Who: Jord and Adonis. XD Again. What: Uhm. Some VERY good news. When: Friday, about two am. Where: Jord's apartment. Warnings: uhm. Language?
It had been a very long night. A long week. Fuck, it had been a long month, and though Jord would have been exhausted if she were a lesser goddess, the events and the war and everything in between had served to do nothing but strengthen her. Even this night, she had met with the new king, Hades, had successfully navigated an alliance, and had secured the freedom of the god who was currently living under her roof. War. There was a time and a place where even the most abhorrent things were, at the very least, helpful. Jord was shrewd enough to take advantage of this, and for that, she and Adonis were both quite lucky. What might any king of the Greeks done, had she approached with this same offer in a time of peace? Laughed, perhaps, scorned the obscure goddess and her request. In this time of war, she had something to offer, and though her services were useful to Zeus, they were infinitely moreso to Hades.
He was the god of the underworld. Belief could only take hold so fast, and she had offered him an alliance with the Earth. No wise king would turn such a thing down! Were Zeus to return, to mount an offensive against his brother, he would be at a very stiff disadvantage indeed were she to continue to remain on his side. All of this had been predictably alluring to the god of the underworld, so much so that when Jord mentioned a show of good faith, it was viewed as expected, necessary, and all in all, not too terribly demanding. Any normal agreement such as this one would have been sealed with blood and mead; Jord was Norse, she would never have allowed anything less. But the god of the Underworld, even if he were the new king, did not deal in blood sacrifice. He dealt in souls. Therefore, asking for a soul made perfect sense. As planned, she had asked for the contract that bound Adonis to be permanently broken. For no god or goddess to have any remaining hold on him, so that he could walk among his pantheon without fear, so that his decisions could be his own.
Hades agreed, the contract was broken, and when Jord doubted the veracity of Hades' promise, he swore an oath on the rivers of Tartarus, and realizing what that meant, she allowed that to stand. God help Hades if he crossed her. She would be no force lightly reckoned with...but he struck her as one who would not be so unwise. Besides, it only benefited him for Adonis to be free; now, Persephone had no claim over him. And therefore it was finished. Centuries of contractual bondage broken in one hushed and quick conversation in Central Park. Jord herself was the ally of the traitor-king, now intimately involved in this war, and Adonis...Adonis was free.
Though it would seem that Jord orchestrated his freedom on her own, independently, that simply wasn't the case. The god had done his part as well, trusting her, feeding her information that she had no immortal right to know. Without this inside track, she would not have been able to accomplish this feat. In this way they had accomplished together what he never could have on his own. And for the first time since leaving the realm of the Aesir, Jord had collaborated willingly with another deity. It felt, for all practical purposes, like a new beginning. After all, Adonis' freedom was simply to seal the deal, as far as Hades knew, which meant that it was only the beginning of this partnership. She would give Hades access to the earth that had always eluded him. If he ever garnered enough support to no longer need her involvement, or if she tired of it, the partnership would end, and he would still owe her. Being owed a favor by the god of the Underworld, by the potential king of the Greeks...well, that boded well indeed.
All in all Jord felt like the cat who got the canary, and it showed on her lips, a wicked smirk never leaving them as her driver took her from Manhattan to the Village, to the apartment where she lived. In her mind, she went over every detail in succession, and when she had exhausted them, she began to imagine how she would tell Adonis, what she would tell him...the thought amused her. It was absolutely a serious thing, but this night had already gone so well, what reason did she have to be morose? None at all.
When the car pulled up to the brownstone where she lived, she immediately stepped out into the cool night air and made her way inside, willing a completely neutral expression on to her features. It was the same expression that she wore when she unlocked her door, stepped through, and let her eyes meet his. He must have been on the roof, watching for her car for now he stood there in the entry, waiting for her. She allowed a moment of painfully tangible anticipation, and then, very slowly, a grin spread across her features. "You, child," the goddess said, leaning back against the door, "...are free. And I have ensured that you will remain so."