I glanced at my new bride. She looked immaculate, save for the tears streaking down her lovely face. Oh, how I'd love to run my fingers through those cheeks, wipe those tears, kiss her pain away. I could have, if not for this feeling creeping up my gut.
You did this to her.
I closed my eyes shut, wanting to rid myself of this insufferable emotion. This guilt. Had Eros' arrow not pierced my perfectly content heart, I would have never gone through this troublesome experience. Had my pathetic heart not bowed to its wishes, I could have spared myself from this sick feeling.
Love.
I never felt something so foreign and dominant before, never felt so - helpless. Ever since I laid my sinful eyes on her delicate beauty, I knew I wanted her. And at that moment I also knew that I would have her.
Kore. My queen.
I gazed back at her and felt another sickening thud from my chest. Great, I feel like my heart is going to burst from my ribcage. I should scorn her for triggering this feeling, but alas! I cannot, for love forbids it.
"Why?"
Her frail voice snapped me out of my reverie. Her pained look sent shivers down my spine. Her eyes were breathtaking, but the sorrow in them was contagious.
"I'm sorry."
"You should be! You took me away from my life! My joy! And goodness, you took me away from my mother! Who knows how she could be faring right now?"
I looked away in shame, unable to form a coherent answer. How could I tell her I fell in love with her at first sight? She'd laugh at me and I don't think I could bear the humiliation. The Lord of the Dead? Weak enough to fall a prisoner - a fool in love? Preposterous!
"This can't be happening! I'm supposed to be a free bird, not some caged animal! Mother would never allow this! Let me free at once!
"..."
"Do you not hear me? I said release me at once!"
I pinched the bridge of my nose in despair. This woman was definitely being difficult. In my trance, I heard her anger-stricken whisper.
"...you monster."
People have called me, Hades, Death himself. They've called me other names too: a demon, an abomination, the Devil. They know no better. Who were they, to judge me? Who were they, to point a finger at me, when they were not the firstborn who was alone in Kronos' pit? They were not the one who was cruelly swallowed by their own father. They were not the one who never had the opportunity to be loved by their own mother. They were not the one who had been cheated and helplessly tossed off to a kingdom nobody desired. Wasn't it all me?
They've called me a monster before, too. Somehow, amidst those hurtful words and loathing thoughts about me, I've grown immune and uncaring. But hearing this come from the one thing I've ever loved before hurt more than all the other times I've been called evil.
I looked into her eyes once more. Gone was the innocence I loved so much, replaced by hate and anguish. My Kore is no longer the sweet girl I adored.
A/N: And thus, Persephone's reign begins. This is originally going to be just a short drabble, but I don't know. If I get any ideas (hopefully!) I might continue this. Thank you for reading, and please drop a review, if you can.