Chapter 8:
Well, the time is finally here. The winter solstice meeting has begun. This is her first time at the meeting, and Persephone sees gods and demigods that she never even knew existed. The courtyard of the palace is lit up with dozens upon dozens of intricate candles. She sees various statues of the gods, and walks to where she sees her father's statue, placed in the center of the pavilion. She notices the other statues of the gods who helped defeat Cronus in the Titanomachy, Poseidon with his Trident, Hestia, even her mother Demeter. Yes, all the gods who fought in the war were there…all except one. That's odd, she thinks. Why isn't there a statue of Lord Hades? She's pulled out of her reverie by gentle hand on her shoulder and turns around to see Aphrodite standing behind her.
Aphrodite smiles at her, "C'mon, Persephone! All the gods are waiting for you."
Persephone narrows her eyes, "Waiting for me? For what?"
"To play the kissing game, of course."
"Wait, wait, wait. The 'kissing game'? But what about my mother?" Aphrodite ignores Persephone and grabs her hand, pulling her along into the palace.
"I've got your mother all taken care of. Artemis is talking with her about nature and hunting and various other nasty things. At least that perpetual maiden is finally good for something."
"Hey!" Persephone says, an irritated tone in her voice.
Aphrodite laughs as she drags Persephone into the center of a circle of gods. She doesn't see Zeus – of course he wouldn't be here; he's my father - Poseidon, Hephaestus – well he's married to Aphrodite, so it makes sense that he wouldn't be here – or Hades there, and feels a twinge of disappointment at his absence. He's a busy god…he probably has more important things to do. Persephone turns to see Ares eying her, his brown eyes hungry and his smile making the various scars on his face look even more grotesque. Persephone notices the other gods looking at her with excitement. She decides right then and there that she's going to try and avoid Ares.
Aphrodite steps behind her and ties a blindfold around her eyes.
"My lady! What are you doing?" Persephone nervously asks.
"This is part of the game! The men dance around you as the music plays, and when the music stops you move forward and kiss whoever is in front of you."
Persephone goes to whisper in Aphrodite's ear, "But my lady…I'm afraid...what if…I don't want to end up kissing Lord Ares. He's much too…"
Aphrodite laughs, "Don't you worry about Ares. I'll take good care of him."
Persephone blushes – she has a fairly good idea of what Aphrodite means by 'taking good care' of Ares. That's fine – as long as she doesn't have to kiss him. This might actually be fun. She smiles as the music starts to play.
Zeus is quite irritated with his brother Hades. He wanted to enjoy the festival - he was going to have a good time drinking and fighting. And then he was going to have a good time with Hera. And after that, he was going to sleep for a bit and start the whole cycle over again. Yes, Zeus is quite irritated with Hades. But he's even more irritated with Poseidon, who's lounging on his bed like he's the King of Olympus. He'd sure like to be, Zeus thinks. The man has tried to overthrow him more than once, and yet Zeus keeps letting him back in, never punishing him for his transgressions. He even has a permanent throne on the council, where his much more loyal brother Hades doesn't. Not for the first time, Zeus wonders why he and the other gods decided to banish Hades from Olympus so long ago, letting him in for only special occasions. Again, he finds that he can't remember.
As he's pondering, Zeus hears his older brother yell, "Zeus! What are you staring at? This is serious!" He stops glaring at Poseidon and turns to look at his brother Hades. He finds that he doesn't much like what he sees.
Hades is holding his fork at his side, doing his best to look strong, but Zeus knows there's something wrong. He isn't holding himself up the way he usually does, with his back straight and his chest out, exuding confidence like a god should. No, Hades is slightly hunched over, and it almost seems like he's using his weapon to hold himself up. But where Zeus really sees a change is in his eyes. Where they were once calm and indifferent they now have a manic and paranoid look about them. Zeus closes his eyes, "Yes, brother, I heard you the first time. What is it?" Zeus flinches at the coldness of his own words. He didn't mean to sound so distant, but it came out that way.
Hades looks down, "Cronus is rising."
Poseidon looks up from his place on Zeus' bed, "What did you just say?"
Zeus stares at Hades – he can't believe what he just heard. He's completely flabbergasted. "Why – why didn't you say anything at the meeting?"
"I thought it would be wiser to let you know first…and there's something else."
Zeus and Poseidon nod for him to continue.
Hades lets out a throaty sigh, "I've been cursed." He slowly pushes down the top part of his robes to his waist. Zeus lets out a surprised gasp and Poseidon gets up from where he's been laying on Zeus' bed. They see the black mark covering his right side shifting and undulating across his abdomen and chest.
After a moment of stunned silence, Poseidon says, "Give me the Underworld, Hades," he moves closer to Hades, "you're too weak to keep the realm safe."
Hades stares at his brother. He had thought that bringing in Poseidon would be a good decision – that they would solve this as brothers. Clearly, that had been a mistake.
"Poseidon, be quiet. Hades has full right to his realm."
"Look at him, Zeus! He can barely stand! No wonder Cronus is rising – he's always been too weak to care for any realm, let alone the Underworld." At this, Hades moves to where Poseidon has been standing and grabs his neck. He slams Poseidon's head against the wall.
"You have no idea what I've been going through, Kelp-for-Brains!"
"What, Hades?" Poseidon says through a choked gasp, "A little run-in with our dear old father makes you angry?" Hades growls and tightens his grip. Poseidon lets out a strangled laugh and is about to punch Hades in his right side, when Zeus yells, "Enough!" Hades immediately lets go of Poseidon, who starts rubbing his neck.
Hades puts the top part of his robes back on. "I think it's best if you leave, Hades," Zeus says. Hades half-heartedly nods in agreement and walks out of Zeus' room, distracted by his thoughts. He begins to feel his side bubble up with pain and starts walking faster. He needs to get back to the Underworld – he doesn't have any potions with him. If he doubles-over in pain here, Zeus might have no choice but to give the Underworld to Poseidon – and then Poseidon really might be able to take over Olympus. As he walks, he doesn't notice the other gods standing in a circle in front of him. He hears a disgruntled noise as he brushes past Hermes and then stops in his tracks. In front of him, he sees the girl who gave him the first comfort he'd had in his dreams for almost a millennia. She steps closer to him, until she's inches away from his face. He distractedly notices that she's wearing a blindfold.
"Who is the lucky god, then? Do I know him?" Persephone smiles at him, but he doesn't answer; his nerves are too frazzled let him do anything but slightly pant.
"You won't answer me, then?" Persephone pouts, and Hades feels a twist in his gut that has nothing to do with his curse. "Well then, I suppose I'll just have to guess." Hades closes his eyes when he feels her hands move across his face, his knees going weak at the sensation. If he doesn't pass out from the pain at his side, he's sure he's going to pass out from this. Persephone smiles at him again, "You seem like you're a handsome god," her smile grows wider, "I think I know who you are."
And with that, she holds his head in place and kisses him.
A/N: I regret to leave you guys here, but I thought that it was a good end for the chapter. Unfortunately, I won't be able to update for a few days – there are some things going on in the real world that I have to take care of. Thanks ya'll for reading the chapter J I'll try to get another update in by Friday or Saturday.