Author's Note: What's up sluts? Nice to meet you. Now, I'm just gonna cut to the chase. I have been working on this story for three years. It has gone through many revisions, embarrassing beta reads, and stringent editing. I've done too much research and invested too much time in this flaming landfill. Please insult me in the comments so I never write weird crap like this again. If you compliment me, I might want to put more fanfiction on the internet, and that's never a good thing.

I took Kore/Persephone's appearance directly from the background of the Disney film. She was basically a prop, so I gave her a little huge and sparkly injection of personality. Same with Demeter, Aphrodite, Eros, and any other gods without lines in the film. I use their appearances, their mythological personalities, and the way I feel they would act in this movie. I haven't seen the TV show, so please don't tell me how they're supposed to act. Also, if you don't know your Greek mythology, you might end up googling stuff a lot while reading this.

Remember to beware citrusy goodness and my potty mouth. This fic is rated M for a reason. However, seeing as I am a generous god, I will put a warning over lemony chapters in case there are some pure potatoes in the audience. Maybe the limey ones too, if you guys don't want to see ol' Hades gettin' anything. Thanks for listening! (And reading this long ass author's note.)


Morbid Fascination

Kore sighed. What on earth was wrong with her? As the Goddess of Spring, every flower she pushed up from the earth, every crop she seeded after the harvest left the fields barren and brown should feel like success and fulfillment. And it did. Just not as much as she thought. After years and years of this, she grew bored. Her imagination lusted for far away places, exotic places she had never seen. Kore had never been anywhere but Olympus and Nysa, her island home.

Her mother had potted her and kept her in a windowsill, not allowing her roots to spread. She could only turn toward the sun.

"Watch the color of those bluebells, Buttercup!" Demeter, her mother, called.

Her train of thought brought to a screeching halt, Kore glanced at the flowers rising from the ground. Sure enough, little navy blooms were encircling the mossy stump she sat upon. She lightened them to their usual soft periwinkle.

"Beautiful!" Demeter chirped.

Kore drifted off once more into her mental deviations, sifting through memories. One of her first memories was also one of her happiest. It was golden, incorruptible magic in the humid haze of summer. Why was her relationship with her mother so hard now compared to when she had toddled over to Demeter, and having mastered around five words, barely managed to ask her what a dandelion was called?

"Maybe I could ask Mother for a vacation."


Hades prompted, prodded, and pummeled his brain, trying to spurn an idea. He paced over the triangular spirals carved in his stone floor. He stared at the figurines on his map, he banged his head against the wall. Repeatedly. His idea well seemed to have simply dried up. It was like there were all these dots in his head, he just couldn't connect them.

This little issue had been plaguing him since his "little dip" three years ago.

"Maybe I'm losing my touch." he fretted.

He didn't want to consider that. Instead, he strode across the hall to his office. He was greeted by a black desk in a grey room. Hades' eyes wandered toward a scroll that his minions had sheepishly delivered that morning.

He plucked it from his desk and read it over quickly.

"Pain! Panic!" he shouted.

Hades scowled at the scratching of little imbecile feet. Pain and Panic came scurrying into his office, nervous smiles plastered on their faces.

"What is it boss?" Panic answered in a wavering voice.

Panic shifted his weight from foot to foot, glancing, well, twitching really, from side to side erratically.

"What in Tartarus is this?" The Lord of the Dead enunciated slowly, calmly. His flaming hair climbed slowly down his neck.

Pain gulped, then choked out "It's a graph?"

Hades approached slowly, casting a looming shadow over his minions. His now-red flames shot suddenly upward and spread down his back. His face turned scarlet.

"I was asking why" Hades seethed. "our numbers are so GODSDAMN LOW!"

His roar bounced off the rough stone walls. The very pillars shook. The Boss's lips were pulled back in a hideous snarl of wrath. The imps cringed pitifully as Hades readied a monstrous fireball. The scroll blackened and disintegrated. Then, as quickly as his rage had ignited, it fizzled out. The King of the Underworld deflated, his fireball going kaput. After so many failed schemes, so many plans gone awry, he just didn't have it in him anymore.

"Forget it. I'll see ta the damn thing myself."

He raked a hand through his cranial combustion. An ugly scowl of annoyance contorted his features as he retreated back into himself and his work. Pain and Panic exchanged shocked looks and waddled down the hallway.

"No roasting?" They thought.

Their Master's legendary hair-trigger temper had been, well, more so, the past few weeks. That wasn't the strange part though. He seemed almost burnt out. The minions, never having been the sharpest scythes in the shed, were thoroughly confused.


Hades struggled to stay focused on his responsibilities and paperwork. A flickering, pale blue flame burned low in a black lamp. He had that stupid Harvest Festival to go to tonight. He had about a thousand things to do, but Zeus had commanded him to attend. Something about wanting to see his "baby brother". Never mind that Zeus was the youngest. After his hostile takeover attempt, Hades could only visit Olympus by explicit invitation. This decree stood even though he had issued a (completely insincere) formal apology and Zeus had declared his punishment served in the Sea of Souls.

"Damn right." He had thought. "Six months in that snot pit changes a god."

The hours passed, and the Mount Olympus-sized pile of scrolls on his desk shrunk. Hades checked his sundial and groaned. As the imps prepared his chariot, Hades sat and griped.

"What's so important about a harvest festival anyway?" he mocked.

The thought crossed his mind to just skip it, but it would be way more annoying to deal with Zeus afterward than to deal with him during the party.

The snapping of reins mingled with the yell of "Yah! Yah!" signaled Hades' departure.

He climbed high into the stale air of the Underworld and disappeared.


The wind nearly put his hair out at the speed his dragons were going. The intimidating chariot climbed higher into the air until the sculpted sky island came into view. It was starkly pastel-pale against the diamond studded indigo of the clear sky.

It still sported the silly giant unicorn cloud topiary Hera loved so much. The noble beast reared valiantly from a swirl of water vapor. The God of The Dead's eyes rolled up in his narrow skull. Gliding gradually to a halt in a shallow downward arc, he parked his chariot. The dragons chirped, one after another, as he walked away.

Hades stepped onto the buttery, mirror smooth marble of the steps leading to the gaudy golden Gates of Olympus. Disdain twisted his features as he walked along the gold-paved paths of the gods' abode. The villas, fountains, gardens, and armories he passed were all decked out needlessly in precious metals.

He stepped into an enormous ring of pillars filled with deities of all shapes, sizes and colors. The cloud floor squished and sunk under his feet. He could never get used to that. Everything was accented in gold and draped in wine-colored silk. A hulking figure approached.

"Hades! I didn't think you'd come. I thought you might be too busy sulking. Oh, don't look so offended, I was kidding."

"This is just my face."

Zeus' laugh was like a foghorn.

"You're a riot, little brother! Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to invite you here after all. I knew you were back to your old self again. You know-"

"Zeus, honey! Boreas is here!" Hera called.

"Coming, dear!" Zeus called back. "Sorry Hades, gotta go."

The King of the Gods strode off.

After nearly an hour of brooding in some shady corner, Hades decided it was nearly time to go. He snagged one last ambrosia pomegranate cocktail from Hebe's tray.

Hades paused mid sip, his gaze drawn to a fresh face, a lilac-skinned goddess in the crowd. She wore a white kiton that fit her like a sack and a floppy magenta flower petal headdress in her sunlight-on-gold hair. Her aura was moon-white. Another interesting detail, she was headed toward a pair of goddesses who hated Hades more than most. Somehow.

She turned and locked eyes with him, tucking a lock of hair behind her dainty ear. Her big, dewy violet eyes didn't leave his and she slowed her pace.

"That's different." he thought, intrigued.

He had never gotten a look like that. Usually, he got a disgusted glare, a slap, a drink thrown in his face, et cetera. He flashed his fangs at her in what he hoped was a flirtatious smile. A deep blush bloomed on her cheeks and she turned away from him to speed toward the buffet table. He started toward Hermes, the only god he was on speaking terms with.

"Who is she?" he very charmingly demanded, grabbing the god's face and angling it in the direction of the girl.

An irritated messenger god pried Hades off him. "Hold your horses, hot stuff. That's Kore. You know, Demeter's daughter Kore? Deme would castrate you with your own razor if she caught you sniffing around her, babe." Hermes explained, amused.

Hades looked, shocked, at Kore, then back at Hermes in utter disbelief. "Deme has a kid?! Demeter. Somewhat paranoid, likes to garden, a little on the plump side? That Demeter?"

"You wouldn't know it the way she keeps her locked up on that island of hers." Hermes chuckled.

"Got it, Fly Boy. No touch." Hades mumbled distractedly, eyes still on Kore. He had flown over Nysa a few centuries ago on an errand. The island was so bright he had to wear sunglasses. Hades grinned. 'I guess this just means I'll have to be careful.' he thought coolly. Spotting Demeter wrapped up in conversation with Hera, he quickly crossed the room.

The little blue god rolled his eyes, flying off. For being a messenger god, very few listened to him.


Kore pretended not to be bored with her mother's conversation. She had really tried to be interested, but she eventually zoned out when Demeter and Hera started talking about how awful gods could be. She had heard that all her life because of Zeus. Hera's husband had seduced Demeter and once he was satisfied, he left Demeter to raise their child alone.

Kore's mother often said the only good that came from that mess was Kore herself. And she did not want her lovely, innocent daughter to suffer the same fate. She knew how all those Gods acted. And it made her a real helicopter parent. When her daughter wasn't by her side, she was with her nymph friends or the virgin goddesses Artemis and Athena.

On top of that, Kore was seldom allowed to speak to other goddesses, and had never been allowed more than a glance at Aphrodite or any god besides her father. The Goddess of the Harvest thought the love deity would put dangerous ideas in her daughter's head.

"Mother, may I go see Artemis and Athena?" Kore asked.

"Of course, my Orchid." Demeter replied.

Kore smiled and started on her way across the room.

Kore's eyes swept the crowd for her friends. They met instead the yellow eyes of a tall, blue flame-crowned god a ways across the room. His blue-grey face was long and gaunt. He had cheekbones that came to such sharp points it seemed they would cut through his skin, and a nose like a knife's edge. He simply stared at her in fiery, cunning fascination. Something about his gaze held her there. She found herself being drawn in like an insect to the waiting jaws of a Venus flytrap. Her creation, by the way. She flushed and nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear when he bared his fangs in a predatory smirk.

She looked away, rattled. Kore thought that maybe a little food would settle her nerves. She stopped at a buffet table nearly half the width of the room, and at the far end of it. It was heaped with nectar, ambrosia, and the finest of Demeter's bounty. As Kore pored over the myriad of options, she drifted toward a dark corner. The air grew a few degrees warmer. The faint, pleasant smell of wood smoke drifted under her nose. When she turned around, she nearly jumped out of her skin.

Kore found herself making eye contact with the broad chest of Hades, God of Death, Traitor to Zeus. When her eyes eventually reached his face he gave her a crooked smile and extended a spindly hand. She shook it slowly, hand limp as a dead fish.

"Hi, Hades, Lord of the Dead. How ya doin'?" he rattled off quicker than an auctioneer.

He released her hand. For some reason she had thought his hand would be clammy, but it was warm and dry. Kore hadn't expected such a dark, solitary god to sound so much like a used chariot salesman either.

"K-Kore, Goddess of Spring." She waved nervously.

Kore wrung her hands, unsure of how to continue. Hades' face contorted suddenly, then dropped. He had felt a sharp, sudden stab of pain in his neck. He completely forgot what he was going to say. They stood in painful silence. He tried to say something, anything, but his mouth had gone dry.

"So, uh..." He planted a hand on the table, attempting to look collected. His train of thought hadn't just veered off the tracks. It had run off the side of a cliff, killing all the passengers. It seemed he had lost the ability to form basic sentences.

"Are you all right, Lord Hades?" She bit her lip in worry, peering beyond his shoulder in search of her mother.

"I, uh, you, I-, ya see..." He chuckled nervously. Gods, was she beautiful. Why was she so much cuter up close? His narrow fingers brushed the back of his neck. He could feel his heart in his ears. With a sheepish grin, he disappeared in a pillar of shadowy smoke.

"That was a disaster. Since when do I act like a pubescent brat who's never talked to a girl before?" Hades thought upon poofing into his chariot. He whipped up the dragons, cursing himself.


Kore took a step backward, bumping the table. She didn't know what to do besides hyperventilate. He had acted so strangely. And the intense way he looked at her was absolutely frightening. Kore was now much too frazzled to engage in insipid small talk. She went out into the night and found a path.

The night air was crisp and serene. As Kore walked, her mind raced faster than Hermes in winged shoes. The falling water of fountains and sweet scent of flowers that usually would have comforted her did nothing to ease her growing anxiety. Or curiosity.

She knew that he had tried to conquer Olympus, unleashed the Titans, and tried to kill a heroic son of Zeus multiple times. She knew that he was a slimeball, a bitter loser. She should have nothing but disgust for him. And yet, something inside her needed to know what he really was. But why had he come up to her in the first place if he was only going to stumble over his words and then immediately leave? He had said two sentences to her and he was already the most puzzling god she'd ever met.


"PAIN! PANIC!"

He tapped his foot impatiently.

"Yes, your Loneliness?"

Hades rolled his eyes.

"Go put the dragons in the stable." He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb at the antsy beasts.

They saluted stiffly.

"Yes sir!"

"Well, say what you want about the little ankle-biters, they're eager to please."

Upon entering his office, Hades circled his raised map of Greece purposefully.

"Kore." his mind hinted.

Somehow, he knew she was significant. Well, significant beyond being the only only woman ever to render him completely speechless. Out of smoke, a little Kore figurine appeared between his fingers. He turned it from side to side, sharply focused.

And then he looked beyond the piece. That was the magic moment. That's when the dots connected. Just behind the little Kore piece, there sat on his map the plump green Demeter pawn.

Hades pumped his fist.

"YES! YES! YES! Boom, baby! Still got it!"

A jet of blue flame shot upward.

"Of course." He thought. "How did I not think 'a this? My brain must've been waterlogged or somethin'!"

It was so obvious to him now. What does Zeus need? Worshippers. Without em' he falls into ruin. What do his precious, sniveling mortals need? Crops. Hades recalled Deme's nasty habit of letting plant life die when she was upset. If a certain smothered flower goddess could be, say, convinced to run away to The Underworld, one of the few places gods couldn't go without an invite, Hades could demand kingship from Thunderhead in exchange for her return.

Demeter would throw a fit, and then the mortals would die off a little. Hell of a lot of paperwork that would make, but hey, to make an omelette you've gotta break a few eggs. And it would be pretty good for business. They'd abandon the Olympians, then Hades would give his brother a choice.

He would either fade into obscurity, or be demoted to, hmm, Lord of the Underworld, maybe? He picked up Zeus' smug-faced piece. If he knew his brother, and he knew his brother too well, he could bet his immortality on Zeus choosing the Underworld over (gasp!) complete loss of worshippers. It was simple, it was clever, it was foolproof.

"Bye-bye Bolt Boy." he growled through a malicious grin.

The figure dripped, steaming, onto the floor.

Meanwhile, in the entryway, two nosy little henchmen peeked into the office, trying to find out what their master could be doing. Based on the snatches of muttered speech they caught, and his expression, the imps knew that Hades had cooked up another scheme. Finally! Something to do! It got so boring, just running errands for the Boss.


Kore writhed subtly in her powder-pink sheets. She dreamt she was in a god-sized black bed. And there was someone with her. Large, powerful, hungry. She should be terrified, but all she feels is a want, no, a need, to be close to him, As close as possible and then closer. The cool, silky sheets were heaven on flushed and bare skin. Surpassing the silk was the feel of fervent hands and elegant fingers memorizing her body. It was enough to make her quiver. Kore looked up through her lashes. She saw fire and fangs. She jolted awake.

"Hades."

Lightning slashed the sky outside her window. She sat up slowly. "What were we even..?" her thought trailed off.

He had to be the most interesting deity in the whole pantheon. Flaming hair, golden eyes, and muscular arms certainly cut a powerful figure. His towering height and dark, smoky robes didn't detract from that impression. He was rather beautiful when she thought about it. Her eyes widened. She mentally slapped herself.

"He is a creepy wannabe dictator, Kore! There is nothing beautiful about him."

She decided then and there that she would never think about him so she wouldn't have to feel confused. At that she laid back down and fell into a fitful (and, thankfully, dreamless) sleep. When the sunlight streaming through her window finally woke her again, Kore stretched and swung her feet off her bed. She looked around at the walls and windows she saw every day.

A rounded white room, the lower walls ringed in shining painted flowers. Her domed roof of frosted glass, her three floor-to-ceiling windows facing her mother's massive garden. Perfect. She dressed herself in a grey-pink kiton and got ready for another day of helping her mother, still plagued with memories of and worries about her dream.

As she walked down the pillared halls of Demeter's private island villa, Kore sighed wearily at the thought of spending her day growing things. Even though she was a nature goddess, and loved flowers, it got old. She felt as if there was something else she should be doing, something just as important. For reasons unknown to her, Hades was suddenly on her mind. Again. Why wouldn't he just go away?!

Something about the dark and dangerous glint in his bright eyes stirred a strange feeling. She had felt it vaguely at last night's party, and again in her bed, hot as a forge and violent as a storm. Maybe she...liked him, like her friends talked about? She shook her head to clear the thought. It was ridiculous! She didn't like him. Not at all. Whatever that meant. Kore sighed. She needed help.

Maybe if she stuck her hands in some fertile soil, lost herself in her work, she could forget this weirdness. Not about to let her, Demeter sashayed down the hallway and over to her daughter.

She kissed Kore on the cheek, saying "I have to go to Sicily for a few days, Rosebud-"

"I know, I know, mother. Leukosia and Parthenope are waiting for me in the meadow." She interrupted, smiling pleasantly.

"Have fun, Buttercup." She said, patting Kore's head.

Demeter disappeared.

Now that her mother was gone, what to do about her little problem? Kore had read every book in the library at least five times, none would help her. Not one of them contained romance. There were only botanical catalogs written by Demeter, textbooks from Kore's education, and children's stories. If only there was someone she could talk to, someone who knew about this stuff.

And maybe there was. She had never done this before, but sooner or later she would have to try. Kore summoned her strength, her courage, and her images of Olympus. Flower petals and leaves swirled around her. Her stomach flipped. She opened her eyes to find the gates of Olympus. She had really done it. Without any help either.

"I wonder how many more things I can just do like that."

Kore looked down in wonder at her hands. Her mother had said that she was weak in teleportation and might end up somewhere she didn't intend if she went too far.

"I guess I'm stronger than she thought." she smiled.

The gates swung open. She looked around as she sauntered through, searching for Aphrodite's villa. She felt a new confidence that almost required a saunter. There! That had to be it. Pure white with rose gold rose vines swirled around the many pillars, what she could see of the inside was artfully curtained with red silk. When she got closer, Kore noted that it smelled like cinnamon and jasmine and something… musky? She passed under the towering arched doorway, strangled with metallic roses, and it got quite a bit warmer.

The scent became heady and overwhelming with the heat. She stepped cautiously. She possessed none of the boldness she had felt previously now that she was walking into a perfect stranger's house without an invitation.

"Hello?" she called meekly.

She looked round. When her eyes found their previous spot, there was a goddess standing in it.

"What can I do for you, dear?"

Kore yelped and nearly jumped out of her skin. Aphrodite. She looked like an orchid bathed in rosy dawn. Kore clutched at her her thumping chest. She looked at the love goddess pleadingly.

"I, uh, I've been feeling weird stuff, and I know that's kinda your thing. Could you tell me what's going on? And… what to do?"

"Well, only you can tell you what to do, but yes, I have some time. Of course I'll help you. Follow me."

"Really?"

"Sure." Aphrodite threw a smile over her shoulder.

Kore trailed behind the blonde goddess. They came to a room that was well lit and open, unlike what Kore had seen so far. The haze of spices and flowers and something else was fainter here. Kore's head cleared of the fog that had, without her realizing, settled over her.

"Let me look at you."

Kore tilted her head quizzically. She spun slowly.

"No, your eyes." Aphrodite giggled. It was like the babble of a brook. "Come here."

Kore stepped forward. The love goddess took her face gently in her graceful hands.

"Think of this weird person." she nearly whispered, making quite intense eye contact.

Her eyelids fluttered. Aphrodite watched as Kore's pupils dilated. She could swear that the air got warmer. The feeling poured through her fingertips. Hot and heavy, it bolted through her body. It wound tight deep within her. But there was a whisper of affection. A tiny scrap of softness. A bud, if you will, that could blossom into something quite incredible. Something enduring. A love for the ages. Aphrodite stumbled back.

"He must really be something." she panted.

"I-I suppose there is something intriguing about him."

"Intriguing? Does no one tell you anything?!" She smoothed her hair. "You wanna jump his (I'm assuming) bones. Bad."

Kore looked at her like a confused puppy. "Jump his bones?"

"You know, knock boots? Get it on?"

She only looked more puzzled.

"Making love, adult naptime, pelvic pinochle, doing the forbidden polka, knowing him in the biblical sense, tenderizing the mutton, amorous congress..." she trailed off.

If Kore's head tilted any further it would be on her shoulder.

"Having sex!"

"What does that mean? No one ever told me. Could you?"

Aphrodite let her head fall into her hands.

"I would only scar you. Go talk to someone else. Someone who… who knows what they're talking about. Not your mom."

"Oh." Kore still didn't understand. "Thanks for trying. Oh, and you won't tell anyone about this, will you?"

"Wouldn't dream of it. Goddess-client confidentiality, right? Good luck." Aphrodite finished with a wink. Kore smiled before disappearing in a flurry of flowers.

Aphrodite called to her son.

"Eros!"

"What?!"

"Come here! You won the bet!"

"Which one?"

Aphrodite heard the smirk in her son's voice and, patience growing short, snapped at him. "Just come here!"

The adolescent purple god came fluttering out of his room. His mother quickly launched into conversation.

"Well, I promised I wouldn't tell anyone, but you already knew, right?"

"Know what? Hades and Kore? I saw them making eyes at each other last night too. I was just waiting for you to get home so I could gloat."

"What? Hades?! Last night? No. Kore came to me today. She's a mess. Has no idea what's going on with her, poor thing. Now what's this about last night?"

"Just what I said. They were flirting. You could cut the sexual tension with a knife. What happened when you helped her?"

"She asked me to tell her what she was feeling, and when I told her-"

"You did your freaky eye thing."

"Shut it. When I told her, she didn't get it no matter how I said it. No one's given her the talk! She's old enough to be married!"

"And it seems our old boy Hades wants to give her a live demonstration. Oh boy, this is gonna be fun to watch."

"So, it's mutual then? Our Hades? Creepy Hades?"

"Yup."

"Well, she certainly has a type."

"Our secret?"

"Our secret. And pay up."


Across the sun-soaked field, Kore could hear the sound of laughter. "Lu-Lu! Parthy! Over here!" Her voice rang clear over the gentle hills of the landscape.

Two nymphs bounded over a small rise, giggling like mad and elbowing each other as if they were young siblings. Amidst the elbowing, Leukosia was bumped over and began rolling down the hill, still laughing hysterically. Parthenope tripped over her friend and the pair became a ball of shrieking limbs that careened straight into the flower goddess. Even after they untangled themselves from the world's shortest and most involuntary game of twister, the girls were clutching their sides and rolling on the grass in laughter.

"You guys have all the fun without me, don't you?" Kore said, wheezing unbecomingly.

"Well, being The Goddess of Innocence, you're kind of a killjoy." Parthenope joked as she laid on the grass, examining her nails.

Kore shoved her playfully. The nearly translucent water nymph shoved back. Kore fell backward into Leukosia's lap. Her friend peered down at her with large yellow eyes.

"So, mommy let you out to play today, huh?" Leukosia smirked.

"I suppose you could put it like that. So, what's going on out there?" Kore said.

"Ugh, same as always. Wars rage on, the gods are groin-deep in drama, yadda yadda yadda. Why don't we talk about something else for a change?"

"Alright, what do you guys want to talk about?" Parthenope asked.

"I don't know, what do girls our age usually talk about?" Kore asked.

"Boys." Parthenope said.

"Anything else?"

"Not really."

Leukosia cut in. "Well, I know you're about to say you don't know enough to talk about this kind of stuff, but I think you know more than you're letting on."

Lulu did love to make people sweat.

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean 'What do I mean?' You had him eating out of your hand! The God of the Dead! I'm pretty sure he forgot how to breathe. So, is it witchcraft? Cause if it is, I'm in. I mean, I couldn't care less about the love stuff, but that's some powerful shit."

"Lulu, that's crazy! Why would I need magic? I'm a goddess. And a love potion? Come on, that's so far off I can't even see it anymore."

"So what, it's your raw animal magnetism?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know, him drooling over you like you were a nine-course meal and he hasn't seen food in a week. Don't tell me you couldn't tell?"

"What does that even mean?"

"Oh nothing, just that he's got the hots for you big time. Consumed by a ravenous desire that scorches his very soul. Infected with a serious disease called 'a crush'."

Those all sounded disturbingly familiar.

"Wait a minute, are you suggesting that Hades, Hades, has feelings for me? Hades, big creepy guy, crazy hairdo, hostile takeover enthusiast?"

Lulu and Parthy shared a look.

"The one and only!" Parthenope chirped. "So, if it wasn't already obvious, how do you feel about him?"

"How do you think I feel about him?"

"It seems to me that you think he's creepy."

"Well, you'd be right. I mean, he doesn't smile, for one, he leers. And he looms over you 'cause he gets so close and he is really tall. He smells like sulphur, his eyes are like an animal's, his accent makes no sense-"

"Seems you've been thinking about him a lot." Parthenope grinned along with Leukosia.

"Uh, not really." Something told her not to bring up her dream. "He just gives me this weird feeling."

"Weird like what?" Parthenope asked.

"It's like being nervous, but… not exactly."

"Like there are butterflies in your stomach and you feel all hot and tingly in your no-no parts?" Leukosia teased.

"Well, I don't know what you mean by no-no parts, but yeah, my stomach feels all fluttery when he looks at me. It's weird. It freaks me out."

"Sounds like someone wants to do a little horizontal rumba with a certain death god." Parthy decided to get in on the teasing.

"Horizontal rumba?"

"Sex. She's saying that you wanna do sex." Lulu explained, exasperated.

"Oh, right, sex! Could you explain it to me?"

They gaped at her.

"What? Did I say something wrong?"

"No, just shocking. I mean, you, we knew you were naive, but this is..." Leukosia slowed to a halt.

"Well it's unprecedented. It seems that you don't know anything about this stuff." Parthenope added.

"I don't. Nobody tells me this stuff."

"Okay Parthy, I think she needs to know this."

"But won't her mom get mad?"

"Kore, you can keep a secret, right?"

"I may be innocent, but I sure as Tartaros don't tell my mother everything I do. I know better than that by now."

"Okay, well let's start with the nitty gritty…"


Kore's friends wrapped her in a blanket. She had the look of someone who had seen things. She had no idea, no clue it would be like that. A lot of things made sense now. It seemed so strange. The strangest part being her realization that she wanted to do it. Her, innocence personified, had a dream about doing that with the enemy of Olympus.

"Who even am I anymore? He comes in and my whole life is different. He shouldn't be allowed to do that! In fact, he's not. I won't let him. That's it. He's nothing, forgotten."

"Kore? How are you holding up? Don't worry, it's traumatic for everyone when they learn where babies come from."

"I'll be fine. I won't be tenderizing any mutton anytime soon, though."

Lulu and Parthy burst out laughing.


Kore couldn't sleep. She was afraid of having another dream. She got up and lit a candle. She carried it outside with her onto the wet grass. It was so quiet when her mother wasn't here. She padded on bare feet toward her grove. Maybe it would give her enough peace to get to sleep. Along her path, a sparkle caught her eye.

"Who are you?" she called.

The flower didn't respond.

"It's new. Not mom's work though." she thought in wonder.

Its deep violet petals fanned outward, creating a shallow bowl with scalloped edges. Slender navy veins ran through the petals, away from the three short, near-black probosci in the center. It seemed to be sprinkled with stardust.

Kore had a mental catalog of all the Grecian flowers one could possibly encounter, but this was one she had never seen before. Its beauty enthralled her. Kore gently pinched the base of the stem between her thumb and forefinger, then pulled. Unseen by her, for the moment, another flower pushed up from the dirt about six inches away.

Merely ten feet away in a clump of roses the color of old blood, Hades leaned against a tree. Amusement and anticipation played across his face as he watched his trap working under his Helm of Invisibility.

Kore, still entranced by the alien flower, was shaken from her reverie by a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye. A line of glittering flowers were springing up, unfurling, lovely against the moonlit whites and brights of the meadow.

She had a foreboding, but fresh experiences were few and far between on her mother's watch. She would take her chances. Wonderstruck, her eyes followed the line of blossoms to the entrance of her grove.

She got up, clutching the flower close to her bosom. Kore's feet moved of their own accord. Her heart thundered. She held her breath, and pushed aside the dark, tangled branches that blocked her view of whomever, or whatever, beckoned her into the unseen.


The branches of the silvery willow that embraced the very out-of-place grove rustled.

"Showtime."

"And boy, does it feel good ta be back in the game."

This time he was prepared, and he would charm her sandals off.

A slender body pushed through the foliage into the green hollow, gathering twigs in her hip-length golden hair. Moonlight formed a silver halo behind her. Awestruck and grateful she couldn't see it, he remembered his mission. Hades removed his helmet and appeared before Kore. Almond amethyst eyes instantly sparked with recognition and bafflement.

"Hades." she breathed.

"So you've heard of me?" He extended a spidery hand.

Hesitantly, she took it. To her surprise, he didn't shake her hand as he did last time, but tenderly pressed warm lips to the cool skin, bringing back awkward memories of her dream. Her stomach performed a dramatic triple backflip. She pulled back and Hades saw her blush to the roots of her hair.

"Did you make those flowers?" she asked the ground. She twisted the flower stem around and between her fingers.

"Like em'?" he asked, faux-nonchalant. He leaned against the rough bark of a thick, gnarled tree trunk.

"They're beautiful, but they're living corpses. They don't have any nymphs to inhabit them." she said worriedly.

"Death god." He gestured to himself. "It's a miracle I could get them to grow in the first place." he said lightly.

"Why are you skulking around in my grove, watching me like a creep, hiding yourself? And why did you lure me into the dark?" Her eyes flicked up at him guardedly.

His behavior was quite suspicious. Kore did not forget that she was in the presence of a dangerous criminal.

He waved his hand in a dismissive manner. "What? Come on. Isn't this how you spend your Saturday?"

Kore couldn't help but smile demurely. Immediately, she forced it away. "I shouldn't be talking to you." She turned her face away from him.

"Should, shouldn't, it's all relative." his smirk was the oiliest she'd ever seen.

Still guarded, she asked "Why are you here?"

"Ta help ya." He put on his most charming grin. It ended up looking like his most serpentine.

"How and why would you help me?" She crossed her arms with a Mona Lisa smirk.

"Babe, my old man was Kronos. Ya know, 'The All-Devouring'? He wasn't called that for nothin'. I understand cabin fever. And I know ya wanna blow this pita stand. Besides, you're interesting. More than you can say for those Olympus bozos sitting in their cumulus chaise lounges watchin' the servants scurry." He mimicked a running motion with his fingers.

He had moved in close; so close that, if they were of similar heights, their faces would have been touching. He leaned in slightly.

"The Underworld is beautiful. That is, if ya know what ta look for." He spoke in deep, rich tones now. His words were only for her. Kore shuddered delicately, not sure of the reason.

"Now, I can only really take ya there, but hey, it's something."

A sinister smile snaked on to his lips as he straightened.

"What's in it for you?"

"I get some company. Let's just say that, ah, the stiffs aren't very talkative. Besides, I just got new china. Good china is useless without guests, I mean come on. So, whaddya say, Flower Power? Just a few days?"

He turned toward his chariot but his eyes remained fixed on her. He held a hand out to Kore.

Kore knew she shouldn't trust him, shouldn't place her hand in his when he offered it, shouldn't let him lead her to that wicked-looking chariot. Something about those eyes compelled her. He helped her step in.

"This chariot was really only made for one, so it might be a bit of a squeeze." he said, shuffling in behind her.

He set the unadorned, flame-blackened Helm of Darkness under his arm.

Kore smiled sweetly at him over her shoulder. "I don't mind."

"What am I doing?!"

He leered back, chuckling almost awkwardly. He didn't touch Kore when he grasped the reins, but knowing he was so close, feeling his oppressive heat, her heart fluttered like a hummingbird.

"This is insane!"

Hades snapped the reins and his dragons reared. The ground immediately cracked open under the wheels. She clung to his black robes, her prized blossom pressed to her collarbone. She took a step backward but her foot never touched Gaea's surface. His free arm clamped around her waist and pulled her against his side.

"Oh my gods oh my gods oh my gods! What am I doing?!"

Wind tore at Kore's hair and kiton and the acrid scent of earth was pushed into her nostrils. Everything was blackness. Above her, the chasm sealed like a wound and her ears popped.


Author's Note: Hey guys, just a heads up, my next update might take a while because the first draft of chapter two was crap and I scrapped it. Maybe while you're waiting, you can review, favorite, follow, all that cool stuff. I mean, you've got the time. Frankly, I'd be a little insulted if you didn't. This is VickedVillain, signing off!