am I worthy of such feelings' she thought to herself, recalling how poorly she treated Aidoneus at first.
Aidoneus helped Kore up off the floor. She went to the sink to rinse her mouth out. Aidoneus stood behind her admiring her in the mirror.
"You alright?" He said while looking at her in her reflection. Kore blushed, embarrassed that he had to witness that.
"I'm good" she turned quickly and moved around him to get to the bed. She grabbed the clothing on the bed, held it up and looked back at Aidoneus. He shrugged "Sorry, I don't particularly carry women's clothing" he grinned.
Kore smiled. 'That answers my question as to where I'm at' she opened up the folded grey shirt that was triple her size. She knew when she woke up that she wasn't home, she hoped that Aidoneus would have just gotten her a hotel room and she would have paid him back. Being in his home felt personal and a little uncomfortable for Kore. She wasn't used to people caring for her.
"I'll leave you be, I'll come wake you up for breakfast in the morning" he said as he turned to exit the room.
"Wait" Kore found herself saying. She took a deep breath "I hate to ask this, but can you..." She looked to her back and let out a sheepish smile "Possibly help me unzip myself?" she shrugged.
Aidoneus turned to her; Kore saw that he looked a bit flustered by that. She does not recall anything said after her dance routine at the ball. Aidoneus took a deep breath and walked over to her. She turned around to expose her back to him. He gently grabbed the zipper and pulled it down just enough for her to reach it.
Kore grabbed the clothing and went to the bathroom. Aidoneus's eyes followed her. He stuck his hands in his pockets and turned to the exit again. Kore poked her head around the door before she closed it.
"Thank you, Aidoneus," she smiled sweetly. She closed the door softly. Aidoneus stood there for a bit before taking his leave.
Kore closed the bathroom door and slightly leaned on it. She took a deep breath in and pulled the zipper the rest of the way down. Her stomach was still feeling queasy, so she moved slowly so as not to provoke any more sessions in the toilet.
She slipped out of the dress and removed her dress slip. She pulled on the button up shirt Aidoneus left for her and pants. Luckily there was a draw string on sweats, or the pants would have fallen right off. She gathered her dress and went to place it on the chair in the room. She then proceeded to crawl into bed, she glanced at the clock as it read midnight.
She pulled the soft cool sheets up to her chin and snuggled into the pillow. She slowly started to drift off to sleep when she was jolted awake. 'Nope" she ran to the bathroom.