Chapter 14

Persephone

It was a trick. It had to be. He was just putting on an act, trying to get me to feel sorry for him. Well, I wouldn't let Hades win. I wiped my mouth against the back of my hand, trying to rid myself of the memory of that kiss, of his roughened hand on my skin. I needed to get away from here. Now.

Despite what Hades had said about never being able to leave, I still intended to try it. I couldn't live my whole life, regardless of the outcome, knowing that I had never even tried.

If I was ever going to have an opportunity to leave, it was now. I was feeling weaker than I had even moments before Hades visited me. Every time he and I had a confrontation, I felt another piece of my strength slip away and not come back. I hadn't had the dream of the earth again. Not since that first night. I didn't know if I ever would again, so I would need to leave when I was still relatively strong.

I considered my plan. Hades himself had said that he would be gone for several days. But if he were to return early…. Well, I would try any way. If I failed, I wouldn't have lost much. I decided to leave at the earliest possible moment, though. Just in case.

I noticed that Aspasia would leave me alone for several hours if I was sleeping. It was easy to feign slumber. It wasn't long before Aspasia left, no doubt to get some rest for herself. As soon as she was gone, I slipped out of my rooms and snuck out of the palace.

The road leading out of the Underworld was surprisingly easy to find. It was the largest path and was lined with rocks. As I went up the steep and rocky trail, I began seeing more and more spirits of the dead. Their pale, empty faces made me shiver.

I walked along, clutching three pieces of fragrant bread that Aspasia had left in my room in one hand and a coin I had managed to come across in the other. I walked past the Fields of Punishment where all the evil souls went after death. Their screams and moans made the hairs on my neck stick straight up. Even from a distance, I could feel the heat from the blistering, torturous flames.

I walked on, past the Fields of Asphodel. There were those who had not distinguished themselves in any way. It was a dull place, full of greys and browns. Every soul sat or stood, saying and doing nothing. Not a sound could be heard. I almost felt more sorry for the mortals that ended up here than in the Fields of Punishment. At least the punished souls had something to remind them that they still existed. Here, nothing mattered. None of these souls could truly be said to exist.

I continued and paused a moment at the green Fields of Elysium. It was just as Hades had described it, with the Heroes of Men and those favored of the gods enjoying the sweetest of all afterlives. I half wished I could take time to drink and laugh with them. My stomach gave a rumble, reminding me sharply of my hunger. No, I thought, wrenching myself away from the enticing scene, I will wait until my goal is complete.

I came to the five rivers of the Underworld. The path followed the river Stxy, and its walls tapered as I went on. Gradually, the path formed a narrow cavern that contrasted sharply with the dark expanse that blanketed most of the Underworld.

I shrieked when a large three-headed dog jumped out at me. The colossal Cerberus lowered his heads at me and snarled deep in his throat. Large dogs had always terrified me, and three-headed dogs were beyond anything else I had ever encountered. Luckily, I was prepared to meet Hades's gaurddog. I quickly tossed one of the loaves to each head. Distracted, Cerberus snapped up the treat greedily. I had just enough time to run past him. I breathed easier once I couldn't hear him barking behind me.

At last, I came to the banks of Styx. But where was the ferryman? I could see the far distant shore where the final part of my journey would take me. It was so close. I could almost taste the fresh air coming into the oppressive Underworld atmosphere.

I stood by the shore until I caught sight of a sizable boat coming towards me. I had missed it in the darkness. When it touched my side of the river, the souls aboard mournfully disembarked. Their pale forms glided past me and took no notice of a solitary goddess. I was so pale and thin that I wondered if perhaps they mistook me for a ghost.

Charon - the ancient, stooped ferryman - didn't seem to see me standing there either. He lifted his long pole into the water to push off for yet another monotonous trip across the river.

"Wait!" I called out.

Charon slowly stopped and turned around.

"Yes?" He asked in surprise. His voice was thin and quavered with age. In fact, all of him was thin and wrinkled. His sunken eyes looked warily at me.

"I want to get across. I have money to pay you," I held out the coin in my hand.

"You are not dead," he said, leaning forward to inspect me, squinting his wrinkled eyes. "You are not even mortal."

"No, I'm not. But I wish to leave," I still held my coin out.

"I cannot. I only take the dead across. No living. It's the law." He spoke only half to me as he muttered into his scraggly white beard. He started to push off.

"Please, wait! If you'll only listen," I pleaded with desperation. He stopped, though he seemed upset that I was still there. I took a deep breath and proceeded anyway.

"I don't belong here. I belong in the sunshine, among the flowers, but I was abducted against my will. Death did not take me, yet I have not experienced life. So yes, I am not dead, but neither am I living. Therefore, you have no orders against bringing me back." I hoped that the convoluted logic of my statement would at least confuse him if it didn't convince him.

Charon stood, digesting the information. I didn't know what he was thinking, but I could see his worn eyes glistened over with tears as he thought. Blinking them away, he slowly nodded his white, balding head. He held out a gnarled hand for my coin. I gave it to him gratefully and scrambled into the boat. It wasn't a long boat ride, but it felt like an age to me. I didn't pay any attention to my surroundings or to my silent guide. I thought only of the moment when I would once again see the sun and feel the grass. The boat came to the rocky edge off the water, and I stepped off. I turned back after taking a few steps forward.

"Thank you," I whispered to the bent man, then fled to the awaiting tunnel towards the light.

I didn't feel any fatigue as I rushed up the sloping floor. The daylight seeping into the tunnel grew brighter and brighter as I went on until, in a burst of speed, I was out in the open.

How glorious it all was! To be among the trees and grass, to feel the sun and smell the flowers! Had the world always looked so wonderful?

I kicked my sandals off and knelt on the soft, green grass, breathing in its scent. I buried my hands in the long tufts. In response to my joy, the grass sprung up around me. I rolled over onto my back in the long grass, laughing breathlessly.

I didn't have enough time to drink it all in before the screaming started.