The Styx was calm as it was every day of its eternal life. The boats sailed quietly into the realm of Hades, beginning their new journey to another life. All the boats navigated towards the direction where Cerberus welcomed them with his sharp teeth and crimson eyes. Among the crowd, one narrow black boat stood out, traveling in the other direction, to a side of the river where few dared to go.

Hades was sailing in the dark, only half perceiving the outline of the mountains that guarded that place, which seemed to move away while the ground softened under his feet and the smell of puddled water turned into a richer and more mineral smell of the damp earth of that ancient place. He continued his journey as the river grew narrower and more dangerous between steep rocks as he listened, nearby, to the singing call of the river Styx running free. He approached the stony bank and whispered: "The Moirai." And his voice became an echo that sounded against the millennia-old walls of bedrock that encased the watercourse. "The Moirai." He repeated.

Then he saw a figure. A young girl was looking at him over the boulders on the shore. Her eyes were wide open staring into infinity, her hair straight and immaculate at the sides of her face, her feet firm on the ground. Suddenly, she swung her arm to her left pointing to a path of mud and rocks leading to what looked like the source of a cave in the mountains.

Hades began to walk toward that mysterious cave as a strong wind that seemed to originate in the river itself tousled his hair, fluttering it like kite strands lifted to the sky, and ruffled the crystalline surface curling the water into frothy white wisps. Despite the roar of the wind, he could hear the whisper of voices as he entered the cave.

Once inside the cave, an absolute silence took over the place where only the gasping breathing of Hades could be heard.

"Like our mother," said a woman's voice of unknown origin, "we do not need light to see in the shadows. Neither do you, Dark God."

"But you have changed. There is much light within you." Hades turned his head quickly in the direction of the second voice, which was as hoarse, if not hoarser, than the first.

"Even though you don't see it." Said an old woman who appeared in front of Hades, causing the God to startle and take a step back.

Suddenly all the candles that levitated through the cave were lit, lighting the place with a minimal and warm light. The three sisters were standing in front of him, looking at their expected guest, smiling and whispering intelligible words. Hades looked at them expectantly, pursing his lips and composing a gesture that indicated how confused he was.

"Tell us, young blood, what leads you to enter the depths of the mountains of the Underworld?"

Hades hesitated for a moment. "I need to check some matters... from my recent past."

"You have always been a singular one, Hades, son of Kronos. All who come to us are to know what their future holds." Clotho said, looking and smiling beside her sisters. "To relive a memory... few are those who waste this occasion."

"I just need to remember certain things, that's all."

"Our brother came to us recently as well... Curious, isn't it? But instead of wanting to see the past, he wanted us to show him the future."

"And not exactly his future." Lachesis continued quickly, casting a mysterious grimace at Hades. "We do not offer our services lightly, and least of all to lurk in other God's lives. But family is family, and Thanos' intentions seemed selfless."

Hades remained silent, confused by the words he had heard. He frowned trying to deduce what was the meaning of Thanos' request and before he could articulate any word, Atropos cut off his thought like a thread of mortal life. "Indeed, sister. So tell us, Hades, king of the Underworld, what memory do you need to rescue from deep within yourself?"

"None in particular." The three Moirai looked at each other without altering their imperturbable countenances. "I mean, I do not require to see a specific memory, but any moment lived together with Persephone will be more than enough."

Atropos smiled in satisfaction. "We know of the hardships your wife is going through. Oh, poor girl, how many obstacles will she have to cross to finally be able to live peacefully?" The Moirai recited with a poetic air turning her back to Hades, moving next to her sisters.

"A very competent queen." Said one.

"Yes, yes. But very unhappy." Added the other.

"She has not always been so."

"No, she hasn't."

"And why is that?"

"You tell me, my dear."

The two sisters moved quickly around Hades, their white robes flying around him, devouring him with their rapid movements and their increasingly confused voices. Hades closed his eyes in a desperate attempt to rid himself of those two women until the third sister intervened.

"Forgive us Hades, we are three sad and exhausted old women." Atropos said as she slowly circled him, making him the axis of her rotation. "Sometimes we are unaware of other people's despair. We have woven so many destinies that nothing seems surprising to us anymore." Her voice was weary and wicked, her words brushing Hades' skin like steel caressing the neck before it is torn. Stopping behind the dark God, her icy lips could almost touch his ear, her breath making him shiver. "Tell us, Hades, the Unseen One, why should we please you?"

Hades remained motionless, his shoulders tense, his blue eyes fixed on the ground. Not a word came out of his mouth, not a single gesture; he knew perfectly well that whatever he said, his fate was already written. The Moirai were implacable, if they had decided to help him they would do so, just as if they did not want to please him, nothing he said would make them change their minds.

Atropos slowly moved to his right side, looking at him with her white eyes. "You weren't so merciful to her after all." She added subtly tilting her head, a grimace being born on her face.

Hades looked at her, a mixture of anger and shame bubbling on his blue eyes, which now shone brighter than ever. He felt his limbs tighten, a force born of anger was moving within him to quench that nasty old voice tempting him to bring out the worst in him. Hades did not avert his gaze from her, the two of them dueling silently, about to attack. But in an instant, Persephone's face appeared in his mind, calming and relaxing him, filling his body with a longed-for warmth. Finally, Hades lowered his gaze and gave up, causing Atropos to stop levitating and smile at him.

"I told you he is different from the young blood. He doesn't lose his temper with two or three malicious words like his brother." The old Morai said to her sisters.

"Like we have told you, we are three boring old ladies." Clotho said with an amused countenance. "We just wanted to see if you were worthy of our powers."

Suddenly, the three sisters grabbed each other's hands and slowly began to roll as they picked themselves up off the ground. "Well, Hades, son of Kronos, king of the Underworld, husband of the Goddess of spring; open your eyes wide because you are going to time travel in your mind." The voices of the three Moirai became one as a quick flash appeared in the center of the circle, blinding Hades and rendering him immobile. "Do not be afraid, the Unseen One, this will be like your travels into the mortal realm. No one will see you. No one will hear you. May this journey be a clarification to you. And above all, may it open your mind and your cold heart." The sisters recited as if it was poetry until the three began to roll so quickly that they disappeared in the white light that enveloped them, their laughter echoing in unison in Hades' head.

When Hades opened his eyes, a chilling white world surrounded him, where only his body could be seen. Suddenly, the voice of the three sisters returned to his mind, now whispering softly. "Let me show you what your mind doesn't want you to see, what it is trying to hide from you."

Waking up was like losing the anchor that held him to a safe place at great depth, a resurrection to a reality of caliginous light streaming through the window whose portholes he had forgotten to close the night before, painting the bedroom with its funereal whitish tint.

He sat up on the pillows, feeling on his shoulders the miserable cold of the early morning, the distemper with which only those who rise at dawn are intimate. He got lazily out of bed and touched the cold marble with his bare feet, oblivious to the chill of dawn that had crept into the room like an unwelcome guest. He cast a desperate glance to his side to see that his bed was empty.

He quickly went to the window to look out over the grounds in search of his most precious treasure, searching the garden for a sign of her presence there, looking for her even though he knew she was not there. Suddenly, swift and quick arms wrapped around his back causing his eyes to close instantly.

"There you are." He said, crossing his arms to caress her hands. "I didn't know you had learned to apparate."

"I'm a fast learner." She said as she kissed his back. "When I'm interested." She added as her kisses traveled up his spine to the nape of his neck, tiptoeing to reach the destination.

"Come here." He said turning quickly to her, grabbing her arms and imprisoning her between his own. "Try to disappear now." He teased.

"I don't want to be anywhere else." She replied, kissing him. And the two of them melted together, making the cold of that dawn disappear, never to return.

Suddenly, their two bodies vanished and reappeared on another stage. Random images flashed before Hades' bewildered eyes; scenes of the two of them dancing, of the two of them laughing, of the two of them loving each other. Scenes and scenes were projected before his eyes, where all of them had a common denominator: his joy. Never in his life had Hades seen on his own face such an expression of happiness, he was not even aware that such bliss could exist.

After a few seconds, the strip of images ended and exploded in a huge burst of light and color. With narrowed eyes, one last scene was born before him. There he stood, gazing into the heavens as Persephone and Hermes walked away. His face reflected such sadness that it overwhelmed him. The pain in his soul lacerated his chest, becoming heavy all at once. Words burst from his own lips that Hades never heard, as he suddenly vanished and with it the whole scene, knocking Hades down and throwing him a few feet back.

The noise suddenly ceased plunging the cave into an impossible silence, until a watery, rhythmic tapping replaced it.

"Remember, remember, remember..." Like a slow, cadenced clapping coming from the river. "Remember, remember, remember, remember… What you said...". And again, and again. Until it sounded like an intense hailstorm.

"Remember what you said before she left." Said a female voice. "Remember it."

Hades remained silent, overwhelmed by everything he was experiencing. He closed his eyes, trying to remember, to relive a whole fragment of his life that lay dormant in some corner of his being. Suddenly, something crackled in his mind, he opened his eyes and out of his mouth finally came three words. "I love you."

Love. Could it be true? Was he deluding himself? The three Moirai could have deceived him, immersed him in the most beautiful of dreams... But why? To have a little fun? No, he was awake and everything he had just seen was real. His feelings, the love he could perceive in his own heart was true. They were real. Hades' heart skipped with that realization and a radiant smile appeared on his hard features. He loved her.


The water was calm, lined with flowers and faintly colored lights, giving the place a spring-like appearance. The water vapor permeated the room, making the coldness of the sunless place vanish and becoming a refuge for those who longed for the warmth of the sun. A female figure swam calmly in that place, moving like a mermaid, with nothing to cover her except the flowers that inevitably floated around her. She breathed in the dampness of the air and thought of how much she had hated those baths with her companions in the lakes at her home, how she had longed for the clear blue skies of summer where she alone lay listening to the nightingales chirping, which always seemed so brief and far away. She had come to loathe it so much that she could recall whole afternoons trying to sneak away from everyone while dreaming of running away from there, of escaping from that place.

Hades took off his bronze-colored sandals at the foot of the water's edge, feeling the ground beneath his feet. Finally, suppressing the urge to turn back, he sat down, dipping his legs into the water as he rested his hands on the ground, backing up his entire weight, relaxing once and for all.

Persephone turned quickly upon noticing his presence, a mischievous smile appearing on her face while her green eyes were shining with the idyllic splendor of perfection. Pursing her lips and without looking away for a second, she quickly plunged into the water, disappearing from her husband's sight. Her silhouette was sinuously approaching him, her arms and legs moving swiftly, nearing her destination. During her absence, Hades' breathing became more and more agitated, her smile running shivers down his body, his heart racing and skipping a beat all at once only imagining her closeness.

In a matter of seconds, Persephone appeared between his legs, rising between them and resting her shoulders on his thighs, lacing her fingers together and resting her face on them. Hades looked down at her, his blue eyes lingering on her beautiful face. She was an exceptionally beautiful woman, not only for her feminine and delicate features, but also for what her green eyes conveyed, which now looked at him as if they had just been born, as if it was the first and last time they were looking at him. Her smile was big and sincere even though his heart was wounded and forlorn; he could not remember a single day since his return that Persephone had not dedicated that gesture to him.

"Nervous?" She looked at him defiantly.

"I don't want to be anywhere else." He answered decisively, his gaze unflinching.

Her heart ached with hope. He used her own words. Looking at him, with his hair tousled from the humidity and his deep blue eyes shining like the sea, he looked so perfect, and the emotion choked her. "What did you just say?"

"I am just hoping that destiny has made a mistake and has already reserved a moment for us to find each other again."

With those words, Persephone let her heart go and rose up, hugging him by the neck and finally kissing him, her lips warm and wet against his. Hades responded quickly to her and grabbed her around the waist, holding her between his muscular arms, kissing her again and again, their bodies together as they had not been for a long time. She kissed him deeply, passionately, making him completely forget time and place.

With her eyes closed, she kissed his eyelids gently, his forehead, his cheeks, his chin and finally his mouth. "I believe touch has a memory." She said a little breathlessly. Hades couldn't help but smile at her, and her eyes widened slightly, as she stared at him as if mesmerized. She smiled back at him and with her desire increasing, she pulled him into the water with her.

Between kisses and caresses, Persephone removed her husband's robe, wet and clinging to his body. She touched every inch of his skin, taking her time. How she had missed his body, his caresses, his eyes, his love. "I want you, my love."

Hades instantly buried his face into the sensitive curve by her shoulder and sucked her skin, noticing how she leaned into his kisses, stroking his black curls and pressing him to her. Her moans were louder now, no longer lost between lips, and they spilled into his ears and pushed him just that little bit closer to the edge. Encouraged by her impatient movements, Hades slid one hand down between her legs, already moist for him. Gently, he slipped a couple of fingers inside of her, earning him a gasp and a low moan from her. After a moment, his restless fingers wandered up her body, his hands running across her creamy stomach, causing her to tense, ending on her breasts.

Persephone pounced on her husband, clinging to him as one clings to the last rock that keeps her from a cliff, putting her legs over his, resting on his thighs. She rested her forehead on his as she gasped welcoming his entrance, causing her legs to press tighter against him. They made love very slowly, looking at each other incredulously as if they had just met that day and the discovery was prodigious, smiling with the satisfaction and relief of one who knows that has just recovered something very precious that for a while thought was lost.


Notes:

I think I haven't published a new chapter since the beginning of the month... sorry! a lot of work before Christmas, but I promised myself to publish the next one before the end of the year... and I have done it! :D

Hope you like how the story is progressing. Read and comment please, I love to read your reviews! Thanks so much to those of you who leave a review chapter after chapter!

I take this opportunity to wish you a happy new year! As always, take care my beautiful readers!