7cover picture by Megami-tama on deviantart
written: April 24, 2013
Persephone was a beauteous goddess. And as he watched her, he yearned for her all the more. Her beauty was such that she far outshined the flowers she so often sat amongst, with hair a stunning orange more vibrant than daffodils and tiger lilies, and skin fairer than that of the palest of pink roses. But her eyes were what really caught his attention. They were so unlike what he expected: bright green to mimic the grass surrounding her. Instead they were like pebbles like the cool gray stone of the underworld and yet despite their slate like color they held a warmth that he found unfamiliar after being isolated in his realm for so long.
Since the moment he had first seen her amongst the gods of Olympus he had wanted her. The feeling was foreign to him, for his heart had long gone cold in the service to the dead. But she had inspired this in him, this want—this distraction. For surely that is what this was. What else could pull his attention away from his work so thoroughly? The thoughts of her that refused to be banished from his mind were a constant reminder of it and they distracted him perpetually. She inspired in him something he had thought just myth or legend, something far beyond his reach, love, and at first sight no less.
He had to have her. He knew this, contemplated it constantly to the point of neglecting his duties. His work suffered, his realm suffered and all because of this one young goddess—this daughter of Demeter. This shy and quiet girl, demure and beautiful. And oh her beauty, surely she surpassed every soul he had ever seen pass through his domain and even rivaled that of the goddess Aphrodite. However, that was not the only reason he wanted her. But her beauty was not the only thing that had called his attention to her. Her innocent manner, he also found quite charming in its own right. He also knew that she was a hard won prize, impossible to actually obtain thanks to the interference of her mother. Hermes, Ares, Hephaestus, and even Apollo had tried to court her but the goddess of the harvest was firm and would have none of it as she denied any suitor fool enough to vie for Persephone and whisked her precious daughter off far from all the other gods. Unbeknownst to the goddess of the harvest one god in particular had not yet been convinced to give up the chase.
It had taken Hades a long time to locate her and longer still to work up the courage to approach her. So he watched her instead. He has watched her at every available opportunity until he had become distracted from his duties to the souls of his domain and because of this the balance had began to suffer from the neglect as well. The souls delivered to his domain by Hermes were left to wander, many of them finding their way back to the surface world in search of their bodies. Most of them, having been properly buried, no longer had a body to return to and so took to haunting those they had known while alive. Those who had not been buried took up their bodies once again and walked the earth causing ever-spreading panic that had the humans forsaking their gods when no answers were provided.
And so his brother had found it necessary to grant him that which had distracted him, in hopes of restoring the failing balance between the living and dead. Coming to the Underworld personally, Zeus, had given him both permission and prompting to go after the young goddess with ritual phrases and a handshake in a binding promise of engysis. With that Hades was as good as engaged to the woman he had been vying after for so long. As soon as, Zeus, was out of his sight he had wasted no time in approaching young Persephone.
When he first drew near to her those eyes he had so admired had warmed at the sight of him. This was another thing that he was not used to, a warm reception. Despite his standing as one of the primary gods the others did not take so kindly to him, often they kept their distance on the rare occasions he would enter Olympus. So when he approached her in this glen her mother had hidden her away in, far from the prying eyes of human and godly suitors alike, he was indeed surprised to receive this reaction. Where his first intention had been to simply snatch her up, conjuring his wingéd-horse drawn chariot, and whisking her away into the underworld with him he found himself stalled as she actually spoke to him.
"Good morning, Lord Hades." Tucking a few strands of ginger hair behind her ear she greeted him with a smile.
"You know who I am?" his godly aura concealed and having never met the girl face to face he was a bit surprised that she would guess correctly her first attempt.
"Of course I do. Who would not know the Lord of the Underworld on sight?"
"And you do not fear me?"
"Should I? I am a goddess so death does not call for me and I doubt you have come here to cause me harm. Though you are surely a powerful god, my mother is a literal force of nature."
"No, I have not come to harm you."
"Then please sit." Before he was aware of his own actions he found himself seated with her. The flowers and grass withered beneath him instantly at his touch as she spoke to him. Though she took no notice or didn't care, Hades assumed it to be the latter as she could simply revive them after his departure.
"It is nice to have company, I have neither seen nor spoken to anyone but Mother since she put me here. I miss being able to talk to other gods. I remember when I used to be able to visit Olympus at me leisure and talk to anyone I pleased. Everyone was always so nice, especially Apollo and Hephaestus. Apollo once offered to let me ride in his chariot, unfortunately I had to decline. My skin is far too sensitive to be that close to the sun. Oh, and Hephaestus always had some gift or another for me: weapons, armor, jewelry. It was far too much and it just never felt right to accept those kinds of gifts for nothing, especially when he became engaged to Aphrodite. It was still nice to speak to them, far nicer than being trapped here. Though I must admit, I have always wished to be able to speak with you, to compliment you on your work. The stories of Tartarus have always been my favorite."
She seemed perfectly able to carry on the conversation on her own and Hades left her to it. He had never been one for lengthy conversations, at least not to the living.
"Tantalus' fate was especially fitting and some of your best work by far. Suffering eternal thirst and starvation as the means to nourish himself lay just outside his reach. A sight to see I'm sure. I have always wondered what the Underworld is really like. I have heard rumors and stories of course, but most of it is hard to believe especially with how Mother likes to tell them. But really it is such a standard misconception that the entire Underworld is a bad place merely because the dead reside there and the wicked receive their dues. The Elysian Fields also find their home in the Underworld and yet no one remembers that. I have wanted to visit for as long as I can recall, the Underworld in general. It would be… fascinating."
What a strange young goddess she was. The things she spoke of came clearly from the top of her head, so glad was she to have someone to talk to that she could not focus on merely one subject, her train of thought switching topics as soon as they came to her. And to have an interest in the dead, as well as his dealings with them, she was a true rarity.
Reaching to a wilted flower by his knee, Persephone, ran her fingers over the petals which came to life easily at her touch just as he had predicted, however, the disappointed sigh she gave was unexpected.
"I have been here for so long, isolated, that I have grown tired of the living. Despite how I crave companionship I do not think I could stand even the sight of a human. Mother cares so much more for them, why else would she dedicate so much of her time to their wellbeing? She strands me here by myself and will not spare more than a few days with me at a time."
The longer he listened the more disgusted he became with his former plans, so like how his brother treated women that he forced it from his mind. Instead he focused on how she drew her hand away from the flower she had granted new life to and watched as it once again died because of his presence. The joy she seemed to take in watching it wither prompted him to finally speak again.
"If you wish so dearly to visit my domain then do so with my permission. I have never met a being so interested in my work, god or otherwise."
A blush came to her cheeks at his invitation, the demure part of her nature showing as she averted her eyes for a moment before her excitement overwhelmed all else.
"T-truly? Oh, but I cannot. My Mother-" as the hope in her eyes dulled in remembrance, he interrupted her.
"Do not worry about her. You said yourself that she spends only a few days with you at a time. She will be too busy seeing to the living to notice your absence. I will see to your timely return myself, if you wish. It is your choice."
"I… yes. Yes, you are right. I would love to visit the Underworld, can we go now?"
"Of course." Standing, Hades, chuckled under his breath at her eagerness as he offered a hand to her to help her up. Once she was standing by his side the earth before them began to quiver. Then as the rumble lessened the earth tore itself open, all tattered edges and seemingly endless depth. Two skeletal equines of leather and bone and metal stepped from the chasm, pulling a chariot of equally dark metal.
"Amazing I have never seen such creatures." Extending a hand, Persephone, petted the muzzle of the one closest to her without any fear. Hades hand once seen even Hera flinch at the sight of his horses, which, he assumed, was the reason his preferred mode of transportation was no longer allowed on Olympus.
"If you like them then you will love Cerberus." A pleased smirk spread on his lips as he helped her step into the chariot before they both disappeared into the depths and the earth closed behind them without another whisper, the rest of the world left undisturbed by the absence.
Having her so willingly with him and so near made his cold heart quicken its pace in long forgotten excitement, and she never left his side as they toured his realm. By the time they finished their sightseeing they were in the throne room and they sat together as Persephone had much more to speak of now.
She seemed barely able to contain her excitement as she fidgeted constantly, trying to look at his throne room and focus on speaking to him all at once.
"Everything is so different here, so dark. I have always found the sun to be too harsh and too bright, and here you never have to worry about it. I can understand why you spend so little time on Olympus. It is a wonder why you would ever want to leave this place."
Stiffening at her assumption, Hades felt it necessary to elaborated on his absence on Olympus, he had never actually had someone who would listen before.
"It has a certain charm I suppose. But just as you grow tired of the living, I too sometimes grow tired of the dead. The monotony can be draining and I have very little time to spare to the upper world as new souls are always entering my domain. But even still, if I had the time it is unlikely that I would spend it on Olympus."
"Why is that? Do you not like being around the other gods? If so, does my presence bother you? I feel I may have overstepped my boundaries, forcing you to let me come here-"
A laugh came from him at the notion, abrupt and short-lived, but a laugh none the less.
"Forcing? I would hardly say so. As I recall it was I that persuaded you into coming to my realm. And as for your other questions, it is not I that have a problem with the other gods, it they that dislike me. It is almost humorous how like humans the gods can be. They both routinely practice avoidance of the unknown out of fear. The gods do not know death and so they shun my presence through association."
"That is terrible." The hand she laid on his knee to comfort him did little but it was an appreciated gesture.
"Yes, well that is enough about me. You, on the other hand have been here for quite some time."
"Really? But it feels as though no time has passed at all."
"A trick of the Underworld I'm afraid. This place is suspended in time, as the dead do not age, so it is easy to lose track. You have been missing from the glen for five days now."
"I had no idea! I… I suppose I should be going then."
"If that is what you wish." He loathed to let her go but he would not make her a prisoner as her mother had.
"I would much rather stay. Even the dead are better company than no one, and I find human souls far less irritating than those that are still alive. But, I must admit, I have enjoyed your company more than anything. And I feel as though I could spend an eternity here and never run out of new things to see."
"Then stay. I have long wished for a companion as well and you are by far the most interesting being I have ever come across. In truth, I had long ago fallen in love with you."
Her blush returned at the confession. Of all the suitors in the world, Hades, had never seemed the type to do such a thing as fall in love. The sincerity in his voice was just as telling as his words but what he said next was all the more surprising.
"Zeus has given me permission to take you as my wife and if you will have me, I will be your husband. Make no mistake this is not a decision I intend to make on my own. You may have all the time you wish for to make your own choice, whether you spend that time here or above is also up to you."