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He hummed, the sound low and raspy. His hands searched through the cabinet, hovering over the many embellished cups. Some had flowers, blooming and looking for sun, others had feathers or animals, maybe scenes from a grand tale. But neither of them seemed prone to the occasion.
Winter had hit above ground, and as Colette had retold, the air had turned chilly, and her visits had happened with her more warmly dressed. The condition of the world above hadn't affected the underworld, but somehow it had brought a wishful feeling in the chef's heart.
With the change in weather, Hermes' celestial news had included a new section, one to bring some warmth during these chilled days. And that included a new discovery, something called hot chocolate.
As he had read those words, he knew he had to order one and showcase it to his lord. It seemed just like the thing Lord Hades would enjoy.
Now, he would need to find the perfect cups to serve it. But none fit for the occasion. All of the cups had either scenes of summer or spring, or they were of some event his lord had no care for.
His eyes narrowed, the solid bones somehow managing that action, as his eyes scanned the cupboard. They were beautiful, but too bright. His frown deepened, a frustrated huff escaping from his mouth. But then, in the corner, something different stood.
They were dark and tall, but the surrounding cups hid their design. He reached for it —careful not to break anything— and pulled one of them out. The background was pitch dark, not a sliver of color. But what had made it unique was the small snowflakes painted in silver. All of them were distinct, the artist taking great care with them. They didn't overpower the picture, but they had given it an elegant beauty.
No matter how he had looked, this cup would fit perfectly in his lord's hand, the picture clear in his mind. He would be sitting in the windowsill, wearing the usual clothes he liked to relax in. His hands would be gently grasping the cup, the silver snowflakes shining as the light from the candles would hit it, and on his lord's face a small, but happy smile would be playing.
That scene was so lovely that it would be a shame not to bring it into reality.
He smiled and turned to close the cupboard, but his eyes caught the other cup in the corner. It was the same as this one, the snowflakes being just as unique. His eyes stayed locked on it, lost in thought. Through some unexplainable reason, his hand reached for it and pulled it out.
"Now, to clean them," he muttered to himself. While they had been put away clean, and he regularly made sure every utensil stayed spotless, it had been a long time since these had been used. He would be a disgraceful servant if he served his master with something that wasn't spotless.
As his hands worked around the cups, scrubbing them clean, he hummed the song he started. But, just as his hands worked, so did his mind.
Colette.
He had taken the other cup for her.
She was here too, sitting and chatting with Lord Hades. He would rarely show concern for the girl, but with the weather above ground, she could surely use some warmth.
Luckily, the cocoa powder was safe for mortal consumption, and thanks to her constant visits, the underworld had more than enough food and drink grown on mortal lands. This included milk for the hot chocolate.
"Such a lucky girl," he murmured under his breath, cutting through his hums, cleaning the cup he had intended for her use.
She was impolite and brash. But he was still cleaning a cup for her, his bony hands making sure it stayed spotless. Why would he go that far for her? Obviously, his Lord had care for her, but that didn't mean he did too.
He poured the pure white milk into a pan to warm, and his hands shook lightly as the memories of her first visit resurfaced. It had truly been the height of her rudeness, while her next visits tried to overtake that achievement.
"But, she had calmed since then," he thought as his eyes watched the milk slowly warming over the stove, "Though she is still wilder than anyone I know."
They had all changed since then. Colette calmed with time. Harry had voiced his opinions much more often. Charon had spent more time in the main palace than before. And, most importantly, Lord Hades had started smiling more.
It was a change that didn't escape his hollowed eyes. His pride as a servant had taken a hit, knowing that this change had been brought upon by a rude girl. But, as he swallowed that pride and rejoiced at the glee of his Lord.
"I suppose change had not evaded me either," he mused, pulling the warmed-up milk out of the fire's range, hot, but not scalding, "Nor did it to the other bonied servants."
They had all become louder, chattier. Before their hearts had warmed just with a glance of Lord Hades, and they had found respite in their jobs. There was a time when that was enough.
But what he had now —he poured the milk into the cups, before it could go cold— the afternoon talks when everyone gathered around Lord Hades, the late-nights exchanged with the other skeletons and training the young, but excited Kotsume in the secrets of being a masterful servant.
And he would be a liar if he said that the sparring of words that he and Colette exchanged didn't warm his heart just a little.
He had put a healthy amount of sugar in Lord Hades's cup, just the amount he would like it with. Then his eyes lingered on Colette's before he put exactly two teaspoons of sugar in her cup, just as it should be to her liking.
Slowly, but surely, he was learning the tastes of that girl.
How much would he know of her in five, ten, twenty, or even forty years later?
It was hard to imagine, so he had not.
Rather, he took out the brand new box, brown and gold, which housed the new phase of the celestial realm. Dark brown powder lay in the bottom, small and coarse, like finely grained sugar. He placed the amount the celestial newspaper recommended into the cups and watched as the white milk turned darker.
That had changed, too.
He placed the box back where it belonged before he put those cups on a tray. It was time to serve.
His legs moved on instinct, carrying him just as a servant should. His ears had heard laughter, high and feminine, coming from Lord Hades' room long before he stepped in.
A year ago, that would have been unimaginable. But life always had a way to surprise us.
"—But Pola did great!"
He watched the end of the conversation, though it didn't give a greater insight to what she had found hilarious. Pola, as far as he was aware, was one of her apprentices. They had started taking bigger roles and moving independently, and that caused great pride in the little girl.
"Please forgive my disturbance," he said, bowing slightly, the hot chocolate not even moving inside the cups.
"Welcome," Lord Hades said, a small smile playing on his lips.
Colette's eyes sparkled, "Hello, chef! What have you brought?"
The skeleton silently regarded the two for a second, not enough to be impolite nor noticeable, but just enough time for his heart to be moved.
The two of them sitting here, smiling with their shoulders relaxed, was a sight he had the luck to see almost every day. But even now, a tingle would travel along his bones, reminding him that life wasn't always like this.
A year ago, he wouldn't have guessed he would be privy to a scene like this.
"Recently, the celestial newsletter shared a new popular recipe, one called hot chocolate," he said, bringing the cups closer to them, the painted snowlakes shining in the candlelight, "I have taken the liberty of preparing a cup for you to enjoy."
"It looks delicious." Colette leaned forward, sitting at the edge of her seat. "Doesn't it, Lord Hades?"
"Certainly so," his Lord said, before taking the cup closest to him, just as the skeleton had planned, "Thank you, we shall enjoy it."
Something glowed in the skeleton's darkened eyes, and he answered back, "It was my pleasure."
"Thank you, chef!" The girl said, her hands reaching for her own cup, "Oh, it's so warm!"
A pleased look over the girl's expression, both of her hands holding the cup warm.
Something stirred in the skeleton's bones, an emotion, something he wouldn't name worry. But it had still probed at him, and the question escaped from him, long before he could rethink. "Is it cold above?"
Colette tilted her head, pondering momentarily, "It is. The village chief had said that this year's winter will be harsher than last." A shudder ran through her body. "But, I'm slowly getting used to it."
"Are you going to escape from the weather here, just like you did in the summer?"
She laughed, "Maybe I will."
They both know she won't. Even during the heights of summer, when heat stroke struck people indiscriminately, she had only visited during the cooler hours of the late evening. Though her visits were always accompanied by complaints of the harsh weather.
She was a healer, and her job would always be to run towards those who needed her. And when the weather was harsh, there would be many in need.
"But it won't be so bad, the harvest this year was good," she continued, the cup still in her hands resting on her lap, "And there is a lot of firewood this year."
"That is good to hear," Lord Hades said, before he brought the cup to his lip, taking a small sip from the drink. The skeleton watched with excited eyes, his heart loudly thumping in his chest. And as Hades brought the cup away from his face, a gentle smile playing on his lips, relief hit the skeleton's back. "It's tasty. Warm and sweet."
The skeleton's white head turned pink from the praise, and he felt his mind go light. His Lord was truly generous.
"Yes, it is delicious!" Colette took one sip too, her smile wide and happy, "Just what you need in the cold."
"Does it get that freezing up there?" Hades asked, his eyes looking at her curiously.
She nodded before launching into a tangent of explaining the weather and how the village was faring against it.
The skeleton was watching it all unfold, like he had done so for the previous year.
The scene was different from what he had imagined. Lord Hades wasn't alone anymore, and he wasn't watching it from a distance, as he had once done. The conversation was different, a topic that wouldn't have mattered much to them a year ago.
But his Lord was smiling, and the rude little girl was laughing too.
And, at the end of the day, that was all that mattered to him.