My huge, genuine, resounding thanks to all constant readers who have given feedback. I love you for it. I really do. Apologies for lack of updates lately, its exam time and I'm dying of stress. On the plus side, summer vacation soon. Woo-hoo ^-^
A Persephone-esque chapter now, humbly submitted for the enjoyment of you lovely lot.
Act Three Scene One:
Persephone waited in the dappled shade of the old, wizened oak, enjoying the breeze on her skin and the softly whinnying neighs and the horsey smell that drifted over from the stables. She herself smelled as light and fresh and clean as the spring water she'd bathed in that very morning. She had brushed her hair until it gleamed like the Milky Way on a frosty night, and had yes, even applied a little lip colour. She did so quite unconsciously, and upon gazing at her reflection had then asked herself why.
Lord Hades is my father's elder brother, a powerful and influential god, her reflection replied. It would be rude not to make an effort.
But somehow, and perhaps it was only a trick of the light, her eyes seemed to say something else. Something in them moved, like a ripple in a pond, and she was reminded of one of the wise sayings hat her mother was always parroting at her; still waters run deep.
There wasn't any other reason she wanted to look pretty for Lord Hades, was there?
He is a somewhat handsome man, if you happen to like the macho, masculine type...as my sister clearly does, if the strange conversation we had last night is anything to go on.
Persephone had realised in the midst of all this ruminating (that had, for some reason, brought heat to her cheeks) that she was making herself late for her rendezvous, and out of her room she had flown without a second thought to her motives. On the way, her mind recalled how flushed little Artemis had been, how cold and sweaty her hands had been as she grabbed Persephone's and begged a favour, how her little voice had trembled, reminding Persephone of the trill of the stray white kitten she'd been feeding a saucer of milk to each night after her mother went to bed. Artemis' story of how Hades had offered to be her tutor and how she only wanted to see if he was truly a man of good character before she accepted didn't ring true to the level of distraction she'd been in, fluttering about Persephone's room; bouncing off the walls and chirping like a starling that had flown in by the window and couldn't find its way out. Persephone hadn't dared to ask her dear younger sister the blindingly obvious: 'are you by chance interested in…dating…Lord Hades?' The words, even now, made her shudder. Even if Artemis was having a fanciful and innocuous crush, as so many young girls her age did, of course nothing would ever come of it just as the tender lamb will never court the fierce lion. It was an illogical, laughable contemplation.
Yet still. Restively standing here and waiting for her sister and her uncle while listening to the murmur of the horses stomp and snuffle in the warm wafts of hay and manure, Persephone was inarguably troubled.
My sister and my uncle together…the concept only bothers me so because I'm worried for her safety. Yes.
Hades was the first to arrive, vaunting along over the horizon of trees in his cloaks of black and holding the reins of the biggest horse Persephone had ever seen; a mighty behemoth of a creature that strutted behind her master, her eyes of fire and tenebrous coat of black sheen glistening on her flanks under the sweltering sun. As Hades hailed Persephone a smile grew slowly upon his lips and crinkled his eyes, and for a brief millisecond she saw the shadow of the handsome man her uncle might've been if not burdened with the cruel destiny of running the Underworld.
'Good morning,' he called, when he was close enough to be heard.
'Good morning to you,' Persephone replied, and the affection that swelled in her heart as he approached was utterly unconscious. 'I'm impressed with your mare, and I must confess, a little frightened.'
Hades laughed, but not unkindly. 'Allow me to introduce you to my favourite girl Blinky. She's a docile dame; don't let her appearance fool you.' He brought the mammoth beast to a halt in front of the stables, and her hooves, big enough to cover continents, gracefully ceased motion. The mare's blazing eyes were half shut beneath her long lashes and she snuffled, swishing her silver tail in a passive manner that Persephone found rather charming. Her mane was like a shower of stardust in the wake of a comet.
'May I pet her?' Persephone asked, enchanted.
Hades' smile widened, nearly touching his ears. 'You may. She's generally very good with people...unlike me.'
Persephone stepped forward and held out her hand. Goodness, she thought in shock, this creature towers over me, like Hades himself. Blinky took two uninterested sniffles of the girl's hand, and then shifted her weight impatiently. Beneath the veil of misty lashes Persephone noted with awe that Blinky's eyes were vinaceous, a rich hue of burgundy like wine swirling in a glass.
'She's looking forward to this,' Hades said softly, into Persephone's ear. The girl jumped. At some point he'd crept up behind her. 'I haven't had time to ride her lately. She can pick up incredible speeds when I take her out in the open. She's a wild one really; she doesn't like to be cooped up.'
He ran a hand over Blinky's cheek in a caress of pure fondness. Persephone watched this, her heart swelling like high tide.
'You love her, don't you?' she asked.
Hades started, looked from the girl to the horse and back again, and laughed. It was a reedy, nervous laugh. 'Yes, I do,' he admitted, his deep brown eyes so very warm. 'She's the one woman who I can run free with, the one woman who never lets me down.'
Persephone was touched and didn't know what to say to this, and Hades, who was standing before her awkwardly, moved over and began to saddle up Blinky. Persephone had the notion that he'd told her something very personal, and now wished he hadn't.
'Which one of those lovely ladies is yours?' he asked, his voice a tad gruffer than usual, jerking his head with causal abandon in the direction of the stables. Even this gesture was considered uncouth by godly standards, and Persephone could practically hear her mother sneering if she ever saw it, but she didn't care.
'The little Arabian,' she said, moving to the stable door and resting her elbows upon it. 'Father says he got her at a steal at a human market…and that she's perfect for me.'
Hades, finished with Blinky, appeared at her side and leaned over the stable door. His head lolled to one side, and he grinned like a five year old lad about to do something mischievous. Persephone found herself unable to look away. 'Arabians are known for their beauty, intelligence and lissom movements,' he murmured slyly. He met her gaze with his own, direct flirtatiousness with a hint of arrogance. 'She is perfect for you.'
For a second Persephone went hot with pleasure, and then hot with anger. She was boiling, and her face was heating and tears were stinging her eyes, and in one swift sweep she wrenched open the stable door, nearly knocking Hades flying, and went in to find her horse. 'We'd better get her saddled,' she said, curt yet trembling. 'Artemis will be here soon.'
She cornered the filly, which eyed her suspiciously and whinnied, and though Persephone was a little frightened she was too mad to show it and far too mad to take any bad behaviour. She held the creature still, muttering soothing noises that came out sounding more like oaths, and Hades walked past holding the saddle. While he worked he shot her the occasional wounded, confused glance that she ignored.
She was having none of it. How dare he look at her like that? How dare he.
While he'd spoken to her of his love for Blinky Persephone would have bet her immortal life that the words were the truth, and she found them beautiful in their naked honesty. But that smirk he'd just given her, and that awful sycophancy, viscid with insincerity and amatory intent…it made her shudder. Maybe he was so used to chatting women up that he couldn't turn it off, but that was little excuse.
She was having none of it.
With Hades' help she silently led the creature out into the light, leaving the comforting mustiness of the stable behind. The mare lifted her white streaked muzzle to the high sky, and seemed to fill her lungs with the fresh summer air. Persephone thought how striking the filly was, with her mahogany coat and her black mane as dark as Persephone's own. Blinky was occupied grazing and didn't take notice of her new, smaller companion.
'What are you going to call her?' asked Hades suddenly, and though Persephone ought to be used to his penchant for materialising beside her and whispering into her ear by now, she feared it would always make her jump.
'Gem,' she replied in a brusque monosyllable.
'A fitting name,' Hades said.
She could feel his eyes cautiously sweeping over her, trying to understand why she had suddenly closed herself off. She began to feel guilty and ashamed. It was not only unkind to act so childish, it was also discourteous. He probably hadn't meant to offend her with his comment. She tried to smile.
'I thought we might take lunch on our way home from the lagoon,' she said with a brittle politeness. 'There's a lovely open field in the hills with a view of the palace, perfect for taking an interlude and sampling some fresh fruit.'
'Sounds perfect,' Hades agreed affably. He paused. 'I'll be damned,' he said suddenly, making her eyebrows rise, 'you still wear that?'
Persephone wrinkled her nose, affronted and bewildered, and then saw that he was referring to the emerald apple brooch clasped upon her bosom. 'Why yes, I love it. I've worn it as my lucky charm since I was a child. Is there something wrong with my wearing it?' she added coldly.
'No, no.' Hades was frowning, the most curious mixture of happiness and sadness. 'I am most glad you found use of it. Demeter scoffed when I gave it you; she told me an infant had no use for trinkets.' Another sad smile, and he rubbed the back of his neck, turning his head to the wind. Somewhere above them, a lark sang its jaunty song.
'You…you're the one who gave me this?' Persephone's mind was blank with shock. 'But Mama always said…Mama told me that there had been no card with the gift, that she never knew who gave it to me.'
'Well.' Another kind of smile now played at Hades' heavy, sensual mouth. 'Maybe the card fell off.'
But Persephone knew he was thinking exactly what she was thinking: Maybe your mother didn't want you to know I gave it to you, because let us face facts; she hasn't exactly been subtle about the fact that she HATES MY GUTS.
'Oh Lord Hades,' she said. Her fingertips touched the sharp ridges and the smooth facets of the talisman she'd reached for every time she scraped her knee, every time she had a fight with her mother, every time she missed the Olympian palace. It had always been there for her. He had always been there for her, and she hadn't known it until today. Her anger at him was forgotten in the calm serenity of the crickets chirping and the rustle of the branches of the gnarled old oaks as the fresh summer zephyr danced through them and the brown of his earthy eyes that refused her admittance into their unknowable depths.
'I picked it for you because it matched the colours of your eyes when you were born,' he went on, still studiously averting his gaze and watching the mackerel formation in the blue infinity above. 'Did you know that your eyes were once as green as spring in bloom? They only turned that ravishing blue tone after a week or so. I picked the brooch for you because at the time I was rather smitten with a lady who had green eyes just like yours, crisp as an apple and sparkling as a jewel. It was my wish that you grow to be as beautiful as that lady.' He finally faced her, slowly and tentatively. He touched her chin. 'As it turns out, you've outdone her in both beauty and charm.'
Persephone, overcome with a freshet of compliments, drowning in a deluge of emotion, nodded like a puppet on a string.
Artemis came at that moment, dragging behind her a wilful palomino, and Persephone was both relived and irritated at her presence. Hades left her side to greet Artemis and calm down the palomino, who was bucking and shrilling at the sight of Gem and Blinky (though the sight of Blinky was, in fairness, enough to send most screaming and running in the opposite direction) and Persephone took stock of her fluttering heart and her weak legs and prepared herself for the day ahead.
Hades was now laughing and speaking to Artemis, his voice as smooth and sweet as whipped cream on a strawberry dessert, and Artemis was going as red as the proverbial strawberries.
Persephone felt hot breath on her ear and jumped for the third time, half expecting Hades, but it was Blinky. She was done with grazing and keen to go, and demonstrated this by shoving her huge nose in Persephone's ear.
'You have no sense of personal space,' Persephone told the horse in exasperation, pushing its muzzle gently away. 'Just like your master.'
Hades had his hands around Artemis, helping her up onto the horse (which was inexplicably named Marshmallow, despite the fact that it was all gangly feet and legs and looked like no marshmallow Persephone had ever seen), and Persephone felt a hot current running through her at the sight of them, even more shudder-worthy than a horse licking your earlobe in gusto.
It had a vitriolic, bitter aftertaste.
It felt a lot like jealousy.
She fingered her brooch, her gift. Artemis didn't have one.
My sister and my uncle together…the concept only bothers me so because I'm worried for her safety. Right?