LETHE
Hades pushed away the vines that dropped down from the thick trees, falling like tresses from its branches, almost concealing the rocky pathway as he led the trail deep into the woods.
"Just a question," said the goddess behind him, "How far is it?"
He glanced back at Persephone, following his direction a few steps away from him, and whose attention seemed to have been captured by the abundant wild flowers that covered the forest floor like carpet.
"Watch out for those wide red flowers. They're poisonous and they can either cause you rashes, eye sore or just some annoyingly unceasing sneezing attacks depending on your system," he informed and continued on his path, "Don't worry, we're almost there..."
"You've said that a moment ago..." she grumbled, "I have a really strong feeling we are very deep into the woods..."
"We are," agreed Hades.
"Are you sure we're safe?" she inquired.
He unceremoniously stopped in his tracks and she crashed into his back.
"What was that for?" she complained.
He turned his head at her, "Don't you trust me?"
"I do," she defensively replied, and then cast an apprehensive look around the dark woods, "It's just that..."
"Then come along," he interrupted before she could think even more, and proceeded in his path.
"You seem pretty confident that I would love this place that you're going to show me," she spoke, trailing behind him, "How certain are you?"
"Completely," he replied, just as they were about to reach the clearing.
"Well, how can you be so certain when..."
He heard her gasp as he pushed away the last stubborn vine and revealed a majestic waterfall, whose waters were rushing over a dark wide cave and gathering down at the bottom, flowing into the sparkling clear water of a river that everyone knows by the name Lethe.
He looked back and smiled at the wide-eyed, slack jawed expression of the goddess, "Impressed, aren't you?" he teased.
Persephone stepped closer into the edges of the flowing river, still at a loss of words.
"Milady," Hades announced, "I introduce to you Lethe..."
"River of forgetfulness..." Persephone whispered.
"Roughly translated, it IS the River of Forgetfulness," he affirmed, "But we still prefer 'oblivion'. River of Oblivion," he corrected, "The cave opening you see beyond the rushing waters is Hypnos' cave. It's his personal haven. It may appear a bit rustic and backwoods, but the inside is actually designed to look just like his chambers in the palace. And much grander, I heard."
The goddess was in awe, "This is where the souls destined for the Elysium drink to forget their previous lives... This is where they strip the last remnants of their mortal lives..." she murmured.
"Well actually, the location where the souls drink from the river is really far off from here," he informed, waving one hand downstream, "Way down the mountains."
She spun her head at Hades, "I have never imagined it to look this way..."
"Well, how did you imagine it to be?" he inquired.
"Different," Persephone supplied, facing him and started to playfully walk backwards, "I suppose you've already brought some lucky woman around here, haven't you?"
He shrugged, "Perhaps."
She turned away and began laughing, "Suddenly getting tight-lipped, aren't we?" she teased, "I don't mean to pry... But a sight like this calls into mind all the stories that some of my nymph friends back in Enna shared when they were invited out by some of their suitors..."
Hades brows raised, "You discuss those things?" he asked.
"Yes," Persephone nodded, "And apparently, waterfalls are a favourite spot for men because a number of my friends have already been invited to similar places as this - though I still don't get why. Is it just for the beautiful sight? Or the privacy...?"
"So you really discuss these things..." Hades confirmed, without answering any of her questions.
"What's the problem with those discussions?" she asked innocently, "It keeps me informed..."
"Informed," Hades repeated, raising both brows in mild surprise and then shook his head, "It seems like some of your nymph friends are not living to expectation..."
Her brows wrinkled in question.
He found a shaded spot in one huge tree and settled himself, taking a bite from the orange fruit in his hand, "You do know that your mother held an extensive selection system to choose the nymphs that will be in close contact with you..."
Her eyes got locked to the orange fruit he held in his mouth, he caught her eye, and he immediately threw the fruit away.
"I'm sorry," he declared. He was unaware that he had brought with him the fruit he took at the banquet until after he was already taking a bite at it.
Persephone looked away, "I'm fine," she said, bending down to pick up a couple of stones from the riverbank. "And yes, I knew that..."
"You knew what?" Hades clarified.
"That the nymphs I got to be in contact with were carefully selected by my mother," she confirmed, throwing a stone to skim the top of the water.
"But you never said anything?"
"Why must one complain about something that turns out agreeable?" she returned, "There was nothing worth complaining about."
"I believe a good number of men in Olympus and around the mortal lands would disagree with that..." Hades remarked candidly, "I did have a first-hand encounter with someone calling your mother a "tyrant" - if I remembered it right - because his gifts never reaches the daughter. They were always sent back."
Persephone frowned.
Hades narrowed his eyes at her and commented, "You were aware of that too..."
She nodded, "Yes."
Hades rested one arm on his knee, studying her.
Her face colored with his scrutinizing gaze and she rambled, "I trust my mother's decisions. And at any moment that I question any one of those, she's always been open to negotiations, although..." her mouth opened and then closed, struggling to find the right words to say.
"She's been particularly firm when it comes to you accepting... admirers," Hades finished what she cannot complete.
Her face flushed even more in response. "I do accept presents when they are given to me directly," she professed, "I've never turned away even one..."
"And that's supposed to be comforting...?" he humoured, "Then Hermes must be very lucky."
She glanced at him and shook her head, "No, I'm afraid you're mistaken," she denied, taking the hint from his statement, "Everybody's been mistaking Hermes' motives towards me. But people tend to forget that he IS my childhood friend. We grew up together. We're supposed to have developed a certain amount of closeness. Shouldn't we?"
Hades shrugged, finding it a little amusing, "Don't you think you're getting a little bit too defensive?"
"I don't know. You tell me," she challenged, "I'm not the one who chokes up whenever somebody's name gets brought up in a conversation."
Hades met her eyes squarely.
Instantly, Persephone retracted, "I didn't mean anything. Can you just forget that I ever..."
"I asked her to marry me," he revealed.
"Oh," Persephone exclaimed.
"She died before we could ever get married."
Her mouth formed the word 'Oh' although no sound came out of it. He could see that she was beginning to form wild conclusions in her head about what she'd just heard and a sudden struggle about things she'd want to ask him but had no spirit to actually blurt it out to him.
Hades angled his head at her, remarking, "And now I'm making you uncomfortable."
"Oh no," she denied, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear. She always does that whenever she gets nervous. She's definitely uncomfortable.
He covered a hand over his mouth to cover an emergence of an amused smile.
She quickly turned her back on him and trekked the edges of the water.
"Careful there," he called, "The water is deeper..."
She spun around distractedly, "Why are you suddenly telling me this?"
"That the water is deep?" he clarified.
She shook her head speedily, "About Leuce," she pronounced, the name still resounding not too far long memories for him, "You've always been rather protective about her and all the things surrounding her. So why now?"
Pushing himself up to stand, he replied casually,"You've single-handedly managed the crowd in the Trivium while I was away... You deserve a little indulgence."
She stared at him suspiciously, as if doubting his sincerity. And then the scowl receded into a not so unpleasant frown, "I'm not used to it," she expressed, "With you saying much."
"Don't get used to it!" he beseeched, walking towards her, "I'm not starting to go around telling you my life story. It's incredibly long and amazingly dull."
This summoned a smile into her lips, "If you put it that way, it begins to sound intriguing..." she shrugged, turning away from him. After a few quiet moments of her tracing the edges of the water, and him following behind her, he heard her murmur, "Indulgence," she said with a laugh, repeating his earlier statement, "I surely wouldn't have mind indulging a dip in the waters..."
"I don't see any problem with that..." he spoke.
She twisted her head at him, "You'd allow me?"
"Certainly," he nodded.
She stopped and faced him fully, a scowl over her too pretty features, "Funny you'd say that when you haven't even mentioned to let me bring swimming attire before we left the palace..."
"Then it wouldn't have been a surprise," he noted.
"You could've at least hinted that we are about to go explore some exotic..."
The goddess was unable to finish whatever it is she was going to say. An idea came up to Hades' and he acted on it - just like the way he always did. He made a little nudge into the goddess' shoulder and she came tripping down, splashing down into the clear water.
Her head instantly came up above the waters, coughing. He couldn't control it, he began to laugh - loudly. It's been a long time he'd heard himself laugh that way. He'd nearly forgotten how wonderful it rang into his ears.
But it was short-lived.
His laughter immediately trickled down to a halt when he noticed the goddess. Persephone just kept flailing her hands outwards, and she was struggling to keep her head afloat.
"I... CAN'T... SWIM!" she shrieked in between coughs, "ARE YOU... CRAZY!"
Realizing his mistake, Hades took his jacket off and immediately dove into the waters. In just a few strokes, he was able to reach the goddess and took a grip at her arm. It got swiftly slipped away from his hold and he took another lunge for her, this time though, he distinctly felt her pulling away from his grasp. And then just as suddenly, the coughing was replaced by a resonant peel of laughter that echoed all around the woods.
He pushed himself up, shocked.
"Got you!" Persephone exclaimed, "You tend to forget, my lord, I grew up with water nymphs," she threw her head back in laughter.
The damned woman just kept on laughing. It was a riot in his ears.
Hadn't she'd thought what would've happened if...? Was she half out of her mind...?
His mood immediately darkened, overpowered by a consuming coldness over the stark realization that the goddess had effortlessly fooled him and played his trick back on him. He closed in the distance between them, dug his hand at the back of her head, and before she could even register what was about to happen, he went in for a long deep kiss.
Persephone could hear the thundering of the waterfalls by her ears. But she could not tell when the beating of her heart began to painfully drum out the sound of the water. She'd been kissed once before, but Apollo's kiss was as chaste as a cloudless sky. THIS, on the other hand, was most certainly what her mother wanted her to keep away from.
Hades' hand was fixed at the back of her head, demanding her to meet each one of his kiss. She tried to shove away but found that she could not. She suddenly tasted the sweet savour of the fruit he'd eaten earlier, and the hand on his chest that was supposed to push him away, found its way crawling to his neck. Half-driven by her hunger, half-driven by curiousity, she returned each one of his kisses in the same insistent manner as his.
Hades groaned in approval, pressing her body tightly to his. His tongue kept darting into her mouth, exploring, seeking, wanting, doing inexplicable things to her she'd already forgotten how it was to be scandalized.
She gasped when she felt his hand gently kneading over one of her breast. One hand tried to push his away, but he held firm, and she gradually succumbed to the wondrous sensations he was making her feel.
Drowned by the touch and taste of him, Persephone felt him easing her backwards, and before she knew it, she felt herself pressed at the back of a stone. It was the opening of the cave. He manoeuvred her to sit into its rough edges. He brusquely pulled on her hair to tilt her head back and he ran his mouth into the soft recesses of her neck, tasting her, teasing the edges at the sensitive spot near her ear, eliciting a low moan to escape from her throat.
His mouth found his way back to hers and she welcomed him enthusiastically. She was unbelievably curious for him. Her hand ran freely across his chest, timidly tracing her fingers across its wide expanse, kneading, molding, she swore she'd tear the fabric of his shirt if she could, and when her hand dropped down to his lower abdomen, she heard him let out a loud groan.
It dawned to her that she was also making him feel the things he was making her feel.
Following in his actions, she timidly touched his lips with her tongue, and immediately felt him stiffen. Digging her hand into his hair, she thrusted her tongue into his mouth and instantly the hand that was holding her firm in the waist gripped her so painfully she flinched.
And then just as suddenly, he pushed himself away from her. Both of them breathing heavily, he refused to take a look at her, both of his hands planted at either side of her. Realization also began to sink into her. Hades was settled in between her legs, and her gown was already shockingly hiked up around her thighs.
Hades glanced down with a scowl at the same time, then pushed himself away from her. Persephone hurriedly rearranged herself, pushing her skirt down, her face burning heavily, as if it was still in any need of coloring.
He spoke first, "Your mother's found."
She instantly gripped at his arm and his gaze snapped at it. Persephone pulled her hand away.
"I just received a missive from Olympus earlier when I arrived..." he continued tersely, running a hand at the back of his neck, "I was supposed to tell you after we got here..."
She was about to open her mouth to say something when it suddenly gave way to a loud thundering sneeze. It was so powerful, she felt her body lunge forward with it.
Hades looked at her quizzically, "Have you stepped into those wide, red flowers I told you to stay away from earlier?"
She tried to nod her head but was stopped by another round of sneezing attack.
Hades' scowled even deeper at her,as if she had intentionally wanted to get infected by the poisonous flower, and announced calmly, "Come now. Let's head back to the palace."