Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! It makes me so happy to read them all and give me more drive to make this even better than I thought possible. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. It was difficult to write but I hope you will be open-minded to it. You will finally see a little peak of a sociopathic-quality and craziness that I think Hades really had when it came to Persephone. Please don't hate him after this!

Ares had been wrong about the Titan. He hadn't come to visit Persephone in days and she was beginning to worry that she wouldn't be able to fulfill what the War God was forcing upon her as well as the fact that the last time she saw her friend he had been in a very weak state. How had he really gotten those wounds? Persephone had not left her room since that night she received the emerald necklace. Sometimes she told herself that the Titan had not come to her because she wasn't outside where he could see her or catch her around a corner. Of course she knew this was not true. He could talk to her in his mind and he could easily appear in her quarters if he so desired. But did he want to?

She was torn. If anything, she was locking herself in her room so that she could hide from the world and use the excuse that she was obeying her mother's punishment so as to not tempt the Titan to seek her out. But the worst of it was the feeling of hurt and longing… she wanted to see her friend again! She wanted to make sure he was healing well and that… he missed her. Was it wrong of her to want to be told how important she was to at least one person? Persephone knew their encounters were very few but the emotions the Titan emitted towards her were not hard to read and she did enjoy his yearning for her company. It made her feel significant and of great worth. She shook her head sadly and covered herself further with her silken sheets. It was obvious to her that she shouldn't want all those things and it was selfish. Ares was setting some sort of trap for him, that was evident, and she was being used as an instrument in the scheme.

If her desire to see the Titan again was only a feeling, then was that bad? She would not go looking for him but she could still wish he would visit. Persephone felt more alone than she had in a very long time. How could she tell Harmonia or Rhodos of her secret friend? Rhodos could never keep anything to herself and Harmonia would just lecture her about staying loyal to Apollo. Eros was gone too, although it was not as if they spoke often, and her affection for him had only been allowed at a distance. Her liking for the winged God was much stronger than she had anticipated once hearing of her betrothal to Apollo and then when she discovered Eros had fallen in love with a mortal. Perhaps it wasn't Eros that she was so desperately in adoration of… perhaps she was in love with the idea of being loved.

Did the Titan love her? She thought he did. He made it more clear every encounter they had together. And maybe he was just indisposed that whole time, being a fugitive, and he couldn't risk seeing her again just yet. He was wounded after all, and he really needed to heal before he went gallivanting after her once more. But was he alright? Was the Titan in danger?

The whinnying of Apollo's fire horses from his chariot echoed through the open archway that let in the setting sun into her room. She did not think she could face him again… he had demanded to see her much to Demeter's dismay and had yet to be let into the domain. But even her mother could not deny the strange behavior that Persephone had been showing. She was not trying to sneak out or speak to anyone and she had not even left her room to see her mother. Persephone prayed that Demeter would not break down and let the Sun God in. It wasn't until another whinny that she remembered her means of a real escape. The Titan had given her a Pegasus. He seemed to know her better than anyone else.

He knew she was seeking freedom but also wanting a sense of control over her life. And her escape from the real world was Oberauth. Persephone quickly climbed out of her window and hid behind a pillar, on the lookout. She was going to take a joy ride on her sweet but giant companion. She gave a soft whistle and hoped that it would be enough for Oberauth to know that she wanted him. Persephone was slowly realizing how deep his communication went with her. She hardly had to speak and Oberauth was already obeying her thoughts. It was impossible that the Pegasus had been waiting around the corner but she didn't even question how the animal could so easily appear and disappear like the Titan, she really didn't think she wanted to know. Oberauth trotted out of the shadows very near to her from around the alley and neighed low, somehow sensing her apprehension in getting caught.

She hopped onto his back and Oberauth silently backed into the dark corner from whence he had appeared and the next thing Persephone could determine, she was high in the heavens of the clouds where the sun carpeted white in orange.

"Thank you, my friend." She patted him before closing her eyes in pure bliss. Persephone lifted her arms out to feel the rush of the wind as if she was the one flying them onward.

Where are you, Titan? She thought to herself, letting the cool air whip around her violently free.

Persephone opened her eyes and watched the golden sun inching closer to the horizon, Do you miss me?

Oberauth flapped harder and rose higher into the pink and violet sky that was just beginning to sparkle with stars. Persephone was free. Free from her mother, from Apollo, from the Council…

The heavy jewel around her neck hit her arm and scratched it, drawing a drop of blood that flew off in the rushing speed of the Pegasus. That was what brought her back down from her liberating bliss. Even Oberauth seemed to sense her overbearing realization that she was not free. Not really. She was going to ruin everything. She wanted to see the Titan so badly but if she did, it would put him in real danger. The horse took a nosedive and Persephone screeched,

"Hey, what are you doing?! I don't want to go lower, stop! I can hardly hold on!"

Her legs were slipping and she decided that if any time was more important to learn to ride a horse by straddling it like a man, then it was at that very second that she needed to figure it out. When she finally was able to get a good grip with her legs, Persephone could see the approaching land coming too fast for her liking. She grasped his mane tighter and tried to think of flying upwards, hoping that if screaming at the horse wouldn't get to him then maybe he could understand her thoughts. With all her might she forced her feelings to be as loud as she could manage so that the Pegasus would surely not be able to miss it. She was in vain however, and she held her breath when it appeared that he was not going to stop and would crash them into the earth.

"STOP! Oberauth please!" she screamed at him and hid her face in the black mane. Persephone knew the Titan was very opposed to her doing that, but if she was going to die, she didn't want to watch her last moments…

Persephone felt herself being jerked and thrown off Oberauth and she knew she was done for. Her body hit damp stone and the light that passed through her eyelids went completely dark. When she opened her honey orbs, she found herself in what looked like a large mouth of a deep and resonant cave. She was more lightheaded than she had ever remembered being before as she meekly tried to get to her feet by using the rough wall behind her.

Was she… dead? Is that what death felt like? An instant pass from immortality into mortality and then onto becoming a spirit? Persephone's breath was swept from her and she could not find a voice. She looked down to see her body but it was so dark that she could see nothing. But couldn't she feel her limbs? Or was the weightless feeling in her head playing tricks on her? She ran towards what she supposed was the exit from whence she came but she could find little in that dark abyss. Persephone did not stop her frantic escape until she splashed into water and fell to her knees, shocked at the bitter cold. Had she run deeper into her pit?

She screamed in utter terror when she finally came to terms with the only place she could possibly have been. She was dead and she was in the Underworld.

She was dead.

Persephone indeed had reached the waters of the river that she must pass to reach the other side to be judged. It couldn't be! Her horror at her situation was overwhelming and she quickly scrambled out of the water, determined that it was not her time yet to be there. How could she have died so easily… she was a goddess for goodness sake! Yet she had not been titled. She had no real power yet. Nothing that would help her withstand any harming forces. She was just born with eternal life. Only eternal life lest there be an accident or injury. Persephone had let her mother's warning words come to the forefront of her mind…

"Persephone you are as weak as a mortal! I will not let you just run around where ever you please! You have no power to protect yourself if something were to happen to you!" Demeter cried out, angry and desperate for her daughter to understand that running around at night and sleeping wherever she pleased was a dangerous state of mind.

She rolled her eyes, "I am not a child, though everyone still thinks I cannot understand half of what they are saying, I am four-hundred ninety-nine! I reach the age of entitlement in weeks! I don't have to stay indoors whenever you wish it of me! I wasn't born to be locked up in this dark hell hole!" Persephone raged, wiping the frustrating tears away from the corners of her eyes before her mother could notice them falling. She would endure whatever punishment her mother gave her, but it wouldn't stop her from seeing the mysterious voice again… if he so chose to return to her.

Demeter grabbed Persephone's shoulders, "Your lack of understanding shows how young you truly are and that, my daughter, proves your childish ways to everyone you are around. You do not understand how the world is run, Persephone. My only daughter is so quick to leave my side and betray my best interests… for what?! To catch sick from those mortals? You are susceptible to any illness they carry! Or would you rather be wounded? For you shall bleed the same scarlet blood as those commoners and you will belong to Death before your father could even hear of your distress. Do not take your vulnerability lightly! I don't understand you! You are quick to endanger yourself… why?"

"Mother, I am not you! I will not hide from the world and cower in this house forever. Father wants me to explore myself. How can I do that locked away? I can never be you, but I won't be nothing. I want to live as the others do! I want to be treated as the others are! I have waited hundreds of years and I am tired of needing protection. I want to be free! Not under your watchful eye for life." She turned her back to Demeter.

"You have no idea what you speak of!"

Persephone twisted and faced Demeter in fury and whispered, "You think you understand? You were forced upon by Zeus and became pregnant with me! Your whole life you have been avoiding reality and have been burdened with a daughter that disgraces you!"

Demeter slapped Persephone across the face for her sharp tongue-

"What are you doing here?!" a hoarse voice hissed, "You have no right to be here!"

Persephone frightfully glanced up to up to see only darkness, "I… I'm lost—"

A stronger, deeper voice interrupted, "You do know that I have free reign to murder anyone who enters this realm lest they be dead?"

She quickened her breath, "I am not dead?"

Persephone was yanked to her feet by her hair and could feel hot breath on her face, "Do not mock me, mortal."

"I am not a mortal! I am the daughter of—"

He hissed, "It does not matter, I have been yearning for a fresh kill." Sharp teeth started to bite down upon Persephone's small neck before the first, more gentle voice broke in,

"Thanatos stop!" a wooden object could be heard falling to the ground as a cloaked body rustled forward and grabbed Persephone out of the grasp of the other, "How could she have gotten past all of our alarms? It is more likely that she could escape us had we been at the entrance then for her to go unharmed from the curses and traps we laid."

Persephone recognized the name Thanatos… Death. Her heart seized at her chest when she heard him speak, "Charon, if Hades finds out that we let any half or full deity into the Underworld, we will be punished severely or worse! Have you forgotten what he did to my youngest brother, Morpheus? His soul will forever remain in Elysium and I am forbidden, as is Hypnos, to ever see him again. Hand her over or take her across the Styx so that I may have her for later… I will not disobey as my brother did!"

"There must be a reason she could pass through unharmed, you fool!"

"You will not be calling me a fool when you will have to submit to Tartarus!"

I can hear your cries, Persephone. What is wrong? The voice that she had longed to hear at last but dreaded at the same time entered her mind. The Titan.

Stay away, Titan!

He sounded furious as if he could see through her own eyes and look into the past few minutes of memories being cemented to her brain,

How DARE they… he whispered.

What are you talking about? Titan, promise me! Promise me that you will not come for me… I have spent the last few days trying to stay away from you for your benefit, do not let my efforts to keep you safe be for naught! I want to make sure you are never found.

Persephone! The Titan thundered in her head.

Persephone cried softly from the sudden volume of the voice in her thoughts and passed out when teeth sank into her throat.

"Cerberus!" Hades howled in absolute authority.

The three-headed dog came running at an alarming speed but obediently matched his master's pace once he joined his side. Hades didn't even blink as he climbed into the summoned gondola and climbed in, motioning for his dog to follow. Hades growled angrily, and raised his arm forward. The boat started to move by itself and Cerberus seemed uneasy as he looked down into the water to see the souls of the damned, carrying the vessel across the river, swimming against the current. Hades knew he would not be able to control his temper any longer when he felt Persephone lose her consciousness and connection with him.

Once he docked, he could see through the darkness Persephone's limp form and Thanatos leaning over her.

"Thanatos!" Hades raised his voice with absolute power. The God looked back with blood dripping down his face. Enraged and beyond the point of control, Hades leapt out of the boat and with one throw, he tossed Thanatos like a ragdoll against the stone wall. The general of the Underworld looked confused as he stared at his King. He had only been following orders. Hades was too frustrated to care what his follower had been doing even if it was in the name of his own request to keep the Underworld guarded.

"You shall never hurt her again." He seethed. Hades could not feel anything. He was numb to emotion and justice. He would not let the monster who tried to kill Persephone go unpunished…

"Hades, I was just doing what you said!" Thanatos wore an anxious face at the sight of the God and the animal that accompanied him for only one reason… and he had witnessed it before with his youngest brother.

"You shall never hurt her again." Hades repeated calmly, stepping closer.

Thanatos felt betrayed as Cerberus bent low to the ground and started drawing near, growling threateningly, "You ordered me to guard the front! I have been obedient!"

More slowly and with a thick fog of unfeeling over his eyes, Hades repeated while licking his lips, "You shall never harm her… again."

Charon bowed his head in submission and stayed quiet, understanding what was about to happen to his friend.

Cerberus drug the lifeless body into the boat. Hades glanced at Charon and saw the shock in the ferryman's face but knew he would not speak out against him. The God of the Underworld turned his attention to the girl on the floor. To the servant's utter astonishment and amazement, he watched as his master dropped his forked staff and tossed his pronged crown from his head to the ground where it clanged against the hard rock and rolled into the shore of the river. The regal black and silver armor morphed into bronze and the charcoal robes beneath turned a dark scarlet. The black wolf's pelt across his shoulders was replaced by a white fox. Charon knew it was the adornment Hades used to bear before becoming the Ruler of the Underworld. It made him look like another royal deity… gentle and good and kind… not the King of Death and despair.

When the pale green eyes met the ferryman's black ones under his hood, Charon backed away in fear and boarded the gondola quickly.

After Charon had departed, Hades had carried Persephone to a small clearing in a forest of poplars. He laid her down and returned her to her original state before her soul separated from her body. She was close to death, but unlike Thanatos that could only bring upon the end of a life, Hades could also restore a life. Persephone would never die. He waited for what seemed like a thousand years for the girl to awake and yet she still remained motionless. Bringing her back into his arms, Hades sat in the shade from the moonlight against a tree and held her to his chest in a weak patience. He tried to distract himself with other thoughts…

He had entered Persephone's mind when she had let her contemplations rest upon him while she was riding with Oberauth. The question of why the Pegasus would put her in such harm's way was driving him to insanity. And yet, he already knew the answer. He just couldn't admit it. Of course Oberauth knew who he was, King of the Dead. He was not the fantasy Titan. Persephone had wished to see him. Oberauth could not fathom who this mystery man, the Titan, was but he could understand her heart. Persephone had been thinking, unbeknownst to her, that she wished to see the Ruler of the Underworld. And, forced by law of the bond, Oberauth was all but mandated to obey her desires. That was how she was able to enter his realm unharmed.

Hades was traveling down a slippery slope with his fable he created for the young girl. Shouldn't he let her go? It would keep her the safest. Perhaps Athena was wise into tricking him. Hades lectured Persephone on finding freedom when he had no grounds to speak of it when he planned to trap her in his asylum of death. She would be miserable. Persephone would never love him. Standing with the young goddess wrapped securely in his arms, he decided against waiting for her to awake. He would deliver her back to the embrace of Demeter where Persephone really belonged. And he would do it as his true form… no longer would he be her Titan. He was Hades, King of the Underworld.

"Demeter," Hades spoke softly and comfortingly as Demeter wept in his arms, tears staining his black robes.

When he had carried her to Olympus and broken through Demeter's walls in her mind to alert her, Apollo had been called upon to take Persephone to her chambers and to care for her. As much as he hated to see the younger God, he was being humbled and put in his place in the order of things. He had no business in Persephone's life. But Apollo did. Apollo could grant her warm sunlight and days running and singing through the field. The boy could give her children and raise her status higher than just the daughter of an Olympian. But couldn't Hades do the same? Couldn't he give her a whole kingdom to rule? The title of Queen would be bestowed upon her and she would join Amphitrite, Queen of the Seas, and Hera, Queen of the Gods, as the final ruler in the Godhead… The Queen of the Underworld. And wouldn't Persephone look beautiful in silver? The metal of his Kingdom?

He had to shake himself out of his trance. Hades could not interfere…

"Oh my dear brother, how did she come to be in your Kingdom when not even Athena could break through your protection?" she whimpered in confusion and was more disoriented than anything.

Apollo returned from Persephone's quarters and Hades looked for confirmation, "She is alright. She woke up briefly but I gave her the sleeping tonic you supplied for her, Hades, and now she is in a peaceful slumber. It seems she will be fine by morning."

Demeter grasped at the midnight fur on Hades' shoulders before she let one hand rest on the shadow of facial hair on his cheek. He glanced between Apollo and Demeter, "It seems your daughter was trying to ride a wild Pegasus and was thrown off. How she passed through to the Underworld, I have yet to inquire of my servants but I do assure you, the one that did her harm was justly punished and took your daughter's fate for her."

"Persephone had escaped through her window earlier this afternoon when I had arrived to pay a visit. Demeter said she had been in her private chambers for days and refused food and drink. Could it be possible that she intentionally wished to enter your realm?" Apollo questioned, worried.

Hades scoffed, "As you can see, if she had real desire to travel to my kingdom, she would have been blocked just as Athena was." He lied, hiding the truth of Oberauth and the power the horse really possessed. Apollo was trusting enough so that Hades' false reasoning satisfied him, "My servants did not sense her presence until she tripped at the shore of the Styx where Charon found her."

"My Brother, how can I thank you for delivering her here, entrusting her to no one but yourself where she would be safe from harm?" Demeter guiltily buried her face in his collar, forgetting to be strong and independent like she usually was. When her daughter could have been killed, Demeter turned into a weeping mess.

"Do not forget Demeter, that he also spared her life." Apollo chimed in and held his hand out to shake Hades in thanks.

Hades was disgusted with the God and growing uncomfortable with the lamentable Goddess hanging onto him for dear life, "It is time I take my leave."

"No… Hades how can I possibly repay this debt?"

He looked down upon her, "Let me go."

"Wait!" a weak voice called to the three. It was Persephone.

Hades stiffened. He brought the sleep tonic for a reason so that she would not be roused while he was there. His shame filled his soul when he knew he was slipping again… Persephone would not see him, he vowed. He would always remain what she thought him to be. She must never know of the pitiful God who wanted her love so badly. She must never know of the ruler of the Underworld who was so alone that he planned to force her to stay with him for eternity. She must never know her Titan, Hades.

Persephone came stumbling down to the main entrance as she saw the gleam of a beautiful pronged crown in the candlelight before the figure disappeared.

"Persephone, what are you doing out of bed? You were supposed to be resting." The Sun God sighed softly, not happy to see her up in her fragile state but relieved that she was improving so quickly.

Apollo steadied her as she looked around, "I wanted to thank my savior… where is he?" Her eyes met Demeter's, "Who is he?"

Like a moth to the flame, Hades could not stay away from Persephone. At the sound of her sweet voice, he knew that there was no way he could give her up so easily. He had not returned to his realm where he should have been, instead he waited on the rooftop where Persephone had cared for his wounds just days previously. When he could hear Persephone's peaceful, sleep-induced dreams, he ventured to her chambers once more.

Sitting on the edge of her bed, he unlatched his cloak and wrapped it around her body. He stroked her arm over his makeshift blanket and bowed his head in misery. What would he give to see her sleeping so comfortably in his own kingdom? What lengths would he go so that she would love him for who he really was? The God of the Underworld? It would never come to pass. But he was too attached to her. How was it fair that his emotions had to be set aside for the good of others? When would he stop being pushed around by those holding power over his head? Persephone was his life now, without her… he realized, he would not be able to live. He experienced that very real feeling of despair and hopelessness earlier that day.

Persephone started to stir and begrudgingly opened her heavy eyes. Her honey orbs traveled down to the fox fur that wrapped around her shoulder and chest. She had not noticed his presence yet until he shifted slightly. Her petite hand found its way into the soft pelt and she sighed sadly, watching him, "Titan, I prayed to never see you again, but I cannot deny the comfort this gives me," Persephone nuzzled further into the cloak. And as fate would have it, he was once again pretending to personify someone he could never be… the noble Titan who wanted only what was best for her and thought nothing of himself. Who was he fooling? Hades was more selfish than he could bear to think. And he was lying to the only woman who ever tried to see the good in him. She had thought kindly of him when he was only a voice to her and no figure… if that was true, could she not fall in love with a King? The King of the…

Hades bit his tongue and would not let his hopeful wishes go any further. Persephone's eyes closed once more and she seemed to drift off under the influence of the liquid he had provided for her. Why had she prayed to never see the Titan again? Was it just the tonic speaking? The last time she had said goodbye, she had been happy with him. He had seen her excitement with Oberauth and her fondness for him in her eyes. Was she still upset with her Titan?

He let his armor fade away so that he wouldn't be cumbersome, and as delicately as he could, he lay down beside her and examined the young Goddess. Persephone sighed in contentment as her lips parted and Hades could hear her breathing escape her. Her hair that had been thrown into a haphazard bun had fallen out and now her blonde curls were twisting and turning more delicately than silk across her sheets. She was more beautiful than any woman he had ever looked upon. Aphrodite couldn't hold a candle to what Persephone shone. The Goddess of love was beautiful but provocative. Persephone was innocent but glowed with an aura around her that was contagious. Her sweetness within just increased the beauty that radiated from her core.

Who was he to let her go and give her up from his life? He couldn't live with himself if another man took her from him. He would not let it happen. Hades started to sink lower into his destructive self. He had to have her. He would die without her. What was life to him, especially immortal life, without the presence of that ethereal being that clouded his mind in a thick fog? Never could he forget her and he knew then that what was right and wrong didn't matter anymore. Damn Athena. Damn Thanatos. Damn Zeus and Apollo and Demeter and… everyone that stood in the way of his happiness. He had a glimpse of true bliss and he would never let that be taken from him. Persephone belonged to him and he would play as the Titan for as long as need be until the day she came of age. Then he would make her love him. She had to.

His mind started scheming and whirling out of any kind of order and control. His thoughts and wishes were not his own but the beast's that raged inside him. The time for Persephone's official title was drawing near and even with the hiccup caused by Athena, he was not discouraged. Hades would take her before she was claimed for her duties. He would force her to become Goddess of the Underworld. If she was taken for tasks above his kingdom, it would be much harder for Zeus to agree for Persephone to stay in his realm. He was also on borrowed time considering that even if he was too late to take her away after being claimed for the world or skies above, Apollo would marry her almost directly after the ceremony. Every God or Goddess had to be assigned responsibilities before any true relationship or marriage could commence… and so Hades planned to follow this. She would be claimed as the Goddess of the Damned and would thenceforth and forever be his Queen.

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