Part 3: Chapter 7
When Dionysus had asked that question, it had struck something in Hades.
His marriage was always considered a sensitive topic to him. It was not as though his marriage to Persephone was troubled. In fact, it was entirely the opposite, being such a very blissful and happy affair. However, it was still something sensitive for Hades to think about because of the fact that their marriage came with the price that Persephone always had to leave him for six months at a time.
Most unfortunately, the time when she would have to leave him again was coming very soon in the approaching days.
He still never got over the dread of having to part with his beloved wife, the only woman that he had shared a bed with and who he truly loved in all of his centuries of existence. Despite the fact that he obeyed his younger brother like any other god, he still did not accept the fact that Zeus would consolidate with Demeter on the pomegranate agreement. By right, Persephone should have stayed with him, as was the rules of the Fates when she had consumed those six pomegranate seeds.
Hades could not deny the fact that he was afraid. He was afraid that maybe one day, woven into his thread of life by the hands of the ever devious Fates, Zeus would finally decide to side with Demeter and grant her full boon, which meant to say that he would allow her the complete sole right to Persephone's presence. And that way, Hades' allowance with Persephone would be annulled, and who would know what Demeter would do to ensure that he and she never be together again.
Sometimes, Hades thought to himself that maybe Persephone would be more happier to just be with her mother. She was, after all, the Goddess of Spring; a goddess that had life flowing out of her fingertips onto anything and anywhere she touched. So naturally, the Aboveworld where the sun's light shone everywhere and all forms of life existed all around was her place of origin, and would always be her real home. Hades knew very well that she missed all those aspects of the world above, and he felt guilty that his chthonic underground kingdom could never accommodate to those wishes of hers. He had agreed to himself that if ever the day came when Persephone would decide to stay with her mother forever, he would allow it, because he loved her and would only want her to be happy, regardless whether or not it would pain him in the process.
But Persephone knew those thoughts that he had, and had told him time and time again whenever the uncertainty struck that she would never leave him. She would always tell him that although a part of her heart still belonged to the world above where her mother was, she would always be his because he was her husband and her one true love. She had told him that she was glad that it was he who married her instead of her other 'suitable' Olympian suitors like her half-brother Apollo, who had been one of the main contenders for her hand in marriage. She told him that she loved him because he allowed her the freedom that she never could have when she was with her mother and had opened her eyes to the true fact that life was not always sunshine warmth and springtime dances as her mother had moulded her mind to think when she had been younger and less experienced. She told him that she was thankful that he was her's because she attributed him in helping her grow into a far better person than she would have been if she was still entirely in her mother's care.
Hearing that, Hades knew that, if ever the possibility of the both of them getting separated were to occur, he would fight. He would fight for his right to be with his wife. He would fight against any barriers – be it was placed by Demeter or Zeus or anyone or anything else – that was placed between him and her. He would not allow anything, regardless of whether fated or no, to separate him and his beloved Persephone. But even if it did happen, he would do anything in his power to get her back safe and sound by his side.
The feeling of a soft and gentle warm hand grasping his was what pulled him out of his heavy thoughts. In an exhale of breath, he turned his head to see his queen gazing at him with a look of concern. When his eyes met the soft gaze of her amber, he grasped back her hand tightly, wanting to feel the comfort of her presence.
But as Persephone continued to hold his gaze, she asked in a gentle questioning voice, "Would you have done the same, Hades?"
Hades immediately knew the answer to that question.
"Of course, I would."
And thus, he knew the answer he was going to give Dionysus.
But before he could even turn his head to look back at Dionysus, the doors of the throne room opened so very suddenly, startling Hades and Persephone, as well as the god kneeling before them.
Dionysus
"What is the meaning of this abruptness?!" Hades demanded to know hotly as he rose from his throne to stand at his formidable full height.
The sound of anger in the God-King's voice was frightening, and it seemed to shake the whole room like a sudden earthquake. I had to keep calm and not jump in fright so as to not lose the composure that I had been maintaining throughout our exchange.
However, my attentions were suddenly pulled away from the King and Queen to the new presence beside me. He had not been there more than ten seconds ago, but with a sudden gust of wind and travelling at the speed of light and sound, Hermes seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, kneeling as I was.
"A thousand apologies, Lord Hades," Hermes said aloud with a straight composure as he looked up at our uncle. "But I bring with me sudden orders from Lord Zeus to you."
At this, there was a sudden instantaneous change in Hades' expression, with his brow raising arched questioningly and his eyes widening slightly. Beside him, still seated on her throne, Persephone watched Hermes with a complete interest in whatever news he was bringing from Zeus above.
"So what is this news that you bring from Lord Zeus?" Hades questioned as he started to descend the steps of the dais.
Hermes did not answer the question right away. Instead, he turned his head to give me a thoughtful look. I was confused as to why, until I finally realized that whatever news Hermes had brought had something to with me. And from the look on his face, it must be good news.
Hermes then got up from his kneeling position and rose to his full height, just as Hades finally came to a stand in front of him. With a hand gestured in my direction, Hermes told him, "My lord, Zeus gives me his word for you regarding Dionysus and the reason for his presence here in your realm."
Hermes looked down to his side and met my gaze as he finally said, "Zeus gives command for you to allow Dionysus to reclaim his bride from the Elysian Fields."
Silence ensued straight afterwards as Hades froze in shock, Persephone gasped in surprise, and I only stared at Hermes in a mixture of both Hades and Persephone's reaction, interlaced with the feeling of disbelief and even slight relief within me.
The only one who was not surprised by the news was Hermes himself, for he simply stood there, calm and collected as he always was when he was on duty, looking at Hades expectantly. Once every few seconds, his spring green eyes would slide over down to look at me, meeting my own widened ones. Whenever he did, he would smile.
Finally, after the long stretch of silence that came, Hades exhaled a long deep breath that he seemed to have been holding in.
"Is that truly his final say?" he questioned with sceptical narrowed eyes. "There would be no possible changes whatsoever? Is he sure that he is not simply saying this for the sake of his son? And if I let you go, would he make you come back to me and tell me that it had all been a mistake?"
Despite the look of calm collectedness that remained on his face, I could see in Hermes' bright eyes the flash of panic that flickered for a moment. At this point, my own panic started to pike up, because I was afraid that he would not be able to answer our uncle's difficult questions. The fact that Hermes fell into silence afterwards only increased those chances tenfold, and made the situation even worse.
But before I could feel the complete anxiety of the moment becoming heavy weight on my entire being, Hermes thankfully finally said something after a long exhale of breath.
"He does not say anything about it being his final words, but he had been adamant about his decision when he commanded the task upon me. So I doubt he would change his mind any time soon, my lord."
Hades said nothing, only looking at both Hermes and I in contemplation. The silence that hung between all three of us was so thick and dense that I could almost feel it surrounding me. All the while, I was wondering about what was going on in Hades' mind, about what sorts of decisions he was making right now.
It was the sudden presence of a hand on his shoulder that tore all three of us out of our thoughts. All our eyes were then directed to Persephone, who – we did not realize – had descended the steps of the dais to join us.
Hades turned to meet her bright amber eyes which were already focused solely on him. Gazing at her, his own hand reached up to place it above hers.
"Hades," she said, her eyes looking thoughtfully into his.
Hades said nothing at first, only gazing back into the eyes of his wife. Hermes and I remained silent as we watched the Underworld rulers. By the looks of it, it was as though they were having some sort of communication, with the words spoken through their thoughts and their eyes instead of their lips.
It was when both of them moved their eyes away from each other and then to us that Hades released a heavy sigh and remarked with a slight heaviness to his voice, "Well then, it is most fortunate that I too had decided to accept Dionysus' appeal."
It was as though all the breath in my entire body had been knocked out of me when the blow of Hades' words finally struck me. I felt words piling up relentlessly in my mind, but none went through my lips no matter how hard I told myself to make some form of acknowledgement. My heart was racing, pounding hard and loudly within my chest, sending tremors through me. Everything was hazy, blurry, and so very confusing.
"My lord, is what you say true?" Hermes questioned Hades. I could hear from his voice a tone of disbelief.
Hades looked over to Hermes and raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Do you not trust my words, nephew?" he inquired speculatively. "Do you think I am merely jesting?"
Immediately Hermes straightened his posture and clears his throat audibly as he hurriedly replied, "No, Lord Hades. I do not doubt it even for a second."
Hades gave him a mere nod of silent and neutral approval before looking back to me once again. At this point, I had come to a stand, rising to my full height, but my eyes never once left his and my lips still not speaking a word.
"Come, Dionysus," he instructed with a slight gesture of hand. "It is time for you to go to Ariadne."
Ariadne
"I thank you for sharing your story with me, Semele. If only I was brave enough to tell you mine…"
I felt like a coward for still wanting to keep my story to myself. I wanted so very much to tell her that I was a princess of Crete. I wanted to tell her that I had been abandoned by Theseus on Naxos. I wanted to tell her about how I had met, befriended, fell in love and married Dionysus. I wanted to tell her of how I had died saving my husband from death.
But most unfortunately, I could not find the will to do so, for I still saw this as the most private parts of my life that were not meant to be told to anyone else. I do not know whether it was for the sake of keeping it to myself, or because I was afraid that Semele wold judge me for my past mistakes. However, I found the latter possibility to be highly improbable, for she had never once judged me for whatever I did.
Semele wrapped her arms around me and gave me a loving hug. "It is no worries, Ariadne. I do not mind one bit, because the decision is all up to you. If you feel like telling it to me, I will listen as you had done mine. But if you feel that you are not yet ready, I would still be there to listen if you feel that the time is right."
Once again in so many times now, I felt relieved by her kindness, and thankful for her compassion.
"Kind Semele, thank you for your understanding," I told her graciously as I hugged her back. "Yes, I will most certainly tell you everything one day. As there will never be a day that you and I shall part, there will be a day when you will know me as much as I now know you."
Semele broke out of the hug and gave me a smile and a kiss to my forehead before getting up from the ground and making her way back to the cottage. I stayed where I was, watching my 'mother' go and enter the cottage to get on with the events of our afterlives.
When I was alone outside, I took the time to just take in the surroundings of the beautiful scenery of the Elysian Fields, feeling very thankful that, despite the fact that I lost everything that was dear to me in my past life, I still managed to gain this reasonable compensation in the afterlife. I was thankful that I was able to gain residence in the afterlife where all good souls go to, and that I was able to find a new friend and mother in Semele.
"Ariadne!"
The sudden call of my name was what broke me out of my thoughts, and I turned my head to see Persephone running towards me from a distance. The closer she got, the more I noticed the presence of an excited smile on her rosy lips and an eager twinkle in her shining amber eyes.
"Persephone? What goes on?" I asked curiously once I was standing and walking to meet her halfway.
When she had reached me, her hands immediately grasped mine and held them there as she continued to fidget excitedly at the place she stood. A part of me watched in amusement at the sight of Persephone acting like such a giddy little girl who was bursting with excitement, while the other part of me was really curious as to why it was so.
Before I could ask again, Persephone immediately said cheerily, "Somebody special has come for you."
Her words only succeeded in making me more curious than I already was. Somebody special? Come for me? What exactly did she mean by that?
"What exactly do you mean by that?" I inquired, saying the exact same question that popped into my mind. "I don't understand you at all."
Persephone then exhaled a breath and finally managed to calm down and stay still, but the excitement and eagerness still was clear in her expressions as she continued to look at me.
"Look for yourself," she suddenly said.
With utter confusion arising, I did, instinctively looking behind her.
The confusion then turned into disbelief when I saw who was behind her.
His face… Even after being parted from him for so long (I did not really know how long, but it felt like forever to me), I could recognise his face so very easily. It always appeared to me in my dreams and, most especially, my memories. Every single time I slid my eyes shut to just relax, it was always the image of his cheerful brown eyes and his warm smile that would first come to my mind. It was that one special look on his face that I had loved so very much, because I know that it was the one that he showed only to me and me alone. It was the expression that always reminded me that he was the man I fell truly in love with, and who was the one who loved me as much as I did him.
For a moment as I stood there in a standstill of shock, I could not believe that he was here. I thought that it must be some hallucination that my mind was playing because of my utmost yearn for him. I thought that my inner most desire to see him once again was what was causing me to see him in front of me. If that was true, that I certainly hope that it did not disappear, for I do not think that I would be able to bear if it did.
But if he truly was just a trick that my mind was playing on me, and if he truly was not there and that I was just dreaming of my own little fantasies once again, why was it that Persephone knew he was there, and why was it that he looked so very alive and divine and real?
Just that one thought of realization was what made me do what I did next.
"Dion?..."
It had been so very long since I had said that special name; the fake name he had given me when we first met on Naxos that I, until now, had continued to use as my own pet name for him. The name had always been stuck on my thoughts, but it had been so very long since I had said it through my lips.
And when my pet-name for him slipped past my lips, a sudden change occurred on his features. Just a few seconds ago, it had been like mine; shock and in disbelief. But the very second my voice spoke, fresh tears that had welled up in his eyes started streaming down his cheeks. His expression broke into one of relief and… happiness.
In response, he choked out in a quivering smile, "Ariadne…"
At the same time, the same thing happened to me. As tears rolled down my cheeks, my heart suddenly felt light, as though a burdening weight that had been there for so long was now gone. I felt myself be relieved of all traces of pain and sadness that still lingered with me after I had died.
But most importantly, I somehow felt alive again.
We moved at the same time, and we did not take our own sweet time. We both had started running, our feet urging us to move faster towards each other. Our arms outstretched as well, preparing for that one moment where we could finally be together. All the while, we were both calling out each other's name.
The front of our bodies collided and we hugged each other together, and ever so tightly and eagerly. In a spur of moments, Dionysus lifted me off my feet and spun me around, as how he had always done when we were playing together. I only held on to him tighter, relishing in the feel of his warmth around me, the comfort that I could always get from being with him.
"Dion!" I cried out in tears, feeling myself smiling gleefully at the realization that he was truly here in body, and not just some figment of my own imagination. "Dion!"
His only response was to hug me tighter as he came to a stop. And just like that, the both of us just stood there, until standing became so much of a labouring task that we both sank to our knees onto the ground, but still holding onto each other so very tightly that it made breathing almost difficult. But I did not care; that was such an insignificant thing to think about at this heartfelt reunion.
At this very moment, the only thing that I could care about was the fact that here we were, together once again.
Author's Note:
DAAWW! REUNITED!
So the reunion had been successful, thanks Zeus' interception and Hades' compassion, mercy and his kind understanding, and also Persephone's very presence that had been the sole reason for Hades' making the decision! :D
So what with this chapter, it only makes sense that there would be a few chapters left before Drunk On Love comes to a close.
Anyway, guys. I want to tell you that I can take criticism on my stories, but let me tell you that criticism like the very latest one on Children of the Underworld is something that I don't even bother to look twice and think about. To that reviewer, I don't care if you don't like the story, because that's your opinion, and I won't really care about it so much 'cause CotU has already become my most reviewed fanfiction and one of my most popular ones by far. But seriously? Still have the cheek to give me a link to read your full 'review'? Psh, no time for that. I have chapters to write and stories to plan out! I got good readers that I wish to please! :P
And also remember this if you are ever so dear to read this; not everyone will like a story, but not every story is perfect either. I get that Children of the Underworld is not perfect, what with Persephone still having a bit of childishness and Hades having trust issues with her in the Zagreus arc, but that's how I picture them in that certain scene. I don't make the Olympians so perfect that there seems to be nothing wrong with them. No, I picture to be more humane, and being humane means making mistakes and having flaws once in a while. Who agrees with me?
So anyway, enough of my rant. I also have an announcement.
There will not be any update on Monday because I am very slow with the latest chapter (I'm so sorry for that!), and because this Tuesday is my 16th birthday, so my schedule will be quite packed. But I promise you that updates will come back on Friday!
So, after this long note, see you on Friday!
Muse of Fanfiction