YAY!!! Chapter 8!!! I started working on this right after I downloaded Chapter 7!!!! Sadly, SOMEONE (*looks at guilty author*) has been stealing ideas but I'm not pointing fingers (point, point) and I'm not going to say any names (cough*author's name starts with an "S"* cough) because I'm a very good person like that ;).
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Hades POV
"..Hera." Persephone finally said.
"Hera? Why Hera?" I asked astounded.
"I don't really know, but she looks in need of consoling." Persephone stated.
I looked at the screen more closely and saw that she really needed some help.
"Come on, you seem to have a gift to make a person smile and she looks like she needs it." I said and stood up.
Persephone fidgeted. I was soon exasperated.
"Are you sure? Maybe someone else can help her." I looked at her and finally figured it out.
"Persephone, does this have anything to do with your father?" I whispered and drew closer to her.
"He's no father of mine." She spat as she shook with all her pent up anger.
"And he's not my brother." I said and smiled.
She smiled a little but still seemed nervous.
"But Hera will get angry seeing me. My mother....she..." Persephone looked away.
"Persephone, look at me."
I lifted her chin slightly, being as she almost is as tall as me, so her eyes would meet mine. My breath quickened and I wondered if I was going to be able to say the needed words to her while looking into those glorious deep brown pools of emotion.
"It wasn't your mother's fault. Zeus was the one who lusted her, not the other way around. In some weird, twisted, cynical, stupid way, I sort of thank him-."
My voice hitched and I could feel my blush coming up to my face from my neck. She squeezed one of my free hands and seemed to say that I didn't need to say more. She was blushing and put her head in the crook of my neck to hide her face. I put my arms around her and we stayed like that for a few minutes, Persephone continually looking up as my blush subsided. I coughed.
"I..um..think we should probably be going now."
She looked up at me and smiled. I smiled back, revealing my fangs as we pulled apart. She took my hand in her very slightly smaller one (notice I said slightly smaller with a five centimeter difference) and began to walk determinedly to Hera. In the screen, she appeared to still be in one of her fountain rooms with a weeping willow accompanying her.
"Clymene and her daughters seem to be accompanying her."
"Ah, yes. I guess Apollo remembered them and moved them into one of the fountain rooms for the gods to remember that the death of a loved one is painful." She said with a faraway look on her face.
"Persephone?"
"Huh, yes?"
"I'm here for you." I said and tightened my hold on her hand for a second. She smiled brightly.
We walked down the too brightly lit hallways and stopped at French doors with mosaic windows tinted with the slightest amount of color. The scene on it depicted weeping willows and Apollo on his sun chariot. Persephone took in a deep breathe and pushed the door, her hold on my hand tightening until my hand was slightly purple. I felt no pain from it though and walked with her over to Hera. Persephone took in another deep breath and sat down next to her, on the rim of the fountain and let go of my hand. I slowly massaged it until it was back to it's normal color. Hera seemed not to notice her as she wept piteously.
Now. I said and nodded.
"Hera-." Hera looked up surprised and smiled.
"Persephone." She breathed.
"It was Zeus again, wasn't it?" She asked.
Hera nodded and held onto Persephone tightly.
"He..he said...I was getting too old for him...and pleasuring himself with me would be a waste of time...when he could be with a nymph." She said and sniffed. Persephone seemed to get annoyed.
"Oh, Hera, don't you see? You could put an end to all this madness! You are the goddess of marriage!"
"What? What do you mean?" Hera seemed interested.
"You can reverse the bindings of your marriage and allow yourself to be free." I butted in.
"Why...why didn't you tell me 3 million years ago?" Hera asked, quite mad.
"I had no idea you were this far gone and if I did I would have told you sooner." I said and rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. I hate it when people get mad at me.
Persephone rubbed Hera's shoulder and stood up determinedly.
"Come on, do it! He'll be so blind-sided!" She urged and smiled evilly.
"You know what? I will, right now!" Hera proclaimed and stood up.
"That a girl." Persephone whispered and moved back to allow the goddess to do her work.
Hera closed her eyes and reopened them a moment later.
"Wait, there's a minor problem. How do I do the incantation?"
"Umm....hop on one foot and count to three? Just kidding. How do you use your powers?"
"I just say what I want into the thin air and it becomes true." Hera said.
"Well, then that's easy. Just say you don't want Zeus as your husband anymore into the air and it'll be true." Persephone reasoned.
Hera straightened herself and began to close her eyes.
"Zeus was the most terrible person to be chosen as my husband and a terrible ruler-"
"Didn't think she had the guts to say that." Persephone whispered and smiled.
"Shh." I said lightly and took her hand in mind.
"-for that I am sanctifying this godly divorce. I want nothing from him nor do I expect anything from him, for his words are lies-"
Suddenly Zeus came into the room.
"-and his mind perverse. Let it be known, that Zeus is not my husband anymore. The idiot." She ended it with a laugh.
To say that the whole proceedings was boring would be a lie. Zeus was surprised beyond hope and began to plead with Hera to take him back. Persephone started giggling and I couldn't help but chuckle a little too.
"Hera, I was just...frazzled that you wouldn't let me be with other women. I swear to you I did nothing to them." He lied.
"Sorry Zeus, what's done is done. Now you're free to do whatever you want with those toys you always try to hide in the closet and those women. And now that I'm free of your clutches, I just want to say this. You are the worst lier in the whole world. You're perverted and I hope none of the goddesses with a right mind would want to be with you. Goodbye Zeus, see you in a hundred years." She said and walked out the door. We were all bathed in stunned silence, then I realized something.
Shoot, we're in the same room as Zeus. I looked up.
He was turned away from us and looked as if he were grieving when all of a sudden he began to laugh.
Do you think he went crazy?I asked Persephone.
"Nah, I think he went loony."
"It's the same thing." I countered.
"No." She smiled.
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes." Then I began to smile also.
"No."
"Ye-." I stopped. Zeus seemed to be looking over where I stood hungrily. My eyes widened.
Persephone.
"Why hello Persephone. I didn't notice you were here." He raked his eyes over her body.
"Stop it Zeus." I snapped and held Persephone behind me.
"Hades? What's the matter?"
"Your father is perverted." I spat out. She looked up to see Zeus looking at her hungrily.
"Go to your nymphs Zeus." She said, near anger.
He seemed to think for a while.
"Fine. Why would even I want a second rate girl?"
I could feel Persephone's anger swell as mine did also.
"She isn't second rate!" I yelled.
"Stop trying to think she's not Hades." Zeus said and walked out.
Persephone didn't seem phased by Zeus's statement. She glared at him until he was completely out of her line of sight.
"The bas-"
"I don't think swearing is going to help you." I said. I looked out the window and saw Apollo setting and coming down to a landing on the mountain.
"I think you should go back to your mother now, Persephone." I whispered quietly.
I was torn and confused. I was letting her leave me to her mother and I was confused with my feelings. Something in me told me to ask her to come with me to the Underworld, but I refused it and returned my attention to Persephone.
"I don't want to go to her." She whispered. I sighed.
"Persephone." I whined.
It seemed funny that, I, the king of the Underworld and typically death, would whine to a goddess younger than I. She seemed to smile a little.
"Alright." She sighed deeply.
I smiled.
"But, I get to see you tomorrow, right?" My smile widened more.
"Sure." I said. She smiled at me and ran out to find her mother.
I sighed, my heart giving out sad, deep throbs as if it were robbed of all happiness. I sat on the fountain's rim and began rubbing my eyes. This feeling burning in my soul seemed to ignite every time I was either not with Persephone, or even thinking about Persephone and it was getting quite annoying-but comforting also. Then, I thought about what we would do tomorrow and my heart leaped and began thumping quite quickly. I put a hand over it and chuckled.
"Looks like someone got nicked by one of my arrows." I turned around and saw Eros leaning against the door frame.
"What? Eros, what are you doing here?" I asked.
"Just observing and perhaps meddling in your life a bit." He said and began examining his nails.
"I'm not in love, Cupid." I said. He seemed annoyed.
"It's Eros, not Cupid. E-R-O-S, got that? I've got enough things on my mind as it is and people just don't seem to get into their tiny, insignificant, useless brains that I'm not a naked, flying baby that likes to kill people's loneliness." He said and flicked off some lint off of his red shirt.
"So, you're here because you want to kill my loneliness? I thought Aphrodite did that."
"Mom doesn't do sweet love. She does lust." His face twisted and he imitated a bulimic person. (I'm not judging bulimic people and I'm not making fun of them. Bulimia is a very serious condition that should never by underestimated when it involves a person you know and should be reported to a health official.)
"What about you and Psyche? Your 17 year-old minds seem to be busy with SOMETHING." He reddened.
"Well, we've talked and, well, you know it wouldn't be right to-" He seemed to be getting quite uncomfortable, "-do that while she doesn't even know what I look like and, plus, all we've been doing is just sleeping in the same bed together." His cool exterior seemed to break and he began fidgeting.
"Oh, well....hope it works out." I said.
"Yea, I do too." He said and began to walk out the door when remembered why he was speaking to me.
"Hades, you are one smart god, but you can't escape me."
"Oh, whatever shall I do?" I asked dramatically and put a hand on my forehead.
"What you will do is to tell Persephone to be your queen, have dozens of kids, and live happily ever after. Oh, I can see it now. You'll be the proud father of little daughters and Persephone can teach them how to be rebellious and mischievous. Think-"
"Eros, as much as I like your little story, I think me and Persephone are going to stay friends." I said.
"How can you lie to your beating heart? The only thing that makes us equal with mortals below and you deny it in front of THE god of sweet love. Can't you just feel the love in the air?"
"Eros, if you start singing, I swear to the River Styx I will-"
Eros:
I can see what's happening-
Me:
What?
Eros:
And they don't have a clue
Me:
Who?
Eros:
You'll fall in love and heres the bottom line:
Me:
Your song will be done?
Eros glared at me.
Eros:
Ze sweet caress of twilight,
there's magic everywhere!
Me:
And with all this romantic atmosphere,
disaster's in the air!
This time he gave me a dirty look.
Eros:
Can you feel the love tonight?
The peace the evening brings.
The world, for once, in perfect harmony.
Eros looked at me. I rolled my eyes.
Me:
So many things to tell her
But how to make her see
The truth about my feelings. Impossible!
She'd turn away from me.
Somewhere in the Mt. Olympus.....
Persephone:
He's holding back, he's hiding
But what, I can't decide
Why won't he be the man I know he is
The husband I see inside?
Eros:
Can you feel the love tonight?
The peace the evening brings
The world, for once in perfect harmony
With all its living things
Can you feel the love tonight?
You needn't look too far
He looked pointedly at me.
Stealing through the night's uncertainties
Love is where they are.
Eros:
If you fall in love tonight,
It can be assumed.
Me:
My carefree days days with my kingdom are history
In short I am doomed!
He seemed to glare daggers at me, which I blocked quite successfully.
"Come on, Hades, you know you're in love." He argued.
"I'm not and she probably isn't." I turned around so I won't be able to see his smirking face.
"Do you know how she feels?" He quietly said.
I turned around, my eyes revealing my surprise. He chuckled.
"That's right, this god hears all, unless it's disgusting." He added quickly.
"You're lying.", I sneered, "Why should she love someone like me? It's all too quick, the timings not right-" Eros just shook his head.
"Love knows no boundaries nor time."
"Maybe....no, it isn't love." I turned away again.
"How can you be so sure? Your heart is beating and only for Persephone. Even now, I hear it beating with a strong rhythm. Hades, a god's heart doesn't beat unless they're in love!" He seemed to sing.
"Just let me think it through, let me make my own decisions, that's all I ask of you!" I said frantically and turned around to see no one there.
"I'll be back." The wind seemed to say.
I shook my head. I know I was lying and I know what he said is true. The heart I feel inside is beginning to make sense.
"What do I do now?" I whispered and shook my head.
I just want to say thank you to Disney and The Lion King for "Can You Feel The Love Tonight". It's not mine so it's their copyright and you're probably thinking that I want the song, but I don't. Sweet song, but just not my taste. No hate comments please.