#i love drawing aiako | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

legend-waitforit-harry · 4 years

Text

The Only One part 17

You are too exhausted to even pick your head up from your pillow. Your face burning with the blood rushed to it. Pushing the urge to scream into your pillow again you try to smother yourself hard into it.

Fine.

Fine?!

Who says fine when somebody proclaims their love for them?!

You do, apparently.

With sheer disgrace you give another attempt at getting out of your bed. After storming out of Harry's chamber in a fury of being defeated in your argument with his solemn confession of love for you, you barely got any sleep despite your tiredness.

As the anger washed away and the embarrassment crept over you the scene played over and over again in your head as you cringed harder everytime.

Why is it that you never have a control on what you do and those actions embed deep in your mind disturbing you in the most unwanted moments? And not only was your sleep important because it was a big day for you as it was the first day that you'd take up your responsibility as a Queen but also you needed the strength to face Harry after yesterday's childishness.

You cannot even start to think how furious he must be after you acted out like that. He didn't even attempt to see you as he sent the invitation for the court in the hands of your maid. You'd think that he won't even call upon you to go to Court with him if he did not have to. And he'd be right about that.

So you somehow drag yourself around getting ready, pushing back the flashbacks of the other day again and again, to at last be presentable on time. And when you arrive outside where Harry has asked you to meet you half expected to be greeted by a servant again instead of him. But there he was, smiling brightly at you as if nothing happened. As if you didn't just reject his affection and storm out his chamber just the last night.

"Hey, there ready for the big day?"

He tries to sound excited but you can tell he didn't get much sleep either. But creeps on you.

"Any tips?"

He holds your hand as you get into a boat not manned by Chiron for a change.

You don't want to set Harry off before he guided you into what you'd be doing for the rest of life. In fact you don't want him to be upset about your yesterday's silliness at all and make him forget about it as soon as possible. So talking about the present is the best thing you suppose.

"Try not to dose off"

You look at him surprised but he just smirks at you. Obviously.

When you reach the Court of Judgement you get flashbacks of the last time you were here. You felt so differently about Harry at that time. Ready to fight the world for him. Maybe you still would.

You nod at the Judges who are seated on their pedestal as you sit on your throne beside Harry's. And when you have the view of the whole courtroom you see people crowded from all over the Underworld. You want to ask Harry about it but when you turn to him you are met with helm that he slipped into right before stepping into the Court.

But you don't have to wonder for long as Aiakos, one of the Judges that you've come to learn the name of, clears his throat and stands.

"Before the procedures of the Court starts, we have an announcement. Today, on the twentieth of Maimakterion, we have amongst us our Queen. And the citizens of the Realm bow to you to welcome you to your throne" And with this the whole Court bows to you.

Without the trickle of an idea o what to do you turn to Harry who is just smiling at you now watching you blush and fidget.

"Thank for your warm welcome. I hope to not disappoint you" You cringe mentally. But at least that makes everyone straighten up and resume with the proceedings. You turn to Harry with a scolding look but he doesn't even face you as he tries to suppress a chuckle.

The day draws out with each soul begging for your mercy, another chance at life and what not as their sins and virtues are read out. Each being alloted to a place in the Underworld accordingly with no effort from you or Harry. Everything seeming to go by seamlessly. And somehow the buzz of the crowd does make you drowsy a bit and you understand what Harry said before. You wonder maybe that's why he makes it a point to always wear his helm in Court so that he can dose off without anyone knowing. Maybe you should get one made as well.

As the Court adjourns you're almost about to leave. But you are not allowed to step out as Thanatos comes stands in front of you with the statistics of the day. The people who died, their general demography, causes of their death and whatnot. And after Thanatos gave you the brief, which was enough to bore you into sleep, other Gods started coming in with their problems. It seemed that the day will never be over. The problems were mostly petty. Nothing that needed to be thought hard upon and Harry seemed to handle those easily. And you noticed that the Judges have taken a leave as this was the time when Harry was the sole in charge. And all of a sudden you understood why Harry was always stuck in his study working.

You are zoned out when Harry taps on your shoulder to tell you that you're done for the day. And you thank the Fates for it, though you don't want to show Harry that. Heading towards the exit you want nothing more than fresh air and to step out of the Court when you hear your name. You turn around, with Harry who was waking a few steps behind you reaching up to you to face the source of your disturbance. Erebus.

He huffs and puffs as he catches up with the two of you, a smile adorning his round face.

"Erebus. What happened?" Harry asked.

"I just wanted to give my regards to the Queen and personally thank her for taking the role so graciously"

You get nervous with his words like you did in front of the Court, never being used to the formalities. "Thank you so much, Lord. I will do my best at keeping the grace of my title."

"Oh I'm sure you will! And what better way to do that the to have a big wedding thrown to make the three Realms jealous?! At last you've assumed yourself in the position of the Queen, better make it proper." You ended with a hearty laugh.

He surely meant no harm but it make Harry frown.

"Thank you for your kind words but it's been a long day. I will see you around."

You stir Harry away leaving a confused Erebus. Whatever he said surely did not settle with you but you feared that it'd trigger Harry into another state altogether, that even you were not sure of. You remember one night long before when you heard Erebus saying that you didn't belong here. He surely changed his mind now though you didn't know how to feel about that.

You reached the Palace by the time you heard Harry's voice again.

"You did well today."

"For not dosing off? Yeah, that was hard"

"Yeah. Should have warned you about all the paperwork."

"Should have warned me about the surprise welcome party as well"

"Word gets around here really fast. I didn't know either. But I did expect something like that."

"Anyways, it felt good to know that everyone is on the same page."

"Yeah. Mostly everyone"

You look at him suspiciously but he doesn't look like he is going to follow up on that.

"I'll be off to Hekarte then."

Harry looks like he's brewing something in his mind and you still have not overcome your embarrassment from yesterday. So you decide it best to run away before can say something else that will keep you up all night.

But you are not as fast.

"There's something I've been meaning to tell you, lil' one."

You stop. Harry sounds gloomy. You're not used to this version of him. You wish you can just go back to him being a headache with a smirk you hate to love.

"Yeah?" You ask timidly.

"Sit." He instructs you as you both are already in his study. He takes his place on his chair as you sit facing him.

"I am happy that you took your duty and did it so well. I know you will be a great Queen and do your part for the realm with grace and just."

You give him a small smile as your hand reaches for his. He stiffens under your touch before relaxing back and you feel something in you wilt watching him like this.

"I hope so too, M'Lord."

He awards you with a smile. You haven't referred to him with his title in a long time, at least not without a sad note to it.

"I know you'll do your best.... Even if you don't have a big wedding to officiate it." Your hand over his falters. But he holds it and continues. "You don't need to. I get it. If you don't love me do not feel obliged to do any of that. You're destined to be the Queen of the Realm and you will be irrespective of anything else, as I've already told you."

You see it now. You broke him. When you did not reciprocate his confession of love with an affirmation he took it as a rejection. And maybe you sounded like it as well. But you did not mean to! You only remember feeling indignant at having lost your argument that you think you were winning until he played you with his confession. You thought he'd be angry with you for not answering and storming out but now you see how wrong you were. How be took your answer to mean something else entirely.

But the truth was you do love him and love him with your whole being. Since you started understanding him and knowing him there hasn't been an iota of doubt about how felt for him. You might now have named it before but you know it now. You would do anything to protect his honour as you'd for yourself. And you did trust him, despite of whatever you say, to have the best interest for you. And nothing can alter that.

So you did not understand how this God who is known for his clever tactics can be so clueless about your feelings for him.

You sigh and move to him. He straightens up accomodating you as you sit on his lap with your arms draped over his shoulder and you look into his eyes that always reminds you of the dew endowed leaflets of spring. And you surge forward to meet his mouth, as Harry overcomes his surprise and pulls you closer.

He feel him relax under your arms as he sighs and kisses you back like you're the first drop of rain to his patched soul. And maybe you are. So you don't interrupt him until he pulls back to take in a breath and look at you with amusement.

"Did anyone ever mention that you're not as bright of a God as people make you out to be?" He looks puzzled and you giggle. "I love you too, you silly. I was just angry yesterday"

"And you're not now?"

"How could I be when you're moping around like that?! Whatever it was, it's in our past. All that matters is that I'm with you here now."

Harry beams at you with the kind of smile that makes him look much younger and pulls you closer as he buries his head in your chest and you hold him close to your heartbeat.

And you know you're home.

Thanks for reading! Masterlist

#ill do some editing tomorrow #but here you go #lemme know what you think of it!#my writing #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fluff #the only one #hades!harry

49 notes · View notes

oracledapollon · 5 years

Text

An amazing post I found about the Hellenic afterlife. Very well written and very informative. I’m including the original link if you’d rather read it there.

The Hellenic Underworld and afterlife

"Death came suddenly and it was mercilessly painful. You are aware you have passed: you can hear the keening of the women in your family, taste the metal of the oboloi in your mouth. You are no longer cold, or hot, and there is no pain. Sensation is for the living, and your memories start to fade already. You are no longer part of the living. You are dead, and your guide is waiting for you.

Hermes Psychopompos, the winged guide of the newly dead, descends and takes your hand. Below you is the ocean: Oceanos' divine body. You used to watch it glisten in Helios' bright rays, but today, everything is dull and lifeless. You are speeding west, guided by the blessed Immortal. Below you, you can see land again and a mighty river. The land draws you down, and you stand on the ground without feeling it. It is here that Hermes Psychopompos leaves you, in the capable hands of Kharon, on the bank of the river Acheron.

The ferryman looks old and ageless at the same time. He holds out his hand, but you can't understand what he wants from you. Then, his hand closes around a coin, and he steps aside to let you into his boat. Without moving, you are suddenly on the boat, looking to the shore where shadowy figures of the dead gather, longing to make the journey with you. But they have no coin to hand over, and are forced to wander the bank of the Kokytos river year after year, until the ferryman takes pity on them. Today is not their day.

The river fades into the darkness of a cave. The river of woe joins with the river of hate; the river Styx that seems to have no end. Kharon moves the boat forward in a steady rhythm. You reach the dock sooner than you expected to. Kharon waits silently for you to get off of his boat. You dare not move. Beyond is a field of grey, a sunless cavern filled with the shadows of the dead. The fields of Asphodel; the dreary resting place of the common Hellen. Before the fields stand a huge gate, and an equally huge dog, with three growling heads, foaming at each mouth. Kharon waits, and then you are in the field. The gate stands behind you, Kerberos a constant reminder you can never go back.

You wander, still remembering much of your life. The fall you took as a child that gave you a weak knee, the smile of your spouse on your wedding day. You remember your child being born. It makes being here impossible to bear. The memories will not fade, because before your judgement, you are not allowed to forget. You hold on to them as long as you can, but then you walk through the field, to the compound in the distance. Hades' compound, where the Dread Lord and His beautiful wife live. You walk to forget. Thus, you come upon the judges.

Rhadamanthys, Minos and Aiakos wait for you at the trivium in the courtyard of the compound; the trivium, Hekate's sacred crossroads. If you still had a heart, you would feel it beating in your throat now. But you do not. Any decision the judges make is alright. The memories hurt. You are cut off from your loved ones, from Helios' powerful rays. Tartaros is not your place, you know that much. You have honored the Theoi, you have done right by your family. You do not fear judgement. You wish to go back to the Asphodel meadows and drink from the river Lethe; you wish to forget. More, you wish to reach Elysium, the island of the blessed. In the distance, the Lord of the Dead and his Queen Persephone must be.

Your life is judged, you are judged. You wait, and look to each side. Left for Tartaros, where the river Phlegethon burns, but leaves everything it touches intact. Right for Elysium, where the ghosts of the blessed reside amongst the blameless heroes. Or back the way you came for the meadows where Lethe flows free, where the dead flutter around like bats, and those initiated into the Mysteries drink from Mnemosyne, so they will not forget their previous life when they reincarnate. You wait, and are judged."

For the ancient Hellens, this is what dying would look like. This is how I see my 'life' after death. When I pass, I will walk to my judgement. Sadly, life after death may be the closes I will ever get to the ancient Hellens, and the Theoi, so because of that, I have a great bit of interest in the Hellenic Underworld. So lets look at the short story I wrote--I won't call it a meditation, because traveling to the Underworld is something one should not attempt in any way, shape or form--to learn a bit more about the last resting place of the ancient Hellens and modern Hellenists.

The Underworld is described as lying in the west in the Odysseia, and there is an entrance that can be reached overseas. Yet, the dead enter the Underworld through one of five rivers surrounding the Underworld.

Acheron (Αχέρων) - The river of woe. This is the river that Kharon ferries the dead across, from the land of the living, to the realm of Hades.

Kocytus (Κωκυτός) - The river of lamentation. Those who could not pay Kharon, were destined to walk the banks of this river--a side river to the river Acheron--for one hundred years.

Phlegethon (Φλεγέθων) - The river of fire in the Underworld. It's a side river of the river Styx and is said to be permanently on fire, yet never burn anything it touches. It's located in Tartaros.

Lethe (Λήθη) - The river of forgetfulness. It runs through the Asphodel meadows, and the dead have to drink from it to completely forget about their lives on Earth. Those who were initiated in the Eleusinian Mysteries--linked to Demeter and Persephone--were allowed to drink from Mnemosyne and are allowed to remember.

Styx (Στύξ) - The river of hate. The Acheron joins with the Styx at the moment the land of the living makes way for the Underword, and as such, She is a portal, and the most famous of the five rivers. It is said to wrap around the Underworld nine times. Styx was also the river upon which the Theoi, and mankind, swore oaths which could not be broken, an arrangement agreed upon by Zeus and the Goddes Styx in return for her aid in the Titan Wars. If a Theos or Theia did break an oath made upon the river Styx, they were forced by Zeus to drink from the river, upon which They fell into a deep coma for a year, and were then cut off from Their worshippers for nine more. For mortals, breaking an oath on the river Styx was something you simply did not do, and it's the gravest vow to make, one that is not made lightly.

The Underworld has various areas where the dead are housed, but also where the various Gods and Goddesses of the Underworld--called 'Theoi Khthonioi'--reside. Several of the Gods and Goddesses have already been discussed; all the rivers are Gods or Goddesses who have their home in the Underworld, and there are Kharon, Kerberos, and the judges: Rhadamanthys, Minos and Aiakos. Yet, there are a lot more. The most well known are Hades and His consort, Persephone.

Hades, brother of Zeus, son of Kronos, is the Lord of the Dead. The Underworld is His domain. He rules it with his beautiful wife--and niece--Persephone, whom He stole away. She resides with Him in their home, a large mansion at the crossroads between the Asphodel meadows, Tartaros and Elysium. This crossroads is sacred to Hekate, and located in the courtyard of the mansion. The maiden Goddess Hekate is a companion of Persephone, whom she led out of the Underworld after Zeus decreed it to be so. She vowed to Demeter to stay with Persephone in the months She spent under the earth, and takes this vow very seriously.

Kronos is an Underworld deity as well: Zeus eventually released His father and made Him king of the Elysian Islands. Other Gods, like Hypnos, Erebos, Nyx, Makaria (daughter of Hades and Persephone, who watched over the blessed dead, who had been initiated into the Mysteries), and the Erinyes (three Goddesses of vengeance and retribution) also make their home in (a part of) the Underworld. The Moirai, the three Goddesses of fate, have their own space in the Underworld as well. Other Immortals who share the Underworld are deamons and nymphs.

In the daímōn-section, we have the the Arai (daímōnes of curses), Askalaphos (who tended to the orchards of Hades and was transformed into a screech owl by Demeter for bringing Her bad news about Her daughter), Kakodaimones (Deamones which cause all kinds of harm), Empousa (a daímōn with flaming hair, the leg of a goat and a leg of bronze, who parents vowed would come after their children if they didn't behave), the Oneiri (dream spirits) and Epiales (the daímōn of nightmares). Other daímōnes include: Eurynomos (who stripped the flesh off of the corpses of the dead), the Lamiai and Mormolykeia (vampiric, succubus-like, daímōnes in the following of Hekate), Melinoe (who led the souls of the dead back to earth to haunt the living). Menoites, furthermore, herds the black-skinned cattle of Hades, and Thanatos, the winged daímōn of death, is Hades' minister.

There are also a few Underworld nymphs: Daeira (a companion of Persephone), the Lampades (torch bearing nymphs in Hekate's following who may have looked over the blessed dead on their way to Elysium), Leuke (a nymph abducted by Hades and transformed into a white poplar which stands in the Elysian fields), Mynthe (a beowed nymph of Hades, who Persephone turned to dust and Hades turned into the mint plant), and Orphne (wife of Acheron).

As for the dead, they had three places to go in the Underworld: Tartaros, where those who were punished for all eternity remained, the Asphodel meadows, where everyone who had lived a good life wandered about endlessly, and the Elysian fields, where the children of Gods, the blessed dead and those who had lead extraordinarily honorable, brave or otherwise well-respected lives resided.

The ancient Hellens believed the Underworld was a neutral place. One did not desire to go there in the least, but it was part of life, and as far as the afterlife went, it was dull and sunless but nothing like the hell of Christianity. The worst part about it is being without the touch of loved ones, and forgetting who you were. In the Odysseia, Odysseus meets his mother's spirit at one of the entrance points to the Underworld. She tells him:

"Oh, my child, most unfortunate of men, Persephone, Zeus’ daughter, does not deceive you: this is the way it is with mortals after death. The sinews no longer bind flesh and bone, the fierce heat of the blazing pyre consumes them, and the spirit flees from our white bones, a ghost that flutters and goes like a dream."

Nobody wants to think about dying and the dead for too long, so I will end this post here. May it have given you some insight into the workings of the Underworld.

#pagan #witch #witchcraft #wicca #research #hellenism #hellenic #hellenist #hellenistic #hellenic pagan #hellenistic pagan #underworld #death #afterlife #persephone #Hades #hekate #hecate

10 notes · View notes