Chapter 2: A Dream. A fight. A boat ride. A lesson.
"What happened to her?! My child! Oh Hades! I thank the fates for letting you see her! She could have bruised herself if you haven't been there or . . . I don't know but thank you!" Demeter said while lovingly and chidingly looking at the little goddess in Hades' arms.
"She exhausted herself." Hades told Demeter while he carried the goddess in his arms.
"Exhausted? But why?" Demeter asked Hades.
Looking around at the faces of his siblings and other nieces and nephews, he tried to keep his voice clear of any guilt although that same guilt is boiling within him.
"The flowers . . . your flowers Demeter. The rose bushes, they were hit by me in my uncontrollable temper and this little goddess had seen me lash at the rose bushes." Hades said while passing the little unconscious goddess to Poseidon.
"My rose bushes?" Demeter asked, looking at the said flower, the goddess frowned, "But they are fine Hades."
"Now, that's where the part where Persephone comes in. She revived them while keeping me at bay by means of placing a force field between us."
"You mean a 'life force' uncle, not force field, right?" Artemis corrected him.
"Yes, I remembered her calling the force field in that way, though I don't see the difference." Hades answered back.
"Oh no uncle, there's a difference between what she uses and what we usually use." Artemis answered back with a little edge on her voice, a bite Hades couldn't surely miss.
"Now, Artemis I -" Hades said when Hestia intercepted his retort.
"I guess a sip of nectar and ambrosia will do her good. What do you say Demeter?" Hestia asked their sister. Hestia is always keen and very observant. She values Olympus. Being the goddess of the hearth, she could always make anyone of them calm and warm. Seeing his sister makes Hades feel light at heart and calm after the day's event. Too bad, she could have been the perfect wife for Zeus or even Poseidon.
As the gods and goddesses slowly go back to the main hall with Persephone being carried by Poseidon now, Hades made a move to follow them when he heard Artemis calling him.
"Uncle Hades."
Looking at where the voice is coming from, Hades tried to school his features, betraying nothing in front of his boyish yet feminine and niece, the goddess of the hunt - Artemis.
"What is it?"
The goddess of the hunt look at him with eyes as gray as Athena's but hers have nothing of the warmth Athena's sometimes cold gray eyes have. Artemis' gray eyes are as cold as sharp daggers shining at night. They hold no warmth for her uncle Hades.
"Stay away from her." Artemis said in a cold voice.
"And why is that?" Hades asked.
"I know you too well. You will crush her spirit. We both know that for a fact."
"Where's the proof of that Artemis?"
"You are Hades, Lord of the Underworld. That should be proof enough. Stay away from her or you will regret it."
"I will." Hades answered.
"I doubt that." Artemis said before leaving Hades in the coldness of that part of Demeter's garden devoid of the warmth and light of Hestia's numerous hearths in Olympus.
"Me too Artemis. Me too." Hades whispered in the night, while clutching the front of his robes where his heart should be located.
Persephone is walking along a long hallway made of obsidian gems. She touched one blackened wall and her hunch was confirmed - made of obsidian gems. She does not understand it, but aside from giving life to nature itself, she found out that she has an affinity with gems. She knows what they are with just a look or a touch. The walls lining the hallways are made out of obsidian gems, the blackest of the volcanic rocks there is.
"The owner of this hallway must be a very rich man." Persephone told herself. As she walked on she noticed that the hallway would make a twist, a turn but it seems like it just goes on and on and on. It seems like it does not end.
"Where am I?" Persephone asked, worry starting to creep into her system.
Dream.
"What was that?!" Persephone asked herself. She stopped in her tracks and strained her ears to hear. She had been concentrating on the sound but no voice answered her.
"I must have hit the floor when I fell." Persephone told herself. Now where did that thought come from? When did she fall?
Dream.
"Who is that?!" Persephone asked. She is sure now, she heard an old woman's voice somewhere, telling her that she's dreaming. Well, not dreaming really, more of like saying 'dream' again and again.
Touching the wall on her right, she paused. She was sure that the wall was obsidian, now it turned emerald? It's too dark to determine the difference between an obsidian from an emerald, but she was quiet sure it changed. The wall changed from obsidian to emerald.
"Now that is weird." Persephone whispered to herself.
Not weird. Dream. Wake. Dream. Wake. Man. God. Love. Fates. Dream. Wake.
"Whoa! Wait! What?" Persephone asked, she tries to derive some meaning from what she's hearing, but it doesn't make any sense at all. Even the wall is playing tricks on her, one moment it was obsidian, then an emerald, and now she can feel that it's ruby red. She has an affinity to gems. Affinity? Now where did that idea come from? She can never know one gem from another. She hates them, she prefers flowers, garlands, nature.
Dream.
Dream? She's dreaming? That's impossible. Deities don't dream, only mortals dream.
And gods of the Underworld. Dreams. Wake. Goddess of Olympus. Wake. Love. Face. Fates. Hades. Spring.
"Agh! Enough!"
Spring. Hades. North Wind. Demeter. Spring.
"Stop!"
Be gone. Hades. Spring.
Death.
Sadness.
Persephone.
Persephone.
"Persephone! Can you hear me?"
"Stop!" Persephone shouted, wide-eyed. Looking around her, she could see a huge hall with a huge hearth at the middle and huge columns made of white marbles. It had been a dream, her first dream. No! Deities don't dream, they visit mortals in their dream but they don't dream. No deity dreams, except those in the underworld. Hades!
"Hades!" Persephone shouted; more of squeaked out the name. She could barely remember the dream but she's sure that the Lord of the Underworld is the reason for such an unusual happening to her.
"Yes?" She heard a soft, deep voice of a man from her left. Funny, she knows its Hades'. Taking a deep breath, she braced herself for what she would see.
Readying herself made nothing but prevent her stomach - or was it her heart? - from doing three huge somersaults, just two this time. But then again, no one could really avoid that somersault. Maybe Athena and Artemis can - and Hestia - but no one else could prevent a somersault from happening if they see Hades.
Hades was far from what the stories she heard from her cousins and half siblings. Well, they told her that he is the Lord of the Underworld, and then she jumped into conclusions that he is ugly, evil, and deathly in appearance. Yes, they never told her that he is ugly but then again, being Lord of the Underworld, no way can he be downright gorgeous.
I'm wrong.
Hades is everything she had never dreamed the Lord of the Underworld could be. He has straight hair as black as the obsidian gems in her dreams that turn to curls when they touch his nape and ears. His face framed by his black hair is angular and very manly - smooth too. His black eyebrows is not bushy but thick and fine. His eyebrows go well with his deep-set eyes, the color of emeralds. His nose is not too strong or too bold, just right for his face. And his lips, just right for smiling and kissing. His complexion is white, just like Athena and Artemis - but somehow pale looking. But she doesn't hate it. His complexion had made his lips look so red and very much alive. And when he caught her just before she hit the floor, Persephone knows that he has a very perfect Grecian body - perfect and very Olympian.
"Persephone? Are you alright?" That is Demeter's voice. Hearing her mother, Persephone willed herself to concentrate.
"Mother." Persephone said.
"Why do you look for Hades?" Demeter asked her, looking at her then at Hades with a worried expression.
"Did you have dreams? Did you dream just now?" Hades asked her kneeling at the bed made of cloud and something else - air perhaps - where she was placed when she lost consciousness.
"How did you know?" Persephone asked in bewilderment. She heard a hissing noise - that could only be Artemis - and gasps from almost everyone.
"I assumed that much. I caught you before you hit the floor and I was so worried that you must have exhausted yourself, maybe some of my powers surged through you, making you dream. Besides, you are moaning. A nightmare? My apologies. It was an accident."
"You did it on purpose." Artemis snapped.
"I did not. Everything happened so fast, I was afraid I could not catch you in time, I . . ."
"You what Hades?" Demeter asked in a worried voice.
"I accidentally touched you with my power, making you dream." Hades said in a soft voice as if he's afraid to let anyone hear.
"You what?!" A booming voice thundered somewhere.
"Brother." Hades said. Standing up and giving a salute to the Lord of All - Zeus, her father.
"You touched Persephone with your power?"
"It was an accident, brother. Like what I said, she was about to hit the floor and I'm afraid I couldn't reach her in time. I have to do something or risked injuring her." Looking at her, to Persephone, it seems like he's going to add something else when suddenly Hades was thrown from one of the corners of the hall with such force that the entire hall shook and the columns tremble.
"Brother." Hestia said to Zeus, reaching out to the youngest of the Oldest Olympian Gods.
"Silence!" Zeus snapped at Hestia.
"Brother." Poseidon said, placing a hand in Zeus' shoulder, "It is not right to lash out in anger at Hades, he protected Persephone. He caught her in mid-fall. We should listen to Hades."
"How dare you touch Persephone?! You could have -"
"What brother? I could have what? Hurt her? Cursed her? You make it sound like I carry a vileness within me that could infect all of you here! Coward." Hades said in unconstrained anger. Persephone could tell that the Lord of the Underworld is about to lash out his anger at everyone gathered that night - from the silent Hera, Queen of the Olympians, down to Iris, the goddess of Messengers, Hera's messenger.
"You do not speak such abomination!" Ares, her good for nothing half-brother said.
"I will speak the way I want and whenever I want godling!" Hades spat at Ares. It seems like the Lord of the Underworld is really mad now.
"Silence!" Zeus thundered.
"No! You keep silent brother. I tire of these silly games you all play! Why invite me in when you plan to keep me an outcast? You value family? No! You value nothing but yourself! I regretted being connected to anyone of you and I -"
Another powerful slam that shook the very foundations of Olympus was given to Hades by Zeus, cutting his words.
"I don't want to hear anything from you. Do you hear me?!"
"And I don't want to be here anymore the same way you don't want to see me." Hades answered back. "Release me, now."
"How dare you order me?" Zeus whispered.
"No, brother! How dare you hurt me when I did nothing to deserve this! Now release me or you will regret it." Hades answered, his eyes burning with green fire, the color of emeralds.
No one moved, not even Zeus. It seems like Zeus just pushed Hades and pinned the god into the column more. A wince from the Lord of the Underworld confirmed that. Persephone couldn't do anything to stop the foolishness in front of her. It seems like the power surging between the two brothers kept them all at bay.
And then it happened in a flash. One moment Hades was pinned to one of the columns and then suddenly Zeus was slammed into the opposite wall and Hades freed, walking leisurely towards his youngest brother.
"I told you to let go of me right? Why do you have to be so stubborn baby brother?" Hades whispered. Persephone is sure the god just whispered but his voice seems to carry on to everyone.
"Now look at you. I don't want to hurt you or even shame you in front of everybody but you were asking for it. Zeus, you are Lord of All. No point flaunting it."
Looking around, Hades caught Persephone's eyes and she couldn't help but feel scared of the god.
"I am sorry for the rose bushes. It is my fault little goddess. If I haven't lashed out in anger at the bushes, you wouldn't be compelled to heal them then you wouldn't lose consciousness and you wouldn't be 'tainted' by me and you wouldn't dream. I hope and I pray that you will forgive me. Forgive me for destroying a night that could have become as beautiful as you. As for the dreams, they will tell you about it, and if their answers do not satisfy you . . . ask me. Good bye."
And with a slash of his cloak, the Lord of the Underworld is gone.
And I can't believe I have the gall to call him a pig.
How foolish of him to lash out at his younger brother in that way! Hades is still seething with anger; he wanted to throw Zeus from Olympus down into the endless abyss of Tartarus! He wants to tear that mighty god of Olympus to shreds and make him feel Hades' wrath.
"A very dangerous thought, my Lord." A voice said from the shadows of the huge boulders lining some of the edges of the River Styx.
"Charon." Hades said to no one in particular.
He heard movements, steps and the rustling of robes as Charon – the Underworld's Ferryman and General of his kingdom in times of war – jumped from one of the huge boulders, right in front of him.
"Aren't you such a show off Charon?" Hades snapped.
"I am so sorry my Lord. It's just that I want to make myself remember that I am as robust as any other god. It seems like mortals are enjoying the fact that I am an old man. Thinking of it makes my knees wobble just like an old man!"
"You know who you are Charon and no mortal can tell you otherwise. No one, not even the gods and goddesses." Hades said.
"You seem to be in such a bad mood my Lord. Trouble in Olympus?"
"More than trouble Charon. I think I just started a war between me and the Olympians."
"Aren't you an Olympian my Lord?"
"Well, if I am one, I can't feel it. How much for a ride?" Hades asked.
"Two gold drachmas, my Lord." Charon said, walking towards his huge boat, he put his hood up.
Fishing for Two gold drachmas, Hades gave Charon what he asked for when Charon winced.
"My Lord, it was a jest. You are the Lord of the Underworld; you don't need to pay for the ride."
"I insist."
"Oh no my Lord."
"Do you give favors to mortals without the drachmas? Do you let them take the ride even without their two gold drachmas? Have you ever tried to break the universal rule for those who die?" Hades asked.
"No my Lord, the rules are the rules and they should be followed at all cost."
"Therefore, take the drachmas."
"But you are the Lord of the Underworld and –"
"And the more we should set an example, right? We should never be above the law we make. If we are, then there is no law. Now, are you taking these drachmas or should I go back to the upper world and enter my realm in the usual way? It'll be better if you deny me passage than let me get a free ride."
"By all means, my Lord. Let me have the two gold drachmas." Charon took the two gold drachmas from Hades' and went straight to the boat. Looking at the souls waiting at the top near the entrance, he added, "Do you want me to take some souls as well with you my Lord or do you want me to give you a single ride with no lost souls for companions?"
"I'd rather have the ride alone with my general, Charon."
"Well, hop in my Lord."
Hades walked towards the boat and took a seat nearest to where Charon was standing – right at the boat's masthead, an obsidian eagle of a masthead – and he just found himself smiling.
"Find anything to smile about my Lord?"
"I just noticed you don't have any oar to direct the boat. It seems like the River Styx bends to your will."
"Mortals and their stories."
"Right on that one."
"Poseidon doesn't have any power on the River Styx, I do." Charon said.
"It is the River of the dead; he is god of the living creatures up there." Hades said, looking up at the ceiling and right into the upper world.
"And they don't have powers here, your brothers and sisters my Lord."
"I know."
"If you don't mind me asking my Lord, what happened at the gathering?"
"Agh! It was a disaster."
"You said something about a war coming up."
"No. I don't think war will start at all."
"But you just said that there's a war coming up my Lord."
"A different war." Hades whispered.
"Do you want to tell me my Lord?"
Hades remained silent for a very long while and they were almost at the middle of the entire length before he told what happened when he was in Olympus, from his meeting with Athena down to what he did to Zeus, flinging the Lord of All into one of the walls of the main hall. He did not tell Charon about how Persephone affected his entire being. Unconsumed lust is something a noble man does not flaunt to anybody willing to listen.
"A deity was enveloped with a dream? Why better ask Morpheus of that my Lord. He is the Lord of Dreams. How could a deity dream that? Are you sure that a power surge through you reaching out for her? It seems so unusual of you to reach out with your power my Lord."
"There goes another problem Charon." Hades whispered, covering his face with his hands as if he's trying to wash himself away.
"Tell me more, my Lord."
"It seems like my presence alone could bring such mortal inflictions to anyone within twenty feet." Hades said behind his hands.
"It is too early to think of it that way. Maybe it's just the goddess Persephone. We have to wait before we make conclusions that you have such an effect to everyone."
"What if I have?"
"Then we will find the reason to why it's happening."
"No. I don't want to bother you or anyone of my family here about that little incident."
"But it bothers you my Lord. The Olympians . . ."
"The Olympians consider me as someone carrying that vileness of Kronos. They consider me a curse to their perfect family."
"Every deity has his or her negative side my Lord. The mortals – like what you told me – are living proofs of that. They mirror the good things in us and the bad as well – from love to infidelity. Why do you have to let those insults creep into your system?"
"Because I can only take that much Charon." Hades answered. He could not tell Charon the fear he saw in Persephone's eyes. He could not tell Charon how he sensed the panic in the Olympians when they saw the little goddess in his arms. He could not exactly tell Charon what it felt like when Zeus slammed him into those columns like a ragged doll. He could not tell Charon how it hurt his pride. He could not tell it to his general. He cannot show weakness.
They had reached the other end of the River Styx and it is time that Hades walks from there on. Saying a simple 'thank you' and turning his back to Charon, he went straight to his private quarters. He could hear the creaking sound made by Charon's boat as it floated along the entire length of the River Styx back to the lost souls near the entrance of his kingdom. He shook his head. His anger had gotten the better of him. He shouldn't have lashed at Zeus, no matter that he is mad; he shouldn't have let his anger get the better of him. It is just so wrong.
And yet it felt good.
"No. It doesn't matter that it felt good. It is just plain wrong. He is the Lord of All. He deserves reverence."
Ah! But you deserve respect too. You are also a Lord and respect is something you should have earned from the Olympians since the beginning of time. Poseidon is right. Zeus fears you.
"He fears for his daughter's welfare. Being near me, Persephone could be tainted. I don't want that to happen."
He fears more for himself than for his daughter.
"No. Zeus is a very insecure and prideful god, but he is not selfish or self-centered."
Isn't what he did to you a sign of selfishness? He kept you here in the Underworld out of fear of what you can do and now he fears you more because instead of turning weaker and weaker, you became more powerful than you were two thousand years ago. Poseidon is right; the Olympians have their reasons to fear you.
"Enough! No more mind games Hecate." Hades said in the dark hallway.
"I am so sorry, my Lord." A woman's voice said again along the shadows of his main palace's huge obsidian columns.
"You seem to be updated. Right, Hecate?" Hades asked, while slowly pulling up the left sleeve of his robes and extending his hand, opening his fingers wide and slamming it to one of the obsidian walls lined with emeralds and rubies. As soon as his hand touched the wall, it started to tremble and a low groaning sound like boulders being pushed out of the way could be heard. After a few seconds, the wall shows an opening to a wide library with its topaz-floored and enchanted ceiling dotted with constellations that give off a golden light into the entire library giving the room a warm and welcoming feeling to it.
"I cannot help it my Lord." Hecate from the shadows answered.
"I know. Come." Hades said as he entered his library filled with scrolls. He took the biggest chair – red with gold linings. As soon as he was settled, he offered one of the many comfortable chairs to Hecate as well.
"Thank you my Lord." Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft, ghosts and of crossroads, said.
"It seems like I cannot keep secrets from you." Hades whispered, grabbing one of the blank scrolls, a quilt and an ink.
"No deity can. As you know, I am the goddess of the crossroads and not just 'crossroads', I am also present at the most important turning points of both deities and mortals' lives." Hecate gave Hades her warmest smile. If he hadn't known that Hecate is somehow connected to Thanatos, he would start thinking that his virgin goddess is very much attracted to him. But then again, there's Thanatos. They are always bickering and it drives him nuts to hear their arguments.
"Stop thinking that way my Lord." Hecate said in clipped tones. Thanatos is a very nasty subject for the goddess, very nasty indeed.
"Sorry. Thanatos just crossed my mind." Hades said, trying really hard not to laugh.
"I wonder why." Hecate sarcastically answered.
"Anyway, Thanatos is the least of my problems." Hades said in a voice that clearly said 'He is your problem Hecate'.
Hecate's right eyebrow arched in defiance and she gave Hades a look that says I know what you are driving at. Don't you dare say it out loud or else.
"What can you say about what happened." Hades said in a serious voice.
"You should ask Morpheus' advice. Charon's right, it is too early to say that you caused the goddess Persephone to dream." Hecate said in a very matter-of-fact tone of voice.
"Could it be that I was too strong for her at that moment?"
"What do you mean my Lord?"
"I mean, she used her powers to heal the rose bushes of Demeter and she used her force field on me. She said something about getting tired and powers draining from her."
"What she used is a 'life force' my Lord, not a force field." Hecate told Hades in a very patient voice. Her tone made Hades think of a teacher patiently teaching her student the Egyptian's mathematics.
"Everyone is telling me that. What is the difference?"
"A lot." Hecate answered.
"Enlighten me. Being the goddess of magic, you should tell me that."
"We – the deities – Gaia, Ouranos, and even the Titans usually use force fields. We direct and derive our powers in our surroundings. If we are near the main source of our powers we become stronger. That is why Gaia is strongest when she's on earth; Poseidon, when he's on his domain – the sea; and Zeus, when he's on Olympus or the sky."
"And I am at my strongest when I am here at the Underworld." Hades whispered.
"No my Lord. Death is everywhere; Thanatos – the Death incarnate – is at his strongest everywhere. Imagine him as a strong god too and then magnify it a hundred fold and that is how strong you are . . . since you are Lord of the Underworld, you are also the Lord of the Dead – Thanatos' own Lord, patron if possible. Therefore we can say that you are at your strongest wherever you go."
"What?"
"And that is why Zeus is scared. He doesn't know that his brother is not as evil as he thinks you are. An ugly notion, and very hurtful, but you will manage. I know you will my Lord."
"I don't need it at all; the power could just rot in the Underworld for all I care."
"I know it won't corrupt you. You made a wise choice for that, eons ago, when the Olympians are fighting for dominion over everything. You could have easily thrown them down and became Lord of All but you didn't. You decided to be where a deity could be closest to mortals – the Underworld. Your decision to yield and stay here had made all the difference."
"Zeus doesn't know that."
"Of course he doesn't. No other deity knows how close mortals are to you when death is nearing. They pray, they plead, and they call on you. They may utter their patron's name but deep within their very souls, it is you they are calling for."
"I know."
"Now do you understand what force field is?" Hecate asked him.
"Yes. I do."
"Then let me tell you about this 'life force' power that Persephone has. You see, force field is derived from around us. The nature perfected our power. It is being added up to our very essence making our powers . . . well, powerful than usual. Life force is its complete opposite."
"What do you mean?"
"Life force is a very uncommon gift. I could say that she is the only one who uses it, for she is the only one who can use it. She is the goddess of the spring. Life on earth begins with spring. Flowers bloom, trees give off fruits, the earth is being showered with life whenever spring comes. Therefore, as the goddess of the spring, Persephone was given the gift of utilizing life force."
"Which is?"
"She derives power from within her essence after which she put it into her surroundings . . . empowering them."
"Perfecting them." Hades said, wide-eyed.
"Precisely."
"We use nature and the surroundings to our advantage while nature uses her to its own advantage and hers as well."
"Yes. That is why the air held you in place, no matter that you derive power from the air, at that moment air is stronger than you are because it was utilizing the goddess at its advantage to protect the flowers from you the way Persephone wants it to be protected."
"But if this 'life force' is being derived from her essence then . . . "
"I know you understand. Yes, it wore her down. It drains her energy, her essence. It made her feel weaker. Any resistance from the outside could cause an increase demand in the deity's essence; that is why when you started to move and fight the air keeping you in place, her essence is slowly being drained. She is new to that power that much I know. In time she will be able to utilize it to her advantage. And maybe, that is one of the reason why she became so vulnerable to your power."
"Can't she use nature instead of that life force thing?"
"She's the goddess of the spring. Spring is life. A force field takes a portion of nature's life away and that is not Persephone's nature." Hecate said in a soft voice while angling her head sideways. She directed a very thoughtful look at Hades.
"She gives life. She doesn't take it away." Hades whispered.
"You will perfectly complement each other."
"What?" Hades was shocked at what he heard.
"You are the Lord of the Underworld and the Lord of the Dead. She on the other hand is a goddess of the upper world and the Lady of the Spring. You complement each other. You are like two sides of a coin. Besides, my visions and observations tell me that you will look good together." Hecate said in a very happy voice.
"Meaning?" Hades asked.
"She will be a very good wife for you my Lord." Hecate said, smiling widely and eagerly this time.
"You may go now Hecate. And no arguments."
"But my Lord . . . "
"Go." Hades said. He directed his thoughts to the parchment, quill and ink and started scribbling some random stuff just to make him look busy. He heard a sigh and rustling of clothes, cloaks and robes, a groaning sound and then stones locking to stone and then silence.
"Life force. Persephone, you are one goddess that is so full of surprises."
At that moment, a smiled played on Hades' lips and he admitted to himself that he is irrevocably attracted to the young goddess.
A wife? We'll see about that. We will see.