Chapter 30

Persephone

After only a few minutes listening to Hades and Hermes in the throne room, I had heard all that I needed to. Hermes, ever the faithful servant to Zeus, would take me back to my mother and father without a moment's hesitation. Hades, in essence, had already banished me from his sight, and so was unlikely to help me with my newly realized desire to stay. I would need to act on my own.

Beyond expressing a desire to stay, I needed a way to show Hades how much I actually had come to care about him. I needed to give him some show of my affection that he wouldn't be able to ignore. But what could I do?

Aspasia would know, of course. Aspasia always knew.

I didn't have a moment to lose. Hades would be wanting to take me back to Olympus at any minute. With what little energy I had left, I ran to my rooms.

"Aspasia!" I called once there.

No answer came.

I was breathing hard at this point, but nevertheless, I wheeled around and sped through the halls, calling her name. My stamina quickly faded and I began to collapse against a wall, only to find gentle hands supporting me.

"Mistress," Aspasia's quiet voice said, "I think you should rest."

"No, no…" I gasped. "Aspasia, please...I need your help. How do I show Hades... I love him? I need to do it now."

There was a surprised interlude.

"What made you change your mind, Mistress?" She asked.

"Nevermind that, I can't waste time. What can I do?"

Aspasia, still supporting me, led me to a place where I could sit and gather my strength. I supposed that she was considering my question, because she didn't say a word until I had sat and my breathing had slowed.

"You could eat," she said.

I gave her a flat look. "I'm being serious. It needs to be bigger than that, something that will leave him with no doubt that I choose him."

"Of course," she said politely. "However, please allow me to explain: the food in the Underworld is unlike any food elsewhere. Once you partake of the food here, you are filled with the desire to stay above all else. Not only that, but you bind yourself to the Underworld and let it become a part of you. I think that the Master would understand this token, especially if you were to explain that you knew what you were doing."

It finally all made sense. Of course Hades and Aspasia had pressured me to eat! It would have made me love him and the Underworld without him having to win me at all. For a moment, I was angry. The feeling changed the next moment when I realized that he hadn't actually ever used it. As both a man and a person who was well-fed, he could have easily overpowered my weakened female frame at any point and forced me to eat. But he hadn't. If I had eaten, I might have done it in ignorance of the consequences, but it still would have been my own choice to eat it.

I stood, my decision made.

"Aspasia," I said. "When Hades is done, inform him that I will be waiting for him in the garden."

New strength overcame me, and I was able to walk the distance to the garden briskly without help. I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

The pomegranate tree stood in the midst of the desolate garden. Even in that wasteland, it was ladened with fruit. Red, round, and ripe. That tree had been the first thing that Hades had given me. It had been the place where I found him at his lowest point, trembling from the punishment he took for me. It was where I had fainted from exhaustion, and he had rushed to help. It survived my destructive outburst when everything else had died. It, more than any other place, represented everything good in our relationship. It was what I wanted to build the future on.

With surprising ease, I broke open the biggest and ripest of the fruit. The seeds shone like the jewels of the Underworld - clear, scarlet rubies. I took one and closed my eyes in a silent prayer to Hades, committing this act to him. Then, I put the seed in my mouth and bit down.

After going so long without sustenance, this tiny bead of juice tasted better than ambroise. That was what I first noticed. What I noticed next was more pronounced. Any hate and unhappiness I still felt about the Underworld was lessened. My confusion and bitterness about Hades was replaced by understanding and sympathy.

My eyes widened at the unexpected force of the emotions, but I wasn't fully satisfied. I slowly ate another seed, focusing on my developing emotions. I looked into my heart and searched for my growing love for Hades.

It wasn't there.

It was the original love, untouched by any magic. Yes, I did now see beauty in the Underworld where I hadn't before, but the feelings I had expected to come for Hades weren't there. And I didn't need them to be. If the seeds overcame my prejudice for me, I could easily allow myself to fully and completely love Hades.

An insatiable hunger overpowered me. That seed was followed by yet another one, and another, and with each seed, my connection with the Underworld more deep. It was intoxicating. Almost unable to stop myself, I reached for more.