Hello again! When I was first planning out this fic, I had already had in mind that it was NOT going to end up Hades & Persephone. When I finished with this chapter, though, I wasn't sure anymore. I already have another character in mind for a possible pairing, however I won't reveal him unless I get a strong response against Hades. So let me know- P&? or P&H!
Warning: Slight swearing in this chapter, so beware... Just in case you didn't know- this is the THIRD chapter. THe Author's note has been replaced with chapter Two, so make sure to read (and review, of course) that first.
Just need to clear up one more thing- Technically, Persephone is Hades' niece. Since Hades and Zeus are brothers and she is his and Demeter's (Who is also their sister) daughter. So for the sake of this story (and our morality), I'm going to try to ignore all these bloodlines. Okie with everyone?
Happy Readings!
CHAPTER THREE: BITTERSWEET HAPPINESS
Dark. Black. Persephone had never been in such a dark room before in her life. The heavy velvet curtains were drawn closed, refusing to let in any light. Not that there was much light to shut out anyway. She lay on top of the down quilt, instead of under it, but her head rested on the pillow.
She looked at the black paisely-patterned canopy of her four-poster bed which she could barely make out, and tried to recollect what had happened to her. She remained hopelessly confused and could do nothing but repeatedly smooth the black silk nightgown she was wearing. She didn't even remember how she had ended up in it! Panic slowly arose deep within her. Her memories were all lost...
Some time ago, she had been SOMEbody, hadn't she? But who? She felt as though she had known before, but that seemed eternities long ago. She could only see a picture of a beautiful flower in her head and she could almost feel the touch of its delicate petals in her hand, but then her thoughts blacked out. Then she saw herself at a black marble table with a pale, handsome, but formidable man. The rest of her thoughts were drowned out by dreary music that seemed to echo in her mind. And then she was here. In these clothes.
Suddenly, the door opened. No creak, no click as he closed it behind him. Persephone had closed her eyelids, but suddenly she sat upright as she sensed another presence in her room. And there he was, siting on the edge of her bed. She looked at him with wide eyes and she could feel herself growing afraid of his figure.
"For you," he said and held out his pale hand to her. In his square palm lay a flower. Not A flower, but THE flower. She looked at it wide-eyed but did not take it. He waited patiently for her to reach for it, but eventually he took her small hand. She quickly pulled back her hand from his touch. He didn't wince, he didn't appear hurt. He merely adjusted his position so that he sat directly in front of her on the bed. He leaned over to her, so close that Persephone could feel his breath on her cheek. She was nearly paralyzed with fear. What was he going to do to her? But he only removed the crown of wilting flowers in her hair and placed it on the bedside table and took the flower and put in her hair, almost by her ear.
He then took her hand, very gently, very softly and put it on his cheek. His skin on his cheek was smooth and further down his jaw she could feel a slight stubble from his shaven beard. He placed his hand over hers and looked at her. She felt some cold tingle inside her when he gazed at her with soulful, but sorrowful indigo eyes. She could see them sparkle even in the dark.
"Who are you?" She studied his face with some sort of a shame, she felt as though she was not supposed to be looking at him. His hair was dark and slicked back neatly. His face was pallid but to her chagrin, she found him oddly sensual. The shadows in his face transformed him into an older man-somehow more handsome. But where did the shadows come from? There was no source of light. Persephone wanted to draw away from him, but at the same time, move closer.
"You do not know me?" he asked, and he gently let go of her hand. His eyes were clearly his best feature, but as she looked into them now she felt dirty; it seemed to her that he knew every single thought passing through her head...
She shook her head. "I don't even know where I am," she said, her voice sounding tearful. "I don't think I even know who I am." She pulled her knees up to her body and leaned her head against them.
"Then we are the same," he said softly. She sensed empathy that she didn't want to notice in his deep voice.
"But you must at least know where I am," she said, looking up at him with her green eyes.
"It does not matter. Any place is the same," he said.
"No!" Persephone protested. "Haven't you been any place away from here? It's different. I know it is-"
"Tell me about it," he said and he moved into a more comfortable position, as if he was preparing to listen to a long story.
"Bright and beautiful. Flowers..." she said dreamily. A long pause, which seemed much longer in the dark.
"Surely you remember more than that."
Persephone looked at the bedspread and turned crimson, hopefully he wouldn't notice in the dim room. "I-I-uhm.... Frankly, I don't remember more, even though I know it hasn't been long ago-"
"-About a week, I believe," he interrupted matter-of-factly.
"- Yes, but it doesn't feel like a week. I can't remember anything I've done here or what I did before.... I think I've been here forever." she looked at him mournfully.
He shook his head. "The DEAD stay here forever..." he spoke softly and slowly. And he stood up and walked to the door.
"You're...-"she swallowed.
"I'm what?" he turned around swiftly, she saw his eyes glinting again in the dark.
"Death...?" She said it as a question, though she had a feeling she already knew. Inside, she could've kicked herself for not knowing.
"I'm nobody," he whispered as he opened the door noiselessly. Dim lighting from the hallway formed a rectangle of light in her room. "Just like you."
"But I AM someone!" Persephone said indignantly, feeling tears stream down her cheeks. "I AM someone...." she said again, more softly as he closed the door behind him. She fell back on the sheets. "I am someone... I am someone..." she said softly to herself as she closed the curtains of the canopy bed before curling up. Finally, she rolled over on her side and fell asleep almost immediately, but not before she gingerly took the orchid from her hair and left it on the bedside table.
"I'm afraid I know nothing about it," he spoke firmly.
"Don't play that game," He said in a dangerous voice. "This is Zeus' daughter we're talking about here."
"He doesn't give a damn abou-" the pale face of his was turning florid with intensity.
"Whether he does or doesn't does not play a role," Hermes seemed to be trying to stare holes into the man opposite him.
Hermes was undeniably not intimidated by the Lord of the Dead. He looked straight back into those large indigo eyes, equally fierce, equally determined to achieve. No, Hermes was not leaving Hades' realm without Persephone. But Hades matched Hermes unmistakably well, if not better. He had the same look in those breathtaking eyes.
"He's never even paid her any mind."
"She's his daughter, of course he cares. And his wrath will find you if you don't give her up. Related by blood or not, I advise you to watch your back."
"If he cares so much, why isn't he here to get her himself?" Hades narrowed his eyes.
"He's busy," said the God through clenched teeth.
"So busy that he ignores all reports of his missing daughter?"
"Demeter came to Olympus to say she was gone, and I passed on the messa-"
"But he ignored the appointment, didn't he?" Hades' voice was slicing through the air like a knife.
"How would you know abo-"
Hades ignored the puzzled visage on Hermes' face and continued, "In fact, Iris came to Olympus especially to talk about Persephone. He HEARD every single word she said, but he ignored everything but the LUST she brought forth in him!" he said slowly, but with a dark zeal. "He doesn't give a DAMN. He does NOT care."
"He has things to do," said Hermes crisply.
"Like seducing innocent women?" he replied cynically. He rubbed his chin, mocking thought, "Well, let's see- hmmmm, isn't that exactly how you came into being?"
A fire burned in Hermes' blue, normally calm eyes. He thought steam was coming out of his ears. Hades knew immediately that he had hit a nerve. Quickly, Hermes picked up his ice water and took several long sips. He calmed himself. "You're not one to talk about seducing women," he shot back and raised his eyebrows.
"I haven't done anything to her," he said softly.
"So she is here..."
"Who said she was here?"
"Wherever she is, bring her to me- now," Hermes said, not letting himself be discouraged.
"As you wish," and he grinned slyly as he snapped his fingers. Immediately a hooded figure in black appeared. "Show him the way," he addressed the hooded figure. "But don't think that this means I've given up."
"You'll give up when Zeus is through with you, alright," Hermes said confidently, with a slight sneer. However, he was not about to admit that the half-smile still plastered on Hades' face was making him feel increasingly shifty. Hermes knew the lord of the dead was going to lead him to Persephone, he could tell. But something made him uneasy. And that grin on his frozen lips... What tricks did Hades have up his sleeve now? He looked back at the Lord of the dead once, and then, helmet in hand, followed the servant.
They turned corridors, walked down endlessly long hallways, stepped down winding staircases, so that Hermes began to feel like a small mouse in a maze. His senses told him that Hades had done this on purpose, which made him more determined than ever not to falter or fall for any of his tricks.
Hermes almost didn't notice when they stopped in front of a door. It was dark, polished wood with a silver doorknob. Hermes simply stood in front of the door for a while, wondering what would be behind it. Would Persephone really be inside? Just before he was about to turn the knob and go inside, he noticed the hooded figure who had led him, was gone. No matter, he'd find his way back somehow. After, all he WAS Hermes, and he let himself in.
Persephone woke up the same time she heard someone opening the door. Waking up in the mornings, she was used to sunlight glowing in her room and the smell of her flowers. However, when she woke up, her room was dim, especially her bed, since she still had the curtains drawn around it.
Suddenly, the curtains parted and a head poked in. She gasped. "Hermes!" the words fell from her lips. The minute she saw him, she knew a part of what she had been trying to remember: Olympus and the other Gods.
Without a word, he scooped her up from the bed and carried her to the door, like a bride being carried over a threshold.
"Let me down, I can walk," Persephone protested, showing the rebellious side of her "I'm-sixteen-years-old-now-and-I-can-do-things-on-my-own" self.
He complied and after the two were on foot, Hermes took her hand protectively, like an older brother and they made their way down gloomy corridors with poor lighting.
Hermes felt the hand holding Persephone's growing clammy as he noticed that they were definitely not getting anywhere.
"Haven't we been down this way already?" asked Persephone, unsure.
"No," said Hermes quickly- too quickly. Persephone looked at him dubiously. She had just opened her mouth and was about to retort, when a dark figure appeared. Persephone thought, Hermes jumped nearly a foot in the air.
"Lost?" Hades asked. Persephone wondered if that had been a smirk on his face.
"No," Hermes said again.
Hades gave a mock-irritated sigh. "Hermes, frankly- you can't lie for shit." Persephone watched Hermes turn crimson. "I'm letting you go- but remember, I'm not doing it for YOU," Hades motioned at Hermes. And suddenly, next to him, on the very wall that Hades was leaning against, appeared a door.
Persephone marveled at it. Completely of glass, it threw a rectangle of light on the black marble floor. It looked so completely foreign in the unlighted halls of the Realm of the Lord of the Dead. Through it, Persephone could see a beautiful field of long grass and wildflowers. And suddenly, she remembered the small manor in the woods, and the scent of her room was already creeping to her nostrils. Oh, how she wanted to go through that door! She already felt herself reaching for the doorknob.
"Not yet," Hades said. Persephone was chilled again at the thought of him reading her mind. He took the hand that was reaching for the door. And from inside his cloak, he withdrew THE flower. Persephone was filled with awe at it, and secretly puzzled. Why hadn't it wilted yet? He put it in her palm and closed her fingers around it. "It was for you. Keep it." Then he turned her hand over and kissed it. His lips only barely brushed her hand but she felt their coolness, and once again, Persephone felt an icy frost throughout her body.
Hermes shot Hades another dark glance, which did not dishearten the Lord of the Dead at all, and opened the door for Persephone. She strolled out into the sunshine, and every scent, every bird, sound, flower, every memory, every time she had been here returned to her. She knew this was it. Why had her mind locked out these memories at Hades' palace? It didn't matter, she was here now...
Out of impulse, she threw a quick glance back, but Hades was already gone. Hermes took her hand once more and this time they traveled by air. The sky was a wonderful deep blue, and the sun was just right. She could feel cool air rushing through her hair... Cool air... cool... cold... cold lips- His Cold Lips- Persephone couldn't help looking back just once more. But he wasn't there, and the door was gone. too.
After the week that had passed, Demeter found how much she had truly missed her daughter. And she could sense an aura surrounding her daughter, too. One of well-being and appreciation of being home. For the first time since Persephone had arrived at teenage-dom, her mother tucked her into bed.
"I can't express how happy I am right now," said Persephone, stifling a yawn.
"I can't express how happy I am to have you back," said Demeter, stroking her daughter's forehead lovingly.
Demeter was somewhat unsure of herself. As her role of mother, was it her job to ask what had happened to her daughter? Or was it Persephone's role as daughter to assure her mother that nothing had happened to her? Did her daughter WANT her to ask if she was alright? Maybe she didn't want to talk about it.
Demeter looked around the room. During the while that Persephone had been gone, the flowers in the vases had wilted. For absolutely no reason, it seemed. "We'll get new flowers for your room tomorrow," Demeter said.
Persephone didn't want to tell her mother, but the wilted flowers evoked a strange and curious feeling that she wanted explore further- if she dared. To see flowers DEAD for the first time in her life, attracted her. It scared her, how she liked to see them in their vases, limp and lifeless, all around her room. Speculations, they were, of death and the life that once was in them. It was as if there was some magnetic force from her eyes to those flowers, because she could not stop looking at and admiring them...
She couldn't even believe herself what she was thinking. Flowers were most beautiful alive, she told herself.... but secretly she admired their wilting petals. "Yes, let's get new flowers," she said finally. "Beautiful, fresh, and alive."
"Iris has missed you, did you know?" Demeter said. "Someone told me she inquired after you at Olympus almost every day. Why don't you take her along tomorrow?"
"Yes," said Persephone slowly, obviously distracted.
Demeter turned around to see what Persephone was looking at. And it caught her eye immediately. Among the dead flowers, was a very beautiful, still fresh one. She plucked it out of the bunch. "Wow, how beautiful... Where'd you find it?"
"Right before I met... Hades," said Persephone pensively.
Demeter looked at her daughter imploringly, "You're alright?"
"I'm fine. He didn't do anything bad to me at all." Persephone managed a weak smile. "I don't think he's the person everyone else has judged him to be."
"You mean he's worse," Demeter said, eyeing her daughter critically.
"I think you judge him too quickly," Persephone replied. Why was she defending her kidnapper? And to her horror, she found herself saying,"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."
Demeter's face sunk. And she sighed. Her daughter was different now. Something was inside her now that had never been there before. In one week? I suppose that's what a visit to the underworld does to you, she pondered. Was it a new maturity? Whatever it was, it brought forth more of a woman in Persephone. She had taken the first step from an innocent young girl who loved the world to a woman- a Goddess... Much earlier than she herself had grown out of naiveness, she mused.
"You must be tired," she said quietly. "Why don't you go to sleep now?" And she pecked her daughter's cheek.
Persephone looked at her mother's face, "Mama..."
Demeter knew exactly what Persephone wanted but was too shy to ask. She laid herself down beside her daughter on the simple cot. "I'll stay until you fall asleep," she said soothingly.
And Persephone was reassured by her mother's presence and closed her eyes. Her breathing slowed and took a very regular rate. When Demeter was sure enough that Persephone was asleep, she carefully rolled off the cot and made her way to her own bedroom. Yes, Persephone was growing up... Had she only realized now?
"Pomegranate?" Demeter gasped. She was on her daily ritual visit at Olympus.
"That's right," Zeus said solemnly.
"B-but, it can't be- n-" Demeter found herself stumbling over her words.
"She'll have to go back-"
Hope you liked it! Remember H&P or H&? (or possibly both). Click that button, please!!
Warning: Slight swearing in this chapter, so beware... Just in case you didn't know- this is the THIRD chapter. THe Author's note has been replaced with chapter Two, so make sure to read (and review, of course) that first.
Just need to clear up one more thing- Technically, Persephone is Hades' niece. Since Hades and Zeus are brothers and she is his and Demeter's (Who is also their sister) daughter. So for the sake of this story (and our morality), I'm going to try to ignore all these bloodlines. Okie with everyone?
Happy Readings!
CHAPTER THREE: BITTERSWEET HAPPINESS
Dark. Black. Persephone had never been in such a dark room before in her life. The heavy velvet curtains were drawn closed, refusing to let in any light. Not that there was much light to shut out anyway. She lay on top of the down quilt, instead of under it, but her head rested on the pillow.
She looked at the black paisely-patterned canopy of her four-poster bed which she could barely make out, and tried to recollect what had happened to her. She remained hopelessly confused and could do nothing but repeatedly smooth the black silk nightgown she was wearing. She didn't even remember how she had ended up in it! Panic slowly arose deep within her. Her memories were all lost...
Some time ago, she had been SOMEbody, hadn't she? But who? She felt as though she had known before, but that seemed eternities long ago. She could only see a picture of a beautiful flower in her head and she could almost feel the touch of its delicate petals in her hand, but then her thoughts blacked out. Then she saw herself at a black marble table with a pale, handsome, but formidable man. The rest of her thoughts were drowned out by dreary music that seemed to echo in her mind. And then she was here. In these clothes.
Suddenly, the door opened. No creak, no click as he closed it behind him. Persephone had closed her eyelids, but suddenly she sat upright as she sensed another presence in her room. And there he was, siting on the edge of her bed. She looked at him with wide eyes and she could feel herself growing afraid of his figure.
"For you," he said and held out his pale hand to her. In his square palm lay a flower. Not A flower, but THE flower. She looked at it wide-eyed but did not take it. He waited patiently for her to reach for it, but eventually he took her small hand. She quickly pulled back her hand from his touch. He didn't wince, he didn't appear hurt. He merely adjusted his position so that he sat directly in front of her on the bed. He leaned over to her, so close that Persephone could feel his breath on her cheek. She was nearly paralyzed with fear. What was he going to do to her? But he only removed the crown of wilting flowers in her hair and placed it on the bedside table and took the flower and put in her hair, almost by her ear.
He then took her hand, very gently, very softly and put it on his cheek. His skin on his cheek was smooth and further down his jaw she could feel a slight stubble from his shaven beard. He placed his hand over hers and looked at her. She felt some cold tingle inside her when he gazed at her with soulful, but sorrowful indigo eyes. She could see them sparkle even in the dark.
"Who are you?" She studied his face with some sort of a shame, she felt as though she was not supposed to be looking at him. His hair was dark and slicked back neatly. His face was pallid but to her chagrin, she found him oddly sensual. The shadows in his face transformed him into an older man-somehow more handsome. But where did the shadows come from? There was no source of light. Persephone wanted to draw away from him, but at the same time, move closer.
"You do not know me?" he asked, and he gently let go of her hand. His eyes were clearly his best feature, but as she looked into them now she felt dirty; it seemed to her that he knew every single thought passing through her head...
She shook her head. "I don't even know where I am," she said, her voice sounding tearful. "I don't think I even know who I am." She pulled her knees up to her body and leaned her head against them.
"Then we are the same," he said softly. She sensed empathy that she didn't want to notice in his deep voice.
"But you must at least know where I am," she said, looking up at him with her green eyes.
"It does not matter. Any place is the same," he said.
"No!" Persephone protested. "Haven't you been any place away from here? It's different. I know it is-"
"Tell me about it," he said and he moved into a more comfortable position, as if he was preparing to listen to a long story.
"Bright and beautiful. Flowers..." she said dreamily. A long pause, which seemed much longer in the dark.
"Surely you remember more than that."
Persephone looked at the bedspread and turned crimson, hopefully he wouldn't notice in the dim room. "I-I-uhm.... Frankly, I don't remember more, even though I know it hasn't been long ago-"
"-About a week, I believe," he interrupted matter-of-factly.
"- Yes, but it doesn't feel like a week. I can't remember anything I've done here or what I did before.... I think I've been here forever." she looked at him mournfully.
He shook his head. "The DEAD stay here forever..." he spoke softly and slowly. And he stood up and walked to the door.
"You're...-"she swallowed.
"I'm what?" he turned around swiftly, she saw his eyes glinting again in the dark.
"Death...?" She said it as a question, though she had a feeling she already knew. Inside, she could've kicked herself for not knowing.
"I'm nobody," he whispered as he opened the door noiselessly. Dim lighting from the hallway formed a rectangle of light in her room. "Just like you."
"But I AM someone!" Persephone said indignantly, feeling tears stream down her cheeks. "I AM someone...." she said again, more softly as he closed the door behind him. She fell back on the sheets. "I am someone... I am someone..." she said softly to herself as she closed the curtains of the canopy bed before curling up. Finally, she rolled over on her side and fell asleep almost immediately, but not before she gingerly took the orchid from her hair and left it on the bedside table.
"I'm afraid I know nothing about it," he spoke firmly.
"Don't play that game," He said in a dangerous voice. "This is Zeus' daughter we're talking about here."
"He doesn't give a damn abou-" the pale face of his was turning florid with intensity.
"Whether he does or doesn't does not play a role," Hermes seemed to be trying to stare holes into the man opposite him.
Hermes was undeniably not intimidated by the Lord of the Dead. He looked straight back into those large indigo eyes, equally fierce, equally determined to achieve. No, Hermes was not leaving Hades' realm without Persephone. But Hades matched Hermes unmistakably well, if not better. He had the same look in those breathtaking eyes.
"He's never even paid her any mind."
"She's his daughter, of course he cares. And his wrath will find you if you don't give her up. Related by blood or not, I advise you to watch your back."
"If he cares so much, why isn't he here to get her himself?" Hades narrowed his eyes.
"He's busy," said the God through clenched teeth.
"So busy that he ignores all reports of his missing daughter?"
"Demeter came to Olympus to say she was gone, and I passed on the messa-"
"But he ignored the appointment, didn't he?" Hades' voice was slicing through the air like a knife.
"How would you know abo-"
Hades ignored the puzzled visage on Hermes' face and continued, "In fact, Iris came to Olympus especially to talk about Persephone. He HEARD every single word she said, but he ignored everything but the LUST she brought forth in him!" he said slowly, but with a dark zeal. "He doesn't give a DAMN. He does NOT care."
"He has things to do," said Hermes crisply.
"Like seducing innocent women?" he replied cynically. He rubbed his chin, mocking thought, "Well, let's see- hmmmm, isn't that exactly how you came into being?"
A fire burned in Hermes' blue, normally calm eyes. He thought steam was coming out of his ears. Hades knew immediately that he had hit a nerve. Quickly, Hermes picked up his ice water and took several long sips. He calmed himself. "You're not one to talk about seducing women," he shot back and raised his eyebrows.
"I haven't done anything to her," he said softly.
"So she is here..."
"Who said she was here?"
"Wherever she is, bring her to me- now," Hermes said, not letting himself be discouraged.
"As you wish," and he grinned slyly as he snapped his fingers. Immediately a hooded figure in black appeared. "Show him the way," he addressed the hooded figure. "But don't think that this means I've given up."
"You'll give up when Zeus is through with you, alright," Hermes said confidently, with a slight sneer. However, he was not about to admit that the half-smile still plastered on Hades' face was making him feel increasingly shifty. Hermes knew the lord of the dead was going to lead him to Persephone, he could tell. But something made him uneasy. And that grin on his frozen lips... What tricks did Hades have up his sleeve now? He looked back at the Lord of the dead once, and then, helmet in hand, followed the servant.
They turned corridors, walked down endlessly long hallways, stepped down winding staircases, so that Hermes began to feel like a small mouse in a maze. His senses told him that Hades had done this on purpose, which made him more determined than ever not to falter or fall for any of his tricks.
Hermes almost didn't notice when they stopped in front of a door. It was dark, polished wood with a silver doorknob. Hermes simply stood in front of the door for a while, wondering what would be behind it. Would Persephone really be inside? Just before he was about to turn the knob and go inside, he noticed the hooded figure who had led him, was gone. No matter, he'd find his way back somehow. After, all he WAS Hermes, and he let himself in.
Persephone woke up the same time she heard someone opening the door. Waking up in the mornings, she was used to sunlight glowing in her room and the smell of her flowers. However, when she woke up, her room was dim, especially her bed, since she still had the curtains drawn around it.
Suddenly, the curtains parted and a head poked in. She gasped. "Hermes!" the words fell from her lips. The minute she saw him, she knew a part of what she had been trying to remember: Olympus and the other Gods.
Without a word, he scooped her up from the bed and carried her to the door, like a bride being carried over a threshold.
"Let me down, I can walk," Persephone protested, showing the rebellious side of her "I'm-sixteen-years-old-now-and-I-can-do-things-on-my-own" self.
He complied and after the two were on foot, Hermes took her hand protectively, like an older brother and they made their way down gloomy corridors with poor lighting.
Hermes felt the hand holding Persephone's growing clammy as he noticed that they were definitely not getting anywhere.
"Haven't we been down this way already?" asked Persephone, unsure.
"No," said Hermes quickly- too quickly. Persephone looked at him dubiously. She had just opened her mouth and was about to retort, when a dark figure appeared. Persephone thought, Hermes jumped nearly a foot in the air.
"Lost?" Hades asked. Persephone wondered if that had been a smirk on his face.
"No," Hermes said again.
Hades gave a mock-irritated sigh. "Hermes, frankly- you can't lie for shit." Persephone watched Hermes turn crimson. "I'm letting you go- but remember, I'm not doing it for YOU," Hades motioned at Hermes. And suddenly, next to him, on the very wall that Hades was leaning against, appeared a door.
Persephone marveled at it. Completely of glass, it threw a rectangle of light on the black marble floor. It looked so completely foreign in the unlighted halls of the Realm of the Lord of the Dead. Through it, Persephone could see a beautiful field of long grass and wildflowers. And suddenly, she remembered the small manor in the woods, and the scent of her room was already creeping to her nostrils. Oh, how she wanted to go through that door! She already felt herself reaching for the doorknob.
"Not yet," Hades said. Persephone was chilled again at the thought of him reading her mind. He took the hand that was reaching for the door. And from inside his cloak, he withdrew THE flower. Persephone was filled with awe at it, and secretly puzzled. Why hadn't it wilted yet? He put it in her palm and closed her fingers around it. "It was for you. Keep it." Then he turned her hand over and kissed it. His lips only barely brushed her hand but she felt their coolness, and once again, Persephone felt an icy frost throughout her body.
Hermes shot Hades another dark glance, which did not dishearten the Lord of the Dead at all, and opened the door for Persephone. She strolled out into the sunshine, and every scent, every bird, sound, flower, every memory, every time she had been here returned to her. She knew this was it. Why had her mind locked out these memories at Hades' palace? It didn't matter, she was here now...
Out of impulse, she threw a quick glance back, but Hades was already gone. Hermes took her hand once more and this time they traveled by air. The sky was a wonderful deep blue, and the sun was just right. She could feel cool air rushing through her hair... Cool air... cool... cold... cold lips- His Cold Lips- Persephone couldn't help looking back just once more. But he wasn't there, and the door was gone. too.
After the week that had passed, Demeter found how much she had truly missed her daughter. And she could sense an aura surrounding her daughter, too. One of well-being and appreciation of being home. For the first time since Persephone had arrived at teenage-dom, her mother tucked her into bed.
"I can't express how happy I am right now," said Persephone, stifling a yawn.
"I can't express how happy I am to have you back," said Demeter, stroking her daughter's forehead lovingly.
Demeter was somewhat unsure of herself. As her role of mother, was it her job to ask what had happened to her daughter? Or was it Persephone's role as daughter to assure her mother that nothing had happened to her? Did her daughter WANT her to ask if she was alright? Maybe she didn't want to talk about it.
Demeter looked around the room. During the while that Persephone had been gone, the flowers in the vases had wilted. For absolutely no reason, it seemed. "We'll get new flowers for your room tomorrow," Demeter said.
Persephone didn't want to tell her mother, but the wilted flowers evoked a strange and curious feeling that she wanted explore further- if she dared. To see flowers DEAD for the first time in her life, attracted her. It scared her, how she liked to see them in their vases, limp and lifeless, all around her room. Speculations, they were, of death and the life that once was in them. It was as if there was some magnetic force from her eyes to those flowers, because she could not stop looking at and admiring them...
She couldn't even believe herself what she was thinking. Flowers were most beautiful alive, she told herself.... but secretly she admired their wilting petals. "Yes, let's get new flowers," she said finally. "Beautiful, fresh, and alive."
"Iris has missed you, did you know?" Demeter said. "Someone told me she inquired after you at Olympus almost every day. Why don't you take her along tomorrow?"
"Yes," said Persephone slowly, obviously distracted.
Demeter turned around to see what Persephone was looking at. And it caught her eye immediately. Among the dead flowers, was a very beautiful, still fresh one. She plucked it out of the bunch. "Wow, how beautiful... Where'd you find it?"
"Right before I met... Hades," said Persephone pensively.
Demeter looked at her daughter imploringly, "You're alright?"
"I'm fine. He didn't do anything bad to me at all." Persephone managed a weak smile. "I don't think he's the person everyone else has judged him to be."
"You mean he's worse," Demeter said, eyeing her daughter critically.
"I think you judge him too quickly," Persephone replied. Why was she defending her kidnapper? And to her horror, she found herself saying,"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."
Demeter's face sunk. And she sighed. Her daughter was different now. Something was inside her now that had never been there before. In one week? I suppose that's what a visit to the underworld does to you, she pondered. Was it a new maturity? Whatever it was, it brought forth more of a woman in Persephone. She had taken the first step from an innocent young girl who loved the world to a woman- a Goddess... Much earlier than she herself had grown out of naiveness, she mused.
"You must be tired," she said quietly. "Why don't you go to sleep now?" And she pecked her daughter's cheek.
Persephone looked at her mother's face, "Mama..."
Demeter knew exactly what Persephone wanted but was too shy to ask. She laid herself down beside her daughter on the simple cot. "I'll stay until you fall asleep," she said soothingly.
And Persephone was reassured by her mother's presence and closed her eyes. Her breathing slowed and took a very regular rate. When Demeter was sure enough that Persephone was asleep, she carefully rolled off the cot and made her way to her own bedroom. Yes, Persephone was growing up... Had she only realized now?
"Pomegranate?" Demeter gasped. She was on her daily ritual visit at Olympus.
"That's right," Zeus said solemnly.
"B-but, it can't be- n-" Demeter found herself stumbling over her words.
"She'll have to go back-"
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