(A/N: Hey y'all, just wanted to say that Dark Shadows has 1.06k reads!!! *screams in fangirl* Ah, I'm so happy and proud of everyone who is reading and recommending my story, it just really makes me giddy. That is all!)
Everything in Hades' world seemed to stop once his lips met hers. Fireworks exploded behind his eyes, filling his body in blistering colors. Everything seemed to come to life; emotions that were buried deep down in the back of his mind were starting to resurface, coming forth to the front of his mind.
He would be lying if these feelings didn't intimidate him. He hadn't felt like this in centuries. Now, with Katherine, he was tasting, feeling, and seeing everything in bright colors.
He pulled Katherine closer to him, his hands tightening on her waist. He could taste strawberries and mint, a taste that he knew he would grow addicted to.
Katherine never expected for someone she grew to love to be kissing her, to admit his feelings to her. She never had any boy or man to want her; they always wanted Namie. She didn't blame them, Namie was the definition of perfection. But now, here she was, sharing her first kiss with the God of the Underworld.
The voices in her head were full on screaming at her; wails upon wails of curses and insults. The longer she kissed Hades, the more the voices got louder and louder.
Katherine pulled away, clutching her head in agony. The voices felt like someone was stabbing at her head over and over again. Once she had pulled away, the voices and the pain subsided.
Hades held her tightly. He watched as Katherine started to calm down, rubbing her head trying to relieve the pain. He had never seen a spell inflict physical pain on the one the spell was place on. Hecate was nowhere in the castle or even close to it; like she had disappeared.
Hecate kept her distance from the castle, hiding in the shadows. She kept her pressence masked, knowing that Hades was trying to find her. She knew that Hades would ask her to lift the spell, but she couldn't. Apollo threatened her family; he would eventually find out that Hecate lifted the spell, and kill everyone she loved.
She couldn't risk it. It was better to hide and keep her family safe until the month was over.
Unless...
Dissolving her body into black mist, Hecate slivered into the shadows of the cavern and blended into the darkness, in search of the one who might be able to help.
"Are you okay, Katherine," Hades asked, his voice laced with worry.
Katherine nodded. She told him how the voices from the spell made her feel pain, like they were stabbing into her mind until she pulled away from the kiss.
"I've never seen a spell like this," Hades said. "Whatever this spell is, is fueled by jealousy and possession. Whoever casted this spell obviously doesn't want you with me."
Katherine was scared, very scared. She didn't want to be controlled by a spell. She didn't like the idea that someone wanted to manipulate her feelings, to have her has a thing on the self. For the first time in her life, she felt safe and happy that she found someone. Now it was being taken away.
"Do you have any enemies?"
Hades chuckled, though it wasn't humoress. "Too many to count."
"Could it be someone who admired Persephone and feels that I'm replacing her?"
"It's possible. Many souls admired Persephone when she was here, but they aren't powerful to cast such a spell. Most are mere mortals without knowledge of witchcraft. Only Hecate has that much power."
"Could Hecate possibly casted the spell?"
Hades shook his head. "I don't think she would."
If only they knew...
~~~
A few days passed by.
No one had seen or heard from Hecate since the night Katherine was possessed, nor have any of the Gods seen Apollo around much besides from a few counsel meetings.
Athena and Hera didn't like how Apollo was behaving these last couple of days. He always had this smirk on his face; like he knew something no one else did. And every time the Counsel was dismissed, Apollo quickly went away to somewhere.
"Something is up with him," Hera told her husband Zeus one day. "It's like he knows something about what's happening to Katherine."
"I've already spoken with him, honey," Zeus cooed at his wife. "He says that he knows nothing about the spell."
"But what about when Athena showed us the..."
"Hera, let's not discuss it right now."
Athena was having no luck either. She was interogating all of the castle staff in the Underworld, asking what happened that night. They all said the same thing: there was a dark, menacing shadow rush to the old music room. They also said that no one saw Hecate afterwards or the days following.
Athena knew that Hecate had something to do with it. She was the Goddess of Witchcraft and the mother of witches. Was it really a coincidence that the same night that Katherine was possessed was the same night that Hecate vanished?
She tried to tell Hades that hecate must've casted the spell, but to no avail. Hades was stressed about Katherine. Her condition was steadily getting worse, and Hades felt he neede to be around her at all times, along with her sister. Hermes and Charos have been sorting the souls and taking them to their afterlives, but they weren't Hades.
Athena saw that Hades was extremely fond of the girl, more than before. Something had chaged inside of him. Whenever she saw him beside Katherine's bed while she slept, he had this look in his eyes; a look that she hadn't seen in him since Persephone.
Truthfully, she never liked Persephone. Although she adored Demeter, her aunt, Persephone seemed different. She was like a typical nineteen year old during those times. Why Demeter arranged for her young daughter to marry an eons old God of the Dead, Athena didn't know. But after words about Persephone's affair and demands of dying to be with him broke out, something died inside of him.
She cared for her uncle. She didn't like the idea of Persephone being selfish and not consider how her actions affected Hades. But the damage was done.
Now, Hades was different. She saw the old cyrstal throne at the Hallows Eve Ball, and she saw how much that throne suited Katherine, like it was made for her. Hades looked...happy when he and the human shared a dance, how angry he looked when he showed Athena the pictures.
Could Hades have fallen in love with a human?
The thought of that made Athena content. Katherine was making her uncle happy.
~~~
Katherine woke up one morning in a cold sweat. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her skin was clammy. Dreams from the night flashed in front of her eyes, images of Apollo and Hades. One moment, it was Hades smiling at her; the next, it was Apollo.
She saw Hades beside her, his head resting on the bed as he sat in a chair he pulled out. His hair was sticking out and ruffled up. He was still alseep.
The voices didn't like Hades being so close to Katherine. They kept screaming and screaming at Katherine to get away from the god all throughout the night, but Katherine liked having Hades with her. She felt safe with him.
Removing the covers, Katherine carefully got out of bed, not wanting to wake Hades. She climbed out of bed and got some fresh clothes before heading into the bathroom.
Hades yawned as he raised his head, his neck and back aching from the uncomfortable position. When he looked at the empty bed, he didn't see Katherine. She must be in the bathroom.
He got up from the chair, stretching his sore limbs. Over the last few nights, Katherine's condition hadn't improve. The spell must be starting to break her down fastly before it continues it's purpose.
Hecate was still missing, which didn't help Hades. Only she knew how to break a spell, especially a spell like this one. Where could she be?
Hades slipped on his shirt before Katherine came out of the bathroom, dressed in a off shoulder sweater and leggings. Some of the marks on her shoulder were now faint and pink instead of the intense red. The bite marks were still there, some even scarring. Apollo must've used a lot of power and strength that night.
Hades wanted to rip Apollo apart so badly. He wanted to send Apollo to Tartarus along with the Titans, far away from Katherine. But if the Counsel didn't even listen to Athena, then why would they listen to him?
Katherine emerged from the bathroom, wearing an off shoulder sweater and leggings. The marks on her skin were finally gone now, but the bite marks were still there, now scarred into the skin. The sight made Hades growl.
Today, Hades had to take care of the dead. For the last few days, Hermes and Charos have been trying to sort the dead. But every day there were more souls to replace the last ones. If Hades didn't help, then the Underworld and the realm above would be in chaos.
He had Namie watch Katherine while he was working. He didn't tell the older sister about the spell; she would accuse him of casting it like when she accused him of raping Katherine.
He walked over to Katherine and hugged her close to him, holding her like she might slip from his grip. He felt her hands tighten as she grabbed his shirt, not wanting him to leave her alone. She didn't like the idea of not having Hades near her, but she knew that the Underworld was in disarray without him.
"I'll be back whenever I can. I promise."
"Alright."
Reluctantly, Hades pulled away before kissing he ron the forehead. A sweet and simple gesture that enraged the voices inside Katherine's head.
Katherine watched as Hades gave her one last smile--it didn't even reach his eyes--before leaving her alone in her room.