Archive of Our Own ^beta

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There was an endless darkness underneath all that is beautified light. A suffice between what you would believe is everything you understand and knowing absolutely nothing at all. A twist in the line of absolute perfection; a thorn among the most attractive rose.

Rot and decay often seemed even lovier than being entrapped by a suffocating illusion of happiness. Where the pressure of dancing until your feet wore down to blood and bone, you become so vain within your vanity that you would kill to remain the shinest. The impact of smiling wide was surely bone-crushing. Churning from the inside out.

The God of the Underworld loved to entertain the thought that this was how the Underworld came to be, despite being as ancient as the ruined place he built with only a vast part of his future decided and an iron fist. The what ifs burned into the outskirts of his mind, filtering into his imagination and were often a way to escape reality as he got lost in each and every Judgement. 

Each Judgement, despite the ongoing tragedy of days, all seemed to be the same despite how years rolled into decades and decades rolled into centuries. There was no entice concealed in time anymore, not when you were so alone that each tick of the clock equaled indifference. 

"Hades." A voice as deep as the Styx and yet centuries ancient at once withdrew the god of the Underworld from his reverie. Standing next to his towering throne made of the deepest onyx gems and cutthroat blood rubies stood the personification of death himself, the shadow radiating around the ancient god's right hand electrifying the air with power.

"Thanatos." Hades addressed, his ebony eyebrow raising as he rested a pale hand to grip the side of his throne. 

It was only Thanatos that ever addressed the Lord of the Dead in such simplicity, but the action was deserved considering their friendship. A friendship crafted between two completely different gods yet very much the same in their...occupations. While Thanatos was the carrier of death, Hades was the organizer. A working system initially connected the two. Although Hades would always be higher in power, he considered Thanatos more of a brother than his very biological relations to the two dimwits above ground. 

Thanatos's lips curved upwards, the picture of mischief written into his features. 

"Something got your mind these days, old man?" Not a trace of hesitation.

Hades rolled his eyes and ignored the urgent tug of his lips. "Keep calling me old and you'll be the one feeding Cerburus for the next millenia."

Thanatos instantly stiffened, thoughts of the beast crossing his mind in rather unpleasant flashes. You would think that after centuries of being around the damn thing it would be proud to accompany you, but instead the most affection Thanatos got from the three-headed dog was a nip in the ass. 

Twice.

"Did I say old? I meant impeccably youthful." 

Thanatos plastered a joyful smile over his face, gathering his black robes around him to place the parchment list belonging to the shades on an locked end table feet away in the enormous throne room, his footsteps echoing against the glittering midnight tiles. Thanatos couldn't take another squaking from Hades about how he misplaced the list a second time. 

Hades snickered, about to run a hand through his short ebony locks before realizing the weight of the dark gilded crown sitting upon his head. Hilarious how even after all these years he still hadn't become accustomed to the weight of it. Of how it sat upon his mind like a pile of bricks threatening to tip over. It wasn't as if Hades hated the efforts he put in day after day, it was instead how the missing pieces of the puzzle he's been constantly solving for the last infinity was simply impossible to solve. What was missing that made even his crown unbearable? Was he not whole as it was? Maybe it was just the stress of the extended Judgement today - the one he barely managed to speed through to this point.

"I don't pay you to flatter me, Thanatos." The God of the Underworld commented while rising from his throne, his crushing blue-grey eyes dimmed under the crystalline lights of the chandeliers. 

Thanatos rolled his upturned eyes, inspecting an invisible piece of dust on his sleeve.

"Actually Your Highness you really don't pay me at all." 

Hades waved him off, walking forward to the exit of the throne room as Thanatos briskly followed. Their descent down the steps of the House of Hades led them to the royal chariots outside in utter darkness - only illuminated by the beautiful twinkling lights of the palace. Hades automatically made a beeline for his most impressive piece in the collection, already strapped with hi companions at the ready. Winged and mighty pegasus neighing for their master and kicking their hooves against the rich grounds underneath their feet, ready to meet the crisp air above ground. 

"You know you would think after centuries of his many, many mistakes, Zeus would just wrap it up already and put a dent on his oh so magical sperm." Thanatos commented with a hint of sarcasm, going the extra mile to enunciate the final words of the sentence.

Hades snorted while adjusting the golden latches of his embroidered robe, thinking to himself how much it would truly take for Zeus to stay faithful to Hera after years of the same pattern. Then again, Olympus was practically fueled with the never-ending infidelity of his family. 

"Yes but that would mean my brother would have to sleep with one woman for the rest of his life - and I'm afraid his pea-sized brain would short circuit if he even took the time to think about that." Hades grabbed hold on the reigns, both mentally and physically preparing for the shit show that was about to take place. 

"Who even is the mother this time? Aphrodite? Selene? Oh my Fates don't tell me it's my mother!" Thanatos silently prayed to the Fates for the day to be forbidden.

Hades sighed, a migraine already forming in his temple. Surely this wouldn't be as different as all the other blessings he was forced to give - yet did he have to do this? The thought of socially interacting with the rest of his dysfunctional family was enough to put him on bedrest for weeks.

"Demeter." Thanatos's jaw fell, the disbelief on his face evident. Hades smirked at the reaction, remembering  how direly confused he was at the revelation. Confused, but not at all surprised. 

Because at this point in immortality, surprise was a treasure hidden deep in the forgotten tombs of the earth. 

~

Olympus was breathtaking. A city built amongst the cloudy skies and littered with jewels that theifs would drown for, architecture that was simply uncomparable even for the people of Athens and geography that was foundationed by the ancient gods themselves, Olympus was perfectly fit for the kings and queens that occupied the great city. Flawless in every way. For a set of adventurer's eyes, it was priceless, but in the eyes of Death himself - it was hell. 

Being dragged from his recluse was always enough to rile Hades to the bone, but coming to this place for every blasted occasion the King of the Gods announced was becoming vicious. It was never about coordination with his brother, but instead blatant selfishness.

The skies roared and howled above him as he landed his chariot on the golden palace of Olympus, the rain battling the sun for dominance on this special day. 

Hades was surprised to find his familiar brunette sister standing outside in the stormy weather, the Goddess of Marriage holding tightly to the bars of the balcony in front of her. Her molten chestnut eyes were voided...numb, Hades confirmed. Hera had endured more than anyone in his family had in the marital department, and he couldn't help but feel a piece of his heart ache for her. 

He could still remember just how in love she was with their brother eons ago, despite life itself becoming too bitter in the few events that took place in that period. Still after so long of watching everyone of Zeus's children grow and continue to be birthed, Hades wondered why (or more so how) Hera never consulted for revenge on the bastard.

"I see someone else isn't in the party mood." Hera's head snapped up to meet her brother's eyes, a gentle smile on his face. Hera shrugged, the loud pitter-patters of the rain creating a comfortable silence for the pair. 

Hades stood next to the goddess, leaning against the railing as the finery he wore clinged to the large, cordeling muscles of his body. Spending so long underground made it so easy to forget the simplicity of the weather. The warm rain was almost comforting falling against his pale skin. Almost.

"You don't need to feel pity for me, brother." The goddess commented, eyes glued to the scenery of her kingdom.

"It isn't pity I feel, Hera. It's misunderstanding." He replied honestly, with a twist of annoyance. Her perfect brow rose, plump lips pulling into a frown. "Misunderstanding of how you deal with a man who has no issue continuously warming another woman's bed despite uttering his love to you. You deserve more than that."

Silence bloomed between them, Hera choosing to open her mouth only after a boom of powerful lightning illuminated the skies.

"I was so in love with him at only seventeen years old." She shook her head, tone barely contained. "Isn't it so ironic? How little our titles define us?" The question was rhetoric, one of which Hades considered heavily every day.

Yet the abuse he faced on a regular basis regarding him being a monster...it drove him mad. Sometimes he wondered if the bloodthirsty saints sipping on warm ambrosia and cherishing their ruthless riches ever stopped a heartbeat to consider the madness they unleashed upon others. 

"Here I stand, the Goddess of Marriage with a marriage that is crumbling." She snorted, shaking her head. Hades stared off into the clouds, letting her be heard. It wasn't much, but it was enough. "And they call you the God of Darkness, but how can a man of the bright skies be darker than Death himself?" Thunder cackled in the wake of her words.

It stuck with him. How deeply she seemed to be disintegrating, how her marriage was taking over her mind. His blue eyes went stormy as he looked to her, Hera's eyes still distanced. 

"You aren't simply a marriage goddess, Hera." He promised. "You're the queen of one-third of this universe. And queen of the skies you will be. Show. Him. What. The. Queen. Can. Do." 

Fire entered the goddess's brown eyes, determined and powerful. When a smile lit her face that was as sharp as knives, Hades didn't hesitate to smile back. 

~

Olympian parties were the definition of perfection. There was never anything out of order, there was never a guest not on Zeus's mental invitation list, it was all just...perfect. The kind of perfection that Hades found extremely off-putting, especially because the trust issues from his father ran much too deep. Kronos was so obsessed with his power that parties were just his way of keeping his lifestyle of tyranny, flashes his gold and treasure until he became his own downfall.

Yet it made it all the much more satisfying when Hades locked him up into the depths of Tartarus.

An onslaught of cheers signaled the end of Hades's mind escapade, the glistening lights of the chandelier twinkling against the golden tiles of the massive throne room. Silver tables aligned the room, delicacies served only to the gods topped on each of them in a dazzling setup. Music of the most exquisite entity was being produced from Apollo's golden harp, the sound so beautiful even Hades's ears craved more of the bewitching tune. Ten Olympians were spread amongst the room, now cheering as they held their wine glasses in one hand - welcoming King Zeus into his abode with the fiery redheaded Goddess of Harvest at his side - holding the newest addition to the Olympian tree. His niece. 

The child's face was hidden away from the court, her entire body wrapped tightly in a pink fabric as she slept cocooned into Demeter's arms. All that was allowed into vision was a tiny pale hand of the whitest snow resting intently on Demeter's lavender gown. 

Hades allowed himself to clap slowly, sneaking a peek across the room to Hera, a look of boredom written across her features as she sipped reluctantly on her scarlet wine. Not a hint of anger or even jealously. Her entire face was simply numb. 

Zeus's pale blue eyes were alight with pure happiness, his muscular arm looped through Demeter's free arm. Her angled face was alight with exhaustion but pure happiness, the most positive instance of after-birth that Hades had ever seen. It was almost insulting that there was a storm raging outside on the new parents' perfect day. 

"My family," Zeus announced loudly, his blonde hair capturing the light as he gazed upon his daughter. "I would like to thank you all for participating in this monumental occasion. For the birth of me and Demeter's daughter: the Goddess of Spring, our beautiful Kore!" There was an explosion of approval, but Hades had to contain himself from rolling his eyes. 

Clearly the name was provided by Demeter, because the definition of the child's name pointed to everything Demeter would of wished for for her child. 

"Before we begin our festivities, we would be honored if our sibilings would step ahead to bestow a gift upon our daughter. A blessing for immortal life." The God of the Skie took his daughter in his arms, looking down on her with every bit of adoration that was possibly gathered on earth. 

It was almost comical how quickly Hera stood up, a flurry of movement following her as she approached the little one, descending upon the steps of the pedestal the new parents stood on. Hades leaned forward in intrigue, the silence sweeping over the room nearly unbearable. 

"I have one wish for my beautiful step-daughter and niece." Zeus's golden eyebrow shot up at the bitterness enterlaced into her tone. "For the child will have the most successful marriage of all time, full of love and complete trust." 

Interesting. Goddess of Marriage, indeed, Hades smiled. 

Demeter's face contorted into one of the disgust, clearly not adjusted to the thought that her Kore would one day seek independence. 

The flow of events after Hera's generous blessing were entirely positive. Hestia bestowed eternal beauty amoung the little flower goddess while Poseidon blessed Kore with the trait of kindess for the entirety of her days. When the time had come for Hades to present his blessing, the ancient God had glided across the Olympian's floors with twelve sets of eyes following him, the descent from his seat to the pedestal one that felt as if it lasted eons. Power radiated off Hades in waves, the shadows surrounding him whispering, feeling. He never let his face crumble. They wouldn't see his weakness. 

"Brother." The God of the Skies nodded in Hades's direction, a rare sign of respect from the man who expected everybody to grovel at his feet. 

Casting the world aside, Hades breathed in and out, finally allowing his eyes to wonder to the sleeping babe in his brother's arms. 

Kore's skin was flawless, warm cheeks flushed with a beautiful pink tint, offsetting her snow white flesh. Freckles lined her tiny button nose and deep cheeks, face angular and cheekbones indented. Her plump lips shimmered of a pale pink. Peach fuzz of the most fiery red sat upon her head, her sleeping eyes encased in thick black eyelashes. She was the splitting image of both the gods that made her - but different all the same. Her essence radiated of the warmest sunshine, causing Hades's heart to stammer. He couldn't contain the effortless tug of his lips.

Suddenly the seas and skies were falling, everybody else a mere speck in comparison to the exploding star in front of him. He had been bewitched. To the point of where his lips were moving against his will, his stormy blue eyes glued to the flower princess. 

"Persephone." 

Hades had uttered it loudly enough that Demeter heard him, her face engulfed in disgust, snatching her sleeping daughter from Zeus's strong arms. 

"What the hell did you just call my daughter?" Her tone was venomous; accusational under every definition. Shock overtook Hades, the whole room reeling over the commotion. 

"Demeter-" Zeus attempted to coax the goddess, only for her to step back on the pedestal with fury shining in her eyes. The climate of the room suddenly turned icy, the world spiraling.

"I will not accept your sorry excuse of a gift. Not when you called my daughter bringer of death." She spat the final words, Athena standing up from her seat feet away. Demeter hugged her daughter tightly into her chest, pushing away Zeus. 

Hades huffed a laugh, rolling his eyes while already reaching descending upon the steps. Of course this entire ordeal had to be controlled by Demeter, everything had to be catered entirely to her wishes. It took everything inside of him not to rage in anger. 

"Demeter, please. He has bestowed his gift and his choice is final. Be grateful." Hades stopped out of pure surprise, reeling over the fact his brother of all people jumped to his defense. 

"You are mad. I will not-" She began, only for Hades to turn around in a flurry of rage. 

"Then don't, Demeter! Do not accept my word. Enjoy your festivities and let the world revolve around your ridiculous choices. Surely your daughter will for the next infinity." There was a collective gasp, and the look of pain that crossed Demeter's face as if she had been slapped was enough for the blood to drain from his face, however the guilt never reached his heart. 

Zeus stood on the pedestal, mouth agape as he faced his brother. Aware of his pointless flings ridiculous outburst, he still chose the latter of facing his brother with a look of distress contorted into his features. "Go." He mouthed. 

Gladly. 

Yet for seconds, only mere seconds, Hades wondered if Zeus regretted his past enough to rebuild the bridges that had burned. 

Only for the fantasy to disappear with a blink of his two eyes. 

Olympians were all the same. Selfish in their actions and unexpectant for their apologies. The galaxies yearned for them only so they would crumble at their feet with the wave of their hand.

Shadows encompassed Hades as he flung his arm out, power thruming through his veins as the Helmet of Invisibility slammed into his expecting hand, lightning illuminating the skies outside with crackling intensity. With a final look to his sleeping niece and the gods that made her, Hades placed the onyx helmet upon his head and fell into the icy shadows, the world blurred into nothing but darkness.

And in footsteps, the God of Death entered the booming rain, leaving the Goddess of Spring behind.

~

If there was anything in the world Hades hated more than his visits to Olympus, it was the upholding of his diplomatic structure. Which ultimately entitled him to endless dinners of awkward courting with the few people who he entirely hated. And of course, mutually hated him with that same burning passion. 

Unfortunately enough for him, his guest of the night was no other than his great-uncle, the one and only Erebus, God of Darkness and massive pain in the ass. Hades still had no understanding of how a man so disgusting could possibly be the father of his best friend, however he knew that immortality came with the thorns that were meant to rob you of a life full of roses. Which in this scenario, the thorn was dealing with Erebus for the rest of his days.

"Hades." Erebus greeted with a skeleton finger on his chin, his pitless black eyes devouring Hades whole while his thin lips contorted into a blood-churning smirk. The shadows that surrounded him were nothing like his own, nothing like Thanatos's...they were ancient and twisted. Hades never doubted the stories of how Erebus strangled unknowing mortals in the darkness with a simple flick of his fingers - the shadows becoming them. The essence of the air was overpowered by the stench of flesh and rot, and Hades instantly knew what was hiding in that mist...

How fitting this visit was confirmation of those crimes. 

He snapped his eyes away from the shadows clinging to the god, his whole face collected. He owned these grounds, built them from the very foundations of his memory. No one would bust into his home and claim his sanity. 

Not even Darkness himself.

"Erebus. It seems that our encounter is surrounded by a subject that is...unsurprising." Hades's bored eyes met his great-uncle's, unyielding. "One of which I do not condone whatsoever." Hades's eyes turned dark. 

"Oh come now, my Lord. Surely you would understand me stealing the last piece of chicken at Zeus and Hera's feast last year?" 

Hate cordeled in Hades's gut, his anger threatening to rise to the surface. He considered himself a patient man, only at the expense of their cooperation. Which unfortunately amongst the gods was seen as a luxury rather than basic communication. 

"Cut your bullshit, Erebus. We both know why you're here. I would never willingly ask you to come into my home unless it was simply business." 

"Awh my feelings are so wounded. Here I was, believing that the Underworld was our home, only to be corrected by the big-balled man himself. My, my, excuse me for believing in my rights." 

The bitch even took the last sugar cube from the elegant container in the middle of the table, the simple splash of it hitting the steaming tea inside the mug hitting the absolute maximum on Hades's patience. It was times such as this one where he really, really hated himself for not locking up the eldest gods. 

"I never said you weren't entitled to your rights, but I do remember the long list of rules that were created in order for you to be rewarded with the luxury of stamping around my home wherever you wish. Don't you, Erebus?" The smirk that claimed Hades's face was both beautiful and harsh, the light in his eyes powerful. 

A smile like that could crumble cities and break a person's heart - exactly what the mask of Hades was meant for. 

Only a flash of surprise struck Erebus's skeletal face, gone in seconds as he struggled to keep his composure, leaning back in his seat as he analyzed the bones of his hands. Hades could hardly maintain his satisfaction. 

"See, this is the problem with power. An individual can get so adjusted to their power that once it's robbed from underneath them they will do anything to get it back. Even kill."

An ebony eyebrow rose, Erebus's comment only furthering Hades's point. But all at once - it made him think. It wasn't as if he never stopped to consider how the eldest gods were overthrown - specifically through his father's tyranny - but the limitations that were eternally bonded to them to the point of where comprehension was still unobtainable was almost crippling to watch. His largest fears remained the possibility of his brother letting that power become him, letting the world crumble as their children overthrew them - it was terrifying to believe. Something his father never saw coming, surely. Rhea was the deciding factor in letting her legacy come to an end.

It was only when realization was achieved when it was all too late. 

"Killing innocent mortals to mist into your terrible shadows isn't going to help you succeed in world domination, Erebus. The Fates only decide in those matters." Hades's tone was stern, furious even. "Yet overstuffing my realm only further makes you all the much more selfish-" 

"Selfish?" Erebus cackled, basking in his humility. "You speak of selfishness as if you don't keep all your riches locked in golden treasure cases, Aidoneous. You speak of selfishness as if you aren't as much of a monster as I." 

Then the cord inside of him snapped - the torches illuminating the walls of the dining room quivering under Hades's rage. The world through his vision was turning blood red as memory of that damned word spoken through billions of other voices surged in his mind. It was him who was constantly putting his own needs below his sibilings because of their appease, it was him who spent each and every week of his immortal life judging the afterlives of each shade and deity - ensuring the scale stays entirely balanced, it was him who was forced into his own lonesome for the rest of his days and to suffer at the hands of a reputation based entirely off of his titles and decisions. He had suffered and suffered, endured and endured, but the earth was still on its axis. 

It took an explosion of his thoughts to keep his hand down, disconnecting from the yearning power bubbling in his gut, begging to be unleashed. Yet he didn't stop himself to rise from his seat, the legs of the chair screeching against the tile as he slammed his fist down to the table, control still belonging solely to him. 

"I have heard enough! You are on your second strike of the decade, Erebus. Kill another mortal under your own gain and I will not hesitate to let you rot in Tarturus with your disgusting sister. And when I tell you that I will let you cripple and rot," Hades's eyes remained glued to Erebus's, anger burning bridges through the two gods. Hades's fist remained locked on the hard wood of the table, his face inches from Erebus's as he uttered the final words with pure poison, "I promise eternity under your own personal suffering will make you wish you were never an immortal." 

The porcelain mug in Erebus's hand shattered to millions of pieces as the door of the room slammed open, eyes flying to meet the son of the God of Darkness making his appearance on the other side. Hades gave himself only seconds to recollect himself, adjusting his heavy black robe as he stepped back, meeting Thanatos across the room. 

"Perfect timing. I was just wrapping up with your sorry excuse of a father, Thanatos." Thanatos's face remained impassive, eyes numb to the clear disappointment directed at his father. 

Hades knew of his history with the god, but it never failed to pluck a twinge at his heart whenever Thanatos had to come face-to-face with Erebus. Growing up with Kronos, the monster of all ages...made it easier to understand. For that reason alone Hades would never force Thanatos into dealing with his father alone.

"Unsurprising." Was Thanatos's only comment, face completely void. 

Erebus arose from the table, hatred burning so deeply into his face that Hades could feel it from feet away. The stench following him made bile rise in Hades's throat, pushing back the grimace threatening to overtake his face as Erebus stopped directly in front of the god. 

"Burn in hell." The God of Darkness gritted through his teeth.

"Oh Erebus, I created it." A smirk of triumph overtook the God of Death's face.

Erebus burst into an angry cluster of shadows, gone in seconds. The smell of the dead remained - bringing Hades back even further into his reality. It wasn't just the smell that persisted that bothered him, it was also the fact that Erebus could claim so many lives just to attempt to make a statement. It all proved just how far he'd go to reclaim the power he so obviously thirsted over.

Silence was broken as Thanatos trudged over to the table, flopping lazily down onto the velvet cushions of a seat to grab one of the most richful wines of Dionysus's many creations. He huffed a sigh as he broke open the bottle, the cap shooting off onto the table. 

"Well, I would say that went swimmingly." Sarcasm dripped from his tone as he lifted the entire bottle to his lips, chugging the alcohol until his slender eyes watered and he was tipping his head back from tiredness. "Care for some wine?" 

Hades snorted, his fingers rising to massage his temple. A migraine was already forming, and the day wasn't even near over yet. 

Oh how he loved his job.

~

Persephone knew she was dreaming. Dreaming of liquid gold dripping down from broken stars and sharp black roses that broke through her skin, shining ichor slithering along her fingertips. Sensations that felt much too real were all too magical to be reality even in this universe.

Sunlight behind her eyes was like an explosion of light as her chocolate brown eyes fluttered open like butterflies, the metallic taste deep in her throat very prevalent. She heard running water from miles away as the soft flowers underneath her supported her entire weight, the world finally rushing back to her as she realized where she had fallen asleep. A voice, nurturing yet worrisome all at once, chased her as she skyrocketed forward, guilt blooming in the pits of her stomach. She had fallen asleep under the stars, away from Mother. For the first time in 6,570 days, she fell asleep somewhere her mother could never find her. 

"Kore!" Demeter's booming voice was full of distress, filling her lands with sadness. "Persephone!" That was never good. Mother never used her true name, not unless Persephone was truly in deep trouble.

Kore jumped up, wrapping her pale  covering tighter around her, the wind whipping her fiery curls behind her. Her heart was racing, thoughts thundering. She had defied her mother. She had defied her mother stupidly, not even bothering to cover it all. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes at the thought of her mother's eyes of disappointment, but she pushed it all back further with the lump of her throat as she approached her mother.

Demeter didn't even have time to react in the grassy fields of the meadow, Kore running straight into her mother's arms, Demeter gasping at the sight of her daughter untouched - beautiful as ever.

"Kore!" The Goddess of Harvest screamed out in relief, wasting no tick of the clock in clutching her daughter to her thundering heart, the sunlight ever brighter. Nymphs were running to and fro, performing their tasks and enchanting the quality of the lands. Nobody stepped near the goddesses, leaving this moment solely to them. "What happened to you? I was worried sick." Demeter stepped back, pushing Kore's curls behind her ears as she gazed intently on her face. 

"Mother, I was fine. I just...I went outside last night and-" The look that captivated Demeter's face threatened to push Kore over the edge of a mountain she hated even risking to cross, her heart rising as her mother cut her off. 

"Kore you know so much better than to worry me that way. You're eighteen, you could of at least alerted me. Someone could of taken you away from me." The sadness intermixed in her tone was a jab to the chest. 

Something shattered in Kore's heart, the thoughts of independence she hoped for clearly ignited to a fire. Her mother would never let her find freedom - even in adulthood. She swallowed down her tears, the pain that was fueled by her ongoing frustration spreading all over. 

She couldn't avoid those icy blue eyes, trying her hardest to build upon a mask that was anything but her true emotions.

"I'm so sorry, Mother. I won't let it happen again. I just...I wanted to help bloom the midnight lilies so you could wake up to something beautiful." The lie burned her tongue, but she basked in that deserving fire. 

Somehow from the Fates above, her mother believed it, smiling warmly to her daughter as she threw a sun-kissed arm around her petite shoulders.

"I already wake up to the most wonderful daughter each morning. Happy birthday, my little flower. Walk with me." Demeter guided them towards the crystal river, looking down upon the rich grass with a puzzled look on her face. 

Some days Kore felt as if she couldn't read Demeter at all, and other days she felt as if she could read her like a book. Today - fortunately enough - was one of those days. Something was troubling her, and the curiously was enough to distract Kore from the hurricane of emotions that was finally beginning to settle again. 

"Is there something wrong?" Kore asked, watching as her mother swooped down to swirl one of her fingers through the clear water of the river. 

Demeter was stunning in every sense of the word. Her curling red hair twinned to hers exactly drifted down to her lower back, vibrant and full of life. Her skin, toned from days spent in endless summer, glew and glistened underneath the sunlight. The deep maroon of her wrap dress was tightened in all the right places, her figure the definition of perfection and edged with strong muscle along her arms. She was the type of woman that was gorgeous when happy, but devastating when angry. Kore always strived to match her impact, but she knew she could never thrive in the sunlight the same way that Demeter always had. 

"Oh it's nothing, dear. I'm just...considering something that is very important." 

"Such as?" Kore knew she was pushing in places that didn't need to be pushed, but her curiosity was too tempting to ignore. 

"Well, you're already aware of the...presentation that takes place for every god and goddess on their eighteenth birthday. The Olympians - or should I say Zeus, likes to declare every god fit to their title with this presentation." Hope ignited in the little flower princess's stomach, the question hanging in the air so enticing that she could just taste it.

"Like a test?" She questioned, a smile sparkling upon her lips as she leaned against the sleepy weaping willow behind her. 

Demeter stood up, a frown resting on her face as she dusted the water off her fingers. 

"Not necessarily. Just tradition. A tradition that I was hoping to ignore, but I think you would enjoy." It was as if she was saying the words against her will, clearly irked by the idea. 

"Mother, please. I want to see Olympus. I want to meet my father. I want-" Too many. Too many Is. She overstepped the line when Demeter grabbed ahold of both her hands, looking her in the eyes with grave meaning. 

"I know, I know, my little flower. But Kore, the men who roam Olympus are monsters. Monsters intent on getting what they wish for whether you wish for it as well or not. They will hurt you. And if I'm not near you, I fear you won't be able to protect yourself."

Another blow. Another blow that she had processed and felt, the aftermath collecting into the hurricane that was brewing. When would she see it? Just how powerful she is, how capable. She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry and writhe and convince, she wanted-

No. No she could not.

Wanting went against her duty. Mother only wanted what was best for her, even regarding her happiness. Guilt contorted in her gut. It was wrong to be thinking such things. Not when her mother held her hands, not when she was so close. It would break her soul and her heart. 

"I know, Mother. You have told me. And I understand. I understand but I still believe that I can do this. I can impress everyone and claim my title. I promise I will stay near you, or Artemis or Athena at all times. I will be safe." Kore searched her eyes, hoping with everything inside of her. "Please."

~

Several components contributed to the stress of running an entire third of the universe, but nothing would ever stop the tiredness that consistently showed on Hades's face. He loved his lands - the ones that were so clearly alive despite living in a realm of death - and he ruled over it impeccably with a force that could not be ignored. However he sometimes wondered if his aging would miraculously continue despite his immortality, and looking in the mirror now, he unfortunately failed in ignoring the eyebags that underlined his shocking blue eyes.

Hades was everything far from bad-looking. He had matured into his features long ago, each year marking something strong in the gleam of his eyes. Maybe it was the unstoppable radiance of power that stuck to him, or maybe it was the knowledge so many stupidly ignored, but there was a hardened beauty about the man that even Aphrodite (silently) admired. Hades's hair was geled to his usual style, parted to the side in waves of onyx. His eyelashes were thickly curled, offering a peek through the window of his ancient eyes. The stubble that lined his sharp jaw was accompanied by a dark mustache above his thin pink lips, one that he refused to let grow further in fear that he would look too much like Zeus. His build was always so bulky and muscular, his arms aligned with corded veins that sometimes even showed under his thin jackets. 

However the lack of sleep he had been experiencing for months on end was showing ridiculously, the whites of his eyes rimmed with a light red. He knew that his abilities enabled him to just snap it all away, but hiding the little humanity he let show sounded too cowardly that he had no choice but to resist. He wasn't childish like Zeus in his rule, nor did he ignore the obvious hints of age like Poseidon. He was prideful in his work - almost too much.

There was an undertone of depression in his everyday life - and it showed greatly in his eyes. The shades would continue coming and Tarturus would continue raging. There will always be doors to lock and unlock whilst fantasies of something new would be continuously ignored. He had accepted the grayness in his heart and moved onward with as much dignity as he could muster. Hades reminded himself that there would always be stories of unfairness from the Fates that raged powerfully in his world, and in his opinion, he just couldn't afford complaining for something he would never receive.

What did he want? The question caused an eruption in him as he stared at himself in the oval mirror, eyes wide with the question. He had all the riches of the world, order that was perfect and even a loyal friend, how much more did he? It was frustrating when something burned on his tongue and mind.

The word flashed through his head. He almost, no, scratch that - desperately didn't want to bring it into existence. 

Ignore. Ignore. Ignore. 

Luckily enough the dark alabaster door to his quarters opened softly, revealing one of his handmaids accompanied by Thanatos. Hades internally groaned, wishing to the Fates that Thanatos would leave his staff alone. It was almost astonishing how the man was childless at this point. Not that he cared who and how many people Thanatos seeked partnership with, but instead it was the outcome he worried about.

The thought of a mini Thanatos running around was enough to terrify the living daylights out of the God of the Dead. Then again, in Thanatos's infamous words - he knew how to wrap it up. 

"Do you have to leave?" Thanatos whined like a child, throwing himself onto the elegant velvet red loveset opposite of Hades's massive bed. 

"Oh poor you, it's almost as if you work here." Hades mocked while sipping on his golden nectar.

Thanatos held up a very specific finger to Hades, his face solemn.

Hades ignored the god, facing the handmaid that placed his outfit of choice on the bed. He offered a thankful smile, addressing her with respect. 

"Thank you, Calista. That'll be all." She nodded with a lovely smile, leaving the room swiftly. 

Taking his heap of clothing, Hades moved to the shoji screen across the room and began to undress, the fatigue of only getting three hours of sleep previous guiding his slow movements. 

"You know, you could just ignore Zeus's request of flying down there yet again." Thanatos further suggested, his voice laced with laziness. 

Hades flicked together the buttons of his black shirt, the material thin against his body. He was still not  acquainted to the new styles of Olympus, yet he was willing to try something new for the sake of this visit. Apperently he was leaving in celebration of the Spring Goddess...Persephone. Daughter of Demeter. The niece he was sworn off by. 

"And let you off so easily? Yeah, no. Not happening. You know what to do. Take care of the shades and monitor Tarturus. Judgement will procede the very second I come back. No one comes in for the next three days." 

He swiftly finished placing on his leather boots and deep black trousers, hooking his heavy robe around his shoulders as he walked to the onyx helmet resting peacefully on his desk. The Hymn crackled with intensity, fitting so rightfully in his hand that the world finally felt as if it was in one piece again. 

"No crown?" Thanatos opened a singular eyeball in the midst of his near-nap to peek intrusively at the god's crownless head. 

It struck him then that his crown sat upon it's ruby pillow case feet away, the crown screaming at him to both take its rightful spot and for him to ignore to the holy grounds of nothing. Hades often forgot such a monumental thing when visiting his brother simply because he felt that he was leaving his realm of power behind. Zeus took the reins in the skies, Poseidon ruled the ocean and Hades kept order over the dead. 

As it should be. 

He was contempt with leaving it behind. Hades even found peace with knowing Thanatos would keep every beautiful thing safe. 

"No." He answered simply, gripping the Hymn. "I don't think so." 

"Well boss, have a wonderful vacation." Thanatos waved, taking one of the velvet pillows and placing it over his head as if he was going to nap then and there. "I will see to it that everything gets done....in a few hours."

In Hades's fucking bedroom. 

"Few hours my ass." He grumbled, grabbing the canteen of water off the corner of his desk to quietly prod over to Thanatos. 

....only to burst into laughter when he poured the canteen of water over his barely sleeping friend's head. 

The god skyrocketing off the sofa, throwing the pillow at Hades's head - which he effortlessly dodged. Thanatos's whole upper-body was soaked, water dripping down his sharp features and onto the carpet beneath them. He glared at Hades with irritation in his eyes, but also fighting off the laughter that threatened to take hold of his face.

"You are such an asshole." 

"Takes one to know one, my friend." Hades winked, disappearing by shadow.

~

Her heart was pounding in the darkness, surrounded by black shadows and things that creaked in the dark . It was so much deeper than the night, so much more intense than her worst nightmares. She was inhaling the shallows and exhaling the aftermath. She couldn't see, couldn't even smell. Her senses were shuttering and so far from her reach that the frustration she felt turned into solid terror. 

She was trembling, her breaths coming out into tormenting shakes that forced sweat to cascade down her neck and mix with her ichor. Goosebumps aligned her skin in the darkness, the polar of the air daring her to utter a word.

It was freezing, entirely opposite to what she was accustomed to back in the sunlit meadows. She felt naked and watched, the blackness's eyes devouring her. She wanted to crumble to her knees, find the light and cling to her mother. Her mother was right. The world was wicked and unforgiving; cruel in all of it's miserables.

Something wretched crept into her heart at her mother's words from years ago - an echo of a ghost the possessed the dark. 

"That is why you must stay near me little flower, you are powerless in the dark ." 

Yet what good was power if it only thrived under one condition? Why couldn't she have it all?

She wasn't powerless, Kore assured herself. She wasn't powerless. How could she be? Anger filled the cold voids of her heart. 

"Because you can't have it all, Kore. Selfishness is the root of evil . Don't let it bloom." 

She remembered that bedtime story word for word - thriving in it. Of how Pandora dared and dared and tasted it all, of how one mistake caused so much ruin . 

But Kore was so kind. All the time. Why was temptation so easy to succumb to while her reputation was burning her in an endless fire? She was in pain, drowning in those flames. Fates, why couldn't she just have it all?

Something slithered down the little goddess's spine then. Akin to a snake it it's sensation but entirely alien. Then the pain exploded as something she could only compare to the pain of a knife penetrated her skin, dragging down, down, down until it reached her tailbone, blood spuring from the wound to the point of Kore falling to her knees, screaming out in agony. 

Laughter swallowed her whole, the dark settling into her bones and shattering her heart, the tears that streaked her face like glass dragging through her skin. It burned. It hurt. It was relentless and powerful and so, so painful. It broke her from the inside out. 

And then the adrenaline began. The adrenaline that rushed everything to a spiraling, swirling mess. She knew why people thrived in the dark. Because when you spent your life trying so hard to rise, the fall to become was much too simple to ignore. Her hand slammed down onto the ground, the whole world shaking - threatening to crumple. She couldn't hold it in, couldn't conceal the attack of emotions.

It wasn't Kore that pursued the action, her molten tearful brown eyes changing to a relentless glowing purple that personified fury, glowing in the dark.

Persephone did what Persephone did best.

Persephone exploded. 

~

"Persephone? Persephone!" A commanding voice lured her from the depths of her sleep, a strong hand shaking her awake to a world of unfamiliarity. Kore's chocolate eyes busted open, her whole body surging forward as she exhaled a gasp, her body trembling from the aftershocks of her nightmare. Images flashed one after one, her eyes filled of tears that dripped down her face like a powerful waterfall. She could still feel it. The knife plunging into her back, the breakage of skin as her tears ripped flesh, the-

"Seph?" And then she realized - she wasn't alone. She wasn't back at the cottage under her mother's warm gaze. She was in a nightgown of the most exquisite silk, in a bed that put her own to shame, and more importantly, she was in the midst of a panic attack in front of the Goddess of Wisdom. 

Athena's light green eyes were a flood of concern, widened with...understanding? Confusion? Kore couldn't read them now, not when the whole room was swirling. She just needed her mother. She needed the comfort that was ripping out her heart as she bled of emotion. When Athena took her in her arms, Kore didn't hesitate to cry into her shoulders. 

"I used to have nightmares when I fought in my first battles. The panic attacks...they always followed." 

It struck Kore that she never labeled her outbursts. After all she never truly expressed them to her mother in fear of explaining them, because that felt as if it would be much too complicated to tackle. The pressure it put on her was simply too much. 

Her half sister's hand found her brilliant red curls in soothing strokes, the tears waning as she just listened to her voice, yearning her heart to settle. The hurricane had struck, and she feared it still wasn't done raging. 

Kore could still feel it. The tingling sensations on her back, the world colliding with her power...

"I found overtime that once I conquered my fears the attacks stopped. I became comfortable with the idea of growing into control. After all, I was bred from a thought. I had never felt something as strong as emotions until I simply became." Kore was still fascinated by Athena's origin, so much that when Athena visited her at the cottage she'd request her stories over and over again. 

"Is that how they stopped? When you found the control?" Kore uttered meekly, her red hair clouding her vision as she realized the tears finally stopped. 

"No, not just that." Athena answered softly when burying her face into her sister's hair. Kore could of sworn she felt a smile. "They stopped when I realized I could conquer. When I realized I am powerful."

~

Between waking up midday and finally recovering from her panic attack, Kore was then urged to a routine of events that she felt replenished her energy enough to prepare for all the meetings she'd have at her presentation that night. The servants of Zeus's order prepared the most luxurious bath she had in ages, massaging the tenses of her back with oils and lotions. Drying off was accompanied by another set of lathering, her body shimmering by the end of the process and cleanly shaven. Her hair had never felt so soft. It was odd, because Kore felt as if she both loved but hated the attention. 

They then sat Kore down at her vanity where they worked her hair slowly while she munched on the most delicious fruits and soft cheeses. Kore had requested that they kept her hair as natural as possible, finding that her instructions were clear enough that the outcome was stunning. The servants had lightly curled her hair, the vibrant curls falling midway down her back in soft beach waves that flew with the wind. They had even worked a heavy braid of woven gold to the side, fading with the red landscape. 

Makeup was a pleasant experience, Kore making light conversation with the girls while they applied shining lip gloss to her plump lips and powdered her eyelids with an iridescent rose gold combined with a twinge of black. Kore was stunning in the softest definition. 

When the process came to get dressed, Kore was surprised to find the girls had already chosen a fitful dress to wear to the presentation. And because of her nature of simply rolling with instruction, Kore plastered a smile on her face and nodded. Little did she know the gown was all she could envision and more. 

Her eyes lit up when she had put on the mermaid ball gown that hugged her form, the ends falling to the ground like a glimmering waterfall behind her. The dress was gold and embroidered with swirls the color of sunshine. The neckline was heart shaped, exposing a small amount of her breast in an elegant swoop. Looking into the mirror, Persephone didn't feel like the small teenager she had been hours ago...but instead a woman. A goddess. 

The Goddess of Spring. 

"You don't like it, miss?" One of the handmaids stepped forward in question, picking her nails nervously as she watched Persephone's face crumble. "Oh, you don't like it!"

"No!" Persephone stepped forward, the click of golden heels against the floor assuring the girl otherwise. "It's just...I feel different. I feel beautiful." Her voice broke as a singular tear rushed down her face. Gods, she was an emotional wreck. "I'm sorry, I'm just happy."

The three handmaids smiled proudly amongst themselves, one going to gently dab at Persephone's tears. It was clear that translating these things wasn't her strongest pursuit, and luckily enough the girls didn't push. 

"Never apologize for feeling happiness." The tiny brunette handmaid smiled, and Persephone smiled warmly back. 

There was a pang of hurt in her heart. At the realization that her upbringing could of unfolded so much differently if she had been by both her father and Mother. Yet the guilt settled again, reminding her deeply of her mother's love. 

"Your father would like to see you before your presentation, my lady. He requests your presence in his parlor a floor down. Now would be preferable, sense you now have half an hour to burn." The revelation from the handmaid brought Persephone back from her dream world in full force.

Anxiety pooled deep in her gut, a sick feeling contorting in the inner depths of her stomach. Of course she wanted so desperately to meet Zeus, but alone? Without Mother? Without anybody at all? Her heart was thundering at the speed she wished she could allow her legs to run now. She swallowed back the lump in her throat, her body already trembling. The palace was so big compared to her, all sense of confidence rushing from her body and feeding into those intruding thoughts taking hold of her mind. 

"Oh. Uhm, of course. Yes. You said the parlor a floor down?" She meekly let out, clearing her throat as if it would magically fix her tone. 

If the girl could sense her discomfort, she showed no sign of it - only nodding. Persephone seeked some reconciliation from that. 

"Are you in need of an escort? I can help you." She was too nice. Too nice that Persephone felt horrible letting her down, needing to run from this place at full speed alone. 

"I'm very thankful for the offer, but I'm just going to do this alone. Thank you so much for helping me." She pushed as much genuineness into her tone as possible, trying to overpower the shakiness. 

The handmaids nodded and uttered their responses, leading Persephone to the door. Once the shining lights of the hallway shone over the goddess and the click of the door signaled her lonesome, ease took hold of the eighteen year old as she slowly began descending down the hallway, scenarios filling her mind. 

She tried to coax herself with thoughts of home and Mother's laughter, but the pressure on Persephone's body threatened to overtake her vision for his afternoon. You're a mess. Persephone shook her head, pushing down the tears. She needed to do this. She needed to find her place in this world. Alone. 

Immortality spent in comfort was no adventure at all. She didn't get out of bed to sulk and to spur. She got out of bed and recovered to taste the colors of life and run to freedom. She-

Every thought was interrupted as she slammed into what felt to be a hard body, the world colored into various shades of confusion as she gasped, falling back, nearly falling to the hard tiles of the hallways until a large hard overtook her bare arm - pulling her closer to the ghost of a chest. She heard soft panting, felt the whisper of a breath against her forehead in a sensual tug. The embrace...the way she was being held...it triggered every piece of intimacy in her heart. Even the speed of a thundering heart against her own, her body so close to another that the years of being alone had vanquished in this moment. She felt...alive.

Only to look around and see nothing. Nothing despite definitely feeling something. She felt the warmth of someone against her skin...holding her.

Was she going mad? Was she seriously being held by the air or was this all some cruel joke?

Persephone seriously considered turning back to her room and slapping herself, until there was a small rustle of movement against her and suddenly a man's body appeared out of thin air, an arm corded of pure muscle holding her tightly to him, ebony hair falling to his thick brows. Was that...a helmet he held in his other hand? She ignored it all, too distracted to even care. Her eyes wondered and wondered, devouring the sight of them as he held her eyes with an intensity that made her kneecaps melt to jelly. Heat bloomed all over, spreading like wildfire. Fates, she would risk the burn. His cheekbones were sharp enough to cut knives, his jaw edged beautifully with black stubble. 

Persephone could sense his power enveloping her, the essence of it thruming thickly in the air around her, mixing with her light to form something new entirely. 

He was easily towering over her yet their faces were so close that his forehead almost intermingled with hers. The world was frozen, and nothing made sense but also made sense all at once. His arm was still holding her tightly and she found in his touch that she wanted to whisper his name - the name she did not know - and see him laugh until the end of her days. 

Her eyes followed the map of his face to see his thin lips, breathing deeply at the thought of what would happen if they touched her. She was going to drown...

It was so powerful and so right and burning so deeply into the pits of her stomach. These emotions, this feeling...gods what were they? Was there even a label for something so becoming?

But his eyes...his eyes were the most striking blue that she had ever seen in her lifetime. Even with the limited sights locked in her memory, she knew that even Poseidon's most beautiful oceans couldn't even compare to the color. Her father's lightning wasn't even comparable to his electric gaze. 

He was the beautiful thing she had ever seen. In fact Persephone even believed that he would always be the most beautiful man she would ever see. He was beautiful in ways that broke her heart and pieced it back together again all at once.

Her heart was going to explode. Or implode. It could go either way and she would be thankful for at least seeing him.

"Hi." She whispered, all the anxiety that was in her gut previously whisked away, but her tone of voice was still softer than velvet. Her mouth was moving against every intention. 

And yet he still held her. Why didn't she want him to let her go?

"Hello, I'm so sorry." His voice was husky, deep and bleeding with sincerity. Persephone nearly kneeled for him just for the sound.

"For what?" She whispered back, their mouths so close but galaxies apart. 

Then he laughed. And Fates had she ever heard something so melodic. Their foreheads touched for seconds and contact had never felt so right. 

"Well, I should of moved out of the way." There was mischief in his tone. Not the type that was meant to hurt, but the type that was playful. 

Even more confusion took hold of her, her brow rising. Then she remembered the invisibility and ached to ask every question under the sun. 

Finally, as if the spell has broken but was still being held by a string of hope, they broke apart, the man clearing his throat as he stepped back and ran a hand through his dark locks. Everything about him was mysterious. Persephone shyly smoothed a wrinkle out from her dress.

"Oh yes, for making me question reality itself? I'm not joking I seriously considered slapping myself." They both laughed quietly, the man's eyes brightening at her giggles.

"Well I'm glad I gave you some level of entertainment, this helmet can be useful after all." 

She had, too. Every speck of anxiety had disappeared from her body, as if only he could evoke such a reaction. She nodded, looking to the white tiles reflecting her smile.

Then a comforting silence fell between them, one Persephone truly confined homage in, but was soon broken by his voice. 

"Well I suppose I should get going. I wish you the best afternoon." When he bowed - only for her - it made her heart stutter. Something about the interaction made her feel special. 

And when they went in opposite directions, when they broke apart and she could hear the echo of his footsteps going the other direction, she swore her heart stopped in fear out of never seeing him again. 

She turned around, throwing shame to the wind. Today was the day to dare. 

He was feet away when called out to him, her voice turning him around.

"Will I ever see you again?" It was a question only the Fates could answer, but she still needed this last response. 

A smirk pulled at his features, the world becoming whole again. 

"Only time will tell. After all, I can imagine we're here for the same reasons?" She nodded, watching as he walked forward. 

And maybe in her heart she wished and wished for it, but she knew that her forward was walking backward, in the opposite direction. 

But duty was what made her go onward. 

HADES WASN'T VERY SURE WHY he repelled against being seen in Zeus's home before the ceremony, but leaving the Hymn on and becoming a ghost amoung the Olympians was almost...relaxing. It wasn't as if he was doing it with malicious intent, but to instead avoid all the unnecessary commotion and find peace in the beginning of his (forced) three days of what Thanatos's described as a "vacation."

~

Persephone knew she was not alone when she reached her father's towering parlor, heart still recovering from the greeting with the stranger minutes ago. 

There was a power in the room that was intangible, every single thing Persephone thought she understood being tested. 

She was almost afraid to say the wrong thing and the conversation hasn't even began yet. Her sisters had expressed very different opinions on their father to Persephone for years - Athena being his obvious favorite while Artemis simply viewed him as a pig. And of course Mother never truly had the greatest expression of him...after all he was seemingly the hatred that burned her heart. But Persephone never allowed her view of Zeus to be skewed by the opinions of others. She was too kind-hearted for that, dreaming too hard of this moment for years. 

"Zeus?" She softly called, eyeing the pieces of the parlor with curiosity. Paintings full of life hung across the mint-green walls, telling ancient tales that Kore could both identify and not identify. The stories she wasn't here for. The room was littered with couches and seats, instruments and bookshelves. Even weaponry of the highest order hung in specific sections of the room. More personality then she had expected. 

But when a slim figure emerged from the balcony outdoors, Persephone's throat went bone-dry. The blood in her face rushed to her cheeks, her body going stiff. 

The woman was standing proudly in front of her, every inch a queen with a look of indifference on her beautified face. Her hair was pinned into a curly ponytail of dark brown, capturing the sunlight with ease. Her eyes were a dark brown, almost black and staring unrelentlessly into Persephone's eyes. Although already tall, she wore black heels that were built for a ruler. Even the crown atop her head confirmed that suspicion. 

But Persephone didn't need clarification to know who the woman was. Her wits already provided an answer. 

For she stood in front of Queen Hera in the flesh, Goddess of Marriage, her aunt and her step-mother. 

Persephone almost wished she could magically disintegrate into the air, because the way Hera held eye contact with her was...degrading. She was so intimidating that it hurt. It didn't even compare to her meeting with Aphrodite that morning. Hera knew she owned this palace as much as Persephone knew she was visiting. 

She loathed the silence and the growing awkwardness eating her alive by the minute. But what could she say? Judging upon the history Demeter and Hera had, any word could push the poor woman over the edge. 

"He just ran out to get me some water, child. He'll be back any moment." Hera stated, crossing her forearms over her chest. 

Persephone unfurled her hands, placing them behind her back and nodding silently. 

Then when the quiet settled again, Persephone wasn't sure if she was thankful when she opened her mouth or loathed it. 

"I'm sorry." She blurted out of the blue, Hera's surprise flashing across her face so quickly that Persephone nearly missed it. "I am so sorry for the damage I must of costed you." 

More quiet - more of the gods damned silence. It slithered amoung her bones, Persephone avoiding Hera's gaze as she looked down. 

There was a rustle of movement. Hera sat down on one of the many loveseats, waving a hand to the one adjacent to her. 

"Please, sit."

"Oh, I am completely fine-"

"Sit." This time her tone was assertive, not even asking. 

Persephone quickly shuffled to the loveseat in front of the ancient goddess, playing with her bronze nails. Already much of the nail polish was chipped. 

"I don't wish for you to apologize for something that was out of your control, Persephone. My husband and sister are the only ones to blame. Eighteen years and I still haven't received a formal apology from your mother. You have no duty of carrying out somebody else's mistakes."

The Goddess of Spring let it sink in, Hera's gaze heavy with something that resembled nurture...but also vulnerability? Persephone found her so impossible to read. 

"Your father is a man who is too prideful to renounce his mistakes. He will ignore until he goes deaf. I have always been confrontational and even cruel in my nature, but I will never size up an innocent woman for another's fault." 

The words kept flowing from her aunt's mouth, words that she knew were sincere. It hit Persephone that perhaps it wasn't through spite that Hera had her intentions...but experience. 

"If you are to take anything from me, an old pregnant goddess," Hera paused to let the shock register on Persephone's face. Brown eyes wondered down to see Hera's hand resting upon her abdomen, the bump one that was only noticeable if you were to squint. 

Three years ago when Persephone was only so shy of fifteen, the news had spread from Artemis that the Goddess of Discord had been born. Her name is Eris, and although Persephone was excited by the news, she was also numb to the news of Zeus's many offspring. But she was particularly happy that Zeus and Hera finally produced another heir together, and further proud of her father for not baring another child out of infidelity for the last three years. 

Now she stood in front of her step-mother, another heir blooming in her stomach. 

"Take that I love the five children he has blessed me with. Even when my two eldest make the same mistakes, and that is enough to prove me worthy of compassion. I know motherhood is enough to change any woman, and I understand that Demeter was in distress. She whisked you away and didn't think twice of apologizing. But believe me when I say this: Zeus is elated that you are here. I will not step in and pull some stunt to ruin your relationship with him. It isn't my right." 

There wasn't a hint of anger in her tone, not a crumb of jealousy detected. It was incredible to process her words and feel them, and Persephone knew that her words were genuine. She realized in that quiet that there was a strong possibility that her and Hera could become close if her mother allowed her to. She wouldn't mind developing a friendship with the goddess. In fact she could envision it. 

"Thank you," Persephone replied with a smile. They were two words, but the nod from Hera told her that it was all enough. 

Behind them a door squeaked open, Hera indifferent as Persephone turned to face the ancient entity walking in with a tall glass of crisp water. When the realization dawned on her, the goddess in gold stood up, the anxiety returning as she fought to maintain her grip on her emotions. 

The man that walked in was tall with a muscular build, his dirty blonde hair short and untamed, as if he had been running his hands through his hair the entire evening. His beard was chopped short to fit his face, the suit he wore a navy blue and heavy. His crystallized light blue eyes scanned the room, stopping when he noticed his daughter, the water for his wife forgotten. Persephone caught sight of his features and was quick to notice how his jaw was curved to the equivalent of her own, her own eyes possessing the same twinkle despite the differentiation in eye-color. And when he smiled wide with welcoming, there was no doubting that this man was her father. 

Tears welled in Persephone's eyes, the years of picturing Zeus now all eliminated. 

"Dad?" She whispered, the word alienated on her lips. She felt odd. But the word felt even more fitting in the moment. 

Zeus rushed forward, placing the glass on the table seperating the sofas to step in front of Persephone. 

There was emotion on his face, heavy and real. A hand flew over his mouth as he looked to his daughter with curiosity in his eyes. Something akin to disbelief was alit in his eyes. A tear stained Persephone's cheeks, her throat thick as she clamped her mouth shut even further. She did not want to ruin her makeup but it was almost impossible to fight it. 

"You're so big." He said with a chuckle of disbelief. "And you have my facial structure." Persephone grinned, nodding with a stiffle as she looked to the ground. He had noticed too. 

He moved forward as he extended his arms, and Persephone stiffened whenever his hug enveloped her. She looked to Hera sipping on her water awkwardly, and the Goddess of Marriage nodded at the look of surprise on her step-daughter's face. It wasn't until Persephone allowed herself to find comfort in her father's warmth where her muscles relaxed, her arms going around him as her face fell into his shoulder. 

And then more tears found their way to Zeus's shoulders, and it was then Persephone realized that her father would of been in her life if the damage between him and her mother was resolved. And that alone...broke her heart further. 

"I'm so sorry, daughter." One of his large hands gently raked through her fiery curls. 

The words were unspoken between them, but they hung in the air with a weight of a thousand worlds. She didn't have to ask what he was apologizing for to know. 

"It's okay." She whispered quietly back, feeling so terrible for letting the tears fall for mourning the childhood she never had. Not when her mother was somewhere in this castle missing her. "I forgive you."

She prayed to the Fates that her mother would somehow forgive her if news spread that she uttered those words.

~

The ballroom of Zeus's home was the largest room in the palace, so large that the setup was much more extravagant than Hades had expected to see. Only himself, the twelve major Olympians and selective few minor gods and goddesses were invited to Persephone's ceremony so he found the seating arrangements to be very coordinated. 

Despite the round tables spread all throughout the room (minor gods already took their seats in those tables), the long and infamous cherrywood dining table was at the end of the ballroom, fourteen chairs aligned in a perfectly straight line. It would appear that his sister-in-law of sixteen years had found her spot at the table, Amphitrite glowering at the laugh Poseidon unleashed beside her.

Love-sick fools. Then again it would be hypocritical of Hades to think that after meeting his redhead that afternoon. 

The Sea God and Goddess surprisingly hadn't blessed him with any nieces and or nephews yet, seemingly happy in their marriage. Hades was happy for the both of them for finding peace in a family that thrived in the toxic conditions that it has for ages.

In the middle of the room, where the most space possible was available, a large rug of pure gold sat - clearly the spot where his niece would provide them with what he could only hope was a pleasant presentation. He almost pitied the girl for her parentage. He could only pray she wasn't traumatized. 

Making his way over to his seat between Zeus and Hera, he let his presence be known through the misted shadows that rippled off his body, Zeus's eyes meeting his brother's. He looked happier than he had even seen him, as if some event transformed his entire view of the world. 

That can't be good, Hades thought to himself silently, flicking a finger to glamor the Hymn of Invisibility's size to a simple lapel that he threw into the pocket of his dress pants. Usually he wouldn't go such lengths for efficiency, but unlike the rest of his family he has manners and knew how to use them. 

"You look bored, brother." Zeus commented from his right, the comment light-hearted. 

"And you look happy. Who the hell are you and where is Zeus?"

Hera snorted into her glass of...nectar? Which Hades found interesting. These family functions detailed bottles of wine for her alone. 

"It is my daughter's birthday. I'm just excited to see what the Spring Goddess can do." Fair enough. 

Hades's gaze strayed to a couple of seats away, his eyes landing on Demeter. She seemed to be in conversation with Hestia, although her eyes were distanced and she was entirely disengaged with their sister. He could tell just from one look that she was rotting in this place. Clearly all the memory was doing terrible by her. He almost...pitied her. 

Monitoring the remainder of the room, Hades felt disappointment drop into the pits of his stomach when he saw no trace of the woman from an hour before, completely ignoring whatever it was that Zeus was saying in his ear. Flashes of her face and soft skin possessed his mind, and he only snapped out of the daydream when Zeus clapped, the sound echoing throughout the grand room. 

"It would seem that we find ourselves here once again." 

Somehow.

Zeus began one of his many speeches, causing Hades to huff and grab his glass of wine early, downing it with such speed that even Thanatos would be proud. Disbelief flashed across his features as he assessed the glass, realizing just how little his brother had given him. How did the wine always run out so fast?

When Hera bumped him on the shoulder with a bottle of wine, he gave her a look like he would kiss the very ground she walked on. 

"Eighteen years ago, we all blessed me and Demeter's daughter with gifts that has carried her down a road of success. Today she proves to us that she is fit of claiming her title as the Goddess of Spring and Flowers." Even Demeter glowered, clapping along with her family, pride illuminating her blue orbs.

"I now welcome you our Spring Princess: Persephone!" The audience clapped respectively, turning to the the grand double doors on the other side of the room. 

And when those doors opened while the clock stroke six, Hades's heart stopped at the vision that opened those doors. His cheeks burned, the entire room swirling as his mind sputtered. It all made sense now. The power he felt when he touched her, the way she shone even in the darkness.

Because she was standing there. His autumnal queen who was truly the flower princess, shining in gold and chocolate eyes alight with determination like she was going to wreck power amoung the room.

She was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, the child of thunder and spring. She wasn't simply a mortal woman - she was a driving force. 

The God of the Underworld had fallen in love with the Goddess of Spring. 

~

Persephone had never felt such anxiety in her eighteen years than she had when standing outside those ballroom doors, the loud chatter of the occupants inside doing no justice to her twisted stomach. Thoughts raced in her mind as her father announced her, each word coming closer and closer to her Claim. She daydreamt of scenarios both good and bad, most resulting in the bad. Yet everything boiled down to two situations that would impact her in ways that would change her entire world. She could run away and cause breakage to her title, or she could go into that room and show the gods of Olympus who she truly was. 

"...Goddess of Spring and Flowers." She could feel each tick of the clock slithering amoung her bones, taunting her. There was once a time Persephone wished for nothing more than the clock to speed, but right now she wished everything would just stop. 

Bile rose in her throat, nausea washing over her in rippling waves. Her body was becoming overwhelmed, and yet another scenario populated in her head at the disappointment that would overtake her mother if she was to see her now - shaking in cowardice. Anxiety ate away at her gut, pressure on her mind sparking every bit of the hidden power inside of her. 

She was going to explode. She was going to corrupt into a hurricane that would evolve into the most crushing tsunami - until every single wave seeked it's destruction on this castle. Persephone's breaths were rushed and cramped together, the air in her lungs so restricted that she gripped her midsection. Gods why did it feel like she was going to die? Die or combust out of losing control, she was horribly sure of. 

But miraculously, it all stopped when a pair of deep blue eyes sprung to her mind. And she just...she stopped.

Two brown eyes fluttered tightly shut, Persephone closing out the earth and all of it's sounds. She drove the pesky thoughts away with every bit of her attention, imagining the sunshine and peaceful things she was attracted to. She focused on one thing: the calm. Not the calm before the angry fury in all of her hurricanes, but just the calm. 

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. She focused on her breathing, the sickness in her stomach slowly vanishing. She would survive, even if it meant pushing through her struggles to cope - she had to. 

Athena's words from that afternoon echoed in her mind, reminding her of who she was. To overcome, you had to try. You had to live. 

"I am in control." Persephone whispered, eyes fluttering open just in time to hear Zeus announce her name, the room erupting in applause. "I am powerful." 

And when she pushed the doors to the grand ballroom open, the lights seemingly shining purely her, she remembered how easily she attracted the light.

Eyes from every corner of the room bore to her, the gazes so intense that scarlet colored Persephone's cheeks instantly, her heart pounding as sweat gathered. I am powerful. I am powerful. I am powerful.

The Goddess of Spring reached for her connection to the world beyond this imperial place, reaching for the flowers and the breeze and the whimpering wind that fueled her bones. Persephone felt the strength of one thousand plants replenish her as peace settled in her stomach, her body steady but aching to unleash her power. If there was anything in this world that she thrived in, anything in this world that she had truly mastered - it was this. Because it was at this moment, in front of all the people she did not know but know at once, that she knew that her home resided with the sun. 

Kore was the sunlight - warm and full of radiance; the picture of life. 

Persephone allowed her eyes to meet her mother's icy blue orbs from far away, the smile that outstretched on Mother's face one that made the girl feel as if she could complete this task with a bang. She felt...acceptance. Pride. 

She ignored the odd tug that pulled her heart in another direction...focused on the awakening bud that possessed her.  

Outstretching both of her arms to her sides, Persephone blasted a pedestal of rosies, lilies and daffodils, the structure was thick and precise that Persephone rose with her flowers. The bud was unblooming, and she felt so very alive. Gasps of amazement filled the void, Persephone avoiding eye contact with the ancient ones in order to suffice. She felt strong, her imagination racing at the new possibilities. 

And then that tug - that tug that was as old and as ancient as the world itself was straining her mind, Persephone struggling to regain control as she built the structure to stand taller. Because of her skill she was able to mask her struggles, mentally pushing back the pressure in order to create. 

Stopping only when she reached halfway to the ceiling, Persephone smiled towards the polished chandeliers, a blast of electrifying purple hitting the skies of the ballroom in order for vines to protrude the what-seemed to be unbreakable palace, even more gasps of excitement fueling the details of the green vine, thick and wrapping gently around Persephone's waist to lift her to the ceilings. The plant was bursting with energy, new in it's creation and loving beside it's creator. 

The show wasn't yet completed, her entire being abuzz as she faced the ceiling towering above the gods and goddesses, the vine secured around her figure. Persephone was absolutely glowing, the gold of her mermaid gown offsetting the sunshine in her skin. A smile lit her face as she reached for the corners of the ceiling, pushing all of her power to create intricate banners of a variety of flowers, the blasting stream of pastel pinks and purples creating lifeful plants that were as beautiful as glimmering jewels. Lavenders, crocuses, larkspurs, daisies, sunflowers - each and every flower you could think of twisting together to form arches of pure beauty, catching Aphrodite's engaged eyes and Zeus's prideful gaze. 

When the banners of flower reached her, she dusted over the finishing touches of her creations, ensuring versatility in the stretch of the roots. This would be the grand finale Persephone had dreamt of, the road of acceptance so close that she could taste it. 

Swinging down the vines in movement of such elegance that even the gods would compare her to an angel, Persephone let the vines guide her to the golden rug in the middle of the floor, the twisting green vines around her waist unfurling as she still held the heavy arches. This was it. She had never attempted to break her flowers, because for some reason that skill was practically irreversible with each attempt, but she pushed all of her might into the action. Planting her heeled feet into the ground and pulling on the arches, she slowly transferred her power to the flowers, mind straining underneath the pressure of that shadowy tug pressing her to look forward, her eyes turning against her will. She grit her teeth, closing those orbs of brown to regain control. The room was a cloud of pink dust, the gods looking around in curiosity as Persephone continued fighting the intruder and still transforming the room until finally -

The arches exploded in her hands, the pink cloud exploding into a flash of pure sunlight, the flowers raining down from the arch that Persephone had just created. Air was knocked from her lungs at the immediate reaction of awes and the screams from the crowd around her, her eyes flying to the table where Demeter sat to see her Mother standing from her seat with a booming prescense, her blue eyes shining bright with tears.. The light in her eyes...the way it shone...made tears well up in Persephone's chocolate brown orbs. 

Several gods and goddesses stood from their seats in applause, the level of respect that Persephone felt in her heart causing her smile to widen. She felt the acceptance in her bones, the same sensation she had pictured for years. 

Except every emotion paused as she faced the Olympians' table, heart skipping several beats as she was met with a pair of familiar deep blue eyes, captivating and strong. Her eyes devoured the god encompassed in shadows, her world colliding with acknowledgement as everything suddenly snapped into place. The man she had met this morning...the man she was so effortlessly affected by...sat from the left of her clapping father. Sandwiched between Zeus and Hera, to he precise. And to the right of Zeus...was Poseidon, God of the Sea - undoubtedly. 

Realization struck her like the most powerful strike of lightning at the entity who looked absolutely bewitched by her act of power.

There was absolutely no questions to gather by his powerful aura - only a blood-stopping confirmation that filled the young woman with a strange surge of new curiosity, like calling to like. 

Persephone was entranced by the God of the Underworld.

Hades.

~

Persephone was in absolute delight. She had never been to such a party before, the food almost as delectable as the recipes Mother cooked at the cottage and Apollo's music so divine that even the stories of his serenity didn't do the sounds justice. And the dancing! The dancing was exquisite, the energy of her after-party unmatched. She had engaged in numerous conversations with numerous goddesses, her particular favorite was getting caught up with her aunt Hestia, who she hadn't seen in years. Demeter seemed to be closest to her from the entirety of the Olympians, the three redheads spending an entire hour in the deepest discussion. 

However there was only one range of disappointment. Well, multiple that Kore would never admit to. Watching the people dance while she stood in the sidelines with Mother was saddening. She wanted to mingle further and explore, ask the gods questions of their origins and adventures. She even wanted to taste a mere drop of Dionysus's most lavish wines, the reputation behind them making the glass her mother held so much more alluring. 

Yet the greatest despair of the night thus far was the way she would stare to the corner of the room, Hades alone saved for the exception of his drink. It was easy to pinpoint when he was looking at her, his eyes devouring her whenever she wasn't looking, so burning that she had to keep the heat threatening to rise in her cheeks at bay. She was still recovering from the discovery, but it didn't affect her interest in him whatsoever. In fact it only rose more questions. Persephone's largest wish of the night was to talk to him. To speak to him for hours about the wars he fought in and if the Underworld was truly night forever. If he was the reason for her name and the details of the shadows surrounding him. She wanted to hear his voice, even if she had seconds. Every single time she did her best to occupy her thoughts away from him, he was right there again mentally - taking everything away in a blissfully annoying manner. 

She had read the books, pictured the scenarios through the eyes of her characters, dreamed and dreamed of remotely coming close to the emotion, and she wondered if this whirlwind of overpowering feeling was what so many described as falling. 

Seven letters that both enticed her but terrified her all the same. Persephone has felt her mother's love since the very moment she was born, so what more could be needed? How much extra would have to be required in a life of fulfilling limitations?

Nothing, the Spring Goddess assured herself in the most selfless lie, nothing at all. 

Yet when she looked in his direction - only at the times where he wasn't looking towards her - butterflies seeked homage inside of her stomach, a blush permanently staining her cheeks. Surely it was not falling, but more so flirting with the idea of being beside him. Was there already such a definition?

"Demeter, it's been decades!" An alienated voice full of power filled the air, Persephone's head turning to meet orbs so dark they were almost liquid coals. However, when the woman's eyes met Persephone's, they swirled with an ancient dark green. The young goddess's interest piqued as the woman winked in her direction, as if they shared a secret. 

The woman that approached her mother wore a daringly short layered toga of midnight black, the gold rims and edges enchanting the stranger's ancient demeanor. If Persephone could ever personify the word magic, she would absolutely draw this woman. Eyes upswept in coal black makeup combined with the defined triangular cupids bow of her lips outlined in pure black gave Persephone the impression that this woman thrived in the dark. Her caramel skin did wonders under the palace's lighting, the glow in her complexion matching beams of sunshine. The woman's glossy black hair was pinned in an elegant updo of a precise braided crown, a diadem sinking into the braids. The diadem was littered with detail: gems of stars, slithering serpents and even fiery torches concealed in the crown. Symbolic of the woman in her nature. 

"Hecate." Mother smiled sweetly, stepping forward to place a respectful kiss on the woman - Hecate's - cheek. The expression on her mother's face was warm and pleased. 

"I came to congratulate your daughter on her talents. It would seem that there is a great deal of power inside of her." Hecate offered Persephone a unique smile, only tailored for her. It made the sunshine in her heart thrive, finally recognition for her hard work paying off. 

Hecate's starful eyes sprung to Persephone's chest, the very core of her being pumping hot blood to her body. Her stare wasn't one that was daring or prerogative - instead analytical and puzzling, as if she could detect the seed of the hurricane underneath, the brewing cluster of angry emotions that could be provoked with the drop of a hat...

"Well, she did have a wonderful mentor! Being her mother and all, I take all of these compliments to heart." Demeter's voice was edged with a tone of drunken playfulness, Mother lifting the plentiful glass of alcohol to her lips.

The color lining Persephone's cheeks was quick to drain, some emotion akin to sadness exposed to her heart. She knew that she had a wonderful mentor, one that goddesses would die for just to get a taste of power. But Persephone wasn't hungry for that explosion of dark magic, only grateful that her gifts could thrive under Mother's watchful eyes. Except none of this would be possible without her effort, Persephone's effort, and knowing that her mother was taking everything so seriously was painful. 

Clearly her face was so easy to read that Hecate's flash of discomfort shone on her lovely face, embarrassment stabbing Persephone in the gut as she swiftly fixed her features. Hecate's eyes met hers in an expression that translated precise understanding. For seconds the women shared something deeper than emotion, only for it to be broken as Demeter spoke. 

"Hecate, I'm feeling rather dizzy. I would like to retire for the night. Persephone, come." Demeter placed the scarlet wine down on the closest table.

Sadness contorted in Persephone's stomach at the quick dismissal, her party still raging although she was about to leave. Damn the Fates above, because Hecate had noticed that, too. 

"Actually Demeter, how about Persephone stays a little longer under my aid? In fact, how about I escort you to your rooms and then come back to watch her?" It was as if Hecate's touch was magic, because the second Hecate placed a caramel hand on Demeter's skin she nodded, eyes opening and closing. 

Victory sprung to the goddess's heart, watching Hecate wink in her direction as she guided her mother towards the exit with two gentle hands.

"Stay safe, my little flower. I love you!" 

"I love you most, Mother!" She called over the music, a smile wider than the moon gracing her beautiful face as the two goddesses disappeared. 

How...had that just happened? She wasn't sure if she should be concerned, happy or even a combination that intermingled both. For the first time in eighteen years she was free to cater to herself and her wishes. It was all so foreign that there was a strange taste on her tongue. Freedom. She could make her own choices, even if it was simply for the night. 

Automatically Persephone knew what she wanted, her chocolate eyes turning to the man so close but so far, noticing his burning gaze alighting her body on fire. Those eyes were gorgeous, prompting her to step forward, daring her. She was so entranced, drowning in those striking blue eyes that the first step she took was instinctive, the second one that was knowledgeable of exactly what she wanted...

All movement had been broken when a small, feminine hand aligned with calluses halted the young woman, the Flower Goddess turning to meet the brown eyes of one of her many half-sisters. Persephone could detect Artemis's demeanor from even miles away, unneeding of even looking at her. Artemis was beautiful in a hardened way, only prompting for her dressing armour that concealed toned muscles and flawless skin. Her ombre blonde hair faded to a dark brown towards the ends, the curls hanging over her shoulders more feminine than she usually settled for. Persephone found the touch refreshing and natural. To Persephone, Artemis looked to be a queen of war. 

"Well there you are! I was looking everywhere for you and Demeter. Where is she anyways?" Her dark brown eyes roamed the radius of the ballroom, Persephone still recovering from her attempt to approach Hades. 

"Uhm well, Mother was feeling tired so she let me rock this one out on my own." A hand combed through fiery red curls, clearing her throat to gather her exterior. 

"That's strange, she never let's you out of her sight." A pair of thick eyebrows shot up, only going down as she shrugged out of indifference. "But anyways, how do you feel? You looked amazing up there." 

Artemis grabbed her sister's hands, providing a dazzling smile to ease the tension. And in a snap, Persephone was back. Back to her sunshine-filled smiles and thankful responses. 

"Oh my gods it was so incredible! I felt...I felt truly in control. As if my grasp on my powers were fully developed. It's so therapeutic, you know? Finally understanding that all the training was for something?" She felt as if she was in the correct headspace, raving about the evening to Artemis. 

Despite her statement being partially a lie.

"Oh I totally do. And it only goes up from here. After the Claim you are more accepted into the importance of Olympian culture. I'm so proud of you." Tears of gratitude welled in the Flower Princess's eyes, Artemis catching a tear duct with a slender finger. She had achieved acceptance. 

"I really need to stop crying." Persephone giggled, sniffling up the liquid, trying to contain herself.

"No, no, no! You deserve it. The title and the ownership. You built a name for yourself." She held her thin shoulders, nodding in promise. "Now, enough with the crying! We've got more people to meet!" 

Persephone giggled as Artemis grabbed her hand, whisking her in the direction of that beautiful music. The tune was more slurred, quick-paced in it's nature and paired wonderfully with the running the two women did to race across the ballroom. The music was getting stronger, bringing color to her eyes. She could feel this music in her bones, the aura possessing her to want to move until her feet gave out. They approached a man of pure golden pair playing a grand piano, his fingers moving with such ease that Persephone pondered if he could play in his sleep. Of course there was a band behind him, the song trailing faster to reach its end of climax. Yet the band was only carrying the undertone while the man produced the most successful equations of the rhythm. 

She breathed in the music, her whole soul becoming. When her eyes fluttered open, she was surprised to find that the man's multi-colored eyes were on her solely, his gaze striking and unrelentless. One orb was colored a solar blue, the other an earthy brown that twinned exactly to Artemis's. His jaw was square; constructed powerfully. The biceps under his dress coat corded with veins as his fingers worked the piano. And his hair, which looked to be woven of pure gold, shone like the brightest of sunlight. To curious bypassers, many would assume that he was playing only for Persephone. 

She supposed he was handsome, at least by the likes of public eyes, but... he was nothing in comparison to Hades. She shyed away from his look, looking to the tiles of hardwood.

When the music ended with a bang of percussions and on-the-dot notes, the audience screamed for his talent, Artemis clapping proudly beside her. Persephone smiled gratefully and offered her own rounds as well.

The man stood tall, turning to the band of nymphs with a nod as they commenced. It was impossible to ignore how the music downgraded in quality. 

"Sister," The man said with a deep voice, hugging Artemis lightly while the surprise settled in Persephone's stomach. When the god turned to her, she felt his gaze inspect her entire body from head to toe, the gaze almost predatory. 

"And other sister," He held out a hand of tanned gold, Persephone taking the polite route and placing her hand in his, an explosion of oddity going off as he bowed down to place his lips upon the top of her hand. Persephone looked around in empty embarrassment, noticing one of the nymphs playing the symbols look at her with twisting green envy.

She was put off by the sudden acquirement of male attention, the subject foreign to her. She knew right off the bat that this man was Apollo, God of the Sun, music, male beauty and twin to Artemis. Apollo was notorious for his acts of romantic endearment, but just like her father and Hades, Persephone was kind enough to ignore the horrific stories she has heard of the god. It wasn't fair to bestow him with negativity when she had just met him.

"Persephone, I would like to introduce you to our brother-" 

"Apollo." Persephone introduced him herself, earning a smirk from the god. 

"Lovely and knowledgeable. Is there anything you can not do, Persephone?" 

She almost laughed. If only he knew. If only he knew how truly sheltered she was, how the only good she could bring this world was flowers. 

"I suppose I can't play the piano at the speed of light like some people." She commented, this time earning a chuckle. 

"Well that just comes simply. After all I'm sure there is another deity on this universe that comes close to my talents." Apollo shrugged off his jacket, making it noticeable at how his muscles unfurled in front of the redhead. She found it...unorganic. strange. As if he was trying to depict something she wasn't interested in. "...not."

"Show-off." Artemis scoffed with a roll of her eyes, playing with one of the daggers aligning her jeweled belt.

"Why have gifts if we won't ever use them? Isn't it fair that they keep the natural order? What is so wrong with being boastful?" 

His questions confused Persephone, clashing with her views. His first two rhetorics made sense to a degree, but the third she disagreed with. Becoming boastful out of vanity was what made the gods (or anybody truly), inauthentic. It made a person appear as unappreciative.

She was almost confused with herself when her mouth flew open to oppose.

"Well then the person becomes encompassed in an disgusting ego that nobody wishes to be around, my brother." 

The twins were striken quiet at her words, even the nymphs almost falling out of tune. Apollo's face flashed red, the comment clearly not the thing he wanted to hear from her lips. Persephone felt a wave of heat flush through her face, her apologetic nature taking hold of her once again.

Who had possessed her to say such a thing? How did those words come out of her mouth? It was so unlike her that even Artemis's face revealed that.  

"Oh, I'm so sorry-" 

"No," Apollo said sincerely, stepping forward to offer a dazzling smile as if he wasn't striken with anger moments ago. "Quite honestly I expected that redhead rage to be evoked. My apologies." 

This man came with all kinds of surprises. Maybe...maybe her thoughts were jaded, but Persephone seriously wanted to believe that Apollo's intentions were clear, despite the aura she was receiving. She tried her hardest to focus on the good, the stories of how Apollo was the conqueror of the mighty Python at only his infant stage, saving his mother Leto and twin sister, and also how Artemis described a tale of Apollo's most selfless enactment of granting the heroic Admetus with immortality. 

But yet, a kernel of alert still bloomed inside of her, the bad still threatening the good overlook. 

"I think you'll find that I may be the kindest redhead you'll ever come across in your immortality, Apollo." Persephone promised with a smile of forced endearment to the Sun God. 

Those differently colored eyes held hers with sensitivity that she could only assume was genuine, soothing over the aura of uncertainty. His charisma covered him in the guilt-section, too. Oh he was good. 

Or maybe, Persephone thought to herself, you may be too forgiving. The thought crippled in her heart. 

"I think I would like to understand more of that kindness tomorrow, then. After your luncheon with us Olympians, hm?" 

Persephone had almost forgot about her feast tomorrow, a traditional social event that took the god or goddess a day after the Claim. It was meant to be a date of importance, blooming the relationships of the newly anamed god and the Olympians. 

Of course Mother would be there tomorrow, so possibly she would let her duties as Demeter's daughter get in the way, but her newfound freedom of making her own choices was too unexplored to let down the offer. Mother wouldn't be pleased, but this could strethen the diplomatic ties between Apollo and Demeter...

"You're on then." Persephone said in a meek voice with a soft smile, causing the Sun God's lips to curl upwards. 

The tug enveloping her gut pulled helplessly on her stomach then, the world giving every single alert that her choice felt so much like a mistake.

But Persephone chose to ignore, turning to the table of delicacies as she soothed her growing anxiety. 

~

Hecate never settled for ignorance at an obvious problem, but seeing the daughter of Demeter so openly uncomfortable with her mother made her skin crawl. She always found something so strangely off about Demeter each time she crossed the woman, but only now in Demeter's lengthened motherhood had she noticed the change. It was a change that she had seen widely popular amoung even mortal woman, a problem that Hecate had always been intensely against. It was second nature to give Persephone the much needed independence that she craved, even for the night.

She would fulfill Demeter's wish of watching over the dear girl, but not in an approach that was comparable to a raging babysitter. Although Hecate was comfortable with admitting she could see potential in the new woman, she was also absolutely sure Persephone was alienated to the ill intentions of some gods.

Persephone, the Goddess of Spring, seemed to be controlled. Controlled and too uncomfortable to be comfortable enough to speak about her growing emotions to her own mother. Of course having a positive upbringing through her positive mother made her detached from that situation, but she knew all too well through her destructive father that any parent could risk the downfall of any child.

But yet, Hecate couldn't ignore the reminder of the growing power inside of the sweet girl...even stepping near her screamed to her of the growing magic that could either trigger a new hope for the gods or a new destruction...

WARNING
THE CONTENT OF THIS CHAPTER IS NOT MEANT FOR YOUNGER AUDIENCES
HEAVY DEPICTIONS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE LIES AHEAD
VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED

THE WARMTH OF THE AIR coupled with the shade of the grand gazebo outside was like heaven to Persephone's skin - although the endless sunshine of Helios claimed the earth each and everyday, she found that Mother's pleasantries often made the world so much warmer. Demeter had once told her that running the world was like a system of clockwork. There were many key figures to the monumental place that is earth, figures that were all assigned their jobs and tasks to carry out in order to remain order and peace. If even one deity brought failure to their job, then the moving system would cripple.

And the majority of the moving system sat beyond her, chatting amongst themselves with a twinge of awkwardness that even Persephone herself couldn't ignore. The poor girl had to hold back her cringe each time her mother and father would remotely look at each other, worlds and planets falling in the midst of their wake. And gods, Hera and Mother's interactions were so much harsher! She had to fight the urge to stab herself with the butter knife to end the torture.

So instead she focused on mingling with the deities she could reach. She sat sandwiched between Mother and Hestia, Hestia's warm essence easing her discomfort. Even being around the Goddess of the Hearth brought a sense of peace back that she had lost. Persephone smoothed out the ripples of her warm yellow sun dress, the color blinding against the sun. She opted to wear her hair up today in an elegant ponytail, the style one that she underwore. To Persephone's dismay she wasn't allowed to prode around the grass barefoot, her connection to the world depleted. Around the Olympians she would have to be contained; elegant. And although polite, a part of her wished to roam the enstranged meadows and explore Olympus's woods. Which was only mere yards away.

~

Half an hour brought the death of the luncheon, Persephone feeling somewhat recovered from her mother's hate-filled gaze as she stood up from her seat, the only gods remaining being herself and Apollo.

She tried to push down the never-ending guilt that swallowed her, but it was all such a painful lump in her throat that tears bubbled to her eyes. 

When would the stress stop? When would her mother stop looking to her as such a child? She thought that making the transition from adolescence to adulthood would be so much smoother on both her and her mother, but it all it left in days was a tornado. Persephone loved her mother, with every ounce of love that this world could provide, but there was so much pressure being placed upon her that it was bringing her to the point of fearing the wrong decisions. But how could anything be right...if she couldn't even move a bone without being judged?

"I hate those sad eyes." Apollo approached her, the soft smile on his face encouraging Persephone to place on the mask again, doing her hardest to swallow down the sadness like chucks of glass.

"I'm fine, just..." But she couldn't find the words. Well, she could. Just speaking them would be bringing them into existence. 

"Stressed?" He questioned, his gold hair catching the light. She nodded simply, wondering deeply how he spoke with such humanity. 

"Demeter can be harsh, but Hades can be even harsher. I don't blame her for lashing out at the man." A red brow instantly piqued, another opinion clashing with her own. 

However she wouldn't judge another for their differentiation in views. Again, it would be turning her back on what she believed in. 

"Why do you say that?" She leaned against the table, arms crossed over her chest as she looked to him in puzzlement. 

"I've never agreed with his vibe or even how he views himself. He has always been so cocky, thinking he means more than the rest of us...today confirmed that enough." Entirely ironic coming from him, but Persephone didn't have the energy to debate. 

He outstretched his arm, signaling for their walk to being. Anxiety ate away in Persephone's gut, but she pushed down the emotion, evening out her breathing in able to loop their arms together. A smile warmed his face as he looked to her, something in his eyes glinting with something unidentifiable. It made her feel...disconnected. Off. They moved forward in the direction of the woods, much to Persephone's excitement. Nature. She ached and urged for it all. The towering trees welcomed her with open arms, Persephone's heart soaring as she moved a smidge faster than Apollo. 

"Excited?" He chuckled, their legs off sync with another's, Persephone hauling this muscular god around with speed. 

"I'm the Goddess of Spring, I'm a nerd for these things." She agreed, the barrier of the trees finally broken as they ascended into the wood, the airy glow of the land magical. 

The river bank feet away was almost as clear as the river gracing her cottage, the rainbow fish swimming within it's small ripples reflecting the sun it a beautiful kaleidoscope of color. The trees were abundant with life, different shades of wood accompanied with different color. The  woods was elevated, smooth and bountiful with creatures. The second that they approached the river, Persephone threw her heels off, sinking her legs into the river as she sat at the edge. She felt a crackle of energy replenish her, eyes closing as she connected with the life rooted to the woods. She could hear it all. The bears scouring for berries, jack rabbits scampering over the dirt, ants working together to survive off of the remedies of food. The hurricane, the anxiety and everything in between was put to rest. 

Behind her, Apollo watched the Spring Goddess in her element, leaning against a tree as his eyes devouring the beauty that was in front of him. She looked so innocent, so oblivious to the evil of her surroundings. The hidden measures that truly staked the world to hell. The lace strap of the yellow sundress fell from her shoulder, Apollo's mind plagued with thoughts. Thoughts that were truly dark - dark in a sense that could destroy her heart. 

From behind her, Persephone felt the rustling of footsteps, the warmth of the Sun God pressing against her shoulder as he joined her in her setting. Her chocolate brown eyes, now engulfed in sunlight which made them appear like honeyed amber against glass, skyrocketed open. The goosebumps returned in an instant, body stiffening against the one soft finger that circled intricate patterns into her bare shoulder. Something sick settled into her stomach, bile rising in her throat as that fingernail scraped against her soft skin. It took everything inside of her not to slap away that hand, a kernel of the seed returning to fuel the raging storm. 

"You are so beautiful." He breathed out as that finger turned to a hand that guided down to her arm, falling even more South, further and further down to her small hip...

Persephone shyed away, eyes burning and turning her face away from Apollo. The urge to crawl into a hole and hide away was strong. She yanked up the strap of her dress, the scraping of his fingernail leaving burning trails upon her skin. Was this what a touch from a male was supposed to feel like? Icky and so, so unwanted? Her heart ached, stomach uneasy. It all felt so wrong, and just in minutes Apollo had done something wrong. It brought only more melancholy at the realization of how she had finally found peace in her boiling problems, the growing pain colliding with her calm once again. 

"I want to go back." She shuffled away from him, voice quiet with the pressure of the pipes in her throat. Her heart accelerated, stomach churning as her body screamed for her to run. Right as she was about to arise from her seat, Apollo's hand flew to her cheek, turning her face to stare into those stern eyes. 

The land was no longer colorful. It was grey and scornful, disgusting and murky. In his eyes were demons she knew she would never be able to outrun. 

"I'm so sorry, my lovely flower. It's just that I can not contain myself when I am around you." Her mind screamed out, reaching for something to clutch onto as she fell internally. 

Apollo's eyes searched her face as they went down, down, down to meet the fabric of the dress holding her breasts, tears springing from Persephone's eyes. Please stop, she begged by thought, please, please, please. 

And then his pink lips were on her neck, pressing harsh kisses that burned her throat, his teeth biting at the delicate skin making her yelp. Red exploded in her vision, the world sluring by as the pressure on her chest made her begin to hyperventilate. Realization hit her as something inside her snapped open. Mother was right. Mother was so right. Gods took what they wished for despite your best wishes. All they did was take and take and take. 

And right now, Persephone was going to lose herself. The thought horrified her enough to grip her hands into Apollo's large chest, pushing him forcefully back from her. She stood up quickly, the mud coating her toes from the wet water making every thing so much more uncomforting. She put on the bravest face she could despite the quick rise and fall of her chest, face blooming red at the lack of oxygen. All she could feel was him. She was enveloped in him and she loathed every last piece of it. 

"I said," The tone that took her voice sounded foreign, emotional and full of force. "I said I want to go back. Now." 

But the light in Apollo's eyes were gone, now ignited with such darkness that Persephone took a shaky step back, the power inside of her hindered by the force of his gaze. When Apollo stood up, he trudged over to her so fast that Persephone was backing up step after step, backwards to his forward. His face was emotionless, claiming as if her answer wasn't in his vocabulary. Pain exploded in her vision as her back collided with a tree, hard. Her eyes frantically searched the wood for another way out, breath now impossible to claim as Apollo's hands clutched her shoulders with such tightness that tears instantly sprung to her eyes. 

"We will leave after," He growled out the words, one hand shooting up to her high-rising ponytail to grip the hair there, yanking. Persephone cried out, snot shooting down her face as her panic attack dug an even deeper whole. "I give you what every woman in this world wants." And then his teeth were biting the shell of her ear, so hard she could feel trickles of warm golden ichor slithering down her ear. 

The pressure on her head was starting to grow, harder and harder until she felt her vision coming in and out in flashes of scarlet, everything booming as she felt his hands colliding with the end of the dress. No. No. No. No. 

"No!" She screamed in desperate fury, fighting against him as she yanked her ponytail further, the Flower Princess screaming out as she brought her leg up with all of her considerable, immortal strength and busted Apollo in the lower abdomen. She knew that it hurt him from the way that it hurt her, her knee busting out in fresh ichor as Apollo finally released her from his angry grip. The cry that followed was full of hot, seething anger.

Persephone went running forward, the exit from the woods so far away but so close, multiple parts of her body bloody with ichor, mixing with the sweat of the hot sun above as she gritted her teeth. Apollo screamed out from behind her, the sound bringing such hurt to Persephone that she felt like her heart was bleeding. Somebody help. Please. Please. The tug in her soul was taunt, heavy in her heart. 

She was getting closer, the loud rustling of leaves behind her a trigger of just how close Apollo was coming. Her legs were long, but his were stronger, faster, trained in wars and raged from battle. Persephone was looking so far ahead that she forgot to focus on the ground in front of her, the sharp rock that penetrated through her delicate skin making the entirety of her leg explode in pain. Persephone yelled out of pure heartbreak as her body harshly collided with the hard ground then, the ringing in her ears as her head slammed to the grounds of the forest echoing. Something twisted in her leg, the bone within it cracking. Although immortal, it didn't shield her away from the pains of mortality, the healing process wouldn't begin for minutes. 

Darkness settled beyond her eyelids, thoughts running rampid. She had to get up. She had to survive. But her whole body was so, so fatigued, hating the difference of the mind and the body. Never in her wildest dreams - not even in the nightmares that possessed her in terror - did she imagine herself in this scenario. Clawing out for dear life against the god that she wrongfully trusted. If she lived to get out, at least with the remaining dignity that sat amongst her broken heart, she would never trust another person out of stupidity again. 

"There you are." A voice that was comparable to a predator stalking up to it's prey sounded, Apollo's tone full of victory. "I'm going to destroy your light you stupid bitch, and you will enjoy it." 

Her eyes crackled open, the effort nearly knocking her out. "No," she cried out, tears flying down her cheeks. "Apollo, please I'm so sorry, please!" 

MOTHER. Her thoughts screamed, trying to kick her legs but the newfound pain still overtook her bones. The shadows inside of her were spreading, more and more and more forming from the heart of that string. SOMEBODY. PLEASE.

But to her utmost terror, she felt her dress ripping, a new breeze warming her upper thighs. The demon was so close to her, over her as the power in his eyes was dripping with dark- hunger. That gold hair was blinding her, the power in her veins growing as it thrummed. 

"Give it up already!" Apollo gritted through his teeth, ignoring Persephone's whimpers.

And when his hand found the cloth of her underwear, the only barrier between him and everything she had left, something inside of her snapped. 

Persephone's body and mind exploded in a collision of ancient buildup, her hand shooting up to meet his muscled chest in a seamless flow of electrifying, dark purple. Relentless, raw power. And the power was branding his chest, Apollo screaming as the fire seered through his clothes, blackness forming over his skin. That blackness...resembled wilted flowers. Only whenever Persephone could not physically hold herself up was when her arm fell, a whimper breaking through her lips as she felt ichor trickling down her nose. She was exhausting her newfound gift. When her body hit the ground as she grunted, everything inside of her shook with surprise as the Sun God flew against another tree with a grunt of pain. 

This time, that wasn't from her. She had been so distracted that she didn't need to sit up to understand who the figure behind her was, the crackling shadows that ricocheted to meet Apollo's body full of fury. It was ancient. The magic in his power was angry, shaking the entirety of the universe. It was all for her. 

Feet away, standing to shield the sun with his body outlined by golden light, his eyes enveloped of swirling shadow so dark that even Tarturus itself would quake in fear, stood the King of the Underworld. His muscled arms were shot up, pushing streams of shadow to hit the Sun God straight in the chest - over and over again as if fury itself was taking power over his body. Persephone could feel his answer, her heart screaming. 

"You will never," Hades's voice was so cold that Persephone flinched from the ground, watching as Death - beautiful, beautiful Death who was an angel encompassed in nightmares shot another surge of shadowed power to Apollo, golden ichor shooting from the corner of the god's mouth. 

"Ever," A punch straight to the skull, sounding a crack that shuttered in the warm air. Apollo took the hit, eyes bruised to every end and hooded at his uncle's anger.

"Hurt her or touch her again. If you so much as look at her I will have you rot in Tarturus." Hades's hand was wrapped around Apollo's throat, Persephone's sobs still ongoing into hiccups. Silence followed and Hades's grip fell even tighter. "Do you fucking understand me, you piece of shit?" 

She couldn't tear her eyes away from him. She wasn't afraid of him, wasn't horrified in any sense of the word. She was almost mesmerized the length that Hades went to for her protection. If she could feel anything other than burning, overpowering pain, she would fall to her knees and thank him.

Except the tethered ribbons of his soul, outshining every edge and glow of the flowers she once reveled in - was broken. 

"Yes, your Majesty." Apollo spit iridescent blood to the boots of Hades's feet, the ferocity simmering in Hades's swirling black orbs fading back to their striking blue. The disrespect didn't go unnoticed, Hades's foot coming out to press on the leg of Apollo's body with smashable force. Apollo grunted, face contorted in endless hurt, mouth streaming ancient curses that branded Persephone's memory.

"Get the hell out of my sight." Hades said with such carelessness that even Persephone felt Apollo flench. Hades turned his back on the Sun God, an explosion of sunlight flickering from the snap of Apollo's fingers as he faded into the air. 

And that silence, that silence that followed was crushing. The weight of her tears rippling, the memory of his face causing such intense anguish even seconds later that Persephone howled in pain - calling for the relief that wouldn't reach her. She didn't cry for her wounds, she didn't call for a victory of survival when clearly her mind hadn't survived - she cried because the rest of her immortal life would never be the same. Because he would haunt her every dream, transforming it into a pile of rot that would never be escapable. Persephone mourned and mourned and mourned in her tears, her cries the equivalent to a blade piercing through the heart of an innocent animal: undeserving, destructive and utterly heartbroken.

Then the God of the Underworld was running to her, her vision so blurred but only clear enough to see the expression of pain that enveloped his face, as if her agony tormented him to death. Hades ran to her, falling to his feet and sweeping her to his chest, arms gently rounding around her body as the blood of her wounds soaked into his elegant clothing. He didn't even look at her exposed abdomen, the underwear there tattered with dirt and ancient musk. It was only instinct that her face found his shoulder, fingernails biting into his strong shoulders as she screamed broken dreams. 

"He hurt me." It began as a whisper, so blatant and so obvious, that it carried to possess volumes like the crushing waves that drowned her. "He hurt me! He hurt me, oh my Gods he hurt me. I, I- I can't. I can't breathe, I can't breathe, I can't breathe."

She loathed it. The weight on her chest, every last drop of blood that he induced colliding with her senses of feeling. And the dress...tattered...she wanted to burn it. Burn it and watch the fire rage only to join the fabric. 

Persephone hadn't realized it, but Hades was rocking her in his lap, the action soothing. He held her so tightly that letting go was never an option to go to. His hands ran through her hair, his hardened face resting against her head. She felt the uplift of her ponytail crumble, the holder gone. 

"I'm so sorry." And the three words were drawn out, his tone genuine with every bit of hidden meaning...her heart breaking even further as she realized how deeply he blamed himself. "Sweetheart, look at me. Look. Breathe for me."

And his hands were moving to scramble her face away from his shoulder, mascara running to form black pitiful lines that streaked her face, the rise and fall of her chest rampid. His eyes roamed to her neck all the way up to her ear, where the wounds were already starting to close as skin reformed. Yet the anger...the undying anger...was impossible to miss. It depleted in seconds, his face written in pain. His hands rose to hold either sides of her face, wiping tears and looking so deeply into her eyes that she wondered if he could see her shattered soul. 

"He...he broke me..." The whisper burned her tongue, coming out in harsh, painful sobs. "Take it away, make it stop." And when she begged to him, when she wished to feel nothing it all, to be numb to the pain...she meant every word. Hades shook his head, his eyes glassed over. "Why? What did I do to deserve this?" Her breaths were shudders that overtook her entire body, her hyperventilation causing buildup in her throat; choking.

"Persephone," He whispered against her hair, voice breaking. "Breathe with me." And he held on to her, never letting go, training his breath. 

Inhale.

One inhale for the explosion. For the chest that she had branded in wilted black flesh.

Exhale. 

The first exhale for never being the same again. 

In. 

Another breath for the corruption that she now understood, every word her mother ever spoke running through her mind. 

Out. 

Her breath released for the words she spoke to him...wishing with every fibre of her being to take it all back. 

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

When their breaths were in sync, and Helios's vision in the sky settled halfway on the horizon, Persephone was numbed, the tears depleted. Her energy was gone, face void of any emotion. Her head rested on Hades's shoulder helplessly, listening to the song that was his heart. It was the only thing - the one thing - that could keep her awake. That could keep her from exploding again. And the only thoughts she had - the only thoughts that plagued her, were thoughts of golden hair and the bite of teeth that produced blood. A sensation of a finger reaching for her thigh...the skin there would never be the same again.

Inhale. 

Exhale.

Two breaths for the death of Persephone's heart, the broken shatters living in shadow.

~

It was only after an hour had passed of constant fear of confrontation to her mother that Persephone had accepted the inevitable fate of going back to her mother's quarters, holding Hades's robes over her body with a grip that caused blood to rush to her fingers. She couldn't move, couldn't speak save for the times she begged Hades not to leave her (his response was always I will never leave you), and could not stop reliving. Hades had transported them to the alabaster doorstep of the Goddess of Harvest's room, Persephone gripping onto a singular one of his fingers. Standing next to him...it was enough. She stared at the door, her gaze glued to it. Knocking on it felt like it would suck every ounce of remaining energy from her. 

In these inexcusable ten minutes she hadn't thought once of how she would break this to her. How she would even remotely explain such trauma...such tragedy. Because Persephone knew that if she opened her lips and brought the story to live in existence forever...she would be locked away again, forced to never move from her mother's sight. 

"You don't have to do this now." Hades breathed into her ear, his voice calming her nerves for seconds.

"If I don't," Persephone breathed, eyes never leaving the door, "then I will never forgive myself." 

Not that the scars of forgiveness were there whatsoever on her mind, but she believed her mother would listen.

Then why was she waiting? Why was she so terribly afraid? Why did she feel as if she was going to vomit her guts out at any pressing moment? She felt...she felt so powerless.

"Persephone." He addressed her, her eyes leaving the door to stare into his striking eyes. "It will never be your fault. Never." He gripped her hand, the action giving her a flicker of hope. "You aren't just some tiny Flower Goddess...you are a wolf. A survivor. A conqueror."

But she couldn't believe his words, no matter how much she loved hearing them, because her heart was bleeding out. The nod she offered was all she had left.

"You should go." She whispered, her eyes greeting his once. And in that gaze, in the gaze where she held the tears to realize that the God of the Underworld wasn't the man that the Olympians painted him to be, she wished so desperately he would never let go.

And when he nodded with every lick of understanding, when he let go of her hand to let the cold greet her empty palm - she felt the shadows tugging at her heart once again. It was only when she looked to the door as if it would dissappear and back to the spot he once stood where Persephone knew he had used his helmet, the ghost of his body still so near her. Invisible. Gone.

Never go. I can't...I can't bare it. The words were best left unspoken.

But reality snapped back as the door opened, revealing the blank stare of her mother. Persephone's mind quarrled, her mother's face inspecting the tattered red hair invaded by dirt on her head, the swollen chocolate eyes of her daughter causing Demeter's hands to fly to her mouth. Her mother's face crumbled - and that was enough to unleash the monster of emotion in Persephone's soul. 

"Mother..." She whispered, getting drawn in so quickly by her mother's hug that it was crushing...her breath slow. 

She hadn't even realized she was standing inside of the room before she heard the click of the door behind her, Demeter's hands holding her face as she looked to her daughter in utter hurt. She knew. She knew and she didn't even have to say anything. And the anguish that contorted her face...it was all so much that Persephone had to look away, as if processing the possibilities was murdering her mother. 

"Kore..." Persephone hadn't realized just how much she loathed the name until her mother spoke it then. How could such a monster be called something so innocent?

"Oh my gods, oh my gods my daughter..." And her hug was enveloping her again, the world crumbling as tears silently cascaded down Persephone's face. There weren't words to speak in this moment, where the silence spoke volumes and reopened each wound. 

But when Demeter's hands reached the robe, the material velvety and smelling of her brother...her hand paused, face turning blank as she moved away from Persephone. Confusion possessed the Goddess of Spring at the level of hatred that became Demeter. 

"It was him," Demeter spat. "That bastard took you away to get back at me, he will pay." 

And when realization stuck her like a sword, Demeter marching towards the door as Persephone reached for her arm with the speed of light, gripping onto her mother's hand to stop the woman in her cold footsteps. 

"No it wasn't! Mother it wasn't my uncle I promise!" Demeter turned, that hot fury making Persephone's throat run dry. 

"Then who? Who the hell has done such a thing?" Silence. Silence because speaking the name would kill her.

When Persephone stood with her arms enveloped around herself, Demeter shook her head, walking briskly to the other side of the room. She could feel the radiation of pure revenge, everything coming toppling down as Persephone struggled to even move a bone. 

"I told you." A drawer opened only to be slammed shut later. "I told you that the gods took whatever the hell they wanted. Now you won't even give me the name of the son of the bitch." Demeter passed her, moving to the bed to throw whatever piece of clothing she held tightly in a bag. 

"Mother, I can't-"

"Can't my ass!" Persephone concealed her whimper, the shock like a slap to the face. "We are going home. We are going home and you will never step a foot away from me again." 

It was like a chain reaction. The words, the intimidation, the exhaustion hit her all at once. Persephone's face dropped, tears running hotly down her cheeks. She couldn't go back. She couldn't. Because as much as she dreamed of being in the darkness to sleep...she couldn't do it in the meadows. Not where contact was already so restricted...not when translating her emotions was already so impossible. 

"No." And the word - out in the open and hitting Demeter like a bullet, caused the Goddess of Harvest to be striken with emotions that came and went too fast for Persephone to read. 

"No?" Anger. Pain. Confusion. "You do not tell me no! I am your mother. I am your mother and we are going back to the cottage." 

The shadows were gathering. The external ghosts begging to be unleashed, her power building again. And Persephone feared it, wanting to scream. She wasn't listening to her. For once in her damn eighteen years she couldn't even take a word from her. Especially now...especially when this was tossing her in such pain that life no longer mattered.

"No, Mother! No because I can't mentally take any of this anymore!" Her hands were trembling, Persephone speaking through her chattering teeth. "I can't take seeing one person every five months. I can't take the disappointment I get whenever I speak to you. I am eighteen years old and I can not recall a memory where you really considered what I wanted!" The shock and the outright hurt that crossed her mother's face...it crushed her. Crushed her so much that it only contributed to the growing hurricane. She felt like an untamable beast, about to strike. "I am so sick of holding everything I have inside of me in until I can't take the pressure anymore! Mother I am eighteen years old and I am withering away!" 

Persephone sunk to her feet, the sobs that shook her body catastrophic. She gripped her head, the migraine blocking her vision in a flash of light and dark. She couldn't look at Demeter...she couldn't...

"How can you say this to me? How can you be so selfish? I have given every single thing I've ever had up to provide for you. To love you. And you can't be grateful just because you are emotional?"  

"Mother!" Persephone screamed, face shooting up to see the anger on her mother's face. "I am not emotional! I am hurt. I am unhappy! I am hurting and you can't even listen to me!" She couldn't breathe. Gods her eyes ached. Her body was trembling...she wanted to die. 

"You are lying." 

Demeter's words were stabbing her, rifting her. She was drowning, the sounds becoming louder, the visions more prominent. His hands, his hands reaching for her thigh...

"I am not! Mother please listen to me, I need you to listen! I am so in pain. I am..." A shuddering sob. "I am broken. I can't I am so exhausted."

"No. Get the hell up, Persephone. We are going home." And when Demeter moved close to her, Persephone rose, backing up steps. She needed to get away. She had to before she hurt anybody else.

He was closing in on her. The tree...it was so close -

"Mother, please! I don't want to hurt you! I CAN'T!" 

"Stop! Mother I-" 

And when Demeter's hand landed on her arm, her body shook, her throat screaming pure torment as dark purple light flew from Persephone's body in a blinding sensation that overtook every last surge of energy - depleting her and wrecking it's ruin. The room shook in eruption, her hurricane an earthquake of destruction.

Demeter flew back, the world turning into darkness as Persephone crumbled to her feet in agony, golden blood surging down her nose as the combustion settled. She heard her mother falling to the ground with a powerless thud, her entire body colliding with the floor. 

Her thoughts were swirling helplessly, her guilt hitting her tenfold. Mother, Mother, Mother. Gods what had she done? Why did she hurt? The aftershocks still fought to bring dominance over her character, the tiny tremble of her bones causing her to fall face-first to the ground, the small amount of pain indescribable coupled with the piling torture of her explosion.

The fall brought feeling of every last sensation to the tee. Her mouth was dry and full of ichor, the taste nauseating yet not enough to make her rise. Tears still streamed down her cheeks as they played Persephone's tale of woe. And her mind...her mind had battled so much today that it was burning. The ache of her bones had returned, the taunt limbs screaming out of sheer agony. She had crossed the line of tiredness to exhaustion, the depletion too much.

"Mother?" The whisper was jagged amoung her cracked lips, her eyes shooting to the goddess that laid unconscious across the room. Her fingers shook as she reached for her,  the image enough to crave the fires of Tarturus.

Monster.

Persephone succumbed to sleep when she felt a final tear fall down the length of her cheek, the darkness claiming her in a rippling sea of black. 

HADES FEARED.

~

Everything was going according to plan. Hecate had mastered the arts effortlessly in the Age of the Titans, so the trust in her magic wasn't the thing that was causing the anxiety to bubble in the pits of her stomach. It was instead the sudden footsteps that signaled another body every few minutes as she walked the palace, a fifth of her mind occupied on keeping Persephone intact but also hidden. Magic was simple but also conniving in a way that it was complex. 

The complexity was born from a person's thoughts and the amount of control they possessed. When the control was disrupted, that is when magic would tip the scale and become harder. And for Hecate, even the Goddess of Witchcraft struggled in her teenage years. The war of emotions drew her down, and the magic would only become a contributing factor to the roaring responses that were begging to be unleashed. She had unleashed tsunamis on oceans in her day. On the days where all didn't make sense and her father would beat her until she was black and blue. Only when she awoke from the invasion would the bruises be gone, but only from sight.

Hecate believed that Demeter's bruises on Persephone were mentally-driven, which although equally severe to her own trauma - still made the process of letting her body break down that power even harsher. Something broke for the woman in Hecate. She hoped, for in every possible scenario, that the girl would be accepting of this decision. That she would learn to thrive and heal in peace in the Underworld. 

Hecate was getting even closer to an exit, eyes deadpanning on the guarded castle door feet away. She was so close. So close to the Flower Goddess's freedom, so close that her vision of the Underworld was being painted in the swirling interior of her mind.

One footstep. Two. Another. She was reaching the exit without so much as a nod from the twinned guards, her strain on keeping Persephone off the ground increasing her ever-growing adrenaline and anxiety. 

"Hecate." 

Everything froze as her name was called, a strong voice full of rippling power accompanied by the command. They both knew exactly who each other was, and Hecate's mind boggled at how many decades it's been. So many decades and yet she could feel the growing power inside of the Queen of Olympus's stomach, the buzz of that pure godly power calling to her own magic. Intriguing. Maybe the gossip and the rumors had taken a turn?

Hecate's turn was swift yet perfectly contained, face inevitably praying to the Fates above that the invisible goddess stayed unconscious at her side. Her sharp features were alit with a warm smile. It was convincing enough, Hecate had absolutely no doubt, but even Hera was sharp enough to detect something wrong in her own home. 

"Hera. A little occupied, I see?" Hecate's eyes cleverly fell swiftly to the stomach of the Goddess of Marriage, her response causing Hera's cheeks to blush a furious red. Hecate knew how much Hera loathed invasion, but stirring the pot surely wouldn't hurt in this situation would it?

"I always did hate that gift of yours." Hera responded with perfect recollection. You'd never be able to detect the loss from how fast she trained her features. 

Hera was coming even closer to her, the click-clack of her heels setting off bombs in Hecate's mind. One shot. She only had one shot and if it was ruined moments before she was about to pull it all off...then the loss would be painful. 

"Everyone does." But that charismatic exterior remained. It never left. "I assume you wish to..." Hecate glanced at the curious guards behind her, knowing of Hera's secrecy. Hecate leaned closer to the brunette, until her ear was close enough to the goddess's ear. "keep the gender a surprise?" 

Hera's breath was cool, and although Hecate's heart was racing with her own secret, she couldn't detect Hera's being anything besides calm. Calculated. She always had a front, that cold face she wished everybody to leave uncracked - which in Hecate's mind, webbed them together more than she knew.

"I suppose that would be best." Her tone was as smooth as silk. But as Hecate moved away, as her head began to draw from Hecate's, she was wickedly snapped back into place. Hera's powerful hand grasped Hecate's petite shoulder and the whisper that followed slithered the cold chill against her bones. 

"Don't believe that making small talk with me will keep you out of the clear in my home. I know everything that happens here. Get the girl out. Take her away and save her from that snake." Every fibre that was Hecate froze. A puzzle of questions unanswered remained unfinished. Sweat rolled down her brow, heartbeat galloping. 

"No one is to know." It wasn't a request, it was a command. A command from one of the goddesses that was eldest of her, a command from one of the only women who has never done wrong by her. 

"No one is to know." Hera agreed after a long pause, the words swift. "Go."

Hera let go of Hecate, both goddesses turning to the guards in a symphony of full sync. Two pairs of eyes turned to the women; dutiful. 

"Guards, open the doors. I bid you farewell on the crossroads, Goddess Hecate." 

When the large doors opened to reveal a world of glimmering sunlight, the triumph that spread through Hecate remained unseen, Persephone's invisible body traveling skillfully out those doors before her own. She felt eyes burning on her back all the way until the doors closed once again, locking the last two days in history. 

Outside the wispy clouds were gliding from a sky of the most beautiful baby blue, and the great sun of Helios shone bright. Blazing with a fury that could not be ignored. The picture of clarity in a time of such rippling pain for the goddess she was hiding.

Hecate's deep brown eyes looked to the towering trees that was yards South. In her immortal vision she could see the ant of Hades and his great chariot waiting for her speeding feet. She walked ever-faster, traveling the entire path for the sight to be avoided. The consequences that would ruin her life if this entire ordeal was discovered would be gut-wrenching. Even beyond all those consequences she refused to let Persephone back in the arms of her insane mother. When there is a will there is a way, and this is the only way that made sense.

The chariot was still the same by her memory centuries ago. Crafted with intricate indents that told a story, the onyx metal was ridden of any blemish in sight, the booming power of the unpatient black pegasus' hooked to the front of the chariot large enough to be intimidating but intelligent enough to map the route to the Underworld.

"I did everything correctly, Hades. She remained hidden, I remained indifferent. Now it is up to you." Up to him to make their descent. 

As she approached Hades and his piercing gaze, she nodded to him, confirming that the task was done. Although there was enough confirmation in the stare, his eyes traveled the space around them wildly, as if only sensing her wasn't enough. Hecate effortlessly guided Persephone to the opposite seat of one of the chariots cushions, bringing her back to visibility that resulted in Hades's relief. His muscles fell, eyes turning to Hecate as she climbed into the chariot. Deja vu enticed the Titaness down memory lane. There was a time when two friends traveled together, and though she thought those times were so over, now was the time to take back a position that now may be impossible to ignore. Her choices today - which although ethical - needed to be done artfully in this soon to be blow of events. Demeter would rage, and she would have to become another barrier.

"Coming back after all?" The spark of surprise in Hades's tone was rushed, but still there nonetheless. Even he didn't expect this outcome. 

"I have to." They both knew she didn't. Nobody was asking her to. "It is the right thing to do." 

Hades's eyes were grave, as if his actions seemed still heavily undesolved. Hecate knew that the blame that he would place on himself after this day would last for the longest measure of time, and no words she would soon attempt to speak would alter his guilt. But she was right. It wasn't biased, it was truth. This. This was saving somebody who was screaming for help. 

Words were then concluded as Hades turned to face the vast world, one large hand gripping the reins while another rose to twist into a tight fist, an entire crack of the earth rumbling the ground beyond the chariot. The dark outline of the underground brought crashing memory, the underground calling to the pegasus's stomping hooves. 

"Prepare for descent. It's going to be a bumpy ride." Excitement coursed through Hecate's stomach.

And when Hades cracked the reins, Hecate held tightly to Persephone's sleeping body, the chariot gliding down the hole of the underground. It was a speed that was desperate, seeking the best possible pace for their home. Hades's power pieced together the foundation of the ground again, letting the trio be engulfed in darkness. Only the heavy wings flapping in front of them coupled with the noises of the underground were the sounds that accompanied the chase. 

Nothing would ever be the same again.

~

Three gods of the world sat surrounded by a fire, deep in conversation. Thanatos's room was dim and warm, chilled by the revelations that were released from their tongues. Together the God of the Underworld and the Goddess of Witchcraft told the God of Death a tale of flurried woe, filled with event after event in the setting of Olympus, raging from Hades's secret meeting with the Goddess of Spring to the explosion of a depressed daughter to a neglectful mother. Each detail was cramed to the brim, meant to be insightful in ways that were closely related to painting a picture and as truthful in all of their glorious integrity. Thanatos listened until their last words filled the air, ending the conversation. You could tell by his body language that he was entranced by the history of their visit, even more entranced with the history of Demeter and Persephone. By the end, the silence that filled the void of the hanging resolution of Persephone's fate was puzzling. 

"Wow." Thanatos uttered from the left of Hades, shaking his head in utter disbelief. "Nobody knows that you took her?"

"Only Hera. But she was insistent on Persephone leaving Demeter." Hecate answered, one hand picking the fingernails of her other hand, eyes distant on the crackling fire. "Everybody is." 

"Because she's mentally abusive. It's been hours and in her sleep she still looks as if she isn't recovering. Her power...her power is uncontrollable." 

Hades had intentionally left out a singular pivotal event in their recollection, which belonged purely to Persephone. Apollo's abuse would never be his story to tell. It was too private...too intense of a moment so close to Persephone's heart that ruining it by even informing the people he entrusted most with anything would destroy her. She would conquer those heights only if she made the jump. On her own. 

"Gods," Thanatos uttered underneath his breath. "What happens now then? Demeter will wake up. And when she does she is going to search the ends of the earth for her daughter. What happens then?" 

Even in the hour that it took for explanation, Hades and Hecate never provided their plan involving the after. Because the after belonged to oblivion, and some aspects of oblivion were impossible to write yourself. Even when you were a god.

"We let Persephone decide." Hades said with absolute clarity, the words never sounding more right. "We won't decide for her. This isn't anybody else's choice. She has suffered enough."

"What if she stays?" Thanatos asked in quiet agreement, those eyes connecting with his closest friend's. 

"Then we'll accept her with open arms. We'll protect her either way. We'll let the Underworld become a safe place for her, and I'll help her master her gifts."

When he said the words aloud, when he brought them so easily into existence - it seemed so simple. But in this cold reality, he knew the mental scars she was facing would run so deep that control would take months, even years to acquire. But he must be patient. He must seek the answers she would question. Hades unlocked another fear at that moment. With scenarios that were yet to become even a possibility, Hades feared that the black hole of her heart would eat her away. That the darkness would prevail, and all the light he saw inside of her would shrivel into nothing. 

But that was over his dead body, regardless of immortality.

"And," Hecate voiced from the loveseat across from the pair, her eyes fearing the scenario. "if she leaves, Hades?" 

Another fear. More and more and more. There was a pile forming, all revolving around her. 

"Then I will find a way to move forward. If she wishes to leave, then I will live with her decision because she wants it." 

They didn't have to question his statement to know how badly Hades would break. But they also knew Hades enough to understand that his fairness - his goodness that so many pushed aside like the monsters they were - was too powerful for even himself to ignore. He would watch the flower princess descend back into the light only because he wished for her wellbeing. 

Even if he destroyed himself in the process, he would do it.

All for her. 

~

The Goddess of Harvest came back to reality with all of her immortal strength in hours. Her bones felt stuck to her skin, glued in their time of her unpleasant rest. The inside of her throat felt metallic; bone-dry. And her head...her head was hammering so badly that the ache was radiating to her sore neck. Opening her eyes was an effort that was pressing, the migraine blocking out all source of sound until a deep voice filled her head, grimacing as her ice blue eyes strayed the room in bouts of blurred lines. It wasn't until her eyes found the eyes of the man she hated so much where she finally snapped up to sit on the ground, confusion spreading through her. 

"Where is our daughter, Demeter?" Zeus's voice was booming, standing amongst the room of forgotten shambles. She loathed his tone of voice, the tone he used in times where he would claim dominance over anybody in his path. But even more than that loathing for his commanding authority, was the use of the word our. As if Kore was somebody they shared in perfect harmony, as if he has done anything for her daughter in her eighteen years of life. 

But then was when it hit her. Like a brick flying from the sky to hit her head, the realization behind her memory of Persephone left her wordless, sky-rocketing up to stand beside him and take in the ruined room with crazy eyes. Her heart began to accelerate at each sight she swallowed, a lump gathering in her throat at the ruin that her daughter had caused. Demeter remembered the desperation that filled her daughter, the tremble of her hands right before she...she exploded. Even thinking such things was foreign to her own mind. After watching Persephone transform into a different person, everything went black. Everything went black and now she was here, standing in front of the father of her child. 

Asking where her daughter was. 

"What do you mean where is she? She was right there!" Frantic arms flaired in the direction where she recalled Persephone last standing, the spot now blank. 

Blank of any life at all. As if Persephone was the ghost of a memory. Her breaths came quicker now, more slurred together and drawn out. Eyes flying to the window that was now destroyed in missing shatters of glass, the moon hanging outdoors had never been more terrifying. It was the afternoon when it had all ended. Now it was nightfall. 

Her chest painfully constricted, terror engulfing the mother as the possibility of her greatest nightmare being real settled. 

Zeus was unfazed, clearly unamused in all of his glory. Heartless. He had always been. Here they stood in a room that had been ruined, where her daughter had disappeared, and he stood there like the pig he was while she panicked. 

"Well what the hell are you staring at? Do you seriously believe I know where she is when you found me laying there for hours?" Zeus shook his head, face void of emotion. "Gods damn you, you heartless bastard. Say something!" 

And when her hysteria brought her powerful hands to push him back - only barely but the disrespect was still overpowering - he gasped under his breath, anger beholding his light blue eyes. Demeter didn't care, not when the panic spread. Not when everything was going to the hell. 

"Get ahold of yourself, woman! I am so sick of your bullshit." They were standing head-to-head, a forgotten flame of parents now staring at one another with burning mutual hatred. "You act as if you are the only one in distraught. While you slept I searched this damn palace far and wide to find her. Hephaestus even assisted in scouring the woods. The yards surrounding this place. And you stand in front me, your king, and claim me as heartless?" He spit out the last word, Demeter pushing the painful lump of her throat down even deeper. "You know more than anybody else what happened to this room. Where is she, Demeter?" He gripped her shoulders, screaming in her face as if everything had fallen to her failures. "Where did she go?"

She was spiraling in her seething anger, the anger crashing with the confusion as the confusion intermixed with her growing disdain. None of this would of happened if it weren't for him. None of these events would of unfurled if Zeus hadn't of invited for to this disgusting place full of vile and poison. The rage was growing, the coldness growing in waves begging to be unleashed. 

"I DON'T KNOW!" She gritted in anger through her teeth, pushing his strong hands off of her in utter disgust, backing up several steps. The short silence that followed her cry was one filled of his steel gaze, scarlet red painting her gaze as she stared back at him. She needed her daughter back. She needed her back now. Her heart was bleeding out. "I don't know and it is killing me."

Honesty. Pure, heartbroken honesty. The goddess's arms crossed over her chest, looking to the ruined grounds of the floor as she held every last thing in. There was a hollow ache in her chest, as if her body could detect the absence of her sunshine. Demeter could never voice Persephone's outburst to Zeus, it would be so harsh on her reputation as a mother that she wouldn't be able to handle it. Yet here she stood...admitting a simple wrong. One that wasn't her fault - at least in Demeter's head - but a wrong nonetheless. 

"Our daughter is missing. She is gone, Demeter." The last word sit off the ticking time bomb that was Demeter, her eyes engulfing him with blazing flames. Gone. 

"This is all your fault." The whisper was infused of poison. "You always wished such terrible things on me and you have recieved it!" She didn't even bother to mask the stream of teardrops falling uselessly down her heated cheeks. 

"You are insane! And ridiculously stupid if you think I would ever do this intentionally! She is my daughter too, damn it!" Zeus was enraged, to the point where his fist collided with the wall closest to him, Demeter's flinch scarring the memory. She was almost confused to how the wall didn't crumble from the impact. "You act as if nothing in the world is your doing. Your selfishness is growing tiresome, Demeter. So tiring that Persephone was growing tired of it." 

The words stung. Stung her even harder than any blow she had ever recieved. Words were impossible to gather, Demeter tripping over possible sentences swirling to the brim in her head but not one being birthed to existence. She was so exhausted. So exhausted and so anguished. Her heart was screaming for her daughter to be back in her arms again...but she only embraced the freezing cold. She ached for that warmth that her little flower released. But now that energy was gone...and nothing would ever be the same again. She had lost. Lost and perished things in her lifetime thus far that would destroy a person, but this truly was where the world turned grey. Colorless. 

Beginning with the crystallized blue eyes she had once loved. The man in front of her the very personification of everything she hated on this earth. 

And this ice...this iciness that formed to cover her black heart...she wanted to wreck havoc upon the world so they knew her sorrows.

"I curse the mortal lands." The fright that arose to Zeus's eyes was unmistakable, the impact of her words impossible to take back. "Your little human slaves will perish. In the freezing cold they will face the unknown. Their breaths will turn frozen and their lands will be ridden of any feastable produce. They will starve. And I will not help them. They will only know frost." 

"You CAN NOT!" The King of the Gods roared, stepping forward as if he were an enraged beast. 

But all words were only adding to the calamity, setting fire to the fuel. Demeter's eyes were voided, lips forming into a straight line as memory of her daughter's beautiful smile flashed over and over through her head. The Goddess of Harvest had cracked long ago, but now she was broken. 

"I swear on the River Styx, until I get my daughter back, the cold will enrapture these lands like a filthy disease." 

Demeter snarled, her dying promise triggering the lightning to crackle across the midnight sky far away. Swearing by the Styx was law that was immediately written into fate, and now Demeter's tie to the Styx was irreversible. By the end of the spark of lightning, Demeter had become engulfed in light, transporting back to the home she built nearly two decades ago. 

The roar of Zeus could be heard for miles, the world suddenly anew with chilling frost. 

~

Days had passed in the Underworld. Hopeful minutes turned to even less hopeful hours and those hours turned to exactly two days. Hades tried to occupy himself with Judgement after Judgement, working both himself, the Judges and Thanatos to their limits. Hecate stood by Persephone as time fluttered by on slow wings, her blank eyes each afternoon bringing disappointment to Hades's demeanor. 

But still he moved onward, sleeping on the cushions of the loveseat in his room as he studied the rise and fall of her chest. She was still alive. Still alive and never to die obviously, but her wellbeing was still the most vast concern to him. Knowing now how slow time moved - like it was in slow motion - without her made him imagine a world where her returnal took decades. That was enough to bring the greatest dread to the God of the Underworld. 

Hecate had tried to reassure him the night previously that she had experienced slow recoveries in her route to mastery, the emotions that were brought to arise through magic very prevalent in the decision of healing. And because Persephone had worked herself to exhaustion...replenishment would be hard to achieve. 

Fourty-eight hours after his return to the Underworld had Hades studying the ticking clock that occupied one of the corners of his room, his Judgement attire forgotten while he opted for a simple tight-fitting shirt with comfortable pants. He never allowed himself such luxuries, only because the life of stress was all he had ever known, but now the stress from Persephone not waking up accompanied his usual daily life was bringing a rift in his schedule. Midnight. The clock stroke midnight and his eyes turned to the redhead on his bed. Bringing a hand to comb through his ebony curls, he sighed as he sat to the foot of the bed. Her plump lips were parted, red curls framing her face beautifully. 

He never wished for anything more than he did now. For her to at least open those eyes and for him to get lost in the melting color. He needed it with an ache. Just because knowing if she was okay was more important than all the diplomatic issues of this earth and his family drama. 

His bones moved against his own will, Hades scooting even closer to her on the four-poster bed while the clock moved further by an entire minute. There was words he wanted to say, words that were probably too close to his soul for him to ever voice in her consciousness. If that made him a coward...then so be it. 

"My father was the definition of evil." He began, striking eyes on his lap as he toyed with one of his fingers. "In a world where you can live forever, Kronos didn't think that was enough. When he obtained power over all the titans, he was hungry for more. That had always been his outlook on immortality: more was never enough. Less was for the foolish, simply. At only seventeen years of age, he had overthrown his own father for leadership. He was that wicked. When he married my mother - Rhea - you would believe that a person would be content living with somebody so amazing for the rest of their life, but that clearly wasn't the case."

He did believe, he did overhear from his mother at least, that there was a time where Kronos was so in love with Rhea that even his own devilish nature was put to rest. She had changed him in ways that even his children could not. 

Because that was where a loop of ruin had been rediscovered. Through his children. 

"Their marriage prospered for years before the birth of me and my sibilings. You see, my father was very misogynistic and believed that women were bred purely to be deprived of power from their husbands. So when Gaia told him his prophecy would be one that entailed him to lose his throne to his sons...he felt anger. In his fucked-up mind, he believed that there was nothing to worry about if Rhea gave him a daughter, because that way he'd keep his title as king. Therefore when Kronos discovered that Rhea was pregnant, he was furious. Furious at my mother as if it was her doing only that my being had been created. So he gave her an ultimatum. If his firstborn were a girl, then he would let all of his children thrive happily under my mother's eyes. If it were a boy, then he would eat all of his children to avoid his heirs from taking the throne." 

Hades's eyes found Persephone's closed lids, the peaceful daughter of spring snoring lightly. The smile that warmed his face in the midst of such a wicked tale only told him that she could do anything. 

"Unfortunately my birth was one that wasn't celebrated. Rhea wept, begging her husband for another fate. He never conceded. Years passed and the next generation was born. After my birth came Hestia, then Demeter, then Poseidon to my father's dismay, then Hera, until finally Zeus's birth brought my father to his insanity." 

Hades could still recall the roaring despair in Rhea's eyes on that day. Could still feel it in his bones. 

"My father swallowed his first five children. Each of us hadn't gone down without a fight, but even Kronos was stronger. Rhea had done everything to get us back, screaming and crying and even testing his leadership. She never could best him. Because her options were limited and she was left with only your father, a plan had formed in her mind. My mother was always too intelligent for him. Where my father thrived in power, he lacked a brain. When requesting his newborn son, Rhea handed him a rock dressed in baby's clothing. Stupidly, Kronos swallowed the rock, choking until eventually he threw us up." 

The hope of that day was uncontainable. At only fourteen Hades had been forced to undergo war with his father, watching as his mother crippled. She wanted what was best for them. Since day one. And sadly enough the best things for the world were sometimes worse for the best people. 

"Kronos had raged, and when we took Zeus, we hid. We hid until Zeus was of age. Eighteen years in the making and finally the battlefield between a father and his three sons brought the Olympians to their reign. We rebuilt the world, preparing it for the Olympian era. When I began my reign, I locked the most evil Titans away into the depths of Tartarus, digging an even deeper hole for my father. Tarturus, unfortunately, was the first place I built." 

Hades, to this day, still understood why he chose the most demanding job of any of his family. He chose ruling the Underworld because he wanted others to find peace in the afterlife he'd never reach. This darkness was his safe-place. Many chose to not believe such a thing, because although depressing, he felt that this was where he belonged. He belonged somewhere that didn't reflect his terrible childhood. He belonged somewhere that was rid of the extravagant parties and secretive marriages. This was the home he built.

"I know that you may believe that Demeter is nothing like me and my sister's father, but I believe that in your upbringing Demeter was so reminded of the demons she had faced that she wished to conceal you from the world. But little did she know locking you up and keeping you to herself would cause you more pain than happiness." The even breathing of the woman filled the silence that followed. 

"I'm so stupid for talking to somebody that isn't even awake." He sniggered towards himself. "Maybe I'm even a coward. But just know...I will never lock you up. You are safe. Safe." His eyes roamed her soft yet sharp features. "Just wake up. Please." 

The final words were a pathetic plea, a whisper that entailed more emotion than he would of liked, and Hades reminded himself that he had an exterior to withhold as soon as she arose again. Of course not as harsh, but he would still need to be concise with his actions. But not too concise. Gods why was this so hard? 

The clock ticked, his eyes never leaving her face. Each tick set off anticipation that sped his heartbeat, hope clinging to the atmosphere with all of it's cruel intention. A countdown. He would countdown in his head and if she still wasn't awake, he'd go to sleep. 

Five...

Four...

Three ...

This surely was useless. He was a man, a god! And yet he was relying on the precious sands of time like a child. 

Two...

One...

His face dropped into a frown as the disappointment settled. Again, what did he expect? For the world to go all to rainbows and sunshine because he could count down? 

Rising from the mattress, he soberly moved to the couch, matters of the next Judgement playing scenarios in his mind.

Until a noise behind him made him stop cold in his tracks. A gasp escaped into the chilling air, his muscles frozen and eyes glued to the now forgotten loveseat. Acceleration of his heartbeats made him spin around, meeting a pair of chocolate brown eyes, frantic and searching his face. 

Persephone had awoken.

~

The world was bright. The diamonds that flooded the skies glittered like millions of colors, reflecting the beauty that was the Goddess of Spring. Her weight was supported by the grounds of the most gorgeous lillies, vibrant in color and soft against her bare skin. In the skies of diamond, white doves flew together in formation of the largest circle. 

The smile that warmed her face was gone of all torture, as if reality had been knocked out of her. Persephone closed her eyes and embraced the warm breeze that ruffled her red curls, the dress she wore an innocent white that was light as air in it's material but fell to her upper-thigh. She giggled, turning in all of her perfect little world's light with elegance . 

But all went offhill when something pierced her foot, face falling into a grimace as her arms fell to her sides. Everything being ticked to the opposite side of the scale when she saw a magnificent black viper amongst her white lillies, staining the beautiful scene with hate. Its cold dark eyes looked at her with marbled fury - as if she did something to evoke such a reaction. 

Then the venom spread in waves, Persephone screaming with uncontainable pain, her entire foot going numb as the viper shot up to strike. It's hiss sounded while Persephone's immortal reflexes brought her arms up to shield herself, eyes closing painfully with a scrunch of her features, allowing herself to drown out the world and it's infernal impact. 

Except the strike of the snake never came - the fire igniting her leg proceeding. Instead the lillies from under her feet had disappeared, Persephone's weight falling deeper and deeper into a rabbit-hole of darkness. Darkness. More and more darkness. Her panic was barely containable, the shock that was registering on her features disappeared when her entire entity was enveloped in the largest body of water - the impact of hitting the raging dark seas like concrete to bare skin. 

The scream that hung in her throat turned to a ghost as she swallowed water, falling deeper and deeper into the dark waves - her vision blacked. She clawed through the explosion of waves - seeking air. She couldn't breathe! She was going to die! How? How could this be happening to a goddess? 

Persephone kicked uselessly in the dark waters , the numbing pain from the bite radiating to her burning abdomen. Her lungs burned. Her eyes burned. Everything was hurting. She would die here. 

"We are going home, Persephone!" Her mother's voice filled her eardrums as her vision burned. 

No. No!

"Get the hell up." Her. She had hurt her. She had broke her mother into shattering pieces like the monster she was. Her heart bled from the ongoing trauma. Visions of golden ichored blood shooting down her mother's forehead brought tremors to rock her entire body.

Please. Not like this. Not when she conquered so much , not when she suffered and endured and suffered over and over again!

The roaring in her mind was becoming louder, consciousness slipping from her clutches as she sunk down what seemed to be an endless fall of watery darkness. 

Right when giving up felt like an option, right when her lids drooped to cover her molten eyeballs to seek the end, instant blinding light stole the oceans away. A touch akin to human contact pulled her entire body from the ocean, the contact burning everywhere it touched her body. 

She screamed in desperation - the scenery changing to something that would haunt her for years to come. Maybe eternity . 

Because she was underneath a strong body, with eyes that revealed colors of mossy brown and crystal blue. His hair was golden, and the smile on his face skidded across her bones with the most twisted, awful sensation. She was laying in the grass where she was almost taken, and somehow the sun was shining above them both - like that day was something celebratory to be marked in history. 

Her eyes burned as his fingers fell to her face, sizzling every place they trailed - the burn horrible. No. Please, Gods no. Not this. Never this. 

"I have you again ." His face came closer to her, the chill of his breath against her ear making her whimper. Her body trembled from beneath him. "Little Flower." But the tone that followed wasn't her abuser's , it belonged to her mother. 

Eyes turning the size of saucers, Persephone screamed when the weight on top of her began to shape. To transform into the darkest and largest of vipers , crawling spiders with fangs that protruded from extended jaws, to wilted flowers that crushed her essence. She was being covered and bitten , screaming as bugs filled her throat and bees stung her precious papered skin. She was breaking . Breaking and hurting and tortured . The sunlight was covered from the creatures of her vision and all she could do was lay in her sorrows as she broke. 

The rise of power inside was hidden, only graying absence leaving the most present heartbreak. When you spent so long presenting your happiness for others to revel in it, you got lost. And now, underneath all her fury and her failure where she was wronged - Persephone was lost. 

Her eyes were fluttering close, realizing that the darkness that filled her hollow body echoed until all the creatures were gone - leaving the air to cool the new wounds. She ignored the burns, knowing that it was all deserved. 

"...I'm so stupid for talking to somebody who isn't even awake." The voice was deep, playful but also indirectly cruel to the owner. Persephone's eyes shot open, bones regaining strength as his image filled her memory. 

Him. The only person she trusted. Him with his deeper than ocean blue eyes and corded muscular arms that held her through her weeps. Her cracked heart called for him. 

"Maybe I'm even a coward." He wasn't. He was everything but that. "But just know that...I would never lock you up." The raw emotion made her tug for him with all of her emotion. She just couldn't reach him!

"You are safe." Gods her heart was breaking all over again. Why? Tears fell silently down her cheeks. Even further and deeper she reached. "Safe." It echoed again. That word. 

"Just wake up." It hit her with the force of a million suns. This wasn't real. This was all a trick...an illusion. Mind games. She tried harder to break open those eyes. "Please."

Wake up, Persephone! Wake up!

~

Air filled her burning lungs, the migraine that settled behind her lids beholding her with full force. But she casted blissful ignorance to the side as an explosion of new colors took Persephone's sight, the ceiling high and alit with the dimest chandelier. A grimace held her face at the consciousness until she rocketed forward with a gasp, eyes meeting the build of a muscular back. 

She was awake. Persephone was awake and the last memory she could recall felt years behind her. And this newity...this uncertainty that filled her with her entirely new surroundings...was holding every bit of her senses. 

But all she could analyze was his back, the pant of her breath replenishing her lungs nothing compared to the roaring that filled her ears. He was there. He was there and she was here...where was here?

Then he turned, and his eyes were on her. They personified disbelief. Yet he looked so different from what she was accustomed to - bulked chest concealed by a tightly fit cotton shirt and pants that hung by his waistline. And the reminder of his presence...it took her back. 

Back to that room. The room where she had broke down, where she had been ignored by her own mother. There were flashes. Flashes of noise and crushing, crushing sorrow. The sorrow bad been restored. Eyes of brown drifted to the velvet covers over her body, now covered in a soft heavy sweater of the deepest black. Then the stream of tears began. 

"I hurt her." Three words whispered into the oblivion, thrown into nothing but contribution of her newly discovered depression. 

Glassed over eyes rose to meet striking blue, and Hades was moving to stand at her side. Shadows - comforting shadows - wisped in the air. Not like the ones that were furious when he found her with...she could not even think the sentence without breaking more. 

"Oh my Gods she is going to hate me." Hands shot to cover her face, her sobs rocking through her body with tremors. All she could feel was the prickle. The prickly thorns of a rose now wilting to stab her. 

"No." His voice corrupted the silence, the shuffle of movement masked by Persephone's darkened vision. 

Then the texture of callused fingers touching her hands brought vision back, Hades crouching beside the bed to her level. Their eyes met, and Persephone swore she had never felt more vulnerable under his gaze. He didn't see what she did. He didn't see the monster that reveled inside. Yet he didn't look away. Didn't back down or release her from his eyes. They were so real - breaking down buildings and restoring the dreams she once dreamed. 

"You're wrong. She could never hate you, Persephone. What you did-" But she ignored it, the dark craving it's damage. 

"What I did was terrible. Destructive. Don't you understand that? I hurt her. I hurt my mother."  She snatched her hands away from him, watching the flinch that striked his face. Pain stabbed her for that one.

She could see the patience waning in his face, yet it remained. He heard her with wide ears despite her cruelty. "And now I..." Persephone's eyes searched the alienated room. "Where am I?" 

Finally it hit her. To ask the questions that needed to be asked. To find information in the parts she didn't understand. 

Hades stiffened slightly, inhaling a breath before standing fully to sit on the bed beside her. A hand combed through his short locks with eyes glued to the wall opposite of them. He seemed to be collecting thoughts, as if the explanation would hurt her. 

"Firstly, you've been asleep for two days, Persephone." The surprise echoed through every piece of her body. But...despite the sleep she had experienced...she was too exhausted to care. "Me and Hecate found you on the grounds of Demeter's room. In your anger, you brought the room down. Along with an Olympian." 

Her eyes fell to her hands, of the destruction they caused. This power...whatever it was, was so out of her clutches. Clearly emotionally-wired, too. 

"I know that you won't agree with my actions. And I'm willing to take full responsibility for that. But I will also enlighten you that I am a man of his word. Here - in my realm - you can live freely. You are a grown woman. I am not going to make any of your decisions for you." He spoke with pride. She could tell this meant more to him than he could vocally muster. 

"And by your realm, you mean that I-" 

"Yes, you are in the Underworld." His eyes found hers, holding them. This must of been the part he feared.

The Underworld. Where the dead were sent and Hades ruled them. This wasn't what she was expected whatsoever. The candlelit room that was so exquisite...and Hades in his normalcy. 

"Are you angry?" Her silence must of crossed him wrongly. Because where there should be shocked, she felt exhaustion. 

"Does she know I'm here?" She may of ignored the initial question, but all she could focus on was the possibility of Demeter's focus. She knew her mother almost as much as her mother knew her. Persephone knew that she was viewed as Demeter's most prized treasure, and in her eighteen years she had been so far away from her. She doubted that Demeter would let her now...especially after the events that just unwinded.

"No, she has no idea. Neither have me and Hecate told anybody else." His answer brought comfort. 

It was disgusting to think that, she knew, but it comforted her that she could hold off the confrontation. For however long that she wished. Mother would be undoubtedly furious, but Persephone needed this time to gather the fragments of herself. And with Hades providing her a choice...

"I want to stay." 

Hades's eyes snapped to hers in seconds. Like the confirmation brought him zeal or wordless surprise, she could not tell, but Persephone did know that the emptiness in her chest remained. 

"For as long as you'll allow me, that is." Not that she had any worries. If he stole her away then clearly her presence offered some value to him. 

"You may stay as long as you wish. And if you need anything I'm right here at your request. Hecate will check on you when I can not." He arose from the bed, eyes never lingering away from hers. It was so intense how long he could stare at her. It made her feel just a bit admirable, but all the same the sorrow was too overpowering to care. 

"Thank you. I just...I just want to sleep." Her voice almost cracked on the last word, because she knew that despite the exhaustion her nightmares would keep her awake and the little goddess would be left with nothing but her thoughts. And that terrified her enough. 

His chest rose and fell, an exhale of a breath faltering his features. He was at war with himself to say something, with his muscular arms behind his back and that distant look in those orbs. But she casted everything aside, falling to the bed when pressing the soft covers higher to her face. She rolled over to avoid his gaze, and almost hated herself for it. She wanted to cling to him. Desperately. But clinging to another person had only brought the buildup of an explosion, and that kept her away. Tears welled her tear-ducts, lip quivering as she fought to stay silent until he left the room.

Would she ever be close to anybody ever again? After what happened she was almost fully deciding that the answer was a no, but it hurt her so much to imagine distancing herself away from Hades. I don't want to hurt you, her thoughts filled her mind, I just...I can't.

"Of course." He finally conceded, the pressure on her throat the equivalent to swallowing glass. "I will see you in the morning." 

The shuffling of heavy feet was followed by the sudden darkness, the room enveloped in its sleepy essence as the click of the door signaled his dismissal. 

Sobs were trembling through Persephone's body only seconds after that click.

~

Despite sneaking into his bathroom to completely erase every speck of growing tiresome from his complexion, Hades could still feel the weight of Persephone's prescense from feet away. He made haste soaking in his bath of crystallized bath salts, not even taking time to let the stress seep from his aching bones. Not that he ever seeked success doing that anyways, but there was still hope under the layer of never-ending disappointment.

Only when he walked out of the wash room freshly coated in his scent of pine and smoky indulgences, he found chocolate brown eyes peering at him immediately from the doorway of the illumination from the  bathroom. Brown eyes that automatically snapped close, as if she knew she had been looking much too long. Caught. 

He couldn't help the amused smirk that alit his features, leaning against the doorway softly to cross his forearms over each other. Persephone had even lifted his velvet covers over her mouth to avoid further suspicion, thinking that she had done something. 

"You don't have to pretend that you are asleep if I already know you are awake." He kept his tone soft; steady. Yet the amuse bled through. Still the poor woman didn't budge, only rolling over in avoidance, facing the dark.

Well already he's found an interesting aspect that she shared effortlessly with his best friend. Maybe Thanatos would be a good friend. When she had the energy to speak that was. 

"Okay." He sighed, making a show of eneciating the sigh. "I suppose I shall make my way to-" He got halfway through the room before a feminine sigh sounded, triggering a calculated stop in his tracks. And he believed that Persephone would be so much more stubborn than that. 

"No, wait! Please come back, I was only laying here." Hades turned to face her in all of her glory. The sleeves of her sweater were stretched to her elbows, fiery red curls a mess on top of her head. The small detail humanized the immortal in ways that had never made as much sense to him as it did now, and he toppled for it. There were still those nasty eyebags rounding under her eyes, but he knew that they improved with her rest since yesterday. Even just awakening from sleep she still had that heavenly glow, her prescense louder than any noise. She was beautiful even in the darkness. But still...that deadness in her eyes broke his still heart. 

"Don't apologize for something so small. I still find it very interesting how you believed you'd just get away with pretending." 

He was teasing her, and she knew it. Knew it because her eyebrow rose, plump lips in a frown. He shone with her personality. Please don't whisk away, he thought with every ounce of hope, I won't allow it. 

"As I find it very interesting why you were making such noise in a sleeping woman's washroom. For somebody with such a reputation of being silent you love to make noise." Her eyes shone like the stars as he held him, her tone equally as teasing but matter of factly. He would wait to tell her that this was his room she was sleeping in, just to keep her on her toes. 

Temper. Even a snap of an attitude he'd never expect from her. He liked it solely for the unraveling of the events from the previous days. 

"I see somebody is very much the morning person." He smiled as he took a seat a good measure of space away from her on his bed, watching as her eyes found everywhere but him, shoulders slumped as she toyed with a piece of the velvet covers. 

"I am." She simply whispered. "In mother's realm I would watch the sunrise from my bedroom each morning. I rose with it." 

The chill of the air bit his skin as he fought the urge to cringe. At the stupidity of his choice of his words because it ultimately led to her sadness. In a realm of darkness, in a realm that was underground, it was blatant knowledge that the sun would never shine. Already it has changed her so much to adjust. Adjust under a situation she would obviously loathe. Guilt offset in his stomach. Looking at her now...at her avoiding his gaze...he wondered if he made the wrong choice of bringing her here. Even if she chose herself to stay. 

But looking at that shallow dark in her eyes, only to compare it to the day they had met, he didn't regret it. He didn't regret it at all. Because even if it took worlds of fighting and patience, he'd map a route of helping her find herself again. And in that route he'd walk it with her. 

"We may not have a sunrise, but we have something so much more astonishing." Not the moonlight either, but something he'd keep etched in his memory to show her. "I could show you, unless you prefer the element of surprise?"

Persephone's head slowly turned, eyes holding his with seconds to simmer in curiosity. Then they went blank. As if the emotion was never there in the first place. Fates how he loathed it. 

"I'm afraid I'll sleep in. I still feel exhausted." Her mouth was moving. And his thoughts were screaming to a void of wanting anything but those words. So when she rustled to put her head on the bed again, Hades sighed and stood up. 

"Of course. But just to let you know, you nailed the timing. In Greece it would be sunrise now." They both woke at the same time, and that provided some oddity of comfort. 

His feet guided him to his beautiful door, every bone in his body begging him to look back. And when he did, at the body that was rolled over and still as death, he knew that this woman would change every aspect of his life without even a thought. Her words gave him peace for the morning. 

"You weren't loud, by the way." He never denied it. "I just have habits that are impossible to break." 

Her voice was breaking. She was mere seconds away from a breakdown and he could detect it. Could feel the tug of some incredible force inside of his heart calling. But he could also feel the invasion in her tone, as if all he yearned for was her lonesome. Except nobody deserved to be alone. Not like this. 

"We all do, Persephone." The click of the doorknob would signal that every word spoken would stay concealed inside of this room, inside of this moment. "And I believe that breaking them both ruins parts of us and fixes us at once." 

Shutting that door for the day on her would be a habit he'd avoid at all costs.

~

Hecate felt refreshed. More refreshed than she had in years, because the environment she had forced herself to forget now enveloped her energy in the comfort she once experienced every single morning. Hecate allowed herself the luxuries of vanity as she readied herself in silks of pure lavender, pulling her short black locks into a tight ponytail. The Titaness promised herself since the beginning of the new era that each day would be a power move, and dressing accordingly to that rule was her zone of happiness. Not that she dressed to impress the people that surrounded her (the crossroads were ever-quiet), but she did it because it was all deserved for her. She had fought to build this powerful name, and she would fight only further to uphold it. 

Which is why striding through the electric hallways of the House of Hades with the powerful click of black heels made her feel even more at home. For once, the surface was aligned with the exterior. 

Except power was interrupted when she strode into the kitchen, the smells of hickory bacon, savory sausage, fluffy eggs, sugary lemonade, perfectly spiced cinnamon bread were all tainted by waves of sleepy shadow. Quiet snores radiated from the sleeping source across the table, Hecate's eyes wondering to the drooling God of Death sleeping in the chair of the table, his head resting on top of the cherrywood without so much as a care in the universe. She rolled her eyes, striding to the man with contained force. 

Hecate analyzed the features she glossed over the day previous. His build was muscular, the veins of his forearms saying hello under his thinly layered shirt. His hands were also insanely large compared to hers, corded with muscle and vein, resting on the table in front of him. His tiny lips were defined in an intense cupid's bow that would of been considered attractive if it weren't for the drool that leaked from his throat. Slender eyes confirmed his relations to Nyx without a doubt, even his wideset nose the equivalent to his mother's. Glossed over short black hair was styled to perfection atop his skull, and she wondered if he qualified as one of the men that awoke with an effortless style. The black mustache that outlined his lips was an interesting choice. 

All in all, Hecate was convinced. Convinced that this man had done good by the Underworld, and was secure in his position. Even if walking in on him asleep the first morning of her arrival was unprofessional, she would let it slide for now. Everybody in the entirety of the universe knew of Hecate's intense business savvy. 

Lifting her slender but toned arm, Hecate snapped, projecting a noise charm over the action so the sound bled through every inch of the room. The sleeping god shot up at the alarm clock with solid surprise. Hecate remained unfazed. 

"I'm awake! Damn, will I ever catch a break?" Thanatos exclaimed as he slouched in his seat. Only his entire face changed at the questioning features of the goddess above him. "Why am I not surprised?" 

"Why am I not surprised that I find you drooling all across the table on my first day back?" She looked like perfection as she crossed her arms across her chest, only to radiate authority. 

Thanatos sniggered at the stance, nonplus shocking through the goddess at his reaction. He seemed indifferent as he reached for a cup inches away, following with the black coffee that he poured. 

"Awh don't look at me like that, little mouse. You almost look scary." Anger richocheted through her. 

How was this...this...amateur evoking such reactions from her? And how dare he speak of her height as if it defined her character?

"Little mouse?" She echoed with exclamation. Thanatos lifted the solid black coffee to his lips, shock running through Hecate like the speed of light. Except the opening was too great that she painted her features to mask a devilish smile. 

"Well no wonder you are so insulting in the morning, only the most evil of monsters drink coffee black." 

Thanatos's face was the definition of offended, looking at Hecate with utter disbelief as his eyes shot to the steaming drink in his hands as if it were the most divine thing in this universe. 

"I will stick this amazing coffee up-" 

"Thanatos! You are awake!" The booming figure of Hades strode through the double arches across the room, Hecate pleased at Thanatos's jaw reaching the floor. "And now that you are awake I expect that you said a very polite good morning to Hecate?" 

"She started it." Thanatos proceeded to grumble of the importance of black coffee and how all people should invest in the significant idealism, but Hades simply ignored the god with a wave of his hand, settling into the head of the table with ease. 

"Sometimes I feel as if I have a child instead of an employee." Hecate snorted. Thanatos on the other hand looked taken aback. 

"Why did everybody just wake up this morning and choose to abuse Thanatos? Do I look like a child to you? Oh wait, no, because this," His hands swept over his body. "Is six foot four inches of sexy."  

Hecate sighed into her lemonade, settling into her seat across from Thanatos at the table as she reached for a plate to begin her feasting endeavor. Yes, this was home. With clear add-ons, but home nonetheless.

"Mhm." Hades entertained with the flick of an eyebrow, ignoring Thanatos's foolery to get straight to business. "Well good news. Persephone has finally woken up. She has been awake since midnight." 

Hecate froze at even beginning to reach for a pancake. Every fibre of her being was set off at the revelation, the goodness inside of her instantly wanting to gather her wits and head to Persephone. Even across the palace she could feel her ebb and flow of power, only contained to go back to unstable every few seconds. All facts aside, it was crystal clear that Persephone wasn't in the correct mentality, and they had much work to do if they would work towards containing her powers. Hecate had already planned to offer her assistance. 

"How is she feeling?" Rhetorical. 

"She...she is the same. Exactly what you would expect." Hades's eyes were distant. Hecate couldn't break through them. "She is insistent on her rest, but I fear that letting her sleep her time away will not even be in the question." 

Even Thanatos looked solemn. Already the effects of the Flower Goddess's guilt had settled. And already Hades seemed to want to fix it. Blamed himself for it when he didn't need to. When it wasn't his place.

"And I agree, however, this process is one we will have to formulate with baby steps. Yes we will have to eventually need to drag her out of her space, but we also need to get her adjusted. She still hasn't met the bobble head yet-" 

"Hey!" Thanatos called with cinnamon bread stuffed in his mouth. 

"But we will get her adjusted. She seems most attached to you, Hades." Hades's eyes met hers. "Maybe spend more time with her? If she has decided to stay?" 

"She has. Which is miraculous in its own. However I can see that her motive is clearly rooted with staying away from her mother." At that obvious comment, Thanatos perked up, clearing his throat as if he had something important to announce. Two pairs of eyes made their way to the god. 

"Speaking of, in the little amount of my freetime between the time you had me working like a dog at Judgments, my Lord," Hades nodded towards him with a grin despite the scowl Thanatos presented, "I found the scroll for the guidelines made by Aphrodite and Hera themselves."

Hecate could see the gears turning in Hades's mind, churning in an attempt to register something he must of missed. Yet even Hecate's mind blanked at these supposed guidelines made by the two goddesses. What scroll did he speak of? How did it connect to this conversation? She knew that she couldn't explain it, but something nauseating settled into her stomach then. 

"What guidelines?" Hades questioned while intricately cutting into a thick piece of sausage. His tone almost aligned with annoyance, but also caution. As if fear that his plan would crumble. 

"Well, with Hera being the Goddess of Childbirth and Aphrodite being the Goddess of Love, clearly they did some digging together in case of a future scenario that almost akins to this one. And it turns out - in ancient lines - that if Demeter is to discover of Persephone's stay here then she can legally be taken back above ground."  

Fear completely took hold of Hecate with an iron fist, nausea falling over her in waves. There were so many questions she wanted to ask now, but opening her mouth would entail her tripping over her words. Hera didn't seem to be the type of woman to entrap a woman - an eighteen year old woman who was meant to make her own choices, not just as an eighteen year old but as a being - a woman in a situation that was as cataclysmic as this one. Hera had suffered, she should know the struggle. And Aphrodite? Surely from Zeus alone there had to be trauma she never wished for others to experience. 

"What the hell." Contained anger, raging inside of Hades - could be felt by Hecate. It was almost as if the energy was the color red, furious in its nature by also a ripple of grey; confusion. "There must be exceptions? In Persephone's situation, where she is as depressed as she is. And she is eighteen! An adult! Even as a minor she had the right to her own decision." The rise of his voice triggered Thanatos's response. 

"And I agree. However because this set of rules was created towards the beginning of Aphrodite's existence, it wouldn't surprise me that she made this purely to piss few people off." In her spiteful nature, Hecate wouldn't be surprised either. "But, I did find a loophole." 

That ripple of new energy was put on pause at the word loophole. Everything had a loophole. Especially in Olympian culture. 

"Which is?" Hecate breathed. 

"In black print, specifically from Hera, it states, Only whenever an immortal between the ages of sixteen and thirty years old is legal to stay in a realm away from their biological parentage by marriage. If the marriage is observed by another entity and approved by one-half of the parentage is this law applicable." 

The entire planet stopped on the midst of its axis. Chills shot down Hecate's bare arms at the ghost of his words. Marriage. A tie that was sacred in their culture. Something that would carry for the rest of the ages. Her eyes connected with Hades and it was so silent she swore that she could hear a pin drop. 

They had one chance. One chance to keep everything silent. If they were to go down the route of risking their chances with Demeter, that was. But the safer option was the one that would change life for the God of the Underworld forever. So now it was down to decision. Decision that Hecate knew Hades wouldn't allow himself to make on his own. He was too good. Too good with keeping his word for Persephone. 

"Marriage." Hades uttered, like the word was alienated on his tongue. "So marriage is the only safe, only legal way out of this." 

"With approval. But that would entail you striding up to Demeter and asking for Persephone's hand. And we both already know how that would go." Hecate was speaking against her entire train of thought.

The room was sober in its desperation. Hades was deep in his conversation of internal thoughts while Thanatos was distanced. The three would do anything to come up with a situation that was worthy enough to birth into existence. 

"You're wrong." Thanatos spoke in Hecate's direction. "You're wrong because the rule said nothing about her mother, it said one-half of her parentage. Zeus. Zeus is her father and in technicality the approval you recieve from him is applicable to the rule." 

Oh my Gods. Thanatos was correct. One-half was the golden number, and in that number this entire event could work to their advantage. If and only if everything went enroute smoothly - including the union of the God the Underworld with the Goddess of Spring, if they so chose to go through with seeking Zeus's request. 

"You're a genius, Thanatos." Hades exclaimed in a whisper. 

"Well yes I am." Thanatos tipped his cup to the praise and took a long sip of the bitter substance. "So what are we going to do, boss?" 

Both minor gods looked to the major, and although there was hope in their awakening, Hades looked every bit of in the struggle as he was on the inside. Hecate wanted to speak words to reassure him, but she knew that something as large as this was not her place. 

"I'm going to have to talk to Persephone. I promised that I would never decide for her. This isn't the way I imagined ever getting married, but if I must, then I'll do it for her." 

And in his decision, the silence that followed carried until the end of their breakfast. 

~

Day. 

Dawn. 

Dusk. 

Night. 

Sunrise. 

Sunset.

And the moon with all of it's infinite darkness. 

Celestials, stars and all of the world's ever-lasting natural astonishments ran through Persephone's mind in a pathetic attempt to self-soothe the goddess. Tear stains stayed bleeding into her cheeks as the lump in her throat seemed to never leave. She was choking on her tears, clutching one of the long pillows in between her legs and abdomen in some stupid effort for comfort. She absolutely hated how her selfish mind begged for the hug of her mother, only to remember what she had done. The bite that accompanied the memory was too much, too much pressure coupled with endless despair.

These blankets smelled of him. It was puzzling how much they did. Pine, smokey secrets and the scent of his wisping shadows. Every time she tried to scream out her sobs, the scent stopped her. Persephone almost hated the little detail, but knew with all of her immortal broken heart that she couldn't. Hades meant well, and Persephone wanted to be independent, but secretly she wished to cling to someone. Anything. And he was the closest thing she felt to comfort in this unknown place. 

Persephone had counted every single tick of the clock since his dismissal. It had been four hours and thirty-two minutes precisely. Her stomach was empty but not at all hungry, eyes raw and puffed. But the tears didn't stop. And sleep wouldn't come. There was just too much to swallow. So instead she invited the pressure on her skull, the migraine the equivalent to hell. Her eyes were so dry she was convinced they'd bleed. And oh Gods, her heart! The poor girl's heart was still beating but not at all thriving. This wasn't living, it was surviving. 

Would she always feel this way? Wanting to stay concealed behind closed doors just in fear of the tragic world with all of it's surface? Her life would never be the same. It would never match the magnitude it had before. Even with all of the previous restrictions from Mother, the Flower Princess felt destined to fall. 

Or to destroy. 

The thought brought tremors instantly down her body. Even with the heavy creme sweater and leggings, she felt cold. Something told her it wasn't because of the temperature. Rolling over in the four-poster bed, Persephone finally sat up and sighed with a grimace. Truly her sinuses were inflamed. Incredible how immortal healing did nothing for the intermingle of her emotions and appearance. 

Hilarious how she had been sleeping in a room she knew close to nothing about. Chocolate eyes swallowing the enormous bedroom around her, her breath was swept away at the personality the room seemed to shout. It didn't match hers whatsoever, but it told a story. Paintings of splashed red, grey and black watercolor forming the largest tapestry on the wall next to the towering doors told the story of birth and battle, inquisition and resolve. In front of the tapestry was a mountainous work desk of pure black, ink and scrambled papers cramed out of inorganization. The occupant clearly was a hard-worker who was too in their workspace to even organize that little corner. Next to the black desk stood a singular bookshelf full of a small collection of stories, organized by color beginning with the darks that eventually faded to light. Curiosity became her as she allowed feet to prode to the bookshelf, fingers running through the titles. A loveseat of a deep, romantic red was beside the shelf. 

On the wall in front of the bed stood a grand mirror and chest, the top organized with an array of candles, scents and intriguingly enough - a fluffed scarlet pillow with a gorgeous diadem on top. The crown was large, meant to fit a male's head no doubt. Persephone spent more time than she probably should have peering at the item, because when she looked up again her eyes met with almond peepers she had never knew the existence of. 

"Oh so he let's you sleep in his room and touch up on his crown, huh? I've known him for centuries and we haven't even approached that basis." 

The male voice made Persephone jump back, her entire demeanor changing at the sight of the unknown figure. He was tall, with hair of raven black and a body that unleashed curious shadows. Persephone was reminded of Hades on Olympus, and a part of her was soothed. 

"Woah, woah, woah! I didn't mean to-" The male began, only to be interrupted by the sound of clicking heels. He sighed before she even came in, the Titaness of Witchcraft scowling the man before she could even process his entire stance. 

This ought to be interesting. 

"Thanatos you moron I told you to let me do this alone." Persephone almost laughed at the height difference between the two. Of how this woman was two heads below the man and telling him off. 

"Yes you did. But did I listen, little pain in my ass? No." Hecate shot eyes of fire to him, Persephone nervous that she was about to witness a murder. It was enough to make her intervene. 

"Uhm, hi. I'm still here." Waving for good measure as she said it made it effective. Both gods looked to the woman and instantly calmed, straightening next to one another. 

"My apologies." Thanatos - the god she had never met - was the first to speak. "I didn't mean to startle you. I am Thanatos, Hades's second-in-command. If you are ever to need anything I am at your aid." Thanatos placed a hand upon his heart and bowed, Hecate seemingly pleased with his manners. 

Thanatos tried to meet her eyes, but the access was denied. There was a trip over the pause with his confused expression, but Persephone gathered her words and eased her anxiety, trying to swallow down the previous sobs from this morning. She hoped he didn't notice the flicker that overtook her features, a sad excuse of a smile on her full lips. Her fingers went to adjust a curl behind her ears. 

"I'm Persephone." There were only two words, but it was enough. Her social meter was already exponentially falling and the conversation had just began. 

Still Thanatos seemed to ignore the small endeavor, smiling back warmly. It was as if he knew she was trying - and that was enough. 

"And you are lovely." Please, Persephone hoped, don't say it out of pity. Say it because you mean it. "Anyway, I need to get back to work. Have a beautiful afternoon Persephone, little mouse." Then he was running out the door because Hecate's hell fury eyes followed him. 

Only whenever Thanatos was out the room did Persephone chuckle. Not because of intention, but because meeting the man gave her genuine joy. At the sound of the laugh Hecate looked to her with gleaming eyes, the smile on her face gorgeous. 

"Sorry if he was bothering you, Thanatos has quite the personality." Persephone allowed herself to sit upon the bed, triggering words to rise in her newly unlocked memory. 

Oh so he let's you sleep in his room and touch up on his crown, huh? His room.  That would piece together why he was sneaking around in the bathroom this morning, why he was the first person to see when she awoke and Gods why his bed smelled exactly like him. Her cheeks heated while she remembered mocking him for their little exchange this morning. Instant embarrassment settled into her gut - she must of sounded so stupid. She fought the blush. 

But what could that mean? Her sleeping in his room? Nothing. Maybe it meant nothing at all. Maybe that just meant he cared about her comfort. Considered her fragile feelings. 

"He didn't. I know I really didn't look it but I enjoyed it." She tried to push for a smile, but the second to last word felt so foreign she felt silly speaking. "Is this...Hades's room?" 

Hecate's brow rose in amusement, clearly fighting the tug of her lips. "It is. Speaking of he wants to have lunch with you in about two hours. Getting some food into your system would be good. That and he wants to speak about some things." 

A red eyebrow rose in questioning. Although the thought of food was nauseating, she pushed down one part of Hecate's words to focus on the other. Persephone's energy was close to nothing, and if Hades wanted to speak to her then the subject would likely be heavy. What she wanted matched exactly how she felt, and she didn't want to leave this room. Leaving it would entail too much movement, too much function after taking so much. 

Her silence must of been evidence of her wishes to deny, because Hecate sighed and sat beside her on the bed. Persephone couldn't explain it, but Hecate's prescense was soothing. It made her feel calm to be around someone who didn't expect something out of her. 

"I know how hard this is for you." Hecate's tone was soft. "I understand that being in this place could possibly be one of the worst situations for a woman who thrives in the day. But this place...it's full of zen and magic that is trashed on. I will never try to sway your opinion. You have suffered so much that that alone is another foreseeable evil." Hecate was furling and unfurling her fingers together, and Persephone couldn't tear her eyes away. Was she shaking?

"But I will tell you that we mean well. I don't want you to be alone and learn that being this way is the only way to live. Because seeking comfort in a ghost town will only kill you internally. And that's not living. That isn't genuinely living." She spoke as if she had stories of her own. As if there were secrets on her lips that were too powerful to keep behind. Persephone wanted to invade. Wanted to learn of what crafted her in such a way to talk with a tone that skittered over her bones. 

But Persephone knew more than anybody else that trauma lived in your head. She wouldn't push her, especially when Hecate knew the importance of not pushing Persephone. 

With a sigh, Hecate gathered her purple skirts and stood up, walking over to the bathroom. In that short time (truly it didn't feel short at all) Persephone kept quietly to herself, thoughts finally put to sleep. Only whenever Persephone heard the bath running did her lips move against her own will. 

"Hecate?" The Goddess of Witchcraft stepped from the bathroom, holding a towel of pure white in her arms. "I would like to know if there is anyway you could help me. With my nightmares." 

She wanted to stop then but Hecate's expression seemed to beg for further information. It took Persephone way too much time to gather her words, but Hecate seemed to have the patience of a saint when it came to the Spring Goddess. 

"I have found that over the years my nightmares reflect my reality. They become worse and worse with stress, and right now, I can barely sleep. And when I can, I can't do it soundly. I want to dream. I am eighteen and I don't even know what it feels like to yearn after a dream." Tears were rising to the surface while that stupid lump struck her throat like glue. 

She couldn't look up at Hecate. She felt too pathetic to do such a thing. Under her gaze, her skin sizzled where the Goddess of Magic would touch her with her eyes. There was no judgement, but Persephone's heart screamed. 

Legs moved, a rustle of movement. Hecate's words followed. 

"Look up." The tone was so authoritative that Persephone's chocolate brown orbs met hazel. "You are no little girl, you are a goddess. A goddess who has overcome and will work through her tragedies. The real heroes are the women that admit their fall, that work through it with stride. Even if it means asking for a sleeping drought to dream the dreams you deserve to be dreaming, you will still be a goddess. Not because you were birthed as such, but because you are one by heart." 

Hecate didn't break eye-contact until she was turning away, daring Persephone to run for the things she would need to fight for. And damn, did it work. Suddenly she wanted to rise to her feet and bring her speech to existence. She wanted to conquer and climb the mountains she simply stared at in the past.

Although the Goddess of Flowers still felt overwhelmingly empty, the words left more of an impact than could ever be stressed. 

~

It was almost depressing how nervous he felt. How Hades was damn near - well, he wasn't entirely sure how old he was, but he just knew he was old, and was tripping over a luncheon with a woman he had already had in his arms. He told himself this wasn't a date, despite Thanatos squaking about how much it really was, and that this conversation would all come down to business at the end of the day. But this was anything but business. It was to be the most awkward conversation of his life. 

Because this was about marriage. Something that although shit on by his family members, was still recognized as sacred amoung Olympian culture. Marrying Persephone would mean living a life tied to her, making her the Queen of the Underworld and weaving her into future myths told by mortals alike. He already felt endlessly attracted to her, in a sense that wasn't at all just physical but also a call mentally, but who would ever want to be married to him of all people? He didn't stand a chance. He might as well blow this to oblivion when there was still time. 

Except he couldn't physically get up from his seat. He sat in front of succulent wines, chocolate-covered strawberries, crisp breaded sandwiches and every delicacy alike. He was a god. One-thirds of the universe. He would act like it for her. 

But how in hell can you marry someone if they don't even know your favorite color? Or he her favorite drink? Was he insane or was it his sibilings for constantly deep-diving into these things with the blink of an eye? It took nothing for the union of Aphrodite and Hephaestus. Even less for another handful of couples that he was unfortunately associated with. 

All thoughts were put to rest at the sight of the woman who entered the room, the days behind them like a grain of salt and marriage being the only thing he could dream of when he saw her. 

The Goddess of Spring was divine. Her red hair looked absolutely soft to the touch, woven to a complex braid that hung over her shoulder - little wisps and whispers of red hair peeking to add character. And damn, how she wore navy blue. The gown was sensational on her body, velvet that hugged all the right places yet still flowed to the ground. Long sleeves were a beautiful touch. 

He could marry this woman. He would. Because never in his life had he felt the way he does when she walked into the room. Their eyes meeting only contributed to the magic, his feet suddenly moving and their bodies close as he approached her. 

Persephone was looking down, mascara giving her eyes the flutter that matched a butterfly. He had seen her without makeup and was still devastated over the sight. 

"What's your secret?" He breathed, catching her gaze. The smile that won his features took no effort at all. Victory. 

"I'm not sure what you're playing at?" 

"How do you always look so perfect?" It was blunt, but also ballsy. His accent only added to the fire that took her cheeks, so scarlet that it was as red as her hair. 

"You see I believed once that I had the secret to that, but then I met you." Their eyes never broke apart. But when he cleared his throat, it was almost as if the magic of the moment had dissolved, Persephone moving for the table with haste. 

He hated it. He hated how he knew these next few months would be by far the most excruciating for her, and all he could do was stand by. Hades needed more answers. 

"So I was told that we have some talking to do." Persephone sat into the chair he kept outstretched for her, pushing her in with ease. Only when Persephone was accommodated was when he took his own seat. 

"We do. And I understand that what I'm about to explain may be much too process, so I'm here to answer all of your questions. With an ultimatum of course." A smirk. 

Her chocolate brown orbs found his as she made a face. "An ultimatum? From the devil himself?" He thrived when she smiled. "Why am I not at all surprised?"

"Well Goddess of Spring, you didn't think this was going to be simple, did you?" The flicker of his fingers in mid-air resulted in a China plate floating towards the redhead. "For every item of food you eat I will gradually explain the situation. Nutrients are important. Even if they're useless for us immortals, that is."

Her eyes were analytical as they took in the plate and the plates of food on the table. They both knew what he was doing here. She couldn't avoid it. 

"You're serious?" To that all he could do was wink, grabbing a plate himself and already beginning it with the mixed vegetables.

"As serious as death, dear." 

"Then we have a deal. I want you to start from the beginning." She moved for the pile of buttered rolls, placing one on her plate and making a show of tearing pieces from the bread, popping it in her mouth. Hades was pleased. 

"So eager. Maybe adding some of that lovely chicken will convince me further?" Persephone rolled her eyes at him, gathering the thigh of the cheesy garlic chicken in front of her. 

"Who knew that the God of the Underworld could be so demanding?" She smirked. 

"Only when it comes to something I want." He allowed her time to process that. "Anyways, Demeter obviously knows nothing of your location. It turns out that in my efforts to get you down here Hecate ran into Hera, who was completely aware of your presence. You were invisible to the eye but Hera could feel you." 

Hades was amazed that Persephone hadn't dropped the fork by the fear that engulfed her. "You're telling me that my step-mother knows of my abduction but said nothing?" 

It took everything not to flinch at the word abduction. But that was what had been done. An abduction. 

"Indeed." He paused to chew on the savory roast. "Hera was insistent that you come with us. And considering that it has been days and Demeter has yet to bust down the gateways of the Underworld, we can absolutely trust my sister."

Before going on, Hades's eyes monitored Persephone's progress with her plate, only carrying with his words when he saw her cutting the chicken for more of its taste. 

"As I said last night, it was not at all in the plan to keep you here. I provided you with a choice in my realm as a woman and you chose to stay. Therefore on your own will, I consider that enough. But certain measures are...illegally preventing me from keeping you here, Persephone." 

Her entire face crumbled. He felt like he was putting her through this wicked game of messing with her emotions and he just wanted to end the explanation here. Ask her to marry him and her yes would be enough. But there were still details he couldn't graze over.

"So you're not keeping me here? You're going to make me leave?" The shadowy tug in his heart coupled with her sad eyes broke him. He wanted to reach for her. 

"Absolutely not. You will stay. No matter what anybody else wishes you may stay." It took seconds for the girl to grab her fork again and contain her obvious shaking. "Its just that simply there are rules that are hard to ignore. Ancient rules that entail your parents know that you are here. But that rule has too many risks. If Demeter is to find your location then even I can't deny her taking you away. She could rage war and it would be legal."

"All because of some rules? That's ridiculous." He was becoming accustomed to her agreement on this situation. 

"In every way. But like everything else, there is a loophole. One that...you may find unpleasant. And if you do, then I will take no offense to it." Liar. He was lying for his ego. 

"Well it can't be terrible. And this loophole? If it is done, my mother technically can't take me legally?" 

Silence. He realized then that uttering the words into existence would shape them both forever. This legacy he built would either crumble or grow. It all depended on them. 

"Yes. If you marry me, if you become the Queen of the Underworld - my wife - then your mother wouldn't be able to reach you."

The collision of his words and her reaction was insanity, because this time her mouth was agape, the entire fate of the Underworld hanging on an axis of her decision. Persephone was frozen, hand grasping her fork so tightly he feared she would break sterling silver. Say something, he wanted to scream, trying to reach her eyes. But they were glued to a plate, empty and lacking of anything at all.

His heart fell to his stomach. He shouldn't feel this way. Did he truly believe there was ever a chance in the world that she would agree to marry him? Under what circumstance? Fates he was so stupid. Immortality came with it's fury. This would be one.

But her response was one that he didn't expect.

"Do you truly believe you can love a monster?" A monster. Is that what she - the most heavenly creature on this earth - thought of herself? It was like a slap to the face. Had she even seen him? Heard the stories? He laughed with spite.

"Oh love, what if I told you the monster is me?" The one who ruled death. The one that is Death.

"But why would you want to marry me? I've done so many cruel things. And I-" His shake of the head silenced her, the scrape of the chair against pristine tile taking her by storm.

Hades strode to her, knowing that what he was to do would probably earn him a slap in the face, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Hades knelt beside her chair, on two knees and tipped his head to look only to her. Not the lights, but how her eyes captured them. How the deep scarlet lowlights of her red hair sung to the candlelight. She was breathtaking, and the way she stared back, one would understand that this, that they could work. If a woman could get the God of the Underworld on his knees, then she could achieve anything.

"Look at me." He whispered it, the glassiness that shook her eyes dripping to her cheeks. "You are not a monster. In times of darkness you may feel that way, Persephone. But you are anything but. You are light. And in that I have found a friend. I know that you feel like me denying you may be a favor, but what man does not fall to his knees just by the sight of you? And your mind? Your mind is what shines. I saw every speck of your light, but I will stay for that darkness. The darkness gives power." Tears rolled down her face. She didn't struggle against his gaze.

"How do I fix it?" She sobbed, fingers roughly rising to fight those tears. "How do I fix me?"

He wanted to touch her. Not romantically, but to soothe. He wanted to hold her and whisper all the things she wouldn't believe. Because she didn't need to be fixed. She needed to find her control. To best that bastard on Olympus and her treacherous mother. The scars would heal, if they found their stitches.

"Marry me. I know we're doing everything backwards. I know that I know close to nothing of you as you do me. But in our marriage, I can promise to you now, I will help you overcome this. I will help you master this power. You can wield it. I will train you and accompany you through every mission. Thanatos and Hecate are at your aid. I am here through this journey. I am not her. I will never decide for you." She let out another sob at the mention of Demeter, moving forward to find his hand. She grasped it as if he were her lifeline. She needed him.

"Just please...marry me, Persephone. Become my wife." His free hand found her cheek, wiping tears of salty liquid and eye makeup away from her soft skin. He relished the feeling.

The clock was ticking. Drums were playing somewhere and his heartbeat was accelerating tick by tick. The sands of time were cruel, swift.

But the Goddess of Spring was swifter. And her confirmation changed his - both of their lives forever.

"Yes."

~

Persephone thought herself to understand after this past week what torture seriously felt like. Of how pain could bring you to thoughts of darkness that you never imagined in your entire lifetime to be thinking, and of how your body suddenly felt unbearable. But this...this sudden event of going through this different kind of pain was so hurtful that her nap was completely disrupted. Being alone in a realm without the one person she felt she could actually confine in was so much on her heart. From the very moment Hades approached her that morning about his descent was the part in time she started to feel that growing ache in her stomach, ripples of nausea at the thought of him never coming back to her impossible to ignore but something she would never admit to the world beyond.

"I'll be back by the end of the day. Hecate and Thanatos are at your disposal." She could still remember in detail how the cold of the room seeped into her bones, jolting her body to force tears to gather in her eyes. Gods she was still so sick of crying. But these reactions...they were second nature to her now. Despite believing she was in control, regardless of her mood in the moment, her own emotions were her very betrayal.

"Promise me?" Persephone had to hold back from cringing into the velvet pillow of Hades's bed at the exact remembrance of her tone: of how her vocal cords were breaking, and the world was falling into itself yet Hades did everything in his power to bring her assurance. Pathetic. She felt so utterly pathetic.

"I promise."

Yet Persephone still basked in his tone, seeking comfort in the softness that filled the void of his beautiful voice. She remembered wanting to grab his hand - not because there was any intimacy that took their bodies - but because she wanted it with such a burn that Persephone was afraid she would conquer Helios. A strange relationship she was in indeed. If relationship (even in her mind the word was so foreign) was even the correct terminology to throw on this transaction.

Persephone sighed out of rueful annoyance towards herself, setting up in the four-poster bed to aggressively run her hands though her curls. Was her marriage destined to be complicated? Would there ever be a source of normality which would substitute her uncontrollable powers that interrupted every fibre of her emotions? Because normal marriages were full of laughter and affection, intimacy that burned and a destiny that twinned to a fairy tale. Or maybe Persephone was only assuming that because of her previous innocence.

She would never be enough for Hades. Or the Underworld. Or anybody at all. This was the worst decision Hades could ever of made...this marriage is doomed and she was the reason.

Persephone felt as if she was a roaring sea of complications, raging from the inside out. The lump was beginning to form again in the back of her throat and Persephone found the duvet, balling the fabric in her hands until her knuckles went white. Tremors overtook her entire being. She needed to get a grip on the tears. Put an end to the pitless sorrow.

Only the tears found her eyes, swimming down her flawless cheeks. There wouldn't be an end. There would only be this awful start, her story never reaching the climax she deserved or the ending she wished to find. There was only the beginning. A tragedy. Persephone couldn't recall a time where she felt the sunshine in her soul...she could only find thunder clouds and disgusting rain. In all honestly it was useless to cry when her eyes were constantly dry to the feeling of blood, but her body screamed out to be soothed. Otherwise she would be choking on the words she was dying to say.

Persephone found the wisps of shadows in her heart, tugging on the enstranged thing as if it was her lifeline. I'm still here, I'm still here, I'm still here. She still didn't possess any knowledge regarding the oddity, but it wasn't as if it was her desire to learn now when she was in the middle of this breakdown. She could only describe the internal feeling as light wisps floating from her chest sometimes radiating to her stomach, the interesting little thing only falling to her heart when something was too intense to process. Like her emotions. Like the now.

She held on to that lifeline internally as the sobs escaped her mouth and her body, snot falling from her nose as she held in the urge to scream. What would screaming do to help her? How would that possibly help contain anything at all? But Gods, the roaring in her ears was getting louder, and she wanted to wreck her rage on something, anything.

Her hand lifting was against her will, Persephone's jaw falling open as she grunted to keep her hand down. Resisting was so painful. Why were the right efforts always the hardest? She wanted to unleash that darkness, but wielding it unmorally was everything that terrified her. She needed Hades. She needed him.

Right when the tremors were about to unleash destruction upon the House of Hades, all sense was robbed from the goddess when something akin to the texture of butterflies meeting the shadows of her heart intermingled, breath being stolen from her as Persephone's heart drummed to a beat of electrifying power. She had memorized the voice that filled her mind, his voice as smooth as velvet but as deep as Tarturus as it played. All the tears were put on pause, the tremors gradually finding their demise.

And I'm here. Hades. The God of the Underworld was filling her head. Questions couldn't even find their place in her head because all she could focus on was him. I feel you. Emphasis was placed on the sentence as shadow met shadow in some beautiful collision. Breathe. I'm here.

Not in person, not in space, but here. In her heart. She couldn't feel the shocks of the panic attack any longer, her pants acute to her regular breathing. Regardless her eyes were still wider than saucers and Persephone was still ultimately convinced that she was possibly imagining things to the point of hallucination. Because that didn't just happen...hearing voices in her head wasn't normal. And hearing his voice specifically? Something was happening to her, and although she should probably be rocketing for common sense now, she only craved his voice more.

"Hades?" This time she said it for the entire universe to hear. "Hades?" Nothing. Even the essence of his shadows were gone, leaving nothing in her husband-to-be's wake.

A pair of knuckles drumming on the door brought a new panic, Persephone rising from the bed with such swiftness that she was confused with herself. Adjusting her curls and rubbing her cheeks to rid of the tear stains, Persephone projected her voice the absolute best she could to avoid any rocky edges.

"Come in!" The door opened to reveal the man she had not seen since the day previous, shadows of light wisps gathering around his slender torso as he stepped into Hades's room with calm confidence. Persephone fished her memory until she found the right catch. Ah, yes. This was Thanatos. The man who was fighting with Hecate.

"Oh thank the Fates you are awake, if you were asleep I regret to inform you I would of busted through the door against the she-demon's will." Thanatos bowed towards her either way, a smile gracing his lips as if what he just said was normal. Persephone allowed the steady rise of her red eyebrow to show.

"The she-demon being your wife, right?" Thanatos's features were the definition of confused. Persephone blanked in reaction.

"I have a wife?" Now they were both lost. And then it hit her like a ton of bricks at the stupidity of her assumption, linking two people together when they didn't even need to be linked. Even worse was the understanding registering on Thanatos face, a smirk blooming amongst the dead confusion.

"Oh my Gods I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have just-" Her cheeks were already aflame when he cut her off with an eruption of laughter.

"No, no, I'm just dying at the fact that you imagined that me, and her-" More laughter, so much that Thanatos was doubling over himself. "Oh my Gods you are so good. And the look on your face! Your cheeks are redder than your hair." He was now sniffling back tears, olive skin finding its color again.

Except Persephone found an opening in his reaction, lips twisting at the God of Death. "You know Thanatos, blushing an alarming color isn't my only talent. I'm also very smart, and from memory I was told that when a man likes a woman he is very prone to seeking new measures of annoying her to gain her attention."

The entire room went quiet, and Thanatos was striken to shocking surprise with the drop of his sharp jaw at the sudden showcase of personality from Persephone. The goddess just stood with the look of victory on her face, forearms crossed over her chest as she processed his response. Very interesting figure he was, indeed. Persephone could envision some powerful duology the pair would make if they found companionship.

"Ah, I see what you are doing here." Thanatos sniggered at the flicker of her eyebrow. "You are doing what my ex-therapist did to make me unwillingly admit my deep, dark secrets!" Persephone couldn't contain the chuckle that she released. She could feel her serotonin levels rising just from their conversation.

"And I assume that you fired her because you weren't comfortable with reverse psychology?"

"Nope, I only made up the scenario to make you laugh."

Persephone faltered, the look on her face yet again allowing a small space for Thanatos's chuckle to grace the silence of the room. Persephone couldn't find it inside of her to be tossled by his lie, simply because her world became so much more brighter when the goofball conversed with her. After her episode only minutes ago and the life-changing event she still suspected that she hallucinated, the tiny engagement of their talk was obviously deserved.

"You should freshen up, Mrs. Hades. Our future hubby will be home for lunch any second now." His walk to the door was fast-paced, a shuffle of long legs. Persephone sped over the line in her head to find the oddity that made the entire sentence off.

"Did you just say our?"

"Have a wonderful bath my future queen, bye-bye!" Laughter filled the room to finally create the most passable silence.

Still, the darkness lingered.

~

Persephone's stomach was a cluster of nerves. Her hands were shaking as she adjusted the pearl earrings she interlooped through her pierced earlobes, the reflection in the mirror revealing the most stunning young woman. Makeup was more iridescent today to compliment the tight black gown that swallowed her hips, Persephone's hair done by Hecate in simple red curls that were pinned by pearls. Nobody would ever be able to guess the breakdown she had an hour ago.

"You look stressed." Hecate spoke from the bed behind her, monitoring all of her movements. Persephone still couldn't decide if she loved or hated it.

Turning to face her, Persephone made no effort to mask the emotion. In need to distract herself, Persephone made a show of grabbing elegant black pumps from Hecate's right, settling upon the bed to do the straps with trembling hands.

"I feel really stressed." Hecate's hazel eyes found the action, eyes almost shallow if their pity as she held the girl struggling to even hold the heel with her shaking figures.

She could do this. She could finally leave the comfort of this room. She had done it yesterday, Persephone could do it again. Still the rise and fall of her lungs were forced, some pressure on them that made breathing uncomfortable. The anxiety in her throat was making it harder to ignore the growing nausea in her gut.

"Persephone." Whenever the young woman didn't look up from the shoes, Hecate took the pump in her own hands, finally gaining the redhead's attention. Her uneven breathing was becoming even more noticeable now. "Breathe. In and out. With me, now."

It was a struggle to hold Persephone's orbs, solidly because her eyes were rampid in their race. Anxiety made the mind feel attacked, therefore running or even breaking one's focus themselves was sometimes the only option on the mind of the victim. But once Hecate held her chocolate eyes, she allowed her hand to find Persephone's trembling one, the world around them being put to rest. Hecate would never use a soothing spell on the person who needed to fight their own battles, because that was blatant ignorance to the issue at hand.

"Inhale." The witch initiated the breath, putting on a show of breathing deeply in. "Exhale." This time, Persephone followed.

Hecate led Persephone through the exercises until her hands were frozen out of comfort, not letting go of her hand until she was sure of the goddess's stability. Only when the room was deadly silent was when Hecate let go, speaking to clear the air of how close the young woman had come to an explosion.

"I've had anxiety through my trauma as well." Persephone's eyes were stuck on the crown occupying the table across from them. "Something I do on the rare occasions I feel I am being pushed over the edge in public or even by myself is pressing on the pressure points of my hand. Like this."

Persephone's eyes landed on Hecate's caramel hands, one set of fingers pressing hard into spots of her palms, her fingers and even her wrist. It intrigued the woman how this could possibly help, but regardless opted to ask the thoughts occupying her head.

"Does it stop the panic attacks? And do you really do this in public?"

"Sometimes. If I clear my head enough to combine it with this mechanism, it distracts me. It's quiet enough and sometimes so hidden that doing it in public is simple." Hm. Persephone stashed this suggestion away in her head, falling back into the quiet until she realized just how far Hecate was willing to go to help her.

"Thank you." She offered to the smiling goddess, knowing that it was just enough for this moment.

She could see this friendship. Could envision being Queen of the Underworld with Hecate by her side, making her the right hand she always deserved just as Thanatos was Hades's. This life - this galaxy of pure darkness - was getting easier and easier to imagine as time bore on.

Except Persephone was just tip-toeing that fine line of deciding if she either loathed it or loved it, the world falling from it's axis.

The moment was severed whenever Persephone finally noticed the figure leaning against the open door at the corner of her eye, her heart stopping when she saw Hades. Shock rippled through her when she questioned just how long he had been standing there with his muscular arms crossed over a burly chest, the smirk on his face every piece of pleased. Hecate sighed exasperatingly with the face-palm of the century.

His ocean blue met her figure, wondering her body with a respectful upsweep. Persephone would absolutely be lying if she said she didn't at all feel her cheeks flushing, heat rushing to her body as the cold that was the atmosphere turned to molten lava. He was in every way the most beautiful man she had ever seen. Today he wore a robe of dark velveted black, the robe slivered to reveal muscles tightened by a deep emerald dress shirt, tucked into black trousers. The ebony of his short locks caught the lamplight. It was mind-boggling how she had earned the attention of such a figure of power and beauty.

"Well look at you, Hecate. May I have a moment with my fiance?" The tug of Persephone's lips flying upwards was an aspect that was unconcealable.

"Please, you are literally asking me to enter your room? Say less, Hades." Persephone chuckled when Hecate finally left the room, Hades sighing with the click of the closed door. The noise matched one of a tired father, responding to his rebellious teenagers.

"And that," He motioned to where Hecate was previously sitting with one hand. "Is why my little hellions will never get an annual paycheck."

"She's right you know." Persephone objected with a flickered eyebrow. "You should seriously stop being a push-over and letting other people occupy your room."

The drop of his jaw made her feel powerful, the element of surprise on her side. Persephone allowed the gorgeous half-smile to rise. Hades sniggered when leaning against his midnight dresser, a lazy hand holding his chin to look at her with full attention.

"Oh what was that, my dear?" An attractive uplift of his lips. "Did I hear the little flower princess finally slipping from her submissiveness?"

Persephone rose to her feet, and she swore that the red in her hair gleamed only brighter. If he wanted to play this game, she could play it infinitely better. In fact it felt so wonderful to give in to that distraction.

"Well yes I did, my Lord." There was a flash of something unidentifiable across his features, but Hades's face still returned to that painfully handsome smirk. "Call me out for only speaking the truth."

"Interesting of you to say now that you're in my head all the time."

The facade was over in a blink at the reminder, Persephone's determined expression traded for utter confusion at remembrance of the event previously. Her body found the bed again, looking from Hades in order to fall on the bed upright.

"So I wasn't hallucinating it?" Persephone's tone was so low it was almost a whisper, but Hades heard it loud and clear. She sounded scared, puzzled...but also falling deeper down the hole she was trying so desperately to climb from.

The God of the Underworld's expression fell as he moved to crouch in front of her, limbs bending until his large body was in front of her, his hands finding her chin to move her eyes to stare into his. The moment was intense, because suddenly the world had vanished and all that remained was them. The feel of her skin against hers was electrifying, and only then did Hades realize just how close their faces were to one another's. Her breath was shallow, lips parted to dire temptation. He tried to look past it to feel this moment, to revel in it.

"Does the thought repulse you?" Her heart fell at his tone, the cold whisper igniting her skin. "Of me being a piece of you? Even if we can't explain it?"

Now her heart was speeding. Because she feared saying the wrong thing, or completely saying the right thing only too fast and he wouldn't understand it because it crossed him the wrong way. But she didn't care if she was crossing the bridges that weren't meant to be crossed now, because with the look of his face coupled with being so close to him...it made her want to fix all the problems and all the threats that so much as came too close to him.

"No." Her hand found his, the exact one that was on her cheek. Fingers massaged the skin there. She was going to burn. Burn on fire just from touching him. "If anything I'm just confused as to how I have the King of the Underworld on his knees for me now."

Gods the grin that graced his features were holy. She wanted to drown in his eyes and tell the world to pause. Because that was how powerful she felt with him, how comfortable everything was.

"Well, only a king can bow to the queen."

Persephone faltered, heart beating against her chest at the revelation. Hades was nodding before she could even capture her words.

"He said yes?"

"Yes, he said yes." Persephone's smile was contagious, the universe finally full of sunshine and rainbows again.. Even if this moment would last seconds, she could deal with the pain later.

"That's...that's-" Where was her vocabulary when she needed it?

"Incredible? Refreshing? Indescribable?" Hades voiced when curiously grabbing the black pump from the ground next to him, holding Persephone's ankles in his hands gently to slide on the shoe. His fingers were cold against her skin, burning down pieces of her she didn't know existed. It took every fibre of her to not react. "Yes I know, what woman wouldn't want to be married to me?"

Persephone rolled her eyes and slapped his shoulder, watching as his hands worked the delicate straps of the heel. This man would be her husband. Wild. Absolutely wild.

"What happens now?" Hades listened intently when strapping the other heel to her foot, running a hand through his ebony hair to face her once he was finished. He remained on his two knees, only this time placing his hands on his knees. They both seemed to ignore the small detail, too engaged in the conversation to care.

"We get married firstly, and then Hecate will assist me with your coronation and prepare you for being Queen of the Underworld. With me running one-thirds of the earth, I fully intend to treat you as my equal. Therefore there is work for both of us to tend to." Persephone was perfectly fine with that. In fact, work would give her a perfectly reasonable distraction from the hell that was in her head. "I'll walk you through the Underworld tomorrow as Thanatos and Hecate prepare for the wedding. I want you to feel comfortable here. You don't have to make it home, but I still want to be the person to convince you."

She was thankful for him not pressuring her, opting for the best route for the both of them. Yes, they were doing everything backwards, but at least they weren't ruining it.

"And what of this..." She thought around how to even shape what they had into words, the push and pull of the power between them so hard to even speak of. "Power between us? What will shape from this?"

"Oh, I fully intend to address this with Hecate. That will tie into your training." Hades's fingers were massaging her dressed knees. "We'll take everything slow. Comfortably, that is."

There were a million possibilities of what he meant by going slow. Diplomacy was already covered, as was the part of her training, but Persephone didn't possess the confidence to address the possibility of a them. Of an item. They would be husband and wife and they had yet to sleep in the same bed, yet to even touch lips or yet to even...well do whatever couples in love did.

But this marriage was an arrangement. If love was to blossom from such a thing then so be it, because the swelling in Persephone's heart when she so much as looked at him was impossible to ignore. Placing her heart in the hands of another after the heartbreak of her mother was too much on her soul right now...she could hardly bare it. The reminder caused a rift in the moment.

"Who knew the God of the Underworld was so strategic?" She accepted his outstretched hand to get her off the bed, politely looping her arm through his awaiting arm swiftly.

"There are many things you don't know about me." And with that expression on his face, as daring as it was, truly tempted her to fall into the chase.

Little did he know she already has.

FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME IN HER long, long immortality, the great Goddess of Wisdom felt...confused. Something was terribly wrong, and Athena could feel it in her ancient bones.

~

"As odd as it sounds, I don't feel very...queen-ley yet." The Goddess of Spring spoke into the empty space of the grand hallway to her fiance, his body facing hers as she adjusted the heavy bejeweled cape around her shoulders.

Persephone couldn't describe the comfort she felt in the leather pants she was wearing, retiring her extravagant finery for the day one of the best decisions she's ever made for herself in a long while. But furthering her comfort was Hades's approval of her attire - the way his eyes found her figure making her feel powerful. Although she didn't need his approval, the way he supported her made the situation all the much better.

"To be fair time is going by a bit fast. You've only been here for a week and we're already planning a wedding." Persephone turned to him with a smirk. Hades leaned against the walls with a bulky shoulder, his arms interlaced over each other's as he leaned ever closer to her. Those ocean eyes were full of mischief, the shadows surrounding them combined with the devilish glint in his eyes burning down the world. "You'd be amazed by what we can do in a month."

Then the flame returned to her veins, that roaring in her ears contained but also bringing lava to melt her heart. His lips were parted in the most convincing position, daring her to step forward and experience their ruin. Persephone allowed herself the graces of studying the thin architecture, amazed by how something as mundane - even if they were everything far from the world - as lips were so steller. He was close to her. Not too close, like their encounter where he was holding her weeks previously, but still so heartbreakingly close.

His eyes were a storm driving the ultimate fire of her anatomy, and she wondered how in all the worlds and stars and galaxies of this universe a person could evoke this level of reaction. She stared into the pools of blue. The smirk aligning his lips promised her that Persephone could take all that she desired with a single touch, and she was in complete understanding of it all. In fact simply knowing that detail crept the mark of her trembling fingers to draw closer to the black stubble running across his jaw, her throat containing a ghost of a breath.

Except her finger froze in mid-air as realization hit her like a ton of bricks, the interaction faltering. Perhaps she was becoming too daring, or maybe she was just allowing herself too much she couldn't have, but guilt offsetted in Persephone's head in clarity. In result she allowed her hand to gently pat his jaw, and the look of tossing confusion she recieved only made the atmosphere comical.

"Like growing a beard! There's plenty of time in the month for that, right?"

A dazzling grin seceded their interaction, Persephone turning around from her fiance in a flash of red-gold hair that flew towards the exit of the corridor. All that remained was the most puzzled Hades, his mouth agape in the most twisting confusion. He stared at the goddess from across the room, feet still rooted to the ground in an attempt to piece together the situation. Except he gathered his wits and walked towards her, allowing all of the entitlement to gload into his voice. Footsteps echoed.

"For your information, I would look terrible with a beard." Imagery of his youngest brother hit him all at a time. Maybe one day he'd explain the never ending mania of the forbidden beard to her.

"My point still stands." A red eyebrow rose with her statement, her half-smile possessing every bit of sass.

"As does mine." He wasn't going to back down, and the way that they both stared at each other in the eyes stubbornly was too comical to break.

Before he understood it neither of them were blinking in the last minute, the entirety of the hall growing silent. What of this...game? Why was it becoming so much more intense? He wasn't sure, but what he was sure of was that his eyeballs were flickering, dying to move. Even his mouth was growing dry. Except he was searching for that satisfaction, and refused to remotely let go of winning for a single second. All Hades was left with was analyzing the molten brown of Persephone's eyes, the withholding of her contact striking him even deeper in his soul than he ever imagined.

Right when his eyes burned with the fury to blink, Persephone's beautiful eyelashes curled and unfurled twinned to a butterfly's, the blink announcing his utmost victory.

"Ha!" Joy exploded around him as he pointed in her face.

The sassy roll of her brown eyes coupled with the exasperating sigh escaping her throat triggered his laughter, life suddenly appearing so much lighter now that she was in it.

Only he would never admit it, even if it took the intensity of one thousand games of staring to secede his thoughts into history forever.

~

Half an hour later after the sands of time brought them to reality, Persephone was quivering with curiosity at the newfound landscape engulfing her senses. Hades had offset their journey by bringing them North of his palace, to one of the most dusted terrains she had ever seen in her entire existence. They were feet away from the mighty River Styx, the river adjoined with several other major bodies of water that created the Underworld. Persephone didn't completely understand the entirety of the geography of the Underworld - only the passages she snuck from the books Demeter desperately tried and failed to hide from her - but she was so fortunate for this overview that she was practically bouncing with excitement.

Because Hades wanted to keep this tour as insightful as possible, he kept shadow-traveling off the table to make the walk over to the edge of the River Styx, the candlelight Hades projected around them the only accessor she had to her sight. But she was stricken with surprise to learn that not all of the Underworld was projected in darkness - an objection to all the rumors. In fact the high skies of the underground were alit with hues of intermixed of solid neon greens, violets and purples so dark they nearly faded into the darkness, and beautiful indigo blues. The ground she walked on was hard, at some points rocky yet also soiled with traces of dead dirt that concealed secrets. Their walk here was appointed with dark caves, hovering thickets and leave-less trees.

While others would call something so dead bland and horrific, Persephone could scout the beauty that so many would easily ignore. She found the phenomenon of the multi-colored "skies" stunning. It had only been a mere thirty minutes and every tiny detail was accompanied by questions she made no effort to ignore.

"The River Styx is obviously the most popular amass of water connected to the Underworld. It is so vast that it is connected to Archeron (the river of woe) and points to a multitude of directions in the Underworld." As Hades spoke, Persephone looked in the distance to see that a rickety boat sat at the corner of the River Styx, a tall figure hidden by some heavy black robe standing within it arising more questions. She felt no radiation of danger in the air. "There are three major parts of the Underworld: the Asphodel Fields, the Elysian Fields and of course, Tarturus."

A shiver richocheted through her body at the mention of the deepest, darkest piece of this world. Even Persephone knew the dangers that Tarturus harbored. The monsters down below so vile that could swallow you whole.

"Today we'll do an overview of the Fields and some bodies of water. Ask as many questions as you see fit." Hades stopped talking to lower the light projection. "Firstly let me show you my ferryman."

They finally approached the hooded figure, Persephone's vision bringing blank terror to fuel her veins at the creeping dense white finger bones wrapped around the lamp the figure was holding. The breath caught in her throat was absolutely forgotten, the world coming to its axis as she dared to look deeper under the hood, focusing on the glowing, pitless black eyes that belonged to the the creature. When the hood fell back to reveal the face of this figure, Persephone had to swallow back her guilt at the features she drank. She could only describe his face as both life and death, cut in half. The left side of the ferryman's face was beautiful, twinkling with the most flawless pale skin. That black eye was slender, half the hair on his skull a deep black that reminded her highly of another. Then when she reached the decay, nothing made sense. Solid, skeletal bone. A human skull accompanied by a lifeful pitless black eye - staring straight at her.

Persephone felt no guilt when her fingers flickerd against Hades's own, their eyes meeting for half a second as Hades recognized that striken fear. Comfort bloomed in her heart as his free hand enveloped her own.

Feel no fear, he is completely harmless. Hades's booming voice filled her head, and Persephone took a deep breath to regain her posture. Even beside him she still wasn't used to...whatever was between them.

"Goddess Persephone, I introduce you to the first of Erebus and Nyx's children, my ferryman of the Underworld: Charon." Charon trained his eyes boredly on the young woman, nodding at her in a mannerism that was impossible to ignore. Immediately she recalled why the first half of his face was so familiar.

"You're Thanatos's brother, aren't you?" It was so excitable that Hades smirked from behind her.

"Unfortunately, my lady." That fleshed-skeletal face remained indifferent, his nod confirming her question.

"You'll quickly notice that Charon is the more tolerable sibiling." Persephone shook her head with a smile, leaning into Hades as he whispered his comment, "But let's not tell Thanatos that."

Persephone was also quickly noticing the pattern that making fun of Thanatos was the Underworld's favorite hobby, but with good regards, of course. Hades only let go of her hand whenever they were both seated in the long ferry, a paddle being magically conjured from the lamp in Charon's skeletal hand to fly into the water. Except...the water didn't truly look like water.

Training her immortal vision to get an even deeper look into the shadowy black waters, Persephone saw a multitude of nauseating but also intriguing substances and items. One of the first things she noticed - purely because of how many there were - was human remains. Bones. It brought bile to rise in her throat. Only she looked beyond the bones and saw broken clockwork, hideous dolls, pieces of combusted piano, shattered armor and other faltering things that were randomized to make absolutely no sense.

"The River Styx is one of the most ancient entities of the Underworld." Only when Hades's voice filled the air did Persephone realize they were scurrying across the waters and leaving the land of the House of Hades behind. Her eyes found Hades's body, his eyes closed and body relaxed as if this was normal. "The bones represent the bodies of soldiers who dared to try and swim the waters, while some are actual remains who put their lives on the line with the river and died because of it. That is why swearing on the River Styx is so literal. It's fatal if you don't bet correctly."

Oh how very lovely. Just wonderful. In fact the limited amount of food in her stomach just seethed with the fact.

"Why is the water...shadowy?" Why did she even speak?

"Running with the theme of death, the shadows are actually the souls of the humans who betted on the River...and lost." Persephone was utterly confused at how he said such things so easily. "All the items within it, as odd as they are, is responsible from the magic of mortal's dreams and suffering. The River Styx is so powerful as to personify those things when it takes a soul."

His eyes were still closed, body hunched over like he was on the verge of a nap. Persephone's hands grasped the wooded edges of the ferry as she stared at her husband-to-be, mouth agape.

"You can't be serious." Hades's eyes opened in mischief to withhold hers.

"Would the man who beat you at a staring contest lie to you?" The words were accompanied by the wink of his eyes.

"Is that what we're calling it? A staring contest?" Her voice was alit with entertainment. Leave it to the God of the Underworld to joke in the times of skating across the waters of death.

"Would you prefer I call it Hades beats Persephone: the Game?" She sniggered when leaning back in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest to play with her newly manicured nails.

"Now you're just-" Except she never got the chance to finish her sentence, because Charon's deep voice filtered through the air to alert Hades of his question.

"Master, would you prefer for me to drop you off at the River Archeron or shall we head for the Asphodel Fields?" Hades's features tinkered in question, only to fly to Persephone then back to Charon's hooded backside.

"How about we allow Persephone to choose." Her eyebrow arose, the weight of making the decision foreign. His eyes remained to her in question, the silence that followed was Charon waiting for a question.

She opened her mouth but faltered, remembering Hades's request to ask away if any questions were to arise.

"Charon?" She practically whispered the word, shaking at the thought of finally deciding something for herself. She wasn't a child anymore, and clearly she wasn't used to the responsibility.

"My lady?"

"What exactly is major about the River Archeron? What role does it play for the Underworld?" Fair enough. This would push her to decide. If this was to also be her domain, she wanted to understand every last working part.

"The River Archeron is adjoined to the entrance of the Underworld. The beach there is ridden with newly dead souls waiting to be carried to one of their three destinations. That is where I come in. Each passenger should carry one coin with them. This coin is called an obol, and presents them with the justification to cross. Only when I collect the obol and cross out their name on the list can I take them to their destination: Judgement to the House of Hades." Each element of this explanation was feeding her curiosity, Persephone soaking in the information like a starving man.

"Cerberus also guards the gates of the entrance. No roaming demigod can get in." Hades added, Persephone being exposed to the name. Hades read that question on her forehead and answered it then. "My dog."

Persephone absolutely could not contain the smile that possessed her features. Because it was too much, too new and much too exciting. "You have a dog?"

The God of the Underworld had a dog. This was too good.

"What does this look like? Of course I have a dog." Persephone's head fell back as she cackled. "He is a very mighty, manly dog." As if that justified everything.

"I want to meet the dog." Well that settled everything. And the smirk on Hades's features made this moment all the much greater.

"You heard the woman, to the Gates of Hell we go." With the God of the Underworld's instruction, the ferryman sailed the ferry ever faster towards their destination.

~

She could feel the sorrow before she could hear it at all. Persephone's immortal ears were drowned out with a diversity of screaming voices, Charon seeing them off the beach of Lake Archeron with a promise to be back after delivering the newest batch of souls. Except Persephone couldn't care right now, because her senses were overwhelmed by the absolute torture of hollering screams and newfound dead souls roaming across the sands of the beach. Her eyes were frantic as she beheld the wondering bodies, all seeming very much alive although they were so, so dead. Persephone was quick to notice that few bodies roamed towards the ferry with shallow acceptance, as if this new life - afterlife - was acceptable. The obols in grasped between their fingers were larger than she expected, the world defined by sorrow.

Sorrow that triggered her own. Sorrow that was so full of woe that the poor woman had to swallow back the lump arising in her throat. She understood that pain. Off of just the last couple of days their struggle to fight towards something that was out of their control reminding her terribly...of herself.

Hades - right off the get-go of arriving - was automatic in his actions to grab Persephone's arms, leaning into the back of her body with haste to announce what should be done.

"These souls are particularly tossled." Persephone only nodded to his words, trying to focus on his voice and the warmth of his fingers. They were moving forward before she could even absorb it. "Look none in their eyes. Keep walking with me."

So they did. As impossible as it was to ignore the women desperately trying to grab Persephone's attention, or the young boy who even took hold of Persephone's pants (that boy was specifically impactful, because it was at this second Persephone realized that she was guarded from death when so many didn't have time at all), she did as the man who held her arm instructed. When she felt as if the tears were drowning her from the inside out, Persephone held his skin ever harder, so hard she was afraid her piercing nails would cause some type of breakage.

"Talk to me." Her voice was trembling, skin sweaty with the fire of the air. Hades found her desperation quickly.

"The souls have not been assessed in their own Judgements. That's why so many are unaccepting." She squeezed his hand, earning a squeeze back. "Some souls - the ones you see in silence - ached to be dead. They are understanding in their nature."

Life and death. What an insane cycle.

Combating her emotion, Persephone studied the course sand underneath her shoes, only then realizing this was one of the first times she beheld sand in so long. It was enough to soothe her over when they approached two towering black doors, embedded with swirling details of contained monsters and flowers. The Gates of Hades. The souls were miles away, clearly all in collective understanding that it was impossible to claw their way out of death. Hades let go of her hand to speak, looking her straight in the eyes.

"Cerberus is right on the other side. I'll introduce you to him and then we'll visit the Asphodel Fields. He will not harm you...so long as I am near you." Her mind blanked at the second piece of his sentence. Gulping, she nodded. The honesty offered her some reconciliation.

Turning to the Gate, Persephone was sent into a world of wonder as she watched the veins pumping underneath Hades's muscular arms as they shifted to glow a golden surge of powerful magic, igniting the Gates to open with a rickety screech. It was ancient, followed with something fearful - but left Persephone in awe.

Her reaction was disrupted as they both stepped through the Gates into the icy atmosphere of the world beyond, the blackness of complete dark illuminated by slender candlesticks connected to either sides of the frontal Gates. She felt a looming prescense against the taverned rock, as if something was watching her in the darkness coming from the right. Stalking her. Assessing her from the feet and up - she could not stop the tremble of her limbs as she slowly turned to the source.

Only to be robbed completely of all her sanity, three pairs of ginormous glowering white eyes feet away causing adrenaline to rush to her head. The only thing keeping her conscious was the warm body behind her, Hades's stance comfortable in all of her obvious fright.

"Cerberus." The authority in his voice was strong; strict in all of it's right. The glowering eyes moved closer, and she could feel the weight of the dog from here. As all pieces of anticipation swallowed her, the creature moved into the light, the gasp that she let out all too real.

Cerberus was gigantic. Towers upon towers high in his height. Those three pairs of eyes belonged to three different heads, Cerberus's entire body black as midnight but sleek - like the thing was sanitary. Persephone knew that it was wiser to feel utter fear are the rows upon rows of gleaming sharp teeth in each of his mouths, but she only let stupidity possess her as she took a trembling stop forward.

"Persephone, careful." There was no sign of fright in Hades's voice, only trust. Trust that she could do this. Trust that all was well.

Because when Persephone took several paces close to the dog, both hands rose in sign that danger has completely passed, and all she could offer was her kindness. The three-headed beast assessed her with curious eyes, tilting it's head in question with the wag of a tree-sized tail. Persephone filtered her breaths, looking into the centered pair of eyes without breaking contact. I am your friend, she promised.

When one of those three heads tilted down to meet Persephone's level, her heart sped up exponentially, adrenaline pumping when-

A large, wet tongue licked the entirety of her face, wetting her glorious red hair as Hades clapped in approval. Persephone giggled at the contact, patting the magnificently soft fur there.

"Good boy." Hades met the two in approval, patting on his pet's fur as Cerberus excitedly waged his tail at his master. All three tongues came out of their mouths to seemingly smile at him, Persephone staring at the exchange with a smile on her lips. She adored everything about this moment. "See? And you thought he wouldn't like you."

Persephone shook her head, every single white tooth on display as Cerberus rolled over for his father. Hades awarded him by falling to his knees to rub on Cerberus's huge belly.

"I can get used to this." Persephone admitted aloud. Hades's gaze met hers, an ebony eyebrow arising. She didn't speak further, because the smile on her face was very telling that she would absolutely hold the secret, but maybe...this reality was meant fighting for.

A reality where Hades, the man that was made out to be a monster, was truly just a man full of surprises. A man who loved his dog, and a man who was misunderstood. Not the God of the Underworld - but a man. A man with layers of story and tragedy that he kept masked from the world to not experience any lingering pain.

Persephone realized, in the most painful nature while watching Hades and Cerberus, that they were more alike than the sun and the moon.

~

The next stop on her official tour of the Underworld was the Elysian Fields. After careful consideration, Persephone considered it the most beautiful option, especially after the follow-up with meeting Cerberus. To avoid ruining the Asphodel Fields in all of it's glory, Hades took Persephone across a new route of passage that involved Charon dropping them off on the beach of Lake Lethe, which if she remembered correctly, was the lake of forgetfulness.

Upon dropping them off on the grayish-black sands of the beach, Persephone felt the upheave of gorgeous relief at the silence surrounding the beach, nobody - or no soul withering away more importantly - to be spotted for miles. In fact the only thing that Persephone engulfed was the rising tide of the waves behind her, Hades guiding her East. She followed him reluctantly, stopping only to unstrap her boots. The redhead fell in the sand, the abrupt stop stirring confusion from Hades.

"And what might you be doing, ma'am?" Persephone ignored his tone of fluttering amusement as she then arose with her pair of boots in hand, socks tucked inside the shoes for security. They walked together, Persephone cherishing the feel of the grainy sand between her toes. Even on the beaches of death, everything felt lively.

"I wanted to feel the sand in between my toes." Hades sniggered at the goddess, the smile that remained on his face amused. His blue eyes looked forward. "So, why is this beach so deserted? And why is Lake Lethe known as the lake of forgetfulness?"

A chill blasted through the air, ruffling Persephone's contained curls to frizz. She pulled her covering further over her shoulders, analyzing Hades's features as he spoke.

"Well, the waters in Lake Lethe possess the power to make any being forget all of their memories. It just takes a single drop." He held up his index finger in emphasis. Persephone was striken, viewing the waters surrounding her in an entirely new light. "As you can imagine, nobody wants to be on such a lake that can induce such a cataclysmic event."

"Even if it's the least dangerous lake in all of the Underworld?" She questioned, slightly confused. Except when Hades's ocean blue eyes found hers, telling a story she couldn't read, she understood his sorrow.

"These waters...they make you insane. Take away the pain and ruin every last relationship in your life...afterlife or not." Persephone's throat felt thick then. "Which is why some souls are offered the possibility of forgetting everything of their previous lives."

Persephone's brown orbs stretched the size of saucers, desperately searching Hades's face to capture his eyes. Yet his face remained grave, endless in its mask of emotion. Her mind exploded with question then; aching. Hades was a man of reason - even she knew that much - so why take away that type of individualism from a person? Well, backtrack - why give somebody that type of power?

"But why?" She tucked her free hand in the pockets of her leather pants, the fabric doing nothing to shield from the freezing cold. "Why even present them with that choice of giving up so much? If they reached the finish line then why take away so much?" Obviously she wasn't pointing the blame on him, because he specifically gave some souls that choice, but it was all plausible.

"I wouldn't consider it taking away. If I Judge some evil soul then I will force them to go into Tarturus with their memories. Because it contributes to their punishment, obviously." Tarturus was hell. True, burning hell. What did a person need to do to get down there? "And while Tarturus is your worse punishment, the best thing that can happen to anybody in the afterlife is go to the Elysian Fields. I created the Elysian Fields for the people who did wonder by life. Not okay, not good, but wonder."

"And the Asphodel Fields? That place is for the souls who were just...ordinary?" His nod of the head confirmed her question. They moved onward.

"Precisely. So we've got the good, the bad and the okay. A working system. No soul who heads into Tarturus will ever be presented with the choice of forgetting the crimes they did. Practically every soul who found boredom in their lives and wish to start over will be presented with the memory magic. Some decline, some accept. But the souls who go into the Elysian Fields...I present most of them with the choice to forget." Still his explanation was configuring into even more nonsense.

If the bad were so horrible as to remember, and the ordinary was just to ordinary to forget, then shouldn't the good...shouldn't they remember? Remember how they left the world behind for it to flourish through their example?

"Most souls who die and go to the Elysian Fields are young. Demigods that are tracked down by monsters or mortal heroes who lost more than they gained. Some die in combat for the ones they love, and others die because there was no other choice. And because no two souls are the same, there is no guarantee of them ever crossing paths again." His words left the deepest impact on her heart. "I can give a soul happiness through the Elysian Fields. What I can't give them is recovery from their loss with the use of sunshine and rainbows. That goes against the world's order. Most people believe that death is the end, but even in death you miss the ones you love. The places you felt safe. You can only go so far. Even if you're recognized as a hero, you can still feel like you lost in your afterlife."

Persephone hadn't realized that she was at the brink of sobbing until she was fighting back her tears, looking to this man with some undeniable emotion twisting her heart. Most believed him to be a monster, but every fragment he put into the Underworld was so caring that she felt immediate guilt at assuming this place was just some baren wasteland of darkness. Because he was king - the God - who built it from the ground up.

"So yes, I provide only few with some chance of forgetting. But only if they're sure." He didn't face her, only kept staring down at the sands beneath them as Persephone raked word after word to find this emotion she was experiencing. This heartbreaking...but beautiful feeling she yearned for Hades...

Was it gratefulness? Aspiration? Adortion? Yes...adortion. Fates, this was insane. Insane that she could look at him and see beyond his beauty to feel the real him. It was intense, raw and so terrifying. Terrifying that this growing emotion was only growing to become larger and larger.

And so she stayed silent on their walk across the beach, the world hanging on zen while took footstep after footstep with each other. Walking with him was peaceful, because suddenly there weren't any overbearing mothers, no requests and all was quiet. Moments later they approached the largest cave of grey stone Persephone had ever seen, one side adjoined to the sand while the other side marked the rising tide of the Lethe waters - as if the rock had some control over the island.

"This, is the home of Thanatos's twin brother and God of Sleep, Hypnos. Hypnos resides here with his wife. It is their duty to oversee Lethe's beach when they are presented with the time." Persephone would never understand why anybody would wish to live inside of a cave, but regardless, she brushed it under the rug and moved on. "On the other side of this cave, over rock is one of the most hidden portals of the Underworld, is the Elysian Fields."

"For convenience? Or...?" Persephone's finger was frozen on her chin as she watched the devilish smirk form on Hades's features, one of his hands quite literally traveling through the stone of the cave as if this was all some small trick.

Another surprise. One after another and Persephone just played with the ideology of the Underworld.

"More so for the intellectuals that think way too far into things." He removed his hand to motion for her to jump in first. "Only in limitation does anyone know of the portal. Come,"

He said it so simply, as if this was all a big magic act that required her attention. Then again, if she was as ancient as he was and crested together these lands with so much thought as he put entrusted into the process, then she'd be the same way. His expectant gaze piercing into her soul was what made Persephone put all of her fears at bay, remembering that this wasn't rock but instead masked magic. Her face braced into a grimace as she screamed, falling through unforgettable darkness.

~

Falling into the Elysian Fields was like falling down a rabbit hole, a process that lasted at least thirty seconds and left your head with the most pressuring migraine. Except the darkness of the tunnel was a smidge more enticing because Persephone could feel the rift of Hades's power behind her, falling with her until eventually there was a combustion of sunlight, the warmth of the air so real that she just didn't believe it until her body fell into the softest, most golden sand Persephone had ever come into contact with.

Hades did nothing to contain the laughter that escaped his throat, watching as Persephone arose with a grunt, hand on her head as she rubbed the blinding red curls there. It didn't fully hit her that her senses were completely knocked from her being until the smell of caramelized apples did, the air seemingly coated in good things and good things only. The migraine subsided as curiosity became her, the scenery too gorgeous to ignore. The most clear waters was far North, souls enjoying the sun in leisure. Many were lost in their own endeavors, laughing and conversing. They were the most joyful bodies Persephone had ever seen - because it was all deserved through all that they gave.

This beach stretched for miles, with houses of an array of attractive colors, boats colliding with the sea waves as voices echoed in happiness. She felt...so at peace. As if the world was every bit as disconnected here as it could be. No one could touch her here. Paradise began in the Elysian Fields while chaos ended with death.

Hades could only find himself staring at those brown peepers, the way the pupils enlarged as it took in every sizable result of this heavenly delight. The pride that swelled in his chest was uncontainable. Not for himself...not because he made all of this...but for once in all of his eons he knew he did something so, so right. He did right by the people who deserved it all. The silence between them bloomed out of comfort.

"This is...this is gorgeous." Her tone was enterlaced with every bit of awe. "The skies are so clear, and the smell...why does it smell so good?"

"Hecate casted a projection cantation into the atmosphere. Incense. Incense crafted specifically to one person. Your senses are more glorified here to things you're attracted to." Crouching down, Persephone didn't hesitate to dip her hands in the sand, marveling in the texture.

Sand may of been bothersome to over three-quarters of the population, but this sand, was warm and soft and so pleasing Persephone would prefer naps on the sandy ground.

"Out of curiosity, what is it that you smell?" It was a last minute question she directed towards him, but she was genuine all the same.

A pause. Hades leaned his back against the palm tree behind him, dipping his head against the tree's bark to find her eyes. "A thought for a thought?" His dark streaks of ebony reflected the relentless sun.

Persephone sighed, sweeping off her hands to dust every grain of the ground from her fingernails. She matched his height, overcoming mountains that almost corrupted her honesty. The scent was a part of her, rooted into her childhood all because of her mother. It broke fractions of her soul to think so deeply about it, but it was impossible to ignore.

"Candy apples. Specifically coated in caramel." She cleared her throat, avoiding his eyes to face the burning sun. "I have only tasted them once...but I dream of them every single day."

The silence that followed was full of her inevitable thoughts, thoughts that plagued her of images flickering from only days ago. Those images felt like they were resurrected from hundreds of years ago, only to come back and haunt her forever. Expect it was only a complex week...and she couldn't bare the space. The shadows that tugged against her stomach weren't her own, and her eyes automatically found Hades's under the throbbing sun. This wasn't a staring contest but only the indescribable tug of two lonely souls.

~

"Welcome to the Asphodel Fields." The air was crystallized blue, painted with wispy, fluffy clouds. Although Persephone was sure they were still in the Underworld, the scenery had completely changed to what seemed to be the most human of meadows. There was nothing really spectacular in the land but just...flowers. The temperature was perfect, not too hot yet not too cold at once. Bodies of content, roaming souls walked across the rows of stretching white asphodel flowers, some conversing and others enjoying the streams beyond. If anything she was reminded of the corn fields back in Demeter's region, only the corn was white and lilac asphodels. The air smelled of nature, and everything refueled Persephone's broken side.

She couldn't decipher whether she loved or loathed it. This entire day thus far was an attack of her emotions from every side of the spectrum, so she stayed jaded.

Hades and Persephone overlooked the fields side by side, Persephone drinking in the sunny weather and smell of beautiful, fertilized asphodel. Memories swirled of what felt like another life. Another life of continuous sun and beating heat, blooming the flowers she thought she would bloom until the end of time. How was she was okay then? Why did everything feel perfectly alright?

"So this is where all the ordinary souls go."

Ordinary.

That was her only response, her tone noticeably different. Her words were weighed down, her will to keep going after being hit with so many aspects of the past putting a damper on her mood. She was trying trying drown out her mother's face, of the crinkle of her brows when she scrunched them together in anger to the red of her hair...but it was all seething against her.

There was something building inside of her. Something that ultimately couldn't be silenced, and that was where the fear settled, because she knew of the result of her ruin. Knew that pushing down the cries that desperately wished to be released was something so unhealthy, and yet every part of her mind was screaming.

She could not focus. Couldn't see anymore. Her hands were trembling at her sides and the shadows inside were circulating, creating a hurricane that had the utmost ability to destroy.

The lilac asphodels at the corner of her vision were blanking, and all was churning and burning, because suddenly Hades's skin found her arm and he was screaming. Screaming because his mouth was moving and Persephone barely caught the motion because the ringing in her ears...it was too much.

"PERSEPHONE!" He screamed, souls stopping to find her at the scene. Their eyes burned her skin. Her arm was igniting with some furious fire, begging to burn down the world. How much would it take? How much?

Nothing. It wasn't Hades's voice, but the memory of her mother's. That tone was full of solemn, unpiecable disappointment.

She was going to find her. Going to find her and place her in that terrible, terrible corner again. Her pants were rugged, and her throat burned with the fury of one thousand tears. She needed to get out. She wanted it all to stop.

Now.

"I can't hold it in anymore." She gripped Hades's two shoulders and the tears that fell down her cheeks intermixed with the stressful blood falling from her nose, those blue eyes wide with caution. Fear offset deep inside of her bones.

He was going to get hurt. She was going to hurt him, too. Just like she hurt Demeter.

"Persephone no!"

And right when the power of her rage exploded, right when all went to hell and all she could feel was inconsolable ancient magic, Hades was a flurry of shadow as Persephone pushed him back with force, Hades's hands shooting up to create a barrier of pure shadow to enrapture around Persephone as she screamed in agony. Electric purple filling that transparent bubble as bloody tears fell down her cheeks, the world falling to darkness as every last speck of energy escaped the Spring Goddess's body. Only when her ruin was exhausted was when she fell, Hades capturing her in his arms as her eyes slammed shut from furious fatigue.

Her heart was bleeding. Rising and falling with guilt. This world was unfair, and for an immortal - death was the only call to Persephone's destruction that she could yearn for.

HECATE WASN'T REALLY SURE if it was this newfound joy of returnal that fueled her swiftness regarding work, or if she just found the newest spark of happiness she had lost for centuries before a week ago, but reviewing her accomplishments of the day was entirely too valuable of a memory to forget. As obvious as it stands, Hecate thrived off of working. Her past relationships either loved or hated that trait of her with some new burning furiosity, but the old witch could never care because staying calm was akin to a death sentence in her mind.

With immortality casted aside, of course. But even with an unlimited amount of always, Hecate would constantly find herself racing against time no matter the task. Whether it be traveling the crossroads, finding Olympus again or...wedding planning, the clock may run fast but Hecate ran ever faster.

Which is why she would forever pride herself for almost completing the wedding of the eternity in less than a week. Many assumed that the capacity of the guests or a large venue made a perfect wedding, but Hecate knew the bride and his springtime groom. They both would revel in something memorable, and Hecate made it a pinpoint of this journey to avoid any bumps at all costs. Even if that meant the guest list was miniscule, even if that meant not many could bask in this joyus wonder, all that mattered was Hades and Persephone's emotions. Every trivial detail was considered, from the color of the flowers to the dinner of a lifetime. Hecate ensured that their Olympian culture was included in moderation, following the personalities of both Hades and Persephone with respect. The union between the God of the Underworld and the Goddess of Spring would be miraculous.

"You are treating this much too seriously." Remember when Hecate stated very specifically that she organized the wedding of the century? Oh yes, well, the bobblehead of a death god had so willingly volunteered. "For Fates' sake Hades said to take your time! And you have me finalizing the wedding plans to interrupt my me time."

Thanatos dragged his feet beside her as they walked the halls to Hades's study, the castle dark and asleep. Hecate rolled her eyes at his lazed posture, his dramatics growing what she couldn't decide was either bothersome or amusing.

"Awh poor little dude." Hecate's tone matched that of a baby's. "I take away his lotion time to do something important and he complains about it."

"Lotion time!" The exclamation was so loud that with a snap and a simple silencing charm Hecate's emerald green magic floated into Thanatos's mouth, silencing him for mere seconds before the audio was released again. He huffed. "Just because you have your witchy tricks doesn't mean you have the high ground."

Knowing that her tiny legs were carrying her even further than him was only contributing to the growing smirk on her face, the combustion of laughter held aback. Throughout this entire process of (barely) working alongside the young god, she found his presence to be somewhat annoying, but comforting all at once. Comforting because Thanatos was never judgemental, even if his jokes came across as such. Not only that attribute but he didn't expect anything from her. He wasn't even intimated by her aura. She found all of this to be...refreshing. It was new; rare.

"See you may believe that, but those witchy tricks of mine can destroy millions. I would be ever more grateful to have been put under a simple silencing spell than me shadow-choking you."

She only realized the opening mistake once she glanced behind her to see the childish tug of those constructed lips, Thanatos taking all the time in the world to make her further feel more intrigued by his response.

"Shadow-choking." They approached the study's door, Thanatos nudging her with a snigger. She rejected the rush of heat to the skin of her cheeks. "Sounds very kinky."

Hecate allowed herself a singular exasperated sigh before knocking on the cherrywood door with the brunt of her knuckles, the sound echoing until the door clicked open, revealing her boss and best friend of many ages...looking insanely tired. Stressed. Hades's ocean blue eyes were behind his black rimmed glasses, the light doing nothing to hide those deep eyebags that practically twinned to bruises. His shirt was unbuttoned at the top, even untucked from his leather trousers. She could practically feel the frustration rippling off of him in waves, which ultimately triggered her worry.

"Damn boss...you don't look too good." Thanatos did no justice by their king. It was only when Hades turned around to greet them inside when Hecate's free hand slapped Thanatos's bicep. Hard. So hard his whispered ow! was almost comical.

"I appreciate the honesty, Thanatos. I have just had an insane end of the day." He faced his minions as they walked into the study, Hecate clutching even harder on her binder of thick parchment paper. She almost felt terrible for calling everything this late in the evening, especially with Hades's drained attitude.

"I take it that the tour didn't go the direction you wished it to go?" Hecate questioned, all three gods seating themselves on the leather loveseats next to Hades's bookshelf. A solemn nod from Hades confirmed every single one of her suspicions. From beside her, Thanatos stayed silent.

"It wasn't like it was terrible. Not at all. I just meant that at the end of the day, right after we entered the Asphodel Fields, Persephone began to break down." The Goddess of the Crossroads did nothing to control the speeding hammer of her heart. "Another magical attack she could not control. It escalated from a panic attack quickly to her power getting involved, and I had seconds to close a barrier around her entire body to shield the Asphodel Fields."

Thanatos cursed under his breath, the God of the Underworld's words clearly leaving an impact on his mind, too.

"Furthermore, I found that holding the shield was tiring. I haven't felt that kind of drainage since the war against my father. Her power is growing...and her triggers are amplifying her magic to go out of even her own control."

Hecate's hazel eyes were the size of saucers, the binder dropping from her hands. Almost any immortal being had the capability to bring cities to dust depending on their parentage and duty, but at this young? At eighteen years old? Amplification through power was already one of the most dangerous forces to intermix with magic, and if not controlled, the consequences could be catastrophic. Pieces and shards of her past rose to memory, and there was a twist in her heart.

"The wedding is in two days. What if we find something to soothe her stress before the physicality of training begins?" Thanatos was the quickest to respond, giving Hecate some level of satisfaction. "I've trained in combat. I know through the struggle that your mind needs more preparation than your body. And in this specific scenario Persephone could benefit from speaking to someone."

"Like a therapist." The ridge of the black rimmed temple tips of Hades's glasses were between his teeth, eyes indifferent as he assessed the idea with a nod. "Like Oizys."

Oizys. The Goddess of depression, anxiety, woe and grief. All four subcoordinates she suffered endlessly, even at three hundred and twelve years old. Oizys was Thanatos's half-sister, springing from Nyx's mind after what Thanatos had discovered was the most tragic shards of Erebus and Nyx's ongoing marriage. The horror stories he heard from his living sibilings at that time boiled his blood with an unsatiable rage for his father's broken neck. In the result of this affair and wrongdoing Nyx brought life through the emotions she was battling: Oizys, the Goddess of Depression, and Momus, the God of Blame. Depression for her husband's betrayal, and all the blame she birthed with it. The birth of his twinned sibilings brought catastrophic rage from Erebus, only furthering the dimness that was their marriage. He would never in his immortality understand how someone as cruel as his father could hold someone as perfect as his mother. Consistently.

"I've meddled with the idea. Her mental health goes beyond everything. And if anybody can bring her back into the light then-" Hades was tragically cut off.

"It's you, brother." The smile on Thanatos's face was everything serving to the broken sunshine in these walls. Because Hecate would never deny the slight contained tug of Hades's lips, the world defying all odds. Death could love Life, even if the logistics of the people deemed Death - unrightfully - unworthy.

"Perhaps. But I would still like her to have a support group beyond this circle." The king sighed, standing on his two feet for the other two bodies to repeat the action. "Thanatos, seek out your sister tonight. Explain the situation and see if something could be arranged for her to visit Persephone tomorrow. I trust her with this marriage."

Hecate's eyes flew to the Death God, the smirk that claimed his features every bit excited. She felt in her heart the connection between the two deities then, the powerful radiation of this deep bond she somewhat understood bringing rippling waves of pride. If only the world could see Hades the way he operated this beautiful world of constant midnight, pouring his stress and his soul into everything he adored. This included the way he protected his family, because even if they were sworn of his blood, he still looked upon those eyes as if he had known them for eons before.

"Oh boss, I love when you talk order to me."

The collective roll of eyeballs brought strong, masculine laughter from Thanatos, the snap of his fingers dismissing him in deep shadow. His abscense brought some damper of emptiness to the room. Which...irked and excited Hecate at the realization. Maybe she would find an ally inside the goofy God of Death...just maybe.

"What a moron." Hecate whispered under her breath, gathering the forgotten binder pieces now on the ground in all of it's scattered pages. So much for finalization.

"Tell me about it." Hades chuckled, assisting his friend in her pickup. Hecate noticed the curious glances at the paperwork, the tiny squints of his ancient orbs confirming all of her suspicions. Even the tiny tug of his lips was calculated, relaxing back into a face of indifference. He was curious, and he was excited. Two key points that led them straight to a positive direction. "It would appear my assistant also left us on this wedding cliffhanger. Did you want to go through an overview of the wedding?"

Once the binder was reassembled, Hecate straightened her back to stand in front of the God of the Underworld, analyzing his features as a shallow sigh escaped his throat. Toned hands in his pockets, Hades leaned against his desk, looking to the grounds with something swimming in those blue pools. A reflection of what Hecate didn't understand, but a reflection that meant something nonetheless.

"I appreciate all of your efforts to consider my opinion on my wedding, Hecate. However I have faith in your understanding of me, and I know that you would never turn what is meant to be one of the happiest days of my life sour. I don't need any kind of finalization, because it isn't the venue or the food or the reception that matters to me. It's her and purely her." Hecate's heart soared at his words. Soared and flew and found the sunshine because she had so much love for this union. "If there is one thing that I could change right now about this wedding that I am absolutely positive is not in that ginormous binder, it is that Persephone must be served the most delectable candy apple this world has ever seen."

Truly, he found some type of weakness in her godly planning. Because for seconds Hecate's mind blanked and questions arose only to be silenced at the genuine smile on Hades's features. There was some kind of inside joke to be discovered in this voyage, but she wouldn't pry simply off the fact that what was between the two gods meant to coexist in that approximate duology.

The duology none of the world came to expect, but also the very thing the universe needed in all of it's cosmic oblivion.

~

Tap. Tap. Tap.

This room was cold; polar. Still the redheaded goddess felt burning hot all over, accompanied by a darkness that roared. Darkness that was hardly contained underneath those dark orbs, because something in her heart was breaking. Breaking to remotely sit in this room with this woman that she knew little to nothing about. Words swirled at all the possibilities as to why she could be here beside her. Thanatos called this a conversation, while Hecate worded this as something that would be...calming. Twenty minutes of voided, awkward silence was anything but. She felt so insanely ridiculous.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Persephone still couldn't register how she had gotten here. In that velvet loveseat opposite the leather armchair of the Goddess tapping her ballpoint pen against paper, prescense so impactful that Persephone could feel it radiating off her body in powerful waves. A magnet reached for that aura of woe, begging to unleash its very suffering on that tether to seek understanding. Caramel wideset eyes never left her, never broke away even when she glared to the carpets of her own room.

Anxiety ate away at her gut at the unfamiliar color scheme of the queen's suite, connected to the comforting darkness that was Hades's room. Everything felt so...empty. Unfamiliar. Persephone attempted and failed many times to understand the distance she felt deep inside of her room, but it all boiled down to how the scent of him was stripped away and nothing felt safe when those precise ivory sheets on the luxurious bed left no warmth. Fingers flew to her left hand, pressing down on the right of her palm with a fury.

The tapping silenced at the little detail. Persephone's mind was racing,  rejecting comprehension at the warm eyes analyzing her movements. There was a falter in her behavior, a variety of differentiation that was too detached of the previous twenty minutes spent in silence. Persephone could still recall the first details she noticed of the woman in front of her. She looked young - but not too young. Her stance, her posture, it was all so collected. Polished. As if every barrier was invisible around her and she could cripple Persephone's in a very heartbeat. She was beautiful. Wideset brown eyes captured the very beauty of her golden soul inside, long brown curls cascading down to the ends of her breasts. Her jaw was sculpted as Thanatos's was, sharp in its edges with a chin of pointed dimples. Her cheeks were so much more defined, and the only "blemish" that could be characterized in sight was the dark circles under her eyes. Persephone was aware of the effects of makeup, of what it could take away and mask. This woman, this goddess - ignored the evidence of that fact.

Because that was what pain did to a person. Made something as simple as operation of your everyday tasks - like makeup - horrifying to enact. That stir deep in her stomach quenched, thirsty for blood. For something to hold on to. Something to havoc.

"I remember that trick." Those were the first four words that Persephone had heard from Oizys in almost half an hour. Her voice was so much stronger than her aura. It was impossible to explain. Nor intimidating or impassive, soft nor rigged - but strong. Assertive and never breaking. However she had accomplished the achievement of this headstrong tone Persephone could never understand. "It is one of the most calming distractions for anxiety."

That storm wavered, tripping over the Goddess of Anxiety's words. It hit some collision of nerves, offsetting a dangerous reaction that Persephone had never reached before: anger. Seething, hot anger. The kind that came from deep inside of her body, not understanding the totality of it's existence because it was so extraordinarily different from every emotion she felt building inside of her these last few days. It was something that was exact to buildings falling over, tearing brick from brick as Persephone built an empire from nothing only for it to crash over and over again, defying her hard work.

The redhead's eyes caught Oizys', this time hers unlentless on the goddess. She expected some reaction, some sputter of an apology, but Oizys hang true and stared straight back, pen in right hand in the most relaxed clutch. She seemed unbreakable, and that word only punctured her where it hurt the most. Where the pieces remained scattered and unfixed.

"Why are you here?" Her sharp fingernails were digging into the velvet armrest beside her. Her posture was growing more and more concise - back straightening to find some...authority to simmer the growing anger. "Why am I here?"

"I will never answer that question for you, Persephone." A long, tan leg crossed over the other as she leaned back in that seat, holding contact with the Spring princess. "Only you can answer it yourself."

She loathed the woman's response. Loathed it because she was so exhausted, and so driven by this rage hitting her in burning sequences of heated flashes. She wanted them all gone. Wiped from the very fabric of reality. Except there were so such possibilities because that would be too simple for the complexities of Persephone's life, and all she had left was this horrifying aftermath. The grit to defy the thoughts diseasing her brain, and the struggle that was this power.

Any individual would want her power. As mysterious as it was now, the mystery would never take from the level of her magic. Many would call her blessed, but to have these ongoing tantrums that were so obviously linked to her past intermixing with her abilities was a signatured hell. She wanted them gone. Wanted her cutesy flower tricks at full reload. But that...that was impossible now.

"I..." Persephone's eyes found that carpet again. What was she doing her? Not Oizys, but her? Nobody was forcing her to sit in this room, silenced by nothing but her own shadowy doubt and the clock that just kept ticking. As if the world wasn't done with her for the day, her irises caught the unfamiliar carpeting, and it for some reason contributed to her anger. Because like this carpet, like every other unbearable aspect of her life, it revealed that nothing would ever stay the same. "I want you to leave."

She couldn't look up. Her throat was burning, analyzing the intricate details of black roses fading into the soft grounds. Blood boiled against freezing skin. Above her, the soft patter of footsteps hitting the ground sounded. They echoed in her unresponsive ears until Oizys's voice found her again.

"I am always a letter away, goddess. This hurt...this sorrow that I feel surrounding you...it is only a choice. A choice that you can destroy. It doesn't have to be like this." Her door clicked open. The burning sensation stung her nose and found her tear ducts. Still she forced her eyes to stay trained to the ground, arms shaking together. "I promise."

Just like magic, her exit signaled the tremors to begin, streams of liquid sorrow falling from her cheeks with a fury.

If it wasn't supposed to be like this, why did it have to hurt so bad?

~

One would assume that the eve of your wedding was reserved for partying, liquid regrets or even the most restful sleep to ever be had in your lifetime. For the God of the Underworld however, this night began like all the ones previously: with a migraine, the most stubborn insomnia the godly race has ever seen and his everyday paperwork grouped with gallons of coffee.

Coffee that had just spilled all over Hades's paperwork, evicting the most colorful string of cursewords to leave his mouth. In his eons he had never avoided the blunt mistakes that were easily ignoreable regarding his workspace. Because this tiny office was somewhat of both a safe haven and the most stressful room in his home all at once. It wasn't as if there was anything at all sentimental tying him to this room. It was just so rooted in his memory from the very beginning of godhood that he just couldn't imagine working anywhere beyond it. Judgements aside, of course.

Regardless, one in the morning had been blown to the wind of breakable wedding traditions as Hades trudged to his ginormous kitchen for more coffee. This process was intentionally done in the mundane method because the smallest amount of procrastination inside of him had raged on to allow it. Which was practically gleaming in all of it's rarity.

Except that mug in hand was so forgotten when he reached the kitchen door, opening it only to find his favorite person atop one of the marbeled counters, a spoon in her hand with the largest bowl of molten chocolate he had ever seen on her lap. Persephone's eyes instantly found his, and all of normality went to hell as Hades leaned against the doorframe with the most devilish grin on his face. She looked so beautiful like this. Caught in her act of midnight snacking with only that light pink nightgown, hair unleashed in dancing waves against creamy white skin. Although he had already voiced his opinion by thought, Hades found his fiancé so effortlessly gorgeous (with and) without the makeup. Here under the light of the kitchen...she was everything. Everything and more.

"I couldn't sleep." She softly inquired with a mouth full of dark chocolate. It took literally everything inside of him to stiffle the laugh building to release in his throat.

"Oh? And I suppose that is the excuse you are using now?" Persephone's eyebrow shot up, eyes landing on the mug in hand. Her face revealed it all.

Busted.

"So I can't eat chocolate at one in the morning but you can settle your very unhealthy caffeine intake?"

Hades walked in silence to the cabinet holding his pans, ramaging through the loud items until he found the correct size.

"My caffeine intake is very healthy, my dear." He was pleased to see that Persephone was already turning the knob on the stove beside her to begin the burner. "We're gods. The picture of health."

"Still its always beautiful to live in moderation." It was his turn to raise an ebony eyebrow at the woman in front of him, eyes falling to the bowl of straight up chocolate occupying her lap. The scarlet blush of her cheeks was every bit as adorable as he could imagine, the spoon being cleaned by her mouth. "Okay maybe I was wrong."

"Mhm." He smirked, using two fingers to summon the most concentrated coffee beans he had in his cabinets. The levitation took seconds, flying right into his hands. From the corner of his eye he could see the little goddess watching him sprinkle the beans into the pits of the cup with large brown eyes. Hades scorned the people who ever swore that brown eyes were deemed the most unattractive, because he swore on the River Styx each day for these near two weeks that she had stars in her eyes.

Silence followed closely behind the pair as the water boiled, taking all of the time in the universe to even simmer. Hades wouldn't deny the comfort he felt in her prescense, as if they had been pulling all-nighters for centuries before the now. In those few moments he focused on anything but the stunning woman at his side. Or at least attempted to, until words floated from Persephone's mouth.

"I'm going to be married tomorrow." Her tone was so genuine, so astonished that it hit close to his soul. This was common knowledge. After all it was him that would be her husband. "We're going to be married tomorrow." Their eyes met, and his heart stopped. Time, as torturous as it could drag, had never seemed faster.

It felt like moments ago they were in each other's arms, dying for more pieces and glances at each other. Like it would be their last encounter, against all odds.

And against all odds they were here again. Now united by this marriage and magic that binded them by blood. Binded by the pain he could feel calling to him from her trauma.

"How was Oizys?" He needed to know. Know if her wellbeing was obviously holding on by that tether, because that was all that mattered right now. Not the coffee or the work or the wedding tomorrow, but her mind. Her soul. "Was there...any progress?"

Fingers pushed red hair behind her ear as Persephone's chocolate eyes found the walls of the room, studying them each with a frown of plump lips. He allowed her the time to gather her thoughts, analyzing the quiver of her bottom lip. His heart churned.

"I feel terrible." It was so silent that even space itself would be put to shame. "I was quiet the entire time. And the second she opened her mouth I got angry and made her leave." Maybe he was imagining it, but he could visibly see her fighting against the glass in her eyes. "I think it's because...I'm trying so hard to forget when in reality it's the only thing I see. I want to forget, I want to forget so much, but how can I forget if it is just a part of me? This power is a part of me." Crackling purple ignited her veins under her skin for emphasis, his alarm settling when the purple faded to normality again. "And..how can I forget when my mother will not be at my wedding tomorrow to walk me down the aisle?"

That was like a blow to the gut. Not because it hurt Hades whatsoever, but because the pure torture in her tone recommended that this was eating her alive. His muscular hands clutched on the rag in his hand.

"But then there is the remembrance of what I did to her...and how she made me feel...how she wanted to lock me up...and I don't know how to control these emotions. So I let it build. I let the storm rage." Her head turned to find his eyes, a singular tear falling before Persephone eliminated the breakage of another. "I don't want to go back, Hades. Back to that world of sunshine again. Because I am not who I once was. I'm not sunshine and blue skies. I have that moonlight inside of me...and I want to learn to control it. I want to learn how to govern the Underworld beside you. I want to live. I want...I want to be your friend. Even if I am to be your wife, I want your companionship first."

There was such joy washing over him that he was so afraid to move, so afraid to do anything at this moment because there was such lingering fear that he would wake up on his desk and this would all be some beautiful dream to never come true. But this wasn't a dream, because the nod she offered at the end of it all was confirmation enough.

I'm not a dream. She filled his head, their souls meeting one another's all over again. If only she understood how wrong she was. Watch.

Hades's being froze as one of her shaky hands rose, seconds ticking by as her soft fingertips and palm met the entirety of his right cheek, testing the feel of the stubbled skin there. He released a breath, his chest afire with a hammering heart. Her touch was sitting him on fire.

I'm completely real. She was igniting him. Igniting his shadows to come closer.

They had had touches before. Touches that were fueled off instinct or because there was some spontaneous guesses regarding never seeing one another again, but this enchanted their time together, creating another level entirely. Because she held his eyes, and he held hers. It wasn't until the absence of her touch left the cold to shock his now functioning mind, dragging him from whatever trance she had put upon him. They were so much closer now, his body now directly in front of hers even when she was in this sitting position. Close enough to kiss.

But he backed away only slightly, some phenomena of a scenario playing out in his mind to enable him to move his hand upwards, pinkie finger extended. Per expected, she stared upon that finger in pitiful question, but a picture full of interest.

"We will never be traditional. And I can already guarantee that. Which is why I promise my everything to you, Persephone." She didn't stop him when his pinkie finger swept her own, interlocking the two fingers around each other to convey its importance. "I promise that I will train you and make you the Goddess of the Underworld. I will support you through your therapy, through your journey. I will never undermine your opinion as my wife or even simply as a person. I pledge my loyalty to you and only you. You will be considered as my equal as queen. I promise that above all, above the world and every last star beyond this kingdom, that I will protect you. I will never let anybody take you away from me. Even if it means raging a war. Even if it means fragmenting my soul. Even if it means fighting until I am spent and done for. I would travel the universe and break realms if it meant keeping you safe. I will protect you, Persephone. And I promise that on the River Styx."

The rumble of thunder feet above ground combined with the wide beautified smile on the goddess's face dug into his memory forever. Her pinkie clutched ever tighter to his, the tear that escaped her eyes anything but sad.

"As I will forever remain loyal to you Hades -  as my husband and my friend, my king and my god. I will rule rightfully beside you as my equal. I will protect you with everything I have. I would burn down the world just to keep you in it. And if I so much as cross the lines of this vow let the River Styx have my head."

And they may not have seen it then, may not have noticed the new magic that filtered through their veins, but their combined pinkies were now swirling with shadow and crackling purple, the god and his goddess finding homage at last.

That made them the God and Goddess of the Underworld.

MAGIC COATED THE AIR WITH THE most delightful incense. Today. Today in which was five letters sprung from that of the most sensible definition to crumble with oblivion, and the little jumps of Hades's heart flying all the way down to his stomach confirmed that anything could be possible. Because there was sweat coating his forehead, anxiety in his stomach and silent pesky sentences contorting his mind. He was the God of the Underworld, and as powerful as the God of the Underworld is, there was still specks of humanity that were too prominent to magic away. Ocean eyes that were so blue found those very same orbs in the mirror, his reflection giving way to the man nobody ever saw. The man that was an opposition to rot and decay, a broken dream of a man who everyone denied a hero.

The crown in his hands bore an even heavier weight now with its complex, a structure that changed his entire essence as the dark accessory came to set upon on his ebony short curls. There was an evident shift now, shadows rippling around the heavenly god like the King of Death he truly was. This was once all he had left. A few broken shards of his soul, thoughts crafted from the vengeance he found in one of his deepest tragedies and an entire land under to create this world of shuddering darkness. Maybe now - no, surely now, it wasn't all darkness. Because she was in it. In this world of what many people would sought as rot and decay, broken corpses and dead dreams, there was a blooming flower of purity. Sunshine that dimmed only to master his own darkness. His queen and equal at heart. A goddess of the highest and most beautiful stature, as strong as the open sea and as willful as the clear blue skies.

And in that mirror, that mirror of reflection adjoining the wall to his throne room, there was a smile. Not something twisted from a monster, not something fake and shallow, but something real. Features that sprung in response to a simple chemical formula of the brain. Red curls and rich brown eyes imaged his thoughts, and he actually smiled. It was warm...and new...and so hopeful that it bit through the thoughts of shrieking fraud and harrowing anxiety. The shake in his hands dissolved, that powerful mask of the God of the Underworld finding its rightful place inside those dark shadows. Crackling energy of pure fire found the air of the House of Hades, his muscular back swiftly turning to greet crystallite blue eyes that polared his very own.

He had felt the tension of energy, understood the rejected ying of yang, and in a matter of clockwork he was facing his brother. In his home. This home his brother had refused to even sit foot in for centuries upon centuries. Of course on this joyful day, his day, Zeus would see this as his day of suffering.

"You've reinnovated." Small talk dripped from the King of the Gods' throat, eyes wondering from the rubied throne to the onyx flooring.

"We both know that you didn't come to give your input on my decorating. Why are you here?" His tone remained civil, because that was the atmosphere would remain. In civility.

Instead there was silence. Silence that seeped to slither along his bones while invisible little spiders crawled the length of his spine. There was something unreadable on his brother's face, as if this imagery was halting his pride to speak. And Hades - in all of his glory to arise the dispassions his brother faced - loathed it. As if there was all the time of the world to stay silent. To find ruin. To ignore until they both went deaf.

"I'm here for her." Four words, yet a world of difference. If he remained quiet for the shock value, he damn well recieved it. There was a ping in Hades's chest, and he was speeding to recover from the blow. "Hera is as well."

There was no spectacle in the world in which he was upset. How could he ever be upset with something such as this? It wasn't pain from jealousy, or ignorance, it was pain because Persephone's longing for parental warmth outstretched all the way to weeks ago, and how he knew in his heart she felt undeserving. Undeserving from the events of that bitch that was her mother, but also the events that so much as looking at Zeus hurt her to some extreme extent. His fiancé was robbed of having a father because of a jealous mother, further robbed with the abuse of a consistent parent, and to see his brother suddenly take his fatherhood in stride for the wellbeing of somebody else...somebody that wasn't himself...

How could he find anger in that? That the God of Thunder - his brother - was committing an act of selflessness?

Rememberance that they were still in this very moment rushed back to him, Hades's eyes reaching Zeus's again. The essence of the Thunder God distilled, holding aback out of respect or his words he wasn't at all sure.

"My home is your home so long as she deems it so." It was as if his pride shriveled to make way for the maturity he could muster for Persephone. Family transformed you in the oddest ways in only the shortest time. "But know now that today is about her. What she wishes. If you get in the way of that-"

"You'll have my head on a pike?" A glistening golden eyebrow coupled with the look of pure amusement on Zeus's face disrupted the groom's words. Hades sniggered in response.

"I was going to say break your kneecaps but that may be some new enhancer to add to my vocabulary." The combustion of laughter was natural.

Although argumentative, there was some type of thought in the back of his mind that maybe this wedding held the power to bring others together. If Hades was already laughing with Zeus at three in the afternoon, maybe this example set something for the remainder of the night.

Still completely argumentative.

"Not if I can get to yours first, old man." A hand clapping on his back tensed every muscle in that touched region, Hades visibly recoiling at his brother's hands with a disgusted look. Touching - by anyone - was enough to make him vomit. It only furthered the bastard's laughing.

"Says the one with a million children." Perhaps an exaggeration, but it was still enough to evict a reaction of Zeus's face falling to a frown.

"Asshole."

As history foretold, Hades got the final laugh.

Again.

~

Brown. Dark, deep chocolate eyes met with the reflection of a young woman dusted over with glittering makeup and shining red curls, her features the very onset of beauty although those brown orbs revealed something so much deeper. There was darkness within, something creeping to unleash all of it's hidden power to boil to the very surface. But beyond that power - was fright.

The goosebumps aligning her newly pale arms and skin created a map of denial, alluding to the anxiety eating away at her stomach. Maybe the handmaidens who were hard at work swept over the little details of her complexion, but the Goddess of Spring could only see those little details as the main focus.

It wasn't as if Persephone was horrified at the idea of marrying Death himself, but it was always more so her large imagination bringing her to the imagery of the eyes upon eyes stalking her every movement. There would be no excuses or cover-ups for her wrongdoings this time. Especially now that onwards she would become queen of one-third of this universe.

More anxiety seeked homage in her hallow belly, the world spinning as she did her everything to avoid looking to the mirror.

But that was an impossible feat considering it was right in front of her.

Her pulse settled out of curious surprise at the sudden click of heels outside the room, the rickety door feet behind them revealing the Goddess of Witchcraft. Persephone's heart exploded in gratefulness, meeting those witchy hazel eyes in the mirror instantly. The warmth of the smile on Hecate's face was one bleeding of genuineness. One that fueled Persephone with the reminder that today was her day. She would not cower in her discomfort. She would not sit still and look pretty. She would feed into every objection that her heart screamed - because memories could not be recrafted. If this was the beginning of her marriage, she would not let it all leak to the fleeting reminder that she sat upon a vanity chair, doubts filling her mind because she was too afraid.

The Goddess of Spring hoisted too much darkness to be afraid.

Which is why Persephone rushed to her feet, facing the three women with brushes in their hands and a look of shock at her sudden movements.

"I would like to thank you all for helping so much up to this point, but I believe that Hecate can take over from here." Persephone's tone projected some new tone she didn't reconginize from herself...something more bridled in assertiveness.

Seeing the look in her team's eyes made guilt swarm to her emotions, but looking over to the proud face of Hecate soothed those fears. There was a curious gleam in the enchantress's eyes, the long bag in her hands forgotten for this projection.

"But, my lady." The young blonde in the middle of the three quivered. "We-"

There was the guilt again. The guilt of saying no that always seemed to scorn her. But Persephone pulled herself together, remembering that it was only her voice that she do right by the wrongs.

"I truly, truly appreciate your efforts." A kind smile dazzled her glittered lips. "But please, go enjoy yourselves. You work too hard." And with that type of persuasion, the three ladies finally filtered out of the room, Hecate holding the door open for each of them.

When each of them were finally and truly gone, Persephone sighed and fell to the stool below her, facing Hecate. Now she could truly breathe.

"Well look at you." Hecate proclaimed, placing the long bag carefully upon a table next to her. "Already speaking like the Queen of the Underworld."

Long, slender caramel fingers found the silky red hair that flowed to Persephone's back, springing out the curls.

Persephone tried for a smile, imagining the way that her fiance spoke to Thanatos. Of course her little spectacle was more kind-willed, but Hades did have years upon years of practice. However right now Persephone couldn't imagine ever talking like Hades. With his cold shadows and power-filled aura. But...she knew him beyond the cold and steel.

Hades. The name brought a quickness to her heart that didn't identify as fright. Not at all.

"It was hard...but..." Persephone allowed Hecate to continue the sentence.

"It's a start?" The pair of friends nodded together. Persephone allowed the deity to perfect her image in a comfortable silence, sometimes chatting of Hecate's own emerald green gown and Persephone's curiosity of Hecate's black lipstick. Truly a move in fashion, as Hecate had placed upon it.

The final result - being the devastation that is Persephone's beauty - took Persephone's own breath away. Opposite to what the maids were going for, Hecate seemed to amplify her beauty by enhancing it, instead of all around just changing her features with makeup. Her hair, swept in elegant curls that curtained her red bangs and long hair, was as light as clouds. Her collarbone and skin was glittered over with shimmering body spray, illuminating her complexion like the gold of the ichor that ran in her veins. She wouldn't want any of it any other way.

"Hecate." She gasped, forgetting what it was like to truly look in the mirror...and feel. Feel for herself, feel for the future.

"I know, I know." Hecate feigned boredom while inspecting her nails, her facade crumbling when a laugh feel freely from her lungs. "I'm a lifesaver."

Persephone nodded as her arms encircled the woman, both goddesses holding each other in what seemed to be the most warm of hugs. Maybe she was still reeling over how most of her life she had been coddled to a life of restriction, but the friendship Persephone felt in her heart for Hecate was a new element entirely. The woman that should of been her role model her entire life was now one of her closest friends...and it brought some new type of joy to her recovering heart.

The time had finally approached for the reveal of Persephone's dress, and in the true element of surprise, she didn't even allow herself to see the fabric until she stood in front of a long mirror, the breath being knocked from her lungs as Hecate wrapped an off the shoulder white bridal cape that fell to the ground in a flowy effect around her shoulders.

Her wedding dress was nothing short of elegant. Embroidered with gold, the patterns twisted into the most stunning of patterns along the mermaid dress, hugging her curves and eneciating her collarbone with the sweetheart neckline. The dress looked like it was simply brought into existence for her alone, but the only offset of disgust she found was the solid, typical white color. The color of innocence, tainting her image completely.

Hecate - ever the mind reader - immediately noticed how loud Persephone's silence truly was, and automatically took to questioning it.

"What's wrong with it? Anything that possibly makes you uncomfortable?" Her tone was soft, not at all pegging the young goddess ungrateful in any way.

Taking a ball of fabric and jewels in her hands, Persephone exhaled a breath while looking to the ground.

"It's just...the only thing that I truly can't stand...is that's it white. Other than that it's lovely. But the white..." She sounded so very pained. Disdain towards the color gathered to bring the frown to her face.

"Huh," Hecate's finger that was on her chin rose to the air, black magic encompassed around the skin there. "Well why didn't you just say so? This is an easy fix."

Before Persephone could question her motive, a blast of blackness settled from Hecate's finger to the dress and white cape, transforming the creamy white to the deepest of blacks. The transformation - although so simple - left an outstanding difference. The gold was now the highlight of the dress, the red of Persephone's hair now brightened like fire. And gods...the power that flooded to her veins...everything snapped into place.

"I feel.." And once again, someone took to continuing her own sentence, but it wasn't Hecate.

"Like a queen?" Instead it was the God of Death before the door, standing beside Hecate with a childish smile on his face. Persephone offered a warm smile to Thanatos.

"And you look-" Thanatos turned to Hecate, their gazes never breaking, never backing down from one another's. There was crackling intensity in the air, something built between the both of them that Persephone would possibly never understand.

"Disgusting? Horrifying? Pitifully exhausted?" Hecate shot, crossing her short arms over each other's, a confused front engulfing her face when Thanatos snorted.

"I was going to say absolutely delightful, little mouse, but that works just fine too." Whatever power his words held must of been somewhat impactful, because it shut Hecate up instantly.

Persephone had to silence the growing chuckle deep in her throat, the joy in her heart leaving her to marvel.

Thanatos winked in Persephone's direction, hands finding the knob of the door.

"And you, my queen, look breathtaking. Go out there and show them your power." Her heart thrummed, the thrum only growing more powerful when Thanatos opened the door to unveil the man he least expected to be at this place and time right here and now.

His crystallized blue eyes alit when he saw his daughter, the whole world crumbling to hit Persephone right in the place in between her ribs. Because suddenly he was there - and although he may never understand it and may never be able to process it, it was the King of the Gods who found his daughter on her wedding day.

Which was why there was no hesitation when Persephone shot forward, colliding into Zeus's hard chest and began sobbing into her father's shoulder.

Even if he didn't question it, nobody had to ask to know that for once the Spring Goddess's tears were happy as they fell on the Sky God's shoulders.

~

There is something so funny about the misconception that the ending of anything can only truly be...the ending.

Because what could remain of the world's power if something was to come to a close? Wouldn't there be another following of pieces meant to complete the impact of that ending on another life? Everything has a cause and effect, and Hades theorized that the closure of marriage only amplified what could compare to a single man's likelihood in besting the odds.

Endings are only the beginnings for the stories that are deemed too broken to tell.

Hades decides this against the fleeting nerves tickling his stomach as he held this moment at the end of the alter in his hands, clutching on to the scenery of the great ballroom around him. Few chairs rittled the glossy onyx flooring above him, filled with only the most trustful occupants. He could spot Oizys, Charon, Hecate and even a smiling Aphrodite amongst the group immediately, soothing the bit of tension that layered deep in his bones. The chandeliers were filled of hypnotic firelight, both enchanting and dreary somehow at once. The walls were outlined with specks of gold in the lovely red-black wood, flowers of beautified color and light meant to represent Persephone's stature littering the grounds of the aisle. Beside him, sandwitching between a smug Thanatos and his own body - sat a rounded table, holding the beautiful diadem of the Queen of the Underworld.

"I've seen your silence, brother." Hera, retired from her crown for the day out of respect but also glistening in her attire, stood as his marriage officiant below the elegent archetype of the wedding arch. Goddess of Marriage always, but even in the Underworld her appearance was everything but unroyal. "But have never felt it as I do now."

"Ah, yes." And like everything else, Thanatos had to have his words known to the universe. "The man with everything to say is suddenly silent."

"Hilarious coming from you." Hades winked in his trusted advisor's directions. "Sometimes I wonder how much it would take to get you to shut up."

"Hm, let's see." The God of Death painted his features to match a curious man's. "Oh right, nothing. My voice is simply just too sexy to contain."

Hades shook his head with a smirk, masking his anxiety with that smile. He looked onwards to the very end of the aisle, wondering how exactly this woman would absolutely find her newest way to faze him. Because no matter the number of times he tried to imagine her in this moment these past few days, his mind would blank. Blank despite her beauty. Blank despite the world matching equal to equal.

The element of surprise was on Persephone's side. The beginning of a slow, romantic pianoed tune sounded through the room, and the entirety of the world flushed away to complete silence.

His heartbeat accelerated, thundering in his eardrums as he searched deep inside of his mind to find that ribbon of connection drawing him to her, craving, no, needing that tug back as if it would keep his two feet on the ground. Shadows gathered and he felt the caress of their bond, two seconds later hearing the click of high heeled footsteps in the distance. His soul was on fire, preparing to race like a wild horse seeking freedom.

And then he saw her. Or maybe it was she who saw him first, but no matter the order, the world snapped into place because it all made sense. Blu le found brown and the entirety of the universe was painted with some new force entirely. The crowd was encompassed in nearly mute gasps at Persephone's other-worldly beauty, so entranced they stood on two feet for Death's bride being walked down the aisle to her fate by the King of Gods himself.

That fire from his soul spread to the very bottom of his feet, never losing contact on the glowering eyes of his forever companion. One would pin that under fiery green light her flamy hair would look of gloom, but she was absolutely radiant. She was glowing under the lights of the Underworld, becoming an angel of darkness. And her dress - Fates her dress, would remain the most beautiful item of clothing he would ever see on her. That dress sung a tale of princesses and forgotten trauma, sparkling promises and deep hope. Now the surprise made sense. The surprise made sense because even the Fates couldn't wrong such a right. His friend, his savior, his salvation and his wife - was everything right in this world and more.

He craved her touch like a dying star craved the spontaneous glower of the silvery moon.

So entranced in her beauty, Hades had only realized at the final moment that his youngest brother and fiance had approached him, Zeus looking into his eyes with both warning and hope. Hades bored his eyes right back, instantly regretting leaving the eyes of the angelic creature clinging to her father's arm.

"And who gives the Spring Goddess to the God of the Underworld?" Hera announced to her husband, robbing all of authority completely to begin this ceremony.

"I - the father of Persephone and King of all Gods - do." And when Zeus placed Persephone's hand in his own, Hades felt every bit of tension ease in his bones, finding those brown eyes that he adored.

There was a smile on her lips, a smile that she had never shown him before. One that she had crafted only for him. Persephone took his other hand, holding them both with a burning intensity. He squeezed right back.

I'm not going anywhere, he filled her mind, I'm real. Completely real. A nod towards their meeting the night previous.

Hades swore on everything he knew and understood that once tears filled her gorgeous eyes, he loved her more than anyone has ever loved anyone or anything in existence.

Once Zeus found his seat in the front row beside Aphrodite, Hera's voice swept through the room again.

"Gods, nymphs and entities alike, we gather here today to witness the union of the Goddess of Spring and the God of the Underworld. If anyone is to object to this union may you speak now or forever hold your peace."

The silence was reassuring on all fronts, because Hades was absolutely convinced he would of had to find new and intricate forms of torture for whoever was to speak.

"Then we shall begin with the royal coronation provided by the God of Death before we seal this marriage." Hera stepped aside to allow Thanatos to present himself under the arch, looking the most serious Hades had ever seen his best friend before.

But still, Hades and Persephone remained in one another's heads, Hades absolutely entranced by the woman in front of him. It pained him that there was a tremor in her fingers as he held them, taking to speak exclusively once again.

You are power itself. Don't show them your fear.

Her eyes raising to his combined with her melodic voice filling his head should of been his undoing. I'm not afraid.

That tremor stopped. The smirk that adopted his face was uncontrollable. And for once, he let it beam.

"Many assume that a kingdom - or in this case a realm, is not a truly a realm without it's mighty king. It's bloodthirsty god." Thanatos spoke with some hardening force on the second to last word, directing it at the blonde in the front row. Hades had to contain the urge to applaud his hands. "But in all reality, a realm can be broken and untouched by life without it's queen. Without the goddess in which bestows the sun to something so in half. The Underworld in this scenario had been given the foundation in it's precision, crafted by Hades as the rightful leader. Except something so deep and so easily misunderstood needs it's love, and that love is presented in Persephone."

He idolized the way her cheeks colored crimson at the complimentary, her eyelashes fluttering like butterflies as she avoided Hades's gaze. She was a gift. A gift to cherish, and the goddess in which would show no mercy.

"Many may not know the name of the Spring Princess now, but under her reign the world will scream her name for the legendary woman she is to become." Thanatos looked directly to the god and goddess at his front. "Persephone, daughter of spring and thunder, forward."

The sudden deadly chill that she left behind once the warmth of her hands left his was so painful that his heart only sped again, but the show must go on and Hades knew that there would be an eternity to hold her hands. An eternity. Gods.

As expected, Thanatos placed the feminine crown in Hades's hands, grabbing the onyx and gold scepter that represented the power of the Underworld. Only a pair of peoples were able to yield it, and today that scepter would see it's other ruler. Hades took to standing behind his goddess, avoiding the black bridal cape rippling behind her. The diadem would look stunning on the crown of her radiant head.

"Persephone, daughter of Zeus and Demeter, do you swear to do right by the Underworld as long as you reign?" Thanatos questioned with expectancy dripping from his tone.

"I do." Her words like magic to his ears. There was no tremble, no hesitancy. Just solid promise.

"And do you accept Hades not just as your king but also your equal?"

"Always." Nothing felt more right than hearing that word. It broke his heart and pieced it back together at once.

"Then with this scepter and this crown," Thanatos nodded in Hades's direction, and he placed the midnight black crown of starlight and glistening jewels over the curls of her head. "I announce you Queen and Goddess of the Underworld." The world roared in applause, the grounds underneath his feet intermingling with the gleaming intensity of the bond between them.

She looked every inch a queen as she beheld her subjects, facing them while gripping the scepter with every intention to suck it dry of power, her lips parted beautifully. The crown on her head just enhanced her image, sending Hades's imagination into a crossfire of enchantment.

This woman. This woman is so powerful.

Queen of the Underworld, how powerful you are. His shadows caressed that ribbon deep inside of their connection. Persephone found his eyes, and the world crackled with newfound power. The noise died down as Hera regained power, Persephone placing the scepter on the table behind her, taking those large hands again.

Now for the point that would burst constellations and offset an ending. The beginning, the middle and the end.

That was what Persephone was to Hades.

"Welcome to the beginning of a new chapter. Where light finds the darkness and there is newity amongst that change. With these rings we will unite the God and Goddess of the Underworld."

In the hands of Hera's outstretched arms were two adjoining rings. Although polar opposites, they were built with the intention to be completely the same at once. The man's band - Hades's band - was the deepest of opal and onyx, jeweled ruby intertwined in the band. And for Persephone - only for Persephone - was the purple alexandrite jewel shaped as a rhombus covering a thin band, detailed with intricate designs of blue sapphires twirling into the band.

Persephone's shaking hand found the onyx ring as she let go, Hades finding the ring in which he built for his wife. When she met his eyes, the tears somehow amplified. It was only second nature to wipe off the salty liquid before it could hit the ground - his fingers crackling with fire with whatever sliver of skin he touched.

When are you going to stop surprising me? She filled that dark void. He contained the chuckle rising to the surface.

Once you stop surprising me.

Although inexplicable, the pair knew never was the only answer.

"Hades?" Hera softly inquired. "Repeat after me."

And so he did.

"With this ring I promise my heart, my home and my all of my soul to you." He followed perfectly. "And I will stand beside you as your husband for as long as forever will allow us, or until the Fates separates us."

Even beyond that. He promised her without breaking eye contact, his heart racing as those glassed over brown eyes found homage in ocean blue.

"And with this ring," His trembling hands gently held her tiny finger, sliding the crystaling band perfectly onto the skin there. Persephone clutched on to his hand automatically after. "I promise that you are my forever."

A particular sob sounded from the corner, and Hades didn't have to look up to understand that although Persephone was blooming with tears, Thanatos - the Death God himself - was sobbing for the couple.

"Persephone, dear, repeat after me." A nod from the redhead, holding his ring finger in her hands. "With this ring, I mark my exclusivity, my happiness, my devotion and my love for you. I will stand beside you as your wife and as your goddess for as long as forever will allow us, or until the Fates separate us."

Always, always beyond that. She echoed his promise previously, her voice singing a symphony of euphoria to his heart.

"With this ring," The smile that broke across her tear-stained cheeks was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. "I promise that you are my forever." And just as the Spring Goddess's ring had reflected, the fit on his ring was absolutely impossible to miss.

"Hades do you take this woman as your wife?" Although this was typical in all of it's wedding fashionism, Hades would mark this particular question the stupidest question he had ever heard in all of his immortality.

"I do."

"And Persephone do you take this man as your husband?"

"I do."

"Then by the power invested as me as Goddess of Marriage, I now announce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

There was a thrumming pause, rooted deep in the earth, because although hope and victory rushed to his heart, the abrupt change of Persephone's joyful expression brought his blood to run cold at the word kiss.

Kiss as in four letters. Kiss as in move forward and claim everything you could ever wish for. Kiss as in tasting power itself.

We don't have to. I can just - Because they didn't have to, and previous to what Hades promised her, he would never force her to do anything under any circumstance. Even if it meant making the situation awkward. Even if it meant causing them to break tradition for the sake of her trauma.

No. The world, the light, sound - everything stopped as she defiantly filled every creak and crevice of his mindfield. I...I've never done this before. But I know...that if it is to be anyone, I want it to be you.

Him. Not if he wasn't now her husband, but as if he was just simply a man and she was a woman...him. She wanted him.

Her hand found his cheek, and blood boiled under the surface. He was getting closer, closer to her. Ignorance to the crowd around them was pursued, because all he could feel was those deep brown orbs as they searched him. There was some craving in the midst of the aura she was filling him with, some type of unidentifiable weakness in between them now. It wasn't a craving; it was a need.

A need to surge forward and encompass her hourglass hips with his muscular hands was second nature, his breath snaking across the skin of her mouth as he breathed in the chill. The small gasp that escaped her was only loud enough for him to hear, but he needed...needed to hear her say it again. To fill his maddening brain with that power again.

Say it. Their noses found each other's and it was almost akin to heaven when her eyes rocked closed, eyelashes tickling the pale skin just above his cheekbones.

Kiss me.

And when his mouth found hers, the world exploded. His hands digged deeper into her waist, begging for more touch. Her hands fell into his locks, and the feeling of her fingers gripping the short ebony strands beneath his crown was otherworldly. Although the kiss was short, it was his newest addiction. Persephone tasted like everything he had failed to see in the world beyond the Underworld. She tasted of life, the vibrancy of white lilies and the push and pull of happiness combating deep desire. She tasted of life and death and being reborn - she tasted for him.

The Underworld had found it's queen.

COLORS GLITTERED AMONGST the marbeled dancefloor like diamonds falling from the blue skies of the world above ground. The music in which adopted the mighty room of the God and Goddess of the Underworld's wedding reception began with an exquisite string from the harmonic violin, joined by a symphony combining the harp and the piano. The floor was completely empty, waiting for the two rightful beginners of this dance to find their place. The trio of instruments fell to a tale of anticipation as the God of the Underworld - in all of his darkened finery and displayed medals - stepped forward. There should of been a collective gasp, because there was such boldness in that forward step onto the sparkling onyx that even the Goddess of the Underworld's heart skipped several beats. The crowd around them looked to the redhead with expectancy that only made her heart gallop.

~

"Immortality has grayed me from seeing the mortal things life has to offer."

Rows and rows of long rectangular tables, but the owner of the voice was to the right of the head, the only body standing with a glass of golden nectar and rum in his hand. The shadows surrounding the character were only normalized in this realm, some of the occupants looking to the mist with questions burning their tongues. Some had fear in their eyes at the remembrance of Erebus' shadowed crimes, of what was in those shadows. But for the Death God Thanatos, this toast meant more to him than any miniscule opinion, any obvious stare. Even if pieces of him still burned where there was that comparison to his father...because that wound always found some atypical way to reopen no matter how many times he tried to close it again.

Thanatos was never about the romantics of love. He never thrived with sonnets and poetry, never found any intimacy exciting outside of sex. But even in that region, how intimate could you get when the connection was forged off of physicality? The ideology behind love has always felt too bruising. Even in the prescense of Aphrodite herself he found even thinking of marriage to be nauseating. How could one fall in love and find peace when there was always the outright possibility - or more so the outright possibilities - of such a sacred thing crumbling? Could you seriously die from a broken heart? Such theories seemed so...childish to the young god, but he never doubted that type of power. The type of power that went beyond brute force or mental shields...the type that scarred.

But when the advisor saw his king beside his new queen, he knew...maybe somehow...love may be worth the war. Maybe the gravitational pull that defys all odds was worthy of the risk.

"Whether it be the traditions of familial love," Which he had several qualms with. "Or possibly even trusting your most powerful friendship," Hades. "Or even epic love," Yet to be found - if ever. "I will never move pass the way that Hades supports Persephone. Most best men would jump to how incomparable their bride and groom's love is, but with this family - we all know that's a bunch of bullshit."

A grim course of awkward laughter fueled the guests. A particular load of joy behind Hecate and Hades's eyes coupled with the slight but swift coloring of Zeus's cheeks made the bit so much more worth the danger.

"But if there has ever been anything real when I see it, it's the light that enters my best friend's eyes when he speaks of our beautiful queen. It's the way that Persephone always seeks Hades first during the mornings and the way that Hades checks in on her. If love is so epic, shouldn't it be the smaller details that we mention in these monumental speeches? Shouldn't the gifts and the grand gestures simply be placed last because knowing your person entails you find the way to their heart with just a few words?"

At the corner of his almond eyes, he felt hazel orbs trained on him. Burning into his soul that he kept so guarded from that very ancient witch. Sweat broke across his forehead and Thanatos had to actually try to contain the shake of his hand against the cool glass. If he knew magic at all, he would know that this wasn't an illusion. Even if he wished so painfully that it was, because never in his two hundred years of life had a woman set his nerves on fire. It was so foreign a concept that he couldn't decide whether he loved or hated the idea.

"I want this realm to flourish. I always will. I know how controversial it already is a topic having the Spring Goddess being queen of the Underworld. We see improvement in the most unexpected places, and I have no doubt in my mind that that woman right there," Persephone's cheeks blazed when Thanatos's nodded across the table, smiling at her face with every piece of hope incarnated. "she's going to change the world. Your doubts mean everything only when they fuel her fire. To the God and the Goddess of the Underworld!"

The hooray that followed filled the great room, the liquor spiraling through Thanatos's veins as he took that heavenly sip, letting the drink intoxicate his ichor and hold him with a crushing iron fist. He fell to his seat, feeling that thump of his heart accelerate as he found those beautiful eyes after seconds of drowning in the drunken rims of his mind.

Engulfed in brown seas but yet finding the beauty of those electrifying green speckles, Thanatos felt like some type of...arrow had collided with that beating thing in between his ribs, taking his breath away as almond eyes dipped to delicate lips coated in solid black. Warmth filled his stomach at the tightening of the Titaness's lips, only then noticing the small dimples that aligned at the inner corners of her smile. It was so dazzling that Thanatos had forgotten of the state he was in, in front of rows upon rows of deities and so blatantly falling deeper and deeper into the heart-stopping features of the glorious, powerful Hecate.

Hecate in which has been living for eons before even the Olympians's reign. Hecate in which masked her emotion with as much humor as even he could muster. Hecate in which was the very picture of beauty, the most powerful but also most frustrating woman he had ever came face-to-face with. Hecate...staring at him with so much fire that it threatened to burn his indestructible ice.

He almost didn't notice the way her lips silently formed words he struggled to follow, like his knowledge of vocabulary and any access to the languages of the world had been robbed from him because of this ethereal creature he could never have. His heart burned at the possibility of her ever...the possibility of her ever crafting a smile purely for his sight and a laugh that would echo across his bones.

I'm proud of you.

Four words. Four words that made everything in his vision explode. Made his heart combust with a heating intensity that could put even the sun below such a thing. Four words that threatened to cause every piece of his life to shatter because he knew no matter how much he would push her away, no matter the words he would speak in order to fill this void of...of...of desire and want and dreaming wishes...he would want Hecate.

In every universe.

And that...that type of hurt...was enough to sober even the Death God's heart.

~

Persephone had seen only one party previously in her life - outside that large estate in the corner of Greece that is - and even Olympus couldn't compare to this level of power. The Underworld was everything that Olympus wasn't, with its glimmering dark jewels that attracted the most beautiful but twisted of monsters, music so mystical it powered the mind into an endless string of effortless dance, and the world that sparkled behind her vision was anything but normal. The air smelled of smoke and absolute magic, bodies finding each other on the dancefloor as an electric beat laced the atmosphere with all of it's quickened fury.

The Goddess of the Underworld was sitting on the stool of a long bar, picking her cuticles as she looked to the distance with an empty expression. Her bones were exhausted from the events of today, the heels on her feet aching to be removed in its unrelentless throb. Even the few sips of alcohol hadn't gotten to her, Persephone's stomach only somewhat dancing in warmth. Needless to bring into the air, she was exhausted...and horrified of the mystery that her sister riled into her memory. Tonight. Tonight something would seal her marriage, something that she didn't understand. Where surprise was concerned...anxiety would threaten to throw Persephone over the edge.

Over the past few hours, Persephone had done her all to indent into her racing thoughts that Hades would never force her into anything that didn't involve her hand, but somehow it all felt wrong. It all felt wrong because Demeter had purposelessly thrown a young woman out into the world without any knowledge regarding the way the world works - and in her inexperience - Persephone was paying the price for the mistake of her mother. Sometimes she questioned if her mother had ever planned to let her out of that little cottage at all, with all of it's tainted light walls and flowered lies. Now the memory of her childhood was in vain, and she could never get those memories back.

Emotions clawed at her heart, churning the few pieces that remained in all of their useless dignity. That furious thing in between her ribs concealed so deeply in her chest would never do her any good...not with the nausea that rolled her stomach at the flashes of fragments of her life outside the Underworld...those midnight lillies she prepared for blooming only once and her tiny pink blanket that got her through the hostile nights of sobbing for more and-

"Persephone?"

And then it was all gone. Broken like glass. Because his voice had found her ears, the beat of her joyful heart finding its reason of color. The black and white exploded, a color bleeding out to form orbs that were made of pure starlight dipped into the bluest of oceans. She wanted to contain her pulse, wanted to magically be able to tell her entire body to calm now that the storm had been conquered by all that blissful shadow, but all her mind could stray to was the kiss of smoke on her husband's lips. On the God of the Underworld that stood in front of her...with something in his hand. Something Persephone had failed to notice with the first adventurous roam of twinkling eyes, only searching so deeply into his soul to miss what really shone through.

In Hades's hands was the most delectable candy apple Persephone had ever seen, coated in drizzled caramel, dark chocolate and decorated with the most appealing sprinkles alternating in red and black.  Mind blanking at the utter...at the utter speechlessness of this moment...she found that words had simply failed her. Because suddenly she was back in Elysian with Hades beside her, the warmest sand coating her toes with the scent of candied apples on her nose. And then the emotion struck...all because Persephone was living out remembrance of her confession to Hades...of the thing that delighted her most in all of it's beaming attraction.

"You-" Again, words just didn't do anything right now justice. The lump in her throat that once signified unhappiness evolved into the most significant of victories...joy. "You..."

"Remembered?" Hades offered with the flicker of an eyebrow, a smug uplift of his lips offering some type of amusement. The world came to full circle when he placed the candied fruit in front of her, Persephone completely missing the fact that he took to the bar stool beside her because her mouth was still agape, eyes trained on the fruit.

Persephone's heart swelled. The attack of what she was feeling was simply too powerful, her mind overcome by the hyperactivity of the clockwork there grinding its gears in its lightning pace. To believe that someone had put this much effort into remembering something that brought her so much love...so much serotonin...it broke her but pieced her together simultaneously.

"But...why?" She whispered, eyes finding his slowly, her lips parted as he stared at him, utterly mesmorized. And the way that he stared completely back...matching her expression with ease that was as simple as breathing...ignited her needs to touch him. To feel her God's cheek underneath her palm and become apart of him. Maybe Persephone was falling into utter madness, but she wanted that taste to indulge her selfishness before the craving became too consuming.

Or maybe she was already there...because when Hades gravitated closer...the breath had been knocked from her lungs and she believed then she could conquer planets and vanquish all living evil from this world.

"How could I forget?" His voice was low, his breath smelling of milk and honey as the whisper skidded along her bones, swallowing her whole at the realization that they were both backs bent over their seats to find each other's warmth.

The realization dawned on Persephone like a slap to the face, so much so that the heat now branding her cheeks began to flush back, those brown eyes searching for anything but his beautiful blue orbs in order to find reason once again. Of course her mind coupled with that ample warmness in her belly screamed at the now many inches that separated them, but Persephone swatted away the annoyingly painful fact with haste.

The obvious change in attitude had Hades clearing his throat from beside her, inspecting the stoney material of the bar top underneath his shaking palms, the ecstasy of that moment waning him off his twisted high but leaving that insatiable taste for his wife unfulfilled. It was truly some specific type of newfound torture, one he'd have to adapt to although he would rather die than ever ignore the radiating bond deep inside the both if them.

"You should try it," He instead changed the subject, offering a smile. "The kitchens from my understanding went through quite the journey to formulate an exact recipe."

"Oh?" A red eyebrow rose in response,  the goddess's corner lip cracking upward to resemble a smirk. "You didn't have to go to such troubles for me Hades, you know I would of been fine with just about anything."

Her fingers found the intricate wrapping paper coating the apple, unraveling the piece with precision as the tempo of the music fell to something more intimate. It was such a humane moment to Hades that he almost fell to tears at the sheer beauty of this woman. She who is the Goddess of Green, wed to him as his wife, and beyond that sitting beside him at their wedding reception in a meaningful moment. It may of been as godly as it could get, but regardless it was bound into nature of his emotions regarding her.

"Just because you'd be happy with the worst doesn't mean you deserve it." The comment from her husband had the breath being knocked from her lungs, Persephone's heart quivering at the sincerity laced into his tone. She struggled to pick up the stick of the apple under his gaze, their eyes meeting to form something electric. "You're a queen, now. And although line of duty points to me showering you with the most beautiful things, I want you to know Persephone that I simply want to give them to you. Not because of pride, or whatever misogynistic mentality has become of the men on this world, but because you are my wife and you clearly deserve it."

The lump that took hold of her throat was suffocating, the ghost of his words skidding along her bones in a way that was haunting. To believe she had doubted him through Aphrodite made her now feel like a treacherous witch. The way that he was so patient with her...so appreciative and yet so hopeful at once...it broke her to pieces to finally confirm that there were men still left in the world that could conjure any woman's fairy tale into a reality.

She just couldn't do words. Not when her bottom lip shook with a promise to cry. So she did the one thing she could do. She gave into her body, bashfully reaching across the space that separated them to bring her soft lips to his stubbled cheek, the warmth that filled Hades one that was  ever-glowing. And where the short kiss lingered, and both their eyes met once each pair was open, the goddess's voice filled the void of his own mind.

Thank you.

And with that it was as simple as breathing to raise the apple to her lips, the caramel that dripped from her plump lips resembling a liquid ambrosia that filled Hades's with sinful thoughts as his wife bit down on the fruit. It was more than obvious of her appraisal for the desert, chocolate eyes closing over to soak in the story of the delectable flavors. It was the most comparable item that Persephone could relate to ambrosia and nectar, the food of her kin. But above the flavor came the aftershocks of nostalgia. Of course nothing could compare to the quality of the desert, but what could was the value of her memories. Persephone was transported back to a time where she remembered her mother's loving nursery stories, late-night cuddles in Demeter's safe arms next to a smoking fire and even laughter that tumbled from her lungs with ease.

It was love in the purest form. The love of a mother for her only child, the love that was once all that Persephone had to live for.

Understanding that now was the very thing that had the little goddess letting go of that outreach of hope for Demeter, knowing that the way years aged a person was the simplest evidence to somebody's character. So she swallowed down the pain, swallowed down the remembrance of such guttural damage that had become her in Olympus. And when brown eyes awakened again, she was greeted with her future: ocean eyes.

Hades's smug smirk soothed the broken shards of her heart, only realizing the way her fingers had unconsciously hooked on to his own in the midst of her crisis. She stared down at their conjoining, placing the half-eaten fruit down to find its papered home, the world suddenly a lot more clear.

"So what would you rate your flavorful experience?" A chuckle arose from Persephone, the shake of her head joyful in every way.

"It was so fantastic I almost cried. I didn't know food could have such an impact on the soul."

"Well as the realm of wealth, I would argue that I still recommend for the cooking to be just as rich as the alcohol we have is." A dark idea alit in Persephone's head at the god's words, her eyes roaming over the extended and very empty bar they occupied. Her eyes scurried over the several bottles of wines, rums and champagnes that aligned the walls of the bar in a beautified display.

Something arose in Hades as he searched Persephone's features, understanding all too well that the innocent beauty of the eighteen year old had dimmed. He fought the tug of his lips, instead adopting the more mature approach of questioning.

"Persephone what-" He stopped when she withdrew from his hand, heels clicking on the onyx flooring to grab twin bottles of heavy rum imported from Dionysis himself. It was only when she placed an entire bottle in front of him when all of his suspicions were confirmed. A dark glitter of excitement in the redhead's eyes had Hades reeling.

"Persephone, no." He said it more out of playful intent, but even then Persephone plopped down on her barstool to face him with a devious smile. Gods she was adorable. It was so painfully obvious the power she held over him by the way he instantly smirked at her rebellion.

"Persephone, yes." She was reaching for the top, laughably trying to open the seal with great effort. Hades watched in amusement.

Finally, he caved.

With an expectant hand, dark shadows encompassed the chilled bottle she was holding to eventually glide to the Death God's open hand, Persephone's mouth agape as she stared at her husband with a forming pout.

"This isn't fair," She entertained. "I don't have dark shadowy magic that will give me whatever I want with the snap of a finger."

"Actually you have a husband for that." And possibly powers of your own in that department, Hades tried to restrict that piece purely to himself. "Anyways, dear wife, I have a proposition for you." He placed the bottle of rum next to his very own, beginning to unscrew the seals using his magic.

She really wished he wouldn't say her title like that. It did miraculous things to her stomach. Still, she nodded in his direction.

"For every sip of rum you take you owe me an answer to any question I ask. Of course if the questions get too overbearing you can agree to not answer and I'll move on to another one, but I'm sure you understand the logistics. This rum is highly concentrated and made from Dionysis himself. You'll be rolling on the ground by round six." Hades placed her own bottle in front of her on the bar top, their eyes meeting for a moment as Persephone rounded her finger across the glass opening. She had a plausible look on her face, as if she had something to add.

"I agree, but only to the circumstances in which you do this little question game with me, old man." She bit her bottom lip in a smirk, Hades couldn't be helped but to simultaneously gasp and allow laughter to consume him at her sudden attitude.

"Getting a little bold aren't we? Sure you didn't allow yourself a head start, goddess?" The wink that he offered her was every bit as attractive as she could ever imagine, something in which that had Persephone's mind screaming at her to get it together.

Instead she held the heavy bottle in her waiting hand, rising it in question in front of Hades for a cheers. He complied, ever the quick learner, and their glasses kissed one another in a clink.

"May the best god win." Hades replied with a smirk. Persephone was then guzzling down her sip of rum, feeling all too embarrassed at the grimace that consumed her features. The warmth dripped from her throat to collect at the bottom of her stomach, the shiver that shook through her bones triggering a chuckle from Hades.

"First drink?" He asked, assuming as much considering who her mother was. Persephone considered lying for one moment, but even with her inexperience with marriages, she knew interlacing the very foundation of it all with lies would be the very thing that ruined it.

Finalizing this as his first simple question, Persephone replied easily with that knowledge evident on her own face.

"Second. Still in close proximity of a few hours. I may of had some earlier in the reception." Hades's eyebrow rose, striken with surprise. His eyes caught with Hecate's from the corner of the large room, containing the roll of his eyes at the thumbs up the enchantress offered him. "Get to swigging, oh Dark One."

She was a fast leaner. Clearly she caught on to the accidental slip-up of his first question that wasn't really meant to be his first question. Regardless, he humored her, taking his first swig of alcohol with so much as a twitch to the eye. He even went as far as winking at her by the end of the sip, finding some level of satisfaction in the way her right eye twitched. Attitude, attitude.

"Entertain me." He pressed, sighing to lean back in his seat with a cat-like smirk to his face.

"Easy." Persephone began, as if she's been prepared for this moment since the very root of meeting him. "What were you like at thirty?"

Whatever Hades had been expecting, he did not expect that. It caught him off guard, left him speechless in a way that transported him back to eons ago. Maybe it was because at this very point in his endless life birthdays were more comparable to a burden than to something really joyful. Of course Thanatos would break out something small but festive anyways, but at Hades at thirty? That was something otherworldly to reflect now.

"At thirty I was just beginning to finalize the Elysian Fields. I figured that conjuring the more evil places first for the dead souls and somewhere to place the Titans was my best bet. That year was the very one I partied the most. Let my hair down and decided to be more optimistic about the new start of my life." His eyes glided to his knuckled fingers with the shake of the head, wanting to laugh at the stupidity that finally marked the crack of his serious personality. "I did things I regret, such as whoring around although it was responsibly and staying as far away from Olympus in avoidance to strengthening any possible ties I could have with other Olympians. I think from the war against your grandfather and my father I could finally find some peace. I was wrong."

Persephone was no stranger to the ways hope effected a person. It was she who sat on her bedroom floor for the entirety of her teenage hood and dreamed of something more. But realizing the heights that her husband had to conquer only to fall again in the shocks of his newfound safety...brought a new pain to her bones.

All she could do was lift the bottle to her lips, and take a shorter swig than the one previous. The burn was less painful, but she was beginning beginning to feel the oozing warmth highlighting her vision in dancing colors.

"You're making Thanatos quite proud, party girl." Hades reveled at the way Persephone giggled at his remark. "But anyways, aside from flowers and candy apples, what else could I have found you doing in your mother's realm on a rainy day?" He leaned forward on the stool, bracing a strong jaw against his knuckle.

"I really enjoyed baking. Pies are my personal favorite." He'd have to take her up on that some day. "But I also love reading. Mother knew that very well, so she would filter out the stories she felt most inappropriate for me. However for as long as I can remember I have always been intrigued by poetry. How a few simple words can craft something truly magical is beyond me."

He couldn't ignore the beautiful flush of her cheeks, as if talking about something she really enjoyed could be scornful for her image. The smile he returned to her came easy, because learning of her intrigues and interest was something he'd listen to for the rest of eternity if he were allowed.

Finally it was his turn. Persephone only spoke once he guzzled down his own swig.

"What is your favorite flower? Or here how about this, I'll widen that region: favorite plant?" The sadness that richocheted through the ancient god was unfathomable. Though a simple question, it was more meaningful than she'd ever understand right now, and Hades now knew that something so vague could offset a plethora of memories.

"White poplar trees." She didn't miss the waver of rigid emotion in his voice, but didn't choose to pry out of fear of interrupting their flow. "I quite like them."

One day, he'd tell her. Now however wasn't suitable.

Persephone took an additional sip, the liquor stinging her eyelids. She was now starting to feel the world creeping upon her in staggering directions, the music all the much louder and the dancing bodies grinding against one another on the dance floor a precise wiggle of motion. So this is what being drunk felt like. She fought against the urge to work her legs.

"What's the sudden look for?" Persephone questioned with a curious rise of the brow. Hades bit the inside of his cheek, his enthusiasm shining through.

"Aren't I supposed to be the one asking the questions? So greedy today." Only for him. But she would never wonder upon that aloud. It looked as if he was testing the waters of his own mind, questioning if he should say what he felt inclined to say. "What has been your favorite piece of staying in the Underworld? Anything that particularly stood out to you?"

It was too easy. To have her in this state to spill all of her secrets. She practically shouted it without thinking twice.

"You." The flicker from solid amusement to quick surprise to unshakable adoration on his face was the very thing that had slapped her on the face of her mistake. Well, not exactly a mistake, but regardless the blush that fulfilled her cheeks sat her on fire.

"Oh?" Hades pressed, as if this couldn't get any better for him. "And what exactly is it about me that calls so clearly to you?"

He came ever closer to her, his lips nearly grazing her very exposed neckline. She was going to go insane being this close to him all the time. The way her own body chemistry responded to the God of Death's was beyond anything logical, when he pulled she found that she was pushed ever into him. Their bond sung at the closeness, Persephone considering the consequences of allowing her lips to graze his until the hypnotic beat of the music around her stopping the facade altogether.

"Your intelligence!" She saved herself at the last second, the hiccup of her drunken vocals separating the final four syllables of the word. The laughter that was evicted from her husband's throat was like music to her ears. "I mean, you're refreshing to be around. Even if you feel otherwise, being around you is like...my safe place. All the stress that drops to my shoulders somehow goes away the minute I see you, and speaking to you so intimately like this...it's an honor."

If she thought she saw beauty before, nothing could compare to the way that Hades was looking at her now. It was as if every star in the sky had been robbed by those oceanic pools in those perfect eyes, his lips upraised in what was the most genuine smile he had ever crafted for her. And as if the feeling of ecstacy could never end, it was for once effortless to smile back.

"I know that feeling, Persephone," Hades replied. "I know that feeling all too well."

~

The sands of time filtered through the hourglass repeatedly with question upon question. Persephone had learned of Hades's favorite Olympian (of course it was Hestia, with all of her warmth and familial refinery), how he and Thanatos had met (how Thanatos calling one of the strongest men of the universe a bitch upon first impression could bring the two to become brothers was something she would never understand) and she had even learned of his timeless love for his mother and her grandmother, Rhea. It made Persephone yearn for the woman she had never once met, wanting to understand the Queen of the Titans at those few moments of questioning more than ever. There was so much history in her blood...history she was going to fight to read and whisk away into the clouds of her memory.

By the eighth swig, Persephone had discovered that once again Hades was correct in his predictions, Persephone very much feeling like she was going to fall to the floors of the Underworld's palace.

Except she didn't. Instead she danced. Persephone danced until she felt her ankles were about to fall off, making her rounds around the room and alighting it with the sunshine that the Underworld had never had the chance to revel in. Her dance with Hecate was wild and electric, while the one she shared with Thanatos was drunkenly sloppy but of course respectful at once. Zeus had even saved a slow dance for his daughter, allowing Hera to cut in to share something truly unique with her step-daughter.

By the end of the night Persephone was stumbling to her husband, falling into his awaiting arms with a happy tiredness she didn't remember ever experiencing. She was positively floating, eyes closed to enjoy the slow away of the air upon the slivers of skin her dress allowed as Hades carried her to his room. Words didn't make their way into the air until Hades had reached the hallway to his bedroom, his nose swimming in her beautiful scent.

"Hades?" She whispered, arms tightening around the bulked muscles that held her. Thank the Fates her eyes were closed, for if she saw the happiness on his face he'd die of embarrassment.

"Yes, dear?" The tug of the goddess's mouth did things to his heart that shouldn't be real.

The click of the door to his bedroom sounding through the air somehow led to the intense reality check that was his life, Persephone's next set of words exploding to combust the voice of reason. Placing her gently down on the bed made it all so much worse.

"Are we going to seal our marriage tonight?"

Her words were animated, twisted and so, so off. As if she was repeating something off of reflection, reading words straight from the rages of a book. A few beats of the clock had him processing her words in waves. First blatant surprise, like a bullet to the heart, and then anger which was screeching and breathing just to roll off of him in unfixable waves.

Hades knew Demeter. Knew of her callous manipulative ways, and Hades wouldn't put it past his sister to  conveniently never teach her daughter of the dangers of men and all of their functions. Apollo was confirmation enough for just that. In fact he was absolutely persuaded that Demeter would of taught Persephone to fear sex in a way that had her vomiting just by the mere mention of it.

But Demeter wasn't here, and if Demeter wasn't here then the contender who pushed Persephone to feel pressured to say those words was going to be a very unfortunate soul.

It all made sense why there was such fear in his lovely wife's voice...as if he'd force her hand.

That shattered him beyond words.

"Sweetheart," He had to push down the anger to make room for the gentleness that now found his tone, Hades finding homage on the bed beside her to sit on the edge. Persephone's glassed over eyes was a sight that he ached to remove, reaching for her hand and was so thankful that she obliged. "I would never, ever, hurt you. Especially in that way."

A soft sob shuddered through her, as if his promise was such a relief to her that Persephone couldn't hold it in. She squeezed his fingers tighter, Hades's other hand combing through the delicate red curls of her hair to soothe her.

"I'm so sorry if I ever made you feel entitled to give me anything in that region...it will only ever happen if you feel completely comfortable." She broke at the apology in his voice, as if he had an ounce to do with it. Why would a man that had ill intent towards her do all that he has done thus far? Showering her with gifts, allowing her glimpses into the past she was so intrigued by, even going as far as to marry her just to keep her safe? This god...this wonderful, wonderful man, was so much more than a last many doubting. Much more than all the tales wronged him.

"It was Aphrodite." The weeping goddess confirmed, wiping away the smudged mascara to meet that now simmering pair of eyes. "She said at the reception we had sexual tension, and that there a final step to finalize our marriage. That's when I had my first drink. Hades, I'm so, so sorry." It took quite a bit of effort to be the larger person in this very cumbersome scenario, but in some miraculous way, Hades managed to paint his face into the statue of calm and nod his head.

"It's just with everything with...with him..." She couldn't even say his name, even drunk, Persephone was tripping over the memory of the Sun God. The shadows surrounding Hades rippled. "I began to see little spectacles if the world Mother left from me. There is something deeper to the human soul. And only having that to build off of anything romantic...I felt it was only logical to feel the way I do regarding the topic.it had nothing to do with you."

Because he wasn't him. He wasn't that bastard-born man-brat that believed he could get away with whatever the world presented to him. And to target Persephone...his wife, the strength and power of the Spring above fucking ground...was another level of audacity. One day Hades would do more to him than Persephone had delivered, and he would revel in Nemesis's reward.

"It's okay," He breathed out, nodding to signal his understanding to her. "I understand. Aphrodite was at least correct about one thing." This would be so uncomfortable to explain, but that pleading look in her dilated irises was asking so much of him. She wanted to know. Persephone was sick and tired of being left in the dark. And damn him for being the man that delivered her the truth, because she sure as hell would give it to him.

"It's traditional amongst gods and goddesses to uhm...consummate their marriage. Not even just gods, but also men and women. The most intimate event between two people is joining together to become a singular person on some degree, and that's through making love. Not just sex, which many choose to do anyways before marriage, but something deeper...something much more profound. It's one of the most important milestones of any relationship. And for a marriage it's ever more important." Hades had to look away from those brown orbs to regain the pounding of his heart, the fingers lacing through her right hand weak then. Not out of fear, but just confirming she was at least intent. "The Olympians don't consider a marriage truly just without it. But Persephone it will never be my intention to use you for your body. After the pain you've endured and the shortness of what we have...I could never."

And he was sincere. So sincere that the words thrummed through Persephone's heart, making it so much easier to fall into him. How did the Fates make such a man? He was as beautiful as silvered daggers and as real as the world around her. It just couldn't be fair.

"We can take it slow." It came after a long pause, because speaking those emotions into the air pointed that it would one day truly be real. Persephone's pulse quickened. "I planned on lying to the others if a conflict is to arise, anyways. Considering our luck you already know we might have to." The hopeless chuckle that rung the air was the very thing that had Persephone smiling once again. They were truly fucked weren't they?

The way the dimmed candlelight of the grand chandelier above them caught his laughing lines pulling at his black stubbled cheeks was everything good in this world, his eyes finding the floor underneath him to shake his head.

"But beyond that, I want to go at your pace. I want to help you heal. I want you to keep going to see Oizys. Not because you have to, but because you want to. And I would be so honored to have you beside me at my throne for each Judgement. It's sometimes suffocating, but now that you are the Queen of the Underworld I'd figure you should just as apart of this as I am. And to train you...to train you would be an honor." Was he...nervous? Bashful? Hades's hand came to fiddle with the red duvet, an endearing response that had Persephone sitting up on the bed to place her ringed hand on his strong jaw, forcing those eyes to meet hers.

"I'd like that." She whispered, that gorgeous smile the fuel for his living. It was second nature to take that delicate hand and press several sweet butterfly kisses to her knuckles, memorizing the way Persephone's hooded eyes closed to inhale the moment of ecstacy. She is so gods-damned beautiful.

"Good." And Hades' hand was letting go of hers, replacing the absence with some twisted chill that was everything wrong in the world. She didn't want him to go. She just didn't. "Then I'll go. Tomorrow we'll prepare you for your first Judgement. In the meantime sleep would do us both wonders." Right as he was about to turn and leave, her hand finding his clothed arm was the thing that stopped him cold in his tracks.

"Stay." And there is was again. The truth. Written on her face only for him to read. "I don't want to be without you tonight. Just stay with me. It's your room...and you're my husband...so just stay."

His heart was hammering, strong knees suddenly molten to jelly, and that damn heat in his stomach would never go away. Not so long as she was around him.

"As you wish." He replied softly, not understanding how his legs could move under this indescribable feeling. When Hades made it to the bed, Persephone had adjusted herself to the left side, laying on her side to face the opposite direction of him. Hades snaked his right arm underneath her petite waist, the left finding homage to grapple on to ringed hand with a tight squeeze. His face nuzzled into the warmth of her creamy neck, finding heaven in her array of scents.

Is this okay? He echoed down the bond, recieveing a confident nod of the head from his wife.

Actually can you fix the dress situation for me? I'm quite...restricted. He snorted into the air, letting go of her hand only to snap his fingers, their wedding attire retired to the mountainous closet across the room in exchange for her usual yellow nightgown and a simplistic pair of cotton trousers and a muscle cutoff tee for himself. Usually he'd find comfort in just sleeping naked, but in these circumstances that was absolutely not going to happen.

"Better." She sleepily replied, lashes tickling his left bicep. He smirked into her neck, absolutely breathless at the way her legs burrowed between his own so they scissored. He would spend the rest of his life with this woman. This perfect, gorgeous goddess.

"Good." Hades responded, catching a glimpse at the way their rings sparkled together in their joined hands. "Now sleep. You're safe, Persephone. You're safe."

Hades fell asleep to the song of her heart beating against his strong arm, and found that he fell ever in love with the Goddess of the Underworld that night.

~

"Persephone, tell that dreadful thing over there to stop taking my book." The whine of the Death God Thanatos's deep voice echoed throughout the catacombs of the mystical hidden library concealed deep underneath the House of Hades.

The day was an entirely new epic type of slow, with Hades off doing his own assignments in his office and the majority of time having Persephone engulfed in creating the new layout of the Asphodel Fields with Hecate. It wasn't until a very interesting thirty minutes previous when Thanatos decided to grace the ladies of the Underworld with his prescense. And by gracing their presence, it including the involvement of Thanatos's inevident bouts of intensive whining.

Not that Persephone could complain, because after all, anything was better than Hecate and Persephone being stressed from work.

"Oh well excuse me you whore, it's almost as this was an assignment for all of us!"

With that furious remark, the caramel-skinned woman snatched whatever book Thanatos had in his hands again. Persephone had to quite literally choke the laugh out of her in order to not egg her friend on.

"But no, someone was off twiddling his thumbs all day." Hecate's smoky eyes reconnected with the complex sketch she was processing on the large table, Thanatos's fall of the jaw absolutely hysterical.

"Persephone Hecate just called me a whore." Persephone snickered, running a pale hand through the roots of her messy bun. There was no way in hell she'd wear her finery if she was to sit all day. It was a break for her skin, and a break overall.

"Should I get you your blanket and a juice box, too?" The silence that beheld the room at the ghost of Persephone's words concerned her to no avail. What had she said? And better yet, why were Hecate and Thanatos holding her with such...admiration? The warmth of the fire even flickered in response.

"What?" She nicked her brow. "What did I say? Did I do something wrong?"

"You, my excellent queen, just insulted me." Thanatos claimed, propping his long legs on the table which Hecate inevitably pushed off in the end. You would think he'd sound more...well, insulted by that, but he was glowering in joy. "Do you know what that means?"

Persephone couldn't help it, she doubled over in both her confusion and sheer ecstacy of this situation. It was so ironic that it was laughable.

"It means that I'm rude?"

That one knocked out Hecate and Thanatos, the sound of Thanatos's chair skidding along the tiles of the floor awakening the normalcy once again. In passing, Thanatos patted the red hair of the queen's head, shadows kissing her skin as they followed their master.

"You kill me, kid." And he was trudging closer to the door with his warming attitude. "I'm off to get us all some juice boxes!"

"I'm literally your queen!" Persephone called out to the Death God, hearing the click of the door signal his departure. The goddess turned back to the witch at her right, her lips upheld in a tight smile coupled with that shake of the head.

"He's so infuriating." Persephone wasn't sure what iron fist had its hold on her today, but letting the next set of words from her mouth was way too much fun.

"But cute, right?"

The drop of the pencil against the table along with all the world's seriousness that flooded its way to Hecate's stricken face, Persephone released a joyous giggle, falling back into writing her descriptive notes.

"You can not be serious." Was all that Hecate offered, finding her way back to the layout with tense arms, obviously trying trying serve avoidance.

"Oh come on Hecate!" Persephone nudged the Goddess of the Crossroads with her elbow. "You can't not see it."

This was torture. By the look on Persephone's face it was more than obvious that she was trying to just get Hecate to admit it. Cruel little creature she was becoming. Maybe it was Thanatos's influence. Hecate made a mental checklist to murder Thanatos and hide the body on her checklist for tomorrow.

But wait. They were fucking immortals.

Fine. She'd entertain her. If only for this next sinful moment of her long, long life.

"He's okay." The blatant lie was all that Hecate gave, Persephone gasping at the clear lack of information. Hecate didn't meet Persephone's gaze, smirking down at the little doodle she drew out of distraction. "What?"

"Oh, you know what." Persephone gave, even going as far as to steal the pencil out of Hecate's hand to possess every bit of her attention.

"Persephone!" Hecate imposed, trying to grab the pencil back but Persephone placing it on the furthest side of the table to pursue her...ugh, boy talk.

"So you're telling there is nothing about him you find absolutely attractive?" Hecate's hazel eyes bugged from her head, crossing arms over her chest at this new person. Hecate didn't know exactly what it was, but she loved it.

"And there is nothing direly attractive about Hades you'd like to let out at this little intervention?" The scarlet fever that colored Persephone's cheeks was all the words that Hecate needed. She pointed an accusing finger. "Ha!"

Persephone swatted at the witch's finger, scrambling to form words in her defense. "That's not fair! We're supposed to be on the topic of your life."

"But there's nothing truly interesting in my life, Persephone. At least nothing that compares to meeting the bulked up God of the Underworld and marrying him in a flurry of romance in a month for your wellbeing and safety."

Well, she hit it right on the mark at least. Provided the very spotlight of her life in just a simple response. Even if few key points were missed, it depleted the blush fast simply because Persephone's face went from flustered to deadpanning on Hecate.

"Hecate, you're older than everyone at this palace right now. How could my short eighteen years of life compare to all of that?"

It was funny. How you could read of all of these deities in a few storybooks and live amoung them, but once you were upon them, you didn't know what in the entirety of the cosmos to ask. Because there was so much that Persephone wanted to know about Hecate. She knew of her legendary power, saw traces of it firsthand, and unfortunately knew of the struggle she went to to master that power through Hecate's awful Titan father, Perses. She obviously also knew of Hecate's prescense in the Underworld very well. But everything in between? Where was the action? The bleeding adventure? Clearly Hecate chose to conceal the secrets of Hecuba and Troy, and even her journey to the moon.

"Maybe it was because I lived most of my life out in the crossroads." Hecate stole her pencil back, drawing her little makeshift moon because it was the center of this conversation. One of her many areas of expertise. "With my little torch and black cat." She smiled off to the distance.

"You have a cat?"

"I do. Technically, the cat is actually a witch transformed by a bitchy goddess, but regardless still my cat by adoption." Persephone couldn't process half the stuff she heard anymore. At this point, there was absolutely no way she couldn't gag over the information everyone offered. Hecate's side glance at the silence questions coating Persephone's face had her nodding in that direction, easing her way into the tale of Galinthias.

"I was never keen on the Goddess of Childbirth. Eileithyia is a minor god, but actually birthed from your father and Hera long ago. And as Zeus does have favorites, your father unfortunately put Eileithyia on a pedestal from birth." Persephone's head was swimming. Of course the reveal of yet another sister wasn't the very thing to get worked up about, but it was the absence of this knowledge that struck her. There was so much Demeter hid from her that she was still discovering. "Because labor and childbirth has so much to do with healing, and I am indeed the Goddess of Witchcraft, healing magic is something I excel in. It was from the bottom of my heart where kindness was involved to take Eileithyia under my wing for your father. He only wanted the best for your sister. And Hera of course being always either pregnant or pissed at Zeus only made the situation more convenient for him."

"Eileithyia was sixteen by the time she came to live with me here in the Underworld. I was still fairly new to being Hades's second-in-command, only a good one hundred years in, but still new regardless. Even if Hades detests his brother he still approved of her arrival." Hecate's face was solemn as she beheld their rough draft. "She was so simple to work with at first. Stubborn, I will admit, but simple. She thrived naturally through my practices, something I've always believed she got from Hera, yet as time rolled along she became overbearing and horrifically arrogant. And this is coming from the woman who admires confidence. But that girl! That girl was terrible."

"What was the thing that ended her internship?" Persephone was too intrigued to not ask.

"Well trying to get in your husband's pants did it for me." The gasp that combusted through Persephone's windpipe was unmatched, the shock and anger intermixed to birth something Persephone had never felt before.

Jealousy. Cold and unharbored jealousy. Envy wasn't the most beautiful trait to experience after all, with the chokehold it had over Persephone's gleaming throat and growing invisible talons that ached for ichor. That growing power was almost impossible to contain, but Hecate's hand finding Persephone's uncovered burning wrist brought her back to home.

"Of course I am a reasonable goddess. I wanted Hades to be happy above anything, everyone on this bloody planet should understand he deserves it most. But what it came down to at the end of the day was Hades not finding Eileithyia anything more than scum. I only ever found out when Eileithyia tried to seduce him with a highly concentrated narcotic, to which Hades blasted her from his bedroom at the first undesired touch. I banished her the second Hades told." The crumble of Hecate's features was solid agitation.

"That created quite the wedge between me and Zeus. Surprisingly not Hera, but Zeus refused to speak to me for a number of years. Not that it was something that bothered me, but still the way he thinks can be so unleveled in stupidity. And of course Zeus and Hades's bond grew ever darker. Anyways, flash forward to an uncountable amount of time later, and somehow the Fates had both me and Eileithyia in Athens together. I was roaming into my newly constructed temple when inside I found a lonely black cat. Now this cat, even right from just seeing it, was effortlessly different. When the cat turned to me I noticed it's eyes were separate colors, with her left being completely white and the other a red so deep it looked to be blood. My suspicions were only confirmed true when the cat spoke. In a woman's voice, the cat stated her name to be Galinthias. Gale was something I shortened for her."

"Gale was once a witch. It explained the aura I felt radiating off of her, even if she was older than the typical. She weeped as she told me the story of how she was once a handmaiden of the mortal princess Alcmene. She was the granddaughter of the hero Perseus and Andromeda, and her beauty was said to be the ranks of Aphrodite herself. Now Alcmene, Alcmene was tricked by Zeus. As Zeus will likely fuck anything that breathes, he disguised himself as her husband Amphitryon and raped her. Hera grew ever more angry when she discovered that Alcmene was pregnant with a demigod. Zeus being Zeus tried to hide the pregnancy, even rejected the unborn child...but still Hera did something despicable twenty-five years ago. Eileithyia being her daughter and conventionally the Goddess of Childbirth was thrusted into the situation to murder both Alcmene and your half-brother, Herakles." Persephone's mouth fell open at the discovery, blood boiling underneath the skin as Hecate pressed onwards.

"Gale was always so protective and passionate about Alcmene. Because she was hurt by Zeus, but still wanted Herakles more than anything, Gale swore to do her best to bring the child into the world. So when Eileithyia tried to assist in the birth all the way in Athens, Gale was suspicious. She had heard the stories about how callous the Labor Goddess can be. Days crept on and when the birth of Herackles took action, Gale snuck upon Eileithyia. There is this complex and very rare type of ritual in our birthen culture that when we focus enough on the womb of a pregnant mother, you could take them both out just by slashing the womb of the mother. It is sick...and twisted...and Gale knew exactly what Eileithyia was doing outside the door of the room. Therefore, in a flurry to just get enough time to pull Herakles out of Alcmene's center, Gale shouted, 'a son is born!' Which brought Eileithyia's shields to fall all the way down out of surprise, enough so that Alcmene had pushed Herakles out of her womb, and still additionally place a heavy protective spell over the mother and her son."

"The only problem is...Gale had forgotten to one over herself. Eileithyia busted into the room, more angry than she was embarrassed for being caught, and transformed Galinthias into a black polecat."

"No!" The Goddess of the Underworld exclaimed, tears glossing over her eyes as sympathy strangled her heart.

Hecate's eyes were shallow with sadness, the ache for her friend going above a thousand words. In Galinthias' heroism she lost so much more than what was ever deserved, which truly showed how unfair this world was to the people who least deserved it. It was as if reality was some toy game to the Fates, and they'd only revel in the way the good fell from the board.

No hero has ever had it easy. Oizys's voice echoed in the pits of Persephone's mind. Maybe patriotism was the Fate's excuse. Invalidating their hurt only to say that the journey edged their personality. Did it give them trauma and possibly even punishment and or death? Yes. But it all didn't matter because they bested the odds.

"And in her spell, Eileithyia's curse turned Gale immortal. She was sworn to spend the rest of eternity in a cat's body, unable to use magic and bury herself in her own pain. Alcmene had survived, found by her husband, and Herakles is now referred to as Hercules to dismember the pain that Alcmene experiences from losing her best friend. So I took Gale in, roaming the Crossroads with her and guiding ghosts and anyone who seeks a path along their way. Gale is likely visiting Alcmene since my arrival to the Underworld. I still remember the day I found her...the day that I swore that one day I'd break the bonds that the curse had on her and bring her to immortality. Even if the Fates decided to have our world crumbling down, and the cosmos along with it. Because Gale...Gale is one of the most miraculous women I've ever met."

Her voice defined admiration, leaving the type of glow on Persephone that hit her in waves of unfathomable hope. She was experiencing a multitude of emotions for the polecat, listed from inspiration from her bravery to strive to bring a further greatness on the world. Persephone ached to remove this dreary curse on the witch, for Alcmene's absence, for Hecate's friendship, and for all the stolen memories of the trust Galinthias could of shared with her brother, Hercules.

Looking right to see that a iridescent tear rolled down Hecate's beautiful cheek struck the Spring Goddess right in between the ribs, because if Hecate did anything in the world with her swirling shadows and legendary magic, Hecate did not cry. It seemed outlawed even by Olympian standards to see the liquefied emotions roll down her cheeks. It pushed Persephone to find Hecate's hand in the silence, reaching towards the sisterhood that she had never had but always wanted.

Hecate's hazel glassed orbs found Persephone's brown, and the world made so much sense when Persephone offered her the softest smile with the squeeze of her fingers. Hecate's tears subsided when she saw the swirl of electrifying purple in her queen's eyes, the brown engulfed with breathtaking royal violets and speckles of white. And with that flash came the warmth of the sun through Persephone's bones, seeping to transfer through Hecate's skin and birth a light the Titaness had effortlessly missed. It was something Persephone would never realize she had done, but to Hecate, it was absolutely everything. A mixture of shadow and light, a mixture that could bring the world to its best.

The Underworld could not be in better hands.

"You're a goddess by heart, Hecate. Not because you were birthed one, but because of your heart." A repeated line from the first time the two goddesses had met. Hecate fought through her tears, nodding with a smile that was absolutely authentic.

It was that day, in the catacombs of the House of Hades, where Hecate saw that this woman of a goddess, was effortlessly progressing.

~

Hades should really learn to control all the habits that he was painfully self-aware of. So. Very. Self. Aware. Of.

The little things, like the leaving his pen under the hurricane of a mess that was his paperwork on his desk, or even unintentionally grabbing that second cup of coffee, which led to three or even five, were small enough things that they didn't make the ancient God embarrassed.

But what did make him feel embarrassed - well, not exactly embarrassed, but flustered - was when he was caught staring at his wife.

By his wife.

Persephone sat upon the towering diamond and onyx vanity now occupying their room (it was a two week progress, essentially convincing themselves after all the sleeping together that this wasn't just Hades's room now), and her gorgeous red hair was now tied into a chignon that brought matured beauty to softness, baby wisps framing her face of a more edging makeup. Browns and blacks faded into a starry grey that was offset by a cornered black jewel in the corner of each lid, lips painted a dark nude that brought color to her face. Her cheeks were highly indented, dramatic contour building upon her usually soft bone structure. Persephone's fingers worked in careful waves to pin black pearls into a complex lineup atop her chignon, huffing and puffing in the process.

Of course, his wife was uncompared in beauty, but the dress...the dress was what really made Hades's knees tremble.

Woven beads of the deepest scarlet skidded along the tight mermaid cut of the red dress, enabling a twin slit to showcase both soft yet thinly muscled quadriceps. Her legs under the dim lights of the Underworld - pale skin never looking quite so stunning. Persephone's chest was on full display, the neckline creating a V in which was only held upwards by two crossed beads of pearls that pulled together the first half of the dress. It was so out of her comfort zone that upon laying his eyes on her Hades had lost his voice, wondering if it was possible to be hit by Eros's arrows twice over by this same ethereal creature.

She looked so fantastic with the dress on that Hades couldn't help but consider what she may look without it...which had his heart quivering, a certain heat filling his lungs the very thing that ordered him to self control.

In the mirror she held his eyes, the way her lashes barely lidded her irises making this oh so much harder. Damn this woman, he'd die before he could even hold her to him again. The smirk that aligned her lips was positively wicked, and Hades bit the strong inside of his jaw with a feature that perfectly twinned her features.

"You..." He whispered, trudging ever closer to place his hands upon her shoulders, massaging the soft skin there. "You are absolutely devastating."

It was as if every bit of cold seeped into the places where he touched her, even something as simple as holding Persephone's two shoulders driving her mad. Their eyes never left each other's, and from the darkened hunger in his eyes, Persephone wasn't sure if she ever wanted him to. There were the days these last two weeks when she reflected upon the price she would likely pay for indulging into the selfish things she wanted, and one of the largest contributors was Hades. To set her on fire with so much as a simplistic touch only ensured what lay ahead...

She needed to stop thinking this way. It was inappropriate. Persephone couldn't allow such distractions to ensue when there was mere minutes before her first Judgment, the fate of the souls adead resting upon her small shoulders. Thank the Fates, that thought alone was enough to sober that fire.

"Just as you do, Hades." And she meant it. Her husband was always so handsome with his confident stride and ancient aura. He was smoky and mysterious, the type of man you would believe was birthed from magic upon the surface and below.

"Thank you." He whispered back with an appreciative smile, a pause in his movement before Hades carefully maneuvered his way across her moving arms, kissing the soft skin upon her cheek just for the second that followed. And in the boldest move, he flashed her a wink through the mirror, floated from the new stricken face that fell back to him, then backed from the vanity with just enough time for the newly created blush to deplete from the Goddess of the Underworld's face.

She truly couldn't decide if she loved or loathed this effect he had on her. It was insanity, but the best kind.

Clearing her throat and scrambling through mind and matter to change the subject, Persephone found the final pearl on the surface of the vanity and picked it up with trembling hands, so aware of the way Hades's eyes pierced her slim backside. Gods why was her heart doing that? At this point he must be able to hear it.

"So," She began, trying to calm the obvious quiver of her voice, "What can I expect with this being my first day?"

Hades toyed with the onyx wedding ring on his finger, adjusting the band so it sat comfortably upon his finger. Once he sat in comfort, he crossed his arms over each other, muscles more profound as he was now all business; the God of the Underworld.

"Begging. Crying. Sometimes, screaming. I won't sugarcoat it." He tried to ignore the flinch that pinched through her features. "The souls are relentless. Often many will try to lie, but that's more so Thanatos's job to do damage control. The Fates record each sin and notable deed on each soul, which Thanatos announces at the beginning of each individual Judgment. And that is where it get so much more complex. This piece of the occupation...it sets purely upon your morals and what you see fit. One wrong move and the entirety of the Underworld could shatter."

She was going to throw up. The world turned cold at any potential mistake that could arise. To send a hero to the pits of Tarturus off one horrible deed would be haunting...but to send the monsters of this universe into the Elysian Fields would be destructive. The tremor of Persephone's fingers igniting the anxiety to attack her gut was a must.

"Which is why I am there. I've never made a singular mistake. I would never call myself perfect in any area of my reign expect for in this way. I emphasize when it's deserved, I lock up the evil and I give the neutral exactly that. And when I am not there, or when I need backup, I have the Judges." Her eyebrow quirked at the unknown, asking him a question with her eyes.

"The Judges are three demigods that were immortalized by me from their faithfulness to justice on Earth. They're all my nephews, and each your half-brothers. Aeacus, Minos and Rhadamanthys. Aeacus only covers the souls from Europe when I am away, as Rhadamanthys serves those from Asia, and Minos is the weight of reason if either is undecided. Any other part of the world belongs solely to me, but I can access anywhere. I still allow their input. Just as you have now access to Judging any soul that crosses the Path of Judgment, because you are my wife and queen."

So much to remember, so much to consider. With so little time to memorize it all. How could she possibly keep up with it? There was a pressing throb on her head, only stressing Persephone out further. Audibly, she sighed, burying her head into her hands to cling to the darkness there. It was so much simpler in the shadows, so much quiter when you were out of the light...

She should of seen it coming, and she did in the way, but not like this. The lightest bit of comfort floated around her skin in the ghost of a touch, almost like the warmth you'd recieve from human contact but not quite...something so much deeper than that, pressing more upon her emotions than her body. Her sensory system pointed to Hades's prescense standing over, but despite the intrigued, she held strong, remaining stubborn.

"Persephone." And there was that voice, looming. Beckoning. Luring. She resisted, but the bond between them ached. "Persephone, please open your eyes."

But I'm so stressed, and this is all so new, and I don't know if I can keep up with it all...she let her thoughts speak instead, fighting against the pain scorching her throat. That pain was formed from the uncertainty of this new position, the weight of all that was waiting for her. It was indented in human nature to fear the things that were unknown, for we don't know what path life could thrust upon us, but Persephone was a goddess. And goddesses...goddesses weren't meant to be afraid. As Demeter had said, a goddess was to be polished, proud and silent. Controlled.

Persephone was anything but controlled.

"No." Large hands found her own, holding each that were attached to cover her face, softly beckoning with the gentle pull. "Persephone, darling, just give me your eyes."

How could she ignore that tone? Ignore whatever was coaxing her to comfort? It was only an impossibility amoung her anatomy to ignore him...which is why she allowed Hades to pull her shields down, her vision becoming encompassed with not light, not anything familiar of her bedroom but shadows and mist that surrounded her...and him. Crouched upon his knees was a king - a god - holding the hands of his queen.

Persephone wasn't ever sure if she had seen perfection personified before. Didn't think it possible. But if she was ever close at all, it was the smile on the face of the man she adored waiting for her.

"There you are." A tremble became her when his gaze pierced her own, Hades bringing her right knuckle to his lips in the softest kisses. These weren't kisses meant to chill, they were kisses that brought every shield of Persephone's down, kisses that left her reveling in all of Hades's warmth. "There are those eyes."

"Hades..." She whispered once her hands were now tightly within his own. "What if I mess up?"

"What if you don't?" He offered.

It was all that he would give her now, because in the end Hades knew that if Persephone was anything at all, she was above messing. She did not make messes, she made miracles. She could do anything.

In fact, she had brought sunlight to the Underworld. A Judgement would never be enough to take down the Queen of Death.

~

Shadows coated the atmosphere of the solemn throne room, now complete with two thrones that were encrusted of blood rubies. Enchantment was all but a silent friend to the Judgement room, the essence of ghosts and one thousand silenced voices skidding along the smoky walls of the inferno. And in inferno came the hearth of it's power, a king and his goddess in which swept into the room with a dangerous elegance, alluring as bleeding silver but as sharp as the knives against the Underworld God's belted waist.

And behind them, in their shadows but still standing out like the star of Polaris upon its familied sky, was darkened wisps of secretive shadows with the Death God that owned them. His face was cold, the very picture of hardened delicance.

A family of broken dreamers, and a family of the Underworld. They came to serve, to excel in justice.

In gold suits of fantastical armor, robes and refinery, stood the Three Judges of Death, waiting by the shrine of Hades at the complete opposite side of the room. In their king and queen's passing, they each bowed to their leaders, not rising until the trio reached them.

"Rise." Hades instructed, the ordered doing as was demanded.

Each Judge arose in perfect synchronization, as if this key to the practiced Judgement had been memorized. Three pairs of eyes found the newest addition to the Underworld family, the sets each glimmering with a new type of wonder but also intrigue.

Persephone's eyes singled each judge, finding each to be very different than the one previous, even with their close descent in royal blood. But in the armored Judge with the crystalline blue eyes and geled brunette locks, she found him to be most like her father. Almost in a way that mirrored the King of Gods himself.

"Firstly I'd like to thank you gentlemen for attending this session as it wasn't scheduled for you. I'm very appreciative of your willingness to help." Persephone has noticed that Hades had varied tones depending on who he found likeable and who he found rancid. With the utmost respect laced into his words now, it was clear that he valued the Three Judges on his court. "I believe introductions are in order. I know that I saw Minos and Rhadamanthys at the reception, but I'm sure that Aeacus was away on a trip to Europe."

Aeacus nodded at the assumption, confirming he was indeed the man that Persephone pinned as Zeus's twin. She found the diversity of body types to be refreshing, as it proved that Hades stood for equal treatment amoung his court.

"Thanatos, care to greet my lovely wife to these gentlemen?" The arm that held Hades's muscular bicep tightened only barely, Persephone doing her best to calm that bundle of nerves threatening to suffocate her.

Hey, his voice slithered against her head like a snake with its dangerous coils, you're doing wonderfully.

Instantly, she relaxed, inhaling to let out all of her fears in that exhale. She was power, the Queen of Nightmares, and she would not fear the unknown.

"Son of Zeus and Aegina, I present to you the first of the Three Judges, Aeacus. Judger of the souls from Europe, please step forward and bow to your queen." The brunette who stood armored in muscled gold stepped forward, placing a hand upon his heart to bow to his new queen.

"Alright, alright that's enough pretty boy step back in line." Thanatos rolled his eyes with the dramatized wave of the hand, as if he couldn't stand the poor man solely off his appearance.

"Thanatos!" Hades warned in a whispered yell, earning both a giggle from Persephone and the Three Judges, a smirk blooming upon Thanatos's features.

"It's okay boss," Aeacus peeped in an indifferent nature, eyes deadpan upon the smoky Death God. "Thanatos just can't stand someone better looking than him. It's a pleasure to meet you my queen and wonderful sister." He bowed once again, stepping back to his trio once Persephone offered the softest nod of her head.

"Everyone's an ass kisser around here aren't they?" Thanatos snickered.

"And you aren't?" Hades pointed, an amused expression falling upon his gorgeous face.

Thanatos served to respond with his favorite finger, Persephone having to choke upon the laugh that threatened to escape her voicebox with a new kind of fury. Hades simply rolled his eyes at the Death God, feeling wonderful that all was well with his ecstatic wife.

"And with another third of our judges, I present to you the King of Crete and son of the oh so pleasant King of Gods and beautiful Europa, Minos." A brute of a man stepped forward, wearing the most beautiful of finery that Persephone had ever seen on a man. His ginger beard was scrabbley but tamed, long ginger curls tied in a bun at the back of his head. He was absolutely intimidating to the delicate Persephone, with his piercing brown eyes and unbothered expression. Minos had to be larger than Hephaestus, but his corded muscle threatening to bust the seams of his clothing separated the two men completely.

"Thank you, King Minos." Ironically enough, he also seemed to be very shy, because he only nodded in respect towards his higher before stepping back in line.

"And finally, I present to you the second son of Zeus and Europa, the Judge of the souls of Asia: Rhadamanthys." The shortest fellow stepped forward, also the largest in size. But Persephone found the man to be a delight, for when he stepped forward his pale cheeks went scarlet under the gaze of his beautiful queen and he could do nothing but wave excitedly.

Well isn't he a sweetheart, Persephone remarked through the shadowy bond, finding beside her that the crack of her husband's lips were full of amuse. His eyes met hers.

And absolutely whipped for you I'm afraid.

Persephone retained from rolling her eyes, only nudging him with the elbow he held, directly in the left set of ribs that sat there.

As if you have room to talk, Hades actually scoffed audibly, to which all four men turned towards the source, Persephone only winking towards her husband with an innocent beauty.

"I am anticipating working with you, Rhadamanthys."

"And to you, my queen." Rhadamanthys swept down in a sweet salute, moving back to his placement after the former.

The throne room was then a swift flurry of activity, Hades leading Persephone to her new throne right to his own. The throne was gorgeous, thriving under the moonlight-like dim of the Underworld's light. Built of ebony, onyx and rocking spectacles of glittering opal, the throne was only a foot shorter than the King of the Underworld's, yet still a perfect match. Cushioned of what looked to be the softest material at the sitting place of the throne, a velvet red pillow beckoned the great queen closer to destiny. Her heart was struck, still reeling in amazement, hands trembling in the softest hesitance as Persephone parted from Hades to stroke the arched armrest of her throne. Being the realm of jewels, she expected nothing less.

"What do you think?" Hades assessed, footsteps echoing through the room as he stroked the opposite armrest, admiring his own work.

"It's...it's breathtaking." Breathtaking wasn't enough of a word.

"Well you're welcome." Thanatos had come from behind her, arms filled to the brim with hordes of scrolls she could only assume was the souls for the Judgement. "While this asshole designed the layout I was the one finding the — and I quote — most glimmering jewels we have."

Hades sighed in his usual demeanor, waving off his consultant with a lazed arm. "Gods forbid he actually lifts a finger. Poor little brother."

"Well I really appreciate it Thanatos, it's absolutely gorgeous. You outdid yourself." Thanatos deemed Persephone's response good enough, simpering off to the the Judges' pedestals in which they now claimed at the right of the room near the hearth.

"And you," Persephone called towards Hades with adortion in her gaze. "I am so thankful for...for all of this." Persephone was even beyond careful to sit in her seat.

"It's nothing. Just another wedding present, if you will. Even if I was obligated to do it, it was an honor." He waved it off as if it was nothing.

That was the bare minimum he could say about that, but he didn't think she understood quite the magnitude of the situation. How Hades had waiting so long to merely design the throne and bring the idea out into the world. And with her? It meant everything to him.

Taking her own seat, Persephone inhaled and exhaled, preparing herself for what lay ahead. In her mind she repeated that same line I am power, I am power, I am power, not letting go of the tie it held to her sanity. She remembered that Oizys had kept her in her prayers for today at their last session, and in many ways, that eased the anxiety in her bones.

"Alright gentlemen," Hades began, sweeping an eye over his wife with the smallest wink, "and my queen," His voice adopted his sense of dripping morality again, the world threatening to shake at the unharbored power he held wielding order and honor upon the grounds of the Underworld. "send in the first soul, and let them face eternal Judgement."

Persephone's heart sped at the sheer anticipation of this moment, finding herself clutching the throne with an iron death grip, the footsteps she awaited never coming. Because the source, she realized in a grim sort of awareness, was dead. Weight meant nothing to them now, as she reflected her initial tour of the Underworld and all the souls she had to see in their sorrows.

Silence impregnated the room as the suspect in question sauntered directly in front of the adjoining thrones, a nauseous roll of the stomach and horrific type of dawning bringing Persephone to push back the gasp that threatened to shake the earth.

Because the soul, the innocent and the pure, was a mortal boy, starry-eyed but so incredibly defeated, looking her squarely in the eyes.

Even Thanatos seemed to have nothing smart to say, his eyes adopting sympathy. Still, he lifted the scroll to his face with shaking hands, hoping to the Fates this boy was let off easy for whatever fate had cut his short, short string.

This was wrong, so unbearably wrong, and even if it wasn't her blood shed at the end of day, even if it wasn't her life she lost, Persephone felt that she was robbed of something. Children were the very essence of good. They were untouched and full of dreams, something beyond that with the potential a god could never compare to. This was her first Judgement, and already her heart was in shatters.

She didn't know when her striken hands began trembling against the grip she had on the throne, or how she unconsciously pulled down on the shadowy bond between them, but Hades's hand finding hers in the void was the thing she clung to. It was all that she could hold now.

I am power , I am power, I am power .

"I present to you, my King and Queen of the Underworld, James Servopoulos, occupant of Spartan Greece, and seven years old." Persephone bit down on her tongue.

"James, you may rise." James arose from the small bow he was in, and Hades further questioned. "How did you die?"

"The cold killed us, sir."

The cold? As in...the temperature? Something so unknown to her was able to kill a person? And even in worse...something so simple yet grounded in life? That was when Persephone realized...she couldn't remember the last time she had been cold above ground. At least outdoors, Demeter had always made it utmost priority to let vegetation and climate shine the earth and all of its contents to warmth. What...what is happening?

"James," Persephone pressed, the entirety of the staff stopping at the sound of the feminine voice, "What do you mean you died from the cold? Are you sure it was exactly that? The cold?" She sounded so stupid, speaking as if all was wrong but still needing further confirmation from a child.

"Mommy and Daddy's crops wouldn't grow. We tried to hoarde the ones from our previous months...but we ran out. I...I starved." Persephone's heart was on the verge of destruction, throat burning at the utter brokenness of the little one's voice.

She realized that this is exactly what Hades meant long ago on Lethe. Death wasn't an escape, because remembrance would forever leave you in sorrow. Even if you had nothing to worry of upon the Asphodel Fields, even if Elysian would serve happiness on a silver platter...there would always be the what-ifs. Especially for those robbed of something more, robbed of the chance to truly live.

"What of his sins, Thanatos? Notable deeds?" Persephone's voice was passionate, her pierce on the Death God furiously focused. Hades couldn't help but watch in wonder at the empathy his wife shared with this child, the operation of her position as queen unstoppable. She didn't realize it now, but she was effortlessly thriving.

"No sins to report on, Your Majesty. Deeds include working aimlessly with his parents since the age of five to provide for his arm, giving up his last morsel of grain to save his dying sister, and aiding several animals on the farm when harmed."

Nothing. He did nothing wrong. And in ways she couldn't explain, Persephone wished desperately that it was the polar opposite so that she could banish this heavenly little boy to the depths of Tarturus without so many as a wave, but that wasn't the case. She yearned for him. Wanted him to have so much more than was wrongfully dealt to him in mortality.

Persephone's rich brown eyes scanned the three brothers at the pedestals, searching for confirmation, but was faced with indecision. Arteries slowed as her gaze pieced the silvery-blue of her husband, the look on his face hopeful as he nodded in her direction, squeezing her hand only further.

Why aid someone who already knows exactly what to do? He was so gods-damn proud of her, so entrance of this woman, that hearing her carry out the next command was simply music to his ears.

"James Servopoulos, with the power of justice and the Underworld on my side, I grant you access to the Elysian Fields, for your selfless deeds in your mortality has proven you a gracious soul. May you prosper."

James's hazel eyes glossed over, tears falling from his heart shaped face as he bowed to his queen, practically skipping out of hope towards the exit, making Persephone's heart feel so much fuller.

But then the fullness subsided from the damper on the moment, and her bottled questions came unlocked. If James and his family were dying from the cold, then it couldn't individually be him. There had to be a higher explanation from what was happening. For everything that Persephone knew at that moment, she was absolutely sure of one thing: something was going on with her mother, and it was costing people their lives.

Writting a mental note in her head to consult Hades about the pending issue later, Persephone was brought back to reality only when Thanatos announced the next soul.

"And next up on our list of souls is the vile scum that walks this planet, finally here in...well not quite in the flesh — thank the Fates above — but vile nonetheless, the Escaper of Death twice over, and an imp in sheep's clothing, King Sisyphus of Ephyra."

Thanatos retorted the name with a grimace, as if saying the name left the most distasteful essence on his tongue. And from the likes of his announcement, Persephone understood Thanatos's obvious detest once Sisyphus had been dragged into the courtroom by chain, backed up by Underworldian soldiers in clad armor and piked pitchforks.

Sisyphus was an ugly man, bloodied from what looked like wounds of self defense from the defenders that had dared cross him, overgrown black hair damaged and falling over his back in a haunting fashion. He was thin in every place of his body except for the middle, where a beer belly constricted his scraggly brown robes. But the most haunting thing about Sisyphus, besides the disgusting way he held Persephone was power-hungry grey eyes, was the gashing scar over his right eye, traveling from his furrowed right brow all the way to his thin neck. The most putrid smell clung to the ghost, like rotting decay. And the smile that he offered Persephone, which shouldn't be considered a smile at all, was showcasing his rotting teeth.

"So, this is the bastard that chained you up?" Hades grimaced at the scum resting on the floor, the smile on Sisyphus's face transforming into a look of self-indulgence; pity. A rile of the chains against Sisyphus's wrists had even Persephone lurching back before the guards gripped the chains again, pulling the man back to the floor in his permanent bow.

"But Your Highness, I would do no such-" His voice was raspy, as if he had spent the entirety of his mortality feasting on tobacco.

"Shut the hell up, filth." Hades's tone was venomous, laced with something personal. Goosebumps traveled to the Underworld Goddess's exposed skin as the swirling shadows that jumped from her husband's bones, in awe of the deity. "Do not spoken unless you were spoken to."

"Indeed." Thanatos finally answered, looking positively besides himself at the very deserved mistreatment of the rat on the ground. "Also how the bastard earned that gnarly scar. Finally you've rotted."

There was a hiss from Sisyphus, the boring of his teeth almost carnivorous. Persephone was practically gouging her nails into Hades's skin at the way Sisyphus's eyes traveled the expense of Persephone's exposed skin.

She couldn't kill someone that was already dead, but she could severely, horrifically, punish him. It was just a delight simply upon just meeting him.

"Tell me how he got the scar, Thanatos." The reaping intrigue tugging at Persephone was almost too much. The Three Judges leaned closer.

"After going to retrieve the soul that is Sisyphus with chains, I was tricked. You see here, Sisyphus refused to go to the Underworld because of the never-ending lists of sins that he committed. Therefore we had a struggle, where I gaunged his right eyeball out with my knife, but was still chained to a tree in Ephyra." The fact that this bone of a man was able to challenge a god was beyond her own comprehension, but to chain Thanatos? The Thanatos? It was madness.

"You're wrong," Sisyphus grounded out, that pitless black hole in his head rolling the contents of Persephone's breakfast into a nauseous motion. "I did no such thing. You are a liar. A snake."

And there it was. That bond between them, collecting to combust. Not just from Hades — who valued Thanatos almost as much as his kingdom — but surprisingly, also from Persephone, who was angered at the utter audacity of this man.

That is when all hell took hold of the room.

"You will speak to him in no such way!" It was as if every noise in all of the Underworld had been stolen from the breathtaking goddess, the redhead even going as far as to rise on her two legs from her throne, looking like the personification of beautiful death with her glittering jewels and horrific power. "You are inferior. A nothing that deserves exactly what is coming to you. Apologize."

She was boiling, feeding off of the rolls of anger that washed over her. She knew what type of man Sisyphus was. The type of man to murder in cold blood and get away with it because of his royal status, to chain a wonderful god up for doing his job, to corrupt the minds of growing children without so much as a damn, the type of man to...to take advantage of unknowing women when they put their trust within him.

For a flicker of a second, Persephone was beyond satisfied to see the fear enter the grey eye of the man on the floor, even Thanatos looking to his queen with astonishment.

But with the end of that flicker came mock entitlement, as if the goddess's words meant absolutely nothing to him.

Sisyphus looked the Goddess of Green straight in the eyes and poured a furiosity into the words that followed.

"Go. To. Hell."

One tick of the clock. Two. Three. And then, as if the world didn't collide with the cosmos before, it sure as Cronus did now.

Persephone's power filtered directly to the bone-thin neck of the prisoner on the floor, electric purple lightning bolts intermixing with shadow to take hold of Sisyphus's neck, her power bringing off the floor to pin him to the right wall, his scream that replaced the quiet echoing in unbridled torture.

"Apologize." She pressed, her fingers crushing harder together to accelerate the power, gritting her teeth. Still, he entertained her, pride ultimately Sisyphus's fatal flaw.

Two can play at this game, Persephone pressed, accelerating the brims of her power to the point where golden ichor fell from her nose, testing the limits of that magic she had somehow missed so horribly. She was reminded of him at that moment. Of her abuser. Of the way that she had to cower beneath him for moments, struggling and feeling so alone.

She would never feel that way ever again.

And as expected, Sisyphus thrashed amoung his screams on the wall, exhaling through his cries to let out a truly shattering scream, "OKAY! OKAY! I WILL DO IT!"

Persephone withheld the grunt that skyrocketed through her when she stopped the power that filtered through her body, tears crushing at the corners of her eyes at the fury of understanding. She had done it. She had wielded her power.

And as a result, when Sisyphus fell back to the floor, welts of the deepest black aligned his sickly pale neck, the very same wound that had found Apollo's flesh after her defense.

The only sound that richocheted through the room was the labored inhales and exhales of the dead king and Persephone's lungs in recovery. She went to wipe the tears of extertion from her cheeks, but before she came to realize it, fingers of the softest velvet did that for her, Persephone recognizing the touch of her husband in fluttering moments. His hands were around her waist, giving them an assuring squeeze. That touch meant everything.

It's okay, he whispered to the pits of her soul, you are astounding.

"I'm sorry." Sisyphus grunted in Thanatos's direction, the quiver of the Death God's lips deadly. He had won in the end.

"I have reached my proposition." Persephone had claimed, both the queen and king falling back to their thrones together. "Just through the actions of utter disrespect shown today, King Sisyphus of Ephyra, I banish you to Tarturus."

"No." Sisyphus uttered, being pulled upright by the chains he dangled from.

"And as punishment for cheating death, you will spend eternity pushing a boulder to the top of a hill, only to see it fall with each completion. May you feel belittled in the pits of hell." And with the wave of her hand, a screaming Sisyphus was being dragged from the room, in chains and shackles with justice served.

And for once, Persephone swore, she would never be alone ever again. She would never become the little girl that was on Mount Olympus, waiting for her savior. Persephone was Queen of Underworld, and she was power.

For this was her life, and already just by the two weeks into her reign, she was doing good by it.

THE DEATHS AMONGST humanity had progressed horrifically in the two weeks that followed, Hades noticing the clear pattern of cause and effect quickly through each and every Judgement. This wasn't groundbreaking news, as Hades had noticed the number of occupants cramping the limited space in the Underworld since a month past, but it was still the discovery of how these numbers continued to uprise that set a chill to his bones.

The cold. The confirmed murderer of so many lives lost in vain, as the controller had to be his cruel sister. It was something the God of the Underworld realized when tossing and turning in bed the other night, looking upon his beautiful sleeping wife's face and understanding then that this was just Demeter's response to losing someone she so passionately wanted to control. But it didn't make sense. And there could never be an excuse for her shallow manipulation.

Even when Hades fell to rock bottom, the Underworld was still very much alive. Pain didn't disrupt him from work because he understood that all that he had left was this magical kingdom he had at the end of the day, and if he wasn't functioning, then the Underworld would crumble and the structure amongst him and his sibilings on the world would die. It would be utter chaos, and while this was something that had been avoided for eons, Demeter didn't realize the sheer carnage she was letting thrive.

There was those selfish pieces of him, the selfish pieces that Hades couldn't let go of, where Hades worried himself sick that once Hades brought this knowledge to Persephone's attention, she would leave him. Leave him in his cold lonesome, in the Underworld, without her own signature of sunshine and glowering flowers, and his world would never be the same again. It was a conversation he wished so terribly to avoid, but of course it had to be Thanatos that would eventually bring this issue into the air.

"You have to call a board meeting, Hades." The hushed whispers of the Death God filled the chilling air of Hades's office deep into the night, their tones hushed so any suspecting wanderers outside the door wouldn't hear a peep.

Thanatos's face was as serious as his tone of voice, the shadows that clung to him whispering of diplomatic structure, with the twinge of obvious sympathy he held for his best friend. It was common knowledge that in the two centuries he has served him that no one stood for Hades the way that Thanatos quite had, but even in situations where all was going to shit Thanatos was respectful enough to give Hades the extra push he always lacked. That was something about the bond they had that Hades appreciated the most. Because even if loyalty was valuable, it was honesty that succeeded with trust.

"I just need time, Thanatos." Hades's arms were crossed over each other's with the solemnity occupying his waived features, jaw set in the hardest muscle as the god bit over the skin there. It was clear that this was something he didn't wish to do, even on the more smaller level it posed to call his lowers of the Underworld to adjust. If this power posed as a higher threat, then bringing it to Olympus would only rile Demeter further. She likely had no idea it was him who currently held Persephone at night, who fed and comforted her. He had to take the most precise steps, or the entirety of the playing board would fall.

But this was all apart of Demeter's plan. She would continue to let the atmosphere turn polar, until eventually, Hades was backed into a corner. Then he would have no choice.

"We're running out of time, boss." The sentence was sped, as if Thanatos was tripping over his words to exceed a point. The clock was ticking, and each second overlooked was another mortal that lost the beat of their heart. "The Underworld is cramped. More cramped than it had been in centuries and Persephone has only been here for two months. How much more of the numbers can we take?"

A deep sigh was birthed from Hades's lungs, the stress waning to spread across his features. He hadn't been this sleep deprived since the wedding, those numbers taking a toll on him. And in that stress, putting a distance between him and his wife was the only thing he could sought. It hurt seeing her pained expression at yet another rejection to come to bed, another decline for a private lunch. But burying down all this sorrow was all that Hades had ever known, and Persephone...Persephone didn't deserve that. Everything was changing.

"And I hate to say it...but I'm exhausted, Hades." Thanatos's words were pained, as if admitting it would be the snap of his leader's sanity. He cared more for his emotions than he would ever admit, but it was still all there. "I'm never here. I am constantly going to catch the souls that have died, and with all of this death...all of the children...it is growing so tiresome." Coming from the God of Death, it was a scream for help, a plea to edge the defeat.

It was then, in the haze of Hades's vision, where he noticed the dark toll this occupation had taken on Thanatos. Playful, teasing Thanatos, who usually thrived in this family, wielding the scrolls of the souls with a passion. His inky black hair was tossled and frayed at the edges, almond eyes soaked over with a tiresome purple. Even worse than that, the shadows that surrounded Thanatos weren't at their full glory, fading to a flat grey and wonderless purple.

It broke something in Hades that made him jump over the edge of that mountain, something snapping deep inside of his immortal veins. This was the turning point, to see the people he loved in such hurt, to bring them to this horrifying place because of his own selfishness.

"And you think I don't know that?" There was a tension between them that swirled, collecting the emotions expressed to add to the growing fire. "I haven't slept in three days, Thanatos. I am so exhausted, so close to just giving up. And I'm so stressed...paper after paper announces the world's casualties. We are losing more than we're gaining and there is nothing that I can do to help."

It wasn't just about the world falling off its axis in an insatiable cold, or how balance was to be upheld in life or death, it was about living. Many would argue that this life you were gifted, whether divine or flat, mortal or immortal, came down to survival. Quenching your bloodthirst as the wolf or being torn to the sheeps. To Hades...it went beyond that. There were children not given a chance at a life. Young adults that never had the chance to fall in love. Mothers losing their daughters and sons fatherless. He couldn't bare hearing the sheer pain in another ghost's reflection of what could of been. Even with the powerful drink of Lethe, it just wasn't enough. Because they were still robbed.

"And...and I can't..." The throb of Hades's throat was adding to the buildup, the anger and regret piercing his soul as he faced his desk, latching to the hard corners of the wood enough to shatter the tabletop. "I can't lose her, Thanatos. I can't lose Persephone." It was the broken whisper that befell into the story that offset quite the power of what he felt. Because it was real. It was as becoming as the shadows between them, as true as the Fates that looked upon him above.

The long pause that sounded through the air was revolutionary, Thanatos's cognitive functions failing incredibly when he saw the most powerful being on the face of Earth crumbling. We all lose at the end of the day, but with the one good thing that Hades has gained, how could he ever recover? It would be nearly the same complexity of Thanatos losing Hecate...but with a new magnification. Thanatos understood what his brother felt for the Goddess of Spring just by the stares they shared, or the way Hades would pear at Persephone while she was knee-deep in her Judgements, but hearing him vocally voice it, seeing and experiencing it now more than ever, Thanatos knew that love was real. Real enough to give the God of the Underworld a heartbeat, real enough to give a woman beaten to the bottom a reason to build herself again from the ground up.

Except he wasn't good at these things. The heart-to-hearts, forming poetry on the tongue that could soothe brokenness. From Erebus's abuse on both Thanatos and Nyx it always made it harder to form a connection with someone, especially on the spectrum of loyalty.

So when Thanatos's hand found a muscled scapula adjoining his brother's back, all he could offer was the essence of his touch, using those dimming shadows to calm Hades. Even by touch, he could feel the extent of Hades's physical stress, shoulder blades locked and shuddering under the unexpected touch.

"It's going to be okay, Hades." And if he couldn't give him much, he'd gift him his authenticity. "It'll be okay."

~

It was through the sliver of light that opened through the darkness of her bedroom where Persephone's once enclosed eyes fluttered open from sleep, her usually light tolerance regarding her resting patterns unusually disruptive today. In the darkness, her eyes adjusted, bones still sore from the lack of comfort the bed was offering, needing her husband's arms in which he sadly declined these cold nights.

A muscular figure stepped through the door, as silent as death but not silent enough to escape his wife's ears. Persephone laid in her position, watching as Hades tiredely cracked the stress from his knuckles, the bed dipping softly under his weight once he freed himself of his restrictive shoes, dress pants and overcoat, leaving him in nothing but shortened boxers and a plain rumpled tee. Even in the dark — where she found her own vision adopting to the inky blacks and swirling blues more than any immortal should — she was quick to notice the way his undereyes were scorned, and his movements slow. She held in her breath when the fragrance of sandalwood engulfed her nose, a pressing kiss to one of his temples making her heart flutter. She had missed his touch so much in the last week that she had forgotten how sweet his lips could be.

When his craning neck began to arise from the completion of his goodnight, that was when Persephone's voice filtered through the darkness, soft and curious.

"Why have you been avoiding me?" She couldn't help it, couldn't drive away the sadness that occupied her tone. All movement froze in the dark, and with a snap of his fingers, the lights were turned back on, with a dimming beauty but still not their usual homey glow, as if his magic hasn't regenerated to its full potential from the obvious lack of sleep.

Written across her husband's face, even from below, she could see the pain her words caused him. Regret, embarrassment and void. Why was he biting his tongue around her? Persephone watched as her husband toyed with the onyx ring on his fingers, a response formulating upon his hidden tongue and furrowed brows.

But Persephone arose from her position, the flimsy lavender green nightgown clinging to her attributes as she climbed across the expense of the bed to her husband, craving that connection at its highest degree — through the touch in which they sorely neglected. Her arms wrapped around his large right triceps, head of vibrant red curls falling to rest of his shoulder blade. Hades leaned into the touch, as if fighting was no longer any option, because at the end of the day it was killing his once steel heart.

They would never escape this. Sure as hell neither of them wanted to. With the shadows between them and the incomplete halves of a heart that the Fates for some reason destined to stitch together, this would be their life now until the unforeseeable end of eternity. Hades would never be Hades without Persephone, and Persephone would never be Persephone without Hades. It was written in stone, now something that should forever serve as common knowledge.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart." Twisting his neck to bestow a kiss upon her forehead, it was only second nature to take her into his arms, needing to rest her onto his center, right on his awaiting lap. Hades ignored the way they both aligned body to body when he held her, her hardened breasts falling to rest against his hard chest just so that those beautiful long legs could interlace behind his muscular torso. Their bond absolutely singed at the contact, reveling where sunshine met darkness. A small breath raked through the goddess as her husband interlaced his right hand deep into the scalp of those curls, his lips finding her neck as he held her by the lower back, rocking back and fourth to just bask in her glow. He needed her, needed the silence, needed her sweet scent of lavender and sweet things to swallow him until he was no more. "I should never of ignored you, it hurt too much."

The raw emotion in his voice brought Persephone's resting fingers to gently massage her husband's scalp, sure that he could feel the way that her heart was racing under his own touch. God how did he do this to her? How could she ever recover from the wonder he injected into her ichored veins where he kissed her? Each artery pumped purely for him, purely for more. But she wouldn't ruin the tenderness of their union, aching to meet his ocean eyes.

"I didn't ever want you to feel that you had to." It was honesty in a bottle, what she was giving him. "I missed you...so, so much. Why did you leave me in the dark for so long...my heart...my heart couldn't bear it."

He gave her his eyes, instead placing his hands upon her small waist to provide her with his full attention, because it was the least that she deserved. Hades's ring finger burned with a new type of fury, as if it was throbbing out of anger for ignoring his wife. To the marriage of Hera and Zeus, or even Aphrodite and Hephaestus, three days of ignorance was nothing. But to Hades, who bore his ring with as much pride as a god could muster, it meant everything.

"Persephone, darling," He had to tell her, because he would honor the promise he swore by her. She was as apart as this realm as he was now. It wasn't just his, it was also hers. "I have been ignoring you because of a new realization. I've been stupid, and selfish keeping it from you...not because of our kingdom or the lives lost but because of my own personal values."

The God of the Underworld's heart shattered at sight of Persephone's tears, the salted liquid emotionized. A finger uprose from her right hip to capture the sliding thing, birthed from sadness and pure loyalty. She would do anything for him. He understood it now by the way this gorgeous woman looked at him now.

"You aren't selfish." She whispered through a shudder, bringing both hands to enclose his cheeks. "What happened?"

"You must have noticed the pattern with these past few Judgements." Her nod was solid, jumping with enthusiasm even through the tears. The tender stroke of her cheek had Persephone leaning into his touch. It burned his tongue finally admitting all of this, but it was the freedom she deserved. "People are dying rapidly. This pattern was only unlocked when you first arrived to the Underworld. The world has always been warm, and full of sunshine, because your mother supplied it with exactly that."

At the mention of her mother, the chokehold Hades's attention had on Persephone was subsided, her neck tensing, back straighter under his grip. For a fleeting moment, Hades could see the entirety of her emotions wash upon her solemn features, even the grip that Persephone held his face under tightening. But as soon as it was there, it was also gone.

"Yes, that would be her job." Her voice was void of anything at all, that softness she usually spoke to him with now as sharp as knives. One look on his ghostly pale face and Persephone — being ever so bright — knew something was terribly wrong.

"Hades?" He avoided her brown irises, trying to focus on anything but them. "Tell me. Please, tell me now."

"Me and Thanatos believe that Demeter is neglecting her duties as Goddess of Harvest in an attempt to get you back."

And there it was, out into the air, shocking but all the true. Hades watched as the solemnity faded on Persephone's cold features, the quiver of her jaw tight and grounded in. She was holding back so much, shocked to silence at the utter audacity of her mother. Processing it would go so much deeper than Hades realized, as each tick of the clock gave another ticking time bomb to a mere explosion. For extra strength, Hades enraptured a protective shield around the goddess, holding tighter to draw out the damage.

Except nothing, except the evil sound of silence, birthed into existence, led to the most intense decline of a possible scenario that Hades had ever heard. Because even echoing through the bond, Hades could feel the shatter of her sanity. The absolute anger, hot and red, the pain of memory and everything from the past building like a strengthing storm...and shock. Shock as electric as the bolts of lightning the mighty Zeus struck to the mortal lands beyond, Persephone was quivering on the inside. Her hands found his shoulders, softly grappling to the beautiful skin there with a new fury.

"No." It was stern, it was outright, and it was so mesmerizing. "She won't. She can't."

The Goddess of the Underworld was shaking her head, the tears that flew down her cheek now not born from dejection, but instead anger. Anger that burned, anger that gave the most relentless drive to fight.

"And I won't let her. I won't." Hades nodded, letting his fingers graze her chin to analyze her further. Her cheeks were red, tinged from stubbornness. "Because I'm not an object. I'm not her prize. I'm a person, and I'm worth so much more than staying locked up in that damn house for the rest of forever."

She was power. Thrumming and passionate, intensive and burning up in his arms. Hades was so astonished, so in love, so proud, that the smile sketched his lips was genuine; glowing. It was more than joy, more than happiness, a whole other element entirely, to see that self-acknowledgement possess her now. Persephone knew of what she was worth, had come so much further in these last weeks than she had ever traveled her near two decades with Demeter. And Hades, a god that had spent eons basking in his own sorrow, was unmistakably in bliss at the way his wife was speaking.

"She locked me up, Hades. Kept me from people that could of dragged me from the dark. I could of been stronger. I could of defended myself from that monster. I could of...I could of had Hecate, and Thanatos, and you." Their foreheads kissed one another's, the ghost of a breath cold as it brushed upon Hades's mouth from Persephone's lungs. It was his drug, and it would never be enough. "She won't take me from you. I will fight for you."

And as if the world wasn't already stacked with surprises, filled to the brim, all of his stress, all of his love for the woman in his arms, all of those fleeting sparks between them was pushed out of Hades's tear ducts, falling down to intermix with the sweat that doubled across his gorgeous features as he held her ever tighter, each place where she touched him burning with ecstacy that was unmatched.

"I won't give up." She shuddered against his cheek, kissing away the salty tears with a passionate touch of the lips. "Because...because you're mine. And I'm yours. And I can't...I will not...stay away from you."

A kiss to the bridge of his nose for their meeting, in which destiny met with art. Another to the hollow of his cheek, for the friendship they had formed upon her most vulnerable moments. A kiss to the chin to signify their first kiss, a promise to the marriage they would forever stand together in.

And finally, a kiss dangerously close to his mouth, right on his cupid's bow, where Persephone met tongue and lips to seal the teardrop of devotion Hades held for her, for how she fell in love with him. Because she did. She loves him. With a love that is more than love, a love where you don't realize just how far you fell down the tunnel of which was your soulmate, it was the purest kind of love, with the best type of person curated only for your soul.

Persephone loved Hades. She loved him. Her bones ached from the serotonin that filled her, the unreachable beauty that was her husband, and all that she wished for him. She would tell him. Eventually. But now, she would stay wrapped in him, and cherish this moment.

"You're mine." He echoed, once Persephone's sweat stained forehead met his own in a reunion, their eyes closed and bodies shaking with want as powerful as the cosmos. "You're mine to fight for. And if this world ever decides to take you from me, if all of my dreams are crushed in the process and I'm destroyed, I will find you again. My wife, my Persephone."

If she wasn't immortal, simply of how her name were drawn from his lips, Persephone decided that that would of been her undoing. His voice, coated of wanton huskey, was her newest addiction, one that she decided she'd burn in. Ultimately the realization of the position that they were in hit them both straight in the faces, a sudden rushing heat going straight to Persephone's core...of which filled her belly of hot silver and spread to coat her lungs. Something damp gathered in between her legs, the acknowledgment of this new feeling besides anything she has ever felt before. For seconds neither of them could do anything but find each other's eyes, Persephone's body already trembling in her husband's arms. Hesitantly, but with every ounce of surety she could muster, Persephone's hand floated from the creased part of Hades's cheek to slide sensually down his profound jawline, falling to rest upon the thin material of his tee shirt. She could only imagine what lay beneath that boundary...so much so that her exploration continued to fall to the hem of their separation, Persephone softly finding Hades's eyes to ask for permission.

She could of sworn she saw him gulping, his Adam's apple quivering, as if crossing this very point would be the thing that snapped all of his resilience to hold back from her silken curves and heated flesh. Except when Persephone bit her bottom lip, that plump beauty something he'd die to the Fates to have wrapped around his skin, he adjusted, holding her in his lap but still moving just enough to let his shaking fingers find the material of his shirt. The cold air that chilled his heavenly chest evicted a flush of his red cheeks at the sight of Persephone analyzing him, delicate fingertips gliding to meet skin to hardened muscle.

He suddenly didn't know what to do with his hands...didn't know how to edge that delightfully delicious heat at the pit of his stomach, so all that he could do to keep his hunger unsatisfied was latch to the thin fabric at her waist, Hades now all too aware of how Persephone's breasts were pebbled over under the lavender nightgown. His glazed eyes roamed to the lower apex of her thighs, concealed barely by the light purple covering where her legs wrapped around his torso. He wanted to fall into her, wanted to devour her until the sun arose. But fuck, he had to be patient. And although patience was practically his strongest attribute in absolutely anything but her, this was torturous.

"You're so..." He was biting his own tongue trying to keep from exploring her his damn self, eyes clouded with dripping hunger at the absolute adortion in her molten chocolate gaze. He hardened underneath her when her palms stopped their adventure at the edge of his boxers, a shock running through his wife's entire body at their cores pressed so deliciously close to each other's. "Oh." The little moan had his obvious want for her growing, lips finally connecting with her neck to lick the defined clavicle mapped across her perfect chest.

"Use your words, baby," A shudder in response confirmed just how affected she was by him, the bold action of his large hands coming to massage the patch of burning skin under her nightgown near the upper apex of her thighs leading to another shudder of exhaled breath from his wife. His hands traveled, squeezing her full ass and resting to toy with what seemed to be her laced panties. How long had she been hiding these beautiful things from him? "Words."

"Oh Gods, lower," Her voice was damn near sobbing when she took his head in her hands, baring her neck evermore to guide his lips to the valley of her cleavage. Her left strap falling down her creamy shoulder had him nearly risking it all, but biting down gently on the formation of her right breasts edged the hunger, a moan of delight sounding through the winter air. His hands traveled, from her ass to glide upwards in the caress of a spider's throttle on the arch of her spine. He groaned at the way her pebbled breasts pressed achingly into his pectorals.

The shadows between them were enraptured in each other, singing and burning and rasping. The ground of Persephone's hips against his had Hades trailing even closer to where the cleavage of that damn nightgown ended, wanting desperately to, so desperately to-

"Hades." His name, gentle and begging upon her tongue, froze his inquiries entirely. "Kiss me. Please kiss me. Please." She needed it. His lips claiming hers. It was the only way to reach survival. Their eyes met, and for a cruel second of nothing Persephone prepared herself for some type of rejection, but was incredibly mistaken when his kiss smashed upon hers with a force.

That kiss was everything, the beginning of their innocent love, the development of what they now had, and in the end something furious and sensual and passionate. All of the pain from nearly losing her, all the promises that they both ached to keep was pushed into that union. His tongue meeting hers had him swallowing a sensual cry, his hips skillfully trapping his erection between her legs in which was dripping with liquid heat.

"Tell me where you want me to kiss you, darling." His hands came from under her gown to press down on that arch of her spine. "Do you want my tongue slithering along your back?" Persephone nearly shattered at his fingers pinching her right nipple, his lips arising from her swollen mouth to bring a bruising love bite to her collarbone. "Or maybe you want me to suck on these gorgeous things?" Another pinch to her bruised nipple had his hand traveling to her most sensitive spot, gathering with heat that throbbed at his thumb pressing sorely to the dejected labia underneath the soaked material of her panties, the world absolutely nothing when she moaned his name then.

"Or maybe," His lips were on her ear, a cold gust of chill bringing her body to crush in ecstacy at the words that followed. "You want me to devour what is mine." Persephone almost cried out of frustration when he withdrew his thumb after a particularly long press there, Hades's lips returning to feast on her sculpted jaw after his tongue explored the shell of her ear.

Gods, she didn't know her body could ever feel like this. Like pure starlight, dripping from the fiery skies in response to its valuable moon. She wanted to know this feeling, know it all exactly with him, to feed into her greed and throw selflessness to hell.

You're mine.

You're mine to fight for.

My Persephone.

"Hades, I..." Maybe it was her vision blowing out, or maybe her eyes just rolled to the back of her head when the head of his clothed manhood bumped just on the right spot, but she was falling, falling, falling.

"I want..." Finally he was tearing down that left strap, a finger traveling to the other half of the dress that concealed too much from her husband. "I just want you to-"

But she never got to confess of her love for him, her dire wish for him to take her on their bed there and then, because a knock on the door ruined whatever the hell that it was between the Underworld God and his goddess at that blissfully short memory.

Persephone was craning her neck to find the source of the sound, praying to Great Hera that this was just some elaborate hoax of her imagination, hallucinations formulated from the aftershocks of the overuse of serotonin between them. It broke her to Tarturus, but as soon as it registered across her mind, it also took hold of her features, and looking to Hades confirmed that the moment was indeed now just a memory.

Another knock birthed from the angry silence evicted a shout of absolute exhaustion from Hades, the sigh spilling from his lips recommending whoever this very unfortunate soul was that separated them now would burn to the depths of Tarturus, only after Hades was done with them.

"I'm coming! I'm coming." Another sigh and Persephone was hanging her head, the sheer disappointment evident across her painstaking features. The pout of her swollen lips was absolutely endearing to her husband, his smile apologetic but so, so sweet. His trembling fingers grazed over her twinned shoulder blades, adjusting the laced lavender straps to assume their place. It physically hurt him to fix her hair and wipe the layer of sweat from her puffed cheeks. Even Hades couldn't hide the disappointment that raked through his face.

"Hey," He whispered sweetly, gripping her chin with two slender fingers. "It'll be okay. Maybe this is the world telling us we should wait." His damn tongue must be operating on its own, because all words to the contrary, he did not want to move from this bed under any circumstance. Even further he would rather be drowning in her right now, but clearly nothing in life could ever go his way.

"But I don't want to wait..." Persephone whined, playing with a stray strand of his ebony hair that she had ruined.

"I know love, I don't want to either."

"Oh for the love of Mother Gaia!" Of fucking course the exclamation came from the dumbass outside the door, the God of Death sounding every bit as nauseated as Hades could only imagine. "If you two horny bastards don't cut the honeymoon bullshit right now I'm moving out!"

For some interesting reason that only made Hades want to fuck her more.

He gave into his own wants just to press his bruising lips to hers, a sweet ghost of a kiss that was short and to the point...enough to ward the calming passion between him. Gods forbid she jumped him then, because there was no way he would stop. Placing her gently atop the bed made his arms burn in all the places her touch left him, but duty had other plans. He could feel Persephone's molten gaze on his naked back as his feet pattered softly to the door, looking back once to offer his wife a genuine smile that stole her breath away. Persephone watched as a snap of Hades's fingers brought his shirt from the floor back to occupy his upper body, serving to its purpose. Then the door was finally clicked open, a very riled looking Thanatos revealed. He offered her a quick wink of the eye before turning to his leader, Persephone's cheeks flushing at the obvious tease there.

"I swear Thanatos this better be important." Hades's tone was quiet; slurred, but still loud enough that Persephone could hear.

"Oh, you have no idea." Even his tone was swallowed by a gorging fear. "You and the queen have been called down to Olympus by Zeus."

If Persephone hadn't awoken from her and her husband's endeavors minutes ago, she sure as hell was awake now. Skyrocketing up from the bed with a quickened fury, both men turned to the latter, Hades matching her shock at the sudden inquiry.

"Under what circumstance?" The goddess bellowed, arising from the bed to join the gods.

"Demeter knows. And she wants Persephone back. She has put an ultimatum on the fate of humanity for her daughter."

ACT TWO
(latin.) ORTUS TENEBRIS
(eng. translated) THE RISE OF DARKNESS

"i asked persephone ,

' how could you grow to love him? he took you from flowers to a kingdom where not a single living thing can grow .'

persephone smiled ,

'my darling , every flower on earth withers. what hades gave me was a crown made for the immortal flowers in my bones .'

conversations with persephone

nikita gill 

And all of Persephone's pain with it.

~

A day of recovery for everybody involved in the aftermath of Demeter's reign brought eleven — thirteen counting Amphitrite and Persephone — Olympians back into the throne room. The air was blank, with an unrecoverable depression at the chilling atmosphere. The autumnal atmosphere, now that they could define a word of which Demeter was providing. For miles beyond the hazy windows of the mountain, Greece was painted of snow. White snowflakes were a continuous fall from above. How could something so beautiful be so deadly?

It only served a reminder at the stakes at hand, with the gods now gathered to solve this inevident winter. It was Hades who spoke first.

"We need to find a way to war off the deaths. With the number of deaths rising in the Underworld me and Persephone can barely host the capacity of which we are curving at. Anymore and the control of the Underworld will crumble."

"War off the deaths? How do you propose we do that?" Mock stupidity tainted the masculine voice of the golden Apollo, evicting an angering reaction from deep inside Persephone's core.

"Food. Shelter. Recovery." Hades deadpanned to the god with eyes of hardened decay. What he wouldn't give to blast this bastard through the glass of this castle. "Give the humans things we can conjure. Think of it sensibly. If the autumn and the winter can kill off their livestock and crops, they are essentially left with no produce. In Olympus we thrive off of fantastical delicacies. In reality all us as gods need is ambrosia and nectar."

A majority of the table, including Zeus, Poseidon, Amphitrite, Apollo, Hermes, Ares and Aphrodite, looked at Hades as if he was stupid. The recommendation of giving up the very things they relinquished clearly did not set right with the selfish gods, but they would need to adjust. Mortals couldn't digest nectar and ambrosia without so much as turning to dust. It was a commodity for the gods dating back to the creation of the cosmos.

"Or we could help them evolve." At the sound of Persephone's own voice, the table stirred, obviously intrigued by her order. "Isn't that what humanity is? Evolution? If the Fates put them here with the intention to progress the world, and as we create natural disasters such as winter, isn't it rooted in their blood to conquer this? Just as they had to adjust to sickness, diseases, with our help?"

It had to be the most common thing she could give, but for Persephone and what she had been through, she felt that she had just gave her ancestors something revolutionary. Athena smiled with the pride of a radiating sister, nodding at her point.

"Genius. Persephone is right. We are only a footstool for the mortals. Something they can lean on to achieve success. If plants can thrive in the heat, there have to specifics we can offer as substitutions." The Goddess of Wisdom worked with her, Athena looking to the plant expert for further evaluation.

"Like more greenery. Spinach, cabbage, lettuce. It won't be what they're used to but it will make due."

Persephone felt more comfortable now speaking with the affirmation of some of the gods, furthermore seeking nostalgia from one of the passions she hadn't been able to perform in months. She loved flowers, and growth, and talking about that region now made her realize how awfully she missed these activities.

"But hold on." Ever the skeptic, Ares's flat tone filled the void. "How can we get so much produce to the billions of families across the globe? And with the growing time of the food? The families will still face death."

That created another layer to the dimension that Hades was clearly trying to steer away from, with the Olympians now speaking amongst themselves, Persephone now understood why Hades hated these damn meetings anyway. One opinion could crumble any entire plan, and leave at least one deity under stress.

"Then we'll have to give up some level of luxury." Hestia acquired over the madness, threading back to Hades's point earlier. "It won't be ideal. But with Hermes's travel we'll have to avenge the dying."

Hermes didn't look particularly pleasured at the inquisition, but nodded through the sentencing. Persephone knew of the mythology surrounding Hermes's great travel. Knew that the paths of the world were practically implanted into his running skull. He'd be one of their best assets to rely on now.

"And I can create something." Hephaestus said to the right of Aphrodite, his voice even gruffer than his large, rigged body. "Something to help the produce run even faster. We don't know how long Demeter will draw this for. The humans will need all the help they can recieve."

"But we'll have to be discreet, as we always have been." Artemis offered sternly. "Either shapeshift to blend or welcome the produce at each of our selected temples in the area. Just because we're gods doesn't mean we can present ourselves outright."

So many things to consider, so many things to remember. Persephone could hardly keep up with the back and fourth and who was presenting these ideas, but she stored the critical information away mentally.

You're doing beautifully. Her subjection of the conversation faded away when the Underworld Goddess heard the voice of her husband in her head, finding his eyes in a flash. You're stressed. I can feel it. It's a lot to soak in at first, but even Amphitrite couldn't speak the way you are now when she began.

Persephone couldn't help it, her eyes trailed to train on her sister-in-law: the wife of Poseidon. Amphitrite had to be as gorgeous as Aphrodite, with her silky brown hair that flitted fittingly to her waist, and large ovaled hazel eyes that spoke of youth and wisdom. Amphitrite didn't appear minutes over thirty, with unblemished caramel skin that glew under the lights of Olympus. She knew little of Amphitrite, but serving to the princess's stiff posture, Amphitrite was one of the one hundred daughters of Nereus and Doris, pegged the most unique of the Nereids. The night previous Hades had spoke of his fondness for the Sea Goddess, saying Poseidon had never treated her less than her worth. Even in her prescense, Persephone felt inspired by her. Only when Amphitrite's eyes caught hers did Persephone stop staring.

How could she compare above her?

You're exaggerating. Persephone was confident enough in her statement to send it down the bond, barely picking up on Aphrodite as she spoke of her newest contribution to the group.

Please, you're hilarious if you don't believe me. Hades's tone was mocking, and when Persephone's eyes reached his, they were coated of mischief and admiration. You're a queen, Persephone. Not because I made you one, but because you were born that way. No one has the ability to take that from you.

She didn't believe it to be possible. To hear her heart expand more from his words than he'd already enabled it to in just months, but it did. Her hand moving to find his under the table was evident of that, and she stored the words away in the pockets of her ribs to remember forever.

"So, it's settled then sister?" Persephone's head whipped in the direction of a smirking Athena, cursing Hades and his distraction on her. By the glint in Athena's ancient green eyes, she flinted between the husband and wife with humor.

"Can you repeat that for me? I'm just a little tired. My apologies."

Tired, or just in trance? Persephone debated smacking him for the seconds that followed, but focused all her attention on the Goddess of Wisdom.

"Will you bring your gifts of vegetation to Athens to initiate this strategy? You will have to blend, and you can bring Hades of course, but you are welcome to stay in my home for the duration of your stay."

Persephone's heart accelerated at the offer, her excitement innocent in a way that it took her breath away. She had only ever experienced three locations in her entire life, two of which she merely scratched the surface of its power. Olympus, Demeter's Land and the Underworld. To bring Athens onto that list, with its magical olive trees and endless history, could be even more honorable than she could shout.

Say yes. Hades stroked the bond. Athens is full of locations to test your power. It has an essence of peace even the Underworld can't achieve.

Her response took seconds to deliver.

"I would be honored."