Poor Hades had no friends. His own siblings would not come down from their paradise in the sky, and he would not go up to see them. The vividness of the aboveground blinded him.
He had no wife, or children. In fact, his job was regulating the death count and where the shades went off to. He didn't usually do it himself, but the toughest decisions were left up to him. Being involved in that sort of thing wasn't a real lady-catcher.
Everyone in the Fields of Punishment and of Asphodel despised him, as did the ghosts in Elysium, even, for ending their productive lives. Thanatos was the one who really did the job, but they all looked at Hades as the boss. He sat in his throne of obsidian, gloomy as usual, and tapping his long fingers on the arm. The tapping noise was making Thanatos twitch. It certainly wasn't a busy day, and Death was getting annoyed with Hades' idleness.
Something flashed in his line of sight. For an excited moment, Thanatos thought it was someone who needed death, but it was something different: a disturbance. Someone was bringing something back to life! Robbing the Underworld of customers! But the girl was made clear to be Persephone. She was the frequent offender, but as a goddess and daughter of the stubborn Demeter besides, nothing could be done about her. Thanatos shivered for a moment and relaxed again.
"What is it?" Hades demanded, sitting up straight now, and to the relief of Thanatos, fingers still.
"Ah, nothing, my lord," he said. "Only Persephone tending the flowers."
Hades relaxed again as well, but in a different way. The tension melted away from him, and though he did not smile, Thanatos could see it in his eyes.
"Persephone," he whispered very quietly, barely moving his lips.
Death had noticed a pattern in the Lord of the Underworld. This affect came over him every time the mere name of the goddess was mentioned.
Hades, with his all-seeing eye, looked upon the girl. Really, she was hundreds of years old, but had eternal youth, so looked like a teenage girl. The warm flush of red was ever present in her tanned skin. Her mother's nymphs danced mindlessly nearby, but were slowly wandering away. She sat in a field, selectively picking daisies and growing new ones in their place. Her delicate fingers worked wonderfully, holding the flowers lightly and tucking disobedient strands of hair behind her ears. She strung them in her braided red-golden hair. Her pale pink chiton contrasted with her bluish green eyes. Sure, Aphrodite was the goddess of beauty, and Hera was the queen of gods so made herself as lovely as she wished, but Persephone was the most fair of all to Hades.
The whole job description of being Lord of the Underworld was to be completely and utterly unfeeling (excluding gloominess). Hades fit this job flawlessly, except for when it came to Persephone.
Thanatos cleared his throat. Hades looked up.
"I have a call, my lord. Am I excused?"
"Yes, Thanatos. But, one last thing."
Death cringed before slowly turning to face the god again. He looked off to the side, as if embarrassed.
"Um, have you… ever… er…"
"Been in love?" Thanatos guessed.
Hades began to nod, but then shook his head vigorously. "No, just had an interest in someone."
"I cannot say I have felt the feeling, my lord. But, why don't you just do what Zeus does?"
Hades considered for a moment. "Abduct her?" he realized.
"Yes, if you like the girl so much, why don't you just kidnap her?" Thanatos suggested, somewhat sarcastically.
"I could never do such a thing," exclaimed Hades, shifting his gaze over the tiled floor.
"Hmm," replied Thanatos, examining his master carefully, and went up the passageways. Hades sensed something different about Death, as if he was plotting something nefarious.
Nothing to do, Hades went back to sulking again. But, then he thought about Death's advice. Thanatos was not one to take advice from, really, but Zeus had used that method more than once. And, glancing at the young lady again through his all-seeing eye, Hades began to contemplate.
Persephone always enjoyed her mother's good moods. Not only did they bring more peace among the gods, but they also brought beautiful days. The grass was lush, the sun was glowing, the breeze was cool, and the flowers' smell wafted across the hills.
Unworriedly, she listened as the sound of the nymphs' singing faded. Persephone was getting tired of daisies. She plucked one and threaded it through her braid. But, instead of a daisy, she grew a tiny bush. From it sprouted a lone rose, and with a single touch to its petals, it bloomed beautifully. She carefully severed it from the bush, and held it to her nose. There was nothing like a freshly bloomed rose.
Looking at the flower, she suddenly wondered if she would ever find love. Of course, she would be married to someone. Every goddess was. Except Artemis and Athena. It wasn't that she didn't want to be married. It was just that she couldn't imagine a single person who would be right for her. All the godly suitors were stuck-up or simply mean. She assumed that some of them would be abusive. The goddess didn't really care about appearances. She resented the fact that Hephaestus was already taken.
On such a bright day, she didn't expect to see any darkness. She looked up. There was someone, tall and sinuous, in a completely concealing black cloak. She couldn't see its face.
"Uh, hello there!" she said friendlily.
The character didn't flinch. Persephone's eyes unfocused for a minute, and when they refocused, it was closer. She still sat, entranced by the illusion. By the time the person had gotten much too close for comfort, it was too late.
The person reached out and scooped her up as if she were a sack, and slung her over its shoulder unconventionally. Humongous wings, dripping with shadow, unfolded form her assaulter's back.
She only had enough breath in her to yell, "Help!" once before descending into complete blackness. Before it closed over her, she caught a glint from a chariot flying high above that could only have belonged to Helios. He saw all below him, so Demeter would know of her whereabouts soon enough. Then, she saw no more.
A/N: I've always loved this myth. This is my first post on FanFiction, and I'm so glad to share a story I've written. Thank you for reading! - A.Z.
