House Always Wins

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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?

Molly didn't lower her umbrella until they had opened the car door. She made sure her sister was safely tucked into the back before she ran around to the front. 
"You weren't leaving were you?" The tall man who stood near the front of her car made her stop cold. 
"Ares." Molly breathed, quickly grabbing for the door handle. 
"Where is she? You knew you two would be found the moment you used magick." Ares stepped forward. "Where are you going?" He slammed his hand down over her own.

Inside the car, Isolde could hear singing. It would sound like her mother's voice the day she'd taken them to the beach.

In the back of the car Isolde just barely peeked over the headrest, amethyst eyes wide as she saw the man accost her sister. She was trying not to panic as the singing reverberated inside her head with almost painful ferocity; this day was already bad enough. Frantically she glanced out the windows, looking for something that would distract Ares. All she saw were more cars, but soon all of them were beeping and flashing as the alarms all sounded at once.

Ares grabbed Molly's wrist and yanked her away from the car. "I'm not playing games with you, woman." He shouted, walking her back towards the elevator. He was having trouble concentrating over the deafening noise. "There is no one to save you this time. No hero coming to breathe life back into you." His long fingers curled around her throat. 

The singing fell into soft whispers. There was a voice in Isoldes head that was telling her to crawl into the floorboard and stay there until the noises stopped. 
After all, it wasn't her problem. She was safe in the darkness where she belonged.

Isolde felt herself falling to the siren song, like a dream she couldn’t resist. It didn’t take long however for it to turn to a nightmare. The kind you know is happening and try to scream, but no sound comes out. Her voice sounded hoarse as she called Molly’s name, but she threw open the passenger side door. Her twin needed her.

Molly was thinking of the depths of Neptune's eyes as her vision began to darken. They reminded her of the Ocean on the day she'd nearly lost her life to it. The water was so blue and so deep. She wished she'd gotten to stare in them for longer.
Ares lifted her off the ground and carried her into the elevator. "No more running, little sisters."  He snarled, turning back to watch as a black puddle began to form around where Isoldes on the ground outside the car.

Isolde backed up when she saw the puddle forming, casting panicked glances between the unknown entity and the man carrying the other half of her away. While they were truly close, they were still twins, and for Isolde that meant facing her fear of failing. “Don’t let him trick you, Moll! This isn’t like the beach, you’re stronger now!”

The black sludge grew, a skeletal hand reaching out and grabbing Isolde by the ankle. "Let her go. Stop fighting the darkness  and give in to it!" Her mother's voice hissed. The skeletal arm grew and yanked harder. "He can't save you this time. You stole his power. I have you now." 

It was a warm day. She liked being warm. Molly had stepped out of the car and dug her feet into the sand. 
The water had been cold and unforgiving. Not unlike the darkness she was now stepping into. She could hear her sister's voice but it was far away and she was tired. So tired.

Isolde let out a startled shriek as the bones hand grabbed her ankle. The young woman toppled over onto the oil stained floor, though she still tried to scoot away. Milky was always warning her younger twin to be wary of using magick any place their mother could track it, though it seemed a bit late to worry about this now. “I don’t have anything you need!” She howled, though the glance she cast in her sisters direction allowed the hand to drag her close to the disgusting sludge it had emerged from.

The fingers were still pulling her downward, her mother's song beginning again. "You were never strong enough to save either one of you." She cackled. Her mother was enjoying the fact that she was finally winning. "How ironic it is that I would finally end this at the mouth of darkness. Your father would hate it if he knew."

Isolde’s nails were bending and tearing painfully as she tried to claw her way free along the concrete. The song wouldn’t stop. It was right there inside her head. There was nothing else. No other thoughts, no wishes for anyone to save her. Not even the ability to save herself with magick. Hera had planned this well- the song had incapacitated both her offspring.

Sleep. The whisper was there in her head almost too soft to be heard. Close your eyes. She can't reach you in your dreams and she knows it. There was a new darkness surrounding her. This one was comforting. Be with me here. Forget everything else. 

Molly heard her mother's voice as Ares forced the doors closed. She'd done it again. The woman had sold them to the highest bidder. She wondered who her captor was going to be this time and how long she would have to fight to escape them.

Isolde couldn’t disobey if she tried. The voice was right. Here it was cool, calm and most importantly; quiet. She vaguely remembered this place. It was the same one she had visited that day at the beach, after she and her sister had been in their ‘accident’. “You know me... it I don’t remember you...” she breathed.

“How did it take you so long to apprehend just one of them?” Hera could be heard demanding haughtily. “I trust she is in damaged?”

Hades smiled at Isolde, holding out a pomegranate to her. It had been so long since he'd been able to use her power to bring them home. He only wished she remembered it. "Those who love me, call me Hades." He breathed. 

"She tried to call for someone. I had to redirect her thoughts before she summoned..." Ares paused and shook his head. "But I think the distractions are working well enough. And no, she isn't injured."

Isolde showed no hesitation as she accepted the fruit held out to her. For a moment she closed her eyes as she brought to pomegranate up to her nose and breathed it in. She was smiling. Isolde rarely smiled in her waking life. “Hades...” She murmured the name, finding the enjoyed the familiar feel of it on her lips. “So many people call you that, then?” Her eyes were again open, watching him with wry curiosity.

“Calling for someone? Who would she possibly know in this city? It’s like a disease, all these bodies in one place.” Hera sniffed. “The buyer will be waiting. “I promised this little package would be waiting for his enjoyment.”

Hades' smile faded somewhat. "There are very few. But that's alright, as long as there is one." He sat back, his fingers sliding through her hair. "Rest now, Isolde. You are safe here with me."

Ares threw Molly over his shoulder and headed back to the elevator. "I'll kill the buyer if he tries to screw us." He growled. "We're too close..."

Isolde felt her lashes flutter lightly as Hades ran his fingers through her hair. It was a feeling most took for granted. The truth was, she couldn’t be around anyone other than her sister long enough to gain this kind of simple intimacy. “You say that... but I don’t know you...” She breathed. She was forgetting something... what was it...?

Hera smiled thinly as she watched her cherished eldest daughter being carted away like a sack of potatoes. “Oh hush now, you’re just grouchy I never let you have her.”

Hades got up from where he was seated, stretching like a lithe cat. "I almost forgot what it was like to do that." He purred. "I wish we could stay here for longer. It's too bad you will wake up sooner or later." He leaned over and gently brushed his lips on hers. "You must remember, Isolde. We will never be free until you do."

Ares stepped off the elevator and immediately dumped Molly onto the floor. "Here it is." He growled at the plush penthouse carpet. He knew better than to look at the buyer. Hera would have his head.

Isolde didn’t recoil from the kiss as she may have done in the waking world. Her curious gaze simply watched Hades, finding everything about him so very beautiful, in a way she had never seen before. He seemed so kind and gentle, but at the same time she almost knew there was a storm brewing just below the surface that would cause havoc the moment it was set loose. “Freedom is an illusion.” She finally breathed. “I died once... even that didn’t set me free.”

Broad shoulders stiffened at the sound of Molly being dropped so unapologetically on the ground. “You’re late.” The deep rumbling voice commented without turning from the vast window he stood in front of. “And my Queen is not an ‘it’, your mistress would do well to remember that.”

"The problem was...you weren't allowed to stay with...dead." Hades quickly corrected. He stepped further back, disappearing into the darkness until only his eyes remained visible. "Rest, my love. There is silence here. Enjoy it while you can."

"Yeah well. The sister gave me trouble. Not that it matters now. Where's the payment. I've got places to be." Ares snapped, dark eyes daring to glance up.

“But...” Isolde started to protest, but the silence was calling to her. Rest never came easy, but here, she felt like if she just closed her eyes...

Deep blue eyes narrowed in the reflection of the window that looked out over the glittering lights below. “Warn Hera, should she send such a disobedient pup again, I will be forced to punish him.” He warned, turning only to pick a briefcase up from the table beside the window and toss it at Ares’ feet.

Hades held his breath. If Isolde fell asleep he could hold her. His arms ached to simply touch her. He couldn't remember how long it had been. Just simply brushing her lips had given him the odd butterflies that he remembered from so long ago. It made him need her. This was a dangerous position to be in. 

Ares opened his mouth to argue. He didn't like being called a dog. "You made the wrong choice." He snapped, stepping on Molly's long blonde hair. "This bitch isn't even the one with the power."

Isolde finally surrendered. Her dark lashes remained resting against her cheeks as her breathing slowed, the pomegranate she had been holding soon rolling from her relaxed fingers. The last thing she murmured was simply Hades’ name, a smile tugging ever so slightly at the corners of her lips.

“How like the young to think power is everything.” Neptune sneered, his blue eyes narrowing at the other man. “And to be so blind to what power actually is.” He had crossed the room in the blink of an eye, rough fingers curled around Ares’ throat as he pinned him to the door behind him. “Tell me, what power is there in being the puppy of a forgotten whore?”

Hades was finally able to pull the dark haired woman into his arms and carry her to the bed she'd created for her dream world. 
It was black silk sheets, with a deep red velvet coverlet. He pushed it back gently and laid her down, wondering if she had remembered this from their nights together. "You will fix this. I believe in you." He whispered in her ear as he laid down beside her and pulled her tightly against his chest. "Save us." He said into her hair. 

"What power is there in being you? Not even your queen remembers you." Ares grunted, fighting to get away from Neptune.

“Not yet... too many eyes...” Isolde murmured as she curled close enough to crawl right into Hades’ skin with him. It was a long forgotten memory; cool silk on heated flesh. The smell of sandalwood. Strawberries by the bed. All things she yearned for without actually remembering.

Neptune grinned, still holding tight to Ares throat. “Your power is dependent of them worshipping you. Remind me, Ares, how exactly does one worship a god they no longer believe in?” He mocked. “Even when every last soul it in the river, when the fields and meadows are full and Tartarus can hold no more... I will still endure. The Ocean longs for no man.”

Hades had brought Isolde to his kingdom for the first time when she was young. She had asked so many questions of him but he had been more than happy to answer them. He'd given her a tour of the place that would one day belong to her as well and that's when the mistake had been made. He'd taken her to the river of the damned. He'd warned her never to touch the souls. But what he hadn't done was tell her that they would whisper to her...beg her for a last chance at life. 
He'd turned his back for one moment to collect a pomegranate for her and it was too late. She'd done nothing more than slid her fingers in but it was enough. The river was a part of her. The darkness was in deep.
It was because of this that he'd sent her back, believing himself not to be the one she needed. It was the reason Hera had been able to so easily able to cage him. He'd allowed her to. And when the time came, he would stay. What he was truly asking for was for his beloved Isolde to free herself. 

Molly opened her eyes, searching the brightly lit room for something she recognized. Beyond the warm sunshine and her tattered bag of clothes rest on the chest nearby there wasn't. 
She sat up and shoved her hair out of face then rubbed her eyes. How long had she slept? She couldn't remember the last time she'd actually gone to sleep without dreaming. 
Izzy...the last night's memories came flooding back and she groaned. Their mother had made another mess to clean up. She was getting to old for this...

Isolde didn’t remember that day, that pivotal moment in her life when she had been cursed by the damned, and lost her soul mate all in one simple action. All she knew was that the dead never slept, and there was no one to explain why she had been cursed. Hera had wiped almost all memory of Hades from her youngest daughters mind. She was a pawn, a tool to be used to gain power. Not like dear Molly, no Molly had always been their mother’s favourite. Molly had been sold by Hera not out of true malice, it was an attempt to sever her ties from her twin. Take Isolde far enough away, and Molly could live a normal life. Of course, being owned a favour by a king, that was simply a delicious bonus.
Isolde would also wake in an unfamiliar room, but unlike Molly, she had no possessions here with her. She was chained to the bed she was on, Hera knew the girl was a flight risk at the best of times.

“Good morning.” Neptune was smiling as Molly from where his large frame stood in the doorway. They were not inside one of his flashy hotels, that much was true. Wherever they were, it was peaceful... the gentle pull of the waves on the shore audible nearby. “I wasn’t sure what you liked, so...” Neptune was smiling almost sheepishly now, drawing attention to the tray he carries that has several plates in. There were pancakes, waffles, bacon, eggs, even a bowl of soggy looking porridge.

Ares was snoring loudly, stretched out in the chair next to the bed. Unlike Isolde's sister there was no breakfast or sunshine. There was nothing but her cruel stepfather waiting for her. He was practically chomping at the bit to see her awake. 

"My hero." Molly breathed, getting out of the bed to help take the tray to the table by the window. "Porridge...my favorite. It smells amazing." She was too hungry to ask questions, though many were beginning to form in her mind. It wasn't lost on her that they were no longer in Vegas.

Isolde’s entire body froze when she saw who was in the chair beside her bed. Her amethyst eyes darted from him to the door, assuming he had the key to her restraints. She quickly gathered her thoughts and tried to edge close to the side of the bed without making too much noise. Thanks to the handcuff around her wrist however, that proves impossible.

“That stuff? Really?” Neptune asked as he turned up his nose. “It looks like something fish already ate.” He teased as he sat on the edge of the bed beside Molly.

Ares' dark red eyes snapped open and he smiled. "Good morning, Izzy. I hope you slept well. Your sister sends her regards. But she ended up shacking up with some long haired weirdo like her. She always. Was a whore."

"You've never had it with home grown honey." Molly said, laughing at his up turned nose. "So what does someone so spoiled eat?" She teased.

“You don’t get to call me that.” Isolde spat, her amethyst eyes blazing. “You think I would be mad at Molly? Good for her! I’m glad she finally got away from you and your whore.”

“Spoiled?” Neptune echoed, pretending to be offended. “Fruit loops are the breakfast of kings!” He declared.