I woke up a short while later, dazed and confused. What had happened? I forced my eyes to open. Tentatively, I looked around at my surroundings, careful not to move enough for the man beside me to notice that I was awake. He called each of his steeds by name and I could only watch in amazement as they obeyed his every command. A shudder of alarm raced through my body. If this man planned to marry me, did he also expect me to obey him? I could never obey someone whom I had as much hate as I had for him. And what would he do with me if I did not obey? I wondered, my heart skipping a beat.
Hoping to distract myself from my grim thoughts, I reached up to feel flowers that Deanne had braided into my hair that morning. The flowers were gone to my dismay. They must have fallen out as I was taken from my life. Deanne had worked so hard to braid each and every flower into my long, ill-tempered hair. I felt ashamed that I had managed to lose them within hours of her doing my hair. I hoped that she would forgive me for one moment; then, I realized that she would never know. I would never see Deanne or Kryt. I would never again see my mother.
This revelation was too much for me to handle, and I burst into heavy sobs that wracked my entire body. I watched out of the corner of my eye as Hades turned towards me, a look of shock on his face. "I thought that you were asleep," he murmured. "You probably need sleep, after all those nights that you've been so terrified of me finding you." His face turned into a grimace, as if holding back unpleasant memories.
His voice began to soothe my body. I found myself relaxing into my seat, but I would not allow myself to fall asleep. "Why shouldn't I fear you?" I asked, fear making my voice shake. He looked back to his steeds.
"I already told you, my dear. I don't mean any harm to you. I am in love with you and I think that you will find that soon you are in love with me." He chuckled lightly. "You and I will reign over the night with a loving relationship." By now, I noticed that we had reached a river. Hades must have noticed that my interest had strayed from his face. "Ah, this is the River Cyane, the entrance to Tarturus."
My breath caught in my throat as he struck the riverbank and I caught my first glimpse of hell.
Demeter's POV
"What do you mean that you have given permission for that vile creature to marry my-our-daughter?" I screamed at the king of the gods. Normally, I spoke to him with respect, so as to not be blown to bits by lightening. But right now, I didn't care that he was more powerful than me. All I cared about was getting my daughter back. "And now Poseidon goes to better protect my baby, and she's gone! Just gone!" I felt a tear fall down my check.
"I gave Hades permission to marry Persephone if he was able to find her. I was under the impression that you and Poseidon had hidden well enough that she wouldn't be able to be found!" He took in a deep breath. "And since she has been found, we must just assume that it is the will of the fates. And even you, my darling Demeter cannot argue with the fates."