Chapter 5
Morning came easier to Persephone, having all of her thoughts sorted out made it easier for her to get some rest and wake up. With a more cheerful expression she went through her morning routines. That time they were done rather quicker, for Nysa already knew what to do and did it with utter perfection. It was during bath that she remembered that she was to have her breakfast with Hades, she couldn't yet bring herself to call him husband. The word sounded too intimate to use with someone that she had no feelings of intimacy for, but strangely enough, he called her wife and dear. The Goddess didn't know why. She was still deciding if she should apologize for the behavior she had during dinner. Maybe she should, until that point he hadn't forced himself upon her or tried to hurt her, far from that. It seemed that he was taking care of her and tried to make her comfortable on the palace. With her mind set, she went to get dressed, getting annoyed at the very second the thought of the wardrobe came to her, she had nothing decent to wear, 'Maybe it would be a good idea to ask him for something else' she wondered, but there was a voice in her head that made Persephone doubt that he would comply.
When she got to her room, she had the same cool gray dress she had seen a couple of days ago waiting for her. It didn't please her much, but she was running out of options. When she was done, someone knocked on the door, 'It must be him' she guessed. She went to open the door and there he was, all clad in black leather. 'Good morning, my dear' he greeted with courtesy, 'Good morning' she answered back with a low voice. Hades, discreetly took notice of her gown and gulped a bit, he figured that controlling himself would be more difficult than he had expected 'What was I thinking when I choose those gowns?'. Trying to maintain his composure, the blond God offered her his hand, 'I'm sorry for not telling you of the new arrangements myself but I had some business to attend to and when I arrived you were already asleep' he informed her politely. Persephone eyed him with suspicion, 'How did he know that I was sleeping?!' she wondered alerted. But, she not want to repeat the scene she had previously made, it wouldn't do her any good, so she decided to let it slide and made some causal talk. The Goddess didn't really knowing what to say, the atmosphere between them was a bit awkward and tense, at least on her side. 'No problem' she answered shortly, but she got curious about the business he had been in. 'May I ask what it was about?' she asked unsurely. He only smiled surprised, he wasn't expecting to get her to talk so soon but it seemed to be a good sign. 'Of course you may, my dear. I had to make a small, but lasting, trip to Tartatus. It isn't just the home of the damned souls, but also of very powerful beings that need to be in closure' he informed her. 'Are you talking about Cronus and the other Titans?' she questioned, her curiosity getting the best of her. 'Yes, I am. How did you know? I thought Demeter had tried everything she could to keep you away from such facts' he ventured, slightly amused. 'Yes, she tried. But I had a few encounters with Clio' she answered, now more at ease. 'That's good to know' he said, knowing that she was talking about the muse of history, and with that their conversation came to an end.
Hades, placing a hand around her waist, led the brunette through several corridors. He didn't know what else to say to her exactly, he was afraid to make her mad in some way. The uncomfortable silence remained until the pair arrived to two large ebony doors, 'This is where we shall eat from now on, my dear. I hope that everything is of your liking' he said while opening the doors, revealing a large indoor garden. In the middle stood a small silver table with platters, of fruit and bread, and a flask of honey on top, on each side there were two chairs very similar to the ones she had seen in her room and around the palace. There were several patches of tulips of many colors surrounding different tree fruits. The ground wasn't black marble anymore, it was covered with small pebbles of different shades of gray and white. The walls were also different, they were pure white, carved with scenes in which Nymphs moved, dancing and hiding. The garden was illuminated by different colors that came from above. Stepping out from his embrace, Persephone went inside. Looking up, noticed that a magnificent multicolored stained-glass replaced the stone ceiling. The garden contrasted greatly with the other divisions, it was a hint of light in the middle of all of that darkness. 'Where does the light come from?' she wondered smiling brightly, her brown eyes sparkling with joy. It seemed that, in the Underworld, not everything was dead, the garden seemed to be quite alive.
'It's beautiful…' she murmured, 'I'm glad you like it Persephone, because it's your's' Hades answered, relieved. He had been holding his breath since the moment he had opened the heavy doors. Persephone quickly turn to look at him, he was smiling at her, 'How is it mine?' she questioned him a bit confused, she wasn't used to have someone spoiling her with this kind of gifts. 'You enjoy having me repeat myself, don't you?' he asked amused by her reaction, while putting his hands behind his back. 'Like I've, the garden is your's, you may do with it whatever you wish. I know that being confined to the same two rooms all day can be tiring' he continued with a smirk plastered on his face. Apparently, the awkward atmosphere had dissolved and she seemed to be happy with the garden, much to his relief.
Taking her by the hand, Hades led his wife to the breakfast table. Persephone didn't even noticed the movement, she was too distracted by the environment around her. Once they sat and started eating, the brunette finally remembered the request she had been meaning to make him. 'Hum... I have a request to make' she said hesitantly, 'Go ahead my dear' he said amused by her behavior. 'It's about the wardrobe. What's inside of it, to be more precise', Hades easily figured what she wanted but decided to pretend he didn't know anything about the subject, 'What about it?' he asked before biting a slice of bread covered with honey, Persephone was eyeing him blankly before stating 'I hate it'. Hades wanted to laugh badly at her expression, but he maintained his composure and answered with a grin on his face 'Sorry, but that's a request I cannot comply to, Persephone', the Goddess looked at him outraged, 'Why not?!' she inquired him, almost spilling her water. 'How am I going to say this without having you trying to kill me' he wondered aloud while lowering his head, the woman in front of him only glared, she was not amused. 'You see, I believed that they would flatter you, and it seems that my beliefs were not misled' he explained, his eyes traveling up and down her body. That very moment a splash of water hit his face, 'Damn... I should have kept my mouth shut' he cursed himself, eyes closed and a black expression gracing his features. He, slowly, looked up at her face. He noticed that her features had a mixture of amusement and annoyance in them, she had her arms crossed over her chest and he heard one of her feet was tapping on the ground. She seemed to be trying desperately not to throw the table at him. 'Right...' he said before quickly changing the subject. 'I have another thing to show you, if you're done eating', Persephone was killing him in a very slow and painful manner in her mind. 'I am' she shortly answered, still glaring. Getting up, Hades put an arm around her waist and led her out of the garden. This time he was more cautious.
They walked down a corridor, she remembered it to be the one she had found the pool in and, for a moment, her cheeks flushed red, for the memories of what had gone there came back to her mind. Carefully she glanced sideways at Hades, he was still wet from her attack, 'Served him right' she thought smugly. The pair soon arrived to an enormous set of doors, like the rest they were made out of ebony, she started to think that the God didn't have much imagination. Hades opened the doors and let Perfection enter first. Again, she wasn't expecting what she saw. It was a library, filled with huge ebony shelves that went up to the ceiling, they were filled with several books and scrolls, some of them seemed to be very old. Like the rest of the furniture, the shelves had diamonds incrusted in them and silver writings painted throughout. There were even some tables with candlestick burning and chairs around them. On the far end, above a threshold, there was a signboard on which one could read a word that said: ARCHIVES. That caught the Goddess's interest on that precise moment, she would have to investigate that later. 'I believe that you'll find something to occupy yourself with in here. Anything you need to know about the History of the Underworld and the Olympus is over there' informed Hades, pointing to a great wall of shelves on the right. 'On the other side, you'll be able to find other matters, such as botanic, philosophy, romances and other themes. If you wish you can also visit the archives. Usually I don't grant anyone access to the library, but you'll need to know as much as you can about your new home' he continued informing her with a more serious tone of voice. Softly, taking both of her small hands in his, he placed a heavy key on them, carefully making her hands close around the object, before saying 'This is the key, you may come here whenever you wish and even take some books or scrolls to read in one of the rooms I have given you' he finished. Persephone curiously looked at her hands, a marble key was lying on them, its designs were very intricate, like it had thorny vines intertwined around it. She didn't know what to say, she was starting to feel bad for causing that scene, he seemed to be trying hard to please her.
'Thank you, it's very kind of you' she said with a small smile, he was about to say something but she interrupted him, 'And I want to apologize for my behavior at supper, I shouldn't have exploded the way I did' she finish quietly, looking down. Hades gently lifted her face with his hand under her chin, 'You don't have to make any apologies, my dear. I understand that your situation is not one of the most desirable ones' he said to her calmly, 'I would love to stay here and chat with you, but if I leave Thanatos in charge, Tartarus will be overflowing with souls by noon. I'll meet you again at lunch. I hope you enjoy the garden and the library' he said before kissing her forehead ever so softly and dissolving into the air.
'I should really try to give him more credit than I've been giving' she thought. Persephone stared in wonder at the library, her warm brown eyes shining once more. She couldn't even believe that he had given her the key and the garden. Quickly and with curiosity, she made her way to the shelves that Hades had pointed out as being the ones about the world of the Gods. She already knew most of the History of the Olympus, her mother had made a point that she, as Zeus' daughter, should know as much as possible about her father's kingdom, but not about the rest or about the great war, that had been Clio. For some reason, that Persephone didn't understood back then, her mother always refused to talk about what was destined to become her new home. Demeter avoided talking about the Underworld and its owner like mortals avoid leprosy.
Once in front of one of the large shelves, the brunette looked up. It was filled with old parchments, but surprisingly they didn't have any dust covering them. All book covers were made off leather tainted with different dark colors. Some were midnight blue, others were bloody red and, obviously, there were some that were black. In spite of their colors, all had silver words painted on the leather. Persephone's slim fingers travelled, slowly and carefully, across the spines of the books. They certainly would help her pass her time, but first she would need to pick one. Several titles came to her eyes and some were somewhat comical, like The Penal Code of the Underworld – and why it's easier to send souls to Tartarus, the author being Thanatos, 'No wonder Hades didn't want to leave him alone' she mused in her head. Her eyes travelled from various titles, Contractual Celebrations of the Underworld, Famous souls that inhabited the Underworld, History of the Punishment of Souls, Legends and Origins of the Underworld, Light and Darkness – From where comes the light that illuminates the darkness and Titanomachy: A War between Gods and Titans. She eyed them with curiosity, maybe the one about the celebrations of the Underworld would be a good idea to start with, maybe she would be able to understand better her situation.
Taking the book out of the shelf, she made her way towards the door. She decided it would be nice to read it in the garden. She liked its atmosphere, it made her feel calm and relaxed. 'Maybe it would be a good idea to bring the instrument there. I'll have to talk to Nysa about that' she thought, while making a mental note to ask the soul about that later at night. Persephone sat down at the table where she had been taking her breakfast with Hades. Losing herself for hours, not even noticing that the God stood on the threshold, observing her with an amused grin.
Her gloomy colored dress contrasted greatly with the magical environment that surrounded her. His eyes graced he feminine figure sitting on the chair with one of her legs under her and the other dangling down bare. She had her brown hair tucked behind her ear, her eyes moved along the lines of the book that lay on top of the silver table. Persephone appeared to be so concentrated that she didn't made no acknowledgment of her husband's presence. He stood there admiring the sight for some time and thinking that maybe their marriage could work, but they still had a long road to walk before that. Disappearing from his spot, Hades reappeared behind her, glancing down at the page she was in. The brunette still hadn't noticed him, so, descending until his mouth was near to her small ear, he spoke in a low voice, 'And what has caught so much of your attention, my dear?' Not expecting to have any company for a while, 'AAAAAHHHH!' screamed the Goddess, while jumping from the seat. She would have fallen to the ground if Hades hadn't caught her by the waist, smirking widely. Once she who her disturber was, Persephone started hitting him and shouting 'Are you mad?! Why would you do that for?!' she was so frustrated that she didn't get to assimilate how close their bodies were. The more she struggled and screamed at him, the closer he pulled her to him, grinning at her reaction. 'She is too easy to scare' he mused in his mind. Her face was red, she glared at him hard, smoke coming out of her ear and chest moving up and down profoundly against his.
It was only when he pressed his hand against the bare skin of her back that she took notice of the situation she was in and how amused the God holding her looked. 'Let. Me. Go' she snarled, glaring at him while trying to push him away, her cheeks flaring. 'I don't feel like it. Actually, I quite enjoy being like this. Don't you, my dear?' he questioned her smiling and squeezing her even more against him, his face getting closer to hers. 'No, I don't!' she answered angry with embarrassment, Hades looked down at her cleavage before replying, 'That's a pity, because I am, my dear'. Persephone glanced down to where he was looking, she was about to slap him, but the God appeared to be more prepared and with one of his hands he grabbed her wrist, holding it in the air. 'I don't think that's a very good idea, Persephone' he informed her, with a serious face that was inches from hers, his lips dangerously close. The brunette gulped, she felt uncomfortable in those situations, she wasn't used to them at all. For some reason he seemed to enjoy greatly her uncomfortable state. The hand that was on her back started sending her small jolts of energy, making her skin grow hot and her breath hitch a bit, but it wasn't an unpleasant feeling. Strangely, she liked the new sensation, which made her feel somewhat scared, it was something different, something she didn't know, she was afraid of wanting more of that feeling. That fear made her struggle some more and this time he let go of her, still with an amused expression on his face.
Just as she was about to yell at him, Nysa appeared with another servant beside her, both carrying a silver jar and a platter of food. Not wanting to make a scene in front of them, Persephone swallowed her pride and smile at them, but not before sending daggers through her eyes at the smug God that stood beside her.
Nysa just stared awkwardly at the pair that stood before her. Her lady seemed to be very uncomfortable and it was evident that she was trying to fake a smile. The servant walked towards the silver piece of furniture, with enough care not to spill any wine or drop any meet on the ground, and placed the platter and the jar on top of it. Glancing a bit at the two Gods, the young soul noticed that Hades was looking at Persephone in a similar fashion that her lover sometimes looked at her, with lust and want, but the God seemed to be able to mask those wishes with the smugness he was clearly showing. Although being so young, she could easily read the eyes of the others around her, it had been something that her mother had told her while she was growing up, 'A woman is thought of being weak in a world ruled by men, she cannot conquer in a battlefield and politics are forbidden for her participate on. The only way she can prevail and control is to know what men want at any given time, and, my daughter, understanding what their eyes are and aren't letting us know. Learn what they want and you will control them easily. You see, one can control its face effortlessly, conceal it with a different persona, but one cannot change its eyes. The eyes are the doors to their wants' her mother often say. She usually mentioned that that was how her father had become such a wealthy man, because her mother had control over his him, while he thought that he was the one controlling her. To Nysa what Hades wanted was clear, he wanted the Goddess that was in that garden and nothing else. By the uncomfortable state of her lady and the eyes of the dark lord, she could guess that he had tried something with her, but she wouldn't jump to conclusions just now. There was a possibility that Persephone would confide with her later that night, she would have to wait.
The former slave stepped aside so that the servant that was with her could do her job. After everything was set on the table, Persephone thanked them both in a very kind manner. In the end Nysa questioned, 'Is there anything else that you wish for, my lords?', the brunette was about to say something when Hades cut her off, 'That'll be everything for now, Nysa, you may go, we'll call you if we need anything else', he replied shortly. The shorter Goddess glared up at him in annoyance, she didn't enjoy having her speech cut off by any one, much less by him. The pair of servants bowed slightly and dissipated in the air, leaving the Gods alone once more.
Hades wanted her, badly. Having her so close to him almost made him lose all of his control. Mentally he thanked the servants for their arrival. He almost didn't notice the servants' actions until Nysa spoke, he had been too distracted eyeing his wife. She intrigued him greatly. When he made his advances she almost lost all sense of response, struggling to get away, panicked. Then there were other times where she had as much fire as the lava rivers that went through Tartarus, and there were occasions where she just seemed to be slightly lost. Other thing that intrigued him was how easily she jumped out of her skin when something caught her of guard, which turned out to be more fun to him then what he was expecting it to be. Thinking that he had already pushed all the buttons he could, but not the ones he wanted, for the day, he guessed that maybe he could redeem himself by doing something as simple as pulling her chair for her to sit in.
Persephone just stared at him, weary of what he could be up to. One minute he was the most respectable God she knew and the other he was having fun putting her in compromising situations and scaring her. 'Persephone, my dear, your just too easy to disturb. It's your fault that I find it amusing to scare you, you're the one making all the fun easy' he pointed out grinning widely, explaining himself, 'Now, lunch is getting cold, care to sit down please? I don't bite…' he asked laughing. The Goddess pursed her lips slightly, she hated to admit but she knew he had a point, she was too easy to scare. Reluctantly, she sat on the chair, she was about to thank him but the thought flew away when he murmured '…much'. And back to glaring she went, 'Pervert' she cursed in her head.
Going to his sit and taking a sip of wine, Hades questioned, 'You still haven't answered me, my dear. What book caught so much of your attention?' Persephone had almost forgotten about the book, 'Right... It's one about contracts, I believe' she replied shortly, not wanting to let him know which was the exact chapter she was in, marriage. 'He's smart enough, he'll probably figure it by himself' she thought. 'Ah! That one, no wonder you were so focused. But if you need any further explanations, feel free to ask me' he said smirking slightly. He knew what book she was reading because there was only one about contracts, and Hades could almost guess which chapter she was in. He thought it was a good idea that she was reading it, maybe it could help her understand better their situation, plus it would probably save him some trouble, last time he had explained to her something about the deal hadn't work out that well. 'If I need I'll ask, but the book itself seems to be sufficient, thank you very much' she said, obviously forcing a smile, the glare never left her face. Hades let out a sight, 'You know that we are stuck together for a really long time, you can't hate me forever, my dear' he said while biting some of the meat. Deep down she knew he had a point, she couldn't be rude forever, 'I know I can't. It isn't that I hate you, I just don't trust you... and scaring me isn't helping either' she finishing her answer in a more civilized tone of voice, 'I know, I wasn't asking you to trust me right away, I wasn't expecting you to. All I'm asking is for you to try to cooperate a little more. For the scaring part, I already explained to you, my dear, it's your fault' he pointed out smirking a bit. Persephone wanted to throw something at him for the last statement, but she swallowed her ego. She also knew that she couldn't be like that forever and that someday she would give in, but that day wasn't it. 'I'll try' she breathed out, at this he eyed her with a raised brow, 'There must be a 'but' coming son, there's always one...' he thought, 'But...' she started again, '...and there it is' he finished the defeated thought. '… I want more decent day gowns, and you'll have to stop spying on me' she said. Hades eyed her carefully, to see if it was safe for him to reply. After a quiet analysis, he concluded that she was indeed calmer and there was no risk on getting drenched in wine. Once he was done pondering on her request, he answered 'I can only comply with half of that request, my dear. The gowns look stunning on you, sorry but that is not happening' drinking some of the wine after he was done. 'Well, at least I tried' she thought defeated. 'I'm not really fond of that, but having my privacy back is good enough… for now' she answered in an even tone of voice. Hades just smiled at her. Both continued their meal in silence. Maybe things could work out.
After their meal Hades excused himself, he still had a lot of work that had to be done that day and he knew she wouldn't be getting into any trouble since she was so focused on her reading. Once he departed, Persephone resumed her reading. She wanted to know more about the ritual that bonded them together, she wanted to know the rules and the implications that came with it. The Goddess already knew that there was no way out of that marriage, so trying to search for anything about that was out of the question. Hades was the main author of the book and guessing that he didn't enjoy sharing, much less letting something that belonged to him go, the only possible way out of it would be death. 'Figures…' she thought to herself. Letting her eyes roam through the pages of the old book, Persephone scanned some rules that she already knew and others that she would have never guessed. One of the later was about consummation, with all that had been happening that was one detail she hat let slip from her concerns. She had been so enrolled in absorbing her new life that she had forgotten about that and the stunt she tried to achieve the other day at the pool. That not being bad enough, there was even a period of time in wish the consummation had to take place. It said:
'The contract is sealed once the bride as eaten from the red fruit of the Underworld – a pomegranate. From the moment she eats the fruit, until a year after the binding of the two parties, the marriage must be consummated. The non-fulfillment of the later will result on the fast deterioration of the bride's body, ending in her death. After this her soul is condemned to roam Tartarus, no judgment needed.'
'Shit!' she scolded herself. Persephone had almost forgotten about the consummation. Still, she didn't quite know how to express her opinion on the matter, she didn't know what to think, 'What was he thinking when he wrote this? Was he out of his mind?'. She rested her back against the black chair. He had had his chance when she tried to undress herself in front of him, 'Why didn't he take it?'. Though she was sure that the blond God wouldn't mind having the opportunity, it seemed that he was trying hard to be a gentleman to her and make her more comfortable around him, most of the times he failed miserably. 'What am I to do now?' she half whispered, they had agreed to be more civil and she had said that she would make his life easier, but there were no spoken agreements about the consummation. She possessed many powers, but foreseeing wasn't one of them. She was the daughter of Demeter and Zeus not of Apollo, who had tried to court her one time but failed as soon as he started. She couldn't know what the future would bring her, she knew that death was a possibility, but she still had almost one year to figure that part out, she would just have to, or at leats try to, let things flow. The brunette figured that she certainly had to ask Nysa some questions about the matter, in Persephone's eyes she was more experienced, and maybe she could help her.
The afternoon went by rather quickly and the Goddess hadn't left the garden. At the moment, she sat against one of the trees with a book about roses on her lap admiring the roses that she had created earlier. She had been missing doing anything that was related to nature and that book had encouraged her to create vines of blood red roses that went up the trunk of the fruit trees. The bright rainbow was almost gone, only gloomy colors tainted the walls, in which the carved nymphs now laid sleeping against each other. Persephone just eyed the environment around her, even at night the garden appeared to be magical. In moments like that she didn't have to think about anything else, she just had to enjoy the quite that the place brought her. The quite was disturbed by the sound of heavy but familiar footsteps echoing behind the doors, 'It must be Hades' she thought serenely. Looking up, she saw him at the door, his light skin contrasting greatly with the darkness that now surrounded them, making his features even more salient. She had to admit, even if it was just to herself, the God was very attractive, even with the black iris.
'What are you doing on the ground, my dear?' he asked with a gentle tone, while approaching his wife, he thought that she deserved a better seat than the dirt surrounding the trees. 'Just felt like it' she answered quietly, now eyeing the wall of nymphs. 'How did he managed that?' she wondered, for she had never seen anything like that at the Olympus. Hades let a small smirk grace his lips, 'Dinner's waiting Persephone, we should go before it runs cold' he said as he extended his hand to help her get up. The brunette took his hand, grasping it before being softly pulled to her feet. The blond God could have led her through the halls, it was very easy, but he was feeling rather lazy and he figured that it would be even easier to dissolve both of them into the Arabian room. 'Hold on and take a deep breath, my dear' he instructed her quickly, smirking widely now as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her flush against him. 'What are you doing?!' she asked, alarmed by what he was doing, before yelping as she felt the garden starting to spin fast around her and the ground beneath her feet disappearing, she felt like she was about to fall. That made her, unconsciously, clasp her arms around the God's neck and burry her face in his hard chest, afraid of falling and of getting sick. In a matter of seconds her feet touched the ground again, but she didn't react for some moments. Hades started laughing loudly while his hand moved up and down her bare back and the other curled softly on her light brown hair, trying to sooth his wife. 'As much as I would love to have you like this, I still enjoy the relationship I have with the air, my dear' he said, trying to look down at her. Realizing that everything had stopped moving, Persephone carefully looked up at him before her cheeks turned red with the realization of how close his face was to hers. Quickly, she let go of him and stepped back, with and embarrassed expression gracing her face. 'Why did you keep pulling stunts like that? You could have at least warned me!' she said while breathing hard, trying to keep the contents of her stomach in their rightful place. 'I warned you to hold on and to take a deep breath, it's not my fault that you only followed half of the instructions' he said with an amused smile, while pointing a finger at her.
With that, the God made his way to the table that was already set. The smell of pork stew with vegetables filled the exotic room. Persephone only glared at him, she wasn't used to have someone catching her off guard so many times in one day. No wonder she was so wary of him, it seemed that he would take, gladly, every chance he could get to take her out of her comfortable zone. Still glaring, she went to her usual seat. 'Well, don't do it again, I didn't enjoy it very much' said the brunette, still red from the strange experience. 'Don't worry much about it, my dear, the first trip is always the worst. Soon you'll get used to it' he said calmly, while looking through the display of food and seating down, opposite to her. 'Sorry, but I don't have the intention of ever repeating it' replied Persephone in a rather annoyed tone. Hades only eyed her and chuckled a bit as he picked the food for his plate, 'Oh yes you will' he said smirking, leaving the hot headed Goddess to stare at him perplexed. 'What is he talking about?!' her mind screamed, 'He can't possibly be serious about this, I was so close to throw up…' she thought in desperation, she didn't really want to repeat it again.
Noticing that she was staring at him, he decided to tease her a bit more. 'What's the matter, my dear? Seeing something that you like or are you waiting for the stew to get cold?' asked Hades smiling widely. Only after that she realized that she had, in fact, been staring at him for a while. Quickly the blood rushed back to her cheeks and Persephone looked down at her food. She thought it would be better if she kept her mouth shut and took a deep breath, in case her temper decided to invest in another homicidal attempt. After that, the rest of the meal went on in silence.
These were the kind of situations that made her doubt that she could ever have a civil relation with him. Their natures were so different and neither was used to the other.
Hades possessed a darker nature. It resided in provoking what could be called controlled chaos. Although he liked to have everything under control on what went on around him, he still enjoyed messing with the natural course of life. Once his favorite lives to mess with were the ones of his siblings, but for the last week or so it had been Persephone's life. Her reactions fascinated him and edged him on even more. Unlike most of his brothers and sisters, he was not able to create life and that was what lead him to sentence the dead and to choose the Underworld as his kingdom. It was isolated from the drunk and promiscuous world ruled by the Gods of brighter natures. In his home he could judge the rotten, he didn't need to witness what they had done to see it through them. The more he saw, the more he wanted to rule the Underworld, giving him the power to decide over their dead fates. It amused him to know how a world that was ruled by so many Gods was decaying so quickly, while it only took one to end it all, he just had to snap his fingers and all of it would be gone. Every act he put on made the others cringe, they were always afraid of having their powers put at risk again, this was one of the kinds of chaos that he enjoyed the most – the mental chaos. With his wife it was a completely different kind of chaos, this one had the motive to get close to her, to make her react and bring out the fiery spirit that he knew was hidden underneath all of that controlled exterior.
Persephone was quite the opposite, she had a lighter nature that didn't go well with chaos, or so she thought. It bothered her greatly when something messed up with her routines and plans. Throughout her life, she had never had much chance to decide for herself, Demeter had always made it very clear of what she was to do, when and where. So she would take every chance she'd got to make those decisions herself. She enjoyed having her freedom and loved life just as it was, the Goddess alleged that death and darkness didn't suit her very well. She was supposed to give and create life, but never take it away or even toy with it. Nature was everything to her, and she loved to be able to promote it and make it even more beautiful than it already was. True she had a bad temper and exploded easily, still she praised the peace and quiet, it helped her think and concentrate. Being constantly disturbed didn't help her at none.
At the end of their silent dinner, Hades took Persephone by the hand and escorted her back to her bedroom doors, interestingly she didn't oppose, she seemed to be in deep thought. While she ate, she went through the events of that day. Apart from scaring her and from the stunt he had pulled earlier, he had been nothing but kind to her. Maybe it was a good gesture to thank him, maybe it could help both of them in this new course. Soon they were standing in front of her bedroom doors. 'I hope everything was of your liking, my dear' he said with a low and kind voice, 'It was... I want to thank you for the garden, it's very beautiful, I have never seen anything like it. And for trusting me with the key of the library' she answered back, looking away. He smiled and grasped her chin softly, making her look at him, her dark eyes were uncertain. Leaning down a bit he whispered 'You don't have to thank me Persephone, as long as it pleases you… Goodnight, my dear. Sleep well and rest' before kissing her forehead tenderly and dissipating into the air, with a slight smile gracing his features. Persephone was left standing there, staring into nothing, just feeling her warm skin getting cooler as the remaining evidence of his presence left her. 'Goodnight…' she whispered back to the empty hall before her.
When Persephone entered her room, she found her friend patiently standing next to one of the big windows, the blue light trespassing Nysa's form. If it hadn't been for the smile that was painted on her features, the picture before her would have been much gloomier. Glancing quickly at her bed, she found that the servant had already laid a light blue nightgown for her and changed her sheets into black ones. 'Goodnight, my lady' greeted the servant with a kind smile. 'Hello, Nysa' answered the brunette back with a small but absent smile. 'How was your day, my lady? You seem to be a little distressed, if it isn't too bold for me to say' inquired the servant seeing the confused look of her lady, it wasn't normal for her to be like that, and when she was, it was because something was bothering her. Nysa could almost guess the nature of the problem, but she wouldn't venture, afraid of stepping too much out of line.
Persephone didn't mind having the girl asking her this kind of questions. Apart from Terpsichore, Nysa was her only friend, she was the only person that the Goddess felt she could confide to in there. But, as much as she wanted to, she couldn't find the words to describe that day. All that had happened felt strange, she wasn't used to be so pampered. Never had her mother let her read anything that went beyond botanic, creation spells – she had learned how to destroy furniture by watching her mother's behavior – and rather short versions Olympian history , now she had countless of the most various themes. Even though she was trapped down there, somehow she felt more freedom. It was a very strange feeling. How could someone, that is hidden from the rest of the world, feel so free? She didn't know, but for the first time, in a long while, she had rooms that were meant only for her, she didn't have to sneak off in the middle of the night if she wanted to dance, nor did she have to deal with her mother's possessive behavior over her, she had Hades' to compensate for the loss. The only thing she had to deal with was the internal battle that was taking place. On one of the trenches stood the freedom he had given her – freedom of knowledge and self – but on the other end of the battle stood the lack of trust – he had, indeed, been spying on her and he had left her in complete darkness for a whole week. Even though his behavior annoyed her greatly, she knew she couldn't do anything against that and, despite her best efforts, it was his nature. The Goddess had to admit that, somehow, she was starting to enjoy his company… The knowledge of the deadline also helped to increase the intensity of the conflict. On one hand she knew that it would have to happen sooner or later, but on the other was the trust she didn't have in him. Not that she was completely oblivious of what had to happen, Terpsichore had taught her all about the technical processes and what it implicated. The only thing that Demeter had bothered to tell her about sex came in the shape of the story of the bee and the flower, that is was very painful for the woman and that a couple only did it because they wanted a child and nothing more. That turned out to be a lie, since Persephone was left alone many nights to take care of her siblings because her mother was sleeping with a different God. If it hadn't been for the muse, the brunette would have never had a clue about was sex about. As for her situation, Persephone felt that it couldn't come to be without any kind of connection between them. She just couldn't bring herself to do it, not for a while. Plus, the thought of dying over it didn't help her case either. 'Was Hades drunk when he thought about these rules or did he have Thanatos making them for him?!' she had thought disgusted when she had read it the first time.
After some short moments, she concluded that she didn't have a good answer to give her friend. Hoping that Nysa could help her in some way or give her some kind of advice, she ventured by saying 'It's not too bold of you, don't worry. As for how my day was… I don't really know what to answer you…'
The young servant eyed her with curiosity, she had been right, something was indeed bothering her lady. 'How so, my lady?' she asked with concern, while approaching Persephone to help her with her brown hair, as the later sat on the bed. 'I'll tell you, but first you have to promise me something' said the brunette with a serious tone, 'Anything you wish, my lady' replied Nysa feeling a bit afraid of what she was going to ask. Persephone was getting tired of being called my lady over and over again, she didn't like it that much, 'Please, stop calling me my lady' she said with a smile. Nysa let out a small chuckle, 'Alright my… as you wish then' she answered smiling. After that the Goddess started describing everything that had gone on during that day. The translucent being listened carefully to everything, trying to figure out what she could say that would ease Persephone's conflict, but, sadly, there was very little she could do. Her story was so different from the one she had been witnessing for the past days. There was no deadline, there was no deal. They had both chosen each other, no one had been promised to the other, their love was free and careless. The only thing that she could say to Persephone was that, maybe, it would good for both to put that week behind them, to start cooperating with each other and try to enjoy their time together. It wouldn't be easy, but she wouldn't know if she didn't try. She couldn't tell her how she should feel. Someone had once told her that no one can feel the same emotion as the other person. Everyone is different and so are the emotions and their intensities, even if the situations are similar. It would have to be something that she had to figure out on her own.
It was Persephone's turn to listen carefully. She knew that Nysa was right, she couldn't compare both cases… She had to go on that trip on her own, but not completely, for she knew that her friend would help her whenever she could. She had to consider all parts very carefully.
Thanking Nysa before dismissing her, the brunette dressed the light blue nightgown and laid on her bed. That night she wouldn't sleep nor rest very much, the conflict would torment her for many hours.