"We've been expecting you," the hiss sent Persephone's hair to stand on its ends.
She gulped, taking a small step forward, then inching her way closer towards the elder women. Glancing around the room, she noted that in the center of it, a huge goblet glowed. All three women stood around this goblet, and Persephone used the flickering light to inspect each of them. Light shimmered on their wrinkling faces, revealing that out of the three, only one possessed an eye. The one with the single eye stood in the middle of the group. She was shorter than the other two and had barely any hair. The tallest one stood to the right of her and had sharp features with a long nose. The last one hunched over the most and had no teeth. They all dress in fine, dark cloths but each woman had a different piece of gold in their hand; the middle one had a long thread wrapped around her bony fingers, the tallest had a pair of scissors, and the last had a measuring rod.
"Come, come, child."
A hand grabbed Persephone. She was stunned, frozen in time by the cold touch of the decaying hand that clenched her youthful one. She felt a lump in her throat but walked closer towards the woman. An ancient voice in her head told her that she mustn't fear these women, for they would bring her no harm. With glassy eyes, Persephone glanced down into the goblet. Her vision went black.
His hands were everywhere. . .She was pressed against the wall, trapped in his embrace. His cold fingers traced patterns over her warm, bare flesh presented to him. She tilted her neck to the side, biting her bottom lip profusely. As if invited, his lips started sucking down the base of the exposed skin. His lips made their way back to hers, and she moaned at the sweet taste of mint. His hips held hers in place against the hard wall, but all she could think about was the throbbing need below her navel. She shut her eyes, trying to fully immerse herself into the pleasure of his body and touch. Every kiss fueled the raging desire deep inside her and she panted as he sucked hard on her pulse.
Persephone felt the cold hand touching her forehead. Shaking her head, she turned to the women.
The one eye glared her down. A forked tongue made a hiss out of one of their mouths.
"Chained to eternity with Doom, with your love, this kingdom will bloom. . ."
Another one continued, "Thunder and Earth, battling off for your worth. . ."
The last one concluded, "Light or Dark, only one holds your heart."
Persephone shook her head. The hand clenching around hers squeezed harder. The young maiden could taste bitterness in her mouth, as tears brimmed her eyes.