They made quite the pair, the two of them. His silver strands of hair blew softly in the gentle breeze that came from the dreamy heavens. They wandered curiously over his dark robes to mingle with the blonde hair that trailed over the slim shoulders of the slender woman at his side. Gentle light shone down on them, casting the world in a pastel glow.
It sickened her to see how lovely that wretched girl looked in this realm. How confident. How poised. Watching her walk alongside one of the judges of the Underworld made her seem as though she belonged.
That little girl did not belong here. She did not belong anywhere in the realm of Hades.
She could not be allowed to belong.
A pair of slender, pale hands tightened their cruel grip on the branches of the cypress tree that she had made her hiding spot. She gritted her teeth as anger as red as her flaming hair surged inside of her.
That girl did not belong to Hades—she would do everything in her power to make sure of it. Her past mistakes of casting Hades aside would be made right. The foolish choices she made to end her affair with him would be rectified.
Hades would be hers again. She just had to make sure that the dim-witted waif he had brought to his realm broke his heart first. And when the sorrowful god of the underworld was lost in the throes of heartache, Minthe would be the one to comfort him.
Her grip on the branches eased off as she rehearsed the scenario in her mind. What could possibly go wrong? This plan would succeed—it had to! Her love affair with Hades would be reignited once more.
Then she would be his and all would be well again.
Persephone
Persephone and Rhadamanthus left the rocky pebble shore behind and slipped into the line of trees, leaving the lake behind them.
Shades of apprehension darkened her mood. Persephone kept glancing over her shoulder, checking because of an odd feeling she had of being watched. Rhadamanthus noted how jumpy she seemed to be, assuring her that nothing here could harm her.
Even so, Persephone did not miss how his silver eyes narrowed in the distance, a dark shadow passing over his face for the briefest of moments.
She trusted that there was no danger to him, but the way he had almost looked angry…
Her apprehension would not easily settle.
Yet as Rhadamanthus guided her, gently speaking in his smooth, captivating voice, she slowly settled down and her nervousness was forgotten.
The world around her was stunning with an ethereal loveliness that she did not even know could exist. The cypress trees swayed in the breeze that blew ever so gently, shaking their boughs and rustling the tendrils until they sang a mystifying song. Soft tendrils of mist curled over the grassy ground, swirling around their feet and the trunks of the trees. Pinpoints of the dawn soaked sky seeped in through the entwined branches above.
So far, the Isle of the Blessed was beautiful, but her focus was weak. Her attention kept drifting over to the man at her side.
His hand still ghosted over her shoulders as he led her further into the mysterious isle called Elysian. Persephone kept sneaking glances at her companion, whose presence proved to be more of a distraction than the scenery he was trying to show her.
Out of the corner of her eye, she would watch the wind play with his silver hair and she wondered if it would feel as soft as it looked. Persephone found that she rather liked the smoothness of his tenor voice. Listening to him talk was a treat.
But to watch him talk… Persephone found that she liked that even more so. There was a certain way that his pale eyes would glow with pride when he told Persephone about the place he called home. His face would settle into a soft expression, one void of mischief or teasing or that jaunty air he normally carried. Persephone was drawn to this side of him. She was eager to discover new facets of this increasingly interesting person she had befriended.
His ice colored eyes would flicker over to her each time she took too long watching him. And when he caught her glancing at him, the corners of his mouth turned upward in a ghost of a smile. She would hastily drop her gaze, only to shyly lift her sights back to him, unable to resist his allure.
After half a dozen times of their little game of back and forth, Rhadamanthus halted in his tracks. His arm snaked around her shoulders and he lightly pulled her into his side in a sort of half-hug. Persephone felt her heart pound mercilessly inside her chest at this sudden closeness. A gasp of surprise escaped her and her cheeks burned with a telling scarlet blush.
"What exactly are you looking at?" He laughed, his voice ringing like silver in the dewey forest.
"You. I am looking at you." Persephone quipped, sounding far more bold than she actually felt. She watched as his thin, pale brows lifted so far into his hairline, she feared that they would never come back down.
"You are exploring an entirely new realm and you have chosen to look at me?" He inquired curiously. But despite his dubious, nearly teasing tone, Persephone thought that she saw hints of something triumphant flicker in his gaze.
Those trickles of boldness inside of her grew. His reaction to her gave her confidence to move closer to him on her own fruition. In the back of her mind, she imagined a dark and brooding face glaring at her disapprovingly. But the slowly widening grin on the face of the handsome man in front of her drew her attention. She coyly tilted her head to the side and glanced up at him through her lashes.
"So far you've shown me nothing but cypress trees. You are the only interesting sight on this island you seem to be so proud of." Persephone teased lightly. Was it just her imagination, or did his arm around her tighten, and did those eyes sparkled the same way that Hades' dark irises often did? She watched with bated breath as he dipped his head closer. Her heart nearly stopped as he drew himself dangerously close to her face.
"What an honor, to be the sole interest of such a lovely goddess." Rhadamanthus whispered cooly, his breath warming her lips.
Persephone lowered her lashes and blushed furiously. Her head was spinning at his closeness and her heart flipped inside of her chest. All that she could give him in reply was a nervous laugh.
He seemed pleased by her bashfulness. "Come, silly girl." He murmured with a smile. That hand on her shoulder pulled her closer. "My home will soon reveal its wonders to you. You shall no longer bore yourself with staring at the likes of me."
Persephone still gave him silence as her reply; silence and a silly smile that she tried so hard to hide as he kept his arm around her. She was admittedly enjoying her time with Rhadamanthus, but there was a shadow cast over her visit with the judge of Elysian.
Hades.
She could not keep her thoughts away from Hades. Persephone let her mind wander back to the time where they had run into each other in the corridor. The god of the Underworld had been so close to her then. She had not hated his closeness. In fact, more and more, Persephone found herself pleased to be in his company. And his nearness did not frighten her nor disgust her as it had. As it should have, actually.
But now, with their argument still fresh in her mind, Persephone wrinkled her nose at the thought. Rebellion against his ruling burned in her veins, but so did subtle pangs of regret for coming to see Rhadamanthus. Persephone wanted to defy Hades' ridiculous requests but she found herself dreading the thought of hurting him. Again, she mulled over her choices and motives. Had she been too spiteful in her hurt? But then, why would she fret over his feelings when this whole situation was his fault?
The young goddess became lost in her thoughts until the voice of her companion drew her back to the present.
"Look up ahead?" He asked, pointing to the trees in the distance. "Do you see?"
Persephone spotted lights dancing in the distance. Gently glowing orbs of light swayed back and forth through the trunks of the cypress, as if being carried by some unseen medium. As Persephone and Rhadamanthus moved closer, she saw the source of those lights. A line of women in silky white robes stalked through the ferns and flowers that littered the forest floor. In their hands they carried lanterns filled with golden light. Their hair in shades of gold and chestnut and amber flowed freely down their backs. Each of them had a peaceful countenance about them, wearing gentle smiles and soft eyes.
Following along in their tow, were men and women alike. They did not have the same other-worldly look about them as the women carrying the lanterns. Each of them appeared as the souls of mortals she had seen earlier. Their eyes were not glazed over. In fact, out of all the souls that she had seen in the Underworld, Persephone noticed that they seemed the most alive. She watched as they took in the calm scenery around them, some of them pleased and at peace but others wary and nervous.
"Who are these women?" Persephone asked in a whisper, coming to a stop.
"The Lampades, dear girl." Rhadamanthus answered her, his voice matching hers with no more than a hush. "They will not bring you any sort of harm, as some of the creatures in Lord Hades' world undoubtedly will. These women are the nymphs I have chosen to guide the chosen ones to Elysian. When the souls of the most blessed pass into the next life, these nymphs will take them to their eternal place of rest. This is their task, though they work in the service of Hecate. Not me."
"Oh…" she breathed in awe, taking in the sight before her. Something in the way Rhadamanthus had explained the task of the nymphs stood out to her.
"They do not perform these duties because you asked them to?" Persephone asked, inching closer to the pathway that the nymphs were taking.
"No." Rhadamanthus answered abruptly. "They are loyal to the goddess. Not to me. They only do this because their mistress has asked it of them, because I asked it of her. But no matter. They serve their purpose well."
She did not say anything more about the Nymphs but instead pondered the slight hint of bitterness in his words. To Persephone, it seemed to matter to him a great deal.
"Hecate…" Persephone murmured thoughtfully. "The goddess of magic."
"Yes. And the night and the moon and all things ghoulish and ghastly." Rhadamanthus sighed with a roll of his pale eyes. He smoothly slid in beside Persephone and his arm found a home wrapped tightly around her waist. "A beautiful woman but rather macabre for my taste. I avoid her as often as I can. Let us forget about her."
Again, Persephone had the sense that his words were veiled, carrying meanings that he could not voice freely but dared to hint at. She allowed him to hold her close as he continued to talk about the Lampades and their role in his corner of the realm, but Persephone had trouble listening. She was distracted by the arm gripping her and the lingering sense that there was more to his distaste for Hecate than he let on.
The souls of the blessed followed their angelic escorts through the forest. None of them noticed the two watchers hidden in the trees. Persephone and her companion fell into silence until the bouncing lights of the lanterns grew distant and the figures were swallowed up by the sea of cypress.
Rhadamanthus gave her waist a tug and he started to lead her to the same path that the Lampades had just taken. Yet instead of following in their wake, he guided her to another path hidden amongst the undergrowth. Persephone strolled beside him and once again, her thoughts turned inward. But they were fuzzy. Her head was hazy with warmth as all she could focus on was the arm curled around her waist. His fingers twisted into the thin material of her charcoal gray robes. Persephone could feel her cheeks flaming with a telling blush.
The voices of Annis and Nyx were chastising her for letting such a man like Rhadamanthus hold her the way that he was. But their voices were hard to hear over the clamor of the voice of her mother, screaming inside of her mind at letting a man touch her at all. It did not matter who the man, it just mattered that this was a man and he dare lay his hands on her daughter.
Persephone felt stabs of guilt the longer that she let Rhadamanthus hold her. She wasn't supposed to be doing this with a man, according to her mother, and this was the wrong man to be close to, according to Annis and Nyx.
She could do nothing right, it seemed. Why was it so wrong for Persephone to try and glean some independence after living her entire life with so many strict rules?
Her mother had not allowed men to enter their safe haven. Their home had been devoid of men for as long as Persephone could remember. Hades was the first being she saw that was not another Nymph. Demeter had fought to plant fear and mistrust of men into Persephone's head, but instead it only left Persephone curious. Even when her eyes first spotted Hades lurking in the shadows, Persephone had foolishly ignored all the warnings given by her mother. She remembered the excitement of finally being able to meet somebody that was not a woman. She remembered taking in those rugged features; a strong jaw, a dark beard, tall and broad with arms thick as a branch—
"Have you noticed?"
The smooth voice of Rhadamanthus pulled her away from her daydreams about first seeing Hades, before he kidnapped her and everything went so wrong. Yet even then, even after that, she still did not fear men as her mother wished for her to. Hades had not hurt her. Hermes had not hurt her. Even the man who everyone warned her of had not hurt her.
Curiosity still spoke stronger than fear.
"Noticed what?" Persephone asked after she realized that she had been silent for a little too long.
"The island that seemed so small from the beach is clearly far more than meets the eye." Her companion said with a grand sweeping gesture to the vast forest. If he took notice of her odd silences, then he did not show it. "This is a trick of mine, to fool the dimensions and bend them to my will. It is a small bit of power that Lord Hades allowed when I took charge of this place. He did not give me much, but I have worked wonders with what stingy power he bestowed on me."
"Oh. I see." She said rather blandly. Persephone was starting to notice a pattern with Rhadamanthus. He was keen on criticizing the god of the Underworld any chance he got, and it was getting rather tiresome. "Does this forest ever end?"
"It will eventually." He replied, the pride in his voice gone and replaced with hints of disappointment at her lack of amazement. He gave her waist a bit of a forceful tug. "Come this way."
They walked further along the path until the trees thinned and opened up to a grassy meadow. Dew clung to every blade of grass and glimmered in the enchanting light of dawn. Right in the very middle of the meadow was a silvery pool of water. A small grove of slender aspens trees grew alongside the rocky edges of the pond. Their soft, delicately yellow leaves quivered in the breeze, perfectly reflecting off the glassy surface of the pristine water. The sky above was aglow with wondrous shades of pink and purple and gray.
"What is this place?" Persephone asked, thinking that it served some important purpose in the Isle of the Blessed.
A smile crossed his lips again and that prideful gleam in his eyes was back. "Before I take you anywhere else, I wanted to show you my favorite spot on the Isle." He muttered with hushed excitement. "It is understated and rather simple, but I admire it because the beauty of the place speaks for itself. It does not need to be flashy or elaborate, like the ostentatious dwelling of Lord Hades. Simplicity is elegance, and to me that is true beauty."
Again, Rhadamanthus went out of his way to take a jab at Hades. Her brow furrowed and the scenery had lost some of its enchanting appeal.
Why was that starting to bother her so much?
Persephone stayed silent while Rhadamanthus took her to the grouping of aspens. Nestled in the grove was a pavillion. The stones were carved from the purest white marble that Persephone had ever seen. Rhadamanthus guided her to one of the benches and she sat down on the cool surface. There was no roof over the pavilion, giving her a stunning view of the dawn sky framed by the edges of the yellow aspen leaves.
"So this spot… it is just your favorite place?" She asked quietly, interested in this lovely sight despite her annoyance with his constant remarks about Hades. "It has no purpose, other than enjoyment?"
"Indeed." Rhadamanthus had not sat down yet. He instead leaned against one of the pillars. Dark vines of the deepest shade of green crawled over the marble, a striking contrast of dark on the pristine white. At his feet grew a bush of pure white lilies. He bent down to pluck one of the flowers from the dark green leaves and ran the smooth petals between his long, slender fingers.
"The only purpose of this place is enjoyment." He said, taking a seat beside Persephone. He tucked her hair back and placed the stem behind her ear. All the while, his silvery eyes bored into her hazel.
"And it is best enjoyed with the company of a lovely companion." Rhadamanthus said knowingly as his task was complete. The intensity of his gaze held nothing back, but Persephone could not put a name to what he was trying to silently show her. She thought maybe she understood, and perhaps it was fear of the truth that made her willfully ignorant. The soft petals brushed her skin and Persephone feared that the blush in her cheeks would ignite the flower. She held his gaze for a second more before a bought of bashfulness gave her no choice but to lower her eyes to the cobblestone floor.
"This place reminds me a little bit of the tree by the river." She murmured to the ground before shyly glancing back up at him.
Rhadamanthus wrinkled his nose at the comparison. "Where you have your clandestine meetings with the little messenger god? With his boyish curls and cherubic face?"
"Do you dislike Hermes?" Persephone asked with some surprise. "He has been nothing but kind and pleasant with me."
"Yes, I am sure he has been." The sarcasm in his tone was not lost on her. "I bet that he rushes back to the Underworld to see you as often as he can." He let the unspoken implication hang in the air.
"It's not like that with Hermes" Persephone insisted. "He is a friend. And I wish you would not bring up my meetings with him."
Rhadamanthus let out a quiet chuckle, only to shift himself closer to her.
"Why can't I?" He challenged in that sly voice of his. "Isn't that the only reason you came to see me? Because I would tattle your secrets to the god who holds you captive?"
"Cruel man." Persephone chastised, but his ever growing closeness choked out any true indignation.
"Am I really though?" His question was no more than a hush, a breath that warmed her cheeks and blew the wayward strands of hair around her face. She watched him tilt his head to her. Sheets of white hair fell around his narrow face. Persephone swore that she saw his eyes flicker down to her lips. The cloying scent of the lily filled her senses and her body tingled with a bolder warmth.
She did not know why, but Persephone chose to pull away. She may have been inexperienced in matters of love, but the Nymphs did well to teach her about the forbidden subject. So she knew what would have happened if she remained.
And she was not ready for that. No matter how handsome she thought Rhadamanthus to be, nor how infuriatingly charming. She was inexplicably drawn to him but Persephone could not get the warnings of her friends out of her head.
She could not get the image of Hades out of her thoughts as she nearly let Rhadamanthus kiss her. So instead of leaning into him, she pulled away. Persephone saw his thin brows pull into the slightest of frowns as he realized what she was doing.
"That remains to be seen." She said in a whisper, trying to distance herself. Too soon. A kiss now would be too soon, she decided. "You have a dagger for a tongue, but you do not strike me as the beast that Nyx and Annis made you out to be."
The intensity in his face deflated and he almost seemed confused at her denial. Yet the moment passed as quickly as it had come. Though his pale cheeks were flushed, he gave her a smile, albeit a strained one. He tried to give a sort a dismissive laugh and waved his hand in the air, seemingly flustered.
"They are overprotective and a tad melodramatic, no doubt." He even sounded as though he were trying to cover up his disappointment.
Persephone wondered how often it was that his advances were denied.
"While it is true that I have garnered a certain reputation, the bulk of the scandal is driven by the ire of scorned hearts." Rhadamanthus went on with a smile that did not quite meet his eyes. "Nyx of course is biased against me in Lord Hades' favor. Those two have been thick as thieves for a thousand years. And it does not come as any shock to me that Annis would be railing against me in the loudest voice possible. I would expect nothing less from her." He said with a serious shift in his mood, glancing down at her knowingly.
Persephone sat up straighter. Her heart fluttered a bit at what he had just said. "What do you mean by that?" Persephone asked warily.
He raised his brows and for a moment, his lips fell open in genuine surprise. "You do not know?"
"It gets tiring, being reminded of my ignorance on even the simplest of subjects." Persephone huffed with a roll of her eyes. That flutter in her heart turned into a nervous rhythm and hurt stomach knotted with dread.
"I am sorry, dear girl. I am only surprised that you have not been told, since you and Annis are friends. Especially because she is trying so hard to keep you from me, I would have thought that she would use whatever she could to turn you against me."
"Just tell me what it is." Persephone snapped. The sudden weight of all this dread was making her impatient.
"Believe it or not, since I'm sure Annis has spewed vitriol against me, she and I used to be close."
"You were lovers?" Persephone asked with disbelief.
"No, no, not at all." Rhadamanthus shook his head, his mane of pale hair fluttering about. "Her and I were friends."
Somehow, that was even less believable than the two of them being lovers.
"You are right." Persephone said dryly. "I cannot believe that."
"I tell you the truth, dear girl." Rhadamanthus implored, shifting closer to her and daring to lay his arm across her shoulders. "Annis was never a lover of mine. She was a friend and we were close, up until recently."
Persephone tensed at his touch on her, but she allowed him to remain. "What happened to change that?" She grumbled, staring down at her sandaled feet and avoiding the gaze she knew would be trained on her face.
"As you know, Annis is quite opinionated and she is not shy of expressing her thoughts. She never approved of my never ending string of lovers, as she was friends with many of them. After ages of watching me 'flit from woman to woman like a bee to flowers', she grew weary of seeing broken-hearted women in my wake. Those were her charming words, not mine."
He let out a laugh, but Persephone still could not shake the dread at what this story might reveal. She did not glance up at him and Persephone heard him sigh heavily.
"I do have my reasons…" he sounded a shade more somber. "When I was living as a mortal, there was a time that I did have a wife. We were wed in a moment of heated passion. That moment did not last for long. Life choked out those fleeting feelings and it distressed me when our love quickly cooled, only to turn into indifference. Having to live years in a lukewarm, nearly platonic relationship turned me away from the idea of keeping to one lover. It would take somebody exceptional to sway my mind. I have lived a long time and have not yet found that woman to make me believe that true love can stay after the fleeting passion."
Persephone wondered why he decided to reveal this story of his past, and why his gaze turned so warm. If there and not been the pallor or worry hanging over her, Persephone would have been more interested. She would have sought to discover the meaning he was trying to say with his pointed gaze.
But that could not matter to her now.
Not now.
"What does this have to do with Annis?" Persephone tried to curb her impatience but that nervousness coursing inside of her made her terribly anxious. "I can understand her frustration with watching you toss aside lover after lover, but surely there is more?"
"As much as my supposed antics bothered her, that is not what caused her to hate me."
"What, then? What did you do to her?" Persephone asked with a frown.
Rhadamanthus leaned into her, but this time to whisper words instead of steal a kiss. "Dear Annis had a secret." He revealed. "A tremendous secret burden that she carried all by herself. Her heart was heavy and her soul weary."
Her breath was coming in deep gasps and she could feel her heart pound with trepidation. "What was the secret?"
"Not too long ago, perhaps a year or so before now, Annis came to me. She was flustered and flushed, and terribly concerned about Lord Hades' frequent absences to the world above. I had noticed his odd disappearances as well, from my eyes and ears all over the realm. It did not concern me but Annis was practically inconsolable. She was afraid of why he was going. I asked her why she had so much concern—Lord Hades is free to travel between realms as he pleases? Annis was in tears when she admitted to me that she was so afraid that he had found a lover in the world above. And I asked Annis, why does it concern you if he has found a lover. You should be happy for him, as he has not had a lover since his miserable tryst with Minthe. Do you know what she said to me? She told me that she was afraid because she dearly loved Lord Hades."
The dam burst. Dread spilled over, flooding her senses.
Her heart dropped all the way to her knees. She sucked in a gasp and her eyes widened. From her toes to her head, a rush of adrenaline mingled with shock swept over her. Prickles of hot tears stung her eyes.
"Annis loved Hades?" Persephone somehow asked even though her throat was clenched tightly. "She loved him?" Persephone was so wrapped up in her surprise that she hardly registered the brief flicker of triumph that flashed across his features.
"A surprise to you as much as it was a shock to me. Annis admitted that she loved Hades and had loved him for a long while."
"It was probably me that he was going to see in the world above." She breathed, still in utter disbelief. Annis loved Hades? Why had she never told her this before? No wonder she breathed fire any time she spoke of Rhadamanthus.
"Yes, it was likely that you had already captured his attention." Rhadamanthus went on, curling his fingers around her shoulders as he sensed her distress. "However, nobody except for Nyx knew why our pouty lord of the Underworld kept disappearing and of course, she was being frustratingly tight lipped."
"What happened after that?" Persephone asked, not caring a whit about yet another slight at Hades' expense. Her strained voice echoed strangely over the pond.
"What happened next was entirely my fault. I did not intend on telling Hades about Annis' love, but there was a celebration soon after. Everyone, myself included, indulged in too much drink. I became drunk with wine and told Hades about Annis. In my rather weak defense, I was trying to get Hades to tell me where he was going and why. Unfortunately he bit about Annis slipped out. I regretted it instantly, and I am not one prone to second guess my actions. After that error in judgement, Lord Hades almost instantly sobered up and he grew grave—more so than usual. He sulked for a minute or two and then he wandered off to go brood alone in the woods. I do not know what happened next or what words were said, but Annis came to home several days later. She was beside herself. She was crying and screaming at me; from what I could understand between her curses and wails, she told me that Lord Hades had rejected her. Her love for him was not reciprocated. Annis was humiliated and heartbroken and it was all my fault. After that incident, she loathed me and our friendship was over. Now, Annis has moved on from Lord Hades. Or so it seems, considering how she has befriended you despite Lord Hades' obvious affection for you. I believe it helps that right before your forced arrival, dear Annis took a lover."
"Yes. She… she does have a lover. I do not know who..." Persephone answered numbly, still frozen with guilt and shock. This story was growing more horrible with each word spoken.
"Oh, I see. Annis has been coy about his identity!" How could Rhadamanthus be so blasé about this? "She should be. Her antics with this one are dangerous and she will soon be causing a myriad of problems for our Lord Hades."
"I had no earthly idea about any of this." Persephone shook her head. "Annis did not tell me."
"I thought that she would use this story to make you hate me, but I wonder if I misjudged. Now that I tell it again, I am seeing things in a new light. Can you blame her for keeping this a secret?" He asked, giving her shoulder a squeeze. "You hold the affection of the god of the Underworld and she was forced to become your companion."
"She was not forced." Persephone argued. She was starting to get upset. Overwhelmed with all of this information and accusation. "When I was first in the Underworld, Annis stood up for me when Minthe attacked me. And after, Hades asked her to accompany me—"
"Why would Lord Hades force a woman who once loved him to accompany the woman who he cares for instead of her?" Rhadamanthus interjected, a concerned frown on his elegant features. "How could he be so cruel and uncaring to her? Look at what he has done to you…"
"He is not cruel." Persephone heard herself defend Hades. Those words slipped out of her mouth before she could even think. They were a knee-jerk reaction—an unguarded revelation of her genuine feelings.
He raised his brows at her. "Are you sure?" Rhadamanthus questioned.
"Yes!" Persephone wanted to immediately say, but she stopped herself before that answer left her lips. She did not want Rhadamanthus to know that she did not believe Hades to be cruel.
Because how could she believe that? After all he had done? But even so, Persephone thought of all he had not done. He was not cruel. He couldn't not be. She was the one who was cruel. She was the one who was petty and vengeful. Persephone had been frightened by the Fates and took it out on her friend—on Annis!
And Annis had once loved Hades, who could not love her in return because of his feelings for Persephone. Even though there was no way of knowing the truth until now, Persephone was crushed beneath guilt. She had not done anything wrong but it all felt so wrong.
The faces of Annis and Hades swam together in a blur. All the while, the voice of her mother was chastising her, telling her that men should not be trusted and she was a fool to believe otherwise.
This was too much. She had to leave.
"I have to go." Persephone was on her feet. She did not even remember getting up. In a flash, Rhadamanthus followed her movements. Silvery hair whipped all around him as he hastily scrambled to stand at her side.
"You only just arrived." He exclaimed. And for once, Persephone saw that he was caught off guard. Gone was the boldness and sly confidence. He was utterly baffled at her sudden need to flee. "Why must you leave now?"
She had to go find Annis. Persephone had to make things right.
"Because I have to," she insisted, growing desperate to get back to the Underworld.
He shook his head, the pale strands of hair fluttering helplessly around his hopelessly confused face. She saw his frown deepen, those eyes glimmer with a steely determination, and watched his lips form the word no.
But then he sighed. He squeezed his eyes shut with a resigned defeat.
"Fine." He sighed once more before opening his eyes. "Let me escort you back to the gates."
"No. I will go on my own." Persephone declared. She feared that if he went with her, he could manage to talk her out of leaving. "I can find my own way back."
This time, his frown could almost be called desperate. Rhadamanthus lurched forward and reached out for her hand. His skin was cool on her shaking hands as he grasped her, gently pulling Persephone to him.
"Consider coming to me again, dear girl." He asked, near tenderness in his request. "There is much about my world that you have yet to see."
Persephone was torn between the imploring expression on that face she found to be more handsome with each passing meeting, and the swirling storm of unpleasant emotions raging inside of her. She could give him no promises. She could not even give him a decent reply other than her gaping mouth and wide eyes. He had not exactly made her visit a pleasant one either, with this revelation about her friend and Hades.
Persephone did not know if she would return if all her visits came with news such as this, yet she could not help but want to try again with Rhadamanthus and his beautiful land in the Underworld. Their time together had started out so pleasantly. She had been eager to see more of the place he called home, but her sojourn with him had turned dark.
Maybe her friends had been right to warn her?
But he did not do anything explicitly wrong. This was not his fault.
Oh, why was she fretting about it now? She needed to find Annis!
So she did not reward him with a reply. Instead, she pulled her shaking hands from his and wordlessly turned from him. Her legs shook as she dashed away from the pavilion, hair streaming out behind her. She spared him one quick glance over her shoulder as she left him.
The look on his face was inscrutable but even as her feet carried her away from him, his silver eyes followed her until the grove of aspens swallowed him up.
She waited until Rhadamanthus was wandering by himself in the forest of cypress, heading back to his dwelling place on the Isle. From the way his shoulders were squared and the tension he carried as he stomped over the path, she could tell that he was cross.
But what did she care about his wounded pride?
Her slender body slipped from beneath the cover of the trees and she quietly slid into place beside him. He let out a disgruntled sigh and the tension in his stance only grew at her presence, obviously quite unwelcome.
"It is bothersome, the way you spy on me," Rhadamanthus grumbled without looking down at her.
"You are playing your part well." Minthe ignored his words. "I almost believed that you liked the little waif."
"It was not difficult to pretend." A smirk grew on his face, looking more like the arrogant god he was. "In fact, I hardly had to pretend at all."
She wrinkled her nose. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? Typical. Of course Rhadamanthus would be thinking with the wrong part of his body. "Perhaps you are taking your role in our scheme a bit too seriously?"
He stopped dead in his tracks. Long sheets of white hair whipped her shoulder as he whirled around to finally face her.
"I can take my role as seriously as I please," he retorted with undisguised irritation. "If I am taking Persephone's attention away from Hades, what does it matter how I am with her? What if my attraction is genuine?"
"Genuine!" Minthe scoffed. "You did not like that she did not kiss you. You were slighted by her denial. So you told her that story about Annis—a clever touch, might I add. She could not see what you were doing by telling her, but I did. And whatever you were doing, it did not work. It only frightened her. So, tell me once again how genuine you are for that whore."
Rhadamanthus was not a tall man, certainly not the towering figure that Hades was, but he nonetheless loomed over the Nymph. His silver eyes were cold and sharp as daggers as he spoke to her, his voice sharp enough to cut.
"Careful how you speak, Minthe. You forget that you need me to carry out your plans. You have asked me to take a great risk by disobeying Lord Hades' orders to stay away from Persephone. I am incurring the wrath of the god of the Underworld to help you, Minthe. If I find that I have genuine feelings for her, then why should I hold back? If her and I were together, then that would only ensure Persephone's distance from Hades. And once Hades is heartbroken enough, then you can slip in and snatch him up."
His mouth curled into a sneer. "You are very good at sneaking about. That part you should have no trouble with."
She tossed her flaming locks over her shoulder and rolled her dazzlingly colored eyes.
"I never accounted for you actually falling for her, but I suppose it does not matter in the end if you do." She mused as if his intended slight meant nothing to her. "As long as that wench is distracted by you, then I have a chance at winning back Lord Hades." This time it was she who sneered. "You are very good at distracting women. That part you should have no trouble with."
Rhadamanthus regraded her carefully for a moment, his face stony. Then he gave her a mirthless smile.
"We shall see what happens. Your plan may not go as smoothly as you hope. I do believe that the dear girl is more interested in our morose deity than she is willing to admit." He paused for a moment to watch Minthe's face flush angrily. And he smiled at her distress. "I thought that she would be easy to seduce, but she is proving to be more of a challenge than I thought."
"Shut up." The Nymph spat, crossing her arms defensively over her chest. "Do not spout your lies to me. Everything will go according to plan. It has to. I will not allow anything less than exactly what I want."
With that, Rhadamanthus swooped in. In a second, he closed the gap between them, reaching out with his slender fingers and catching Minthe's chin in a vice-like grip.
"Then you should understand me, Nymph." He growled furiously. She struggled to release herself from his grip, but he just held on tighter.
"Let go of me!"
"I do what I must to attain what I desire," he hissed hatefully, eyes aflame with danger. "Remember that next time to try to judge me."
He leaned in closer, until silver eyes bored hatefully into emerald. His grip became cruel. His words, poisonous.
"You cannot cast judgement upon me. I am the judge."
Hades
"Why not just let her go home? That would ensure her never seeing Rhadamanthus again."
Two figures ambled along in the dreamy garden. They were accompanied only by carefully cultivated garden beds of scarlet poppies and creamy white narcissus.
Hades glanced down at his companion. Annis had sought him out when he returned from the pearly gates of Elysian. At first, Hades did not desire company. But Annis was distraught over the whereabouts of her friend. Hades took pity on her, for though he did not show it, he was just as worried for the young goddess.
They both knew where Persephone had gone, and the two of them anxiously found company in the other while they waited for her return.
Hades shook his head somberly at her suggestion. "I admit, that thought of this has crossed my mind, but sending her back would be going against the rules that I have created for his world and breaking those rules could cause chaos."
"Are you sure?" Annis snuck a glance at him, her face betraying her doubt. "I think that you're being too cautious. Have you ever tried to break your own rules?"
That seemed to be the suggestion that everyone thought was so simple to enact. Hades just raked his hand through his hair. He had done that so many countless times now, it was a wonder that he had not pulled out half of his by now. "Ruling with an entire realm as my responsibility does not allow me to take risks."
"Perhaps it is time to learn to take risks?" She suggested. Hades could only sigh. Of course, Annis only had her friend's best interest at heart but why was it so hard to make everyone understand that his choice was not simple?
"You want me to be a risk taker, such as yourself?" He challenged gently. "If we are to speak of risks now, I have been meaning to talk to you. I know who you have been going to see and who you call your lover."
At his side, Annis let out a displeased noise, somewhere between a sigh and a groan.
"It was not meant for anyone to know,"the nymph lamented. "I hoped to hide it… to keep it a secret. Did Nyx tell you?" She asked, her tone holding hints of accusation.
"Nyx is not one to reveal secrets that she has been entrusted with." Hades answered gently, but sternly. "You are not keeping your secrets as well as you may believe. I do not care to meddle in the love lives of my subjects. I will not command you, but I must warn you against seeing this lover any longer; you need to choose somebody who is unattached and can truly give you the love that you seek."
If only he could take his own advice…
Annis contemplated this for a second, but she was never given the chance to reply. In that moment, they heard rustling in the distance and another Nymph with golden hair came bursting from around a bend in the path.
"Lord Hades?" She addressed him, her dark blue eyes fixed on the god. He nodded to acknowledge her, silently allowing her to continue. "The goddess Persephone has returned."
At his side, Annis let out a gasp. His heart lurched at the sound of the goddess' name, and trickles of relief and shame mingled together unpleasantly. Annis turned to him, her eyes wide and worried. Hades would have given anything to be the one to go to Persephone himself; to see her, to check on her, to make sure that she was faring well after her visit with Rhadamanthus.
Yet, that was not his place. He nodded again to the blonde Nymph in a dismissal. Once she scampered away, Hades gave Annis a sad smile.
"Go to her." He murmured to her.
Annis gave him a wobbly smile. "Thank you, Lord Hades." Without another word, she dashed off to reunite with her friend.
She was under orders to inform him right away if Persephone gave her any word of being harmed.
But only if she was harmed and in distress.
Otherwise… none of it was his business.
His heart sank as he watched Annis' dark hair streaming beneath the perpetual twilight glow. Every part of him wished to be going in her stead, but it was not meant to be.
If Hades could not have Persephone, and he did not deserve her affection, then he would at least make sure that she was protected and safe while she was forced to reside her. Hades hoped that she would find some peace in this realm. He thought of Annis and Nyx and how they befriended her. It gave him hope that if Persephone was to spend eternity here, then she would have them at her side.
His thoughts turned dark as he remembered the warnings of Posiedon. The anger of their younger brother would be great if he has been tormented enough by Demeter. If Zeus was forced to relent to his sister, then Zeus would take out his rage in some heinous way.
But Hades knew his brother well. Zeus was stubborn and prideful. He sighed heavily, wondering if he was a fool to believe that he was safe from the wrath of Zeus. There was not anything he could think of Demeter doing that would enrage Zeus enough to change his mind.
Demeter
A tall figure of a beautiful woman stood on the edge of a cliff, overlooking the azure ocean below. Auburn hair whipped around in the fierce wind.
Demeter.
She glared down at the roiling waves with tear-soaked hazel eyes, as if they were the reason that her heart was shattered into a thousand pieces.
Her head was filled with endless prayers of the mortals; pleading and praying and wailing. Temples built in her honor burned with sacrifices of fruits of the land.
But her heart was stone. Demeter paid no heed to the needs of the mortals that she had served for an age. They did not matter to her.
Nothing mattered to her.
Not when she lived in this world without the thing most precious to her.
Her daughter. Persephone. The lovely little Kore, with her sparkling hazel eyes and flowing blonde hair and laughter that could drive away the shadows. Demeter clenched her fists until her hands trembled. Hot, angry tears slid down her cheeks.
Now instead of living in the sunshine where she belonged, her poor daughter was taken to the realm of darkness and death. That wretched god of the Underworld had taken her—put his filthy hands on her and forced her to come with him. The messenger god Hermes told everyone at Olympus that Persephone had befallen no harm at the hands of Hades, but Demeter dismissed his claims.
It was impossible that her daughter was not being used as the gods' plaything.
Hades was cut from the same cloth as Zeus and Posiedon. She had expected this sort of deviant lustful behavior from them, it came as a shock to her that Hades had stooped to the level of his younger brothers.
Demeter once believed him to be honorable, if a bit grim and serious.
She remembered how he had cared for them all, a brood of frightened children being held captive by their own father. Hades, a young child himself, was the one to calm them when they cried. He she remembered how he used to let her sit in his lap and he would gently her hair when she was frightened of their dark prison.
Now, Demeter found that she never knew her eldest brother at all. He was as wretched as the rest of them. And Zeus would do nothing to fix this mess that Hades caused. The god of gods sat on his throne and impassively let Hades do as he pleased, citing weak reasons for doing nothing.
Well, that could only mean that Demeter was forced to take matters into her own hands. Her duties were cast aside. The needs of the mortals, neglected.
Grief and rage drove her onward.
She knew what she had to do to make Zeus listen. She knew what she had to do to get her daughter back.
Demeter would make Zeus regret ever denying her.
Hello there, faithful readers and new readers. So, nine months in between updates isn't too great, right? I want to apologize for the huge delay in between chapters. I was struggling with some serious writer's block in my story. A few weeks ago, I tackled the block and I finally rekindled my passion for this story and I've moved past what was getting me stuck and discouraged. I hope that you returning readers enjoyed this long-awaited update, and new readers, thank you for giving my story a shot! I already have the next chapter outlined, so I hope that there won't be a thousand years in between updates this time!