Beauty hidden within Darkness
"I am taking you to the Underworld to make you my queen." That was all she got for a warning.
There he was: Tall, dark, handsome Hades. This was a different kind of beautiful. Not shiny. Not kind. It was beauty that made you give in to crazy ideas like touching a blade or a flame. The beauty of sharpness, of edges. The beauty of danger.
Intriguing, demanding.
Persephone would have been more impressed if he weren't currently carrying her over his shoulder. Of course she had put up a fight. But, well. It was obvious who won. He had noted her resistance with a small frown, then stopped her by grabbing her wrists with one hand and grabbing her feet with the other, throwing the girl over his shoulder like one would do with cattle. She had screamed and repeatedly asked what he was doing. But he did not say anything. He just descended into the abyss, taking the Goddess of Spring with him.
He did not put her down until they were at his palace. When Persephone felt firm ground below her feet, she turned to him and slapped him across the face. Hard. "You are a monster!" She was determined to make her stay in the Underworld as uncomfortable for him as possible.
And she did. The following weeks must have been a living hell - even if you were the God of the Underworld. Persephone said horrible things to him, tried to escape several times and was caught trying to sabotage Hades' work. But Hades remained calm. He told himself, that she was the daughter of Zeus and therefore prone to stubbornness and fits of anger. He hoped to win her heart someday. Maybe she would return to the kind person she had been before he had kidnapped her.
So Hades showered her in jewels. He gave her colorful gowns and beautiful dresses. He asked the ancient Goddess Nyx for some of her nymphs to become companions for Persephone. He made all the members of his court - some of them high-ranking gods – give in to all of her wishes.
Hades insisted on shared meals, on spending time together, even on sleeping in a bed with her. She hated that. And him. Oh, how much she hated him! For keeping her prisoner in a golden cage, but even more for always being so composed.
That was why she snapped one evening. Hades had been reading close to the fire, while she sat on top of their bed, preparing to ask him once more to let her go. She had not said three words when his answer came. Again he said 'no' so very, very calmly!
That's why she said those things in the first place. "You have to steal a woman to have anyone to talk to! How could anyone love you? I will never love you, I promise you that! Never!"
Hades stood up and walked to the door.
"Leave, if you want to! But that doesn't change the facts-"
"I am not the one who is leaving." Hades said and yanked the door open. "You are."
Persephone blinked. "What?"
"There are many comfortable rooms nearby. Pick one." He said, pointing at the dark corridor.
"You are throwing me out?" She could not believe it.
"I am."
"You can't do that! You said you love me!" Persephone's experiences with men were limited to… one, but still she knew that something was wrong here. A man in love did not throw out his beloved. He left and crawled back to her in the morning. That was what her father did with his wife.
"That I love you doesn't mean I have to like everything you say. Now…" Hades nodded to the open doorway. "Please leave."
"But-"
"I said: Leave." Persephone ran from the room, blinking away tears. You did not argue when Hades spoke like this. That was his voice for the souls of criminals who tried to tell him to not send them to Tartarus. He had never talked to her like that before. She felt embarrassed, humiliated, told off like a child.
She had to get away from this place. Now.
Trying to escape by walking through the forest of the Unseen might not have been the smartest idea, but that was the only way Persephone hadn't tried yet. The forest led to some secret place no one except Hades new. She hoped that it would be somewhere on the Upperworld.
It turned out that it led directly into Tartarus. Persephone tried to return but she couldn't. Instead she ran into a pack of abominable beasts. They looked like wolves, but were huge as elephants. She had brought a dagger, not much of use here. That was just her luck. She wondered briefly if the Fates hated her. Then she did the only thing she could think off - running as fast as she could, screaming constantly for help. But that attracted more of the inhabitants of Tartarus. In the end she did not scream for help anymore, but for Hades.
The Lord of the Underworld could feel everything that happened in his realm. He came in no time, commanding the beasts to back off. He carried Persephone back in his arms, his steps firm and his eyes a promise of pain for everyone who tried to hurt her.
She should have been grateful, she knew that. But she felt deeply shaken. So she he cried against his shoulder, grabbing his arms for support, constantly begging him to let her leave this place.
"Let me take you somewhere to help you calm down.", was all Hades gave her for an answer. He did not bring her back to the palace. Instead he walked a long way with her in his arms. He really hoped this rash idea of his would not intensify her distress but lessen it.
Hades must have been walking one hour or two, Persephone was not sure. But it indeed helped a little bit. One could say much about Hades but he radiated confidence in his ability to safe her. His arms and his firm steps were comforting.
He put her down on soft grass. "There.", he said, sitting down next to her. He wiped away her tears gently, half expecting her to slap his hand away. But Persephone was busy looking around. They were at a small clearance, covered in grass and small white flowers. She could see walls made of rock surrounding this place. Above them was the night sky, black and covered with stars. This place was beautiful, far to beautiful for the Underworld.
"Where are we?", she whispered.
"This is where the Upperworld and the Underworld touch."
Persephone laughed. She almost couldn't believe that such a place existed in the Underworld! A place where things were growing. She tried to dig her hands into the grass. "How come things are growing here?", she said lying down on her stomach to smell the flowers.
"These plants wither every night. During the day while the Upperworld reigns this place, new ones are blooming." Hades did not say anything else. He sat next to her, witnessing her excitement. She seemed to have already forgotten the dreadful events of this evening. He could not help but smile at her. Not that she was noticing. He should have known that a Goddess of Spring would like flowers much better than jewels. What was it with her and nature? Speaking of…
"Do you want to wait for the dawn?", he asked, acting on an impulse.
Persephone looked up to him with big eyes. "Could we?"
"Of course." he said, forgetting to hide his smile from her. She seemed to be surprised to see him smile. Then she smiled back.
That was when she finally said it: "Thank you."
Hades paused. His heart was tugging in that kind of way he already knew. "You are welcome." He turned to the sky and hoped the darkness would conceal the blush he felt creeping up his neck and cheeks.
They waited for the sun in companionable silence. The stars faded and the sky turned into something gray, before it became the most colorful thing they had seen in a while. Then a soft breeze brushed past them, pausing to play with Persephone's hair and stroking her cheek.
"W-what was that?"
"The Goddess Nyx returning from her journey through the skies." Hades chuckled at her confusion. "It is a great honor that she made herself known to you. That means she approves of you."
"She does? Uhm, that's kind, I guess."
Hades laughed. "Yes, it is." Persephone's cheeks reddened with something that Hades hoped to be the realization what the approval of Nyx implied - accepting Persephone as Queen for example.
"Let's go. It's a long way back." He got up. "Do you need me carrying you?"
"No, thank you.", she mumbled.
It indeed was a long way back home. Enough time for Persephone to come up with some questions. "How did you find that place?", she asked.
So Hades told her the story, of him chasing the confused Goddess of Thoughts though all of Underworld until he stumbled upon that place.
Then Hades told her the story of him imprisoning those beasts in Tartarus so that they would stop wreaking havoc on the Upperworld. And after that he told her about how he divided the Underworld into Tartarus and the other two departments in the first place - not because he wanted to brag about it, mind you, but because she asked about those things as well.
They returned to the palace, tired but both feeling much better than the night before.
Hades advised Persephone to go to their room and sleep. Before she did, she turned back to him.
"What I said earlier – It's not true. And I apologize. I'm really sorry."
Hades smiled at her. "I know you are. You are already forgiven."
"Thank you." she said, standing on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "And for rescuing me as well."
"As I said. You are welcome."
There he was: Tall, dark, handsome Hades, smiling at her as if she was the most precious thing in the world. This was a different kind of beautiful. Not very loud. Not shiny at all. But calm and deep and everlasting. I was beauty that made you do crazy things.
Staying here if Zeus himself gave you the chance to leave was just one of them.
I don't know where that came from^^
Would you be so kind to report grammar mistakes? English is my second language. And reviews would be great. I don't know if anyone is reading H&P Fanfictions.