Hades and Persephone Pt. 03

"Kore...?" Hades held onto her as she fell unconscious. "Kore hold on."

"... Let her rest..."

"... Absolutely no food..."

"... I want to know the minute she is

awake..."

Hades...

Persephone's eyes fluttered open. She looked around and found herself alone in a dark room. She couldn't make out many objects in the sparse light from a fireplace. She was laying on a giant canopy bed made of a deep oak wood. She was wrapped in black silk sheets and - someone had put her into a silk night slip?! She grabbed at the soft black material, stunned that she was changed.

The light flickered across a bright red and gold rug, beneath a pair of matching arm chairs in front of the fireplace. Dark paintings and tapestries were hung on the walls, and silhouettes of pottery, statues and furniture stood about the room

"Hello?" she called out, her voice was hoarse.

A quiet knock at the door and a small woman opened it. "Hello, Miss. I am his Majesty's head maid. May we tend to your needs?" She held a lantern up, showing 3 other women behind her.

"Uh, I suppose?" Persephone answered a bit confused.

They entered, lighting massive lanterns about the room. As the light flooded in, she saw that these women were gaunt - almost skeletal. Their skin was dull and their hair was sparse and tattered. One woman carried a beautiful black silk wrap, and another carried silver pins and jewelry on a tray. The final woman was filling a large bowl with water and laying out fresh towels.

"Oh thank you!" She got out of bed, walked over to the bowl and proceeded to clean her face.

"We have some proper attire for you while your dress is being washed." The woman gestured toward the dress that the other handmaid held up.

"Yes, thank you." She was grateful to get out of the tiny black slip that barely covered her buttock.

Persephone stood still with her arms out, allowing them to wrap her body in the silk. They placed the silver pins in place and left the tray full of perfumes, jewelry and brushes on a table. They changed the bedding, taking her slip and the dirty towels with them.

"Will you be needing anything else?" The head Maid asked, as the others filed toward the door.

"How did I get here?" She asked, The night before being a complete blur.

"You were drugged, not by his Majesty, by another god. He brought you here to sober out properly. You're Aidoneus's guest, that's all we know." She said, "Will that be all, Miss?"

"No, thank you very much." She nodded her head graciously as they bowed and took their leave.

She turned and grabbed the brush, rushing to a mirror. 'Oh my GODS.' She thought, taking in the tangled mess that had become her hair. She moistened her hair with water from the bowl; brushing it through until her hair was damp and contained. She wandered back to the tray of goodies, grabbing one of the perfumes, pulling off the cap and smelling it. The smell of lavender danced out of the bottle, making her skin tingle. She dabbed a bit on her wrists and neck, waving her hand in front of her face, to keep the scent in her nose.

Among the jewelry, she noticed the necklace that Hades had given her. She picked it up and secured it back around her neck. When she was done admiring herself in the mirror, satisfied with the way she looked, she explored the room a bit. There was a large painting of the King hanging in the center of the farthest wall, titled "Aidoneus." On either side were large windows, long dark drapes pulled to the side.

"The windows are open?" She marveled, running over to peek outside at the darkness.

There was light, but very dim light coming from streams of molten rock that streamed and pooled in deep rivers about the land. She was in a very large castle made of grey bricks, rather high above the ground. Villages and farmlands sat out beyond the walls of the castle. There was a large courtyard outside the vast building, with a few trees growing about. Her stomach was painfully empty as she imagined the fresh fruit she could grow on them. She walked over to the door, opening it and addressing the guard that stood outside.

"Excuse me?" She peeped in a tiny voice. "Could I take a walk in the courtyard?"

"O-Of course! I guess?" He was startled, and almost lost his grip on the spear he held. "Well I think it would be okay - His Majesty said you are a guest here, not a prisoner." He smiled and stood tall. "Shall I show you the way?" He gestured down the big hallway outside the room.

"Yes, thank you." She followed him as he lead her down several hallways and staircases. They came to a giant ballroom, with marble floors, large pillars and tall windows. He guided her through a pair of glass doors to the courtyard that she had seen from the window.

"Do you need an escort?" He asked.

"No, thank you." She said and he nodded, stationing himself with the guards outside the doors.

She wandered through the statues and the sparse plant life. She felt her powers urging this garden back to life; the plants sprang up as she passed them. Flowers started to bloom and the trees started to blossom. She walked up to a tree, placing her hand on it, allowing it to rapidly spring to life, producing a bushel of plump, ripe pomegranates. She picked one, her mouth watering as she peeled away the hard flesh to expose the juicy seeds inside. She plucked a couple of them loose, and plopped them into her mouth.

"Mmmm!" She cooed, peeling away more of the flesh to take a proper bite.

"KORE!" A familiar voice startled her, making her drop the fruit on the ground. "Kore! Did you eat any of that?" Hades was behind her, grabbing her wrists as she turned around.

"Only a few seeds. Why?" She asked.

"Oh Kore..." His face filled with anguish. "Nobody can leave if they've eaten food from the underworld."

"Not even gods?" She asked in shock.

He closed his eyes, and shook his head. "I'm so sorry..."

"But... I..." She stared at him in horror, "I need to bring Spring to the mortal realm." Tears started to form in her eyes, and she sat on a nearby bench.

He sat beside her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Perhaps we can work something out with Zeus and the Fates." He placed his index finger beneath her chin, coaxing her head up to look at him and stroking the tears off her cheek with his thumb. "I'll do anything in my power to assure you are free from this place." He promised her.

She smiled, nodded, and wiped her tears away. Hades called over a guard, demanding that Zeus be summoned to the Underworld right away, and to bring the Weavers of Destiny with him.

Hades was now able to take in the full scene around him. His gardens were blossoming like never before; the plants had completely overgrown their lots, thick ivy flowing out into the walkways and up statues.

His heart throbbed as he looked down at her, taking in her beauty. The deep silk set a stark contrast on her golden skin, and hugged her generous curves. Her bright autumn red hair had dried into a waterfall of loose curls that fell about her shoulders.

"You made all this?" He asked, gesturing to the bountiful vegetation that occupied a once dead space. "It's beautiful." he responded when she nodded her head. "You have amazing powers, Kore."

"Thank you." She blushed, "Sometimes I can't help it; things just grow around me."

"I like it. You give so much new life to everything." He looked around, "Even the land of the dead." He laughed.

"Well, it's what I was born to do." She shrugged, "I would hope I'm good at it." She said with humor in her voice. "What happened last night?" She asked after a pause. "I can't remember much. Why am I here?"

"I think Ares drugged you." He looked down. "I was at your party, I was trying to stay away from your mother, and I saw his eyes on you - I mean, all eyes were on you last night," he laughed, "but these eyes intended to do you harm. I could feel it. I watched him follow you into that room. When I entered, he was violating you..." His fists clenched hard, and his muscles went rigid.

"Did he get that far?" She asked.

"No, I stopped him before he had any of your clothes off." His face was tense as he recalled the memory.

"I'm glad you were there." She said softly, placing her hand on his bicep to calm him. "Thank you for stopping him."

He smiled at her. "I have to get back to work." He said, changing the subject. He stood up and held his hand out to her, "Would you like to come with me?" He asked, still tense.

"Yes?!" She said, taking his hand and walking with him back through the maze of his castle.

They came to a rather large circular room with no ceiling and no floor. A bridge came out in a half circle that met a large scale hanging in the center of the room. All along the walls were hourglasses, set at various times, and stairs and catwalks to access them. At one end of the bridge was a line full of people what went out of the entrance to the room. At the head of the line, in front of the scale, was a podium. He lead her to the podium where there was a large book, opened about halfway through. On the open page was hundreds of names, some were written in black ink, and the other half were written in gold ink. He positioned her beside him in front of the podium.

After she studied the book for a minute, he whispered to her, "Read the next name." She fixed her eyes on the point at which the names changed from black to gold ink and Hades read the name aloud, "Basil Gonce."

The man in the front of the line stepped forward, taking stand on the right side of the scale. The three Judges of the Dead dressed in black robes placed bags of sand on the opposite side of the scale until the two sides were balanced. They then filled an empty hourglass with the sand and sealed it off, two daemons came and carried it away, up the

"Here we weigh their sins, and determine the time they must serve working for me." He whispered to her. "When they have served their time, they are allowed to enter the Afterlife." He pointed to two angels carrying an empty hourglass down a set of stairs.

The man stepped off the scale, trying to plea with Hades for his life. Two guards grabbed him and carried him through the exit on the opposite side of the bridge. Persephone looked back at the book, the man's name had turned black.

"Myra Politis." His voice carried passion and authority as he read the next name.

The next person in line came forth, a tall, slender woman stepped forward, and stood on the scale. Persephone looked down to see the golden name burn into the paper and turn black as she did. It was quickly offset, and many bags were placed on the opposite scale to even it out. The woman fell to her knees, crying and apologizing.

"Do you know what she did to deserve so much time?" Persephone looked up at him.

"Yes." Her heart ached as she looked into his eyes, they were a pit of deep blue sadness. "I don't create evil: I bare it." He said, looking away.

"That can't be easy." She said, watching the woman's giant hourglass be filled and taken away for storage.

"Some times are harder than others..." He lied: Some times were unbearable.

They continued for what seemed like half an hour, Persephone watched as the souls were judged one-by-one. They were interrupted by a guard, telling them Zeus and the Fates had arrived in the underworld.

"How many souls did we judge?" She asked.

"That was roughly 10,000?" He said.

"No way? It was like 10? Or 200? 1500? Wait..." She stood confused.

"Time is different here, don't overthink it. You'd need the same power that me and my angels have in order to understand it." He laughed, "I will miss you once you've gone." He held his hand out to her. "Let's get going to meet Zeus and the Fates." She nodded and took his hand, locking her arm in his as they walked back through the castle.

Zeus was in the main entrance with 3 women of various heights. She recognized them as the Fates; Weavers of Destiny.

"Ah, brother!" Zeus held out a hand as they grasped each other's forearms in greeting. "Did you two get married yet?" He asked.

"No! You have no right to give me away to whomever you like!" Persephone pointed her finger and yelled at Zeus.

"Hey! I would never force you to marry someone you didn't want to!" Zeus put his hands up in defense, "But we're obviously here for a reason. So, what is it?"

"She has consumed the fruit of His Majesty's Kingdom." Clotho said in a sad tone.

"6 seeds of the Pomegranate." Lachesis stated.

"We know your problem." Antopos said lazily.

"We have a solution." Clotho spoke enthusiastically.

"But it is not absolute." Lachesis said.

"You may leave, but it comes at a cost." Antopos smiled cynically.

"With the power of a Queen, you can come and go as you please." Clotho said with a wink.

"But for only half of a year, I'm afraid." Lachesis said.

"For every seed represents a month that you will be confined to the Underworld." Antopos said wickedly.

"So... She's gotta marry Aidoneus anyway?" Zeus was failing to conceal his humor.

"It's the only way Kore can be allowed to leave." Clotho assured them.

Hades looked at Persephone, who was lost in thought, looking down at the floor, "Surely, there's another way? I wouldn't force Kore to be my wife." He said, looking at the Fates.

"Nope." Antopos pointed her scissors at him.

"I'm sorry." Clothos grabbed her sister's arm, and forced it down.

"There's nothing more we can do." Lachesis grabbed her sisters' shoulders.

Hades looked down to see Persephone's distraught face looking back at him. "I'm so sorry, I should never have brought you here." He swept her hair behind her ear, "I destroy everything." He looked down, letting his hand fall.

"I'll do it." She caught his hand, and held it in both of hers.

"What?" He looked at her wide, terrified eyes.

"I'll marry you." She said, a small, encouraging smile on her lips.

Hades's heart was pounding against his chest, "I... Kore... I'm not going to force you to-"

"Nobody is forcing me to do anything!" She huffed, " I'm choosing the best option for myself. This way, I can still bring Spring to the mortals, and spend time with my mother." She stepped closer, holding his hand up to kiss it, "And I'm sure you will make an excellent husband." She said softly.

His heart throbbed, and his skin tingled at her warm touch, "I'm sorry. I'll do everything I can to makeyou happy here." He cradled her jaw and planted a kiss on her forehead.

Zeus stood there, the biggest 'I told you so' grin on his face as he watched the couple forget about the audience in the room "Ahem!" He cleared his throat. "As the father of the bride, I will throw a giant feast in honor of this union!" He said, as soon as all eyes were on him.

"Give me 3 days time to arrange it?" he asked

Hades stared daggers at his idiot brother.

"Obviously, I can't leave, so how do you propose we celebrate?" Persephone asked.

Her boldness was taking Hades by surprise - his emotions and hopes were running wild. Was he really going to have his Persephone after all?

"I'll bring the feast - I mean we all know what happens when you eat the food from here!" Zeus slapped his knee at his own horrible joke. "Let me arrange it with Hermes. Give me 3 days?" He asked.

"I uh..." Hades glanced between Zeus and Persephone, lost. "I'm not sure."

"Great!" Zeus boomed, "I'll see you all in 3 days! Come on, girls." He waved to the Fates to follow him.

"Wait, Zeus!" Hades called after him.

"Don't marry my daughter before I have a chance to give her away!" He called back, still heading for the door.

They were left together, both watching Zeus and the fates leave. Persephone suddenly realized her arms were completely wrapped around Hades's arm, and slowly let it go.

"I'm sorry for all of this." She said in a shaky voice.

"You don't have to apologize for anything." He looked down at her, "Do you really want to do this? Be with me?"

"There are worse things." She smiled, trying to lighten the mood.

"You're not frightened by me, by all of this? Why?" He asked.

"You have never given me a reason to fear you." She said. "I think you're kind and gentle." She brushed his cheek with her free hand, and he caught it with his to hold it there on his skin.

"You don't know me, Kore." He kissed her palm before dropping his hand, still holding hers. "You're so young, and this is not an easy role to fulfill. I can't place that burden on you."

"Don't underestimate me." She squeezed his hand, and smiled. "We can get to know each other a bit before we are married."

"Like, asking each other questions and stuff?" He laughed.

"Yeah. Why not?" She tugged on his hand playfully.

"What's your favorite color?" Hades asked sarcastically.

"Blue, like your eyes." She said seriously, with a smile that made his heart ache. "What's yours?"

"I love the color red." He laughed. "Who is your best friend?"

"Armetis." She smiled, "Yours?"

"Cerberus." He grinned at her.

"Who was your first kiss?" She asked suddenly.

He paused, the only person he'd ever been with was Minthe. "Some river nymph. I can't really remember, it was hundreds of years ago." He pulled her close. "Who was YOUR first kiss?" He wore a sly grin.

"I guess it was Ares, last night." She dropped her head.

"That doesn't count." He said sternly. "Not unless you want it to?"

"I don't." She said. "Other than that, I've never been kissed before." Her face was bright red.

"Never?" He smiled at her, raising his eyebrow.

"No. my mother never let me spend 2 seconds with a boy!" She laughed.

He smiled as he slid his hand under her chin, "May I?" He asked, leaning into her.

"Might as well." Her voice was shaky, her face was red, and she couldn't move as he pressed his lips against hers. They were soft, and slid comfortably into place with hers. He pulled away and smiled at the uncontrollable happiness and embarrassment she failed to hide.

"What is your favorite scent?" He asked, smelling the lavender perfume on her.

"Cherry blossoms." She smiled. "and your favorite smell?"

"Fresh baked bread and honey." He laughed.

"Mmm! That sounds so good." She said.

"I'll get you something to eat soon. I'm sorry about all of this. When you're my Queen you won't have to worry about it." His words made her stomach flutter.

"Queen..." She mused.

"Is that... Is that still okay with you?" He grasped her hands in his and pulled her close.

"Yes" She said, letting his hands go, and wrapping her arms around his neck.

He let his hands wrap around her waist "My Queen." He whispered against her neck, kissing it gently.

She let out a small gasp at his touch and stiffened her arms around him for a second. He did it again to test her reaction, feeling her heartbeat pulse through her neck. This time he opened his mouth, letting it brush her skin before his lips closed down and kissed her. Her breath caught and he felt her arms tense around his neck. He wanted to see how much she would react to his touch.

Hades came down on her neck, kissing it with gentle aggression. He wanted to claim all of it for himself. His lips moved down her neck to kiss her collarbone. Little moans escaped her mouth as he moved back up her neck. Her noises of pleasure drove him crazy; he needed to have her.

"Hades..." She whispered.

He groaned as he kissed her earlobe, making her gasp and giggle. He leaned down and wrapped his arm around her, picking up the little goddess. His other arm reached around her shoulder to cradle her head.

"Hades." She called his name louder, driving him wild. He started to leave small reddish marks behind her ear. "Hades!" She cried out softly.

He let out a beastly noise, reacting to her cries by biting softly on her neck. She suddenly shoved him away.