Author's Note:
This was something that immediately popped into my head, and I thought that it was sweet. It takes place during the time of my other story, This Love, during the six months that Persephone was made to stay with Demeter.
Hope you enjoy!
Persephone was nervous.
She stood by herself in the corridor leading to the throne room of Zeus and Hera. Her mother, Demeter, had been summoned there for a discussion with the King and Queen of the Gods. And because Demeter was still afraid of leaving Persephone alone, thanks to the incident with Hades, she brought Persephone along with her.
But only Demeter was called into the throne room. When Persephone inquired about what she should do for the time being, Demeter only replied, "Go and spend time with your half-sisters!"
And that made Persephone's heart sank.
Because she was now married to Hades, God of the Dead and King of the Underworld, Persephone was no longer a maiden. Though she did not regret bedding with him, she was nervous about the impression that others would have on her now, for she was no longer considered the personification of innocence and girlhood. But most importantly, she was afraid of what her older half-sisters would think.
Persephone was really close to her older half-sisters, Athena and Artemis. She always considered them her real sisters, despite sharing only half of the same ichor with them. They taught her everything that there was to know, and will answer her questions patiently and knowledgeably. But the two of them were sacred virgin goddesses. Persephone would have remained one had Hades not bed her, but she wasn't anymore. And she was afraid that this would cause a rift in their tightly-knit relationship.
Demeter's new over-protectiveness had rendered her unable to see the other gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus even more than last time. And even if she did journey to Mount Olympus, she would always be in her mother's tight grasp. Today was the day when she could finally roam by herself.
She contemplated just staying in the corridor and wait for her mother to come out. But who knew how long it will take? And besides, she was bored.
What is there to be afraid of, Persephone? she thought to herself. You know Athena and Artemis your whole life! Just find them!
But then, another voice appeared.
But what if they don't accept you now, because you are no longer a virgin? How would you bear their rejection?
That thought made her heart go heavy once again. But then, she did not want to believe it. She did not want to believe it at all.
So she gathered up all her courage and began to make her way to the gardens, where Athena and Artemis was sure to be there.
Each time a voice inside her told her to go back before it was too late, she drowned it out with memories of her and her half-sisters having fun as they always had. Those memories gave her even more hope to believe that they would still treat her as such.
Before long, she found herself facing the golden back doors leading to the huge gardens of the palace. Taking one deep breath, she willed herself to push it open and step outside.
The bright light and warmth of Apollo's golden sun shone on the garden. The garden was indeed huge, about the size of a small forest. There were all sorts of flora here, and Persephone could even see the bright colours of the many flowers on the various bushes. In the centre of the garden, there was a big and majestic marble fountain that had very clear waters flowing in it. The lip of the fountain was wide enough for anyone to take a seat.
And that was where she found Athena and Artemis.
From where she stood, Persephone could see the both of them smiling and laughing wholeheartedly, maybe over a little joke shared between them.
Artemis' dark blackish-brown hair fell in graceful waves down to the half of her back; there was a shine to it because of the bright sunlight. Her dark midnight blue eyes sparkled beautifully, like a pair of sapphire gemstones. Usually she would have donned a simple knee-length chiton on her tall and slim figure. But today, she wore a flowing cream-coloured halter dress that touched her ankles. It suited her perfectly.
Athena too was chuckling happily. Her straight shoulder-length dark blonde hair, that seemed lighter due to the sunlight, was pulled up into an elegant bun at the side of her head. Her usually-serious grey eyes seemed to have softened as she laughed. She donned a light purple chiton that too reached her ankles.
Persephone hesitated at the steps, contemplating whether to go to them or not. They seemed to be having a lot of fun, and she was afraid she was going to ruin it. But then, she felt sad that she wouldn't be able to hear the joke or whatever it was that had caused them so much mirth.
Panicking, she quickly turned and rushed to get back inside the palace, acting completely out of fear. But before she could reach the doors, she heard Artemis call out, "Hey! Persephone!"
She stopped in her tracks, gulped down her anxiety, and slowly turned to look at them once again. But she was suddenly met with an embrace from both of them.
"It's been a long time!" she heard Artemis exclaim cheerily. "Yes!" Athena exclaimed with the same cheeriness. "How have you been?"
Hearing the happiness in their voice made her wrap her arms around them and give a soft smile. It felt good to be with them again. She had certainly missed their company.
But when they pulled away and led her to the fountain, she began to feel nervous once again. And the nervousness on her face was clear, for Artemis then asked, "Hey, what's wrong?"
Taking a seat in between them on the lip of the fountain, she fiddled with the sash of her blue chiton as she answered hesitantly, "Nothing is wrong…"
Athena pursed her lips in dismay and said, "Don't lie. I can see on your face that there's something that's bothering you. Now tell us."
Again, Persephone hesitated. This time, she was worried about what Athena and Artemis would think when they knew that she was afraid of being with them.
She felt a hand touch her shoulder gently, and Artemis said assuringly, "You can tell us."
Hearing the gentleness in her voice, and the comforting touch of both Athena and Artemis, she whispered, "I was afraid…"
"Afraid of what?" Athena inquired.
Biting her bottom lip gently, she meekly replied, "About the two of you…"
Artemis' eyes widened in confusion and her jaw gaped open in disbelief. "Why would you be afraid of us?" she questioned.
Athena was just as shocked by her reply as Artemis, and added, "Yes. What did we do that made you so scared of us?"
The both of them heard Persephone mumble something under her breath, and Athena said gently, "I'm sorry, but we can't hear you."
Taking a deep breath, Persephone explained, "I'm afraid that the two of you won't accept me as a sister anymore."
"What makes you think that?" Artemis asked in disbelief, confused as to why Persephone would have such thoughts.
With guilt clear in her voice, she sighed, "Because I'm not a virgin anymore. Last time, I thought that we were close because the three of us were maidens. But now that I'm married to Hades, I'm afraid that the both of you won't….. Like me anymore."
Persephone then quickly clamped her lips, wishing that she could take back everything she said. Or better yet, wished that she didn't come here in the first place. She could imagine it now, Artemis and Athena agreeing that was why they didn't want to be close to her anymore.
With fear in her, she looked at Artemis, whose midnight blue eyes stared at her in disbelief. Then she shyly turned to Athena, whose grey eyes looked at her in confusion.
Suddenly, Artemis asked, "So you thought we wouldn't like you…. because you're not a virgin anymore?"
Slowly, Persephone nodded.
She heard Athena take a deep breath before she asked, "Persephone… Do you really think that we would be that cruel and close-minded?"
Immediately, Persephone shook her head. "No! I would never think of the two of you as cruel!"
"Then why did you think we wouldn't like you just because you lost your virginity to Lord Hades? We didn't think like that at all," Artemis explained, her voice sounding quite hurt.
"You didn't?" Persephone asked.
"Of course not!" Athena replied. "Persephone, we would never say we won't like you anymore, even for a reason like that. We're sisters; always was and forever will be. It doesn't matter if you're a virgin like us or not. You're still the same Persephone that we all know and love, even if you're married now."
Persephone felt her heart swell at hearing those words. She was touched. Even though Persephone felt like she had committed a crime to the both of them, they were still so understanding and caring.
She then wrapped her left arm around Artemis and her right around Athena. Pulling them close, she whispered graciously, "Thank you. Thank you so much."
Artemis and Athena both smiled and hugged her warmly. "Now don't ever think like that ever again, or else we'll force you to listen to Poseidon's tales of his 'heroic' battles," Artemis threatened after Persephone had let go of her.
Persephone feigned a look of horror and despair. "Oh no! Anything but that!"
The three of them couldn't help but giggle wholeheartedly. As she laughed, Persephone felt thankful that she had the most kind, caring, loving and understanding sisters in the universe. She couldn't have asked for better.
"So. What were you two laughing about just now?" she asked curiously.
Athena and Artemis began snickering again at the thought of the joke. "Oh, it's about something Apollo and Hermes done to Dionysus when he was drunk…" Artemis explained.
And after a few minutes, Persephone, Artemis and Athena were all trembling with laughter after Artemis explained about how Dionysus suffered from a hangover and worse by waking up to find himself naked and painted as a statue on the mortal realms, all thanks to Apollo and Hermes.