19"Families are messy. Immortal families are eternally messy. Sometimes the best we can do is to remind each other that we're related for better or for worse...and try to keep the maiming and killing to a minimum."
― Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson and The Sea of Monsters
"What do you mean she does not wish to see us!?" Demeter asked her daughter incredulously. The rest of the Gods in the throne room upon Olympus, though used to the Harvest Goddess's rants and yelling, were curious about the current dilemma. It was still a few weeks before Persephone was bound to return to the Upperworld, but Demeter demanded that Zeus summon her.
Persephone sighed through her nose. It had been two centuries since she wed her love, Hades, and the great compromise that gave the mortals the cold seasons. Thank the Fates they had adapted to the cold as the years went on. But what was a miracle in itself was when Persephone fell pregnant a century back.
Hades, King of the Underworld, who was said to be as infertile as the land he ruled over, had given his wife a child. The Gods were shocked, Demeter herself was outraged for in her own mind she had proof that Hades was defiling her daughter, not being able to believe that her daughter could ever go to her husband's bed willingly. Her rage led to rumors that made out to say that the father of the child was not Hades, for many believed that his and Persephone's marriage was an unhappy one, but the Goddess of Spring insisted that Hades was the father.
The Harvest Goddess came around though when Persephone's belly started to swell, and she pleaded with her mother that she did not want her child to be hated by its grandmother. At that Demeter began preparing for her future role as grandmother. She and Persephone spent their free time together making clothing for a boy and a girl, although Persephone insisted that everything they made was made thick and in dark colors to better suit the scenery of the Underworld.
Demeter's role as grandmother, however, had never seen the light.
"This is outrageous!" Demeter continued. "First you choose to have the poor child born and raised in that place, and now you're telling us that after a century has past and she has come of age, she doesn't wish to see us!?"
"I never said that mother!" Persephone groaned. "I just said she does not wish to come up to the Upperworld just yet. She has duties back home-" Demeter scoffed at what her daughter called the Underworld, though she knew her granddaughter did indeed have responsibilities, having been made an official minor goddess in the Underworld. Unfortunately. "-now, and she is still shy. She is just not ready to come meet you all yet." Persephone lied and hoped they were convinced, for this was the most polite way to explain as to why her daughter did not want to come up. Every god and goddess on Olympus would be offended by the real reason.
Demeter shook her head and glared at her daughter. She had called the meeting in the first place thinking that with an audience she could pressure her daughter into bringing her grandchild to the Upperworld, but the ongoing failure to convince her was really testing her patience. She had only moments with her granddaughter before the demon that her daughter called her beloved husband took her away to the darkness. "It's Hades, isn't it? He's forcing her to stay against her will! And you're letting him!"
That was the last straw. "Mother!" Persephone screamed and her whole form shook with rage. "How dare you! How dare you accuse my husband of doing such a thing, and how dare you for thinking I would excuse such a thing if it were to happen!" Persephone headed towards the exit. "I will not repeat your mistakes mother! My daughter will come here to meet you WHENEVER SHE LIKES! I'll take my leave now, Father." And with nod from Zeus, the Spring Goddess left.
There was pregnant pause, then the room erupted in chatter.
"Well, that went well." Hera huffed from her throne.
"We're not going to meet her any time soon, are we?" Hephaestus guessed.
"Most likely not." Athena sighed.
Apollo brushed a hand through his golden locks and frowned. "Why wouldn't she want to meet us?"
"Oh, I can think of plenty of reasons." Artemis deadpanned and sent a glare to her brother.
"What was her name again? Mira-something?" Ares asked and turned to Aphrodite.
"I believe it was Mirakel." The Goddess of beauty replied.
"Zeus! Couldn't you have done something!?" Demeter yelled over the talk. "Surely you can work out some type of deal?"
Zeus rubbed his temples in frustration. "She is not of our world, Demeter. I cannot force her up here, only invite, and no deals can be made. The agreement is that only Persephone goes to you every spring, not her daughter. Hades will say he's been cheated if we demand his daughter's presence with Persephone. I rather not needlessly quarrel with Hades over this. If his daughter does not wish to come, she shall not come." Demeter muttered a string of curses under her breath and stomped out of the room.
The King of the Gods slumped in his throne, then looked to his wife. "I don't suppose you have any idea how to get Mirakel up here? I cannot take Demeter's constant wailing anymore."
"We could try sending Hermes again, maybe he could request an audience with her, convince her we do not bite." Hera suggested.
"He has been down there dozens of times," Zeus replied tiredly. "And has never even caught a glimpse of her, Hades has made sure of it. I don't think Hermes can take the trips anymore either, Hades keeps scaring the thunder out of him."
Hermes sunk lower into his throne at his father's words and Ares openly snickered, which earned himself a glare from the messenger god.
"Maybe sending a few gifts with the invitations might help." Hera said hopefully. "There's only so much we can do. She's young-she'll come around."
"You're right." Zeus said, and straightened up. "She'll come around. I mean, how long can she wait to visit us?"
In the Underworld . . .
Mirakel jogged through the halls, her sandals barely making a sound against the tiles as she went. Her hands were occupied carrying a tray that held many treats she had made in the palace kitchens. The palace, her home, was dark marble with obsidian floors, and the ceiling was encrusted with jewels of every kind; a sign of her father's wealth.
They drew patterns and created images of great events and flowers that her mother had created. The walls were lined with great tapestries and paintings from through out the ages. The palace servants, shades her father saved from punishment in exchange for service, as well as lampades and stygian nymphs that worked as her and her mother's handmaidens, nodded and smiled in greeting. Mirakel could not help but stop and talk to most of them, about simple things like how their day was or what job they were off to do next.
"Hello, Dahna." Mirakel said to a maid who dusted a painting. Dahna was one of the older shades that had been around when Mirakel was just a girl.
"Hello m'lady," She greeted. "What a stunning dress you're wearing today."
Mira looked down to her dress. It was a black silk dress that stretched all the way to the floor, with long billowing sleeves made from a shimmering sheer black material, had a high neckline and was backless with strings of pearls that crossed over each other over her bare back.
"Oh thank you! Aunt Hecate and I made this a few days ago." The girl replied, originally having to change into the new gown only a few moments ago for she had made a mess of her blue chiton in the kitchens when she was baking. "And Dahna, you have known me since I was a babe, please just call me Mira."
"No can do, m'lady." Dahna replied sweetly. "I suppose you are looking for your father, his majesty is in his grove, he just finished judging souls."
Mirakel nodded and bid the maid a farewell. She continued down the halls and made it to an open area at the side of the castle, where down the black marble steps were a stone pathway that lead to her parents' grove. The grove was a beautiful clearing encircled with pomegranate trees and throws of asphodel here and there.
It was always warm, and Mira and her parents would go there to relax. When she was a child, Mirakel and her parents would play together in the grove. Her mother sang songs and father would tell her stories, her favorite being how her father and his brothers took down their evil tyrant of a father. But it was also significant for one other reason.
It was the place where her mother had eaten the pomegranate seeds.
She walked along the pathway to find her father's large form sitting in a black basket seat, dressed in a casual black chiton with a scroll in his lap.
Hades, King of the Underworld and God of the Dead, and most importantly, her father. He was a tall man, with broad shoulders and a strong, bearded jawline. His skin was pale, his hair as dark as night and his yes were bluer than any of the sapphires in the entirety of the Underworld.
Mirakel bit her lip and quietly tip-toed to the chair. Slow and steadily, she crept up behind the chair and with a deep breath she jumped out from behind it without dropping her tray.
"BOO!"
Her father's blue eyes that mirrored her own looked up and raised a brow, slight amusement gracing his features. "Hello, little one."
"Good evening Papa." Mira sighed and plopped down onto the grass in front of her father. "Your no fun, Papa."
"You should know by now, my jewel, that you cannot scare me." Hades replied and set down his reading material.
"I still try. I will get you eventually." Mira smiled and put the tray onto her lap. "How has your day been?"
"Fine, my little light, same old same old." Her father replied. "Did you guide the children to the Lethe?"
Mirakel nodded. "All of them. They are now in melancholy peace and have been sent to the Fields of Asphodel."
"That is my girl." Hades praised warmly, and gestured to the tray in his daughter's laf. "What have you made my dear?"
"Sweets and-" Mirakel lifted a large bun from the plate and held it out to her father. "This."
Normally Hades was a very unemotional and reserved individual, but he could stop the grin that stretched over face at the sight of the bread. "A cheese bun?"
Mira grinned as well and let her father take the roll from her hand. "Fresh from the ovens, and made with mortal cheese that the cooks managed to procure."
"You just made my day, Daughter." Her father laughed and bit into the mortal dish.
"I'd like to say you are welcome, because it looks like you are enjoying the treat I sent." A voice called. Father and daughter turned to see a woman walking toward them.
Persephone; Goddess of Spring and Queen of the Underworld.
Mirakel was always awed by her mother's beauty. She had waves of deep auburn hair, her skin was tanned, her figure was sinfully curvaceous (her father's words, not hers) and was currently wrapped in a graceful wine coloured dress with a gold woven necklace that wrapped around her neck and ended above her breasts in a cluster of gold asphodel flowers. Her face was kind and her green eyes were calm and cool like the Upperworld's endless skies and fields. Her father even said her mother's beauty rivalled that of Aphrodite's, both her and mother's look could rival hers in fact. Though she had never seen Aphrodite, Mirakel knew she should never say that to her face.
Mira and her mother didn't look very alike since she got most of her features from her father. Her hair was dark like her father's and fell in loose curls. Her skin was very fair, closer to her father's pale tone. Her face was more oval with high cheekbones and her nose was sharper, and her eyes were velvet blue like her father's. Her body wasn't anything special, though. She was tall and very slim and her assets weren't that big. Next to her mother, she looked quite plain. The only thing he got from her mother physically were her shapely lips.
"Mama!" Mirakel smiled and jumped from her spot on the ground to embrace her mother. "You've returned from the Upperworld, you sent us the cheese?"
"I knew you would make use of it." Persephone stroked her daughter's hair. Mirakel linked her arms with her mother and lead her to her father where he rose to his full intimidating height and greeted his wife with a kiss to the lips.
Mirakel placed her hands on her cheeks and cooed softly at how enthralled her parents were in each other.
"My love." Hades spoke softly after their kiss, nudging his nose gently against hers. "Welcome home."
"Glad to be home." Persephone replied, but she could feel the worry rise out from her daughter.
"Why did Grandfather summon you, Mama? It is against the agreement for you return, especially when there is only three weeks left before you return to them." Mirakel twiddled her thumbs, her lips pressed into a grim line. "Was it about me?"
"I will not lie to you, flower." Persephone sat her daughter on the grass and joined her, Hades returning to his seat as well. "My mother had called a meeting and demanded to know why we have refused their invitations for you to proceed to Olympus."
"Oh goodness," Mirakel frowned, resisting the urge to roll her eyes in front of her parents at her grandmother's antics. "That's it. They all must think me rude and spoiled, do they not?"
The Queen shook her head. "No darling, they simply believe my mother to be as obsessive as she has always been."
"But?"
Persephone sighed. Her daughter never missed a beat. "But your grandmother thinks your father is oppressive."
Hades groaned and leant back in his seat. "That's not surprising."
"But I choose to stay here Mother, surely she understands that." Mirakel rose from the ground and walked away, her back towards her parents. "I've heard the stories about Olympus, I've heard your story, and frankly I don't feel I'd fit in up there, nor would I want to." Mirakel walked towards a pomegranate tree. She had remembered when she had heard the full tale of how her parents had come together, and she heard stories of what her grandmother Demeter did in attempt to tear them apart.
This lead to more stories of what the life on Olympus was like, to what the Olympians were like, and honestly it did not sound pleasant. Acts of greed, jealousy, faithlessness and other debaucheries were commonalities. Fake smiles were their fashion, gossip and rumors were their entertainment and secrets were their currency, at least that was what her father warned her about. Mirakel had no quarrels about the mortals and the land they lived on, but live in Olympus? Live with her grandmother? How could she possibly want to be apart of a world like that?
Mira turned back to her parents, her arms folded securely across her chest. "I'm not like them, and no offence Mama but to tell you the truth Grandmother sounds slightly insane and it is incredibly off putting."
"Mirakel! Do not speak like that so lightly!" Persephone scolded, and her hand reached up to grasp her husband's.
"She is simply stating what is true, my love." Hades chuckled. "And no one complains more about your mother than you do."
"I know that," Persephone rolled her eyes. "But despite all her anger you have to understand Mira, is that your grandmother is an incredibly lonely woman."
"Lonely, obsessive, vengeful, scornful," Hades listed. "Might I go on?"
His wife pulled her hand from his and slapped it. "You are not helping, Hades."
Hades' eyes narrowed at his wife, sensing something he knew he was not going to agree with come from her. "And what exactly am I not helping?"
The Queen did not reply right away, instead she rose and walked to her daughter and placed her hands to the girl's shoulders. "What I really wanted to talk about was that, maybe, Mirakel should reconsider their invitation."
"What?" Both Hades and Mirakel asked, the raven-haired immortals looked between themselves and Persephone.
"But Mama-"
"Hear me out." Persephone convinced. From her journey back from Olympus, Persephone had time to think, and she finally came up with what she wanted to do for her daughter. "You know I will always support you in whatever you wish to do, but the last time your grandmother saw you was when you were just a little baby. I know you've only ever heard the negatives about her, and I kept you away from her for a reason, but she is not all bad. She raised me, did she not? I simply wish for you to meet her at least once. As for everyone else on Olympus, it is good to meet knew people. I am sure you would enjoy the company of both Athena and Artemis greatly."
Mirakel nodded, knowing that it would be an honour to participate in discussions with Athena, she was the Goddess of Wisdom after all, and she could learn a thing or two. She had also heard many tales of Artemis; to go on a hunt with her would surely have been an incredible experience.
"We are all family in the end, and it does not even have to be for the full six months, or every year. You will be allowed to come and go as you please, as the choice has always been yours ever since you were old enough to make decisions for yourself." Persephone concluded. "So if you want to reconsider, I will give the next few weeks before I leave to think about it."
Mirakel nodded slowly and looked to her father. "I . . . I'll think about."
"That's all I ask, rose petal." Persephone placed a gentle kiss on her daughter's cheek, not being able to place one on her forehead due to her daughter being half a foot taller than her. "Now go get some rest, you still have your duties tomorrow."
"Right. I'll be guiding souls to court tomorrow." Mira reminded herself, as if the shock of her mother's request might cause her to forget. With that she took her leave, going over to wish her father a good night and gathered up her tray of treats.
Once she was out of earshot, Persephone whipped around to her husband. "You need to talk to her."
"And what do you wish me to do?" Hades shot up from his seat, cheese bun forgotten, his fists clenched. "Convince her to leave?"
Persephone went to her husband and placed her hands on his broad chest, her mother's words of Hades' so called 'oppression' echoed in the back of her mind. "No Hades, but give her the choice."
"She has always had the choice." Hades bit back.
"Not when you fill her head with constant tales that cause doubt!" Persephone accused and pulled away from her husband.
"All those 'tales' are true, my love." The King laughed darkly. "Forgive me if I simply wish to protect our daughter."
"And you think I don't?" Persephone placed a hand on her bosom, both Zeus and Demeter's tempers burning through her again. "Don't you dare doubt my love for our daughter! And it is because of that love I wish to give her the opportunity to venture to a place outside of the kingdom, beyond our home. She has inherited your patience my love, and both of our love for the Underworld but she needs to experience new things-she is not a child anymore."
"Don't you think I know that?" Hades almost yelled, steam practically pouring from his ears. "And when every man on Olympus sees her, they will know it as well."
"By the Fates, Hades." Persephone laughed dryly. "You sound just like my mother."
Hades went red. "I. Do. Not-"
"Yes you do!" The Goddess countered. "That is exactly the reason my mother did not want me to venture to Olympus."
"And what of your mother, Persephone? What of her?" The God seethed. "Do not tell me you have forgotten what she tried to do to you to keep you away from me."
"I will never forget Hades, and I haven't quite forgiven her yet." Persephone admitted softly. "You know I will do everything in my power to make sure that never happens to Mirakel, but you and I both know she can take care and defend herself. I have a feeling, though, that that is not the reason you fear her leaving."
Hades stared his love down. "What other reason is there, my love?"
"You are afraid she will enjoy it."
Hades went silent.
"You are afraid that she will find Olympus much more pleasant than she imagined it to be." Persephone elaborated and watched the truth of her assumptions on her husband's face. "You are afraid that she will want to stay there."
Hades fell back down into his seat.
"Oh Hades, my love." Persephone knelt between her husband's knees and held his face in her hands.
Hades stared up at his wife before he pulled her head in for a kiss. She was right, as always. Absolutely right. He was afraid she would enjoy it the Upperworld, she would come to love Olympus and the light that it offered. That she would want to stay there whenever she could, and leave every year with her mother. Others had done her duties before she came along, after all.
During the first century of his marriage, when Persephone left so did all the warmth. When she left, so did the light. Persephone truly brought spring wherever she went, both in the Upperworld and the Underworld. But when she was gone so was Hades' happiness, even his purpose. Some nights without her were unbearable. Some nights he did not sleep at all.
Then Persephone fell pregnant.
Never, is all his years, did Hades think possible for he and his wife to conceive a child. He was convinced at times that maybe him not being able to provide her with a child would be the reason she might resent him for the rest of eternity. But for once the Fates were kind and blessed them with a child. Mirakel must have been conceived on Persephone's last day in the Underworld before she had to return for spring a century back, when they had made love so ferociously and passionately than ever before, because the day she came back to the Underworld her belly was swollen with a child. The next three months after were spent rejoicing. Hades spent all his free time fussing over his wife. They designed a nursery together to go across from their room and discussed baby names.
Then came the day their child was to be born. Persephone insisted their child be born in the Underworld. If anyone could bring life into the world of the dead it was Persephone. Hecate and several shades that had experience with being midwives or mothers helped with the delivery, and Hades never left his wife's side. Many hours of hard labor later Persephone gave birth to a beautiful princess.
She was as pale as the moon, and when she opened her eyes they were just like his. She had a powerful cry that seemed to alert every being in the Underworld of her arrival, and when Hades held her for the first time, Hades realised he could sympathise with Demeter. He felt the immediate need to protect his daughter from harm, to cherish her, make sure she had everything she needed and wanted for nothing.
They named her Mirakel. Their little miracle.
The next three months were pure domestic bliss, with Mirakel growing fast. But soon the time came for Persephone to leave, and Hades felt like he was going to lose both loves of his life, but Persephone had another idea. She had asked Hades to come with her to introduce Mirakel to her mother, but after only a few moments after Demeter held her Persephone decided she rather have her daughter raised with her father and asked Hades to take Mirakel back with him.
Of course Hades was unsure of this. Their daughter was less than a year old, and children should always be with their mother, especially at that age. But Persephone convinced him, she did not think it was safe to have Mirakel around her mother, and the next thing he knew he was raising his daughter with the help of Hecate in the Underworld. They found a substitute for her mother's milk, and Hades spent every moment he could with her. Where she usually slept? In her father's arms. Where she usually played? In her father's lap with a toy Hecate had made for her. Who fed her? Hades never let anyone else accomplish the job besides Hecate and himself. No one would ever expect this type of behaviour from Hades, Lord of the Underworld, but that was how it was. The only place in the palace he never took his daughter was the throne room when he judged souls.
There were nights when Persephone's absence bothered both father and daughter. The first few nights without her were the hardest. Mirakel cried and cried, her little arms constantly stretched in front of her, little hands grasped the air for her mother whom wasn't there. Hades did his best to console her, and soon she slept soundly every night. Mirakel shared his pain when Persephone was gone and shared in his joy when she returned. Mirakel became his light in the darkness, his constant spring in the cold of the Underworld.
For her to leave would surely break him.
Persephone released herself from the kiss. "She's your daughter, she loves her home and she will never leave you alone, not forever."
"I know my love." Hades sighed in defeat. "I will . . . talk to her about it, just give me time."
"That is all I ask." Persephone smiled and dragged her husband up playfully. "Now no more talk of this, I have a few more weeks before I leave and I would like to spend my time on more enjoyable things."
Hades grinned as he caught the meaning of his wife's world and hauled her up into his arms bridal style and caused her to giggle. "Love, I could not agree with you more." He spoke before he made his way to their quarters.
Mirakel shrugged of her gown and slipped into a light nightgown and robe before she grabbed her hairbrush and situated herself in front of her fireplace. She ran the brush through her hair, gently tugging the knots out of her curls and waves on one side of her head before she repeated the process on the other side. Mirakel however wasn't really paying attention to what she was doing, too lost in thought to really care.
After all she had heard about the ghastly behaviour on Olympus, from both her parents and minor gods that resided in the Underworld, her mother had actually asked her to reconsider going to Olympus. Was she serious? On one hand, Mirakel felt she needed to do what her mother asked and go to Olympus. They were, after all, her family, and if there was one thing that Mira loved was her family. Her immediate one, anyway.
She had heard stories of Athena and Artemis and knew they were worth meeting. She could also finally thank Hephaestus for the gifts he created and sent her when she was just a baby. Plus, exploring the Upperworld where her mother grew up, to see the colours of the sky change in the spring and summer, to see the fields of flowers her mother had created, and to walk among the mortals and observe their customs would be an incredible treat.
On the other hand, the bad outweighed the good when it came to her Olympian family. She was not sure how to act in such a place where the mannerisms were so different from her own home's. And her father, how could she leave him on his own? It was bad enough her mother had to leave for half the year, every year, just to appease her grandmother so she would not plunge the earth into an eternal winter. And her grandmother. If her mother's complaints were anything to go by, Demeter was going to be a handful to deal with.
When she was finished brushing her hair she dropped the brush back on her vanity and threw herself into bed. It was late and Mirakel wanted to do nothing more than lose herself in sleep. Tomorrow after her duties she would seek some second opinions about what to do, but for now she lost herself in oblivion.
In a cave over looking the entrance to Tartarus . . .
In a circle around a large pool of glowing water sat three sisters surrounded by large weaved baskets and cupboards, and were all adorned in dark hooded cloaks. The first sister was young, as if she had just reached womanhood, with fair hair and tan skin. She sat on a stool like her sisters with a spinning wheel at her side, weaving thread a quick pace.
The second sister was a mature woman, with dark hair and dark skin like the bark of an olive tree. She took the thread her sister made, measured it accordingly, cut it when she was absolutely sure it was the right length and wrapped the newly measured out thread around a small cylinder before she placed it in a large basket and repeated the process.
The final sister was an old crone, with white wispy hair and gnarled hands that still had the strength to hold a pair of large gleaming scissors. The eldest sister looked to all the baskets of thread around her. There were hundreds of baskets to choose from, for each represented a certain place on the earth above, and each scroll of thread represented a person. When she decided on the one she wanted she raised her free hand and a roll of thread rose from a basket to her right. The roll floated to her hand and the sister held it up for the others to see.
The two sisters paused momentarily and watched as the crone placed the cylinder on a thin wooden rode before she unraveled the thread to its full length. Without another thought the eldest sister pulled the thread to remove any slack and snipped the thread in two.
Another soul was to enter the Underworld
The sisters went back to their business.
As was the life of the Fates.
"Ah, look sisters." The middle sister stopped her actions. She held her hand out and the large cupboard in the corner opened, revealing reels and reels of shimmering golden thread. Out of all of them floated a small, glittering black cylinder that landed in her hand. "It seems that the time has come."
"Has it been a century already, Lachesis?" The youngest sister asked airily, still spinning thread.
"You should know, Clotho," Lachesis huffed at her sister, gently untangling the golden thread from the roll before she smoothed it out with her fingers. "You are the one who decided that she should be born."
Clotho held her head up. Her decision had always been assured. "The King and Queen deserved a child."
"Yes, but you thought you could to Lachesis' job for her." The eldest sister rasped. "All you wanted her for, Clotho, was to keep Hades company while Persephone was away. And you Lachesis are no better, you made her content in the Underworld and gave her no purpose."
"Artopos!" Lechesis gasped at her older sister. "I did my best, did I not? I made her a minor goddess! I gave her responsibilities!"
"Oh, forgive me sister, I forget." Atropos spoke sarcastically and placed a hand over heart in mock anguish. "You made her Lady of the river Lethe: Goddess of Oblivion. The torch bearing Guider of Souls whom met with the dead after they crossed the river Styx to offer comfort and lead them to the Court where they would be judged. Finally, the Mother of Deceased Children, whom made sure innocent children were among the first to drink from the Lethe so they would be reborn soon after."
"See, those are noble responsibilities that the young Mirakel performs well, and word of the kindness she enacts during her duties has made her a well-loved goddess both here and with the mortals in the Upperworld whom have heard of her." Lechesis continue to defend.
"But all those domains and duties never needed to be looked after!" Atropos shot down. "You just gave her something to do so she would not become jaded down here in the Underworld. You gave her a sense of purpose, not a real one."
The middle sister frowned at her elder and wrapped Mirakel's thread around her fingers. "I tried, Atropos."
"Sisters, please." Clotho begged. "May we please go back to the topic at hand; Mirakel's fate is incomplete. Persephone has just asked her daughter to reconsider Olympians' offer to join them in the Upperworld."
"So much choice this one has, more than others." The eldest sister agreed. "What will she do?"
The youngest and oldest of the Fates looked to Lechesis.
The middle sister sighed. She reached out and waved her hand above the glowing pool. The water rippled before it showed the image of the princess, asleep behind the sheer curtains of her four-poster bed. Her raven hair fanned out across her pillows and she snuggled further into her black sheets.
Lechesis and her sisters watched the sleeping girl. Mirakel was patient, kind, careful, incredibly beautiful, more so then she would ever know, but there was strength behind her seemingly frail form. Hades himself trained her in combat and Hecate tutored her in witchcraft. She also had a temper that no one should want to see. Lechesis knew Atropos was right; this little princess had more to give. But to what? To who?
"Well, sister?" Clotho asked. "Will she go?"
The middle sister nodded, rubbing the goddess's thread between her fingers. "Yes, she will go to Olympus and meet the family. Hades will make sure of it."
"Oh you know what than means." Clotho said in a sing-song voice. "Drama~"
Atropos rolled her eyes at her sister but smirked all the same. "There is always drama on Olympus. Not a day goes by without it."
Clotho giggled. "Do not deny, sister! You love it."
"Only when it ends in tragedy!" The old crone cackled.
"Well we all know Demeter will cause one problem or another," The youngest sister offered. "And a jealous Aphrodite always leaves someone's heart broken."
"Yes, there will be drama," Lechesis decided after thinking while her two sisters joked about. "She will fall in love."
"Oh!" Clotho gasped in excitement. "With who, sister? With who!? Will it be another God?"
"Or a mortal, perhaps?" Atropos suggested. "They always make for a good tragedy."
"I will not spoil it now, sisters." Lechesis grinned and re-wrapped the gold thread around its roll. "But let me say things might get a little messy."
The two other sisters shook a little with anticipation.
"Now, let us speed things up a little." The middle sister told and gently reached into a satchel the laid at her feet and pulled out a small pouch filled with golden sand.
"Dream sand from Hypnos?" Clotho questioned. "Planning on giving her a dream, sister? I thought Hades will be the one to convince her to join her mother?"
"Hades will be, but this," Lechesis sprinkled some sand on the pool and the image of Mirakel was tinted purple. "Will simply entice her."
"You are very cunning, sister." Clotho complimented.
"Why do I feel there is more to this than a love story?" Atropos asked and glanced at the image of Mirakel, who began to shift in her sleep, the dream already taking place.
"Because there is." The middle sister replied bluntly. "You are the one who complained she had no purpose. I will fix that."
"As long as history does not repeat itself, do what you wish, sister." Atropos warned and went to pick another mortal's string to cut. "Her fate is in your hands, after all."
The Fates laughed and went back to their business.
This was going to be interesting.
What will the dream be about? Who will be in it? Who will Mirakel go to for second opinions? What happened between Persephone and Demeter that caused such mistrust with the handling of Mirakel as child? Also, who is Mirakel? What is she like? What exactly had she heard to detest Olympus to the extent that she does? Find out a little more next chapter!
AN: Ok! So this is my first Greek Mythology fanfiction. I'm a big fan of HadesXPersephone and I've always wanted to use an OC for their child. I wanted to start this story because I wanted to practice my writing, so please review if you can and tell me what you think. As for the story, I'm not sure where it'll go exactly, but there's going to be some DRAMA.
So I know a lot of fics use Macaria, Melinoe and Zagreus as their children but I just wanted to create my own character. The name Mirakel was literally taken from 'Miracle'. It's not necessarily a Greek name but I think it fits.
Now about Mirakel being the Goddess of Oblivion and Lady of the Lethe and all that, I know some will say "but the river Lethe is named after the goddess Lethe", I know that, but here those gods and goddesses don't exist because it's a fanfiction and I said so.
As for the Fates, I got tired of reading fics where the Fates are these gloomy creatures that did nothing but speak in riddles and look down upon/tell off the Gods who came to them. They are the manipulators of Fate, so that is how I wrote them. I also wrote them more like bickering sisters, like the Fates from Disney's Hercules or the three fairies from Disney's Sleeping Beauty and Maleficent starring Angelina Jolie, because I think they're more interesting that way. Besides, I've read some stories and the Fates aren't the most high and mighty deities as they've been depicted as in so many fics, they've had stuff ups too.
Also, to smut or not to smut? I'm keeping it clean for now (I've never really written smut but I could hit at it right?).
So plz, until next time, R&R!