Of all the rooms in the house, the chamber the old woman had carefully prepared for them was the warmest. The fireplace did not have to be waxed, and the cold had no place there, but Hades had never been able to stand the heat; he was made of ice. So the first thing he did before he went to bed was to draw back the heavy curtains and open the windows one by one so that the room was filled with the light night air.
The wind whipped his naked body as he peered into the darkness with his empty hands. Persephone pulled the sheets up to her chin and looked up at him. At that moment Hades seemed more vulnerable, more fragile. With a moment of silence descending between the two lovers, she took the opportunity to carefully admire her husband. There was a warmth emanating from him that even the coldest winter could not drive away. And for a moment she treasured that very moment, to be able to rest beside him, to feel that warmth again with her own hands, and to know that it was all real.
Hermes had appeared in the middle of nowhere, without warning. Discreet like no other, the winged God had contacted them unseen, without disturbing the daily life of that humble village; putting an end to what had seemed a calm and relaxed night. Hades, you need to return. It's urgent.
"I don't understand why he couldn't be more specific." Persephone said as she sat up in the bed. Concern was reflected in her green eyes; there was an envelope of doubt in her voice.
"The matter needs to be resolved as soon as possible. She says she needs my help. I cannot ignore such a message. Can't I?" Hades said as he turned to her, looking her in the eye, waiting for her quick response.
"If this matter is so urgent, why didn't she give more details about the situation? Why send Hermes? If I am not mistaken, Hecate can come to the mortal realm without any problem." She replied.
"The matter seems to be sensitive, surely Hecate wanted to be discreet." Hades pointed out. "And Hecate is not a Goddess to ask for help lightly." He added.
She looked tired, her hair disheveled from sleep, the braids she wove so carefully last morning unraveled and hanging by a thread, struggling to keep her eyes from closing. Persephone was lost in thought, pondering the motives of this enigmatic message and how it should be answered, averting her gaze to study her own feelings further.
Hades turned away from her and went back into the night. He stared into the darkness, gazing at the moon and the stars. "I can't just stand by and let our friend take care of everything while we are absent from the Underworld. I have to go, surely it won't take me long to sort it out."
Persephone was touched by his concern. She was about to rush to his side when suddenly old insecurities and fears awoke in Persephone's healed heart. The fear of losing him again, the need for his presence, the often selfish love she felt for him, took over her being. "Please don't leave me. I need you here. Send someone you trust, I am sure that will be enough." She pleaded knowing where to strike to win her husband; her voice almost pathetic.
Hades sighed lightly. "Persephone." His voice dropping below his usual tone. "Don't do this."
Persephone frowned like a little girl who'd just been left without her favorite candy, crossing her arms and turning her back on her husband. Hades couldn't help but laugh at the immature response, causing Persephone to grow even angrier, her green eyes shining brightly. "How dare you!" Grumbled the Goddess, throwing herself on her husband with the urge to hate and devour him at the same time.
"Come here little girl!" He replied mockingly, quickly imprisoning her in his arms. Persephone struggled to escape his embrace, tossing her head back and forth to avoid his kisses. Words of rejection ran across her lips, her body agitated by the refusal of her request. "Come..." He said in a voice so warm that even Persephone's passionate heart stopped for an instant. Hades kissed Persephone's shoulder, his lips stopping in the warmth of her skin. The struggle became less and less intense, the Goddess's hands no longer clutched tightly to the hard skin of his chest, her shoulders relaxed, her breathing calmed and her head stopped shaking, surrendering to him again. Suddenly, the shame that is paired with love overwhelmed her, becoming tears that begin to flow from Persephone's closed eyes. Her arms quickly wrapped around her husband's back, gripping him with tremendous strength. In an instant she realized that it was useless to fight it. She knew that a war with Hades was already lost in the first round. Hades was her rock, her steady anchor in the choppy waves. The only one who would never fail to catch her if she fell, whose hand he would hold out to her if she threatened to drown in her own melancholy. Her protector, her invisible watcher.
Lying face to face, his arms were still around her body. Persephone held onto him tightly, her arms winding around him as he kissed her forehead tenderly. Her mouth was closed, her breath wet on his lips. Then she kissed him, her hands trailing up his bare back to his thick hair. The Goddess's fingers began to dance through her husband's dark curls as her kisses grew ever more needy and hungry. "All right." She managed to say between kisses. "But you are mine now."
It was a warm, cloudless morning; the sky was a deep blue. When the wind blew, it carried the delicious smells of earth and grass. Hades left early in the morning when the rising sun had not yet cleared the shadows from the village walls. He departed quietly, leaving his wife resting in bed with a I will be back before you realize hanging in the air.
After a few short hours of sleep, she woke up disoriented and dazed. She wiped the sluggishness out of her eyes and felt a little annoyed that he wasn't there. She felt secretly abandoned. Though she would never tell him, she preferred Hades to be around while she slept, as if his presence could soothe her spirit. She would feel ridiculous if she had to express aloud the feeling of waking up in a lonely bed and wishing he had been there while she slept. She needed him to lie beside her, wanted him to hold her hand, to be there when she woke up; she needed his presence.
After dressing and combing her golden hair, Persephone went out into the garden to admire it. It was overflowing, full of wild flowers and bountiful fruit trees. Time seemed to stand still in this place.
"There you are!" Said the old woman poking her head out of the window. "Don't you want anything to eat?"
"Thank you very much but I woke up without much appetite." She replied with a cheerful smile.
"And your husband?" she asked with a bored grimace.
"My husband has had to leave. I am afraid you are going to be bored alone with me today." She replied, her voice sweet and gentle.
"Nonsense!" Said the woman as she picked up the basket from on top of the table and walked down the kitchen steps, walking towards the garden. "Let's spend the day together then. You will accompany me to the village."
It was a magnificent place full of stalls and traders, the heart of the village's commerce. The old woman explained that it was the king himself who founded the city and turned it into the thriving community it was now. King Celeus was very rich and powerful; but above all, he was kind and hospitable. He was generous with his fortune and privileges and never hesitated to invest for the benefit of his people and their needs.
"Let's go." Said the old woman to the young Goddess, beginning the walk through the marketplace.
"Oh, look!" Persephone exclaimed. "Those lemon cakes are delicious!" She pointed in the direction of a stall behind which a wrinkled little woman was preparing cakes and sweets with a spectacular aroma.
Delighted with her discovery, Persephone insisted that the old woman try them. "It tastes different from what I remembered..." Persephone said after the first few bites.
"I find it exquisite, my child." Said the old woman.
"Yes, yes...they are. But my mother used to prepare them with a touch of coriander that gave it a special touch." Sighed Persephone, a melancholy smile appearing on her face.
The old woman looked at her with restless eyes, almost avoiding looking at her. Persephone smiled shyly as she took the last bite of her pastry.
They spent half the morning touring the market. She spotted a beautiful feathered cape from Persia and bought it, explaining ironically that her husband would like it. A bird seller taught a green and red parrot to say "hello" and Persephone laughed, but didn't take it. What could she do with a parrot in the Underworld? Instead, she took a dozen little bottles of scented oil, the scents of her childhood; she only had to close her eyes and smell them, and she saw her white house with her mother waiting for her.
The morning hours passed quickly amidst shopping and confidences, and what had been a glorious, clear day was threatening to be no more. The light level was getting lower and a fine rain was beginning to fall on the streets, making the stalls more and more bare. The old woman seemed to enjoy the presence of the Goddess beyond measure, and idly suggested leaving the streets. In one of the many stables of the city, two beautiful horses were waiting to be ridden.
They rode through the muddy streets of the village, past rows of neat little houses of logs and exposed stone. Only one in five was inhabited, and in them the chimney let out thin tentacles of smoke.
"You should cover your heads." The woman said as the two horses trotted towards their destination. "You'll catch cold." She said, preoccupied, as the rain had been increasing and what had been a thin layer of crystalline droplets was now a heavy rain.
"It is only water." Persephone replied with a gentle smile. Her hair was completely soaked, with strands sticking to her forehead, and she imagined how unkempt she must look, but for once she didn't mind at all. The rain in the mortal realm was soft and warm. The Goddess liked to feel it on her face, sweet as a mother's kiss. It brought her back to her childhood, to the long days with her companions and the flowering forests, the branches bending under the weight of the damp, the laughter of the nymphs, who chased her through the piles of wet leaves. She remembered how she used to make mud pies with her mother, how heavy they were, and how the mud slipped through her little fingers.
Persephone had almost forgotten that. In the Underworld, there was no rain. There were no crops, no trees that bore fruit. But this was her home, and she wouldn't trade it for the world.
Once they had left the streets, they began a gentle climb up a mountain overlooked by a beautifully adorned and manicured temple like a palace. Once there, Persephone couldn't help but grimace. "Demeter." She said aloud, admiring the statue that stood before them.
"Yes." The old woman said, her eyes gazing at the statue in awe. Still atop her mount, the woman continued. "When I came here and began to care for the little lord, his king was so grateful that he told me I could ask for anything in return for such service."
Persephone listened attentively as she gazed at the statue. "You see, he thought I would ask for riches and property, but I only asked for two things. First, a house to live in. And second, but not least, a temple to worship the Goddess of Agriculture."
The two dismounted their horses, letting them rest under cover, sheltering them from the heavy rain. They climbed the marble stairs to the entrance of the temple, which was small and unostentatious. It was a damp place, the walls were covered with rose petals and different small flowers flew around the temple accompanied by insects that sang to the rhythm of them. Different candles were placed in front of the sculpture of Demeter, all lit despite the dampness of the place. The flower offerings were full of life as if they had just been picked.
"I understand that it is important to you." Persephone said. "Demeter is punishing you with drought and famine. But the Gods are dark and selfish. They only want to be praised for their power and immortality, but they don't care about anything but themselves." Her voice hard and determined.
"They may not be so different from us." Said the woman pacing the temple. "They are selfish and egotistical. So are we. Will they have regrets too? Or are they just rocks like the statue we are looking at right now? They may be tormented for some reason unknown to us." Persephone did not respond to her. Sadness and bitterness rang in her high-pitched voice. Then, she moved forward a few feet and knelt in front of the statue, placing some lilac lilies in front of it.
"They are very pretty." Persephone said, trying to comfort the woman. "I am sure she will appreciate them."
"Yes, I think so too. But they are not for her... They are for her daughter."
"Persephone?" Her heart pounded like a flaming drum threatening to burst from her chest.
"Yes. Persephone. Demeter's only daughter." The old woman continued, still kneeling in front of the flowers. "I want to ask her for many things..." Her voice was getting smaller as the words flew from her lips. "I want to ask her forgiveness for all the suffering I have caused. I want to ask her to forgive me for being like this. I don't understand how we got into this situation... how I got myself into so much hatred and resentment, how I could have caused all this..." Her voice trailed off and crying was born.
Persephone, lost and disoriented, rushed to the old woman, bending down beside her, placing her hand on her shoulder. "None of this is your fault." Said the Goddess, trying to make the woman listen to her. "Soon the grain fields will grow again and the earth will regain its color."
"Yes! It is my fault, I see it clear now." The old woman yielded. "It is... Love has blinded me and kept me from seeing. But I can still make things right... I can still make amends for so much wrong." She lifted her head up slightly. "I love you so much. And I am prepared to face the consequences." Said the woman, who now stared at Persephone, who saw herself reflected in the bridling pink eyes she had been searching for so long.
Notes:
I know it has been a long while since the last update, sorryyyyyyyy! But I am back! :)
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As usual, be safe my lovely followers!
