Chapter 2:
Zeus manages to turn around just before Persephone reaches them. As she steps before them, she gives a low curtsy, "My lords."
Zeus, forgetting Hades, puts his hands around his daughter and gives her a tight hug.
"Father, you're crushing me," she gasps.
"Sorry, sorry," Zeus lets her go. "So, you finally managed to get out of your mother's clutches for the evening, Persephone? That's good – maybe now you'll actually be able to talk to some of your suitors." Zeus winks at her.
Persephone rolls her eyes, "I'm not interested in any suitors, Father…" Persephone stops talking when she sees Zeus turn around to grab a rapidly retreating Hades.
"I don't think you've met your uncle, have you? This is Hades, Lord of the Underworld," Zeus pushes Hades forward so much that he almost runs into Persephone, only managing to balance himself just a few inches in front of her. He immediately takes a step back a puts up a regal façade, hoping that faking his confidence with her may give him some real confidence in the end. She once again curtseys and says, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Hades."
Doing his best to focus on a coherent thought, he manages to take her hand and kiss the top, "The pleasure is all mine, Persephone."
Persephone takes this moment to eye him up, noticing how his unruly dark hair cascades in front of his clear blue eyes; how his short beard accentuates all of his features. She comes to the realization that he looks quite different from the rest of the gods, who all have forms of golden hair, nicely tanned skin, a muscle-bound bodies. No, he's quite different – his skin pale, his hair dark, his body lean and cut, but not overly muscled. She feels her cheeks begin to heat up as she thinks, You're actually quite handsome, Lord Hades.
While Persephone is eying him up, all he can feel is the throbbing in the back of his head, his rapid heartbeat, and the silky-smooth feel of her skin beneath his lips. He hopes he seems calm, because inside he is burning. After kissing her hand longer than perhaps appropriate, he lifts his head up once again and lets go of her. At the back of his mind, he hopes that his hand wasn't clammy.
"Now if you'll excuse me, Zeus, I really must be going. The Underworld never stops," Hades gives Zeus a curt nod. He nods to Persephone as well, "Till next time, my lady." And with that, he puts on his Helm of Darkness and disappears.
"He always does that," Zeus snarls as he takes a goblet of nectar from a nearby server.
"Does what?" Persephone asks, raising her eyebrow quizzically.
"Oh you know, stay for the important meeting and leave just as soon as the festivities start. He's been hanging around the dead too much in the Underworld, if you ask me."
"What does Lord Hades do in the Underworld anyway, Father? I've always wondered what those duties would consist of."
Zeus smiles at her from his goblet, "Perhaps you should ask him that yourself."
"When could I do that?" Persephone asks.
" At the winter solstice meeting-"
"The winter solstice meeting!" Persephone exclaims, "That's almost a year from now!"
"Calm yourself girl, you'll be able to see him again. It's only 8 months away," Zeus gives her a wink. Persephone's cheeks redden slightly.
"I am not interested in Lord Hades, Father."
"I didn't say that you were. Of course you're not interested in him, my dear," Zeus' smile tells her that he thinks otherwise.
"Not interested in who?"
Both Zeus and Persephone turn around at the sound of a woman's shrill voice – Demeter. Her strawberry-blond hair is tied in a braid, her brows furrowed together over her green eyes. She looks very much like Persephone, in terms of physical attributes. Yet Demeter's face is hard and angular, her body willowy and thin, as if she might be blown away by the smallest wind, let alone the biggest tempest. Persephone is in so many ways different from her mother; though she too has red hair and green eyes, her hair is auburn, her eyes more emerald-looking than green, her face full, her body curvy and soft. Though both women are strikingly beautiful, it is clear that Aphrodite has blessed Persephone with a beauty only paralleled by herself, though some even say Persephone had passed Aphrodite in physical perfection.
Persephone walks over to her mother and grabs her hand, "No one, Mother. You need not worry."
"Kore, if this is about some boy-"
"It's not." She smiles despite herself – Hades is no boy, after all. At least I'm partially telling the truth.
"Just remember," Zeus calls out as Persephone and her mother head out of the palace, "Next winter solstice, all the gods will be there! I expect you two to attend…" Zeus' voice fades away as they continue walking.
Maybe then I'll be able to ask why he was staring at me. Somewhere, deep down, she thinks she might know the reason why.