Were his eyes playing tricks on him? What was
Hades doing in his palace?
“Long time
no see, dear brother.” Zeus greeted him. “What brings you here?”
“It’s been
quite long, yes.” Hades agreed. “Listen, I’ve wanted to talk to you about
something.”
“I am all ears
then.” Zeus replied, his curiosity peaked. Whatever the matter, it must be quite important, if Hades was willing to leave his palace.
“I want to
marry Persephone.” Hades responded straightforwardly.
He had forgotten his brother was not a man of
many words.
“Persephone?”
Zeus asked incredulously.
Hades
nodded. “I’ve run into her a couple of weeks ago, and I have been unable to
stop thinking about her ever since!”
Zeus
couldn’t help but smile at his words.
“I don’t
see how this is a laughing matter.” Hades responded indignantly.
“I am
sorry.” Zeus said. “You’ve never mentioned anything remotely similar about
anyone else before, that’s all.”
“Well?”
“I have no objections, but you’ll have to ask
Demeter too.”
Hades made
a face.
“Well,
she’s her mother!” Zeus said defensively. “Besides, you could have just
abducted Persephone and be done with it!”
Hades gave
him an incredulous look, but before he had time to respond, Zeus had already
sent for Demeter.
A few minutes
later, Demeter showed up. Upon seeing Hades, she smiled. “What’s the occasion?
We never see you these days!”
“I’ve been
busy.”
Shaking her
head disapprovingly, she turned to Zeus. “You’ve asked for me.”
“Yes, I
have.”
“Well? I
don’t have all day!”
“Hades just
asked Persephone’s hand in marriage.”
She turned
to Hades, her eyes blazing “Have you lost your mind? She’s young enough to be
your daughter!”
“Demeter,
please-” Hades pleaded.
“No!”
“Is that
your final word?”
“I am never
going to consent to this wedding, and that’s final!”
“Very well
then.” Hades replied, trying to keep his anger under control. “It was nice
seeing you both.”
Zeus and
Demeter watched him leave; once alone Demeter turned to Zeus again.
“Did you
really expect me to agree to this?”
“I don’t
see why you wouldn’t.” Zeus replied, trying to reason with her. “She’d be Queen
of the Underworld.”
“Exactly!
Queen of the Underworld! She’d never see the face of earth again!”
Zeus
shrugged. “Fine.”
“You didn’t
agree on anything, did you?”
“I told
Hades he had to ask you first.” Zeus replied diplomatically.
She gave
him a pleased smile. “Good; did you need anything else?”
Zeus shook
his head negatively.
He watched
as Demeter turned her back to him and moved towards the door.
Unless he
was terribly mistaken, they’d soon be hearing from Hades again.
In the
meantime, Hades couldn’t stop thinking about what Zeus had told him. He had
wanted to do things properly, but Demeter left him with no other choice.
He’d abduct
Persephone and make her his wife.
Where to
start looking for her though? Perhaps he could try that field where he’d lastly
seen her.
But he had
to pay a visit to his grandmother Gaia first; she was the only one who could
help him in his plan.
I should be getting
back. Persephone thought, upon realizing that she
could not either see or listen to her companions any more.
Turning to
leave, her eyes caught sight of a white daffodil a few meters away; she’d never
seen one this beautiful before. It would make a great addition to her flower
crown.
The moment
she cut the stem though, the earth shuddered; a cleft appeared and out came
Hades on his chariot.
Before
Persephone had time to react, he had pulled her onto his chariot, and together
they disappeared to the depths of the earth, the cleft sealing behind them.
When he saw
Demeter bursting through his doors, Zeus knew that Hades had followed his advice.
“What’s
wrong?”
“Persephone
is missing.”
“Missing?
Are you certain?”
“She didn’t
come home last night.”
“Are you
sure she’s not meeting with anyone in secret?” Zeus teased.
“Watch your
mouth!” Demeter responded angrily. “She’s not that kind of girl!”
“I was only
joking.” Zeus said defensively. “We’ll find her; Hermes can assist you if you’d
like.”
Demeter
nodded. “Let me know if he finds her.”
Hades
paused at Persephone’s door. She had not left her room since the morning of her
arrival, nor had she stopped crying.
He had not
expected she’d be happy about it, but her tears broke his heart.
He opened
the door and peeked inside. She was curled into a ball on her bed, crying her
eyes out.
Hades let
out a sigh; he should not have listened to Zeus. Too late for that now.
He stepped
inside and moved closer to her bed, but she didn’t seem to acknowledge his
presence.
Cautiously,
he took a seat next to her and ran a hand through her hair; she jumped at his
touch.
“I am
sorry.” He said quietly. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
She sighed,
and crawled out of his reach.
“Please
don’t cry.” He begged. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
His words
only served to make her cry harder.
“I was
desperate; I had asked your mother for your hand in marriage but she had
refused. I am in love with you, what else was I supposed to do?”
When she
didn’t respond, he stood and moved to the door.
He paused,
contemplating something. “Just one more thing;” he added. “You don’t have to be
afraid. You may be my wife now, but I won’t force you into anything.”
Persephone’s
eyes widened in shock. Wiping her eyes, she sat up and turned to face him.
“But why?”
“Because I love
you of course.” He replied. “If you are feeling better later on, come join me
for dinner.”
Persephone
nodded and Hades gave her a small smile in return.
Once alone,
she stood and took a good look around her room.
This place
was dreary. At least Hades wasn't as bad as she had originally thought.
“Did you
know about this?”
“Pardon?”
“Hades has
her; did you know?”
“Demeter,
will you calm down? Who told you?
“Helios
did; he abducted her while she was collecting flowers!”
“If you had
accepted his offer, none of it would have happened!”
Demeter’s
eyes were blazing.
“I am
warning you; I want her back. Otherwise you’ll be facing the consequences.”
“Why aren’t you eating?”
“I am not
feeling very hungry.” Persephone lied.
Hades
nodded; he was well aware of her lie too.
It was
common knowledge among both humans and gods; unless you wanted to stay, you did
not eat or drink anything in the Underworld.
“And I miss
my mother too.” Persephone added. “She must be beyond herself with worry.”
“I am
sorry.” Hades said. “Now, tell me, how do you like it here so far?”
“It’s
dreary.” Persephone replied, making him smile.
“That’s
what I thought too, when I first came here. But it isn’t; not all of it at
least. I’ll show you tomorrow.”
She nodded
and fell silent, studying him.
Surely he
was not as young as her other suitors, but still, he was very handsome. And he
wasn’t as stern as he looked at first glance.
She felt
heat rising to her cheeks. Her mother would never forgive such thoughts.
Her intense
gaze and blazing cheeks caught his attention.
“What?” He
asked curiously.
“There are
a few droplets of nectar on your beard; here, let me.” She said, and reached to
wipe them away.
He reached
for her hand and brought it to his lips again.
“Thank
you.”
When Hades
saw Hermes at his door that morning, he knew that meant trouble.
Not long
afterwards, he found himself standing before Zeus.
“Hermes
said you were asking for me.”
Zeus
nodded.
“What’s the
matter?”
“Demeter
wants Persephone back.”
Hades
sighed.
“Listen to
me; no crops are growing on earth, all because of Demeter. People are dying,
Hades. ”
Hades
lowered his head. “I will bring her back tomorrow morning then.”
“Hades-”
“Save it.”
Hades replied, cutting him off.
Persephone
frowned. She had never seen Hades so troubled before.
She moved
next to him and took his hand.
“What’s the
matter?”
He looked
down at their hands and smiled.
“Zeus sent
for me today; your
mother has put a halt on every crop’s growth. She wants you back.”
Her eyes
widened in surprise.
“What did
you say?”
“That I’d
bring you back to Olympus tomorrow morning; I can’t let people starve Persephone; that would be selfish.” He elaborated.
“But Hades-”
“I thought
you wanted to go back.”
“Come to my
room tonight.” She replied, effectively changing the subject.
“Are you
certain?” He asked searching her face.
“Of course
I am; you are my husband.”
“Ready to
go?” Hades asked ruefully.
Persephone shook
her head negatively.
“I don’t
want to go back.”
Immediately,
Hades took her in his arms, allowing her to cry into his chest.
“We can’t
let any more people die.” Hades said, and pressed a kiss to her temple. “I’ll
go get the chariot.”
The moment she
passed the threshold to Zeus’s palace, Persephone found herself engulfed into
her mother’s arms.
“Did he
hurt you?”
“No mother.”
Persephone replied impatiently.
“Don’t
worry love, you’ll never have to go back there.”
Suddenly, a
thought crossed her mind; Demeter pulled back and gave Persephone a searching look. “You didn’t eat
anything, did you?”
Persephone
nodded. Immediately, Demeter let go of her and turned to Hades. “You forced
her?”
“Of course
I didn’t!” Hades roared. “I didn’t even know she had eaten anything!”
“Silence!”
Zeus ordered. “Persephone, will you please tell us what happened?”
“This
morning, I ate a few seeds of pomegranate.”
Hades’s jaw
dropped. Had she really done that?
“But why?”
Demeter interjected. “That way, you’ll always have to go back.”
Persephone
lowered her eyes to the ground. “I want to go back; Mum, I love him.”
Demeter was
too shocked to respond.
“Well then,
you realise that Persephone will be spending some time with Hades as well.”
“No!”
“Demeter,
you’ve heard her; she wants to.”
“If he
hadn’t abducted her in the first place-”
“You can’t
change the past!” Zeus said. “So, Persephone will be spending six months with Demeter and six months with Hades. How does that sound?”
“Excellent!”
Hades responded enthusiastically, while Demeter made a face.
“And you,
child?”
Persephone
gave him a smile and nodded.
“It’s
settled then.”
“Let’s go
home.” Demeter said.
“I want to
say goodbye to my husband first.” Persephone responded.
Demeter
pursed her lips in disapproval, but nodded.
Hades pulled
her aside, hoping for some privacy.
“You should
have told me.” He said quietly.
“You
wouldn’t let me.” She replied.
He smiled.
“This is
goodbye then.”
She nodded,
willing herself not to cry.
He leaned in, and pressed a chaste kiss
to her mouth.
“It’s not forever.” He said playfully, making
her laugh out loud.
“I love you.” She said.
Hades
smiled. “I’ll see you in six months then.”
She could
see him pacing outside his palace.
Was he as nervous as she felt?
He stopped
pacing and looked up; their eyes met and almost immediately a wide smile formed
on his face.
She
couldn’t wait a minute longer; she picked up her pace and literally flew into
his arms.
Hades
lifted her off the ground, hugging her tightly.
Gently, he
lowered her back to her feet, and pulled slightly back in order to be able to
look at her properly.
“You’re
here.” He said.
Persephone
nodded, and playfully tugged at his beard, wordlessly inviting him for a kiss.
Laughing,
he closed the distance between them, capturing her mouth with his.
Much too
soon for his liking though, Persephone broke the kiss and put some distance
between them.
“What’s
wrong?”
“Act
serious.” She said. “You have a reputation to uphold.”
With a
smile, Hades wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led them inside.
“Hades?”
“Yes?”
“How would
you feel for a change in decoration?”
“What do
you have in mind?”
 |
| Sooo, directly from Eirini's imagination, Hades and Persephone! :-) |
