It had been many months since Persephone had been married to Apollo.
Her mother was once again her constant companion, but Persephone didn't smile or speak to her, nor anyone else.
She didn't even hold Apollo's hand willingly. He had since given up trying to go any farther.
Most of the time, the goddess stayed in her room. At bedtime, she lied at the farthest edge of the bed. She found no comfort in Apollo,
except in a rare moment when his voice would truly charm her.
He gently sang a lullaby one night, and Persephone was nearly engulfed in sleep when he abruptly stopped and rolled onto his side.
"You don't love me?" he asked, as he did nearly every night. But tonight felt somehow different. More distraught and sincere.
For once, to counter his change in attitude, Persephone looked at his face. "I can't love you. Not in the way you want me to. Parts of human
hearts are reserved to certain people, and it's about the same with gods like us. The part of my heart that you want to catch isn't there
anymore. I have left it in a place you would abhor; which carries no life or light, but still love."
Apollo smiled morosely in the dark and turned away again. He would have to find a new love after all, because there was no way he could
keep her away from her true place.
The next day, which was in the spring of the leap year, the gods were gathering for a diplomatic meeting on Olympus. Persephone walked
out into the sun, being forced to attend the meeting. She stayed in the shade as much as possible. The sun burned her skin.
She strode past Hestia, who managed the hearth in the corner.
"Hello, Persephone!" she said brightly.
Persephone smiled artificially. "Hello, Lady Hestia," she replied politely.
Hestia turned her auburn head of curly hair back to the hearth, focusing on nurturing the flame.
"Having some trouble there?" Persephone asked.
"I've been having trouble with it for a while now," Hestia told her. "It's very odd. I don't think it's ever happened before."
"Good luck," said Persephone, who didn't know what else to say, and kept walking.
Zeus boomed, "The meeting shall commence in a few short minutes!"
The goddess sighed and cautiously moved into the light, and walked to her place at the table. The gods eventually congregated at the long
table; the most important sitting by Zeus, the minor gods sitting lonely at the end.
Only one seat was empty. Once it was filled, Persephone looked up.
It was Hades. She smiled, and grinned so hugely that it hurt, as if to compensate for the wasted time not smiling. Throughout the meeting,
Zeus trailed on dully, and Persephone and Hades stared at each other, too far away to communicate without the other gods noticing.
When Zeus decided it was time for a break, the first gods to slip away from their seats were Hades and Persephone. They rushed to a
secluded corner not very far from Hestia. Hades took her hands.
"I am so sorry, Persephone. I'm a coward. I should have come long ago," he said lowly. Persephone was too choked up with bittersweet
happiness to say anything.
That single moment that was from then on wordless seemed to last forever, until Poseidon saw them. He cocked an eyebrow, blue eyes
analyzing the situation. He knew as well as anyone that they were not supposed to be together. But he had no intention of revealing them,
as he saw in their eyes the same way he felt about his Amphitrite.
Unluckily, several other gods noticed Poseidon staring at them, and Eris told Zeus. She smiled evilly as she told him, being the goddess of
discord. Thunder cracked overhead, and lightning flashed by the island in the sky. The congregation was startled.
"HADES!" he bellowed. The Lord of the Underworld shivered, but stood tall and stepped forward.
Persephone whispered, "Hades, no!"
"You are responsible for a misdeed against Olympus and against me and against Persephone. And you have the AUDACITY to show up here
and stand with her in the corner!" Zeus shouted.
"I am not the only one who is responsible for a misdeed," Hades said calmly. He looked pointedly at Apollo, who gazed around as if
innocent.
"You blame me for the condition my wife is in?" he said incredulously. At the words "my wife," Hades wanted to strangle him. "She told me
what a terrible person you've been to her," the light god continued flippantly. Demeter began to shriek in outrage and Hades was about to
interrupt and Persephone shook her head when Apollo finished, "After all, you have taken a dear part of her heart and kept it. She told me
herself." Hades' hands were quaking with fury that was beginning to subside, and he gazed at Persephone. The spectators made a highly
unusual lack of noise. In fact, the Olympian pavilion was muted. "And, it appears, from how you stand so bravely before us, that she has
stolen some of your soul in return."
"I will not allow my daughter's captor to hold any claim over her! She cannot possess love yet, she is only a child!" Demeter cut in,
gesticulating emphatically. Zeus nodded in the grain goddess's approval.
Persephone couldn't take it anymore. She had stood by quietly while she was violated, separated from the one she wanted to be with, and
married to someone else who everyone knew was capable of violating her more.
Above the buzzing of budding whispers, she yelled, "Stop it, Mother!" She stormed forward and scanned the crowd. Her mother was
surprised and hurt. Apollo smiled sadly. No one made a sound.
Persephone could not form a word, she was so clogged up with outrage, but her jade eyes burned. She delivered her message to the gods,
shooting each a furious look.
Her eyes lingered on Aphrodite, and they softened. They smiled at each other. Persephone turned to Hades. She stood on her toes to look
in his gleaming eyes. Her throat loosened with the affection she felt.
"These months have been torturous," Hades pronounced.
"Hey, I've spent them with Apollo," she said jokingly. Hades laughed a little. Apollo laughed along, though recognizing the insult.
Persephone smiled again, and said firmly, "I love you."
Thanatos sniffed in the corner. "Called it," he coughed, and Cerberus harrumphed.
She made a slight movement, and her lips touched Hades', for the first time. There was such a blinding light that everyone in the group of
gods stepped back and shielded their eyes. At the front of the pavilion, Hestia's hearth poured out flames. Pure warmth encircled the
pavilion.
Once the light had died away, an entrancing glow remained between their fingers. They were still kissing, which made it very awkward for
Apollo. He looked around and slinked away, soon followed by Artemis who wanted to find out whether she should scold or console her twin.
This show of affection drew out old memories of love in Zeus and Demeter, and no one could deny what this was.
When Hades and Persephone finally broke apart, they were both flushed, and neither could look away from the other.
"You owe me 200 drachma," Thanatos said conspicuously to Cerberus. Hades glared at Death, who smiled inanely. "Well?" he prompted.
"You're only going to kiss her once?"
The Lord of the Underworld laughed again. "Trust me," he said, more to Persephone than Thanatos, "this is only the beginning." And he
kissed her again. This time, the observing gods applauded.
A/N- Well, my dear readers, this is the end of my account of Hades and Persephone.
Thank you all so much for all the support and advice and PM's! I won't ever forget how great it feels to have kind, insightful people reading my stories.
I hope you liked the story, and that your holiday season is lovely!
Signing off for the final time on this story,
A.Z.