The Missing Goddess
Chapter One: Lethe
"I'll be fine mother! I really will. Why can't you understand that I love him? I would live in the underworld with him even if I didn't have to be down there for six months! I'll be fine. I'm going to live with my husband, whom I love dearly. He would do anything to protect me. Just give it up! We have this conversation every year. I love him, mother!" a women who appeared to be twenty-five huffed.
"Oh, Persephone, I'll miss you!" the mother burst out in tears and squeezed her daughter into a hug; "make sure to eat tons of cereal. Stay healthy and I'll see you at the winter solstice."
"Oh, mother. I will be fine. I always am. Love you," Persephone said as she quickly flashed away to get away from her overbearing mother. She reappeared at the gates of a black overbearing castle. She sighed in relief. "Home at last," she mumbled. Although the black and dreary surroundings were enough to drive any spring goddess crazy, she loved being down here with her husband.
She pushed open the enormous doors and walked inside, heading towards the throne room. She opened the throne room doors and sing-songed "I'm home!"
Her husband stood up out of his throne, "Persephone," he shouted as he ran over to her and pulled her into his arms and gave her a deep kiss. "Did Demeter keep you?" he asked.
"Yes," she sighed. "Eat cereal. Oh, why do you have to go to that dreary place? Why do you always have to return?" she mimicked. "I wish she would just leave me alone. I love being down here with you!"
"I love you too, dearest," Hades kissed her again, unable to believe that she was finally back in his arms. "Would you like to go on a walk with me?" he begged.
"Of course, I would love to! Let me change back into my underworld gown first," she giggled.
He chuckled, "I would have it no other way. One more kiss first." He kissed her again and reluctantly let her go.
She rushed out of the room and headed towards the master suite, where all her winter clothing stayed. "I'll be back in a moment," she called back to him.
She went to her walk in closet and pulled out a deep purple gown. It had a V-neck with gradually larger 3-inch wide straps. The dress went just past her knees in the front and trailed to the ground in the back. There was a trim of vines and the occasional bloomed flower. She put her favorite rose earrings in and a rose necklace around her neck. She put her black curly hair in a partial high bun and let the rest hang lose down to the mid of her back. Lastly, she put on her silver crown, accented in flowers and diamonds upon her head. She was officially back as the queen of the underworld, goddess of springtime, flowers, fertility and young life.
She walked out of their bedroom suite and headed back to the throne room. As soon as she was through the doors, Hades had her in his arms. He kissed her again with all his might. "As beautiful as ever, my lady," he murmured against her lips. He stepped back and offered her his arm, "Would you care to accompany me on a walk?"
She giggled and took his arm, "Of course, my lord."
They walked along the rivers of the underworld, catching up on the time they missed during the spring and summer. She talked about all she did on Olympus and he told her what he did and all that had happened in the underworld. They enjoyed their time together as they had missed each other over the last six months.
When they reached the banks of River Lethe, Persephone suddenly stopped, knelt down, and let go of Hades hand. "What is this gold watch doing down here?" she murmurs as she reaches down to grab the gold watch with a face of flowers.
As soon as she touched the watch, she screamed. An invisible force was pulling her across the river of Lethe, to the other side where spirits are reborn. "HADES," she screams. Before she reaches the other side, and before she touches the water, the goddess of the river materializes and catches her. She holds onto Persephone as long as she can, whispering to her, before she has to let go and Persephone was pushed out into the world to be reborn.
"PERSEPHONE," Hades yells in panic. He tries to reach her but a barrier prevents him from reaching her before she crosses out into the world. As soon as she is out of sight, he collapses and curls up into himself, inconsolable.
"Persephone… Persephone… Persephone" he whispers to himself, tears running down his face as he hugs himself and attempts to comfort himself.
Lethe, the goddess of the river of Lethe, the river of forgetfulness and oblivion, appears before him and whispers, "She will remember one day," before she disappears.
"Persephone…" he whispers again. He gathers himself up to transport to the throne room of Olympus, before he collapses again curled into himself, crying and whispering "Persephone…" over and over again.
The other Olympians are understandably shocked when an inconsolable Hades appears in the throne room of Olympus, on a day he is not even supposed to be here. The fact that Hades appears to be elsewhere makes them think it is an emergency, of which they would be correct.
Apollo, the god of the sun, light, healing, music, poetry, archery, and prophecy, shook himself out of his shocked stupor first and stood up to examine his uncle. He places his hand on his uncle's forehead so that he could read what was wrong with his uncle. "He is in shock," he announces to his fellow gods.
"Hades," Zeus, the god of honor, justice, and lightning, Lord of the Sky, King of the gods, started, surprisingly gently for one paranoid of his brothers and their non-existing intent to take over as the king of the gods, "What happened? What happened to make you this way?"
Hades replied in a detached way, startling the gods even more, "Dearest Persephone and I were taking a walk in the underworld and when we reached the banks of the river Lethe," he sobbed and whispered, "Oh Persephone, my dearest Persephone," and continued, even more dead than before, "Persephone let go of my hand to reach for an out-of-place gold watch that was engraved with flowers. As soon as she touched it, an invisible force dragged her across the river Lethe. Lethe herself tried to catch her but the force was persistent and Lethe was forced to let her go. All the while a barrier was preventing me from reaching my dearest Persephone." He broke down crying again and continued to mumble "Persephone" as if his immortal life depended on it.
"NO!" reverberated around the room. Demeter wailed. Zeus, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Hephaestus, Ares, Poseidon, Dionysus, and Athena had tears coursing down their faces. Aphrodite was wailing and exclaiming about the broken true love. Hera could've cared less. It was just one gone that was a proof of her husband's infidelity. Hestia, who was sitting tending a fire, had tears running down her face.
Around the world the sea crashed violently, lightning hammered the earth, plants died, the sun dimmed, the moon didn't show and dimmed when it did, and vines wilted. Fires exploded and volcanoes erupted as desolation became part of everyday life. The earth became a depressing place as Hades' depressed aura seeped into the soil.
People from all over the world lay curious of the abrupt change in the atmosphere. Demigods, however, wanted to know what happened that caused all of the domains to go crazy. The question, however, would not be answered for sixteen years.