welcome

“Came to visit you love, been missing ya quite a bit if I’m honest.” He says, smiling down at her. “Look, I made you a crown with all the pretty flowers you picked, hope you don’t mind, just thought you’d look so nice with a crown on that pretty little head.” He motions down to the crown in his hands. It is beautiful, the deep red of the flower she had been drawn to earlier, surrounded by a bed of pinks and purple, her own field of flowers adorned on her head.

“It’s beautiful H, you read minds now? Been wanting to make me one since I picked that pretty red flower earlier. How long have you been waiting for me?” She asks, because the crown is not only beautiful, but intricately made, not something that someone could just whip up in a minute.

“Recon it’s been quite some hours now, walked up just in time to see you disappear into the trees with that Nymph, thought I would leave you be. I knew you would return for your flowers, soft spot for them you have.” He sits up on his knees reaching over to place the crown on Persephone’s head. “Perfect fit, proper queen you are now.” Persephone can’t help but beam up at him. Harry has always been quite nice to her.

“Hades, god of the Underworld, fell in love with Persephone and wanted her as his bride. His brother Zeus consented to the marriage—or at least refused to oppose it. Yet he warned Hades that Demeter would never approve this coupling, for she would not want her daughter spirited off to a sunless world. At Zeus’s suggestion—or with his tacit understanding—Hades resolved to abduct the maiden.

Persephone was gathering flowers one day on a plain in Sicily. Hades suddenly appeared, thundering across the plain in his four-horse chariot. The god swooped down upon Persephone, scooped her up with one arm, and literally and figuratively deflowered her—leaving the plain scattered with blossoms of every colour.

The appearance, abduction, and disappearance happened so swiftly that none of Persephone’s companions witnessed the kidnapping. And though she called out to them—and plaintively called for her mother—no one heard her pleas. The earth opened up before Hades’ chariot and the god drove the jet-black horses down into the chasm. As Hades and Persephone disappeared into the depths, the hole closed up behind them.”

What if the myth had it all wrong? Yes Persephone was kidnapped by the god of the underworld. But maybe, he wasn’t the bad guy in their narrative, maybe Hades wasn’t as cold blooded as the myth wants you to believe. Maybe the ground didn’t swallow Persephone up. Maybe she actually loved Hades and maybe when her mother Demeter finally found where Persephone was hidden, and convinced Zeus to allow her back to earth Persephone didn’t want to go and be separated from her love. Perhaps this was just a story of two people who fell in love, (through admittedly questionable circumstances), and who were torn apart by those around them.  

Chapter 1

The day is warm and sunny, the light from the sun warming the back of Persephone’s neck. Her skin glows a light sheen from the heat of the air around her as she bends down to grab a particularly red wild flower, the colour standing out against the other pinks and yellows.

“Persephone, come play with us!” A nymph disrupts her silence and causes Persephone to give a small squeak jumping around to face the girl. She is prancing over towards where Persephone is picking flowers. The white of her dress is falling in waves behind her contrasting the dark of her skin, as she navigates the small incline, until she comes to a harsh halt just in front of Persephone. The fabric billows out around the two of them before resting, moving softly in the wind.  

“Of course love, what are we playing?” Persephone asks bending down to lay the flowers she had picked softly against the ground. She plans to return for them once they were finished playing.

“All of us are playing in the water, it is so nice and cool today, we have been splashing around in it.” The nymph smiled and grabs Persephone’s hand pulling her up, and towards the river where she had come from. Persephone can hear soft laughter and splashing water as she and the nymph grow closer to the river bank.

“You know, you are a saving grace really, been out in the sun all day picking pretty flowers, I reckon I could make myself a pretty crown with all the ones I’ve collected.” Persephone smiles over at the nymph, motioning over her shoulder towards the flowers she has left. “But, I have grown quite warm, and a cool dip in the river sounds like exactly what I need right now.” Persephone continues as they near the sparkling blue water. “Looks proper refreshing I do say.”

“Oh it is, we’re all supposed to be out here picking berries for jam, but we just couldn’t resist, has to be the warmest day of the year, I would think.” The nymph drops the hold she had on Persephone’s hand and wades into the water. The air is so hot that in the time that the nymph had left for persephone and then returned her hair had curled up into a dark messy frizz on the top of her head. The white of her skirt now reflected the pale blue of the water, billowing up around the waist of the nymph. Persephone can’t help but compare her beauty to that of the flowers she had been picking just minutes ago.

“I think I would have to agree with you, don’t think it’s been this hot in years.” Persephone adds, as she kicks her boots off, and picks up her dress enough so that it won’t drag on muddy ground of the bank. She wades into the water and sighs as the coolness envelops her flushed skin. She only now realizes how long she had been in the sun, a nice break was far overdo. The trees surrounding the river cast shadows down hiding them from the suns view cooling the air around them slightly. As she watches the rest of the young Nymphs splash at each other, a small smile makes its way unto her face. She continues on until she is up to her breast in water. Her own dress billows up along side her, casting a green tint up unto her face.

“Persephone!” The other nymphs have now taken notice of her wading towards them, smiling and pushing over each other to reach her. Nymphs always have such high energy to them Persephone thinks to herself.

“Hello, loves I heard you all having fun over here and couldn’t resist, had to come find out what all hustle and bustle was about.” She smiles down at a small nymph reaching out to rustle her hair.

“It’s nice to see you Persephone, been quite a while since you visited us down here.” One of the older nymphs spoke from behind the group. As the young one reaches to fix her hair, frowning, while Persephone beams back at her.

“I know, Poseidon’s been on a bit of a tear lately, been spending my time along with the others cleaning up all the messes he’s been making. Things have only now began to settle down.”

“That mans a grouch isn’t he, always hearing about him causing trouble.” The small nymph says now frowning down at the water.

“He is quite a grouch, think it’s because no one in the sea follows his rule, quite jealous of his brothers I recon. But enough about all that what are we playing?” Just like that the nymphs begin to explain their game, the topic of Poseidon and his quakes forgotten. The game doesn’t make much sense to Persephone, but she plays along the best she can, splashing when the others do, and wading around quietly, following the lead of those around her.

The group of them spend hours splashing around in the cool water, and before Persephone realizes the sun is beginning her descent in the sky, the shadows that the trees cast growing longer. The air had grown cooler but not as much as  it normally does, something that Persephone notices as she emerges from the water after bidding her goodbyes to the nymphs. She welcomes the warmth though, because even though the air did not cool the water did quickly. Wiggling her toes to try to regain some of the warmth lost, she grabs her discarded boots, not bothering to try to slide them on her damp feet. She thinks the worst feeling in the world is putting dry clothing on a still wet body. There’s no point, it’s just uncomfortable and then your clothes get wet, and nobody likes wet clothes, (even though at this very moment her dress is sticking to her quite uncomfortably). But why would she add to that? So the shoes stay off.

She begins her barefoot hike back up to where she had earlier left her flowers, hopes to grab them and then return home to Olympus before the sun completely disappears. When she arrives she is surprised to see another person seated with her flowers. Upon further inspection she recognizes the figure as Hades (though every other time they had meet he had insisted she call him Harry).

“Harry, what a pleasant surprise, don’t think I’ve ever seen you on the solid earth.” She remarks sitting down beside him. “What are you doing here?”

“Came to visit you love, been missing ya quite a bit if I’m honest.” He says, smiling down at her. “Look, I made you a crown with all the pretty flowers you picked, hope you don’t mind, just thought you’d look so nice with a crown on that pretty little head.” He motions down to the crown in his hands. It is beautiful, the deep red of the flower she had been drawn to earlier, surrounded by a bed of pinks and purple, her own field of flowers adorned on her head.

“It’s beautiful H, you read minds now? Been wanting to make me one since I picked that pretty red flower earlier. How long have you been waiting for me?” She asks, because the crown is not only beautiful, but intricately made, not something that someone could just whip up in a minute.

“Recon it’s been quite some hours now, walked up just in time to see you disappear into the trees with that Nymph, thought I would leave you be. I knew you would return for your flowers, soft spot for them you have.” He sits up on his knees reaching over to place the crown on Persephone’s head. “Perfect fit, proper queen you are now.” Persephone can’t help but beam up at him. Harry has always been quite nice to her.

Persephone doesn’t know Harry well, they have met a couple times on Olympus, but from their meetings he has been a proper gentleman, quite pretty too if she does say so herself.

“I think you need yourself a crown now, though, makes me feel quite lonely being the only one wearing one.” She says, reaching up to straighten the crown on her head.

“Already got mine lovie,” He motions to the crown of gold on his head, (if you could even call it that, it is more like a headband. One that got lost behind the curls in his hair). It is beautiful none the less. “Don’t forget I’m something of a king where I come from.”

“How could I ever? But, that reminds me, why are you here? Hades is hardly seen outside of the underworld and never seen on Earth, just under it, if I do recall correctly.” She knows she’s right, he’s notorious for scaring the mortals off as some evil being, but she thinks he’s quite the opposite. “Are you the reason its been so darn hot today? Got me sweating out of my knackers if so.”

This causes him to laugh, leaning back on his arms and crossing his feet out in front of him. “That is my fault unfortunately, always running a little warm I am.” He pauses cheeks growing pink. The sun is in full set now, casting a warm orange glow onto his face. He is making Persephone feel very soft and gooey inside, turning and smiling at her again, big enough that his cheeks dimple, and she decides that she could watch him smile forever.

“To answer your other question,” his voice drags her out of the trace she was in. “Like I said I’m here for you, visited with Zeus today, said I would probably find you here.” This strikes Persephone as peculiar, while they know each other, they have never sought the other out, and suddenly she is filled with nerves, something bad must have happened, that can be the only explanation.

“Don’t look so distressed love, everything is fine, told him all about how I’m smitten with you, want to proper wed ya I recon. Asked him advice for how I could get ya all smitten with me.” He is looking at the sunset now too, staring off. He has a lot on his mind, always has, but especially in this moment.

“H, I’m flattered, but we hardly know each other..” She trails off not sure what else to say in this moment. Hades, against his reputation is the nicest of the brothers and while the stories floating around about him make his out to be all mean she knows he’s the nicest, and a romantic too, unlike all his brothers. She knows because she heard him say once:

“Wanna marry for love, I think, don’t like how my brothers do it, conquering a lady and then sleeping with ten more, gross if you ask me.” They had been at a party and he was as drunk as she had ever seen anybody, leaning up against a tree, talking to one of the olive branches. So his words now have her confused, just out of the blue wanting to marry her, he doesn’t love her, she knows that for sure.

“I know, I know, you’re just the prettiest I’ve ever seen, nice too, good company. The underworld can be quite lonely, always feel like everyones got someone ‘cept for me, ya know?” And she does know what he means, always feels quite lonely herself, Olympus can be quite cold up in the clouds and she often finds herself yearning for someone to snuggle up with.

“Well what did Zeus suggest for you to do?” She asks curious for the answer, Zeus has always been in the nature of taking what he wanted, no matter the cost, and that worried her.

“He suggested I kidnap you, take you down with me to the underworld, and hide you out there. He said your mother would never approve of the two of us courting, best to make you mine as quick as possible, with no one knowing.” He looks almost sad as he says this, as if he actually believes that is his only option, and he does. He’s conflicted between allowing Persephone to slip from his grip, and actually taking his brothers obscure advice. If he kidnaps her and hides her away in the underworld, there is no way she will ever learn to love him, that he knows.

“Well, are you going to do it?” Persephone asks, her heart is pounding in her chest as she says this, suddenly unsure of the man sitting beside her. Perhaps he is not the man she believed he was, he certainly wasn’t talking or acting like it.

“Are you going to make me?” This questions puzzles Persephone, what an odd question for someone to ask, she thinks. Will she force him into kidnapping her? She wonders if he will actually do it, he has been so nice to her, nicer than either of his other brothers, but he was god of the underworld, and perhaps she should be weary of that.

“Yes.”

“I was really hoping you wouldn’t say that, put me in a position where I gotta do it now, can’t have you calling my bluff, I would lose respect from all the others.” He is looking at his hands, rolling them over each other in anxiety. “I think you would rather like it in the underworld, always quite cool, except for me of course, got loads of good food too.”

“If I really don’t agree to come by my own free will, you’re gunna take me then? Just to make sure I got this all straight.”

“I’m gunna have to yes, can’t go looking any weaker to Zeus, already thinks he’s all high and mighty, better than Poseidon and me.” He looks up at her, she notices now that his eyes match the colour of her dress perfectly, forest green, and reflecting brightly in what is left of the sun.

“I don’t think you’ll do it, I’d hate you, so ya know, would never forgive you.”

“I know, but I think I could live with you hating me, so long as I would make sure you’re okay. Never seeing ya again if I let you go, know that for sure.” He is right, if Persephone is allowed to walk away from this, she doesn’t ever want to see him again. If he isn’t successful this time, he definitely will be the next. He is starring at her so intensely now, like he can read her mind. His eyes so serious she has to break the contact they were holding, instead looking down at the grass she has taken to pulling out at the roots. He does know what she’s thinking, though she couldn’t be more wrong.

“I’ll hate you.” She murmurs, she knows she has lost this fight, she won’t be heading home to Olympus tonight. Whether it by force or free will, she’s going to the underworld.

Mexico got the dreaded chupacabra

Luke: of course, b positive.