Mists of lustful blues swirled all around him, obscuring his vision. His ice blue eyes, the only exposed part of his face, caught glimpses of the shadowy forms luring in the corners. To the left stood Poseidon surrounded by his merciless waves of army, and to the right, Persephone prancing in the rows of hologram flower beds. They aroused your senses, the life-like holograms, far more than all the wild flowers of earth. Neptune’s beauty enhanced through artificial nature was something only those with vivid imaginations could understand and appreciation. His was vivid enough, despite his dark nature and the mysterious aura that encompassed him. The suffocating demeanor of black iron armour and charcoal smoke, contradicted the heartfelt admiration he had for beauty.
Although he was anxious and nervous, he couldn’t help but take a longing glance over the rows of smoky blue to his right. Her skin was like café au lait, supple and tender. Her eyes were a vibrant green of envy and her lips were a petal pink of soft innocence. She pranced around jauntily in silvery chiffon of a dress, her golden locks dancing over her shoulders, and a crown of pearls set perfectly on her head. A glint of bright light flashed off the golden teardrop amulet hanging over her chest, and her image drowned deeper into the mist, then gingerly disappeared.
He shivered. He’d have to get to her before Adonis and place the neon seeds in her amulet. It was the only way to make her his, forever. She would never willingly go with him to depths of the planet. The sight of him made her shutter, and the thought of the underworld of Neptune, she found a thousand times more revolting than of earth. He had only this one chance.
He shook himself of the distraction and focused on the battle that waited before him. Sweat rolled down his cheeks under the black iron mask. His muscles stiffened under the armour, and his heartbeat raced at an immense speed. She’s mine, he thought. I will drown Poseidon in the depths of his own raging seas, and Persephone will me mine. I have to get there before Adonis.
Raising his black iron sword, high in the sky, he listened for his army to step up behind him. “Charge!!” He shouted as he pulled the reins of flames. Black armoured hands grasping tightly to reins and a sword, he let the horse under him bullet his way forth. He smirked as the shadowy black ghost of a horse speedily charged toward Poseidon’s army. He was still Lord of the Underworld, and whether on earth or on Neptune, Persephone will be his.
Ding dong. The doorbell rang causing waves of movement throughout the room and he hit pause quicker than the blink of an eye . Taking off the 3D connect goggles and panting heavily, he sat back.
“Come in!” Ryan shouted. Before he could finish his sentence, Rain walked in jauntily, her golden locks dancing over her shoulders, and a petal pink smile of innocence adorning her face. She wasn’t dressed up. She had khaki shorts on and a white tank top. He thought it looked more like a men’s undershirt, but she definitely wore it better than any man ever could. His ice blue eyes were frozen on her form, and he couldn’t help but smirk, grinding his teeth as he did. This bothered her, as did the screeching of nails on a blackboard, but he did it anyway. Although he maintained stature, and kept his jaws square, his heart couldn’t help but speed up. He leaned back on the firm black leather, tilting his head of blonde spikes and waited for her to speak.
“Hey!” she chirped, handing him a Tupperware container. “Soup. Grams made it. Said you were sick. What are you up to?” He lost focus as the golden teardrop pendant hanging over her chest flashed in his eyes. “Ryan?”
“Oh. Yeah, I was working on this new game. Giving it a test before I present it next week. Sort of a cross between greek mythology and sci-fi. Pretty cool, you should give it a try.”
“Yeah? Sounds fun,” she hesitated, still smiling, “I wish I could stay. But I gotta run, big date tonight. Enjoy the soup.” Excitement was written all over her kiddy smile, as she twirled around and strode off towards the door. He waited for the apartment door to close behind her, and sighed aloud. Yup, he thought. Virtual is definitely better than real. Zoning out the late afternoon New York noises of horns, music, shouting, and life outside his window, he secured on the connect goggles and entered his world again. It was time for battle, and Hades was now closer to carrying away his Persephone.
R. A. Newton
November 22, 2013.
𝓡. 𝓐. 𝓓𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓵𝓪𝓼 
Good and involving short story. I was absorbed every second.