Before she drifted off to sleep, Kori begged Lord Hades to let her keep the portal in her room, convincing of her loneliness- something Hades was familiar with. Hades enchanted her room, making it able to hold the portal, and also only be visible when called upon by Kori so that Demeter couldn't come upon it. It all, surely, came with the promise that the portal would only be used OCCASIONALLY.

Kori fell asleep and Hades returned home. He retired in the family lounge of his castle, pouring himself a strong cup of wine.

"Hey boss, tough court today?" Selene casually let herself in, plummeting on the couch.

"What have you told Kori about the Underworld, Selene?" He asked as he sat on his high back chair, crossing one leg over the other.

Selene sat up on her side, interest peaked.

"Why would it concern you, my lord?"

"I was called upon today, by her highness."

"Woah, go Ko! How'd she even find the chamber?"

"Fun fact: we weren't in the chamber. Your little friend conjured the portal in her high tower, right before the roof caved in."

Selene spat her drink out.

"Demeter isn't home I take it?"

"My sister dear has gone down to the humans, leaving her daughter quite unattended."

"Well good for her, you know. That's what happens when parents are a bit too strict; kids rebel. You know how that goes, right Hades?"

Hades looked at her with a dumb face as she mentioned his own history with his parents.

"I'm dead from laughing, Selene."

"Sorry. Anyhow, how did Ko come across this stuff?"

"A good question, for which I need a good answer." Hades downed his chalice and smashed it on the table.

"Goodnight to you, Selene."

Selene simply shrugged as Hades said goodbye and stormed out of the room, on his quest for answers. He marched down to a lower floor of his castle. Ordinarily, Hades would be unbothered by their antics and oblige through their rituals, but tonight he was tired and bothered, and he was the lord of hell. One raise of his hand made the sisters' charade crumble, allowing Hades to storm through the hall to bang on their door.

The black carved door swung in of its own and Hades strode through. The room was shrouded in darkness, save for the colorful glows that came from displaced fire torches and incense candles.

"Can I care to know what happened today?"

"Why, what was doomed to be, of course." A dreamy, mellow discarnate voice answered.

Hades turned his attention to another direction just as one beautiful sister swayed her way to him.

"You didn't."
"See it."
"Coming?"

It took three of them to complete a question as they encroached upon him from different parts of the room. Each beautiful sister, dressed in stylistically shredded dresses that used to be magnificent in their day, swayed to music playing only in their ears.

"I am millennia old. SHE is a child! Demeter will surely murder me for certain if not you three in addition."

Clotho seemed to have actually heard his lament, recognizing it with a twist to her lips.

"Hmm. That is true. Your sister despises all men."

"But her daughter is not a child anymore. She is spring; the definition of change and rebirth."

Atropos's face lit up as if she had had the most divine revelation.

"She won't be a child forever. Oh, you should see her all grown up. You will, in time of course."

"I won't! Her development will not alter the age difference between her and I, retained since her birth!"

"You refuse in futility what you cannot revise."

"Perhaps it may be you reluctance that proves to be your downfall."

The sisters could see his aura burning to flames.

"Let's not be frustrated in vain, my love." Atropos tucked a finger under his chin and ghostly spoke in his mouth, all the while leading him to her bed.

"You do not see, Kori. Then let her go. Have us, instead." Another sister nudged him so his knees fell on the bed, and busied herself kissing his back. He held one sister in each of his arms while the third caressed his face.

"You are, for certain, a sight to behold, my lord." The third spoke against his pecks.

"My love." Atropos corrected and lunged her mouth on his.

🌺 🌸 🌺 🌸 🌺

Mother came home not many days after, and oh was Kori happy for it. She was working in the meadows when Demeter announced her return, and Kori dropped everything and ran to her mother as not weeks but rather years had passed.

"Oh mother! How I've missed you. Tell me everything."

"Oh my dear, it was exhausting let me tell you. Such a variety of congregants they have, those humans. I'll tell you more after, but have you been practicing?"

"Very much so. Truthfully, I got tired of playing the entire first seven days..."

Demeter interrupted with a disapproving frown.

"But then I started working, really. And I got invested in it, and now you have wild meadows and forests."

"Why, that's wonderful dear. You certainly got in a lot of practice. Now you'll slowly learn to hone it to the specific needs of humans and Gaia. But let's leave that for later, it's dinner time soon."

The mother and daughter walked merrily to their castle, each retiring to her own room. Demeter settled herself into a long, soothing bath while Kori played house with her incarnated doll. She was so immersed with her play for so long that Kori never realized time pass by, and mother called for her as she walked in.

"Kori dear, are you ready for..."

Kori shoved the blue ghost of a doll right through her floor, begging her to stay there so Demeter wouldn't notice.

"Is there something different about your chamber, Kori?" Demeter asked, taking in the sense of the room.

"Why mother, do you ask?"

"I feel magic. Did something happen in my absence?"

Shoot! Kori had to think. By the Styx she could not bring up Hades; mother would go into a rage. It was a risk mentioning Mother Hera, as the sisters weren't always cordial. Father could side with her, but would definitely bother her to the point Demeter took notice. That only left Aunt Hestia, as Uncle Poseidon was in his realm. Hestia it was, and luckily she didn't have much problem with Hades should Kori most likely have to spill.

"Um... I wasn't always agreeing with the temperatures in the castle, so I asked Aunt Hestia for help. She gave me this chalice of fire! See, when I raise my hands on it, it grows and warms the room. And when I lower my hands, it shrinks and makes it cooler."

"That's all the fire does?" Demeter asked, recognizing the flame.

"Well I have no other use for it. And I promised to be careful with it."

"Oh well, that's all right then." Demeter thought nothing more of it. Her Kori was too innocent to know the truth about the fire she was playing with. "I shall thank her for taking care of you if she should be present at dinner. Let us to it, then. Don't want to keep your father waiting."

Oh fates! Kori prayed for Aunt Hestia to not be at dinner; regardless of how distracted the fates were at the moment, they had a job to keep. Aunt Hestia didn't make dinner tonight.

🕸🕸🕸🕷🕸🕸🕸

Let's keep in mind here, Hades is an adult and has been for many CENTURIES. All men need sex once in a while, and Hades sure has a LONG while.