Stefania found herself in a setting, difficult to explain to a mere mortal. Hot temperature intensified, almost burning her flesh. Mortals would burn to pure ash within mere seconds, however, Stefania had not. The sky was dark, sprinkled with bright red dots resembling stars and the ground they stood on was red and sandy. Their view covered a massive lake, too of red colour, spreading towards the horizon. It knew no end it seemed. If this realm knew of trees and other plants, Stefania could not see any. The smell of raw burning flesh reached Stefania's nostrils mixing with the sulphur, making her head spin and her stomach churn in more than natural measures.

'Please take my hand, there are many souls roaming free in this part of the kingdom and you might get hurt," Thanatos told her, reaching for her small hand.

Stefania nodded and accepted, the warmth of his hand offering a welcoming peace.

'Nice ter see ya prince Thanatos. Bringin' a soul, are ya?' Stefania was looking down, not expecting a voice to startle her so suddenly. Her head shot up, her eyes landing on a man of shorter built, wider around the middle. His clothes stitched up from dirty rags, his skin see-through and extremely pale, his eyes coated with a white film.

'Not today Charon, not today. Meet Amara, she is the best soul gatherer I ever created.'

'Soul Gatherer eh?' Charon took her forearm and Stefania tried not to flinch when he stared into her eyes.

She could not look away. It is like she was hypnotised and captivated.

'Your destiny is written child, but be careful if you trust it.'

Stefania still could not look away. She was forced to look in the whiteness of his eyes.

'Don't listen to this old fool Amara,' Thanatos had said to calm her perhaps and looked over at the older man, 'Charon, take us to the other side of Styx.'

Stefania could finally look away from Charon bizarrely white eyes. Charon nodded once, letting go of Stefania's forearm, still giving her cringing chills all over her body, his voice still echoing through her mind. She shook the thoughts out of her head as she heard Thanatos voice, 'tt's Charon's baby. The boat is aeon years old and he still can't find the heart to replace it,' Thanatos told her and she realised they were walking towards a dozy wooden gondola.

The boat, if it should be called that, seemed miles long most probably designed to fit thousands of souls at once. Charon was already stood on the front of it holding a long, red rowing oar. Stefania found it hard to imagine how one creature could row such a long gondola.

'What exactly is that lake Thanatos?' she asked as they stopped in front of the boat.

'It's not a lake. That is the river Styx and forms a boundary between Earth and the other Greek Patheos realms. Although the Syndesi is a completely different dimension to the planet as we know it, it is still found in the core of the Earth. After we cross Styx, we will no longer be in the world of the mortals.

'Now. Mavros as I know it is made of eight realms. Hades' kingdom, the realm of lust, the realm of gluttony, the realm of greed, the realm of sloth, the realm of wrath, the realm of Envy and the realm of pride, each of them having a ruler of their own, who has the worst of each quality. Of course, there can always be worst found, but that's a lesson for another time.'

Thanatos stepped into the boat first, letting go of her hand briefly, just to straightaway extend his again, offering his help, so she could safely step onto the gondola. The surprisingly calm waves gently rocked the boat, making it easier for Stefania to hop on board. Lifting one leg, stepping on, she lifted herself up, until she safely sat on a wooden seat.

'Make sure to never, under any circumstances touch the water or worse, fall into it. It could have fatal consequence, you better wish to never find out. There are many demons haunting these waters, looking to steal a soul. This boat is protected, but they will be more than happy to grab you if you dared to reach out.'

Stefania, of course, obeyed Thanatos, making sure to sit still whilst Charon slowly rowed them further. She listened to Thanatos who told her more about Mavros and she was glad. Most of the information he told her, she already knew from many books she read by many authors. There were 4 rivers which ran through and also surrounded Mavros; River Styx which was the river of hatred, river Lethe which was the river of forgetfulness, river Cocytus which was the river of wailing and lastly, Acheron which was the starting point of Styx next to Hades' Palace.

'As you know already, souls do not go to Mavros straight after death. It used to be that way before I was created, however, the Earth's mortals multiplied and became unmanageable.

'Because there weren't many souls between good and bad at the beginning of time, Mavros only had a small part reserved for them called Sisyphus which is now an island holding a prison. As centuries went past, the inbetween souls multiplied and I was created and given control of Syndesi.

'The other places which are still intact until this day are Isles of Blessed, where souls deserving of eternal paradise go, Mourning Fields, where evil mortal souls go, Elysium, where the pure-hearted go before they either decide to become guardian angels or become eternal residents of Isles of blessed.

'there is also Tartarus, which is on the far end of Mavros, far away from the mortal Earth. It's a prison, holding the worst creatures ever existing in the Greek Patheos. I would not recommend anyone who isn't strong enough for the powerful energy to enter the grounds of Tartarus because some creatures have the power to control minds of the weaker and that could have dangerous results.'

Once the trio crossed the river Styx and entered the thin stretch of water named Acheron, Stefania was captivated by the beauty of Hades' castle and the gardens surrounding the enormous red building, built from bricks made of a rare red diamond. Charonceased his rowing and her feet were once again allowed to touch the red sand of a shore. Thanatos grabbed her hand and she did not dare to let go.

As they walked closer towards the castle, Stefania noticed the surrounding property was covered in blood coloured roses and the scent of lemon verbena hit her nostrils. They passed a fence which was on fire and she looked at Thanatos, searching answers.

'Hades hates the smell of sulphur in his castle. That is why he has the fence permanently on fire. Adds the chic to his style don't you think?'

Stefania did not say anything, too busy seeing the surroundings. The footpaths were embedded with rubies, the grass greener than any green colour you would see on Earth, but still so horribly warm.

Someone was quickly approaching them, the graceful steps, only a king could take, and Stefania knew then, it most probably was Hades himself, wearing a long red cloak, his hair bright red, but his skin a nice olive complexion. Thanatos stopped in his tracks and Stefania stopped too because she still held his hand.

'Hades,' Thanatos greeted.

'Thanatos, my friend and who is this?' He questioned, his eyes stopping at Stefania's face.

'This is one of my soul gatherers, Amara.'

'What a beautiful name for a very beautiful lady, Hades said with a husky voice in proper English, each word pronounced gracefully.

He walked closer to Stefania, taking her free hand in his, the skin more than warm to touch for her and pressed a soft kiss on the top of her hand. He did not look away from her eyes and she continued looking back. He had beautiful eyes, Stefania thought. Light brown, with streaks of red around his pupils.

'With eyes like a real seraph,' He smiled and gently let her hand go.

'Ignore my husband's clear flirting my lovely. Though I must say it is rather harmless,' a delicate, feminine voice chirped.

All three of them turned around to the sound.

Hello dear Persephone,' Hades walked towards his wife and gently grabbed her waist and kissed her cheek. This made his wife smile, Stefania noticed.

His wife was a radiant woman, her hair naturally sand-blonde, cascading down her slender shoulders stopping at her lower back. Her electric blue eyes were even bluer than Stefania's and in overall, the lady appeared perfectly poised.

'This is Amara my love, one of Thanatos' soul gatherers. Why don't you ladies go and observe the flower gardens whilst Thanatos and I have a little conversation.'

'Okay love,' She smiled at Hades then walked towards Stefania.

'Come sweetie. I'll show you my gardens,' she announced and grabbed Stefania under her arm.

Stefania, whose hand was still held by Thanatos, closed tightly around his fingers, feeling unsure if she should leave. 'That's okay Amara, I will go talk to Hades and then will come and find you,' Thanatos told her.

His words made her let go of him, allowing Persephone to drag her away from her master.

***

At that given present, Stefania sat on a simple wooden bench whilst enjoying the view around her consisting of an interior of a massive greenhouse, all kinds of plants surrounding Persephone and herself. From mortal plants, easily found on Earth, to plants only found in Phaos or one of the eight dimensions of Mavros.

If you don't mind me asking lady Persephone, are all the stories about you and Lord Hades correct? I am only asking because I don't want to misunderstand your love,' Stefania have asked.

'Ahh yes, the famous rumour where Hades kidnapped me. That was a wedding gift from my mother to show her disagreement with our marriage. Hades and I just never bothered to show it was a mere rumour, therefore all Phaos thinks Hades really did kidnap me,' Persephone laughed, 'I was so frightened leaving my home at first because my mother always taught me I should remain a virgin for eternity. In the end, it was the best decision I ever made because I found true love.'

'For all I know, you are very brave leaving Phaos like that,' Stephania complemented Persephone.

Apart from plants being contained within the greenhouse, Stefania at given present enjoyed a view of a fairly big lake, a giant water-lilies scattered around. The trees next to her were also higher and that showed her how tall and wide the greenhouse actually was. What caught her eyes were the tall carnivorous plant in a shape of a cobra on the other side of the lake. It seemed to be moving.

'Oh yes. That love made it all worth it indeed and this greenhouse makes me not miss home as much,' Persephone said whilst ploughing the earth in a small plant pot; a small golden rose planted in the pot, which was also of golden colour.

'It's a beautiful rose. I mean everything in this place is breath-taking. You could spend time and forget troubles for a while in here,' Stefania complemented.

Persephone smiled at Stefania, 'thank you Amara. This rose,' she pointed at the flower, 'was bestowed upon me my mother Demeter after everything calmed down between us a century after my wedding. She even apologised, for, she always told me to choose a husband on my own.

'And this greenhouse,' Persephone looked around briefly with a smile, 'was gifted to me by Hades as my wedding gift.'

'you have turned it into a beautiful and relaxing garden,' Stefania complemented with a smile.

'Thank you, my lovely. If it was not for Hypnos and his wife who help me look after it, it would not have been as much of a success. They all added their own finishing touches.'

'Hypnos?' Stefania asked but then she looked apologetically at Persephone, 'My apologies I am still learning about this world and don't quite know everyone.'

'It's alright Amara. Hypnos is the advisor of my husband and I must say they make a good team,' Persephone informed as she dropped yet another plant in front of Stefania.

'This is called a Petalouda(butterfly) plant. As you can see, its roots are almost peeking from the plant pot. Do you want to help me with replanting?'

Stefania was mesmerised by the flower, red petals surrounded by butterfly-like green leaves which were moving gracefully coordinated. She watched frozen as Persephone dipped her finger into honey and fed it to the plant, the dark orange tongue like stigma licked it off. The movements reminded Stefania of the ones of a cat, drinking milk.

She only nodded still transfixed on the dancing plant.