Life and Death, Light and Darkness
Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, own Greek mythology.
A/N: Enjoy!
x.o.x.o.x.
Ilektra inhaled sharply, awaiting the god's decision.
"Asphodel," Hades finished.
Ilektra cried out. "But, my lord-"
Her mother, however, held up a hand to stop her outburst. "Ilektra, my dear, it is not your place to contradict our lord's orders." Once her daughter had fallen silent, Lydia looked at Hades steadily. "I choose rebirth."
"Mother!" exclaimed Ilektra. "B-but you'd forget about us, your children!"
"I'm sorry, daughter. But there is nothing I can do with my memories any longer. The Lethe is no danger. Please accept my decision."
Persephone stood, her green gown flowing from her gracefully. "Ilektra, come," she said with a silent plea in her voice. "Your mother has chosen, and Hades will grant her request. Your request has been fulfilled. Come, let's enlighten Areti and Theodora of your mother's fate, why don't we?"
Lydia looked gratefully at the goddess. "Thank you, my Queen, for being so very gracious toward my girl."
The goddess looked surprised, but she responded in a soft voice, "You are most welcome, Lydia." As she gently led Ilektra to the exit, she glanced back at Hades, who also looked in surprise back, but turned away almost immediately.
x.o.x.o.x.
"He loves you, my lady," Ilektra said shortly to Persephone as they made their way back to the goddess's bedchambers.
Persephone startled, and asked, "Who, Ilektra?"
"My lord Hades, of course," Ilektra replied. "You can see it in his eyes. He wishes to make you the queen of his realm and his wife. If only you'd relent, my lady. It's been so very long since Lord Hades has been truly happy."
"Ilektra is right," came a female voice from behind them. "Hades needs all the happiness he can get. He deserves it all."
Both the goddess and the shade whirled around to face Hecate, Goddess of Crossroads. "Hecate," Persephone greeted, as Ilektra curtsied hurriedly.
The Goddess of Crossroads smiled slightly at Ilektra. "Hurry along, my dear shade, and inform your sisters. I'm sure they are eagerly awaiting your mother's placement."
"Sisters, Lady Hecate?" Ilektra echoed, looking confused.
"Sisters," Hecate confirmed. "You three are bound for eternity as friends, Ilektra dear, so I think that it would be perfectly adequate to call you sisters."
A beam spread across Ilektra's face. "Thank you, Lady Hecate." She turned to Persephone. "I will be going now, my lady. Shall we move from your bedchambers or stay?"
"You may stay, of course," Persephone answered. "Just don't mess up the place," she teased.
"Never, my lady," Ilektra promised, and bid the two goddesses good-bye.
Once the shade was out of earshot, Hecate told Persephone, "My lady, why don't we continue to my quarters and chat? I daresay Thanatos and Morpheus will be there."
Persephone looked puzzled, but she replied, "That sounds very appealing, Hecate. And you needn't call me 'my lady'. You are as much a lady as I am."
"But while you are down in the Underworld, my lady, you are of higher rank," Hecate vaguely responded. Catching her puzzled look, Hecate smiled. "And Thanatos and Morpheus would be in my quarters because we are very nearly siblings to each other, having spent so much time together. Normally, Charon would be here as well, but the death toll seems to be rising steadily, so he is busy as a bee. So is my lord Hades."
After that, the two goddesses fell silent until they approached a door seemingly carved with purple lines.
"Lines of magic, my magic," Hecate explained. "Only I can pass through them, and if I give permission, so can others." After Persephone nodded in understanding, Hecate spoke to the door. "I, Lady Hecate, Goddess of Crossroads and Magic, hereby give Lady Persephone, Goddess of Spring and daughter of Demeter, Goddess of Agriculture and Harvest, permission to enter my quarters at any given time."
The purple lines seemed to brighten and strengthen, before turning the color of yellow, and then turning back.
"Permission has been granted," Hecate informed Persephone. "I take it you enjoy the color yellow?"
"I do," confirmed Persephone as she followed Hecate through the purple lines. "Yellow seems to symbolize spring very well, and I am the Goddess of Spring."
x.o.x.o.x.
"Thanatos," Hecate greeted Death. "Morpheus," she added, greeting the God of Dreams. Eyeing the goblets before them, she said, "I see you have helped yourself to my supply of nectar."
Morpheus, a lean and lithely built god, lifted his goblet as if to toast her. "Thank you for your hospitality, Lady Hecate," he joked, bowing slightly before sipping the nectar.
Thanatos chuckled. "You have a hefty supply, Hecate, and you can always duplicate it. What's the harm in having a drink or two? Plus, you hardly ever drink it."
"That's because I prefer tea," Hecate reminded him. "Tea calms me down better. Where are my manners? Thanatos, Morpheus, meet Persephone, who could very possibly be our queen within three months."
Persephone stepped forward to greet the two gods, but Hecate's comment didn't slip past her. After greeting the gods adequately, she asked Hecate, "Your queen within three months? I very much doubt it. In three months, I should hope that I will be back home."
"My lady, our lord is very stubborn," Morpheus told her, "and he will fight to get what he wants. Right now, you are what he wants."
"I am stubborn myself," Persephone admitted. "And I will fight to get what I want."
Hecate chuckled. "Then you are a perfect match for him, my lady. Would you prefer tea or nectar?"
"Nectar, please," Persephone requested. "I don't believe that, Hecate. I am quite angry with him at the moment."
"Are you?" Thanatos asked. "Why is that, my lady?"
"He dragged me down here, kidnapped me from my home and my mother," Persephone explained shortly.
Morpheus looked interested. "I've heard stories about how clingy your mother is to you, my lady. Shouldn't that mean that she would be trying to find you?"
Persephone sat up, her green eyes lighting up with excitement. "That's it!" she cried. "Morpheus… you deliver dreams not only to mortals but to deities as well, correct?"
Looking puzzled, Morpheus nodded in confirmation.
"When my mother falls asleep tonight, could you send her a clue as to where I am?" Persephone paused. "Better yet, tell her to go to Helios! He'd know, he'd have watched as Hades dragged me below the earth! Morpheus, please!"
"I'm afraid I cannot do that, my lady," Morpheus told her, looking disappointed. "I hear that the Lady Demeter is not sleeping."
"Then contact Hypnos! Tell him to work his magic on my mother! Morpheus, I am begging of you, as your lady! Please!"
Morpheus hesitated. "My lady, I cannot, not without my lord's permission."
Persephone stared at him in shock. "You mean Hades has to give you permission for everything you do?"
"Not everything," Morpheus is quick to assure her. "But he specifically informed me that I must have permission from him concerning anything to do with you or the Lady Demeter."
"T-the insufferable, incorrigible-" Persephone cut herself off, but she still fumed silently.
Hecate smiled mildly. "I'd suggest you tell those wonderful adjectives to the lord himself, my lady. I'm sure Thanatos will be replying to his duties very soon, and Morpheus never stalls long. I also must brew a potion for our lord…" She trailed off, looking concerned. "He seems very stressed lately."
"Great," mumbled Persephone. She smiled slightly at Morpheus. "Thank you anyway, Morpheus. If you happen to visit my mother in her dreams… just, please, let her know that I love her, despite everything she's done."
"Of course, my lady."
x.o.x.o.x.
Persephone lay in her bed, surrounded by the silence, occasionally broken by shrieks that she assumed came from Tartarus. Flipping herself over so that she could partially muffle the sound with her pillow, Persephone willed herself not to cry.
As minutes went by with no shriek, she released her head from the pillow, giving herself a few seconds to adjust the cool air.
Then inspiration struck her. "If there's anything related to me, it should be in his study!" she realized. "Maybe I should go there… he must be judging souls, or if he's tired, in his bedchambers!"
Scrambling up and pulling a dressing gown over her thin nightgown, Persephone pushed open her bedchamber door quietly, and looked up and down the corridor. Not a shade was in sight. She crept down, careful to tiptoe so as not to bring attention to herself or to cause a commotion. Finally, she came upon a large, majestic door that could only bring her to the study. Glancing up and down the corridor again, she twisted the doorknob.
x.o.x.o.x.
Hades sat in his study, in the desk chair, with his head down. An impulse struck him to study the whereabouts of his subjects, and… his Persephone. Of course, she wasn't his yet, but he promised himself that she would be, someday, as long as she adapted to the Underworld fine and Demeter would let it go.
He studied the whereabouts for a moment, placing Ilektra first. She was in the maids' quarters, in her part of them. Hades placed Areti next. That shade was currently in the large gardens, which he must show Persephone soon… And next came Theodora, who, unsurprisingly, was in the kitchens. He saw several cooks in there with her. Lydia, Ilektra's mother, was placed next as near the Lethe. Out of consideration for one of his dearest shades, nearly his daughter, he had allowed mother and daughter to visit for a mere hour before he commanded the newer shade to the River Lethe to have her memories wiped clean so she could be reborn.
His black eyes scanned the palace carefully, now searching for the one that caught his eye most often, both above and below ground: Persephone. Almost immediately, he saw her. She was creeping slowly down the corridor… towards his study.
"Well, we most certainly cannot have that," he mused. But he supposed it would be quite amusing to startle her. So he leaned back and waited, his eyes intent on the doorknob.
And just as his eyes landed, it began to twist, and he smiled, inwardly hoping that he couldn't mess this up.
x.o.x.o.x.
A/N: So we meet Morpheus. Thanatos returns! I hope you enjoyed that! More of a filler chapter, but next chapter, some Persephone/Hades action, I promise! See you then!
