"Let me go!" Persephone roared at Hades, "Unhand me this instant."
Hades dragged Persephone, by her wrist, through the Great Hall. As soon as Zeus dismissed the court Hades immediately collected his gift and stormed out of the room. After a swift kick to his shins, from Persephone, he finally dropped her outside Olympus's pearly gates.
"We are here anyway," Hades threw his arms up in mock surrender, "It's not like I'm kidnapping you. You will be going to the Underworld regardless of your dramatics."
"But I shall go with my pride intact which cannot happen when you are dragging me through my father's kingdom like a petulant child!" Persephone rolled her eyes, walking away from Hades. With some distance finally between her and one of the sources of her furry, she finally noticed where they were.
"Why did you bring me here?'She turned around quickly. Hades had dragged her to the very edge of Mount Olympus. She could see all of Greece from this divine spot.
"The sun," Hades sighed deeply, "Soak it up."
Persephone walked, cautiously, closer to him, "Why?"
"When I first journeyed to my kingdom, it never crossed my mind to say goodbye to this one. The Underworld may be filled with jewels and precious metals- all things a greedy man would die for- but it does not have this. There is no warmth. There is no peace. Say goodbye to the light."
Persephone's eyes widened in shock, her punishment finally hitting her: Hades owned her. Hades owned her and he was going to drag her down to the Underworld. She turned away from him quickly, refusing to look at her captor now. Instead, she tried to slow down her breathing to the pace of the wind blowing through her hair. She focused on the sensation of the sun shining on her fair skin, to the colors of the flowers that grew in the meadows miles below them. To the birds flying beside them, to the clouds that seemed close enough to touch. And Persephone was filled, for the first time in all her life, the overwhelming feeling of hopelessness.
"Lilly, I believe is what you call her, is safe. I remember her from my judgments. It had been a long time since I met one so pure. She plays in the forests of the Elysium fields," Hades hadn't looked at her since he dropped them off at the edge of the cliff, and still maintained his steady gaze at the sun. His voice portrayed no feelings or sympathy, but his dark eyes held all the understanding she needed, "Let your tears out now, Goddess. There will be no pity when the sun is gone. You were strong today, but there is still tomorrow."
Persephone tried, she really did. She hated crying in front of people, but as soon as the last words left his mouth she felt her stomach drop. She stared at the sun in defiance, trying to ignore the burning in the back of her eyes. Don't cry! Don't cry!
Regardless of her thoughts, her legs gave out as Hades continued to describe the Elysium fields. Her sobs filling the air. She vowed as she wiped the tears from her face, to never let this God ever see her cry again.
She would break that promise.
"What do you plan for her?" Hecate asked as she shared some wine with Hades that night, "You and I both know she doesn't belong here. She won't last. Flowers are made for the sun."
"She is not a flower, she is a Goddess," Hades threw back his wine, enjoying the bitter sting it caused his throat, "Today, she was fiercer than my young brother's oceans, they way she commanded the room like it was, in fact, her own palace we were at. She is strong, Hecate."
"Maybe so, but just because she can survive does not answer the question of her belonging here," Hecate sighed, fiddling with her dress. In the dark hem of the gown was a rip, caused by Persephone when she had made the mistake of underestimating her. Instead of showing her to her new room, Hecate thought she could force her there, a mistake on her part.
"She will find her place, in time," Hades sounded exhausted at this point, too tired to see this issue any further, "You forget that I have no choice in this matter either. Zeus's word is law, and I am too tired to wage a war over a silly girl."
"But where will that place be," Hecate smiled in a sly way that only she and snakes could master, "You know. . . it must be so tiring ruling all alone. You and I both know that the nymphs are just playthings, and I just an ally in your court. Only if you had someone to support you, someone who could bring you real pleasure, someone.-"
"Hecate," Hades rolled his eyes, "You are feeling especially blunt today. What is it you are getting at, old woman?"
"A Queen," she gifted him a toothy grin.
"What?" Hades nearly fell off his chair.
"Oh don't turn all modest on me now. You are far from being a virgin, old man," she laughed, "I saw you staring at her, today. Even as she walked away from you, the desire in your eyes was more than evident. And to think she was only wearing a modest chiton, to imagine your reaction when-"
"Even if-if- I find Persephone desirable, that is not enough for a marriage," Hades slumped in his throne, suddenly aware of the chill in the room, "I do want a woman, Hecate, you are right in that aspect. But I do not want someone just to warm my bed. In a thousand years, I have tried all the ways to find pleasure that I care to discover. Nothing surprises me, but one thing intrigues me: love."
"Love?" Hecate scoffed, "You have got to be jesting! The God of the Underworld, a lovesick fool."
"You know I'm no grim reaper," he rolled his eyes, "Yes, love. I wouldn't mind a partnership, but it would have to be founded on something. I can't spend my forever with a woman I barely enjoy."
"Well what kind of woman would you enjoy?" she smiles.
"Well. . . I am not entirely sure," He stood up, a faraway look in his eyes, "Someone who doesn't flinch when my cold hand touches their skin. Someone who can find beauty in the ice that decorates my kingdom, who covets the people and not the gems. A woman whose throne will sit beside mine, a crown- reaching towards Zeus's heavens- on her head. Someone who will ride by my side in battle, yet cry every time a soldier falls. Someone. . . . I don't want a girl, Hecate, I want a Queen."
"You never known," Hecate began to take her leave, pouring the rest of her wine glass out of the window, "Persephone could be all those things. She could be more."
"She is a girl," Hades rolled his eyes, "A minor goddess who has yet to experience the world."
"Then show her, old man," She threw him a devious look over her shoulder, "Tell me you don't want to show her all the ways to find pleasure. All the ways to kill a man, without a weapon in hand. Tell me that you don't want to see her sitting on a throne, one day, with gold roses in her hair. That the sight of her naked body, covered in blood, doesn't fill you with an aching need. Tell me that you don't want to be the one to place a crown on her head, then have her submit to you in the night. Tell me that Persephone isn't your dream."
Hecate left Hades alone, his eyes wide will realization and fear. Hades, for the first time in a hundred years, didn't know what to do next. And the feeling of under confusion was invigorating.