Forbidden Territory

[Hades Styx]

Hades spent a great deal of time studying this house's entrance points and exits. Everything about this house, Hades had studied and took mental notes. He worked on this for the past three months. The September wind made his trenchcoat flutter around him. His black hair was somewhat spiked and messy from the wind. His pasty white skin did not agree with the sun rays this afternoon. With a goal, he headed to the side entrance. Using a simple charm, he unlocked the door and entered a room that smelled heavily of chlorine. His arm immediately went to cover his mouth and nose as he gazed down at the inside pool. No matter how many times he came through this entrance, the smell of chlorine always got to him. Quickly making his way around the pool, he found himself in the hall.

His dark, stormy eyes glanced about the hall, before walking down it, and entering the foyer, where he wanted to be. Hades gazed up the stairs, and within a few moments and several striding steps, he was at the top of the stairs. Hades glanced from his left and to his right. From memory, he headed to his right, and he counted the doors mentally, before opening the third door on the right, and it revealed a large bedroom with a fireplace in it. Hades knew that this was the room. He walked over to the window seal, and glanced down at the land before him. This was it. His eyes landed on the bed, the sheets unmade, and Hades spotted a piece of parchment.

Ah, a note... Hades' slender white fingers picked it up, his back to the fireplace. He read it, and he smirked to himself. "So, they are married and truly in love. How interesting this should make... Hmmm..." Hades continued to hold the note, and wondered in his mind, which one would be home?

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella was nothing less than frustrated when she burst through the patio doors, squeezing a bag of groceries in a bear hug. Living here for nearly months had done little to improve her language skills. She rarely went into public, feeling her Russian was more of an insult. It wasn't just broken; it was beaten to a pulp and begging for release from pathetic means. She could barely understand it, and the thought of her being able to write it was a joke. Not that she had the language of the country she was inhabiting on her mind much these days. She constantly worried about what was growing inside her, the thing that would become her child. She wasn't prepared to be a mother. There had been many times she had planned to tell Jaken, but had changed the subject at the last minute. She was frightened that he would be furious with her. While she knew that every passing day made the situation even worse, she was too chicken to fess up about what was always bothering her.

The young woman stormed through the kitchen. Dropping the heavy bag onto the counter with a heavy sigh, she brought out her wand, charming the boxes and bags to put themselves away. It was a sloppy job at best, but she was getting better at it. One of the cabinet doors had flown ajar. She corrected it with a simple flick and headed off for the other side of the house. She might as well clean up a few rooms to kill the time.

Surprise lit her features as she registered the man by the window. Jaken was home, hours early. When had he gotten a coat like that? She didn't know why or when and couldn't really care. With a mischevious grin she tiptoed to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face in his back. "Gotcha."

 

[Hades Styx]

Hades felt someone's arms wrapped around him. Glancing down, the note fluttered to the floor and saw that the arms were a woman's arms. Did Estrella think that he was Jaken? Hades reached down like a snake and snatched the wand from her pocket. Hades held in his hands and he wondered how long would it take for her to realize he is not the love of her life? Hades smirked slightly, and wait just a moment, before finally saying, "I'm not Jaken." Hades turned and glanced down at her. He was an opponent, an enemy. Someone wanting to strike in the most deadly ways of possible.

Hades was armed with two wands now, Estrella's and his own. Hades cooed in a cold, yet alluring voice, "Good afternoon, Mrs. Estrella Styx." Hades stared at her with his dark, stormy eyes, taking in every detail of the woman, her expression and body language. It was all necessary for his plan.

 

[Estrella Drage]

"Huh?" Estrella was more than ten kinds of confused, processing what was happening very slowly. The soles of her shoes were bolted to the floor as she registered Hades Lutrov. Somehow she managed to unfreeze her legs, just enough to allow her a few steps backward. Immediately she palmed her pocket for her wand, but she was disappointed. The intruder held it in his own hand. Perfect. She bit the side of her cheek. "That would be my name," she finally managed to respond. Bolting from the room wasn't exactly an option for her; the door was too far away. Left wandless, she was forced to stand her ground in a panicked frenzy. Her voice holding slightly more edge this time, the young woman demanded, "What the hell do you want?"

 

[Hades Styx]

Hades approached her, his hands moved in a smooth rhythm, as he placed her wand in his left hand with his own, and clinched them tightly. Coming ever so closer, he placed both wands under her chin, so he could get a good look at her. "What I desire..." he started. Chuckling softly, he turned away from her, a smirk perched upon his lips, as he stared once more at her. Hades murmured, "Is it not obvious what I want, Mrs. Styx?" Hades placed one hand upon her cheek, caressing it as if she were a precious valuable, a tool in his plan. Not just a tool, more like a puppet. Hades bent down and whispered in her ear, "I want Jaken to suffer beautifully." He leaned away, and took his hand off her face, and lowered the wands, taking a step back before glancing out the window. "And how I will do that, is where you come in." Hades tossed Estrella's wand in his right hand once more, waved it and the bedroom door slammed shut and locked.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Instinct told Estrella to back away, yet she remained in place. A rock lodged into her throat as she lifted her chin, her gaze vacant. She was thoroughly confused as she stared at Jaken's brother, taking a moment to fully realize what he was implying. The stone jammed its way through her esophagus and landed in the pit of her stomach. Her skin shuddered beneath his touch, an angry chill coursing through her body. Cringing as Hades pulled away, she stepped backwards, hoping to make a mad dash for the door. Too late. "Sorry to disappoint you, Mr. Lutrov, but you are sorely mistaken. I'll be involved in nothing of the sort." Her tone was sarcastic and clipped, though it did little to mask the apprehension that had tagged along.

 

[Hades Styx]

Hades turned to face her and he raised an eyebrow, "And what do you think I am implying?" It took him a moment to realize, and he started to laugh. He shook his head, "Oh dear sweet Merlin, I would never perform such acts like that. That is for personal pleasures out of the woman, and I am just not into that." Hades stopped laughed and he shook his head once more. His voice suddenly dipping back into ice, "I prefer much...bloodier sufferings coming out of the victim. For you see, I am just not a nice person." Hades gave a shrug, both wands firmly in his hands. "Besides, you are pregnant, are you not." Hades cocked his head slightly to the side, giving her a good once over glance.

 

[Estrella Drage]

The relief that Estrella felt was short lived. She glared at Hades as she put distance between herself and him, gripping the high back of the chair that she had pulled from the vanity. It would at least be some sort of shield. "By Merlin's saggy- what do you need me for then?" she snarled vehemently. She ignored his comment about being pregnant. "If you're going to hurt me, please get it done and over with. I'm not all that inclined to be patient when my wand's in the hand of a creepy bastard, if you couldn't tell." She scanned the vanity, the armoire, the nightstands. There were plenty of things she could throw.

 

[Hades Styx]

This was the type of reaction that basically fed Hades like a blood feeds a vampire. Hades savored every moment, and for an instant, he could have sworn she was disappointed in what she assumed what he was going to do. "I want you to tell him I am looking for him." Hades approached his sister-in-law, with swift speed. With a free hand, he knocked the chair out of the way, it clashed against the bedside. That hand went straight for the throat, as he bent down to her eye level. There was hardly any expression upon his features. His hand holding the wands still pushed some hair that had fallen in her face. Hades glanced over her facial features, as if he were collecting data. Hades smirked slightly, and said almost seductively, "You have his heart, and I am going to break it." Hades released her from his grip and back away. Hades dropped Estrella's wand to the floor, gave her an evil, sly smirk, and apparated out of the room. The damage was done.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Off the Quidditch Pitch, Estrella wasn't known for lightning fast reflexes. Her hands remained at her sides as the man's hand wrapped around her throat. He held the threat, not choking her, but warning of its possibility all the same. The young woman's first impulse was to stomp on his foot. If she had been feeling particularly brave, she wouldn't have been above a knee to the stones. Unfortunately, both of those things would have required courage, of which she was currently in short supply. There was a reason she hadn't been sorted into Gryffindor.

Estrella was doing a rather horrible job of hiding her fear. She shuddered violently, wishing she could melt into the floor. Staggering backward as Hades released her, she stared at him as he disapparated. His words hung in the air, taunting, mocking. What use was she if she couldn't even hold her own in her own home? Her eyes stinging, she summoned the wand to her hand, bursting out of the room with a shaky 'Alohomora.'

She needed an open space. Somewhere that she couldn't be boxed in, trapped like an animal. There she would wait until her husband returned. A quick decision led her to the living room, where she plopped into one of armchairs. She gripped her wand tightly, her body rigid as she fell sway to silence. She didn't bother to wipe at the tears streaming down her face. Hades had only added to the mountain of worries that loomed over Estrella these last few weeks, a mountain that was becoming more and more difficult to hide.

 

[Jaken Styx]

Jaken finished up his work, now hired as an Unspeakable. Of course, he couldn't say what his job consisted of to his wife, but all is good. He went to the fireplace, and flooed back home. Stepping out of the fireplace in the living room, Jaken quickly cleaned himself with a spell, before casting a glance in the direction of Estrella, in the armchair. From the looks of things, it looked like she had seen a vampire or something, something frightening. Then again, he was not too keen on women's emotions anyhow.

Without much thought, he rushed to Estrella's side, and he softly reached to touch her cheek. He murmured, "Estrella, what's wrong?" Better than, Something wrong? when the answer was somewhat obvious. Jaken gave her a warm smile, hoping that it might lighten the mood. It made him feel worse when Estrella was feeling horrid.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Ashamed and scared, Estrella couldn't even wrap her arms around her husband. She didn't deserve a guy as great as him. He had every right to know that he was going to be a father, but still she continued to keep that to herself. Just like he had every right to know about his brother. She hated the web of lies she had woven around herself and her marriage. It stuck fast to everything she held dear. Catching his hand, she entwined her fingers with his. She inhaled deeply as her other hand wandered to her stomach. Her voice cracking, she had every intention to spit out "I'm pregnant" but that wasn't what made it past her lips.

"Hades was here."

 

[Jaken Styx]

Jaken wondered what in the world was going on. He stared at her, extremely worried. However, he summoned a house elf that was given to him by Demitris as a gift (which was entirely weird to be giving away creatures) to get Estrella a glass of cold water. He put his other hand that was not in Estrella's on top of both of their hands, and he stroked it soothingly. "Hades was here." Jaken gave her an odd look. Hades, like the guy from the underworld? Ruler of the Undead or something like that? "Hades...Hades who?" Why am I so worried over this? It can't be anything bad... But something told him otherwise. Why else did this seem a tad bit familiar?

 

[Estrella Drage]

"Lutrov." The name rolled off of Estrella's tongue in the tiniest of whispers. She stared down at their hands, unable to meet his gaze. Her bottom lip quivered dangerously. "He- he said he was gonna-" The young woman felt very much the five year old as she broke out into a full out wail, leaving the sentence unfinished. Frustrations mocked her mercilessly. She didn't have the gall to tell about what was really bothering her or about Hades. Control was spinning further and further away, leaving a mess of emotions behind that she could not even begin to piece together. She seemed useless, just utterly pathetic, as she sobbed into Jaken's chest.

 

[Jaken Styx]

Jaken was a bit shocked by the last name. It was slightly familiar, but he did not have time to think about it. Instead, Estrella was wailing, and Jaken had no other choice than to wrap his arms around her and murmured, "It's okay, everything is all right, Estrella." Jaken wondered if he needed to stay home more often now. He glanced down at her and he coaxed, "Honey, I'm here now. Nothing will get to you, or me. I will defend us both from this Hades Lutrov guy." Jaken smirked slightly. He could barely say that name without laughing. Hades, some name for a punk. But it still left him worried. What was he going to do? And why come here?

 

[Estrella Drage]

Despite reassurances, Estrella didn't think everything was all right. They wouldn't be until she was able to come clean. Instead of doing what was right and fair, she let her emotions get the best of her. Part of her wished that Jaken would demand what the hell was wrong with her instead of allowing her to soak the front of his shirt. But no, he was too nice for that. Entirely too sweet. Too bad the problems that plagued her couldn't be cried away.