Hello beautiful people! Okay, let's begin with some explanations that I'm sure I have to give you.
Point number one, I know that I had promised to be very active because of spring break, but vacations already ended and I did not publish a thing. Now, I can swear you that was not my fault, I've been working like crazy, but time just slips through my fingers.
One of the things I've been working so hard on is a contest. Yes, you read right! DeviantArt and Wattpad are organizing a contest called 'Twist Fate' and the idea, all in all, is awesome. What you are supposed to do is write/draw a comic/draw a picture/whatevs in which you transfor a hero into a villain or viceversa.
Being the work-addict I am, I decided to participate; although I did not count with how nervous I'd get with the results, and, apparently, when I get nervous the only way to get a hold of me is by writing so... I might or might not have written more than one story for the contest.
Let's come clean, as all of you who follow me on Facebook already know, I participated four times, with four differnt stories, first with "A Blessing and a Curse", then with "It Was She", then with "To Both Sanity and Madness" and, lastly, with this little guy, "Shine in the Dark".
I know what you'll say "Karen, don't you have anything better to do? How about you actually finish one of your stories?" Guys, I know, but I just couldn't resist! The ideas just wouldn't leave me alone and my bad math said I would have time for everything (which was obviously not the case).
Anyways, to the story. You see, at first I decided to go for The Little Mermaid ("A Blessing and a Curse"), because that was my favorite fairy tale as a child, and still is, now that I've read the original story. Later, I just thought that I might try to make a villain into a hero, and I went for The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods ("It Was She") plainly because I liked Maleficent (although she's not named that in the original story). As time went by, I realized that this was my perfect opportunity to do something with Snow White because she's my least favorite princess ever, and I wrote "To Both Sanity and Madness".
But then again, it took my wandering brain almost a month to realize that, very far away from fairy tales, this was the perfect opportunity to make a story in which I portrayed Hades, my favorite god from Greek mythology, as a hero. I belive he's rejected plainly because he's the god of the Underworld (of the place only, people, he's not the god of death!).
I have a lot of reasons as to why I believe people might have a wrong opinion of whoe he is. For example, he was never unfaithful to Persephone, unlike Zeus or Poseidon or Dionysius. This makes me think that he really loved his wife, and that Perspehone's and his marriage is really the most functional in Olympus. He didn't refuse to return Persephone once he heard people were dying in the living world, although he was in his right because Persephone had in fact ingested food from the Underworld. I mean, he even agreed to return Eurydice and Semele back to life! For me, that's a fair, unanimous person, whatever his realms are.
And this is why I decided that, screw my vacations, screw my pendants, I needed to write a tribute for Hades; he deserves it and I wanted to do it, so why not? Also known as "Why is Karen publishing at the last minute and gives lame excuses for it?"
So, to close it here because I think my babling is already long enough, this is my fourth contribution to the contest and I promise it will be the last. I really hope you enjoy reading this just as much as I enjoyed writing it!
The art I used for the cover does not belong to me. This story had exactly 2,500 words, without counting the title (my heart almost stopped as the number raised and raised) and I am fifteen years old.
Shine in the Dark
The first time he saw it was during a meeting at Mount Olympus. Truth was he did not enjoy these kinds of things, even when he really did not have anything better to do back at his marbled castle.
This was his family, he knew. Hera and Zeus, Hestia and Poseidon, complex and noisy as they were, still shared blood —well, ichor— with him; those were still his siblings. And one, two, four, wasn't he missing someone? Oh, sure, Demeter, his last, not-as-cheery, sister.
They did not despise each other, of course they didn't—leaving in the entrails of your father with not much space for long years surely taught you that you could not do such a thing. They just… didn't get along very well. But then again, he didn't 'get along' with any of his siblings, whoever that was. Perhaps he was just jealous in a recondite part of himself that she had been so much more successful than he had in life.
Sure, there were a couple of dark things to be said about his sister. Like, for example, how she had agreed to conceive a daughter with her sister's husband.
Of course, that wasn't nearly the first time Zeus was unfaithful to his wife but, this time, something made it different and took it to a whole different level: for the first time, Zeus was having an affair with one of Hera's sisters, and if that was not the top of it, then Hades really didn't want to know how much worse it could get.
That double betrayal had finally destroyed any mercy that still withheld Hera from really hurting someone. She couldn't stand the sight of Demeter, and even when she was forced to stay at Zeus' side, she had never been quite the same as before, always a little too distant, a little too cold.
Which was yet another reason as to why Hades did not want anything to do with Demeter. Not anymore.
The girl, product of that affair, however, bore no fault, and he at least could recognize that, even when Hera could not. And that was why, instead of stepping aside or praying for Apollo to actually hurry and raise the sun, Hades walked forward and engaged in conversation with Persephone, planning to be near if something happened.
She was still young, only a couple of centuries old, but she didn't look older than sixteen, with a nervous smile and emerald eyes that fell to her fidgeting hands a little too often.
"I'm guessing you are Persephone, am I right?" Hades offered, although he already knew the answer.
"I-I am" the young girl nodded, sending nervous glances to their surroundings, as if looking for someone.
"I'm Hades" he introduced himself, since during some hundred years he had not attended Mount Olympus, precisely to spare himself the family drama and they hadn't met. The maiden, however, did not take the hand he was offering her and only nodded stoically, pressing together her pallid lips.
She had a certain beauty, Hades decided, one different from Aphrodite's, from Hecate's, from everyone he had ever met. She was jumpy and nervous and didn't try to hide it, unlike most goddesses did.
Although it was already winter, Persephone only wore a sleeveless white tunic, accompanying it with a thin shawl that curled around her wrists graciously and made her eyes sparkle.
It was just while he analyzed the girl's clothes that he noticed it—along her wrist, the bluish, almost faded but still recognizable trace of a bruise.
"Excuse me, may I?" he asked, gesturing to take her hand, but instead Persephone stepped back with the frightened look of a cornered animal.
Unfortunately, that was just when he heard steps approaching them.
"My, my, sweetie, I see you've met my brother Hades" a high-pitched voice he instantly recognized as Demeter's said behind them. "A very debatable honor if you ask me".
"Wonderful to see you too" Hades spat, turning to his sister, who had already caught up with them and was now taking Persephone's hand in a gesture midway possessive and midway protective, her calculating brown eyes scanning Hades.
"Well, now, if that's all you have to say, we must leave now" she stated, smiling with faked kindness as she turned on her heels and pulled her daughter along with her.
"But you can't leave now, your beautiful spawn and I were having a captivating conversation" he argued.
"Oh, honey, she's not interested. Trust me, I would know" Demeter retorted. And with that, they disappeared into the crowd of noisy gods; although not before Persephone turned over her shoulder and directed a last conflicted glance in Hades' direction, like an animal that sensed its throat would be slayed. Somehow, Hades couldn't push away the thought that she was being dragged to her own death, immortal as Persephone was.
The bad news was that Demeter had something in mind and wanted it to remain hid while she pulled her strings. The good news was that finding ones who preferred to remain un-found was what Hades did best. Who knew those years persecuting souls would pay-off anyways.
—*—*—
Unfortunately, Olympus was bigger than Hades reminded. Fortunately, he was good with labyrinths.
When he found them, he had almost convinced himself that he was exaggerating. But maybe not so much, he thought, turning a corner and finally eyeing the brunette locks of his sister, who was holding Persephone by the wrists, pressing her against the white wall.
"What did I told you about talking to strangers?" she hissed through her gritted teeth. "Do you have any idea of who that was? No? Well, of course you don't! That was Hades, one of the most powerful gods around here and certainly someone we don't want in our way!"
"Mom, I'm sorry!" the girl whined, her eyes shut so tightly Hades almost thought she'd hurt herself. "I swear to you he talked to me first, I… I didn't even—"
"Enough!" Demeter roared, letting go of her and raising her fingers to massage her temples. "We'll talk about this later".
"First coherent thing I hear you say" Hades muttered, finally coming out of the shadows and placing himself next to Persephone, who was still trembling slightly, her eyes too focused on the ground for the god's liking.
"Well, well, who do we have here, the almighty Hades!" Demeter mocked, running a hand through her silky hair. "Dear, I believe that you do not want to cause us any problems, so please move, my little flower and I have some things to take care of" she said, extending her hand in an attempt to reach Persephone's, but Hades stopped her.
"You are not going to touch her like that again, do you hear me?" he let out in a voice dangerously low.
"You giving me orders is something I didn't expect" Demeter spat, smiling as if this was a mere setback. "Now, really Persephone and I have some things to do with some… good friends, if you don't mind".
"Let me talk to her, alone" he ordered.
"I don't think so, Hades, we're in a hurry".
"I'm not letting you treat her like this" he warned.
"The thing is, brother, that I don't need your permission. She is my daughter and whatever I do with her is my problem".
"A problem? Is that all you have to say about your daughter?" he inquired sternly.
"I did not say the things like that, but now that you mention it, it's true! She ruined my life! Hera has been trying to kill me for decades!"
"Don't get our sister in this. You made your decisions and are paying the consequences. You ruined Hera's life and you are ruining this girl's, so I'll ask you once more, is Persephone a problem?"
"Hades, I believe I already answered" Demeter spat, the corners of her lips so stiffened that it was easy to see she was getting impatient. "Yes, she is the source of my problems. Now get out of my way".
"Then I'll do you a favor, Demeter, in sake of the old times" he replied, with his own twisted smile as earth trembled and cracked; shadows began to escape from his realms and into the oh-so pure Mount Olympus until they had completely covered both Hades and Persephone, swallowing them, for everyone's surprise.
—*—*—
The god's plan would have worked wonders if not for the fact that Persephone was terrified. Her thin arms trembled and her lips were pressed together so tightly that it was just a matter of time before she hurt herself. Only then did Hades notice the delicate bracelets with a motif of roses that curled around her forearms. When the thorns grew longer and started digging into the girl's flesh he realized that they were no jewelry.
"Once we get to the Underworld Demeter's tricks won't survive" he promised, hoping he was right.
"What have you done?" Persephone asked in a trembling voice. "As soon as she gets a grip of me she'll kill me!"
"No, she won't" Hades assured. "Demeter cannot enter my realms. You are safe now. You can stay here for as long as you wish" he offered. "However, there's only one way in which you will be forced to stay here, and that's by eating anything from here, so please don't do something stupid and don't ingest anything that grows underground".
On the other hand, not even their arrival to the Underworld eased the tension form Persephone's shoulders or the fear from her eyes. It especially was not enough to assure her that the one ghost she was scared of could not reach her there, and several incidents only served to prove that to Hades, although it wasn't until one night, after some months of their arrival, that he really understood how far Demeter had gone.
"Why are you doing this?" Persephone asked, her voice not as faltering as before, but her eyes unable to meet her gaze.
"Because I have my own pending accounts with Demeter and I can't stand her treating someone like she did you".
"What do you want in exchange of your services?" she questioned, her voice so void of emotion it was unnatural.
"Pardon me?" the god asked, surprised.
"No one acts for free, tell me what you want and I'll-I'll be sure to hand it to you" the girl offered, rearranging her tunic in a way that Hades was very sure the neckline was not supposed to go.
"I'll have to decline your offer" the god replied, brow furrowed. "I will not receive any payment for breaking the east wing of Olympus".
"Just tell me what it as and I'll fix it" Persephone repeated, in a voice so shaky that Hades could tell she was holding back tears. He sighed.
"You win, I want something and it won't take much from you to satisfice me" he said, causing a violent intake of breath from the young goddess. "I want to see you smile".
"Excuse me?" Persephone asked, raising her emerald eyes for the first time.
"When you smile, you enlighten this place and your eyes gleam, so please try to do it more often, if you don't mind" he said, turning on his heels and leaving her to her own devices.
And that was how, ever so subtly, Persephone learned to trust him, god of the Underworld and three-headed dog or not.
The problems arrived some weeks later, when Hermes appeared and asked Persephone to be given back. Demeter was going crazy, he said, and it was madness at the mortal world.
Really, Hades was very tempted to ignore his nephew. Whatever happened up there wasn't his problem.
On the other hand, there was the issue with people dying—that was something he could not turn a blind-eye on. Besides, it wasn't his decision to make.
"You ask Persephone" he said. "The last word is hers".
It was the goddess' plan; he sincerely had nothing to do with it. When Persephone took the tiny seeds in her hand and swallowed them he was almost taken aback. Had he not told her not to do that?
Persephone, however, was smiling.
"That makes six seeds out of twelve, as months has a year" she explained to a flabbergasted Hermes. "Tell her I'm coming out to not let humans die, but I'm not giving up this place".
All in all, Hades was just as stunned. But Persephone still had some cards to play, he discovered later that day as she proposed that they united in marriage.
She was trying to find an excuse to not leave the Underworld, he decided, anything else was nonsense. She was plainly trying to escape from Demeter's clutch in a desperate measure.
"I know what you are thinking Hades, and no, it's not like that" she assured, smiling brightly at him, in that way that she'd learned to do scarcely a few weeks in the past. "I like this place and I like you too. You are not like other gods. Believe me, I know. None would have done what you did for me".
And he accepted, because, looking into her eyes he knew that she was making her first important decision by herself, and because yes, if there was someone he wanted to share his realms with, that surely was the green-eyed goddesses.
The next day, as they met with Demeter in the Underworld's entrance, he could not hold back a throaty grunt.
"Oh, my dear, it's been so long!" she said, aiming to take Persephone's hand, but the goddess stopped her by raising her delicate fingers in the air.
"Within six months I'll be back to my home and to my husband" she replied simply, answering back to her mother for the first time, her eyes not downcast anymore.
"I see what you did, Hades" Demeter spat at him, her voice kept from shaking in anger merely because she knew it was unwise to start a fight against Hades in his own realms.
"I don't want to hear of you touching her again, do you understand?" he replied, his orbs the deathly ends of an obsidian blade. "If I so much as take notice that you laid a finger on her—"
"Relax, I know how to step back" the goddess assured with a feline smile.
As they left, Persephone spared him a last glance, and he was surprised to see that she was smiling, even when she went back to the living world, clinging to the promise of a return. And, really, why shouldn't she smile, now that she walked with her head held high, with the knowledge that she was a queen, now that she was different person from the one that had first entered the Underworld?
Maybe, some things, like the burning end of a firefly or the twinkling sparkle of a star were really only meant to shine in the dark.
So? How did that go? Good, bad, weird?
I have to say, what happened with Demeter was a surprise for me too, I didn't mean to turn her into a villain even when she isn't my favorite goddess. In the beginning she was only supposed to be overprotective and insecure, then life happened and things turned... darker... I still think that I might have overdone it, but I dunno.
Anyways, you have the last word on the matter, so please let me know in your comments what you think about this! Please don't forget to go read the other submissions (if you could pass by my accounts on Wattpad or DeviantArt I'd really, really thank you!) and please vote and comment and be awesome people!
Also, be sure to follow me on Facebook (Karen Hikari, just the same, the image is a girl with red glasses and reading) so you know what I'm working on and read you soon! I love you!