"Yes, Zeus, thou hast broken thy sacred vow." It was a new voice, from the back of the room. We all turned, and I saw, with surprise, that it was Aspasia.
And yet, it wasn't. The form was the same, but the bearing was completely different. It was an Aspasia that I had caught a glimpse of earlier. This Aspasia was divine, even more majestic in her bearing than Zeus was.
"I am Gaia, the Mother of all the Earth, and I have come to see that justice is done," Aspasia, or rather Gaia, said. I found myself suddenly released, and I moved back to where I was standing before. As one, Persephone, Hermes, and I bowed our heads before the Being from whom all life had sprung. Zeus and Demeter kept their heads up stubbornly.
Gaia approached me.
"My child," she said softly, lifting up my chin. "I did not know that thy father had consumed thee, or any of thy siblings that followed thee, until thy mother came to me with Zeus for mine help. It is for that reason that Zeus was saved, and not thee. Thy mother did love thee, as do I. We both would have saved thee, had we been able."
At her words, a different image of my mother replace the one that I had carried for so long, one who was scared to death for herself and for her child, but was unsure of what to do, who to trust, or where to turn to. Those simple words lifted a burden from my chest and I felt freer than I had for a long while.
She turned to Zeus. Slowly, grudgingly, he bowed his head before her.
"Thou hast committed a great injustice towards thy brother. I cannot ignore it any longer. A vow was made in my name, and I must see that this vow is made right. I cannot give Hades the sky, since he is the Lord of the Underworld in heart and in name as thou art the Ruler of the Skies, and so, for this reason, I curse thee, Zeus. Thou shalt be overthrown, but not by thy seed as were thy fathers, but by thine own pride. The mortals shall forget thee, and thou and thy power shall fade into oblivion."
Zeus seemed to shrink upon hearing his sentence. He lost the facade of confidence that had been so prevalent in his personality from the day he overthrew the Titans.
Next, Gaia came to Persephone.
"Thou hast finally come to love Hades as he deserves. Thou wast always meant for life below the ground." At our surprised faces, she smiled and explained, "Only those who are gods of the Underworld have black eyes as the kind thou wert born with."
I felt Persephone stiffen at my side. "What do you mean, it was always meant to be? I am the goddess of Spring. I didn't have anything to do with the Underworld until Hades abducted me."
Gaia didn't answer Persephone. She was looking at Demeter, whose face was like a stone.
"Demeter," she said softly, "this is thy tale to tell, I think."
Demeter's expression turned livid. She folded her arms against her chest and lifted her chin up stubbornly. She stayed silent.
"Mother," Persephone pleaded, walking to her mother and putting her hand on her arm, "please."
Persephone was much more patient than I ever could be. I probably would have throttled the woman at this point.
Demeter's eyes softened as she looked up at her daughter. Then she saw Persephone's hair. That black mass more than anything made her lose her temper. She yanked her arm from Persephone's grasp.
"Don't touch me, you little traitor," she hissed. "I tried so hard to keep you away from him, and you now you want to stay with him more than you do with me."
Gaia held up her hand. "Enough! This is irrelevant at the moment. You will tell your story."
Demeter lips trembled with rage at being commanded like that, but she had no choice but to obey the power more ancient than her own. The story burst out of her.
"I was concerned when you opened your eyes for the first time and they were as dark as ebony. I knew that black eyes were the sign of an Underworld Deity, so I did what any mother would have done and took you to the Fates. They told me that the Ichor of Cronus, my father and the last King of the Underworld, flows strong in your veins, and that you were destined to one day rule the Underworld at the side of Hades. No daughter of mine is going to be shut up in that stinking hellhole, so I kept you as far from other gods as I could. Then Zeus," she shot him a death glare,"had to have his precious feast and command everyone to go. When I saw you talking to Hades, I knew that I had to move quickly. I tried to remove you from his influence, but I was too late. You started questioning everything that I taught you, and I was so close to making you into what you needed to be."
"Mother!" Persephone's voice was horrified, "You cannot escape fate. Things never end well for those who do. You know the stories just as well as I. What have you done?"
Demeter didn't answer, but kept a stubborn look on her face.
"Mother Gaia," I asked, slightly confused, "was this all fate or did you plan this?"
"I do not plan destiny, for that is the duty of others. However, it was indeed fate. So, nay," she said, looking at Persephone, "thou wast not stolen by Hades, but simply taken to the place where thou dost belong."
"I'm afraid," Persephone said with a quiet voice and a glance down at her clasped hands, "that I won't be there for long."
This, of course, caused demands for answers from Demeter and gentle inquiries from Gaia. Persephone, with occasional help from me, explained everything that happened. The horror on Demeter's face and her hate-filled glares that she threw at me were genuine enough.
"Is there anything you can do?" I asked Mother Gaia at the end of Persephone's narrative. "The world needs Spring and I," I smiled sadly at Persephone and pulled her close to me, "need my queen."
Persephone returned the smile with one of her own. It was filled with tremulous love and made me wonder what I had ever done in my life to deserve such a gift. She leaned against me, showing me again her love, but also from her extreme weakness.
"I am the Mother of All Life. In me was the first stirrings of life, and from me was everything created. Thy powers, Hades, can hold no sway over my words. And so, I say to thee, Persephone of the Underworld and of Spring, that thou shalt again have thy immortality." Mother Gaia raised her hand in a blessing over Persephone and immediately, Persephone gasped and stood up straight. Since I was standing so close to her, I could almost feel the power that suddenly was coursing through her for one moment and was gone the next.
Persephone turned to me eagerly and grabbed my face to kiss me. In my joy and relief, and I kissed her back with all my heart, even to the point that I lifted her off her feet and spun her in a giddy circle.
Finally, Gaia turned to Demeter and Persephone and I stopped so that we could listen to her words.
"I know that thou dost love thy child, but she is no longer thine. She belongs to her husband, and he to her, as it should be. However, I shall be merciful to thee. Since Persephone partook of nine pomegranate seeds, she shall spend nine months of the year with Hades in the Underworld, and the remaining three with thee. In return, since I know that I cannot stop thee from grieving, thou shalt only cause the plants to stop growing for six months of the year. In this manner shall I also show mercy to the mortals that live on the land below. They shall have six months to prepare their fruits and grains, and six months to remember thee and thy sufferings."
Demeter wasn't happy at all with that arrangement, I could tell, but even she wasn't foolish enough to argue with a decree from Mother Gaia. However, in a moment, her expression changed from angry stubbornness to one of desperation. The proud goddess collapsed to her knees in front of our ancient forebear.
"Please, please, at least grant me one wish, Wise One." I judged the plea in her voice to be a sincere one and it moved Gaia to compassion.
"If it is in my power to give, I shall give it thee," she answered, placing a tender hand on Demeter's shoulder.
"When my daughter is with me, let her be all mine. Bar any that are of the Underworld to visit, see, or speak to her during our time together."
Now it was my turn to be angry. How dare she try to keep me from my own wife! I opened my mouth to protest, but a sharp look from Gaia silenced me.
"Demeter, I grant thy request. It is only fitting," she said, with a pointed glance at me, "since thou canst not visit her in the Underworld."
"Thank you!" Demeter kissed Gaia's hand in gratitude, and I detected her old dramatics were coming back to my sister. The sight both irritated and disgusted me.
I wasn't happy with this arrangement at all, but as Persephone has reminded me since, a good compromise leaves everyone displeased.
Gaia then said to Persephone, "Child, I shall let thee choose with whom thou wilt go first. Remember, there are mortals suffering already because of the choices of thy mother and husband."
I was suddenly unsure of whether or not Persephone would chose me. It was true, however, that she had eaten the fruit of the Underworld. She will want to stay with me, I reassured myself.
Persephone looked between Demeter and me. I kept my eyes on the ground, not wanting to influence her choice. I felt her stand by my side and put her hand in mine. I lifted my face with a smile of triumph. My smiled faded, however, when I saw the guilt in her eyes.
"I'm sorry," she whispered to me. My heart plummeted into my stomach. She walked to her mother and said, "For the sake of the mortals, I will spend the next three months with my mother." Demeter looked happy, truly happy, and Gaia smiled.
"Thou hast made a goodly choice, my daughter. I bless thee and thy house."
Gaia looked me in the eyes, and raised her eyebrow. I nodded to her, letting her know that it was enough.
There was a flash of light, and I blinked. When I opened my eyes, Gaia was gone, leaving the scent of warm earth and roses behind her.
"That's that, I suppose," Zeus said with a sigh.
Demeter shook herself and laid her hand on Persephone's shoulder. "Come," she said, walking away.
Persephone didn't follow quite yet. She turned and looked at me. I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She walked towards me and took my hands. Neither of us said a word. Then, I drew my bride close to me and kissed her deeply- silently promising her a better future together.
Persephone tore herself away and ran after Demeter, but not without one last backward glance and smile for me.
My own face had a smile on it. That left as soon as I turned and saw Zeus. Zeus seemed hesitant as he faced me, his older brother. A long moment passed as we looked one another in the eyes. Finally, I gave him a curt nod, an indication not of forgiving, but at least the promise of forgetting. He nodded back to me.
I left the stormy mountain that should have been my kingdom more content than if the whole Universe had bowed to me as king.
Well, that wasn't quite true. There was still one more thing I wanted to do.