AN - *WARNING* SUPER LONG CHAPTER AHEAD! And this chapter comes with a trigger warning; it might not be needed but I want to be cautious and respectful of my readers. I'll put an asterisk where it starts and ends so that, if needed, it can be skipped. But as always, thank you for reading the latest installment or Twilight Maiden. Huge love and hugs to all my wonderful readers!
Persephone
"What are you doing here?" Persephone hissed at the intruder. Her heart was pounding wildly against her chest and a heated mixture of anger and fear bubbled in her stomach. She wanted to march across the room and slap that smug smile from Minthe's face, but she could not muster the courage to do so. Instead she glared at her from a safe distance, standing by the open door, just in case she needed to run.
"Oh, come on now," Minthe crooned, rising from the bed and sauntering over to where Persephone was planted firmly in her spot. "You don't need to be so hostile." She batted her eyelashes playfully but her green irises glinted coldly, and a shiver ran down Persephone's spine.
"So, you want to be friends now?" Persephone growled, keeping her eyes trained on the Nymph's every move. Minthe's dazzling smile soured and she stopped just a few precious feet away.
"Of course not," she spat venomously. "I know that Annis has taken pity on you and become your friend, but I have no such pity and no such desire. But rest assured that I won't lay a finger on Hades' precious new plaything. I was warned not to, and I would hate to disobey. That would only spoil Hades' good opinion of me."
"Hades' good opinion of you?" Persephone scoffed, sounding far bolder than she felt. "From what I saw, he was not too friendly towards you. In fact, he even seemed like he was not happy with you for attacking me." Even though her heart was still beating like a drum, Persephone was pleased to see the color drain Minthe's rosy cheeks.
"Hades doesn't know what he wants. He thinks that he desires you, but I highly doubt that a little twig like you could satisfy him." She was moving uncomfortably close to Persephone now. Her emerald eyes were glimmering once again, like a snake ready to strike at a helpless mouse. "For a time, Hades and I used to be lovers. Did you know that?" Minthe enquired with words as cool as a winter breeze and a triumphant smile on her lips.
"I had my suspicions," Persephone snipped, trying to sound uninterested but cursing herself for how strangled her words came out. Without warning, Minthe's fingers suddenly grabbed Persephone's chin and she shook the goddess' face roughly.
"What a smart goddess you are! Nothing gets past you, does it?" The other woman teased, talking to Persephone as if she were a small child who needed praise.
"What do you want? Why did you come here to harass me?" Persephone yanked her chin out of Minthe's cruel grasp and slapped the offending hand away. It gave her a wicked satisfaction that Minthe backed a few steps from her, mouth agape in surprise, and was rubbing her hand where Persephone struck her.
"Harass you?" Minthe laughed without any trace of mirth. "What silly thoughts go through your head! I am here to tell you that Hades is mine." Her expression darkened, and the air of the room grew thick with tension.
"I want him back," Minthe snarled while fixing Persephone with a withering glare. She sucked in a sharp breath and tried to force back the waves of terror that threatened to drown her. Memories of that knife held to the vulnerable skin of her throat were so strong, she could practically feel the sharp coldness of the blade. The hair on the back of her neck stood on up and every single one of of her instincts screamed at her to flee. But as their stalemate wore on, Persephone grew less afraid of Minthe. Righteous anger took place of fear; how dare this Nymph come into her room, threaten and demean her, all for the affections of a god that Persephone did not even desire.
So, then and there Persephone decided to stand her ground. She threw back her shoulders and stuck her chin out at the glowering Nymph.
"Then. Go. Get. Him," Persephone ordered, emphasizing each word with a stab. "He is yours for the taking. I won't stop you." Enough was enough; Persephone was finished with Minthe. She did not even wait for Minthe to reply as she roughly shoved past the Nymph and stormed into her room. Her head was spinning out of control and Persephone wanted to push any idea of Hades and Minthe together as lovers out of her mind. How Hades could ever want a cruel and volatile woman such as Minthe was beyond her.
"Don't you lie to me!" Minthe growled and Persephone whirled around, only to find that she was face-to-face with a scowling Nymph.
"How am I lying to you?" Persephone demanded hotly. "I don't want to be his lover." She spat out the word with as much distaste as she could muster. "I just want to go home."
"You say that and yet, you and Lord Hades seemed quite cozy on your little stroll through the Underworld together" Minthe simpered, trying to regain her cool demeanor, but instead her cheeks were nearly the color of her hair. "I would say that I do have myself some competition, but a little goddess is hardly a match for someone like me. Someone who already knows Lord Hades, who knows how to please a god like him—"
"Were you the one rustling around in the forest? You were spying on us? How childish!" Persephone butted in before Minthe could finish her vulgar thought. "If you were willing to go so far as to sneak around in the woods like an animal and watch Hades with his 'new plaything' then I would guess that you aren't as confident as you seem. Could it be that you do feel threatened? By me? The little twiggy goddess?"
It was amazing how quickly Minthe's skin went from red to white and back to red again. Persephone was painfully aware that she was dancing on thin ice by purposefully poking at this dangerous woman's wrath, but she refused to let Minthe be victorious this time.
"What do you know about anything?" Minthe's nose was practically touching hers and Persephone was disgusted that she could feel the Nymph's breath on her face.
"Well, apparently nothing gets by me. You just said that earlier." Persephone crooned, trying to match Minthe's simpering tone that she had used before.
Minthe's entire body coiled like a lion ready to pounce. Persephone braced herself for the attack, tensing her own arms and shoulders and hoping that she was strong enough to fend her off. Seconds passed. Persephone and Minthe locked their gazes, waiting for the other to be the first to move.
"Minthe! What in the gods' name are you doing here?" To Persephone's utmost relief, a familiar voice shouted into Persephone's room. Both Persephone and Minthe whipped their heads around in the direction of the door and there was Annis, her brown hair all a mess, standing on the threshold.
"There's always someone here to save you," Minthe quipped saucily. She smirked with her eyes still burning with hatred and had the audacity to reach up and wiggle Persephone's chin one more time. Persephone just tried to seem just as cold as Minthe and silently stared her down. Minthe flounced out of the room, having to go past Annis before leaving.
"I see you had some fun," she teased, pointing at the other Nymph's ruffled hair. Annis just rolled her eyes and threw her hair over her shoulder.
"Between the two of us, at least one of us is," Annis snapped without a beat. Minthe's smirk turned into a pout and she stormed away. Once a Persephone saw Minthe's retreating back, she exhaled all the air in her lungs and fell back heavily onto her bed.
"Persephone! Are you alright!" Annis slammed the doors shut and rushed to her friend's side.
"I'm still alive so, I would say that I'm alright," Persephone was staring blankly at the beautifully tiled ceiling above her as she lay on the bed. Annis sat beside her and leaned over Persephone, blocking her view. Her amber eyes were overflowing with concern.
"What did I just walk into?"
"She came into my room and started harassing me. Minthe is like one of those things. Those...Harpies, I think that they're called?"
"What a perfect comparison!" Annis laughed. Persephone sat up and found that she was shaking all over; from relief or from adrenaline, or possibly both.
"I've never argued with another person like that before in my life. I've never stood up for myself. It's always been the Nymphs and my mother who spoke for me." Persephone gushed excitedly, still reeling from the intensity of her encounter. She glanced over at Annis, still sitting beside her with an amused grin.
"Doing it myself was thrilling; empowering, even!" Persephone continued on, not caring if Annis found her to be ridiculous. "Now I know that I can fight for myself, defend myself, and not back down."
"I am so happy that you are having this moment of self-discovery," Annis could not help but giggle at Persephone's excitement and she patted her knee in a friendly way. "But it was good that I came when I did. Minthe was ready to pounce on you!"
"And I would have fought back!" Persephone exclaimed confidently.
"I don't doubt that you would have! But it's better that you avoid any sort of bickering or fighting with her," Annis advised solemnly. "I don't mean to rain on your parade, but I would hate to see you hurt. Minthe is rotten and not above doing anything to get what she wants. There is a reason that she has no friends here in the Underworld."
"I know, I know, you are right." Persephone sighed. "She would have killed me. But at least I would have not played dead like I did the last time she tried."
"Very true! I guess I shouldn't leave you alone anymore if Minthe takes advantage the first chance that she gets." Annis grumbled. Persephone opened her mouth to wholeheartedly agree with her, but then stopped herself from saying the words that hovered on her lips. The truth of the matter was...
"I actually was having quite an interesting day before Minthe decided to show her face." Persephone revealed and was pleased to see that Annis was surprised and even seemed happy at this news.
"Really? And what sort of nonsense did you get yourself into?"
"Excuse me? What sort of nonsense did you get yourself into?"
"None of the sort that I can tell you about."
"I'm dying to meet this friend of yours. It looks like he treated you well." Persephone quipped while reaching out and smoothing Annis' tell-tale frazzled locks.
Annis gasped in mock-horror and playfully swatted Persephone on her hand. "You wicked girl!" She cried out and the two broke out into a fit of giggles.
Persephone was enjoying having Annis as a friend. There was countless things that she admired about her; she was bold and outspoken and unafraid to stand up for herself and for others.
For as adventurous and precocious as Persephone's mother swore that she was, Persephone had grown up timid and shy and having her battles fought for her, as rare as that was. She lived her life under her mother's thumb and the Nymph's constant fawning. She wanted to be like Annis. Persephone covered that boldness and the more she spent time with Annis, the more Persephone was inspired to tap into her own boldness.
Their laughter died down and Annis was staring intently at Persephone, and it took her a moment to realize that Annis was waiting on her to relay her day's adventures.
"Well, if you are curious...Hades and I went on a walk together. He showed me around the Underworld."
"What? You did what?"
"Spent time with the god of the Underworld."
"And how was it?"
"It was fine." Persephone replied rather shortly. She left out Hades' confession of his feelings. She left out her own conflict that tugged at her heart from both directions. Persephone would have been fine with pretending that neither existed. She instead stayed with neutral topics, such as Cerberus and the Harpies and Sisyphus. Persephone relayed the few sighs that Hades had shown her, all the while wanting to wipe the smug grin from Annis' lips.
"Why are you smiling like that?" Persephone finally stopped her storytelling to call Annis out on her strange smiling.
"Because it seems like you don't hate the Underworld or the ones you reside here," Annis answered knowingly. Persephone just sighed and did not care to admit if any part of that was true.
"Well, I suppose that meeting you and becoming your friend hasn't been so bad," was all that Persephone would say to that. "I would still rather go home," she muttered. Annis nodded in agreement but still had that damned smile on her face.
And speaking of going home, Persephone had yet to ask about that god with the golden hair. She had every intention of asking, but there was a hesitation to do so and it bothered her. Why did she feel guilt when she gathered the courage to ask about him? Each time she did, Persephone decked back into memories, not unpleasant, of her time with Hades. It was maddening! Foolish!
But even so, Persephone could not bring herself to do it. She decided against it for the time being. Their conversation slowly eased into something else with Annis, for the time being, forgetting all about her time with Hades and Persephone trying to ignore that nagging question left unspoken.
This was actually a welcome change of pace; Annis had decided that Persephone was comfortable enough in the Underworld to introduce her to some of the other, friendly Nymphs that also lived in the castle. Some of them were familiar faces that she had seen on her first disastrous encounter with Minthe. They had all mysteriously vanished, not to be seen again until Minthe summoned them to come and properly meet the goddess that had found herself in the realm of the dead.
The four Nymphs that Annis had called to the throne room to meet Persephone gathered around her in a tittering storm, asking her questions and trying to get a closer look at their lovely guest. At first, Persephone had been overwhelmed with these new friends and been shy with them while they asked her dozens of questions at a rapid pace, but Annis shooed them a few feet away when she saw that Persephone was smothered by their attention.
It did not take long though, for their excitement to die down and for Persephone to become friends with them all. A week had lazily drifted by ever since her walk with Hades and confrontation with Minthe, neither of which Persephone had seen since. She was grateful that Minthe was nowhere to seen, but irritated that once again, Hades was making himself scarce.
Persephone and her new passel of friends were lounging in the garden, their newest favorite place to gather, where lush rose bushes bloomed and their air was thick with their fragrance. They were discussing Annis' secret lover and begging her to reveal his identity. Annis just blushed prettily and coquettishly denied having a lover of any sort.
"He couldn't be Rhadamanthus, could he?" A nymph with curly blonde hair and sky-blue eyes inquired. "I don't believe that he's had a steady lover for a long time. He's likely to be in need of a companion!"
"Oh come now, Carin. You know that I despise him! I would never let him touch me. Not even if he were the last man left in the Underworld," Annis chastised. To her left was another nymph with red hair, though her locks were a rich, warm auburn instead of Minthe's blood-colored scarlet. She spoke up with her own tidbit of gossip.
"He might have already found somebody," she whispered. "I hear that Minthe has been seen sulking around the Elysian Fields. Maybe he has taken up with her?"
Persephone rolled her eyes and hugged at the sound of Minthe's name but the news of her being this god's lover sent the Nymphs into a swarm of whispers and speculation. Persephone day there and listened to them all discuss this latest development but she found herself oddly out of the loop. She was sitting on the other side of the Auburn-haired Nymph and leaned in close to her so that the others couldn't hear.
"Sara, who is this Rhadamanthus? And the Elysian Fields are what now?" Sara's brown irises widened and she hastily apologized for not explaining herself. Persephone just as hastily assured her that it was fine and once again asked who and what everyone was going on about. There seemed to be a mutual agreement, with everyone except for Annis who was scowling, that this god's love was one to envy..
"Rhadamanthus is a god that resides in the Elysian Fields. That place is where the souls of heroes and gray mortals go to spend eternity. He is also one of Lord Hades' most trusted judges; he sits at his right hand when Lord Hades judges who will go to the Elysian Fields and who will not. And, well…" Sara blushed beneath the smattering of freckles across her cheeks. "As you can see he is, uh, quite popular with the Nymphs. Honestly, Persephone, he is a beautiful god. I would say that he's even more handsome than Lord Hades—"
"Yes! He is, but Lord Hades has the prestige and the power!" Another Nymph, one who had clearly been listening in, chimed in from across the circle. "I find that far more desirable than looks!" Once again, the Nymphs fell into a discussion about who they preferred more; Lord Hades or this mysterious Rhadamanthus. Persephone fell back into silence and wondered if she had accidentally seen the god and judge in question; the god with the silver hair beyond the mable gates. Not for the first time, Persephone ached to find out who he was. If he was indeed this Rhadamanthus, then Sara did not lie; he was beautiful.
Her mind drifted aimlessly with the brief glimpse she had of the silver-haired god, remembering the moment where her gaze met his and she dashed back into her hiding place. Had he actually seen her? Who did he think that she was? Would Hades allow her to meet him—
"All of you are forgetting who the most handsome and powerful god is, and before I came here to the Underworld, he chose me to be his lover for a night. Zeus himself!"
Persephone was rudely pulled from her daydreams and cut her eyes ruefully over to the Nymph that had uttered her father's name. The others gasped in disbelief and immediately began to call her a liar, but Annis shushed this Nymph.
"Hush your mouth!" Annis hissed at the bemused Nymph. "Don't brag about things that aren't true!"
The Nymph shook her head and soft, black waves of hair fluttered gracefully over her shoulders. "I am not a liar, Annis. There's no need for you to be jealous—"
"I'm hardly jealous!" Annis snapped. "Zeus is Persephone's father and—" Annis' eyes widened and she looked over at Persephone. A silence fell over the circle of Nymphs and five pairs of eyes were suddenly fixated on the goddess, every last one of them asking questions begging to be answered.
"Oh, Persephone I'm...I'm so sorry," Annis stammered apologetically. "I didn't mean to tell them, I just...I wasn't thinking…" Persephone's throat closed around her words and she felt the color drain from her face. The Nymph who had been bragging about being with Zeus was several shades of red and her eyes cut nervously back and forth between Annis and Persephone.
"I'm guessing that there is no love lost between you and your father," Sara prompted as she tried to ease the tension in the circle, but Persephone's mouth was heavy. Then the questions began to trickle into the circle.
Why did she hate her father? Had she ever met him? What did he do to lose your love?
Tears watered her vision as she stared back at all the curious faces. Annis was chewing her lip as she braced herself for Persephone to chastise her, but Persephone could not. Yes, she loathed any mention of Zeus but for a Nymph to gleefully brag about being with him as if he were a prize to be won...
That more than anything cut her heart into pieces and she would refuse to explain to them why. It was her mother's tale of sorrow and it was not for Persephone to share as if it were meaningless drivel.
"None of this is any of your concern!" Persephone cried out, cutting off all of the Nymphs and they instantly fell silent again. It dawned on her that the Nymphs were all gazing up at her; when did she stand up? Her body had moved of its own accord, acting out what she was imagining; fleeing. Getting away from all of these nosy Nymphs and their stupid questions and their ignorant desires.
And that was exactly what she did. Before she could even blink, Persephone's feet were dashing out of the circle and the voices of the Nymphs pleading for her to come back fell on deaf ears. As she was running from the grove of rose bushes, Annis was hot on her heels. She grabbed Persephone's arm and brought her to a halt.
"Persephone, please! I am so sorry." Persephone turned to look at Annis over her shoulder and saw that her friend was nearly in tears. "I was just trying to help."
Persephone was not so sure how Annis had been trying to help. She tugged her arm out of Annis' grasp.
"I just need a moment," Persephone muttered and did not wait for Annis to try to convince her to come back to the circle, and to her relief, Annis let her go without another word. The cool shadows of the castle greeted her as she made her way inside and Persephone stormed down the empty hallways. She wanted to go to a place that was not overrun with giggling Nymph and she had the perfect place in mind; the underground springs.
Try as she might, Persephone could not shake the sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her mood darkened each time Zeus' name raced unwelcome inside of her mind. Persephone groaned and raked her fingers through her hair, tangling the smooth strands in the process. The name of the god of gods was forbidden to be spoken. Anyone who dared to utter his name was punished harshly be Demeter and then banished. Persephone was not accustomed to hearing that name thrown around so casually, and so often, and it was beginning to wear on her and bring up sore feelings that she preferred to keep bottled up tight.
But it was nearly impossible to pretend that Zeus did not play a part in her life. Her very existence in of itself was a harsh reminder of just how inexplicably bound she was to the god. Persephone could not hold back the memories that she was desperately trying to keep at bay, so instead she delved into deep, dark waters of the circumstances of her birth.
The dark stain on Demeter's past.
Long before Persephone was born, Demeter had been a carefree, lively, and lovely goddess of the harvest. Instead of living on Mount Olympus with the other gods and goddesses, Demeter preferred to make her home on the earth; she loved to secretly mingle with the mortals, specifically with farmers and people who prayed to her for her blessings. One of the reasons that Demeter kept her distance from the other immortals was because of her brother Zeus – Demeter learned that she was the latest object of his desire and when he had made unwanted advances towards her, she fled the home of the immortals to live a simple life. Nobody on Olympus had an inkling of where she ran off to and Demeter wanted to keep it that way; she knew that once Zeus desired her, he would stop at nothing before he had her.
It was not long before she fell in love with a mortal man and they began an affair. He had no idea that he had taken a goddess as a lover and Demeter did not want him to know who she truly was. The goddess wanted to keep her true identity a secret. She hoped for this man to love her for herself and not for her status as an immortal. Demeter spent the next year happily pretending to be a mortal, all while keeping her distance from her immortal siblings.
Demeter's happiness did not last long. Zeus discovered that Demeter had dared to spurn his advances to choose a mere mortal man as her lover over him. He became enraged and decided to exact his revenge on her.
Zeus came down to the earth and disguised himself as a mortal. He met with Demeter's lover, pretending to be a wealthy man who wanted to buy his land. Zeus made an offer that would be foolish to refuse; to purchase his and give him enough money to make him a rich man for the rest of his days. Of course, the man was thrilled and eager to accept this proposal but Zeus had a stipulation; the man was to leave his lover and never speak to her again. Confused and angry, the man denied Zeus' offer without a second thought and demanded that he leave him be. This man was so in love with Demeter and refused to leave her, even for all the money in the world.
Enraged that this man's love for Demeter was stronger than his desire for wealth, Zeus then revealed himself to the mortal. Zeus told the terrified man that he was going to punish him for trying to elevate himself as one of the gods by taking a goddess as his lover. The man desperately swore to Zeus that he had never taken any goddess as his lover; Zeus of course knew that the man had no idea who Demeter actually was, but that did not stop him from doing what he did next.
He killed the man without any mercy or pity and then took his identity as his own.
Zeus, disguised once again but this time as Demeter's lover, came to her and pretended to be him. They spent a passionate night together with Demeter thinking the entire time that she was with her mortal lover. Then when the sun rose in the morning sky, the man's face fell away and to Demeter's horror, Zeus revealed himself. Shameless and remorseless, Zeus relayed every detail about what he had done to the mortal man. He told her that she deserved this pain and this trickery for denying him and choosing a pathetic mortal instead.
Demeter was devastated. In her grief, she snuck away to a place where she thought that nobody could find her and she served her patrons from afar.
Then Demeter found out that she was with child, and she there was no doubt in her mind that it was Zeus' child.
That was the only bright spot in the darkness that shrouded her over the next few years. Persephone's birth and life were Demeter's saving grace, her reason to keep on going. It took her a long time for her to be happy again but she found joy in raising her daughter.
But it came at a price. Demeter was petrified that her daughter, innocent and sweet, of being violated in the way she had been. So she kept her child's existence a secret. Only the Nymphs that she trusted were able to reside with them in their hidden home knew of Persephone. As Persephone grew from a lovely child into a beautiful goddess, her paranoia grew with her. She kept her daughter under her thumb, never allowing her to leave or teaching her about the world outside of their home. Of course Persephone resented her mother's strict rules. Of course Persephone was curious to know what life outside of their home was like. But her loyalty and love for her mother kept her from acting on her dreams. It was guilt that tied her obediently to her home. Some part of Persephone hoped that in time, her mother's fear would fade and she would once again become the goddess that she was before Zeus defiled her.
Whispers from the Nymphs spoke of the Demeter who was once happy and carefree and vibrant. Now she was solemn and withdrawn, only showing affection for her daughter. Persephone hated Zeus for stealing away her mother's joy. She would never forgive him for destroying the goddess that Demeter was and never giving her a chance to know that side of her own mother.
So to hear anyone singing his praises or desiring to be intimate with him or directing any sort of positivity in his direction was more than Persephone could bear. She loathed the god with all of her being. For her entire life, it was engrained into her to despise him. Demeter made sure of it.
Persephone hardly knew where she was going and forgot that she had even wanted to go to the underground springs until a wave of warm, moist air hit her. Somehow she had walked the entire way to the springs, opened the door, and walked into the cavern without even realizing it. She stood there like a statue, numbly comprehending her surroundings and wondering if she should just forget about taking a bath and go back to her room.
Over the sound of the gently flowing water of the springs, Persephone heard a worried voice speak her name, the sound of his voice both calming her frazzled nerves yet striking her heart into a frantic rhythm.
Hades.
Persephone whirled around in the direction of his voice and saw the god sitting in the water, bare-chested and leaning casually against the stone wall of the cavern with his arms resting on the ledge behind him, looking just as surprised to see her as she was to see him.
She would have given anything for the earth to open up right then and there to swallow her whole.
In the confines of her mind, Persephone thanked all the gods that she knew of, save for her father, that Hades' top-half was the only part that was exposed. Her cheeks were flaming and she swore that she saw steam rising for her own face. And yet, she could not tear herself from the sight of him sitting in the water. It was not an unpleasant view.
He continued to stare at her questioningly until Persephone remembered that he had asked her a question; was she alright?
"I am - I'm fine," Persephone peeped in a tiny voice and begging herself to stop blushing. "I'm sorry that I, uhh, burst in here without seeing if you, or anyone else, was inside."
Hades was grinning at her obvious bashfulness at catching him mid-bath.
"No apology needed," he assured gently. "I would be more than happy to leave so that you can have this place to yourself." Hades' offer was kind, considerate even, and Persephone could not understand why she didn't demand that he leave. In fact, she did not want to lose his company. She had changed her mind about a bath, but Persephone found that she wanted to talk to him.
"I hate Zeus," she blurted out. Hades was taken aback by her blunt statement.
"You're not the only one," he answered carefully. Persephone walked to the edge of the spring and sat down on the stop of the stone steps that lead into the water. She put her feet into the springs, savoring the comforting warmth that enveloped her. Hades stayed put where he was on the opposite end of the spring and waited patiently for her to continue.
"Do you know…" Persephone did not look at Hades as she swirled her fingers over the dancing surface of the water. "Do you know what he did to my mother?" She managed to look up from the water and locked her gaze onto Hades. She could not say why she wanted to talk to Hades about this. Nothing about her life made sense anymore.
Hades did not speak for a long while. The wheels in his mind were turning and Persephone could tell that he was carefully weighing what his answer would be. It touched her that he would try to consider how his words would wound her and that he was trying to ease some of the inevitable sting. He lifted his hand and ruffled his damp hair nervously.
"It is known that Zeus tricked Demeter as a punishment for rejecting him and instead fraternizing with a mortal," Hades sighed. Persephone had expected as much. From what she learned of Zeus over the course of her life, he would have boasted of his actions to anyone who would have listened.
"Do you know if Zeus is aware that he has a daughter?" Persephone dared to ask, not that it mattered to her if Zeus had any knowledge of her or not. She was just curious if Zeus ever learned that his vile actions were what created her life.
"There are rumors," Hades began hesitantly. "That Demeter gave birth to a daughter after Zeus' actions. Many in Olympus never believed that rumor, but none would be surprised if they learned the truth."
"There were rumors about me?" Persephone perked up when she heard this; Demeter had been so careful to hide her from the prying eyes of the gods and goddesses and Persephone had never been keen on her own existence being kept so hush-hush. So to learn that she was not so secret as thought made her oddly happy. "What did they say about me?"
Hades laughed and to Persephone, he sounded a bit nervous. "Well, there was one rumor that said that you were more beautiful than Aphrodite herself and I can attest to the fact that Aphrodite was not pleased to hear that. She was one of the ones who adamantly denied that you were real."
"I hardly doubt that I'm more beautiful than the goddess of love," Persephone scoffed lightheartedly. When Hades did not agree with her doubt and just gazed at her tenderly from across the pool, she quickly ducked her head and focused intently on staring at her feet through the clear water.
"In any case, it doesn't matter to me if Zeus knows or cares about me," she mumbled to her feet. "I was raised to never feel anything but spite for him."
"He is a poor excuse for a god and a poor excuse for a father." Hades agreed solemnly. Persephone's lips curled into a smile, loving that Zeus' own brother did not seem to feel any more kindly about him than she did. But just as soon as it came, her smile died and fell into a scowl.
"A part of me, a deep, deep, part of me wished that I didn't hate him. I wish that my mother had not taught me to loathe him." Persephone admitted. "And it's selfish, the reason why. What he did was awful, terrible, and I have every right to feel no love for him. I just spent far too much of my childhood hating the part of me that was a part of him."
"Persephone…" The tender tone that he used to say her name brought a storm of butterflies in her chest. It was compelling and Persephone had no choice but to look up from her feet and meet his dark gaze. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned forward, his expression serious, sincere. "You cannot help who your father is or what part he played to bring you into this world."
"I understand that now. It was a battle that I fought for many, many years. I finally had to accept that Zeus was my father. I used to imagine that the mortal man was my real father instead. But I am not naive enough to believe that is a possibility. It used to scare me to pieces that my mother resent me for being half of him. I wanted so badly to be the mortal man's daughter because I was afraid that she did not love the part of me that was Zeus. 'If only I were the mortal's daughter instead, then she would love every bit of me,' I would tell myself. Even though I nearly had myself convinced that the god we all despised was not my true father, I was never naive enough to fully believe that lie." She sighed a sigh so heavy that it felt as though she were releasing the lifelong burdensome weight of her lineage of her entire life
"I know that I am a daughter of Zeus," she dully confessed. "There are traits of mine that I certainly don't inherit from my mother. That's why my mother sees my adventurous ways and precocious spirit as rebellion. The traits that you see as acceptable, she sees as harsh reminders of who sired me. For as long as I can remember, my mother has been trying to force me into a mold, trying to turn me into the goddess that she used to be. I love her dearly, but it was tiresome at times to be her daughter. She has desperately tried to stamp out any trace of Zeus from my character, but I'm afraid that it's all been in vain. The older that I become, the more bold I am. The more outspoken I get. Even since arriving here, I've seen a change in me. And it should scare me, right? I should be disgusted that I am becoming more of my father's daughter instead of my mother's daughter."
Persephone watched to see if Hades would agree with her, but it relieved her that instead, he was shaking his head and smiling warmly in her direction.
"You are not becoming Zeus's daughter or Demeter's daughter. You are becoming yourself. You are becoming Persephone," Hades encouraged and he was causing Persephone's heart to flutter helplessly.
"I would just give anything for her to move past her fear and to love me for who I am and for who I will become," Persephone's wish was hardly more than a whisper and she feared that Hades would not hear her. But he did.
"She will," Hades promised. "I have no doubt that Demeter loves you more than she loves herself. It might be a painful process for her to let go and stand off to the side to watch her daughter grow into the woman that she is meant to be. But she should not be afraid of who you are becoming. She should be proud of the goddess that I see sitting before me."
"Thank you," she breathed, in awe of how much she was comforted by him. How strange it was to her, that she was seeking and finding assurance from Hades, god of the Underworld and her kidnapper. How had everything become so twisted and nonsensical? But instead of being frustrated or closing her heart to him, Persephone was grateful for his words of assurance. What he was telling her in this cavern was words she had craved to hear for her entire life. The only sounds that filled the cavern were those of the gentle waters lapping on the stone. Persephone did not want to tear her eyes from Hades' face and for once, she did not find herself afraid of what that meant.
"I have to get out now." Hades said after a few more minutes of silence. His smile was sheepish and Persephone did not know why he was telling her this.
"Then get out," she laughed awkwardly. Hades' entire face lit up with a mischievous smirk.
"So you're fine with me just standing up, right now?" He teased and then Persephone knew exactly what was going on; he was trying to give her a warning.
"Oh. No, I'm not fine with that!" Persephone could have burned herself from the intensity of her blush. "Just let me, uhh, turn around." She shuffled around she until her back was facing the pool and held her hands against her face to shield her view from anything that she did not want to see. There was a great sloshing of water as Hades was undoubtedly standing up. The thought crossed her mind that Minthe would probably be holding her head under the water, full of jealous rage, if she knew what was happening now. Hades must have exited the pool from a different spot, for he did not walk behind her to use the steps, and she heard him make his way over to where the robes and dry towels were stashed.
Minthe didn't have a anything to be jealous of, really, Persephone rationalized. She wasn't rushing over there to jump into his arms and Hades was keeping a respectful distance. In all honesty, if this had been any other god, especially Zeus, her time here would have a vastly different outcome.
"I find it hard to believe that you and Zeus are kin. You are so different from him," Persephone called out to the man behind her. She heard the rustling of fabric as he was, hopefully, making himself decent. Persephone was ready to see that he was fully clothed. "He would not have been so considerate to a maiden who walked in on him bathing."
"That, I cannot agree with you on, Persephone," she heard him grumble from behind "If i were so different from him, then I would not have taken you against your will." Persephone dared to chance a peek over her shoulder and saw that he was thankfully clothed. He was rubbing a towel over his head and when he was done and tossed it the the side, his hair tumbled down, all a mess, and framed his face in such an endearing way that made him seem less like the god of the Underworld and just a regular, mortal man.
And a handsome one at that.
Somehow the sight of him with his messy hair made her think that seeing him undressed would have been more decent. She gaped at him for a moment before her brain could catch up with her mouth and form a coherent response.
"Still. I'm lucky. Some haven't been so lucky," Persephone managed to croak out. Her own mother was a testament to that harsh truth. Hades just shrugged his shoulders and ambled over to where Persephone still sat on the floor. He reached out his hand in an offer to help her stand.
Without skipping a beat, Persephone placed her hand on his palm. He closed his fingers over her hand and pulled her to her feet. Instead of becoming dizzy at his touch, Persephone's mind was elsewhere. That guilt which kept her from asking Annis about the god that led the spirits to the Underworld…
She could not let whatever strange friendship she had with Hades distract her from the one person who was suffering more than her; Demeter. Her mother had already suffered enough in her life and her daughter's disappearance only deepened her wounds. Though it pained her to go behind his back, Persephone had no other choice. But she wanted to warn him or give him one last opportunity to act, before she did.
"I need to go home," Persephone pleaded, hating to break the companionable spell between her and Hades. "My mother needs me."
Persephone dropped his hand and abruptly turned on her heel. She imagined the confused expression that would cross his features and how his somber brown eyes would sadden at the sight of her retreating figure. But she could not let her growing love for this world hold her back from returning home.
Friendship with her captor could not keep her from reuniting with Demeter.
Persephone marched down the empty corridors, just moments after leaving Hades behind. She could not erase the image of the pained way he was gazing down at her.
Why did he care so much about her? He brought her here.
"I am drawn to you…"
"That doesn't mean anything," Persephone grumbled. That did not mean that he cared about her. If he cared about her, then he would have never taken her in the first place. How could he care about her if he hand only spent a handful of moments with her? Why was this making her so cross?
Her room greeted her and Persephone saw that her doors were already opened a crack. Her heart dropped to her knees and every muscle in her body tensed uneasily. Was Minthe back to spread more of her poison? Confident and preparing for a fight, Persephone pushed aside her door and burst into her room.
"Persephone! I was wondering where you had run off to!" Annis greeted as she jumped from the bed and rushed over to Persephone. Once she saw that her guest was Annis and not the dreaded Minthe, Persephone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh, I was just down in the springs," Persephone reassured Annis as she returned her friend's embrace. Annis squeezed her tightly and whispered into her ear.
"Please forgive me. Persephone, I'm so sorry that I just spilled your secrets like that. I was just trying to get her to shut up—"
"Annis, don't worry about it! I know that you didn't mean any harm by it," Persephone pulled away from her and hastily changed the subject. She was crossed her arms over her chest and tried to seem as nonchalant as possible.
"I actually—I actually have been meaning to ask you something."
Hermes.
His name was Hermes. Persephone went over every detail of what Annis had told her about the youthful god; once Persephone confessed that she had found the entrance and seen him, Annis was more than willing to ask her any questions that she had. From what Annis explained, Hermes was a messenger of the gods and it was he who had been given the honor of ushering the newly deceased spirits of mortals to the Underworld. Save for Hades, Hermes was the only immortal who had the ability to move freely between the Underworld and the world of the living.
Persephone flew down the familiar path that led her to the entrance of the Underworld. Cerberus trotted happily behind her and Persephone was glad to have his company. When she went through the ravine, Cerberus pounced from behind a craggy wall of stone and all three of his faces licked her face gleefully. Once she had stopped screaming and saw that it was just Cerberus, she quickly patted his heads and continued to rush to the entrance. She did not want to miss catching Hermes and Persephone did not want to missed back at the castle.
The willow tree that she had hid behind her first visit here still sat woefully by the flowing river. Persephone anxiously raced to the tree and peered up into the towering archway high on the mountain. The entrance was dark and gloomy, no sign of Hermes or the souls just yet. She sighed heavily and plopped down onto the ground, resting her back on the bark of the willow tree. Cerberus followed suit and fell down beside her. One of the outside heads settled into her lap while the other two rested on his crossed paws. Persephone stroked the beast's silky black fur but her hands shook with frayed nerves.
Cerberus fell into a lazy sleep, all three noses snoring, and Persephone continued to keep her gaze fixed on the mountain. Persephone took just a moment from her vigil to take a peek at the boat and its strange ancient ferryman had a name; Charon. Annis had told her that he would do anything for a few pieces of silver, but his purpose was to ferry the dead souls into their destination in the Underworld - just as long as they had payment.
Far above, the entrance remained lifeless. She huffed impatiently. How long would she have to wait, Persephone had no guess. It was morbid to think of, but didn't people pass away all the time? Surely, Hermes would have to make this visit quite often-
As if the god could read her mind, the entrance suddenly filled with a golden glow. Persephone gasped and jumped to her feet, forgetting about the sleeping beast in her lap. Cerberus snorted as he was startled awake and Persephone knelt down and kissed his noses.
"Sorry!" She hastily whispered to the beast and she leapt back to her feet, watching as a new flock of souls slowly ambled down the steps of the mountain. Persephone's heart soared when she saw that Hermes was in tow, drifting in the air by help of his winged sandals. She edged as close to the bank of the river as she could without actually jumping in. Cerberus stuck to her side and a low growl rumbled deep in his chest as all three pairs of eyes warily watched the souls while they climbed into the boat.
Once all souls gave payment to Charon, Hermes turned to drift back up the mountain; he did not even wait for them to start climbing in. Persephone's heart was leaping into her throat and for half of a second, her shout stuck inside of her mouth.
Why did she hesitate?
Hermes' back was to her and Charon was already drifting past her with his boat full of ghostly passengers. Cerberus trained his suspicious gaze on them as they went by. Persephone took in a deep breath and then managed to shout out to Hermes, hoping that he could hear her.
"Wait!"
Instantly, Hermes whipped his head over his shoulder and was searching for the owner of that shout. Persephone waved her arms like a madman to get his attention and Hermes quickly caught sight of her.
"Come over here," she shouted at him. Hermes did not move at first. He was looking at her like she was a lunatic. "I won't bite! This one might, but I won't!" Persephone pointed at Cerberus who was now baring his teeth at the god.
"Who - who are you?" Hermes called back from his side of the river.
"Persephone, daughter of Demeter and Zeus," she replied. Hermes' face lost his suspicious glare and his mouth fell open in shock and his eyes widened. He turned fully around and started to fly over the river to her.
"Are you serious?" He asked in disbelief. Hermes glided over bank and gracefully landed on his feet on the ground. He was standing in front of her, both shielded from view by the long tendrils of the willow branches and for that, Persephone was glad. She had wanted to meet him under the privacy of this tree and away from any watchful eyes. Now that he was so close to her, Persephone had a chance to study him; he could not have been much older than she was. He had a youthful appearance and a clean-shaven face. Golden curls framed his lean, long face and he stared with shock and awe at her with sapphire irises. Persephone was so used to seeing the strong, bold face of Hades, so it was mesmerizing for her to see a man with such a stark contrast. This Hermes was angelic with his glowing hair and bright eyes and gentler features. As Persephone studied him, Cerberus lunged past her and all mouths, full of sharp teeth, were ferociously snapping at him. Hermes darted into the air, tangling himself into the branches of the tree and cursing fearfully at the beast.
Persephone wrapped her arms around Cerberus' neck and yanked him away from Hermes. "Stop it!" Her order fell on wilfully deaf ears. "Cerberus! Stop! He's a friend!"
Hermes pulled himself from the willow's tendrils and sat on a branch, safely above the snarling and snapping dog.
"Is this thing yours?" He pointed down at Cerberus with a scowl on his face.
"No, he's not. He just likes me," Persephone struggled to keep Cerberus from jumping up and biting off Hermes toes.
Finally, Cerberus calmed down enough to where Persephone was able to make him go sit by the trunk. The beast sat at attention and glowered at the offending god perched in the branches.
"Alright then! Where were we?" Persephone breathed, her lungs empty of air from trying to get Cerberus to behave.
"I was just asking you if you were really Persephone," Hermes muttered with amusement. He had quite enjoyed the show of watching a tiny little goddess of spring wrangle a dreaded beast from hell.
"Right!" Persephone looked up at Hermes. It made her want to laugh, seeing him perched in the tree like some strange bird. "And from your reaction, I'm guessing that everyone knows about me and about what happened…"
"Of course we do! Demeter is tearing the world apart trying to find you!" Hermes exclaimed with excitement. "But I don't think that she'll be thrilled to know that you're here. Helios was right! Oh, and she did not want to believe him," Hermes shook his head, golden curls falling all over his face.
"Who was right?" Persephone had no clue who Helios was and why he was so certain that he was right about what had happened.
"Helios? The god of the sun?" Hermes offered, but Persephone just shrugged. She had never heard of seemed confused at her ignorance but he continued on without missing a beat. "He saw Hades kidnap you and take you down into the Underworld. Nobody believed him; Hades has isolated himself from the rest of us for years, so we didn't think that he would do something like this to bring attention to himself like this but -" Hermes suddenly stopped himself mid-sentence and his skin reddened.
"Oh. I shouldn't go on like this." He gave one glance down at Cerberus and carefully fluttered down from the branch. He stopped just in front of Persephone and rested a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm just so relieved that you're found. Demeter is a terror right now. We all just want things to go back to how they were," Hermes explained. He leaned closer to Persephone with his expression heavy with concern. "Are you...are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Persephone nodded in assurance. "Will you please tell my mother that I'm fine?"
"You're fine? Are you sure?" Hermes firmly repeated his question.
"Yes! I'm fine! I haven't been harmed in any way." Persephone could not blame him for being skeptical; Hades was not well-liked on the surface. "Now, what is my mother doing? Wait. Does everyone know about me?"
"We've all been suspicious of you for years. Those Nymphs of yours that live wherever it is that you live, they all have loose lips.," Hermes grinned and placed his hand on the back of his head. "I for one believed that you were real!" He proudly beamed.
"I am just thrilled to hear that!" Persephone quipped. "How does it feel to actually see Persephone, the legend, in the flesh?" Persephone gave a silly twirl and Hermes laughed. She rather liked this energetic god; he brought out a playfulness in her that she wanted to match with his own.
"It might feel a bit more thrilling if you weren't stuck here in the Underworld," Hermes finished, his tone growing serious. Persephone's stomach dropped and she exhaled an uneasy breath. This was her chance!
"Maybe you can help me with that?"
"How? I can only bring people to the Underworld, not bring them back out.I mean, I would love to help but I wouldn't know where to start."
"Tell Demeter where I am. Tell her that I am safe. Tell her that I have been treated well and that Hades has not touched me or harmed me. And then, convince her to meet with Zeus. I think that you might have an idea of why she has avoided him for all these years, but tell her that the only chance of getting me home is to appeal to Zeus." Persephone grabbed Hermes' hands in hers and she peered up into his face. His sapphire irises were unsure, hesitant, but she could not give up. "Can you do this for me?" She implored. Hermes glanced down at his hands in hers and Persephone saw him shake his head. A smile played at the corner of his lips.
"I can," he answered, pulling his gaze away from his hands and meeting Persephone's eye. "I will help you."
"I would be forever grateful," Persephone dropped Hermes' hands and threw her arms around his neck in an embrace. Excitement flooded through her. She had not felt this much hope for returning home since she got here. Hermes wrapped his arms around her waist and he returned her hug.
"This was the very last thing that I expected to have happen to me," Hermes laughed as Persephone pulled away from him.
"I'm glad that I could make this morbid task of yours a tad more lively," Persephone joked. Her spirits were soaring. It was an enormous relief for her to be able to tell her mother that she was safe and, somewhat, sound. Persephone knew that this was weighing on her, but she did not realize how heavily this burden sat on her heart.
"That you have!" Hermes quipped. "I'll meet you here again when I've done meeting with Demeter."
"How will I know when you're back?" Hermes thought for a moment before leaning down and plucking one of the tiny feathers from the straps of his sandals.
"This." Hermes offered the feather to Persephone. She took it from him and twirled it in her fingers, inspecting the way the golden feather caught the gloomy light. Hermes watched her as she tucked the feather safely behind her ear, pushing her hair over both to hide it.
"It will glow when I am passing through the entrance," he continued to explain. "When you see it light up, come and find me. I'll be waiting under this tree." He tugged playfully on the nearest tendril, grin on his face, and waited for Persephone to respond.
"Thank you for doing this. I know that you just met me and aren't my friend and you are putting yourself into a tense situation but...thank you." Persephone gushed to the god. It was true; she had accosted him when he was simply trying to do his job and then pushed him into helping a near stranger.
"Oh, it's nothing!" Hermes tried to brush off her gratitude, but Persephone noticed that his smile only deepened and he was blushing. She thought that only girls could blush! Hermes brought himself closer to her and to her surprise, he reached up and brushed away a few wild strands of hair out of her face.
"Honestly, you are hard to say no to," he murmured shyly ". I think that any man, mortal or immortal, would move mountains for you."
It was Persephone's turn to blush. Hermes did not approach her with the same intensity as Hades; it was certainly flirtatious but Persephone found it to be less...threatening, if that was the right word for it.
"I'm not asking you to move mountains; I'm just asking you to talk to my mother," she shied away from Hermes' hand and a sheepish giggle escaped her mouth. Hermes dropped his hand, undeterred by her nervousness and his spirited demeanor returned.
"To many, that is the same thing," Hermes places his hands on his hips and the wings on his sandals were frantically flapping, lifting the god into the air above Persephone. He held out his hand and waved cheerily down at the goddess.
"Take care, Persephone. I will be back as soon as I can!"