Part 1
Curiosity got the best of her. The only rule that her husband handed down, and she was breaking it. Persephone had walked back and forth between the palace and the canyon at least a dozen times, but this last pass had been in the direction of the forbidden gate. In the ten days that Persephone had called the Underworld home Hades had shown her nearly every inch of it. Hades had galloped with her on his great black mare through the Asphodel Meadows introducing her as the new queen and relishing in the praise. He showed her each of the rivers that cut through the place, walked silently through the Mourning Fields, held a banquet for her in Elysium, and spent an entire day secluded with her on the Isle of the Blessed. At the end of it all, he pointed to the darkest corner of the realm and forbade her from ever setting foot there alone.
Why?
Persephone wanted, almost needed, to know what hid in that hole. She was the queen and could go where she wanted to. Besides, if Hades wanted her to rule with him then she needed to have a working knowledge of the entire kingdom. She pulled her cloak around her face and kept walking farther and farther away from the palace twisting the ring on her finger as she went. She almost felt guilty for disobeying her husband, but the desire to discover the king's secrets overpowered all other emotions.
Persephone's head spun twice when she stopped at the edge of the crater in front of her. Deep blackness yawned as far down as Persephone could see and strange echoes rose up to meet her. Her question of climbing down into the darkness has no sooner crossed her mind than a worn stone staircase appeared before her. Illuminated in an eerie pale glow, Persephone began the trek down to the bottom of the canyon now wondering where the light came from. She clutched the wall as she descended; her toes hung over the warped edges of the stairs beneath her and no railing stood to catch her if she fell. The stairs opened into the low-ceilinged room and the source of the light came into view. At the end of the room a single silver-flamed torch burned in its sconce, but what it illuminated shook Persephone to the core.
A huge snake's tail coiled beneath the light and extended into the shadowed corner. Persephone inched along the far wall making sure that the tail sat motionlessly. A heavy ancient door materialized behind the tale and Persephone began to hear the distant moans of wailing. The flame danced in its sconce and brought more of the creature into the light and then covered it with darkness once more. She saw that the tail extended upward and shaped itself into a sitting position. She could also make out a human hand and arm, what she thought might be a woman's face, and a shining black scorpion barb wrapped up in the coils behind the head. Persephone blanched when the monster shifted in its sleep. Red scales rattled, and the barb flashed in the light when the creature turned away from the door and began snoring again.
She seized her chance and grabbed the rusted door ring. As old as the thing looked, the hinges made no sound. She pulled the door open just enough to squeeze through and shut behind silently behind her again. The light from the silver fire was consumed and Persephone was left standing in the most tangible darkness she ever felt. She held onto the door while her eyes adjusted to the lightless place. Not much came into view, but Persephone started to see shapes and shadows form. Her eyes began to make out the outline of the cavernous room, but she only saw enough light for Persephone to make out large shapes and see directly in front of her. Wherever this light came from, its sources were placed so far apart that patches of darkness enveloped her as she walked forward.
From somewhere deeper within came the sound of cracking whips and anguished cries. Closer to her she heard rattling chains, but even these were far away. Where she was seemed oddly silent, and that bothered her more than the distance sounds of agony. She still had no idea where she was or how to get back to the exit; she began to realize what Hades had meant about her avoiding this place the deeper she went in. She kept on, though, her curiosity still leading her endeavor and heard lapping water. Persephone followed the sound down an incline and jumped when she felt cool water on her toes.
This part of wherever she found herself was well lit, though the light seemed to stop just behind her. A pool surrounded by lush fruit trees beckoned her and the sound of the water meeting land made her parched in an instant. She bent by the shore and dipped her hands into the refreshing water. It ran over her fingers and down her chin like silk. She could not the sigh that escaped her lips and dipped back for a second drink.
"Did you come down here just to rub it in?"
Persephone's eyes shot open and water splashed down her front. She hadn't seen the old man standing in the center of the pool. He stood up to his neck in water and above him hung the most tantalizing fruits Persephone had ever seen in this world of the one above.
"I'm-I'm sorry. I didn't see you there."
"Most people don't," the man retorted. "Then again most people don't come down here." The man eyed her for a moment and then exclaimed, "You're the new queen!"
"How do you know I'm the queen?" she demanded.
"We all know what happens up there." The man pointed above his head and the tree branches moved away from him, just out of reach. He cried out in frustration. "I wasn't going to take one!" he yelled at the tree. Looking back at Persephone he said, "You'd better get what you came for and get out. No one wants to stay here too long."
"Where I am? What is this place called?"
"I call it torture," the man replied, "but beyond that, I won't be the one to give you any answers. It's not my place, and I don't any more trouble than I'm already in. Don't worry, if I see your husband I won't tell him you were here."
"Thank you?" She wasn't sure what that meant. As she was turning away, one of the trees lowered its branches and offered her the biggest, ripest pomegranate it had to offer. She smiled and accepted this gift but heard the man behind her groan in hunger behind her.
Farther down from the pool came the sound of a heavy object rolling over the ground and grunting. Persephone stood before a hill and saw at the bottom a middle-aged man straining to move a boulder that looked at least twice his own weight. He pushed with his arms for a few moments and then turned and pushed against the rock with his back, finally forcing it to move half a food or so. Persephone watched in amazement while this man pushed the rock up the incline slowly. He persevered and worked the boulder halfway up the slope switching back and forth between the muscles in his back and in his arms. His body glimmered with sweat and his face stayed perpetually twisted in strain. All his efforts were for naught, however, when he lost his sweaty grip on the rock and it rolled back down the side of the hill. The man swore and jumped up and down, cursing the name of Zeus and every other god he could think of. He kicked the dirt around him with each step down the hill and had just placed his hands against the boulder when he spotted Persephone. Instantly his face changed to show anguish and he fell on his face before her, crying hysterically.
"Oh, great goddess, at last, you have come," he exclaimed. "I thought that no one had heard my prayers."
"What have you been praying for?" she questioned.
"I am trapped, good queen." The man sniffled. "I am trapped here in this place with no chance of escape."
"What has put you here?"
The man sat up on his knees and wiped his eyes like a child. "My wife never buried me properly. She threw me out the window and left me naked in the street. I was trampled and kicked. Dogs fed on my flesh and I was left to rot." Each word hung with more and more emotion and tears soon fell again. "I was thrown down here because I was never properly buried." The man fell on the dirt again and grabbed the hem of Persephone's dress. "Please, noble queen, I beg of you: let me return to my wife. Let me request a proper burial for myself so that I may have no more of this brutality. Please, sweet ruler, fair queen, gracious goddess, please, please let me return to my wife. I will tell her how the wise and lovely Queen of the Underworld rescued me and demand that she sings your praises after I have been laid to rest. The whole world will know what a just and compassionate ruler you are; an asset to the Ruler of the Dead." He began sobbing into her linen gown, caking it with dust and smearing it with mud.
"I-I don't know if I should." She tried to take a step back from him, but he clung to her. "My husband—"
"Surely your husband is as noble a ruler as you are. Why else would he choose such a treasure for a wife? I come from a rich family, Highness. We will erect temples in your name and bless you and the king with everything we have. My children will dedicate sacrifices to you both every day. Death will no longer be feared, but rather all will anticipate the day they can stand before the wisest and most merciful of queens. Please let me return just for a day; just so I can plan my burial and return to service of the mighty Hades and his gentle wife."
The compliments and praise swelled Persephone's head and pride rose in her bosom. She would be a compassionate queen and had promised herself when she had married Hades to show mercy to those who deserved it. This poor creature had been left to rot in this darkness for something that he had no control over. How dare his wife just leave his body to the dogs? What kind of a woman was she? Besides, she was queen now and had just as much right to pass judgment the same as her husband. She would help this lost soul; it would be her first official act as royalty.
"I grant your release," she said confidently. "The guardian will let you pass, but you must return within a day."
The man jumped to his feet and bowed almost in half before her. "My deepest gratitude to you most merciful queen. The world will know of your generosity. They will sing of you until the end of time. My soul is eternally yours, compassionate goddess." He bowed before her once more before skipping away from Persephone into the darkness.
Persephone smiled to herself and continued, leaving the boulder and the hill behind her. She felt uncommonly proud of her first royal decree to help a shade. A few cries and wailing followed her down the dark corridor, but it was quiet for the most part. The silver flamed torches reappeared and offered a faint light, but the end of the corridor grew brighter as she walked towards it. She didn't have much time to react to the giant flame that flew out before her. Persephone ducked and waited for the brightness to recede.
When the roar of the fire quieted Persephone heard the accompanying screams of terror. She ran the rest of the way down the hall, sweat dripping from her forehead by the time she reached the end. She let out a shriek herself when she saw the naked man strapped to a flaming wheel. He was spinning so quickly that Persephone could tell if he was on fire or not. Long eagle wings carried the wheel and its prisoner in an erratic pattern, first up then down, back and forth sometimes spinning so fast the man became a blur and then slowing down to the point Persephone could see the whites of his eyes.
The whole time, the man screamed and begged for the wheel to stop. Once while she watched he vomited on himself and wheel spun father flinging it all over the room. Whether or not the man burned, the wheel did not burn away or diminish in any way. The iron ring did not warp or glow red and the wood spokes seemed resistant to the heat. Persephone stood with her back against the wall, terrified to move. She had no sense of direction and didn't know which way safety waited for her. Flames shot out from the spokes at random and the wheel's inconsistent pattern brought the wheel closer and closer to her. Persephone felt the heat grow more intense as the wheel descended closer to her.
The man's eyes opened and locked onto hers. "Please," he begged. "Please help me!" He continued spinning.
She felt a wave of nausea rise in her and thought she might vomit as he did. His screaming intensified the closer he came to her and soon the flames that shot from the wheel were just inches away from her. Persephone covered her face and matched his terrifyed sounds. She dodged a flame when she sunk to the floor. Never had she felt fear or guilt this strongly before, and only hoped that her husband knew how much she loved him and was sorry for disobeying. Persephone was waited breathlessly for the fire to consume her, but the burning never came.