Persephone sat opposite Daeira, trying not to fret about Hades.
"Right, so explain to me exactly what I'm trying to do here?" She resolved to devote herself to her study and to banish the dread gnawing at her.
Worrying about him won't help. Be patient. He'll be fine.
Daeira smiled patiently at her Queen, her palms upwards as she explained.
"The root of all power is willpower. Divine beings have within them the power to manifest their will upon the material and metaphysical world. Your ability to combat the wills of others is determined by how strong your conviction is and how to seek to manifest that will."
Daeira outstretched her hand and Persephone watched fire flicker in the immortal's palm.
"Get rid of the flame," Daeira instructed.
Persephone frowned, trying to imagine how her mother would approach this. Demeter had a simple kind of will that wanted things to grow and prosper; the way Persephone had seen immortal power all her life was quite different to what Daeira was trying to teach her to do. This was harder than simply tending lovingly to the crops of the field and letting joy bring the flowers to life. This was directed whereas her mother's intentions flowed with the seasons, everything had its time to grow then to be harvested then to start anew. This was very different.
Persephone thought for a moment and clenched her fists. The fire burnt lower in Daeira's palm but did not extinguish.
"How can you put out the fire?" Daeira prompted. "Overriding my will might be harder than you judge it to be. The trick is not to directly fight me. Work around me, not against me."
It was sound advice and Persephone reconsidered her approach. She moved forward and relaxed. The fire went out all at once. Daeira beamed.
"Well done my Lady! How did you manage that?" Daeira clapped her now fire-free hands together.
"I stopped the air fuelling the fire instead of trying to kill the flame directly," Persephone admitted. "Without air a fire doesn't burn and suffocates. It worked. Is that what you were…?"
"That's exactly it." Daeira encouraged her. "Willpower is also a battle of wits. It is sometimes not enough to be the most powerful deity doing battle. Sometimes it is the way the will shapes reality that can determine which overrides the other. Cleverness is just as important as strength of character. Which is why," Daeira brought one finger up to emphasise her point. "When you curse you must be clear and each word has weight. Every word will affect the curse so they are all important. The same is true of directing your powers. Your intent must be clear, singular and purposeful. You must know what you want and how you want it to happen."
"Why do some deities like Hecate use other stuff, like herbs or spells, to help them?" Persephone asked her handmaiden.
"In Hecate's case it is because what she strives is complex," Daeira answered. "Summoning, necromancy, controlling spirits, governing ghosts… Hard tasks for anyone. Hecate uses the powers of the natural world to direct her will and give it potency. Rituals such as burning herbs or stewing potions for example, clear the mind and soul and are a formula for enacting a certain will upon the world. But you would have to ask Hecate more about that," Daeira admitted with a soft smile. "She is a powerful being and knows more about magics than I would. I am only a nymph but I can teach you how to unleash your potential. I suspect your husband will help you develop it."
"Does Hades have as much influence here as in Zeus's realm?" Persephone asked, listening attentively.
Daeira pondered the question for a moment before responding. She let her eyes cast over the neat room in the House of Hades where they were practising. "Dominancy over a realm has certain additional effects. Hades is suited perfectly, in powers and personality, to rule this kingdom as Zeus does the world above." Daeira raised her eyebrows and looked at her Queen. "Only my Lord would know for certain, but manifesting his will where he is revered, where he is king, is much easier and certainly more effective than it would be in Zeus's realm. His majesty gives him power and authority to overrule the wills of others here. As yours does."
Persephone's head spun a little. "You mean, even someone very powerful and strong-willed has to defer to my will here? Just because I married Hades?"
Daeira nodded. "It is the power of divine right. The Lords and Ladies of a dominion are supreme rulers, they have the final say. There are few beings who can overpower their authority. The Fates, of course, govern all of creation. Zeus, the King of Kings, rules the heavens and the deities. As does Hera, that Queen of Queens. But then there is Poseidon and his Queen, yourself and Hades." Daeira noticed Persephone's dawning comprehension. "In the pecking order of the gods, you're fairly high my Lady."
Persephone chewed her lip as she thought it through. "I suppose it comes with the job."
Daeira giggled and clasped Persephone's hand. "And you are doing a fine job, my Lady! Don't worry. You will be using your station and its powers soon enough. You protect us all, you see justice done and you stand by your husband with the force of your will."
Persephone nodded to show she followed, trying to ignore the rising feeling in her gut that she was not worthy of wielding such powers. Daeira spotted the insecurity and gripped her Lady tightly by the hand.
"You belong here, with him," Daeira told her resolutely. "You must believe that in your heart for this training to work. You have to be firm in your right to wield your authority, else your will shall fall short of what you need it to be. This is your place, your kingdom. This was your fate. You deserve this. You deserve him."
"I don't think anyone deserves Hades," Persephone said with a smile and hid the worry she felt for her husband. "But I love him and want to do right by him." She gathered her determination and tried to squash those insecurities that had nagged at her when she was mortal and the first time she had stepped out into the summer to be with her mother.
"Alright," she muttered, resolve building. "Let's do this."
Daeira and her kept at it for a good hour, Daeira setting challenges and Persephone learning how best to respond to them, what suited her will and her nature. She was surprised that she dealt so well with direct threats to herself, instantly and easily turning away the arrows Daeira sent flying towards her.
"Probably because you don't fear death," Daeira reasoned when they discussed it. "Fear makes the person panic, lose focus and unable to think or direct their will. A level mind and a cool temperament make for the best use of your powers. Heavy emotion might make you stronger but it can be erratic and unleash something you didn't intend." With that bit of instruction they continued, Daeira helping her Lady explore her weaknesses and strengths.
Towards the end of a few hours Persephone felt her tension for Hades eating away at her concentration and called the session to an end.
"I won't be good for anything soon," she admitted to Daeira. "I can't stop thinking about what's happening to him. Why is he taking so long?"
"He'll be fine," soothed Daeira. "He will be back when the task is done."
Persephone knew her handmaiden spoke good sense. She stood, surprisingly weary after the time spent using her powers and stretched.
"Well, I think I will go for a wander to take my mind off things."
Daeira nodded and bowed, hurrying away to let her Queen take her leave.
Persephone took herself out of the House of Hades and chose a path at random to walk alongside the Styx. She wondered whether she should go all the way to the Court of the Dead to visit the judges there or whether she should just let herself through the gardens and pavilions. But the thought of the beautiful gardens without Hades was not comforting and so she directed her feet towards the rivers at the mouth of the Underworld.
Trust him, she implored herself. Hades is far more than capable to deal with anything, even those locked away in Tartarus. If it was really bad, Zeus would be down here knocking on our door. The Fates will guide Hades back to me.
Secretly, she reflected on her prophetic dream of a baby girl and smiled to herself. Soon, little one, I will bring you into the world. One day soon I will be pregnant with my princess and Hades will get to meet his child. The realisation warmed her and she struck a faster pace up the river bank.
Along beside the Acheron, the newly dead clambered onto Charon's boat for their passage to be judged. Shades clustered around the Queen of them all, dropping to the ground to bow themselves in respect. Occasionally Persephone would offer them the comfort of some small words, reassuring them that their mortal trials were over and that if they had led a good life, their reward was soon in coming. The ghosts parted, letting her through.
One ghost was that of a young woman with a look of internal agony in her eyes. Persephone stopped at such a bleak figure and her compassion went out to the dead woman.
"Be at peace," Persephone urged. "There is nothing that will harm you here."
The woman wailed and clutched at her breast.
"Only my own guilt and heavy heart," she moaned though clenched teeth. "My Lady, I beg forgiveness. I have done wrong and have paid for it but it won't stop him. He will come for my soul."
"Who?" Persephone asked. "Who are you and who is coming for you?"
"My name is Eurydice," the dead woman told her. Persephone noticed with a sickening suddenness that the Greek woman was dressed in a wedding dress. It was torn at the bottom and there were also sections full of holes. "I was to be wed to Orpheus, the famous musician. Have you heard of him?"
Persephone shook her head. Other Shades grew near, listening to the tale. Eurydice gripped her elbows with her hands fiercely, as though trying to hold herself together.
"He is… He was taught by Apollo himself to make the finest music. The Muses themselves crafted his lute so that it suited his talent. He is the most incredible performer – he can enchant anything with his song. He travelled with the Argonauts and saved them many times with his talent for any form of music." Eurydice hiccupped miserably. "We loved each other. We did. I had such joy and pride in him and when he asked me to marry him I said yes without a thought." She shook herself, bitterness entered her tone. "That was my mistake. Orpheus was so great and wonderful and treated me like a princess but it was like loving the sunshine - he was just too beautiful and dazzlingly good. Everywhere he went people loved him in moments. Everyone had their eyes and ears fixed on him. I was always on one side. I was suffocating. I was alone. I felt utterly useless."
Persephone could empathise. Travelling with her mother the goddess had not always been easy. She had stood in the shadows while her mother basked in the glory of her immortality. And she had yet to convince herself that she was good enough for Hades, the incredible God of the Underworld, although they had been married over a year.
Eurydice sighed but continued. "There was a man, our friend, Aristaeus. One night when Orpheus was performing I had stayed home in the village. I could hear all the excitement and cheering for my fiancé while I stood in the dark all alone. It was a miserable time and I got feeling sorry for myself. Aristaeus was kind. He sought me out. He told me I was beautiful. He gave me sweet attention and in a moment, I lost myself." Eurydice shuddered and if she could have wept she would have. "Orpheus didn't know and I told myself it was a mistake. I was firm with Aristaeus. I told him we had done the wrong thing. I explained I intended to marry Orpheus and there was no chance for us. He left, saying that he only wished for my happiness and if it was with another man he could come to terms with that."
"Did you die on your wedding day to Orpheus?" Persephone asked.
Eurydice nodded glumly. "I was all ready to be a bride. We were so excited. I sat in my room and my family and I made offerings to the gods and goddesses. My sisters left me alone to fetch me a drink to soothe my nerves and I heard a knock. But it wasn't my sisters coming back with my wine - it was Aristaeus. I hadn't seen him in months. He was very drunk. He said he just wanted to see me in my moment of joy so that he could know I was content. He looked at me… He…." Eurydice covered her face in shame. "I kissed him… I… He ran…. I followed him, calling, begging him to let me explain… And the next thing I knew there was this stinging and I looked down and a snake had bitten me just on the ankle. I tried to call out but then everything swam and Death was kindly holding out his hand for me."
Persephone marvelled at the tragic story. "So who is coming for you?"
"Orpheus," Eurydice stated dolefully. "Death will not stop him. He told me once of your story, my Lady, when you first came to the Underworld. He said that grief of a loved one should be able to overcome Death itself, like your mother was able to do. He will try to take my soul from this place, I know it. There will be no rest for me."
Persephone stared at the wretched figure before her. "He loves you but once in this realm as a Shade, you cannot easily leave. I never really died so I was able to return to Zeus's realm." She could not touch the dead soul but she held her hands out consolingly. "You will be judged. Your guilt ends here, Eurydice. You can ever forget if you want to bathe in the waters of the Lethe, to soothe your anguish."
Eurydice bowed low to the Queen of the Dead. "Thank you, my Lady. I will await your final judgement."
"What happened to Aristaeus?" One of the other Shades who had been listening in and had very little tact blurted out. Eurydice shrugged and considered the question, seemingly unoffended.
"It's funny, but you can love more than one person at once." Eurydice was morose but also thoughtful as she considered it. "Aristaeus… I suspect he will start a new life with someone else, despite everything. But Orpheus was always adamant that I was his only, his love, his wife…" The Shade of Eurydice lowered her head sadly. "I guess he never really considered what my heart wanted and whether we actually were the best person for each other. But I did love him. Still do. It's hard not to. I made mistakes but my heart loves him."
"Find peace now," Persephone told her gently. "All will be judged and your soul will show its truths soon."
Eurydice nodded and the line of the dead progressed, she moved away towards the Courts.
She'd given Persephone a lot to think about and pondering this, the Queen of the Underworld slowly made her way back to her husband's House to await his return. She was so lost in thought and marvelling at the story she didn't spot the nymph that had watched her with hawk-like eyes from the moment she had stepped out of the House until the time Eurydice's story had ended.
Silently, Minthe stepped away, considering the Queen's back with cold lines of envy evident on her beautiful face.