Update time! You might have noticed that I changed the rating to T as I feel like an M rating isn't really justified (even though this chapter is going to be violent lol), I might have been a bit too cautious first. This chapter was much fun to write as I find a strange kind of pleasure in drama and emotional pain (I'm quite sure that most of you know that feeling). I really hope you'll enjoy this just as much!
Chapter Seven
A few days later, Demeter sat down by a small fountain, wiping her wet cheeks. She had searched for her lost child for days, but Persephone was nowhere to be found. The earth looked much like a desert now, after the Goddess of Harvest had completely abandoned her duties.
"Oh my sweet child, where are you?", she muttered to herself and ran a hand through her former thick hair that was now hanging into her face in greasy streaks.
Suddenly a shadow fell onto her and Demeter looked up. In front of her was a man with bright golden hair and teeth so white that he could easily advertise toothpaste ("Colgate super white – for a Godly smile"). He sat down next to her, smiling widely.
"What do you want, Helios?", Demeter asked in a tired voice, rubbing her forehead. She hadn't slept in days.
"Oh, I just heard that you were searching for your beautiful daughter."
"Yes. And?"
"And I might be able to help you, my dear cousin."
Demeter looked up, her eyes widened.
"How? Talk!"
"She got abducted. I know by whom, buuut the question is what you are willing to give me in exchange for that information."
He grinned even wider and that's when something snapped in Demeter's head. She jumped up and within a second she had her hand around Helios' neck, shaking with anger.
"Shut up, you lower God! You lose more and more power as the people forget about you and worship Apollo instead, so shut the fuck up! You will tell me where my daughter is right now or I will squeeze you to juice!"
Helios let out a pressed sound and nodded until she let go of his neck. He swallowed a few times, rubbing the red skin.
"Hades...Hades abducted her."
Zeus was busy with a woman that was surely not his wife when the doors to his throne room were smashed open and a very angry Harvest Goddess stomped into the room.
"You! You measly worm of a king and father, how dare you!"
Zeus sighed and sent his girl away before slowly dressing again.
"Nice to meet you, sister. How can I help you?"
"My daughter got abducted and you do not only not help me searching, no, you're well aware of where she is! Helios just told me that Hades abducted my sweet Persephone and you can't tell me that you didn't know about that!"
She rushed up to him, one finger raised and her face red of anger. Zeus rolled his eyes and sat down on his throne with a low sigh.
"Yes, I do know that she's with Hades. They got married just a few days ago."
Demeter paled, then her face turned an even darker shade of red.
"YOU LET THIS BASTARD MARRY MY DAUGHTER?", she yelled at the top of her lungs, looking as if she would collapse any second.
"Yes. I gave him my permission. You might have forgotten it, but she's my daughter too and as her father I can decide about her. That I let her be with you all the years is all thanks to my never ending mercy."
"You call this mercy, you damn traitor? Oh dear, my poor daughter! Married to this...this being."
"Yes. So, would you go now? I have still some business to attend to."
"Oh no, no, dear brother. This time you won't get away like that. Did you take a look at your precious earth? All the plants are dying, it will soon be a complete desert. And who will pray to you when all humans are dead? Your oh so beloved humans?"
"You wouldn't kill all humankind..."
"Yes I would and I will! You will come with me now and help me to get my daughter out of the monster's claws, otherwise I'll kill every human being on this planet!"
Zeus swallowed, his hands clenching and unclenching. He really needed the humans, every God did. If they all were to die…
"Fine. I'll come with you."
"Do we want to have dinner now?", Hades asked softly after they had sat in comfortable silence for a while. Persephone nodded slowly, her decision not to eat crumbling again. She was hungry and why would she listen to some strange feeling she couldn't even place?
"Alright. I just want to change my clothes first, if that's okay."
"Of course, I will pick you up then."
Hades accompanied his wife to her chambers before returning to his own ones to get fresh. Persephone looked after him with a small smile and went inside, humming while opening the dresser and deciding what to wear.
"You seem in a good mood today, Persephone...or shall I call you Kore?", a strange voice said behind her when she was just done dressing.
Hades stopped in front of his wife's chambers as soon as he had put on proper clothes and combed his hair; he wanted to look the best way possible, after all. He was just about to knock when he heard a voice. Frowning, he opened the door just enough to peek inside.
Persephone whirled around to see a very beautiful woman with flowing dark hair and a torch in her hand.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?"
"I'm sorry if I startled you, dear. My name is Hecate, I'm one of the Goddesses that live in the underworld."
"Oh...I see. And calling me Persephone is fine, I'm married, after all."
"You are...but maybe not for long. Have you eaten in the Underworld, my child?"
"No...I always had the feeling that I shouldn't"
"Good, then my messages reached you. I wasn't so sure as I had to make sure Hades wouldn't notice anything."
"So it was you who told me this? Why?"
"People who have eaten something in the Underworld can never leave it again. You, however, can still return if this is your wish. Your mother will arrive soon."
"My mother is really coming? She wants to save me?"
"Yes, child. You will be able to return to your home, if this is your wish."
Hades in front of the door felt like he was suffocating, his thoughts whirling in his head. His damned wife had tricked him again and would leave soon...would leave his side…
He pushed the door open and looked at the two woman, a creepy smile plastered on his face. His dark aura was present again and his feelings of wrath were so strong that dark smoke formed on the ground he was standing on, his presence causing the temperature to drop. Streaks of cold steam whipped out and tried to touch the woman's feet. His energy was radiating off him in dark waves that would make any human die instantly. Persephone felt the pulsating waves hit her and she sank down to her knees, blood running down from her nose. In his anger, Hades didn't even notice the impact he was having on his wife and Hecate, who was stumbling and holding onto a chair.
"So. My dear wife has decided to leave me, I see. But don't think I will let that happen, my love. You will stay with me until the end of your days and you will never see the earth again, do you understand me?"
His voice was dangerously calm and he laughed darkly as he pulled Persephone up by her neck, like an impudent cat. His touched caused freezer bums on her delicate white neck. He lowered his face close to hers to see the angst in her eyes. Her lips were trembling and stained in blood that was still running out of her nose, but she couldn't answer him. Although Hades was just holding her neck, she felt as if he was strangling her with his bare hands.
"Nothing to say to this? Fine, then I will talk. You can never escape me, you hear me? Never."
"Leave her be, Hades", Hecate muttered lowly, while trying to stand up again.
"You dare to talk back to me!", he yelled back and at his furious gaze, she exploded in a pile of sand.
"Now it's just the two of us, mh? I heard you haven't eaten yet, my dear, another trick of yours, it seems? But it's nothing we can't change..."
He threw her weak body over his shoulder and used the passage to the garden he had recently made. He plucked a pomegranate from the big tree in the middle and threw his wife onto the ground, who was slowly losing consciousness due to the power he still rayed. Pure darkness in it's most horrible and dangerous form and as cold as fluid carbon dioxide.
Hades ripped the pomegranate apart and grabbed a good dozen of the seeds before sitting down on his wife, his knees on her arms, and forcing her mouth open. Before she could react, he shoved one seed after another into her mouth and made her swallow until six seeds had made their way to her stomach. Persephone felt sick due to the force and was about to vomit, but Hades just covered her mouth with his hand and used his fingers to stuff the pomegranate seeds down her throat again, not caring that her skin cracked open at his cold touch.
"Keep your mouth shut and swallow, dumb woman!"
He held her even tighter and was reaching for more seeds to feed her with, just to be careful, when someone jumped onto him and crashed both of their bodies into the ground. Hades was up again within a second and stared at his younger brother.
"How dare you, Zeus! This is none of your business!", he bellowed and tried to shove his brother away to get back to his wife. Demeter hurried to her now unconscious daughter and tried to make her vomit, but it was too late, the seeds were safely in her body. Zeus raised a hand and slapped his brother who burst into laughter; the dark smoke around him lashed out even more and caused the ground to freeze.
"It's too late! She is mine and I will never let her go again!"
Demeter let out an angry sound.
"Have you gone insane now? Look what you did to my poor daughter!", she yelled and stroked Persephone's pale cheeks before lifting her up and carrying her to Hades' palace to take care of her. The Lord of the Underworld himself looked after them, he was so angry that stars were dancing in front of his eyes. Zeus carefully laid a hand his shoulder.
"Brother...calm down, you're freezer burning the ground."
Hades looked down to his feet where the dark smoke was still lingering like carbon dioxide snow. He breathed in and out a few times and the vapour slowly vanished. His head hurt like hell and the stars before his eyes worsened as he stumbled and held onto his brother for support.
"What...", he muttered as he ran a shaking hand through his hair. He remembered what had happened, but it felt like a dream to him, as if he had been in a dizzy state. His eyes widened when he remembered that his wife had fallen unconscious. He stumbled even more when he tried to follow Demeter and Persephone.
"Careful", Zeus muttered and caught him when he nearly fell.
"I would have never thought that, but it seems like you need my help right now...I'll make sure that you won't forget it, but for now we need to get you inside, though..."
Zeus laid one arm around his brother to support him and slowly walked him back to the palace. Hades hated to admit it, but he had used way too much of his power; he felt old and worn-out now. When Zeus wanted to bring him to his chambers, he shook his head.
"No…bring me to my wife, I need to see her."
"Are you sure? She might not want to see you..."
"You are one to say! I don't need to mention the trouble you caused her, right?"
"I'm her father and king, I can do with her whatever I want."
"And I'm her husband. Besides we are in my realm right now, making me the king. Now get me to my wife's rooms, I want to be with her."
Zeus rolled his eyes, but soon later they entered Persephone's rooms. The Queen of the Underworld was laying in her bed with her eyes closed, Demeter by her side and holding her hand. She looked up when the two men entered the room, scolding. Hades staggered over to his wife and nearly fell into the bed next to her. He gently took the hand that wasn't in Demeter's possession and raised it to his lips to kiss it.
"Don't you dare touch her!", Demeter growled and shot him an angry glance.
"She is my wife!"
Zeus rubbed his forehead. Why did he stand up again? He should have stayed in bed, with that sweet girl by his side. She was a curvy beauty with long red hair, a wild kitten who knew a hundred ways to-
"I demand you to leave my daughter right now!", Demeter interrupted his pleasant thoughts. Well, seems like his amazing skills as a judge were asked for.
"Demeter, Hades, both of you will shut up now. Demeter, you come with me and we will let my brother rest. I'm sure we can discuss everything tomorrow."
"But…!", she squealed.
"No. Come now."
Zeus stood up and pulled his sister outside, leaving Hades and Persephone alone in the room. The Lord of the Underworld slid closer to his wife and stroked her hand. He bit his lips when he looked at her face; she was carrying bruise marks on her neck and chin and her whole face was covered in freezing bums. It would heal soon enough, but he was feeling horrible anyway. This was his fault alone, he had severely heard his wife in a fit of anger.
"I'm so sorry, my love", he whispered softly and stroked her cool skin that was covered in a thin layer of sweat. Under the gentle touch of his hands the bruises slowly started to disappear. She let out a soft whimper and her eyes fluttered open.
"Hades?", she muttered in a horse voice. He swallowed and carefully stroked a streak of hair out of her face.
"I'm here...and you can't believe how sorry I am, my dear. I hurt you so much...when I overheard your talk with Hecate...oh my, I think I vaporised her...I just freaked out. I thought I would lose you..."
Persephone swallowed, tears glistening in her eyes.
"Yes, you did", she muttered after a while. Her throat still felt sore from the harsh touch and her skin burned, but it was slowly getting better.
"I can only repeat myself, I'm so sorry for everything I did to you. If I could turn back time, I'd immediately would and let you go. But you ate six seeds..."
"Yes. Hades, I don't know what to say to this...you should have asked me before forcing me to eat the seeds. I missed my mother and looked forward to see her...still I wouldn't have gone with her. I wanted to stay with you either way, but now...now I don't want to stay anymore, now I'm forced to stay."
Her words came slow and husky first, but Persephone already felt herself getting stronger again and her voice returned with every syllable she formed. Hades on the other hand felt his insides grow cold at what he heard. She had wanted to stay with him. His actions had been completely unnecessary and now he had ruined everything because he couldn't control his temper. He slowly sank to his back, his hand sliding off her face. What had he done…
What do you think? I'd love to hear your opinion!
