VI
Persephone's eyes fluttered open and she felt something cold searing onto her skin. She furrowed her brows and weakly pushed herself off of the comfort of the bed she laid on. She felt a pack of coldness on her temple and on her ankle and removed them quickly, but stopped once she noted how swollen her ankle was.
"What in the heavens?" She muttered as he delicate finger prodded at her ankle. She narrowed her eyes trying to recall what had happened, but she remembered nothing. She didn't care what happened. All she wanted to know where she was.
"Mother?" She called, "Mother!" She called again. She searched the room and tried to push herself off of the high, lavish four poster bed. Her eyes scanned the place as she frantically called for her mother over and over again. She heard no reply. Persephone began to shake and her eyes widened in shock when she found a pure white flower, with a yellow and orange center carefully placed right beside.
She screamed.
The young servant girl was walking down the private corridors with a tray of food. She had been ordered sternly by both Lord Hades and Lady Hecate to ensure that the young girl does not eat any food grown from the Underworld, which was easy considering the only area where things grew in the Underworld was the Elysian Fields. She knew it was because it would mean the young girl would be bound to the Underworld for eternity, but she double and tripled checked with the cook. The last thing she wanted was to anger Lord Hades.
She was just a few doors away from the guest chamber when she heard the most horrified scream coming just down the hall. The servant girl unconsciously dropped the tray of food and ran towards her guest not bothering to knock on the mahogany door.
"M'Lady? M'Lady!" She called as she tried to calm the hysteric girl down, but it was no use. She could see in her deep green eyes that the poor young girl was absolutely terrified. "M'Lady! Please."
"Tell me where I am! Where is my Mother?" She cried yelling at the servant girl. She looked at her with confused eyes.
"M'Lady, I don't know where your mother is." She said softly.
"What?" She was shocked. She never went anywhere without her mother, "No, no, no you tell me where she is!" She cried.
"M'Lady I'm sorry I don't know where your mother is, I don't even know who she is!" She tried to explain. But, the girl didn't care. She needed to get out of here.
She pushed herself off of her bed, not caring that her one ankle was swollen, or that she had a massive headache. Then, she noticed the various cuts she had along her arms and her eyes widened in horror. What the hell had happened to her?
She shivered. She had never felt so cold and she rubbed her arms frantically trying to keep herself warm but it was no use. Her light, white dress did nothing to help keep her heated. She acted on her feet and quickly grabbed the rich blanket from the bed and wrapped it around herself like a cape. It was longer and slightly heavier than she thought it was, so it trailed behind and slowed her down as she limped (thinking she was running) out of the chamber.
Persephone didn't know which way to go. She just hobbled down the cold corridor, looking behind her every few seconds to make sure that no one was chasing after her, not that the servant girl looked like someone who would stalk her down, but she did so as a precaution. As she staggered she eyed the vacant place around her. It looked so familiar, as if she had been here before, but she didn't recall when.
Just then she bumped against the back of a tall, lean figure causing her to lose her balance and fall down on her bum which only made her cry out in pain as she felt her swollen ankle tense up. She let go of her the blanket and wrapped her hands around her ankle trying to sooth down the pain. Just then she heard a familiar voice.
"Persephone?"
Her gaze turn forward and she sighed, wiping some of her tears off of her cheeks. She looked up the man gratefully.
"Lord Hades!" She greeted trying to pull herself up from the obsidian tiles, clutching the warm, soft blanket in her delicate hands, "Where is my mother?" She questioned frantically. She was pleased to see him there; she knew he would take her back to her mother.
Hades looked at her with his mouth hung open in shock slightly. He cleared his throat and eyed her carefully. While the blanket around her covered much, he couldn't help but stare at the bump on her temple, or her swollen ankle. It didn't look any better than it did a few hours ago. Clearly the ice did not help and she needed some of Hecate's potion.
"Lord Hades?" She questioned again impatiently. He snapped his attention back towards her.
"Yes?"
"My Mother! Where is she?" She asked annoyed that no one was answering her questions.
"I will explain everything to you soon. First we need to get you off that leg." He said. Persephone started shaking and once again, she began to wilt causing Hades to sigh and mentally roll his eyes.
Oh yeah, how could he forget about the wilting.
"No, no you need to tell me now! Where am I, and where is my Mother?" She cried. Hades bit his bottom lip and held his arm out for her to hold. But, he quickly learned that the young goddess was stubborn since she pushed his arm away and continued to ask questions. Lords, he gave her one hard stare in hopes that she would see it as sign to listen to him. He was wrong. She was the daughter of Demeter after all.
"Persephone, take my arm. I will take you back to your room and I will tell you everything." He explained as calmly as he could, but now his patience was wearing thin.
"Not until you answer me!" She yelled. "Tell me where I am!" Hades growled and furiously scooped up the young goddess in his arms, ignoring the slapping, punching, and yelling Persephone did to him. He pushed the door open with his foot and placed her on her bed. Instead of hearing a thank you from Persephone, all he got was one cold glare.
He had no idea the Goddess of Spring could be so cold.
"Where. Is. My. Mother." She snapped as Hades pushed her down on the bed and propped her leg upon the pillow.
"She's not here." He answered vaguely. Persephone rolled her eyes as they teared up once more.
"I know. Why is she not here?" She asked desperately. Hades cleared his throat.
"I'm not sure." He lied. Persephone narrowed her eyes.
"Well then. I suppose you won't tell me where I am now either right?" Hades raised his brows and a low chuckle escaped from his lips causing Persephone to grow even more flustered. There were dying petals all over the bed.
"You really don't know, do you?" He replied sarcastically. Persephone rolled her eyes.
"Obviously y-you—you i-idiot!" He was surprised by the way she spoke— must be a trait only Zeus's children had, their insults were always a joke, "That's why I asked!"
"You're in the Underworld, idiot." He mimicked trying to lighten the mood for her. Persephone's eyes grew wide.
"Wh-Wh— how did I get here?" She cried. Hades shrugged.
Persephone began to shake and she could no longer hold back any of her tears. She let them fall onto her cheeks. She didn't care about the injuries she had. All she wanted was to leave and go back to her Mother. She never went anywhere without her.
"You tell me." He muttered. Persephone ignored the God of the Dead her eyes trailed towards the white flower that was still placed on the bed. She stared at the flower, it was unusual, and she hadn't seen anything like it before. Her Mother would have loved the flow—
She remembered!
"The flower." She muttered under her breath.
"What?" Hades asked.
"That flower," she said pointing at it and wiping her tears away trying to catch her breath once again, "I was in the meadow and I saw that flower. I hadn't seen a flower like that before and I thought Mother would have liked it. I picked it up and the earth separated from under my feet so I fell." She said explaining. Hades smirked— she did know how she got here, "I blacked out. I guess I ended up here." She said staring at the opulent chamber she was in. Hades cleared his throat.
"Yes. That's what happened." He said. He felt no real guilty lying to her, but to be fair, he wasn't. He just didn't tell her how the flower came to the Upperworld.
"Can I go home?" Hades shook his head.
"Not until you recover. You look dreadful and your Mother would beat me with Poseidon's trident if I returned you to her in such a state." He joked. Persephone wiped her face again and pleaded with despair in her eyes.
"I don't care. I just want to go home." She implored softly as she felt hot tears fill her eyes once more. He truthfully hated seeing her like this.
"You'd allow for your Mother to hit me with Poseidon's trident?" He challenged raising his brow amused. Persephone shrugged.
"You're my Uncle—" He winced when she called him that, he hated hearing that from her. When his other nieces and nephews called him that he didn't mind, but he had feelings for her, and for her to call him 'Uncle' made him sound like a pervert, "She wouldn't do that. She only hates the ones who court me." Hades stared at her darkly.
"Do not call me 'Uncle', understand?" He said darkly. Persephone tilted her head, sniffled, and stared at her uncle with confusion. He had never spoken to her like that before. It made him sound terrifying. She definitely saw him as the King of the Underworld now.
"B-but you are my uncle." She explained earning another cold glare from her uncle.
"I said— do. Not. Call. Me. That." He growled before leaving her chamber in huff with his fur cape flowing behind him, leaving her all alone once more.
Persephone was baffled. Here she was crying alone in a realm she did not know of, without her one true constant, injured, and now the only familiar face she knew had left her in a fury because of something she said. Persephone took one deep breath in, and one deep breath out.
All she wanted was to go home.
If Lord Hades would make her wait all because of some stupid injuries then he was mistaken. She would leave the Underworld herself. Persephone would do anything to get home.
And never again did she wish to see that retched flower.
Demeter was furious. The sun had set hours ago and still Persephone had not come home. She hadn't seen her daughter since the afternoon right before she left for temple, and when Persephone decided to go down by the river to meet with her Nymph friends.
Yes. Demeter knew of them. But, she was also aware that over the years, not once had any of them ever tried to harm her daughter in any way possible which was why she now saw no harm in allowing for her daughter to play with them. Of course she allowed for her daughter think she remained ignorant. Oddly enough it allowed for her to keep a better eye on her daughter.
Demeter had enough. She grabbed her shawl and resentfully left the small cottage. She was going to bring her daughter back home and have a long with her about the importance of her curfew.
Persephone pulled up the courage to leave the lavish chamber she was in with a blanket still wrapped around her. She had thought of wearing one of the warmer, darker looking cloths which she knew would keep her warm, but she decided against it since she knew her mother wouldn't appreciate her coming home late while wearing dark robes.
She waited a few hours after Lord Hades had left her room in hopes that she wouldn't run into him anytime soon. After his lash out earlier in the evening (she thought it was evening) the last thing she wanted was to see him. Clearly, he was not as friendly towards her as she remembered at the party, maybe because her mother was around to protect her from his temperament. No matter, she knew she wouldn't be seeing him once she left the Underworld.
Quickly and as quietly as she could she pushed the giant chamber door open and peeped her head out of the entrance making sure that no one was wondering the halls. Luckily for her the corridor was vacant and she left the chamber with a smug smile tugging at her plump, pink lips.
While she was in a hurry to leave the palace she allowed for eyes wander the deserted hallway. The chandeliers were all beautiful and the scented candles placed inside the holders filled the entryway with sweet odour which Persephone found to be odd. The King of the Underworld's palace smelled sweet.
What she loved the most were the long accented mirrors that were placed along the corridor walls in between the different chambers. The burning fire from the candles reflected against the mirrors causing light to reflect off from the gold chandeliers making the corridor look—light. Well, as light as it could be.
She caught her reflection in the mirror and she herself was surprised at what she saw. A giant, heavy blanket covered her body, but she liked how it trailed behind her, making her feel like royalty. However, her long locks were a tangled mess, the brim of her eyes were red and puffy from all the crying. Trails of tears had made tracks down on her cheeks and the tip of her dainty nose was slightly pink.
She cringed. It wasn't that she paid much attention to the way she looked, that was more of her mother's department. But, looking at herself in the mirror made her realize how distraught she really was. If she stayed here any longer, who knew what she would turn into?
Persephone began speeding up and she herself could hear the small tapping that her bare feet made when they hit the cold tiles of the Palace. Her ankle began to hurt again, but she decided to ignore it as best she could. Once she got to mother, everything would be fine.
The palace was huge. Persephone had been hobbling and turning corners for quite some time.
"This place is like a labyrinth" She muttered as she stopped to take a break. She leaned her back against one of the tall obsidian snowflake pillars and slid down, stretching her legs against the tiles.
She had closed her eyes for just a few moments but awoke when she felt something hit her leg and the sound of something breaking. She looked to find a young boy, not much older than her push himself up as he frantically tried to clean up a mess of broken clay.
"I—I'm s—sorry." He stuttered as he piled the broken clay, daring not to look her in the eye. Persephone cleared her throat and gave the boy a genuine smile, though he could not see it.
"Oh no! It's my fault. Let me." She urged as she crawled her way towards bits of broken pieces, placing them gently in her hand.
"N-No, P—Please." He begged causing Persephone to shake her head.
"Please, it's no trouble. I am the one at fault." She said causing the boy to blush in embarrassment.
"T-thank you." He stuttered again. Persephone bit her bottom lip, and looked at the boy with caution.
"I—I was wondering if you could help me with something?" She asked softly to which the boy replied by tilting his head slightly, "C-could you by chance tell me where the entrance to the palace is?" She questioned. The boy was frightened.
"Er—what for? We are not allowed to leave the palace?" He stated causing Persephone to narrow her eyes.
Oh! He thought she was a servant. She couldn't blame him; after she saw how distraught she looked in the mirror she was aware that no one would believe she was in fact a goddess, a minor goddess, but a goddess nonetheless.
Persephone cleared her throat and shrugged, "My mistake," She began, "You see Lord Hades had asked for me to clean the entry way and I am ne—"
"Oh yes! Well the entrance to the castle is that way!" He explained pointing his slender North, "You're in the southern part of the palace, and this is the servants' corridor. If you go north, walk up the staircase, go down the hall and turn left you'll find a fountain. Then you just walk out the door." He stated. Persephone raised a brow.
"Just walk out?" She questioned.
"Yes," He nodded while looking slightly confused, "Is there something wrong?"
"No," She said shaking her head and taking off before the boy could ask her anymore questions or see the smirk on her lips.
Hades had taken a break from filing reports and was in his chamber sitting on his leather chair in front of the hearth with a glass of red wine. He watched the flames dance in the darkness around him and sighed.
Bringing her here was a mistake. She had called him uncle which had disgusted him immensely. Clearly she saw him as nothing more than her uncle.
Tomorrow, he would send her home regardless of the matter that she was injured. Though her injuries were minor to the Gods, Hades knew Demeter would not see it that way. Nonetheless he knew everything would be fine. If Demeter inquired as to how her daughter ended up in the Underworld, Hades would simply fib by telling her, he did not know how. It worked with Persephone and Hades was a good liar.
Ugh, Uncle.
Hades as pulled away from his thoughts when he heard a knock on the door. He knew it wouldn't be Persephone. She didn't know where his chamber was, nor did he think she would be leaving her room tonight seeing as that she was too flustered and angry to even speak with him.
Hades grinded his teeth and internally groaned before chugging down the rest of his wine. He knew he had to apologize to her about the way he had acted. Even though he had decided for her leave, the last thing he wished for was to be that old, rude uncle that yelled at her during her time of emotional displeasure.
"Lord Hades?" He furrowed his brows and turned his gaze towards the door.
"Enter." He was surprised to see the appointed servant girl to Persephone at the door. She looked fearful, "Yes." He said encouraging for her to continue.
"M—My L—Lord? Sh—shes g—gone." She stuttered out. She shut her eyes immediately, not wanting to see what Lord Hades would do to her.
"What?" She heard his voice boom.
Authors Note: Hey guys! So, my next update might take longer to upload than usual. Nonetheless, it wont be much of a delay i promise. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed.