Persephone's eyes slowly opened, full of an infatuated glow. A hopelessly loving smile covered her lips as she turned over to her husband, who lie on his back gasping for air. His wide, blue, and bloodshot eyes were fixated on the cavern ceiling.
"So, my beloved, how long has it been?" she fluttered her eyes as her smile widened, "How long since our love was first consummated?"
"Heeeeeeeaaauuuuh…" Hades wheezed, "Two… huh, huh, two days."
Persephone's index finger gently stroked his heaving chest, "And how many times…" she paused to release a light giggle, "How many times have we…"
"HEEEEEAUUUUUH… FORTY-THREE!" Hades gasped, his eyes growing even wider.
"I must say, I'm quite impressed with your stamina."
"GUIDE ME INTO THE GREY, BELOVED! I AM YOUR INSTRUMENT!" Hades suddenly shouted before passing into sweet unconsciousness.
"Uh…" Persephone wondered. Her thoughts were soon stopped, however, with the sound of a light "ding." Knowing this meant the elevator had arrived, she figured she should greet the Underworld's newest guest considering that Hades was quite… incapacitated. She reached for the nearest robes and covered herself before waltzing over to the elevator. She saw a tall, naked woman, with the lower half of a serpent. Behind her Persephone saw the frightened and jittering head of a small puppy.
"D'aw…" Persephone squealed, pressing her hands to her cheeks, "Look at the little cutie!"
The serpent-woman turned and bent over. She grabbed the puppy and lifted him into view, caressing and kissing his heads until he calmed down.
"Oh… three heads… how… unorthodox." Persephone pondered.
"May I ask with whom I am speaking?" the serpent-woman questioned.
"Persephone, Queen of Hades."
The serpent-woman paused as a puzzled look covered her face, "…Queen? Of Hades?"
The puppy's eyes widened and ears lifted, full of anticipation.
"Is this a problem?" Persephone asked, defiantly placing her hands upon her hips.
"No, no… not at all! It's just… Hades got married?"
"Yup." Persephone flatly replied.
The puppy leapt from the serpent woman's arms and sniffed Persephone's ankles. Before long its tail wagged in eagerness, and he released a high-pitched "Arf!" of excitement.
"Goodness, congratulations!" she squeaked, rushing to shake Persephone's hand, "I'm Echinda, and, well, this is… my son." she blushingly added.
Persephone's eyes looked to the three-headed puppy, "Did… did you fuck a dog?"
Echinda guffawed, "Goodness, no! He is the result of my bedding a fire-breathing giant."
Persephone's eyes narrowed with disbelief.
"You see, you're – my gods I cannot believe I am saying this – husband had done me a great favor in the past and, well, this boy here is my repayment."
"Uuuuuugh…" Hades groaned from the bedchamber.
"Arf!" the puppy's three heads barked in unison before rushing into the bedroom.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Hades cried from his bed.
"No!" Persephone cried, "Please, Hades needs to rest!"
Persephone dashed to the bedroom as Echinda slithered behind her.
"I'm sorry," Echinda pleaded, "He just loves to meet new people!"
"I swear if anything…" Persephone's speech and running came to a grinding halt as she and Echinda passed the threshold to the bedchamber. Inside, they saw the puppy lying on its back atop Hades' belly. Hades eagerly scratched the puppy's stomach as he continued to helplessly squeal with delight. His wide, childlike eyes met individually with each of the puppy's three heads.
"Who's a good boy?" he gushed, turning to the center head, "Who's a good boy?" he turned to the final head, "Who's a good…"
"Sweetie…" Persephone groaned, "They're all the same boy."
Hades sat upright and clutched the puppy in his arms. While the puppy continued to hold three wide, opened-mouthed grins, Hades' face turned shockingly stern.
"Yes," he growled, "And he is a good boy."
"Bark!" the puppy snarled, defending Hades. Hades suddenly noticed the serpent-woman accompanying Persephone.
"Echinda!" Hades happily announced. He turned down to look at the puppy, and then back at Echinda, "And who is this little boy you've brought to my kingdom?"
"My son, my lord." Echinda dutifully replied.
"Oh, so you and Typhon finally conceived?" Hades rhetorically asked, "Congratulations! I knew you'd been trying for quite some time."
"Well, that's the thing…" Echinda rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment, "Do you remember back in Thebes…"
"Oh…" Hades recollected, "The donkey incident? Oh those poor children… I sent their parents gift baskets but they – uh – they were still pretty sore about the whole thing."
"Well, that's why I'm here." Echinda continued, "I swore I'd repay you for it someday, and…"
"You're giving me a puppy?" Hades suddenly shouted, his eyes glowing with childlike wonder.
"I'd rather you not downplay the fact I'm giving up my only son…"
"Oh of course I – oh…" Hades paused as his eyes locked with Persephone's, "Well, I would love to accept, but of course I must know how my wife feels about this matter."
Persephone couldn't help but smile as her hands crossed over her chest. She pondered the idea for only a brief moment, and then nodded her head in agreement. Hades joyfully attempted to leap from the bed, only to fall flat on his face.
"Uh, honey, could you possibly enthusiastically embrace Echinda in my stead?"
"Of course." Persephone said with a smile. She hugged Echinda and then placed her hands on the serpent-woman's shoulders. She could see Echinda's glassy eyes begin to well with tears. Persephone looked back to her husband gleefully playing with the puppy. The puppy barked and squeaked as Hades laughed and cooed with delight.
"I've never seen him so… well, full of life." Persephone whispered, turning back to Echinda, "He loves your son, Echinda – and I think your son is quite fond of Hades as well. He'd never let anything bad happen to him. He'll have a good life here"
Echinda raised a hand to cover her quivering upper lip, "I – I know it's just…" she sniffled and closed her eyes as a single tear rolled down her cheek, "I think I'd like to go now. This – this will only get harder."
Persephone escorted Echinda to the elevator. The duo moved much more slowly than they did at Echinda's entrance. Every so often Persephone would glance over to her, only to see more and more tears dripping from her chin and rolling down her exposed chest.
"You know," Persephone spoke at the approached the elevator, "If you ever want to visit him…"
"Would Hades really allow that?" Echinda suddenly interrupted, shaking with anticipation.
"I let him keep that dog – er – your son. If he does, it will be on my terms."
Persephone suddenly felt the air escape from her lungs as Echinda crushed her in a hopeful embrace. After letting go she zipped into the elevator and pressed a button. As the doors slowly closed she turned to Persephone:
"Please… please take care of him."
Persephone simply nodded as the doors closed completely.
"So…" Thanatos said, emerging from a dark corner of the cavern, "What exactly just happened?"
"Gah!" Persephone cried as her right hand roughly slapped Thanatos' cheek, "You can't just eavesdrop on people like that!"
"I wasn't!" Thanatos objected, "I was simply in here – actually doing my job, might I add – when suddenly some snake-lady almost crushes your spine whilst you're going on about some dog or… her son, or something… it's the kind of shit people tend to have questions about!"
"Okay, fine, I'm sorry." Persephone conceded, "But there are better and far less creepy ways of approaching someone."
"It's just… you know what? Let's just drop it, my Queen."
"Queen…" Persephone pondered as her index finger tapped her chin, "So, what exactly are my responsibilities now? As Queen?"
"Eh, well…" Thanatos paused for a moment, "It's a bit tricky. When you ate the Fruit of the Underworld…"
"Pomegranate."
"Don't…" Thanatos asserted, "Do not open that fucking can of worms again. Let's just call it the Fruit of the Underworld, okay?" Thanatos' eyes darted at Persephone, and she nodded in agreement.
"Anyway, the fruit changed you – though I'm sure you could guess that by your appearance. You are something of Hades now, and you have changed in powers just as much as appearance."
"So am I a Goddess…" Persephone gulped in fright, "Goddess of the Dead?"
"And what's wrong with that?" Thanatos wryly chuckled, "No. You see, death is my domain. Hades doesn't control death so much as he controls where the dead go. Here, the Underworld. He controls Elysium and Tartarus as well as the physical earth that surrounds it – and all that it contains. Ores, gems, and even the roots of plants are all his subjects."
"Hm…" Persephone thought, "And I… share these roles with him?"
"Mostly," Thanatos explained, "But some responsibilities are wholly his, and some are wholly yours. For example: while Hades still determines where a soul shall be sent after death, you now decide their ultimate reward or punishment. He still controls the riches of the earth, but you may now speak to the plants and encourage them to grow – for the time you're here, at least. Whenever you return to your mother, you'll go back to your previous form."
A sudden thought occurred to Persephone at that moment.
"Hades – well, for at least half of the year – he gave up those powers for me?"
"Persephone," Thantos said, turning back towards her and leaning on his staff, "Hade doesn't much care for people – or even gods, for that matter. He and I are quite content staying here unless summoned. The fact he was so infatuated with you – so willing to spend his life with you – is something special. I'll confess I don't know you, but I know Hades. He was never the type for quick flings or spontaneous affairs. I trust his judgement, but I need you to know how completely in love with you he is. He'd sacrifice his powers, kingdom, and even godhood for you. Never forget that."
Persephone brushed a tuft of hair over her shoulder and looked abashedly at the ground, her cheeks flooding with red.
"No. Never." she whispered.
"Good." Thanatos replied, "Now can you to get back to doing your jobs because I'm fucking sick of dealing with the workload of two fucking gods!"