A dark form, cloaked in black, morphed out of the tree line, coming to rest, painfully, under the sun that shone in the clearing. He was standing in a field of narcissus, the bright yellow blossoms seemingly mocking him.
'This is dumb,' thought the lord of the Underworld. 'Not only is this heat unbearable, but her mother is probably trailing right after her. I need to get away…' The man fidgeted, but he did not run. For as he was about to turn away, he lay eyes on his beloved Persephone.
The woman's long, brown hair flowed delicately over her pale shoulders, her skin shining brightly in the sun. The goddess's robe of a light blue shade seemed to skitter around her ankles, barely sweeping the ground as she walked. The cloth looked as though it was made out of the sky itself; in fact, the man thought he caught a glimpse of a cloud rolling by her knee caps until it darted behind a fold in the dress.
Hades almost thought about retreating back into the shadows, just in case someone had decided to follow the beautiful maiden, but her eyes kept him captive, erasing all thoughts from his mind except for the woman before him. They looked like chocolate, melted and pour gently onto her face.
She caught sight of Hades lurking about at the edge of the clearing, and her mouth burst into a grin. She ran toward him, throwing her arms around his neck. She inhaled deeply, enjoying the scent lingering on Hades. He smelled like musty rooms full of wonder and mystery; like something new and untouched, but beyond ancient.
Even though he told her time and time again that he didn't know what she saw in him, she still thought he was the best man in the world, human or otherwise. His tall, lean body was tan and laced with scars and wounds from battles long forgotten. His beard grew so it barely concealed his Adam's apple which bobbled when he talked. The god's cloths were made of the lost souls of the Underworld, their faces, sad and longing, staring out from the fabric. His eyes were a crisp blue, resembling the ice that occasionally crusted over Persephone's favorite pond.
"Did anyone follow you?" Hades asked, ever the paranoid one.
"No. I made sure."
They stood like that for a moment, clutching each other as if they would slip through each other's fingers, before breaking apart. Persephone, ever the forward one of the pair, pressed her lips kindly to Hades's. He leaned in, wrapping his arms around her small, fragile waist.
"I've missed you," he breathed quietly after they separated.
"I missed you too," Persephone replied, sitting down amongst the flowers. She picked idly at the petals, staring off into the distance. Hades loved it when she did that.
"Seph," he said in a small voice, using the pet name he'd given her long ago, when they first started meeting in secret, "I have something I would like to say." She turned to him, so that she was lying on her back, chocolate hair splayed out on the grass.
"I've known you for about a century now, and all during that time, I've never once wanted to be apart from you. Nor did I want to be." The girl's eyes were growing wide, fixated on the small box made from twigs that the man had pulled out of his pocket. "I know that I am the god of the dead, destined to rule the dreary afterlife, and that you are the goddess of the plants and forests you care so deeply about. I know that our relationship is…abnormal…and something that people wouldn't look kindly upon, but I don't care."
He bent down to his knee, so he was eye-level with her. "Even if I would spend the rest of my life in eternal hell, worse than what I go through now, I'd still want to ask you this. Persephone, daughter of Demeter and goddess of all living greenery," he pried open the box, revealing a ring fashioned of vines with an onyx stone set in the middle, "will you marry me?"
Persephone's eyes were still as wide as they could be, and her tiny hand was clamped over her mouth in shock. She stared at the man, a feeling of joy sweeping over her as she peered into his cold, welcoming eyes. She nodded, flinging her arms around him, disregarding the ring. They fell back onto the grass, grasping each other and the girl weeping with joy in the man's arms.
They froze, leaping up when they heard a twig snap off behind them. And the one goddess they had been trying to avoid stepped into the sunlight, the sun casting shadow on her plain, tan garb and faded brown hair.
"What are you doing here, Mother?" Persephone asked, guarding her love with her own body.
"No need to get so defensive," Demeter smiled, totally out of character for the old woman. "I heard it all."
The couple grew pale. Well, Persephone still looked tan and Hades resembled the ghosts he took charge of. "I don't care what you think, Mother," Persephone stated, raising her chin. "I love him."
Hades was shocked; never had Persephone gone against her mother. Not for anything. And here she was, defiantly risking the harvest goddess's wrath over him. Part of him was still scared witless, but another portion was proud of his lover.
"Now now," Demeter chided gently. "I wouldn't get in between you two in a million years."
The god and goddess were shocked to the core. 'Is mother really going to let me marry him?' She became cautiously optimistic, still wary of the goddess in front of her.
Even as Persephone stepped into Hades's carriage, Demeter made no move to stop them. "Thank you, Mother," Persephone cried, flinging herself in her mother's arms for the last time.
She stroked her daughter's hair, a little sad that she wasn't going to see her again, but unwilling to stand up to her own brother, the god of the Underworld, for it. She was too much of a coward, and she knew it. "Go on, now. Your husband is waiting for you." She gently pried the girl off of her, leading her to the phantom horse-drawn chariot.
The ground rumbled, a great gash appearing in Gaea's side. The horses whinnied, a sound that resembled the death screams of humans, and plunged into the darkness. The last thing Persephone saw before the hole closed up was her mother standing above the abyss, waving and calling "I love you" down to her daughter.
Persephone turned from the light, clutching Hades ass they made their way into the Underworld. And he clutched her back just as hard. Never again would they be without each other.
Or so they thought.
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Four months later
Demeter sat in her throne, her arm draped over one side and her leg thrown over another. She was staring off into the distance, bored out of her mind. Her fingers flicked up and down, making crops grow and disappear at her whim. This little game of "Life or no Life" had ceased pleasing her some time ago. To be specific, three months and twenty-nine days ago.
Annoyance made her features twitch. She had stopped all of the crops growing on Earth just for the fun of it, though she had become bored easily, not bothering to bring life back to the mortals. What did they matter? She had nothing to do!
Ever since the god on the dead had taken her daughter away from her, life had become increasingly dull. Before, Persephone used to scold her for playing games with the mortals' lives. At least she was getting attention from somebody. Now, there was no one to reprimand her.
And she hated it.
Demeter sat bolt upright, dematerializing and reappearing in front of Zeus. He was in a war meeting with his son, Ares. She overheard the words "Trojan" and "Achilles" and "war to change the course of humanity". But the goddess didn't care.
"Brotheeeeer," she whined in her high-pitched, nasal voice. Demeter slumped farther into the chamber, her arms swinging limp by her sides, like they always did when she pouted. Zeus rolled his eyes, waving a hand towards his sister in a sign to wait.
Demeter huffed, crossed her arms over her chest, and marched over to her brother. She started poking him in the face repeatedly. "Zeus, Zeus, Zeus, Zeus," she chanted, grinning with satisfaction when he smacked her hand away and stood.
"Ares, I'll return shortly." He stalked out of the room, Demeter skipping lightly behind him. "What do you want?" Zeus asked testily as soon as they were outside the chamber.
"I'm bored. Persephone went away, and now I have no one to be with." She tried the puppy-dog face on him, but Zeus just stood there, stone-faced.
"Why don't you go down and talk to her then? You've got nothing better to do, unlike me." With that, he rushed back into the meeting room, picking up the conversation where it left off.
Demeter wasn't listening to their words. Her thoughts were running around in circles of mixed emotions. Firstly, she was generally ticked off that Zeus wasn't going to make Persephone come back to her by force; that he was making her do things on her own! But in a small, less self-absorbed portion of her mind, she was coming up with a scheme to get her daughter back.
Sure, it would endanger the lives of the mortals, but they would get over it. They worshipped her; she could do whatever she wanted to them. A thin smile stretched across the goddess's plain features, adding a hint of insanity to her normally homely aura.
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In the Underworld, Persephone was sitting by her husband's throne, in a small chair that she'd constructed out of twigs, branches, and anything that she could conjure up in the darkness. Hades stroked her hair lovingly, and she leaned into his hand and mimicked purring like a cat to get Hades to laugh. The man chuckled at this; she never seemed to get tired of his attention.
The past four months had been a dream for them both. Not for a moment had they been separated from each other. The ghosts had even spoken to Persephone in her rare alone time, to tell her that the god seemed happier with her around, less cruel in his punishments.
She could definitely tell a difference. When they first met, it was as if Hades had a wall between himself and everyone else. No one could get in or out; his soul was frozen. But after a while, the ice melted, and he began to smile. That's when she knew that she was in love.
And it was the same for him. At first glance, Persephone was reserved, timid, and kept to the background. But, after a few meetings her real personality began to shine through; tough, forward, absolutely no filter on her mouth, and a giant heart that was willing to forgive anyone.
At first glance, one would think that the two of them should never be together. But no one paid attention to the forlorn glances that they sent each other from across the long, mahogany table during war meetings.
But the past was the past, as far as they were concerned. What mattered to them was the present, every glorious moment that they got to spend in each other's embrace.
But that glorious time came to an abrupt end, when Demeter appeared suddenly, standing before them and wrinkling her nose in distaste. "How wonderful to see you," she said to her daughter, though her voice portrayed only disgust.
"Mother, what are you doing here?" Persephone asked, standing up. Hades's smile faded; the reserved Persephone was back.
"Why, I only came to see my daughter." Demeter tried to sound innocent, but it didn't convince either of the deities. The goddess peered around for about two seconds, and then turned to her daughter. "I've decided that this is not a suitable environment for my daughter to live in. Come, Persephone, we're going home."
As Demeter reached out for Persephone, Hades drew her behind him, shielding her with his body. "No," he growled. The moan of lost souls could be heard in the distance.
The goddess of the harvest looked appalled. "…What?" she seethed, clenching her fists. "I'm sorry, but she's my daughter! I get to decide what's best for her!"
"She's my wife! You gave up claim to her long ago!"
Persephone interjected, fearing that the two would soon lunge for each others' throats. "Stop!" she screamed, throwing herself between them. "I can decide what to do for myself! I'm not some doll, or some object you can toss around!" Persephone was slowly gathering courage, something she never could have done four months ago. "Mother, I'm staying here," was all she said, and she retreated back into her lover's arms.
Demeter crossed her arms over her chest, smirking. "I thought you might say that. I have some news for you, dear daughter. All of the plants on Earth have stopped growing, courtesy of moi," the goddess smiled. "And it will stay that way. All of your precious humans and animals will perish." Persephone's eyes widened, appalled that her mother would stoop to such levels. "That is, unless you come back to Mount Olympus with me."
Hades's mouth hung open, resembling some sort of dying fish. His lover was about to be taken away from him and all because some old woman couldn't keep herself entertained. His hands clenched and unclenched by his sides as he threw glares at the goddess of the harvest.
Meanwhile, a battle raged in Persephone's mind. 'She wouldn't. I know my mother; she would never…would she? Does she miss me that terribly, or is she just bored of the lack of attention? I've lived with my mother my whole life. I wouldn't put it past her to torture the creatures I care for just so I will do as she says. She's done it before. But I just got here! I can't let my mother bully me around, especially when I'm happy for once in my life!'
But, even despite what her heart was telling her, her head knew that she had to obey her mother's whims, lest the humans be destroyed.
"What does Zeus have to say about this?" Persephone asked quietly.
Her mother jerked a little, remembering that she hadn't asked his permission. "I don't need to go to my brother for every little thing. Now what's your answer?"
Before Persephone could unwillingly agree, Hades stepped in between them. "A compromise," was all that his husky voice said.
"No," Demeter replied right off. She had never settled for less in her life.
"Just hear him out, Mother," Persephone begged, clinging to her husband. Demeter folded her arms, a look of testy patience crossing her features.
"Half of the year," said Hades, straightening up. "Six months with me, six with you."
"Not enough," the older woman said steely. "I will not let you have my daughter for half the year."
"Then what about I have her for five months and you get to see her for seven?"
"No," Demeter whined. "I'm an old woman; I can't go without the only one who cares about me for five months!"
"My last offer is four months with me, and eight with you." Persephone could hear the despair in his voice at the prospect of getting to spend so little time with his wife.
Demeter put her chin in her hands, mimicking a "thinking" pose.
Just as the goddess was about to object again, Persephone broke in. "Mother, it's either that, or you won't have a daughter!"
Hades looked just about as stunned as Demeter, but for different reasons. Many times over the course of the four months they had been together, Persephone had confided that she was scared stiff of her mother. Hades never thought he would see the day when she would stand up to the woman who gave birth to her.
Neither did Demeter.
"…What?" Demeter growled again.
Persephone's knees were knocking together underneath her robe, but she held steady. "I said that you either take his offer, or you can go without me." Even as her voice shook, her gaze never wavered.
To everyone's surprise, Demeter pressed her fingers to her temples, rubbing them tiredly. "Fine. Gather up your things and let's get out of this dreary place."
Once more, the couple's mouths hung open in shock, but tears hung at the edges of Persephone's eyes. She turned to her husband, wrapping her arms around his waist and sobbing into his chest. He pat her head gently, clutching her even closer. Neither of them wanted to say goodbye.
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A few minutes later, Hades and Persephone were hugging in front of the Underworld entrance. Demeter was tapping her toes impatiently, a mortal slave standing beside her and holding her daughter's one possession: a single narcissus. Hades had given it to her shortly before they left the Overworld. It was a symbol of her emotions, so it had never wilted or drooped for four months. Now, it didn't look like it would make it.
"I love you," Persephone whispered into her husband's ear, tears spilling from her cheeks.
"I love you too. And look at it this way," Hades said, pulling away slightly. "It's only eight months until we can see each other again." They both tried to smile, but it appeared to Demeter that they were grimacing. "Promise me you'll come back," Hades said, his voice breaking.
"I'll see you again in eight months. You have my word," she promised, pulling away from her only love.
Demeter put her arm around her daughter's drooping shoulders, leading her out of the cave and into the sunlight. The goddess shot one last triumphant look at Hades before the two women disappeared into the sun.
Hades made his way slowly back to his throne, which now looked barren and empty without the beautiful girl sitting at the foot of his chair. He flopped into the seat, his head in his hands. It would be a very long eight months.
Eight months until he would see the sunshine; eight months until her could hold her in his arms once more; eight months until he could feel the touch of spring in his dreary and depressing life.