chapter twelve

The idea of Heaven or Hell had been a concept created by many religions. Many believe that you had only two options of places to go to amongst your untimely death. Yet, they were wrong. In reality, there was really one place that you would go once you died. From there, you would be directed into the Underworld and wait for judgment. From there? You'd be placed into one of the three fields of the Underworld. The only place no one would ever have to worry about going is Tartarus, the pit, because even the Gods feared it.

The worst place that mortals could end up by their sentencing was the Fields of Punishment. Which was as close to Tartarus as you could get, and from the Fields you could find the pit. It was where mortals would be punished for horrible deeds they did in life, using a variety of horrible torturous methods. Usually ones that were created around their fears, much like the Christian concept of Hell. Once you were there, you would never be the same and you'd be begging to go back and change the mistakes you made in life. Would you be granted this wish? It depends on who you are... well, who you were.

But if you were slightly luckier than those punished, you'd get the Asphodel Meadows. A section of the Underworld where indifferent or ordinary souls who lived a life of neither good or evil are sent to live after death. Most people who die end up there. Este had heard many stories that after his death, Daedalus was assigned to create roads and overpasses in the Fields of Asphodel, to ease down the traffic due to the amount of people. It was like standing in the middle of a Kansas field forever, yet, you have to give up your memories and identity before entering.

Initially separate from the Underworld, Elysium was reserved for good mortals, heroes, and demigods who had died a hero's death or lived a good life. The souls of mortals and demigods who have been good, righteous, and heroic to the point they were considered chosen ended up here. They would remain after death to live a blessed and happy eternal existence, and indulge whatever employment they had enjoyed in life.

Elysium was a community of heroes, essentially. There was a gate that surrounded it and it always sounded of laughter and smelled like an American barbecue. Homes ranging from various time periods filled the areas as gold bloomed in the lawns and rainbows covered what they called their sky. Este believed that the dead lived better in death there than they actually had in life.

In the middle of Elysium were the Isles of the Blest, where souls who have chosen rebirth and achieved Elysium three more times reside. Este called them the try-hards and thought those people were beyond ridiculous for doing the same shit over and over to die again and again. And they remained living in an athletic setting and by the lakes. Some boring old dream like they had for the rest of eternity, unless somehow everything collapsed but even then. Where would they go?

But there was also a field that Este knew all too well that she typically skipped over. The Mourning Fields. It was where her mother resided - it was a section of the underworld reserved for souls who wasted their lives on unrequited love and those who had been killed because or for their love and Este expected to end up being there one day, and as bad as it sounded, she hoped that she would be dropped into the Fields of Punishment.

Este had many opinions on the Underworld. Este understood why she and Newt were both ambassadors of the Underworld due to their abilities and their reeking scent of life to the dead, giving them little hope when they saw them before and after their judgment before pleading with them before being led to their final and eternal destinations. Their jobs were simple, but never easy. Especially when you had to lock your heart away, that's what made Este as cold as she became.

The room that rested under their home, the one that the grandfather clock opened, was the room that Este and Newt used to go to the Underworld. It was underground, like a basement. Or, as Este jokes, a comfy coffin.

"Are you ready?" Newt asked as the two stood down below their home, symbols drawn with oils on the ground as Newt held out his dagger, "We need to get going before we never hear the end of it from them. We've already been gone from it for far too long and we'll already be behind."

An amused scoff left Este's lips as she broke a grin, taking the dagger from her brother before she sliced her palm open without a flinch, "When am I not ready, dear brother?" Her tongue clicked as she rested her head to the side, it was her way of giving him reassurance that she was okay.

    Something he seemed on edge about the past few days since the incident.

"Never change," Newt sighed before he took the dagger back from his sister before he copied her movements, taking the blade across the skin of his palm before taking her hand.

    Este's hand wrapped around her brothers. Their grip painfully tight as droplets of blood slipped from their hands as it mixed together with each pat against the floor.

    A cold sensation collided with the twin's. Este felt the hairs on the back of her neck stick up as she felt a little dizzy. The ground beneath the twins began to shake ever so slightly, yet they never let go of the other. The candles in the room blew out, and the cold darkness seeped in before descending down on the twins. It swallowed them whole into the never ending abyss. The same shadows that swallowed them were the shadows that helped the twins travel when they needed it, the same shadows that resided in the corners of the rooms that people occupied or feared, or where the sun couldn't pass a human body. The shadows Este loathed for being a part of her.

The shadows that consumed the children of Hades, and the shadows that many feared.

    When the shadows lifted, the twins no longer looked as they had in the mortal world. Their jeans and t-shirts had been altered into a black chiton that hung off their bodies. Laurels as black as the darkness resting on their heads.

    The wind gusts that rolled off of the Styx caused Este's head to raise in the slightest as she stared over the dark waters. The Underworld always made her feel so cold. Which to many was something fearful, yet, to Este she loved every second of it. It was like all of the hatred and anger she had towards herself, her abilities, and her father faded into the confidence of her power. In a way, she was her own monster.

    Her lips tugged into a slight smirk as her brown hair blew lightly. In the mortal world, she dreaded every moment that she had to come down to the Underworld. In the Underworld? It was a whole different story. It was an exhilarating feeling for her, because despite how negative the Underworld could be? Este Devereaux was the one in control.

    Newt's hand slowly reached for his sister's, his hold capturing her wrist as he kept a grip on her. He walked alongside the edge of the Styx with her in toe. He knew how she got when she was down there. It was like her personality flipped.

    The Styx was as icey and grimly beautiful as ever. It was a waterway where Charon and his wooden boat resided as he waited for the twins and whatever poor souls had passed and finally was brought down by the elevator from DOA Recording Studios, one of the entrances of the Underworld in Los Angeles. The twin's never had time to go that way though, the wait was centuries long.

"King of Ghosts and Queen of Shadows, you have returned. It's about time," Charon leaned on his row as he stared down the two, gee his skin looking drier than the Grand Canyon, "Get on before your Father comes for us all."

    Este's nose scrunched up at the name. Queen of Shadows. She hated when they called her that. She took it as a degradation of who she really was.

"Σας ευχαριστούμε," thank you, Newt took the urge to speak as he stepped onto the boat first, before bracing Este to get on the boat just to make sure that she didn't fall into the waters of the Styx below.
"Ξέρετε γιατί μας κάλεσαν..." You know why they called us? Este asked after a moment as she looked down at the waters, furrowing her brows as she looked back up.

Newt continued to stare out as Charon remained silent, prompting him to say, "Η συνήθης εργασία μας," our usual work, but there was a hint of uncertainty.

The sounds of the dead were unbearable, so naturally, it brought Este a great sense of joy as she stood on Charon's boat. Remaining silent as the echos filled the vastness of the Underworld. During their times in the afterlife, the twin's typically spoke Greek. It was easier in that sense, didn't annoy the Gods and it put their Greek hard-wired minds to good use. Despite many of the mortals being caught off guard by it, but in the end they would understand their fates.

Este had nearly fallen over the side of the boat as they docked in front of Hades' Castle. The hard clash of the boat caused her to stumble before she caught herself against the side of the boat as Newt had to catch himself. Charon always had a knack for rocky dockings, it was his one way to try and get rid of those in his boat without being punished for it. Yet, the twin's had learned better than to not brace when docking. The river Styx was a place that once you were in, you certainly weren't getting out.

    Hades' castle seemed menacing as it lit up with flames while the shadows cascaded down the walls. Cerberus rested near the docks, his three heads rising as Charon docked. Este bowed her head at Charon before she stepped off the boat and onto the stone land as her brother held her hand despite being behind her. Newt followed right behind her, though Este kept a grip on his hand just in case that he stumbled. The last thing she needed today was to lose her brother to the river.

As they drew closer to the castle, Este rubbed one of Cerberus' heads to calm him before venturing in with Newt. As they arrived at the castle, the shadows beckoned them in as their sandals padded loudly against the stones. These sandals will always be my least favorite part of classical greek wear. The twin's stopped upon hearing the yelling echoing from the walls, almost causing them to shake. They shared an uncertain look before Este pursed her lips together and pulled her brother forward.

Placing a tight lipped smile on her face, "The favorite's arrived." She joked boredly, switching back to English, as she gave Persephone the finger gun, "πατέρας. Μητριά." Father. Stepmother.

Newt pinched the bridge of his nose attempting to hide his amused smile as he muttered a quick, "Este," as he shoved her hands back down before shaking his head as he looked up at their father and Persephone.

"No fighting children." Hades sounded anything but fatherly as he looked between the twins before narrowing his eyes, "There is much to discuss."

"Yes! Eurydice, I need details of what has been happening!" Persephone exclaimed as she smiled widely at her step-daughter, "There is much I'd like to hear about before you go on about your duties."

    Persephone was one of the rare cases of a goddess being kind to demigods, especially the bastards of her husband.

Este simply kept that same forced smile as she ignored the way she wanted to cringe at her own name, "Very well, but I cannot be held for too long. I have a lot that I need to catch up on before I head over to judgment."

"I've heard a little bit from Aphrodite," Persephone admitted as she let out a small laugh as she descended from her throne and pulled both teens into hugs, "We shouldn't take too long, or I can accompany you as you finish what you need too."

    Of course she heard something from Aphrodite, wait... what did she hear from Aphrodite?

Este gave her brother an unamused look while he even looked curious. Newt moved first and Este followed suit as they both hugged the goddess back to be polite before Este muttered, "Newt is still a lonely fuck," with a snort before smirking as she pulled back, "And Aphrodite needs to keep her nose out of my business and keep it out of her mouth, preferably. With love," The last thing she needed to do was offend yet another god.

"There is a reason I stick with Kaz." Newt pointed out as he folded his hands behind his back, shooting a glare in his sister's direction, "And don't even start on it. I know what is running through your head."

"It is because you can't handle my awesomeness." Este teased as she blew a kiss at her brother before turning to Persephone, "It's like he believes there's some sort of twin telepathy, if there was, I feel like we both could be equally scared from what we could hear from each other's minds. So, I doubt that it's a thing. But he certainly has sticks involved when he's with Kaz," She winked.

    Newt let out a loud huff of annoyance as he glanced at the ceiling.

"No, she doesn't. Now, be quiet before she hears and storms down here," Persephone chided Este as sh placed a finger to her lips before shaking her head, "There is a special bond between pairs or triads, maybe not one for thoughts but you are connected in ways no one else will ever understand," Persephone hummed.

    When the heck did triads enter the conversation?

Time passed differently in the Underworld than in the mortal world. A few hours had already passed since the Devereaux twins had arrived. During that time, they had shared numerous arguments while progressively getting through their work. They were also closely supervised by Persephone before they switched fields to help with the overflow of the newly dead. The pair stayed far away from Tartarus for the same reasons the Gods did. Though, when the two became more irritable with each other while working the goddess had split them apart. Keeping Este with her while Newt went over towards Hades' side.

    The Underworld changed dynamics and their patience.

The Queen of the Underworld and the "Queen of the Shadows", side by side while one worked and the other supervised. Este walked at Persephone's side, the younger holding a pomegranate in her hand with an unamused look. Persephone held a warm smile, warning her not to eat anything as if she didn't already know that. I'm not making the same mistake you did, Queen. Persephone never liked the fact that they were not her own children but she was not going to hold that against any of them. After all, they did not have any say over that.

"Eurydice," Persephone ended the silence after a few moments as she held her hands together, staring off into the space of her garden, "Not everyone is your enemy," She looked over at the girl as she tilted her head, "I understand that something new may be scary, and with who you and your brother are... being wary is a good thing. But don't let that fear of everyone being a monster consume you and take away what you love most."

Este cut her eyes over to the Goddess before adjusting her look so that she did not get smited on the spot, "I don't understand what you mean," was her simple response as she took a deep breath, "I have a feeling that you are insinuating towards something in my life, at the given moment."

"That's because I am," Persephone smiled as she let out a small laugh, remaining the same cheery woman she always was around the Devereaux's who she claimed were mere children, "There are people around you that you have never faced before, but do not fear them," Persephone took the girl's hands, "Something good will come out of it, trust me on this. Your brother doesn't know what fate has for you."

Then it clicked. She's talking about the Cullens. Este pursed her lips in a thin line as she looked down at their conjoined hands before looking up at the Goddess in disbelief, "They're monsters. Dead monsters and you're telling me not to fear them? Nothing good can come out of something like that and I'm not risking my brother's life. I won't risk his life."

Persephone adjusted her posture as she couldn't help but let out a small laugh as she pulled away from the girl, "They're not what you are used to, but monsters is a harsh term for them as they are almost as normal as you. None of your lives will be risked near them, as you can control them if needed be to protect yourselves," She reminded her as she smiled, "Once you get a taste of the forbidden fruit, there is no going back."

    Yeah, there is. Your case is just a nasty case of Stockholm syndrome, Este couldn't help but think. Though, she kept her words to herself for very obvious reasons. Simply wearing a fake smile as she nodded before being relieved as Persephone disappeared back into the castle so that she could go back to working on judgment without having someone over her shoulder the entire time trying to have some sort of pep talk.

Being in the Underworld had its ups and its downs. The main thing was that it completely took all of the energy out of the twin's. They'd go back home and sleep for a while before getting back up but even then, if they used their powers even just a little bit? The exhaustion would take over and in some extreme cases, that came more often than one would think, then parts of their body would slowly become transparent and fade into a ghost-like form or into the shadows.

Another reason Este avoided using her abilities.

Judgement reminded Este of Judge Judy. Unfortunately for whoever's fate was being decided, the people on the stand had to face people from various times that had a variety of opinions. They could have someone like William Shakespeare and Thomas Jefferson and the next minute they might have Adolf Hitler or King Minos. Now, having Hitler as a judge was rare but Este had seen it happen once. A very... a very odd experience to say the least.

"Have you heard from him?" The voice caused Este to purse her lips together as she turned around, her heart shattering at the sight in front of her, "My sweet daughter, please tell me you have... you know I never would've let any of this happen. I never would've let them do this to all of you."

Angelica Devereaux stood in front of her daughter, well the ghost of her at least. Her blonde hair kept in the same braided bun that Este remembered from her childhood, "No, Mom," Este swallowed thickly as ignored the burn of her heart, "I know you wouldn't have, don't beat yourself up over it. You're already suffering enough," She knew she needed to make her return to the Fields of Mourning but she couldn't find it in her.

    Este felt sick to her stomach as she looked at the woman before her. Este avoided seeing her, as did Newt.

"Where's Newt? Is he here as well?" Angelica asked, "They didn't take you two apart, did they? He would've never allowed to be away from you, not saying that..." She paused as she lost her train of thought, "Eurydice? My... look at you! You've grown so much, a beautiful young woman," And just like that Angelica's memories had gone back into their scramble as she awed at her daughter, "Oh how wonderful it is to see you!"

Este swallowed down her heart as she looked at her mother's ghost, "Go back to the Fields of Mourning, now," Her voice wavered and when Angelica's ghost looked confused she adjusted her posture as she fixed her tone, "I said, go back to the Fields of Mourning where you have to spend the rest of your days. Now!"

Este fell back against the stone as her chest shook a little. Tears pricking her eyes as she scoffed at the absurdity of it all. She glanced around the judgement hall as she covered her mouth with her hand. Her eyes blurring due to the tears she bit back while she forced herself to remain put together. The confidence and arrogance she had when she first arrived were long gone. Trying to regain that same emotionless and hard facade that she carried everyday, yet, in times like these it was almost impossible for her too. She placed her head back against the stone as she scoffed.

"You saw her, didn't you?" Her brother's voice met her ears, and she felt the boy place a hand on her back as if trying to get her to move, "I know, I know," His voice went quiet as he pulled her close, "αδελφή, i've got you," sister, He pulled her into his grasp and rubbed her back, "I've got you, αγαπητή αδελφή." Dear sister.