A/N: Sorry for the short chapters, I am still working on establishing the story.
Please R&R
Persephone is working hard in a portion of the garden the next morning when Hecate comes to talk with her.
"The gardens are turning out beautifully. I'm excited to see some color around the palace"
Persephone smiles as Hecate admires the pink roses.
"Hades has given me free reign; I hope he knows what he agreed to" both goddesses laugh.
As they are working Persephone hears noise in the distance.
"What's that?" Persephone asks.
Hecate stands and leads Persephone to the far west side of the palace, past the gardens and to the training fields.
Persephone sees groups of soldiers training with swords and bows.
In the midst of the training, she sees Hades, sword fighting with one of the soldiers.
"Hades is always preparing for a war" Hecate says tiredly.
"Why?" Persephone asks curiously, as she watches Hades knock the soldier down, and flinging his sword across the ground. Her eyes follow his biceps a little too far and Persephone feels her mouth almost watering.
"Who knows. I think at heart he is always going to be a soldier and so now the Underworld is overprepared for any minor battle."
Persephone is watching Hades when she notices a female nymph on the training ground. Her green skin practically glowing as Hades stood in front of her instructing her on how to hold a sword.
"Who's that?" Persephone asked, furrowing her brow.
She watches the way the nymph giggles at something Hades said, and how she seems to keep asking Hades to show her how to properly hold the sword.
Hades gives her a frustrating sigh and shows her once again how to properly hold the sword.
Persephone was unsure of what feeling was coming over her, but all she wanted was for this nymph to disappear in a cloud of painful smoke.
"Oh that's Minthe. She claims she wants to learn how to fight but I think that…" suddenly Hecate bites her tongue. She doesn't want to start an issue in their new marriage.
"You think what?" Persephone presses.
"She's a flirt. She just wants attention. Don't worry Hades has never…." Hecate says, hoping Persephone would fill in the blanks.
"I see…well anyway it's not as if…I mean…it's not like…besides the consummation…" Persephone stumbles over her explanation.
"Not even a kiss?" Hecate loudly whispers.
Persephone shakes her head. While she isn't looking to bed her husband immediately. She has had certain…desires develop…desires that perhaps Hades would give her some type of affection.
"Things take time" Hecate assures her.
Persephone glances back at Minthe as Hades places his hand on her forearm and instructs her.
Anger, jealousy, all those emotions her mother had tried to shield her from suddenly come full swing to her heart.
Persephone quickly walks back to the gardens with Hecate following swiftly behind her.
"I need you to get me a bow and arrow" Persephone says casually to Mila as she helps her pin her hair up to go work in the gardens.
"What?" Mela says shocked
"A bow and arrow…well I suppose a few arrows"
"Why?" Mela makes a puzzled face.
Persephone sighs, as she prepares to give her friend her long explanation.
"After some…long contemplation…I have decided I want a real marriage. Not just a tolerable friendship. In order to cultivate that type of relationship with my husband, I believe he first must respect me"
"Oook" Mela says attempting to follow along
"Hades respects soldiers, and people who know how to use different types of weaponry…I am going to learn…how to use a bow"
"Sephie you're going to get yourself hurt" Mela says pointing at Persephone's reflection in the mirror.
"Will not!"
"Will too!"
"Hermes showed me once, I remember all the basic maneuvers"
"I know that if I don't get this bow for you…you're just going to go get one yourself…so fine" Mela relents.
"Thank you" Persephone smiles wide.
Hades is…worried…or perhaps concerned…or perhaps frustrated…or all of the above. Since allowing Persephone to tend to the gardens she has grown beautiful roses, blossoms, and lilies, and the trees were greener and livelier.
Now it seems she has turned her attention to inside the palace, and vases filled with beautiful bouquets have been arranged in the great hall, and some portraits have been rearranged, and a grand one painted recently of the two of them has also been added to the great hall.
The servants, along with Hecate, and Thanatos, all seem to love the new improvements and decorations.
Hades does as well, the problem that he seems to be having is that in the past several weeks he has seen his wife no more than twice, and those two times were only in passing, as she was finishing dinner with Mela and he was coming to have dinner with Thanatos and Hecate to discuss the shield.
While he has been busy working on his Titan problem, and judging souls, he realizes that he has been a neglectful husband.
Even though Hades was still figuring marriage out and determining what type of relationship he wanted to have with his wife, he realizes that he doesn't want to not see her face every day.
Hades sat in his study and called for a member of his guard.
"You will find the queen and tell her that I would very much like to have dinner with her tonight" The guard bowed and left to go find Persephone.
Almost an hour later he returned with a worried face.
"My king, I am so sorry, but I can't seem to locate the queen. I have searched everywhere inside, and had other guards search the gardens"
Hades jumped to his feet.
"Search every inch again!" He shouted to his guards and they all ran in different directions.
He was suddenly worried, that Persephone had gotten hurt, or worse had someone taken her? His palace and realm, despite the Titan prison, was virtually safe and highly unlikely that someone had entered his kingdom with a wish to do him or his wife harm.
He was able to locate Mela who told him the last time she had spoken to Persephone, she was headed to the gardens to work.
Hades went to the gardens and as he walked deeper into the patch of roses, he started to feel something.
Power. It was an illusion, that to any mortal, or even nymph's eye would look like a normal rose patch, but to a god's eye, he could see the illusion.
He walked to the illusion and cautiously crossed over the threshold. He was amazed to see that Persephone had built herself…some sort of private garden, within the gardens of the palace.
Inside her garden was rows of beautiful soft pink flowers, amongst some of the flowers was a nice thick blanket, and upon that blanket were books and a bowl of fruit. At the center of her garden was a small fountain, and the water quietly trickled down creating a calming effect.
As he stepped in closer, he could see that on the other side of the fountain, Persephone's back was turned, and she appeared to be holding something.
He quickly saw it was a bow when her arm stretched back, and she released the bow and it flung pass the intended target board she had set up.
She stamped her foot and cursed silently. Picking up another arrow to try again.
"Persephone?" Hades said causing her to jump
"Hades! What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you…to invite you to dinner"
"Oh"
"Oh?" Hades walks closer to her.
"What are you doing?" He asks as he picks up an arrow he recognizes immediately as belonging to his armory.
"Just…practicing" Persephone tries to say casually.
Hades couldn't hide his grin. What in all the realms could Persephone be doing with a bow and arrow.
"Would you like some help?" He offers placing the arrow in her hand.
"I suppose..." Persephone tries to hide the nervousness in her voice, she isn't that good with the bow and doesn't want to embarrass herself in front of Hades.
Hades came and stood behind her, her back cradled against his hard chest was enough to make her swoon. He brought his arms around her and placed his hands on top of hers, positioning the arrow correctly.
Persephone smiled, in the several times she had (secretly) observed him with Minthe, never had he touched her like this before, or been this close to her.
"The trick is not to position the arrow directly at the target but a little bit below the target"
Hades guided her arms and when he held her hand to pull back on the arrow Hades could take in the scent of her soft curls. He closed his eyes for a moment taking her in.
When the arrow released it hit very closer to the marked target.
Persephone smiled.
"You just need a little more practice"
Neither seemed to notice that they were still in the same position.
Hades slid his hands down her arms and one hand fell to his side and the other ended at her waist.
Perhaps he'd missed her more than he thought.
"What are you doing? You don't strike me as a bow and arrow type girl"
"Perhaps I wanted to train to be apart of your royal guard"
Hades gave a hearty laugh behind her and the vibration from his chest tickled her spine, causing sparks to ignite in her belly.
"Does that amuse you?" Persephone says smiling as she turns, his hand drops from her waist, but Persephone takes it and places it back.
Her motion does not go unnoticed and Hades looks at her with a sort of haziness in his eyes. His thumb rubs her side and Persephone takes in a breath, even such a small gesture has her almost melting in his arms.
"I don't think your suited for my guard" he says softly, his tone still playful, even though his eyes are serious.
"Why is that?"
"You're far too…precious" is the only word he can seem to find for some reason.
"Hades"
"Persephone?"
"Kiss me" she says quietly, looking up into his eyes.
Hades hesitates for a moment, and Persephone panics, afraid that she has overstepped a boundary and will have ruined the moment.
His grip on her waist becomes a little firmer and he leans down, he softly presses his lips to hers and Persephone tilts her head. Their mouths move lazily together, and Persephone feel as though she is floating.
Suddenly both of them jolt apart at the sound of the horses and voices outside the illusion.
"The queen has been missing for over 2 hours and now the king has also gone missing, we must now expand our search into the dark lands!" Hades hears the captain of his guard say.
"I believe we should make our reappearance" Hades says.
Persephone quietly nods.
Hades takes her hand, but before they step over the threshold, he places a kiss atop her hand.
As they step over the threshold and Hades calms his guard down, Persephone can do nothing but stare at her husband. She is unsure of what their future looks like, but she does know that she is falling for him.
Hecate places her palm on the Titan prison and enforces the sleeping spell. She feels resistance, and for once she can feel the two Titans fighting to break free from her spell.
"How's it going?" Thanatos asks from behind her
"Not good. They're becoming resistant to the spell. I will have to make an entirely new sleeping spell" Hecate frustratingly gathers her books and supplies.
"Should we tell Hades?" Thanatos asks nervously, sure that Hades will not be pleased.
"Not yet, let me do some work first" Hecate does not want to worry him.
"Tell me more about the dark lands" Persephone asks as she and Hades enjoy breakfast.
Since their kiss in the gardens they'd shared every meal together for the past several weeks in an effort to get to know each other.
Hades learned that Persephone didn't just grow flowers for the spring, but studied the flowers and grew them in specific places for specific reasons. Like the blossoms near the banks of the Nyx because the seeds from the blossoms would float into the river and help with bringing oxygen to the water, which helps the surrounding environment.
Persephone learned that Hades didn't just judge souls when they passed, but also allowed Thanatos to end the suffering of good-hearted people by giving them a peaceful death, and he loved reading the philosophies of mortals.
"You know its frustrating when everyone only cares about the scary parts of your realm, and not the beautiful parts, like our villages, and bright forests." Hades grins as he steals a piece of fruit from Persephone's plate.
Persephone playfully pouts.
"Please…I'm just curious"
"Fine. Of course, you know the Titans are imprisoned underneath the dark forest. But also with in the forest are some dark creatures"
"Creatures?" Persephone questions as she continues to eat hanging onto Hades every word.
"Yes unfortunately once the Titans were buried there, the creatures that were born in the forest became…bad" Hades doesn't want to frighten her, but this is her home too and she has a right to know.
"In the bright forest, the animals born in this realm are just like the animals born in the mortal realm or in Olympus. But in the dark forest, they are savage beast that thirst for flesh. A deer that would rip the face off of a nymph, or a rabbit that would feast on it's blood."
Persephone shivered, that was information Hecate hadn't shared on their first tour.
"That's why only my guard is allowed in the dark forest and the surrounding land. It's dangerous."
"Is it because of the Titans? Is that why the creatures have turned bad?" Persephone asks
"That's what we think has happened. When Titans ruled all the realms, animals were there servants as well, perhaps there is a connection there" Hades explains
"Is there a fear of the animals escaping the dark lands?"
"No, I've placed a shield up and none of the creatures can pass it"
As they finish their breakfast, Hades leads them pass the great hall and to the balcony that overlooks the vast gardens of the palace. They hold hands as they walk and Persephone notices that they seem to always be doing that. Holding hands everywhere they traveled.
Hades didn't seem to notice it, he just unconsciously reached for her hand whenever he wanted to show her something or lead her somewhere in the palace.
When they get to the balcony Persephone smiles and admires her work.
"This has become one of my favorite spots. In the mornings before I meet you for breakfast, or in the evenings before I go to bed, I'll come here, and look at all this beauty you've brought to this realm. My mind is usually always buzzing with thoughts, and worries, but not when I'm here" Hades smiles as he watches a butterfly land a top a patch of flowers.
Persephone's heart is swirling in her chest at Hade's words. A simple confession to him, but a beautiful proclamation to her. Never had her work been so appreciated, even when she grew crops for starving mortals.
They stand in silence overlooking the gardens, hands held tight. The passing servants would glance and smile at their king and queen. Even Hecate who was passing by looking for Hades decided to find him another time when she noticed him with Persephone.
All seemed to be happy to see the love that was blossoming between Hades and Persephone except for one…Minthe.
She too was looking for Hades and when she stumbled upon the display, she let out a frustrated growl.
When word had reached her that Hades was being forced to marry a little spring goddess to carry out the fate's prophecy, she thought nothing of it.
Hades had shown no interest in any other goddess so she knew some little child of Demeter would be no threat.
For a while Minthe thought her predictions of the marriage were correct. When Persephone first arrived, she and Hades barely interacted, and had separate rooms. But recently things had changed and the two seemed to be spending more and more time together.
It had taken her several years to work her way from a servant in the village to now in the palace, and another year to strike up a casual relationship with the king.
She had worked hard on her seduction plan and wasn't going to let some little flower goddess wife get in the way.
Minthe stomped away and headed downstairs to start her work in the laundry room.