by M. M. Kin
Persephone's brow creased in thought as she took in what was said, stroking her chin.
“And there's the Styx, who is Oblivion. And then there is you, of course. Would you care to guess who else makes up the circle?”
“Hmm.” Persephone pursed her lip for several moments. “The Fates?”
Hekate shook her head. “The Fates are not of this world or the other, but it is an intelligent guess. There are three, though...”
“The Judges?”
“Justice is a necessary part of Dis, and the Judges, however many Hades might have, are a part of that circle, serving a vital part in Khthonios. As do the Furies, which are their own three-in-one. And Kampe, guardian of Tartarus. There are many parts of Khthonios, and Hades can not oversee them all on his own, mighty as he might be.”
“Are there many other gods besides you? Like there is on Olympus?”
Hekate shook her head in the negative. “And thank Gaea for that. It's much quieter down here.”
Their stroll led them under the wide canopy made by the weeping willow. Several fireflies buzzed around lazily, glowing in the semidarkness, and Persephone smiled faintly. Their light was more white-blue than the yellow she had seen in the world above, and also brighter, seeming more like hovering lamps than insects. Their buzz was also smoother and more sibilant than their earthly counterparts.
“The gardens down here are beautiful,” Persephone whispered as she lifted one hand, palm upraised. One of the fireflies drifted over, landing on the preferred palm. “It is a lot like the surface world, but when you look closer....”
“That is what I like about this place. Places like this are familiar, but... different. The food, the material, the plants, and animals..."
“Do you ever miss the surface world?”
“No. I was born and raised up there like you, but I had the constant feeling that I did not fit in. I did not hesitate to eat the food of the Underworld. I have never regretted my decision.”
o0o
“Why does the food bind you here?” Persephone asked. What was its unique property?
“It is not so much the food itself as... the commitment you make when you eat it. Hades' kingdom is not an ordinary home. He is host, and to accept his food is to make a sacred agreement.”
“Xenia,” Persephone whispered. The other goddess nodded. It was a sacred covenant between host and guest, that one would not harm the other, that the guest would follow the rules of the house, and the host would not take advantage of his guest. Naturally, down here, the rules would take on a new dimension.
“Your vision said that there was one more person left to complete the circle. But it did not say who, am I correct?” she asked. Hekate nodded.
“Then it could be anybody.”
“Yes, it could have been anybody, but that time is past. It is you.”
“Just because Hades brought me down here...”
“Visions are fulfilled in a variety of ways. Things happen. If Hades did indeed make the wrong choice, it will be apparent soon enough.” She paused. “Why would Hades resort to kidnapping you? Had he made no attempt to court you?”
Persephone remembered her dream. “Mother. She was very... protective, and refused to allow any man near me.”
“Any man?”
“Any man. God or mortal. I was surrounded by nymphs or under Mother's watch.”
“And you want to go back to the surface?”
“I... yes. It is not because the Underworld is a terrible place. It is just... down here, there is no warmth, no life. However comfortable Hades keeps me, there is a certain... coldness to this place. Up there is the sunshine and the earth. I have the same Gift as my mother, and I cannot use it down here.”
“Mmm. Now I understand your problem a little better. Demeter's Gift is part of the life-energy up there. You are right, there is none down here.” Hekate seemed genuinely concerned. “Have you talked to Hades about it? He loves you. He should make accommodation for that, as a reasonable lord and a loving husband."
Yes! Thank you! Persephone almost cried out. Before either goddess could speak further, she heard Hades call out their names. Persephone frowned. It was almost as if Hades had known what they were talking about and had decided to stop the conversation from going further. Mind-reading wasn't part of Hades's Gift, was it?
Hekate lifted her arm, making an opening in the screen created by the drooping branches to see Hades standing near the steps, his eyes moving along the garden.
“I suppose the other guests bored you,” Hades said to Hekate. The goddess in question just grinned and shrugged as she and Persephone walked down the small path.
“It is not often we get a new god down here. Much less often that you choose a bride.”
“True enough. I trust the two of you had a pleasant time together.” Hades commented. Persephone slowly nodded.
“Doubtless you have been working on corrupting her,” Hades added as he glanced at his longtime friend.
“Maybe.” Hekate smiled at Persephone before she looked back at Hades.
Persephone spent a bit more time with the other gods, familiarizing herself with them. The Judges were relaxed in this setting, and she suspected that they welcomed a reprieve from the judging of souls. After so many years, it must get boring, but when she asked them if they enjoyed their work, Minos nodded.
“It is necessary, my lady. But that does not mean we do not take satisfaction in our jobs.”
“You could come and watch, if that would please you, Dark Queen,” Aeacus offered.
“I would enjoy that very much, thank you,” Persephone replied. There were still plenty of things to see and learn about the Underworld, and it emboldened her that despite her youth, she was being treated with respect by the elders of this shadowed realm.
o0o
Persephone stifled a yawn and felt a hand on her shoulder.
“If it pleases you, you should go on and take a bath. I will be there to join you shortly,” Hades whispered. Not surprisingly, the thought of a bath with Hades sent small frissons of warmth and delight rippling through her body. She held back a low moan as she felt fingers slide up her hand and wrist, and looked down to see a shadowy hand stroking her. To be sure, Hades had a unique and exciting Gift. The last guest had just left, the performers were returned to Elysium, and she was eager to simply turn in for the night. It had been a long day, and she looked forward to the welcoming embrace of the soothing hot bath.
Before she left from the room, she glanced over her shoulder at him. He licked his lips in blatant lasciviousness, and she smirked before she disappeared from sight.
o0o
Hades's eyes followed her as she left the large chamber before he turned around, seeing Hekate standing next to a pillar. A thoughtful frown settled across his features.
“What is it, Hekate?” he asked, not wasting any time. The Goddess of the Crossroads lifted her chin and slid away from the pillar, approaching the Lord of the Dead.
“You announced that you had a bride, but you never mentioned the fact that you had to kidnap her.”
“Oh, did I forget to mention that?” Hades asked dryly.
“What of her mother? Do you think that this will go unnoticed?”
“Demeter will have to accept it. Her father gave his blessing,” A weak excuse, he knew. But he just had to say it. Daughters were given up all the time in marriage in Hellas. What of it? Yet this rationalization rung bitter in the back of his head, leaving a lingering taste of cold metal at the bottom of his mouth. He could not allow Hekate to see this, and schooled his face into the austere calm he was known for.
“Is that all you have to say?” Hekate asked incredulously, placing her hands on her hips.
“Yes,” Hades replied shortly. He had no desire to try to defend his actions, especially with his old friend, nor did he want to waste the time when Persephone was waiting for him.
“Demeter will not rest until she has her child back.”
“Persephone is not a child.”
“You know very well what I mean!”
“I do, and I have no desire to discuss this matter.”
“You stole a girl from her mother.”
“So.”
“You have no concern for Demeter's feelings?” Hekate pressed.
Hades kept his expression inscrutable as he looked at her. Yes, he cared for his sister. If Demeter hadn't been so hardheaded in protecting her daughter, the Lord of the Dead would have been glad to approach her for permission to court her daughter and give her whatever honors she might demand. He honestly had wanted to do the right thing, and if Ares hadn't pulled off that shitty stunt of his, then Demeter might have been more willing to consider a suitor for her precious child. After Persephone had been nearly raped, one couldn't blame the Harvest Goddess for her protective measures. But enough was enough.
“I will not discuss this matter further. And you will not try to intervene or get anyone else to. Understand? Persephone is mine,” Hades growled. The temperature in the chamber suddenly dropped, and the shadows in the corners and around Hades's body were now pulsating and writhing. The Dark God's eyes were dark, so dark as to be fathomless black instead of their usual dark blue. His jaw was set in a tight line as he glared at Hekate.
o0o
Hekate had seen many things and was a powerful deity in her own right, but she was taken aback by the anger and fierceness she saw in his eyes. Hades was never a god to be trifled with.
She hadn't thought he would respond so angrily. Heaven forbid that anybody ever try to come between Hades and his bride.
“Yes, my lord.” Hekate lowered her head in a respectful bow before retreating, her heart pounding.
o0o
Hades exhaled, the shadows stilling and the coldness fading away, shaking his head slowly as he made his way to his apartments, seeing the door to the bath chamber slightly ajar, admitting faint wisps of steam into the main room.
He closed the door behind him and stalked across the room. As he opened the smaller door all the way, he did it quietly so Persephone wouldn't hear him. She looked up anyway, already submerged in the water up to her shoulders, her hair pinned up loosely. Her eyes remained on him as he approached the edge of the gemstone-lined pool. She was sitting at the far side, her head leaned against the edge as she relaxed. The rippling and bubbling of the water distorted the rest of her body, leaving no clear detail of her form to study from this vantage.
The Lord of the Dead wondered if he should say anything at all about the matter that Hekate had just broached. Persephone continued staring at him, her expression relaxed and pleasant. She then lifted a hand out of the water, curling a finger in a clear invitation. If she looked so at ease, why dredge up the subject that was the biggest point of conflict between them?
“Come on in, or are you just going to stand there looking all somber? You wanted a bath, have you changed your mind?” she asked.
“Oh no, not at all.” He smiled at her.
Chapter XXI
o0o
Several days had passed since the banquet, and Persephone had not broached the subject of leaving the Underworld. Rather, she focused on spending time in the library and learning as much as she could, or asking him questions about this or that, particularly the Olympians. She wanted to know what to expect when she finally met her family, which was something that she determined would happen, one way or another.
It was when he was her tutor that he was at his most avuncular demeanor, and sometimes it felt a bit odd to know that he was her uncle. Despite knowing how closely tied their family was and how natural this was within Gaea's brood, she could not help but remember the mortal notions Iasion and his family had raised her with.
With many of the things she was learning, her perspective inevitably changed.
o0o
When Persephone woke up, Hades was already out of bed and sitting in front of the fire, deep in thought with his chin propped up on his hand. He leaned back against the divan, clad in a deep blue robe that was tied loosely, revealing his chest.
“It feels strange waking up alone. Already I have grown used to waking up beside you,” Persephone admitted as she glanced at him. He looked up at her with a small smile before he rose from his seat, stalked over to the bed with several long, smooth strides, and blanketed himself over her form. His long hair framed his face and fell on her bare shoulders in silky black rivulets.
“It comforts me that you want my presence upon waking," he said as he looked down at her. She smiled faintly before he leaned his head down to kiss her cheek. She let out a quiet coo of delight as he nuzzled her, burying his face against the side of her head and her rumpled locks. She arched against him, feeling the hard and warm planes of his body through the thick blanket. He groaned softly and pressed back, his need making itself known. She delighted in being able to arouse him so easily.
She alone had this power over this sexy, handsome, powerful death-god. Death itself was mysterious, faceless. It decided when a soul would be cut off from his or her living flesh. The Greeks had a word for it, thanatos. Assigning it a name gave them a concrete concept to talk about, to identify. Hades was inevitably linked with this thanatos even though he actually had no part in people dying, making him an especially fearsome God.
Yet all she felt was comfort and security in his arms. She let him hug her tightly, one of his hands trailing along her face.
“Aidoneus...” she sighed as his thumb trailed along her lips.
“Yes.” Hades sealed her lips with a kiss.
“There is something I would like to do today.”
“You have but to name it.”
“I want to see Tartarus.”
Hades stared at her for several moments. Persephone gazed back at him calmly. After her encounter with the Fates and with Hekate, she decided to be more serious about her explorations of the Underworld. She had kept herself to the safety of the library and gardens after what had happened to her in the Styx. There had been plenty of things to do – she was never bored – but she knew she couldn't just stay in Hades's Palace forever.
“You... are certain that is what you want?” he asked. There was concern in his tone, but he wasn't at all patronizing or condescending as many others would have been.
“I am mindful of your warning. That is why I asked you to take me.” She could have gone by herself while Hades was off performing his godly duties, but after her encounter with Styx, she was more cautious. She didn't want to be overwhelmed and unable to respond to her surroundings, and she knew that the tortured screams she heard the other day were but a glimpse into the hell of Tartarus. She trusted Hades to keep her safe, and to also be honest with her.
“Very well then. After breakfast, we will go.”
Persephone sighed softly, not wishing to sit through another tantalizing meal, but Hades gazed down at her steadily.
“I will permit you to remain in your room and amuse yourself while I eat," Hades said in a surprise concession. She maintained a placid expression to hold back the quick grin that nearly flashed across her face, not wanting to make her relief too obvious.
“Thank you.”
He nodded.
o0o
After Persephone had chosen an outfit, she examined some of her treasures until Cloe nudged her, signaling that Hades was done with his meal and it was time to leave.
With her destination in mind, Persephone chose a black chiton over a deep red silk tunic. The rich variety of garments gave Persephone plenty of room to experiment, and she found pleasure in mixing colors sometimes. The deep red of the tunic peeked out from her chiton, which was held up by gold pins and cinched by a matching plain golden girdle. The black garment ended at her elbows, tastefully displaying her lower arms, which were free of adornment. Her hair was pinned up in a bun, swept up off her neck gracefully in a coil held by black ribbons.
“Is Tartarus hot? Or do I need a cloak?" Persephone asked. Cloe was unable to make words,
but the servant understood her commands and found ways to answer her requests. The wispy head shook 'no', and she briefly nodded.
As if he had read her mind, Hades was also clad in black and deep red. He was dressed regally, with a golden crown atop his dark hair, and his clothing was trimmed with gold.
She showed no apprehension when the Lord of the Dead led her to the chariot and climbed into it before he could offer her his hand. She held the chariot railing with calm confidence, her head lolling back against his chest in a relaxed and trusting manner. He lowered his head to nuzzle the top of her own, and felt one of her hands leave the railing to lie atop the hand that was resting over her stomach.
The gray sky turned crimson as the chariot sped along the road. The trees reached out with clawed branches, seeming almost alive. They passed souls being led by shades, most of them struggling against the faceless specters of Dis. Persephone noted to herself that she had yet to see a judging. She could only imagine how it must be for the mighty Judges to condemn someone to an eternity of suffering.
They crossed the bridge, heat radiating from the river to envelop them and bringing a flush to their cheeks. The thick brass doors rose before them like a monolith, its burnished face hard and cold. The design of the doors was deceptively simple, with no indication as to what horrors waited within, but a sudden, terrified wail from beyond the walls caused her to shudder. Do I really want to see what's in there? With firm resolve, she stared ahead, raising her chin.
