A/N MUST READ : Ok, here goes.. for all who was expecting an authentic re-write version of the story, this is NOT YOUR CUP OF TEA. This is NOT a faithful copy of the original Hades x Persephone myth, and it is a brainchild of my twisted little mind. So if you are disgusted with the idea of evil, loathsome incest rapist Zeus or implied rape, then just simply click the little arrow pointing left on the top left-hand corner of this window, and never attempt to read this story again.
Remember, I'm perfectly capable of ignoring your flames and really, I don't care. So don't bother with flames.
Sincerely yours, Firemoon
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Syd
-By. Firemoon
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Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. For more details see my bio.
Category: Romance/Angst
Rating: PG-13 for mature themes, languages maybe and some degree of violence and use of supernatural themes.
Pairing: Hades x Persephone
Part One ver.2.0 Last edited 05.02.05.
"Hades! Where are you?"
Thanatos, the Minor god of Death, shouted aloud as he ran through the corridor surrounded by thick pillars of the Palace. His black wings jutted out from his back, flapping ever so slightly. His sandaled feet made light slap-slapping noises on the shiny black obsidian floor tiles as he ran down the corridor, and he looked around, locks of silvery white curls whipping around his face. Thanatos called aloud once more, his dark blue eyes now slightly panicky. But his words were cut short as he saw a dark figure out of the corner of his eye.
"Ha—argh!"
His pair of black wings spread to their full length as he struggled to stop, but it wasn't enough to stop the Minor god from colliding with the slight figure that appeared suddenly in front of him. With surprised sound, the two figures fell to the floor.
"Ouch.."
The winged god winced as he gingerly sat up into a sitting position, glaring back at the wings as if they had something to do with the pain in his backside. It was after he sighed and sheepishly looked forward again that he truly saw whom he had run into. Forgetting the pain, Thanatos hastened to scramble up when he caught sight of the flowing dark black robe that the person wore. Finally standing on his two feet, he offered his hand sheepishly for the person to take.
The said figure smoothed down the creases in his black robe, brows frowning slightly. Limp strands of jet-black hair hung around the pale, wan face as he fixed the lesser god with a pair of solemn blue-gray eyes.
"By Gaia, Thanatos, what are you doing running on full-speed along the halls?"
"Um... The trial is ready to start, they said.."
Hades, the Lord of the Underworld, sighed, a hand flicking off the last of the – imaginary – dirt as he walked past the lesser god with sure, even steps. He called out to his back in his usual, slightly monotonous voice, and Thanatos hastened to obey.
"Why, come along Thanatos."
"C, coming Master!"
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After the trial, where he had to examine every soul of the mortals that passed over the river, Hades sat mildly bored in his throne room, idly watching the black river Styx flowing darkly from between the black willows and dull gray asphodels. He brushed up the limp black tresses from his eyes, a slight frown creasing his youthful face as the hair ignored the hand and flopped right back down to the previous position they held. The dark god sighed irritably, sinking even further into the throne made from dark wood of the willows outside the palace. Even after thousands of years of existence, the God of the Underworld was still a form of a youthful young man, with pale skin for lack of sunlight, dark jet-black shoulder length hair, and a pair of solemn and slightly melancholy gray-blue eyes.
His eyes stared passively out towards the forests once more, and with a sharp exhale of breath he stood up, gathering the shawl-like cloth draped over his shoulders and carefully avoiding stepping on his long black robe as he walked down from the throne. If somebody had been there at that very moment, they would have seen his face full of weariness for this whole business, day after day full of dead souls of the mortals streaming in over the river. But when his feet reached the solid obsidian tiles once more, he straightened up, face devoid of all emotions as usual.
Then, all of a sudden, the whole palace rumbled with a force so great that Hades nearly lost his balance, stumbling a little. He quickly darted up to a wide window nearby, grasping the marbled edge of the window firmly with his two hands as he looked outside, discovering that the whole Underworld too, was shaking. The dark, rich purple drape hung over the entrance to the throne room was thrown open as Thanatos, and Hypnos, his brother, ran in frantically, their faces holding and equal expression – fear.
"Master! What is happening!"
"It seems.. that the Gigantes are struggling yet again."
Hades' eyes narrowed as he looked outside towards the dark gray fog that forever surrounded the entire area of his realm, and he straightened as the struggle at last faded with a half-hearted rumble. Hypnos, a Minor god of Sleep, cringed slightly as an obsidian pillar crashed onto the Asphodel Garden with a mighty boom that echoed around the now silent Underworld. The little pair of white wings on his head, poking through the mass of curly dark hair, too, cringed, the feathery wings fluttering nervously a little.
Hades stood still, arms now folded sternly in front of his chest as he stared out the window, only half-listening as Charon, the Oarsman of the Dead, rushed into the Throne room, babbling frantically about the incident earlier, and also the quiet murmurs of the two minor brothers as they calmed the said oarsman down. The slightly timid call of his name brought Hades out of whatever he was thinking, and turning around, he met Thanatos' dark blue eyes.
"Master, I think you should go up to Olympus instead of ignoring the usual invitation and confront Zeus about this. The whole palace is literally falling apart."
"It's nothing the spirits cannot fix."
Hades murmured, absently watching out to the garden as a group of spirits gathered around the fallen pillar, starting to haul it back up to its previous position. Thanatos stomped his foot, his dark blue eyes narrowed and the black wings snapping and swishing sharply in annoyance.
"Hades, that is not the point here!"
Beside his brother, Hypnos gasped; losing your temper and shouting was something that you just not did to one of the Original 6. Charon slinked away discreetly. He did not want to be there when the God of the Underworld finally lost his temper. Hades turned around sharply from his position by the window, losing his usually cool posture and narrowing his eyes dangerously at the light haired Minor god. Blue-black aurora started to form around the dark deity, swirling menacingly, twirling itself around the God's form with occasional but slowly getting frequent purple sparks. He hissed out.
"Then prithee, tell me, what should I do? Fly straight over to that brainless miserable bunch of "gods" and beat Zeus to death for destroying my palace?"
Thanatos flinched, taking a step back, away from the angry god, away from his wrath. He had completely forgotten about his manner, so concerned about the Underworld was he. Then, with a small sad smile, Hypnos stepped forward to meet Hades' gaze, and spoke, his voice timid but soothing. Behind him, Thanatos kept silent. Hypnos was always the silent one, the gentle one. One who could now soothe the god's anger back to normal. Hopefully.
"What we mean by that, Master, is that we cannot live like this for the rest of the eternity. You are the Lord of the Underworld, and brother to Zeus, the High King of the Gods. You have the right to seek what is required of you, for the good of your realm. And since we are but mere Minor gods, you alone have the authority to go up to Olympus in the Meeting and ask Zeus of it."
For a moment, nobody spoke anything. The dark aurora and sparks around the dark haired god of the Underworld continued to swirl and darken, and the two brothers cringed inwardly, afraid that even Hypnos could not soothe Hades' rage this time. But soon, the darkness around Hades' body started to fade, and his face softened, the eyes retaining the usual soft, melancholic look. He raised his hands in silent apology, eyes turning to the shiny black surface of the floor.
"I'm sorry, Thanatos, Hypnos. I just don't feel like going up there, that's all."
Silently, the two Minor gods exchanged looks, their eyes briefly meeting before coming back to watch the dark god with hidden sympathy. The other Major gods living up in Olympus both feared and hated Hades, for he hardly ever came to the bright palaces up in the high mountain and when he did, he hardly spent any time more than necessary and spoke even less. They believed that he somehow made the very air around him go stale and cold like that of the Underworld, and they discreetly fled from him, gossiping behind his back. They were also afraid to come down to the Underworld, fearing its nature and what it could to do them. And Zeus himself was thought to be the one who is encouraging all this, with only Hermes and Poseidon discreetly defying his rules to come and visit Hades now and then.
Hades sighed. He was reluctant to go but he knew that he must, for the sake of his realm from being exposed to the World Above and to the mortals. His eyes flickered unreadable for a second or two as he looked towards the two lesser gods.
"Thanatos, bring Maes."
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The dark black wings of the horse spread out magnificently as it strode out, majestic in its onyx-studded ornaments and sable black saddle, intricately inlaid with silver. Hypnos clutched the rein of the beast until his knuckles turned white, nervously watching the doorway through which Hades should be coming out. The god of Sleep never did like animals, and particularly this one. The dark Pegasus somehow unnerved him, as if he could read the god's mind, read him like an open book. Yes, of course Hypnos hid this feelings from his older brother, because as always, Thanatos will laugh and tell him what sensitive girly little god he was, and tease him about it for ever. Hypnos looked up to the horse and met its one dark eye. The god of Sleep made a sound of surprise and took a step back, loosing hold of its rein with the movement. That's when Hades' voice rang out to the courtyard.
"Hypnos, do not let your fear show. People will use it to their advantage."
Hades calmly spoke as he took the reins from where they were dangling above the grounds, giving the horse some reassuring pats on the neck. Maes calmed down at once, softly nuzzling the crook of its master's neck with the soft, wet nose. Hypnos stepped back, feeling slightly ashamed.
Hades was clad in a black sircoat and garments of various shades of dark gray, with a blue-gray sash tied around his waist. The sash was the only form of colour besides the dark god's eyes and his pale white skin. When the Pegasus had calmed down, Hades mounted the dark horse with experienced ease, and Hypnos quickly handed the dark god his Kynee, the Helmet of Invisibility. Hades numbly thanked the dark-headed god with a simple nod of his head, and with a crack of his black whip, the horse, with a mighty whoosh of the wings, soared above the dull gray fog and flew out of sight of Hypnos.
For a moment, everything was silent as the lesser god squinted his eyes, and he thought he saw a glimpse of black among the fog. He looked back at the palace and the river Styx, staring into its dark, silent depths. He stood there for a long time, silent.
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POSTSCRPTThank you all for the wonderful reviews. I really loved them all, and especially those critiques. I hope that you will find this edition more satisfactory than the previous version, and I'm always open to constructive criticism and advise, as always. And if you would care to go to my livejournal, link, you will see a more humorous version of this with weird and random commentary by the author and various other people. wink wink shameless plug