TALK WITH DEMETER
"Darling," My mother purred while she sat on a boulder. "Sit below me, so I can play with your hair. Then we can talk about what happened in the meeting concerning your marriage." She produced a large palm leaf for the other boulder only two feet under her rock. I lifted myself onto the stone and sat down without complaining. I tucked my knees under my legs. Artemis had told me the truth about the meeting, so Demeter's would be spoiled with lies about the suitors.
The sun shone in the sky. It supplied the plants with the warmth and energy needed to grow. I could not see it properly since we were surrounded and covered by the oaks along the stream, but I could feel the connection. My every muscle felt the heat flying off the fiery orb and turning my skin a darker shade. Although my skin was naturally a creamy white, it stayed darker due to my high exposure to the sun. I could hear the stream trickling as water pushed off of the fallen branches and rocks.
"Apollo, Hermes, and Aristaeus all want to meet you. They were the only worthy suitors according to your father, but I do not care one bit for Hermes or Apollo. They only play at love and would have an affair in a heartbeat. Not only that, but Hermes said I was an overbearing mother and you should leave me. Can you believe that?" She asked. Her hands played with my golden fronds, untangling the knots with her plump hands. It reminded me of my younger years where she would put vines and other flowers into my hair. "Then he had the nerve to talk about your body instead of your kind nature. He is a brute of a god." She spat not waiting for my reply.
Of course, she would spin the story in her flavor. In truth, Hermes berated her for keeping me away from the meeting hall and called out her possessive nature. "Then Apollo kept playing his lyre. What an annoying sun god. Singing about your plump breasts and tender curves. What an insult. You should never take a man who does not respect yourself and your body. The way he sung about what he would do to you." Her hands shook with fury. "Taking you for a ride on his fire chariot. What lies." The goddess gripped my hair and pulled at it. "Mother." I warned her of the pain she was causing me. She looked down at me and smiled apologetically at me. "Sorry, my dear." She cooed and continued to play with my hair.
The way her hands ran through my hair gave me a sense of relaxation as she went on about the meeting. I wanted to ask her if there had been a Northern diplomat at Olympus, but it seemed out of place. She continued her fudged story about the meetings. "Then Hades entered the room and demanded authority over my territory. He wants the power to put up gates in fertile land. Fertile land! He will hinder my crops if he puts up those hellish gates." My mother growled. "What a disgrace he is. As a younger brother he should respect me and my realm." She ridiculed her sibling.
I blinked. Her analysis of Hades seemed flawed. He wanted those gates to keep the souls from leaving the Underworld and causing havoc in the mortal world. They would haunt, torment, and lead the mortals to certain death as the vengeful spirits they are. "But the plant roots do not even make it as far of the entrance to the Underworld, so how would it hinder the growth?" I asked suddenly questioning my mother. I lifted my head and stared directly at her. My yellow hues met her stunned emerald eyes. I never challenged her thoughts. Her hands stopped messing with my hair.
She placed her hand under my chin and pinched it. "You have been talking to Artemis. Have you not? What have I told you about her?" Her eyes turned to slits in her fury. "All she knows about is hunting animals and forcing them to rip out my crops. Look at her deer eating the value food meant for mortals. She is a plague on humanity like Hades." Her fingered continued to twist my chin. I winced from the pain. "She is not. She is my sister and goddess of the moon. She tells me the truth unlike you. Always making up stories to make yourself look better than you are. Like with Hermes. He talked of my kind nature, not my body as you say. Artemis told me." I remarked. "Not only that, but Hades needs those gates to protect the souls from escaping. Could you not grant him that?" I asked, pleading for the death god, the one I never met. Her smile curled like an imp's at that moment. Whenever someone displeased her she would wear this smile and banish them to a life full of wandering the world without food, but forever having the hunger.
Then Demeter lifted her hand and slapped my right cheek. I covered the stinging cheek with my hands and felt a hot tear roll down my face. She hit me like one of her underlings. A knot formed in my stomach. Not one of pain and anguish, but one shining with rage. "Persephone, at this point you should know who to trust. You are a woman grown and about to marry. I am your mother. Why would I ever lie to you?" Her hand she used to slap me caressed my reddened cheek. Her sincere eyes glinted with mischief and vehemence. My yellow hues matched her glowing eyes.
She looked like a cat going in for the kill and I was her mouse. The one meant to follow and heed her every word. I did not want to be that child again. The one who treaded after her like a chick, yet I could do nothing. Her power was absolute, and I was her bastard daughter with the powers equal to an nymph. I could grow plants all I wanted if they were under my palm, but I could not turn into a plant or command the plants to do as I bide. Demeter though could bring the mortals to their knees by destroying their acres of their crops if they disobeyed or disrespected her. My left hand gripped my thigh and squeezed letting my rage subside before speaking again.
"No." I whispered, defeated. Her smile became playful again. "It would be best for you to know who to trust once you marry, and Artemis and Hades are not ones to pay respects to like you just did." She patted my head as way of showing her supremacy over me. "You have never seen, nor met Hades, otherwise you would not be so quick as to defend him." She mused. "And you do not want to meet him either. He is a dull and vindictive creature. Stay away from him, Persephone." She warned me. I nodded my head.
"Anyway, let's stop talking about my brother. He was always a sore spot for me." She graced me with a charming smile. One that would win over the child I had been, but now I was growing into a woman and I knew better than to trust the vengeful creature she was. "In a few days Hermes will come and meet with you then Apollo and Aristaeus, respectively. Your friends will be there with you, so do not worry about them stealing your flower."
"Also once you marry, you will become an Olympian. You would be able to tip the balance in your husband's favor; therefore Hermes and Apollo desire you as their bride. Ares and Aphrodite are lovers and vote the same in every aspect. Apollo and Hermes assume this will happen if they marry you. As for Aristaesus, he would be good for you. He is a minor god and therefore could not influence your decisions, so you could vote your own way." She explained.
"Zeus also promised not to force you into marriage without love. I made him because I saw many arranged marriages fail and I want you to be happy as my only daughter." She pinched my cheeks. I could be happy about the love match, but I did not believe I could love any of my suitors. Hermes was a seducer, Apollo was a flighty man, and Aristaesus was too meek of a man for me. I wanted a man to respect me as his equal, not use me as an asset, nor a pawn. Demeter taught me the world had players and pawns and as a goddess I was a player except when it came to her. I would have to respect her and her decisions at Olympus once I became an Olympian. I gripped the fabric under my hand harder. If I was not my husband's pawn, I would be her's. It left a bitter taste in my mouth.