One of the bittersweet things about developing as a writer is that when you look at some of your past work you feel disappointment as you see mistakes you made. I know I have not updated this fic in pretty much forever but when I recently looked over it again, I felt the need to fix the many mistakes I had made. Therefore, on that note, I hope you enjoy reading this fic! Please review, thanks!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.


Prologue (Persephone's P.O.V.)

My life story is something you would expect a Hollywood director to produce. Unfortunately, only the Fates 'produced' it, so to speak. One of the bad things about history is that if you do not have power, you are not the one to write it. Those who have power are the ones to write history, as they want to remember it. When it comes to the gods and goddesses remembering history it is a completely different story. The majority love gossip and will only remember the story that is the juiciest. Which doesn't surprise me that most, mortal and immortal alike, hear my story as this:

"Demeter was busy one day, early in the year, and had to leave her darling daughter Kore in the company of some of the wood nymphs. While Demeter was in Sicily for the day, Kore and the nymphs were busy entertaining themselves with songs and various games. During a short break from singing, Kore noticed a flower she had never seen before. Without thinking, the poor unknowing goddess of the spring went over to the flower to pick it and ask her mother about it later.

Once Kore made it over to the flower and was able to take it from the soil, the land shook violently and opened loudly. Hades soon appeared from the new opening in the ground, he was in his chariot. The young goddess screamed for help, help from anyone. Her mother. Artemis. Athena. Hermes. All of her screaming was in vain though for as soon as she had opened her mouth to scream, Hades had already had her in his chariot. They were beginning their descent into the Underworld by the time she had found the words to scream.

Upon reaching, the Underworld Kore, scared and defenseless, fainted from seeing the place of the dead. She fainted from the shock that a world so unlike her own, the only one she knew existed, could even be real and be before her.

Finally, Kore woke up and was forced to marry Hades only hours later. When the ceremony was over, Hades forced her into changing her name to Persephone. Kore gave her consent knowing that she was not in a position to argue.

A year passed by and finally, Demeter was able to obtain knowledge of where her daughter was. She accompanied Hermes to the Underworld and demanded the release of her daughter only to find out that she was too late. Kore had already eaten six pomegranate seeds and was bond to the land of the dead for eternity. Not wanting to give up all hope, Zeus and the Fates were consulted and an agreement was made. Kore would spend six months with her mother and six with her husband. Thus, the creation of spring and winter. "

If only people knew the truth. Yes, there were some bad things that happened but most aspects have been over-dramatized. So here is my story, without the lies, the way that it should have been told to begin with.


The Kidnapping

Most young brides brag about their new grooms, loving them dearly and loving the fact that they will be spending the rest of their lives with them. I was not that bride. I was in fact, the opposite and for good reason.

My mother, Demeter, was busy watching over the farmers of Enna because of a festival that was going to be held in her honor within the next few weeks. I had accompanied her many times to know that I would just follow her around and spend the time bored out of my mind, wishing and wanting to be elsewhere. I begged her to let me skip the preparations since I could not provide any help and would only be underfoot. She agreed so long as I collected flowers with the local nymphs so that there would be plenty to use for decorations. I almost argued that having enough flowers for decorating would not be a problem since I could grow fields upon fields of flowers with just a thought. I kept this thought to my self however, wanting any amount of freedom I could be allowed.

The nymphs loved my mother dearly and so loved the task set before us. I, however, could care less about it. I made small talk with some of the nymphs and soon found that they could carry on conversations by themselves. Their stories consisted mainly of the gods and which ones they considered handsome and which one was the best at kissing or sex. I soon tuned out their talking and began looking for flowers that were farther away from the nymphs. I soon came to a small cluster of trees that had a peculiar vines growing on it.

The vines held bright purple flowers that I had never seen before. The flowers had a wonderful scent to them but I noticed that the smell made me feel oddly relaxed. I wanted to take one to show my mother and ask what she knew of this plant. Unfortunately, I walked out of hearing and seeing distance of the nymphs. When I went to pick the first one, there was a terrible noise behind me. It reminded me of when Poseidon had lost his temper last year - that earthquake had been very bad for the city of Athens.

Ignoring what I thought was an earthquake; I quickly picked one of the flowers off of one of the vines. In that moment, I heard horses running behind me and then felt a strong arm wrap around my waist. I felt trapped and froze, knowing somewhere deep inside that I should be screaming but I could not find the words. When I did finally begin to unfreeze, my captor spoke softly, "You are perfectly safe, you do not need to worry. I promise that no harm will come to you and besides screaming would be useless now."

I knew my captor's voice because I had heard it only a few months ago on Mount Olympus in Zeus's courtyard. I knew from his first word that it was Hades. This did not help me relax any, if anything I felt more trapped and afraid that I was being dragged off to certain doom. I felt my stomach tie itself into knots as I finally noticed the ground was practically swallowing us. I closed my eyes, wanting to believe that I was just having a very bad dream.

My emotions had been running wild from the moment Hades grabbed me and they continued to run wild. I felt so many emotions at once, I wanted to start crying. I was scared, unsure, frustrated at the nymphs and at my ignorance, and finally alone. I felt alone because I knew that I was going to be present in a place that was the opposite of everything I represented and controlled. I was the goddess of spring and was used to seeing new life. I had never seen the cruelties of death and never wished too. When I had seen Hades almost a month ago, that was the closest I had ever been to death until now.

The horses finally stopped their running and if Hades had not had his arm around me, I am sure I would have flown forward. I felt Hades slowly take his arm off me and then put it around my shoulder. He laughed as if he knew I had thought this and I finally opened my eyes and gasped. This was not the Underworld I had been expecting…it looked too much like the world above it. Across the dangerously fast flowing river, I saw people interacting with one another, various plants, and what appeared to be a gloomier version of the sky. The sky was a soft grey color with a blue tint, almost the exact same color as the pair of eyes Hades had. I knew automatically that the various plants were living but there was something different about them and I could not place my finger on it. I tried to find his palace in the distance but I could not spot it. In fact, aside from the meadow across the river, the rest of the Underworld seemed to be covered in a mist that made it impossible to see anything else.

"If you would not mind following me, Charon is almost here to help us cross the river Styx." As Hades spoke, I shivered knowing that once I crossed the Styx I would have no chance at escaping. Hades misunderstood the reason I had shivered and quickly, without a word, removed his cloak and gave it to me. My hands shook as I took the navy colored cloak from his tan hands and I thanked him once I had secured the cloak around my neck. He placed his arm around my shoulders once again and we began the walk to the river's edge. 'I will just let him have his way with me and I can cross the Styx again and return home...hopefully...' I thought silently, holding in my fear.

When we had finally reached the bank of the river, he stepped in front of me, placed his hand under my chin, and slowly lifted my head so that our eyes met. My companions always commented on the fact that my every emotion was on my face and so I was very easy to read and I knew this moment was no different. I looked into his dusty blue eyes and silently begged him to let me go, to turn around and return me to my mother and to the world I was used to. He gave a soft smile before hugging me and speaking softly as if he was afraid someone might overhear, "I know you are worried about why you are here but I promise you the reason you are here is not a bad one. In fact, it is a very joyful one. Once we are inside, I will explain everything. Please quit worrying and plotting to escape in the meantime though."

I was surprised that Hades was able to speak softly and use the word 'please' but I did not let this thought stay in my mind for to long. I wanted hope so badly that I silently allowed myself to agree to his words and take comfort from them. It was almost as if he knew I had done this because he stepped back and returned to his place by my side. I finally noticed a small boat on the river and the odd-looking god steering the boat that I assumed to be Charon. Charon was odd looking at the time to me because he was extremely tall and bony, had black hair, and bright blue eyes. I had never seen a combination such as that on a person.

"Why Hades, I didn't know you had any lovely lady friends…" Charon stopped his greeting when Hades glared at the ferryman. I blushed slightly from Charon compliment nonetheless and lowered my head in hopes that it would go unnoticed. There was no further conversation between Charon and Hades as we made the journey across the Styx. I knew it was rumored that Hades was a gentleman but I did not expect him to help me on and off of the boat. When we reached the other side of the Styx, I felt tears begin to slowly escape my eyes and I kept my eyes glued to the surprisingly green grass beneath my sandaled feet.

I looked up when Hades paused in his walking, a foot in front of the entrance to his palace. The palace was everything rumor said for it to be and more – well at least the parts about how grand it was. The whole palace was a light gray color with extremely tall column at the entrance. The doors were lined with gold and the door-handles were even made of gold. It almost looked like a twin of the palace Zeus had on Mount Olympus.

"Kore I know that you do not want to be here but that's no reason to be crying. You have such beautiful hazel eyes and should not be letting tears escape them". I have no idea why but his compliment actually made me cry harder and my earlier fear began to resurface. Hades quickly led me inside and we walked a short distance before we finally reached a room that I assumed to be his. I began to try to speak as I cried knowing that I would sound pathetic.

"Please," I begged, "let me go back to my mother and to my home…I know why you have brought me here and honestly I do not believe that I will be pleasing to you. After all…I mean…I am still…and I can't…why are you laughing?"

I wanted to glare at Hades and make him regret his laughing and hope that it would scare him enough to make him take me home.

"You honestly believe I am like my brothers or any of the other affair loving gods? No, that is not why I have brought you here –"

"Then why did you…"My thoughts began to race and I began to panic that gods really could die.

"Kore would you like to sit down for this; there are chairs in the room." He gestured to one that was not far from where I stood and I took it, still crying but not nearly as much. Hades approached me and looked almost a little fearful of what was about to happen. "I have brought you here so that I can have you as my wife, my Queen. As a close friend and partner."

I shook my head, "No…you can't…I can't…it just CANNOT happen!" I stood up quickly and was determined to escape, even if I had to fight Hades to do so. I raised my arm in attempt to punch him but he caught my hand before I could and it gave me a slight reality check. I was able to remember that I was tall for a woman but not nearly as tall as he was. He had a sturdy frame and had obvious muscle. I was petite and had only a small amount of muscle. Still, I tried again with my other hand and once again failed.

"If I had known you would be this violent I would have kept one of the flowers of five wounds to keep you calm. Now, Kore, calm down and listen to me." His voice was stern and as much as I wanted to listen, I could not.

"Let me go back home! I do not belong here!" As I shouted, I was tempted to try to bite or kick him as a way to surprise him and hope that it would cause him to let go of me. I knew it wouldn't work and so I decided to keep my attacks verbal. I hoped that maybe I would be able to think of some argument that would prove valid. In the back of my mind, I wished that he would change his mind and just want me here for one night of pleasure. 'I could at least handle that even if it would ruin my plans of remaining a virgin goddess.'

I looked deep into his dusty blue eyes and made my plea silently as I felt more tears come to my eyes. I knew that I probably looked even more pathetic because now my lower lip was quivering. This seemed to have caused something inside Hades to change because for a moment I saw a moment of fear and sadness in his eyes but the second I noticed, the two emotions were replaced with confidence and love.


So what do you all think? I know that I have an odd idea of what the Underworld looks like but it is not the Greek version of Hell. Traditionally, from what I have read and studied, there are three places for the souls of the dead to go to once they enter the Underworld. Those three places; Tartarus, Isles of the Blessed (Elysian Fields), and Asphodel Meadows. The souls of the damned were sent to Tartarus, the souls of those who were okay (neutral) were sent to Asphodel Meadows, and finally the souls of heros and the good were sent to Elysian Fields. In my mind's eye, I see these three places as three different cities or countries.