GLIMMER OF HOPE

With the sheets wrapped around both of their bodies, it was easy to forget there was a whole world on the other side of their bedroom doors. That was exactly what Persephone was trying to do. She knew they both had work they needed to get done this morning but she could not bring herself to leave their bed. Both were just spending time lying in bed, slightly touching each other, sharing light kisses, and whispering secrets.

Abruptly Hades buried his head in the bend of where her neck and shoulder meet. He grunted out asking for just one more minute.

"What's wrong?" Persephone asked, still confused.

He sat up on the edge of the bed, beginning to put on his pants. He looked back at her, his eyes drifting only for a second before he finally smiled slightly and told her what had happened. "Your mother is here. You have to get up and get dressed." as he finished giving his news there was a knock at the door. Usually, no one was able to disturb them while here so Persephone knew it meant he was right. There was a visitor and the wait staff had felt it was necessary to wake them. Hades answered the door dressed in only the pants he had discarded the night before. He opened the door enough so the person who had knocked could not see her, but she could still hear what the messenger had said.

'The goddess of the Harvest has arrived and is waiting in the grand room.'

There was suddenly nothing that could keep her in their room. It was a blur as she got dressed in the first thing she had grabbed out of the closet. She sprinted out of the room and down the corridor unable to care about grabbing shoes. She had not waited for Hades knowing he would take too long but she assumed he was not far behind her.

She could not contain her excitement. It bubbled out of her in waves. Her mother had gotten her message and she had come. Her mother was in the Underworld, a place she had vowed never to come to. That had to be a good sign. There was suddenly hope alight within Persephone.

Throwing the doors of the grand room open Persephone saw her mother standing in the exact center of the room. She was just as Persephone remembered as she stood motionless, tranquil, and elegant. This time she did not have the murderous gleam in her eyes that she had at the trial.

"Mother!" Persephone greeted, her voice louder than she had originally planned. Her excitement was clear on her face.

"Kore." her mother turned to see her, a smile gracing her lips. Persephone could have cried at the sight.

"You got my message. I didn't think you were going to come." she confessed to her mother, "It's been so long."

"Yes, well, I didn't think you were going to send for me," Demeter said after clearing her voice. Persephone nodded, she understood what her mother had said. Sending an invite was certainly not what either of them thought would happen. But now she was so happy she had chosen to send the message.

"I wanted to extend an olive branch of sorts." she shrugged her shoulders.

"Really?" her mother asked, her eyes holding a glimmer of the same hope Persephone felt.

"Yes, when we last spoke it was less than kind," Persephone confessed, approaching the subject carefully. "I was hoping eventually things could be better between us."

"Oh I see." her mother's face dropped as she nodded, "You want me to tell you everything is fine now, and that i forgive you."

Persephone immediately shook her head. While she wanted her mother's forgiveness more than anything, it was not why she had invited her. "No, I meant I only want there to be peace. There is no need for hostility between us."

"No need?" her mother's voice raised in a flash of anger. "Do you not remember making me a laughing stock in front of everyone on Olympus?"

Once again she felt the guilt lay its heaviness upon her. There were many things she had to feel guilty about. Love had not been a simple choice for her. And though it was worth every trial, it had caused chaos and ruin. "That was never my intention, and i do not think anyone thinks less of you now."

Her mother howled in laughter, "Yes well only because I did damage control after the trial." she explained as if it did not confuse Persephone.

"What do you mean?" she asked. She hated to ask but she needed to know what her mother had been telling everyone. Rumors did not seem to easily make their way into the Underworld so she had yet to hear anything about her mother.

"I have told everyone that I will continue to deny the harvest until you are returned to me. Then and only then will I allow there to be a harvest. All Olympians will know of my power in the absence of it." Demeter told her daughter as if she should have expected it.

It was painfully obvious her mother had learned nothing and had not changed for she obviously still planned on using Persephone's powers as her own. It had never been an annoyance to Persephone but now Demeter stood before her telling Persephone she should feel sorry for not happily giving up her powers the way her mother had always wanted her to do. It did not sit well with Persephone. A new feeling of annoyance and resentment found its way in. Hades had been right when he told her it was wrong of Demeter. It had just taken her longer to see it.

But Demeter was still her mother, and she should not expect her to act any other way than who she was, and who she had always been. Her mother nurtured her power in the same way Persephone nurtured a rosebud. She should not be shocked when that was her focus.

Persephone cleared her voice and tried her best to move past her mother's news. "So everything is better now?"

"Of course not kore! You have gone against my wishes and left me." Demeter scoffed at her daughter.

"But…" she began to question but stopped suddenly. She did not understand why her mother had come all this way just to yell at her. She had assumed her mother's appearance was a sign they could grow from where they had been. But now, standing in the large empty room, she could not see a way past their differences. "Maybe this was not a good idea," she said saddened. She wished her mother had never come if this was her purpose. An ignored message would have hurt less than this.

Suddenly her mother stepped closer to her and put her cold hand against her cheek. When she looked up at her mother she saw her eyes soft in a way she very rarely had. "You look well," she commented.

"I am." she nodded simply.

"Are you at least happy here?" her mother asked.

"I am. So happy." Persephone told her, allowing the smile to return to her face. Just thinking of Hades had this effect on her.

"Good, at least i can know that if you are not with me then you are happy." her mother nodded sadly. Persephone understood, she and her mother had always been together, they both had felt the absence of the other. But at least Persephone had Hades, her mother had no one. "If you ever were not happy, you would call for me, right? I could save you from this place."

Persephone smiled at her mother. Though she still did not understand that Persephone loved it here, she was offering to help her, to always be there for her, if she needed. And that was all Persephone could ask of her mother. "There will never be a need. He is still and evermore will be the one I love. The only one I dream of." She told her, honesty in every word. Looking at her mother she could clearly see Persephone's words were not the ones she had been hoping for. Perhaps she had hoped the invite she had received meant Persephone wanted to be rescued. She did not look happy to find she was wrong. She did not even try to smile but Persephone saw it as an improvement that she said nothing further.

There was suddenly a knock against the open doors alerting them to someone's presence. Turning around she saw Hades, waiting until he was sure he was not interrupting the mother and daughter. His smile was the reassurance she needed to feel refreshed and strengthened. She left her mother to walk to Hades. He was dressed in his usual dress suit and tie that made her mouth water at the sight. Taking his hand into hers she pulled him to join her mother in the center of the room. He put his hand around her waist as he guided her forward. She saw her mother's eyes focus on the sight, still unhappy.

"Hello Demeter, Persephone." Hades greeted them in kind and leaned in to kiss Persephone on her cheek. She sent him a quick look of warning because she knew he had done this specifically because Demeter was here and he enjoyed making her tense. A playful smile was his only response. "It is good to see you under better circumstances."

"Will you be staying, mother?" she asked, turning her attention back to her mother. She noticed Hades did not let his hand drop from her hip but instead began to rub circles with his thumb. While she should have been annoyed at his actions she was thankful for the reassuring action.

"I do not know, I was not the one who extended the invitation. I would not want to be a bad guest and overstay my welcome," she told them, turning her prideful nose up at the invitation. "I know when i am not wanted."

"No, we want you here, mother." Persephone hurriedly said, her heart sinking. If they were to start to patch up the wounds that had formed they would need time. A day trip would not be enough.

"Truly, do not leave on my account," Hades said, making his welcome clear. "I hope you will choose to stay."

Her mother studied them as they waited for her decision, "Ok then, if only for a few days. I hope it is not an inconvenience that I have brought my newest nymph." her mother told them as she motioned off to the side. Standing against the wall was the nymph from the garden that Persephone had sent the message with. She had not noticed the nymph standing there and her cheeks reddened knowing she had been there the whole time. "She is too new to my cult to leave behind. I assume you remember her?" her mother clarified. Her mother always prided herself with the beautiful nymphes that adorned her cult, only picking the most beautiful, smart, and loyal nymphs. She always expected them to act just how she had taught them. Always expecting perfection. This was also who Persephone had been expected to be. Looking at the clearly beautiful nymph Persephone knew she could never compare herself to her. Always disappointing. Always lacking. She wondered if her mother had brought her now trying to replace her.

"Of course the more the merrier." Persephone forced herself to say. "I am sorry, though we have met I do not remember your name," she asked. She felt rude having to ask but they had never exchanged names at their last meeting. When spoke to the nymph she noticed the girl's big eyes leave Hades for the first time. Persephone felt like laughing, Hades could be very intimidating. No doubt the nymph had heard tales of the lord of the underworld.

"Minthe." the woman offered in her beautiful voice.

"Well Minthe, you are welcome here. Please join us for dinner tonight." Persephone offered. She loved that she could now play the part of the hostess.

"Thank you, your majesty." she nodded respectfully while using Persephone's correct title. She smiled knowing the nymph was smart, she had learned from their last meeting.

"Persephone," Hades interrupted, catching her attention instantly. "I must go to a meeting with the judges today. I am sorry it cannot be rescheduled. I will have to meet you at dinner tonight." he explained. She knew he had an important meeting and while she had wanted him to join them, she knew it could not be helped. Hades was responsible for many people and could not take the day off often. He kissed her before offering all the women a farewell smile, "Have a good day."

"See you tonight," she told him before he let go of her and left the woman in the room. She watched him leave before turning back to her mother, a rejuvenating smile gracing her face. "Would you like to see my garden?"

Her mother's shock was comical, "You have a garden here?"

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