Persephone raised Macaria well. Years had passed and the young goddess was now a teenager in the mortal sense. She wasn't yet a matured goddess and still lacked the power and knowledge to be fully unsupervised as an immortal deity, but she was older now and close to becoming a full-time resident of the Underworld. Persephone tried her hardest not the think about being separated from her child, but she knew her fate was inevitable. The best she could do was be happy with the time she got.

Hades was much the opposite. Every year when Persephone and Macaria returned to the Underworld, he felt as though he missed out on a lot of his daughter's life. He was thrilled that she would soon be staying with him, but was torn on the subject due to the obvious sadness of his wife. It was a tough situation their family was in, but they made it work somehow.

Macaria and Persephone had just returned to the Underworld for the winter and Macaria left her mother to immediately spend time with Cerberus. The three-headed deity guarding the Underworld had been Macaria's best friend growing up. Persephone mused at how her daughter almost seemed to miss Cerberus every year more than her own father. She relayed her musings to Hades when he greeted them at the gates.

"I'm glad, though, that she is able to find happiness in such a place as this," Hades responded, kissing his wife, "Just as you have."

"I try very hard to hide my emotions. I'm surprised you can even tell that I am happy," Persephone joked, grinning and contradicting herself.

Hades chuckled at his wife's playfulness. He couldn't help but feel as though she were trying to imply that he himself hid his emotions much too often, but in a polite sort of way.

Persephone told Hades of her time with Macaria on earth as they walked towards the palace's throne room. She reassured Hades that he really hadn't missed much and that Macaria was actually much more herself while they were in the Underworld.

"I still wish I could be there for her more than I am," Hades said with sadness in his voice that only Persephone could notice.

"She doesn't resent you," she replied, "if that is what you are worried about. She is actually quite fond of you. Speaks to my mother about you all the time."

"Are you sure it is not the two of them sharing their mutual resentment of me," Hades said with a smirk. "That seems much more likely."

Persephone laughed and shook her head, "I promise the things Macaria says about you are all good. As for Demeter, not so much."

Hades chuckled as he led Persephone through the doors to the throne room. As they entered, they saw Macaria sitting upon Persephone's throne and holding a conversation with Thanatos.

Upon realizing that her parents were present in the room, Macaria quickly removed herself from the throne and acted as though she hadn't just been sitting there. Thanatos glanced over at the king and queen and gave them a look of amusement.

Persephone decided to ignore the fact that her daughter had been sitting in her throne, and instead directed herself towards the conversation Macaria and Thanatos had been holding.

"What were you two gossiping about?" Persephone said with mock accusation.

"Thanatos was telling me about how difficult it is to reap the souls of the dead."

"Surely it can't be that difficult," Hades replied dryly, walking past the other gods to sit in his throne, "I hardly ever see Thanatos doing any work."

Macaria laughed at her father's obvious joke and replied, "Then perhaps he could use some help picking up the slack."

Persephone and Hades stared at their daughter in confusion while Thanatos chuckled and said to Macaria, "Why don't you wait outside? I will speak with them."

Macaria smiled nervously before removing herself from the room. Hades directed his attention towards Thanatos.

"What is this all about?" He demanded.

"Please do not be angry, m'lord," Thanatos began, though his demeanor was not nervous. He seemed almost mischievous, as though he and Macaria had been planning something before the arrival of the king and queen.

"I was speaking with Macaria just now, as well as last winter. She has taken up a surprising interest in the work I do and would like to train under my command. Perhaps the mortals could use a goddess who is much like our Lady Persephone to represent their honorable and "blessed" deaths."

Hades seemed to regard Thanatos's words with great consideration, but Persephone replied immediately, "Absolutely not!"

"Think about this for a moment Persephone," Hades said with a hint of irritation, "Macaria is not a goddess of the earth and never will be. Her fate lies here in the Underworld. If she wishes to aid Thanatos in his duties, I see no harm in allowing her to do so."

Persephone stared at her husband in disbelief, "My daughter will not be held responsible for the deaths of mortals. Even those who died honorably. She should not have to bear such a reputation."

"She already bears that reputation by simply being my daughter," Hades countered, "I see no harm in this."

"You forget, Hades, she is my daughter too—"

"I could never forget—"

"And as my daughter she should not have to suffer the same fate as I have."

The room became silent. Persephone's hands flew to cover her mouth as she processed what she had just said. Thanatos muttered something and excused himself from the room as Hades stared at his wife with shock and a hint of anger.

"Are you unhappy here Persephone," Hades said in a false calm. His face remained stoic, but a warning flashed in his eyes that Persephone best choose her next words carefully.

She remained silent.

"I see," Hades said and stood from his throne. He walked calmly out of the throne room, but when he exited, Persephone heard the door slam behind him with added force. She flinched at the sound and sat frozen in place. She meant none of what she said, but she knew the damage had already been made.

After Hades had calmed himself down from his fight with Persephone, he sought out his daughter. Macaria was sitting by the edge of the River Styx, watching as Charon carried souls across the river, then retreated back to the opposite shore, then again carried more should across.

Hades sat down quietly next to his daughter and stared into the water of the river. He remembered sitting like this with Persephone on earth when he found out she was pregnant. Silently and thoughtfully.

"You two had a fight because of me, didn't you?" Macaria asked, although her tone made it more of a statement.

"No," Hades said simply, "She can be unreasonable."

"I agree," Macaria sighed, "Just as protective as Demeter. They never let me do anything when we're on earth."

"Listen," Hades looked at Macaria seriously. He knew he was about to take a risk for his daughter, "Learn what you will from Thanatos. I think it an excellent idea for you to become acquainted with the rules of the dead. Before long, you will rarely be allowed on earth. You might as well have a purpose while you are trapped here."

"I don't see it as entrapment," Macaria replied, "I see it as home. Has mother agreed to this?"

"No. She knows nothing of this."

Macaria stared at her father in confusion, "You are planning to keep this secret from her? What if she finds out?"

Hades stood and said, "Make sure she does not find out. I will inform Thanatos of this arrangement and you will begin your training tomorrow." He started to say something more, but decided against it and walked off towards the palace.

Macaria smiled to herself as she was left alone. She could keep a secret. How hard could it be?

The years past as they always did and Macaria was now permanently residing in the Underworld. She was still learning the proper ways of collecting mortal souls, but she was on her way to having a permanent title as a goddess of the dead. Persephone never knew of Macaria's training with Thanatos, though she heavily suspected her husband was keeping something from her. She learned not to question it, though, due to Hades's temper being more uncontrollable as of late.

The couple fought constantly over the wellbeing of their child and Persephone soon began to resent Hades as she returned to earth for the summer. The first summer without Macaria.

She never wept, though. She was never sad from being separated from her daughter. Sure, she missed her terribly, but her bitterness of the whole situation overcame any sadness she may have felt.

Once again, Persephone found herself sitting by the river with Apollo. It had become their spot over the years. Whenever one was in want of the other's company, they always waited in the same spot by that river; the other never far behind.

Persephone sat next to Apollo in bitter silence, not really wanting to talk, but not wanting to be alone. Apollo complied to the silence, though he tried occasionally to start conversation and received nothing in response.

"It's different not having Macaria around," Apollo finally said, figuring the most painful subject to Persephone was the only one she would talk about.

"I have no say over her residence in the Underworld," Persephone responded, glaring at the water.

"And if you did?"

"Then she would be here now." Persephone's tone should have put an end to the conversation, but Apollo decided to push the subject.

"What if she wanted to stay? Would you let her?" Apollo looked at Persephone and noticed how her jaw tightened and her eyes narrowed in an even more pronounced glare.

Apollo sighed, "What has Hades done to make you so upset?"

"Absolutely nothing."

"You seem as though the very idea of him is painful."

"We're fine."

Apollo sighed again and looked up at the sky. There had to be more to Persephone's bitterness than her separation from her daughter.

"We're not fine," Persephone said after a long silence. Apollo looked at her as if to tell her to continue. "We've been fighting. I accidentally said some stuff I didn't mean, but then I thought about it more and more and I started to believe what I had said."

"What did you say?"

"I told Hades I didn't want Macaria to end up trapped in the Underworld like I am."

Apollo was shocked. Never had he heard Persephone say one bad word about Hades or his domain. What could have changed her mind so easily?

"I didn't mean it when I said it. Macaria wanted to learn how to reap souls as Thanatos does, but I didn't want her to. It seemed too real to me that I was about to lose her. But, as the time went by, Hades became distant and we never talked about what I had said. We argued about what would happen to Macaria and I started to feel trapped. Trapped by Hades's irritation and his secrets and his detachment. It just became to much." Persephone looked at Apollo with sadness in her eyes, "When I said I was trapped— the first time— Hades asked if I was no longer happy with him. I fear the answer may now be that I'm not."

"You said he was keeping secrets?" Apollo said. His face was full of concern. Persephone and Hades's biggest issue was that they never communicated as they should. If one of them were to start keeping things from the other, it would be hard to fix their relationship.

"I have my suspicions that he may be hiding something. I have no proof and no idea what it may be. Just mere speculation…" Persephone looked off into the water again and sighed.

"I'm sorry," she said, "You shouldn't have to listen to my marital problems."

Apollo put an arm around Persephone's shoulders and pulled her closer.

"You are my dearest friend," Apollo assured, "I care deeply about you. Do not ever feel as though you can't share your problems with me."

"It seems silly," Persephone laughed without humor in her voice, "You never seem to have these issues."

"I am not married." Apollo was silent for a moment before adding, "Though I have had my fair share of romantic mishaps."

"But you've never been in love."

"On the contrary. I've been in love a few times," He paused for a moment, thinking about telling Persephone that he was in love at that moment. He regained his senses and instead said, "I believe it is you who have never been in love. Infatuation is the term I would use to describe your marriage. You're happy when things seem perfect, but the minute they go bad, you'd rather have nothing to do with each other than work through your problems."

Persephone thought about this for a moment. Apollo had a point, but he was wrong at the same time. She's tried working through her problems with Hades. She'd probably be doing exactly that if she weren't forced to stay away from him for six months.

"Then again," Apollo added, "I know very little about your relationship."

"You're right in that you know nothing. We try to work through our problems, but sometimes the timing just doesn't work out. We have no choice but to avoid each other, that's what you fail to understand." Persephone looked at Apollo seriously and shrugged his arm off her shoulders. "I appreciate you listening to my problems, but I think it best if you try not to fix them."

Apollo silently agreed and dropped the conversation. He sat with his knees pulled up the his chest, his arms and head resting atop them. He stared out towards the horizon deep in thought once more.

Persephone sighed and looked at Apollo apologetically. "I did not mean to offend you."

"And no offense had been taken," was his curt reply. "Tell me something: Where do you think you would be right now had you never met Hades?"

"What?" Persephone almost laughed at how strange the question seemed.

"Humor me."

"Probably alone and desperately trying to get away from my 'overbearing' mother." She chortled.

"Really? You wouldn't have taken up any suitors?" Apollo knew he was dangerously close to telling Persephone how much he longed to be her husband, but luckily for him, she din't seem to catch on quite yet.

"My mother would not have let me marry," Persephone replied.

"That didn't seem to stop you when you married Hades. Your marriage was done in secret, was it not? When your mother found out, it was already too late."

Persephone stared at Apollo in bewilderment. She figured he was trying to say something with all of these questions, but she couldn't quite understand what he was implying.

"This is all theoretical," Apollo explained, "Don't look so deep into it."

"You wouldn't ask if you didn't have a reason to."

Apollo stared back at Persephone and the two sat in silence. Before either of them had realized what was happening, Apollo has pressed his lips to Persephone's; gentle yet full of passion.

Persephone was stunned.

After realizing that the kiss was not being reciprocated, Apollo pulled away slowly, but still held Persephone's face close to his.

"I'm sorry," he said breathily as he withdrew farther away. Persephone stared into Apollo's eyes, still confused by what had happened, but understanding his theoretical questioning.

Apollo sat still in front of Persephone, waiting for some kind of reaction or reply. Upon receiving neither, he kissed her again. Persephone melted into the kiss this time, not thinking about how wrong was. It felt right. What else mattered?

The pair pulled apart from their kiss and it immediately clicked in Persephone's brain what she had done. She frantically pushed Apollo away and stood up, muttering about how wrong this was and how stupid she felt.

Apollo made no attempt to move or calm Persephone down. He simply sat there, watching as she fought with herself over her morality and her emotions.

Finally, she turned on Apollo and pointed and accusatory finger at him.

"Why did you do that?" She demanded.

"You had no issue until you decided it was what you wanted."

"What I want is for my marital problems to be fixed, not added upon!" Persephone was running her hands through her hair, trying to think of logical explanations for what had just happen between her and Apollo.

"This cannot happen," she pleaded with herself, "this never should have happened."

Apollo stood and held Persephone in front of him by her shoulders. "Why can't this happen?" He whispered.

"I'm married, Apollo!"

"Why should that matter?

"I'm faithful to my husband." Persephone's voice faltered slightly and even she didn't quite believe herself.

Apollo thought about bringing up Adonis, but decide it would not help his point.

"That husband you're so faithful to hasn't been the most attentive now that he has his daughter."

Tears began to form in Persephone's eyes. She hated that Apollo was right. Her sobbing soon became uncontrollable and Apollo pulled her close into and embrace. He lead her back to the ground so that they were both sitting and he let her cry. They stayed there for a long time, even after Persephone had stopped crying. Apollo tried to talk to Persephone, but concluded that she had fallen asleep. He felt bad that her relationship with Hades was so emotionally straining. At the same time, though, he couldn't help but feel as though he might have a chance at his own relationship with her.

Apollo gently moved Persephone so that he could lay her in the grass without waking her. He laid himself down next to her and was soon asleep as well.

Author's Note: Hey all! Don't get too excited about how often I'm posting. I've been inspired/procrastinating on school work lately so I've gotten a lot done with this story. I'm probably going to give myself a break so I can kind of just process what I've written, but hopefully I can get these chapters out on a weekly/monthly schedule. We'll see what happens.

If you're enjoying this story, feel free to let me know in the comments. I love hearing your feedback! :)

Best wishes! (And I promise not to make these author notes a regular thing)