Another chapter! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited on the previous chapter. I hope you all enjoy the latest installment of Twilight Maiden!
Persephone
Persephone came back to gloomy dwelling place of the god of the Underworld and immediately searched for Annis.
She had every intention of spilling her heart out to her friend; to tell her that she knew the truth of her love that had been for Hades, and to apologize for all of her petty nonsense. Persephone wanted to make things right. If she were to be trapped in this world forever, then she might as well try not to burn any bridges with those who would truly wish to care for her—and those who she truly cared for in return.
But the brunette Nymph had found her before Persephone had a decent chance to seek her out. She was briskly walking through one of the hallways, in search of Annis when Persephone heard a shout of her name and then a whirlwind of dark hair and amber eyes came careening around a corner.
The moment that Persephone saw Annis, she lost her nerve.
How could she tell Annis that she knew the truth? That Persephone herself was the cause of her heartache?
She put everything out of her mind as they threw their arms around each other and spilled their apologies, though Persephone thought that Annis had nothing to feel sorry about. Even so, Annis was all apologies for leaving Persephone alone in the Underworld. Persephone told her that all was forgiven; she just had a frightening experience and took out her fears on Annis for no good reason.
Annis frowned with concern and then suggested that they go somewhere more private to have this talk.
So, the two of them went down to the hot springs deep in the belly of the palace, at the suggestion of Annis. She thought that it would be a calming environment while they discussed Persephone's latest ventures in the Underworld.
When they were settled in the spring with the pleasantly warm water bubbling around them, Persephone told Annis all about meeting with the Fates and confessed that they had given her a rather alarming prediction of what was to come.
Annis more or less told her exactly what Nyx had said—advising not to listen too literally to what the eerie trio of women said. She was understanding though, of how frightened Persephone must have been and they talked about what it could possibly mean for her future. After they had discussed that at length, Persephone knew exactly what Annis would want to talk about next.
A subject that the young goddess was dreading to bring up.
Persephone had never explicitly admitted to going to Elysian but Annis seemed to already know about it. She just tried to enjoy the calming atmosphere as best she could before the conversation inevitably turned to her trip to Elysian.
The water was warm and gentle as it lapped against her collarbone. Her hair was piled on top of her head to keep it from getting wet, but a few wayward strands clung to her damp forehead. Persephone leaned her back against the stone walls of the underground springs, closing her eyes and letting herself feel relaxed for the first time since she had met the Fates. She had not realized how much tension she carried around in her limbs until after her return from Elysian.
"How did your visit with Rhadamanthus go?" Annis wasted no time in asking once she tired of the lull in conversation.
Persephone opened her eyes and slowly turned to her friend sitting beside her. Annis had preferred to let her hair down. The richly colored strands fell down her chest and into the water, looking mysterious as they swirled around her.
Annis had such a dusky, haunting beauty about her. Down to her glowing amber eyes and husky voice and bold countenance, she was everything mysterious and alluring.
Persephone wondered if she could ever be so darkly enchanting.
"It was fine." She replied meekly, pulling a few wayward locks out from the pile on top of her head, just to frame her face a bit. "I did not stay for as long as I wanted to."
"Why so?" Annis wrinkled her nose as she frowned. "Did he wrong you in any way?"
"No. He remained fairly honorable—"
"Fairly honorable?" Annis echoed with incredulity, her eyebrows shooting into her hairline.
"He let himself get close to me but nothing scandalous," Persephone answered honestly. A slight smile tried to break out on her lips as she remembered how it felt. The steady weight of his arm around her waist had been dizzying. She shook her head to try and clear her head before Annis could see her feelings written all over her face.
"It was just an arm around my shoulders or waist. Nothing more." Persephone hastily told a skeptical Annis. "He was charming and informative and very proud of his home. I actually enjoyed his company."
"For the most part, at least…" Persephone thought ominously to herself.
Annis gave her a dubious sort of grimace and then went to pick up the strands of her hair out of the water.
"So why did you leave?" She wanted to know as she untangled the ends with her fingers, frowning and not quite meeting Persephone's eye. She heard the effort in Annis' tone—she was trying not to be overbearing. She was trying to be open minded, but Persephone could hear the struggle nonetheless.
After all, how could Persephone blame her for resenting Rhadamanthus after what he had done? His drunken actions had caused him to spill secrets that were not his to share. And those secrets out in the open had only been the cause of heartache for her friend.
Because Hades could not share in Annis' affections.
Because of Persephone herself…
"The reason I left is…"
Persephone sighed heavily, the sound bouncing endlessly off the stone walls She readied herself to tell Annis that she knew the truth. But as she watched friend's gaze flicker between her hair and back to her, all curious and concerned, Persephone felt herself falter.
She lost her nerve. Again! Would confessing the truth be shameful to Annis? Would it be hurtful? What if her heart was not healed and she still held onto affection for Hades?
Persephone had already acted as a poor friend to the first person she'd befriended outside of her mother's circle of approved Nymphs that lived with them. Annis was her first real friend and she'd already done enough to hurt her.
How could she do anything more?
"I left because…" Persephone reached up to the hair falling around her face and anxiously twirled the blonde locks around her fingers. "I felt guilty being there."
Annis turned her amber eyes from her hair and back to Persephone. This time, she did not glance away. The concern in her face deepened.
"Guilty? Because of me? Because of Nyx?"
Persephone shrugged, trying to think of how she could be honest without revealing the whole truth. She just wanted to spare Annis' feelings.
"Somewhat."
Her features fell from an anxious frown to a sad smile.
"Because of Lord Hades?"
"Partially." Persephone let out another sigh. She swirled the rippling surface of the water with her fingertips.
How could she say this?
"I deliberately defied him." She admitted. "I was angry with him for tying my fate to his. I was offended that he ordered me not to see Rhadamanthus. I acted foolishly. I was hurt by him and by you and I acted all wrong. I wanted to come back to Hades' realm and mend what was broken between you and I. And as for Hades…"
Persephone could no longer hold her gaze with Annis. She instead trained her eyes on the stone wall opposite of her. There was an alcove carved out in the wall, holding an array of candles with tiny lights that flickered peacefully in the cavernous room. None of this was an outright lie. It was all truthful.
Yet why did she still feel as though she were doing something wrong?
"I do not even know what to say to him. I will admit that I am nervous to see him again."
"I am sure that he will be understanding." Annis remarked knowingly. "When he stops making himself so scarce and you see him again, he will listen to you."
Persephone nodded in agreement, oddly hoping that Annis was right. She found herself wishing to see Hades again soon.
"Will you see Rhadamanthus again?"
Persephone did not turn back to Annis. She did not even know how to make her mouth move and form words to answer that question. Would she see him again? It felt wrong to admit even to herself that Persephone toyed with the idea.
She had not gotten to explore enough of Elysian.
Rhadamanthus promised her that there was so much more to it that she was missing on the Isle of the Blessed. Perhaps she would go back, if only to see the rest of that mysterious little island.
Not for Rhadamanthus.
Right?
Persephone found herself once again sneaking away from the palace, leaving Annis as she busied herself in Underworld gossip with the other Nymphs. She had made herself scarce at the gathering of Nymphs in the garden ever since Minthe decided to make her presence at these meetings a regular spectacle, so it did not raise any suspicions that Persephone declined to come when Annis invited her.
But the instant that Annis excused herself from Persephone's chambers to go to meet with her other friends in the garden, the goddess was already making plans on how to leave without being detected. Once she was certain that Annis was safely on the other side of the palace from her chambers, Persephone slipped through the doors of her room and quietly ran down the empty corridors to find a way out.
She found an exit that was hidden and not so out in the open. The main entrance of the throne room would surely either be filled with Nymphs or other immortals. Not to mention, Hades. Persephone was not quite ready to face him yet. And she did not want him stepping in and distracting her while she was on a quest.
She was leaving the for the fringes of Hades' world to meet with a certain new friend of hers.
"Either you come up to me, or I stay here and shout down at you! It's not safe for me to be near you, not with that hellhound of yours biting me with all three of its heads" A figure with curly blond hair and dazzling sapphire eyes called from the safety of the branches of the willow tree that now served as a familiar meeting spot for him and the giggling goddess standing below.
After days of the feather in her hair staying cold and lifeless, Persephone got a shock when she felt the soft object grow warm, telling her that Hermes in the Underworld to pay her a visit.
"Cerberus is a dear!" Persephone laughed to the god perched in the trees like some skittish bird. She turned to the snarling beast standing protectively at her side and her hand scratched the ears of the closest growling head. Try as she might, Persephone could not convince the hound and his three heads that Hermes would bring her no harm.
"Dear to you, certain death for me!" Hermes retorted. She whipped her head back to where he sat in his perch and Persephone could see the grin breaking out on his boyish face.
"You are an immortal. You cannot die," was her matter of fact reply.
"If I die, it is going to be because of your little pet." He answered wryly, narrowing his eyes at her with a playful air.
"Fine then. I'll come to you." Persephone bent down to give each of Cerberus' noses a kiss and turned on her heel to walk over to the slender trunk of the willow.
"Can you even climb a tree?" Hermes questioned as he watched her curiously.
"Of course I can!" Persephone challenged his teasing doubt, already off the ground and tangled up in the low hanging branches. "Mother never approved of such an unladylike skill but I managed to master it when she was not paying attention."
She had even managed to learn how to climb unencumbered by the long, flowing skirt of her dark blue gown. Persephone expertly scrambled higher and higher into the branches. Cerberus tracked her every move, pacing on the ground beneath her and letting out a trio of worried whines the farther away from him she climbed. All the while, Hermes watched her with his dazzling blue gaze and his face set into an expression of awe and amusement.
"You are certainly not who I imagined you to be." The young god remarked as Persephone at last seated herself beside him on the branch. The thin tendrils of the willow made a protective canopy of silvery green all around them, shielding Persephone and her friend from any spying eyes.
"Oh?" Persephone was a little breathless from her activity. She had not properly climbed a tree since she was a girl. "And what did you imagine?"
"The secret, rumored daughter of Demeter?" He gave a shrug of his shoulders. "I suppose I would have thought you to be meek and mild-mannered. Instead, you are rather bold."
Perspehone glanced away from him to gaze down at the world below her swinging feet and skirt that fluttered in the breeze. Cerberus sat right beneath her, all three pairs of glittering black eyes trained on her, each of them seeming confused at what their mistress was doing in a tree with the likes of Hermes.
"Maybe 'bold' is not the right word to describe me. Perhaps 'rebellious' would be better" Persephone suggested with a light laugh. "That is what my mother always told me. I am hardly the delicate flower that Demeter so desperately wished for me to be."
"It is because you have Zeus as your father. He gives you that fire." Hermes offered up innocently, but then his face faltered at the way Persephone grew silent and suddenly became interested in inspecting the bark of the branch that was their perch.
"I am sorry. I should not have brought it up. It's just that…. now that Olympus knows you exist beyond gossip and rumors and hearsay, nobody can stop talking about it. We all know, more or less, the story of how you came to be and how Zeus is your father and—I'm sorry—I'm just saying all the wrong things, aren't I?" The young god sighed in exasperation at himself.
Out of the corner of her eye, Persephone saw him as he nervously raked his hand through his curly locks. She looked at him and tried to give him her best reassuring smile.
"How is my mother taking it?" Persephone asked, wanting to move from the subject of her hateful father and how her past was fodder for the gossipers of Olympus.
Hermes raised his brows at her shift in conversation and she saw relief that she was not cross with him. But his face did not lose its worried haze. He kept on running the back of his head, hopelessly messing his curls.
"Actually, to be honest, we have not seen her in days."
"What do you mean?" Persephone did not like how this news caused dread to settle in the pit of her stomach.
"She spent weeks coming to Olympus again and again, relentlessly begging with Zeus about freeing you from the Underworld. She came almost daily to plead on your behalf. Yet now, she seems to have vanished." Hermes answered with a nervous waver. "Nobody has seen hide nor hair of her. None of us have heard any word. Demeter has all but disappeared."
Persephone had to look away again. She stared at her sandaled feet as they dangled in the air. This did not bode well.
"She is planning something,"Persephone mumbled darkly. "My mother is not one to lie idle while she is wronged. Especially when it comes to me. I have seen her go to great lengths to defend me, and to exact her revenge when I have been hurt by another. I have seen it before, and I do not doubt that she will do it again."
Hermes scooted a bit closer to her on the branch. "Maybe it is not only Zeus who gives you your fire?"
Persephone wrinkled her nose in surprise. She had never thought of that before. Then a smile played on her lips.
"I suppose you are right," she whispered, somewhat in awe and even in a hint of amusement. "She blamed him whenever I rebelled or had too much spirit. Maybe it never occurred to her that she and Zeus are more alike than she wants to admit?"
His face softened and Hermes placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Persephone found herself comparing the way his touch felt, to the only two other men who had ever touched her. The way his fingers gripped her shoulder gently reminded her a bit of the friendly warmth that she would get from Annis or Nyx.
This was a friendly touch from a man… not the heated way that Rhadamanthus explored her waist…
Or the way Hades had touched her so softly that night in the corridor…
No, the way Hermes touched her now was something entirely different. Persephone had forever been told that men were viciously lustful creatures. Could it be possible that a man could be her friend?
"I have tried to assure her," he said, breaking into her musings.
"Assure her of what?"
"That you are safe and well; as safe and well as you can be for being kidnapped. I tried to tell her that you are unharmed and being treated fairly. That you are not miserable and frightened." Again, his hand combed through his golden locks, and he smiled rather sheepishly. "She did not believe me, though."
"No, she would not have believed you." Persephone was unsurprised to hear her mother's doubt. "It is actually quite unbelievable that I would be happy here."
"Are you?" Hermes shifted a little closer to her, squeezing her shoulder to prompt her to look his way. "Happy here, in the Underworld?"
Persephone thought about her answer for a moment. Cerberus was stalking back and forth beneath the branch, one head always trained on her dangling feet and swaying skirt. The other two were alert and staring off at something unseen in the distance.
He really was such a dear—even if he was only a dear to her. She adored that beast.
"I have made true friends." Persephone said at last. "I have freedom. I have not been harmed or forced to do anything against my will. I am not miserable even though I am essentially a prisoner."
"You are allowed to be happy, if you want to be," Hermes wound his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a hug. "Even in a place like this."
She leaned into his hug. He felt so nice. So warm. So friendly.
"I should be miserable here. I should hate it. I should resent everything and everyone in the Underworld." Persephone huffed and when she spoke again, her voice dropped to a whisper.
"But I do not. I cannot. I… I think that I can be happy here. Why does that make me feel so guilty?"
Hermes opened his mouth to say something, but just as he did, a raucous racket of three heads barking shattered the peaceful silence. Persephone and Hermes both jumped in fright at the wildly baying beast beneath them. Persephone moved to scramble down the branch and get back to the ground, to see what was amiss, but Hermes just grabbed her arm.
"Stay." He warned, his voice uncharacteristically firm. "The hellhound is trying to warn you of something. You must remember that you are still in the Underworld. I am sure that you know by now, not all of the occupants are as benevolent as Lord Hades and the others you have befriended. Wait here until we know for sure that it is safe."
Persephone said nothing in reply, but the way he spoke to her sent shivers down her spine. She did not imagine that such a bright and sunny being could be so grave. But as Persephone sat there with his arm protectively wound around her shoulder, she could not help but be grateful for his concern. Again, she had the sense of familiarity and friendship from his steady touch.
So Persephone gave heed to his warning and she waited. She and Hermes kept their eyes peeled through the swaying curtain of greenery all around them. Cerberus had backed away from the branch and went to stand guard at the trunk, in case any unfriendly being had the idea of trying to climb the tree to get to his mistress. His heads were all still trained in the same direction and he had not ceased his barking for a second.
At first, she could not see what it was that had riled up the beast. Then in the distance, Perspehone saw movement. Someone or something was coming down the beaten path and whatever it was, would be stalking beneath the willow tree any second now.
The movements started to take shape. Persephone saw shades of gray. She took in a quick, nervous breath and expected to see some sort of horrid monster emerging. But the shades of gray turned into robes. Excited chatter of feminine voices mingled with the barking heads. It was not a pleasant sort of excitement; there was a sharp tension filling the air, cutting through the peaceful atmosphere like a blade.
Persephone narrowed her eyes just as a trio of women came barreling down the path, their arms linked together and matching misty robes sweeping together as their feet moved with haste. Each one of them had long, silky waves of jet-black hair and pale ivory skin. Their voices were harsh and nearly jeering as they chattered amongst themselves.
Persephone and Hermes peered down from their hiding spot, their apprehension replaced instantly by curiosity. Familiarity sparked as they drew nearer. Persephone knew these women. She had seen them at the gathering not long ago.
The Erinyes, she remembered Annis calling them. She also remembered how wary Annis seemed to be of the three unassuming but eerily similar trio of women and did not offer up an explanation for it other than "it is best not to test their patience."
"Oh, that damn hound!" One of the women exclaimed. "He always puts up such a fuss whenever he sees us."
"Maybe we should catch him and bring him with us?" Another of the women suggested with a wicked smile playing across her lips. "I am sure Annis would not fare will with three jaws full of teeth snapping at her."
"Not to mention our three jaws," the third woman darkly added. With that, all three of them fell into a chorus of mirthless laughter. They passed beneath their watchers unseen in the branches and then through the veil of tendrils that grew over the path.
"Annis?" Persephone breathed in dread as she watched them disappear. "What is going on? Why do they want Cerberus to attack her?"
Hermes mumbled something about not knowing what was going on, but Persephone was hardly listening to him. She was scrambling away from his protective grip and by the time he realized that she was not beside him anymore, Persephone was already halfway down the tree.
"Hey! What are you doing?" He called out to her. Persephone jumped down from the tree, too impatient in her growing dread to wait.
"I'm going after them!" Persephone called back. "They said something about Annis and it did not bode well! I want to see what they're up to."
"What if it's something dangerous?" He asked as he leapt from the branch. The tiny wings on his sandals fluttered, easing him back to the ground where Persephone was already marching after the Erinyes. Hermes braved approaching Persephone despite the black hound at her side. The beast snapped at him as Hermes took his place on Persephone's other side, but otherwise let him be. Those black eyes were too focused on the retreating backs of the Erinyes to worry about Hermes anymore.
"I will be fine." Persephone assured even though she knew full well that she herself did not even know.
"I can go with you?" Hermes offered anxiously, keeping up with her furious pace. Her hair whipped behind her as her pace quickened; not a full out run but not a leisurely stroll either.
"I would like that." Persephone answered honestly. Because truthfully, she would have liked for him to come with her. It was that feeling she kept getting when being around him—a sense of friendship, and a friendship with a man at that. But as much as she wanted him there with her, Persephone had to decline.
"I truly would, but I do not want to risk anyone else discovering that we know one another."
"Anyone else? I thought you told me that you wanted to keep us a secret?" Hermes breathed as the two of them marched briskly down the path, giving Persephone a skeptical glance.
Her stomach clenched as the thought of a pair of icy eyes and silvery white hair came to mind. How could she be so careless as to let that slip out?
"Annis knows," Persephone lied. She hoped her falsehood would suffice for now. She had no time to come up with something better, because that trio of black hair was getting farther and farther away. And Persephone had to know why they were talking about Annis.
"She knows and she has been sworn to secrecy. The less people who know, the better. And I will be fine," the young goddess insisted. "If it makes you feel any better, Cerberus will come with me."
Persephone saw that he was doubtful but he did not pry further. And before she could even give him a chance, Persephone patted the closest head of her beast and without further warning, broke out into a sprint and left a bewildered Hermes behind. The middle head gave an eager snarl and then came behind Persephone in leaps and bounds. She followed those wavy strands of black hair as they hurried down the path.
But Cerberus kept up his fearsome growls and barks the closer that Persephone caught up with the women. The women noticed that the hellhound was straying far from his home.
Without warning, they abruptly stopped in their tracks.
"Perhaps the beast does want to come with us," the middle woman speculated as she and the others turned to see what was going on. Three pairs of eyes widened in surprise when they spotted her running up to them. They watched her as she came to a stop in front of them, her sandals skittering up dust and pebbles as she came to a halt.
"The beast and a lovely little goddess," said one of the others, narrowing her eyes down at Persephone and a snarling smile on her thin lips.
"Does the Lord Hades know that you have strayed so far from his home?" Another asked, her voice as steely as her eyes.
Persephone balked when the women turned to her. A sense of unease washed over her as they all stared down at her. She tried to recall their individual names that Annis had told her, though she would not have been able to place a name with a face. Now that she was closer to them than she ever had been, Persephone was able to see that they were more than just similar.
These women were nearly identical to each other. Each of them had narrow faces drowned by thick waves of black hair. They boasted of high cheekbones, matched with sharp jawlines and hooked noses. Their skin was pale, but it was not the lovely, creamy ivory skin of Nyx. They had dark circles under their eyes and there was an ashen, almost gray sheen to their skin, as if the blood beneath ran dark instead of red.
The only difference between the women were their eyes.
One of them had shockingly green eyes; not the alluring shade of emerald that belonged to Minthe. Rather these eyes were an unnatural hue of bright green. She was the one who kept sneering down at Persephone, watching her every move with a snotty sort of scrutiny.
The other woman's irises were another unusual color; a frightening crimson that looked like two pools of blood on a backdrop of white. Her face was scrunched into a scowl, so deep and so twisted, that Persephone wondered if her features had forever been stuck that way.
The middle woman was the one that kept staring at her, unblinking and and stoic. Hers was that cold shade of steely silver. Persephone hated her eyes most of all. Those eyes made Persephone think of the lifeless souls in Asphodel, wandering without a purpose and with their life's vitality stripped away. They were glimmering with a light that was not warm but rather icy and dangerous.
"No—no, Hades does not know." Persephone was suddenly nervous at the way they were all staring at her with their scrutinizing glares and snarling smirks. Cerberus stared at the women, a low warning growl rumbling deep in his mighty chest but he did not charge at them. His hackles were raised but he stayed decidedly at Persephone's side. She felt better having him close by.
"Have you come because you heard the news?" The green eyed woman asked her, ignoring the beast at Persephone's side.
"What news? I heard you say Annis' name but have not heard of any news." Persephone hated how timid she sounded. These women were making her so incredibly wary. No wonder Annis had not gone out of her way to introduce them to Persephone.
"That Nymph you have befriended has been a naughty thing." The one with crimson irises jauntily taunted.
"She has caused some trouble for our friend." The green eyed one supplied. "There's quite the scene happening at Acheron's palace."
Persephone reached down and lay a hand on Cerberus' back, using his solid frame to steady herself. What did they mean? Was Annis in trouble? The confusion must have been written clearly all over her face, for the silver-eyed woman stepped forward. She was fearless of the beast guarding Persephone and did not flinch when Cerberus lunged at her. Persephone gasped and tried to hold back the mass of muscle and fur. And all the while, the woman did not so much as blink.
"I am surprised that you do not know," she said, raising thin brows in the appearance of surprise. "Come with us and see what sort of being you have befriended." The silver eyed woman ominously offered. She even reached out to Persephone with a slender arm, skin pale and gray and oddly translucent in the dim light of the Underworld.
"What has Annis done?" Persephone demanded flatly as she stared at the hand. Her arms remained firmly at her side. She did not care for how eager they all seemed to be at showing off her friend's supposed mistakes.
"Come see for yourself. It should be quite the spectacle." The green eyed woman jeered.
The woman with the blood-stained irises spoke next. "And then you will understand why she needs to be punished."
The middle eyed woman said nothing, but just stared at Persephone with her silvery eyes glistening coolly, hand still outstretched.
"Punished?" Persephone echoed.
Her eyes narrowed. Flashes of anger flickered in all of their faces. all at the same time. Persephone backed away from them. Cerberus' warning growls deepened. Something did not feel right.
"You can come or you can stay here, but we shall not linger any longer. Our friend needs our assistance." The woman said. "We are needed elsewhere."
Without another word, all three of them turned in unison and resumed their march along the pathway, as if they had never been interrupted at all. Their silence did not hinder her as she picked up her pace and sprinted after them.
"What are your names?" Persephone asked, hot on the heels of the retreating women.
The middle woman answered. Persephone wondered if she were the leader of this pack.
"Megaera, the Punisher of the Jealous." She said, pointing to the woman on her right, the one with green eyes.
"Alecto, the Punisher of Anger." She said of the remaining woman on her left. Those crimson irises now made sense to Persephone.
"Leaving me; Tisiphone, the Punisher of Murderers."
"How lovely," Persephone grimly thought to herself. All of those women were attributes that were far from benevolent. She remembered the quick but vitriolic flashes of fury that she had seen in their faces. It made Persephone wonder what roles these women played in the Underworld and why, truly why, Annis had been less than eager to introduce Persephone to them.
Neither of them said anything more as went along the path.
Persephone had never been to this part of the Underworld before; she had not searched the fields beyond the entrance. It was not so much a field anymore as it was a bog. The path kept following the inky black waters of the river, whose waters grew wilder and banks wider the further it wound into the bog lands. Thick mist crept over the ground, dipping down into the murky water and crawling over the peat. Moss and lichen and scraggly grass grew alongside the path. The path itself changed from beaten earth to raised wooden platform, winding its way through the muck and mire below. Not too far in the distance, Persephone saw a structure rise from the flat horizon.
"What is this place?" Persephone asked as they neared the structure.
"The dwelling of Acheron." Megaera growled unpleasantly.
"The personified god of the Acheron river; the river of woe on which the freshly dead mortals are ferried into the Underworld to their judgement," Alecto said as she gestured to the flowing body of water beside them. Persephone watched as that river narrowed and then took a sharp bend, cutting into the bog and running straight to the dwelling place.
One that they were nearing by the second. She said nothing more but instead decided to just wait and see what they were talking about, since they were not willing to be more forthcoming. Instead she turned her focus to what she could only describe as a temple, rather than a palace like the one belonging to Hades.
The Erinyes had called it a dwelling, but to Persephone, it reminded her of the temples built in honor to Demeter.
Thick pillars jutted from a foundation of black marble, holding up an intricately carved roof made of the same dark material. At first, Persephone thought that the marble was black, just the same as Hades, but as she got closer, she noticed that it was a stone of the deepest shade of blue. The place was small but imposing. Unfriendly—not welcoming in the slightest.
Especially because the sound of a terrified wail came echoing from behind those pillars.
Persephone gasped.
That cry sounded horribly familiar.
Could it be—?
Annis?
The wooden path lead the four of them straight to a wide, sweeping staircase. The women ahead of her were tripping over their skirts in their haste to reach the entrance. The three of them started jeering and taunting and laughing. Each helpless cry from inside the temple seemed to excite them.
Persephone stumbled behind, Cerberus at her heels and barking like mad. His hackles were raised. Foam frothed at his frantically barking mouths.
It was as if he knew what was coming.
She watched transfixed in horror and fascination as the middle woman suddenly leapt into the air. Her feet stayed suspended over the steps and did not come back down. The muscles of her back twisted and her limbs contorted. Then a hunch formed on her shoulders—a hunch that jerked and moved, as if something alive were writhing beneath the skin.
An unearthly screech erupted from her mouth and her entire body shuddering sickeningly. Fabric ripped as a pair of wings burst from the hunch. They were nearly as long as she was tall, with translucent, scaly skin framed by black, knobby bones.
Persephone stopped in her tracks as those wings beat a furious gale. She stared up at the flying, screeching figure in horror and disbelief.
Did she actually just see that happen?
Cerberus stood at her side as he barked wildly at the thing hovering above them.
The woman swung herself around in the air, facing the people remaining on the ground. Even her face had changed; a feral snarl pulled at her lips and in the moody light of the Underworld, her teeth gleamed like fangs. The tips of her fingers were sharp talons, rigid and ready to strike. Her locks of silky black whipping around from the angry air of those beating wings changed, growing thicker and more dense until Persephone realized that she was not looking at hair anymore.
Persephone was looking at snakes.
What once was hair was now snakes; dozens of hissing serpents, baring their tiny fangs and flailing their scaly bodies around their mistresses' head in a tempest of shared fury.
The transformation happened in a matter of seconds.
Persephone watched as those steely eyes locked onto her. Her entire body tensed with true terror and she waited for the thing to swoop down on her, and for those horrible talons to rip her to shreds.
But the creature-like woman screeched again and beat its scaly wings, taking off in the direction of the temple. Below, the other two women still on the ground were letting out ear-shattering screams of their own. They jumped into the air after their sister. Wings burst from the skin on their backs, tearing and ripping their robes. Their hair turned into hissing serpentine locks, flying about wildly as they raced to catch up with the first woman.
The trio of them were heading right to the temple. Persephone was still transfixed by terror as she watched them dart between the pillars.
And the screams inside only grew louder at the arrival of the Erinyes.
Louder and filled with piercing terror. The shock of watching the women turn into furious creatures wore off, shattered at the helpless cries from the temple. Her heart clenched, not in fear for herself but for the owner of the pitiful wails.
"Annis!" Persephone just knew that voice belonged to that of her friend. She sprang into action, not caring if those three things were lying in wait for her when she dashed up the rest of the stairs.
The goddess careened past the pillars and into the temple beyond. A sprawling area opened up before her. She had not noticed that the ceiling was open to the gloomy sky above. The floor was a sleek shade of glistening cobalt tiles. Set against the walls, every few feet, were massive unsealed jugs. Persephone had no clue what was in them, but they were decorated with designs of flowing rivers.
At the very end of the temple, there was a raised dais, upon which there was a throne-like seat. And on that seat, was a man that Persephone had seen only once before. At the palace of Hades at the damned gathering.
Acheron. This was Acheron.
She recalled Annis motioning over to where he sat beneath a pine tree and dismissively mumbling his name. His bright blue eyes had scanned the scenery of the party with boredom. He wore the same expression now, watching impassively as a scene of violence played out right in front of him.
At his feet was a figure crumpled on the floor, wearing the same pastel pink robes that Annis had worn earlier. Persephone saw dark brunette hair splayed out over the tiles. Her arms protectively covered her head and Persephone heard mumbled pleas come from the prostrate woman.
That was Annis. There was no doubt in her mind that the woman was Annis. Persephone gasped her friend's name and then raced to the far end of the temple, rushing to get to her side as soon as possible.
For another Nymph stood over Annis. She was screaming as loudly as the creatures that flew overhead. Her indiscernible shouts echoed off the tiles. They were full of loathing, of anger, of hate. All of it was directed at the cowering form of Annis. Her hands came in a torrent of angry blows on Annis' back.
Persephone did not recognize that woman at all. She would have absolutely remembered this striking woman if she had seen her before. Her hair was a cascade of bountiful curls. The strands were a rich shade of velvety black. But as her curls flew around her face, Persephone saw that they had almost a deep blue sheen glimmering in the gray light.
As she neared the awful scene, Persephone saw that her glaring eyes were a vivid shade of brilliant cobalt. Though her face was contorted in rage, she could see that the woman had strong, bold features.
But Persephone had no time to carefully observe any more than that. Not when her friend was being attacked! Persephone ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Nobody seemed to have noticed her unwelcome presence.
All focus in the room went to the two women.
Bloodthirsty screeches of the swirling creatures filled the temple. Cerberus howled, driven mad by the clashing, clanging cries of Annis and the Erinyes and the screaming Nymph. All was descending into chaos while the god seated at his throne watched it all without so much as a shade of concern.
"Gorgyra! Please!" Annis pleaded. That only served to enrage the Nymph even more. Her mouth pulled into a hateful snarl and she slapped the side of Annis' head with an open palm.
"How dare you say my name, you whore!" She shouted in heated anger. Annis whimpered as those hateful hands came down on her again and again.
Persephone dove to the floor. Her body fell on top of Annis, shielding her from the attacks of the Nymph named Gorgyra.
"Stop! What is the meaning of this?!" Persephone tried to demand, but hands grabbed her and flung her to the floor. Persephone hit the tiles with a painful thud. She cried out in pain, but tried to hastily scrambled to her feet to get back to Annis.
But the Nymph was surprisingly strong.
She lurched forward and grabbed a fistful of hair at the back of Persephone's head. That hand yanked Persephone's head back until her sneering face was just inches from her.
"You must be the goddess that Lord Hades brought here to be his little pet." She snarled with her full lips pulled into a grimace. Her features were even bolder now that Persephone was nose-to-nose with her. She had prominent cheekbones that complimented her square jawline. Those eyes of hers were shrouded by strong, elegant brows. Hers was a masculine sort of beauty; unconventional and untamed and wild as a raging river.
"Let me warn you, goddess, do not stand in my way. Do not stand in their way." Her brilliant eyes flickered to the Erinyes. "When my friends are driven by fury, they know no limits. That Nymph over there that you call friend is receiving her punishment."
"Persephone." Annis mumbled tearfully. "Do not do this. Please don't hurt yourself trying to help me."
But Persephone ignored her. Annis had stood up for her once; before they were even friends. Now it was time for her to return the favor. She yanked herself free of the offending grip, leaving a few strands of her hair behind in the Nymph's clenched fingers.
"Punishment for what?" Persephone retorted fearlessly as she moved back to hover protectively over Annis. "Who are you?"
"Your friend never told you who I was? She never once mentioned the wife of the god who she stole as her lover?" A bitter laugh rang out over the temple. "How insulting! That Nymph has been carrying on with my husband for months! And since she has gotten careless as of late, her actions were discovered."
Another vicious slap that somehow made its way past Persephone's protection.
Annis let out a pained whimper. Persephone saw how her fingers clutched at her face, hiding in shame from everyone. Then her amber eyes slid over to the god on the throne, practically slouched in his chair.
She was desperate and fearful.
Persephone also looked, watching to see if he would answer the silent plea of help in those scared eyes.
So, he was Annis' lover? Shaggy brown hair fell around his oval face and sharp jaw. A dark scruff peppered with strands of gray decorated his chin, resting on his fingers, and watching the three women with faint interest in his pale blue eyes.
And he did not even lift a finger in her direction. Persephone's stomach clenched when she realized that no help would come from him. None at all. The man just sat there and watched his wife abuse his lover. As if she were nothing? As if she were the only one who acted wrongly?
A surge of anger at the man rushed through Persephone so fiercely, she felt herself flush. But the voice of Gorgyra pulled Persephone's attention back to her.
"I lured her from her little garden party with her friends, under the pretense of being Acheron, summoning her for one of their clandestine meetings. I am going to serve justice to this whore who tempted my husband into infidelity."
Gorgyra's words were pure poison as she reached once more for Annis. Persephone slapped her hand away.
"Then why are you not also punishing your husband?" She challenged fiercely.
The room fell silent.
Even the Erinyes ceased their furious wails and Cerberus growled lowly at the tension that suddenly shrouded the room.
"What did you just say?" Gorgyra answered coldly. She had her hand raised to strike, but Perspehone's words made her pause.
"If you are going to punish Annis, then why not also punish your husband?"
"Explain yourself." Her face screwed up into an ugly grimace, eyes burning with hatred.
"Annis is not the only party at fault. He is every bit at fault as she is. It is unfair that she must take all the blame and the punishment when the both of them made these choices together."
Persephone scrambled to her feet, taking a defensive stance in front of Annis. She was no longer speaking to Gorgyra. Instead, her glare settled to the man still sitting silently on his throne.
"How can you sit there, watching your wife go after her? Doing nothing and taking no blame as if you were innocent. How dare you!"
It was only then that his stoic face changed.
His brow wrinkled. His lips curled into a sneer. Those blue eyes of his turned heated. Acheron was no longer impassive. He scowled at the finger pointing at him and in one swift movement, rose up from his chair and rushed down the dias.
The god stormed past Gorgyra and headed right for Persephone.
Cerberus lunged at him as he came close, but Acheron raised a hand. Water came flying out of those mysterious jugs. It swirled around in the air until it trapped Cerberus in a whirlpool of water. He yelped and whined as he was separated from Persephone.
She had no time to think or move out of the way when a masculine hand flew to her face. Fingers gripped her chin and Acheron pulled Persephone to him.
"Why do you think you can speak to me like this?" Acheron asked in a clear, crisp voice; like cool water flowing over stones. It would have been pleasant to listen to if he was not so furious.
Persephone could not reply. That hand on her jaw was so unrelenting. She started to regret her boldness.
"I am a god. I may do as I please." His grip only grew tighter. Annis begged him to stop. Gorgyron laughed.
"Lord Hades is not the only one who may indulge in his desires. Who are you to question me? You should be punished for your disrespect to a god."
Acheron released her, but only long enough to wrap his hands around her throat. Persephone choked and sputtered as he lifted her off the ground. Her hands clawed at his forearm, but he just sneered.
"I cannot kill you, but I can make you suffer."
Everything around her was falling apart.
Annis was sobbing, begging Acheron to leave Persephone alone. Through her tears, she implored that he let her go—that they punish her for everything, but to just let Persephone go unharmed. All her pleas fell on deaf ears. Acheron only glared hatefully at Persephone. She could see the wheels in his mind turning and she wondered what horrible punishment he was trying to think of.
Cerberus was trapped behind the wall of water and he was braying and howling and barking, desperate to get to Persephone. The Erinyes were causing such a racket, her ears were ringing painfully with the ceaseless echoes bouncing all around the temple. They flew high in the ceiling, circling around and around in a flurry of beating wings and tattered robes.
"Do you hear them going wild?" Gorgyra slid into place beside her husband, grinning evilly at Persephone. "When Acheron is done with you, they will want their turn. My friends are happy to do my bidding. They can smell the bloodlust in the air and they will be more than willing to take my revenge out on the both of you."
Then amidst the chaos, they heard a faint voice at their feet speak up.
"That is not why they are going wild. They are afraid."
Gorgyron stopped smiling.
That was Annis. She was no longer crying. When had she stopped?
They all glanced down at her but Annis was not even facing them anymore. Instead, she had her head turned over her shoulder, looking at something towards the entrance.
Gorgyra and Acheron both followed her gaze. Their mouths fell open and Gorgyra's pale skin turned scarlet. Acheron swore under his breath and his blue eyes turned from raging to mortified.
Persephone could only shift her eyes down to Annis and could not see what they were all looking at. She could do nothing until those fingers around her throat loosened. She fell to the floor in a heap of robes and a painful gasp.
But she was free! Even though her knees ached from hitting the floor, Persephone scrambled to Annis' side. Gorgyra and Acheron paid no mind to the two women on the floor.
Perspehone finally turned around to see what was happening.
And what she saw made her heart leapt into her throat.
An impossibly tall figure towered in the entrance to the temple. His broad shoulders were backlit by an ominous cloudy gray sky. The air of the room thickened. The atmosphere turned tense.
Persephone could practically feel the roiling waves of anger coming from that dark silhouette.
Hades.
The god of the Underworld was here.
And he was not pleased.