Syd
-By. Firemoon
-
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. For more details see my bio.
Category: Romance/Angst
Rating: PG-13 for mature themes, languages maybe and some degree of violence and use of supernatural themes.
Pairing: Hades x Persephone
Part Three
Hades stood for a long time after the Great Hall had been emptied, the pale face unreadable as he slowly moved at last, looking around the hall; a lone dark figure in the middle of such brightness and light and colour. Finally, he closed his eyes with a soft sigh, and made his way out into the sunny courtyard.
Maes was still saddled, as Hades wanted to leave as soon as possible after he had gotten an answer from Zeus – which went, thought Hades rather bitterly, all very well – and right now the beast was standing magnificently as always in all its dark, winged glory at the side of the courtyard. The god's lips quirked slightly upwards as the horse whinnied, recognising its master even from the distance, and he hastened to make his way towards it.
"M'Lord Hades, why such a hurry?"
Hades stopped dead in his tracks, all traces of the previous, almost-smile all gone, and he turned slowly to meet the bright blue eyes of Aphrodite, locked with his own cold greyblue ones. She twined a delicate finger around one of her long, silky golden tresses as she sauntered up to him, the thin—so thin that it might as well have been sheer—fabric of her gown swaying around her curves with every step she took.
The goddess smiled in what was usually interpreted as an inviting way, the thick lashes of her eyes sweeping down in a coy fashion. "Pray, tarry a while in Olympus and share a glass of wine with me." With the last words, she stepped closer and trailed a slender finger suggestively along his jawline. The god's eyes narrowed even further and he stepped back slightly, coldly pushing her hand away. He resisted the urge to sneer, but instead smiled coldly back at her. "Thank you for the kind over, m'lady. But I must decline your offer, asmore pressing appointments are in hand. Good day."
Then the next minute Hades was up and astride Maes, who happily neighed as he felt the barely perceptive tug on his reins. With one beat from the jetblack wings, Hades and the beast was gone from sight. Aphrodite gritted her teeth and stomped her sandaled foot, and whoever saw her at that moment would have seen her normally flawless beauty significantly marred.
Damn that.. that child! Even her enchanted sash did not work on the god of the Underworld; how could this be?
"Mother!"
Her young son Eros ran up to her, two pudgy hands not yet free of the baby fat full of beautiful radiant flowers for the goddess. Aphrodite smiled. But it wasn't because of the flowers. A plan was slowly forming in her mind – a plan that involved Hades, her son, and—
--
Persephone hummed softly to herself as she bent down to pick a blood red poppy to add to her elaborate bouquet of flowers. She stopped a while to take a deep breath of the sweet smell of the beauty around her, closing her moss green eyes as she savoured the air. Her brown hair – the colour of spring sunlight dappled onto the tree branches, the colour or freshly turned earth, the colour of life itself – fell in thick cascades down her back, unadorned except for a small golden brooch set with jade the shape of a nightingale; her mother Demeter had forbidden her to braid or coif her hair, insisting it be let down and left plain and girlish. Persephone pulled a face, imagining an echo of her scolding voice.
There were some giggles heard and soon, several sea nymphs darted out from behind the woods, between the sea and the rich field that ran alongside it. Their complexion was pale, almost transparent, with something akin to glittering bluesilver fish scales scattered around their bare arms and neck, some even lying shimmering under their pale soft powder-blue eyes. They immediately came upon Persephone, wrapping their slender arms around her and hugging the Maiden Goddess amicably. "Kore! You're here!"
"Yes, sorry for not coming yesterday.. Moder wanted to take me in blessing the newly sown fields." The silver-haired nymphs shook their heads vigorously. "It's okay; Lord Hermes came and told us that morning." Good old Hermes, always looking out for me, thought Persephone, or Kore as they have called her ever since they became playmates, and grinned in such an unbecoming, mischievous way that her mother would be quite horrified at. "Well then, isn't it simply undescribably beautiful today? The sky seems so much higher and deeper than ever, just like the sea!" She gave a merry laugh and threw her arms towards the sky, twirling merrily around, the earthen brown hair flying about.
Watching her, the sea nymphs laughed too, readily joining in the dance. Persephone's laughter was almost infections; she was always laughing or dancing or singing, either to herself or with others. Even when she wasn't, a secret smile shone and played about her lips, almost like a bright glowing orb of light that surrounded her very core of being.
--
"Do you see that, my son?" Eros sighed softly, but maintained an excited look on his face as he turned his sky-blue gaze to the goddess. "Yes, mother." "Do you recognise her, the redheaded, simply darling girl?" The snow-white horses neighed softly but kept out of sight of everyone present in the vicinity, as Eros peered closer. "If I am correct, is she not the sole daughter of the goddess Demeter, Persephone?" "Yes."
Now the goddess turned towards the East and pointed towards the dark dot, swiftly approaching below. "And that, my son, is the Master of the Underworld." "Y-you mean Lord Hades, mother?" Aphrodite smiled grimly. "Yes, my son. And when he nears the clearing of Persephone, you must shoot the golden arrow, sweetened from our own fountain, at him. Make sure that the first female that he sees be no one but Persephone."
Eros grinned cheekily; it meant nothing to him, really, that his mother had a grudge against a god of possibly more higher Powers than she. What he was doing was no more a very dangerous thing to him than a very very fun thing. "Just leave it all to me, mother." "Good. I know I could always count on you, my son." The golden-haired goddess leant forward and pressed a kiss to her son's forehead, and somehow he could feel the kiss lingering on the skin it touched long after she drew away, throwing a look of such malice and sneering glee from her slanted eyes at the dark figure astride a dark Pegasus.
"And good day to you too, m'lord."
The arrow flew from Eros' bow with a resounding
twang
--
Oh,my.god.
How long has it been? I'm so flabbergasted and ashamed.
Sorry for the long, so long wait. Life had kidnapped me and I only just managed to get out because I fed it some bad eggs at some point. ..
Sorry again for the long wait and, disproportionately to that, the low quality of reading that I have provided here in the form of Chapter Three.
I have tried to edit the writings—thank god I wrote out most of the plot points after chapter five or so, or I would never get to finish this at all..—that I did prior to my Great Hiatus, but hopefully it won't burn your eyes or you won't be reading this little note of mine. Or maybe this is making you worse.
Next chapter will be out as soon as I can type it all up. Sorry again.
