There were only a few things that Aphrodite hated; the first was a beautiful maiden choosing to stay a maiden for the rest of her life, the second was someone claiming to be more beautiful than she was, and the third was the King of the Underworld when he was in a mood like the one he was in now. If he had been in an angry mood, that wouldn't have bothered her, but he was in a sorta sad, depressed, and did she dare think it, lonely mood. Not only that, but he had been in this mood now for a long time.
"Hades, I think you need to find yourself a girl brother, this mood is driving all the Gods on Olympus mad."
Hades ignored her and carried on with his work.
"Hades, come with me for a walk, let us go to the 21st century, maybe it's interesting mortal there will cheer you up a little." I doubt if it would work though.
Surprisingly Hades agreed, worn down after only a few minutes of her trying to persuade him, although it was only to get Aphrodite away from him as fast as was humanly possible without offending her, getting on the wrong side of Aphrodite was not something he really wanted to do.
Having come up with a plan to cheer Hades up and take care of something she had been worrying about for a long time, she sent a silent message to her son, Eros; they shared a telepathic bond that only a mother and her child could share. He would follow them through 21st century New York invisible, unseen to all except her, waiting for her signal.
They disguised themselves before stepping into the busy Manhattan street, dressed as mortals they were barely distinguishable from the bodies crowding them from every side, apart from the fact that both of them were a great deal taller than the people bustling around them, Hades in particular was more than a head taller than the tallest mortal man.
He was thinking deeply, something he had never done previously, but seemed to be doing a lot of now as he walked along the road, listening to Aphrodite babble on about the latest mortal fashion. He rolled his eyes; this just had to turn into a shopping trip for her.
She kept a sharp eye out for the person she was waiting for, where is she? Why, of all days did she have to sneak out late today?
Demeter, warned by the Fates that her child would eventually be taken from her and fearful of Hera's wrath, had fled from Greece, and had travelled through time heavily pregnant, searching for a place safe to raise her child, a small girl, whom she named Kore, or 'the maiden'.
By accident she fell into 21st Century New York, where the streets where busy and full, and many people retained an air of mystery and deception. It was there that she stayed, known by many as a witch doctor or a wise woman, it was said that where she walked flowers grew, and the sick that had received no hope from modern-day doctors and that came to her in desperation, received help, healing and a new strength to continue their fight for life.
But, while many a person said that she was beautiful, she was stern and a woman to be greatly feared, her own fight for safety had left her with a deep worry about her daughter, and that in its turn had caused her to be overprotective and paranoid, she had taught her daughter herself, rather than letting her go to school, Kore was never allowed out and was restricted when helping her mother with her patients especially the male ones.
But young girls, especially ones with Kore's spirit and love of life cannot be kept cooped in a box forever. Kore would wait until her mother was abed and would creep out of the window, delighting in the beauty of night-time New York, or she would sneak out when her mother was busy with a patient and did not need her help, like this day, the same as so many others.
Tall and thin she stood at past six foot with wild curly hair that she had inherited from her mother and fierce green eyes, like her father, whom her mother barely spoke about. She knew her mother was extraordinary and she had powers that no one else had, she knew that she too was special and that she could do things that she shouldn't be able to do, she knew her mother had fled from Ancient Greece where she had been a Goddess, but she knew only that it was fear of her father's wife that had cause her mother to flee, she knew nothing of the warning of the Fates.
Hades, so deep in his thoughts didn't realise when he bumped into a woman, mumbling an apology he continued walking, until she turned round and glared at him.
"What's matter? Are you incapable of apologising properly, brain-dead idiot!"
While a few days ago he would have given her a look that was capable of reducing even Zeus to a stuttering wreck, he ignored her; missing the look on Aphrodite's face as she turned round and apparently spoke to a wall, he shook his head, I'm going mad, I need a break.
In a flash, at Aphrodite's signal, Eros grabbed his bow, aimed and shot Hades, the arrow, invisible to all except him, shot the King of the Underworld straight through the heart, he didn't even stand a chance, he was far too interested in the woman who had just defied him.
"What her name?" He asked Aphrodite, knowing that the woman he had just barged into couldn't possibly be a mortal girl and that as Aphrodite knew most of the Gods and Goddesses she would know this one.
"Her name is Kore, daughter of Demeter, the Fates have decided to end her life if you two do not wed, she has no purpose, we have a Goddess of the Harvest and we have two virgin Goddesses, we need not another, she is useless."
"What has this got to do with me?" Aphrodite grinned at him,
"You mean apart from the fact that you're in love with her. She needs a purpose, and you, brother, need a wife, she gets to be queen of the Underworld and you get to be a little happier."
"Give me some advice on how to deal with her, I'm not Zeus for crying out loud!"
"Brother, considering the fact you've got to take her to the underworld with you, wed her without her consent, force her to stay with you in the gloomy land that is your home, add that to the fact that she will also be deprived of children and her mother, I say you seriously need my help. Also, if Zeus had taken more of my advice, he would have a happier wife than he actually has now. My advice to you is to woo her, make her fall in love with you, but, she's an intelligent girl and has a love of life, so don't expect her to fall into your arms immediately. Good luck brother."
With that both Aphrodite and Eros vanished. Hades was left, thinking of the best way to take her home with him. He decided that he would ask her politely first, and then if she still wouldn't come with him he would just snatch her.
She wouldn't come willingly with him so he lifted her up and slung her over his back; she screamed her head off and scratched his face and arms and even bit him. Why did I get stuck with a screaming kid that likes trying to dismember me? Why couldn't I have got stuck with a beautiful, bidding, QUIET woman who waited on me hand and foot? Why did I draw the short straw?