629 days since my last update. I... have nothing to say for myself. I am extremely apologetic for this ridiculous wait between chapters. Thank you to all my returning, long-suffering readers and to my new readers, welcome! This chapter, to me, feels quite rusty since its been two years since I really touched this story, but I hope that you enjoy nonetheless. I have lofty plans of finishing the story sometime before the end of 2021, but as we all know, life gets in the way. But I promise, 629 days won't pass until the next update. Enjoy, and happy reading!
Persephone
The goddess felt as if she were living a new life in the Underworld. Things had shifted so tremendously that her time in the Underworld before the incident with Rhadamanthus seemed like another life altogether.
Some of the changes were rather nice. Some changes, she found, were not so welcome.
For one, Persephone had a newfound pride in her abilities. Subduing her attacker with her dormant powers gave her a sense of pride in herself that she never felt before. She only wished that this confidence did not have to be found through such great adversity.
Yet, something unexpected came from her experience. Word of the attack spread like wildfire. Many of the Nymphs and other goddesses of the Underworld had rallied around Persephone. They came to her with their tales of Rhadamanthus. Many were complaints of his careless attitude towards them. They were thrown away. Cast aside when he grew bored of them. All the stories echoed the warnings that her own friends tried to tell her.
But some of the women told her stories, through hushed words and painful tears, of happenings that were similar to what she suffered; of his hidden temper that would unleash suddenly—the way he would lash out with harsh words and even harsher actions when his desires were denied and did not get what he wanted.
And what had happened to those who had not been able to escape him, as she had…
Persephone learned that in the eyes of these women, she had become a sort of bringer of justice to this cruel god. They looked to her as their heroine. Her actions against Rhadamanthus empowered them to bring their stories to light and to find solace in each other; the others who were hurt.
Hades was mortified to learn that such treatment of his subjects had happened under his nose. He had heard rumors of the god's philandering ways, but he did not realize that there were darker deeds being done.
There were certain things that were tolerated on Olympus, but he would not let go unpunished in his realm.
Persephone longed to have been able to hear these accounts before she decided to put her trust in him. She wanted to kick herself for not heeding the warnings of Nyx and Annis. But she wanted to figure out the inner workings of adult relationships; to test her instincts and figure out the complexities for herself.
Persephone wondered about the spirit of rebellion and adventure that flickered like a flame inside of her; a trait of Zeus that her mother longed to stamp out. Part of her knew that her spirited ways would never die. Yet, another part of her learned the hard way that warnings did not come without reason. She would be cautious from now on, but Persephone would continue to seek her own path and to strike out on her own.
She would not let her guard down so easily next time.
Even so, Persephone had not left the safety of the palace. The trauma of it all still burned in her mind. It was all still too fresh. She did not venture out to explore the woods beyond the walls. Hermes had summoned her twice and both times, she lost her nerve to meet him.
She no longer had the same boldness that prompted her to visit Nyx on the borders of Tartarus and she wondered how long it would be before she would gather the courage to leave the walls of safety.
Despite the fact that Rhadamanthus had been imprisoned in Tartarus, Persephone could not help but look over her shoulder for a sheet of silver hair and icy eyes following her movements.
Either that, or scarlet locks and green eyes.
Minthe had not been seen since the attack. She was still out there in the Underworld, and Persephone did not want to think of what would happen if she met the Nymph, alone and vulnerable.
Persephone was so shaken. True, she could defend herself, but she did not want to have to do so. That experience had been so terrifying. This world she secretly loved more than the land of the living no longer felt safe to her. Persephone wanted to stay close to where safety was.
And safety was wherever Hades happened to be.
Persephone was acutely aware that she had become the god's little shadow. Just how Cerberus currently shadowed her every footstep, so Persephone found herself at Hades' side more often than not. She could not help but want to be around him as much as she could. He fulfilled that need for safety that she longed for ever since the attack, but it was much more than that.
The truth of her feelings were no longer a mystery to her. She cared for Hades in the same way he cared for her; another realization she had come to under less than ideal circumstances.
It was terrifying. It was exciting. It was nonsensical. Persephone felt utterly mad that her feelings for Hades were beyond that of friendship, but those newly budding desires could no longer be denied.
And Persephone had not a single clue as to how to act on any of it.
All she could think to do was to find him in the throne room or to meet with him in the garden. Any excuse at all to be near his tall, towering form. To hear his steady, stoic voice as he spoke and drink in the sight of his handsome, stern countenance; one that happened to grow a few shades softer in her presence.
She knew nothing about matters of love and knew even less on what steps to take next, but Persephone did not let herself fret over it. She just pursued time with him, and whatever happened next would fall into place as it should.
After all, the Underworld seemed to be her eternity. There was time to figure it all out. For now, she just enjoyed him.
And Hades in turn, enjoyed her company as well. He kept a respectful distance, though Perspehone could tell that he wanted to be close. Even as they walked side by side through a long corridor together, the open pillars letting the twilight sky pour over them.
"You must leave so soon?" Hades muttered to her after she made a remark about having to part ways before long.
"Annis and I are meeting." Persephone explained. "It has been a while since we have gotten to spend time together, just the two of us." Even though it was her own silly fault that she had been neglecting her friend these past few days.
Hades was not making it a simple task to pull herself away from him.
"I am glad that you have made such a close friend." He replied sincerely. "I suppose it was a surreptitious accident that I had her attend to you when you were first here."
"It could have been anyone but you chose the one person that I would befriend more closely than anyone else." Persephone mused for a moment before letting Hades have a small glimpse of her life before the Underworld. "She was the first friend I made on my own."
As if knowing that she was being talked about, a wonderfully familiar voice called from down the shadowy corridor.
"Persephone! There you are. I looked for you in your room." Annis said as she emerged from the shadows. She caught sight of Persephone's companion and sauntered over to the couple, face alight with a knowing glow.
One which Persephone tried her very best to ignore. "Sorry. I was taking a walk." The goddess apologized with a sheepish air.
That grin sprawled across her face told Persephone that Annis did not mind one whit. She unashamedly drank in the sight of Hades and Persephone together.
"Do not worry about it at all! I am ready to go to the springs when you are—if you even want to go anymore!"
"Of course I do! I am ready now." Persephone assured her.
Hades had placed himself between the two women and was watching them with a look of amusement on his face. One that made Persephone suddenly dread what would come out of his slightly smirking lips.
"May I join?" He asked without warning, dark eyes sparkling with dreadful mischief.
"Oh, absolutely!" Annis chimed agreeably. "I can make myself scarce!"
"No!" Persephone gasped in horror at the both of them.
Hades only laughed, shaking his head and backing away from the women. "I will not impose myself." He promised through hints of amusement in his deep voice.
"But you should!" Annis insisted.
Persephone had quite enough of the both of them. She knew very well that it was all harmless teasing, but her embarrassment was fire on her cheeks and she did not want either to see. She turned sharply on her heel and flipped her hair over her shoulder as she left them both behind.
"I am going to enjoy myself without either of you," Persephone called back to them. The sounds of protest followed her down the corridor as Annis raced to catch up, chased by the sound of Hades' chuckles.
"Annis, you fiend!" She hissed once Annis had reached her side.
"A fiend?" More protests in feigned shock. "I am only trying to help you with what you are too shy to do yourself!"
"And what would that be?"
Annis wound her arm around Persephone's shoulders, guiding her along as they traveled to the underground hot springs.
"You know perfectly well what I mean," she countered. "You may think that you keep your secrets locked away in your heart, but I can see what your feelings are. They are written all over your face when you are with him…" Her voice dropped to a hush and Annis smiled at Persephone. This time, there was no smirk or knowing glow. Just sincere happiness dancing on her lips.
Persephone suddenly felt terribly guilty. Annis had loved Hades once, and here she was, hiding her feelings from her closest friend for fear of hurting her. That was the only reason why Persephone had not yet confessed to Annis how she cared for Hades. But Annis acted terribly happy for her and openly adored seeing her and Hades together.
She already knew the truth. Perhaps Persephone was being too careful. And she was aching to tell her friend so that they could gossip together about it.
"Wait until we are alone at the springs. Then, I will tell you everything."
The women were settled beneath the comforting warmth of the water, sitting side by side on the smooth stones under the water that served as benches. Steam rose from the rippling surface and filled the cavern with a mysterious haze.
Annis was lifting her dark locks into a pile on top of her head and she was watching her friend with a keen interest. Persephone let her hair flow freely down her back, too distracted to bother with keeping it out of the water.
Her mind was elsewhere; in a place where Annis did not exist. She gazed at the spot where she had watched Hades bathe, in a memory that seemed like another lifetime. A rush of embarrassment and excitement coursed through her body like fire and Persephone knew that a telling blush burned on her cheeks.
One that Annis spotted without skipping a beat.
"What are you thinking about, Seph?" The Nymph called out with a teasing trill. "Or should I ask, who are you thinking about?"
The young goddess pulled herself out of her daydreams and glanced over at her friend. For the first time, Persephone did not shy away from the truth.
"Hades." She boldly proclaimed.
To her enjoyment, Annis' eyes grew wide and her mouth fell open at Persephone's forthcoming answer. She had probably expected her to be coy with her about it. But that startled expression turned into a grin.
"I knew it! Oh, I knew it!" Annis squealed, her voice ringing over the stone walls. "I knew that if you gave him time, you would come to adore him as he adores you!"
Persephone laughed at the silly rejoicing, tucking her hair behind her ear and shyly lowering her gaze to the water. "I wouldn't say that I adore him—"
Annis reached over and pinched a generous portion of her cheek. "Your blush says otherwise!"
She swatted Annis' hand off her face but the blush on her skin only deepened as all the attention was now drawn to it.
"I will say that I have come to care for him… as he cares for me." Persephone still found it hard to believe that she was admitting this out loud, much less experiencing this at all. She lifted her gaze up from the water and over to a grinning, triumphant Nymph.
"You and the rest of the Underworld can now gloat about how right you all were," Persephone remarked with playful ire. "I do have feelings for him, and I am not afraid of my feelings any longer."
"Finally!" The exclamation was accompanied by an exasperated sigh. As if this situation had been Annis' greatest burden. "I know that everything started off so strange and unusual, but I knew that once you got to know him, you would see that he is not a monster! I cannot even begin to tell you how happy this makes me!"
Persephone balked. A nagging guilt in the back of her mind prompted to speak something she had feared to say.
"Does it? Does it make you happy that I care for him?" Her voice was so quiet as she asked. The mist and bubbling water nearly drowned out the timid question that had been haunting the goddess for days.
Annis tilted her head to the side and furrowed her brow. She scooted a little closer to Persephone, her own voice dropping to a whisper.
"Why ever would it not?" She wanted to know, curious yet concerned.
"Because… I have to admit something to you."
Annis grew serious and she nodded to encourage Persephone to go on.
"I know your secret. Rhadamanthus—" the name of that god was filthy to even say. "He told me of the feelings that you once had for Hades."
"He told you of my what?!" Annis shrieked, her face screwing into a mask of abject horror.
Panic was starting to rise. Her throat grew tight and Persephone feared that she had made a mistake. She tried not to hyperventilate as she kept tucking her hair behind her ears.
"Your feelings for Hades! He told me that you had once loved him, but then you fell for another after he brought me to the Underworld."
But Annis was shaking her head back and forth in a frantic pattern.
"Persephone. My love," she said firmly. Annis leaned over and took Persephone's shaking hands in hers.
Those dusky eyes of hers bored into hazel with a seriousness that made the goddess pause. She squeezed her hands in what she hoped was a reassuring way.
"Whatever that wretched god told you, it was not true. It is true that I love Lord Hades, but my adoration for him has only been that of a friend and my king. I have never felt any sort of romantic inclination towards him. That was a tale spun to you by that silver snake, for what purpose, I can only guess, but I am sure that it was to somehow get you into his bed."
Warm waves of relief washed over her. Persephone could not yet fully let herself believe that she was out of the woods completely.
"He also told me that you and him were… close friends." She ventured cautiously.
This time, Annis groaned and rolled her eyes in such an exaggerated manner, they seemed to disappear altogether.
"That is the most disgusting thing I have ever heard in all my days. I loathe that god. I have hated him ever since I laid eyes on him. There was never even a second where we were friends. His lies make me sick. I am glad that Hades dragged him by his hair to Tartarus."
At the truth which her friend spoke, Persephone felt that warm relief cool into an icy embarrassment. Her cheeks burned, but not with a blush, but rather with shame.
"I feel like such a fool… I believed every single word that he told me. Why? Why did I believe him?"
"He has made many believe him. But that does not make you a fool. None of us were fools. His charm is deceptive and his words are cunning. Even the smartest of us can believe something that a flattering tongue will say."
Persephone could not find the right words to reply. She knew that Annis spoke the truth, but it was not such an easy task to shake away how this revelation was making her quiver with shame. She wanted to dive under the water and let out a scream of anguish and anger at how perfectly she had been fooled by that silver-haired snake.
Her naivety had reared its ugly head again. Nyx and Annis tried so hard to warn her, and she trusted him. For what reasons she had to put her trust in him over her friends that had her best interests in mind, Persephone could no longer recall. Those reasons were surely weak, if she dwelled on them now. As much as she loathed to admit it, Persephone had been swayed to his side by a seductive persona and beautiful appearance.
This deception only served to prove her lack of experience in the real world. Trickles of anger at her mother for keeping her sheltered and secluded mingled unpleasantly with her embarrassment.
A long silence stretched by, only to be filled with the sounds of water lapping against stone. Annis waited patiently for Persephone to gather herself, not pressuring her to speak a word.
"What do you think that Hades will do to him?" Persephone asked at long last, once she had wrestled through her initial feelings about learning the truth. She wanted to think about that when she could be alone with her thoughts. For now, the goddess wanted to move on from that particular topic. Instead, it felt wickedly good to speculate about Rhadamanthus' now uncertain fate.
"I am sure that Lord Hades will give him what he deserves," Annis was quick to reply. Persephone did not miss the relish in which she spoke of the lesser god's punishment.
"I do not care what happens to him," Persephone remarked ruefully. She glared down at the waves that gently brushed against her chest. The silvery surface of the water reminded her terribly of those eyes, full of hate and lust, and the owner of that gaze that wished her harm.
"What I want is for him to never harm another woman again."
"He won't," Annis did not hesitate to promise. "Lord Hades will make sure of it. And he will make sure that Minthe is punished as well."
Minthe.
Her breath stopped and Persephone's heart skipped a beat. In her mind's eye, the water turned the same brilliant shade of red as Minthe's locks and the misty air almost became filled with the sharp, intoxicating scent that hung over the Nymph.
"She is probably furious at losing. I do not feel safe leaving Hades' domain. Not until we know where that woman is hiding." Persephone muttered beneath her breath.
"I know you don't feel safe, but look at what you've done. Look at how you have defended yourself. If you leave this palace and run into her, I think that the one who should feel in danger is not you," Annis allowed herself a small smile and a laugh. "Be confident in yourself, Seph. Hades can keep you safe but… you can keep yourself safe as well."
"I suppose you are right…"
Persephone hoped that her friend's assurances were not in vain.
"I am right." That smile dared to grow wider and her eyes danced with the promise of mischief. "Maybe not on everything, but I am right about this. And I was right about you and Hades! Now, please, let us put this talk of Rhadamanthus and Minthe behind us. Let us talk about Hades."
The mention of the god of the Underworld made Persephone break out into a silly smile that refused to be held back.
Not anymore. Now, she could let herself smile for Hades.
The feather tucked away in the ash blonde strands of her hair had grown warm, at the most unexpected of times, as it always did. Only this time, Persephone found herself in the company of the god of the Underworld. She had hastily covered the feather with her hand and turned away so that the redness on her cheeks would not be spilling all of her secrets.
The young goddess excused herself from Hades' company and threw out some excuse about seeing Nyx. Hades watched her with suspicious eyes as she scampered away, to a destination that was nowhere in particular. She just wanted to be alone while she wrestled with her decision on what to do.
Part of her considered ignoring Hermes' summon as she had done twice before. Answering his call and running away to meet with him in the willow tree would mean taking herself away from safety. Her heart pounded with nerves as she strode down the corridors. The open pillars flashed by, giving her a view of the vast gardens beneath.
She spotted a group of Nymphs lounging in the cool shade of decorative trees. Fruit and flowers and leaves surrounded them in a blanket of greenery and safety. Persephone wanted to join them. They all looked so carefree in the comfort of their god's gardens, and Persephone had craved the feeling of safety ever since she escaped from her attacker.
But she remembered Annis' words in the spring; telling her of her own strength and valor. They were words used as weapons to empower her. They were words to remind Persephone that she was not so weak as she had been raised to believe.
So it was then that Persephone decided that it was time to break free of the bonds holding her to the palace. This time, she would answer the call. She cast off her fears and slipped outside of the safety of Hades' walls, to the mist-covered world of the afterlife.
No harm came rushing to befall her while she made her way to the river. Nothing of interest happened as she came to the willow tree. The only being that was there to even care of her presence outside of Hades' home was the cherub-faced god she called a friend.
Already, the messenger god was perched in one of the highest branches. The wings at his ankles were fluttering happily as he watched her approach the willow.
"Where is that beast of yours?" He called out jovially.
A flicker of mischief rose up inside of her and before she could hold her tongue, a sharp remark slipped past her lips.
"Which beast do you speak of? Hades or the hound?"
"Either one!" Hermes laughed with a smile that drove away the perpetual twilight.
His laugh, so light and sparkling like the sun, echoed oddly in the serene, calm of the Underworld. Persephone had become so used to this world, that it was starting to become jarring to hear someone who belonged to the land of the living.
Jarring, if not somewhat comforting as well. Persephone was grateful for the connection to the world above that Hermes provided. Persephone laughed along with him, loving that she could freely use her wit that her mother had never quite appreciated.
She lithely made her way up the branches of the willow. The path to their secret spot hidden amongst the branches was becoming all too familiar to her. Hermes was smiling lightly at her when she made it to the top branches. She scooted over the smooth bark until she sat by his side.
"I managed to leave without either of them noticing," she told him, finally answering his question. "I did not want Cerberus to come with me. He has been overprotective lately."
"I highly doubt that Hades does not know when you leave his home," he said with a smirk that was reminiscent of the one Annis liked to give her when it came to talk of Hades. Then the smirk faded into a curious expression. "But why has the hound of hell been overprotective of you? Has something happened?"
Persephone sat beside the god, sighing while mustering the courage to tell him the story of what happened with Rhadamanthus. She had to double back on her story several times, filling Hermes in on some details that she had left out before in talks about her adventures in the Underworld. When Hermes had been given the full background, she then told him about the fateful walk that she had taken with Annis and the god in the Asphodel fields. She struggled to make the words flow without her voice shaking. When it came to the part where she had to speak about the attack, Persephone found her eyes filled with tears and she had to take more than a few pauses to gather her composure.
She wondered what he thought of the tale of her attack. Persephone had been taught that all the gods of Olympus were vicious beasts driven by their own insatiable lusts. Was Hermes one of these beasts? Or were those stories simply exaggerations to frighten her away from the world outside of her small, secluded home?
Was she to ever know if this man that she called her friend, was a man that could truly be called safe? Or did he hide dark secrets behind a facade of blue eyes and bouncing, golden curls?
Perhaps she was to never know. All that she could see now were those blue eyes gazing at her with concern.
She wanted to believe that Hermes was one of the good men.
"And… what happened?" He asked. His question was as soft as the breeze that played with the willow branches. "After he began to chase you?"
"I fought him," Persephone said, finding herself feeling a sort of pride in being able to answer him with that. "I fought him, and I won."
With those words simmering with hints of pride and budding with empowerment, Persephone told him of how she used her power against the god, a lesser god than she, and how her own attack subdued him. Even in the midst of her victory, fear drove her far away from where she had left him stranded in a tree, and that fear kept her inside of Hades' domain for days. Until recently, she had practically not even left his side.
The concern swimming in his gaze only grew until it became unmasked sorrow.
"I do not wish to add to your burdens, Seph…" Hermes said sadly.
Her heart picked up its pace when he said her pet name. She wondered how he knew it. She liked the way that it made her feel warm on the inside; a different sort of warmth than the one she felt from Hades. Yet, the warmth she felt from his affectionate use of her name faded when his words finally sank in.
"What do you mean? You can tell me. Please, even if you think that it will sadden me. Now that I know you have something to say, I will perish from worrying if you do not tell me."
He took a deep breath and let it out in a wavering exhale. His cheeks turned pink and he shifted his eyes down to his golden sandals.
"I summoned you here today to tell you something of great importance. I have been afraid to tell you this, but you deserve to know the truth of what is happening in the world above."
Something that felt icy reached inside of her chest and grabbed her heart in a merciless grip. Dread filled her from her head to her toes.
"Tell me."
"It is about your mother."
That icy hand gripped her twice as hard.
"What about her?"
Now it was Hermes who had to tell a harrowing tale of his own. Persephone held her breath with every word that he spoke, telling of a cold word of countless mortals dying at the hand of her mother. Hermes recounted a meeting of the gods and goddesses, trying to figure out what to do about the rebellious Demeter; and a strong-willed Zeus, who refused to bend the knee to his sister's demands. In retaliation, Demeter threw the mortals and the land of living into complete and utter chaos.
A numbness overtook her body. Persephone had stopped breathing altogether, it seemed. That icy grip had let go of her heart, leaving it to beat in a slow rhythm of disbelief.
"The world of mortals is in turmoil and she is trying to force Zeus' hand," Persephone tried to make sense of what was happening. "She has come out of hiding after so many years, and she is doing all of this to make him do something about this situation."
It did not come to her as a shock that Demeter would go to such lengths to bring her daughter back to the fold. What Persephone could not believe was that Demeter had brought herself into the presence of the being that she loathed more than anyone else in existence.
All for Persephone. She faced her abuser for the love of her daughter.
Little needles of regret at her sour attitude towards her mother started to stab at her. All this time that she had been in the Underworld, Persephone wondered what her mother was doing in order to get her back. She could not at all commend her mother's actions at letting innocent mortals suffer, but Persephone had to admire her willingness to face Zeus on her behalf.
"And he is refusing to lift a finger to help her." Hermes added ruefully.
Persephone shook her head. There was more to it than just that.
"He is refusing to lift a finger to help me… "
A sad silence followed. For a long while, nothing but the cool breeze of the Underworld made a sound. It stirred the long tendrils of the willow tree, making them dance in the air without a care in the world.
"What will you do about it?" Hermes asked after a long moment.
"What can I do about it?" Persephone shrugged her shoulders in defeat. "I cannot leave the Underworld. Nobody except the god of gods can rescue me, and it seems as if he would rather let the world die instead of bend to my mother's will. I will not find rescue in him… even though these days, I do not feel like a maiden in need of rescue."
That made Hermes snap out of his somber reverie. He whipped his head up and turned his attention fully on the goddess.
"What do you mean?" He asked with unguarded surprise on his boyish face.
Persephone smiled at him. His eyes widened as she did so. He certainly was not expecting any of this, that she was certain of. Her heart started to pound as she realized that she was going to confess to him what other sort of events had taken place since they last spoke.
"To be here in the Underworld… it has been freedom for me," her lips could not stop the smile that only grew wider. "I do not wish to leave this place, permanently at least. If I could go back and forth between here and there of my own free will, I think that would make me happy."
His blue eyes were so round and wide with shock, Persephone felt as though she were staring into a cloudless sky. "You mean… you actually like it here?"
She could only laugh at him and tuck her hair behind her ears.
"I love being here," Persephone admitted sheepishly, still grinning like a fool. "It is my greatest hope to find a way to live both here in Hades' realm and in the world of mortals."
Her grin faded as she remembered the reality of her prolonged stay in the Underworld. That giddiness from seconds before faded when the answer to why there were so many new souls in the Asphodel fields became abruptly answered for her.
"I hate what my mother is doing. I hate that she has stooped to letting innocents die for me… I do not want anyone to die for me, if they do not do so willingly. I know she is causing all of this death and suffering in order to bring me home. She is fighting for my salvation. But it does not bring me joy to hear what she has done… if only I could leave for just a moment to make her cease her destruction, then I could return to Hades."
"Return to Hades? Do you mean… return to Hades?" Hermes gasped. The wings on his sandals were fluttering so madly, he rose a few inches off the branch. "Do you understand what you have just said to me?"
"Of course I do!" Persephone laughed and blushed and tried to hide her smile behind her hand. "And I mean every word of it. It feels absolutely mad to say it out loud, but I want to stay here. I want to stay here with Hades."
The wings at his ankles calmed down and Hermes fell back to the branch with a light thud, shaking it somewhat as he crashed back down.
"What has changed that for you? Did something happen?"
Persephone could not believe that she had just made this confession to a second soul. Now that she had accepted it and told it to Annis, Persephone could not find any reason to keep it a secret. In fact, she had a list of people that she was aching to tell.
"So much has happened, Hermes." Persephone breathed in awe at how rapidly and how irrevocably her situation in the Underworld had changed.
"Well, I have time!" He exclaimed in excitement. "Tell me how the god of the Underworld has captured your heart."
Persephone conceded. She started to tell him about the small changes and the significant moments that all led to her unexpected change of heart. In the midst of her storytelling, Hermes started to frown. His sights slipped past her and settled somewhere over her shoulder. Persephone stopped mid-sentence and turned to see what had caught his attention.
She looked just in time to see a slim figure slip silently beneath the branches on the path below. Dark locks trailed out behind her like a cloak and Persephone leaned far out over the branches to get a good look at her friend.
"Annis?" She muttered under her breath, slightly confused. "What on earth is she doing here?"
"I could not say." The frown on his face only deepened as Annis disappeared beyond their sight.
Something about her appearance at the willow did not feel right. Persephone decided then and there to go investigate. She started to scramble down the slender limbs, the leaves whipping at her bare arms in protest at being disturbed so suddenly.
"Where are you going?"
Every inch of her was on edge. And it was not so much the fear of being caught with Hermes that drove her out of the tree.
"I'm going to see what she's doing here. I'll be right back."
"Do you want me to come with you?" Hermes cried out at her retreating form, all but falling back down to the ground.
"No, you don't have to do that. It's only Annis!"
And the second that her feet hit the dirt of the worn out pathway, Persephone dashed towards Annis' retreating back.
"I will be here if you need me." She called back to a befuddled Hermes.
In the chaos of Persephone clambering down from the tree and yelling at the young god, Annis had not turned back at the obvious sounds of a voice she knew so well. That piqued Persephone's curiosity, as well as her growing sense of something strangely amiss.
"Annis! What are you doing all the way out here?"
Even as she shouted the question, Annis paid Persephone no mind.
As unnerving as it was to be so blatantly ignored, her mind was buzzing with possible rational explanations for what was going on. Persephone hoped that her friend had wandered down to the entrance of the Underworld for an innocent reason.
Persephone did not let the deaf ears of Annis deter her. After calling her name again and again, something seemed to have finally gotten through to her. But instead of stopping and explaining her actions, Annis merely looked over her shoulder at the goddess pursuing her, flashing her a coy smile but saying not a single word in reply. As if asking for a chase; as if using her silence to tease and entice Persephone into following.
Her stomach twisted into knots. It was not possible that the Nymph was here to see Acheron, was it? Persephone picked up her pace and tried to catch up with her friend.
"Annis! Annis!"
Could it be possible that she started her affair with the river god for a second time? Persephone made her feet fly faster in time with the nervous beating of her heart.
But that could not be, she realized with a start. They were not headed in the direction of the river god's palace. In her panic, Persephone had gotten her bearings mixed up. Instead, they were headed deeper into the Underworld.
And Annis did not give her a clue as to where they were headed.
No answer. No other sign of acknowledgement. Annis simply kept walking along the path, swaying her hips in a way that struck Persephone as more than unusual. Annis did not sway, unless she was being playful or speaking of things that made Persephone blush. To walk with her hips in a sensual dance was not the way her friend carried herself.
The fine hairs on the back of her neck were standing up. Something was not right but Persephone could not figure out what. Not until the two women came upon a place that Persephone had promised herself that she would never set eyes on again.
The place where she had first met Rhadamanthus.
The crumbling ruins of an ancient palace came into view. Shiny and pristine doors were almost completely shielded by the mist that curled over the ground. The twilight of the Underworld seemed all the more dark when it shrouded this place.
"Annis! What is going on? Why are we here?" Persephone was panicking all over again.
Annis had kept a healthy space between them, never allowing Persephone to get close, but as she stepped into the ruined courtyard, she slowed just enough to allow the goddess to catch up to her.
"You know that I hate this place. Why are we here?" She demanded in a shaky whisper, running to Annis' side and clutching her arm with fingers that would not stop trembling.
"Because you hate this place is exactly why we are here."
Persephone froze as her mind tried to grasp what she had just heard. Her hand dropped from the arm that it held. The voice that came from Annis' lips were not that of her friend. Persephone gasped in dawning horror as that sultry tone pierced her ears. For this voice belonged to a Nymph with shocking red hair and glassy green eyes. And as the entity using Annis's lips turned around and smiled, Persephone could detect hints of that sharp scent that was neither sweet nor bitter.
A scent that only belonged to Minthe.
"Annis" Persephone squeaked in vain, knowing that she sounded foolish. "What is happening? What has happened to you?"
"Annis! Annis! Annis!" The voice of Minthe mocked. The figure that looked like Annis put her hands on her hips and glared coldly at the trembling goddess. "You keep saying that like it's going to change me into your whore of a friend. Are you too stupid to realize that this is not Annis?"
Persephone stumbled back from the phantom that used Annis' face but spoke with Minthe's voice, only to have the back of her legs hit that damned stone wall where her and Rhadamanthus had sat, talking, in a memory that seemed a lifetime ago. But the figure merely followed her, not allowing her to make her escape so easily.
As bare feet stepped over stones, the face of Annis melted away, revealing the face of one that Persephone dreaded to see. Brown hair gave way to vivid red. Dark eyes turned bright green. Olive skin faded to ivory.
She could barely stutter the name of the Nymph. Fear gripped her in the same crippling way that it had done when Rhadamanthus attacked her. She now clutched at the stone wall, held in place by a paralyzing, furious green glare.
"You tricked me! Why?"Persephone managed to choke out through her fear at seeing Minthe in the flesh. "What are you doing? Is Annis harmed?"
Minthe scoffed at Persephone's concern and brushed aside the question as if it were a pesky fly buzzing around her face. She came to a stop in front of Persephone, leaving only a few inches of space between them.
"So many questions!" Minthe sneered. "And you ask them as if you think I will answer a single one. Why should I give you anything when you have taken from me everything I have ever wanted?"
"Minthe. You tried to deceive me. You tried to use Rhadamanthus to seduce me away from Hades."
The Nymph cringed when Persephone spoke her name. "Because I wanted to correct my mistake of ever letting him go in the first place. I changed my mind and I changed it too late because he apparently found you! A little maiden to deflower and steal his affection away from me!" Her snapping jaws were uncomfortably close to Persephone; she could feel the hot breath on her lips.
"You gave it up!" Persephone shot back, righteous anger stirring beneath the fear.
"But I wanted it back!" Minthe did not hesitate to retort. "Am I such a villain to want it back? Am I so wicked and evil to wish for the man I love to love me in return? I realized the error of my ways and all that I wanted to do was fix it! That was all I wanted! I could have done it too, if it were not for you! Now, Hades won't even give me the time of day. All he wants is you."
The Nymph was shouting in her face now. It echoed through the mist and bounced off the stone pillars and walls. Persephone wished for someone to hear and come to her aid. Hermes. Annis. Hades. Anyone to come and take this screeching woman away from her. But that ire turned on her continued to stroke her own growing anger. A surge of heated emotions rose up inside of her chest, searing her from the inside out, and she dared to take a step towards Minthe, instead of cowering in the corner.
"I never asked for any of this." Her voice rose to match that of Minthe's. "I did not seek to take him from you. He took me from my home! He forced this life on me!"
Her shout echoed off the stones but it did not shake the heart of the woman she stood in front of.
"And yet despite it all, you still fell for him." She replied, cold and cutting as a knife.
Persephone felt as if a hand struck her across her face. The truth was one that she had only just begun to accept and when it was presented so accusingly-so hatefully-it only made the doubts want to come rushing in.
"Minthe." Persephone said her name in a warning. She was shaking as the swelling anger burned away her fear. Her hands were clenched into fists. This woman would not shake her resolve.
"Do not say my name." Minthe spat venomously, not heeding the warning. "You do not deserve to address me. Not after you have ruined me."
It was starting to dawn on Persephone exactly how cornered she was. Her back to the wall. Her face merely a breath away from Minthe. Yet even as she shuffled to the side, trying to find a way to put some space between the two of them, Persephone did not let her facade crumble. She held onto the anger stirring inside of her, using it to fuel herself in the argument.
"You have only ruined yourself by trying to harm others to get what you want. You made your choices. You let him go. I am sorry for your heartbreak, but Hades did nothing wrong by moving past his time with you after you made it clear that you were done."
Minthe shadowed her every movement, not letting her escape so easily. Her palms scraped against the stone wall in her haste to try and find a way to leave, but Persephone found herself terribly, terribly stuck.
"How easy for the victor to say," Minthe said as she followed Persephone. She could see that the goddess was trapped. Her eyes were glittering with what could only be described as bloodlust. "Hades did nothing wrong. You did nothing wrong. But I am the one who should be ridden with guilt, am I? This is all my fault. I am damned. I am deserving of all the blame!"
Her voice cracked. A shred of something besides fury bled through. Her eyes were wet and her cheeks were as red as her hair. Persephone paused. Some of that anger inside of her cooled at the sudden shift in Minthe.
"I do not know," she gasped, coming to a halt and quite taken aback at seeing this shocking vulnerability. "I am sure if you talk to Hades, you can reconcile. Minthe—"
As swiftly as it had come, those tears dried and the hateful gleam was back with a vengeance. Her entire face was burning red and she gritted her teeth in a furious glare.
"I said, do not say my name!"
She lashed out as quickly as a snake and grabbed Persephone by the shoulders.
"You little whore!" Minthe screeched. Persephone was frozen with shock as those hands holding her pulled and she was thrown to the ground. Her body hit the cobblestones with a thud. She quickly rolled onto her back to see Minthe towering over her.
Scarlet strands trailed in the breeze that flowed around them, oblivious and uncaring to what was taking place. Her face fell into shadow, but Persephone did not care to see what sort of vicious expression was surely plastered over her features. A foot, bare and dirty, slammed into her chest, keeping Persephone pinned to the ground.
"I am going to ruin you just like I should have when you first got to this place! I should have taken you to the woods and slit your throat instead of dragging you to the throne room! Hades is not here to save you now. Once you are gone, you will be out of the way and I will finally have him all to myself!"
A scream rose up in her throat but Minthe silenced her with a swift hand wrapping tightly around her neck. Persephone struggled beneath her assailant's weight, but a mixture of terror and disbelief made her head fuzzy and her muscles weak.
Minthe reached into the folds of her robes and pulled out something thin and shiny. Metal gleamed dully in the dusky light. Her eyes were wild with bloodlust as she held the dagger over Persephone's face, letting the goddess see exactly what her fate was to be.
"No!" Persephone gasped. Her thoughts went to another time and place; to a different piece of metal, used to shear thread and determine the outcome of one's destiny. The words of the crone wafted over her memories.
"Embrace the darkness, for it will be your destiny…"
Persephone watched as Minthe poised the dagger over her chest. Her face was screwed into a mask of hatred. Teeth bared and jaw clenched. Her skin was as red as her hair. The air around them burned with tension, the world waiting for the nymph to make her fatal strike.
But Persephone remembered the way that the thread had fluttered to the ground and how the strange women, the mysterious daughters of Nyx, hinted at a future with the god of the Underworld.
This moment was not to be her destiny.
"No!" Persephone cried once more, this time with defiance. She gathered her wits. Her muscles found their strength. With a cry of anger that sounded feral to her own ears, Persephone gave an almighty shove and forced Minthe off of her body. The other woman fell with a gasp and a thud, but Persephone did not give her a second glance. She raced away as fast as her feet could carry her.
But Minthe was faster.
She screamed in wild rage and pursued Persephone with a vengeance. Persephone made it to the center of the courtyard where a dry fountain was surrounded by overgrown weeds. She barreled straight into the growth. Her plan was unclear but being within the green weeds and overgrown grass gave her a shot of confidence.
Until fingers caught hold of her wrist and held her in a painful grip. Her feet planted in the earth while she whirled around to face Minthe. Sheer fury burned away at her confidence, replacing her with a ferocious sense of empowerment; one that screamed at her, dangerous and wild.
The world around her turned crimson as her vision went blood red. Minthe became a muddled red mess. The hand gripping her wrist felt like nothing as raw anger overcame her senses. Her past victory over Rhadamanthus emboldened her.
How dare these beings attack her. How dare they! She was a daughter of Demeter and Zeus! A goddess! A being mightier and stronger and greater than they could ever be! This wretched woman sought to destroy her, and for what reason? To take back a man that she had rejected without a second thought? And to go so far as to make a man try to seduce her, steal her affections, and distract her from Hades?
A growl of frustration erupted from her chest. How dare they attack her while she was already so vulnerable! How could they seek to destroy her when her life had already been ripped away from everything she knew?
"No!" Persephone screeched for a third time. "No more! No more!"
Minthe flinched at the venom spewing from every syllable.
Persephone would show them. Rhdamanthus had already learned that she was not the wilting flower that they had all expected her to be. Now, the red haired Nymph would feel the wrath of the daughter of Zeus and Demeter.
With a snarl that sounded like it came from Cerberus himself, Persephone slapped her hand over the fingers that were still daring to hold on to her. She shuddered as the Nymph's cool skin connected with hers; this was the first time that Persephone had touched the woman. And if all went according to the plan that was forming inside of her head, this would be the last time that she would ever have to stoop to touch her.
Minthe gasped as Persephone's grip grew tight, tight, tighter than her own. Persephone felt her hand try to escape her vicious hold, but Persephone only held on as hard as she could. Her head was pounding. Her heartbeat was thundering in her ears. She could hardly catch her breath.
As the weeds and grasses swayed around her ankles, a stroke of inspiration caught her. When she stood amongst greenery, Persephone was the most powerful being in the world. A curse rose up in the swirling storm of her thoughts, cruel and unforgiving. Minthe would become one of those pieces of green; her existence meaningless and short, forever doomed to grow and die in an endless cycle of mundane existence.
Her anger became the one thing that consumed her. A thirst for revenge that she had never known rose up within her. She clutched Minthe's hand with an unforgiving grip, despite the woman's rising protests.
Her hands grew hot as a fire. Minthe started to wail in pain as the heat from Persephone's skin flooded hers.
"What are you doing?" She cried in fear. But Persephone felt no pity as her cries turned to screams of panic and pleading. The power within her was stirring and boiling, summoning something that she had never once believed that she could have ever done. The screams turned to wails of pain but Persephone did not relent. Revenge drove her onward. Fury made her immune to empathy.
And the woman beneath her hands twisted. Flailed. Cried.
Her body was becoming shorter and thinner. Her limbs were curling in on themselves. Her cries were turning to strange croaks of a tortured agony. Minthe fell to her knees but Persephone kept holding on. Even as her porcelain skin turned a shade of bright, vivid green. Even as her long strands of hair stuck to her head, becoming one with her body. Even as her feet were grinding into the soft ground beneath them.
Persephone would not let go until her morbid gtask was complete and her need for revenge was satiated.
In a few seconds that lasted for days, Minthe's cries were strangled by a choking sound until she fell silent. Her knees were deep in the soil and her twisted, thin, green body wound in on itself. Her hands yanked out of Persephone's fingers, her palm turning translucently thin until it resembled that of a leaf.
Smaller and smaller did she grow and deeper and deeper into the earth she went. Until Minthe disappeared altogether. Only a small, leafy plant remained. It's leaves were wrinkled and broad, swaying in the wind, giving off a sharp, sweet odor.
The only thing of Minthe that remained.
Persephone crashed to the ground, her knees hitting the dirt. She planted her hands on either side of that swaying piece of greenery. Half of her wanted to rip it out of the ground and toss it away, never allowing it to grow and making it perish for all of eternity. But instead, she dug her fingers into the dirt, forcing herself to remain calm as shock at her own actions overcame her
"Are you mad?" Persephone chastised to the lifeless plant; the consequence of her extreme actions. "Are you mad? Do you think he would want you after you killed me? What have you done? What have you done? What have I done? What have I done—"
All at once, her emotions overcame her. The gravity of her actions overwhelmed her. Persephone had just done little more than commit murder. She bowed her head over her handiwork and began to cry in earnest.
"Persephone? Persephone! What happened?"
Someone was calling her name, but Persephone could not bring herself to look up. Not until she heard feet come running up behind her and a hand grabbed her shoulder.
Hermes. He was saying her name. He was worried. He was concerned. But Persephone did not deserve concern. Not after she had let her fury overcome her and she had stooped to taking a life.
"I killed her! I killed Minthe!" She wept, regret sweeping over her as the righteous anger left her. "Look at what I have done!"
Hermes knelt beside her, keeping his hand on her shoulder in a comforting grip.
"What have you done? I see nothing—"
Persephone pointed a trembling finger at the plant and let out a pitiful sob.
"The… plant?" He asked in the utmost confusion.
"The plant—"
"What—"
"I turned her into a plant!" She wailed. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and she was shaking like a leaf; like the very leaf that she had turned Minthe into.
But to her horror, Hermes let out a light, twinkling laugh.
"You turned her into a plant. Is that all?"
Persephone gasped and she whipped her head up to gape at the young god. "Hermes! I killed her! I took her life and turned it into a plant!"
The amused smile that plastered his face abruptly fell as soon as he saw the expression on her own face. He squeezed her shoulder and blinked a few times. "Can it be undone?"
"I did not wish for it to be… so I do not think that it can be undone…"
Her hair fell around her face while she shook her head sadly. How could she have done such a thing? This was stooping to the levels of the lowest, dirtiest gods and goddesses. Persephone had abhorred them and their actions for all of her life, acting out of anger and lust. Now she was no better than them.
"But she meant you harm. I heard her shouting at you. And I highly doubt that this knife I see lying on the stones was meant for pruning the garden. You defended yourself just as you did with Rhadamanthus."
Hermes tried to defend her actions. He was doing his best to justify what she had done. But he did not understand. She had done this in a moment of unbound rage, proving that she was more like her father than she had ever before known.
"This… this feels different." Persephone tore her face away from Hermes and she gazed down in numb horror at the plant she created by her own hands. "Minthe was broken. She was lost. She was hurt. I had something to do with it, but I am the one who took her life. I am the victor and she has nothing left… everything she does not have is because of me…"
"That was not your fault. She should not have tried to attack you. You did what you could to defend yourself. I assure you, she would have no qualms at all if she were the one standing here and you were the plant—or doomed to a worse fate."
"Then why do I feel so guilty?"
His insistent affirmation did not convince her that she was faultless. The words of the crone whispered in the back of her head…
"Embrace the darkness, for it will be your destiny…"
This moment, Persephone had decided, was not her destiny.
But this moment had been the embracing of her darkness.