A/N: Thanks for your reviews, and thanks for sticking with me! I just barely made this update... First, I got sick with this really nasty head cold that makes my head pound and my brain turn to mush. My ribs hurt from coughing, my ears are plugged, my lips are bleeding, and I have no sense of taste. All very fun. I know, TMI.

And THEN... I lost the pages of the story that I'd already written down, at least 3 pages and half of my current place in the story, so about 3.5 pages total. Probably at least half a chapter's worth. I've been trying to recreate it, but it's hard and I have the nagging feeling that what I replaced it with is not nearly as good as what I first wrote down. But I will keep working on it!

Finally, I think (even before I lost the pages), that there is only one, at most two chapters left of this story. I have it all plotted out in my head, and I was almost to the beginning of the final confrontation when I lost the pages. So I have to work my way back to that point, but I don't think it's going to be much longer.

Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Demeter wondered if it were possible for an immortal to freeze to death. She couldn't feel her limbs anymore. Supposedly gods couldn't die, but she had a feeling she was flirting closer to death than she ever had before. Hadn't the Olympians overthrown their parents, the immortal titans? And hadn't the titans in turn rebelled against their own ancestors? Maybe it was a cycle that would never be ended. It would be a great irony if Hades came to claim her before Zeus was finished with her.

Then again, it seemed that Zeus had forgotten her. Or… it was hard to tell. Because sometimes it seemed to her that he came. He brought her food, clothes, took her away from that dismal cell. Other times he asked questions, and hit her when she didn't answer. Each time she lost consciousness—either to delicious warmth or unending pain—she woke again in the cell. So she was pretty sure they were both delusions.

She had a lot of delusions, these days.

She saw Persephone. He beautiful daughter looked strong and carefree. Or she cried, beaten and distraught. Still other times she was heartrendingly still and lifeless, causing Demeter to cry out in grief and terror. Not that she had the strength to cry out anymore. Hades was also a frequent visitor to her delusions. He stood over her, shook his head and faded away into the shadows. Or he watched with a smirk as Zeus mauled her, like this was payment for all the years she'd left him to rot in his empty world.

"I'm sorry," she tried to gasp. "I'm so sorry." If those were to be her last words, she wanted to at least apologize to her brother.

The door to her cell opened. It was all she could do to turn her eyes in that direction. Usually her delusions simply appeared in her prison, like dreams that had no beginning. She knew instantly this was going to be one of her nightmares. Hades came in, wearing his terrifying armor from the titan war, all dark spikes rusted with old blood.

"S-s-s," she tried to speak, to apologize.

He looked at her with flat, dead eyes. It was terrifying and at the same time made her feel utterly helpless. If there had been a drop of moisture left in her body, she would have cried at the futility of it. As it was, her tears were as frozen as the rest of her. But there was… something in his eyes. Something unexpected. A faint glimmer of… pity? Compassion? Whatever it was, it wasn't something she was used to associating with her eldest brother.

There was a time when her pride would have scorned such emotion, or she would have felt shame. Now she was so broken, so far removed from what she had been, that all she felt was gratitude. Hades knelt by her. Behind him, she could see his gigantic, three-headed hell-beast, guarding his back. He reached for her, and she began to wonder if this really was a delusion. Maybe she'd died, and the Lord of the Underworld really had come to escort her to his realm. He picked her up, and she was so cold that his touch seemed to burn. He carried her at a fast clip, ducking out of her cell. Her delusions never left the cell. Even when she'd dreamed that Zeus had changed his mind, it was a sudden transition from cell to not-cell, not walking out of it one step at a time. So was so giddy she felt like laughing. She'd been in that cell for so long that going elsewhere was a treat for her senses.

They reached one of Hades' Nightmares. It snorted fire and dripped blood, and now Demeter knew this was no delusion: she would have never imagined a Nightmare! Was this death, then? She would have thought death to be a bit warmer. Had Hades come to give his last respects? Was this a personal service he provided to fallen deities?

He somehow got onto the Nightmare's back without using his hands. The instant he was settled, the Nightmare leapt forward, with the evident goal of unseating him. Demeter would have fallen even if she'd been in the prime of health and expecting the move, but Hades never wavered. He held her against him, keeping them secure as the Nightmare plunged ahead recklessly. She'd never been in such close contact with her eldest brother. It was uncomfortable, but she didn't have the strength to protest or push him away.

Her heart leapt to her throat as they suddenly plummeted. She could take no more, and blackness fell.

Demeter woke slowly, as if out of a bad dream. Something seemed off to her. She was warm for one, and laying on something soft. The only thing that kept her from thinking this was a fevered wish was the hollow hunger in her stomach. She was never hungry in her dreams. She didn't know where she was. Part of her wondered if she had lost all grip on reality, and she was still in Zeus' cold cell.

There was a rustle of cloth, and a sweet voice asked, "Mother?"

That voice! She knew that voice, would still recognize it if she was dead or deaf. Demeter opened gummy eyes to see Persephone, her beautiful daughter. Immediately her eyes began to burn. She didn't have any tears to shed, but her eyes tried. Persephone wiped her face clean with a soft cloth, then helped her drink a glass of water. The liquid was soothing and nourishing all at once. She could feel her body rejuvenating after her long deprivation.

As soon as she could, she raised her hand to Persephone's face. Her daughter leaned into her hand. Demeter reveling in the touch.

"How?" she croaked in a rusty voice.

"Ha—Lord Hades found you in Lord Zeus' sky palace, and brought you here."

"Where?"

"This is the Underworld."

Normally Demeter would have felt great alarm to be in the kingdom of the dead, but she was just grateful not to be with Zeus any longer. Except in they were in the Underworld…

"Dead?" she asked fearfully. She'd half-expected it in her case, but if Persephone was here as well…

And her daughter laughed in response. It transformed her, made her into the little girl Demeter had raised.

"No, Mom," she said warmly. "We're not dead."

There was a knock on the door, and what looked like the ghost of a young woman entered the room, carrying a bowl of warm broth. It wasn't much, but it might as well have been ambrosia for how it tasted. Persephone helped her sit up and drink the broth. Then Demeter fell back into a dreamless sleep.

The next time she woke, she felt stronger and more aware of her surroundings. She remembered where she was, and how she had gotten there. Hades had rescued her, though it seemed far away and dream-like in her mind.

Demeter looked around curiously. She was in a room decorated is browns and golds, reminding her of sun-ripened wheat. She immediately felt a longing to feel the sun on her skin. The place within her where her powers resided still felt cold. The world was no longer draining itself to sustain her, but the damage still needed to be healed. The room surprised her, both in its beauty and that its Underworld designer would know the precise shade of afternoon sun on the seed-heads.

Persephone was dozing in a chair by the bed. Demeter took the opportunity to study her daughter. Persephone had both grown leaner and filled out. The youthful roundness of her face was gone, but at the same time the curves of her breasts and hips were more pronounced. She had matured down here in the Underworld. And yet, Demeter knew with a mother's intuition that her daughter was still an innocent. Hades had not violated Persephone, but neither had they consummated any relationship they might have developed. What had they been doing all this time, knitting scarves?

Persephone stirred and woke up. She jumped when she saw Demeter watching her. "Oh, Mom, I'm sorry," she said.

"Not a problem dear, I was just looking at you," Demeter replied. "You're so beautiful."

"Thank you," Persephone smiled.

"Tell me about yourself," Demeter insisted. "What have you been doing? I want to know everything!"

Persephone's face brightened, and she launched into an excited recitation of her time in the Underworld. Demeter didn't understand half of it—chores, magic, gardens, mines and rivers in the Underworld?—but it was clear that Persephone had been busy, and loved every moment of it. The one thing she did not talk about, Demeter noted, was the master of the realm. Surely she had some interactions with Hades? It had not escaped Demeter's notice that her daughter had started to use his name familiarly, and then corrected herself. Persephone was avoiding any mention of Hades on purpose, and Demeter was determined to find out why.

"But what about Hades?" she asked innocently. "Haven't you seen him at all?"

Persephone abruptly stopped talking and looked away. Her face grew pink. "Ha—Lord Hades had been an excellent host in every way," she said quietly.

"But what do you think of him?" Demeter knew her daughter was hiding something.

Persephone frowned at Demeter without answering. "What happened to you, Mom? How come Zeus had you trapped in his palace?"

It was Demeter's turn to avert her eyes. How could she tell her daughter that it was because of her? Besides, she had the dreadful feeling this reprieve from Zeus was temporary. Hades had rescued her from Zeus, but she couldn't heal the earth from here. As soon as she returned to the mortal realm, she would be vulnerable again. She shivered. She realized she was going to have to tell Hades everything, and hope he had a plan to stop Zeus. It was time to see her eldest brother.

"I don't want to say it more than once," she said carefully, "And I think Hades should hear this. Do you know where he is?"

Persephone nodded. "Lord Hades said he wanted to talk to you, and he'd invited us to his study."

Demeter thought it interesting that her daughter could speak with such authority about Hades, but she was filled with dread about telling them her ordeal. Persephone helped her rise. Her body had wasted away during her imprisonment, and she had to lean heavily on the younger goddess as they made their wat to Hades' study. Demeter distracted herself by nothing that Persephone never hesitated in her path. Evidentally the way the to the study was well-known to her.

There was a large fire in the study's fireplace when they reached the room. It made the room stuffy, but Demeter basked in the warmth. She tried to send what little energy she'd regained back to the world that had supported her, but she simply didn't have much to spare. Persephone seated her on the couch in front of the fire, and piled her with blankets.

"Thank you," Demeter caught her daughter's hand. "I'll be alright."

Persephone grinned sheepishly, and sat on the couch. They didn't wait long before more ghostly servants entered with a meal. The notion of dead people for servants was creepy to Demeter, but Persephone didn't appear bothered by it. She must have grown accustomed to all kinds of dead people in the Underworld. The elder goddess was insulted that Persephone was eating the same broth as she was.

"Food is scarce, we make due," she said with a shrug.

Demeter wondered at the use of we. The meal was finished and more dead maids removed the trays. As they left the room, Hades entered. Even though the fire was still burning brightly, she felt a sudden chill in the air. Persephone glanced at him when he first came in, and then stared at her hands. In that single look, Demeter thought she might have detected a certain longing or tenderness. So her daughter wasn't nearly as indifferent to Hades as she was pretending. What of Hades?

She studied her brother closely. His shadow filled half the room, until he noticed Demeter staring, and he altered it into a human form. That wasn't much better, for the shadow only loosely followed his form. She looked at his face only to find herself to subject of intense scrutiny. She felt another shiver rip down her spine. He watched her with his dull, death-shroud eyes, his expression utterly devoid of feeling. She doubted herself. Could anything, even Persephone, pierce his stern demeanor? She looked away quickly, afraid of peering too deeply into his eyes and reading her own demise. She was glad he stayed in the far corner of the room.

"Mom," Persephone touched her arm, gaining her attention. "Why don't you tell us what happened?"

Once again Demeter was intrigued by the use of us, but she was less certain after seeing her brother. There didn't seem to be any softness on his side. She told her story of her pursuit and capture by Zeus and Poseidon. She glossed over some of the less pleasant details, both because she didn't want to relive them, and also to spare Persephone. She wasn't sure she was fooling either of them. Hades knew the circumstances in which he'd pulled her from, and her daughter had been tending her sickbed. Persephone's face showed horror at Demeter's treatment, while Hades' remained unmoved and grim. Demeter wondered how her daughter had been able to stand living here from months with such a silent companion.

"But why?" Persephone burst out when Demeter was done. "Why would Lord Zeus do that and cause so many people to suffer?"

Demeter didn't answer. She looked to Hades for support, but he wasn't forthcoming. Unfortunately, her hesitation was enough for her daughter to figure it out on her own.

"It was me," she whispered in horror. "You wouldn't tell him where I was, so he tortured you!"

"No, Persephone," Demeter began.

"It's all my fault." Tears welled up in the younger goddess' eyes. "All those people have been dying because of me!"

"No!" A new voice spoke up for the first time: Hades.

"It was not your fault," he snarled, shifting from his post in the corner of the room to crouch in front of her. Always before it seemed to Demeter that he walked with a pained stiffness, as if he might fly apart at any moment. Now he moved with a swift, smooth assurance. His shadow encircled the young goddess as if to devour her. Demeter flinched, but Persephone took a handful of the shadow-stuff as if to draw comfort from it.

"None of this is your fault," Hades declared, bracing his arms on either side of the couch to trap her. Demeter would have panicked to have the powerful god so close to her, but Persephone leaned into his dark form.

"This had nothing to do with you," he snarled fiercely. "This is my brother acting like a child because he cannot get what he wants." He brushed his fingers down her cheek in an uncharacteristically tender gesture. Demeter watched with great interest. Persephone's eyes were wide and unseeing. She was trembling, clearly terrified.

"I have to go back," she whimpered. "To make him stop, I have to give myself to him…"

Hades stopped her by the expedient method of sealing his mouth to hers. He kissed Persephone, and it was no simple, chaste touch. Demeter's eyebrows shot up and threatened to fly off her face altogether. This was the evidence of the relationship that she had been hoping for. This kiss spoke of familiarity and passion. It was not the first time they'd done, and it was as much to comfort as to express desire. It wasn't just lust, but also care for each other. It was slow, deliberate, refusing to give quarter. Persephone's fingers went to his hair, holding him to her. Hades put his arms around her, supporting her.

The kiss went on long enough to be indecent with an audience, even though there was no movement to deepen it. Demeter was secretly doing a gleeful dance inside, but she forced herself to look stern as she cleared her throat sharply.

They broke off, but didn't separate. They remained together, eyes closed, foreheads touching in a way that was somehow more intimate than the kiss had been.

"Is there something I should know about?" Demeter asked archly.

Hades straightened without releasing Persephone, so that he picked her up when he stood. He cradled her to his chest. She curved into him naturally, looking very comfortable in his arms. She rested her head on his shoulder, her arms around his neck. Demeter was struck by how well they fit together, the powerful god and the lithe goddess. Persephone had found her match, and so had Hades.

Hades fixed Demeter with a severe look. "Only that I love Persephone," he announced boldly. "I've been courting her, and I intent to make her my Queen."

Demeter's every wish was fulfilled. It was more than she'd ever dreamed for Persephone! She looked to her daughter to make sure this was what she wanted. Persephone was giving him a soft look of surprise. Not that he loved her, Demeter realized, but that he was taking her as his equal. His face gentled as he looked down at the goddess in his arms.

"I love you, Persephone," he said tenderly. "Will you marry me?"

Demeter was utterly touched to witness this part of their relationship. She didn't know when or for how long they'd been courting, but her heart squeezed tightly at seeing the culmination of it. She was almost afraid to breathe and break the sanctity of the moment.

Persephone let out a sob as she hugged him tightly. "Yes, Hades," she gasped with joyful tears. "I love you. I will be your wife."

"My Queen," he corrected softly. "My equal in every way." He kissed her again, lingering but not drawing it out to unseemliness. He looked up and fixed Demeter with a challenging stare. "What say you?" he demanded.

"Look at you," Demeter said quietly. "Look at you together. How can I say no to that?"

Hades relaxed.

Persephone gave her mother a shy glance. "Thank you, Mom," she said. "I know Hades might not be who you wanted for me, but he's a good man. He makes me happy." And she smiled lovingly at the man she'd chosen.

"I was hoping something like this might happen," Demeter confessed, "Granted, I didn't expect it to… progress this far—" Her daughter, Queen of the Underworld! "—but I knew that in order to protect you from Zeus, Hades would have to take a personal interest."

Hades tensed for a moment, but then her brother seemed to decide against taking offence. Persephone shuddered at the reminder of the god-king who was obsessed with her. She looked at her newly declared fiancé.

"Can we get married as soon as we deal with him?" she asked plaintively.

"No." Demeter and Hades spoke at the same time. The elder goddess quickly deferred to her brother.

"You are mine, Persephone," Hades rumbled. "I'll not let him set a finger on you. In the meanwhile, I intend to lay every possible claim on you. The faster we are wed, the better. When we face Zeus, it will be with you as my Queen, with the power of the Underworld to back you."

"What he said," Demeter agreed. "And I have one more idea to thwart Zeus. Is that a bowl of fruit over there?"

Hades and Persephone stirred with identical unease.

"Yes, but it's from the Underworld," Persephone said. "If you're hungry, we can order food from the kitchen."

"Just humor me," Demeter said. "Get me a fruit?"

Hades set his bride down on the couch, then walked to the side table to fetch one of the fruits. He handed it to Demeter as he sat next to Persephone. The younger goddess shifted closer to him until he put his arm around her and drew her on his lap again. Only then did she appear content. Demeter watched them with a pang of envy. They had what she didn't: real love, tolerant and kind.

Only when they were settled did Demeter look down at the fruit she held. It was a pomegranate. It felt strange in her hands. She could see it, feel it, smell it, but it didn't register as a living thing to her goddess senses. Where she should have been able to touch the fruit with her powers, there was nothing. More than nothing: it was an absence of life. She rolled the pomegranate between her hands, then offered it to Persephone.

"If you eat the fruit of the Underworld, you'll be bound to it forever," Demeter said simply.

Persephone's eyes lit in understanding, and she reached for the pomegranate. Hades was faster than either of them, and plucked it from their hands.

"No," he said firmly. "Not like this. You'll be tied to this world for eternity."

"And I won't be tied to it by marrying you?" Persephone countered. "I'm not already bound just for loving you?" She was no longer the timid maiden clinging to her intended, but a powerful goddess determined to get her way. She placed her hands on his face.

"Hades," she pleaded steadily. "There isn't anywhere else I'd rather be for eternity than in this realm, by your side. I choose this. I choose you."

She took the pomegranate from him. Her nails bit into the hard outer rind as she split it open. Red juice from broken seeds stained the white meat of the fruit. Hades sat stiffly as she carefully plucked out six seeds, ripe and full of their tart juice. Demeter admired her brother's control. Clearly he desired Persephone very much. At the same time, it was clear he wouldn't force her to stay with him. This was a statement on her part, that she was choosing him forever. She put the seeds in her mouth, chewed, and swallowed.

Demeter could see something enter her daughter, something ancient, and powerful. Dark, but not sinister. Primal and untamed. It changed everything about her, made her more than she was, gave her knowledge beyond her years. There were secrets in her eyes now that Demeter couldn't begin to guess, couldn't imagine answering.

It was too much for Hades. With a shudder he suddenly reached for Persephone, turning her face toward his. He kissed her, not light and gently, but hungry, passionate, wild. His love, his bride, had chosen him and his world forever, and he wanted her. Persephone met him with equal fire, and Demeter felt voyeuristic to watch them.

"I love you," Hades groaned, breaking off only to press more kisses along Persephone's jaw.

"I love you," she said, and pulled him back to her. There was something tangible between them, a connection that hadn't been there before. Persephone didn't belong to him; she had willingly wrapped herself in his shadows, and reveled in it.

"When do you want to marry?" Hades asked between urgent kisses.

"Is now too soon?" Persephone asked breathlessly.

"Not at all," Demeter's eyes glinted with amusement.