Persephone woke before Hades and smiled up at his relaxed expression. She sat up and walked to the nearest window. Behind the curtain was an open rectangle that looked down at the city. She hadn't realized how high up they had climbed. She strung the curtain out of the way and sat in the wide window frame.
She sat there, admiring the peaceful city below and how the torches looked like stars in the night sky. She was just wondering at how odd it was that there was no breeze when she noticed Hades approaching her and looking out the window with her. She smiled and looked back out.
"It's beautiful." Hades rested his arm on her opposite shoulder and kissed the crown of her head.
"It's my pride and joy. The culmination of my life's efforts."
"I just don't understand why my father would disapprove."
"Perhaps he is afraid of that which he cannot understand. My brother, like I, will never die. How can he understand death? However, he seems to believe I value death higher than life which is not true."
Persephone looked up at him.
"I understand." He smiled and slowly leaned down to kiss her.
After a moment, Hades scooped her up and carried her, bridal-style and giggling, through a door to his room. He set her down to close the door behind them, and she walked into the room in awe.
It was ridiculously upholstered, to put it mildly. This fireplace was gold and the linens and curtains echoed the gold amidst dark maroon and navy. Hades approached the hearth and started a fire with the palm of his hand. Persephone gasped, both at his ability and the way the gold reflected the fire around the room.
He then sat on his bed expectantly. She sat with him, suddenly attentive to his face.
"What do you do here... Usually?"
"Royal business. I solve conflicts and improve upon my design as per the requests of my residents."
"Just like a proper king." He smiled and stood.
"Does this make me seem more kingly?" He knelt and fetched something from the bottom shelf of his bedside. He lifted it with a smile.
It was a crown. Persephone gasped and scooted toward its alluring beauty. It was black and it glittered just like his robes, as if it were crafted of black diamonds. Its shape resembled that of branches, and she was mesmerized by it.
"May I put it on you?" He chuckled.
"Certainly."
She pulled her knees up closer and accepted the crown from his offering hands. It was much heavier than she expected. Once she placed it upon his white head, he truly looked the part.
"Wow." She whispered. She watched as he stood to his full heigh and offered her his hand. She took it timidly and stood before him. If ever she had seen anything to be described as noble, this was it.
"I am king of this realm. I can fulfill your every whim." His eyes burned down at her. "What is it you desire?"
She swallowed.
"Um... Well, right now I would really like some food." She smiled unsurely under his protective stare, waiting for him to return her smile. However, he did not. A frown came to his brow instead.
"Persephone... If you eat anything in the Underworld, you may never leave." She sobered.
"Why?"
"It is the law of the land. Once you eat from it, you belong to it. This was the pact made between my brother and I."
"To prevent the dead returning to the land of the living?"
"Yes."
"I see." She dropped her gaze to his navel.
"I do not believe it would be fair of me to make you choose." She nodded and watched her hands slide from his hips to his smooth chest. He lifted her chin with his index finger. "But if you have any other desires..."
She watched his eyes drop to her lips, watched him lean in closer, and closed her eyes briefly when his breath skirted through her lips.
"I should..." He paused. "Really get something to eat." She opened her eyes to meet his. "First." He pulled all the way back, and her heart almost broke to be so far away from him.
"Of course." He lifted his crown off and set it back on its stand. He smiled at her. "We took the scenic entrance. Would you like to take the quicker exit?"
She smiled and nodded.
Moments later, they stood in a glen Persephone did not recognize. She looked around in wonder and laughed.
"How did you do that?"
Hades smiled mysteriously, but didn't answer. He led her to a tree nearby that was bearing apples. He plucked one and offered it to her.
She bit into it and giggled when the juice dripped down her chin. Birds sang overhead and there were bushes upon bushes of sweet berries. They ate what they picked and ended up on their backs, full bellies and staring up at the sky through the foliage.
"Where are we?" He turned on his side and propped his head up on his elbow.
"Far away from your forest."
"How far away?"
"Millions of miles." He leaned down to kiss her as he spoke. When their lips touched, they were both smiling. "Billions." He kissed her again. She was beaming.
"What do you want to do?" He shrugged.
"Anything." She stretched and and groaned with the feeling. "As long as it's with you." She sat up and grabbed a strawberry from the pile beside her.
"Aren't you worried my father will see us?" She bit into the berry in her hand.
"I'm not worried about anything." A stream of strawberry juice spilled from the corner of her mouth. She lifted her hand to wipe it away, but Hades caught her wrist. She looked at him curiously. He leaned in and slowly lapped up the stream, ending in a kiss.
She leaned back under the slightest pressure he was applying until her back was on the grass. He kissed her slowly and intensely; sometimes gently, sometimes not. When he finally ended the kiss, he looked down at her almost adoringly.
"We should bring some of Nature into the Underworld." His brow crumpled in confusion.
"What?"
"There's no wind. There's no dirt or grass or trees. Can we bring some down there?"
"I... Suppose."
"It would work if we chopped them down, right? Because then they would be dead, and the Underworld is the realm of the dead."
"Yes, it would work."
"What about a pond?" She exclaimed in sudden excitement. He chuckled.
"Whatever you want." He kissed her once more and then he set to work to fulfill her will.
Persephone watched with enthusiasm as Hades uprooted trees from the world of the living, brought them down to the world of the dead, and forced them into the ground. They would thrive in an environment such as the Underworld because there is no way they could find life again in any soil. He didn't even break a sweat.
The dead were very pleased to have the plants around. The children scurried up the trees and some of the ponds put in place evolved into something like geysers with the heat coming from beneath. Afterwards, Persephone and Hades walked through the Underworld, arm in arm, appreciating his handiwork.
Persephone smiled at all the laughter and joy around, while Hades just observed in astonishment. They sat in a small garden, reclining on the new grass as they watched children run and jump into a nearby pond.
"I had no idea..." She hummed in assent.
"Nature is part of all of us, even after death. Now if only we could bring some sunlight..." She looked upward into the indiscernible blackness hopelessly.
"That... Might be more difficult."
"How does this all work anyway?"
"Well... Physically, we can come to the Underworld directly from the realm of the living, but they are mutually exclusive realms. If I were to puncture a hole above us, the physical world would not shine through because it is not really there. Even the word Underworld is metaphorical. We are not under anything. More like somewhere else. Perhaps Afterworld would be more appropriate."
"Oh... Could you not create a ball of fire akin to the sun?"
"Not far enough away that it would not harm my residents and still be bright enough. I've been resolved to the eternal darkness for a while now."
"I can see why you would grow to miss it."
"It's much more hospitable here now, thanks to you." She smiled up at him.
"Any more brilliant ideas?"
"I have one." She leaned up and kissed him with a smile.
"Mmm, good idea." He pulled her down onto him, reconnecting their lips. They forgot themselves for a moment, but a quiet little gasp brought them back.
"Don't stare, Jonathan! Come on!"
"B-but..."
Persephone pulled back and saw two little dripping boys looking on. One was staring openly, and the other was tugging at his elbow urgently. Hades propped himself up on his elbows and chuckled.
"Sorry, your majesty. We were just leaving." The boy who wasn't staring so openly finally managed to shake the other out of his reverie, and he dragged him away.
"She was so pretty! Are they in love?"
"I don't know, Jonathan. Shush!" Whispered the other.
Persephone would have laughed at the scene, but the boy's question struck a nerve in her. She sat up and crossed her legs. Hades sat up with her and sighed.
"Don't mind them. Young minds are the most inquisitive."
"No, I don't mind. I just... Realized, I've been taking a lot of risks for someone I've just met. I'm not sure if I'm being foolish."
He hummed, swept her hair off one shoulder, and kissed it.
"If you want to return to your world, I will not detain you. Any time you want."
"I am happy with you. Happier than I've ever been. But... I guess I have yet to see if you are..." She bit back her words.
"If I am what?" She shook her head and looked down at her lap. "You can tell me. I promise I won't be offended."
She turned her head to look at him unsurely and apologetically.
"If you are worth the risk, I guess." He nodded.
"Is there anything I can do to prove myself?" She shrugged and pressed her lips together.
"I don't know."
"Well, if you think of anything, let me know."
She nodded, and he kissed her. Then they stood and walked hand-in-hand back to his palace.
