seven

Kai invites me out on a date one fine day. The weather in the Underworld is fickle from what I've seen, mostly fog and mist ranging to an equivalent of a cloudy day like on Earth, but rarely does it seem sunny. It makes sense though, since it's a place where the deceased reside and well, it's the Underworld, why would it be sunny?

Yet, the day Kai comes to my room bearing flowers, yes, a bouquet of flowers, the weather doesn't look as gloomy and there's a rare smile on Kai's face. It takes me a moment to wonder if I'm really just dreaming. I pinch myself and find that it hurts. No, I'm definitely not dreaming. I watch with wide eyes as Kai comes over and hands the bouquet to me, an assortment of light pink to deep red roses.

“What's this? Roses, for me?” I ask, the scent of the roses filling my nostrils. He gives me an enigmatic smile and nods. “Thank you.” I feel a slight embarrassment in the form of a blush; I'd never received roses from a boy before and it made me feel pretty special. I hold the bouquet close, the wrapping still warm from Kai having held them in his arms. I wonder where he could have got them from.

Kai tugs on my hand, “I want to take you somewhere today, how about it?” He asks. I purse my lips and pretend to consider, but really, I'm kind of excited at the prospect of going somewhere other than the palace and the Judgement Room where Kai sits all day, every day.

“Sure, where are we going?” I gather the roses in my arms and put them on the vanity where the petals spill onto the table.

He takes my hand in his and we walk out the door together. Kai takes us down to the front of the palace where a gold and white chariot sat, drawn by two pairs of stunning black stallions that tossed their heads proudly as Kai walked up to them. I noticed that the horses had flaming red eyes, their thick manes moving as if the wind constantly blew through them, their shiny black coat brushed and clearly well looked after.

Kai stands next to them with a look of pride as he pats their manes and heads, the horses nuzzling close to him. “Meet Orphnaeus, Aethon, Nyctaeus and Alastor. They pull my chariot to wherever I wish to go, my loyal steeds that I've relied on for many years. They aren't as frightening as they look, see?” He chuckles, taking one of my hands and placing it against the neck of one of the horses. I could feel the horse’s warmth and watched the way the flames danced in its eyes. Seeing as they didn't react negatively to me, Kai smiles in a pleased manner then brings me to the chariot.

“Hold on tight or who knows where you may fall,” Kai warns teasingly. It wasn't like I could fall since he had me standing in front of him, his arms around me as he pulled on the reins. As soon as he lets out a loud call to the horses, they toss their heads and begin moving in unison, hooves beating the ground like a drum.

Surprisingly, the ride isn't as bumpy as I thought it would be, in fact, it's so smooth, it feels more like we're gliding through the air. There has to be some sort of magic on this chariot.

The wind blows my hair around wildly, but I manage to keep most of it in gripped in one hand, while Kai chuckles behind me. My hair probably whipped him somehow, I'm sure of it. With my other hand, I gripped the edge of the chariot as I looked around the view speeding past us.

It looked as dark and imposing as the stories said it would be but there was a sort of mysterious hidden beauty about the way the rocks formed into mesmerising structures, some of their surfaces glittering in the dark telling of the possible gemstones and minerals embedded within them. Others were not so hidden, where the minerals grew into tall, imposing crystalline structures in every colour imaginable.

It looked far more beautiful than anything I may have seen before.

The scenery soon changed as the horses sped along, the cavernous areas lightening as the sight of plants and trees grew on the roadside, lining the path until rolling, green meadows appeared as far as the eyes could see. Hundreds upon thousands of flowers grew in a multitude of colours that covered the ground, like a carpet of colourful petals laid out.

A gasp escaped my lips as I looked at the scenery then asked quietly, “Where are we?” I didn't think Kai could've heard me over the sound of the hoof beats but he answered in my ear, “Your favourite place.”

Soon we reached a set of tall golden gates, the kind that looked like they belonged to the gateway to Heaven. Kai pulled on the reins and the horses drew to a standstill, neighing softly. He stepped off the chariot, helping me down as well and walked over to the four horses, giving them a treat – it looked like he had given them each a golden apple. Are they even edible?

Kai came back to where I stood, then pulled something from the chariot. It's a picnic basket. I hadn't even noticed it. “Come, milady. Let us go into the Asphodel Meadows,” he says with a flourish. We hold hands and enter through a smaller, more human sized door in the gate. I look back to see that someone had come to water down the horses and take them to rest nearby.

Inside the meadows, the flowers have grown to the height of my knees, waving as we walked through them. I notice vague shapes walking around as well; “They're the souls of people who haven't accomplished anything noteworthy in their lifetime, regular people who lived regular lives,” Kai explains, “They can't harm us as long as I'm around.”

“So, you mean they could turn into vengeful spirits?” I ask, feeling a little more creeped out than before.

Kai hums, “On