It was April. Now, that may not seem important, but really, it was. You see, by now I would normally be up on Earth with my mother, Demeter. Yes, like the goddess. I am Persephone after all. Yes, like the goddess. That's exactly who I am. The goddess Persephone. Anyway, I am normally with my mother this time of year. However, we had a bit of an argument. However much I hate my husband, I'd much rather be with him now than my stubborn mother. Because I refused to leave the Underworld, my mother was hitting the Earth with a full blast of snow and cold. I know, I know. Right now I'm being just as stubborn as my mother is. But that doesn't matter! She's the one at fault!

Hermes was visiting the Underworld for the fifth time this week. Zeus keeps insisting he bring me back to my mother. Zeus has no power over me! He may be my father, but he's even more stubborn and unlikeable than my mother is. I almost feel bad for poor Hermes. It's obvious how much he doesn't want to be down here, but unlike me, he does have to listen to our father. (Yes, I said "our." Hermes is my half-brother).

"Lady Persephone," Hermes gave a bow, "please, I am begging you. Return with me to Earth. Demeter is terribly enraged and I fear the worst for the mortals if this horrid winter does not end soon."

I smiled. Hermes was always so polite. I held up one of my hands. "Please, my friend, there is no need for formalities." I stood from my throne (Hades was currently out and about making sure dead souls stayed put and al that other Under-worldly stuff that came with his job). "But I cannot leave. It would be just as bad as me admitting that my mother was right!"

"What exactly was your argument about?" Hermes looked up at me with such concern. He was one of my only friends and I couldn't ask for anyone better.

"My husband…" I whispered.

Hermes frowned. "Now there was a subject I figured you both could agree on."

"My mother doesn't believe he is capable of caring for me." I sighed. "Sure, I don't like him, but he has done a decent job of looking after me. Even if he were to completely ignore me, I am still capable of handling myself."

"I do not doubt you are. But how is staying away from your mother proving anything? To me it would seem as though you are being irresponsible."

I glared at Hermes. "Irresponsible? My mother is the one being irresponsible by letting her emotions control her actions!"

"Like mother, like daughter." A new voice joined in the conversation. Hermes and I both looked at the doorway into the throne room, silent in shock. Hades had finally returned from whatever it was he was doing.

I puffed out my cheeks, my signature sign of stubbornness, "I am nothing like her." I huffed, put my hands on my hips, and turned my head away from him.

"Perhaps I should come back another time…" Hermes gave a quick bow to the both of us and flew out of the room as quickly as he could.

A hint of a smile, unnoticeable to the untrained eye, made its way upon Hades's lips.

"I see he came for another visit."

I sighed and turned the rest of my body away from him. "I want to leave, really I do. But my mother is being unreasonable…"

"Much like you are." Hades wrapped his arms around my waist, a sign of the affection he only shows towards me. "However, you are free to stay as long as you wish, my dear."

A looked of disgust passed over my features. "Don't call me that." I whispered.

I could tell there was a smirk on his face. "Yet you allow me to be so close to you."

"I wish not to be on your bad side." I said hastily.

"I find it hard to believe you ever could be." I pushed him off of me and walked away without saying another word. For some reason, I was finding it more and more difficult to hate my husband. I was almost starting to feel bad for him. I mean, he lost a bet with his two brothers and ended up ruling the domain under the ground. It really wasn't fair to him. He wasn't that bad of a guy...

I shook my head. What was I thinking? Of course he was a bad guy! He kidnapped me, stole me away from my mother and my friends and everything I ever loved! He didn't even have the courage to face my mother himself, that coward. Then again, it was my mother that I was angry with right now. Maybe he wasn't so much a coward as he was being smart. My mother could be quite frightening, her words like venom, her piercing green eyes glowing with such hatred every time a man came within a fifty foot radius of me. She was an extremely protective mother, and that's what makes her frightening.

I sighed. Maybe I should go back to the upper world. After all, my mother was right, as always. I don't know why I even bother arguing with her. She says my husband is a creep, she's right. She says no man is good enough for me, well, duh. She says I can't take care of myself. She's wrong, but I rely on my mother so much, she might as well be right.

I had been so lost in thought, so desperate to be rid of my "creep" of a husband that I hadn't even noticed where I was going. I stopped where I was and looked up from the ground. I smiled to myself. I had walked straight to my underground garden. It was a very bleak and dark garden, but it was still beautiful in its own way. I don't know why I was so surprised to find myself here. This is where I always end up when I need to think. And right now, I just needed to be alone. But even in a quiet, dark, cold place such as this, alone time is something very rare to me. And just as expected, I heard footsteps behind me. No doubt Hades had followed me down here.

"I don't wish to talk, Hades. Leave me alone."

There was a chuckle from behind me and a winged figure sat next to me.

"How lucky I would be if I were Hades." He said, smiling.

"Why would you wish to be Hades. I hardly see his fate as 'lucky.'" I turned my head away from Thanatos, the winged man.

He chuckled slightly, staring straight ahead of him. "Yes, I suppose..."

I looked over to him, waiting for him to continue.

"However, he does have a wife more beautiful than the wives of any of the other gods."

"What of Hephaestus's wife?" I smirked. Thanatos and I have had this conversation many times. Every time it ends up with him saying the exact same thing.

"Aphrodite's beauty is nothing compared to yours."

I smiled and kissed Thanatos on the cheek. "Thank you for cheering me up." I stood up and brushed the dirt from my dress. "Perhaps I have been acting a bit stubborn lately. I should speak to Hades then return to my mother on Earth."

I noticed a bit of a frown on his lips.

"What are you thinking, Thanatos?" Sometimes I didn't even want to know, but I had to ask.

He looked away from me and back out to the flower beds. "The winters go by fast, don't they?"

"Not fast enough." I turned from him and began marching towards the door. I felt cold stomping away from my not-really-friend-but-closest-thing-to-a-friend-I-could-have-in-the-Underworld. Thanatos was kind to me and was surprisingly very sweet, seeing as how he is Death. Honestly, though, I wanted nothing more than my friends on Earth. There were no tree nymphs or water naiads down here. There was no sun. Hermes only came to visit when it was time for me to return to Earth, but I suppose the closest thing to a messenger the Underworld had was Charon. I marched straight into my husband's throne room, opening the door forcefully enough that it slammed against the wall. Accidentally, of course. My husband looked up from reading a scroll, not phased at all by the loudness of the doors (it happened all the time).

"May I help you?" Hades looked generally unamused. For some strange reason, this made me angrier than before. He spoke to me as if I were one of his servants.

I glared at him. Sometimes I really hated Hades. "Yes, you may help me!" I stood up straight, took a deep breath, then said calmly, "I believe it may be a good idea for me to return to my mother."

Hades looked at me silently for a moment. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking, there was absolutely no expression on his face. "Ah, I suppose your feud with Demeter has ended?"

"No."

"Then why do you wish to return?"

I desperately wanted to shout To get away from you! However, that wasn't exactly the case. Sure, I wanted to get away from him, but I wanted to be in the sunlight and with my friends even more.

"Because I think it would be in the best interest of everyone."

"I do not believe..." He faltered and I could have sworn I saw a hint of sadness and uncertainty in his eyes. "I do not believe it would be in the best interest of the Underworld."

I laughed a very sarcastic laugh. "Don't even try to pretend you care about me!" I stepped towards my husband until I was close enough to jab my finger into his shoulder (which I did). "If you actually loved me, as you claim you do, you would have left me on Earth and never shown your face to me!"

He sighed then stood up causing me to take a few steps back.

"Just leave, Persephone." He looked at me sternly than walked off, out of his throne room. It took me a moment to realize he hadn't meant for me to leave the throne room, but he was giving me permission the leave the Underworld altogether.

I walked quickly to the River Styx and told Charon it was time for me to leave. He simply nodded and motioned for me to get in the boat. It took a few minutes to get across the river, but soon I was walking up a very very long staircase to get to the Upper world.