The Queen of Flowers and Roots

by Io

  Hades darkened. I looked for the peplum on the grass and I draped it over my shoulders, although it was not cold.

  “I know that something will happen. But I have long since ceased to look into the weavings of the Three. They are secrets that, after some time, you no longer want to know.”

  I thought that no one could resist this curiosity, then I thought of how indifferent one could become, when curiosity is satisfied for centuries and millennia, and I realized several things about Hades’ character.

  “And could I?”

  “You’re their queen. If you command them that you want to see the threads, they will obey.”

  You have made me their queen, I thought, but with Hades I was beginning to learn, it was not worth talking about evidence.

  I wanted him to hug me and say he loved me, I needed to hear that. I swallowed the knot of knowledge that he wouldn’t, and I decided to follow his example: what he did not give me, I could have taken.

  I joined him, hid my face against his chest, wrapped my arms around him, to feel his warmth. He made a gesture of surprise, but did not push me away, a moment later, I felt his arm encircle my shoulders. That was already something. But I found the courage to tell him that I loved him.

  “I don’t care for power,” I said instead, “and I know nothing of your kingdom. I know the flowers, and the buds that bloom in spring, which prepare the fruits of summer, but here there is nothing of the sort. Even my sister Athena would not know how to behave, in your court.”

  “You’ll learn.”

  He seemed very quiet. I pressed him some more.

  “We have to go, right?”

  “At dawn.” He replied. “From tomorrow you will live at court and be staying in the royal room. Tonight there’s no need.”

  “You mean there is no more need.”

  He didn’t answer, but his lips curled imperceptibly. I could not remember what expression he had, during our union; I had been too absorbed in my own feelings, after the event had overcome me, but I promised myself to keep my eyes well open, the following night. The thought made me blush. The thought of how stupid it was to blush, then, made me blush even more.

  Before he was aware of it, I asked,

  “What can I do to avoid freezing in there? My maids have said it is always that cold.”

  “I’ll bring you heat.”

  “From what I’ve seen, the fire of the Underworld does not warm much...”

  “I certainly didn’t bring you here to freeze in the flames of eternal damnation. I will bring the fire of Hestia, until you’re used to it.”

  Until you are used to it. I wondered how I could get used to the absence of the sun, the heat, the spring that matures into summer. The flowers of the Elysian fields were eternal. The buds on those fields, they had no need to bloom. Spring was useless, in paradise. His power crystallized inside me.

  “How long did it take you to get used to it?”

  “I did not have time,” he replied, “I think I’ve always existed for this place, and this place for me.”

  I remembered that immediately after he kidnapped me, he had revealed that he wanted the Avernus, despite being the older brother and my father had defeated Cronus mainly thanks to him. Invisible, thanks to his helmet, Hades had taken up arms against Time who devoured his children, making it possible for the glorious triumph of Zeus. He could ask anything. Yet he had not claimed the sunlight and the auspices of the Heavenly Father. He did not care for

  the Olympians and festivals prepared by the mortals in our honor, and attended only if invoked. Other things interested him.

  “You win over everything in the end,” I understood, a little upset, “you must do nothing more than rule over your world, keeping it separate from that of the mortals. They will come here, and they will all be under your command... even my father.”

  Hades reached out, pushed a rebellious lock from my forehead. It was a gesture of such familiarity that it made me blush again, despite the passion of a few minutes earlier.

  “You see, Persephone: you’re already learning. What is the use of having the ambition to fight for power, when all that exists is already mine?”

  He unhooked the inlaid horn from his belt that I had seen. “Give me your hands.” I held out my cupped hands towards him. Hades inclined his horn as

  if to pour, but it was not water or wine that fell onto my palms: a sparkling shower of precious stones poured to overflowing on the grass, while an exclamation of astonishment escaped me.

  “Jewels!”

  Hades withdrew the horn. “All the riches of the underworld. The gems of creation, not those that bloom, but the ones that shine: who do you think owns them, my queen?”

  I looked at the mound that had formed on my hands. I recognized some stones, but of others, those of the great depths, I had only heard about: emeralds, sapphires, diamonds, and what pleased me most of all, a ruby that looked like a rosebud when it breaks the green jacket that protects it. I rolled it between my fingers, without greed, fascinated at the discovery of this new type of gem.

  “Too bad they can’t flower,” I remarked, “I will miss this for a long time, Hades.”

  He did not answer. It was one of the few losses that he could not compensate me for. He hooked the horn on his belt, but he did not pick it up, not his tunic, and he returned to hugging me.

  His intentions were obvious. I let fall all the precious stones, and protested,

  “I won’t find them ever again in the grass, I liked them!” He was already on top of me. He filled my world. ”You will have others, as much as you want. Last night you made

  your king your slave, Persephone.” With that word he swept away all my remaining resistance,

  forever. Uttered by him, the god who mercilessly punished perjurers, it was a declaration of undying love.

  We returned to the palace the next morning.

  I held up the ruby, the shining gem that would never blossom, and I stopped feeling embarrassed about how disheveled I looked. Apart from the fact that, at the court of Hades, I was certainly not the most presentable, it was the dawn of my wedding night. I walked beside him, I went without him having to carry me in, and I began my life in the Avernus.

  The problems, of course, began immediately.

  Six Pomegranate Seeds

  It was difficult at first, it is undeniable. My life had changed completely.

  I had respect for the subjects of the Avernus, now they were even mine, I had honor, even freedom, and yet in the circumscribed limits, even infinite, of the Elysian fields; and of course I had Hades. His patience with me, with my ignorance and my clumsiness in matters of the Underworld, was practically infinite. He never had a surge of anger, never ignored any question or request, did not raise his voice once. He was soft-spoken, encouraging. He had the patience of one who does not need to be in a hurry, the patience of death, which can afford to wait as long as he wants.

  But it was equally difficult.

  I suffered hunger. The fruits of spring, strawberries and apricots, the divine nectar, honey dripping from the hives after the long winter, and the ambrosia of my mother, were among the losses that I could not but regret. I did not complain and he tried to feed me, but my appetite had disappeared. The olives repelled me, the black bread of the Avernus stuck to my mouth, the cheeses were very hard and salty. Even the water upset my stomach.

  My maids always kept their eyes lowered, spoke very little, something inconceivable for a nymph, and tried to stay hidden as much as possible. They were sad, dejected. This, in the long run, ended up attracting cruel jokes about them mocking the gods in Hades service: many times I had to intervene to ward off unwanted attention, or even the teeth and nails of the sons of Nyx, the Night. He had an incredible amount, and none of them were particularly nice: Momus – Blame, Nemesis – Retribution, Apate – Deception, Moros –Misery, Ker – Destruction (hateful, these, with time I got used to and came to more or less like all the creatures of the underworl
d, but I always hated Ker and, I believe, it was reciprocated), Geras Old Age, the Furies, and some said she even created the Fates, with her brother Erebus – Darkness. He was a lean and disturbing individual, devoid of any human warmth, Hades’ cupbearer and the personification of the darkness of the afterlife. But the worst was Eris, not Discord, Ares’ sister, but a little girl if possible even more evil and pernicious, with the black wings of a crow, who liked to put whoever she found within range in a bad mood. I even put up with Erebus and Nyx but barely.

  I could not really blame Mint and Leuka for the gloom that marked their faces. Even I, who like the king was never ill-treated, found it was unnerving to be followed everywhere by the will-o’-the-wisps and restless spirits, with pale hands, huge eyes, hair floating like seaweed. It was impossible to ask Hades to let me go out alone. I was his wife, his queen. He would never have insulted me by taking the servants away, as if I were the servant. I had to get used to it, and I got used to it. After all, they were always respectful towards me, and when it became clear that I was not a cruel and capricious mistress, they became devoted. They could not be blamed for their appearance, which in the Avernus was also quite normal. Watching them, I began to understand that normality was a concept that differed greatly, depending on who the judged was; after a while, I decided that it was I who was not entitled to judge these things even of the gods, and I stopped thinking about it.

  But for my maids it was different. In the long run, I took courage and I asked Nyx to keep her offspring away from the royal apartments, indeed, from the entire wing of the castle where I lived every day.

  “I was just asking myself how long you would have put up with them,” replied Night, “your majesty has been too sympathetic towards them, so far. I will give my children the lesson they deserve.”

  “Oh, no, no, I do not ...”

  Night bowed to me, without replying. This was like Hades: when an answer was redundant he didn’t waste his breath to express it. The castle became quiet, and I must admit that I never dared ask what measures had been taken to make it happen.

  I hoped that this would bring a little of peace to the minds of Leuka and Mint, but this did not happen. They served with all the loyalty of nymphs at the service of a goddess, but this did not make them happy, as it should have. When, one night, I found Leuka crying with my flowers in her hands, the ones that I had with me when I was abducted, while Mint hugged her so as not to show that she was also crying, I took a final decision.

  “Let me ask you for a gift, my husband.”

  Already sleepy, among the sheets made untidy by love, Hades narrowed his eyes.

  “I am at your command,” he said, politely, “and I am so optimistic as to think that it will be a simple command such as to pour yourself some gem into your hands, my queen.”

  I propped myself up on my elbows. I was hungry, and I knew I was very pale, but in comparison to Hades, I was still rosy as peaches on a tree. I put my fingers on his chest, to see the contrast and feel the beating of his heart.

  “There is nothing that will create difficulties, and I hope even the opposite. I appreciate very much that you wanted to get my maids from the surface world, to give me time to get used to your court.”

  “But.”

  I felt myself blushing, in the dark of the curtains around our bed. “Mint and Leuka don’t belong to this place. Now I can use the nymphs of the Elysian fields. Could you give me the gift of returning them to the mountain they consider their home?”

  Hades looked at me with coals in his eyes, he ran a hand over my body.

  “I am negligent in taking care of you, that is certain. You’ve lost your beautiful color. “

  “This is not a very kind thing to say.”

  He did not excuse himself, imagine that. He took my face in his hand, brought mine close to his.

  “Your heart is still too tender,” he said reproachfully, “you cannot make everyone happy, Persephone. You could not even do so on the surface. This is an illusion that you have to let go of. “

  I answered sulkily, as always when he made a point: “I can’t make everyone happy, but Mint and Leuka are alive, their place is among the living. They will be in the Avernus in due course, not before. Is that not what you always say, as well?”

  With a sigh, he let me go.

  “As you wish, those two are in your service. But tomorrow come with me to the palace gardens, and you will give a gift to your husband.”

  “Oh, you call it a gift, now?”

  Hades went to lay down on the pillow, the shadow of his ironic smile still on his lips.

  “No, what you’re thinking of is my right.”

  “The lord of the Avernus is so delightfully naive in his beliefs.”

  It was never convenient to provoke death: Hades opened his eyes, he sat up and went back to take hold of me, as I knew he would do from the beginning.

  I would not even confess to him that the real reason I wanted Mint and Leuka to leave was that I could not bear that they looked at him as if he were a monster.

  It was unfair of me, I knew: they were taken to serve me in the Underworld, and Hades, had chosen them because, if he had taken the nymphs following my mother, he would have revealed his intentions, making them useless. He had seen that Minthe and Leuka had helped me, had concluded that seeing them again in a strange place would have been comforting, and he was right. He had not considered, because he did not care, that for them it would have been a nightmare. But it just wasn’t like that. Mint and Leuka feared, even hated him, and could not hide it.

  They were creatures of the sun and light, and he, with his shadows, reminded them of things that nobody wants to remember. When they heard he was coming they became nervous, restless, they dropped the utensils and threw continuous glances at the servant’s door, like trapped rabbits, until he invented an excuse to dismiss them.

  I could not bear to see all this hatred against Hades.

  When, the next morning, I told them that they would return to the surface world, they were incredulous. They turned pale, trembled, but then Mint, instead of rejoicing, immediately worried about me:

  “And what will you do on your own?”

  “I’ll manage. The nymphs of the Elysian fields are eager to serve me.”

  In all other circumstances, this would be an insult. It was as if I had told Mint and Leuka that I preferred them. But they had very different thoughts,

  “When will he let you go?”

  All the sympathy I felt vanished, and I felt miserable about this. But that did not prevent me from stiffly answering,

  “I’m his wife, I have doubts about whether he would let me go.”

  Minthe was horrified: “The whole of eternity ... in the Erebus?”

  “It’s not so bad.” I said, trying to remain courteous. My hair was styled with gold chains and held by gems, and the ruby necklace that I liked so much. They would never have bloomed, but I could not get the flowers and Hades together, and if I had to choose, I had no doubt about the choice I would make. “Now that I have a home, it does not even seem cold.”

  “But...”

  Leuka laid a hand on her friend. “Never mind, Minthe. You can’t protect her or save her. She doesn’t see what we see.”

  They glanced at me, sad and gentle at the same time.

  “Where we see darkness and ice, you see space and coolness. When we see death, you see your spouse. His touch that freezes anyone, for you is warm and comforting. Eros has struck you, and you will not go to the surface for this reason, true?”

  I looked away and I said, curtly, that if they did not want to leave, they were free to remain. They could do as they pleased, for me it was all the same.

  I know they felt badly, because they were worried about me, but I could not feel that hostility towards Hades without reacting with hostility in return. No flower feels sympathy for people who are trying to detach it from its root, however well-intentioned they may be.

  They left, natura
lly.

  They got into Charon’s boat and shed tears, were sorry to leave me; but if they had to choose between staying with me, despite serving the goddesses it was the purpose of life for nymphs, and return to their mountain, to their grove, with the scent of mint, even they had doubts about which choice to make.

  I embraced them thinking it was farewell. I could only hope that they did not repent for helping me, that night in Elis, since it was from that good deed that their misfortunes had sprung. But the nymphs do not ever regret a kindness, and Minthe took my hands, for so long that Charon knocked on the walkway with the oar, to make her hurry; which she did, reluctantly, leaving tiny leaves between my fingers. When, on returning to the palace, I spread them on the fields, they all germinated in a large and fragrant plantation.

  Leuka took leave of me shouting from the stern,

  “If ever you need a good shelter, remember that poplar groves are safe. Hit hard, my lady!”

  She made me smile through tears, although I doubted that I would ever need a refuge on the surface.

  “I’ll remember that. If you get the chance, tell my mother I’m well.”

  They promised heartily, but as the boat broke away from the shore, I could not help but notice that they had thought well to greet my husband. I could not blame them, but acknowledging it I stopped crying for them.

  I do not know why the stories of the myths say they were Hades’ lovers. Perhaps because Minthe and Leuka are among the very few to have visited the underworld from life and to have returned, after serving at the court of the king; the popular imagination will do the rest, blatantly ignoring that their love was for me, not for him.

  Not that he cared. He never gave me any reason to be jealous, but even if there were, I can say with absolute certainty that he would not have chosen Minthe or Leuka; he was hardly aware of their existence. For him they were only two of his wife’s maids, loud and annoying as any nymph, and I think that the only thing he liked about them, was that they went away as soon as they felt him coming. He was indifferent to both of them, as they were scared of him. It was just not possible. Minthe and Leuka were his victims, I his lover; but the myth has reversed the roles.