The Girl and The Fox

Death rode back through the river Styx with Charon for the millionth time that day. His job was endless, never letting him have a break. People never stopped dying, but that was the deal with humans. They get to live a free life but eventually die, and Gods get to slave away but live with no pain forever. Before long, they were back at the start of the dazzling river, where Thanatos's misbehaving brother, Hypnos, was waiting.

'How's the girl doing? Got anywhere yet?' Hypnos asked, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Hypnos was the god of sleep. He made sure everyone could have dreams, good dreams and nightmares, but he was only interested in one girl's dreams in particular. Lizzie.

'First she ran away from her home, then she killed nearly all of Eric's followers she met in the woods, and finally she has been discarded into a dungeon that is being filled to the top with water until she drowns. How do you think it is going?' Thanatos retorted, shouting the end. 'She's meant to stop this war, not kill herself before she even gets the chance to help.'

Hypnos ambled slowly over to his brother. 'I think we need to have a talk to father... and not just because we aren't allowed chocolate down here! But that might be somewhere packed into the information,' he said, already walking over to Hades' palace.

As they neared the palace, it grew taller and taller, wider and wider. You would need at least one thousand fat people to hold hands around it, maybe more. The building was dark, no bright or lively colours, only dull greys and blacks. If anyone would go there, they would think Hades was depressed, but if it was anyone as the king of the underworld apart from him, I think they would kill themselves before a day had started.

The boys entered their home, going through millions of hallways that lead into millions of rooms. If it was anyone else going through this palace they would surely get lost. The dining rooms were as large as an elephant, even though for half of the year they only had three people eating. That half of the year Hades would be ruthless and cruel as his wife, Persephone, was above the land with her mother, celebrating spring and summer. The other half Hades was more passionate and Persephone usually convinced him to be more loving. That was throughout winter and autumn, as Persephone's mother controlled the seasons. She couldn't bear to be without her loving daughter.

After many twisting and turning hallways, the brothers finally ended up in their father's magnificent throne room. It was lit with candles all around, illuminating the room, but there was nothing much, apart from a throne and carpet, inside. Actually, it probably wasn't that magnificent.

'Thanatos, you are meant to be leading the dead, are you not. That is a full time job. No one ever stops dying, and as for you Hypnos, dreams don't make themselves... and how is it going with Lizzie and Isabella, boys,' Hades lectured, his eyes only with interest at the last sentence.

'That is what we are here about, father. Isabella has been getting herself into nothing but trouble, isn't there anything we could do. Maybe give her back her past memories?' The God of death tried, but his father was much more stern than that.

'You know that is forbidden!' Hades shouted at his son. 'Leave me and get back to your jobs.'

'Father, I think Lizzie is catching on to more and more of these dreams, and one last thing. Are we, by any chance, allowed-' Hypnos said, being cut off by the king.

'NO! I already said, NO CHOCOLATE!!! Now GO.'

Defeated, Thanatos and Hypnos walked back to their endless posts. As they parted their separate ways, Hypnos went back to his field of flowers to play with some girl's dream and Death went to his long cue of dead mortals.

Hypnos always got the better job, the god of death thought. Thanatos sighed, picking his scythe up and leading the dead onto Charon's ferry to wash away their memories of the past, and for the first time, he wished that could happen to himself.