V

Hades had positioned his chariot right underneath the exact location of where he had planted the flower. He waited patiently for his plan to follow through. He had planted it not too far from Demeter's cottage and had hoped for Persephone to walk by it since he had heard from others (Apollo and Hermes always had big mouths) that she had a liking for flowers. He could have guessed since she was the Goddess of Spring.

Coming by this particular flower was somewhat of a challenge. Hades had a choppy history with the Nymphs of the Underworld. They would often try to sneak into his castle and bed him. Years ago when he had first become the Ruler of the Underworld he became very fond of the attention. However as the years grew by he became tired of it and found no sense of pleasure in the affairs. Then, Nymphs sneaking into the castle became something that annoyed Hades to no end. He added extra guards around the castle and at one point had Cerberus guarding some of entrances.

There did come a point in time where one had befriended him. And in turn, the two of them became close friends. The two of them had slept together once, and while the experience wasn't bad they both felt so awkward afterwards and they never spoke of it again. It was a sign to the both of them they were nothing more than good friends. Unfortunately, Nymphs were not immortal like Gods and there did come a time when his beloved mortal friend had died. He was devastated morose because he had not experienced true grief over a dead body. Demeter, who was not so stubborn or hard headed back then, was kind of enough to suggest him planting her body, and offered to grow a plant in the Underworld in her memory. That was when the artificial growing process in the Underworld began. That of course happened years ago. Hades didn't even recall Persephone being born then.

Nonetheless, one of the Nymphs had given him the flower and in return had asked him for a favour. Hades knew what she had meant by that, but he didn't intend on following through with the aid. In fact he had presented her with some of the finest wine the Underworld had to offer, (courtesy of Dionysus) and Hades himself had added some water from the river of Lethe causing her to lose her memory.

He waited for a few more moments and finally he had decided that it was possible she wouldn't even have come by it. But, the Fates had another plan in mind because the moment he was about to turn his chariot away the ground from above split open and he could hear a familiar voice screaming and crying for help.

It was Persephone.

Hades left his chariot and positioned himself so that he would be able to catch Persephone— his coordinates were a tad bit off. However, what put him off were the screams and cries escaping from her lips. The fall was a long way down, and unfortunately for him he did not have the ability to fly after her.

Stupid Hermes.

"Persephone!" He called after her, "Persephone, It's all right!" He yelled. However his calling did not help with her screams at all. In fact, as far as he could tell it made it worse for her. Probably because the ambiance around her was so dark and cold, and hearing a voice calling from below the depths of a fall only frightened her even more.

But, soon after Hades heard the screams stop. He assumed it meant that she had calmed down. But, when he finally caught her he noted that it was simply because she had become unconscious.

Quickly, he took her to lie in his chariot while he sped them back to the castle.

"This was supposed to be a simple talk."He muttered darkly on his way back.

Persephone woke up with a headache. But, she sat herself up in a start. She took in her surroundings and started to shake. She was scared, cold, tired and confused. This was not home. She didn't even know where she was.

The room she was in was extravagant needless to say. The bed she lay in was huge and soft and the sheets that she was on top of felt rich. But, she didn't want to be here. Her body ached and she felt weak, all she wanted now was to be home with her mother soothing her by stoking her hair and making her hot cup of chamomile tea.

Persephone shivered once more but fought she urge to stay in the warmth of the sheets. She pulled the covers back and flung one leg off of the bed followed by the other and, she fell.

She felt searing pain as her right foot touched the cold obsidian tiles causing her to cry out in agony. She fell and once again felt the discomfort of her headache. Persephone was too tired and weak to move. She let herself lay herself down on the tiles. She couldn't even cry for help anymore because of the energy drained from her. All she could do was breath in and out, trying to hold back tears, while hoping that this was all just a dream.

A horrible night terror. And, without evening realizing she started wilting instantly.

Hades was displeased. All he wanted was to talk with her and the send her back to her mother so that she could go on her merry way. Now, he waited impatiently in the throne room with the other judges while Persephone lay unconscious.

"My Lord?" Minos asked as the soul who had just been granted entrance into the Asphodel Meadows left, "My Lord?" He called again when he heard no answer.

"Huh? Er— yes Minos?" He replied after escaping from the trance he was in.

"Are you alright Hades?" He asked witch concern in his tone. Hades raised his brow and stroked his chin with his fingers.

"Do I appear to be any different?" He inquired slightly annoyed.

"Er— no My Lord, But, Sire, we saw you carry girl into the castle." He explained.

Hades was somewhat surprised though his face showed no change in emotion. He has assumed no one had seen him carry her into the castle. He was in such a hurry to get her inside he didn't bother to think what the others in the castle would think. Hades wondered who had told the judges— he didn't pass the throne room and didn't actually see anyone on his journey to place Persephone safely in a chamber in the Private quarters of the Palace.

"I don't see how any of this concerns you, Minos." He sneered before turning his attention back to the new soul who had just arrived to be judged.

Hades inferred that he had given her decent care. A bedroom to herself until she awoke with all the proper necessities and a few servants— all ladies of course. He had requested that they keep him posted on Persephone and alert him right away once she had woken up.

He still had the same plan. Talk with her and calm her down if he had to, and he would promise that he would explain everything. If she consented to marriage then Hades would be pleased. If she didn't. . . he didn't want to think about that just yet.

Those damn arrows. If Hades grew sour because of the situation he was in, he knew just who to blame.

One of the younger servants in the Palace had been addressed to take special care of the new visitor in the castle. She didn't know who it was, and Lord Hades didn't even bother letting her know who it was either. But, he had given her strict instructions to let him know when she awoke.

A few hours had gone by and the young girl decided to check up on his visitor. There was a harsh rule that Hades had enforced, being that no servant would ever come into the private quarters unless permitted by Hades or the other deities of the Underworld. Hence, her excitement to see what the private quarters looked like.

When she opened the large doors (they reminded her of gates) she gasped in awe. She had lived in the palace for years and was used to the Rich One decorating his abode with wealth, but she had never seen anything as extravagant as this.

The chambers seemed to more than twice the size than the rooms in the servants' quarters. The hallways were lit with gold chandeliers that held dozens of burning candles which left a beautiful odour dancing in the halls. The tiles were made of sleek, polished obsidian like the rest of the palace. The pillars were made of snowflake obsidian which added a nice amount of light into the dark, with long mirrors placed on the walls very sow often showcasing the beautiful reflection of the chandeliers. It was ever so elegant.

The servant girl spotted a spiral staircase which lead to another door. She assumed that the massive doorway lead to Lord Hades room which she would never dare enter. She sighed before turning right towards the guest bedroom located for her at the end of the extravagant corridor.

"M'Lady? M'Lady?" The servant girl called while she knocked on the door. She heard no reply and assumed that the visitor was just sleeping. Nonetheless, she decided to go inside for Lord Hades had given her a pile of clothing folded nicely for her to take to his guest. She opened the heavy door and peered inside. That was odd, she wasn't on the bed? "M'Lady?" She called again.

The servant girl was now concerned. She quickly placed the rich cloths inside the rosewood wardrobe and called for her once more as she walked in deeper into the chamber towards the bathroom. She knocked on the bathroom door and called for her once more— still there was no reply. Was it possible that she had escaped? The servant girl was now terrified. What would become of her if Lord Hades found out the guest had vanished? She shuddered at the thought. She turned quickly to leave the bed chamber as quickly as he could, but stopped when she noticed tan toes peeking out from the other side of the lavish four poster bed. The servant girl narrowed her eyes when she saw tiny, lifeless flower petals appearing from the bottom of the toes. She hadn't seen petals in years. She walked quickly towards the other side of the bed, and her eyes widened as a small gasp escaped from her lips.

There lay an unconscious maiden wilting right before her. The servant girl started to panic. She had no idea what to do! Would she call for Lord Hades? No, he had strictly informed her to fetch him only when she had woken up from her slumber. She decided meeting with Lady Hecate would be best. She left the limp body to lay on the black obsidian tiles while she quickly ran in search for Lady Hecate. Luckily for her, she spotted her just as soon as she was about to walk inside her own chamber.

"Lady Hecate!" She cried causing Hecate to turn and narrow her eyes at the servant girl.

"These quarters are off limits to the servants." She reminded strictly.

"I— I know M'Lady," The servant whimpered, "B-but Lord Hades told me to look after the guest." She explained. Hecate cocked her head and placed her dainty hand on her hip.

"What visitor?" The servant girl shrugged.

"I'm not sure M'Lady, he didn't say. But she fell off the bed and now she is on the floor unconscious. Please I—I don't know what to do!" She cried. Hecate sighed and gave the servant girl a halfhearted smile, which was hard for her to fake since she really took no interest in the dilemma the servant faced. But, she didn't want to be around when she started crying out of fear so she figured the safest thing to do would be follow her and see what kind of a mess had spewed. Hecate assumed it was just a Nymph. Though Hades did put a stop his affairs, she figured that due to his hazy behavior he may have just slipped.

"All right. Take me there please."

The girl led Hecate down the hall and took a right leading to the guest chamber. She opened it quickly and ran towards the limp body sprawled across. When Hecate saw the unconscious figure her eyes widened and she was so utterly shocked at what she saw nothing escaped from her dark red lips.

She recognized the wilting body, she had seen her around Olympus before once long ago and knew she was goddess; however she did not know which one. Needless to say Hades had really filled up his plate; she was definitely not a Nymph. Nymphs don't wilt, and all the petals escaping from her body had started to annoy Hecate slightly.

Hecate collected her thoughts and calmly turned towards the girl, "Help me lift her on the bed again." She said slowly. She grabbed the goddess by her arms while the girl grabbed her feet. They pulled her up onto the high four poster bed. Hecate pulled the sheets back but stopped when she saw swelling around the poor girls' ankle. Hecate narrowed her eyes and took a closer look. She had twisted it.

"Pass me two pillows please." Hecate said. The girl quickly gave Hecate two mulberry satin pillows. Hecate placed them under her swollen ankle to elevate it properly. She checked her body for any severe marks but only saw a few cuts along her tanned arms. However, there was a minor bump on her left temple. This girl really was hurt.

Hecate had finished tending to the young goddesses cuts and placed a pack of ice, wrapped in some cloth on the girls' ankle and temple to bring down the swelling. Now, she had a bone to pick with Hades— the idiot. When she started to leave the chamber, she felt something crumble underneath her toes. Puzzled, she picked it up and noticed a white flower with a yellow-orange center. She looked at the wilting goddess and placed it beside her body assuming the flower was hers since her body behaved like a human plant.

What kind of guest did Hades bring?

"Hades, what the hell have you done?" Hecate snapped barging into his study while he was going over some scrolls with Thanatos. He rolled his eyes and muttered something nonchalantly under his breath before turning his gaze towards her.

"What have I done exactly?" He questioned, clearly not paying much attention to her. There were too many things occupying his mind and right now, Hecate's lectures on ethics weren't one of them. He assumed she was talking about one of the souls he had teased in the throne room— which he would do every once in a while if he thought the soul present was a smart ass, but lately he couldn't care less. So, for all he knew Hecate was just wasting her breath.

"Care to explain why there is an unconscious goddess wilting in your kingdom?" She questioned. Hades's eyes widened slightly and bit his bottom lip.

Crap! She found out, but how?

Thanatos couldn't help but overhear the conversation. He wasn't eavesdropping; they were talking right in front of him! He let out a small laugh from under his breath as he looked in between Hades and Hecate who looked as if they were having a glaring contest.

"You know Lord Hades, if you wanted to keep this goddess a secret you could have just placed your helm of darkness on her." said Thanatos trying to lighten the mood but he earned a scowl from Hecate and cold glare from Hades. He cleared his throat and went back to work, not paying attention to their conversation anymore. If they didn't appreciate his sense of humour he knew the Nymphs would— though he didn't know they were just out to take advantage of the fact that he lived in the palace with Hades.

"That, if I am not mistaken, does not concern you in anyway whatsoever, Hecate." Hades replied. Hecate 'humphed' and placed a hand on her hip parting her dark cherry lips slightly in an intimidating matter— well, Thanatos thought so at least.

"Well, I'm pleased to know that this is what you think." She said coldly, "But, I'll have you know, she's injured very badly." She said causing Hades to snap his attention back to her. Now, he was concerned.

"Injured?" He inquired causing Hecate to smirk.

"Oh yes. Well," She said sighing, "I must be leaving. You see I'm out of some supplies for my potions and I need to go out and get some more. . ." She said trailing off.

"Hecate! You can't leave! Take me to her. What if I need your help?" He questioned. Hecate rolled her eyes.

"Oh I'm sorry, but as far as I'm concerned, this doesn't concern me." She mimicked in his voice causing Hades to lose his patience.

"Hecate. Please." He said sincerely. She shrugged and gestured for him to follow.

"What kind of goddess wilts?" Thanatos muttered as he took up the slack on the work Hades had left behind.

Authors Note: Apologies if this chapter seems like more of a filler. Thank you to all of you have you have been reading! I'd like to thank madame thome specifically for all the kind reviews! Hope you enjoyed.