For who could ever learn to love The One who doesn't know love?
By Asso
Chapter Thirty
Here are the "Close Encounters", as promised. Indeed in truth the "Close Encounter".
But also something else.
I would say about the various meanings of the term "surrender".
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
A dull rumbling.
A low noise.
Dull yet mighty.
All around.
In the still air.
A growl.
Terrifying.
Persephone clung to Hades.
She knew what to do, she was sure she wasn't mistaken.
But that dull growl was really appalling.
It was Cerberus' growl!
She felt Hades' arm cling around her.
She shook herself.
It was not a tremulous sissy what the Queen of the Underworld was supposed to be.
She had to be - she was! - the Lady of the Dark Realm.
The Lady of Cerberus.
His mistress.
Persephone pursed her lips.
She pulled away forcefully from Hades' protective embrace and dropped to the bottom of the chariot the cloak he had put around her.
She squared her shoulders.
She straightened up on her torso.
She turned and dismounted from the chariot, ignoring Hades' hand reaching out to her, as if to hold her back, and placed her feet on the rugged rocks the growl was coming from.
She stood still, proudly upright, on those rocks, splendid and sculptural in the provocative, skimpy, revealing black dress that enveloped her without hiding anything of her wonderful, soft shapes.
And in a loud, steady voice, and absolutely calm, she spoke.
"Cerberus, show out."
The growl grew louder.
And scarier.
Just as Persephone's voice became even more resolute and steadfast.
"Mine, it's the odour you smell. The smell of a Goddess. Come outside. Follow the smell."
The growl grew even louder.
Even scarier.
But Persephone's voice exceeded it.
"I am here."
Demeter had never set foot in the realm of the dead.
In her brother's realm.
It was... it was horrible!
Empty.
Lifeless.
Frosty.
Dark.
Terrifyingly dark, except for the abrupt glow of huge flames, blazing here and there, suddenly, and immediately vanishing as if never existed.
For a moment Demeter's mind, her certainties wavered.
Was this the world of her brother, of Hades?
Was this the hideous land that Zeus had given him to rule?
Here had Hades to spend his immortal existence?
How... how could her brother Hades resist living in such a misery forever?
What... what had the other gods done - what had she done, she herself - to deserve not to be hated by him as much as he was feared - and ostracized - by them?
And how... how to blame him for having thought of enlivening the gloomy loneliness in which he was called to live in that empty world of silence and death with the smile of a woman?
And what smile could be more capable of enlivening his grim existence than that of the most radiant of goddesses? Than that… than that of her daughter Persephone?
Suddenly Demeter realized the incredible course of her thoughts.
But what was she thinking? What was the matter with her?
It was her daughter - her daughter! - who would be condemned to live there, in that bleak world, next to... next to and... and in the bed - in the bed! - of that hideous and abominable being! Being, not god, because god was too much for him!
Hades had nothing for being venerated as a god! He was... he was the personification of nothingness! Frigid and distant and scary and... and as unfathomable as nothingness itself!
And then… then he had not opposed Zeus' will. Far from it!
He had accepted his fate showing no aversion or ruefulness, because... because he knew there could be no other fate for him!
The darkness of the stomach of their father Cronos had never abandoned him and in that darkness he could only drag his own dark, gloomy existence!
And now that... that being, that empty simulacrum, devoid of whatsoever semblance of even the most tenuous of emotions, wanted to change his destiny? Wanted some light to brighten the darkness of his nonexistent soul?
And wanted it to be Persephone - Persephone! The light of the supernal world! Her light! - to give him this sunburst?
Persephone.
Persephone!
Her Persephone!
Her beloved daughter!
To live there, in that world of darkness and cold!
To... to warm with her hot flesh the cold flesh of that monster!
No! This couldn't be!
And it wouldn't be!
Ten days had passed since the kidnapping and on this tenth day she - Demeter - would put an end to this absurd insanity.
Yes. She would do it.
Hermes was smart and cunning. He did not waste his words in vain. And if he had told her she had what it took to get Hades back from his intentions, it was because he knew it was possible.
And she would succeed!
In spite of everything and everyone!
In spite... in spite of that mean liar, that cheating god of her brother Zeus!
But how had she... how had she gone to succumb to his flattery? How had it been possible for her to give in to his wishes?
Persephone!
Persephone! This was the answer!
Destiny had wanted her to lie with that vile god, her brother and... and her one night's lover.
Destiny had wanted this to happen because from that - from that mere act of senses - Persephone would arise. And, together with her, a new era of the world. Persephone's Newspring Era.
But now that same Fate had thrown Persephone into the arms... into the arms of Hades!
Well no!
NO!
Destiny would be duped this time!
This time Destiny would have to change its unfathomable plans!
She would steal Persephone from Hades' arms, from his lewd embrace!
She would bring her back to the world that was hers, to the world of light that belonged to her, of which she was part.
And maybe... maybe it wasn't too late.
Ten days weren't that long, after all.
She knew her daughter.
Persephone was sweet, but not weak. It was unthinkable that she could succumb in such a short time to the lust of that monster!
And she refused to believe he had been capable of pushing himself up to the point of... violating her daughter! With the sheer brute force!
She couldn't, she didn't want to believe it!
Yes. It was so. It was as she thought!
Persephone would fight! Sure! And... and she would endure! Sure!
SURE!
And she - Demeter - would arrive in time to save her!
She would succeed in stealing her adored daughter from the lustful clutches of that monster in the guise of a god before...
Before...
"A little gloomy, huh?"
The sudden question of Hermes, who preceded her, made Demeter jump and suddenly distracted her from the whirlwind of her thoughts.
At her silence, Hermes stopped.
He turned to her.
"I mean, it is not that the kingdom of the Lord of the Underworld is very cheerful, don't you think, my Lady?"
The tone was the usual one, that between the serious and the humorous of Hermes.
But his eyes were scrutinizing Demeter.
And, almost without realizing it, he found himself saying things he never thought he would say.
"We can go back if you want, my Lady. Maybe I can manage to persuade Hades on my own. After all, if I convinced Apollo, why can't I...?
"No!"
A shrill and sudden no, issued violently from Demeter's mouth.
Then another ...
"No."
Calmer.
More mindful.
Demeter raised a hand wearily.
"It's up to me, Hermes. You were absolutely right."
Then her gesture became firm.
Like her voice.
"It's my daughter the one we are going to rescue."
Demeter's voice grew louder.
"It's my daughter the one we are going to take away from this gloomy world of darkness and cold. To ..."
A slight tremor in that voice.
"To bring her back to her world of warmth and light."
Then Demeter's voice rang loud and determined again.
"Come on, Hermes."
Imperious.
"Let's proceed."
Hermes was silent for a few moments, staring hard at Demeter. Then he nodded.
He turned and resumed the journey into that world where the wings of his sandals and of his helmet were unable to make him fly. Too heavy, the air of that world, too still, and too alien, unreal, to allow his wings to support him in it. Only the black infernal steeds of the Lord of that desolate and immutable land, motionless in time and in itself, could scud its routes. There, on foot it was to proceed. Like other times he had done. With a big deal of trouble. And… of fear.
He resumed driving Demeter down.
Towards Hades' abode.
But he wasn't able to restrain himself. He had to try to mitigate the dark black of Demeter's thoughts at least a little.
Those thoughts he sensed.
He attempted to.
In the way his own.
"Well, my Lady, lower down it is a little better. It is always dark, of course, and also cold. But it is a little less gloomy. Just think that there is even a semblance of sky and the darkness isn't interrupted by the sudden burgeoning of infernal flames, immediately dead, but by myriads of lights. Glimmers everywhere scattered over the huge mountains, that surround and make up the backbone this dismal world, vivid glimmers that are... "
"Hermes!"
Hermes fell silent.
"Let's go, Hermes. Let's go on."
Hermes spoke no more.
And finally he appeared.
Huge and monstrous.
The three frightening heads, snarling and slobbering.
The bristly snakes that, like hairs, covered his immense body, upright and hissing.
He appeared.
And growling and drooling he slowly advanced.
Following the smell.
The unmistakable smell of a goddess.
Of a goddess who was where she wasn't meant to be.
Growling and drooling, he advanced towards her.
Towards Persephone.
Small.
Tremendously small in front of that mountain of muscle-bound, malevolent flesh.
He advanced.
And, before Persephone, right in front of her...
Cerberus stopped.
The infernal dog stopped at the quiet yet imperious gesture of her raised arm.
And, in his unforeseen silence, the words of the goddess rang out.
"I entered here by the will of the Lord of this world and you could not do anything to prevent it. Your chance has been lost. Now all you can do, Cerberus, in obedience to the ancient command of your Lord, is impeding me from getting out of it, even by hurting me."
Could a dog understand the words of a Human? Or a goddess?
A dog maybe not.
Not entirely.
But that was Cerberus, the infernal dog.
"But the fact is, Cerberus, that I have no intention of getting out of here."
Yes. Cerberus the hell dog, he could. Otherwise, why on earth would he stop growling and drooling?
Why would he be standing there, motionless, listening?
Things, words, that he probably couldn't understand, but that, with the keen sense of animals - and he was more than just an animal - he could perceive for what they meant.
"This is my world now, canine beast. I am here and here I stay."
Persephone's voice rose.
"For the love I feel for your and my Lord and by my own free will."
Cerberus was completely still.
He stood looking down on that little goddess who was subduing his every violent ardour.
He stood listening to her high-sounding words.
"You can't do anything against me."
And Cerberus bowed his three heads.
For a few long moments, nothing moved. Then, slowly, Persephone turned and looked at Hades who, having also disembarked from the chariot, was standing upright and watching her and the whole scene.
A sly and mischievous smile arose on her lips.
"Did I interpret well what you omitted, my Lord?"
Hades did not reply.
He stood looking at her.
The shadow of a pleased and amused smile on his alabaster face.
Persephone laughed at last.
"Undoubtedly it was indeed a test, my cunning Lord, because if I had not expressed my will to stay here with you in no uncertain terms, Cerberus would have complied with your ancient order, at least for the part that was left. But you knew I wanted and want to stay with you, here, in what is now my world. In fact, I really think I have given you sure and irrefutable proof of this already. Therefore, my really cunning Lord, all in all, it is true that it was a fake test."
Persephone laughed again. From the heart.
"Was I good, my Lord? Was I cunning too?"
Hades advanced towards Persephone, as his sly and smug smile went inevitably to widen even more on his face.
"You were, my Lady."
Persephone nodded.
"Very well. I am happy, my Lord."
"Me too, my Lady."
"However..."
Hades frowned at that 'however'.
"However what?"
"Something is missing."
And without giving Hades time to say anything, Persephone turned towards Cerberus, still standing with his three heads lowered and still in silence, and advanced decisively towards him.
She stopped a step away from the huge dog, which raised his heads to look at her, and stared at him intently.
She raised her arm and pointed her index finger at him.
And she spoke.
Imperiously.
"Bow your heads in front of me, hellish dog. Fold your paws to the ground and pay tribute to me, just as you must and can't help but do. Because..."
And here Persephone's voice rang so loud until to fill all space, all the dull and lifeless void of the land of dead.
"... because I am Persephone, your Queen and the Queen of Underworld."
And, the terrifying snakes in the guise of hairs on his immense body flattened upon it, the monstrous hell dog prostrated himself to the ground.
Persephone stood for a few long moments in front of the genuflected monster.
She then turned back to Hades, who was looking at her - let's face it - stunned.
She smiled openly - amused and mischievous - at his expression.
"Very well, my Lord." And how much amused malice could be perceived in her tone and in her words! "I am pleased to see that you too have passed the test."
Hades - Yes! Exactly so! - stammered.
"The... the... the test?"
"Sure. My test. The one I primed for you."
"The one you have ..."
"Exactly."
And here Persephone's voice became really sly.
"I beg your pardon if I failed to tell you. I too have made a sin of omission, but, you know how it is, who goes with the lame...
"Persephone!"
"Okay, okay, my Lord, I humbly ask your forgiveness."
"It... it doesn't matter Persephone. But ..."
Hades' voice got a little shrill. Just so!
"... but explain!"
Persephone's expression changed, became serious.
"For my words to be capable of having on Cerberus the impact they had, one thing was necessary, and this is for you to want - truly and really - me to be your bride and queen, by becoming so sovereign of this world. You are Cerberus' Lord and Master and there is no dog, whether he is hellish or not, that cannot recognize and perform the will of his master."
Then Persephone smiled again. Softly, but also maliciously one more time.
"And, luckily for me, you really want it, my Lord. Otherwise…" - and Persephone laughed softly - "…I dare not think about what Cerberus could have done to me."
The malice in her smile went to outdo its sweetness.
"I am proud and happy that you passed your test, as I did with mine, my Lord."
Hades stood speechless. Literally.
But then he recovered,
Conflicting Thoughts - Emotions! Just like that. Emotions! - began to stir within him.
Admiration.
For Persephone.
She was... she was terrific!
And pride. And contentment.
That formidable woman - that goddess - was his!
She... she loved him!
But there was also another emotion.
Which, quickly, took over.
Anger.
Yes. Anger.
How had that female dared to doubt his word? He was Hades! The one who never lies!
He had told her he wanted her to be his bride and his Queen. If she had accepted it, certainly. But that he wanted it was beyond doubt. For the simple fact that he had said it.
Period!
How could she have thought of testing him?
How?
Dark face, he took a step towards Persephone.
"Persephone ..." His voice vibrated low. "Persephone, how ..."
But he could not continue.
Persephone was suddenly in her arms, her face on his chest.
Her lips on his skin.
And those lips of hers, that mouth so soft, so sweet, laughed.
"I'm good at fake tests too, huh, my Lord?"
Her face lifted up to his.
Her eyes shone in that beautiful face.
They shone and smiled happily.
"Am I worthy of you, my Lord?"
And, at that moment, Hades fully understood what Mortals meant when saying somebody, something, had gone deflated. Sure. Because this was what in a second happened him.
What happened to his anger.
It deflated in no time at all.
He looked down at Persephone and his eyes were smiling too. It had become easy - natural - for him to do it.
"I think, my dear girl, that if you had fought together with the Titans against Zeus, Poseidon and me, you would have really given the three of us a hard time. And frankly I don't know if we would have made it."
Persephone laughed again.
Were they her eyes, the ones that shone like that? Or were they ... - Hades really thought that! - ... or were they stars? Those flickering glimmers of incomparable beauty that shone in the sky of the supernal world?
"And I think, my Lord, that I will take your words as a yes."
And she lowered her head back to his chest.
Hades raised his hand to stroke her silky hair.
"But ..." His voice rose. Low. And even uncertain. "...but have you not been afraid, Persephone? Didn't any doubt touch you?"
"Yes." Persephone's voice sounded muffled against Hades' chest. "Yes, I felt fear, my Lord. Because I felt yours."
It was true. He - Hades - had felt fear. It was true! And he couldn't deny it, neither to her nor to himself. Never as in that case had it to be true that lying had no right of asylum in him.
"Yes, I was afraid, Persephone, I feared for you."
Persephone raised her head again to look at him. She stared at him intently.
"Why, Hades, my Lord? It was a fake test, wasn't it? I got it right, didn't I? And besides, it went exactly as it was supposed to."
"But not always, Persephone, things go as they should. And... and Cerberus is still a dog. And frighteningly ferocious."
"And it was even possible he didn't understand. Is that what you mean, my Lord?"
"Yes, Persephone, and ..."
"And it was even possible his ferocity could explode despite everything."
Hades nodded uncomfortably.
"Yes, Persephone."
"But it didn't happen, my Lord."
Her voice rang quietly.
Then, unexpectedly, she burst out laughing.
"And then, sooner or later, I had to meet him, this Cerberus! Or should the in pectore Queen of the Underworld have to spend her life avoiding running into him?"
Hades couldn't help but laugh too.
"Oh, my sweet girl, I frankly think that between you and Cerberus, it's him that, on balance, would definitely have preferred not to meet you."
At hearing that, Persephone looked at Hades with a questioning look.
Spiritedly, and proudly too, he responded to that look of hers.
"What happened of all his ferocity in front of you, Persephone? You imposed on Cerberus the fear that he is customary to impose on others. You - your attitude, your confidence, your words - have made him a poor shivering doggie."
At those words, strangely Persephone' smile faded.
Hades noted it immediately and didn't understand.
"Persephone, what's up?"
Persephone did not answer. A strange expression on her face, she, instead, gently pulled away from Hades' embrace and, once again, turned away.
Towards Cerberus.
And advanced again towards the huge three-headed dog.
Quietly.
Hades didn't understand what she wanted to do, or why, but he didn't do anything. He did not move and stood watching.
Persephone stopped right in front of the infernal dog, which was always prostrate on the ground, with all three heads on the soil.
Fear - this emotion he had never known before - crept back into the rediscovered heart of the Lord of Darkness.
And it was fear not for him, but for her, for Persephone.
What was she doing? What did she plan to do? She didn't have to push it too far. It was Cerberus, the one who, although prostrate on the ground, stood out enormous and mighty in front of her. Cerberus! The ferocious hell dog! Such that even he - he "Hades! - sometimes had a hard time dominating!
And a violent, sudden, unstoppable motion of pure ferocity was something that was still to be expected from the guardian monster!
Hades moved quickly.
He had to stop Persephone!
Whatever she was planning to do, he had to stop her!
But he didn't make it in time.
Persephone's hand rose towards one of the three heads, which, albeit on the ground, overhung her in height, and gently started to stroke it.
The head shot up abruptly, at the same time that Hades' hand reached out to grab Persephone's arm to pull it away.
But suddenly the head dropped again and quickly to the ground and Hades' hand stopped in midair.
Because…
Because from the feral jaws of that monstrous head a strange sound came out, never heard before.
A kind of grunt, low and soft.
Far from being ferocious.
A grunt... happy.
And, in front of a Hades by now unable to move and more than ever astonished, with his hand still in mid-air and his gaze fixed on the scene, all the six eyes of those three heads closed, while the lucky head stood motionless under Persephone's' hand, that was gently caressing it.
The astonished God of the Underworld suddenly dropped his arm and, still unmoving, stood watching.
And listening
To Persephone's soft, low voice.
"Nobody ever caressed you, right, Cerberus? It's beautiful, isn't it? It's really pleasant."
Hades couldn't believe his eyes nor his ears.
Persephone had cast a spell on Cerberus.
Perforce!
If not, how to explain what was happening?
Or maybe... maybe the fact was that Persephone was... was love. Yes. Love. He now could understand.
And where she was, there was love.
There was no room for anything else.
There was no room for ferocity.
Persephone's voice sounded soft and sweet in the air.
Motionless, it too, to listen.
"You will have more caresses from me, Cerberus. You will see. I will not be a bad Queen. I will be a loving Queen."
Things went on like this for a few long moments, with Persephone lovingly caressing the mollified infernal monster and Hades contemplating the scene almost without being able to believe it.
Then he roused himself.
What Persephone had done was incredible and... well yes... magnificent.
But it was still true that she had gone too far.
It had gone well, but it could have gone wrong.
Terribly wrong.
Not only. He was now practically certain that she would really become his Queen, that, in truth, there was really no need for him and her to continue the tour of his Kingdom, as they had decided to do, both in order that she could take vision and knowledge of it and in order that at the end of this tour she could express with full awareness her willingness or not to be part of it and to be its Queen.
It was clear that, in truth, it was, let's call it so, an outdone precautionary approach.
However, despite being things this way and despite Persephone's attitude and behaviour were truly those of a Queen - and with his smug assent. Yes, that was true, he couldn't deny it - it was still true that, until the accomplishment of the wedding between her and him, Persephone could not actually be the Queen of the Underworld, neither in name nor in fact.
By the time she would become its actual Queen, there would be no danger to her and the whole Kingdom would obey every gesture and word of hers.
But she was not yet.
And his Kingdom was swarming with dangers and monsters.
What would happen if she behaved the same way she had behaved with Cerberus when encountering them?
Yes, with the three-headed dog things had gone beyond all expectations. The test, fake or true it was, had been... ahem... largely passed.
But on other occasions it could go quite differently and her status as a Goddess was not a sufficient protection in that world of which she was not yet truly Queen, even if she behaved as such, after all... after all also rightly.
He had told her clearly. The Underworld was not a land in which she could venture alone, without him at her side until she was really become its Queen and, come to think about it, the reconnaissance tour that she herself had asked him to do with him, had ultimately the aim of showing her all the darkness, real and figurative, of that world, so that she could make her choice fully knowledgeably.
But what would happen if she, in her genuine and admirable enthusiasm, allowed herself to be drawn into actions, similar to the one she had implemented with Cerberus, at the wrong time and place?
If such a thing would happen, and if she nevertheless and fortunately remained unscathed...
His Queen? No way! She would scream at him to take her precipitously away from that hideous world!
And, respecting his own word, he would do it.
And so, all up in smoke!
Then there was more.
Cerberus had to be Cerberus.
The ferocious three-headed hell dog.
Was there no risk that such a softened Cerberus could be a Cerberus no longer capable of being Cerberus?
Could a Cerberus who had known the sweetness of Persephone's caress continue to be the ferocious Cerberus, guardian of the Underworld?
This last thought troubled Hades not a little and, together with all the other thoughts that had begun to fill his mind, another emotion aroused in him. Not anger, not this, but a kind of frowning irritation.
Which reflected on his face.
And that Cerberus, just him, saw with all six the eyes of his at the moment when, at Persephone's words, they opened to look at her with something in them that seemed pure joy.
Cerberus saw that expression on the face of Hades, who stood upright behind Persephone, and the infernal dog shivered.
There is no dog that does not perceive the moods of its master and Cerberus was more than just a dog.
And Persephone felt his tremble... and locked at the gaze of the head she was stroking.
And in seeing the gaze of the shivering head, in seeing that it was addressed beyond her shoulders, she stopped caressing it and turned away.
And she too saw the expression on Hades' face.
And she realized she had dared too much.
"Hades, my Lord, I ..."
But Hades raised his hand and made the words die in her throat.
Persephone dared not speak any more. She stood silent and still, looking at Hades' frowning face, a troubled, fearful expression on her beautiful visage.
Hades slowly turned to Cerberus and made a simple gesture.
He showed with his finger the great three-headed dog a direction, the rocks he was normally stationed behind, those he had emerged from when Persephone had told him to show himself.
The rocks from which he watched out that no dead come out and no undead enter the Underworld.
Slowly, the huge monster began to retreat towards those rocks, heads down and in silence.
Hades did not wait for the infernal dog to take his place again, following his mute and imperative command.
He lowered his arm and turned to Persephone.
His gaze was still frowning and she almost burst into tears.
"Hades, my love, please listen to me!"
Thus, for the second time in the span of a few brief moments, Hades found himself deflating. Him and all his irritation.
My love! So Persephone had called him! Once again and in the fear that he... but yes! - that he wanted to punish her or... or even kick her out!
And... that face of hers! So timorous, so heartfelt, so fervent, so... so beautiful!
But what sort of... what sort of a dumbass was he?
How had it been possible for him to get upset about what she had done?
Okay, she wasn't actually the Queen of the Underworld yet, but all in all, what was missing for her to be so? Nothing but her own assent. And she had already amply provided this assent.
Of course, there was still the possibility that, once their tour of his Kingdom was over, she would decide to withdraw it, but it was a possibility, in reality, so remote as to be anything but real.
She had already given her consent and their marriage would be nothing more than the seal.
After all, when she had had told him that she wanted to know everything about him and therefore wanted to explore together with him their world, their kingdom - Yes, he remembered it well. She had said 'our' and not 'your', namely 'his' - he hadn't said anything. He had remained silent, pleased, to say the least, that she had expressed herself like this, that she had said that 'our'. He had given her words his silent assent.
So why getting upset that she was behaving and had acted with Cerberus as a Queen, if for all intents and purposes, she - and with his assent, silent, sure, but not for this less manifest as well as with his blatant complacency - she already was?
Of course, with Cerberus she had really dared too much and there was a risk that she could repeat herself in case she had to deal with any of the other abominations that populated the dark world. But how had it ended up with the hell dog? It had ended up that that beast, ferocious beyond all conception, had gone softened under her caresses. And had even rejoiced in them!
So then, how could he not think that this was possible with any other monstrous or dangerous being Persephone had to do with? How could he not think that the show of quiet acceptance which, previously, before the beginning of their tour, the infernal steed, the one Persephone had improvidently approached to, had shown towards her and which had so amazed him, was nothing but the first sign, the prodrome, of the blatant demonstration of the sweetness she was able to instill in anyone and anywhere?
What had he said to himself? What had he been thinking just moments before?
That Persephone was love.
And that where she was, there was love, that there was no room for anything else.
That there was no room for ferocity.
And this was profoundly true.
The fact was... the fact was that she was able to instill love in everything and everyone.
She had done it with him.
And she had done it with Cerberus.
And there was to believe that she would be able to do it with everything and everyone, in that dark world that, with her, would be a little less dark. Less cold.
Less dead.
And so? Was he supposed to feel upset about it? Was he supposed to feel annoyed with her because there was a risk that she was going too far? When it was evident that her ability to instill love and sweetness was such that such a possibility was so remote as to be unreal? Wasn't what she had been able to do with Cerberus the clearest proof of her ability?
And then, wasn't it also true that he would be constantly by her side, to protect her, exactly as he would have done if things with Cerberus had not gone as they had gone?
Ah yeah. Cerberus, just him, his hellish mastiff. Well, why on earth did he have to think that a moment of sweetness should make the infernal dog less suited to do his job? Or wasn't there to be believe that the Guardian of the Underworld would also become the Guardian of Persephone? Devoted to her as and more than he was devoted to him? Eh sure, because he was his Master, but she, it seemed, was his sweet Mistress. Something... well yes... something possibly, not to say certainly, more than what he was to Cerberus.
And all that, on closer inspection, did not contrast at all with the primary task of the guardian dog. If anything, he would guard, as it was his eternal duty, the infernal world even better than before, because in this way he would guard her too, Persephone.
And...
And...
And suddenly and with undeniable amazement Hades realized that something was happening to him he never would have believed it could.
In the short span of a few moments he had thought everything and the opposite of everything!
Just like that!
Another effect of love? Was this too, love? Confusion, uncertainty, turmoil of thoughts?
This had to happen to the Lord of the Underworld, to him, to the mighty, icy, iron-like Hades? Having to struggle in confusion?
For a woman's pretty face?
Eh yeah. For a woman's pretty face. Like the one, fearful, heart-sore, troubled, anxious... wonderful that he saw in front of him.
The gorgeous face of Persephone.
Of his Persephone!
Of his Queen.
That face...
That woman...
...Was worth everything!
More than everything.
More than his confusion.
More than anything that could happen to him!
So, to hell! To stay in his world.
Those right, those that had to guide him, were the last thoughts that had gone across his mind.
No doubt.
In a flash his face softened, something he never thought it could do.
He took that visage of hers in his hands, whose touch wasn't at all cold as usual.
He smiled at her.
Gently.
Just like that.
And he spoke to her.
Gently.
Just like that.
"No. Listen you to me, my sweet Lady."
Persephone gasped, her eyes wide open, at hearing him speak like this, with such a sweetness; at the soft - and warm! - touch of his hands on her face.
"You must have patience with me, Persephone. If it may be difficult for you to understand and make my world yours, it is even more difficult for me to understand and make yours mine. It is really hard for someone who was born and lived since forever in darkness to understand your light."
Persephone was motionless, eyes wide open, ears literally picked up to listen.
"But I am learning, Persephone. You are an unparalleled teacher."
And this time Persephone really burst into tears.
But they weren't bad tears, those that gushed from her eyes.
Hades worried. And this is an understatement.
"Persephone, don't cry. What did I say to make you weep? Or is that because of my behaviour? Did I scare you? But I didn't want to, really! I beg your pardon, I..."
"I am crying with joy, Hades!"
Hades opened wide his eyes too, unable to understand.
"You are crying with joy? Is it possible to cry with joy?"
"Yes, it is possible, Hades, my Lord. It is just sufficient to be as happy as you are capable of making me!"
"I…I make you happy, Persephone?"
"Yes. Yes and yes and yes and yes!"
"But I'm Hades! I'm ..."
"You are the most honest and sensitive being that can exist! You are everything a woman could want! I am more than sure you can give me all the love I want! For who could ever learn to love The One who doesn't know love? I! I can do it! And I do! I love you, Hades! For what you are! And I will always love you!"
Hades was literally speechless.
On the other hand, what could he possibly say? Was it possible to put into words what he felt inside? That... that warmth?
Then, with an effort, he pulled himself together. He let go of Persephone's tear-streaked face and straightened up proudly, in an effort, more or less successful, to give himself an attitude more befitting for the King of the Underworld.
It turned out rather difficult for him to assume a hard dignified air, as well as an adequate tone of voice, but, somehow, he succeeded.
At least enough.
Or so it seemed to him.
He turned to Cerberus, who was still slowly retreating back to his emplacement.
The tone was his, the cold hard one of the Lord of the Underworld. But there was something in it, like a kind of a not too much dissimulated amusement and even of pleasure.
"Still here? What are you waiting for? Go, take your place again, hellish dog. Get back to your job."
Yes, it was Hades' tone and yet...
"Hurry, puppy. And make sure you do it well, if you want more caresses from your Queen."
Puppy? Had Hades really said puppy? Possible? Yet he had said it. He had addressed Cerberus calling him puppy!
And what about his remaining words? What to say about them? Could they have been clearer? Certainly not. Even a beast, a dog, could have understood their meaning and if then that dog was Cerberus...
Well, as a matter of fact, useless to deny, practically almost all people are reluctant to believe for the three-headed hell Dog to be able to understand human or divine words, but, actually (and honestly), this is because nobody's been able to see Cerberus' reaction to Hades' speaking.
The mammoth Guardian of the Underworld rose on its enormous hind legs like a rampant lion, howling from its three maws deafeningly yet somehow gleefully too.
A sensation? But sure. But it was there. And in some indefinable way, it was a sensation able to be finely perceived. Finely and yet palpably.
Anyway, however things were, anyone, who wasn't Hades or Persephone, had been able to hear Cerberus howl, wouldn't however have had much time to analyze his own sensations, because after a few moments, the deafening howl stopped.
The jaws snapped shut and practically the same time the hell dog fell down abruptly and heavily on all four paws of his.
In a trice he turned around, very fast, for rushing, finally, rapider than a bolt of lightning, towards the rocks behind which he was everlastingly staying squatted, standing guard, the same huge rocks that had hidden him from Persephone's sight.
He disappeared behind them.
The Guardian of the Underworld and of its - and his - Queen-to-be had resumed his place and his job.
Hades stood for a few moments looking at the rocks behind which Cerberus had disappeared, with a shadow of an indefinable smile on his lips.
Then he turned around.
To look at Persephone.
To revel in the delightful expression on her beautiful face. A mixture of amazement, disbelief, apprehension, fear and hope. But, in any case, the most beautiful face that could ever be possible to see.
His smile grew more pronounced. And more amused.
"Well, what do you say, my Lady? Shall we resume our exploration?"
A trivial affirmative nod of the head.
Only this, after a moment of hesitation, Persephone was able to do. But, let's face it, it's completely understandable.
"Very well, my Lady. So let's go."
And, this said, Hades set off decisively towards the chariot motionless in midair, reached it and picked up from its bottom the cloak Persephone had dropped there.
With that in hand, he caught up with Persephone, still motionless, still not daring to speak.
He wrapped her again with the cloak.
"We must descend now, my Lady, towards the bottom and as you have already seen, being my dwelling - the palace where you stayed - right at the bottom of the Underworld, excluding Tartarus of course, it's very cold down there. You better be properly protected from the freeze over of the Land of the Dead."
At those words, unexpectedly, Persephone found the word again and, albeit below her breath and timorously, she dared. It has been stronger than her.
"I... I really don't think I have to suffer by the frost of the Kingdom of which I am..."
Then, realizing what she was saying, she fell abruptly silent, her eyes wide in fear.
She glanced furtively at Hades, fearful of his reaction, but there was no hint of irritation or reproach on his face, nor was there in his voice. There was, instead, a smile, faint yet vivid, on that face and there was, somehow, the same smile in his calm reaction to her rash words.
"Of the Kingdom of which you are Queen? Is that what you mean, Persephone?"
Hades' gaze was not stern as he looked at her. Persephone was sure of it. Nor, much less, did his tone sound harsh or mocking. But in spite of this, Persephone could not help but nod again with undisguised fear and anxiety.
And, then, Hades laughed. Softly. And from the heart.
"That for me you are my Queen already and the Queen of the Underworld is beyond any doubt. And..." - And, an amused smile on his alabaster face, Hades cast a very brief and meaningful glance towards the rocks that concealed Cerberus. - "...apparently, not just for me."
Then his face turned serious again. Terribly serious.
"But I want this to be true beyond what I feel and believe. Beyond what you yourself feel and believe. I want you - you, Persephone - to really want it."
At that moment, inevitably and with more than good reasons, in truth, Persephone snapped.
"But haven't I done it already, Hades? Forget about your hellish dog and about what I have said and done with him, please. Forget about his reaction and just think about the two of us, about you and me. Didn't I prove you with words and..." A decidedly marked blush appeared and swiftly spread on the young goddess' face. "...and with facts that I want it? That I really want it?"
A faint smile, and Hades replied softly.
A long and thoughtful reply. And sincere.
And for that matter, how could the God of the world where lies cannot exist not be sincere?
"You did, my sweet Lady. But my kingdom, the Kingdom that is waiting for nothing but to be yours too, is truly sombre and malevolent and you have seen only a small part of it and certainly not the darkest part. Let's respect our agreement, Persephone, let's explore it together. If, after doing so, you will still want to be its Queen, there will be no happier being in the Universe than me. And I know, now, thanks to you, what it means to be happy. But what would happen of my - and your - happiness if the end result was your - and mine - unhappiness? What would happen if I accepted what you propose and assert - now, with no further need for proof - and then, once our union were be sealed by the undying and indissoluble bond of marriage, because such it is for us Gods..."
Hades' voice grew, if possible, even more severe.
"…what would happen, Persephone, if we were condemned to live forever in misery and regret because of a premature choice on your part and of a premature acquiescence to your will on my part? I understand emotions by now, in grace of your influence. And what worse unhappiness than the awareness of having brought you to live for eternity in unhappiness? All would end up with an irreparable regret, and mine more than yours, because your unhappiness would be really intolerable for me."
The tears that had previously flowed down Persephone's cheeks had dried, so those cheeks were able to welcome other of them.
And so it was.
Copious and unstoppable tears went back to flow down Persephone's face
Her visage was bathed in it.
Hades, this time, was not surprised. Now he had understood.
He smiled softly.
By now he knew how to do it well.
And he rejoiced internally in those tears. Because he knew their cause.
This, too, the joy, he had learned to know.
"I like to assume, my Lady, that these too are tears of joy."
Persephone nodded. Once again she was unable to do anything else.
Or rather, there was something else she could do. And she did. With impetuosity and vehemence.
She threw herself into Hades' arms and hugged him tightly.
And she managed to speak, at last, still clung to him.
Broken words, lost among her weeping of joy, but she made it.
"Have... have I... have I already told you... have I already told you that... that you are... that you are the most honest and sensitive being that can exist? That... that you are... that you are everything a woman could want?"
Hades stroked her hair, rejoicing in her embrace and her words.
And he tried to mitigate the effect of her words on him.
Despite all that Persephone had been able to change in him, Hades still felt unable to fully bear the impact of such a change.
So he tried to be Hades again.
"Yes, you have already taken steps to magnify my already gigantic ego with these words, Persephone."
Fruitless attempt.
Result?
Persephone's angry gaze and her snap.
"Don't joke, Hades! Don't joke about what I tell you!"
Hades was caught off guard.
"But I..."
"What I tell you about you is true, Hades. It is true!"
Then Persephone's gaze softened. Her voice grew softer.
"I really think you are what I told you and..." Persephone rested her head on Hades' chest again. "...and I am more than convinced that there is no need for us to finish exploring the Underworld to validate my choice."
Then she looked up at him, her eyes still wet with tears and yet smiling.
"But be it as you wish, my Lord. After all, it's true that I myself have asked you to do it."
Hades nodded firmly.
"Exactly Persephone, It's precisely you who asked me to do it."
Persephone's lips too smiled, now.
"Sure, my Lord. I asked you. After all, wasn't it was logical and right for me to want to know everything about you, about the one who has kidnapped me and my heart?"
Hades found himself once again taken aback.
Was he supposed to get used to it from there on out, by any chance?
It was really wonderful what Persephone had just said to him, but it was also true that there was something, like a subtle rebuke, in her words. It was as if she had told him "the reason I asked you to explore your world is very different from the one you adduce. And it's mine, the valid reason."
He tried to sketch out an answer that made sense.
"Th... thank you, your words are… how is it that Mortals say? Ah, yes… are music to me. But so... so you deny that there may be other, and more serious reasons, than yours to proceed? Do you think my reasons are not as valid and perhaps more valid than yours?"
"Have I ever said anything like that, my Lord?"
And this time Persephone's mouth was openly smiling. And in a damn sly way.
Hades managed to stay calm.
"It's true, you didn't say it, Persephone, but ..."
Persephone softly silenced him, placing her light fingers on his lips.
"Why discuss what we both want to do? What does it matter, my Lord, if my reasons are different from yours? What does it matter, if the path we want to follow is the same?"
And, at this point, her smile became even more definite. And even slier.
"What does it matter, if the result will be what we both know?"
Well, another emotion. Hades was forced to become aware of another emotion.
How many did he still have to learn about?
Exasperation.
This was.
But, incredibly, no anger to accompany it. Towards Persephone, it was now clear to him, any anger impulse on his part would... deflate.
Therefore, he reacted to the exasperation he felt in the only way that, he understood, was possible with her.
He smiled in turn.
Would the smile become his habitual habitus?
Unlikely, but hadn't it been just as unlikely that he would fall in love with Persephone and, above all, that she would fall in love with him?
Yet it had happened.
Yeah. It had happened.
She had taught him to love by giving him her love for him.
So... so, wasn't it, by chance, that she could be right? Than the one unreasonable between the two of them was him, in reality?
Oh enough. Enough!
Confusion, Once again.
Confusion!
A very difficult thing to handle, this thing that was love.
Better to smile.
Yup.
Better to smile.
And, after all, smiling at her was... it was nice.
Better to smile and play her game.
"You know, Persephone, my dear? You are really stubborn."
"Similar goes with similar, my Lord."
"Ah. So I would be stubborn?"
"My Lord, if you ask me this, it means that you accept what I firmly believe about the two of us."
Exasperation to say the least. But Hades had honestly to admit that Persephone's game was really beautiful. And he also had frankly to admit that she was putting him into the corner.
With hidden and increasing and in truth amused exasperation he tried to get out of it.
"You mean that, being we alike, it can't help but be true that we have to be together? That we have to share our lives?"
"Well, my Lord, it does not seem logical to me to assume that it can't but be so. I would lie to myself if I said that I consider it not only possible, but inevitable. And ..."
That sly smile, again.
"... and lying is unthinkable in the Realm where lies cannot exist, as the will dictates of the one who to this Realm have given its laws. As your – your - will dictates, Hades, my Lord and Lord of this Realm."
Had he been human, Hades would have rolled his eyes showing the exasperation that was gripping him more and more.
And by a hair's breadth he didn't it.
Damn! The corner Persephone had closed him in did not want to know to open.
But he didn't give up.
He couldn't do it.
And then...
Then, he liked that soft war of words between them two.
With what showed off as a veritable designedly suave smile, he counterattacked.
"My dear, how is it possible to think that the two of us are alike? You were born in the light and I was born in the darkness. I am darkness and you are light. Nothing more opposite can exist."
"So we two are not alike, my Lord?"
"No, Persephone, I would really say no."
"Oh, then it's really true that opposites attract!"
This time Hades didn't make it. He couldn't suppress his exasperation.
"Persephone! Don't ..."
But he couldn't go on. Persephone interrupted him, serious this time, and fearlessly. Because her reaction to his burst came from the bottom of her heart. And it couldn't be stopped in any way. Not even by awe or fear.
"Hades, my Lord, allow me to tell you and myself once and for all. I, in that forest - the forest that marks for the Gods the boundary between the world of the living and the world of the dead - went there, thus allowing you to burst out of the Underworld to come and get me, because I was drawn to that forest, to its - to your - darkness. And, now, I am sure, I know why."
Persephone looked at Hades with an intense and penetrating gaze.
"Because your darkness is mine, Hades.
Persephone was silent for a moment, while Hades stood looking at her and hearing her with intent eyes and ears.
Then she spoke again.
In a low, confident voice.
"The light, as you affirm, that I am, shines by the darkness that is in me and that it is nothing but your own darkness. And I accept that. And want it. I accept and want my Destiny, my Lord. I accept to be and I want to be light and darkness."
A light cognizant smile lit Persephone's face.
"Because it's so, there is darkness in me. As well as light."
The smile on Persephone's visage widened.
"And Fate knows it, my Lord. It knows it well. That's why it destined me to be yours."
Persephone' shining eyes were now two piercing blades fixed on Hades'.
"What other woman, mortal or goddess, could ever be your woman but me? What other woman, if not the one within whose light your own darkness exists?"
Hades tried to react, to fight back.
"Darkness? In you? But what are you saying, Persephone? You are light! Only and solely light! You..."
Persephone smiled again, as shaking slightly her head at the same time and blocking in the bud what Hades was about to add.
"There was a time when I too thought I was nothing but light, destined for light."
Persephone stopped smiling and looked down thoughtfully.
"Everyone told me that this I was and that this I would be."
Her face rose again to look at Hades, with large, shining eyes.
"And why shouldn't I have thought that it was just like that?"
Her voice rose in pitch.
"Why shouldn't I have cursed Destiny - my Destiny! - when, indistinctly, nebulously, I grasped that Fate had established that I had to be yours?"
Persephone's voice rose even more.
"Why shouldn't I have despaired, when those eyes - your eyes, my Lord! - as in a dream so vivid as to be real haunted me the very night of my consecration as a goddess? Why, my Lord? Why shouldn't I have done it?"
Persephone's voice dropped, her bright eyes lowered again.
"Now I know, my Lord. I know why mine was a foolish and futile despair."
Again, Persephone's bright eyes rose to Hades'.
"Now I know."
Again, a sweet mindful smile spread across her face.
"Because I am light, as you say, but I am also darkness. I am your own darkness."
Her hand rose to gently stroke Hades' hair.
"I had to meet you to understand it, my Lord. It was necessary for you to kidnap me and take me here, to the Underworld, to the Darkness that belongs to you and me, for me to realize it. For me..."
Smile brighter than the one that appeared on Persephone's face will never be seen.
"... for me to realize that I was born to be yours."
No. No smile can ever match that smile.
"And for me to realize that this is just what I want."
Hades was totally silent for a few moments, unable to find suitable words.
Then he roused himself.
He softly took Persephone's hand, that was still stroking his hair, and gently squeezed it.
He brought it to his lips.
And delicately kissed it.
Delicately. As delicate sounded his words
He himself would have had a hard time recognizing his voice.
That one - so kind, so soft - couldn't be his voice.
But it was.
"Persephone, remember. You said it yourself. I kidnapped you. With good reasons, all in all, as I think they were and as I endeavoured to explain to you. But I did. My dark nature, the dark violence that is in me, pushed me to do it. And the purpose of the kidnapping was ... " Hades' voice broke. "... was to make you mine. And even if I never would have done it by force, the purpose was... was to seduce you."
Another smile spread across Persephone's face. And it was a sly and jaunty smile.
"Ahem, my Lord. I don't think I am mistaken if I say..." Again a sweet blush on her beautiful face. "...that, to tell the truth, it was me who seduced you."
If Hades hadn't been Hades, most likely, not to say surely, he would have remained mouth wide open.
And it has really been no small thing for him managing to avoid it.
"You never surrender, do you, Persephone?"
"Oh no, my Lord! Please excuse me, but this is not true! I have surrendered to you! "
Hades - you have to believe it - found himself sighing.
"Alright, alright. Agree. Okay. But now, my - so to speak -frail and helpless and naïf goddess, let's end it here, please. Stop with these verbal skirmishes. They are decidedly pleasing, I admit, but..."
Persephone, without any fear and without even thinking about it, vivaciously interrupted him.
"Verbal skirmishes? Do you say we are indulging in verbal skirmishes? Is that what you think we are doing?"
So. Let's see. Exasperation, confusion, uncertainty and, now, also perplexity. On the other hand, how if not with perplexity could Hades have answered Persephone's question?
"Well, but sure, Persephone. We are doing just this. Why are you asking me?"
Once again. That sly smirk on her face. And, it may seem unbelievable, but Hades felt something odd within, something as... as apprehension? What was that unpredictable girl about to tell him? Unpredictable and indomitable!
"Do you know, my Lord? Aphrodite and Hera told me more than once that it's classic for married couples to engage verbal skirmishes. Just like you say we are doing."
This time Hades didn't make it. His exasperation burst out.
"Persephone! We are not married!"
And she, not at all intimidated...
"Ah yeah. It's true. Not yet."
Then, smiling amiably...
"But we are behaving as such, aren't we, my Lord? Which means that, as a matter of fact, we..."
"Persephone!"
"Yes my Lord?"
And, at those words, at that angelic and mischievous expression of hers, Hades did the only thing he could do.
The grim and mighty Lord and Master of the Underworld realized - and gladly accepting it - that he, now, had in his turn a Lady and Mistress.
A Lady and Mistress to whom he could only say...
"Okay. Understood."
He smiled, Hades. A broad, unthinkable smile on his somber and austere face.
"My turn, now, Persephone."
Persephone looked at him closely. She felt something inside. Like... like a sort of fluttering of butterfly wings in her stomach. And... and it was pleasant!
It provoked anxiety, in some way, and yet... yet it wasn't disagreeable. Not at all.
It was as if it wanted to mean something... something...
Was he... was Hades by chance about to...?
"I surrender, my Lady."
Persephone's eyes widened. She looked at Hades almost anxiously. She studied him.
And Hades smiled even more broadly.
And he took her face in his hands.
And he whispered to her.
"I surrender to you, Persephone."
Then, before there could be any reaction from her, he took action.
With a quick movement, Hades' hands snapped to grab firmly but with gently carefulness Persephone from under her armpits.
The cloak covering her shoulders fell to the ground as he lifted her high, holding her like that.
Persephone felt...
She felt as if she was intoxicated!
Deliciously intoxicated!
She turned her gaze down on Hades' smiling face, almost in disbelief, as placing with spontaneous reliance her hands on his shoulders.
Without minimally fidgeting, without the least sign of wanting to move, immobile, held up by his powerful arms, she remained so, firmly held above by him.
She remained so staring at him with wide open and hopeful eyes.
Listening to him.
To his voice. Loud, steadfast, certain.
"I surrender to you, my Queen."
She was dreaming.
She was daydreaming.
No.
No!
She wasn't dreaming!
She wasn't dreaming!
Hades' words were not a dream!
It was not a dream what was happening.
It was not a dream that he gently made her descend until her feet rested on the ground; it was not a dream that he embraced her and held her with sweet strength to him; it was not a dream that he brought her face so close to hers and looked at her that way.
In that wonderful way!
It was not a dream what she heard him sweetly murmur.
"I surrender to you, my Bride."
End of Chapter Thirty
TBC
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Eh, there are various types of surrender, don't you think, my friends?
And, honestly, not all of them disagreeable.