Death and Rebirth
by Red Wings
A/N: This is my take on Hades' capture of the Goddess of Spring, Persephone, however, the main character will be a certain Goddess as a medium. There are lots of really great reads out there of Hades and Persephone. I've read The Goddess who Died by Gale, The Blooming of Nights' Fever by Moonstone Tears, The myth of Kore and Hades by Amberlaine, and of course, Epitaph Empress by CrimsonFucshia! CrimsonFuchsia suggested the idea that I start this. I'd like to thank Mr. Chow, who proofreads my writing. Now, on with the fic!
Italics indicate thoughts.
****** means scene change or a different event taking place.
The racing chariots of Apollo and Artemis had long since graced the heavens, the sun sinking beneath the horizon, not to be seen until dawn rose. There were no stars in the sky, no clouds hovering over the Earth, just an omen of silence fell over the lands. The silver crescent had waned to a thinning silver before fading into the darkness of the sky. It was a moonless night.
People said that it was when the moon was dark all kinds of dangers and evils prowled the night. It was a time when unseen forces roamed the land. Folks spoke of faceless demons and dangerous beasts and all sorts of vengeful creatures who stalked in the shadows. It was also a time when the souls of the dead wandered the Earth. This was reason enough to not stay out too late.
The howls of barking dogs haunted the night.
Three hounds trotted besides a dark-robed figure, the hood concealing all but the middle of the face. The dark figure walked at a slow pace, taking long amounts of seconds before leading forward. The dogs gave a long howl. The robed figure stopped at a dusty road. The dogs waited, pawing the soil, sniffing, before snuffling impatiently at their masters' side. The figure nodded. Two of the dogs trotted close behind the figure, while one set the pace in front for the others to follow.
The long path was always the most lonely. At least with these hounds, the figure desired no other company. Not to show any favoritism, dogs were good company. They
were loyal and intelligent creatures and they were steadfast companions.
The leading hound in front stood with its nose pointed forward, sniffing the air. The shadowy figure stepped forward besides the hound, the other dogs faithfully drawing up the rear. A little boy was lying on the ground, unconscious. His face was pale, his body showing no sign of movement or breathing. The dark figure stood over the boy's body, then kneeled and reached out with a wrinkled, bony hand, touching his forehead.
At that moment, the boy opened his eyes, blinking. The robed figure stood up and stepped back to give the boy his space, as did the hounds. The boy got up, dusted himself off, then looked at the body on the ground behind him. His eyes widened at this. To assure that he was alive, his hands began patting his face, his chest,. He then saw the robed figure towering above him and the dogs, who sniffed around and sat on the ground. The boy looked down at his feet feeling afraid. What was to happen to him? He was just walking across the path to get to the other side of town, and then there was a rumbling, the next thing he saw was a huge cart, then nothing.
As the boy made his realizations, the robed figure offered him a wrinkled, gnarled hand in front of him. The boy looked up at the darkened figure. He couldn't discern anything about this person, as it was too dark to see anything. Maybe this person could lead him on the way back home. "Can you take me home?" he asked the hooded one in front of him. The figure nodded in reply, beckoning for him to take the hand. The boy took the figure's hand in his as they began to walk, the dogs returning to their original places.
And so begins their journey for spiritual travel in the dark of the night.
*************
The moon was beginning to show a slice of silver in the sky again. The shadow figure's hounds looked up at the sky before turning their heads forward and trotting along. The nights have been long so the road seemed long, but then that came from the feeling of weariness and lack of concentration. The ache was what kept the dark figure going, the dogs looking up at their master with sincere concern and whined. The figure patted each of the dogs on their heads. The lead dog in front of the figure seemed to point with its nose thrust forward.
In front of them was a fork with three roads. One on the left, one in the middle, and one on the right. Such choices would have confused and dumbfouned any mortal. It was dangerous to be wandering the crossroads at night, especially on moonless nights. The risk lied in the path ahead, not which road was chosen. That was where unseen dangers would be able to come out, when one could not see what was there.
The figure gave no sign of confusion or fear. It was just the sort of thing that appeared after the long journey on Earth. The dogs put their noses on the ground, each sniffing a different path. One dog went back to their master, looking up at the figure through ruby red eyes. The other two waited and watched as the other communed with the dark figure. A howl rang through the hollow darkness, and the dog led the way in front for the figure and the two others. The dog trotted on the middle road as the others followed.
A groan came from the earth as it cracked and split open in front of the figure and the hounds. They stepped forward to the crack in the earth, disappearing into the crack without a trace.
In the bowels of the earth, a river ran through the end of the cave. A long, small boat was being paddled towards the figure and the hounds. The one who rowed the boat was a skeleton of a man, with a hollow face and bony fingers. The figure and the dogs stepped onto the boat without quailing in fear or horror by the Underworld's ferryman, Charon.
Charon stared at the mysterious person, as the dogs sat around the figure, trying to get comfortable. He held out a bony hand in front of the figure. The figure responded by sitting up more erectly. He looked at his hand, in the bones of his palm, a golden coin lay shining brilliantly in the pitch black. He nodded, satisfied with the token, then paddled painstakingly through the murky waters.
*************
The dark-clad figure got off the boat, nodding a silent appreciation to the ferryman. He nodded back, then paddled back through the river's course once again.
The figure looked up at the dark splendor of Hades' castle. Although it wasn't home, the figure ascended towards the flight of stairs. The climb was difficult, as having been through so many days travelling the Earth to do the work required of her. Just because the castle was grand didn't mean it was ever easy.
Coming up the steps, she felt a different presence, in Hades' castle. Not a cold, dark aura like her brother's, but one of warmth and light. Interesting to know that there was another inhabitant in Hades who wasn't dead.
Soundlessly, she walked with sweeping steps through the hall. For most others, it was impossible to get into Hades' domain without having to face the guardian beast, Cerberus. The three-headed dog guarded the doors to Hades with a fierce loyalty that others saw not the great wisdom it had. Cerberus sensed everything and anything that entered Hades, usually acknowledging whoever came with a gutteral growl. However, slipping by Cerberus with magic had its advantages.
She stopped in the middle of the hallway, her form sinking through the marble floor.
The dark room was dreary and cold. Large pillars lined on each side of the room. Sitting in a large, majestic throne was the Ruler of the Underworld, God of the Dead and of Wealth, Hades. His hair dark and slick back, with a high nose, firm chin and pale skin, he was like the shades of the Underworld as well. He sat as a grand statue in his throne of gray slab. His eyes of icy blue held no expression as he saw a figure swathed in dark robes materialize from the floor of his throne room.
There was not just one throne, but two. Another one besides Hades. So she was right after all.
"Lord Hades, " spoke the robed figure in front of him. The shuffling of her robes was faint, as she bowed courteously to the King of the Underworld.
It seemed like a gesture of etiquette and utmost respect from the least observant. However, Hades knew plain respect from mock flattery. From presiding over the souls of the dead, a good judge would know the difference, however slight.
"At ease," Hades said.
The robed figure stood up straight.
"To what degree do I owe you this fair audience, Lord Hades?" asked the shadowed figure.
"It is you whom I least expect an audience from. But enough chatter. Let us proceed to the banquet hall," replied Hades coolly.
With a deft, graceful gesture of his hand, the setting changed from the main throne room to the banquet room with a table filled with divine morsels of food. Candles were the only source of light in the room, however dim. It was what Hades had preferred. Too much light was a disturbance to him. The robed figure sat down in a large ebony chair across from Hades as he took the chair opposite the figure's side.
"What a lovely banquet you have prepared, my lord. "
Her constant idle chatter irritated him. She was sly and often beating around the bush. As if she were playing with him, like cat and mouse. She loved playing the role of the dark, mysterious stranger, but she was no stranger as he was no mouse. He knew too much about her for her to have to disguise herself as such.
"Cast aside those robes of yours. Do you think I do not know who you are?"
The figure seemed to bend slightly at this. Her shoulders shook as her hands gripped the arms of the ebony chair she sat in. Standing up, a hand clutched at the shoulder, she discarded her robes with the flick of her fingers. Midnight laughter rung throughout the room as she held a dainty hand over her lips.
"You are such one to ruin my fun, Lord Hades! How serious you always are! How very much like you, my brother."
Hades' expression remained indifferent. "As you are always one with such inconspicuous disguises, Hekate. Your humor is not one of your better virtues."
Standing in front of Hades was Hekate, Goddess of the Dark Moon. Like her divine brother, her skin was as pale and smooth as ivory. Her face was a lovely oval with slim eyebrows. Long, dark tresses fell down her slim back and shoulders, framing her beautiful face. She had dark eyes, as dark as a doe's, fringed with thick eyelashes. She wore only a simple, dark gown that flowed as she swept the marble floor, the gown clinging to her slender waist and breasts. She stood tall and proud, every inch of her Goddess, Invincible Queen of the Cosmos, of Rebirth and Eloquence. She sat down in her chair, facing her brother. Fanning herself, she sighed languidly.
"How have you fared so far, my brother? Tell me, have you missed me?" she asked excitedly. It seemed she was eager to know something. She always asked this of him, since she was his sister.
"As much as the shades miss their lives on the Upper World, sister." Not to be sardonic, but she did bring some color into his immortal life. She was his only companion in the Underworld who was not a shadow servant or guardian beast. Her little jests and teases and attempts to make him crack from his impassive mask did amuse him. She had as much power as he did; and like him, she never visited Olympus, although she was a Goddess of great importance.
Hekate clasped her long fingers together in delighted interest. "How lovely! You must tell me how you have fared." In her hand, she held a glass of red wine. She had not yet sampled any foods on the table of the banquet room. Not that she was hungry, she was a Goddess! Why would she act like a greedy wretch. Not that eating the food would do any harm. She was bound to Hades already, by duty and law. Also, she came to visit her brother, even though she rarely came to his castle.
Hades shook his head. "Nay, tell me of your account, sister. " Usually, she came to the Underworld to her own cave. Visits such as these were scarce on her part, so why now? She was on to something, and he knew it. Not that Hades would not let her see to it, since she has most likely seen who was here. Her moves were calculated. She just watched, but did not touch. That was the way she was, Lord Hades thought.
Despite the dimly lit room, Hekate's dark eyes gleamed. "Oh, surely you already know. The spirits I encountered had left the Upperworld without so much as a proper burial. Some had been murdered, one child had been run over by a wheel barrow! How crude it is, but that is the reality that is life. " A pause. She lifted the wineglass, scrutinizing the ruby crimson within the glass. "Then there are some who were lost on the way on the crossroads. How lost they seemed! For surely, it is known that it is most unwise to walk the roads on such dark nights. " The corners of her lips curled into a half smile. "That is why I am there. To help them not get lost. " She paused again, looking up at Hades. "Now, tell me of your account, dear brother. It is has been quite a since we have last spoken with each other. "
He was quite annoyed with her ability to keep such ulterior motives to herself. He sighed, ice blue eyes meeting her dark, glinting eyes. "Why are you really here, sister?"
She played with the wineglass in between her fingers idly. A soft, low chuckle came from her lips. "Why, I came to see you, my brother, you!" As she laughed in a low, dark tone, she felt another train of thought in the room. The aura of warmth and light emanated strongly was felt as a fierce, glowing force through the darkness of Hades' domain. The Dark Goddess smiled the smile of a cat, secretive and coy.
Raising her wine glass in front of her, she toasted "To you, Lord Hades, and your world of wealth." Her hand hovered in midair, unwavering. "Long live the King." With that, she lowered the brim to her lips to drink.
"Do not drink that!" cried the shrill voice of a young girl. The girl rushed to Hekate's side and smacked the glass out of her hands, the echo of shattering glass ringing throughout the room.
Hekate turned to face the girl who had so boldly made a move to stop her from drinking the wine of the Underworld. So this was the one who was hiding behind the pillars. She was certainly young, a child, in fact, with the body and curves of an adult. Brown, chestnut waves of hair flowed down her shoulders. Her cheeks were rosy, nose elfin, skin that was pale, but not as pale as Hekate's. Her eyes were a beautiful emerald of green meadows. She was but a maiden, Hekate observed. The Goddess of the Waning Moon looked at the girl with a merry look on her face, as though the two had just shared a jest.
"Well met, Daughter of the Spring."