with eternal tasks.’ I imagined this,
a God whose duties were never done,
a task list as immortal as him,
and to be alone through all of it.
Styx watched him leave with some sorrow.
‘The crown is tempting to all,’
she murmured softly, ‘other than
the one who must wear it.’
It was true. I had never heard a story
of a truly happy king or queen.
Their lives seemed to always lead
to tragedy in some way,
whether through war
or fear of losing that poisoned crown.
‘It is no wonder that getting to his palace
is a task so difficult,’ Styx muttered darkly
as she dipped her feet back into her river,
preparing to disappear.
‘A drawbridge to a cypress tree,
finding the key to Elysium,
all the way through Nyx’s realm,
and if you manage all that
you must avoid the Gods in Grey.
It’s a wonder how anyone visits him at all.’
Perhaps that is the point,
I thought as I watched her leave.
If you keep only your own company
it is much harder to lose your crown.
But now I wondered
if I was caught trying to get into
