Goddess of Spring, Queen of the Underworld

The fact that Persephone was even speaking to him again was a miracle in itself, and a small part of the demon didn’t wholly trust his luck. It had only been a week since Hades had found out that he had no idea where the kid was, had shown him his displeasure in the form of burns he now hid under long sleeves. Yet somehow the goddess of spring’s displeasure hurt him more - not physically, but emotionally. He enjoyed his talks with Mrs. Boss, and her giving him the silent treatment was remarkably effective. He’d been in a foul mood all week, and now… “Coming,” he grunted, heading into the other room to help the boss. It was his job, after all.

Ah, that old chestnut. It really didn’t matter how many times Persephone asked him to call her by her name; she was Mrs Boss and would be for eternity. She was, after all, someone close enough for him to consider family and he had no idea how to express it. That and it was always entertaining to see her reaction to the name. At the mention of the boss, Pain grunted. “Usual. Preoccupied with everything ‘cause you ain’t been here. Don’t think much to this plan but he’s the brains, the boss.” Pain frowned. “I haven’t seen him. Thought he was with Panic.” Not that the two were ever too far from each other… Oh. Shit. So where was the kid?

[Time Skip]

“Pain? Pain love, can you help me with this box?” The Goddess of Spring hadn’t properly spoken to the demon in a week after finding out her Hadie was not in Storybrooke and the infernal duo lost her son while she was trapped in Olympus. Don’t get her wrong, her husband was also in her crossfire; but she knew how he was when she was gone. And Panic was carefully avoiding her it felt; but she couldn’t direct all her anger onto Pain. Hence her being nice again.

“Aye, seem to be earin’ that a lot ere. Yer’d think by tha’ sound of it. Ne’ one actually works here.” Hook rolled his eyes, hook dragging down the table, leaving a very noticeable line now engraved in the table forever. “Blame Gothel really, heard she left her spawns in control.” Or was it only one? Hook had no idea, nor did he care to find out. 

“Somethin’s troubling me?” Killian was not going to open up to some stranger who looked like she had came from a royalty. Princess’s or whatever she was, would never mix well with the pirate captain. 

Lifting his glass, drunk haze filling his mind as he tipped the glass back against his lips, frowning as nothing came from it. “Aye, forgot yer were empty.” 

“Gothel can hardly be to blame for leaving her children in charge. Perhaps she decided with her children alive it was time to make amends.” Eyes flashed to the Hook, suddenly it made sense though and she leaned back in her seat, just watching him for a minute, observing.

The Queen of the Underworld leaned forward, extending her hand. “Persephone Thanatos, wife of Hades, and Queen of the Underworld.”

“The plan was for two or three of the older children to come through, the decision was a collective one and I either had to deny it, and cause the possibility of a rebellion within the ranks of the Villains I have controlled around here, or I accepted what would happen and hopefully calm the waters but there were more than planned and only two of them ended up meeting me in the beginning” Hades protested, he wasn’t the best when it came to moral decisions and he’s never had the knowledge of when to stop before things went too far. “We have an opportunity to finally get out of the Underworld Sephe, children were the best motivation for the inhabitants of the target town to come down here so I can take over their little plot of magic”

“Yours” He sighed in resignation, although she was the main person that Cerebrus was to guard so he guessed that worked in his favor really. So the boy had made his mark on the bleeding heart that was his wife, he didn’t mind that and he wasn’t really surprised; young Carlos was a little like Hadie and definitely needed someone to look out for him although maybe the God of the Underworld wasn’t the best choice for that. “The maniac won’t go near him if I have any thing to do with it”

Hades sighed, he had yet to locate Pain and Panic, his friends henchmen had vanished when the new arrivals began to stream in and it was slowly beginning to worry ire him. “They’ve disappeared, I have yet to find them. Maybe they are with Hadie somewhere? You know those two adore the boy”

It was a sweet plan, one entirely for her benefit it seemed and all her anger disappeared. How could she stay made at him for doing what he thought was best for their family. A magical town was likely the answer to all of their problems. Close enough to the Underworld that the bind of the pomegranate seeds would not cause her ill effects and close enough to Olympus that Zeus would allow her the freedoms her mother tried to deny - because if she wasn’t spending all her time in the Underworld, her mother held no claim. “Do you think it would work? Surely Zeus would allow that loophole? He allowed us to marry...”

“If she does, I will throw her soul to the depths of Tartarus myself. Allow Kronos to devour her soul. Hard to lose what was barely there to begin with.” Persephone while often made any irritation with her husband clear, but not a vicious person, but that devil woman. Just a flash in her mind of the teenager so afraid, making himself small. “We need to watch over him Had - Carlos - he has my protection while he is here. He reminds me of Hadie, just more shy.”

“I know they do, I just can’t help but worry.” All three of them missing was surely a positive sign, but the Goddess of Spring was feeling sentimental, especially after her encounter with Carlos, the young boy who reminded the deity of her son when he was a similar age; just more fearful compared to Hadie’s confidence. But both had that sweetness about them. She sighed  her head tilting against her husbands shoulder lightly. “Just promise me you’ll be careful. I don’t like these villain’s whose company you keep. And keep an eye out for Hadie?

Her words spoke volumes and Carlos, ever the curious one, couldn’t help but ask. “Trapped in Olympus? But, I- most people would say that being stuck in the Underworld was meant to be the bad part.” Persephone was something different for sure, and it was messing with the teenager’s head a little bit. Her promise made him give her a small smile but he remained doubtful. “I don’t know. I don’t want to hurt anyone. I never really did, but I’m capable.” His thoughts drifted back to Harry, guilt eating at his insides. He’d killed someone; he’d fought on the Isle, of course, they all had to survive, but he’d never thought he’d be able to commit such a heinous act. He balked. Cruella would probably be proud.

He didn’t know what the goddess had called him, but the soft touch to his hair was indeed more comforting than he’d ever really known. No one had been so… so motherly to him. He didn’t move away; if anything, he unconsciously took another step closer to the kind woman and gave her another small smile. “I… Thanks, I guess. Um, I…” He glanced behind her again at the giant dog, fear threatening to take over his heart, and he forced himself to watch Persephone instead. “Can you tell me if any of my friends are down here? I’m hoping they aren’t but it- I think I’d like to find them, if they are.”

“Yes trapped. My mother, she never wanted me to leave her side. She had this, obsession, with keeping me pure and fearful. No man was even allowed to look at me.” Persephone sighed at the memory. “I heard that Hades asked my mother for my hand, but she laughed at him. So one day he rose up form the Underworld and stole me away with him. He was never cruel too me, nothing like the myths tell, he courted me - if you understand what that means. Dated. We fell in love, Zeus knew where I was the entire time, my father, he cared little. He saw me happy, he saw Hades at peace for once. Then my mother found out. She cursed the mortals realm with famine and cold, stopped crops from growing. Killed mortals. Worshippers.”

“We knew my mother was trying to get her own way, to claim me back where she could lock me away for the rest of eternity. So I asked Hades to bind me to him and the Underworld. To bind me to him, we married under the gaze of Zeus and Poseidon. To bind me to the underworld, I ate off the pomegranate - the fruit of the dead. Six seeds.” Her lips tightened as she recollected the rest. “I was brought before Olympus and asked to choose, I was surprised by this, but grateful. I chose my husband. Demeter was furious, claimed there had been a trick, that I had lost all leave of my senses. She was outraged to hear that I had bound myself. She promised more destruction upon the people of Greece and father had to compromise. Six months with her in Olympus. Six months in the Underworld with my husband.”

“And thus the vicious cycle of being torn from my love for half the year began and your mortals seasons began. When I am in Olympus, my mother let’s things grow - Spring and Summer. When I am in the Underworld, she kills the land - Autumn and Winter. Hades nearly missed our son’s birth because of the forsaken cycle. I fear that had Hadie been born in Olympus, my mother would have never let him leave.” Hadie had been born mere hours after the Autumn equinox, not long after her return from Olympus, her half-sister Eileithyia, goddess of childbirth had came to her aide to stave off labour to give her time to get home to Hades.

“We are all capable little one, even me. We are what we choose to be, and I choose to be a wife, a mother, the only one capable to making things grow in this realm. I am capable of great destruction - if you ever meet my husband, ask him about the vines. But remember if you slip up, that doesn’t make you bad, you pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start again. No one is perfect.” She assured him, styx, she had nearly suffocated Hades with vines the first time she got mad in the Underworld, not realising her powers of Spring would work in the realm. She wouldn’t have killed him, but it would have hurt.

As he stepped closer, her arm rested around his back, hand resting in his hair comfortingly. As similar way to how she held Hadie when he was close. Her face leaned down, nose pressing to his hair lightly; as if to reaffirm that he was safe with her. A small gesture she felt to help sooth the teenager. “I haven’t heard about many of the children. But give me their descriptions and I will ask around some of the lost souls for you.”

Respect for another’s home. He could almost hear his own mother’s voice, trying to teach him the etiquette her own mother hadn’t quite managed to instil, coupled with his father’s fond tones, encouraging him to just be polite. It doesn’t cost to have manners. “I guess I never really thought of the concept of Hell as being anyone’s home so much as a job, but then again, I didn’t quite expect… this, either.” Her words were meant to be comforting, Anthony was sure, but all he could do was give her a weak smile. “I had a life there. I don’t know what happened to my friends, or my family, or-” He cut himself off. Harriet. He didn’t know if she’d been safe after all. “I’m sorry but I don’t see how I could be happy here, and I don’t want to see them down here either.”

Scar had to fight back the urge to roll his eyes again and instead rolled his shoulders, appearing to prepare for tracking down some of the children of this domain. He kept his mouth shut, likely wisely, at the infernal nickname she insisted on giving him. Kitty cat. He was anything but a house cat; he was the literal king of Pride Rock, the true, deserving king- but it wouldn’t do to rant to Persephone of all people. “My sincere apologies, my Queen. I had no idea it meant so much to you,” he agreed, taking a step towards where one of the children had wandered off. He paused again at her question. “I have no idea where your husband could possibly be. He’s the king of the Underworld, my lady. He comes and goes as he pleases.”

“I am a mother Scar. Of course it means so much to me.” She sighed gently, concern etched into her features as she ran a hand back through dark hair. She didn’t expect him to get it, the compassion she felt, the mothering instinct - even for children who were not her own. She was the goddess of Spring, a time for birth and renewal. Children weren’t meant to die yet. They were young and full of life. She sighed further when Scar said she hadn’t seen her husband. “If you see him later on, advise him that he should speak to his wife. Now which way do we go now?”

“It wasn’t me that set the realm to self destruct!” Hades defended himself as he tried not to cringe from his wife, she was terrifying; she took after her mother in that aspect and Demeter was the one sister other than Hera that he would happily hide from when they were in a temper.

“Cerebrus scares most, that’s his job” He grumbled under his breath, although he had a feeling that he had an idea about the young boy that she was talking about; if it was the same one as he thought then Persephone had a reason to worry or him “He’s the fur maniac’s boy” he offered to her as her rant began to pick up steam.

Scar? The cat was an annoyance but he had his megalomaniac tendencies that others wouldn’t think of so he kept him around for that. However, if he was going to be mocking to the Queen then he was going to have to have words.

Sighing, the god got up from his chair and moved to his wife, placing his hands on hers lightly. “The last time I saw our boy was when he went exploring near the Styx; you know how he is, he likes to wander and find people to annoy”

“Perhaps not, but you keep talking about this plan and how not as many as that were meant to come - so I can’t help but wonder what exact part you played in this husband and why it had to involve children.” The deity felt her concerns were justified; just what part did Hades play in all this mess?

“Don’t start with that, if we stood on opposite sides of the Styx, whose side do you think they would go to?” The Queen of the Underworld gave him a pointed look, but then the colour drained from her face as he continued. He was born to the personification of a chess board? Of course he was. She could see it now, his outfit, his fear of dogs. How had she not seen it at the time? “We can’t let her near him, Had. He’s too small and sweet - she’ll hurt him.”

There was a key problem with the whole situation, in Carlos’s view. On the one hand, this woman - a literal goddess - was kind and gentle and for some unfathomable reason, she was being nice to him. Whether she was playing him or not, he wasn’t sure, but his gut instinct told him that she was genuine and he was pretty sure it was correct at least in this instance. On the other hand, there was a giant three headed dog that could literally eat him in a single bite from any individual mouth. Did they share a stomach? Did they have multiple brains? Would they tear him limb from limb?

Would she let any of that happen?

With a squeak, Carlos did the bravest thing he’d done since dying and took a step closer to Persephone, and then took another step and made sure she was directly between him and the nearest mouth, counteracting his bravery immediately. “It’s… It’s not here to punish me?” he asked softly, hoping for the best but anticipating the worst.

“Good Styx no. Like I said sweet-one, Cerberus follows me when I back in the Underworld. I spend Spring and Summer trapped in Olympus with my mother, when I’m home, they barely let me out of their sight.” A fear of monsters like Cerberus was not uncommon, many residents of the Underworld feared them. “I promise you child, Cerberus wasn’t hurt you, nor will he eat you. Unless you try to harm myself or my family, but I doubt sincerely that you would do that.” He was a fearful little thing after all. He reminded her of Hadie, just with less confidence.

“I will look out for you now you are here Carlos, anything you need just let me know. OK? I will look after you μικρό κουτάβι.” She told him gently, a hand moving to stroke his hair soothingly. A gentle expression on her features that was usually reserved only for Hades and Hadie. Hand moving to his cheek, thumb rubbing gently until she caught his chin. “You will always be safe with me.”

“Vines? Persephone really?” Hades whined lightly as he spotted more of the blasted things travelling up along his desk legs and closer to him

“They aren’t going to stay dead” he promised firmly, he never wanted them to stay dead; the Isle was the best place for him to target for his plans but he didn’t expect so many kids to get caught in the crossfire. “I didn’t plan for so many, just enough to lure enough of the living down here so that we can move up to a little town protected by a pocket of magic up on the surface”

He knew that they were the same age as his son - he missed his heir more than people would imagine - but he didn’t expect so many. “Of course I realise that Persephone, how can I not when I’ve already had two of the brats arrive here and give me a constant reminder of him because of their sass and personality. I haven’t planned on anymore Sephe and I hope no more arrive also”

She gave her husband a look that said it would be a lot more than vines if he continued. While she loved her husband, dearly, wholeheartedly, her compassion lay with the children, not with him and his unnerving of her powers. She was more than aware her powers where the only thing that grew in the underworld.

“They shouldn’t have died in the first place Hades. They’re children.” Vines continued to creep, with each shift in her tone an octave higher than before. “There is a boy, he’s rather small, fearful, I worry for him so. He isn’t ready to face death. I think Ber scared him.” Her hands moved off the desk, vines receding as she began to pace. “I don’t like your friends Hades, especially the cat, his mocking obedience irritates me.”

“And where is our son Hades? Where is my baby?” She hadn’t seen him since her return from Olympus, and it worried her so. “Where is my Hadie?” She finally looked around to her husband, her lip trembling , body shaking lightly. She needed her boys, all of them together in the underworld where she could love them with the entirety of her being.

Hades’ bride had never been as easy to please as her husband. It seemed the god of the dead wanted something similar to Scar, at the very least - life in the world again, a chance to rule over something that wasn’t mere fire and brimstone. Scar simply wanted his rightful land back: Pride Rock would be his and those that had cast him down here would pay, lions and hyenas alike. His vengeance would be swift… But Hades was swayed by his wife, weak to the notion of love. Scar had to be careful. “Then allow me to earn it,” he replied, managing to stop his teeth from gritting. Barely. “In that direction,” he advised, gesturing idly as he stopped pacing. “Would you like me to track them for you? I can’t say they seemed as perturbed as you think.”

“Whether you agree or not a bunch of children early twenties or younger have ended up in my domain. They are young, they are here before their time and many of them will be scared. That may not mean much to you, but I cannot let them wander around scared.” Did he have kids? She wasn’t sure he would understand her feelings if not, it was hard t explain the maternal instincts she had when she saw a child hurt. Her concern in this whole mess lay with them, and her anger with her husband for bringing the children here. “On that note kitty cat, have you seen my husband also, I need to have a chat with him once I check on the children.”

The name Olympus rang a vague bell from one of the many books he read before the curse - a place of gods and goddesses, somewhere mortals couldn’t really get to. Not that he had any interest at that point; staying with his mother and behaving had been his major priorities. So she was a goddess? That was… no, it wasn’t terrifying. Carlos wasn’t entirely sure he could even explain how he was feeling. Awe-inspiring, maybe. He gaped up at her, glancing into the darkness. A soft thump brought what he could only assume was Cerberus into view; glistening teeth, six dark eyes burning like the hellfire dotted around and three heads, focused on him.

Carlos was pretty sure in that moment that he was going to somehow die. Again.

He opened his mouth but words wouldn’t come out; he was frozen in place, unable to take his eyes off the giant… the giant dog. The giant three headed dog. Was this because of what he did to Harry? His mom had always said dogs would attack awful boys… “I didn’t mean to,” he managed to utter out, still unable to take his eyes off the giant lurking nearby. He couldn’t die again, could he? If this was going to eat him, what would happen? Would he just stop existing? Was there a place worse than the Underworld?

Persephone frowned as the child apologised, just as the middle head of Cerberus nudge her shoulder with his nose to be petted. Her hand moved up, stroking the head’s large muzzle before placing a gentle kiss there. Hades might have wanted a guard monster, but there was no mistaking Cerberus was her pups. “Why are you apologising? If anything, I should be apologising to you kid, you should not have died. Hades and I will be having a long discussion about his actions.”