-Part Four-
The doors to Zeus' throne room were thrown wide open, and a very distraught goddess stormed into the chambers, her eyes flashing with fire from another world. In one hand she held Kore's crown of flowers, and in the other hand she carried the narcissus that Hermes had retrieved and brought directly to her.
Zeus looked up sharply from where he had been talking with Hephaestus and his eyes narrowed darkly. "Demeter, what is the meaning of this--?"
"The meaning of this intrusion, Mi'lord, is in regard to what has happened to my child . . . your child!"
The expression on the god's face shifted a small amount to one of concern at the frantic tone in the goddess' voice. Never before had he seen Demeter so upset, and he could tell merely by the stricken look in her eyes that something was indeed terribly wrong. "What about Kore?" he demanded, rising to his feet.
Demeter stopped directly in front of Zeus' throne and held up the crown and flower for him to look upon as she uttered a small half-sob. "She's gone, Zeus! Kore has been kidnapped!"
Thunder shook throughout Olympus as Zeus drew himself up, his eyes widening with anger and disbelief. "What?!"
Hephaestus looked between Demeter and Zeus, cringing away from the god's show of wrath. "Um, perhaps now is not the best time to--."
"Get out!" Zeus bellowed at him, pointing a finger towards the door. "Leave us!"
Hephaestus gave a startled squeak as thunder resounded loudly again. "Yes, Mi'lord!" he muttered quickly, already stumbling from and out of the throne room on his lame leg before you could count to five.
Zeus turned his dark gaze back to Demeter, who had tears rolling down her cheeks as she clutched the crown tightly to her. "When did you hear of this?" he demanded, his voice low and more a growl than anything else.
"Just now, Mi'lord," Demeter spoke softly, brushing away the tears as best she could and trying to control herself in the presence of this god. "Kore had not returned, and it had already begun to get dark down below so I sent Hermes to fetch her. He was gone for the longest of times, but when he finally came back he said that the only thing he could find of her was this crown, and this peculiar flower. He said all signs were that she had been kidnapped. I did not waste any time in coming to you for I knew that--."
"Let me see the flower," Zeus commanded, his voice a bit gentler, though his eyes still sparkled with anger.
Demeter wasted no time in stepping closer and extending the beautiful flower that shined like gold to him. He took it from her carefully, his eyes narrowing as he studied it intently. "I have never seen a flower like this before . . . what is it?"
"I do not know, Mi'lord," Demeter replied with a shake of her head. "In all of my travels I have never seen one like it and I am very certain that our Mother Earth, Lady Gaia, did not create it. However, I am certain that this flower has something to do with what happened to Kore."
Zeus' intent gaze shifted back to Demeter. "You are saying that you believe that this flower was created for the sole purpose of capturing Kore?"
"The flower and the crown were both found in the forest where Kore knows that she is not allowed to go. I believe that the flower was placed there in order to lure her away from Ocean's daughters . . . "
" . . . to the place where her captor would be awaiting her," Zeus finished her thoughts quietly as he sat down very slowly into his throne, the weight of this news now falling on him like a terribly heavy burden. He looked forlornly at the enchanting blossom as he twirled it between his large fingertips. "But . . . who would create this for such a purpose and why?"
Demeter lifted part of her excessive drape to dab at her reddened eyes, fighting to hold back her tears as thoughts of what kind of danger her baby could be in flashed through her mind. "This flower was created by a woman, Mi'lord. Of that I am certain. Even the most skilled man could not have paid attention to such intricate and precise detail of something as beautiful as this. No, this was created by one of the goddesses."
Again Zeus returned his gaze to the goddess of the grain, his majestic brow furrowing with thought. "Who do you think it is, Demeter? I know you have a thought, if it is based on nothing more than a 'woman's intuition'."
Demeter took a slow, deep breath and lowered her eyes down to the floor. This was a very high offense that she was accusing someone of, and to accuse this person falsely would indeed come back on her. She wasn't sure if she was ready to take such a risk yet. But then, if she didn't, how was she ever to know what had become of her precious daughter?
"Demeter?" Zeus questioned once more, his voice gentle but firm, leaving no room for any other answer than what she truly believed.
The goddess licked her dry lips before pursing them together with agitation then she raised her head to meet Zeus' eyes evenly. "I . . . I believe that it was Aphrodite, Mi'lord." A dark frown crossed the god's face, but before he could question her reasoning she went on. "I know that Artemis would do nothing to hurt Kore, Mi'lord. She has been a very dear friend and I trust her with my life. Surely it could not be Athena, for she has been gone on a quest for knowledge these past few months and this flower has been made, at the most, in the last week. And Hestia spends so much time busying herself with watching over her priestess' that she has had no time to create anything even as small as this."
There was a very long pause of deafening silence as Zeus considered everything that she had said, his gaze flickering between her, the flower, and then into the distance. Demeter stood perfectly still, studying his expression to catch any hint of what he may be thinking, though all she could truly read was the fire burning deep within his harsh eyes. As his thoughtfulness continued on, she wanted to reach out and shake him from his dark reverie, though feared doing that as much as she feared awakening a sleeping hydra. So she simply stood there, both hands holding tightly to Kore's crown of flowers as though by some magical way she could wish the girl back to her.
Finally, Zeus blinked and rose from his statue-like position. Before Demeter could question what he was going to do about this, the god raised his voice loudly so that it echoed harshly off the walls and throughout Olympus. "Hermes!"
There could have been no more than a second that had gone by before a blur raced in through the doors and stood before the god that towered above him. Demeter stepped back with a bit of a startled intake of breath, knowing she would never get use to the way he zipped around so fast like that.
"Hermes," Zeus spoke to the youthful man. "Fly quickly and summon Aphrodite. Tell her that I wish to speak to her immediately and that if she is not here within five minutes I shall come looking for her. And that, I can assure you, will not be a good thing for her."
Hermes gave a small bow at the waist. "As you wish!" And before you could even take a breath, he was gone in gust of wind.
Demeter turned to look back to Zeus as he kept his eyes on the door. She pursed her lips once more tightly together, reached out a hand to lay it against his strong forearm, venturing so boldly as to use his name. "Zeus . . . what do you plan to do? The more time we waste, the more chance that . . . that . . . that something . . . " but she couldn't finish her sentence as another surge of tears threatened to spill forth.
Zeus turned to the goddess as she lowered her head, both of her hands rising to cover her face. His stony expression became somewhat tender as he pulled her very gently into his embrace, wrapping his strong arms about her. "I promise you that nothing bad will happen to Kore, Demeter," he spoke softly into her ear, stroking her hair lightly as she wrapped her arms about his neck and began to cry against his shoulder. "Shh . . . just calm yourself now. Just calm yourself."
"She's all I have!" Demeter whimpered through sobs. "She is . . . my life . . . Zeus! I can't lose her . . . Oh, by the Fates, I can't lose her!"
The grand god lowered his head to place a soft kiss to her bare shoulder. "I promise that I shall do everything within my power to get her back to you, Demeter," he whispered against her warm skin. "You have my word on that."
Demeter took in a deep breath, fighting to control her tears as she held on tighter to his large frame, burying her face against his chest as her sobs began to subside slowly. He only held her carefully, almost as though he feared breaking her, and continued to soothe her, coaxing her tears and panicked emotions down once again.
Suddenly the doors to the throne room were pushed back once again and Hermes entered the room in his usual blur. "Mi'lord, Aphrodite is here as requested." Several years ago he would have been shocked to see Zeus in the arms of another lady besides Hera, but after hearing of all the gods other 'flings' and finding him thus many other times, the shock level had decreased excessively.
Zeus gently pulled away from Demeter, placing one last kiss to her forehead as she wiped at her eyes. Once he could tell that the goddess was going to be all right, he turned and nodded sternly to Hermes. "Show her in."
Once again Hermes offered a small bow and left the room, only to be replaced by Aphrodite's lovely form within mere seconds.
Zeus raised himself to his full stature as he regarded the goddess of love and beauty from his position upon the dais. "Aphrodite," he spoke in that cold voice of his, already his eyes growing darker with his anger. "Answer me truthfully and I shall spare you from any kind of punishment that you might receive otherwise. Did you or did you not create this flower" - and he lifted it to her gaze - "with the intentions of luring the goddess Kore away?"
Aphrodite held a small, almost satisfied and smug smirk on her rose red lips and her blond hair spilled about her perfect form as she shrugged nonchalantly. "I did."
Demeter closed her eyes as her heart surged with pain at the goddess confession of her betrayal.
Zeus had to grit his teeth for a moment, thunder rumbling off in the distance before he was able to speak once more. "Aphrodite, you will now tell me exactly who made you do this and for what reason . . . then you shall tell me where Kore is now and if she is unharmed."
The goddess arched an eyebrow at his demands, and she crossed her arms over her chest with a proud toss of her hair. "Very well, Mi'lord, I shall tell you." She cast a calm, sideways glance to Demeter and was rewarded with the stricken look that she saw there then she turned her violet eyes back to Zeus. "It was your own brother that requested it of me . . . Lord Hades of the underworld."
Demeter uttered a horrified cry as she brought one hand up to cover her mouth and Zeus' eyes widened in shock. "What?"
Happy to see that she had caught both of them off guard, Aphrodite shrugged as though it was of little concern. "About four days ago Lord Hades came to me with a most intriguing commission. He said that what he wanted was a flower that would surpass all other flowers in beauty and splendor. He wished for me to create it within two days, and to have it waiting for him on the third. I asked him if he now wished to liven up his palace a bit with a floral arrangement, and he stated that I might say that . . . but that more precisely he wished to use it to capture the young goddess, Kore."
Zeus' gaze darkened and his hands clenched into two tight fists at his side. "And you went through with it?"
Aphrodite blinked with feigned innocence as she raised a hand to her heart. "Mi'lord, you know that I am nothing more than a humble servant to the gods. Hades asked a poisoned flower of me, and so I created it for him."
Demeter gulped down a quick breath of air as her heart skipped a beat. "P-poisoned?"
The goddess glanced towards her and nodded. "Indeed. With a sleeping herb. All she had to do was take one whiff of its fragrance and she would be out within ten seconds and would sleep like a baby long enough for him to take her below with him to make her his bride."
Zeus slowly sank down into his throne, not wanting to believe what the goddess was saying yet believing every single word of it.
"His bride?!" Demeter cried out with horror before turning about to Zeus and grabbing hold of his arm. "Mi'lord, please, you must do something! You must bring her back to me before he does anything to-."
"I cannot."
Demeter blinked her eyes in shock, two teardrops slipping down her cheeks. Had she heard him correctly? Had he just said . . .
"I cannot, Demeter," he repeated, his voice laced with pain as he shook his head.
The goddess of the grain watched him, horror slowly giving way to panic as she tightened her grip on his arm and shook it, trying to drag him from his dark reverie that she could read in his eyes. "But . . . but, Mi'lord . . . What do you mean you cannot?!"
Zeus lowered his head, his voice a low growl of anger. "It is just as I said, woman. Now leave me."
Demeter shook her head, her eyes searching his expression frantically. "But you promised me! You promised me that you would bring her back to me and that--!"
"He has taken her below, Demeter!" Zeus cried with rage, rising from his throne and towering above her now. "He has taken her into his kingdom and I cannot bring her back! You know that as well as I do, Demeter! What's in the underworld belongs to Hades and Hades alone!" He took three deep breaths, fighting to control his anger before he once again slumped into his chair, his hands going to his head as he muttered, "Kore now belongs to Hades."
Had Demeter been stabbed by a dagger through the heart she could not have felt any more pain then she did now. She took two trembling steps backwards, her entire body quivering with shock as the realization that she might never be able to see her beloved child again began to sink in. Then, turning about, she raced out of the throne room, blinded by a new onslaught of tears. She threw Kore's crown of flowers to the ground as she left, her sobs echoing down the long corridor.
Aphrodite watched the goddess leave with a smirk of pleasure lighting upon her lips at seeing Demeter so heart broken. Turning back then to where Zeus sat slumped over like a man defeated, she took a small step forward and made her tone soft and sultry. "Mi'lord, please . . . allow me to help ease your pain. You know that--."
"Get out," Zeus ground out softly between clenched teeth, his fierce eyes raising slowly until they locked with hers and again he grated, "Get out of my sight, you traitorous whore."
The goddess drew herself up with resentment at his words, her eyes narrowing on him. She began to open her mouth and retort something equally as painful but the look of death that now haunted the god's eyes caused her to snap her mouth shut again. So, with a toss of her hair and a flounce of dignity, she strolled from the throne room at her own leisurely pace, head stuck high in the air.
Hermes watched from where he had been hiding outside the doors listening the entire time. He waited until the goddess was out of sight, before he very slowly flew out of his hiding place and swept over towards where Demeter had thrown down the crown. With two small teardrops flowing down his smooth cheeks he picked the crown up carefully in his hands and held it close to him. He would miss the young girl more than anyone would ever know. Already he felt a shadow of darkness falling over him at the absence of her light.
Wiping at the tears and the wet paths they left behind, the messenger god quickly flew away so that he might be alone in order to pull his thoughts together once again.
Behind him, a deep sob of Kore's name echoed from Zeus' throne room.
