Chapter 13:

Zeus is sitting in his marble throne, fuming. His brother really couldn't have done this – could he? Hades? Nonsense, Hades would never do anything so stupid. He starts laughing as he imagines his dark brother kidnapping Persephone when he feels a stalk of wheat hit him in the face.

"ZEUS! This is no laughing matter! Someone has KIDNAPPED OUR DAUGHTER! SOMEONE HAS KIDNAPPED MY KORE!"

"I'm well aware of that, Demeter," Zeus growls, rolling his eyes. His brother did tell him that he would learn which daughter it was once he took her. Persephone had barely been missing for ten minutes when he heard Demeter's shrill voice bellowing at the doors of the palace. Oh Hades, what have you done?

"Mark my words, Zeus – if she is not found soon, the humans will die. I will no longer provide the harvest for them. The earth will become barren and you will lose the worship of the people. Mark these words, for this will be last time you see me until she is found."

"Well let's hope that no one finds her too soon then," he says, giving a low chuckle. As Demeter's rage shakes the walls of the palace, Zeus silently hopes that his brother has made the right choice.

"These are the Asphodel Fields. Most souls reside here after death. They-"

"Was that you, screaming last night?"

Hades turns to look at Persephone, careful to keep the shock from his expression. The question has caught him off guard.

Throughout the whole tour Persephone had been silent at his side, occasionally giving a nod here or there. She was distracted, he could tell. The only time she had shown any interest was when they rode past the river Styx, and even then she hadn't looked at him.

"This is the river Styx," he had said, an air of pride in his voice. "That man there," he said, pointing out to a white-bearded man dressed in black, billowing robes, " is Charon, my ferryman. Wave to him, if you'd like. He doesn't much get to see living visitors." Hades gave her a sheepish grin, but she ignored him, staring at the gray river – her green eyes analyzing its depths and the way it snaked across the Underworld. She's probably trying to figure out a way to escape, he had thought, frowning.

Still, she was by his side - holding his arm, in fact – and he had felt himself calming in her presence. He would not let her leave so easily.

And now, looking at the determination in her eyes, he realizes that lying to her will be no use. That doesn't mean I have to tell her everything just yet. Turning his head out towards the fields, he says with a heavy sigh, "Yes. I apologize if I disturbed you."

"You're always apologizing." Hades can hear the venom in her voice – the venom he heard in his dream, and he moves to hold his side, bringing her closer as he does so. He begins to feel cold tendrils rise up his spine – echoes of the sharp whispers of Cronus, and he knows he's driven the chariot to the exact place he does not want to be. Why did I come here?

He hears Persephone gasp at the back of his mind and feels her move closer to him, her grip around his arm tightening. They're right at the edge. The giant, black abyss of Tartarus stands before them, and he feels his heartbeat start to race. Coils of shadows swirl up from the pit and suddenly everything begins to feel heavier. What is this – fear? His eyes shut as he hears Cronus's dark whisper, Yes. You are in fear, like a pathetic mortal. But is it because you fear me, or the pain I give you?

Pain, sharp as the blade he'd felt in his dream, shoots up his side. Cronus gives a low chuckle in his ear, Or do you fear the power you will have if you release me?

"St-stop…" he hears himself weakly say.

Stop what? You are in my domain now, boy. You are MINE. He feels himself losing control – his heart is pounding and his ears are ringing. Power, mad power – is right within his grasp, crackling at the end of fingers. That's right, Aidoneous. Give in to the power and release me –

"Hades! I know that you must love this… 'place', but may we please leave?" Persephone's grip is tight around his arm and she's shaking against him. He feels the last of Cronus's words leave his thoughts, leaving an angry trail across his skin and he knows he's not getting any sleep tonight again. Running a shaky hand through his hair, he says, "Of course, my lady, of course. In fact, I'd like to show you one last thing…"

The moment they had reached the Elysian Fields, Persephone had all but jumped out of the chariot, almost kicking his face again the process. And, for the first time since he had brought her into his domain, he saw her laugh and felt his heart flutter. She had run through the tall grass, looking at the beauty of the buildings surrounding her, when she finally settled herself by a tall tree and sat.

Now she sits there, overlooking a bank of crystal-clear water leading to the Isles of the Blessed – towering mountains, covered in green and adorned with flowers. She can smell the food and hear the laughter coming from the fields and the islands and feels a pang of sadness hit her.

As she runs her hand through the cool water, she once again surprises him with the sweetness of her voice. "I never thought anything this beautiful could exist here…"

"You're here."

She turns to look at him, and sees that despite the sadness in his expression, he really is sincere. And, despite everything, she feels herself blush.

She hears him clear his throat behind her and sees him shifting his feet.

"Right. I'll, ah, leave you to it then-"

"Why did you take me here, Hades? Why did you kidnap me?" She's standing up now, looking right at him, and he can feel her eyes bore right into his skin. He thinks about it for a moment before finally deciding on an answer.

Moving closer, he lightly brushes a strand of auburn hair from her face. "Because, Persephone," he says, gently whispering into her ear – she can feel the stubble of his short beard prickle against her skin and she suppresses a shudder – "you bring me peace." He moves back then, knowing that he's worn out his welcome with such close contact and he gives her a small smile. His smile grows wider as he sees her shock spread across her face.

"I have some duties to attend to. I trust that you can find your way back to the palace?"

She cocks her head to the side, her shock being replaced with curiosity, "You don't think I'll try to escape?"

Climbing his way back into his black chariot, Hades waves his hand in the air and says, " I trust you." And with that, he's gone, his four black steeds leading him back to the palace.

Great, Persephone thinks as she lies back down in the grass. Couldn't you find some nymph to 'give you peace'? It doesn't help that every time she runs her hand through the cool, clear water she's reminded of his cold, blue eyes. She smashes her hand in the water in an attempt to rid herself of his image in her mind. She lets out a growl of frustration when she realizes she could have – she should have – hit him right there when he put his hand to her face. Hit him right in the groin and made a run for it – steal his chariot – that's what she should have done. But he had her there, captivated her with his soft voice, his blue eyes, his earthy scent, and she was powerless to resist. And then he tells her that she gives him peace! Ridiculous. But as she looks at the water stretching across from her, she's reminded of her dream of the black wolf with his eyes.

The sky was alight with constellations, the moonlight making the trees around her glow. She could feel the wet grass under bare feet and as she got closer to her mother's temple, she heard the strangled howl of a wolf. Running as fast as she could, she hid behind a tree once she found the animal, black fur shining in the moonlight with red blood. Mortal blood. She could hear its whimpers, see the pain in its blue eyes, but each time she would reach her hand out, the wolf would snarl.

"I'm not going to hurt you," she said, slowly reaching her hand out, "I only want to help you."

The wolf backed up, blood oozing out from an open wound at its side. Baring its teeth, it snarled at her again. When she looked into its eyes for the second time, she knew who it was.

"My lord Hades, please, let me help you." This time the wolf cocked its head to the side and let out a low growl. She reached her hand out again and said softly, "I'm not going to hurt you…"

When it finally seemed like he wasn't going to attack her, she sat down next to him and gently ran her hand through his dark fur. As she reached his side, matted and bloody, she rubbed the back of his ears. "Who did this to you, my lord?" He let out a low growl as he nodded to a man in front of them, cloaked in shadow. She couldn't see his face, but she could feel his power.

"Run after the eagle," he said, his voice like a thousand knives, "destroy it, and I will give you power." She felt the wolf tense up at the man's words and noticed that his side began to bleed more profusely. He looked at her, whimpering and in pain.

"Ignore the girl! Destroy the eagle, and I will give you the power you crave!"

"My lord, no!"

But it was too late – the man in the shadows had won, and the wolf had started running after a prey it would never reach, always in pain, never at peace.

Persephone hadn't thought much of the dream then, or the fact that they were beginning to reoccur with frequent regularity since the winter solstice. She'd often had reoccurring dreams, many of which were strange and dark. She had simply thought that it was a product of her overactive imagination – in the end, she had assumed that these dreams were a result of constantly being surrounded by cheery wood nymphs or her mother's grain fields – she had thought that this was her body's way of releasing tension, freeing her subconscious from the repetitive and somewhat boring life of being the Spring Goddess.

Now, looking back on her dream and the past few days' events, Persephone knows that was something to it. Zeus – the eagle, Hades the wolf…but who is man in the shadows? She crosses her legs in thought as she ponders. Who would want Hades to go after Zeus? Who would have that kind of power? Poseidon? No. She shakes her head. Then who does that leave…She feels something dark tug at her heart when she makes the realization…Cronus? Oh gods, no. Shaking her head, she throws a pebble in the water. You're getting ahead of yourself here, Persephone. Cronus is in pieces in Tartarus. He couldn't possibly…But then she remembers how Hades had acted near the pit, how he almost absent-mindedly drove their chariot to the edge, how his eyes had glazed over…Well, then, what of it? Hades kidnapped me. I owe him nothing.

With a defiant lift of her chin, she thinks, And tonight, when everyone is asleep, I'll make my escape across the Styx. When she feels the pull at her heart as her thoughts drift back to the wolf in her dreams, she once again says to herself, I owe him nothing. I owe him nothing. She lies back down in the grass with her arms crossed.

"I owe you nothing, Hades."

A/N: Wow, haven't updated for like a week. Sorry about that, guys. But it's probably gonna be like that for a while. Lord knows, having a 40 hour workweek makes ya tired. But I do wanna finish this story. So yeah, bit of a longer chapter here (well, for me, anyway), but I hope it was enjoyable. As always, leave dem comments of yours. Also, if anyone could suggest a beta reader, I'd be so effing grateful, like srsly.