Author's Note: The mythology mood has struck again lately for me, and this is what came out of it. This is not a sequel to "Tomorrow", though it follows a similar style and has the same basis in the classical Hades & Persephone story, though, like Tomorrow, this too departs from the classical version.

Disclaimer: Do I really need a disclaimer on a mythology fanfic? I'm pretty sure these characters are public domain.

Feedback: Much appreciated, as always.

My love,

Forgive me, for I did not know

That in taking you from the bosom

Of the mother you held so dear

I would destroy you

I lived a solitary existence

Alone in both misery and heart

Women gladly held their love

For my brothers, but not to me

I was trying only to win your love...

For what can the lord of the dead offer?

I have nothing but the wealth

My dark kingdom holds

It's true money can buy many things...

But love, true love, at least

Can never be bought with coins

Baubles, fancy dresses, or such

That love is a kind I never wished to possess.

Unlike my brothers, you see

I never interested myself

In the flyby love of the night.

Perhaps it is the difference in our kingdoms.

Life for them is temporary

All things come forth from Gaia

And all things return to her.

Nothing last forever.

All must end for them, eventually.

But for me, all things live forever

Here in the dank halls of my realm.

All will eventually come to my kingdom

But you will find few leave.

Fewer still visit this region

I am well aware I have no favor

In the halls where my brother's dwell.

It is an unpleasant, if necessary job.

So perhaps you will understand then,

My love, why I so wildly desired you

When I saw you gather flowers

In that Sicilian meadow.

Your innocent beauty set my heart aflame.

No arrow of Aphrodite's son was needed.

I knew the moment I gazed upon you

I had to have you for my own.

Forgive me dearly for my rushed courtship

But my heart was seized with burning desire

I knew you were all I ever wanted to have

I could never be happy without you.

I grabbed you from those flowers

Stole you from your maidens

Innocence and flowers fell from you

When I dragged you to my lair

You were miserable, taken from your element

No matter how long I tried to delude myself

The answer was always obvious.

I thought I could give you everything...

But you didn't want it.

You did not want any riches or power

You only desired to return to your home

.... It was the one thing I could not grant.

I knew then that I could not make you happy

But I could not let you go

I could not go back to living alone

With no one to share in my torment

So I gave you the pomegranate

To keep you with me forever

I could not bear to live without you

Any more than man could live without the sun

So please forgive me for my rash actions

They were done only out of love of you.

You might be miserable here, dear

But at least I'm not alone...