House Always Wins

First topic message reminder :

Holly Earthwind pushed her blonde hair off her face and smiled at the front desk clerk as she stepped inside the massive Las Vegas hotel. It had been a long drive and she was tired. Not to mention there was still people to talk to. 
The young woman stopped at the opulent counter and stared at it for a moment, looking a her own reflection. She was looking older these days. Her last fight with her sister had left her with dark circles of worry under her eyes. For her that was an unusual sight indeed. 
"Is Hermes Vanderbuilt here today?" She asked, jumping slightly when the sound of a tiger roaring sounded so near to her. 
This hotel was not a place she cared to come to, even if she had a fair few friends that worked and did business there. "I was hoping to meet with him before I checked in..." She added, still not really looking at the clerk as she turned her head to see if she could see what the evening's entertainment were advertised. 
She needed something to get her mind off her sister for a little while didn't she?

Ares lips thinned to slits and he balled his fists. "You misunderstood me. I didn't say she shacked up with the man by choice." He hissed. "Your mother sold her. It's not the first time either. Remember that supposed secret you two share? The one where your sister lost her virginity at her prom? Every moment of her life bought and paid for. Just like yours."

Molly made a face, "King of insanity I say. Who eats Fruit Loops? Unless you are one?" She teased poking out her tongue. "Besides, you haven't truly loved until you've eaten nothing but Lucky Charms for a year. That's the true meal of the gods." She added with a grin that revealed an adorable dimple in her cheeks.

Isolde faltered slightly, her eyes watching Ares closely, looking for the lie. “Why would my mother pay for something like that?” She finally spat. “Let me guess, you’re just bitter she never ask you to do it?”

Neptune again pretended to look horrified. “They taste like space dust!” He declared. “And I hardly see a porridge lover like you eating such a sweet treat.” He teased, tapping her nose playfully.

"Actually, I am." Ares admitted, though he had no idea why. "Do you realize how prized Demeter is? Can you imagine if she knew? And the man who manages to make her..." He paused, a strange smile sliding over his thin lips. "Flower bloom?" He finished with a purr. "You on the other hand...men fight for you in order to break the man you already belong to." The strange smile widened. "They don't know your mother has already done that."

Molly wrinkled her nose. "You're missing out." She said as she took the porridge and began to eat it. 
For a long while there was a heavy silence between them as she stared out the window. She was worried about her sister. If her mother had sent her to the beach of death, gods only knew where Isolde had ended up. It made her stomach hurt to think about it. Once again she had failed her. She was a terrible sister. She should never have come to Vegas. Izzy probably would have been fine if she hadn't have stuck her nose in where it didn't belong.

Isolde again glanced to the door. She was beginning to wonder why her mother would need her chained, after all... it was never very hard to find her when she did run away. “I don’t belong to anyone.” She informed Ares, her chin jutting out definitely. “And my mother breaks everything she touches. I mean... just one look at you is proof enough of that.” She added with a sneer.

“You blame yourself far too much.” Neptune commented after some time. “Not every wrong in this world is your fault, precious.” He breathed. “Won’t you tell me how I can help?”

Ares' jaw worked. He knew she was right and that made matters so much worse. "You're lucky she has a short leash on me." He hissed. This didn't stop him, however from getting to jumping to his feet and slapping her across the face. "Stay awake. You get to join your mother and I for a show tonight. Won't that be fun?"

Molly finally turned her head, trying to shake her darkness. "Why are you so interested in me? I saw the kind of women that flock around you. In case you didn't notice, I'm nothing like them. I can't even try to be..." She got out of the bed, only then noticing she'd been given a white silk nightgown that was very much unlike what she would have worn if given the choice. "Damn it, mother." She snapped, making a beeline for her bag.

Isolde knew that strike had been hard enough to bruise, as she could taste the faint copper tang of blood in her mouth. Though it hurt, she still smiled up at Ares, simply wishing to poke the beast. “No chains there, what’s to stop me running the second I get the chance?” She mocked.

“You speak of your mother an awful lot... could you not simply accept the gift I gave you?” Neptune asked sadly. “As for those women... did it not occur to you that the reason you caught my eye while I was surrounded by them... was because you were exactly what I was waiting for?”

"Oh there will be chains. Do you think your mother is stupid?" Ares snarled, stomping across the room. Hera wouldn't like it when she saw that he'd bruised her. "You're going to get your own little booth with your mother. From there you can watch the show without interference." He found a rag and tossed it at her. "Clean up the blood. We're going for a walk." 

"What? Me?" Molly asked, with a laugh. She turned back to him, her cheeks flaming. "Whatever did those women did to you that I look appealing?" She moved back to the bed and sat beside him. "After the spectacle I made in the lobby you think you'd stay a million miles away from me."

“No.” Isolde replied simply, tossing the rag back at Ares. She knew only too well he would be in serious trouble if her mother saw the blood. “Consequences, asshole.”

“That spectacle was all the more reason to have you.” Neptune replied with a chuckle. “I have no need for cowing women and idiot yes men. A real man enjoys to be challenged.”

Ares snorted, turning to the wall and grabbing a bag that hung there. "Your sister had this in her car for you. Put on something from there and make it quick."

"You saw so little of me." It was her turn to thump his nose. "How do you know I'm going to be the kind of challenge you enjoy?" She asked. "Trust me when I say I'm a real terror." She added with a laugh.

Isolde scowled again and snatched hold of the bag. “Can’t dress with one arm chained to the bed, now can I?” she asked with a falsely sweet smile.

Neptune laughed heartily and ruffled Molly’s hair. “I doubt you know the meaning of the word terror.” He teased.

Ares snorted at this and crossed his arms over his chest. "You've got magick. Figure it out." He chuckled. "Don't want to give you another bruises after all." He added with a toothy grin.

It was later in the afternoon when Molly finally managed to confront her fears of stepping into the beach. Neptune had left her alone and was already down in the water, the waves crashing against his chest. 
The moment she stepped outside the air made her feel alive. For the moment she forgot the dark memory and stepped into the warm sand. She dug her bare toes in deep and laughed. This was another form of heaven. It had to be.

“Oh no, last thing I would want is for my mother to beat you for your incompetence.” Isolde mocked with a roll of her eyes. “Although.:. I am quite sure she is accustomed to it; you always were more brawn than brains.” She added. “Everyone knows she only keeps you around for appearances, it’s all any one talks about.”

Neptune was waist deep out in the water, his face turned up to the sun with a smile as the waves cashed against his bare chest. Every moment in his role as playboy hotelier was hell for him, and it wasn’t the keeping up appearances... it was being so far from his beloved ocean.