Chapter 6

Ianthe giggled at the little baby. Never had she seen such a perfect little smile!

Cyane looked adoringly, too, as she wove a new blanket for the little goddess.

Who would have thought that it would be a little girl? Everyone had assumed that the baby would be a son – a boy that would be as mighty and as handsome as his promiscuous father. No one had expected a little girl.

The nymphs were overjoyed at the presence of the beautiful little child. No one had missed Minthe. She disappeared the day the baby was born. Demeter thought about her for a while but the presence of this precious bundle of joy soon made her forget the blond nymph with the velvety words.

Zeus soon heard about the birth of a daughter. He had heard things about her – about how she had made a stubborn bush bloom just by her laughter, about seeds germinating at her feet as she first learned how to crawl, about how she made barren trees bear fruit when she touched them…. Such a little being with such power! This was no ordinary little goddess! And she was barely eight months old!

"Hermes! Send Demeter over with my new daughter!" he commanded. Hera seethed at him, fuming quietly.

-O-

Demeter frowned at the invitation. Hermes stood by apologetically. He waited patiently for her reply.

After so many months of ignoring them, why would he want to see them now? To parade them in front of everyone? To have her bear the shame of being the goddess who was almost the wife and queen? What was his purpose?

Demeter shook her head in response to Hermes.

Hermes looked grim. "My Lady," he pleaded, "It is not an invitation. You and the baby are being summoned…."

Demeter had not faced all those months alone to break down in front of anyone now. She rose up coldly and faced Hermes.

"Friend, Hermes, it is not for him to command. When he decided to abandon us, it was a declaration that we were no longer a part of the court. Now, at a whim, he decides that he wants to see us? Remember that I am a goddess as well and not some puny mortal that he could toy with. He and I share the same lineage and it was only pure luck that he drew the longest stick to become king. I am just as great and as powerful as he except that I do not destroy. I nurture. The immortals will not be able to last a second without my care of the mortals who worship them. Tell him that." Demeter rose and left the room.

-O-

"She what?!" roared Zeus.

"Lady Demeter refuses, My King." Hermes lowered his head, ready to take the monarch's ire.

Athena cleared her throat and suggested gently, "Perhaps, Father, there is another way to have them come to the royal court… It is a cause of embarrassment and displeasure for someone in her shoes to be asked to present herself and the child in public…."

"Go on, Athena!"

"Perhaps, it could be among the members of the family – give or take a few members….," she eyed Hera who was coming in the doorway, "a private affair to ease the discomfort… That is, if you truly want to see the child…."

Hera's face shot a sharp look at father and daughter. She scowled and made sure that they both saw it.

"Go then, Athena. Talk to your Aunt. I wish you success!"

-O-

Athena never got the opportunity to visit Demeter. Hermes, on his own volition, visited Demeter himself.

"Hello, little one!" he exclaimed when he saw the child. He held out his hand and let her inspect his fingers. The child produced an apple from nowhere and put it in his hand.

"Whoa! So you are powerful!" he whispered, looking into her little green eyes as he held her up. They held his gaze and seemed to pull him in… Trancelike, he saw her as a grown woman… Agonizingly beautiful, regal and powerful…. She wore a crown he had never seen before… and she reigned over those that even gods were fearful of…." The vision went away. Hermes staggered back and gave the baby back to Ianthe.

Demeter was concerned. "What is it, Hermes?"

"This is not an ordinary goddess, Demeter," he gasped weakly, "You have got to bring her to her father….. She will be the Queen…"

Zeus held the auburn-haired baby in his lap, chuckling at her attempts to create small puffs of clouds. Such a little being and already showing off her powers!

He had seen Demeter's cool, expressionless face as she regally entered the hall when she first brought the child to be presented to him. The crowd drew apart to let her through. Each god and goddess inquisitively looking at the little baby carried by one of Demeter's two most trusted nymphs, Ianthe.

Hera snorted from her throne and looked to the distance. Never would she bother with such a child!

"Lord Zeus!" Demeter announced regally, proudly, "May I present your daughter, Kore!"

Zeus stepped down and motioned the nymph to give him the child. "Kore? Kore?" he whispered, tickling the baby, "What kind of a name is that?"

"It is a good and honorable name – "The Maiden!" snapped Demeter. Hera sniggered.

"That wouldn't do!" exclaimed Zeus as Kore produced a dandelion from midair. "Look at her powers!" He held her up for all to see and commanded,

"From this day forth, she will be known as Persephone – 'She who slays the light!'"