Storytellers

“Couldn’t sleep, miss?” William asked, looking up from his spot in the kitchen. He seemed to be cleaning the heaps of dishes that were left over from dinner. Michael was humming softly by William’s legs, smiling and waving hello to me. 

“No. Not really.” I sighed, leaning against the doorframe as I patted my forehead clean of the drops of sweat that still lingered. “Why are you up?”

“I never sleep. A blessing and a curse of being the living dead, I suppose.” He chuckled, wiping his hands dry with a towel before slinging the towel over his shoulder as he turned to look at me. Michael nodded in agreement, muttering something about missing sleep. “Nightmares, I take it? I see it often.” 

“I never used to have them but lately they seem to be getting worse.” I smiled tiredly, walking over to sit at the counter. As soon as I sat down, I laid my head down on the old, creaking wood. Seeing that made Michael fly over and sit next to me, trying to pat my head but he kept going through me every time. But it was the thought that counted. 

“I wouldn’t be surprised considering everything that you have been through the last month alone.” William said wistfully. He patted my shoulder in comfort, brushing a strand of hair that fell in front of my face away and behind my ear. “Maybe some tea to help calm your nerves?”

“That would be lovely, if you are not busy.” 

“Oh, it is not a problem at all, miss.” William grinned, twirling around and heading to a cabinet. When he opened the cabinet, it let out a loud squeal before revealing a massive collection of tea. He skimmed through the tiny little glass jars of what seemed to be tea leaves. “What is your preference in tea? I have come to learn that everyone has specific teas that they tend to like better.”

“For instance,” He rambled, pointing to certain tea jars which made me laugh softly under my breath. “Master Hades tends to like bitter, black teas. Miss Cora, who I have noticed has returned, is quite fond of lavender tea.”

“I am not sure.” I chuckled softly, looking at the tea jars with uncertainty.” I don’t really know much about tea.”

“Well then, let’s start light.” William grinned a reassuring smile, grabbing one of the first tea jars in the front. “A good old earl grey tea should do for now.”

And with that, he started to prepare the tea. He rushed around, filling up the kettle with water and setting it on the stove with a dramatic flair which made both Michael and I laugh. He seemed to do everything in a rushed, but very graceful manner which was quite amusing. 

“If you don’t mind me asking, William.” I said after a little while, tapping my fingers on the counter as we waited for the boiling water to be done. “What exactly is the deal with Cora?”

“That depends, miss. You are going to have to be specific when it comes to Miss Cora.” William hummed, as he finished up the last of the dishes while the kettle started to ring a bit, but not quite the right temperature yet. 

“Well, who is she?” I asked, trying to keep it casual despite the beating of my heart. “She seems quite close to Hades and I just… am trying to figure out how everyone stands here.”

“She is Master Hades’ best friend. Childhood best friends.” William explained as he started to set the tea leaves in the little tea bags. By the time he finished with the tea bags, the kettle was done boiling. So he prepared the tea, stirring it softly before  handing me the teacup with a sugar bowl set at the side. “They have always been close, despite the fact that they are both opposites. At times, it is almost like they are two halves of one whole I would say.”

I hummed as I tried to process the information, putting a couple of sugar cubes in before idly stirring the tea as I got lost in thought. Interesting. So Cora is like Hades’ Warwick. Or it’s the other way around. But either way, they’re close.

“Miss?” William snapped his fingers in front of me, bringing me out of my sea of thoughts. Michael seemed to have disappeared somewhere, probably floating around somewhere in the mansion. 

“Oh. What were you saying?” I asked, setting the spoon down awkwardly as I looked up.

“I suggest you drink your tea now while it is still hot. Maybe try going back to sleep after. I have a feeling that you will be needing your strength and you will need as much rest as you can get.” He advised, giving me a wink before leaving the kitchen. Perhaps it was to go tidy up the mansion. Or to go tend to Hades. Either way, it left me alone in the kitchen with my thoughts.

“N-No!” I muttered, backing away from them. The field grew darker and the wind started to pick up more, trees started to rot down, flowers dying in every direction. “I didn’t mean to…”

“But we still ended up dead anyway!” Amelia hissed, as she and Elise lunged to grab me. Gregory came up from behind me and wrapped his arms around me to stop me from moving. But that didn’t stop me from thrashing around and trying to kick them away. 

“Let go of me! Please, let me go!” I wailed, trying to push them away but they just ignored my cries and dragged me over to the pond. What used to be a beautiful clear pond was now what looked like a dark pit of tar and horrifying bones of the animals that used to live in the pond. 

“Come along, Irey! Come with us and we can play again.” All three of my siblings laughed grimly. “Maybe we can get Honra, Declan, and Ambrose to join in!”

“No, you stay away from them!” I screamed, using all of my strength to push them away. As soon as I managed to get out of their grip, I tried to run away but they just ended dragging me back to the edge of the dark pool of tar.

“Oh come on, Irey.” Gregory groaned, grabbing my arms and pinning them behind my back and ignoring my hiss of pain. “The triplets would love to come and play with their brother and sisters again.” 

“No!” I thrashed in his hold as Elise and Amelia started to push me into the pit. “They have their own life now!”

“We know.” The twins laughed, pushing my knees down into the pit and slowly pushing me and letting me sink into it like it was quicksand drowning me. “That’s why we should drag them back.”

“Maybe while we’re at it, we should drag my dear wife in with us.” I whipped my head up to see Father standing there with a despaired look on his face. 

“Father, please!” I begged, tears streaming down my face as I got pushed down even harder into the tar now that all three of my siblings were pushing me in. “We have not forgotten about you all. I didn’t mean for all of this! If I could, I would trade places with you. With all of you.”

“It’s too late for that, Irene.” They all sneered before shoving my head into the tar. I gasped as the air got knocked out of my lungs and pitch darkness enveloped me in a tight embrace. 

Jolting awake, I gasped as my eyes flashed open, trying to figure out where I was. Beads of sweat dripped down my face as I slowly sat up. “It was just a dream. Just a nightmare.” I mumbled, trying to gather my thoughts and bringing myself back into the real world. 

I looked around the beautiful field of flowers in awe and full of nostalgia. This was my home, the place where I grew up. I remember my brothers and sisters pushing me into the pond a couple of feet away from where I stood. The trees where we raced to see who could climb up to the top the quickest. I always ended up being last and having to have one of my older brothers help me, I remembered.

“Irey, wait up!” A voice cried out. I whipped my head towards the familiar voice, looking over to see one of my sisters. She was wearing her favorite dress, the peach cream colored one with the little yellow flowers at the hem. It was the dress she died in.

“Amelia.” I gasped softly, remembering her youthful life and joy as she smiled.

“Come along, Irey. You wouldn’t want to keep your older sisters waiting, now do you?” Another one of my sisters chuckled, coming up from behind me and rubbing my shoulders. 

“Elise!” I grinned, looking over my shoulder to be met with my kind sister’s light brown eyes. Elise wore her coral pastel colored dress, the one where she had green vines sewn on the ends of the dress. 

Elise and Amelia step sided to stand side by side, their steps in sync like they always used to. “You grew up, little one.” They smiled, both reaching out a hand to touch my face. 

“You look like Father.” Gregory laughed, jumping down from a tree. “I mean, just from your eyes and hair all the way down to your smile.”

“Gregory!” I exclaimed, wrapping my arms around my older brother. He was always the one I was closest to in age and in almost everything. He looked just like I remembered, only a little bit older than when he had died.

“You should come with us, sister.” Gregory whispered into my ear, squeezing me tightly. 

“Come where?” I asked, confused. I pushed away to look at the three of them.

“To the afterlife, silly.” Amelia giggled, holding her hand out. 

“Yes, you should come!” Elise smiled, mirroring her twin sister’s actions. 

“I don’t understand.” I murmured, shaking my head.

“You’re so close to death, Irey.” Gregory sighed, grabbing my hand and placing it over his heart. “You might as well join us now.”

“You were supposed to die with us anyways. You’re the reason we died, after all.” All three of them sneered, looking me dead in the eye. 

“Well, what do we do now?” I asked Hades as we walked up the stairs and made our way to his study. You could hear the other witches whispering and looking at Hades and I with curiosity. The stares made me feel nervous, almost insecure.

“I don’t know.” He yawned, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He ignored the whispers, brushing the dust off his pitch black hair as he opened the door to his study for me. “All I know right now is that I need tea.”

“We just had tea not that long ago!” I laughed in disbelief, despite our current situation. I walked into the study, feeling like I wanted to collapse. I was so tired after everything that had happened. At this point, I am pretty sure the only reason why I am still awake would be because of adrenaline.

“And?” He asked, raising his eyebrow with a small smile and his dark eyes sparkled with a hint of amusement.

“Never mind.” I chuckled, taking a seat in one of his couches that  laid in his study. It was dusty and dirty, but I can no longer complain about it after staying in that cellar. 

“William.” Hades ordered.

“More tea, sir?”

“Always.” 

“So let me get this straight.” I yawned before trying my best to cover up my sleepiness. “You want me to help you figure out a way to stop the witches’ executions all together?”

“Yes.”

“Brilliant.” I groaned, stretching as I felt my bones pop. “We’re going to need to figure out what to do.”

“I know.” Hades nodded, rubbing the back of his neck as he slouched onto his chair. “I’m waiting for a friend.”

 “A friend?” I questioned, as I tried my best not to lay down on his couch as it would be very unladylike. 

“Yes.”

“Hades!” A girl exclaimed excitedly, bursting through the door.  “You found someone to talk to Astaroth?”

“Cora, how many times must I tell you to knock?” Hades looked at the girl tiredly, pointing to the door that was left open, sending in a cold draft that made me shiver. 

“Never mind that!” She laughed excitedly, practically beaming with joy. “`You found someone who can talk to  Astaroth.”

“Yes, I did.” Hades smiled fondly, his eyes gleaming with a certain joy that seems new and unfamiliar.  “Irene, Cora. Cora, this is Irene.” 

“Pleasure.” Cora said, holding her hand out for me to shake. 

“I wish I could say the same but it has been a rough couple of days.” I nodded, trying to strain a smile but couldn’t find the energy to shake her hand. William decided to come in at the perfect time with the tea, handing me my cup of tea before setting the tea on the table. Thankfully, William closed the door on his way out so the draft couldn’t get in anymore.

Taking the hint, she turned towards Hades. “Where exactly did you find her, Hades?”

“One of the raids.” He explained, as he gratefully sipped his tea. “She can sense the ghosts, their souls. She can talk to them.”

“She is also right here.” I reminded them, waving my arm softly in my air. 

“So she has powers similar to mine?” Cora asked wistfully, looking at me up and down with a certain curiosity. 

“We’re ignoring me.” I joked, brushing my sandy brown hair away from my face. “Great.”

“We’re not ignoring you, Irene.” Hades chuckled, setting his tea cup down on the table. Cora was still in an ecstatic mood and ignored everything. 

“What’s your coven’s name?” Cora asked me, looking at me expectantly. 

“My what?” 

“You don’t know your own coven’s name?” Cora more of stated than question, her voice filled with bewilderment.

“I think she doesn’t have one, Cora.” Hades pointed out, looking at me with a suspicious look.

“What?” Cora scoffed, rolling her eyes. It was almost like me not having a coven was dishonorable. Like a disgrace against witches.

“I don’t think she was raised like we were.” Hades whispered to Cora, the two of them exchanging looks at each other. There was a certain connection between the two of them. It almost seemed similar to my relationship with Warwick. Or at least, what we used to have.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’ll explain that to you later, Cora.” Hades waved her off, setting his hand on her shoulder and guiding her towards the door. “For now, I suggest we all rest up. I am drained from keeping Astaroth contained for so long, and you both have had long days.”

“Try a long couple of weeks.” I grumbled, making Hades laugh softly at my comment.

“Try months.” Cora snarked, glancing me up and down with a cautious suspicion before leaving to go to a room. The door made a loud creaking noise as she slammed it.

“Irene, you can go find an empty room and just ask William to run a bath for you.” Hades muttered, rubbing his forehead tiredly.

“Are you alright?” I asked him, feeling a hint of concern. I know that we are strangers to each other. But he felt important to me. Maybe it was because he saved me or it’s because he was trying to stop the executions. But either way, he was important.

“Cora.” Hades sighed, nodding his head to the door. “She can be quite a handful at times.”

“I can tell.” I smiled softly, trying my best to give him a bit of comfort. “Thank you, Hades.”

“There is no need to thank me, Irene.” 

“You started this?” I questioned a little too harshly because it made Astaroth flinch and I could see his soul filling up with regret. 

Normally, I would care. Normally, I would apologize. But at the moment, I did not care about that. He was the one who started all of these executions. He was the reason why they killed witches and suspects of witchcraft. He was the reason they took half of my family away from me and my mother. 

“I didn’t mean to!” Astaroth tried to reason, tried to defend himself but all I saw was rage. “I was young, I made a mistake.”

“A mistake that killed my family!” I yelled, backing away from Astaroth. I shook my head as I tried to register the new information. 

“A mistake that killed hundreds.” Hades agreed, looking at Astaroth with a new kind of rage. 

“You have to believe me! I did not want all of this to happen!”

“But it happened anyway! So tell us what you did. Tell us how all of this started.”

“I was young. I was only 13 at the time.” Astaroth explained. “Lucille was my best friend, we were friends since we were babies. I had always known that she was a witch, I saw her use magic all of the time. She knew how to keep it a secret, her family kept it a secret for years. And back then, everyone was careful.”

Hades and I looked at him skeptically, knowing that times were different back then but some things did not change that much.

“Not as careful as right now of course. But careful nonetheless. It was a summer afternoon and I was in the town circle, grabbing supplies for Lucille’s potion.”

“Get to the important part.” Hades snapped, tapping his foot impatiently. I put my hand to calm him down, mostly out of habit because I was so used to taking care of my mother.

“I had accidently bumped into the king’s advisor, but I didn’t know who he was at the time. I was so excited that I had mentioned to him that I was grabbing Belladonna.”

“Belladonna?” I questioned, looking between Hades and Astaroth. “Like the poisonous nightshade?”

“Yes, but most witches don’t use it as poison. We mostly just use it as an ingredient in potions and small stuff like that.” Hades whispered into my ear, explaining the little parts of witchcraft I did not know.

“We were always careful when using it but it was also considered poison, yes. Which the advisor thought that was suspicious. So he followed me back to where Lucille was and by the next morning, they had announced the first execution of witches. After that, it became a law to kill all possible witches.” Astaroth finished solemnly.

“So you lead him to her? You are the reason they found out about the truth of witchcraft.” I scoffed, my fingers tapping on my forearm as I tried so hard not to yell or lash out at the moment.

“Yes.” Astaroth sighed again, nodding in confirmation of the whole truth.

“We need to discuss what to do next.” Hades said firmly, grabbing my hand and dragging my hollow body out of the room. He waved his hand to release Astaroth before closing the door. He turned to me with a concerningly serious expression. “Let us go and discuss what our next move.”

“The first? But that was ages ago…” I mumbled, as I tried to recall the story of the first execution. “That was decades ago.” 

“And to me, it was just yesterday.” He whimpered, trying so hard to keep himself from breaking down. His shoulders and chest showed signs of him heaving, trying to take deep breaths of air. Not that he needed it, of course. But it was most likely a calming, coping feeling.

Hades and I exchanged looks of shock as we tried to figure out what this new piece of information meant. 

“I knew you were old. But I did not realize that you were from back when the executions first started.” Hades murmured, bowing his head as he tried to recall how long ago the first execution happened. His face scrunched up as the wheels in his mind started turning and was thinking about what to do next. 

“You could not tell?” I asked, confused by the fact that Hades was the necromancer yet he couldn’t tell how old the ghost was. 

Hades looked up at me with a surprised look. “You can?”

“Yes.” I confirmed, as I squinted to take a better look at Astaroth’s soul again.  “I could tell by the fact that his soul is so cracked and null that he has been in despair for a long time.”

“Huh. Interesting.” Hades mumbled.

“Wait, do you know how they started the executions?” I asked Astaroth, who was still recovering from Hades’ powerful magic earlier. 

“We all know that story though.” Hades sighed, as he started to pace a bit as he was coming up with a plan in his head.

“But what if we knew a different version of what actually happened?” I pointed out to Hades.  “He may know what truly happened.”

Astaroth sighed, nodding as confirmation. “I do know what truly happened.”

“Then what did happen?” I asked him, slowly reaching out to Astaroth. And though I could not physically touch him, it seemed to have brought him some kind of comfort.

“It was all my fault.” Astaroth whispered, barely audible. His pupils shook with fear, almost as if he was scared to admit the truth. But I just sat there in shock and disbelief.

“Excuse me?” Hades asked, not hearing what Astaroth had said so he walked closer to hear him better.

“It was all my fault,” Astaroth repeated, clearer this time. “I was the reason they found out about Lucille.”

“Do you think it will work?” Atlas asked, as he looked over my shoulder at the plans.

We were in the planning room as Andrea was setting up the disguises. Jeffery was somewhere around here polishing up his guns and making sure our tools and weapons are going to be ready. And I do believe that Nolan and Peterson are sparring in another room. We still had a couple of weeks left before the heist but that didn’t stop me and Atlas from checking over the plans.  

“If everything goes the way we want it to.” I nodded softly, tilting my head to the side a bit as I looked into his dark eyes. They reminded me of the night sky, dark but slightly charming in a way. The dim light from around the candles around the room illuminated some of his sharp features and it was almost impossible to look away. 

He hummed for a minute before sighing. “Which it could either go exactly the way we want it to…”

“Or in the absolute other direction.” I chuckled, as I took a step away from him. I noticed that he looked a little disappointed but hid it quickly. I mean, not quick enough to where I didn’t notice it. But to any other ordinary person, he hid it well. 

“How wonderful.” He said sarcastically, before looking me up and down. His posture was sort of relaxed, less tense than normal. His shoulders dropped and his face seemed slightly more comfortable.

“Tell me about it.” I laughed, brushing my dark hair behind my ear as I felt my cheeks heat up a bit. I took off one of the rings on my fingers and slowly tossed it in the air, trying to distract myself from the fact that he hadn’t taken his eyes off of me yet. The cold metal of the ring chilled my hand and shocked me back into reality every so often.

“You know, it is quite interesting.” Atlas noted casually, tapping his fingers on the wooden table, his own rings making a sparkling in the candle lights. “You have quite an interesting mind in that head of yours, Thea. So sharp and so quick.”

“Yes, well…” I mumbled, shaking off the nerves as I turned on my other persona. One that I have grown quite fond of. My body steadily fell into a more confident and alluring persona, similar to Andrea but with my own twist. “I picked that up in the slums, you could say.”

“Hm.” 

“But you don’t want to talk about the slums, do you?” I smirked, as I dared to step closer to him. He watched as I made my way up to him, breaths mingling as there was a small spark between us.

“Not in the slightest.” He whispered, his breathing slightly irregular. His eyes kept flickering between my eyes and my lips with a slight hesitation.

“Well, I don’t give in easily. I prefer the long game.” I said softly into his ear before walking away. I could hear him laugh a bit before regaining his posture and tone.

“Oh, I think I can keep up.”

“Ow! For the love of god, Andrea, would you please stop poking me?” I yelped as I felt the needle poke at me again.

“Well, it would help if you would stay still.” Andrea hissed at me, her jaw tensing up as she gritted her teeth.

“She’s doing this on purpose, isn’t she?” I asked the boys, minus Atlas. I had noticed in the short time that I was here that he preferred to be alone. There were times that he was with everyone but even then he didn’t talk much. “Poking and prodding at me with the needle?”

“Maybe. But if you want this to go by quicker, it might be best to listen to her.” Nolan chuckled, before looking me up and down. “Besides, you don’t look too bad.”

“I always hated dresses. Too impractical.” I grumbled underneath my breath as I shook my head softly.

“How exactly did you end up here in the slums, birdie?” Jeffery asked curiously as he changed the subject. 

“My name is Thea, not birdie.” I snapped, rolling my eyes as Andrea was measuring yet again. “And I don’t like talking about my past.”

“So you’re hiding something about yourself.” Jeffery exclaimed, pointing at me accusingly. 

“Everyone has something to hide about themselves.” I retorted, sighing in relief as Andrea was finally done. “You don’t exactly see me asking you what your darkest secrets are, do you?”

“Okay, alright. Calm down, let’s not start a fight.” Peterson said, as he got in between Jeffery and I. 

“Whatever.” I muttered before turning to Andrea. “Could you find a way for me to have my weapons on me with that dress?”

She nodded as she waved my suggestion off. “Obviously, I would need to. Don’t worry, you’ll have your weapons on you.”

“Good.” I mumbled, before grabbing one of my knives and started to twirl it around a bit as I walked out the door. “If anyone needs me, I’m going to be in the plan room.”

“Fantastic.” I muttered, shaking my head as I looked at Astaroth nervously.

“If it makes you feel any better, I can stay here in case he tries to attack you. Or I could bind him to the wall using runes. Your choice.” Hades whispered, his voice softening as his gaze flickered between me and the spirit. There was a cold, shallow breeze that blew through the small room making me shiver.

“Stay. Please.”

“Alright.”

I ordered, my voice shaking a little bit as my hands turned pale from fear. “Astaroth? I know you can hear me. Answer me.”

No answer, just yells of rage.

“Astaroth, why are you angry? Are you mad that you are being kept here? Or are you mad that you haven’t found peace?” I asked softly, as I stepped closer to him before flinching away as he tried to jump at me.

Hades used his magic to force the spirit back against the wall, a loud grunt coming from Astaroth.

“Hades, stop it!” I yelled, motioning for him to stop. “That’s not going to help.”

Hades looked at me with a confused look before loosening his hold on Astaroth. But that didn’t stop him from keeping a close eye on me and on the ghost.

“Astaroth, tell me. Why are you in pain?” I asked again, as I took a look into his soul. His soul was cracked and had a dull, numbing color. It reminded me of a star dying and losing its glow. “It’s okay. You can tell me.”

“Lucille” He groaned softly, as he stopped struggling and his body fell limp and tired.

“Lucille? Is that your sister? A friend?” I questioned with curiosity. He shook his head softly, looking down at the ground.

“She was the love of my life. And she was the first witch they executed.”

“It would have to be something big. I have contacts and they told me that Solas is fighting with Pandia. Which means that it is more protected than ever.” I exclaimed, pacing back and forth as I tried to process everything.

“Would a ball work? The Solar Eclipse ball is coming up soon.” Atlas asked, as he watched from his seat. 

“That ball lasts for 7 days. 7 days of peace and lots of partying. Everyone would be relaxed, for the most part.” I realized, my eyes looking at him with curiosity. 

“And if everyone is relaxed, the less need for protection.” He smirked, his eyes glinting as I could see the wheels turning in his head.

“Which means less guards protecting the tiara.”

“Not necessarily.” He pointed out. “People get reckless and stupid when they’re having too much fun. So the royal family could want extra protection on their prized possessions, in case someone decided to steal something for fun.” 

“True. But there are the balls at night, where the guards main goal is to keep the royals safe.” I mumbled, as I looked down to the blueprints and back to him. 

“Which means they’ll have more guards watching the ball instead of the tiara.” He chuckled, coming up to look at the blue prints and pointing out the certain areas.

“Leaving only a handful of guards watching the tiara.” I nodded, as the pieces started to come together. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone catch up that quickly to Atlas.” Jeffrey whispered to Andrea, laughing softly as he looked back and forth between Atlas and I. 

Andrea nodded, and looked at us with a bewildered look. “It’s so weird.”

“I could easily take on the guards, if needed.” I murmured, ignoring the chatter between Jeffrey and Andrea. “But we would have to be able to get into the ball first and I doubt they will let us in looking like this.”

“That’s where I come in. I can tailor each of us a disguise. I just need a lot of fabric.” Andrea spoke up, twirling her hair as she thought about it. 

“Easy.” I scoffed, smirking as I tapped my fingers against the table excitedly.  “I could easily break into a store somewhere to get fabric. I just need those two muscles….”

“Nolan and Peterson?” Jeffery asked, amused.

“Them. I would need their help to bring everything back.”

“Well, then. I think we have a plan.” Atlas smiled slyly as we looked down at the blueprints again. 

This might actually work….