Persephone's POV

Persephone sat on her bed in her bedroom, fidgeting and smoothing out her flowery dress. They were pale green, which made her look a bit peaky, but her mother insisted. Again. She could hardly stand to wait for her mother to come and fetch her for their journey beneath the earth. The problem was, she couldn't tell if the nerves were for dread, or excitement at seeing her husband, for the first time she would remember.

Her oak colored hair was up and out of her eyes, pinned to her scalp with loose curls framing her face. She looked like Athena when Aphrodite managed to dress her up. Not a necessarily heart melting sight. Persephone hated the restricted feeling of her attire, and despised the fact that once again, she was a slave to her mother's wishes. What would Hades think of her? Would he dread having to invite such a weak, minor goddess into his realm?

That was her biggest fear, really. Not that he would take advantage of her, or find her ugly, but that he would dismiss her. Think she was just a silly little minor goddess with her head in the clouds. To have to spend six months of her life with another patronizing male was her very own sentence in the Fields of Punishment. That or having to hunt and kill a living thing. Ew.

A young nymph rushed in, carrying flowers. She wasn't one of her usual companions, having just join on after one of her old friends became a tree forever. Dam that Apollo... She glanced up shyly at her, through thick, green tinted lashes. "M'lady? I hate to interrupt your thoughts, but I was wondering if I could braid these into your hair. They would look lovely in your brown locks..." The nymph blushed green.

Persephone thought for a moment. Demeter would be less than pleased the alterations to her appearance, no matter how much she enjoyed the look. Well, why friggin' not. Persephone started at her own grouchiness, before replying, "Go ahead, um... Sorry, I can't seem to remember your name."

The nymph smiled "Angeliki, Lady Persephone. Lord Zeus gave me special permission to venture into the Underworld to serve you, as you so call. I look forward to serving you, m'lady." Persephone smiled back as she ran her fingers through her hair, knocking out any pesky pins.

"Well, Angeliki, before we conquer the depths of the Underworld, lets see if you can tame this snarled mess." Persephone laughed and gestured to her hair. Angeliki giggled, and set to work, gently combing out the unruly knots and brushing it till the deep chocolate locks shone in the sunlight that filtered through Persephone's windows. She wove roses and violets and a manner of wild flowers through a large, soft braid, and took to smaller pieces to crown her head, perfecting the look for a spring goddess.

"Do you find this satisfactory, my lady?" Angeliki said timidly, gazing in awe at the innocent beauty of Lady Persephone. The goddess in question gazed at her reflection with a critical eye, that shone with amusement at being addressed with a title. Usually only young mortals did that.

"Well..." she said, faking a frown. Angeliki looked worried, eyebrows pulling together, mouth becoming a perfect line. Persephone smiled. "It's perfection in every way!" The nymph smiled and giggled, acting carefree for but a moment, before a less pleasant voice cut through the air.

"What looks so perfect Persephone..." Demeter demanded as she strode into her room. "Oh my gods... WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO YOUR HAIR?!" She whirled and glared at Angeliki who stood timidly behind Persephone. "Nymph, was this your doing?" She nearly shook with fury.

"Mother!" Persephone exclaimed. "She meant no harm. She simply came to me just a few moments before you arrived, with the flowers and suggested we braid it. It seemed like such a shame to waste the life of such beautiful flowers, so I agreed. It is quite pretty, isn't it?"

Demeter huffed and rolled her eyes. "It is acceptable enough, I should figure. Well, I haven't got time to right it now. We have a journey to make." Demeter held out her arm imperiously. "Time to leave, Persy." Her eyes softened for just a moment, before the returned to their usual wintergreen cold.

Persephone rose gracefully from her chair. "Yes Mother." She said placidly, taking her arm. They turned to leave, but the spring goddess remembered they had left Angeliki cowering behind the chair at Demeter's fury. "Come along now Angeliki. You must accompany us." She gave what she considered to be a pretty smile.

What Persephone didn't realize, was that when she smiled like that, it wasn't just pretty. When she gave that flawless, full toothed grin, an observer could see all of her warmth and joy, all of the glowing force of life that seemed to hand about her like her own personal ray of sun. It was an earth shattering force that left the hand maiden star struck, and she followed Persephone in a slight daze, mind focused solely on that time-stopping smile.

The two goddesses, and one awestruck nymph, made their way slowly, slowly, slowly down into the depths of the Underworld.

Hades' POV

The Lord of the Underworld paced nervously across the floor of his bedroom, anxiously awaiting the arrival of a servant who would announce the coming of Persephone and Demeter. It bothered him greatly to feel anxious over the arrival of his wife, but as much as he tried, he couldn't quell the feeling. It wasn't as though he actually cared about what she thought of him, except he did. Which bothered him more.

Hades shook his head sharply. No, while he may have admired the strength of her life force, and the overwhelming projection of carefree innocence from afar, he had no illusions as to how he felt regarding his wife. He favored her above all else, but knew that there was no way for there to be any love shared between them. She was light, where as he was only darkness. Nothing would ever change that.

As he paced, another, equally mind racking thought entered his head. How in Gia's name was he supposed to lay his claim on Persephone? Which really shouldn't have mattered, in the long term. But he pushed the thought away as soon as it entered his head. He would be her guardian, her husband, her king. Nothing more, nothing less. It was true enough that the other gods feared him far too much to ever touch her, and Hades had a feeling Persephone would prefer it that way.

There came the sound of wings beating furiously in the air from behind him, on his balcony. One of the Furies, perhaps. He turned and watched the hideous she-demon land, wings folding up behind her. It was Tisiphone, the avenger of murder. "Is it time?" He called to her, arms crossed over his dark armour.

She bowed deeply before replying, "Yes my lord. I would know the overbearing stench of crops anywhere. Demeter approaches, and she is less than please. Shall my sisters and I go and greet the noble lady and our new queen?" She gave a hideous, mind scarring smile, blood coating her sharp, yellowing teeth.

Hades arched an eyebrow at the cruel sneer. "Perhaps not, Tisiphone. As amusing as it would be to send Demeter running for her precious fields, it would do me no service to scare Persephone in such a manner."

"As you wish, my lord." She smiled again before taking off into the air, on her way to terrorize more souls, an evil cackle following in her wake. Hades sighed. Yes, Persephone was going to be terrified. Possibly scarred for life. Fantastic.

With little more than a thought, he disappeared into the shadows, to the place where he would meet his blasted sister.

Persephone's POV

She and her mother arrived at the meeting point only a short while later. It was a boarder, broad and strange. On one side, it was life, basking in the sunlight, the world Persephone had always known. Behind it, on the other side. It was a dark tunnel, leading into even darker depths, where a chilling wind seemed to howl out of.

The boarder itself was a kind of peace zone, neutral territory. There was an old, sickly hickory tree, casting a sinister shadow, a boulder at it's base, and some fresh green grasses surrounding the worn dirt path.

"My brother is late again, I see." said Demeter with a huff. She crossed her arms and squared her stance like a petulant child. Persephone mentally rolled her eyes.

"He is probably very busy, mother. Don't be to hard on him. We are perpetually late during harvest season." She said, in a soothing tone. At times, she honestly felt as though she was the elder of the mother-daughter pair. Persephone sat on the rock, and folded her hands in her lap, prepared to wait as lone as necessary for her husband to arrive.

Hades' POV

Hades stood, lurking in the shadows, eyes wide in shock. Persephone was even more beautiful than his memories had done her justice. By the gods, she was gorgeous.

Her lush brown hair was done up in a braid, with flowers of all colors where woven through it. She was in a pale green dress that hugged her curves, and was embroidered with silver flowers. Her bright blue eyes shone and sparkled in the waning light of the noon-time sun. She was beyond perfection.

He stepped slowly out of the shadows so as not to scare her, and said in his deep baritone, "Greetings, Persephone." He saw her eyes widen and from the corner of his eye, saw Demeter whip around, angry as a brood hen at sun rise, but he couldn't care less. This stunning goddess was going to be his, and his alone for six months.

The thought made his gut wrench, but not quiet in an unpleasant way...

Persephone's POV

Persephone's eyes widened as her husband stepped out of the shadows. He was handsome enough to make even the vainest god scowl in jealousy. He had shoulder length hair that was jet black, and pale, pale skin, that was without blemish. His eyes fascinated her, and she spent more time than she would have liked to admit admiring them. They were a deep, not-quite black, flecked with gold, and shone in the rays of the sun. He was clothed with dark steel armor, with a black robes beneath. He wore black leather jodhpurs, and had riding gloves over his hands.

He was beyond anything she could have ever imagined, even in her wildest fantasies. She had no doubt in her mind, this god could most definitely be her first kiss. And she had no doubt that she would thoroughly enjoy it.

"Greetings, Persephone." He said in a soft voice that sounded like the vocal equivalent to melting chocolate.

She curtsied after a moments pause, giving her enough time to collect herself before replying, "And to you too, my lord."

A/N: Sorry this was so late, and I didn't have a chance to upload a chapter last weekend, I just was super busy with school. Rating may change pretty soon folks, so be warned. :) I crave comments from you people on the world wide web! TELL ME IF YOU LIKE IT! Otherwise, I may be forced to side line this project for a bit... Nah, I'm just messing with y'all! I wonder what will happen next... Hmm, time to start getting a bit angsty, is it? Let me know! I'm no mind reader, just a humble part-time writer! Tell me what you think! See you lot next weekend!

~UC