Hades looked up from the scroll he wasn't actually reading. The room was now empty and felt colder somehow. He wondered if the room had always been this cold. He sighed and rubbed the temples of his head. He knew Demeter would not be happy to be separated from her daughter. However, he was not keen on giving Kore back to her mother. She had brought herself down here and Hades was not going to force her to leave. Truth be told, he was rather happy to have her around. It also came as quite a shock to him to discover she had wandered down to the Underworld.

Hades had had his eye on Kore for quite awhile. After seeing her once on Olympus, he couldn't get the girl out of his head. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and he longed desperately for an opportunity to speak to her. The fates were being uncharacteristically kind to him as of late. Hades even dared, that time he saw Kore on Olympus, to speak to Zeus about his infatuation with her. Zeus had told him that Demeter kept Kore close, not allowing any of her suitors to wed her. Hades had asked how he might change this and Zeus's solution was to steal the girl away from her mother. Hades knew he could not do such a thing. Demeter would be furious with her and he was afraid to do anything that might displease Kore. He didn't want her to think he was some sort of monster.

Hades sighed again. Now that Kore was here, he didn't know what to do with himself. He wanted to impress her, yet he had a habit of distancing himself from others. He didn't know how to approach her.

"Troubles, sir?" Hades looked up to see Thanatos standing before him.

"None at all," Hades lied, composing his his thoughts.

Thanatos chuckled, sensing the lie, but not saying anything about it. "Perhaps you could invite Kore to have dinner with you. She could be good company."

Hades nodded. "Find her, will you?"

"Right away, m'lord." Thanatos gave a curt bow and exited the room.

After some time spent in his thoughts, Hades got up and decided to make his way to the dinning hall. He doubted he would have an appetite, but he knew he would be grateful to be in the company of a beautiful goddess such as Kore; he only hoped she would be equally as grateful to be in the presence of a god of the Underworld.

When Hades arrived at the dinning hall, he was surprised to see a vase of red flowers sitting in the middle of the table and Kore already seated. She was looking around the room with fascination, not noticing him.

"What are those?" Hades asked in a soft voice. He noticed how Kore jumped when he spoke and chuckled lightly. She smiled at him when she realized who had spoken.

"Hyacinths," she replied, "I found a trail of them leading here."

Hades nodded. He found it rather odd that the flowers would lead her here. "I like them," he stated simply after a moment of silence. She smiled at him again. He could tell that Kore was tense. She didn't know how she was supposed to act in his presence. He couldn't blame her. Her mother probably taught her to be afraid of his temper. He doubted he could ever be angry with this girl, though.

Hades took a seat across from Kore at the table. She was looking down at her hands, folded together and resting on the table. He hadn't noticed he was staring at her until she looked up and met his eyes. She quickly looked away from him, still unsure what to do or say. He couldn't blame her. He could think of nothing to say to her.

Just as Hades was about to say something, Thanatos entered the room, carrying two plates filled with delicious looking fruits. Kore looked up and seemed delighted when Thanatos placed a plate in front of her.

"So you bring him his food as well?" Kore asked Thanatos.

"He trusts no one else," Thanatos chuckled and gave Hades a sly smirk as he set the other plate down. "Enjoy." Thanatos bowed before exiting the room.

"He seems a good servant." Kore said, trying to start a conversation.

"He does it because he wants to. And he's right, too. I've come to trust him the most."

Kore smiled at that. She looked down at her plate, trying to find a new topic of conversation.

"Where do you get all this fruit?" she asked at last.

"Believe it or not, it grows here."

Hades could tell by the expression on Kore's face that she didn't quite believe that.

"Without any sunlight?"

"Surprisingly, yes."

Kore picked up a pomegranate from off her plate and split it in half with ease. "These are my favorite. My mother always grows them for me up on the earth." She picked a few seeds from the pomegranate.

"Wait," Hades said hastily.

Kore's hand froze halfway between the fruit and her mouth. "What's the matter?" she asked, suddenly a bit worried.

"You do know that if you eat anything from the Underworld, you'll be bound to this place forever?"

Kore stared at him incomprehensibly.

"Meaning," Hades continued, "you won't be able to leave. Ever."

She looked at the fruit in her hand and put it back on the plate with dejection. She sighed and looked at Hades. "I'm sorry, but I have to go back eventually."

Hades nodded in understanding. He figured as much.

He stood from the table and moved around to where Kore was standing. "Come," he said, holding out his hand, "I want to show you something."