IX

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Ella's point of view

After the darkness wrapped around me, I fell into a deep slumber and my dreams were once again filled with the dark haired man. The dreams were vivid to the point where I almost believed they were real. Some were short and some seemed to last for hours, but I knew they must have only been a couple of minutes.

What happened in the dreams I can't remember, all I do remember is the deep blue eyes that followed me from one dream into the next. Sometimes those eyes were angry and sometimes they shone with joy and other times they were tired or peaceful.

I slowly woke from the last dream, I laid unmoving with my eyes still closed. I willed my brain to remember the contents of the last dream but my memory failed me, the only thing I remembered were Hades' blue eyes. He was peaceful in this dream as his eyes shone with a sense of calmness that I had not seen in them either one of the times we had met.

I thought about Hades and how he seemed to be a very playful but stoic man. Sometimes, when he didn't realize you were watching, he would have a far away look in his eyes like he was worlds away in wonderland. In those moments when you caught him with his guard down he always had a pained look on his face, I had begun to wonder what he had endured throughout his life to cause him such pain.

Sighing, I shifted in the bed and stretched my arms up before rolling over to face the other side of the bed. When I saw the figure sleeping softly next to my bed I nearly let out a scream but stopped when I saw the obsidian hair that fell in soft curls on his face.

I was frozen in shock, I didn't dare move a muscle as I stared at the same man that had taunted me in my dreams. Only this time I could see everything but his eyes, it was quiet ironic since I could only see his eyes in my dreams.

I nearly giggled at this, but stopped myself when I realized that I had not invited Hades into my house or even given him directions to where I lived before. So how did he know where I lived and more importantly, how the hell did he end up inside my house, sprawled out on a chair next to my bed.

He looked to be sound asleep in a rather uncomfortable position, I grimaced when I realized how sore he would be when he awoke.

How was I going to go about this? Should I wake up the handsome man next to me or leave him to sleep? I gazed back at the man before me. Dark circles inhabited the skin under his eyes. Waking him up suddenly sounded very selfish so I dismissed the idea completely.

Why was I even contemplating this? A man I barely knew was next to me and I wanted to let him sleep in because he looked tired; what was wrong with me?

Even though Hades and I were barely acquaintances there was a sense of belonging that flooded my body whenever he was near. This frightened me more than you could ever imagine. I was always the smart one when I was growing up, never talk to strangers or get into someone's car that you don't know.

I had always listened and obliged to these rules and the plenty others that were similar to those ones. I was positive that 'not getting startled when you wake up with a stranger in your bed that you never invited into your house' was not on that list.

I was so deep in thought that I had not noticed the deep blue eyes that were staring at me until I looked up and let a shriek fall from my lips.

"Hades! For the Gods' sake don't do that!" I yelled, while holding a hand over my beating heart. I swear it stopped working for a second.

Hades let out a small laugh that sounded like the finest of music and this time I knew my heart stopped for a few seconds.

I looked up at him in awe, he looked so calm and peaceful with his lopsided smile and unruly bedhead. I could not hold back the smiled that adorned my face even if I tried.

He truly was a charming man. A charming man that had somehow made his way next to my bed and that thought snapped me out of my daze.

"What are you doing here Hades? I don't remember inviting you into my home let alone showing you into my room." I stared him down, trying to catch a glimpse of something.

His face scrunched up slightly as he grimaced. "It's not what it looks like Ella-" he stated while focusing his eyes on his hands before continuing, "-I promise I didn't do anything."

I squinted my eyes at him before moving slightly in the bed, suddenly I was aware that the clothes I was wearing were not the clothes I wore last night and I had no recollection of changing.

I gasped, "Hades how did I end up in these clothes?" I questioned.

I noticed the slight blush that crept up his neck, did he change me?

"I... I changed you." He stuttered, not once lifting his head to look at me.

I wanted so desperately to laugh at the man before me, the big scary man next to me was blushing a light pink. If it was any other time I would have teased him but I was too angry for teasing.

Before I could voice my anger he interrupted me, "I promise I didn't look." He said quickly.

"Ella I know this looks really bad but why don't we go to a café or something and have some breakfast and explain everything?" He finally lifted his head to look at me, his face had a pleading look on it and I couldn't help but agree.

"Okay sure, just give me a few minutes to change."

He nodded his head frantically, I noticed how his features had softened slightly and he looked more calm now. He stood quickly and rushed out of the room.

I sighed quietly to myself while resting my head on the wall behind me. What had I gotten myself into?

With that final thought I stumbled out of bed and made my way into the bathroom. Hurriedly, I raced through my usual routine, now aware of the waiting man downstairs. I quickly made the bed and through on a casual red sundress and a pair of wedged black shoes. I glanced at my appearance in the mirror.

If it was any other day I wouldn't have even paused to think about applying some makeup, but today I felt the need to look a bit more presentable.

So, for the first time in who knows how long, I sat down in front of my mirror and quickly applied some blush, mascara and some lip gloss.

Taking a step back, I gave myself a once over before grabbing my bag and heading out of my room. When I neared the bottom of the stairs I noticed Hades standing awkwardly near the front door. I noticed that his hair looked less unruly and he had straightened out his clothes.

He finally noticed my presence and gave me a soft smile which I returned with my own.

"Should we go?" He asked softly.

I had a feeling he didn't use this tone often, Hades was an intimidating man and I doubted that he was usually this soft spoken.

"Yes, I'm sure the café down the street has just opened." I replied.

Hades led me out of the door and we fell into a peaceful silence as we walked down the street towards the centre of town where the café was. As we continued, we rounded a corner and I felt a weird sense of deja vu.

An image of myself rounding this same corner popped into my mind and I recognized it from last night. Now that I thought about it, I couldn't remember much from last night. I tried my best to focus my brain back to last night but the memory was fuzzy.

I remember going out with Davies and Camila, then as I walked down the street and finally the last thing I remember was rounding that very corner but everything after that was hazy.

How did I get home last night and how did Hades end up next to me? I desperately wanted to know the answers to these questions but I shut my mouth before I could bombard Hades with questions.

I hesitantly looked up at Hades hoping that he hadn't seen me and my internal battle to get my brain to work. Luck seemed to be on my side for once because Hades' eyes were focus ahead of us but I could tell his mind was miles away. He seemed droned in on his own thoughts so I decided to let him be.

The remainder of the walk was done in silence, both of us were too busy being stuck in our own heads to utter a word to each other. I didn't mind it though, it gave me some time to get my thoughts in order and ready myself for the explanation I was about to receive.

Somewhere deep down I already knew that no matter what excuse Hades gave me, no matter how far fetched it may be, I would believe him.

We entered the café and took a seat at a table near the window. The smell of fresh bakery filled my senses and I couldn't help but close my eyes and breath in the heavenly smell.

Hades let out a slight chuckle and I opened my eyes to see him staring at me with a smile. I smiled back and couldn't help but giggle along.

A waitress appeared next to us and took our drink orders, before disappearing and leaving Hades and I only to talk.

"I think it's best if we start from the beginning, don't you think?"

Hades was the one to break the silence between us and I simply nodded my head, urging him to continue.

"Do you remember anything that happened last night?" He asked.

"Not much, everything is a muddled mess," I replied honestly, turning my gaze to focus on him, "I remember being out with Davies and Camila, then I remember us parting ways and me walking home."

Hades nodded his head attentively and I carried on, "I remember walking down the street and feeling like someone was watching me but there was no one out of place."

By now my eyebrows were scrunched up in confusion as I slowly remembered pieces of the puzzle which was last night.

"I rounded the corner on my way home and remember looking back, I was scared at this point, something was really spooking me. I just wish I could remember." Sadly my brain couldn't remember anything after that point.

"Ella did you see a shadow maybe? Or something that resembled a shadow?" Hades questioned.

Suddenly I remembered the shadow that lurked in the darkness across the street from my house.

"Yes, yes I do." I was stunned now, how had Hades known?

"Was it you?" I asked.

"No Ella, does the name Theseus ring a bell?" Hades was leaning in now, his eyes held an emotion I couldn't quite place.

Than, as if someone had opened the flood gates, my brain decided to work. The memories from last night rushed into my head all at once. I grimaced as I felt the slight pounding that had begun at the back of my head.

I remembered the man from last night. How I felt stuck in place, compelled to listen to him, how he looked so handsome yet so evil, how he warned me to get the message through and how he had blown something in my face before I passed out.

I couldn't help the gasp that fell from my lips. Theo had mentioned that I had to tell Hades that humans like myself had to be protected.

I opened my mouth to question Hades about all of this, but before I had the chance the waitress returned and placed our drinks down on the table before us.

..

Hi loves,

This is the longest chapter yet! (2102 words) I hope you enjoyed!

I have a few questions for you: How do you think Ella will react when Hades tells her the truth about how he ended up next to her? Who do you think Theo is and what does he have to do with Kronos and Hades? Do you think Hades will tell Ella the truth about everything?

Feel free to leave your thoughts below in the comments! I love to read about how you are finding the story so far and I do reply back!

ps. The pace of the story is going to start to pick up very very soon and all of the above questions will be answered. As you read further you may even be left with more questions than answers ;)

lots of love,

s

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