Thanatos shot up in bed, a scream lodged in her throat. She slowed her breathing and scanned the room on impulse. When Death was finally certain she was alone she relaxed a touch. Those memories, memories that she hadn’t thought about in eons, demanded her attention. Pushing against them, she did what she always did: pushed everything deep, deep down where she wouldn’t need to look at it. With a sigh Thanatos got up and lit a candle. Knowing she wouldn’t get any sleep tonight, she moved to her small desk and began looking over the papers that were found in Lucifer’s room.

Looking at the small pile, she knew that the headache that was forming would soon turn into a full on migraine. The first few papers were common enough that she didn’t think much of them. They simply described how Hell was ruled and operated. Though everyone answered to the King, there were others with power.

There was four main branches, or Houses as they were called. The first was the House of Murder. This House was controlled by Death herself and dealt with, well, death. Everyone knew that: if you had information that was wanted, you had made enemies of the wrong people, or it was simply your time, you would be dragged off into the small, well lit victorian house that was little more than the entrance to a series of underground chambers. This House also dealt out all punishments for any crime committed against Hell or its inhabitants. All reapers join the House of Murder and answer to Thanatos for as long as they retain their powers. In short, this was the punishment squad that would drag you out of your home to do unspeakable things to you if they were ordered to.

The House of Mysteries followed. The House that was controlled by Famine operated a bit differently. This House was home to the best spies and magic users in all the Realms. The dark wooden building was home to all sorts of mages, sprites, fae and shape shifters. Obeying any command that was passed down to them, they infiltrated noble homes, Realms of Hell, and even the Otherworlds. Members of the House tended to be a bit more mischievous and not much else was known about them.

War herself lead the House of Battle. The largest House was where all grunt soldiers, warriors, and even the Sins belonged. Romena commanded all the armies and they were all housed under the same barracks roofs, with the exception of the Sins of course. When they weren’t being sent to squash some rebellion or keep the peace in one of the Realms, they simply stayed back and relaxed in Elysium.

The final House, the House of Politics, was the King’s Court itself. The Nine Rulers, the generals and colonels all sat on the Council. Disease ruled this House, giving him more power than even the Rulers, as all the Horsemen had. Every day the Council met and discussed. This House held a trial and sentenced all those who were arrested before passing them to the House of Murder. It also spoke of the problems that Hell had, quite a lot as you’d imagine, and passed laws. Most choices were made by voting however the Horsemen could all veto anything they didn’t like. After a choice was made it was put before Lucifer and he could veto it or let it pass. All court members had their own housing so instead the white and gold marble building simply contained the one large courtroom and an office for Gabriel.

Besides that, there were the ruling bodies within each Realm. Everyone of the Nine Realms had a Ruler and a Guardian. The Ruler kept the peace and dealt with everyday issues such as arresting those who committed crimes or tried to escape. The Guardian was magically tied to the Realm it served and as such it could never leave. Guardians acted as a sort of warden, as in they stopped souls from escaping the Realms and they insured all souls were being punished accordingly.

Besides that the only other thing of importance in Hell’s government was the three Spirit Judges. Upon entering Hell, souls were placed before the three Judges. These Judges had the power to read a person’s life in a few moments and judge their actions. The souls were then sentenced to one of the Nine Realms. Though, if the Judges found someone deserving of Elysium the soul had to be approved by Lucifer first. Also, the 8th Realm, Kufir, was reserved for those that annoyed or angered an especially vengeful god or goddess and Tartarus, the final Realm, was such a horror and truly made people fear Hell that only Lucifer or Thanatos could banish someone there.

With a drawn out groan, Thanatos sat back in her chair while rubbing her forehead. The entirety of Hell’s government was either corrupt, inefficient, or completely pointless. It had a King but also Rulers that held the titles of Lords and Ladies though they didn’t even have much power. The Horsemen ruled the Houses that split people up within the overall government. And the Guardians that were stuck in their Realm weren’t even tied to the Realm or even the Ruler. No, they were tied to the King.

Getting up, Thana moved over to the mirror that hung in her bathroom. She looked up to see her gray eyes dull and her hair limp even though she had bathed only a few hours before. Wanting to do nothing more than to curl up in a ball and cry over the loss of her father, she closed her eyes and tried to relax just a little before having to return to the stack of papers on her desk.

Death sensed the attack a split second before it happened. Her magic ring in her hand, now transformed into a dagger, Thana ducked and twisted away from whoever it was that had come up behind her. Catching a flash of golden wings and light coloured hair before the tall form that had previously been in her bathroom simply disappeared. With a string of curses that could curdle milk, the woman searched her entire suit three times over for any other assailants or for the mode of entry and exit. There were no trick walls, no hidden doors. The room was supposed to be spelled to make it impossible for any form of magical entry such as teleportation but that was the only explanation as the front door and windows were still closed and locked. The only thing she found was a single golden feather the size of her forearm.

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Grumbling about the different ways she was going to make the would be assassin for making her life just this much more difficult, Thanatos opened the doors to her room. Sticking her head into the hall, she commanded the first servant she saw to fetch her Romena immediately. As an afterthought, she also demanded that breakfast was to be brought to them here. With a bow, the small daemon left to obey.

It was not long before Romena barged in, a spirit carrying several trays of breakfast behind her. With her face forming a glare, War collapsed into a chair next to Thanatos with all the grace of a wildebeest.

“Why in the name of the Great Chaos, would you summon me now? Do you have any idea what time it is?” Romena demanded, already beginning to eat the arrangement of fruits and pastries.

“I have no idea what time it is,” Thanatos said, waving away the servant as War rolled her eyes in such a fashion that suggested she was not surprised by this. “However, I thought you would wish to discuss the intruder that tried to kill me in my own bathroom.”

Romena looked over her friend’s shoulder into the bathroom and then around the rest of the room. “You must have had the servants clean up quickly then.” It spoke volumes on how, attempts on their lives had become a normal part of everyday events for them. Not that they would be what is considered normal, mind you.

A huff that was accentuated by the crunch of an apple slice was the only response before, “They got away.”

Romena raised one perfect eyebrow at that. “Someone got away from you? With their balls still intact?”

“They teleported away.”

War’s hand stopped short of putting the grape in her mouth. “No one should be able to teleport into your room.”

“I know.”

Silence fell once again, but it only lasted moment before Romena cursed softly under her breath and continued. “The wards?” Each of the Horsemen’s rooms’ had been spelled. Wards that were tied to the individual person prevented any spells or any general magic to be cast unless that person casting the spell had their own blood carved into the warding.

“The wards,” Thanatos began, her voice a soft purr that usually suggested violence was on its way, “Are still in tact. However, there is no doubt that an angel,” she spit the word as if it disgusted her and nodded her head when Romena’s eyes widened in shock, “Was teleported into my room and tried to kill me.”

Standing up, Romena went to gaze out of the window, if only so she wouldn’t have to sit still. “Why an angel? What do they have to do with this?”

“Angels were here when his body discovered. And they have always hated Hell and its inhabitants.” Romena turned from where she was standing to look at her friend.

“You think they killed Father?” A shrug as Thanatos made her way over to stand next to Romena by the window. The women’s completely opposite scents clashed, the smell of soft lavender, crackling fire, and night air at odds with the scent of sharp metal, supple leather and bland soap.

“They hated him enough to. Besides, it’s not like they haven’t tried before.” War opened her mouth to respond but, after looking at the fiery river known as the Phlegethon, the full reality of what they were discussing hit her. As a child, Romena hadn’t been able to stop the call of battle, the want to slice, maim and kill, and as she grew she hadn’t wanted to. Still didn’t want to. But there were times, when she’d wish that she had been a normal girl. Perhaps even human if only so her life wouldn’t be so long and… immortal. Shaking her head to clear those thoughts, as they were useless and she should be glad she was born one of the greatest warriors of any age, Romena tried again to speak, but she chose to change the subject.

“Do you remember,” she began, her voice soft, “When I used to come sneak in here when we were kids?” It had been eons ago, when the world itself had just been getting started again after the Olympians had again fought the Titans and Hades had decided to retire to only he knew where. “We used to just lay in bed all night and whisper to each other. We used to talk about everything and nothing. We had no worries then. I can’t remember what prompted me that first time to come. Maybe I was just bored.”

“You were not bored,” Thanatos said, her voice exasperated and excited at the same time as she recalled that first night long long ago. “You had just killed one of the guards when he tried to force you to bed. A knife between the legs if I recall. You came to me to hide from Father.”

“Oh that’s right. He was an ugly thing, that guard.” Thanatos lifted a brow, as if to say that is your comment? “Well,” War continued with a huff, “A guard does not order or force a princess to do anything. I am a princess and he broke that rule so he had to be punished.” Soft laughter that Romena soon joined in on filled the room. The redhead let herself study Death. Her shoulders were slumped and the dark circles under her eyes suggested no sleep. But her face was open in a way that few other than Romena ever saw.

“Come sister. Let’s do it again for old times sake.” Thanatos didn’t even bother groaning as her sister took her hand and led her to the bed, where they promptly collapsed with a lack of their usual grace and control that had made them such terrifying warriors. In no time, both were asleep, facing each other and still holding hands as if they couldn’t bare to let go. And this time, they did not wake for a very long time.