Hey, guys! So, since I just LOVE to overload myself with responsibilities, I've decided to do an October theme challenge. I know, I know, I'm crazy for giving myself one more thing that I need to update, but my primary reason for doing this is to get my lost creativity and motivation back. I'm hoping that writing something every day will get me back to a more regular update schedule with my other stories as well as get me past this HUGE mental block I seem to be suffering from. October is also my favorite month so I just couldn't resist.
The challenge I'm using is the 2015 Spooky Art Challenge by Savodraws on deviantart. I know, I'm two years late to this particular party, but I liked the themes in this challenge more than I liked the themes in the 2017 one.
For the first theme, I wanted to do something besides fluff with Selissa, so I decided to go with a Greek God/Goddess AU. With that said, this theme is loosely based on the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone, with some of my own little twists of course.
Also, just a little warning, there is a bit of noncon in this theme. It doesn't go beyond kissing, but I wanted to provide a warning just in case it bothers people.
Anyway, I think that covers everything I needed. So, read on guys. Happy October!
"She who walks the floors of Hell
finds the key to the gates of her own Heaven
buried there like a seed."
-Segovia Amil
I.
One warm, sun-kissed afternoon, Alissa lay back in the long grasses by the stream that trickled through the paddock at the southern edge of the garden. Bees hummed through the still air and above the lapping waters of the stream. Butterflies glided elegantly and came to rest beside the resting young woman. She sighed and rolled over to prop herself up on her elbows, her thick curls falling down her shoulders to tickle the small of her back. Moments to herself were few and far between. She had always considered herself curious. She longed to explore and learn but her overbearing mother hardly ever left her side. She hadn't even gone outside the garden without her mother by her side.
As Alissa lifted herself from the ground, she made a decision. Today would be the day that she finally left the garden to explore the land nearby. She was old enough now; she had nothing to fear from the outside world that her mother warned her about. The humans who lived nearby were loyal to her and her mother and loved them for bringing yet another bountiful harvest. She had nothing to fear from them.
She cast a glance over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't being watched and then hefted herself over the fence. Once her feet touched the ground on the other side, she ran. A smile crept onto her face as the wind brushed against her cheeks. Her wild, curly hair fanned out behind her as she ran. Only when she could barely see the garden did she come to a stop. She took in her surroundings, her smile growing.
It was beautiful beyond the garden. Butterflies danced through the lush blades of grass, birds sang before settling in their nests hidden inside the branches of the trees. How could mother have been afraid of all this? She continued to look around until her eyes settled on a bed of flowers a few yards away. She approached the flowers almost as if she was being pulled on a string. She knelt in front of the yellow flowers and plucked one out to smell it. A content smile spread across her face and she placed the flower in her hair.
Suddenly, the ground began to shake. She stood up quickly, ready to make a run for it when the ground behind her began to split open. The ground stretched apart, forming a chasm too wide for her to leap across. A flaming chariot led by four black horses burst from the chasm and barreled straight for her. The shadowy figure of a man held on to the reins of the horses.
Alissa stepped backwards to avoid the rushing chariot and stumbled. Her head hit the ground hard and everything went black.
xxx
When Alissa awoke, it was in a room that she didn't recognize. She sat up in the bed that she was laying in with a start. The walls of the room were a deep blue color and seemed to stretch upwards forever before reaching the ceiling. A single black, iron chandelier hung from the high point of the ceiling and held several flickering candles. The bed that she was laying in was King sized with a dark colored wooden canopy. Dark blue, silky fabric hung from the canopy, surrounding the bed in a curtain of fabric. The duvet that she had been covered with was thick and the same color as the curtains hanging from the canopy.
Cautiously, Alissa reached out and pulled open the curtains. A nightstand stood next to the bed and housed an intricate, iron candelabra with two pairs of lit candles. Next to the candelabra, there was a platter stacked with fruits, cheese, bread and a large bowl of pomegranate seeds. A full glass of what Alissa assumed was red wine sat beside the platter of food.
"You should eat something."
The deep voice coming from the door had Alissa jumping and turning towards its source. A tall man with sharp features and lean muscles stood in the doorway. His hair was a deep chestnut color and was styled to fall just above his deep blue eyes. His muscled body was wrapped in dark blue robes that billowed as if they were flames and a dark crown sat atop his thick head of hair.
"Who are you?" she asked fearfully.
"You should eat," the man repeated, ignoring her question.
"I'm not eating anything until you tell me who you are. Where am I?"
"The Underworld."
"What? The Underworld? Why-?" she cut herself off when everything finally added up. "You're Seto Kaiba, the King of the Underworld."
"Yes. Now eat. I had the servants bring you some seeds." He turned on his heels with the intention to leave until her voice stopped him.
"No."
"Excuse me?" He turned to face her with a scowl on his face. How dare she defy him.
"I said no. I'm not eating anything. I know what you're trying to do. My mother warned me that eating seeds from the Underworld will condemn you to stay there forever. You're trying to trap me here!"
"You've been asleep for three days. You need to eat." It was obvious that the brunet was barely hanging on to his patience.
"No! I'm not letting you trap me here! When my mother finds out you took me, she'll-."
"I'm not afraid of your mother," he cut her off. "Perhaps you shouldn't have wandered so far from the garden."
"You were watching me?" she asked, horrified. How could she have not sensed someone watching her?
"Yes, I was."
"Why? Why did you bring me here?"
"You're to be my bride."
Her heart seemed to stop. Had she heard him right? "What?"
"You heard me. My subjects need a Queen."
"Let me go! I refuse! I won't be their Queen! I won't!"
"You don't have a choice. Now eat." He turned on his heels without waiting for a response and let the door slam shut behind him.
She sank into the bed as everything started to sink in. The King of the Underworld had kidnapped her to make her his bride. She looked at the platter of food on the nightstand and with an angry roar, she knocked everything to the floor. Like hell she was going to be his bride. She would escape, and once she did, he'd regret ever taking her away.
xxx
Weeks passed, and still, Alissa refused to eat anything. Every day food would be brought to her and every day she would refuse it. She could tell that the King of the Underworld was growing impatient with her, but she wasn't going to give in to him. Alissa watched the King closely as her time in captivity progressed. She watched his behaviors and movements to determine when it would be safe to escape. Her opportunity came almost a month into her captivity. The King was in a meeting with members of his council and the servants were occupied with other duties. She slipped out of the room that she had been in since the day she arrived and looked around cautiously. Once she was sure that no one was around, she slipped down the hallway in the direction that she always saw the King leave. She kept her guard up as she hurried down the hall in search of a way to escape. She turned down one of the halls and ran straight into the chest of one of the guards.
"What do we have here?" the horned demon sneered, taking hold of one of Alissa's wrists and pushing her into the wall. "You aren't trying to escape are you?"
"Let go of me!"
"You're quite the spitfire. Is that why His Majesty decided to take you? I can't say I blame him, you are quite beautiful." The demon reached a hand out to cup the young woman's cheek.
"Don't touch me!" she growled, snapping at the fingers that now held her chin in a firm grip.
"Has he had you yet? He'd be a fool if he hasn't." The demon's other hand grabbed hold of both of her wrists and pinned them to the wall above her head.
"Stop! I said let go mmph-." Her shouts were silenced by a hot mouth coming down on hers. She squirmed against the hands holding her and tried to turn her head away from the harsh kiss but the hand holding her chin trapped her in place.
"What do you think you're doing?" a voice Alissa recognized demanded.
The demon sprang back from the trapped girl in fear. Without the hands no longer holding her, she collapsed to her knees, her heart hammering in her chest.
The King of the Underworld stood with two other guards flanking his sides. His eyes were narrowed harshly and his frown caused a shiver to run down both Alissa and the guard's spine.
"Ah, Your Majesty. I caught the prisoner trying to escape-."
"You mean the future Queen?"
"Ah, yes. I was simply trying to stop her from escaping," he defended, making to grab Alissa's wrist. The frightened girl scrambled back out of the demon's reach.
"I know what you were doing and that kind of behavior is considered treason. I won't tolerate such treatment of the future Queen." The King paused to turn towards the guards that had followed him out of the council chambers. "Take him away. I'll deal with him later."
The demon screamed for mercy as the other two guards grabbed him by the arms and dragged him away. Seto watched with a frown until the traitor and the two guards disappeared. Slowly, he knelt down next to the still shaking young woman.
"Are you alright?" he asked, furrowing his brows in concern.
"I think so," she answered after a few seconds of silence. "You saved me."
"Tch, of course I did. I'm not going to let my subjects mistreat the future Queen."
"Thank you."
xxx
Following Alissa's rescue, her relationship with Seto changed. She no longer saw him as the one that stole her from her family, but rather the man who allowed her to escape the prison of her everyday life. She found herself slowly falling in love with the man who finally gave her adventure; and he found himself falling for the woman who challenged and surprised him every day. Soon, the two were married and Alissa finally became the Queen of the Underworld.
However, their happiness was short lived, for not long after the couple was married, they were visited by the King of Gods. Alissa's mother had learned of Hades involvement in her daughter's disappearance and she refused to perform her duties until her daughter was returned. Due to the neglect, the lands have dried up and the humans were dying of starvation. The King of Gods warned the young couple that if Alissa refused to return to her home, her mother would come fetch her herself.
Of course, Alissa refused. The King of Gods left, leaving Alissa fearful for her mother's visit. She didn't want to leave the King that she had come to love so deeply. She never thought that she would have fallen for her kidnapper, but she had, and it made her the happiest she had ever been.
Alissa cried for hours after the King of Gods left and Seto tried to console her, but she couldn't get over the thought of being forced to leave the man she loved. It was late into the night when Seto was sleeping beside her that the idea hit her. The pomegranate seeds, she thought. She reached out and grabbed the uneaten pomegranate from the platter the servants had brought in for dinner. She picked out several seeds and held them in her palm. Without a second thought she tossed them into her mouth and swallowed. Now I can't leave.
xxx
It was the following day when Alissa's mother arrived. She stormed into the Underworld, destroying everything in her path until she reached the throne room where Seto and Alissa sat.
"You," the woman seethed at the King of the Underworld. "How dare you kidnap my daughter! You'll pay for stealing my daughter! Alissa, come. We're leaving this awful place."
"No, Mother." Her response caused her mother to stop. The older goddess turned to her daughter with a frown.
"What did you say?"
"I said no. I'm not leaving my husband."
"Your husband? This man kidnapped you and forced you into marriage!"
"He didn't force me into anything, Mother! Yes, he kidnapped me, but I agreed to marry him of my own free will!"
"He's tricked you, Alissa!"
"No, he hasn't, Mother. Besides, I can't leave, I ate the seeds."
The declaration shocked both her mother and Seto.
"Alissa? You are the seeds?" Seto asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.
"Don't act innocent!" her mother seethed. "I know what you did! You tricked her into eating the seeds so she'd be forced to stay here!"
"He didn't, Mother. He had nothing to do with me eating the seeds.
"Did you eat the seeds of your own free will?" her mother asked her.
"I did. I love him."
xxx
Even after her daughter's declaration of love, Alissa's mother refused to leave without her daughter. She swore that she would not return to her duties until her daughter was returned to her. The King of Gods, not content to let the Earth wither away and die, offered an ultimatum. For half the year, Alissa would return to the surface to live with her mother. For the other six months of the year, she would live with her husband. One month for each of pomegranate seed she ate.
Whew, that ended up longer than I anticipated. This AU was really fun for me to write. Of course, the transitions were a little rocky and if I ever decided to turn it into a full-length story I'd have to flesh it out a lot more, but for a one shot it was loads of fun. I hope you guys enjoyed and I'll be uploading theme two and three tomorrow. Since I decided to do this theme challenge late last night/early this morning, I'm a day behind. Anyway, thanks for reading. Tell me what you guys thought and I'll talk to you guys tomorrow!