Kore followed Hades through the many halls of his palace, her arm linked through his. She hated to admit it, but she rather enjoyed being this close to Hades. She knew she should hate him because her mother hated him, but she honestly couldn't find a single thing bad about him. He was the king of the underworld; he kept order among the dead so they didn't plague the earth. He wasn't a bad guy, just stuck with a thankless job.

The two of them stopped walking. Kore was confused. There seemed to be nothing here, just the continuation of the hall the must be around the corner. She couldn't see though because they had stopped just before the turn in the hallway.

"Close your eyes," Hades requested. Kore looked at him in confusion. "Please."

Kore closed her eyes, not sure what Hades was up to. She let him lead her around the corner, not being able to see anything herself. They stopped again and Kore kept her eyes closed.

Hades let go of her for a moment, instructing her not to look. She stood still for a while then began to fidget with impatience. What was it Hades wanted to surprise her with so badly?

She felt Hades latch on to her arm again and felt his breath against her ear as he whispered, "You can open your eyes now."

Kore did so and was immediately taken aback. She couldn't believe this place. It was a garden, just like the ones on earth. Everything was dark, sure, but it all seemed to grow perfectly healthy anyways. There were trees with many kinds of fruits, just like the ones she had been served earlier. There were flower beds places around the trees with care. They were perfectly organized with no weeds disrupting their homes. A path was laid perfectly in the center of the garden, leading to a door. A single bench halfway down the path was placed under a pomegranate tree. It was just as delicately carved as the rest of the furniture in the palace.

"This place is beautiful," Kore gasped, smiling up at Hades. "Thank you for showing me this."

"It's yours," Hades said softly, watching the expressions on Kore's face.

She smiled wider, unsure what else to say except for another "thank you."

"I have one condition," Hades added, walking Kore farther down the path. He gestured to some flowers with his hand.

Kore looked at the flowers. They looked like hydrangeas.

"They aren't real," she remarked, her smile fading. The flowers were made up of gemstones of varying colors. She hadn't noticed it from a distance. They still looked beautiful, but they just weren't the same as the real, living thing.

"Real flowers won't grow down here, but I think with you around they would." Hades watched Kore, noticing the look of disappointment on her face, but also the change in expression with his last remark.

"And why do you think that? I'm not as powerful a god as you may think."

"But you have power," Hades said sternly, "I think you could bring some life to this place. That's my condition."

Kore looked at him with disbelief. "And what if the flowers don't grow?"

"Then at least you tried." Hades was looking at her with so much intensity, so much belief that she even had that kind of power; the power to make living things grow in a place they did not want to grow.

She shook her head and looked back at the bejeweled flowers. Even though she didn't know Hades's motives behind wanting her to grow real flowers, she didn't want to disappoint him by failing.

Kore removed her arm from Hades's and backed up towards where they came in. "I'm going to walk around a little," she said quietly, not able to look Hades in the eyes. She smiled weakly, turned around, and fled the room.

Kore found herself back ing the dinning hall, sitting in a chair at the table and staring up at the vase of hyacinths she had placed there. She sighed, resting her head on her palm. She was thrilled that Hades was willing to give her an entire garden after only knowing her for a few short hours. Maybe he had some ulterior motives behind it, but she could think of none other then genuinely wanting real flowers to grow there. It's not that she couldn't make flowers grow— she did it all the time up on earth,— but she was uncertain that she had the power to grow them without sunlight and without rain. The trees in the garden seemed to grow beautifully, which was still curious to her, so why not flowers? Perhaps she would ask Hades about it later. She felt bad leaving him without saying much. He seemed to believe in her, and even if just in this one thing, it was more than anyone had ever believed in her before. Kore smiled weakly at that. Her mother had always told her, when the subject came up, that she couldn't go on adventures like some of the other gods did because it was dangerous and she wasn't powerful enough. Demeter was always paranoid in that way. Afraid that if Kore were left on her own for too long, some mortal would come along and steal her away.

When Kore brought the subject up to Apollo, he nearly scoffed and said, "a pretty thing like you? If you went on daring quests, us gods would have nothing to impress you with." Kore found that romantic at the time, thinking it meant Apollo would put himself in danger just to win her favor, but now it seemed so misogynistic.

She brought the subject up to Hermes as well who only told her, "it's not as grand as it seems." She supposed that, yes, if you were to put yourself in danger and travel every single day, it would get old, but what's one adventure except exciting?

Kore sighed again. Everyone told her she was too fragile or too pretty to be exploring the corners of the world. No one thought she could do anything. No one except Hades. He had actually seemed to believe in her. Maybe it was his mere desperation to make this place not seem so drab, or maybe he really did and an ulterior motive behind it, but she couldn't help but feel like he genuinely believed that she could hold power.

She placed her arms in front of her on the table and put her head down. What was she going to do? She was so afraid of failure. She was terrified of disappointing Hades. What if he got angry with her and threw her in Tartarus? She doubted he would do that, but still. She heard stories of Hades's temper. Even if he didn't get angry with her, she didn't think she could stand to see him disappointed with her. She didn't know why, but she wanted so desperately to impress him.

A few days had passed and Kore had decided to attempt bringing the garden some life. She had taken a couple of the Hyacinths from the vase and planted their seeds around some of the jeweled flowers that looked rather like lavenders. She took care of the flowers everyday, spending hours just watering them and trying to make them grow with her will alone.

Weeks had passed, then, and Kore was delighted to find the Hyacinths sprouting from the ground. They were still small, but they were growing. With excitement, she got up and nearly sprinted to Hades's throne room. There was a side entrance through an almost hidden hallway that she had discovered recently. It was quicker to go that way than it was to walk all the way around the palace to the front. Kore stopped at the corner of the hall where it opened up into the throne room. She noticed Hades was having a conversation with Hermes of all people. She made sure she was out of sight of the two.

"Helios told Demeter he saw her come down here. I find it hard to believe you have no knowledge of this," she heard Hermes say.

"I have not seen the young girl," Hades said, his voice cold. Kore had never heard Hades speak so coldly before. It sent shivers down her spine.

"Please, Zeus sent me down here to bargain for the girl. As I said before, Helios saw her come down here and she has yet to return to the world above. Forgive us our suspicions, but what else are we to believe but that you have kept her imprisoned down here?" Kore had the sinking suspicion that they were talking about her. If that were the case, why would Hades lie about her being here?

"I have done nothing of the sort. I feel for Demeter, having lost her daughter, but I'm afraid I can be of no help to you."

"The world above is dying. Demeter refuses to let anything grow. The mortals are dying, not only from lack of food, but from the extreme cold Demeter has cast upon the earth. Zeus has declared enough enough, but Demeter listens to no one. The earth will stay this way until Kore is returned to her mother."

"Believe me, I like this as little as you do. Who do you think has to keep balance amongst the dead?"

"You, m'lord."

"Exactly. And this fit that Demeter is throwing has increased the number of souls coming down here each day. I want this to end as badly as the rest of you, so if Kore were down here, I'd send her with you right this instant. However, I have not seen the girl, meaning I cannot be of help to you."

Hermes was silent for a moment, analyzing the situation no doubt. Did he know that Hades was lying? She could have walked out there and proven Hades's statement to be false, but she didn't have the courage to do such a thing. She shook away her thoughts as Hermes spoke again.

"I will tell Lord Zeus of this news. I advise you keep an eye out for her. If she is harmed, Demeter's wrath will fall upon you." Kore heard the doors of the throne room slam shut. She carefully looked around the corner and saw no one but Hades there. He was slumped against the back of his throne with his hand covering his face.

Kore took a few cautious steps into the room. "Why did you lie to him?" she asked.

Hades looked up slightly, but did not look at her. "How much did you overhear?"

"Enough," she said firmly. "My mother is killing the earth and yet you refuse to let me leave."

She heard Hades sigh. "You may leave whenever you wish."

Kore walked closer to him, about to put a hand on his shoulder, but deciding against it. "Why did you lie to Hermes?"

Hades said nothing, still refusing to look at her. She stared at him for a while. The silence was tense.

"I think I know why," she whispered and planted a quick kiss on Hades's cheek. "I'll be in the garden."

She left the room the way she came and walked to her destination.

When she entered the garden, she noticed Thanatos standing above the flowers she had recently grown. She smiled and walked towards him, saying hello.

"These flowers are looking nice," he noted. Still staring at them. "I'm glad you managed to grow them."

"They're still sprouts. Should be a few weeks still until the flowers bloom. We'll see how they thrive when we get there."

Thanatos smiled and put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure they'll be beautiful."

He was about to add to his statement, but stopped himself. Kore got the feeling he was going to say "like you," but she knew that was just her mind used to others saying things like that. Apollo, mostly.

She smiled back at him and muttered a "thanks." She looked at the flowers again and frowned. She couldn't help but think back to the conversation she overheard between Hades and Hermes and how Hades wouldn't look at her afterwards. She knew he didn't want her to leave and, quite frankly, she didn't really want to leave either. She liked it down here. Sure, she missed the sun and sometimes her mother, too, but everyone down here was so nice to her. She felt sad when she thought about how she would have to leave soon.

Kore felt Thanatos's hand tighten on her shoulder.

"Is something the matter, m'lady?" he asked.

"Why do you always insist on using formalities? You don't have to listen to a single word I say," she said instead of answering him.

"Perhaps I use formalities because I simply wish to," he smirked.

Kore laughed. Thanatos probably did everything on his own accord. She guessed Hades actually had little power over him and he merely acted as a servant because it gave him something to do everyday other than reaping souls and bringing them to the underworld. She thought about that for a moment, not sure if that was actually what Thanatos did. Maybe he simply decided when someone should die and inform the fates so they could cut that person's thread of life. Is that even how a mortal life worked? She wasn't sure. No one ever told her about that aspect of the Underworld.

Thanatos removed his hand from Kore's shoulder and began walking towards the door on the other end of the pathway. "I'll leave you alone." He looked past Kore and gave a curt nod before exiting the garden.

Kore looked behind her and noticed Hades standing near the entrance opposite of where Thanatos left. She gave a small smile, doubting Hades could even see it. He walked forward some and sat down on the bench that was under the pomegranate tree. Kore couldn't help but notice that every movement Hades made was smooth and elegant.

He gestured to the space next to him and Kore obediently sat down. The two of them sat in silence for a long time, but when around Hades, it was never an uncomfortable silence.

Hades reached up to the tree and plucked a perfectly ripe pomegranate from a branch. He split it open flawlessly and handed half to Kore.

"You don't have to leave here, you know," he said quietly.

Kore looked at the half of the pomegranate Hades was offering to her for a while before taking it from him. She had been in the Underworld for a few weeks without eating anything. She could feel herself getting weaker and wondered if it was noticeable to Hades.

"I can't," she whispered, "I have to go back eventually."

"Not if you eat food from the Underworld. You can stay and there will be nothing to be done about it. Your mother will get over her grieving."

Kore looked at the pomegranate half in her hands, unsure of what to do. If she ate the fruit, she would never be allowed to leave. However, if she stayed here for too long, her mother may very well destroy the entire earth. The gods were already searching for her. Hermes said something about Demeter confronting Helios and Zeus. If Zeus demanded her return, then surely the situation on earth was bad. Why else would Zeus care about her safety?

"You don't have to eat anything," Hades said after awhile, "I'm just presenting you with the option."

He wanted her to stay; Kore was certain of this now. The way he looked at her and the way his voice became gentler when it was just the two of them said it all. She knew Hades didn't want to give her up to Demeter.

Kore looked at Hades and found him staring at her. She looked back at the pomegranate in her hands and took six seeds from it. She had made up her mind.