Persephone felt that there was something amiss with the bed she was on, it didn't quite feel like the one she fell asleep on the previous night. This one was softer and the sheets felt very light and fresh. Something else was wrong: she didn't feel the bright light of morning that usually came through her bedroom windows. After a while of trying, in vain, to understand what felt so different that morning, she opened her warm brown eyes. The light was indeed different, instead of bright and white, it was fiery and intense orange, like a sunset in the middle of the summer. She thought that maybe she had slept much longer than usual, but surely her mother would have wakened her up, wouldn't she? Yes, if she had been at home, but she was not. Persephone figured that out when she sat up and looked around her. The bedroom was very ample, the floor and walls were made of pitch black marble that had little crystals shinning like stars in the night sky. On the walls you could see white battle scenes carved. The fiery light came from tree glorious windows, which were on the right end of the room. In front of her there were two great black wooden doors carved in a very intricate floral pattern. Finally, she looked at where she was sitting. The satin sheets and pillows were dark blue, almost black. Her bed frame was made of what looked like ebony, engraved of silver writings and encrusted with diamonds that shone like fire stones in that orange light.
Persephone looked perplexed around her. This had to be a nightmare, she could not possibly be there, but pinching herself did not wake her up from the reality she was in. That place was in fact real. Quickly she jumped from that bed like it was a plague. After landing on her feet, she felt something heaving on her neck, looking down and taking it in her hands, she examined the foreigner object. It was a necklace that had a silver chain and a tear-shaped pendant. This one was also black and had the shape of a silver tear engraved. Persephone tried to take it off by pulling it, the chain did not break. She tried to pull it above her head but it didn't go pass her ears. She tried to find a locket on the chain to open it up, but there was none. In the process she noticed that there was a silver ring with writings on it on her marriage finger, and like the necklace, it didn't come off. 'By the Olympus, what is happening!?' she thought in utter desperation. Turning around, she met her reflection in the mirror that was on the headboard of the bed. She wanted to scream profanities, someone had changed her nightgown. This one clung tightly around her curves and its cleavage was way too big for her likings.
Scared, she started to have a suspicion of her whereabouts, there could not be another explanation of what had occurred... Persephone got her confirmation when, after feeling a cold presence behind her, she turned around and came face to face with a translucent figure. 'AAAAHHHH!' she screamed with her eyes bulging out of their sockets, jumping off her feet and landing, painfully, with her behind on the cold marble floor and face drained of any color. The figure watched her with curiosity, with a peach colored dress in its hands. It was a ghost, an old woman, so it seemed. 'Hello, my lady. My name is Agathe and I am here to serve you' she said very politely. Persephone continued to look at Agathe with wide eyes, seeing that her lady did not react, she continued, 'His lordship requested for you to wear this dress' she said while laying the dress on Persephone's bed, 'There's a bath prepared for you in your bathing room on that door', said Agathe while pointing to a door that Persephone had not discovered yet in the center of the left wall of the room, 'I also requested for some servants to bring you your breakfast, they should be here in a while. If there's anything that you need, please call me, just say my name and I'll be here as soon as I can' with that and a warm smile, Agathe dissolved in the air.
Persephone was still sitting on the floor processing what was happening. One could hear the engines of her mind working at full speed. Her suspicion was right. There was only one place in Greece where souls were used as servants, she was in the Underworld, in the home of her uncle Hades. The first thought that came to her was 'Shit.' Something told her that this day would come sooner or later, but it still could not keep her away from the overwhelming mixture of feelings that assaulted her. What started off with fear, slowly turned into anger. She already knew where she was, but what for? A whore? A wife? She did not know. Zeus, her father, never told her what she was going to become in the Underworld, only that, when she would come of age, that she was supposed to go and live there, apparently it was her mother's job to tell her what for, but she never did. Now her lack of responses had ceased, because she started to rip open the large amount of pillows that were in her bed, needless to say, white went flying everywhere. After five minutes her bed looked like a cloud, it was covered in feathers, so was her hair. And there she sat in the middle of the bed, contemplating on what she was to do now. Persephone could not possibly just leave the Underworld and throwing a fit would not get her anywhere, might as well accept the bath that was waiting for her.
What Persephone did not know was that Hades had been watching her reactions from the time she woke up until she decided to take the bath. He was sitting on his throne watching a hologram of what had taken place. 'She has fire, I'll give her that.' he thought while watching the way she destroyed, completely, the pillows on her bed. The second she was out of the room, with the new dress in hand, he ordered that the pillows should be replaced and the feathers in her bed taken he wanted he could just to continue spying on her while she bathed, but decided against it. He had taken her from her home, might as well respect her privacy. Hades had already seen how beautiful she was, but it had not been for the beauty that he had picked her for, Persephone had a very strong personality, a fiery one at that. If he just wanted a doll to sit by him in the Underworld he would have gone to a brothel and picked the finest one, but life would still be dull. After years alone, he needed a companion, not just in bed, but in life. But he would not tell her this just now, nor come to her encounter, Hades still wanted to see how she would react to the room that he had made just for her and to the life she was bound for.
For now Hades still had a forever growing line of souls to attend to and maybe tomorrow, he was still deciding, he would pay Persephone's mother a visit.
Barefoot, Persephone walked slowly into the bathing room, not knowing if there would be another translucent figure ready to scare the color out of her skin. This room was a little bit smaller than the bedroom. There was a medium sized pool in the middle, the water was still, if one was not careful, it could be mistaken by being the floor, but the steam coming from it, the black towels with white designs and the oils sitting around it gave it away. In the middle of these objects there were some red tulips lying, as well as some pomegranates broken in halves. All around there were glorious columns, large and very detailed, making Persephone feel ever so small while standing next to them. She laid her dress on a chair that was near the pool, this piece of furniture was of the same style of her bed, same silver writings and diamonds, but the seat cushion was of pure white. Persephone took off the wretched nightgown and letting it fall on the floor and pooling at her feet. Carefully stepping in the pool, she noticed how hot it was and let herself relax as much as she could, for she always feared one of those souls would bargain in without warning her. She didn't count, but she swore she had spent almost half an hour there.
Done with her bath and dried off, she dressed the peach gown she was given. It only had one shoulder and went to the floor, it had an intricate silver design on the waist, outlining it perfectly. If Persephone wanted to walk, she had to grab a piece of the silk fabric of the gown, otherwise, and with her sense of balance, she would have tripped and fallen.
When she got to the bedroom, she started looking for some sandals on a vast wardrobe she had spotted on the bedroom. Interestingly, it had the same motives of decoration as the rest of the furniture she had seen so far. Looking through the multicolored dresses in the wardrobe, she started to feel a bit nauseated, all of them exposed too much skin and appeared to be extremely tight, 'I'm not wearing these...' thought Persephone. Her assumption that she was there has a whore started gaining points. She wanted to rip them all to shreds and burn them all, but then again, it was either wearing them or use the same dress every day or be in the nude. Trying to take her mind off the lustful dresses, she found a pair of sandals that she liked, there were so many that she decided the simpler the better.
The very moment she finished putting them on, Agathe appeared in the room, always with a kind and polite expression on her features. 'My lady, breakfast has been served in the other room, would you care to follow me?' Persephone nodded in response, still weary of this vitreous figure. Going through the now open doors, she could see an enormous hall, decorated in a similar fashion as the bedroom, but she did not have time to assimilate all the details and afraid of getting lost, she quickly followed Agathe through another doorway. This one was right next to her room, so she hoped she would be able to remember which one was.
Inside was a room completely different from what Persephone had seen so far. It was much smaller but had the same night-sky ground, the walls and the furniture seemed much warmer. They were covered with beautiful tapestries, the ground with soft rugs and huge pillows, all seemed to be hand-made. There were several medium sized brown chests near the columns and two large commodes, one at the right wall and the other at the left wall. In the center of the room there was a short table filled with bread, several fruits, wine and water, beside that table there was a divan. On top of the commodes, the center table and other small tables that were scattered around the room there were vases with freshly picked red tulips and lit candle-holders. The colors of the room varied from reds, oranges and some blues, the decoration seemed to be more Arabian than Greek.
'His lordship has had the room made just for you my lady. He said you are the only one allowed to use it' said Agathe, as if she heard the unspoken question Persephone had in her head 'What is this?' As soon as she heard Agathe's remark, Persephone's head snapped in the soul's direction. 'Excuse me, what!?' she asked, perplexed, 'The room is yours. You may do with it as you please, my lady. As you can see breakfast is served, if there isn't anything else you need I shall leave' said Agathe, and seeing that she wasn't needed, she dissolved in the air once more, leaving Persephone alone again.
Persephone stood in the same spot looking at where Agathe once was. She looked again at the chests and commodes. 'Having in mind what I have seen so far in that wretched wardrobe, I won't even try to see what's in those' said Persephone to herself as she sat at the table and inspected the food fearing that there might be some aphrodisiac in there. But her stomach betrayed her, she had not eaten anything else since she went to sleep last night. 'Traitor...' she thought while glaring at her abdomen. Reluctantly, she started eating some pomegranate seeds.