Apologize Not

Chapter 3:

       I swing the door open and walk into the living room. Elektra's sitting in one of the black plush couches with a tea pot on the coffee table along with two tea cups. The walls are ash white with red accents here and there. The carpets are black and the floors are polished wood.

       "That was fast. Want tea made of pomegranates?" Elektra asks as I storm past her. She's really trying, huh? What happened to revenge?

       "Get your ass into bed. We're doing it." Elektra springs up from her seat and runs to the bedroom. I take a quick shower to calm my muscles before walking into the bedroom with a towel around my waist.

        Elektra smiles and spreads her legs open. I raise an eyebrow at her in confusion. Why is she wearing the slut garments? Her hair's already a mess and I haven't made her yell yet. I frown.

       "What're you doing?" I ask.

       "You said we were doing it." Elektra mutters. Her shoulders droop as I shake my head.

      "We're going to the Overworld, dumbass." I grumble and begin to dress. I keep my back turned to Elektra, ignoring the fact that when Elektra becomes sad, she somewhat resembles Azora. Elektra hates it. I just feel even more guilt in my gut. Elektra's eyes become ocean blue just like Azora's when she wants to cry or is simply sad. She bows her head and says nothing for the longest. But that's as far as the comparisons go.

        Elektra springs forward and pulls my towel off. I turn in surprise and gasp as Elektra kisses me. She grabs me and pulls away to smile at me. Before she has the chance to get on her knees, I knock her backwards.

        "No!" I growl. Before Elektra has the chance to pounce on top of me, a skeleton soldier appears in a puff of smoke.

       "My King." The skeleton salutes by putting his hand on his forehead. "The Queen of the Overworld demands your presence in the throne room. She's rather...annoyed."

      "What's she doing down here?" Elektra mutters, clearly thinking about our daughter.

      "Tell her I'll be there in a few minutes." I command the soldier, ignoring Elektra's question. I finish dressing.

      "Get dressed." I grumble as I leave. Elektra nods and stares down at her feet. I turn away before I make Azora wait an hour. I teleport into the throne room, where the three judges are already talking to Azora.

     "I will see what I can do about it. You should be able to see an impact within the following three weeks. If not, let me know." Azora says before looking at me. She's wearing her long black robes and rope-like belt again. Her brown hair has been pulled away from her face to show the vertical scar starting from just above her eyebrow to just below her mouth. Her right eye is slightly lighter than her left from the cause of the scar.

      It was me. The scar on her left cheek from an arrow I shot at her. I swing a sword up and scarred the right side of her face. I took a dagger and tried to make her smile by slicing the left corner of her mouth. Never to heal, the wound has been stitched together. There's another small slit on Azora's throat. With the same dagger, I threatened to slice her throat open. Just like the corner of her mouth, she has stitches there, too.

      Those are only the visible scars. Azora can heal them without a problem. But for some reason, the scars that are most visible serve as reminders. Reminders not to trust me. Or, did I really hurt her a lot more than I thought? Did her heart shatter a lot worse than I thought when she caught Elektra kissing me in the forest and I pulled her closer?

       "What do you want?" I ask and sit on the throne that is to belong to Hades. Azora stares at the throne beside me for a second too long before snapping her cold gaze at me.

      "How many times am I supposed to tell you to stay away from the Overworld?"

      "How many times do I have to demand for my sword back?" I growl.

      "I give you the sword and the world dies, Amorious! Is that what you want? For souls spilling into the Underworld?"

      "What if I do? You're tipping the balance. Give me the sword and I'll stop going to the Overworld." Azora's multi-colored eyes become black.

      "Stay away from them. Stay away from the Overworld. Amorious, I do not fear you or your threats."

      "Good. What're you gonna do if I keep it up? Chain me to a boulder and roll me down a hill for all eternity?"

       "I will take away what remains of your happiness." I sit up. Flashes of Azora laughing, children running around–She can't mean my daughter?

       "What happiness do I have left? It's all been taken away." I grumble.

        "You would be surprised." Azora's eyes shift back to the empty throne and become the color of the night sky in the Overworld.

         "Elektra will arrive when she decides to arrive. Not that I think the two of you have much to speak about." I grumble.

         "No. We don't." Azora agrees. Fire curls around her as Elektra appears. Elektra stares at the fading fire and looks at me in bewilderment.

       "What did she say?" She asks.

       "Bring our daughter back." I say and stand. Elektra becomes pale. She shakes her head in disbelief.

        "Did she tell you?" I laugh and shake my head. I approach Elektra and grab her by the throat.

        "You're terrible at hiding things. I found out on my own. And trust me, you're not going to go unpunished." I toss Elektra down the steps. "Retrieve her!" I command and leave.

         It's always the same. Azora, Hades, Zeus, Mother, and now Elektra. They all think the same. I'm not the enemy here. They are. Azora made me a favor and got rid of three with her first fall.

        "Master!" One of the Furies yells, sensing my anger.

        "Find Leonard Wood and bring him here!" I growl. The Furies laugh and head towards the Overworld to find the poor excuse for a demigod. I storm towards the pavilion. Maryse, Cereline, Eden, and Lilith appear. They're sharing my anger.

       "You will not go through with your plans!"

       "Azora did it! She struck them down and threw them into Tartarus! She replaced you and–"

        "Don't lie to us, Amorious!" Cereline growls.

        "Where was she when Yuri was torn to pieces?" My demon laughs.

         "That's it. Let them know who commands. You or me?" He says.

          "I am your king. I command you to destroy Azora's students! Go!" Cereline's eyes widen. Lilith screams as her fangs slide out into view.

           "Kill...Kill them all..." Maryse begins to chant. Their souls begin to darken into a sick grey. Slowly, they begin to appear exactly how they looked when they were alive. Cereline with her light brown hair, multi-colored eyes, and dark skin. Maryse with her black hair, coal eyes, and sun kissed skin. Eden with her blonde hair, red eyes, and light skin splattered with freckles. And Lilith with her long chocolate brown hair, red eyes, and porcelain skin. 

         "Kill them all!" Lilith yells. Cereline smiles and spreads her broken wings. Despite how visibly useless they are, she manages to fly into the air. The rest follow whichever way they can. Once they're gone, I realize my mistake.

          I corrupted souls meant to be in Elysium. If Azora strikes them down, they seize to exist. In a panic, I follow after them. Styx begins to yell as I break through her barriers. I close my eyes and ignore her voice. What have I done? My daughter! 

          "Kill them all." My demon laughs. "You f****d up real time."

          "Shut up! Shut up!" I yell. I emerge in the Overworld. I run through the forest and burst into the clearing where the four corrupted souls are trying to get past Azora to get to my daughter and the others.

         Azora sees me. Her eyes become a fiery orange color, signifying her anger. With renewed energy, she mercilessly strikes the very people she cared about the most. I fall onto my knees as I watch the woman I love the most become the monster she feared for so long.

         "Look at what you did. There's no redemption. She will never forgive us. Stop this! Stop this now!" My demon begins to scream.

        "Get inside!" I hear Azora yell. I look up to see her slowly lose a part of her sanity as well. Her scars begin to bleed black blood. The stitches come undone. Her eyes become a muted blue. Her hands blacken and her nails become claws. As she cries, she strikes Cereline and Lilith down. Eden's next with Maryse being left behind.

         "Mama...Why..." Azora's eyes become a brighter blue. With a grief striken yell, Azora strikes Maryse down. Azora sits with four dying souls around her. She covers her face with her hands. The last thing I see before something grabs me and pulls me into the Underworld is Anne run out of the house.