"That was very sweet of you, my lovely wife," Hades says to Persephone.
They were both in their own small private glade in the Elysian Fields. Persephone sat on the ground, surrounded by flowers everywhere as Hades leans against an olive tree nearby. He watches as she picks flowers one by one and makes a crown out of them.
"She is a very beautiful girl, Hades. Both inside and out. She is very pure, and I know that she deserves Eros," she says gently, not taking her eyes off the crown of flowers she was crafting in her hands. "Finally he has found someone to love."
And then her tone becomes slightly angered. "And I can see why Aphrodite does not take a liking to her. Psyche is too beautiful for her own good, and Aphrodite just had to let her jealousy take over."
Hades sighs. "What is there to do? Aphrodite is an easily-jealous person. It is her nature."
Persephone sighs. "I guess you are right."
She kept quiet and continues picking flowers and twining them into the crown. Hades watches her intently.
"Even after giving away part of your beauty, you still look too beautiful," he murmurs.
She blushes and gives him a warm smile. Then, she plucks a fully bloomed rose out of the ground and twines it into the crown of flowers as the centrepiece. She examines her masterpiece, pleased with what she has made.
Hades comes forward and sits beside her. He gently takes away the crown in her hands and lifts it onto her head. Persephone only looks at him as he settles the crown atop her head and runs his fingers through her hair.
"How is it that you know more about love than Aphrodite?" he murmurs, running his thumbs down her cheeks.
She cups his face and brings it closer, whispering, "Because I have you."
Hades sighs and leans in to softly kiss her lips. Persephone grasps his hair and kisses him back just as passionately.
She lies down on the grass, the crown falling off her head, and pulled him so that he was on top of her. They lay there, doing nothing but kiss each other.
Suddenly, Hades breaks their kiss and becomes silent. Persephone breathes deeply, looking at his stony expression.
"My love, what is wrong?" she asks him, confused.
He remains silent and his gaze is focused elsewhere. Persephone begins to get worried and asks again, "Hades? What's wrong?"
He looks at her instantly. "Someone is here in the Underworld," he mutters.
"Who is it?"
Closing his eyes, he kept quiet for a few more seconds before saying, "It's Hermes."
He then stands up, pulling her along with him, and they transport themselves out of the Elysian Fields and back into their chambers. She follows him to the throne room, where a floating Hermes stands before the thrones.
"Hermes? What brings you here?" Persephone asks.
Hermes clears his throat and says, "Lord Zeus has called for an urgent full council meeting at Mount Olympus. Both of your attendances are required."
"What is it for?" Hades asks him.
"It's about Eros and his mortal wife, Psyche. Eros has pleaded with Zeus for Psyche to be turned immortal, but Aphrodite is against it. So there will be a debate."
Hades keeps silent, but Persephone says to him, "Hades. We must go."
Looking at his wife's pleading eyes, he finally says, "Alright."
Hermes nods and, in just a second, flew out of the room.
Persephone holds on to her husband as he rides his black chariot, which was pulled by two black winged horses, in the sky. She looks down and sees the vast empty snow-filled lands.
They were approaching the peak of Olympus now, and both of them could see the golden gates. The gatekeeper, Heracles, immediately sees them and opens the gates at once. Hades flies directly onto the palace grounds and he and Persephone got off the chariot.
"Stay here. We will be back," Persephone says to the winged horses, and they neigh in understanding.
Hades grasps her hand and brings her to the meeting room of the palace. Satyr servants open the doors for them and they made their way inside.
Nearly everyone was there. They all looked at Hades and Persephone as they entered the room.
"Brother, it is good that you can join us," Zeus, who sat on a large gold throne beside Hera, greets Hades.
"Kore!" Demeter called out. "I have missed you! Please, come and stand by your mother!" she begs, beckoning for her daughter to stand beside her throne.
Zeus rolls his eyes in irritation. "Demeter. Despite the fact that Persephone is here right now, she is not to be with you, but with her husband."
Demeter, realizing the truth, then huffs and crosses her arms in anger. Hades smiles on the inside as he takes his seat on a special ebony throne, with Persephone standing beside him.
"Now let us begin our meeting. I have been told by Eros that he has married a mortal named Psyche against the will of his mother, Aphrodite, and requests that she becomes an immortal and be allowed residence in Olympus with him. Eros? Kindly step forward."
Just then, a young man with short and wavy medium-blond hair and azure blue eyes stepped forward from behind Zeus' throne. He looked handsome, like the other male gods. But unlike the others, he has pure white wings protruding from his back, though they were unseen now as they are not in use. It was easy to identify him as Eros, the God of Love, and the person in question.
The minute he stepped out from hiding, a woman started screaming.
"EROS! HOW DARE YOU DISOBEY ME! I SHOULD STRIKE YOU WITH THE BACK OF MY HAND RIGHT NOW!" Aphrodite, the Goddess of Beauty, shrieked.
Persephone looks at her in shock. Aphrodite's icy blue eyes were wild with rage right now, her platinum blonde hair frazzled, maybe from running her fingers through them in anger, and her lips were pulled back into a snarl.
"Silence, Aphrodite! And let Eros speak," Zeus commanded her.
Aphrodite grips the armrests of her golden throne, her perfectly long nails scratching against it. She glares at her son with full hatred, but he does not show any fear.
Eros clears his throat and looks at everyone in the room, making sure that he has their attentions.
"My fellow gods. Please hear me. I wish to beg for your agreement to have my Psyche turn into one of us and live with me for eternity. For many years, I have shot mortals with my arrows and made them fall in love, for I am the God of Love. That is my duty. But now I myself have fallen in love, but I am forbidden of it. My arrows have caused many people to do crazy things for the ones they love, and finally I myself am doing such things. All in the name of love. Please, great gods. I beg of you. Give me your blessings."
Aphrodite screeched again.
"Utter rubbish! That wench you call a wife has betrayed your trust! That is not called true love! If she was really in love with you, she wouldn't have made the mistake of listening to her sisters telling her that you are a beast!"
Eros shuts his eyes and clenches his fists. When he opened them again, they were desperate.
"Mother. Has it ever occurred to you that it is human nature for them to make a mistake once in a while? We ourselves as the highest beings in the universe make various mistakes."
Then, he daringly points an accusing finger at her.
"And you, Mother, are the Goddess of Beauty. But you have let your jealousy override you and commit many horrible acts. Is that not a mistake to you?"
"YOU ASS! HOW DARE YOU SPEAK OF ME LIKE THAT!" Aphrodite shouts viciously and leaps off her throne, charging towards her son. Everybody gasps in shock, especially Persephone.
"STOP!" Zeus commands, pointing a finger at Aphrodite. At an instant, the maddened Goddess of Beauty is thrown back onto her throne and gold shackles appear around her wrists and her ankles, trapping her to the throne.
Aphrodite remains silent, the rage still shown on her face. Then she looks up at Eros, and seethes, "Your wife has sworn to me that she will show that she is worthy of you only if she has completed the tasks I assign to her. But alas! She has failed the last task!"
Zeus cocks a light blond eyebrow and ask, "What is this task?"
Aphrodite smiles evilly and says, "I have ordered her to travel to Hades' kingdom and obtain a box of beauty from his queen, Persephone, with the warning that she does not open the box at all. But just as she had exited the Underworld, she disobeys me and opens it, attempting to take some of the beauty for herself. As punishment, she will forever be condemned to sleep for all of eternity!"
Everyone gasps in shock again and all of their eyes immediately dart to Hades and Persephone. She cringes from the accusing stares, but her husband holds her hand to comfort her.
"Is that true, Kore?" Demeter asks.
Gulping her fear, she kept her head high and nods.
"But that will no longer be a problem," Eros spoke up. "I have come to her side as she fell into slumber, and wiped away the sleep from her eyes. It was after I had returned the sleep into the box did I come to you, great Lord Zeus."
Suddenly, in his hands, appeared the rosewood lacquer box that Persephone had given Psyche with her beauty inside it. Eros walks to Persephone, holding out the box to her. She lifts her hands and takes it from him gently.
"Thank you," she whispers, and the box slowly disappears into her hands.
Eros smiles at her, and then turns to look at his mother, who stares at him with disbelief and anger. He sighs and says, "I do not want to displease you, Mother. I love you with all my heart. But I cannot live if I cannot have Psyche."
Aphrodite grumbles and looks away from him angrily.
Suddenly, Zeus says, "Do you have anything to say for the matter, Persephone?"
Persephone looks at him and then to the other gods. Slowly, she steps forward, the long skirt of her dress rustling with each step, and takes a stand beside Eros. Then, she speaks.
"I have now come to understanding of this situation, and I have found it to be conspicuously similar to the situation that I have faced before. I myself know what it was like to fall in love with someone your mother despises."
Everyone's eyes turned to Demeter, who was becoming angry that she was being targeted as the villain now.
Persephone continues. "I myself know that we have done unexplainable things just for the sake of love. In Eros' case, it was marrying his Psyche behind his mother's back. In my case, it was by eating that pomegranate."
Demeter felt her blood boiling at the memory of that fateful day, where in the same meeting room, she and Hades were fighting over custody of Persephone.
"Please, mother. I am not belittling you. You are truly a wonderful mother, and I love you for that. And I also know that somewhere deep inside, Aphrodite can be one too. But you must know that our love cannot be restricted just for you only. In Hades, I have found what I want that I could never get from you. And that is the same for Eros and Psyche."
Then she turns to Zeus
"So all in all, Lord Zeus, I am taking a stand by Eros, and giving him my blessing to have his wife stay here."
A new voice appears in the room.
"And with my wife, I agree as well," Hades says, standing from his throne.
Just then, Hestia stands from her wooden throne, saying, "A love between a man and his wife is just as blessed as a strong bond between families. I, too, give Eros my blessing."
Hera stands after her, saying, "This is truly the truest of marriages. I have come to recognise the marriage between Eros and Psyche and will also give my blessings."
Artemis and Athena stand next, both giving their blessings to Eros. As more gods gave their blessings, Eros smiled wider, knowing that his chance of being with Psyche will be a strong one.
Finally, nearly every god has stand, except Aphrodite, Demeter, Eros' father Ares and Zeus.
"I know the hardships a mother has to go through when her child disobeys her. Therefore, I will have no say in this," Demeter snaps.
Persephone sighs and shakes her head in dismay. Noticing how sad his wife was, Hades pulls her into a hug.
"I am not interested in all of this. If my son wants to have that girl here, then so be it," Ares says nonchalantly.
Eros smiles, despite Ares' comments not being the most sincere.
Then everyone turns to Aphrodite, who was still stuck to her throne. She glares at everyone, including Persephone.
"Fine! Do what you want! I don't care!" she shouts, and then looks away.
Eros sighs. Persephone places a hand on her cousin to comfort him. He looks at her and gives a tired smile.
Finally, Zeus takes a stand. Everyone looks at him, anxious to know his answer.
"With the power of Olympus upon me, I have decided that the mortal Psyche will drink the sacred ambrosia and become immortal, so that she may forever reside in Olympus as Eros' consort."
And with that, everyone breaks into applause. Persephone hugs her cousin in happiness, with Hades watching her with a small smile on his lips.
Zeus releases Aphrodite's chains. She stands up slowly, and then walks away silently. Eros notices this and tries to stop her.
"Mother, I-"
She raises a hand, stopping him from saying any further.
"I know when I have lost, my dear son. I cannot do anything now. But on the bright side, with her on Olympus, she will not be worshipped on Earth anymore."
Eros had managed to catch the smile on her face, but it quickly disappears.
"I'm going to soak in my bath…" she mumbles and walks out of the meeting room.
Eros stands there, watching his mother walk away, when Persephone suddenly appears at his side.
"My cousin, Hermes has just left to collect your wife. Are you happy now?" she asks him hopefully.
Turning to her, he smiles and says, "Yes. I am happy."