Chapter 10

Vernal Equinox

Helios soon will be on his highest peak and they have not come yet. I should have never trusted Zeus and Hades to keep their word. The damned bastards if they have tricked me I will make they rue the day they were born.

I cannot wait anymore, my daughter has been away from me for too long. I should have never left her out of my sight. This would have never happened if I was more vigilant, if I had her constantly by my side. Hades would never be able to turn her against me then.

After I returned from the Underworld I found hidden under her bed a small chest. In it there were a black cloak and jewelry, his things of course, given to my daughter with the purpose to slowly to poison her mind. This is how he tricked her to follow him and how he can control her. But I have found them now and I will not let her be under his influence any more, I will release her from his dark spell. By the end of the next six months her mind will be purged from his evil enchantments and she will be free. She herself then will beg Zeus to free her from Hades, to not be forced to set her foot in the Underworld again. Hades will not ever touch her again. Persephone is mine, she belongs up here with me, her mother and not down there in the realm of darkness. She is life; she doesn't belong with the dead.

Then all of the sudden the earth starts to tremor and splitting in half. From the dark chasm that appears I see a chariot leaping forward. Four Dread Steeds with black manes are harnessed on it, pulling it towards the light. On the chariot I see two riders, Hades the fiend and my daughter.

I want to run towards her and grab her away from him but Zeus holds me back. He warned me this morning not to make a scene or I would regret it. I will have to wait for a few more moments but I will tolerate it now that I see she is here.

They get of the chariot but they do not come closer. They hold each other and whisper. I cannot hear them, no one here can hear them but I do not like what I see. My daughter is crying, she's holding his hands tightly and doesn't even look at me. Some kind of bad premonition comes into my heart and I know it will not be easy to part these two.

( OOO )

I cannot hold my tears, I haven't stopped crying since this morning. I was praying to the Fates these last ten days that this moment would never come. I know that our separation is only temporary, that in a few months I will be with him again but I cannot stand it. It makes my heart bleed.

"Don't cry my love" he whispers softly in my ear. I want to scream and curse all the gods for this injustice they inflicted upon us. Hades could oppose to Zeus's decision but it would mean war and that is something I fear. I fear that I will lose him and so we both agreed, so we both suffer now.

"I don't want to go"

"I don't want you to go either but we have no other choice. We gave Zeus our word that we'll honor this agreement and we cannot take it back now."

"I love you" I say to him and I am ready to cry again.

"I love you too" I hear him say and I see a single tear rolling down his cheek. I have never seen him cry before, I am certain he has never done it, not even once. I touch that precious tear with my thumb and then I bring it to my lips. I taste this proof of his love and his sorrow and I find it salty and sweet. He kisses both my hands then.

"Remember, there will be no goodbyes for us." He reminds me of our first parting and embraces me.

"Until the autumn then my love" I answer him.

"Until the autumn my little butterfly. Now dry your tears and be strong." I nod and we kiss one last time. Our kiss is long and desperate, I want time to stop right now, not to go any further. But not even the most powerful god cannot change destiny and ours was never to be left in peace. This is the price we must pay for our stolen happiness.

Reluctantly our bodies separate and I just stand there frozen. He sees that I cannot make the next step and he understands. He rides his chariot and prepares to leave. Before he pulls the reins he turns his face back to me and I see him mouthing these last few words "I will come for you." I see his chariot then leaping into the darkness and then he is gone.

I turn towards my parents and I see my mother running to me. She is holding me tight in her arms but her embrace seems cold to me. Mechanically I put my arms around her as I hear mutter with joy.

"My girl, my sweet little girl finally I have you in my arms. You don't know how much I have missed you. My beloved child you are with your mother now, you are safe." I do not pay attention to her endless rambling. I do not pay attention to anything. My heart feels broken and my body is numb. I just stare into the open field trying to hold my tears back.

"Your room is just as you left it, soon you will be back into the comfort of our home" that sobers me up quickly. I had a deal with my father and I will make her honor it.

"NO" I say "I will not stay in the same room with you. I am not a child any more and I will have my own bedroom." She opens her eyes widely, shocked but my father doesn't let her protest.

"She is right, she is not a child and you will not treat her like one". My mother bows her head even though she wants to disagree. Oh gods give me strength, these are going to be six very long months.

( OOO )

My new room is being prepared right now but I need something from my old one. So I go there and look for it under my bed. I do not find it though. It was well hidden under the floor but I have been gone for three months, my mother had plenty of time to go through my things. She took it I know it. Its contents were obvious where they came from, their source could only be one. How did she dare to take it? It was mine!

"MOTHER" I scream down the hall. I see her coming out of the room she is preparing for me and I rage.

"Where is it? What did you do with it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"My chest! The one I had under the bed. Where is it? I want it back" I demand but she is just standing there acting superior.

"I got rid of it! I will keep you away from his poisons. You will not be under his influence again. I will cure you of him. Everything will be again as before. I will erase every mark he has left on you. Soon you will be my sweet little child again." She proudly announces and I want to strike her. If she thinks that things are going to be as before then she is seriously deluded.

"I want it back" I scream.

"NO" she yells back at me.

"You will give it back to me or I swear it on the river Styx that you will never see me again." She pales when she hears my threat.

"You cannot do that. You have to stay here."

"I have to spend six months each year on the surface. I am not obligated to spend them with you. If I stay here it will be on my rules." I won't back down. I am not the little coward I once was. I have seen things that would give her nightmares. I have powers now beyond her imagination. I have lost so many things because of her, I have been separated from my own husband because of her whims, and I will not let her to rob me of anything else.

"Fine, I will give it back" she relents "most of those things don't match with your clothes anyway." They don't match with my clothes? Oh no, she didn't!

I barge in the room and go straight to the wardrobe. I open it and it is exactly what I feared. White robes, those hateful plain virginal white robes she made me wear all my life. I will not stand them this time. I like wearing colors, his colors, they suit me more and they remind me of him. They declare that I belong to him. And my skin is now used to the touch of silk and satin and velvet and all the other exquisite fabrics he has spoiled me with. I am not her pretty little doll she likes to play with, I am the Queen of the Underworld.

Enraged I grab each dress and toss it out of the window.

"I will never wear these hideous dresses again!"

"Don't be ridiculous Persephone. Soon you will take the vows of the virgin goddess. You will always be dressed in white." I cannot believe what I am hearing.

"Have you lost your mind? I cannot take the vows. I AM MARRIED! I am not a virgin anymore." Now I see my mother is ready to cry and she is angry at the same time.

"He raped you! That bastard raped you. I will make him pay for soiling you. Never fear my child, I will never let him put his filthy hands on you again. I wil…"

"Don't talk about my husband in this way! I won't stand it. I slept with him because I wanted to and I enjoyed every minute of it." I do not know how I did it but I slapped her on her face while I was screaming at her. All this insanity and her crazy denial made me lose my temper. And I stroked her really hard because she is lying on the floor. I should feel guilty, I should have never raised my hand on her - she is my mother after all - but I actually feel good about it. She is holding now her cheek looking at me hurt and her eyes have that look that screams "how could you?" Slowly she gets up saying that she will bring my chest back. As she exits the room I remember something else.

"One last thing, your handmaidens will not serve me anymore nor will escort me where I go. They will not even enter my rooms. From now on I will have my own servants."

After she leaves I hear a noise coming from the wardrobe. I open it again and this time I see it filled with some of the dresses I left behind. He sent them to me! I cannot hold the facade anymore and now that my anger is gone I cannot hide my pain either. I melt down on the floor and I start crying again here alone in my room.

( OOO )

She hit me! My own daughter slapped me on my face. Oh how he has corrupted her. This creature, this wild and wanton creature is not my child. Curse Hera and her blessing! She did this to my daughter. Her fate was to remain with me, never to experience the filthy and deviant touch of a man, to remain pure and innocent. If what she told me is true, if she went to his bed willingly she will not leave him easily. The joys of the flesh can make even a god lose his mind and his sanity. His hooks are now so deep. Maybe I should just accept that I have lost my little girl. If I continue this in the end she will despise me, she already does.

No! I will not give her up. I am her mother and he is nobody to her. I never gave my consent to their marriage. I'll never let her go. Her place is with me. She might despise me now but in time she will understand. She will get tired of him, she will get tired of the darkness that comes with him and she will return to me. I can give her light, I can give her flowers, and I can give her my love. He cannot offer her any of those things. I will have my girl back even if I will have to wait for an eternity.

( OOO )

She returned the chest and all its contents as she promised. When I left I didn't have time to take them with me and besides they belong here. They mark the time I spent with him here. The chest is a little filthy outside and covered in dirt. She buried it! Well it could be worse, she could have burned it.

I open the wardrobe trying to decide what to wear tonight. As usual the gods have a feast tonight and I plan to go. I may be stuck in this place but I refuse to stay locked in my room sulking and avoiding anyone else. By now everyone on Olympus knows where I have been and what I have done and the gossips I am sure are raging. I will never hide myself from them though. Let them talk behind my back, I don't care and neither I am afraid of them.

I decide to wear a red dress, the same dress I wore my first day in the Underworld. I chose it because it makes me look so different and I want to keep the memories of the time I spent with him close. I comb my hair into a knot and I choose from the chest the emerald pendant, the one he said that matches with my eyes. The perfume is the final touch. Now I am ready.

I look myself in the mirror and I am happy with the result. The reflection that a few months ago was so strange to me is now so familiar. This is me now, this is my true face.

( OOO )

My Throne Room now is where I spent my days and my nights. I cannot bear to stay alone in my bedroom, our bedroom. Her ghost still lingers in every corner of my realm and I cannot stand this separation. I plan to go and visit her in secret but I haven't figured how I will do that yet. Demeter will not let her out of her sight not even for a moment. So I sit on my Throne, holding a small red lock of her hair, smelling them and staring at the empty Hall feeling miserable.

My foul temper keeps the servants away from me. I snap and I yell and I act like a beast even with the smallest infraction, with the slightest annoyance. Away from her I start resembling the monster they have described me so often. I do not care. My only concern is when these wretched months will pass away, when I will hold my beloved wife in my arms again.

Hecate comes to me accompanied by Aristea, my wife's servant. She carries a huge sallow silver bowl and places it on a table by my side. Hecate herself is smiling and holds a leather flask.

"Hecate what is the meaning of this?"

"I have a gift for you my Lord to improve your foul mood." She snorts. I do not have an appetite for her games right now but she persists. 'I swear it you will like this one."

She takes the flask and empties its contents in the bowl. It is water, sacred water from the river Styx.

"What kind of magic is this?" I ask her.

"This is a scrying mirror. Come have a look." I do as she suggests and I gaze at the reflective waters. First I see my own image but then the waters shift and show me a sunny meadow filled with young girls that dance and play. Amongst them I see my dear Persephone standing in the shadows, her lips smiling but not her eyes. My heart starts beating again with hope.

"You sly little witch! Why did you do this?"

"I am your friend my Lord and I don't like seeing you suffer. Besides I have my own score to settle with Demeter."

"That's a very devious trick. I like it." I confess.

"I've learned from you my Lord." Her gift and her commend make me smile again. Soon I will be reunited even if it's for a few moments with my beloved. Hope has been restored to me.

( OOO )

My daughter is finally smiling again. I have brought her in the Eternal Fields to work and play with her friends. Flowers can make her happy; can distract her from her worries. My little girl is still there, buried underneath her sorrow and her contempt for me, so I do not lose hope.

Then I see her retreating in the shadows and I want to scream. I knew it would not be easy, I knew his control was too powerful but I hoped that I could easily remind her of everything that was good with her life here with me. I will not stop though. This is a fight I am determined to win.

The Oceanids now one by one are saying with awe "What a magnificent horse" I look at where they point and I see it. It is truly a stunning creature. Its mane is a shining black color and its eyes glisten with spirit and intelligence. It slowly trots by a stream and the girls marvel its beauty and its grace. Even I who don't like horses have to admit that this one is exquisite.

One of the girls tries to go closer to the horse but it doesn't let her come near him. It starts neighing angrily shaking violently his head and rises on his two back feet. I realize then what this deadly creature is and I shout to the girl.

"Get away from it! It's a Dread Steed. Only the ruler of the Underworld can harness it." the girls frightened start shouting too. In all this uproar I don't realize when my daughter goes near it.

"Nycteon" she yells "I am so glad to see you." The horse calms down by her sweet voice and goes closer to her. With horror I watch her as she starts touching it, stroking its neck. Then I see her rubbing her face on its face and I feel like I am going to faint.

"I have missed you my friend" she whispers to the beast and it nods its head like it agrees. Then she rides on its saddle and tells it "Lets go for a ride" I am horrorstricken. My daughter is on this beast ready to go only the Fates know where.

"Persephone what are you doing? Get of this monster immediately." I yell at her but she ignores me. She kicks the horse on its flanks and it storms away. In a second she is gone.

( OOO )

The wind blows into my face and my hair are floating in the air as Nycteon runs towards his destination. There are no reins, only his saddle but I know where he is leading me. He is taking me to my husband. He is the one who sent him to me. After so many days of loneliness I feel alive again. Nycteon passes the fields and the plains and heads towards the sea. We run now on the shore, feeling the water showering our feet. I spread my arms open, close my eyes and smell the salty air. This is freedom for me.

We reach a rock formation and Nycteon slows down. He stops in the entrance of a cave and I dismount. I pat Nycteon's forehead and kiss his snout. Then I enter the cave. It is dark but the darkness no longer bothers me. I can find my way easily now in it. A small stream runs through the rocks and I follow it.

And then I see him, standing there in the shadows and my heart starts beating again. It is funny how the God of the Dead is the one who makes my body feel alive. I just look at him and all the pain and the numbness I felt these last days goes away. I run into his arms and I feel whole again.

"You came!" I stutter and I can't still believe that he is here.

"I told you that I would come for you my love" he says and he kisses me. I want to say so much to him. How I have missed him, how the days and the nights are so empty without him but he doesn't give me a chance.

His lips are crushing mine, his hands are on my flesh. He hastily takes my clothes of and I do the same with an equal urgency. We lay down on the ground both naked and let our passion to carry us off. Nothing else matters to us right now, not our duty, not my mother, not the entire world. This is where we belong, where I belong, in his strong embrace.

( OOO )

Zeus and I are both impatient. He ordered Hades to present himself but the vile beast has kept us waiting. I want to scream at Zeus for making me face him again. I don't want to ever see him, I want him to stay away from me and my daughter. These six months are mine, Persephone spends this time with me, not him. His turn starts in the next equinox.

I know that he saw my daughter yesterday. It was his beast that came at the Fields and lured her away. I suspected it when my daughter rode that monstrous black horse and took off but my suspicions were confirmed when she returned. I stayed vigilant the whole time when she was gone waiting for her hidden in the shadows. She came back late at night riding that horse again. She said goodbye to the beast and talked to it like it was her friend. Then she came inside and I was ready to start yelling at her but I stopped.

Her clothes were torn and dirty and she didn't pay any attention, she didn't even notice me but that wasn't what made me freeze. I just saw that big bright smile on her face, it weren't just her lips but her whole face was smiling and her eyes had this lost and dreamy expression. I had never seen her like this, smiling like this, being so happy and it hurt. It hurt because I knew that he was the cause of that.

Just then I stayed still like a statue but later it made me angry. How dared he to come and ruin my plans? How am I supposed to make her forget him, to make her to stay here with me, when he comes and enthralls her all over again? But what bothers me more, what drives me crazy is that I know what he did to her, what they both did. If her face was not telling enough the state of her dress was. I didn't want to think about it but the images came into my mind and tormented me, they still torment me. Him just laying her on the ground and then, both of them mating like wild animals. His hands on her body and she is welcoming his touch. I cannot stand this, I refuse to tolerate this.

That's why I came here to complain to Zeus. To make him forbid Hades from coming to my daughter while it is still my turn.

( OOO )

I know what waits me behind those doors but I am not going to let Demeter win this fight. I know she wants to complain for my visit. Let her complain all she wants, that won't stop me, not even Zeus will stop me this time. The doors open and I enter. It is just as I thought, Demeter run to Zeus whining about my behavior and the idiot we call our king obliged her.

"Brother, come here." He commands.

"What is it this time Oh Great Zeus?"

"Like you don't know!" Demeter now yells.

"Brother Demeter accuses you that you do not hold your end on our deal. Do you deny that you visited Persephone yesterday?" so I was right the bitch plans to keep me completely away from her precious little flower. She cannot stand the thought that I have ravished her daughter and that I plan to continue enjoying her sweet little body even when it is her turn.

"I don't deny that I saw my wife yesterday but how do you both dare to accuse me that I do not hold my end of the bargain. We agreed that Persephone must stay here, we never agreed that I can never see here while she is on Olympus."

"You will stay away from my child" I have to admit that her screams can make even a god deaf. My brother is on her side too, I can see it.

"Brother, please be reasonable. Stay away from the girl for the next few months."

"Do you dare to forbid me to see my own wife brother? Taking her away from me was not enough? I warn you Zeus if you take Demeter's side again then you will see me breaking our deal!" that makes him frightened. Good, if it wasn't for Persephone's fears I would have taken down him and the whole Olympus. It was her plea that made me agree with this travesty, he shouldn't give me more reason to break this bargain and he knows it.

"Very well brother. I agree that it is your right to see you wife, but please do it away from Demeter's eyes. I cannot stand her complains any more."

"You take his side on this?" Demeter protests.

"I am not finished yet. Just as I have allowed you Hades to come and visit your wife, it will be only fair to allow Demeter to visit her daughter too in the Underworld." Demeter is not opposed to this idea but I am. She will use it to disturb our peace whenever she can.

Fine brother, if you will let her cause me trouble in my own domain, then don't blame me if I toss her in one of the pits of Tartarus.