Telltale Bits

When I woke up, it was fifteen minutes to four in the afternoon. I was quickly sent into a state of shock, unable to believe that I had slept that late, even more so it had been more than half the day away – even missing breakfast!

Hades, who had been sitting on one of the nearby armchairs and reading a book when I awoke, told me that I had been really exhausted, which was why he had let me sleep in. And then, he asked me what I wanted to do, since we had some time to ourselves before any real business starts.

I told him that I wanted to talk, and about something which isn't about what's happening to me. I told him that I wanted to talk about him, know more about him. I want to think of something that isn't about me, but him. Besides, he and I have yet to have a decent conversation since 'Aiden' and 'Melindia'.

By the time I took a shower, wore some clothes – I discovered many articles of clothing in shopping bags that were kept in the previously empty wardrobe, to which Hades explained were from Hestia, who went shopping at noon to get me and him new clothes that we could wear during our stay here, since we didn't bring anything with usexcept for the clothes we had on and the shoes on our feet – and ate some 'breakfast' – more like late lunch because of the time – an hour had already passed by.

True enough, Hades and I did get talking.

Firstly, he told me stories of how the Underworld was like in his – and later on, my – heyday. Equipped with some of my regained memories of the underground, as well as his words, it was already quite clear that the Underworld was not some fiery and hellish inferno of eternal pain and suffering that modern-day culture always portrayed it to be. In fact, from what I remember of it and from what Hades said, the Underworld seemed to be more of a quiet and serene, although still somewhat eerie, realm.

Sure, the dead were the vast majority of the Underworld, but other than that, it almost sounded like a nice place to be in. And like how I felt when I first remembered it, it almost felt like home.

Home… I thought to myself in melancholy.

"So, I'm done with the topic of the Underworld. Anything else you want to ask?" he suddenly asked, snapping me out of it before I could delve into sad thoughts.

Right now, he and I were at the lake, sitting side-by-side at the edge of the dock with our legs dangling above the water. The warm shine of the early evening Sun was upon us, and the quiet serenity of the lakeside was really relaxing and made the best atmosphere for making some heartfelt conversation.

However, the next topic I brought up was anything but heartfelt.

"Who were Leuce and Minthe to you?" I questioned intently, filled with the urging want to know.

Keeping a straight face, he looked at me right in the eye and answered, "They're not my lovers, if that's what you think. I swear to the river Styx"

Despite feeling the innocence of his tone of voice and hearing him swear a sacred oath of the gods, I felt unsatisfied of his answer and I was unacceptable of how brief in detail it was. I wanted to know everything, and this was definitely something I wanted to find out. I told him in slight demand, "Give me a better answer."

"Don't you trust me?"

In the nicest way possible, I told him, "You know very well that I do trust you, Hades. But I just want to know what really happened between you and those two nymphs. As your wife, of course I would want to know why they had been considered your mistresses, and if you even had any at all. The Greek myths – and the Percy Jackson books – always say that you do."

"The Greek myths aren't always one hundred per cent right. Sometimes, they're just lies that their writers made up to add some spice to the tale," Hades told me informatively. "And are you really going to believe a series of fictional novels that portray us Greek deities in a way that is totally way off from who we truly are?"

I blushed at his last statement, realizing how childish I must have been for mentioning that bit. Shouldn't have done that. However, he took my hand in his when he started to really explain everything, so I took that as a sign that he had allowed it to pass.

"To me, Leuce was nothing more than a good friend, having left the world when her time had come. She had lived in the Underworld with me and was who I considered my first friend, but neither she nor I wanted to be together as something more than that. True, we loved each other. But the love was not to the point where we wanted to be lovers or married. I too did not feel that she was the right one for me. I do not take solid relationships as lightly as my brothers, who treat their marriage without utmost importance. I have to know that she must be the person that I truly wanted to be with, but she just wasn't."

As he spoke, images of a white poplar tree started in my mind, standing by itself atop of a small hill in a vast and beautiful open land. Its branches were abundant with strange leaves, which were healthy green on the top side but milky white on the bottom side. I could remember my hands being placed upon the bark of the tree, wondering what it was.

And then, I was suddenly seeing memories of a girl who I knew was the spirit of the tree. She was a very beautiful girl, with long chalky white hair and dark green eyes. It was strange to have those memories of her, because her memories made me see through her eyes what her life had been like when she was with Hades.

In her memories, a younger Hades – probably looking like early-twenties or so – was there, showering her with affection as she did him. However, the affection was of fondness and friendship, not of love and romance. I could tell from the way they behaved around each other that they really valued each other, and were happy in each other's presences.

At first, I thought that the thought of Hades being with another girl would make me jealous – it was already quite obvious from seeing how he and Artemis were so affectionate of each other. However, I did not feel that. Instead, I felt glad that he had a true friend that was able to make him smile so much.

But then, all those good times came to an abrupt end at her untimely death. I could even see how it happened. She had died because she had been unable to completely adapt to the Underworld, since she had initially been an Oceanid on the Aboveworld. Succumbing to the pain, she had passed away in Hades' arms, atop that vast hill in the open land.

Out of pain and grief of losing the friend he held close to his heart, he had her soul become the white poplar tree that it was now.

"I'm so sorry," I found myself murmuring, feeling pitiful of the fact that he had lost someone that he really loved. At that moment, it didn't matter to me that Leuce may hold a special place in Hades' heart. By what I saw in her memories, she deserved it completely.

I was surprised when Hades wrapped his arm around me and pulled me closer to plant a kiss to the side of my head, smiling as he replied, "Leuce will forever be remembered for being such a good friend to me. But just remember that you are the one who I fell in love with and married, Persephone. Only you."

Hearing that made me smile, internally very glad that Hades would still say something sweet to me. It just reminded me of the fact of how very loyal he was, and how I was sure that his love really was pure and true. He really is such a good man… I thought to myself.

But then, I questioned, "What about Minthe? She's the one who the tales always made seem that you disregarded our marriage for."

Immediately, the expression on Hades' face pulled into an extremely disgusted and insulted grimace, as though he was revolted by the vile thought of the words itself. His face looked so comical that I could not avoid the chortle of giggles that erupted within me.

"What I have to tell you about Minthe are far less pleasant than what I have told you about Leuce. You must know, Persephone, that I never, ever took a liking for that nymph of Cocytus. She was as vain as one of Hera's peacocks and she had a lust for gods that could easily rival a lust of Aphrodite's, or even Zeus'! Most certainly not qualities I find admirable in a person, nor do I find attractive in a lover. And speaking of which; what was worse was that she could dare to proclaim that she would be a better lover than you are to me, and even had the nerve to try and seduce me! Really?! A harlot like her being much better than you? Let Tartarus be struck by lightning if ever that were to be true!"

Images of a pretty nymph with long pale green hair and mint green eyes appeared in my thoughts, but I was even more surprised that the memories I had of those were mainly of me bashing her to a pulp; slapping her tight and hard against her cheeks, pulling her hair so that she felt pain at the roots, and punching her in the breasts as I cursed her name. She had tried to fight me back, attempting to claw at my face with her nails and grab handfuls of my hair as she tried to give me the same treatment I gave her. Unfortunately, she failed, because I had already turned her into a tiny little green plant, never to live on in her nymph body ever again.

"I still remember the way you beaten her up after finding out about her intentions," Hades chuckled as he probably thought of the same memory as I did. "You really did not do things halfway, and you certainly did teach her a lesson. Also, I never thought that I would actually be entertained by the idea of you actually beating someone up. You certainly surprised me that day, Persephone."

I smirked at his words, and replied cheekily, "Well, of course. I don't think I can tolerate any bitch who dares to try and get my man. They'd certainly get hell from me."

Hades then laughed heartily, his lips spreading and parting into a big grin. "Well, you most certainly showed her, Persephone," he said with a smile. "But don't worry. I myself don't think I can tolerate anyone who dares to try and steal me from you. Trust me when I say that I am seriously fed up with all those tales about Minthe really being my mistress and that I loved her more than I did you. That would be utter crap. It makes me want to bang my head against the wall for all eternity just thinking about it."

I laughed out loud at the dramatical exasperation that Hades was displaying, even slumping against him in a heap of laughter. "Okay, okay. I really do believe you now," I replied breathily as I wiped an imaginary tear from my eyes.

"Then do believe me when I say that I had no other women except for you," he told me firmly me with an intent look in his eyes. "Because trust me when I say I don't. If it makes it any better, I even solemnly swear upon the river Styx that what I say be not a lie."

My laughter calmed down, replaced with a contented smile on my face as I gave him a kiss on his cheek. "Yes, I do believe you," I replied certainly. "I saw it myself in my regained memories. What you speak is indeed the truth. But now, I can only hope that I was the same, since there are the tales of Adonis and Pirithous for me to know the truth behind."

The grimace that Hades wore a while ago returned to his face, only looking much more disgusted at hearing the names of the two men – one who the myth Persephone reputedly had an affair with and the other who had attempted to take her as his bride.

With all hope in my heart, I prayed that I had nothing going on between me and those two – especially the former – because I do not think I could bear the thought of past-me actually cheating on Hades. "I didn't do anything with them, did I?" I questioned him fearfully. "I really hope I didn't."

Heaving a sigh, he smiled pitifully and shook his head. "You didn't do anything with them, Persephone," he told me reassuringly, to which I exhaled my breath in relief. But then, I still when I saw Hades' face turning thunderous as he muttered, "But it was they who tried to do something with you. Damn fools. Centuries have passed but still they are able to inflict such anger upon me. Did they actually think that I would allow it to happen so easily?"

"Well, aren't you such a protective husband?" I remarked cheekily, which only earned a raised eyebrow of slight scepticism from him. "Same goes for me, I suppose. But what exactly had those two done to earn your hatred? I only know the basic facts from reading up on the myths, and they could very well be lies."

Hades relaxed back until he was lying on the wooden surface of the dock, his hands crossed behind his head to act as a cushion. Looking up at the softly bright sky that was gradually losing its initial brightness as time ticked by, he answered, "What I can tell you is that the myth of Pirithous went exactly as the myth said. Also, he's still down below."

"Alright," I affirmed, nodding my head in understanding. "And the one about Adonis?"

Hades heaved a heavy sigh, as though the thought of talking about Adonis was already burdening. "Well, you did raise him when he was a child; that bit was true. And he was killed by a wild boar; true as well. But you were not the one who wanted him for a lover. It was he who wanted you. And that was what roused Aphrodite's jealousy of you and accused you of being unfaithful."

I cringed at the sound of the last word, unable to bear the thought of possibly being unfaithful to Hades. "And what did you think of it?" I asked him, bracing myself for the truth that he was about to tell me.

Swinging his hanging feet nonchalantly, he answered, "Well, one thing that I could tell you about what I thought of him; I thought that he was an annoying pest."

I felt both my eyebrows rise in surprise at the unexpected answer, but I kept silent as he continued on.

"Time and time again, you have told him that you did not reciprocate his feelings for you and that you were not interested in pursuing an affair with him. But the idiot simply refused to listen and kept on chasing after you, still harbouring the pointless hope of seducing you. Needless to say, it irritated you to no end."

I crinkled my nose at the slight remembrance of a handsome man with strawberry blonde hair and bluish-green eyes, who I could recall as being so arrogant and such a skirt-chaser that his personality completely turned me off. True to Hades' words, I could remember the feeling of being annoyed with Adonis because I could not shake him off so easily and he would not take 'no' for an answer whenever I rejected for the umpteenth time. With a grimace, I could not fathom the thought of me ever cheating on Hades for a douche like Adonis. Whoever Aphrodite was – because I have yet to meet her – I really wondered what she saw in him.

"Ugh! I'm remembering him right now, and it's seriously nasty," I complained with disgust as I relaxed back to lie down next to Hades. "Aphrodite must be really dumb to think that I would ever want to have a man like that! Such a complete turn-off!"

Hades chuckled in amusement beside me. "Exactly the same way I feel about Minthe," he said amusingly. "In fact, Minthe and Adonis share so many similar traits; they're both arrogant, they're both licentious, they both like to push their luck for someone they could never get, and they're both such turn-offs. It seems that it was only fair that both of us experience these sorts of people."

"Seriously? I really wonder why the writers of the myths always wrote our supposed 'affairs' with us being with such complete asses," I grumbled with a roll of my eyes, thinking of the stupidity of the situation. "It's quite obvious that both you and I are perfect for each other, and we don't need anyone else."

The smile on his face turned from one of amusement to one of heartfelt happiness. "It really pleases me to hear you say that, love," he murmured as he gazed into my eyes. "Glad to know that you really think we are perfect for each other."

At that, I moved so that I could drape my body over his, my face hovering slightly above his. He wrapped his arms around my waist, holding our current positions steady. My long brown hair created a sort of curtain around both his and my faces, slightly blocking our gazes of the outside, so that all we could see are each other.

"Of course I think we're perfect for each other, Hades," I told him firmly. "Look at us. We're both so very different in so many ways that it would seem that we're not right for each other, but yet we still managed to stay together after all those years." Then, placing the tip of my finger on his lips, feeling the soft silkiness of his skin, I added cheekily, "Besides, I have three babies with you, and seeing all of them so beautiful is more than enough proof that you and I are more than perfect for each other."

He and I then laughed merrily together, but it wasn't long before his hands reached up to grab handfuls of my hair gently and tugged my head down so that he could kiss me. And as I responded to his passionate display of affection, I thought to myself, Yes… Nobody but him…

The sudden sound of approaching footsteps upon the wooden dock was what broke us out of our attentions on each other, abruptly ending our making-out and making us jack-knife into a sitting position. He and I both made quick to make ourselves look decent – me tucking back the stray locks of hair behind my ears while he smoothen down his hair from its dishevelled state that my hands had put it in when I was grasping it – before turning our heads to look behind at the same time.

My heart skipped a beat and I could feel an uncomfortable sinking feeling the pit of my stomach when I saw that it was Artemis. Even though dressed in a simple tank top and capri jeans with sneakers and having her hair done in a messy fishtail side-braid, she still looked absolutely drop-dead gorgeous in the light of the setting sun. It made my heart cringe slightly in dismay, while trying hard to maintain my face in a look of nonchalance.

"There are the both of you," she said with a small smile as she came to a stand nearby the both of us. Her dark blue eyes, which were a bit brighter because of the fading sunlight, looked quite happy, to be honest. I don't know if it's from seeing the two of us being alone together, though. "What have you two been doing the whole time?" she asked politely.

In response, Hades smiled back at her warmly, and replied, "Persephone and I were just spending some time together, having some nice peace and quiet for a while. That, and she wanted to soak up some Sun at the lake."

When Artemis' smile turned bigger in response, it was then I asked, "So what brings you here? Anything important?" Luckily, I able to make it sound like a civilised and curious question instead of a self-conscious scrutiny, but it was true that I was curious as to what had brought her here.

When my question had been asked, the expression on her face had then turned into one of seriousness when she realized that she had indeed come here for a purpose.

"There is indeed something important that I came here to tell you," she affirmed in certainty. "Hestia just got a call. All of the other Olympians have already arrived in Portland."

At hearing that, Hades immediately looked taken aback, and was quick to stand up to his full height to look at Artemis properly right in the eye. It amazed me that he had managed to transition from being so very carefree and humorous from just a few minutes prior to looking as though he was faced with the burdens of a thousand men and he was unable to keep his anxiety in. But to be very truthful, it scared me to witness him change in such a way; like as if he was wary and afraid of whatever could happen soon.

"All of them are here?" he questioned her intently.

Artemis nodded in reply promptly, seemingly knowing better than to keep Hades waiting for even a second for the answer. "All of them, and they're preparing for the first council meeting."

"When and where?" he questioned immediately, clearly urgent for the information.

"In an hour, at Zeus' office downtown."

"What?!" I exclaimed in shock, getting my feet back up on the dock quickly and standing to my full height. "So soon?"

"They flew straight to Portland the minute they received news that you were with us," Artemis told me. "They won't wait any longer. They wish to see you, so Zeus had arranged for a council meeting. The first one in a few decades, to be honest with you."

Beside me, Hades remained silent, looking down at the wooden boards of the docks in deep contemplation. Seeing his eyebrows pulled into a frown, his lips pursed into a tight and thin line, and his eyes looking very grim, it made my heart feel heavy with worry to the anxiety he must be feeling on the inside at the thought of what was to come very soon. I found myself holding on to his hand, wanting to give him reassurance while trying to get some reassurance from him or myself.

Looking away from the surface of the dock to me right in the eyes, he told me seriously with no tone of nonsense, "It's time for you to meet them, Persephone."


Author's Note:

OOOOHHHHH... Persephone's about to meet the rest of the Olympians!

Anyway, thought I would dedicate one chapter to clear Persephone's doubts about Hades' reputed lovers and her reputed lovers. Yes, I prefer to think that Leuce was only a good friend of Hades but nothing more, and yes, I do think that Hades despised Minthe despite what the myths say. Also yes, I do think that Adonis is an arrogant prick who Persephone really wanted to be rid of.


Answering reviews!

gracefish21 : Thanks! And indeed, Hades & Persephone drowns me in so many feels...

Harrylover11 : Thanks girl! And don't worry, I won't let that affect me!

MilleniaMaster : Thanks! And good luck with Peacekeeper too!

liquidmoon : Thanks for loving Artemis! And Apollo doesn't really like it when people compare him to his father because of their slightly-strained relationship (even though what Hermes and Persephone said was the truth) due to the fact that Zeus' lack of care had hurted two of the most important women in Apollo's life (Artemis and his mother Leto).

GreekFreak00 : And you make it on the list again! And your welcome! Also, good luck on your new fanfiction!

Anon : Thank you! And I agree, maybe because first dates (especially ones with an absolute hot guy!) can be awkward...

Quietworlds : Thank you! I get that many people refuse to read Divine Reborn because they are too attached to The Reincarnation, but do be rest assured when I say that, despite some very noticable differences, they are still one and the same! I'm also glad that you were willing to read it in the end. Means a lot to me!


So how will you think Persephone's meeting with the other Olympians would turn out? Would it be a matter of heartfelt reunions, or would new tension rise up between Persephone and some of her brethren?

Find out in the next chapter on Friday! Please do review!

Muse of Fanfiction