THE END OF EVERYTHING

Persephone stood in the same spot Hades had left her, not allowing the tears to drop and leak down her cheek. Though it took all her concentration to not allow her chin to quiver, her knees still felt like they could collapse any second. She had been brought up to suppress those types of emotions. Her mother always said they were not needed and would only prove her weakness. And oh how weak she felt.

No matter the amount of concentration and will power she possessed, nothing could have prevented the single tear from dropping when she heard the doors of Hades' office down the hall slam closed. Not even her most potent magic could have prevented it.

After the first tear, the rest followed.

And she collapsed into herself.

She did not want to be found like this; weak, crying, destroyed. And while she was most definitely alone in their room it was still painfully obvious she was in a room Hades, and she had shared. A room that had seen so much love. And now a room that had heard the hate in his words and the secrets she had kept from him. The room was suffocating her. Reminding her of only painful memories.

Suddenly she began to run.

She ran to nowhere in particular, just away from their room. If it were possible, she would have run away from the memories of the night. She could not breathe, not because of her hurried step but from the images flashing through her mind and the words he had said. She had never seen him like that, never. She now knew that he hated her, and with good reason. For the things she had done he would never speak to her again. She knew she had lost everything. That was everything that mattered to her. She had lost him.

Although she had no plan, her feet had carried her to her garden. The place she always felt the safest. But even then she could not stop. She kept running deeper and deeper into the dark garden. She had designed the garden so someone could always wander to a different corner and never have to see the same flowers twice. It was always different, and it was so vast. She made it to a forest of dark pine. And still, she ran. Farther and farther away from the palace, from that room, from him.

Eventually, it was a root tripping her that had stopped her, for she did not have the energy to catch herself as she fell. There she finally paused; sobbing face-first into the dirt. She felt her lungs tighten when she began to cry so hard and so fast she did not think air could come in or leave her lungs. She could not even find it in herself to care. She could only hold her chest while leaning against the trunk of the massive pine tree.

She saw Hades' face as if he was standing in front of her. She did not think she could ever forget it, or the pain she had seen hiding behind his eyes.

'I would rather be disappointed then lied to.'

The fates were right about her, she was evil through and through. Her selfishness had led to her end. She had not only hurt someone else, but she had hurt her husband, her deepest love. How could she do this to him? How could she have thought it would all turn out okay? He was so hurt, So betrayed. There would never be anything she could do to make it up to him.

This would be their end.

He would never forgive her, not for betraying and lying to him. He had been lied to and stabbed in the back by everyone in his family. He learned not to trust a single soul except for her. And now he would never trust her again. He hated her, how could he not?

Was this what it meant to be a god? To be eternally unhappy. To have tragedy waiting for her.

She knew he would ask her to leave, whether it was by message or in person. He would not want her anywhere near him again. She couldn't decide which would be worse; watching him as he told her to leave his home, or receiving a letter and never looking into his eyes again. She should just go now and save him the trouble of asking her. This would be the smallest bit of kindness she could give him.

Thinking of leaving Hades physically hurt her. He had been something she had fought so hard to have and someone she had cherished so much once she had him to herself. She had sacrificed everything to be with him. And now because of her selfishness, it would all be gone, before morning, if she was correct.

She could go home to her mother. She was sure Demeter would be happy to have her back. But she didn't think she could return home now that she had escaped her mother's grasp and had grown so much. She could not go back to being the same silent dutiful daughter she had been before. She did not know what her future would be but one thing was clear, without him, she would fade. She may be the goddess of life, of rebirth, and of creation, But without Hades, she would fade. Without him she will have nothing left in her. He had quickly become her life and energy.

"Hello?" the muttered a man's voice coming from deeper into the forest. Persephone immediately covered her mouth to conceal her sobbing when she heard him.

The second time he called it was much closer, "Persephone?" this time she could tell the voice belonged to Hermes. Still, she tried not to make a sound. She simply sat in the shadows and the dirt hoping he would leave her be.

She realized she had no luck left when he walked through the trees right in front of her and saw her. There was no way of hiding her tear-stricken face from the messenger god. He could see the pain so evident on her face. "Please leave me." she pleaded in her small broken voice.

Hermes acted as if he had not heard and instead kneeled down in front of her, "You are crying." he observed. His words caused a sob to escape her. She knew he had no cruelness in his heart but was simply not accustomed to being around crying women. And yet it still stung her.

"Please leave me alone," she begged once again.

"I cannot leave you here like this Persephone." Hermes told her handing her a tissue he pulled out of the air "Here." she wiped her eyes but fresh tears replaced the old. No matter how cheerful Hermes was, there was nothing he could say that would make her feel better. She was thankful when he simply sat with her, allowing her to cry as he rubbed her back comfortingly. In normal circumstances, she knew Hades would hate another man touching her, even in these circumstances, but now she did not think he would even care.

"What has he done?" Hermes asked, his voice breaking the silence after some time. She looked up at him confused by his question. "I do not want to start anything but if he has hurt you I would not mind starting a war over that." she had never seen the usually giddy and childlike god so serious.

She shook her head feeling the weight of the night rest on her, "He has done nothing."

"There is usually a reason for a woman crying in the woods." he persisted.

"It is I who has hurt him," she confessed.

"Oh," he said, realizing what she meant. Silence circled around them as she began to cry harder. "I'm sure it is only a misunderstanding. It could possibly only be an exaggeration." he said meaning to comfort her, but it only deepened her sadness, knowing just how wrong he was, "I still remember you as the little girl who overwatered plants because she didn't know when to stop giving. You have not one cruel bone in your body."

She almost wanted to laugh at his word choice. Cruel. "Then I'm afraid you do not know me at all." He did not know of the prophecy. He did not know what she had done. What she was becoming. "This was no misunderstanding. It was a devastation. He will never forgive me."

"I see," Hermes mumbled, "Does he know yet?"

"Yes, he knows of my betrayal, Hermes! He knows and now I can never take it back," she said, feeling her anger rise.

"Tell me what has happened," Hermes said, turning himself to face her and waited as if she was about to tell him a fascinating tale.

She shook her head, not wanting to relive the events of the night. "I do not wish to speak of it."

"Come now, it could not make it any worse. I might even be able to help." he waited for her to tell him, but when she did not speak he pressed on. "There are few secrets that can be kept from me. On Olympus, earth, and yes even the Underworld. I will find out one way or another. Allow me to help before too much damage occurs."

She knew he was right. Soon enough word would spread that she had left the Underworld early and rumors would follow. They would make assumptions of what had happened and soon rumors would become the truth. It would feel good to tell the truth to one person before she had to return to life in the shadows.

Swallowing hard, she began to tell him everything. She didn't leave anything out, instead, she bared her soul with all the honesty she could muster. Hermes sat quietly until she was done, allowing her to tell her tale without interruption. It hurt to relive, but it hurt worst of all to see where she had gone wrong; where she had ignored warning signs, where she should have seen sense, and where she should have stopped. She told him of Hades tightened fists and harsh words, of the hate he held in his eyes and the anger in his voice.

She had made so many mistakes. She was made up of so many regrets.

When she had finished she sat waiting for his harsh judgment. Hermes only nodded, "I see why he is mad."

"It's over, isn't it?" she asked him, waiting for the confirmation she did not need.

"I wasn't done" he stopped her, "I see why he is mad. You have messed with something he has worked very hard to put into order and have done something he would not let even himself do. But I promise this is not the end. Not unless you allow it to be."

"You do not know that," she said bitterly. She too could be hopeful, but this was not the time for impossible wishes.

"I would be willing to wager a great sum," Hermes said, allowing his famous smile to return.

"Yes, but you could find a reason to bet on anything." she joked, allowing the smallest smile to find its way to her lips. Hermes, hearing the joke, roared in laughter. The jarring laugh was too abundant for such a small joke, but Hermes always seemed to use laughter as a form of medication. Always laughing and always smiling to cover up what demons he himself had. Maybe at this moment, he was laughing for her, maybe Hermes believed laughter worked both ways and by just being in proximity to its music one could be healed.

Hermes smiled warmly at her. "He is mad, but he has not lost faith in you. He loves you and that is no small feat for him. You are definitely not something he would give up on. And neither should you. You need to fight for what you want."

"I have done enough damage already." she whimpered.

"You have not done enough! You let him go," Hermes told her.

"Don't blame me for that! I already blame myself enough." she begged him knowing she could not do anything that would fix her problems, "you did not see his face when he left."

"No I didn't, but I have seen the way he looks at you any other day." Hermes smiled as if he knew a secret. She knew the look he was talking about, the times she had caught him, were among her most cherished memories. They would have to last her eternity because she did not think she would ever see the sight again. "It may take time, but he will come back."

"How could you know this?" she asked.

"I only know that love stories like yours are worth fighting for. Your's, Persephone cannot be saved here in the woods. Have a good cry but you cannot simply run away." Hermes told her once again as he rested a kind hand on her arm.

"Will he forgive me?" she asked, resting all of her hope in his hands. He had a certainty she could not summon.

"That is not for me to say," Hermes said, confirming everything she already knew. Instantly her heart sank. "But is it not worth it to try?" he asked. Her lips quivered at the thought. Of course, it was worth it, he was always worth it. She had already proven she would risk everything for him. But would he let her this time? "I've seen how much he needs you and how much you need him."

Persephone shook her head. She looked up at the god with fresh tears in her eyes, allowing him to see all of her pain. "I may always need him, but after today, he will cease to need me."

The sorrow that manifested on the god of thieves' face should have pained Persephone, but she had no room to feel sorry for anyone else.